I always did penals, but how can you cope with less map presence and high replenishment costs?
Would 3 penals, and 2 cons work well?
ANd with the penals shall i make the AT or keep them on fighting infantry and call in guards?
For SOV I would recommend not going more than 3 Penals for most games since they trade okayish at best in the mid to late game.
The early builds that work for me are (I'm not high ranked though)
- 3 Penals, 1-2 engineers and wait for 1 elite infantry (Guards, Shocks)
- 2 Penals, 1-2 engineers and sniper. Depending on commander choice later elite infantry or another Penal.
- 2 Penals, 2 engineers stall into usually 2 elite infantry (requires some skill to pull off and survive)
Usually one of the Penals is usually upgraded with PTRS when light vehicles arrive unless you get Guards. Mines will other wholes in your anti vehicle defense.
Non Penal builds are often 4xConscripts plus 1-2 support weapon and 1 elite infantry. If you only build 3 Cons you can usually afford one elite infantry more or safely get a second support weapon.
Rule of thumb for all modes: Get ~6 mobile units that are able to cap stuff. Get a second engineer in the late game for repairs.
You see that SOV often relies on their doctrinal infantry. Games without them are possible, but then you have to put pressure on the enemy infantry in some other way, often by artillery. The doctrinal infantry is what allows you to push the Axis players and make them move because they out-compete most Axis infantry at their respective optimum range.
After that SOV often rushes into their T70 which is excellent for the price and timing. If you're on the backfoot, waiting for a SU85 is often the best thing to do in team games.
Kajushas are also great, but I would get 2 other tanks first, usually a T34 and an SU85.
Note that all of these are rule of thumb and some games obviously require you to deviate from that.