Woah Man, That's Heavy

Let's go back. Way back. Way, way back. Back to the time when Coyotes strode the land, proud and alert, and Sabre's slunk behind each other in conga lines of death, articulated rail guns raising up and down like a Giraffe's neck. This was a time when the Heavy choice was a dangerous one, and if an adversaries army fielded one of these units it had to the potential to radically adjust your game plan. You see, the Gladius used to be a hefty elephant of war, and if an Odin dropped near, well, pretty much anything, it was brown trousers time.

These two units are a great example of how the game has developed over the last year and a half, for either better or worse. Both embody the characteristics of what you would believe make up a heavy unit; they both pack dangerous weaponry, can take a bit of a kicking, but are as slow as a paraplegic turtle. You would use them as a hammer blow on a back to back activation, drop last and activate first next turn, and the results could be devastating!

This has radically altered though. Since then the game has shifted dramatically, favouring speed and agility over brute force and armour. Not only this, but over time the elements that made these specialist tanks dangerous have become a lot less unique. Energy 11 weapons were a premium to begin with, but as the Arms Race began to rise E11 weapons have become easier to access and are more common place. As for durability, the power creep has again caused issues here, but more than that there are cheaper units which just soak damage better than these hulking goliaths of old.

As a result the Heavy choice has suffered a very similar blow to that of the Standard choice, and I rarely see or field heavy units in the warzone. If you don't believe me and accuse me of blowing out air hotter and stickier than microwaved jam, let's have a looksy at each race;

PHR
The previous God of War in the dropzone, the Odin walker, has become practically non-existent in recent times, which is a shame. They were a complete arsehole to play against and exuded an aura of total domination wherever they roamed. So what happened? The Helios and Medusa rocked up, that's what. A single Medusa in a Triton X is more dangerous, quicker, robust, flexible and cheaper than two Odins in a Neptune. This may not have been enough to bury the unit, but the excellence that is the Helios demand that they have a place in a PHR list, and after this there are really no more points left to spend.

The Hades is the other, even larger heavy walker that we don't see too much these days either. What's crazy is that it is genuinely great, but remains a stark reminder of how slow and stoic the PHR were before their new unit releases. Slow and steady does not win the race in this case. And as for the Taranis, well, that is a totally different issue altogether...

Resistance
Not the worst sufferers by any means, but how often do you really see Hanibals and Zhukovs? I mean really? I took some Hanibals to the last Invasion, horribly mis-used them after writing a whole article about how we should be using them, and got no worth out of them at all really as their utility is ultimately a little stunted. I still stand by my article, but in reality two units of Vets in buses are just so much better.

Zhukovs have some die hard fans, I know this much, but the maths say that three Gun Wagons are better at the same job. They pose a more hardy AA bubble certainly, but boy do you pay for it.

Scourge
Like with a lot of different rules, I've been banging on at Hawk Dave and Simon to fix the Slayers for about two years now. The painfully obvious fault with the Slayer and Tormentor is that they are armour 8. I'll put this into perspective for you; I doubled a Slayer out with an Intruder at Coastal Assualt. One six, and poooof, dead Slayer. Why aren't they armour 9!? This isn't really a new development though. The Hunter has always been the best standard AT tank in the game and continues to be so, and I can't see a future where Slayers are worth taking over them (which is totally bollocks from a selfish point of view, as I own four of the things).

Tormentors had their very rare uses but were finally neutered on the arrival of the Raider. Now with the Coruptor due for release very shortly the last trick (or worm if you will) up the sleeve of these two tanks has been removed. The Scourge need a heavy unit for ground presence, but these two just aren't up for the job.

Shaltari
Nothing to see here, move along...

As always Shaltari have to be different, and they actually have the most useful Heavy choices in the game. They are also the only race which make E10 worthwhile, in the form of the Caiman's triple shot gun. I really wasn't keen on the Caiman on release, but as the average level of armour has decreased from A10 their usefulness has multiplied twofold (not quite tenfold, or even fourfold). The Ocelot actually got a boost within the last year, and we see these now more than ever before! Bloody Shaltari, ruining my point!

That said the antique Jaguar is possibly a loser here, as four E6 AA and 2 E10 AT shots is pretty weak for a 100 point unit, but it still has its uses.

UCM
The grand Gladius and initially-gimped-but-then-almost-resurrected Scimitar are the tanks which see the least table time in this list. Much like the Odin, the Gladius has been replaced with units which are faster, more durable and offer more utility like the Ferrum, Eagle and Hazard Suits. I honestly can't remember the last time I faced off against the Gladius!

The Scimitar pops up every now and then, but remains a luxury unit which is likely to fall of the face of the Cradle Worlds with the Crosbow's (Longbow laser variant) imminent release.

In conclusion (excluding the Shaltari) each of the above units has either had their jobs taken by units which are cheaper, better or easier to fit in a list, or simply don't have a role in the modern game any more. In my opinion this has resulted in the Heavy slot becoming a bit of a luxury. Is this a bad thing? Perhaps. The very fact that there are support and exotic choices which are better at delivering the job of the Heavy choice is a little worrying, and for a whole battlegroup to not be chosen on a consistent basis summons the word 'unbalance' to my quivering lips.

This is of course fixable with the release of new units and tweak of old ones, but I'm finding it hard to figure out how to make a heavy unit feel 'Heavy' again. Higher energy? Nope, can't do that. More armour? Even the throw-away thought of the possibility of A11 over more DP's makes me shake nervously. That could open even more drastic possibilities, like a passive save on super heavy tanks fr instance.

It's a tricky question to answer. For now though, our sad and lonely heavy tanks will just sit in their bunkers, gathering dust and dreaming of the 'good 'ol days'; not better days mind you, just different.

P.S. We'll start being up-beat again soon, I promise. It's not all doom and gloom as the game is still the best wargame on the market, this topic just happened upon me!