Heh...if I were you Sarge, I'd pitch one of the Sollies and get some pilots in the rest of them. Really, post-AOD 'Mechs are incomplete without pilots, and I'd much rather have the extra accuracy of a good +2 pilot than a fourth chance at that deathblast. Besides, if you do it right you should be able to field four pilots in four Solitaires as well and just hope you don't need to repair.

Disagree. With Seismic Damper out there now the Deforester is suddenly a LOT more useful as it will be one of the few ways you can deal with a SD equipped army.

I don't think SD is going to see much play since it needs to be rolled for use each turn no matter whether it is being targetted or not. How many turns in a row can you avoid that 1. By turn 4 you have less than a 50:50 chance of still having it. By turn 7 you have about a 75% chance of having lost it and yielded the points for it over to your opponent.

And what could you accomplish in 7 turns? I dunno about you but most MW games I have seen are around 10-15 turns (typically being more towards the lower end of that range). So 7 turns is most of the game! And if you run Swan, for example, in to hindering in the middle of the board on turn 1 ... with his range bonus he can reach the entire board essentially without having to move at that point. Are you sayin he's not going to be able to at least nuke 20ish points worth of support in that amount of time?

Bunker Buster and Deforester are handy if you know a player who likes to park in hindering to beef up defense to crazy levels (something I see often with Jonah Levin or Peacemaker) or hide behind blocking and use streak missiles or indirect fire like mad.

I just used the Overcharger on my Swordsworn Thunder Fox last night, figuring it'd be handy for retreating back to repair if the mech gets blown down to zero movement, but it was also useful in boosting the assault range while in hindering terrain, or for moving out of it.

yeah, i wasnt saying that Bunker Buster/Deforester were TOTALLY useless, as you said, a Bunker Buster can really ruin a streak missile-loving player's day. its just that they aren't usable enough in common everday games to be a real asset.

I've got one and a CNC PHawk to drop it in (16" of potential 9 damage...) but it CONSTANTLY FAILS on me. It's like the card is cursed or something! The only time it DID work was when I paired the PHawk with two CW mechs.

Moral of the story: Don't rely on RISC cards. When they fail it's like dropping the soap in a prison shower. Only this time Bubba has misplaced his tub of Vasoline...:eek:

Bunker Buster and Deforester have their uses. They are as follows: deny Yami/Streakers their cover, and deny Camouflaged/Dampened units their shrubbery.

In a competitive tournament scene...how often do you see either type of unit? Even if there is a dedicated Yami/Streak player in your scene and/or a Man WHo Loves Hindering, can you really give up the gear slot in your 'Mech just to inconvenience that one player, whom you may not even draw as an opponent?

As for the argument against the R.I.S.C. Seismic Dampener...just like in the Metagame Strategy thread, I say to you that if you don't think you'll be facing a nasty attack during your opponent's turn, then choose to leave the Dampener off, don't roll for it. It'll guarantee that they can shoot you, yes, but we are talking assault 'Mechs in hindering. They tend to be pretty hard targets. Save it for when the other guy's 12IT unit is standing 8" away from your assault with a WH TGR drop one move away from it. Then bank on denying them firing line.

Guys, remember: R.I.S.C. gear is optional. if you don't need it, turn it off and save yourself some chances at busting it.

That is true for the ability but if the roll comes before the optional part, then the roll is not optional. As has been stated in the past, SD requires a roll each and every turn no matter whether you plan to use it or not.

I have only 1 APM card and alone it is pretty useless. With 4, however, the story changes greatly. If you have 3-4 BR solis in range of a target, the chances of having all 3 APM rolls fail is very small. You only need one to connect for devastating effect. If you intend to run APM armies, you need more cards.

That's the truth of it. Do you disagree? Huh? Huh?

I thought not.

the nastiest combo ive seen with APM was kelly bonilla piloting a davion havoc. 15 clicks of damage is awsome.

where did i get 15 from? it should be 12. oh well.

Davion Faction Pride could bring base damage up to 5 on a Havoc, so 15 is doable.

If they're dumb enough to have optional equipment still require a roll, that will be an "instant" ignore by me.

I have to disagree with those of you who say APM is bad, if you are already in range of your target or assaulting what negitive effects will it have on your shot..........None. If you fail you still fire, if you suceed you murder your target. now if you didnt have apm(like me) would you never fire your light mech energy weapon.......hhmmm.
But not all R.I.S.C. cards will be usefull,whats viral beacon whatever for? If you happened to have Hyper laser and where within your max range would you not use it,maybe, to increase your damage. R.I.S.C. siesmic dampner, you'll see me sport this with my CW maurader all the time ,its like shootin with a corner shot gun,when my head just happens to stick out are you sure you'll hit me or will you just run untill I loose it,maybe have support fast enough to run away?
these gear are uber,I think they came out with to many.