As a fan of EU, For fans of EU.
* Make 24 picks.
* Islands > Center > Russia generally speaking, why? Because positionally Russia is usually very vulnerable for e.g. The North Western Pick (Red 6 bonus) or Finland can access nearly all the Russias positionally with invaluable chokepoints. Of course, this depends partially on the distribution as sometimes this isn't the case but I hope you get the point. Take
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer?GameID=18740890 as an example and notice the position prowess of the Northwestern pick.
* Mirror your picks is the recommend picking strategy, Europe you want the same certain territories so consistency by mirror picking usually yields the best results. Mirror 12 you guarantee to get 6 of them crucial first picks. However, you can experiment by breaking off in the mirror specifically in the 12/13 to try and prioritize getting combos.
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer?GameID=11413811 is an example of this strategy in action.
* Generally you want to pick the following bonuses in order on board as a top 12: Iceland, Ireland, Denmark, Swizz, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, West Central Russia, Benelux, Western Balkans. Your picks will roughly be like this, of course, the value of important picks may change. e.g.
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer?GameID=18170099 Denmark is FTB but because of the two counters Sweden and Germany, it's not worth picking as a top 9 pick.
* Theoretically Ireland, Iceland, and Denmark are the best bonuses in the map because they are hard to break in as comparison to Austria it's always in danger and there are plenty of "chokepoints" where an enemy could take for a double border. They should be your top 3 "theoretically" but of course, boards offer different problems that you need to judge for yourself.
* 3v3 EU can be puzzles sometimes, take a look at
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer?GameID=18874579 , Denmark is a safe bonus and Iceland/Ireland. However, it's better to 1/2 Iceland/Ireland because you are guaranteed 1 of them and that's good because losing both is devastating even if you get Denmark. Sometimes EU can be a luck fest. As the team who gets the 2nd pick, will end up winning there 2/3 Ireland and Denmark and have a better outcome. There's nothing you can do about this but hope you get the good end of the 50/50 coin flip.
* Be aware of how picks can be distributed, especially for the beginning in games. If you win 1st pick, expect to lose 2nd/3rd picks and win the 4th and 5th picks. This is because of ABBAA (Team A and Team B), you will use this logic to figure out how to pick the important territories while considering the positioning of the picks. As described in the problem-solving process as above ^
* Generally, you need to gain experience to figure out how to pick each scenario appropriately this comes with time and practice, assuming you analyse after games.
* First Turn Bonuses are really good, always try to get them or at the least have good counters. Slovakia and Iceland are FTB's in this game >https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer?GameID=18772966 , Sometimes you get a fun board like this, where I recommend to pick them all >
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer?GameID=18874579* Belarus, Bulgaria, Western Balkans, Eastern Balkans, Hungary, Portugal, Finland, Norway (and South Western Russia pink 5 on special distributions) are bonuses that are great to go for in terms of trying to go for combos in your 12-18 picks. There are endless examples but I'll show my favourite combo which is the Eastern Balkans combo which I think is the best >
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer?GameID=17899558 . Maybe you can get lucky and have Hungary like in this game >
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer?GameID=18583604* Be aware of the long-term positioning potential of picks, take North Spain in
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer?GameID=13168595 wherein 4 turns it gets invaluable positioning on Benelux/Switzerland which wins the game for Masters against Lynx. Something to consider for your later picks.
* WCR is a special territory that you shouldn't ignore and you need to have some focus of picks on it, to either try to get it or counter. Mother Russia is not an important enough place to have top 6/7/8 picks there but if you lose Mother Russia, you lose the game. Be careful of the consequences and make sure you have coverage there. However it is possible to overcome the consequence of losing Russia as demonstrated here
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer?GameID=17517587 , but in top-level games, you will not get away with it 9/10 of the time.
* The unconventional picks can be the most dangerous picks if you plan it correctly, Baltic States is the most prominent example that pops up for me here.
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer?GameID=17961336 See how Stales takes the Baltic States and gets a great route for a double border on Dom in Slovakia, the more creative you can be the more unpredictable meaning the more dangerous. Of course, you must play standard to a good degree but it's about balancing the standard fundamentals and mixing it with creative innuendos which will make the difference in the top level.
* Move order is a fundamental tool for figuring out how to play moves. This can be worked out from picks. (I'm hoping Stales can give a paragraph to how to work out move order from turn 1 as he would explain it better on this thread) If an enemy moves first and you want to eliminate him, then you must be cautious as he can simply deploy minimally and run away while you invest heavy and miss him.
* Always count the enemy, you need to know where the enemy is at all times. On a technical template on EU it's absolutely essential so you can create strategic plans effectively. Any misinformation can spoil your plans and sometimes lose you the game.
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer?GameID=18616382 is a good example, look at turn 4, I thought he had Bulgaria so I hammered into Bulgaria thinking he had it but instead had Poland. If I counted it correctly, I would've had moves to break Iceland and it would've been still our advantage instead it became a heavy disadvantaged game since we planned no strategy against the Poland take. Information is critical, so counting is crucial and to do it correctly.
* In terms of gameplay, I could be listing our millions of game scenarios, however, I do generally recommend that in most situations it's very good to 2v1 an enemy or 3v1 an enemy if it's possible. Because if you 3v1 an enemy, something is going to give and you are going to gain from it. The more pressure you can put on an enemy the more mistakes that he/she will make because that pressure is going to stun its mind. The pressure is a weapon in a bloodbath. It can cause players to surrender early such as
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer?GameID=17961336 where Dom has 8 income and is pressured in 3/4 key areas.
* EU gameplay is like an orchestra, you must control your enemies and contain them and guide them to play in such a way that you can gain a victory. You always need to compare what you have versus the enemy, and always ensuring you have the edge rather it's income or position or just general safety. The best example I can show here is this
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer?GameID=17961336 , If Krunx takes Norway at Turn 7 and is alive in Hungary then we will most times lose the game because he and Dom will 2v1 Bohun and break Eastern Balkans making it a hard game to achieve the win. We eliminate Krunx in Center, meaning he's completely limited in Norway and effectively out of the game with a max income potential of 11. By the time he reaches the center, Stales and Bohun will have Dom wiped in Center and will have great enough income to fight Krunx and win the game. This is quite a beautiful trick.
* As a general guideline to gameplay on 3v3 EU, Play calculative, deploy enough to 100% secure territory. You should play risky on the EU if you are behind or want to make the killer move to try and gain a decisive advantage. It's decision making that will come with time and experience and correct analyzation.
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer?GameID=17961336 Turn 5, If Krunx gets Norway, We will be at a disadvantage as he would have 9 income and Hades 5 income to eliminate me in Iceland, however, he must deploy and attack me to 100% break Iceland. I use this information to out delay Krunx and break Norway. This turned a game that if I played like a calculator would be a slow disadvantage but instead turned into a decisive advantage in the long-run.
I think I've covered most of the points here. Feel free to add your own down below or give feedback!
