exis knows what I'm talking about

the battle master(s) suck compared to a 16" (or 18") because alpha gets first shot. infact, most mechs have a 18" or less assalt order- they literally need to move into firing range to set up a shot. once alpha is in position, she owns the board. What defence you have is allot less important when when anything shooting at you has been shot for 5AP I think.

charge is more important to dragons furry and jade whatever than ever before- why? if you don't have range- you have to charge. The 2 point penalty for charging around building is laufable to both factions, they have higher than average attack vallues anyway.

besides, as a sword sworn player, the only good mechs I have left are morjornirs and pheonix hawks- and charge is what they do best. I've always hated charge, but its really all I have left.

oh, and top gun, I was just waiting for AOD to come out to play again, but now I hope to play you at origens.... I'll bring my alpha, you bring yours

One of the key things you are forgeting is that Kerensky doesn't prevent being charged in the first place. Agility, is still much better than Kerensky's ability. Alpha's sweet spot is exactly that. A brief moment in Her dial thats good. 2 clicks later and your 250+ point investment is garbage.
Realistically, hitting a 21 defense is a cake walk for ANYTHING. Infantry drops, other mechs, even the gimped vehicles of AOD will have no problem pegging a 21 defense. 2 damage past Alphas sweet spot and its over.

Right now, whopping 4 days after AoD's release, the most overrated combos are Caber/Tara and Anastasia/Alpha. Anastasia in Alpha is like what? 229 points? For a 21 defense? And 3, maybe 4 good clicks of damage potential?

In the Top tier meta everyone will be fielding uber mechs with 12 attacks and 23 defenses on top of whatever gear they are fielding (support being probably infantry drops and/or dual arty) All of which will have no problem dismantling a 21 defense. Maybe even before Alpha can even get to the sweet spot.

A Charge can be prevented too easily in the post AoD meta. When said uber mechs are costing 250+ points on average the Charge order becomes nothing more than a liabilty. When swarms of transported infantry are roaming around to solely wreak havoc on Mechs and Artillery there will always be a way to prevent the Charge from ever happening.

Its nothing special that every army will consist of some ungodly uber mech combo. The trick is to identify these combos and counter them. The popular consensus seems to be Anastasia/Alpha kick a$$. So its going to be expected on the field that when you see Alpha expect to see Anastasia. But in the end, it won't pan out that way in the top competitive builds. The expected is often the easiest foiled. It will be Caber with Fernali or Alpha with Ryohara that make the biggest impact because they are ultimately less expensive to field= better deal= freed up space for LE combat engineers.

I agree that Anastasia in Alpha is awesome. But there's no way I could say with a straight face I feel comfortable having a 21 peak defense for a 200+ investment. Anastasia could poo money every time I clicked her and I still wouldn't feel good about a 21 defense. Somehow, a 22 Defense sits so much better with me.

But then again, thats just me!

Hmm... many things to be said... where shall I begin?

Agility vs. Kerensky: If agility were available for heavy 'mechs, then great! As it isn't, Alpha and the steel wolves leader are the next best thing. Besides--you have to remember that the enemy will be taking their full damage. This is a serious deterrent.

Besides, do you seriously expect Alpha to be alone on the field or something? At 267, Alpha, Kerensky, and Decoy are not exactly filling up your battleforce. that's 183 points of arty, infantry, backup tanks--whatever! You could even field another 'mech, if you really wanted to. What are you afraid of? A tank drop? Without the DF Schmitts, nothing is sure enough to hit an 11 (or more likely 12) twice to be worth the risk of 5 AP. That's if the transport even reaches Alpha--by the time it's been pogged a bit, and pushed, Alpha can AO it into oblivion.

I'm not saying Alpha is the best 'mech out there. I'm just saying Alpha with whatserface is NOT a better combo than with Kerensky. Besides--fluff-wise, would Ryohara really be piloting Kerensky's personal 'mech? For the purists out there... OUCH.

Again, Alpha is not the best. It's just awesome.

Dust storm anyone?

Naw... but I'll go for a Perfect Day.

Just to clear my ideas up, what I described was just what I'd do according to my playstyle. Call it personal preference which is so great about customizing mechs!
I can't really say 'x' is better than 'y' without being subjective and personally biased.

Honestly, (again, according to my playstyle) if I were to field Anastasia in Alpha I wouldn't worry about Decoy Heavy Gear. Mainy because a 21 defense with Decoy isn't going to stop an oppossing tricked out mech from pounding the #### out of me.


If I'm running Anastasia and Alpha, I'm going to equip H Improved Targeting gear to make sure I can hit a 24 Defense fairly easily with or without an AO.

If I'm running Aiko Ryohara and Alpha, I'll use H Decoy gear. Because a 22 Defense with Decoy has a realistic chance against other tricked out mechs.

Very true--and I'm posting according to my playstyle of course. This is really all subjective I suppose, but I'd just say... No, Alpha is not the best 'mech ever. Nasty, but not the best.

Having played against that Phoenix Hawk IIC with the pilot that can shoot 2x his range giving him a 25 inch assault with an attack of effectively 8 (should he need to assault) I have to say I think he is hands down the best unit of the game.

Take another medium mech and stick repair on it and the Phoenix Hawk can stand back and lob lots o death from long range. JF, with their consistantly low defenses definitly has a hard time dealing with this mech. The possibilites for this phoenix hawk are legion. Enough move to assault right out of an artillery strike. A high enough defense to generally avoid damage from most pilots. I wont say is unbeatable, I have already beaten it but from what I have seen in this set, this phoenix hawk is stellar and being gunslinger it can be whatever faction you want it to be.

vdek can not assault when doubling his range- the card states ranged combat order

though I will admit, 20" range is exceptional. but not while avoiding artilery strikes, and trading acuacy for your defence, and a click of life each time

good, but not better. Though, if hes present when hammer/wolf is in effect, he might get to use 24" range. That would be 1" better than alpha, and may present a problem.

You can't make an Assault order and use the pilots ability at the same time. Because you have to give a "Ranged combat order" to the Phoenix Hawk to double range. You can never give 2 seperate 'orders' to a Mech with one action.

The -2 attack makes it impossible for the Phoenix Hawk to connect reliably. Especially against all the Evade and Decoy running rampant. The Phoenix Hawk is good but I wouldn't consider it "top tier".

And far from the best unit in the game.

If I had to pick just 1 'best unit' it would be:

Milagro piloted by Aiko Ryohara=203 points for a 23 Defense and awesome stats with plenty of points left over (247) for whatever else.

Or the beefed up version:

Milagro piloted by Aiko Ryohara with Heavy Decoy gear recruited to CJF.


11 attack, 5 damage (4 or more for 7 clicks), 9 move with JJ and 23 Defense w/decoy as well as all the JF faction abilities goodness all for around 250 points.

Or the "never miss" variation:


Milagro piloted by Celina Santos with Heavy Improved Targeting Gear recruited to CJF is also phenomenal.

11 Move w/JJ. 1/3 of the time the black die rolls 6. IT to reroll any die, lots of damage potential. Whats crazy is that Celina will basically have an average 11 attack value until salvage.

This mech is not by any means the best mech. Very very good, no doubt, but you best believe that any charger worth its salt can trash it. The defense is pretty freakin low for a Heavy mech. Of course, the 16" range makes charging more difficult, but it can be accomplished with a high-damage Assault too. More importantly, with basically strategic terrain placement, you could easily get a charger in range of Anastasia. At 217 points with the pilot, it leaves room for support, but still, any good melee-equipped mech of the same weight class can trash it, and throw 30 more points in there, and well, Anastasia's gonna get housed. I can invest 251 points in Clyde Joyce -the difference in points is the difference between a 3-infantry formation and a 4 or 5-infantry formation- and totally and completely trash Anastasia, quickly and easily reducing it to a very big, slow, and expensive ICE mech. Yeah, it's a great mech, but the defense is a huge weakness. If you don't get the first shot, you won't get a second.

I doubt that charging is a viable tactic against Alpha considering Tassa K's Special Ability.
But I agree that the first shot better hit for this Mech to be useful. I will probably go with Heavy IT when playing the combination.

clyde joice? you have got to be kidding

IT is the best gear for anna, I guess I will aree to that. since only charges and swarms will get first strike, she can make up for any failing she may have with 5AP.

lots of people seem to disagree with me, but I guess the proof will be on the mat.

just tie it up with an ATV or two and pog it . Once it hits it's 2nd repair marker you can start laughing at it :)

seriously , Anima and Caber retain it's stats better than Alpha .

With Alpha , you'll want to hit that sweet spot soon , because 2 clicks of 18DV(unmod) isn't going to cut it when it get's hit for 5 . And if you're playing against the twin Targe with ATVs ... i won't mind losing an ATV every 2 or so turns just to keep you moving :) . thankfully she has a good heat dial .

One good thing about Alpha though . . . her range helps against low range 'mechs . even while tied up you don't want her to use the Fire out of BC . luckily the 2" min stops her from overriding the neg bonus if she's based by infantry .

Again, it seems like everyone assumes it will be Alpha vs. The World in these games. Support WILL be present--I hope I'm not stupid enough to let your arty live that long.