Last weekend I was hanging out at the FLGS playing non-tabletop games with my good friend and faithful forum-goer Das Raeford Ork, and he gave me a topic he wanted my thoughts on. “Is a box of Jagdgrenadiere weapon teams worth the monetary cost?” Of course you’ve already read OldHat’s thoughts on the weapon teams in his article, so I figure I’ll approach the topic from a slightly different angle. 

For a retail cost of $29.95 you get 2 weapon teams on 2 separate bases. Simplified this means you’re paying 15 bucks per unit, which is then back in line with out of pocket cost for most units. The trouble is that a lot of players seem to be thrilled with the laser-Jagd, but find the standard Jagd team to be lackluster at best, with some describing it as flat out terrible.  Thus some feel like suddenly they’re paying $30 for a good unit and a paperweight for the desk. So let’s take a closer look over the Jagdgrenadiere before we go using them as hood ornaments.

Both units of course share a lot of the same positive notes such as being Soldier 3 with the Axis ubiquitous Damage Resilient and all the other points OldHat made already, but what do the Jagd really bring to the table to justify 23 points, and more importantly spending $15 on them? The Caseless PaK 7.5cm boasts the longest range currently in game at 36″. This gives them a bigger board coverage than their Laser-Jagd counterparts while needing less maneuvering and re-positioning. This means more opportunity for Sustained Fire double actions. “But Grot, the PaK 7.5cm sucks ass!” Not entirely true.  I personally see 2 big issues that lead to dismissal of this weapon.

First – in a world full of concern over Fireballs, Wotan-ARs and Mao Zedongs the Caseless PaK seems useless, because it’s only 1/1 against vehicle 6 and 7. Even against vehicle 5 it’s only 3/1, which isn’t terribly exciting and still potentially completely ineffectual.

Second – The 7.5cm cannon shines in a world we don’t live or play in – yet. Looking at the spreadsheet begs you to imagine a board full of cheap vehicle 1 and 2 units that the Jagdgrenadiere can happily sit safely back and pick off turn by turn with 5/1 every shot. However as of Op:Hades there are still no vehicle 1 or 2 in game, save for copters when at low altitude.

The TL:DR version – the unit is designed to excel in a role that doesn’t yet truly exist in our game, while everyone seems agog over finding the biggest meanest heaviest hitting weapons they can.

On a board full of vehicle 3 and less I can see the potential of a standard team out-performing a Laser team with High-Vis for 4 AP less, but again, nobody fields such lists yet. Do I think that a Jagdgrenadiere team is worth $15? In the current state of the game, honestly probably not. I’m not fielding any, nor am I really making lists where I might want them. Do I think that with Icarus or beyond they will start to have more opportunities to shine? Absolutely. I’ve got 2 teams on the shelf and I don’t intend to convert them or dispose of them, as I am fully confident that as the game grows they will have a day in the sun sooner than later.

So there you have it. I see why the unit doesn’t thrill many people, because it’s designed to be perfectly comfortable killing off units that don’t actually exist yet. The key word in all of this is YET. I understand that buying a unit now so that they can make use of it in future expansions doesn’t sit perfectly with everyone, but I’m thinking of it as an investment. If that still doesn’t sway you, I watched my roommate take a bit of green stuff and elbow grease and just convert them over to a Laser-Jagd team. As for this old grot, I’ll be holding on to the 7.5cm Caseless guns, but as always I’m eager for you thoughts and feelings over on our forums.