August 17, 2007

Mechwarrior Strategy Article: Solaris VII Weigh-In: Considering the Warwolf

Trevor the Great has a solid Mechwarrior strategy article up over at Wizkids focusing on the implications of the new Solaris VII rules. I’m not crazy about Solaris VII, personally, thinking that this could easily turn dull. So long as the Solaris stuff doesn’t eclipse standard Mechwarrior combat, however, I’ll keep an open mind about it.

For those of us still digesting the ways in which Solaris differs from standard Mechwarrior, Trevor does a good job laying it out:

” The Solaris arenas lend themselves well to a certain type of ’Mech. Though the combined-arms Age of Destruction game tends to favor ’Mechs with high defenses that can slug it out with vehicles and infantry, the Solaris VII game demands a ’Mech that is more mobile, with enough range to make its opponent pay when it wins initiative. In fact, this writer is of the mind that the single most important special equipment on Solaris is Jump Jets. This allows your ’Mech to take full advantage of abrupt elevated terrain on the board”

In his opinion, Clan Wolf’s Warwolf is a good choice for fighting Solaris VII style. With the proper Mechwarrior piloting it, the Warwolf is a very potent ‘mech in one-on-one combat. And given the way in which high mobility is rewarded in Solaris VII, the 9 standard speed of this mech is pretty sweet. As he puts it:

” By virtue of Fell’s Jump Jets and range, you’ve gained a substantial advantage over most heavy ’Mechs, and you should be able to gain that advantage on any map with abrupt elevated terrain. If the map you’re fighting on has no abrupt elevated terrain, you can still use Jump Jets to outmaneuver your opponent and stack defensive modifiers through hindering terrain.”

Posted by Discoshaman at 04:40 AM | Comments (0)

August 14, 2007

Mechwarrior: Age of Destruction Errata and FAQ

For any Mechwarrior players with questions about Mechwarrior: Age of Destruction, check out the Wizkids FAQ over at their site. The page also contains the list of errata and changes made to Age of Destruction since it displaced Mechwarrior: Dark Age.

Click here for the Mechwarrior: Age of Destruction FAQ and Errata list. . .

Posted by Discoshaman at 04:53 AM | Comments (0)

Tactics 101: Never Feint of Heart

Here’s a fun little strategy article over at Wizkids, cleverly disguised inside a piece of Mechwarrior fanfic. The story features Mechwarrior instructor Sergeant Stan Severo of the Irian Academy of Combative Science (and the Mechwarrior action pack featuring his camouflaged Atlas).

The story focuses on a “teaching moment” featuring SGT Severo and his students watching and analyzing footage from a ‘mech battle. It’s actually pretty well written. Here’s a taste:

” Now in a fury and with a clean line of fire, the Marauder IIC pilot targeted the startled Jackalope and cut loose with a horrendous blast from its right arm PPC. Man-made lightning arced between the two in a bolt of savage ferocity to connect with the light ’Mech’s left torso. The mighty clap ripped through the remaining armor over its chest to tear into the missile launcher beneath, instantly igniting the missiles stored in the launcher’s ammunition bins. Gouts of fire shot from the vent hatches around the stricken ’Mech’s CASE system as it tried in vain to channel the force of the blow away from the Jackalope’s critical systems. It was only partially successful. The great heat from the explosion melted through the internal structure of the torso, causing the left shoulder to cave inward while the concussive force from the detonations tossed the ’Mech around like a rag doll to eventually fall to the soft turf, torn, abused, and bleeding coolant.”

Posted by Discoshaman at 04:34 AM | Comments (0)

August 13, 2007

Using Light Mechs in Competitive Mechwarrior Play

Zac Wendler has written a strategy article over on Wizkids that echoes many of my own thoughts on Mechwarrior strategy – “Living on Cheap Street”. As he writes, most players in Mechwarrior competitions use a single, heavy mech as an anchor for their battle force. A typical 600 points army in Mechwarrior consists of a monster mech, such as a Warhammer IIC or Atlas, supplemented with a wave of infantry or large amounts of artillery. Like Wendler points out, this is similar to the combined arms strategy used by real life militaries. However, it does tend to exclude lots of worthwhile mechs from Mechwarrior competitions. He provides a few thoughts on employing light mechs in a 600-point Mechwarrior army. Here’s a bit of the article:

” It is worth noting, however, that the light ’Mech, one of the most ubiquitous units in the game, is often passed over for roles it could very well fill. In fact, a pair of light ’Mechs can often perform the same job as a fully equipped heavy, do it more effectively, and do it for fewer points. Here are a number of excellent light ’Mechs that you should consider, as well as pilot and gear combinations useful to them.

House Davion Vixen (Wolf Strike #068) (108 pts.)
—Galedon Military Academy Graduate (8 pts.)
—Light Alpha Strike (23 pts.)
Total points: 139

Here, for about the cost of the average tank drop, is a unit with greater range, mobility, and striking power (8 on a hit!). It sports a defense value in line with most tanks, and an attack (10 with Improved Targeting) normal for a heavy tank. And with an effective assault range of 20 inches, just packing one of these in your second rank as an implied threat might force your opponent to maneuver that heavy of his in ways he’d rather not, just to keep it safe.

Bannson’s Raiders Solitaire (Annihilation #051) (100 pts.)
—Scott Graves or Matt Vanek (28 pts.)
—Light Decoy (21 pts.)
Total points: 149

This Solitaire is an absolute wrecking ball compared to almost any other unit in its weight category—and most outside it. The meat of this setup, the Solitaire’s ranged defense, sits pretty at 24 with Decoy on the first click; a pair of these will serve the same function as, and cost substantially less than, “Duke” Nova Cat, a heavy ’Mech from Firepower that has appeared in several Mechwarrior Worlds builds. A 24 defense with Decoy can’t be underestimated, as a ’Mech with a 12 attack will have about a 10 percent chance to hit this unit (rolling a 12 on 3d6 is about a 33 percent chance; square that for 10.89 percent). Given the Solitaire’s 14 base speed and more damage than most medium ’Mechs, this bad boy has the striking power and defense to give enemy range-dependant units hell. Two notable weaknesses in this setup include a general fragility (losing Evasion after the first click hurts) and a weakness to melee attacks. On the other hand, they’re Bannson’s ’Mechs; pack a cheap repair unit or two to bring ’em back to full if they get hit. Another really great gear for this unit is Light Inferno Flamers. At 23 points, this gear can turn big ’Mechs into absolute mush.

“Gray Hunter” Wulfen (Wolf Strike #091) (118 pts.)
—Gwin Fetladral (28 pts.)
—Light Improved Targeting (23 pts.)
Total points: 169

This particular setup is the most expensive light ’Mech combination I recommend, but I do so simply because I find myself using it so frequently. Simply put, Gwin fills any hole you have in your battleforce. She has a long-range primary weapon and high enough mobility to be able to really reach out and touch someone, and with Improved Targeting, you’ll rarely have to worry about misses. Secondary Anti-Personnel is very handy on a light ’Mech, especially when combined with solid range and accuracy. The real gem, however, is that Gwin is the perfect set-up artist for whatever else you have in your battleforce. Hitting with her grants +1 to any other attack your units make against that target. Team her up with a tank drop or a nasty heavy to shore up your hit percentage while supplying your team with a reliable and useful ’Mech.”

Posted by Discoshaman at 04:33 AM | Comments (0)

August 10, 2007

Tips for New Mechwarrior Tournament Players

Calvin Lin has a strategy paper up over at Wizkids full of tips for new Mechwarrior tournament players. He lists five major considerations for those new to competitive Mechwarrior play:

- He advises new players to build their Mechwarrior battleforce before arriving at the tournament. Before the day of the tournament, they should read the specific rules and scenarios for the event. They should then construct one or two Mechwarrior battleforces which will work well within those rules.

- Players should use every build point allotted them in making their battleforces. After all, by ceding points to their opponents they’re giving them an advantage for Victory Condition 2.

- Measure your opponent’s firing ranges before moving your units. “Here is a good way to visualize your opponent’s ranges. Imagine a halo surrounding all opposing units. If the halos overlap, that area becomes darker. The darker the area, the more dangerous it is. If you are forced to move into range of your opponent, look for the “lighter” areas. If you can, overlap those dark areas with halos of your own. By bringing more units to bear on your opponent’s units, you’re making him or her choose to fire and be counterattacked or retreat out of danger.”

- Figure out what you’re going to do with your orders before declaring your first one. This will keep you from making tactical mistakes. For example, declaring an assault move to base an opposing ‘mech, only to decide to fire at him with a ranged attack instead. I would add that it’s also very important to decide what order you’re going to give your units orders. For example, a lot of newbies will give a vent order to an out of danger mech, giving their opponent a chance to get the first shot over in the thick of the fight. Mechwarrior battles go by too quickly for such mistakes; they’ll cost you a tournament in a heartbeat.

- Grab Victory Condition 3 – a lot of players overlook victory condition three, thinking only of shooting up the enemy. In a close match, the points gained by VC3 can be decisive. Even if you’re winning a particular mech battle, running up the score is still valid. The final rankings in a Mechwarrior tournament depend on Victory Condition points. Like Lin says, the difference of a few points might mean either going home empty handed, or with bragging rights and a shiny new battlemech

Posted by Discoshaman at 04:47 AM | Comments (0)

August 04, 2007

Constructing a House Davion Mechwarrior Army

Michael Miller has another good article up over at Wizkids. This one looks at some of the basic mech, infantry and vehicle units for House Davion and examines their relative merits. He points out the basic strengths of House Davion in Mechwarrior – high damage values, lots of damage special equipment, and slightly-above-average attack ratings, as well as their weaknesses – only average defense values and lower than average speed for their mechs.

He likes the new Davion battleforce a lot, arguing that all of the mechs included in the faction action pack are worthwhile additions to your Davion army:

The long-awaited (at least by me!) House Davion Battleforce Set is a good place for us to start. Each piece in the Set is very solid and has a place in a multitude of builds. We will start with the Enforcer IIIs, which are very nice indeed! Need high damage? Looking to take out some infantry or vehicles? Well, Enforcer BF-000 can be of some assistance. Decked out for fewer than 200 points, this can be an infantry’s worst nightmare: a starting damage of 5, some Anti-Personnel gear, and a decent pilot (any +2 attack gunslinger or generic pilot will do). But my favorite pilot for the Enforcer? Duke Aaron Sandoval. Nothing beats a +1/2/2 pilot—well, nothing yet! And the recently released Infantry Hunter Retrofit gear makes any medium-’Mech with the ballistic damage type cause for infantry to run and hide!

He also lists a few of his favorite infantry for a House Davion build. In addition to Grey Death Scout Armor, he likes:

” Speaking of infantry, the House Davion–Swordsworn alliance has some of the most versatile and useful infantry out there, starting with my favorite factioned infantry, the Simian Battle Armor. This infantry should be starting infantry (it is for me!) for fast-moving armies. With a 10 speed, these BAs get where they need to be!

A decent attack and the energy range type make formations of these BAs nasty against opposing ’Mechs. Another pair of fast movers for Davion and the Swordsworn are the Purifier Battle Armors. The Swordsworn Purifier is a good option for 13 points; it fills gaps and provides cheap formation capability for things such as transport formations. The Davion Purifier is much like the Simian Battle Armor for the cost. If you are looking to tie up some stuff before the game begins, there is always the Davion ATV. I find that a nice ATV formation using the faction pride that gives +1 to damage is a nice wake-up call for many units.”

Posted by Discoshaman at 04:45 AM | Comments (0)

August 03, 2007

Looking to connect with other Mechwarrior fans?

Check out the Mechwarrior Chat Channel over at Wizkids

Posted by Discoshaman at 04:46 AM | Comments (0)

August 01, 2007

Solaris VII FAQ

For anyone with questions about the latest installment from Mechwarrior, Solaris VII, check out the Solaris VII FAQ from the Wizkids website:

Solaris VII FAQ

Posted by Discoshaman at 04:51 AM | Comments (0)