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Advance Wars strategy
All right, in the interest of preserving the FCC:ROF thread for FFCC:ROF bashing, we can talk Advance Wars strategy here. ^_~
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For every version except DOR, it's simple:
Get cities quickly using the APC trick.
Use artillery liberally.
Keep track of your money 100%, and spend EXACTLY what you mean to, planning at least five or six rounds worth of purchasing ahead. (e.g., I want a rocket four turns from now, so I'll only buy two infantry instead of three NEXT round in order to still be able to pick up that AA in round three; when I buy that rocket, I'll have exactly zero dollars left).
Whenever you have spare money, build infantry and mechs. ALWAYS. Even late-game. Send mechs and infantry along in constant streams with your other units, moving all of them every round even if it seems pointless and victory is assured. Infantry should be coming out in a semi-steady stream from your bases throughout the entire game.
If you go on the offensive, have a clear goal. Capture a city, gain a chokepoint, kill a missile. If you don't have a specific, clear goal, your troop movements are wasted.
You should know exactly where every unit is going for the next two or three rounds. EXACTLY. You should know EXACTLY how far that tank could get in the best-case scenario four or five turns ahead, including enemy troop movements. No movement should be fuzzy or non-planned. Every single square must be accounted for. Are your infantry moving up two or up three? Why? Where will they go next round? The round after? What will the enemy do?
You should anticipate how your enemy will react to your movements. You should know the best possible response your enemy could make to anything and everything you do, and assume that they will do it. Along these lines, know exactly how much money your enemy has, and anticipate what he will build.
Capturing and holding cities is the most important goal you can have. A one-city differential will win you the game if you hold it long enough.
Play to your CO's strengths, almost exclusively.
Do not attack if you cannot achieve your goal: you will only serve to increase the enemy CO's power meter.
Do not attack if you do not have solid supply lines of fresh troops OR assured victory assuming the best possible response from the enemy.
If you can do all of those things, you cannot lose to most people.
I know mine is (obviously) Grit. I played him even before I realized how OP he is, though I admit he isn't quite as potent in full maps (air, ground, sea).
Hawk is my favorite CO by far, due mostly to his generic and versatile powers. Against real challengers, I use either him or Olaf.
I often use Drake, unleashing his minor CO power at each and every opportunity in order to whittle down and demoralize less apt opponents.
Sami, however, is my CO of choice in most battles, since few people are careful enough to avoid the surround-capture strategy.
I say this is not to denigrate the other aspects of strategy, but to reinforce that changing the balance of economics in your favor should be the goal behind most of your other decisions.
One thing, though...what happens on pre-deploy maps? If most of the strategy is economics, what part do you work on next?
Use cities and your HQ to heal units. Never lose a unit unless its loss provides a clear advantage and directly sets you on the course to final victory. Hold a strong position, and choose your battles. Hit and run tactics are very effective.
On a broader note, area control and area denial are greatly important, immediately after general economics. n+1 fighters denies an airspace to n fighters. n+1 AA denies an overland airspace to n bombers. An anti-tank in a city, outside of air or sea attacks, is extremely powerful.
If your opponent's defenses are capable of killing - or nearly killing, which is in some ways worse - N mechs per turn, relying on the mech stream gets you nothing. This isn't all that difficult to set up, again because the mechs are so slow; artillery or rockets will work nicely, with an air unit or two to keep the mechs off them.
The mech stream is handy in a supporting role - to capture and defend any bases your other troops overrun - but you can't rely all that heavily on it.