Axis and Allies 1942 SE First Turn Builds

Question

I used to play Axis and Allies the original classic version a long time ago. I read Don’s essays about strategy and the infantry push mechanic here: http://donsessays.freeservers.com

But the game has changed so much since then. With 1942 SE, there are new units, the map is different and the unit attributes and abilities are different.

Assuming standard rules and fairly standard opening moves, what would be the best first turn builds for each power?

Answer 1

Triple A First Turn Builds

I loaded up the game Triple A and tried a game with the Hard AI. This is what the AI built:

1. Russia (24 IPC): 2 Infantry and 2 Artillery in Caucasus. 1 Infantry and 2 Artillery in Russia.
2. Germany (40 IPC): 7 Infantry, 5 Artillery. 1 Inf and 1 Art placed in Italy and the rest in Germany.
3. UK (30 IPC): 1 Infantry, 2 Artillery in India. Carrier and transport in SZ7, Ireland.
4. Japan (30 IPC): 1 Armor in Japan. 1 Carrier and 1 Fighter in SZ60, Japan's East Coast.
5. USA (42 IPC): 1 Carrier, 1 Destroyer, 2 Fighters in SZ11, the US East Coast.

Are these the best generic builds? I don't know. Probably not. I think a lot depends on the dice rolling in the first few rounds. I would have expected both Japan and the US to build at least one transport.

Another Idea

After playing a few more times, this is what I would do.

1. Russia: Infantry and one or 2 artillery. Always use all of your income.
2. Germany: Perhaps a sub or a bomber. Perhaps another ship in the Med. But mostly infantry and some artillery.
3. UK: If your fleet got annihilated, you may just want to build 3 ground units in India and SAVE the remainder for a giant fleet build on your next turn.
4. Japan: You need to get ground units into Asia. Transports and maybe a factory on a 3 production territory that is as close as possible to Moscow. Don't forget to build ground units to fill each transport. You don't need more naval pieces yet, since you have superiority in the Pacific.
5. USA: Build a fleet in the Atlantic on the first turn. Once you have naval superiority in the Atlantic, pump out transports and ground units on subsequent turns.

Answer 2

From my experience playing Axis and Allies, I have found out that you can't always rely on certain army builds and situations because who knows how the dice will roll or what the enemy player will do? but here are the general builds that I use which usually win me a few games.

Russia: 8 infantry (4 in Russia, 2 in Caucasas, and 2 in Keralia)

Germany: 2-4 infantry, 2-4 artillery, 2-4 tanks, and usually a naval or air unit if you don't spend it all on land troops (all spread as evenly as possible between Italy and Germany).

Great Britain: 1-2 destroyers in the Atlantic navy and the Indian ocean navy, 1-2 infantry, 1-2 artillery, 2 tanks (almost all of the land units go into the India base)

Japan: industrial complex in French Indochina, 1-2 destroyers or 1 cruiser, and any IPC's left over is put into tanks.

United States of America: 1 infantry or tank in the West coast, everything else into another battleship (for the east coast) and destroyers, any IPC's left you use for transports.