In a tactical match, every unit and every point counts. Every kill and every death has the potential to swing the game wildly in favor of one side. A few minutes of getting fewer reinforcement points than the enemy can give them a huge advantage, but at the same time suiciding a few hundred points worth of units trying to equalize is only making the situation worse.

The principle of combined arms stressed in other guides is just as important (or more important) in a tactical game than a regular match, but the challenge (and fun) is that often only one unit will be filling a given role in combined arms warfare in a certain part of the map (eg. one tank, one AA unit, one ATGM vehicle, and one recon infantry sighting). This means that when one of these essential pieces of the puzzle is lost, or even if it simply fails to fulfill its obligations to the group, the entire front is liable to collapse.

The realities of tactical games make certain units and certain strategies much stronger than they are otherwise. Recon is particularly important, and you will often want to compose as much of your force as possible of recon units when they are substitutable for regular units. Multi-purpose units - units that are capable of killing/countering multiple types of enemies - are particularly strong. Examples of this include multi-role fighters with AMRAAMS (eg. Su-27M or SEAD KF16), AA units that can attack ground units (eg. ADATS or Otomatic), and recon units that are also good in combat (eg. recon bradley or VBL Mistral). These units punch far above their weight in terms of cost because they fill two roles and are amply good at both of them (or you can think of it that they do not require another recon unit to provide vision in order for them to shoot).

A similar mechanic is at play regarding so-called "unicorn" units in tactical games - units that only certain factions get that are incredibly powerful. Examples of these include the Nighthawk, Longbow, Patriot, Otomatic, ATACMS. Within a single deck, the strength of unicorn units is usually counterbalanced by the absence of other units (eg. USA infantry is poor). However, in a tactical, the 10 players on a given team can collectively focus on the strengths' of their own national decks and making up for each other's weaknesses. This effectively gives BLUEFOR a clear advantage in tactical matches, since the vast majority of unicorn units are BLUEFOR. This is one reason stackers typically choose BLUEFOR rather than REDFOR. The situation is effectively similar to giving mixed blue/red decks access to all units including prototypes.

Some players will fall into the trap of attempting to buy lots of cheap units (eg. Motostroleki) to make up for the lack of points. More often than not, this will result in all of them dying because these cheap units are simply combat ineffective against higher end units. Taking mid-range units that can be cost-effective work horses will work in some situations but not in others - the key is recognizing what the situation calls for. For example, a T72-B1 for 85 pts will make short work of IFVs and infantry in the open but has no chance against an M1A2; similarly, a Strela-10M can be a cost-effective way to down enemy aircraft, but it will simply die to an AH-64D Longbow.

A final point on cost effectiveness: some units are "meta" and others are not "meta". Those that aren't meta are widely considered to be "not cost effective" or otherwise bad. These include (sadly for new players) a lot of US units like Cav Scouts, Light Riflemen '90, and Delta Force. If you are a newer player, do yourself a favor, and find a meta deck code to download until you've familiarized yourself with the game. Additionally, every unit in your deck for tactical games should be maximum veterancy available - you will appreciate the extra cost-effectiveness and will (almost) never run out of units of any type. Similarly, repairing units will always be cheaper than calling in new ones - never continue attacking with damaged units when you can bring them back to repair them.

Every front (also referred to as a lane or zone) in a tactical game needs some variation of the same core components: recon and some form of anti-infantry, anti-vehicle, and anti-air damage. The kinds units providing each damage type appropriate for a specific front will depend on its terrain, but essentially it will always boil down to satisfying these four requirements.

For open areas, recon with very good or exceptional optics is basically required - the difference between one side having this quality of optics and the other side not having it will have a huge impact on the outcome. Because of their stealth bonus, recon infantry is especially effective. For open area anti-infantry, a variety of vehicles can fill this role - mortars are good but unreliable, long-range HE damage units like the BMP-3 and BMPT are very effective, and tanks and other fire support vehicles are good at this as well. For anti-vehicle, anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) are effective, especially for dealing with high armor targets at max range. These can be carried by infantry (useful for stealth but vulnerable to mortars due to very slow speed), by vehicles (mobile and cost-effective but lack stealth), and by helicopters (very effective but expensive and vulnerable to long range AA). However, when dealing with large numbers of vehicles (such as when large numbers of cheap transports are used as a screen for ATGMs or to kill enemy recon), tanks are required to quickly and cost-effectively deal with them. For AA, a mix of stingers and AA with >2800m range vs. helicopters (to outrange ATGMs) is ususally best. Note that regular infantry (non-recon, non-speciality) is basically useless on a front of mostly open terrain and is a waste of very precious reinforcement points.

For forested areas, recon still plays an essential role. While it makes almost no difference in dense forest, most forested areas are a mix of dense forests and small clearings, and the engagements usually occur between the small clearings rather than in the trees themselves. Being able to see enemy units across the clearing allows your troops to engage, either driving the enemy away, providing spotting for artillery, or gaining a huge advantage in terms of morale and firing the first shots. Anti-infantry in forests is mostly composed of infantry - specifically special forces teams, dedicated infantry killers (eg. spetsnaz), and fire support teams. However, do not underestimate the importance and potential impact of good fire support, which can come from mortars/artillery, from IFVs such as the especially powerful Marder 2, or from dedicated fire support vehicles or even tanks. Despite how easily these units can die in the close quarters combat of forests, when used properly with recon, they can easily allow a smaller, weaker infantry force to defeat a much stronger and more expensive one. For anti-tank and anti-vehicle, infantry with good launchers or a well micromanaged tank will be far more useful than ATGMs. When choosing infantry for this role, the range, AP, and accuracy of the launcher are all quite important, although the ~16 AP launchers of units like Jagers, Kommandosi, and Mot Schutz '75 are all sufficient to kill most IFVs (they will just struggle to kill heavy tanks). For AA, stingers and shorter range AA like SPAAG can be more useful than in open terrain, mostly because the enemy may overshoot or stray too close to the invisible AA, but also in the case of SPAAG because it can provide fire support (very good at stunning/morale shocking). High end radar AA retain usefulness in forests, supplying them is usually the biggest issue there.

Very little tactical combat occurs in cities, but using cities to deny access/control of a large area is an important principle. To some extent the same principles apply when you choose units to garrison a city with, but the majority of all types coming from infantry. (It can be useful to leave IFVs and other vehicles hidden within or behind a city to pop out when required.) Recon infantry for spotting, ATGM infantry for anti-vehicle, stingers for AA, and rifles for anti-infantry. It is fine to skimp and not buy rifle squads, but having the other 3 core components is very important. One would be surprised how frequently towns are not garrisoned with rifles at all, but conversely, it is a frequent occurrance to see dozens of riflemen die to mortars without ever firing a shot. I recommend using recon special forces in this role, as they can defend themselves if need be and therefore fill two purposes.

Recon is the most important and essential part of any match, but it is especially important for tactical matches. The key to using recon in tactical games is to pay special attention to the stats on your recon cards - there is a huge difference between good, very good, and exceptional optics, and also a huge difference between good, very good, and exceptional stealth. Also note that veterancy increases a unit's line of sight, meaning that elite recon infantry will outperform rookie or hardened recon infantry. For these reasons, it is strongly recommended to take multiple cards of elite special forces recon infantry, and additionally to consider sniper teams due to their stealth bonus. The Canadian recce sniper team deserves special mention as its range and firepower are significantly better than any other sniper team, and it is even capable of destroying light tanks and vehicles with ease. If there is one thing you can take away from this guide that will greatly improve your tactical game it is this: ensure every front has at least two special forces recon as far forward as possible, and you will be amazed at how much vision they provide.

When using your recon infantry, you will want to advance into the hedge rows and then sneak them along the hedge rows with their weapons off (to avoid accidentally giving away your position). Even if you do discover an enemy unit, it can be better to allow other units to engage rather than risking the recon unit itself. Attempt to sneak as far forward as possible while remaining completely hidden. Using a single mortar to provide smoke screens can be very effective at allowing your recon to advance further than it otherwise would be able to, and if your recon is spotted, smoking the recon unit itself can allow it to retreat back into cover. The most likely scenario is that both teams' recon will advance along the hedge rows and come into contact, at which point each teams' fire support will begin shooting the other team's recon. Be careful not to advance too far beyond your own fire support, where enemy tanks and fire support will be able to fire on your recon but your team's fire support won't be able to fire upon the enemy's.

Recon vehicles can be incredibly useful in tactical matches since they have a stealth bonus in addition to improved optics, and this can be very useful where the unit will be hiding in hedge rows . However, because they lack the high stealth and optics of recon special forces, never count on these to be your main recon force - instead consider them as regular vehicles with better optics and stealth than the normal equivalent. Light recon tanks (25-60 pts) can provide really great fire support in open areas. High end recon helicopters can be very effective (longbow, KA-52) but also carry a high risk of losing a lot of points with few kills if they die. Helos are particularly vulnerable to ASFs if your team does not have a proper air defense network (ADN).

This might seem really unimportant, but I assure you it is not. In tactical games ~80% of players will take the cheapest 100 pt recon jeep they can. For general purposes, I strongly recommend investing in an infantry CV, especially if you can take a 5 pt transport with it (but I consider even a 15 pt transport worth it). The added stealth will allow you to hide the CV in hedge rows much more readily than the jeep, and it only costs a tiny bit more. This means you can contest a zone that the enemy almost entirely controls, denying them a lot of reinforcement points.

Alternatively, you can opt for some top armor - anything with 2+ top armor will take a lot more of a pounding from artillery. Also, as USSR, some players will take a T80UK heavy tank as their CV and main starting unit. It punches well below its weight as a tank, but it will do fine against any non-super heavy tank and can help contest a zone under fire.

A huge mistake commonly made in tactical matches is taking too many FOBs. Two FOBs seems ideal to me, although one is good too (you will end up having to bring in more supply toward the end of the game). Also make sure it's not on the road or your team will be furious. Lastly never arty from the proximity of a FOB unless you want the enemy to destroy it with counter-arty.

This section is probably the single most important section in terms of correcting the confusion of new players who have read "the 200 page guide" and proceed to tactical games. In tactical games infantry is not nearly as important as regular games in terms of having the cheap, expendable, spammable fodder that is stressed by the guide. The campaign has played a role as well - it teaches you that good optics recon or regular infantry (medium optics) is good enough to provide vision; in wargame multiplayer, anything less than very good optics is bad. Too often you will see players taking 100+ pts worth of motostroleki or reservists and simply leaving them in hedge rows or forests to be murdered. Due to the high stakes nature of tactical games - prioritize recon infantry over all other infantry, unless you have a clear reason to take the non-recon version (and even then, you want to pair it with recon infantry).

Rifle squads, with an RPG and MG, will almost always be more useful from the recon tab. Occasionally, some rifle squads to provide a little fodder can be useful for a big town or forest push, but unless you are taking them for the IFV, regular ("line") infantry without MG3 that is not Mot. Schutzen is probably a waste of points. One of the weaknesses here is that infantry will often be the target of mortar strikes, and special forces are generally the only infantry that move fast enough to avoid them. Similarly, just digging in on your side of the map with a lot of infantry in a forest will often just end up with a lot of infantry dead to artillery. Having recon will allow you to be less stagnant, and staying on the move is the best way to avoid artillery/airstrikes with infantry.

The infantry that will be most useful are the specialized ones - ATGM teams, stingers, Fire Support Teams (FIST teams... yes the T is redundant), special forces with stingers, and specialized infantry-killers (Li-Jian 90 and Spetsnaz). All of these units have essential roles to play in a tactical game. Infantry-based ATGM squads benefit from stealth and can be incredibly cost-effective, even if they require regular supply. Stingers, as discuseed below in Air Defense, are practically essential in tactical games as inexpensive air defense and are very effective against the Longbow.

The infantry killer special forces are a mixed bag - they will decimate infantry alone, but they are very weak against vehicles, and in tactical games players will use their APCs and IFVs as fire support. Typically, you do not want to take infantry killers without pairing them with another special forces or shock squad with a good RPG and one of them should ideally be recon (Spetz + Spetz GRU, LiJian '90 + Yuckjeondae '90 or Lie Ren, Seals + Rangers or Marines '90 or Can Air '75, Fromoza + LSTR-40 or Specialni '90).

Choosing what transport and utilizing that transport can be critical to using infantry. It is very common to see players bring only infantry to a forest fight, and these forces almost always lose to a similarly sized force with a few medium tanks, AA, and fire support mixed in. The difference in fire support quality between a 10 pt and a 20-30 pt IFV is substantial, but the expensive IFVs die just as easily as the cheap ones if misused. (The key to fire support is to keep a safe distance (700-875m) from enemy infantry and find a firing lane that still gives line of sight. If fighting in forests, always engage with infantry first and then fire support.) Taking infantry in a gunship transport (eg. Mi-8) can provide a very cost-effective fire support option, but it will be a huge waste of points if not utilized. Taking infantry in 5 pt transports and taking another dedicated fire support (eg. mortars or a recon unit) can end up being more cost-effective than using IFVs for fire support. Knowing yourself as a player and what units you use effectively is probably the best advice here. For me, recon special forces, high end stingers, and high end ATGM squads all in cheapest possible transports with a recon light tank and a mortar work best, but your mileage may vary.

Imbalanced or failed air defense/air superiority is one of the most common reasons tactical games are won or lost. Sometimes a team takes too many aircraft, sometimes they take too many AA, sometimes they take lots of AA and lose them all, and sometimes they allow the enemy to control the skies and to bomb them into oblivion. The key to air defense in tactical games is to find a way to take as little AA and ASFs as possible and to still suppress the enemy aircraft or establish air superiority outright. I have seen players spend hundreds of points on AA and lose them all to SEAD, and I have seen entire fronts without any AA get wiped out by a single longbow. Note that this section is entitled Air Defense rather than Support because we will cover AA vehicles, stingers, and ASFs here rather than spreading them throughout the guide.

Best practices here are to know your enemy and to know yourself (look at what units your allies are bringing). How many airborne decks did the enemy take? Expect planes. How many Blue Dragons/South Korean decks did the enemy take? Expect them to take the hybrid SEAD/ASF - it is arguably the most overpowered unicorn in the game as a single unit. How many USA decks? Expect Nighthawks, Longbows, etc. This information will help you to begin to estimate how many enemies will be using aircraft, how many may get ASFs, and how many will get SEAD. Also look at your allies' unit compositions - who got AA and what kind? Are there stingers on all fronts of the battle?

Stingers are amazingly cost-effective - a single 25 pt stinger can down a 150+ pt plane - always take maximum quality (accuracy) and maximum veterancy on your stingers. BLUEFOR has especially good stingers, but REDFOR has decent ones as well. Like recon units, stingers greatly benefit from the stealth bonus and can hide in hedge rows at the very front line, far ahead of where AA vehicles could safely advance without being spotted. Special forces teams with stingers (LSTR-40 and SAS) can also be very effective for this reason. Like with any AA unit, always move (along the hedge row in stealth) after firing to avoid mortar strikes.

As REDFOR, I would recommend never getting an AA piece that cannot effectively handle the Longbow - it will be a waste of points. This means either outranging it (>2800m vs. helos) or using stingers and hiding them in trees. Because SEAD counters radar AA, as a general rule, don't get radar AA unless you are very confident with your ability to micromanage their radar. Special mention for the Tunguska(M) and East German clone (FLA-XX) - you can (should) turn the radar gun off and use the missiles only for a very effective AA piece. Also the Eastern Block Strop-2 is a similar unit that does not use radar.

I strongly recommend organizing every team to have one high end ASF (eg. Su-27PU). Flying "Combat Air Patrol" (CAP) will give your team extra air detection, allowing your teammates with radar AA to see and identify incoming planes and whether or not they are SEAD. Simply flying circles in your backfield with an ASF is incredibly helpful for your team. You may begin to notice enemies only going on bombing runs immediately after you evac your ASF, if so they have radar themselves and are watching you. Fly circles further back to hopefully avoid detection. When flying ASF, try not to engage the enemy's ASF directly, as you are leaving matters to a coin flip. Instead, try to run escort missions for any friendly planes. If they go on a bombing run, follow them. If the enemy ASF engages, they will likely target the bomber, and you can kill their ASF.

Although a single player using heavy artillery can be devastating in the right hands, I recommend having one or two players with 2-4 mortars each. Provided you have good recon, these can be invaluable for killing soft targets like enemy infantry (especially recon, ATGM teams, and stingers), enemy AA, and even unarmored command vehicles (CVs). Artillery, particularly mortars, have the distinct advantage of being one of the only times you can attack the enemy without him having the chance to shoot back. Remember - always shift-click (queue a waypoint) to move after firing. Also bear in mind that mortars use surprisingly large amounts of supply. Mindlessly spamming mortars and not killing anything is a great way to drain your team's FOB.

A well micromanaged and properly supported heavy tank can win an entire front by itself. The support is the key - does it have recon, air defense, some cheap meat shield vehicles, and a few mortars backing it up? If not, it's going to be very ineffective. When using an expensive tank -remember that the recon units are only 20-30 pts each, while your tank is 160-180 pts. Don't risk your tank's life over risking a recon unit's life. Concerning the air defense - remember that a lot of players will risk or even outright suicide an ATGM plane to kill a heavy tank and play accordingly - one radar AA will not be enough to save you. Stay hidden whenever possible, and use smoke if you must to substitute for trees.

Although cheap meat shield vehicles can provide some warning and soak ATGMs, smoke is also the best way to deal with ATGMS (to advance close enough to fire upon it as well as to retreat back into to throw off missile guidance). An important point here - know which missiles are guided and which are fire & forget (F&F) - these latter missiles will hit regardless of whether you move into stealth after they are fired, and they are therefore much more dangerous. If an ATGM plane or longbow attacks, move backward directly opposite the direction is it attacking you from - hopefully it will hit front armor and allow you to escape and heal.

Understanding the relevant mechanics for AP vs. AV and for kinetic (KE) attacks is very important for tank fighting. If you are fighting a tank, compare your AP and front armor to the enemy's, and if you do not have a clear advantage, don't try to 1v1 the enemy tank. Kinetic means that the closer the range, the more damage it does. If you must engage a superior tank, you only have a chance if you can hit side armor or if you can bait it into short range where you can do significant damage. Similarly, never let the enemy hit side armor against your tank, and be very careful when approaching forests, as low end tanks can kill your high end tank if engaging at close range.

When using cheaper, work-horse type tanks, the same principles all apply - just be especially careful of engaging superior tanks or infantry in forests but also be aware that nearly any ATGM will one-shot a low end tank.

Cheap fire support in tactical games will generally come from infantry transports or from light recon tanks (or the Otomatic). As a general rule, vehicles constitute cheap units that usually die without killing anything and are therefore a waste of points. As noted above, they are usually easily substituted with a recon vehicle for better stealth and optics with similar performance and cost overall.

A few notable exceptions exist and deserve special mention. The BMPT is really strong in forest fighting and also has a 2400m HE weapon that can kill infantry (recon) moving in the open at range. The Eastern Block PROM has a similar HE weapon but is otherwise cheaper but far less powerful. On the blue side, the centurion avre and CEV are now incredible in forests as fire support. High end ATGM vehicles (Chinese WZ550, Konkurs-M, and Tow-2) are very useful, but are often better from the recon tab where available (eg. Bradley). Napalm tanks, if they are able to get close enough to enemy positions (towns, hedge rows, forests) are incredible for burning out infantry. Cheap fire support can be very useful (eg. Ontos, M163CS, Comvat, etc) but can also end up dying very easily (eg. to ATGMs) without making up for their cost. As above, consider mortars for fire support instead.

Other than the longbow, helos see little use in tactical games. The most likely reason for this is that they are very fragile, they are vulnerable to ASFs, and the enemy has probably invested in a few high end IR AA or stingers. Never take more than one high end gunship on your team at the start, and unless you are very confident, consider playing a different role entirely.

When using gunships, be conscious of ranges to nearby forests that may contain AA and to nearby buildings that may contain stingers. Be particularly aware of the ranges of any AA units that have been spotted. For example, the Tunguska-M's range is 3300m, so if you see one in an area your new safe distance is ~3500m. It is usually more effective to remain near the spawn out of sight and to rush forward just out of the range of the enemy AA to counter an overextended tank, and to retreat quickly back than it is to hover near the front lines, as the enemy will adjust his AA to your presence.

Also bear in mind that helos are supply-intensive. Keep an eye on your fuel, and take frequent stops back at the FOB to refuel/resupply.

The easiest way to lose the game is to suicide planes. That goes for any match, tactical or otherwise. Planes are by definition glass cannons, and most of them are very expensive. The most important thing you can do for your team if you plan to use aircraft is to communicate to your team what aircraft/role you plan to play. If your team has multiple bombers and no ASF, expect to be countered and become useless. If you have lots of air and no SEAD, again expect to be countered and become useless. If you have lots of ASFs, the enemy might just roll over you with tanks.

The most common and effective aircraft in tactical matches are the multirole hybrid ASFs with AMRAAMs ( F16-MLU, Su-27M, and KF16 SEAD), pure ASFs (eg. F15C-Eagle), interceptors (eg. F14 Tomcat and Mig31M), the F117 Nighthawk, pure SEAD, the Su-24M, CAS planes (eg. A-10 Thunderbolt) and a variety of spammed cheapie bombers. Dealing with the nighthawk (especially when the enemy has SEAD) can be very challenging - the best way is to use CAP to detect it, and to activate your ADN at that time. CAS planes can also be a problem, as their armor makes stingers and SPAAG do far less damage - typically an ASF is the best way to handle these also.

The use of air is far too technical and nuanced for this guide to cover in depth. A few useful points: set up your bombing run at an angle - do not fly straight from air spawn to target. This serves two main purposes - it will help you evac over a safer area, and if you are attacking a tank with an ATGM you want to hit side armor. If you are using a bomber with a minigun and are forcing fire on the ground, disable the gun. If you are attacking a helicopter with an ASF, consider disabling the gun. This will prevent the plane from flying at lower altitude, which brings more AA into range and/or increases its accuracy (but reduces damage dealt).

As mentioned in Air Defense, I recommend having an ASF fly CAP and/or escorting your bombers. This will also help bombers identify enemy ASFs, as most bombers have only good or very good air detection, as opposed to exceptional for most ASFs. Similarly, having an SEAD escort your bombers rather than flying around solo has a far greater success rate, both for killing enemy AA and surviving itself.

As an air player, you can do two things that can really benefit your team. One is to get a recon infantry unit or two. You will find that it is easier to coordinate an airstrike with yourself than coaxing a teammate to advance his recon to sight for you. Even when your planes are not in the sky (eg. while rearming/refueling/repairing), watch everywhere for enemy troop movements and missile launches and mark them accordingly. Pretend you are the keeper/goalie in football/soccer - your job is to watch the whole field and help direct your team to the large-scale macro things they might be missing because they are focused on their individual units in a narrow portion of the front line. Marking "need recon" or "stinger" or "ATGM" or "radar AA" can be very helpful for coordinating your team.

Winning tactical games is a matter of combining all of this information in order to see the problems, and even more impactfully to foresee the problems. We all know that we need combined arms everywhere, but what does that really mean? Essentially for open areas we want recon infantry, tanks, air defense, ATGMs, fire support, and a few mortars. For forested areas, you can forgo the ATGMs, use cheaper light/medium tanks, and mix in a lot more infantry, but essentially the requirements are the same.

The point is most players should know what they need, and a lot of them do in theory. However, being able to apply this knowledge in practice: being able to zoom out and quickly identify "we need recon here" or "we need ATGMs there" is not as easy as it looks. Leadership like this is what allows one or two players to really carry their team in games like these. Communicate to your team what is needed where, and if they can't or won't get those units get the needed units yourself.

Don't ask yourself what you want to be - everyone wants to be the "heavy tank guy" or the "air guy" or the "attack helicopter guy", and everyone wants to be the "kills guy" and the "high score guy". Ask yourself what your team needs, which is probably a humble "recon guy" or a lowly "air defense guy" or even just a "defend the backfield guy".