How to Use Your Konflikt ’47 United States Starter Army

First off, let’s look at what you’ve got to work with. Twelve Fireflies, a Firefly Officer, two Linebackers, and a Stuart with a Light Tesla Cannon. It’s a compact force, but it hits hard and has fantastic mobility – get in, hit hard, get out are your keys to victory.

Fireflies

These elite jump-troopers are the backbone of your force, and while there aren’t many of them, they pack a serious punch courtesy of their M1X1/2 submachine guns. These potent weapons can shred enemy infantry – even if they’re armoured – and deliver a nasty surprise to any light armour or walkers that get too close with their E-Slug mode.

Their real party trick is Flight, however. This gives them a huge threat range, allowing them to Advance 12”, then shoot up to 12” with their M1Xs, all while moving over any intervening terrain. You can also deploy them directly anywhere the table from Reserve, and this can be a really potent trick if used with one of your last Order Dice out of the bag. Drop in on enemy positions after they’ve activated (meaning they can’t shoot at you on the way down!), blast away, and then look to get them out of harm’s way, either with their Regroup in Hell! Active Rift Enhancement, or with the first Order Die of the next turn.

The big thing to be cautious of with your Fireflies is their limited staying power. With a Damage Value of only 5+, they’re extremely vulnerable to being shot, particularly if your opponent is packing plenty of LMGs or worse, multi-shot weapons with a higher Pen value. If they get caught in the open, they’re liable to wind up dead very quickly indeed, and if they get assaulted by something nasty like Schreckwulfen or Ursus, they’re in for a world of hurt. Again, the key to survival is mobility – keep them moving from cover to cover, staying out of range wherever possible, and only commit to an attack if they’ve got plenty of support, or you’re confident they can kill whatever they’re attacking in one round of shooting.

Your Platoon Commander is also a Firefly, enjoying all the same benefits, in addition to being an Officer and a Hero (and presumably a gentleman too) – we’ll deal with exactly what else he can bring to the table a little bit later, because Heroes are a big part of Konflikt ’47!

Speaking of support…

M2A5 Linebacker Jump Walker

Purpose-built to support the Fireflies, the Linebacker shares their ability to both ignore terrain when moving, and arrive anywhere on the table. The difference is that, instead of dropping a squad of elite troopers into the fight, you’re turning up with a 9+ DV, heavily armed walker! With an M21 Light Tesla Cannon in one fist, and a pair of HMGs (firing 12 shots courtesy of the Arm Mounted rule!) in the other, the ‘stock’ Linebacker is well-equipped to take on enemy infantry and light armour, and if you’re hunting bigger game you’ve got the choice of twin Super Bazookas or twin Light Autocannon to replace the HMGs. Oh, and you can swap the chin-mounted MMGs out for an Infantry Flamethrower if you fancy some home cooking! 

Got all that? Good, because you get not one, but two of these beasts in the Starter Army, giving you plenty of loadout options. One way to maximise their effectiveness is to load one out with the arm-mounted Super Bazookas and Flamethrower to hunt enemy armour, while the other retains the HMGs for cutting down infantry (looking at you, Totenkorps!). Their mobility, like the Fireflies, is their great strength, allowing you to hold them either off the table or behind terrain before deploying them at the optimum moment to deliver a crushing blow.

Remember, you can shoot at up to three different targets (one for each weapon) – the M21 is best used with its Tesla Arc Active Rift Ability against groups of infantry or light vehicles, while the Super Bazookas are pure tank killers – meaning a Linebacker can drop into the midst of the enemy, lay about itself, and hopefully kill everything around it before getting away on its next activation. All the same philosophies that apply to using the Fireflies apply to the Linebacker – in fact, it’s best to think of them as just really, really big Fireflies and use them accordingly. If the Fireflies can’t get the job done – send in the Linebackers!

M5A2(T) Stuart Light Tank

The Tesla Stuart is a fantastic little ‘nuisance’ unit, and actually surprisingly survivable for such a small tank. If given both Recce and Reinforced Front Armour it stands a good chance of being able to either dodge or shrug off incoming fire, although beware – that 8+ base DV needs to be looked after on the battlefields of Konflikt ‘47, where mid-to-high Pen values abound.

Think of the Tesla Stuart a bit like a little yappy dog. Sure, it’s small and annoying, but the real danger lies when it decides to bite! If your Fireflies and Linebackers can keep your opponent’s forces busy, the Stuart can work its way unobtrusively around the board, maybe taking a shot here or there. Then, when it’s in range, it can make a bold dash to its final target – a big enemy vehicle, commander, or important unit. If you can get its Rift Die to Surging, suddenly that Tesla Arc ability can produce either a whole bunch of hits, or one really big whack against a vehicle – preferably in the side or rear armour. Suddenly that little dog has taken a big chunk out of your enemy!

The US Starter Army is all about mobility, and the Stuart T is no exception. While it can’t fly over terrain or jump in from above, Recce is a seriously useful rule for keeping it alive, presenting a frustrating target for your opponent to pin down, and if they’re shooting at the Stuart, then they aren’t targeting your Linebackers or Fireflies.

Army Special Rules

The starter force is tailor-made to take advantage of the entire range of American Konflikt ’47 army special rules, which means your units can be even more effective than their already impressive statlines suggest! Let’s look at how you can get the best out of them:

The Arsenal of Democracy:

This one is nice and simple in its benefits – a re-roll to hit with one of your shots (per weapon type!) when you’re firing multi-shot weapons! If you’re using the Tesla Arc ability, then the only non-multi-shot weapons in the entire force are the Super Bazookas, which means you’ve always got just a little bit more of a chance to get a hit when you need one.

Death From Above:

Your Linebackers and Fireflies get to ignore the negative test modifier to come on from Reserve using Flight/Jump. What’s not to love? This gives you more confidence that your killing blow will actually turn up when you need it!

Tough As Nails:

Guts is a seriously powerful Hero stat to have – and your Platoon Commander gets a point for free! For the kind of force the Starter Army gives you, the best use is almost always going to be to return a unit’s Order Die to the bag after it’s activated, allowing it to get another go! Didn’t finish off that Totenkorps squad with your Fireflies? Put ‘em back in the bag, and try again, soldier! Need to get out of Dodge after taking a risky shot? Spend a point of Guts, and nip back behind a solid-looking hill!

Remember that the unit needs to be within 6” of your Platoon Commander to pull this off – luckily, he’s a Firefly, so he can keep up with the troops. You can also buy him a point of Luck, or another point of Guts, and it’s definitely worth doing as it transforms the impact one man can have on the battlefield. Konflikt ‘47 is a game of heroes (amongst other rather darker things), so make your commanders as heroic as you can!

Tesla’s Gift:

This really is a gift for your Linebackers and Stuart, giving you a much better chance of their Rift Dice coming up Active or Surging – perfect for keeping the Tesla Arcs arc-ing, which is when they really come into their own on the battlefield.