[AW2(2003) Hard Campaign Redo #34] Final Front (300 S-Rank)

Previous Time: 18
Max or Eagle both work in the middle, but Eagle's Bombers have more defense, making them less appealing targets for Sturm's Anti-Air units. On the other hand, Max has stronger tanks and +1 vehicle movement with his COP, which could help with a power turn.

You'll want to keep at least 1 of Sturm's Anti-Air units alive, or he'll be more likely to build one in front of the laser, which will wreck your Bomber. Sami or Sensei both work for the third CO as they both have +1 movement APCs, letting them get to the missile silos by turn 2 so that you can target both the MD and Neo-Tank on Sturm's middle right side(any later and they'll split since MD tanks only have 5 movement). Sami doesn't have insane B-Copters like Sensei though, so it'll be harder to target infantry down to ensure Sturm doesn't make higher cost units in the middle. Your 2nd CO doesn't really matter, so just pick your favorite character of who's left.

The large Black Cannons in this level are slow cannons, meaning they only fire every other turn, assuming they have targets. This allows you to "store" a non-firing turn with them by taking a cannon shot with the 2nd/3rd COs units then retreating out of Black Cannon range, allowing an extra turn to afford a 22000 fund unit to tank the next hit for Eagle's/Max's bomber in the middle.

- Important Note: Cannons prioritize targets from BOTTOM RIGHT TO TOP LEFT when equal fund units are in range, thus your bait Neo-Tanks/Bombers must be to the right, or below the middle Bomber to tank the hit.


The opening up to the first save is a pretty safe/standard movement pattern, and shouldn't be a problem regardless of Sturm's AI movement. He might move his B-Copter or Bomber to the top left.

The only real issue for the 9 turn win is Sturm's Missile unit near the Mini-Cannon + Laser. If the Missile unit doesn't cover the Neo-Tank, you will likely need to tank a Cannon shot from both the 2nd and 3rd COs. You can skip the left side bait if you exploit the cannon properly, but Sturm's T-Copters will move that way if you don't push south, which makes it harder for Eagle/Max to get a power turn in.

If Sturm's Missile unit DOES cover the Neo-Tank, you will need to move your Bomber one more to the right, and only need to bait the right Cannon. The problem here is that the Missile unit might move into range of the Mini-Cannon, and if you delay a turn, Sturm will likely make an Anti-Air unit nearby. You also can't target the Mini-Cannon's left side from this spot, which might be within 2 spaces of Sturm's Missile, depending on AI movement. If the Missile unit has a way to retreat by hiding behind other units(often to the cities at the top), or to the southwest, it MIGHT do so, even if it can target the bomber. I've found it does this more often if you use a missile silo on it and Eagle's COP(for defense), since it's not a one-shot kill, but I'd still save 2 turns before this so you can restart and potentially get better AI movement.

Same protocol as usual for the power turn. Just save up a bunch of low HP units to destroy in a single turn. Depending on how many infantry you destroyed, you might need 4 or 5 unit kills for 100 power on Eagle. Just keep in mind that the AI tends to retreat units that are 2 hp or less, so use luck damage from infantry to whittle them down to 3 units. Occasionally, Sturm will move his bottom right artillery towards the middle, which will help you get a power turn in.



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