Sturm (Japanese: ヘルボウズ, Herr Böse) was a CO and ex leader of Black Hole. He appears during the first two Advance Wars games as the main villain. In the first game he is the only Black Hole CO apart from Clone Andy, though in the next game he is joined by several others who serve him. Not much is known about him other than that he is an alien who enjoys war and hates peace. He is pure evil, bent on conquering the world, and lacks any respect for his enemies, constantly calling them "worms". He lacks compassion and does not value life, even willing to destroy Wars World rather than be defeated.
Advance Wars[]
In the original game, Sturm is the real mastermind behind the conflict. He manipulated the other forces with the Clone Andy, using him to frame Orange Star for the attacks on the other nations. Fortunately they realized their error and faced Sturm, defeating him and forcing him to retreat.
During Campaign players only fight against Sturm twice, on the final two missions, despite him being the one responsible for the outbreak of war. Sturm noted that he underestimated the forces of Wars World, but survived the battle and escaped.
Unlocking[]
To unlock Sturm you must first unlock every other CO (Except Nell), then he will become available to buy for 100 Coins.
Statistics[]
Sturm, who is widely seen as a very powerful CO, with overwhelming overall unit averages, is actually quite the opposite. In Campaign, he is more powerful than in VS. Mode, in which he has been weakened. He is more of a defensive CO and does not focus strictly on firepower. In VS. Mode his Units stats are 80/120 while in Campaign mode his units are 130/80, so they possess low firepower, making Sturm a CO not to be used to overwhelm the opponent or to rout your enemies, which can be frustrating for those who try to win in that fashion. Sturm is to be used defensively and very strategically when attacking. Also, Sturm's Units are not affected by any Terrain and can move quickly through features such as Mountains (Infantry), Woods (Units with Tires), Plains (Units with Tires) and Reefs (Naval Units). This allows for quick invasions with stealth. Oddly, a CPU-controlled Sturm has a tendency to create T-Copters with Infantry on the first day of VS. Mode, which other CO's do not usually do.
CO power[]
Sturm's CO power is Meteor Strike. It deals 8 damage to all enemies units in an 3 squared-radius diamond (it is unable to drop the HP of enemy units below 1) and makes so his units stats are 150/90. When playing as Sturm you may not choose where to target with it, it's chosen automatically. The playable version's Meteor Strike is weaker than what he had in the campaign, dealing only 4 damage and makes his units' stats 90/130. The target will be chosen by finding the biggest amount of fund damage the meteor can do (for example, a full hit point Rocket unit costs more than a 9 hit point rocket, so he will choose the first), with the cost of his units being decreased from this calculation (since the meteor WILL damage his own units).
Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising[]
Changes:
Aesthetic: drastically changed to no longer resemble a Snifit from the Mario games, now looking more menacing
Day-To-Day DEF 80% -> 120%- Super CO Power "Meteor Strike" DEF boost +10% -> +30%
Super CO Power "Meteor Strike" Base Cost 50000G defensive -> 10 Stars (90000G defensive)
- Offensive Charging Base Requirement 200000G -> 180000G
- Multiplayer stats now use new Campaign Stats (results in ATK 80% -> 120%, Meteor Damage 4 -> 8, and Super CO Power DEF Boost +10% -> +30%)
- Killed at the end of the game's events preventing his direct appearance in Dual Strike
Sturm returns in the second game, again the leader of the Black Hole forces though this time he's brought some other Black Hole COs with him. This time Sturm attempts to overwhelm the allied nations by force and by his command the Black Hole army invades the allied home nations, making use of new weapons including factories and pipe lines used to fuel the invasion forces led by these Black Hole COs. Sturm stays in Black Hole territory himself. Again he is defeated by the Allied Nations when they repel the Black Hole offensives and attack Black Hole's headquarters. After the final battle he attempts to detonate a bomb to take the other forces' COs down with him, but is prevented from doing so and killed by Hawke.
His units are stronger overall, boasting 120% attack and 120% defense across the board. Sturm's units retain the ability to move across all terrain unimpeded except when it is snowing.
Unlocking[]
To unlock Sturm in the second game you must get an overall rating of S in the Normal campaign or Hard campaign, then he will be purchasable from Hachi's store.
CO power[]
Sturm does not have a CO power.
Super CO power[]
Sturm retains his CO power, Meteor Strike, from Advance Wars, as his Super Power. It now boosts his units' offense and defense to 140% and 150% respectively, in addition to the same area damage (8 damage within a diamond with a radius of 3 squares).
Tactics[]
Sturm is banned from most competitive settings due to his ability of his units to move through any terrain without a movement penalty except when it is snowing. Unlike Lash, moving through terrain without any penalty is a day-to-day ability, not requiring COP or SCOP. Additionally, Sturm has the hardest hitting Super CO Power in the game. It deals 4 (AW1) or 8 (AW2) damage in a 4x4 radius to all units, regardless of Sturm's units or not and aims for the most expensive troop that is on the field, calculated by the amount of damage done to your opponent. As such, Sturm's power can entirely decimate an army, and there's not much to do about it.
In the original Advance Wars, Sturm's 80/120 stats ensure that you should minimize engaging in offensive tactics unless you are able to destroy the unit or do more damage to the opponent than it does damage back to you. However, the first thing to prioritize is dominate the capture phase as early as possible so that engaging with your opponent's strongest units become a lot slimmer. Based on your funds, calculate an early infantry and recon combination. Use infantries to capture the non-city buildings; being able to go through mountains will easily put you at the advantage. Then, use infantry to capture the cities, preferably the central lines if possible. Use recons to poke the opponent's infantry; this will force them to build the more expensive mechs to counter them as they are unlikely able to produce tanks or APCs at this time. This will not work against Sami, whose infantry will still capture the Cities due to faster capture rate and overwhelming stats, and whose Mechs will be a natural build. The opponent building recons to fight your recon back will likely go in your favor, unless the opponent is Max due to 150/100 stat or Kanbei due to 120/120 stat. Once the game turns to the central battlefield, your opponent will have less buildings captured. From there, you'll have to ensure your frontline cities are well protected, while producing the necessary units to victory. You do not want your opponent capturing those buildings. If your opponent manages to capture your buildings earlier than expected, your units will struggle to go on the offensive unless your opponent decides to go on the offensive against your 120 Defense units. However, your CO Power can decimate your opponent's strongest units, if your opponent fails to prepare beforehand. Only then when you use your CO Power you can go on the offensive.
Advance Wars By Web uses Sturm's Advance Wars 1 Versus statistics and having a COP and SCOP.
In Advance Wars 2, Sturm is purposely overpowered and often banned in games, being the absolute best COs in the game. He still has his terrain ability. Although it takes longer to charge up his SCOP, it is no less devastating. However, what makes him banned is that his 80 attack weakness is no longer there as his new attack power is a massive 120, making him all of his units a massive 120/120. The same strategy from Advance Wars 1 applies, but you can now engage your opponents more offensively and less risk. Since Max was nerfed in this game from 150 attack to 120 attack and Sami also lost her passive defense boost for foot soldiers, Max and Sami can no longer oppose Sturm. The added 8 Damage instead of 4 on SCOP while having near-Kanbei SCOP stats at 140/150 means instant victory in most cases. While he is considered to be the absolute best in the game, keep in mind potential counter-strategies that might give the opposition a chance:
- Other Sturm players.
- Sensei's 140/100 soldiers and 150/100 B-copters. Stock up on anti-airs to deal with all of Sensei's strengths and destroy APCs with Tanks quickly to minimize travel with soldiers, especially the slower Mechs. You do not want Sensei capturing too many cities and using those cities to spam more soldiers with his COP and SCOP. His other ground units at 90/100 won't be dealing much damage,
- Hachi's 90% or 50% cost. Make sure he never gets a chance to capture an even amount of cities. Him making a medium tank or neotank early can still cause problems.
- Colin's 80% cost. Same strategy with Hachi applies here as well, due to 1.5x fund multiplier, with the difference being Colin's weaker firepower making things a lot easier for you to resist, being incapable of one-shotting your units outside of the deadly Power of Money. Colin popping Power of Money risks him unable to produce powerful units.
- Kanbei's increased stats to 130/130. Your best strategy now is to use recons on his infantry and ignore other engagements thanks to higher firepower so that Kanbei's funds are quickly depleted.
- Good luck against Luck-based COs like Nell. Not really a counter strategy, considering that bad luck can occur and cause the opposition to lose, in addition to increased defense minimizing luck calculations.
Quotes[]
Advance Wars[]
"Hmm" "Enigma" during his 1st turn
"Those fools... Their troops are all amassed right there... Bwah ha ha... They've played right into my hands! They'll rue the day they dreamed of opposing me!" The Final Battle during his 1st turn
Power
”Here’s a taste of my power!” The Final Battle
”You will learn to fear my power!”: Versus Mode
Victory
"Who would have thought you could oppose me?"
Black Hole Rising[]
Campaign
"Hawke... you... traitor...": His last words before he died
Power
"You will tremble before my power!"
"Fear is all you have left..."
"You shall not survive!"
"Prepare to embrace darkness!"
"Such power... I regret crushing it."
"Burning earth!!!"
Victory
"My name is Sturm. Hear it and tremble."
Trivia[]
- Sturm's appearance in Advance Wars strongly resembles a snifit from the Mario series. His appearance in Advance Wars 2 resembles Darth Vader from Star Wars.
- In Advance Wars, Sturm's units when playable have their stats inverted, and his CO power is also nerfed, dealing 4 damage to all units caught in the blast instead of 8.
- Sturm means "storm" in German. His Japanese name can sometimes be seen latinized as "Herr Böse", which is German for "Sir/Mr. Evil".
- Although his Advance Wars 2 in-game's description states that he is weak in the snow, this is in fact not true, as only his movement is affected, like any other CO. This description is most likely used because snow is the only thing that can counter Sturm's better movement through terrain.
- Sturm is the only CO other than Eagle to have his original CO Power from Advance Wars become his Super CO Power in Advance Wars 2.
- Grimm's stats sports the same 130/80 stats that Sturm's Mission stats.
- Sturm is the only CO in the Advance Wars trilogy to not return in Advance Wars: Dual Strike, being replaced by Von Bolt.
- This is because Sturm was killed by his right-hand man, Hawke at the end of Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising.
Gallery[]
Advance Wars[]
Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising[]
Videos[]
References[]
- ↑ Doolam, Liam (23 April 2023). "Advance Wars English Voice Actors Officially Announce Their Characters". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
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| Black Hole | |
| COs: | Adder | Clone Andy | Flak | Hawke | Jugger | Kindle | Koal | Lash | Sturm | Von Bolt |
| Bolt Guard: | Jugger | Kindle | Koal | Von Bolt |
| Black Hole Technology: | Oozium 238 |