Pact deck guide

As a result of my 'Pact units guide' I made the 'Pact deck guide' which will show you units I think are needed and what is the best deck set-up for an average 1500 points game. These units aren't necessarily the best because I don't like the spammy battles, if you do, this guide probably won't be very interesting for you.

Logistics

For the logistical tab the first thing I'd recommend, is losing the FOB. You'll get one FOB at the start of the game anyway and often that will be enough. If not then your supply vehicles should still be enough to last quite long. Also an important thing to remember is to never use the starting command vehicle, it's simply too fragile for its importance.

BRDM-2U - Command Armor. This will be your main CV. It's armored so it won't die from random arty fire and mortars won't be a problem. It's also quite fast and can flee if necessary, but some APC and helicopters will catch up with him and take him out anyway.
BRM-1K - Command Armor. I rarely use this unit, but it's good to have an extra CV when your first one is depleted. Also note that it's armed with an anti-infantry gun and its optics are exceptional which means any threat will be spotted from far away, granting your CV the chance to flee if it needs to.
Kolos - Armored Supply Truck. With a great speed of 80km/h and 1250L of supplies, the Kolos is the unit you will use when you quickly need to resupply your AA systems or ATGM units. It's armed with an 7.62mm machine gun which can scare off light helicopters like the Canon flying over.
Mi-26 Halo - Supply Helicopter. The fact that this unit can carry half an FOB can come to very good use when your army has taken a significant beating and they need a lot of supplies. Also it's a useful unit if you want to lose the FOB from your deck.

Possible units to remove:
BRM-1K When playing on a map with only a few command zones
Mi-26 Halo When using the FOB or small sized divisions

Possible units to add:
T813 When using many supplies and no FOB
FOB When spamming arti or planning on a long game

Recon

Reconnaissance is possibly the most important category of Wargame. Rolling down a road with max veterancy T-80Us can work, you'll just need recon, and probably some AA too. However if you don't have recon your units will die without getting a fair chance, because perhaps your units have superior armanent, but if they don't see what's shooting them, then they can't do much with their superior armanent. The Pact has the benefit of having the only ground recon with exceptional optics, something that should be exploited. In the recon category I'd advise having three different recon vehicles at the least; a sneaky one, a reliable ground recon and an aerial recon.

BRM-1 - Armored Recon. Being the only ground recon with exceptional optics, the BRM-1 is a very useful unit to protect high value units from ambushes. When rolling down towards the enemy's lines with T-64As it won't be essential, those units won't throw you out of the game if they die. However if a T-80 dies, it's a serious problem. When using high value units and advancing I'd recommend using the BRM-1 to drive in front to check for enemy ambushes.
Mi-9 Hip - Recon Helicopter. While the Pact has the best optics on ground level, they only have two different aerial recons. The Mi-9 costs 85 points, quite expensive, but it has exceptional optics and is faster than the Mi-2, the only other recon helicopter. A big downside is its size, because it's big it's chance of getting hit is larger than that of the Mi-2. However this comes with it's own upside too, it's HP is 10, while the Mi-2 only has 5. This means the Mi-2 can be one-shot-killed, while the Mi-9 can not.
PT-76B - Armored Recon. For the role of sneaky recon vehicle I chose the PT-76B. With a small size it won't be noticed very fast and its tracks allow it to go around the enemy's lines through heavy terrain. Its variants, the PT-85 and PT-90 can be used to support medium value armor divisions.

Possible units to remove:
Mi-9 Hip When the aerial recon needs to be used more as an expendable unit.
BRM-1 When using a high vehicle is to big of a risk, the PT-90 can take over its role if necessary.

Possible units to add:
SPW-40B When a more expendable and faster recon is needed to keep an eye out on your flanks.
Mi-2 Hoplite When the Mi-9 feels too expensive.
UAZ-469 When good optics are preferred over protection.

Tanks

Armor is the main category that will push trough enemy lines. Many Pact tanks are armed with ATGMs and are a big threat to NATO armor because of their range.
However also in the Pact armory there are rubbish tanks, but also very good ones. The 'Tank' category gives a lot of flexibility and you can choose any style you want. It is important to have at least one versatile tank though.

BMP-685 - Cavalry Tank Prototype. This unit can effectively be used to completely overrun enemy positions. It's armed with an accurate main gun and is quite fast too. The way I'd recommend to use this tank is to rush toward any good cover on the enemy's flanks if possible and bring the BMPs to a halt and allow them to take good shots at the enemy with their accurate gun. Their AP power isn't very high so I'd recommend splitting them into two groups and get on both flanks of the enemy. This will force the enemy to show at least one group a sweetspot.
T-62 - Main Battle Tank. The T-62 on its own would be a simple spam tank, however later variant can prove quite useful. The T-62 obr 1975 can be used as a quick response to an attack on one of your sectors. The latest versions are a huge threat to enemy armor advancing on them in the open. Their ATGM will take them out before they'll get a fair chance. The T-62 is worth having on your deck because it grants so many variants.
T-64A - Main Battle Tank. The T-64A is often forgotten about but it's very reliable with acceptable accuracy and a high rate of fire, this is my favorite tank to use, simply because it's decent at everything. Also it grants good upgrades like the T-64BV which has top tier armor and a good main gun. The best unit for its price for a head on attack on your position.
T-72 - Main Battle Tank. The iconic T-72, a great tank for overrunning an enemy position and it works great in combination with the BMP 685. The T-72s taking the beating and getting up close, with the BMPs flanking for good shots from longer ranges.
Its upgrade the T-72B shouldn't be treated in the same way as it's far too expensive, that variant is more like a support version of the attack.
T-80 - Main Battle Tank. T-80s are great for doing some serious work on enemy armor, their weaponry is a great way to take out mulitple medium-heavy tanks. Also up close they are able take out Leopards and Abrams because of their higher rate of fire, AP power and calibre.

Possible units to remove:
BMP 685 When the player likes to play defensively.
T-62 When the player doesn't like using lower tier tanks or really wants to add another unit.

Possible units to add:
TO-55 When playing against an infantry-heavy opponent or in a short-range map.

Infantry

Infantry can carry out various tasks, there are recon, ATGM, LAAD and rifle squads. An extra group is the Special Forces but those are almost all divided in the other tasks.
In my opinion not all sorts of infantry are necessary, it depends on your on playing style and whether your nation has good infantry, for example, the NATO LAAD teams aren't very good, so perhaps it's better not to use them. The Pact however has very good infantry, for each category.

4 VPZU - Special Forces. With an accuracy of 9, HE power of 3 and a 7.62mm calibre, the 4 VPZU will be able to take on most if not all NATO infantry. They have 'very good' optics as well. But that's not all, they even get a decent AT launcher. This unit should be used with care though, it's very expensive for an infantry unit. I'd recommend using it with the Mi-17 to increase it's protection and to receive some extra fire support.
PTUR Konkurs - ATGM team. While having decent accuracy this ATGM team isn't very good but with some veterancy they will be able to take heavy armored targets, placing two units in two different places will result in the same effect as with the BMP 685, forcing the enemy to show one weak side.
PZRK Igla - LAAD team. With an accuracy of 9 and an HE of 5 on their launcher this relatively cheap unit will be a huge threat and can serve to ambush recon helicopters in a forest ahead of your main force. I'd recommend bringing these in with the Mi-17 to be able to quickly deploy then and in combination with the 4 VPZU control a village or building and denying it for both helicopters and armor. The [u[Mi-17[/u] should protect them from an infantry spam.
VDV - Rifle Squad. Even though it says 'Rifle Squad' the VDV actually is the Russian Airborne unit, that's why you can only get them in either the Mi-24 or Mi-8T series and not in any ground transports. Their weaponry isn't very interesting except for their AT launcher which has an accuracy of 10 and AP power of 12. only the heaviest tanks will survive the first shot. I'd recommend sending this unit with an Mi-24P to take out any hostile helicopters and armor. The VDV is a great combination with the 4 VPZU and PZRK Igla, which you'd send in Mi-17s, which can't protect themselves against a quick Canon rush. The Mi-24 can hold them off while you unload your PZRK Igla to shoot them down. This will also save you a spot for the Mi-24 in the helicopter category, but this will mean you'll have to take the VDV with the Mi-24 if you want to use the [/u]Mi-24[/u]. Still an efficient way to get two units.
Vysadkari - Rifle Squad. The Vysadkari is a cheaper version of the VDV and can be used more as an expendable unit. With the OT-64s they can reach any location quickly, I'd recommend using them with the 2A version because of its heavy machine gun capable of taking down any helicopters flying over. A good way to use these infantry is to send in the combination of the VDV etc. and quickly send the Vysadkari to support them if there is any enemy opposition in the village you'd like to take. They can also be used to push through a forest.

Possible units to remove:
VDV When the player doesn't use villages as chokepoints.
Vysadkari When the player doesn't use villages as chokepoints or wants to use cheaper infantry.

Possible units to add:
FJB-40 When the player rather uses one unit for the task of both the 4 VPZU and PZRK Strela-3. This will save one slot but will suffer from efficiency.
Motostrelci When the player prefers cheaper infantry that has worse anti-infantry capabilities and less men. Can replace the Vysadkari, advised to use with the OT-62 TOPAS-2A.
Spetsnaz When the player rather uses heavy anti-infantry units or has an infantry-heavy opponent. Advised to use with the Mi-24D Hind to support it in its anti-infantry role.

Support

The support category consists of the units that really support your main force in its advance towards the enemy. The two important categories are AA systems and artillery. I never/rarely use more than one slot for artillery. Artillery often does pretty much the same while AA systems are very different from each other. That's why they often get 2/3 slots in my deck.

2K12 Kub - SAM. The 2K12 itself isn't very good. Its upgrade the 9K37 Buk-M1 is the reason you're taking it. It has the biggest possible range and the highest accuracy and HE power. It will one-shot any chopper it hits. If they fly close together it often happens it will get 2 kills with 1 missile. To make the best use of the 9K37 it needs to be placed in the open, a hedgerow is the best. It will allow it to use that range and still provide some cover. A dense hedgerow means it won't be seen by any recon helicopter before they are in range, granting either a kill or 'invisibilty'.
2K22 Tunguska - AAA. This Anti-Aircraft Artillery is the most versatile one in the game. Armed with both a twin autocannon and SAMs. Its autocannon is good, but the missiles aren't, unless you take the upgrade. The problem with the first version is the HE power of 4. Which means it will always need to missiles. The upgrade has an HE power of 5, significantly more range and even better accuracy, all that for only 10 points more. The reason you need this unit is because it will deny any air support for your opponent to take out your main force, yet is has enough armor unlike the 9K37 to be protected from artillery and enough speed to keep up with your main force.
2S7 Pion - Self-Propelled Artillery. The Pion was buffed in the last patch and has an accuracy of 11, and an HE power of 7. While it is expensive, the Pion should be used more like an assault gun, close to the front with accurate fire. Because of the high HE power and accuracy the Pion will destroy anything within its firing position in 1 volley. However, the [/u]Malka[/u] is a lot better, for only 10 points, ammo capacity, accuracy and rate of fire are all increased significantly. The price was slightly increased though, 90 points.
M53/59 Praga - AAA. The M53/59 is a cheap, fast AA system perfect for protecting units in forest from a Canon flying over, for example your CV. But it gets better. The second upgrade, the STROP 2 is actually another great AAA. Just like the 2K22 it's armed with both a twin autocannon and SAMs. The only reason the 2K22 is better is because of its range an protection. It can happen that the STROP 2 gets stunned before it can take out a chopper, especially when the enemy has 2 AH-1Ss firing rocket pods at it. Nonetheless it's a great unit for a quick AA system. And only 50 points. If you aren't sure your position is safe, you can always take two, not in a squad but two separate ones, one covering the other from being stunned.

Possible units to remove:
M53/59 Praga When the player intends on using heavy AA systems everywhere.
2S7 Pion When the player refuses to use artillery or wishes to use another one.

Possible units to add:
2S3 Akatsiya When the player rather uses more artillery than good artillery or wishes to fire from it's FOB, because of little mobility.
DANA When the plater wants to use artillery capable of fleeing from enemies.
TOS-1 Buratino When the enemy uses many soft targets and digs in. Same for the other MLRSs.

Vehicles

The vehicle category is very optional, it all depends on your own style and if there are any units in the category you think could be of good use. For almost all playing styles, from offensive to defensive, and from rushing to slow-paced, you'll find some vehicles that can help out a lot.
Unlike any other category the vehicle category isn't an actual must because it actually is a group of vehicles that just didn't have a category on their own.

BMP-2 - IFV. This battle proven Infantry Fighting Vehicle is armed with a decent ATGM but a substandard autocannon. On the upside, it's cheap and quite fast and grants three upgrades. All the BMP-2s are good to use in larger numbers to support a big push as they can fight off all kinds of enemies. The BMP-3 on the other hand is state of the art IFV material. The SALH(Semi-Active Laser Homing) ATGM is more accurate than the SACLOS(Semi-Active Command Line-Of-Sight) system used by almost all other ATGMs except for the T-62Ms, T-72B, T-80BV and T-80U. It's armed with an anti-infantry gun and another autocannon aswell, which is very destructive. This unit is great if you don't know what to expect from the enemy when engaging a strongpoint.
BTR-70 Zhalo - Tank Destroyer Prototype. Just like many WWII tank destroyers, the BTR-70 is lightly armored, fast and relatively decent armed. This unit is cheap enough to be bought in rather large numbers and even with high veterancy. It can serve as cannon fodder while still being able of doing something on its own. A good unit to call in when attempting to overwhelm the enemy.
MT-LB Shturm-S - Tank Destroyer. This low-profile, highly accurate, high AP, long-range tank destroyer is the unit to call in when facing heavy armor. They fire the same missile as the Mi-24P.V and VP. They carry 12 of them so they won't run out of ammo quickly. Using the two-flank technique will result in an easy kill for your tank destroyers. These units are so useful I'd really advise taking them.

Possible units to remove:
BTR-70 Zhalo When the player refuses to use spammable units.

Possible units to add:
UAZ-469 SPG-9 When the player likes to use low-profile anti-tank vehicles.

Helicopters

Helicopters have to tasks, quick transport and annihilation of enemy forces. The latter is the one you'll select here. With infantry already coming with their transports it isn't required to select another transport helicopter. The Mi-17 Hip however, is such a good unit you could add it if you have all your infantry coming in ground transports.

Mi-28 Havoc - Gunship. The Havoc. Possibly the only unit able of tearing apart entire tank divisions, with a huge capacity of 16 Ataka V ATGMs and 20 very-destructive 122mm rockets, the Havoc should be used for the anti-armor role. The main problem is AA of course. If you want to be sure you won't lose it to hostile AA you'll have to use it as a defensive unit, any AA systems rolling in will be spotted and you can safely retreat your gunship. People can disagree with me on this, but the Mi-28 Havoc is better than the AH-64 Apache simply because the Apache wastes missiles, firing the second missile before the first one has either missed or hit. And it only has 8. The Havoc is lucky that it can't fire its second missile before the first made its impact, because of the SACLOS system which forces it to track the target untill impact.

Possible units to remove:
-

Possible units to add:
Mi-17 Hip When the player likes the Mi-17 as a combat unit and not as a transport.
Mi-24 Hind When the player hasn't selected the Mi-24 in the infantry category as transport.

The Deck

Just a quick summary of all the units:

LOGISTICS

• BRDM-2U
  
• BRM-1K
  
• Kolos
  
• Mi-26 Halo

RECON

• BRM-1
  
• Mi-9 Hip
  
• PT-76B
  • PT-71
  • PT-85
  • PT-90

TANKS

• BMP 685
  
• T-62
  • T-62 obr 1972
  • T-62 obr 1975
  • T-62M
  • T-62M-1
  • T-62M-V
• T-64A
  • T-64B
  • T-64BM
  • T-64BV
• T-72
  • T-72A
  • T-72B
• T-80
  • T-80B
  • T-80A
  • T-80BV
  • T-80U

INFANTRY

• 4 VPZU +
  • Mi-8T Hip
  • Mi-8TV Hip
  • Mi-8TVK Hip
  • Mi-17 Hip
• PTUR Konkurs +
  • BTR-60PAI
  • BTR-60PB
  • BTR-70
  • BTR-70A
• PZRK Igla +
  • Mi-8T Hip
  • Mi-8TV Hip
  • Mi-8TVK Hip
  • Mi-17 Hip
• VDV +
  • Mi-24A Hind
  • Mi-24D Hind
  • Mi-24P Hind
  • Mi-24V Hind
  • Mi-24VP Hind
• Vysadkari +
  • OT-64 SKOT-1
  • OT-64 SKOT-2
  • OT-64 SKOT-2A
  • OT-64 SKOT-2AM

SUPPORT

• 2K12 Kub
  • 9K37 Buk
  • 9K37 Buk-M1
• 2K22 Tunguska
  • 2K22M Tunguska
• 2S7 Pion
  • 2S7M Malka
• M53/59 Praga
  • STROP 1
  • STROP 2

VEHICLES

• BMP-2
  • BMP-2D
  • BMP-2 obr 1986
  • BMP-3
• BTR-70 Zhalo
  
• MT-LB Shturm-S

HELICOPTERS

• Mi-28 Havoc
  

[Carl von Clausewitz]

I'd ditch the tube arty for the smerch. If you gotta have one piece of artillary it should be the smerch.

[Teewan]

I find there to be no situation where I'd like to use 4 VPZU, VDV or Igla in a dangerous area, the BUK will take care of any threat close to the front and the advantage of an Igla in a chopper is the ability to quickly seize a village, VDV can only be deployed in helicopters and saves a spot for the Mi-24, the 4 VPZU is too expensive to use in a regular (unsafe) transport.

Just my opinion, I think.

[Drang]

The problem is that most of your infantry is undeployable if your enemy has forward air defense.

[Teewan]

Calling it a newbie deck is poor reasoning, tube arty got significantly buffed, especially the Malka.

I often find both the Mi-17 very useful, mostly when the enemy is spamming infantry, and in combination with the other airmobile units it allows you to quickly take a position before an infantry spamming enemy does.

I'm fine with you noting certain things, not with mocking. Be sure to keep your comments respectful.

[Drang]

Unsure why the newbie deck focuses on the micro-heavy tube arty rather than the less-intensive rockets.

In addition: Airmobile MAANPADS? Wat? Winner of the "Most pointlessly expensive transport for a unit that requires no special mobility".

[Teewan]

Note; The only adjustment made due to the patch was the replacement of the DANA for the 2S7 Pion, or rather the 2S7M Malka

[Drang]

Also: The HAVOC costs almost as much as two Mi-24Ps (which have 2x the survivability and deliver twice the firepower in a short space of time). The T-55 is good as, being cheap, it can be used to support infantry in clearing forests and defending less-valuable points against reconissance and vehicle attacks, or in digging out enemy ATGMs. The T-55 AMV gives excellent-price tank and vehicle-busting capabilities with the BASTION ATGM. The SMERCH gives point and saturation fire (allowing you to actually KILL rather than merely stun with it).

[Drang]

How about we just settle this like gentlemen, with a couple of fun Wargame matches.

[Teewan]

The Havoc is cheaper and has more ATGMs on him, and I'd never suggest using a Havoc/Hind-P in a situation where it could get shot out of the sky, their both to costly. The transport capabillity is a good thing though not used very fast and if you do, I've already advised taking them in the infantry tab anyway, so then their transport capabillity would be used. the T-55 is armed with a decent ATGM, but I find it too fragile to be effective, also any other T-55 than the last variant will often need to be spammed to take out one squad of vehicles. The T-72 is an occasional but useful tank, it's cheaper than the T-64A and at close range has almost the same effect even though its RoF is lower. It's a unit that can easily be used more recklessly and ambush-like. Also when vetted it's (nearly) the same price as the T-64A and won't flee as fast and get an accuracy, reload and morale bonus putting it more in line with the T-64A with better morale, which is useful when under fire.

[Teewan]

Tube artillery can be used more as a versatile support system than the rocket one, and as an enemy is often static in a forest with a good volley either the enemy needs to abandon the forest, which is good, or leave its units there to die, which is even better. Either way it ends good. In the situation where the enemy is pushing you, tube artillery, unlike rocket artillery makes an area unsafe for a longer period, firing in front of the enemy forces will force him to come to a halt, this will allow your forces to take the enemy out while he's in the open. The TOS-1 is not in my deck, it's merely a suggestion for those occasions where it is useful, which is more often than you say.

-Teewan