Recce ability

[Master Chief]

How many times can a vehicle with the Recce ability use it per turn? We think it is only once, after which it is marked with a Down order dice as required by the rule.

[Stuart Harrison]

Only once – it requires you not to already have an order and gaining a Down orders is one of the consequences of using it.

First Edition initially had a problem with being able to recce any time, this was fixed in one of the early Errata published.

[Master Chief]

Thanks for the clarification and history (I started playing with 2nd Edition). It does tone down the recce ability, but otherwise I think it will be impossible to hit one.

I am testing this strategy to hunt down pesky recce vehicles. For example, we get an otder dice, give it to a 1st lieutenant using the “You men, Snap to Action” ability to get 2 more order dice. Give one each to a pair of tanks within 6 inches (or an artillery and a tank) and order them to target the recce vehicle. The first tank’s (or artillery’s) shot will trigger the recce vehicle to “run” (provided it has no Orders yet) and become Down.

The 2nd tank can then Advance and fire, i.e. move so that hopefully the recce vehicle is not out of sight. The 2nd tank will stand a better chance to get a hit, compared to the first tank (or artillery).

The reverse i.e. tank shoots first followed by artillery should work too, provided the artillery has a spotter that can still see the recce vehicle after the latter’s escape attempt.

[Master Chief]

It just came to me that perhaps another way to tone down the recce ability could have been to require a regular recce vehicle to roll D6 4+ (50% chance) to trigger the ability. Inexperienced recce vehicles will require 5+ (33% chance), while veteran recce vehicles 3+ (66% chance). This allows a recce vehicle to activate its recce ability multiple times in a turn, but with a chance of failure. Perhaps I will try it out as a house rule.

[Charles Sherrange]

Reece is fine as is. Their die comes out.

[ChicagoDice]

“Reece is fine as is. Their die comes out.”

Agreed. Recce was brought in line with Second Edition and I have no issues with the current rule. By targeting a recce vehicle that has not yet activated you force your opponent to choose – a) Make an escape move and then pull a die and be marked as Down (can no longer activate) or b) Risk taking a hit but still being able to activate later in the turn.

It’s a good balance.

[Author]

Posts