Viability of Attack Helis (Amelia Strategy) in current meta?

[sweatymonkey]

I switched to the Amelia strat awhile ago after stumbling upon it - shout out to wrathchild_78 for the original strat of :

3 APC
8 Bazookas
8 Attack Helis
4 Machine Gunners
2 Wallbreakers
Alliance Gate : Bazookas

I found that I didn't really need the wallbreakers a lot of the time (only if the enemy had substantial walls)

I subbed out the wallbreakers for 1 Commando, and am seeing that the 1 Commando really helps to get that 50% in War Battles.

However, I feel recently that the Attack Helicopters are not strong enough versus Monster War Bases, and that the Attack Helicopter's haphazard AI is very unpredictable, especially when used with Assault Rally. A lot depends on flawless execution, excellent spell usage and 'good micro' to have a successful attack.

I am sometimes envious by the ease that good old 8 HT + Heal can steamroll a base.

Even in multiplayer I've switched to 5-6 HTs as I got tired of waiting for the small units to retrain (even if the wait is just 1-2 minutes, it's still a long time for long sessions)

I'm currently upgrading to +3 APC units at Empress Wu Zetian, and hopefully that will bring the 'Amelia' strat back to the meta! The upgrading time is crazy long though...


How are you guys faring in War and Multiplayer with the Amelia strat?

 

[oddin]

Recently we had a talk in a line group about the viability in the current meta of this army composition. I wasn't sure about it since its been ages since I played again with helis. So, I switched back to this build and did a lot of friendlies. Having nothing to boost my helis in museum, I managed to get 5 stars and 100% in all my battles against level 230 up to level 285 bases with expedition TT and not premium cards.

Having said that, my helis are Heavy Attack Helicopters and could prove a lot more effective if they were digital age with a normal boost to HP and damage from the museum.
If you add to that, the uni research about APCs then I guess It could be a viable strategy. But its flaws are the micromanagement that the player must do during the battle due to bad pathfinding and the lack of raw power.

If I had to compare commando/bazooka and Amelia build, then the commandos are way more effective and with less loses than Amelia. I would advice you to switch to that strategy or HT. This is the current meta now anyway.

Last of all, do not forget that Amelia was created in the beginning of the 4 big rebalance stages when nothing was working really good. It was my way of staying competitive in WW and in loot battles. The game has changed dramatically from that time.

I am still amazed how widespread this build has become....If you go that way, pls let me know how the buff of APCs work in that build.

 

[sweatymonkey]

This gives me hope that you can still find success with Attack Helicopters wrathchild_78. Definitely player skill is involved a lot in the success of this build.

I switched to the Amelia build as I wanted to play something off-meta, instead of all the HT + Commando builds.

I do find that one of the advantages in war is that a lot of bases are not built to withstand Helicopter attacks. I will report on the effectiveness of the +3 APC troops, but I am not hopeful as the APC max unit cap is still the same.

wrathchild_78, I notice that you have outlined this build in one of your posts :

1HT
3 MRL
5 Machine Gun
Rest Bazooka

I have experimented with MRL a bit, but I find it hard to feel their effectiveness in war. Also, their attack is so difficult to see. How does this build fare in war?

 

[oddin]

it was very effective and nothing could withstand bazookas with support from 3 MRL. BUT they changed the assault rally effectiveness and duration and I wasn't able to play at the same level again. So I switched to commando/zook and had to change a significant portion of my museum as well which was really hard.

 

[sweatymonkey]

Just wanted to update that the +3 APC troops has been very disappointing - you can barely feel the difference in effectiveness. I think the problem lies in the unit cap, if they increase that by +3 also it could make a difference.

Like yourself wrathchild_78, I have also switched from APC/Helis to Commando/Zook. Even at lower levels and without any museum bonuses, the difference in the strength and effectiveness of Commando/Zook is undeniable.

Perhaps it is not that Attack Helis are weak, but that Commando is too over-powered and makes other builds look weak.