Vietnam Revolts
1946
Ho Chi Minh tried repeatedly to enlist the aid of the Truman Administration for independence. His letters never received a response. The French government, with support from the US and Britain, attempted to reestablish its colony in Indochina. The attempted was doomed and would lead to disaster at Dien Bien Phu.
Time: Early War
Side: USSR
Ops: 2
Removed after event: Yes
As USSR
This card starts off very strong and quickly becomes worse and worse as the game goes on. On Turn 1, before Thailand has been claimed, this is a superb headline and an easy way to grab the crucial battleground. By Turn 3, or worse, the Mid War, your attention is probably elsewhere, since the US will probably already have taken Thailand. If the US hasn’t overcontrolled Thailand because you don’t have access to it, this can be a nice way to sneak into Thailand with the China Card.
The bonus to Operations is quite nice, though there aren’t really that many ways to spend all those Operations in Southeast Asia, since you’ll rarely venture south of Thailand. It does mean that if you plan on playing the card during the turn, you should headline it for maximum benefit. It’s a good headline candidate because it’s strong enough to be meaningful, but it’s not the end of the world if it runs into Defectors.
Riku Riekkinen’s thoughts:
Vietnam Revolts is a very good headline, because it allows the USSR to instantly dominate Asia (in case the US tries to dump Asia Scoring on the headline).
There are 4 camps regarding headlining Vietnam Revolts on Turn 1:
1) Don’t do that. Wait until DEFCON is 3, so that US can’t coup you out of there. This might cost you Thailand, depending on whether the US is already in Malaysia when you play Vietnam Revolts. You might still be able to flip Thailand with your +1 Ops and China Card, however.
2) Headline it and coup Iran AR1. Now US can start a coup-counter coup routine in Vietnam, but it’s couping at a disadvantage due to Vietnam Revolts’ +1. So the US is really looking to empty out Vietnam with a coup, which it has a 1/6 chance of doing so on each roll.
3) Headline it and play into Thailand & Laos/Cambodia. Now, if the US coups Thailand, you can coup it back at +1. Even if the US empties Thailand, preventing you from counter-couping, you still have backup countries in Southeast Asia and can retake Thailand before the US.
Now, it’s generally agreed that couping Iran is the best move for USSR on Turn 1 AR1. However, if you’re playing with influence bids for the US, Iran is sometimes overcontrolled so heavily that couping Iran is no longer worthwhile. This Vietnam Revolts headline play is a strong alternative, and probably much better than Socialist Governments & Italy.
4) Headline it and play Asia scoring on AR1, scoring a quick and dirty Domination. Probably the worst of these options, but a possibility if you have a truly, truly terrible hand (e.g., nothing but 1 Ops after a Red Purge/Scare headline).
As US
Completely harmless if played on the final Action Round, so long as you make sure you already took Thailand (and possibly Laos/Cambodia). This card is a good reason not to play into Vietnam unless you need the country immediately for Asia Scoring or Southeast Asia Scoring.
Twilight Strategy 
After Vietnam Revolts and Red Scare/Purge played by the USA how many points can USSR player use in Southeast Asia using a 1Op card? I thought it was 1 but the script allowed two.
Definitely 1. As per the rules, the Ops reductions/additions are never calculated in specific order so that one effect could be nulled (I think the script you are using has a design flaw here.)
I think worth mentioning here is the Vietnam Revolts/Duck and Cover combo as USSR). Headline Vietnam Revolts, and then coup Iran with Duck and Cover. It allows you to drop DEFCON to 3 in one play, keeping your Vietnam influence safe, AND allowing you to take Thailand on AR2, AND preventing the US from dumping Asia scoring on the headline, AND also taking the Iran coup with a 3 ops card, AND dumping Duck and Cover at only 1 VP. I love doing this (and there is a 12.1% chance of being able to if the US doesn’t headline defectors).
I have a question here, which is more generic but referenced in your post: The US could still [unluckily] headline Asia scoring here, correct – they’re neither actually prevented or intimidated out of playing it? There is a lot of talk about being “worried” – but why would you be particularly worried about a specific play on Turn 1, before the opponent can tip their hand? I’m assuming that in general, you don’t know what cards your opponent has on Turn one – and there’s only a 10% chance they hold any particular card that isn’t in your Turn 1 hand.
You are correct. I think by “prevent” he just means “preventing the US from getting away with a Asia Scoring dump”.
The odds are way more than 10% of them holding a particular card that you don’t have. 7/31 comes out to like 25%. But yes, I meant “prevent US from dumping Asia scoring successfully.” You’ll get 5 VP if they try it.
There is a risk to this combo though. If your coup is too weak, US coups back with lowering Devcon to 2 and confirming its presence in IRAN and access to Pakistan etc. Then, at the end of AR 1, you are left with Vietnam and a possibility to play into Thailand in AR2 and the US player is in Iran, with a possibility to play into S. Korea and Pakistan in AR2…In addition, I do not see any experienced players dumping scoring cards in the headline anymore – probably a result of people following Theory’s tips&tricks 😉
This situation isn’t that bad, because you will be using your bonus SE asia influence very effectively. You immediately can get +1 by placing in Thailand and Laos/Cambodia. On your next AR, you’ll be able to move into Burma and Malaysia, threatening India. The US player has to immediately move into Pakistan and then India. Indo/Pakistani War works to your advantage here. In the worst-case scenario (Assuming you both coup with a 3, then place with a 2 and a 3), you will have 6 total countries at this point, to the US’s 4, and 2 battlegrounds to the US’s 3.
The reason I like this opening so much is that (1) it’s efficient at using the VR bonus influence, (2) when it succeeds, you get Asia domination, and when it fails, you have locked the USA out of Asia Domination. (3) Countering an Asia Scoring headline is merely a side benefit.
Hey, it says ‘to any card’, so if i play Decol as an event and put all 4 in SEA, may i put another one when VR is in effect or does the word ‘operation’ make it clear that it only relates to cards played for ops?
It only applies to cards played for ops.
If you play VR and then play the China Card, can you place 6 influence in SE Asia? (I realise that you’re unlikely to want to.)
Yes. If you coup, then it’s a a 6 op coup as well.
Yeah I’ve never placed IP as a 6-op like that, but I have couped Thailand with 6-ops once before.
If DEFCON remains unusually high, what about the thought of the US playing this card allowing the event to be first applied, then couping Vietnam with the Ops? Is it worth the risk?
At the end of turn 1? You’re doing a 2-ops coup vs a 1-stability country, so on a roll of 2+ you clear them out, and on 3+ you’re left with control. (If you headlined Containment, then you’re guaranteed to remove all the influence)
The downside of this strategy is that it doesn’t drop DEFCON, so the USSR can counter-coup. And as with all 1-stability coups, the odds of winding up with really high influence numbers from good rolls is real. Plus they’ll be rolling on a bonus for the counter-coup, from the card you just played, if you do it any time before AR6.
Do not headline this on Turn 1. US coups you out and has easily access to Thailand, while you are cut off SE Asia.
Regarding camp (2)’s claim of USSR being at an advantage due to them having +1, this isn’t exactly the case. The US will win the exchange if no influence is in Vietnam– regardless of who is couping. To avoid this outcome and a loss of tempo, the USSR must coup with the goal of having the lowest rolled value enough to place 1 back into Vietnam. The US, on the other hand, must only worry about the loss of tempo, so they can guarantee a “successful” coup using cards with 1 less ops. The +1 received by the USSR, while beneficial, is simply mitigating the US’s implied advantage, leaving USSR even in the Coup trade, not at an overall advantage.