Advance Wars: Days of Ruin

Okay so like

CO Powers are actually really good. The problem is that the static bonus you get for not using your CO Power is almost always better.

In this game, COs work differently. Any time you could move a unit, if the unit began the turn on your headquarters or a terrain that could have produced it, you may load your CO into that unit for half that unit's cost. This doesn't count as moving the unit. This automatically promotes the unit to Veteran, and around your unit, something called a CO Zone is projected.

The size of this CO Zone varies widely. Most cover two spaces away from your CO Unit, but some cover 1, a few cover 3, one covers 5 (!), and one covers only your CO unit. Inside your CO Zone, your units all get +10% attack and +10% defense, as well as a static effect that varies from CO to CO (CO day-to-day effects no longer affect the entire battlefield). Additionally, when units in your CO Zone deal damage to the enemy, your CO Power meter rises. When it's halfway full, your CO Zone's size increases by one. When it's full, it increases by one again.

Also when the meter is full, you can spend your CO Unit's turn dropping your CO Power to empty to use your CO Power, which applies an effect to the battlefield (generally one that boosts your troops' strength for a turn, but not always), and extends your CO Zone to cover all your units until your next turn. Not all COs have CO Powers, but most do.

The thing is that having a larger CO Zone day-to-day is almost always better than whatever your CO Power would give you, unless you're Brenner. Brenner's CO Power heals all your units by 3, which is quite good if you're in a pinch. Other than that, there's two situations where you would use your CO Power - when your CO Unit will be dead next turn otherwise, so you really may as well (Your CO Power meter empties if your CO Unit falls, and you have to redeploy your CO if you want your CO Zone back), or if doing so will allow you to swiftly win the game.

This game is actually really balanced, and the people with the best effects tend to also have the weakest CO Zone sizes. Tabitha easily has the best power set in the game (save the final boss) - her CO Zone gives a static +50%/+50% to attack and defense, and her CO Power, automatically targets the 5x5 diamond over the enemy group where it can do the most damage subtracted by the damage it would do to your units, and does 8 damage to all units in the area (units that would be destroyed are left with 1/10th of a health). This is in addition to applying her CO Zone to all her units, giving +50%/+50%.

The problem? She's the one with the CO Zone of size 0. Until you get to the halfway point, it's difficult to fill your CO Power guage, as only one unit will be in your CO Zone, so you can't count on any power of hers except for one unit being very strong. This often forces the opponent to deal with this unit above all else, allowing you interesting strategic choices, ultimately making her above average, but not extremely good.

The opposite of this is Forsythe, with a CO Zone extending five spaces away from him. His CO Zone gives +10%/+10% to all his units (stacking with the normal CO Zone bonus, so it's really +20%/+20%). He has no CO Power. He's actually my favorite CO, and he's really good, too - his power may not be extremely good, or anything, but it does cover a field of 61 squares.

also, creeping derangea is very disturbing oh my god

____________________
Pay attention. This will be on the test.