1st side vs 2nd side pros and cons

[Dog Soldier]

Generally speaking, the longer a scenario, the smaller the first turn advantage becomes.

What advantage? First I am going to take your stick away. Then I will hit you on the head with it. Sure you get the first punch. But that settles nothing, even in a two or three day scenario.

But yes, in most wargames the first player is going to have a good to excellent first turn, also because that's necessary to get anywhere most of the time.

Nah! Well designed scenarios are becoming more the norm in the PzC series. There is no perfect first turn. Too many things can still go wrong even on the first turn. My job as the second player is to see that they do for you.
"Just a fly in the ointment, Hans. The monkey in the wrench. The pain in the ass." -- John McClane

In games where you know what the weather is going to be next turn, the second player can prepare for the weather in a better way than the first player, which can be a substantial equalizer. In a PzC game, I'd say the second player also gets an advantage with dusk turns due to the visibility decrease that he can prepare for in a more efficient manner than the first player.

Weather, smeather. It rains or shines on all equally. Ask raizer or Strela.

Dog Soldier