Forward Airstrip

War at Sea

Allied Nations

Axis Nations

Neutral Nations/Installations

Sets

War At Sea
Task Force
Flank Speed
New Starter
Condition Zebra
Set V (Fleet Command)
Surface action
First Strike (Forumini Expansion Deck A)
Infamy (Forumini Expansion Deck B)
Battle Line (Forumini Expansion Deck C)
All Hands on Deck (Forumini D)
Action Stations (Forumini E)
Dead Reckoning (Forumini F)

Unit Card:

Set - Rarity - Number

First Strike - N/A - 72/72

History:

Reviews:

Vergilius Powergaming Evaluation:
Forward Air Strip: This is perhaps one of the most significant inclusions in the TP deck. Any nation can use it because it is a neutral unit. The strengths are fairly straight-forward, any non-Patrol Bomber can case here and fly every turn as if a carrier. It packs no expert abilities. What you do have to watch out for is that like a carrier it is vulnerable on the map. 12 vital may suffer a battleship vital, and certainly 3 armor-3hull can be killed easily with even the weakest dive bombers, cruisers, or even destroyers. If the islands are close to the center of the map, you may be in trouble. Low end carriers have always been a huge liability due to the ease with which they are removed, and the Forward Airstrip is no different in that respect. This unit will see a lot of use in almost all competitive gaming, and will offer more opportunities for scenario gamers who want to construct around it. At 9 points, you don't just want to pluck a cheap fighter upon it. You want to look very carefully at your land-base situation and carrier situation before deciding to bring the airstrip. Extending your bombing capacity by putting an expensive bomber here may be advisable, or perhaps a high end expensive fighter. Cheap fighters can go here when your land-base is full. For example, I could see Germany, France or Italy after this set fielding just enough air to justify the air strip for one of their fighters. Every nation is likely to use the airstrip just slightly differently, and different archetypes may decide it is better or worse to use it:

1. Air archetypes: These are some of the prime candidates for using the air strip. You've already brought the air, which means you've probably got some units at the land-base. You may need some extra Cap for that bomber or high end fighter, and might have the right air units to reasonably use the airstrip.

2. Sub fleets: This is a good candidate for the airstrip because they usually have at least some air in the fleet and make judicious use of the landbase. Supplementing with the airstrip can bring more fighters over your ships and subs.

3. Ship swarm archetypes: Much depends here on whether you've bothered with air at all. Plenty of people do not. Placement difficulties abound unless you bring a lot of air. You're probably better of bringing cheap fighters at the land-base and skipping the airstrip altogether.

4. Battleship fleets: These fleets are decent candidates for use of the airstrip, but really depend upon how you plan on building around the battleships. I sometimes have a bit of air so that I get a bit better placement on the defensive fighters. The airstrip could be useful here. Air can also be useful in eliminating swarm units before they overwhelm your battleships, and the airstrip can support that strategy. If you're going more of a battleship-swarm hybrid, then the land-base is probably the best place for defensive fighters.