Beginner Lists with the Merkava Tank Company Starter Force

Beginner Lists with the Merkava Tank Company Starter Force By John Lee With the launch of WWIII Israeli for WWIII: Team Yankee, I thought I would look at how a new player, or someone on a budget, could get a force on the table that would be competitive, or at least hold its own with the new army deals available. For the new player, it opens the door to playing WWIII: Team Yankee without needing to buy, assemble or paint too much and get into playing the game quicker. Check out the Merkava Tank Company Starter Force in the online store...

So, if we look at what we get in the excellent value army deal (Merkava Tank Company), that will help decide what Formations to run. The army deal contains the following: 1 x Complete A5 Rulebook 1 x “Start Here” booklet 5 x Merkava Tanks 3 x Sho’t Tanks 4 x M113 Recce Vehicles 2 x M163 VADS AA Vehicles 3 x M270 MLRS Rocket Launchers 1 x M113 OP Artillery Observer 2 x Decal Sheets 12 x Unit Cards

The bonus here is that the rulebook is included in the box – so the new player makes a saving right away.Now if we look at what Formations are in the WWIII Israeli book, we can see what we can maximise from what we get in the army deal.There are a few Formations we can build to maximise what we get in the box.The three Formations we will look at are the Merkava 1 Tank Company, Sho’t (Blazer) Tank Company, and Paratrooper Company.We will look at options for 100pts using Book Points – not Dynamic.

Before diving into the Formations, let’s look at the brand-new shiny kit in the army deal for this release – the Merkava 3!This has been a long-awaited release in plastic.This is a cool looking model – you get the standard Merkava sprue with a Merkava 3 upgrade sprue.The good news is that you can switch out the Merkava 3 turret for a Merkava 1/2 turret!

It has 3+ skill – so great for movement orders.A fantastic 2+ remount to get back into your tank!3+ morale in line with the rest of the Israeli force.3+ Courage to follow me.4+ for assaults and 3+ for counterattacking!Hit on 4s with FA23 SA10 TA2 armour.Tactical speed of 14” with a 16” terrain dash, and 24” cross country and 28” road dash.3+ cross check, to move in and out of difficult terrain easily.

It’s armed with a 120mm gun with AT23 (can also fire smoke), a .50cal MG and THREE 7.62mm AAMG.The main gun has ROF 2 (stationery or moving) with Advanced Stabiliser – so you will be firing and moving up to 14” with no penalty! The gun also has a laser rangefinder, and  has Chobham Armour making it a great assault monster as well.Thermal imaging rounds out the abilities for this tank. As you can see, as well as looking cool, it has a great gun, lots of machine guns, armour, and has some useful stats.

Merkava Tank Formation Starting with the Merkava Tank Formation now, let us look at what units comprise this Formation: 1 Merkava 1 Tank Company HQ 1-2 Merkava 1 Tank Platoon 0-1 Merkava 1 Tank Platoon or Merkava 2 Tank Platoon or Merkava 3 Tank Platoon 0-1 Jeep Recce Platoon or M113 Recce Platoon or Rabbi Recce Platoon 0-1 Mech Infantry Platoon or Reserve Infantry Platoon Based on the Formation and what we get in the army deal, we will be able to use everything in the deal and grab a couple of other boxes to complete it:

Six units to max out the Formation for the Formation break. Seven Merkava Is as the Formation backbone backed up by two Merkava 3s.Infantry platoon to hold an objective or support assaults by the Merkava 3s. Recce for spearhead when needed or extra firepower. Two VADS to provide AA for your tanks.M270s bring a salvo template to pin down the enemy infantry whilst you get your assault in or keep your enemy’s artillery silent. Each M270 operates as two launchers, so with six firing, you get to reroll misses!

To buy this army you need only purchase the following for $206: 1 x TISAB02 Israeli Starter Force: Merkava Tank Company 110 1 x TIBX10 Merkava Tank Platoon 50 1 x TIS712 Infantry Platoon 27 2 x TUSO02 Plastic VADS/ITV Sprue 9 1 x TUSO03 Plastic M113 Sprue 10 TOTAL $206

Merkava Tank Formation - But With Dynamic Points...

I couldn't help but be inspired by John's list and I wondered what would happen if I built it using the 2025 Dynamic Points (which you can find here...). The change wasn't massive in terms of the model count, but the impact it had was impressive. I upgraded my Merkava HQ to a Merkava 3, upgrades one of the platoons from a Merkava 1 to a 2, and upgrade the third platoon to a pair of Merkava 3's (previously 3 Merkava 1 tanks). I also had a few points left over to max out the Reserve Infantry Platoon! ~Chris

Sho't (Blazer) Tank Company The next Formation to look at is the Sho’t (Blazer) Tank Company which is comprised of the following units: 1 Sho’t (Blazer) Tank Company HQ 2-3 Sho’t (Blazer) Tank Platoon 0-1 Jeep Recce Platoon or M113 Recce Platoon or Rabbi Recce Platoon 0-1 Mech Infantry Platoon or Reserve Infantry Platoon We have everything we need in the army deal aside from a couple of boxes and sprues which we can add:

Five units for the Formation break anchored by the Infantry Platoon in their upgraded M113s with Applique armour giving you FA/SA13 against HEAT weapons! Eight Sho’t (Blazer) tanks with their ERA armour allowing them to assault more easily as well as a useful AT19 against all but the top tier tanks.Two Merkava 3’s in support to provide the long-range cover whilst your force gets into position to take the objective or get into the assault.A full VADS platoon to provide AA coverage and/or take out light targets or infantry.MLRS to keep one flank pinned down or counter-battery fire.

To buy this army you need only to purchase the following for $272: 1 x TISAB02 Israeli Starter Force: Merkava Tank Company 110 1 x TIBX03 M113 Platoon 40 1 x TSWBX01 Centurion Tank Platoon 50 1 x TIS712 Infantry Platoon 27 2 x TUSO03 Plastic M113 Sprue 20 1 x TIS03 M113 Vayzata Upgrades  25 TOTAL $272

Paratrooper Company Finally, we look at the Paratrooper Company Formation which is comprised of the following units: 1 Paratrooper Company HQ 2-3 Paratrooper Platoon 0-1 Merkava 3 Tank Platoon or Merkava 2 Tank Platoon or Merkava 1 Tank Platoon or Magach 6 Tank Platoon or Sho’t (Blazer) Tank Platoon 0-1 M125 Mortar Platoon 0-1 Jeep Anti-tank Platoon or Rabbi Anti-tank Platoon or M150 Anti-tank Platoon Adding a couple of boxes and sprues to the army deal, you could put together a list like this:

Six units for the Formation break. Two tough paratrooper platoons (one a little understrength) to either hold both objectives or take an enemy objective supported by a full platoon each of Merkava 3 tanks. Teh Chobbam armour makes them great to assault enemy infantry with the paratroopers to mop up. As well as the Merkava 3 to provide long range sniping support, we have a couple of M150 (MAPATS) to provide long range AT23 missiles. Two artillery options now where we have mortars to provide a smoke screen for that assault in addition to the salvo ability from the M270s.

To buy this army you need only purchase the following for $206: 1 x TISAB02 Israeli Starter Force: Merkava Tank Company 110 2 x TIBX03 M113 Platoon 80 2 x TIS712 Infantry Platoon 54 TOTAL $244

Paratrooper Formation - But With Dynamic Points...

Oops... I did it again... The drop in Merkava 3 points really just let me fill out some things that needed a bit of a buff; max'ing out the first Paratrooper Platoon and upgrading the Dragon teams to Dragon 2, adding in a platoon of Sho't (Blazer) tanks. Their ERA, much like the Merkava tanks Chobham armour, makes them very useful in assaults against enemy infantry, and with the remaining points a pair of Rabbi (MAPATS) for some extra anti-tank firepower. ~Chris

There you have it – some options to ponder for getting started.With different Formations with the new army deal that you can easily expand upon as you get more into the game.Enjoy!

~ John Lee