I finally got a chance to play yesterday using Agis' Add-on rules (free download at Wargames Vault). Here are my experiences.
The Game: The game was Soviets versus Germans. Soviets had 3 T-34/85's, 2 Engineer half-squads, three Desant squads, one regular Squad, and one HQ half-squad. Soviets were "Attack".
The Germans had three Panzergrenadier squads, two Panther G tanks (german vehicle companion statistics), and a Panzer IV H tank. Germans were "Probe". They chose a built-up area to set up in and defend; the Soviets were forced to attack through woods and across a wide field. The engineers "ambush" ability didn't help much in this scenario.
Concentrate Fire: Can't say much about this trait since never used it. Instead, infantry generally used their ready actions to "Take Cover".
Hits/X: The Panzer IV H was crippled at one point, which was neat, but it was near the end of the game and it was already in position so it didn't have much effect.
Scoped: No snipers were involved.
Take Cover!: Used this a lot. It definitely helped infantry survive. A single Engineer taking cover in a ruined building got hit by MG 42 and Kar98 fire; something like 6 dice of "hits" on one figure, and he survived (4+ for being elite in cover plus re-rolls). His squad was double-suppressed as a result, though (see below).
Tracks/X: I really liked the change to this one. In order to get in and out of cover, tanks needed to use their base move instead of their Tracks move. The T-34's still could "scoot and shoot" using the Tracks move if they found copses of woods that they could drive out from behind (instead of going in and out of the woods themselves).
Wheels/X: Didn't have any wheeled vehicles, but see Tracks above.
Suppression: Another change I really liked. However, this rule change probably requires some chits or counters or something to indicate which units are suppressed. Maybe knock a figure in the unit over for suppression, knock two figures over for double suppression. Because it sometimes became hard to remember who was suppressed. Basically, Machineguns (especially MG-42's) suppressed the heck out of units. The Soviets really couldn't advance until they knocked out all three of the Grenadier's MG-42's, and they really needed armor to help them do that. Unfortunately, the Panthers kept the Soviet Armor at bay, so it was only the Engineers who had a chance to return-fire at the MG-42's with bazookas DPM's (because the Engineers had the dedicated trait). By turn 6 one MG-42 was still active, and that was probably the biggest reason the Germans won.
Vehicles: Again, I really liked this change. There were a couple of instances where the T-34's fired and then moved, and it was nice not to have to re-roll the attacks. It's another reason to use the base move instead of the Tracks move.
Double Suppression (German Vehicle Companion Rule): This is what made the MG-42's so vicious. It also makes tanks potentially more effective against infantry. A tank can now shoot out 12 suppression dice in a single action. But remember that means the tank isn't using its cannon (against an enemy tank, for example), and that some of those dice will be "1's". Plus, panzerfausts and bazookas are "slow" so even if the tank suppresses a unit, it hasn't really neutralized the threat...it requires double suppression to neutralize an infantry unit. Basically, all the suppression being thrown around, and the improved survivability of infantry, meant that there was a big reason to keep your squad together. That is, splitting squads down to two five-man teams was a recipe for disaster. The Soviets suffered from this problem since so many of their squads were half-squads or Desant troops. The Germans, on the other hand, had big numbers of soldiers to resist suppression.
The Game: The game was Soviets versus Germans. Soviets had 3 T-34/85's, 2 Engineer half-squads, three Desant squads, one regular Squad, and one HQ half-squad. Soviets were "Attack".
The Germans had three Panzergrenadier squads, two Panther G tanks (german vehicle companion statistics), and a Panzer IV H tank. Germans were "Probe". They chose a built-up area to set up in and defend; the Soviets were forced to attack through woods and across a wide field. The engineers "ambush" ability didn't help much in this scenario.
Concentrate Fire: Can't say much about this trait since never used it. Instead, infantry generally used their ready actions to "Take Cover".
Hits/X: The Panzer IV H was crippled at one point, which was neat, but it was near the end of the game and it was already in position so it didn't have much effect.
Scoped: No snipers were involved.
Take Cover!: Used this a lot. It definitely helped infantry survive. A single Engineer taking cover in a ruined building got hit by MG 42 and Kar98 fire; something like 6 dice of "hits" on one figure, and he survived (4+ for being elite in cover plus re-rolls). His squad was double-suppressed as a result, though (see below).
Tracks/X: I really liked the change to this one. In order to get in and out of cover, tanks needed to use their base move instead of their Tracks move. The T-34's still could "scoot and shoot" using the Tracks move if they found copses of woods that they could drive out from behind (instead of going in and out of the woods themselves).
Wheels/X: Didn't have any wheeled vehicles, but see Tracks above.
Suppression: Another change I really liked. However, this rule change probably requires some chits or counters or something to indicate which units are suppressed. Maybe knock a figure in the unit over for suppression, knock two figures over for double suppression. Because it sometimes became hard to remember who was suppressed. Basically, Machineguns (especially MG-42's) suppressed the heck out of units. The Soviets really couldn't advance until they knocked out all three of the Grenadier's MG-42's, and they really needed armor to help them do that. Unfortunately, the Panthers kept the Soviet Armor at bay, so it was only the Engineers who had a chance to return-fire at the MG-42's with bazookas DPM's (because the Engineers had the dedicated trait). By turn 6 one MG-42 was still active, and that was probably the biggest reason the Germans won.
Vehicles: Again, I really liked this change. There were a couple of instances where the T-34's fired and then moved, and it was nice not to have to re-roll the attacks. It's another reason to use the base move instead of the Tracks move.
Double Suppression (German Vehicle Companion Rule): This is what made the MG-42's so vicious. It also makes tanks potentially more effective against infantry. A tank can now shoot out 12 suppression dice in a single action. But remember that means the tank isn't using its cannon (against an enemy tank, for example), and that some of those dice will be "1's". Plus, panzerfausts and bazookas are "slow" so even if the tank suppresses a unit, it hasn't really neutralized the threat...it requires double suppression to neutralize an infantry unit. Basically, all the suppression being thrown around, and the improved survivability of infantry, meant that there was a big reason to keep your squad together. That is, splitting squads down to two five-man teams was a recipe for disaster. The Soviets suffered from this problem since so many of their squads were half-squads or Desant troops. The Germans, on the other hand, had big numbers of soldiers to resist suppression.
