The AFDlx book says it comes with 176 counters but it looks like both 88 count sheets are identical - down to the leaders and the Soviet units. Is that correct?
That is correct. The original Arctic Front came with one 88-counter countersheet, and Deluxe comes with the same sheet, but includes two of them.
Double the counters make larger scenarios possible.
Thanks for the info - I wasn't sure if this was a mistake.