What's an airport, again? Let's play Advance Wars!

Hide your ships in the shoals, draw the ships into battleship range with your lander, then snipe them with said battleship one at a time. Use your sub to help mop up.

...This plan may or may not depend on the battleship having a lot of ammo. How much does it carry?

9, I think. The trick is to weaken them one by one and force them to join up, instead of wasting two bullets to kill a single unit.

In any case, I think he needs some firepower help from the land distance units. Some handy forests nearby the shores there.

Right, with nine shots, you can hit each ship once. That's what should be done. Then you can send your sub out to clean up and risk getting your battleship to a shoreline so the APC can refill its ammo.

EDIT: About the forests, yeah, it's probably a good idea to stick those rockets in the forest right next to the water. Try to get some extra damage in.

9 shots to hit each ship once depends on them not finding my battleship in the shoal, which typically happens. It's also tough to make the artillery useful given its short range.

I'll make an attempt within the next few days and report back. In the meantime, the more suggestions, the better.

Use the rockets, not the artillery. At least the rockets might get lucky.

Also, try diving that sub and using it to snipe off boats that get too close to your battleship. A dived sub is invisible in fog of war.

Oh, I use both. Just saying the artillery is useless.

Also, the dived sub is invisible until something parks next to it, which happens infuriatingly often. Then it's instantly dead with the three cruisers running around with nothing else to attack. Let me get some evidence to this effect up.

In that case, try prioritizing the cruisers with your battleship?

There's gotta be some way. The AI is dumb, after all.

Run the navy out of fuel, maybe? Do they consume fuel passively?

They do, and that would probably work -- but it's 1 fuel per day, and they start with 99. Even with a fair amount of moving, that's 70 turns to wait! I guess I could try it out if all else fails.

I thought ships only started with 50 fuel? Or is that planes?

Subs start with 60 and burn 5 when dived, 1 otherwise. All other naval units start with 99 and burn 1. All air units start with 99 and burn 5 (fighter, bomber), 2 (T copter), or 1 (B copter).

OK. I’ve got some suggestions and I’m ready to tackle Olaf’s Navy again, with the rout in mind.



Here’s the initial setup again. I’ll focus on the naval battle, since we already know we can win the land battle easily. The strategy at sea will be to lure Olaf’s naval units over, one type at a time, and then punish them with our sub and indirect units. We’ll lure the battleships first, then the subs, then the cruisers.



On our first turn, we hide the battleship and sub and leave the lander out to lure units. We set up our indirects to attack the sea. A key difference from what I had been doing here is moving the lander north instead of southwest. With the lander southwest, enemy battleships and subs will quickly blunder into and discover our sub and battleship, and once they’re discovered, they’re dead.



We use our artillery, sub, and battleship to destroy one enemy battleship and take 5 HP off another. It’s imperative that our sub attack a weakened battleship so that it can stay hidden and avoid sucking the cruisers up early.



Olaf’s battleships nuke our lander and we remain at full fighting strength.



Our sub and battleship sink Olaf’s full-health battleship and our artillery ducks into a forest. The battleships are now pretty well neutered, so next turn we’ll start luring the subs.



Olaf’s battleship moves up to bring more units into range.



We finish off the battleship and prepare to take on the subs. We’ve got our battleship out in the open where the subs can see it, with indirects and our sub poised to capitalize.



The subs show themselves, with one managing to attack our battleship. This isn’t ideal…



…but Andy’s power helps get that battleship back into the fight.



Slight digression: at this point the battle is won in the northeast, though sloppy targeting left a 1 HP tank alive.



Our available forces pound Olaf’s subs, doing them great harm. We’ll finish them and set up the cruiser lure next.



Olaf’s subs cripple our battleship and the cruisers turn out to have been already lured since our sub is next to his.



We finish off the subs and take bites out of a couple cruisers. These cruises really can’t hurt us, so we’ve won at this point! Just a matter of how many turns it takes us.



The cruisers, unable to see any attackable units, stand pat.



One more turn!



There we go.

Olaf: Inconceivable! My beautiful navy has been destroyed! You… you villains! Now you’ll have to face Olaf’s Sea Strike!

Huh, I guess it’s been Olaf naming the missions all along! Who knew?



We do well rankings-wise, too! It may even be possible to achieve a perfect S-rank rout victory, but I’m not sticking around to try it! I’ll continue Max’s path in the next update, and then we’ll be back here for the secret mission, Olaf’s Sea Strike, which I’ve never actually played. Should be fun!

Thanks a lot for the advice on this one!

Nice work!

Unlike the later games in the series, which feel like turn-based strategies, Advance Wars 1 feels a lot more like a puzzle game at times. That mission is a good demonstration of why.

Thanks, Yimothy!

That's true here, but only if you're trying to get the secret mission by winning in a rout. The normal victory isn't nearly so onerous. One of the really nice things about these games is that you can make it as puzzley (Advance Campaign) or as tactical strategy (War Room) as you'd like.

Welcome back to the sporadically updated Let’s Play of Advance Wars! Today, we go back to Max’s (canonical) path. One more obstacle stands between Max and the end of Blue Moon country, and that’s Grit, who has somehow managed to garner Max’s aggression:

Max: It looks like we'll be facing Grit next.

Andy: Grit... Is he the guy who keeps calling me junior? Do you know him or
something?

Max: Yeah, you could say that. He, Nell and I used to be friends. He was
always a tough one to figure out, but this Blue Moon stuff...

Andy: Nell knows him, too? Why is he working for Blue Moon?

Max: That's something I'd like to ask him myself. That's why you've got to
let me face him, Andy! Let me take care of Grit!

Here we go!



History Lesson, huh? Sounds like we’re in for a fair amount of exposition…

Max: Reefs here, woods there, hiding places everywhere... Man, this place
was made for Grit and his indirect-combat units. I really just want to
rush in and get to stompin', but... The smart thing to do is to use
the terrain and creep up on 'em. Yep, that's the best plan. Let's move
out!

And if there’s one thing Max is known for, it’s creeping up on people! *sigh* Also, nice Dr. Seuss impression, Max. Let’s take a look at the map.



Fog of war again. Max’s path is absolutely lousy with it. Of course, fighting Grit in Fog of War brings its own special challenge to the table, as we’ll likely weather plenty of attacks from unseen indirect units.

Our general plan will be to push north with our naval and ground forces before shipping our troops across the sea to Grit’s HQ. We’ll ignore the southern part of Grit’s continent, hopefully avoiding several hidden indirects there. This being a map with naval units against Grit, there’s bound to be at least one battleship hiding somewhere; finding and destroying battleships will be our subs’ first and only priority.



We start by advancing some of our naval units, leaving everything on reefs or dived to hide them from Grit. This brings more of Grit’s invasion force into view. It doesn’t look like anything too difficult. We will have to destroy that sub before we start making lander trips across the sea.



We move the rest of our navy up behind a shield of hidden units and advance our ground forces before ending our turn. Our landers are safe from Grit’s sub, but they turn out to be not as safe as I thought…



Grit: Well, here I am again. This whole thing don't sit well with me, but I
guess I gotta stop foolin' around. I figure the best way to stop these
boys is to take out their lander. Yeah, that'll keep them from movin'
those ground troops around. Reckon I'd best get started.

…as Grit has an artillery attack one lander and a tank chip away at the other, taking them down to 5 and 9 HP, respectively. Oops. That’s all for Grit’s turn 1 attacks.



Grit’s ground forces are now within range, and we’ll start this turn’s fighting there. Though I couldn’t capture it, we know that Grit’s sub is dived somewhere close to our forward naval units, since we saw it move and dive on his turn, and we’ve got a cruiser that’s drooling at the sight of our subs to deal with.



One of our Md tanks strikes first and gets the expected Max v. Grit tank battle result.



We use a lander at sea to reveal Grit’s sub. This is somewhat dangerous, as we don’t really know what danger lies east and north, but I prefer it to leaving the lander within artillery range or moving to the unknown south, where it’s further from its ultimate destination and doesn’t have any friendly support. Our sub attacks Grit’s and takes it down to 2 HP, though I miss the damage estimate.



Another sub finishes off Grit’s, though I again miss the damage estimate. Now our landers can breathe easier.



Our third sub moves up behind the other two and our battleship takes a crack at Grit’s artillery. Being Max, the damage is less than overwhelming, but it’ll add up.



The rest of our ground forces advance and our 9 HP lander moves out of artillery range as we end our turn. Err…that is out of artillery range, right?



Grit answers emphatically. Scratch one lander. This is not his 7 HP artillery attacking; it’s another one, hidden from our view somewhere. His 7 HP artillery knocks our APC down to 2 HP, and that’s all Grit does on his turn here. This actually could have been much worse.



Back on our turn again: one of our subs takes a break from battleship-hunting duty to take out a target of opportunity. Max’s strength with subs, cruisers, fighters, and bombers is one of his overlooked advantages. They’re direct-combat units just like tanks, so they get the same bonuses.



Battleship-hunting pays off, as our next sub finds one waiting to make capturing Grit’s HQ a nightmare for us. Not for long!



On the ground, a Md tank takes out the visible artillery.



An APC drops a mech off, revealing Grit’s other artillery, and our recon goes to work on his infantry.



Sadly, we can’t reach Grit’s remaining artillery this turn, so it’ll get one more potshot off next turn.



We make sure to hide our vulnerable lander and all our subs before ending our turn.

Here’s the aftermath of Grit’s turn: our APC is down, but that’s all Grit could do. Also note the CO power meter in the top-right.



Oh, Max, you’re so much fun. Battleship down.



Oh, wait, cruisers are supposed to defeat subs? Oops.



Artillery obliterated.



Same with the last infantry on our island, and we’re ready to start ferrying units across the sea to Grit’s HQ.



We line up our troops and end our turn, ready to load up the lander and go next turn. Grit pops our cruiser with his tank for 0 damage and does nothing else on his turn, so we’re right back in the saddle!



We start with a Md tank and mech on Grit’s island. There’s nothing right near the HQ, but that tank is close enough to threaten our units, so our mech is vulnerable. We don’t really have anything else to do this turn with our lander already moved, so we pass the baton to Grit.



Yep. Unfortunate.



On our next turn, we make short work of that tank, and Grit’s HQ is undefended. We begin capturing with our mech, but it’ll take 5 turns to finish due to its depleted HP, so we send our lander back for a full-strength infantry as well. Over to Grit again.



Oh, Grit, don’t move that tank into our vision without attacking!


Poor guy.



With no defenders left, we’re free to ferry our infantry over…just in time for our mech to finish capturing the HQ anyway. That works too!



Max: OK, Grit! Now you're going to answer some questions! Why in blazes did
you go over to Blue Moon?

Nell: Grit!

Max: Nell? What are you doing here?

Grit: Hey there, Nell. It's been a long time.

Nell: Max. Would you please leave us alone for a minute?

Max: Yeah... Sure...

Nell: You look well. I was worried.

Grit: Yeah, I'm doin' all right. How about you? You and Max getting along
all right?

Nell: So that's the reason you left Orange Star. You sensed Max's feelings,
and because he's your friend, you...

Grit: Whoa! Hold on, now. Let me set you straight. I did what I did 'cause
that's who I am, darlin'. I go where I want to go, and stay where I
want to stay. That's it.

Nell: Oh, I...

Grit: See you later, Nell. Take care.

Nell: Grit... Goodbye.

OK then. Some History Lesson.

Let’s take a look at what was hiding under all that fog of war.



We dodged a hidden artillery and rockets by ferrying our troops over on the north end of Grit’s island instead of the south. Good thing we know what we’re doing, eh? With Grit as the enemy CO, it’s easy to get worn down by those indirects such that his tanks can polish off your army, and he’s got that battleship lying in wait in case anything gets through.

Next update, we’ll go back to the end of Andy’s path and face Olaf’s Sea Strike, which I’ve never done. Are you excited? I am!

After that, though, the two paths rejoin, and we have a CO choice including a new face:



Talking Time! The choice is yours: do we proceed with reliable yet na�ve Andy, bold yet foolhardy Max, or unknown yet late Sami? The choice is yours!

Here’s the relevant mission map in case it sways you. It’s a doozy.

It's a new face. Of course we're going to pick Sami.

Regardless of whether she's new or not, there is never a good reason to not pick Sami.

joining the chorus calling for Sami

I'll be contrarian and vote for Andy and his charming naivete.

How happy you made me, oh Sami
Well you came and you gave without taking

And I sent you away, oh Andy

OK, that's plenty of time. Sami has won! But first:

Supplemental Update: Mission 7 (Andy’s Path)

It’s time for the last alternate-path mission of the game, one I have not ever played before. Today on Let’s Play Advance Wars: let’s play Olaf’s Sea Strike!

Olaf: I never dreamed that they could annihilate my navy… Who would’ve guessed? I badly underestimated them. Still… I’m not done yet! I still have my elite Sea Strike force! They’ll clear up this mess!

Grit: Sea Strike Force, huh? It seems smaller than the last naval group, but…

Olaf: Fight! Fight for him! This battle shall bring us victory!

Grit: …Hmm. Whatever.

Further evidence that Olaf is naming the missions. Er…and, Olaf, fight for whom now?



We get a choice between Andy and Max here. While I am usually all for Max over Andy, I went with Andy this time. My reasoning is that when fighting at sea in fog of war, the extra range and damage with battleships is needed. I don’t think it would be too much harder with Max, though.



Max: Gimme a break! Not this guy again!

Andy: What’s wrong, Max? Don’t you like Olaf?

Max: It’s that blasted snow. It kills your movement range, doesn’t it? It’s so frustrating not being able to get around like I’m used to. Right, Bugs?

We’re put on the spot here. I answered no; who cares about the snow? I’d certainly rather face Olaf than Grit or Eagle.

Andy: Way to go, Bugs! I figured you for a snow lover! What’s not to like, right? It’s so white and fluffy!

Max: Bugs… I knew Andy was a bit off-kilter from the get-go. But, you, too? Oh, well. Let’s move out!

That appears to have been the wrong answer… Who would’ve thought not minding snow would mean so much to these guys?

Here’s the mission map, above. We’ve got a powerful naval force and some for-now-useless ground troops that we’ll need to ferry over to the other island. Should be pretty straightforward, though fog of war always allows for surprises.



Here’s the picture at the end of our first turn. We’ve got two landers filled up, one with a MD tank and mech and the other with a tank and infantry. We’ve advanced our naval forces, keeping our landers safe in the rear and keeping everything else either out of sight or out of enemy battleship range. Looks like we’ll need to deal with those battleships next turn before we can make any real progress.



Olaf: Get moving! Yeah! Right there! Get ‘em! Ha ha ha ha ha!

Ol’ Olaf is really gung-ho about this whole Sea Strike thing, I guess.

Olaf moves up his battleships and brings a sub and cruiser into our view. This plays right into our hands with all the naval units we have poised to strike.



Our first action on our second turn is to move one of our landers up into a reef, revealing another of Olaf’s subs in the process. This looks like cheating on my part, but it’s really only halfway cheating – I could see Olaf’s sub move and dive on his turn, so I knew it was hiding there.



We open the slaughter with our two cruisers, crippling each of Olaf’s subs.



Our battleships are up next, destroying a cruiser and pounding a battleship.



Our subs anchor this turn, finishing off the wounded battleship and hurting the other.



Our second lander makes a run to get out of battleship range, and that’s all for our second turn. Do you know what’s coming on Olaf’s turn?



Olaf: None can challenge my Sea Strike Force!

Sure you do! Snow is only a minor annoyance here.



Err…I guess that lander wasn’t quite out of battleship range. Still, that hit from the injured battleship doesn’t hurt too badly. Olaf joined his two crippled subs in a deck-chairs-on-the-Titanic move, and no other naval units moved into our view. Looks like we have free sailing here.



Cleanup is the first order of business on our turn, as a cruiser and battleship polish off the remainder of Olaf’s navy.



We move up the rest of our units as far as we can, though that’s not much given the snow. Olaf has a completely uneventful turn from our perspective, so we’ll pick right up with our next turn.



We send a sub around the south side of Olaf’s island to scout, and it reveals an enemy tank. Subs have a vision of 5 even when dived, making them excellent scouts in fog of war maps with plenty of sea.



We send another sub and a cruiser up north to scout and reveal Olaf’s coastal defences. Looks like it’ll be impossible for us to land units on the north beach until we can get a battleship into firing range.



The rest of our turn is all movement. We unload a Md tank at the south beach, revealing a recon hiding in the forest. We’ll leave our mech in the safety of the lander for now to prevent the tank and recon from tearing it up.



On Olaf’s turn, our lander at the beach is attacked by a hidden rocket. Looks like Olaf has some tricks up his sleeve. The obvious candidate for the rockets’ location is the eastern forest on Olaf’s island.

We move our southern sub up to reveal that forest (pretty good vision with that periscope, huh?) and find an artillery inside! So Olaf has a couple tricks up his sleeve. A battleship then pounds Olaf’s tank, trying to make room for our Md tank to advance.



The second battleship is needed to finish the job.



Of course, after taking out the tank, I realize that attacking that artillery would put our Md tank in rocket range, and I hold off, electing to take a big chunk out of Olaf’s recon instead.



Our cruiser moves up to do some more scouting and is surprised to run into another battleship. Good thing we’ve got a sub up there! Olaf is just full of surprises today. After hitting the battleship, we end our turn and again see no action from Olaf, having moved our lander into the safety of a reef.



Our battleships set to work clearing a northern landing spot, taking out the lander and wounding an infantry.



Our Md tank bites the bullet and attacks the enemy artillery, taking it down to 2 HP.



Our sub finishes the job on the (hopefully) last battleship. We end our turn.



On his turn, Olaf launched another blizzard, wiped out one of our landers, and took a nearly-useless potshots at our tank. We’re really set up to hurt him now, though, with both our landers unloaded, all our ground troops at or near full strength, and battleship support.



Our first attack is a tank-on-tank fight. This is designed to reveal Olaf’s rockets as well as do some damage.



That attack accomplishes its goal, but our Md tank can’t reach the rocket, and we end our turn there rather than take rocket attacks.



All Olaf can muster is another tank-on-tank attack. That’s perfectly fine.



First, we get some catharsis by finally pounding that rocket…



…and, after realizing we’ve been sitting on our power for awhile, we use it and finish off that recon.

The rockets and tank are next to go, courtesy of our tank and battleship.



We manage to take out an infantry, but we’re out of active units. We’ll finish it off on the next turn.





We do so.

Olaf: Grrr… Another defeat! He will not be pleased with me if this losing streak continues. Grit!

Grit: Yep.

Olaf: Get out there and stop that cursed Orange Star Army!

Grit: Easier said than done, Boss. You didn’t leave me anything to work with.

Olaf: Don’t get saucy! Rally the troops and do something! I have to go and pay…him…my respects. Don’t fail me, Grit!

Grit: Well, well, well… Olaf’s finally off to see his mysterious benefactor. Think I’ll just tag along behind and see what I can see.

I get the feeling Olaf is not very good at keeping secrets.



A perfect score! This is a nice, breezy mission, with some surprises built in to keep you on your toes, but not so many that it feels unfair. It’s kind of got odd placement in the game as a hard-to-find secret level; it would be perfectly at home as an earlier level, maybe even one introducing naval combat to the campaign, but as it is it’s a little anticlimactic for a secret mission.

Oh well. If it’s difficulty we’re looking for, we’re about to find it in spades.

Say goodbye to Olaf and Grit as adversaries. They’re both fun to fight in their own way, but by this point, I’m more than ready for a change.

Next Time: Sami’s Debut! (Or: Finally, Not Blue Moon!)

Welcome back to Let’s Play Advance Wars! Blue Moon is (finally) left in our dust, Max’s and Andy’s paths have rejoined, and we are joined by a new CO!

Sami: Sorry I'm late. Andy, Max... and special advisor... Bugs, wasn't
it?

Andy: Who are you?

Sami: My name is Sami. I'm the Special Forces commander. I was supposed to
join you earlier, but my last mission ran long. Well, better late than
never, right? I'm an infantry and mech unit specialist. My units can
seize and secure new bases faster than any other CO's. My transport
units are top of the line, too. Don't hesitate to deploy me and my
troops as you see fit. I'm ready for action!

Andy: Looking forward to working with you, Sami!

Sami: That's the spirit! Oh, I've got some information, too. Word is that
Olaf's forces are marching toward Yellow Comet. Let's go get 'em!
...Wait a minute... who's that?

Sami: This terrain is made for me! Do I have the command?

Yes, Sami, despite a closer-than-expected vote, you do. So…Sami’s abilities have something to do with terrain, do they? (Barely, I guess, but it's a real stretch. You'll see.)



Andy: Hmm... I think I've seen those guys before. Do you remember them,
Bugs?

(Interjection: sadly, the yes/no choice has no effect on the following dialogue. Disappointing.)

Sami: Those look like Green Earth troops. I've heard they have an
independent battalion around. Maybe this is it. They're supposed to be
really tough. Especially the air units.

Max: Outstanding! Bugs, Sami, you both know your stuff! But how did you
get this intel, Andy?

Andy: I ran into 'em once, and...

Sami: Hey, you survived, didn't you? That's pretty impressive, Andy.

Max: Even with Bugs's help, that's good work! Way to go, kid! All right,
let's roll!

Looks like we’re facing Eagle again. Let’s take a look at the map.



The maps are getting larger as the campaign rolls on. We’re in Fog of War yet again, and that’s not a good thing against Eagle. His powerful air units, with their massive movement ranges and ability to ignore terrain, will be able to surprise us whenever they’d like.

My strategy here will be to use B copters and random ground units to bait out Eagle’s air units, keeping our anti-airs and fighter in reserve to hit them once we can see them. Meanwhile, we’ll send our T copters along the north edge of the map to Eagle’s HQ. Our other ground units will mostly be decoys; we’ll try to get some shots in with our missiles if we can, but the missiles’ poor movement and movement type will make it difficult to bring them to bear.

Before we start, though, let’s take a look at our new CO, Sami!



As you can see, Sami was rocking the bra-and-a-big-gun look long before Hideo Kojima took the pants off and made a big deal out of it. It’s really not that out of place in a game this playful, what with Andy’s huge wrenches and Max’s face paint. Sami isn’t even the only CO with a bare midriff, though it’ll be several missions before we see the other one.

As her in-game description explains, Sami is an infantry specialist. Her infantry and mech units have boosted firepower, and her transport units (APCs, T copters, and landers) get one extra movement. In addition, Sami gets a unique bonus: her infantry and mechs capture at 1.5 times their HP, rounded down. This is a crucial difference, as capturing property and gaining a funding advantage is key to any map with properties that can produce units. Sami’s capturing ability doesn’t let full-HP units capture properties any more quickly than the standard two turns, but it does let a full-health unit take up to 6 damage and still finish the capture on the next turn, or an 8-HP unit capture a property in two turns. It’s a big deal.

To compensate for her advantages, Sami’s direct-combat units have decreased attack. This isn’t a death knell, especially because her mechs are beasts, but it does make it tough to use Sami to win quickly, as mechs don’t move well.



Sami’s power is underwhelming. It increases infantry and mechs’ movement by 1 and allows them to ignore terrain, but this is very situational. I’m not the best Sami player, but I rarely find a situation where her power makes a difference. It’s a big contrast from a CO like Grit or Eagle, where a well-timed power use can change the whole battle.

Sami’s weak power would be rectified in the sequel, but we’re not there yet, now, are we?



And here’s Sami’s flavor. She’s a pretty generic perky girl, but hey, Advance Wars isn’t where you go if you’re interested in deep characters.

Now to start the mission. Sami probably would be my last choice here, as there’s really no opportunity for infantry or mechs to make a difference, but she’ll work.



First blood is drawn by one of our anti-airs as it takes out one of the visible B copters. We can’t leave our anti-airs exposed, so we’ll take the next one out with our B copters.



Like so.



We move up our other anti-air to complete our east flank. Even if Eagle has bombers in range, they shouldn’t be able to get both our anti-airs.



We move most of our ground forces up the road, making sure to move our missiles as much as possible. Even so, they’re already lagging behind!



Our T copters take an infantry and a mech and fly north as the other (useless) infantry crosses the river.



Lastly, our fighter takes up a reserve position, ready to strike anything that threatens us. This fighter is key to the mission, as it’s the only reasonably mobile part of our air defense. This mission is easy to lose, and moving the fighter out ahead early is one of the quickest ways to start doing so.



Eagle: The Orange Star Army... Andy's troops. This time, I won't be beaten
by Andy and his ilk. I shall crush them with one stroke!

Eagle’s turn sees a bomber fly up out of nowhere to destroy our mech in the river, along with lots of scary flying noises in the terrain we can’t see, but nothing else visible. While losing a unit is not ideal for our technique score, it’s immaterial as to the outcome of the mission. And Eagle’s made a mistake…



…by putting his bomber in range of our missiles, allowing our typically-useless missiles to get a hit in. Aside: this mission also showcases the AI’s randomness better than most, as the large number of units and the resulting large number of options for the AI makes it rare indeed to see the same strategy be ideal twice. This is, in my opinion, Advance Wars’ strongest selling point and what keeps it a tactical strategy game instead of a puzzle game.



After moving up a couple useless ground units, we send our fighter up to finish the job on the bomber. It has no problems doing so and should still be able to react to any attacks Eagle makes on his next turn.



An anti-air’s advance reveals an enemy tank, which we promptly smash. This serves three purposes: we don’t want our anti-air to be visible to the enemy, which it is as long as it’s adjacent to the enemy; it gets some use out of our ground units; and it lets our Md Tank be bait for any more bombers that want to show their ugly mugs.



We pile the rest of our ground units into formation and a B copter finishes off that tank, plunging our anti-air back into cool forested darkness as far as Eagle’s concerned.



We advance our T copters some and use their cargo to set up a wall and hopefully protect them from fighters. As long as they don’t come under attack, it’s free to drop infantry that are being transported, as they can just hop right back in on the next turn. On to Eagle’s turn.



Yeah, you have fun with that.



Good; this fighter strike is a harmless one. We lose the B copter but that’s much better than losing or T copter or having our fighter get hit.

Oh…dear. In case you don’t recall, Eagle’s CO power allows his non-infantry units to act again, at the cost of reduced attack and defense after the power usage (and continuing throughout the following turn). This could be bad news when we’ve only taken out one of his air units.



Oh nooooooo! Thankfully, Eagle’s decreased attack after his power use only lets him take this T copter down to 1 HP.



And this bomber flies up to our anti-airs, but couldn’t see them and so can’t attack. It would have faced a serious reprisal anyway with its decreased attack and defense, but it’s always better to attack than defend. That’s all Eagle can get out of his power. While it’s usually better to neuter it by taking out all his air units first, this situation is almost as good; we didn’t lose anything and now we get to attack his air units while they’re weak.



First up is one anti-air on Eagle’s fighter. It does solid damage.



Our fighter wipes out that bomber. That bomber knew it was dead once it realized it was parked next to two anti-airs.



Our other anti-air finishes off Eagle’s fighter, and our T copter can breathe easier.



We also take care of the encroaching infantry, because why not? This would have been a nice opportunity to get some use out of Sami’s boosted infantry, but oh well.



We’ve got a problem up north as we advance our T copters: Eagle has a B copter in range of our 1 HP T copter. A B copter moves up to selflessly block it off, and we end our turn.



That maneuver ends up saving us, as yet another fighter comes up from parts unknown to blow away our B copter and Eagle’s B copter finishes off our 1 HP T copter. Still, without the B copter as additional defense, we could easily have lost both T copters, and with them any chance of hitting our speed target for this mission.





Payback time. Both of Eagle’s units are taken care of. This mission is a lot tougher if your anti-airs or fighter get hit; two fighters, three bombers, and four B copters is a lot to take out even if they’re at full strength.



We send our remaining T copter over with a mech, and they find Eagle’s HQ unguarded. Eagle still has a tank hiding near our troops, but we’ll just bottle our forces up behind our Md tank and allow it to smash itself to bits. A couple turns later:



Yeah…uh…why not. What I meant was:



We win!



Eagle: I, Eagle, beaten by Andy, again?

Sami: Who are you calling Andy?

Eagle: Eh?

Sami: I think I'll take offense at your mistake. Do I look like a boy to
you?

Eagle: Who are you?

Sami: The name's Sami. I'm an Orange Star CO.

Eagle: I... I lost to... a girl?

Sami: You're careless. That's why you keep losing! I don't think you're
ready for war. You need to go back to basic training!

Eagle: Excuse me, Orange Star CO... Sami?

Sami: Yes?

Eagle: I would like to apologize for my behavior. It was inappropriate.

Sami: Oh, OK...

Eagle: I vow by my lucky goggles that the next time we meet, I will do
better. Now I will take my leave. Farewell.

Sami: Wait, wait a minute! No one said you could leave. Come... He's gone!
He seems like a pretty decent guy, after all.

This is the beginning of a canonical romance between the two. No, I’m not kidding.

We manage to S-rank the mission with only a small hit to our technique rating! This is about as well as I’ve done on this mission. There are so many ways to lose: if you don’t hide your anti-airs in the forest…if you let your fighter scout ahead…if you lose your T copters... Honestly, I expected this one to take a couple tries, so I’ll take my S-rank and run.



Here’s the map with the fog removed.

Next time, we’ll face a new adversary, and we have all three of our COs at our disposal! Which one will it be, Talking Time?



Continually clueless Andy?



Surprisingly sheepish Max?



Or regretfully resolute Sami?

Here’s the map we’ll be fighting on:



Until next time!

Smash things up with Max!

I think Andy should be our emissary.

Take it to the Max.