Best campaign, European Escalation or Airland Battle?

[FlashField]

It's not much of a secret Red Dragon campaign is woeful, though the game itself is good. I really enjoyed European Escalation.
Is Airland Battle campaign better than European Escalation?
Should I just replay European Escalation...

Thanks for any replies

[VirgoCompany]

I'd say the two campaign systems are a bit too different to really draw out even comparisons.

EE has unit unlocks where you get better stuff the better you play via the unlock stars, has multiple linear campaigns with different mission objectives such as assaulting an area, holding an area for a set amount of time, obtaining a set amount of points before the enemy, moving from point A to point B with enough of your army intact, etc...
It also has different range measurements and unit stats and tools, such as grenades for most infantry units who would have only a rifle, a launcher, and grenades. Command units are also very expensive, and getting points to buy them is very slow. Veteran units are more expensive to get the more veterancy they get.
The campaigns also have little radio broadcast snipits going on while you play via scrolling text, and objectives can be seen in the pause screen for all the optional stuff.
The AI is also fairly challenging enough, having set groups defending positions, prepare for attacks, bombard areas with artillery, send scout units to spot your units, even though the AI sees everything at all times regardless.
Infantry also cannot garrison blocks, instead treating individual buildings as seperate pieces of cover.

AB is where we see the new standard of distance measurements for weapon ranges, infantry lose grenades but get a second ranged weapon via an LMG where applicable, the campaigns are all based on the same risk-style map with access to different divisions/brigades/companies available for different cost values, introduces new strategic powers that affect the broader campaign slightly, as well as introduces planes.
It also brings us a few new nations to play as, as well as national decks limited to not what you can unlock, but based on what nationality is chosen. Command units are 3x cheaper to purchase, making them much more useful and expanding into zones easier, while still being just as important as in EE.
The map is all based in Scandinavia, no matter which campaign you chose you'll be fighting for the same zones multiple times. Now this is fine, but your objectives are more on the strategic level: capture [zone_name] by [turn_number], while battles are all pretty much skirmish matches against an AI of slightly varying quality, or another player if doing a Vs. Campaign. So there's no real objectives other than win by points, by time, or eliminating all active enemy command units for an automatic win, whilst ensuring the enemy doesn't do the same against you.
Infantry can also hide in cities more effectively, controlling blocks instead of just single buildings, and engage in CQC to control said blocks with CQC-compatible weapons, with better-trained units being better at fighting in close-quarters and flamethrowers seeing much more use in these areas.

Overall, both are good for different reasons. One offers a bit more fluff and tactical filling that rewards objective completion with more stars to unlock more things, with this exact thing also having the drawback of affecting multiplayer as well. The other does away with the unlock system, but turns every battle into a skirmish match and does away with mixed-nationality decks that wouldn't be seen again until Red Dragon.