The NWA is made keen to have an Ogre and play in the NWA Alpha Strike Tournament . The Ogre maybe from an alternative universe but the Battletech universe does have a 175 Super Heavy Tank in the Şoarece. This force is built out of the Inner Sphere Striker force pack with a few 3D printed miniatures.
Force Registry
Using MUL I have created a 12 unit force with a PV of 399 which fulfils the force criteria as follows:
Force
| Unit | Type | Role | Ammo | Base PV | Skill | Final PV | HMMf PV/5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackjack BJ-2 | BattleMech | Sniper | AC Precision (2/2/-) Melee CASE | 30 | 3 | 36 | 8 |
| Catapult CPLT-C1 | BattleMech | Missile Boat | LRM Dead Fire (2/2/-) IF1 CASE | 32 | 3 | 38 | 8 |
| Jenner JR7-F | BattleMech | Striker | Energy | 32 | 3 | 38 | 8 |
| Panther PNT-8Z | BattleMech | Brawler | 20 | 4 | 20 | 4 | |
| Rifleman RFL-5D | BattleMech | Brawler | Energy | 32 | 2 | 44 | 9 |
| Wolfhound WLF-2 | BattleMech | Striker | Energy | 28 | 3 | 38 | 7 |
| Demolisher Heavy Tank (MRM) | Combat Vehicle | Juggernaut | 38 | 4 | 38 | 8 | |
| Demolisher Heavy Tank (MRM) | Combat Vehicle | Juggernaut | 38 | 4 | 38 | 8 | |
| Şoarece Superheavy MBT | Combat Vehicle | Juggernaut | AC Precision (3/3/-) | 66 | 4 | 66 | 14 |
| Karnov UR Transport | Combat Vehicle | Scout | 11 | 4 | 11 | 3 | |
| Gray Death Strike Suit (Sqd5) | Infantry | Ambusher | 17 | 4 | 17 | 4 | |
| Gray Death Strike Suit (Sqd5) | Infantry | Ambusher | 17 | 4 | 17 | 4 | |
| 397 | 85 |
Formations
| Formation | Formation Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Battle Lance | Blackjack Catapult Rifleman 5 points of Lucky SPA |
| 2 | Striker Lance | Jenner Panther- Speed Demon SPA Wolfhound – Speed Demon SPA |
| 3 | Support Lance | Demolisher Demolisher Şoarece Karnov Strike Suit Squad Strike Suit Squad 3 points of Lucky SPA |
Special Pilot
| Unit | Pilot Skill | SPA 1 | SPA 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rifleman RFL-5D | 2 | Sniper | Medium Range Master |
| (SPA Cost:3 ) | (SPA Cost:2 ) |
Scenario Tactics
El Presidente is very keen on armour infantry and minimal mechs and this posed a challenge in fielding a tournament legal and hopefully effective force. The two small battlemech lances and large combat vehicle / infantry lance will require some focus and finesse to work. I am sure that with his depth of experience and lucky dice will see him through.
This force has plenty of size (26) with lots of units and decent speed. Concentrating the Blackjack, Catapult and Rifleman into a battle lance maximises the potential of the damage dealing mechs. The short striker lance has the good all round speed, damage and armour required by this formation. These two lances in combination bring the flexibility needed to adapt to the tactical situation on the battlefield. This leaves the large support lance which is really 2 sections. The first is the Karnov with the 2 strike suit units, which bring minimal damage potential but speed, range and an annoying few points of damage to remove so they can’t claim or contest objectives. The second is the Şoarece and two Demolishers, which provide the force with 16 damage at S and M ranges, a combined size 12 and enough armour to give survive most of the battle.
The finesse required with this force is how to launch the scout suits into advantageous positions without losing the Karnov to a lucky shot. As a VTOL moves 22″ in level flight with a TMM of 4 with the +1 when airborne, but the strike suits are 6″ foot so the Karnov needs to land to deploy them cutting the move to 20″ (an alternative build which is not tournament legal is to take scout units with 8″ jump, that can deploy via ziplines, anywhere along the line of movement without the Karnov having to land, gaining a +3 target modifier on landing). So a one strike suit has the potential to deploy almost anywhere on the battlefield in turn 2 and the Karnov can still go back and pick up the other sprinting forwards at 9″ per turn. With 2/2/- damage and AM a rear attacking strike suit is still dangerous and get in quick for finding out who has a price on their head’s in Bounty Hunting or spotting for the Catapult. With 2 strike suits and the Karnov, you have a lot of spotting ability.
Your tanks have no finesse at all, needing clear lines of movement and firing lanes to maximum their damage potential. The challenge to your opponent is whether to focus fire on them at all in favour of concentrating on the battlemechs. Or can you do enough damage to gain Heavy Metal Mayhem (HMM) points before the battlemech as in position to be a nuisance around objectives. Alternatively will the tanks force your opponent to hide and slow their advance to avoid 16 damage dice.
2 Auto Cannons armed units with Precision Ammo is probably sufficient for high TMM threats and 5 out of your 6 mechs will shrug off the double 1 critical hits due to CASE and Energy weapons.
Overall this is force might not be a contender for the top table, but anyone facing it will have to make some really good decisions or they will find that the “Ogre” might spoil their day!