I come to you now with tidings of good hope and joy!
soviets THREAD THEME sovietsOur long dark nightmare is finally over. Penals no longer suck. Since the March 9th update I have played over
This strategy works in 2v2 very well but not in a 1v1. It does best vs OKW troops. Since I have employed this strat I have enjoyed a upward climb of about 400 points according to my player card and a 65% win rate since the hotfix.
It has been said that this strat will not work once you enter the top 500. I cannot speak to this as I am not there yet, though I am experiencing a meteoric rise and should be there soon.
But... why?
Penal Battalions are better than Conscripts at AI in every way. Conscripts deal very slightly more damage per shot, but Penal Battalions fire faster, reload faster, and reload less often than Conscripts. They offer near twice the DPS of conscripts without even considering the flamethrower.
Replays
All I had to do was ask for smoke and ping once. It sealed the game.
This one was a pretty standard match these days for me and my brit partner.
The joy of being anti blob vs OKW on a tight map.
SOOOOO rewarding vs OKW.
Bulletins
Torched
Penal Battalion rifles are 3% more accurate
(a must for the early game)
Hot Potato
Penal Battalion's Satchel Charge can be thrown 6% further
(It doesn't seem like much, and in fact it isn't, but it can be enough to guarantee you wont lose the squad either to FF or concentrated fire.)
Infantry Production II
Penal Battalions build 10% faster, Shock Troops and Guard dispatch abilities recharge 10% faster
(Not entirely necessary, but useful to catch up from the time lost building Special Rifle Command and waiting for the additional MP)
Commanders
Guard Motor Coordination Tactics
Guards, 120mm Mortar, T-34/85, Mark Target, Crew Repair
(This is the workhorse, it has everything you need.)
Soviet Combined Arms Tactics
Guards, 152mm Howitzer, Recon Overflight, AT gun Ambush Camo, Precision Bombing Run
(I haven't played with this one as much, but it feels strong vs OKW, however you will need to back tech to T1 in order to take advantage of the AT ambush.)
Partisan Tactics
soviets(Current Favorite)Radio Intercept, Partisan Troops, Partisan Tank Hunters, Spy Network, Mark Vehicle
(Good for gaining a very early advantage if you see an opening for a HMG capture. Build katyusha to make lots of craters for your partisans to advance through camouflaged.)
Build Order
Penal
Penal
Penal
(1st Flamethrower)
Guard or Tank Hunter
Muni Cache (optional)
(2nd Flamethrower)
120mm Mortar (if Guard Motor)
Guard or Tank Hunter
(DP-28 or 3rd Flamethrower)
AT Nade (if Partisan)
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By the time this build order is complete you shouldn't be too far away from deciding if you need to rush a T-34. I would personally advise against stopping off in T3 with a SU-76 or T-70 as this will just slow you down. Build more Guards or Tank hunters if you fear the enemy light or medium armor rushing you. Feel free to have one con squad around for merging into stolen guns and snaring armor. I would advise against merging with Penals as they will bring their Nuggets with them and not the delicious SVT Laser Rifles.
Only God and Cruzz know how the veterancy would apply to merged cons into their new units.
Build Pros and Cons
Pros:
Great anti infantry.
Great anti garrison.
Decent anti tank if you can make to your T-34 or can manage your guards/AT partisans well.
OKW buildings stand NO chance.
Flexible enough to react to most threats.
Cons:
G43 equipped units can be troublesome. A real long range threat.
Vulnerable to rushed Flakpanzer.
Guards are still pinatas. They will drop their PTRS if asked politely some games. Keep them at a distance.
Losing a Penal early will cost you dearly if you don't replace it quickly. You need them at vet 2-3 ASAP.
Some things to consider before trying this out for yourself.
Relic Entertainment
cblanco ★ 
