You walk into the local game shop and see the M44 W/D board. You think...
A) An expansion to M44! Must. buy. now. Go to 2.
B) I do enjoy me some Memoir. I wonder if this is needed. Go to 1.
C) Memoir is for the little sissy boys not ready to man up for a real game, like ASL. Go to 4.

1) I think of what appeals to me about Memoir.
A) It's all about the strategy. Sometimes I'll substitute units from the wrong armies so that I can play scenarios that I don't have all of the expansions for. Go to 4.
B) The look and feel of the game is crucial to me. I hate the way mismatched hexes look on the board. Go to 2.
C) I don't play winter or desert scenarios often, but I might if I had the board. Go to 3.

2) Completists and those drawn to the look and feel of the game over the game mechanics need to own this board. Yeah, it's pricy. Yeah, it's not essential. However, it does add a lot to the feel of winter scenario to play on a winter board.

3) It's a toss up. The board adds a little to the game, but you can have a lot of fun playing tons of scenarios without it. For a bit more money, you could buy a second full game of Memoir and have enough for an Overlord scenario, so think twice before buying.

4) This board offers nothing for people that don't like Memoir or only play it for the game mechanics. Frankly, I can't understand how anyone couldn't like Memoir (just kidding!), but this isn't needed if you find yourself having the Allied forces sub in for Russian soldiers so you can play Eastern Front scenarios.

This is a fun addition to a Memoir collection, but only truly needed for those that play a lot of Eastern Front or Mediterranean scenarios.

Actually, there is another reason to buy it; if you buy the Operation Overlord pack, but have only one board, this is a source for a second.