How about IS-2 supported by ZiS? I use this combination all the time.
That is a good combo OZ but of course we don't want to pigeon players into going the same commanders over and over just to get that tank they need to stomp heavies. The core units should already be okay. IMO commanders should add flavor and supplement your current army and not be "oh fuck I absolutely NEED this commander in order to win" type of thing
It might be like that for the OStheer as well, but I am not sure. Seems like people are saying that the only viable Ostheer strategy is just Grens-> PZ4 maybe-> Tiger Tank. That is just boring gameplay. Every other "cool" commander is thrown out because the only way players can compete with each other late game is with heavy tanks (at least that is what it seems like).
How does this relate back to the ISU? OKW have JGDTIGER and KT (nondoc lol), Ost have Tiger Tank, and USSR has ISU and IS2. I can only say this from a Soviet perspective since that is all have played so far. ISU and IS2 are needed to counter the heavies (same could be said from German perspective). EVery player needs to prepare for the late game because there is no sure chance that the game will be over at 20 minutes. These heavy call-ins are ONLY available in some commanders, making it almost a necessity to select them.
At least the Germans have a nice panther tank ( everyone says it needs fixing so that is okay), but at least the Panther is nondoc. Nerf the ISU, it is my favorite unit, but if it is OP, go ahead. I don't think nerfing the ISU will solve much of the "real" issue of heavy tanks being tied to commanders. Nerf the ISU, but please solve the structural issues of the game.
I think this will make gameplay so much better in COH2
1. Nerf ISU (but not sure what to do after that, maybe keep it in a commander?)
2. Move IS2, Tiger to nondoc unit selection (adjust balance accordingly)
3. Make t34/85 an upgrade
4. Move KT to commander so it becomes something like COH1)
5. Perhaps give OKW the Tiger tank, so they rely on Tigers and Panthers as their main armor
This is all wishful thinking of course but I think this could really open up diverse new strategies and make other commanders more worthwhile