DVG - Valiant Defense: Guadalcanal

USMC Counter Actions
over 1 year ago – Sun, Aug 18, 2024 at 06:55:09 PM

The menu of Actions available to the player during the USMC Counter Phase will be very recognizable to Valiant Defense veterans, with just a few new options. Attack was covered in the last Update, so I will highlight the remaining Actions that can be selected in a turn. 

Reload

If, when making an attack, the player rolls a natural '1', that counter is Out of Ammo. The Reload action removes the Out of Ammo Token and thereafter that counter can use the Attack action as normal. This also requires discarding a Supply Token.

Suppress

Suppress can be selected by Weapon Team counters (to be covered in a future Update) that share a Combat Position with a Weapon counter (37mm AT gun, M1919 MG, 60mm and 81mm Mortar). This action generates Suppression Tokens that can be used to destroy an IJA counter when it first enters play. 

From the rulebook:

Recover

At different times in the game a USMC counter may become Exhausted or Disrupted. When Exhausted, the counter cannot take any other Action except Recover. When Disrupted, the counter is close to being destroyed (2 Disrupted Tokens = Destroyed). The Recover action allows the counter to flip back from being Exhausted to combat ready or it removes an attached Disrupted Token.

Command

This action can only be used by an Officer. It gives up to three USMC counters a free Recover action. It cannot target another Officer counter and each counter can still only take one action per turn, so a counter that is Exhausted with a Disrupted Token attached would need to remove the Disrupted Token in one turn and flip from being Exhausted in a future turn.

From the rulebook: 

Request Reinforcements

To use this action both the Combat Sector and Division Intelligence (located on Henderson Field) must have a Comms Token in place. This grants the player 2 Deployment Points to spend on additional USMC counters or Weapon counters.

Barrage

This action can only be taken by the Forward Observer counter. Remove one or two Artillery Tokens from the 11th Marine Regiment on Henderson Field (these are generated in the USMC Card Phase). A single Artillery Token grants five Barrage dice, while two Artillery Tokens grant nine Barrage dice. Yes, two single Barrage Tokens grant ten Barrage dice, but this requires two Actions, and that the Forward Observer Recover in between. 

Barrage dice are assigned to any Attack Position the Forward Observer has Line of Sight to, except the front-line Attack Positions (because they are too close to the USMC line, endangering the Marines). Resolve the attack roll as normal: d6 and compare the result to the Defense Value of the target. If equal to or greater, that target IJA counter is Destroyed. 

From the rulebook:

Place Barbed Wire

Barbed Wire can be placed in the front-line Attack Positions. This causes a penalty to the Defense Value of an IJA counter in that Attack Position (except the Tank and the Infiltrator). In addition, if an IJA counter moves forward into the USMC line from an Attack Position containing a Barbed Wire Token, any USMC counter with Line of Sight can use Defensive Fire (this was covered in a previous Update).

Two Barbed Wire Tokens require one Supply Token to be discarded.

Rapid Move

As previously noted, all Moves must be completed in the Move Sub-Phase. Rapid Move is an action and is resolved in the Action Sub-Phase, but in effect, it grants a USMC an extra Move.

Rapid Fire

This can only be used to target IJA counters in front-line Attack Positions. This gives a USMC counter an extra attack, but both attacks are made with a -1 penalty. Out of Ammo rules also apply, so by making two attacks, the chance of rolling a natural '1' double.

USMC Attack Action
over 1 year ago – Sat, Aug 17, 2024 at 05:51:11 PM

After completing the Move Sub-Phase, the player next moves on to the Action Sub-Phase. As noted in the last Update, the number of actions available to the player is determined by the Difficulty Level selected. 

The most important action is Attack.

To be able to make an Attack, a USMC counter must have Line of Sight to the target IJA counter.

This is determined by matching a letter below the Combat Position of the USMC counter taking the Attack action with the corresponding letter below the Attack Position the target IJA counter occupies. So, A matches with A, B matches with B and so on. 

From the rulebook:

Different counters using different weapons have limitations on which Attack Positions they can target. 

Only the Machine Gun and Artillery can target the entry Attack Position. However, due to the proximity to the Marine lines, Artillery cannot target the front-line Attack Positions. The 37mm Anti-tank gun can be used to target the Tank counter in the entry Attack Position. 

Resolving an Attack

Resolving an attack is as simple as rolling a number of d6 die equal to the Attack Value of the USMC counter or Weapon counter. Compare each result to the Defense Value of the target IJA counter. If at least one result is equal to or greater than the Defense Value of the IJA counter, that counter is destroyed. 

Out of Ammo

If, when resolving an Attack, the player rolls a natural '1', that USMC counter is Out of Ammo. Ammunition was in very short supply during the Battle of Henderson Field. An Out of Ammo result will require that counter to take the Reload action before it can use the Attack action again, though other actions can be selected. 

From the rulebook:

USMC Counter Phase
over 1 year ago – Fri, Aug 16, 2024 at 05:02:08 PM

This is a longer section of the rulebook, so I will split this up into a few separate Updates :) 

As a reminder, the Sequence of Play is as follows:

• USMC Card Phase 
• IJA Card and Counter Phase
• USMC Counter Phase

In the USMC Counter Phase the player makes tactical decision for all USMC counters in all three Combat Sectors (Matanikau River Mouth, Matanikau River Log Bridge, and the Southern Lunga Perimeter). 

Difficulty Level

The USMC Counter Phase also has the option to select one of four Difficulty Levels (Boot, Regular, Veteran or Elite). 

The Difficulty Level determines the number of Moves and Actions available in this phase.

Sub-Phases

There are two Sub-Phases: Moves and Actions. The Move Sub-Phase must be completed before resolving the Action Sub-Phase.

Move Sub-Phase

In this Sub-Phase the player will move one or more USMC counters between Combat Positions, to and from the Reserves box, between Combat Sectors and to and from Colonel Oka's Attack box. The limit on the number of Moves is determined by the Difficulty Level selected, so from 3-6.

There are two ways to increase the number of available Moves (and Actions):

Officers

An officer may grant one extra Move OR one extra Action to a single counter that is in an adjacent Combat Position.

Comms

If a Comms Token is set at Henderson Field (Location #17) and one or more Combat Sectors then the player gains an additional one Move AND one Action for any counter or counters within that Combat Sector (only).

The majority of Moves will be from one Combat Position to another, linked, Combat Position. The defensive line is not static, and as casualties mount and gaps appear, decisions about which counters to move to where become ever more critical. The player will need to understand where to position Officers, NCOs and Medics to be most effective. 

From the rulebook: