The mechwarrior universe is rich in content. Much like Star Wars, there is a huge tapestry of people and events, cities and planets. Within that universe, the mechwarrior miniature tabletop game has a lot of options available to it. You have various scenario options available, game types you can make and even restrict normal mechanics of the game to just have fun.

The game is called Mechwarrior:Age of Destruction, so it will obviously focus in on your battlemech in combat. Generally speaking, big robot number 1 bashes big robot number 2. Big robot number 1 wins. Crowds go wild. Your Battlemechs aren’t the only thing you are given to fight with in mechwarrior game though. You have vehicles and infantry that are available to you to fight with. This gives the combat depth, more options, more game mechanics. More things to spend money on!

Why send in a lonely mech when you can send him in with hordes of flame throwing infantry, repair technicians and mech-busting tanks. Why let that mech hog all the glory of doom and destruction when your infantry can support him by stealing your opponent’s mech?

Lets look at the options you have here. Vehicles and Infantry. First, how can I tell the difference between a vehicle and an infantry piece? Anything considered a vehicle is on an oval shaped base. Its different from Quad mechs since the vehicle is on a smaller oval base and has no heat dial. The infantry are on very small circular bases, about the size of a quarter.

Vehicles and infantry have just one damage value, their assigned speed mode, their attack value and their defense value. Again, different from mechs which boast 2 damage value options and their heat dials. If I want to use my mech repeatedly, the heat dial is what tells me if I have to worry about taking damage, overheating or shutting down. As long as I’m not shutdown, then my mech can fight each turn without falling to battle stress.

Infantry and vehicles aren’t so lucky. Sure, vehicles and infantry can be “stressed”, used repeatedly, but not nearly as many times as a mech can and they will suffer greater consequences.

If I use my vehicle or infantry figure in my last turn and I want to use him again this turn, he will be pushed. When you push a unit, you take 1 click of damage to it. Not too bad, but it could mean a lot of things. That one click might take me out of my prime fighting abilities or lose a special gear that I needed to have. Additionally, once I push the unit, I absolutely cannot use him the next turn.

Sitting duck, party of one, sitting duck party of one.

So what is the advantage to using these little guys? The game isn’t named after them; they don’t share much of the spotlight? I can’t even use them as much as I can the mechs. To many players, that makes them worthless

I disagree. Just because they aren’t battlemechs doesn’t mean they aren’t versatile. They have lots of use as excellent support pieces for your mech, or the craziest of players will even build whole armies out of them. I have seen battles won and lost due to the use of infantry or vehicle units. Some of the tanks, the heaviest “assault tanks” as they are called, cost less or just as much as a light mech, and deal out more than their fair share of damage and will hold on until the last few clicks of their dial before they are defeated. So I can’t use it as many times in a row, it’s a strategy game, play around it. Use the strength, the high damage values, good targeting, time your shot, take it and let the mech polish it off. A really good tank or infantry unit will be able to play clean up crew for your mech also. Once your mech cripples a unit, let that infantry unit cowering from behind your mech’s leg come out to blast the final hole into your opponent.

• ThunderbirdBattle Armor
• Undine Battle Armor
• Salamander Battle Armor
• Clan Battle Armor
• Oni Battle Armor
• Shock Troopers
• Flamer Team
• Kanazuchi Battle Armor
• Hoverbike Squad
• Trackbike
• ATV Squad

Vehicles are mainly great as transports, moving infantry or other vehicles down the field, or as a “hammer”, using your mechs as an “anvil”. From a strategy standpoint, hammer and anvil is a method of using a hammer to break your opponent against an anvil. It’s a very powerful technique in mechwarrior. Some of the best vehicles in the game are transports. You can perform what is called a “tank drop”, hiding a slow moving tank in a fast moving transport, moving the transport to an enemy target within the range of your tank, dumping the tank out, blasting the target and then packing up to run away the next turn before major damage happens to your mech. Transports are also good for dropping off an infantry squad that could be used to capture an opponents mech or vehicle, scoring you major points to winning the game and demoralizing your opponent.

Some of the vehicles are used to repair or cool off mechs, these can be used efficiently, however you will have to build your army accordingly to make that kind of tactic work well.

Infantry are a different story. There are very few infantry that on their own stand up to mechs and vehicles. Kanazuchi Battle Armors are some of them. They have great statistics and fight well. The main uses for most infantry is to slow down your opponent or to shield your mechs and tanks from your opponent long enough to put your mech or vehicle into position to decimate the opponent.

Truly your infantry will support more than fight alone. Units like thunderbird battle armors and clan battle armors will be most effective beating on already damaged mechs with lower defense values. They have solid damage values for infantry units and hold their values well through their dial, so fighting a crippled mech is a fair fight, especially if you can get 3 of those little battle armors to fight 1 crippled mech

Your most dangerous ability of your infantry comes in the form of capturing. An infantry unit with the foot speed mode is able to capture attack an opposing unit. A good number of these units have the ability to “bypass” the captured unit and take it over. This gives you control of the unit. You lose the infantry unit that bypassed the target, but now you have gained a new offensive weapon. It’s like stealing a mugger’s club and then beating him with it.

Frankly, it gives you the most satisfying feeling ever.

So don’t count out your smaller figures. They have a purpose and love to be abused. It takes a lot of thought to win most of the time and occasionally you just get lucky.

Have fun and happy hunting with your infantry!