Tools of the Trade
Taking a look at some useful unit abilities
by Tony DuLac
To help you get ready for the arrival of this exciting game, I'd like to present some of the unit abilities and power combinations that have the potential to be very effective. Knowing how and why these abilities are cool should help newer players become more proficient at the game. I'll explain what makes these particularly effective via four key categories: WHAT the power/ability is, WHY the power or ability being discussed is so useful, WHEN to use the power/ability most effectively, and WHAT to combine it with.
It's important to remember that Mutant Chronicles CMG armies will often succeed or fail based upon how strongly their disparate elements (Orders, Unit abilities, and Command Cards) can mesh together during battle. Good players will resist the urge to throw everything they own into an army in favor of a more focused and complimentary approach. But in order to successfully implement this "Golden Rule" of synergistic army design, you'll want to start examining these intriguing abilities and powers!
Free Marine Hero
;)
What is it?
Triple Strike provides the Free Marine Hero unit the ability to use all three of his actions from a Gold Order as Attack actions rather than having to (normally, per the rules) use them as three different types of actions.
Why is it useful?
Triple Strike is useful because it provides you with the capability of attacking (and hopefully destroying) three units with a single activation. To explain further — in a player's turn, they are allowed to place Orders on two different units, and Orders don't allow players to repeat the same action twice during their units' Order activations. So if you activate two Free Marine Heroes in a single turn, you'd be able to attack six times in a single turn! Triple Strike is also useful because the Free Marine Hero attacks with three light-ranged green dice which don't usually hit for much damage and having three attack attempts really boosts his chances of destroying an opposing unit.
When to use this power?
Probably the best time to "capitalize" on this power is after the first few turns, once your opponent has pushed several juicy targets within range. Another good option would be to use Triple Strike after using the Martian Banshee Hero's (#48, Capitol, Gold Rank, Rare) Coordinated Rush Unit Action ability ("Move up to two friendly Capitol units in line of sight up to three hexes each, one at a time.") to move him unexpectedly closer to the fray.
What to combine it with?
Again, using the Martian Banshee Hero to quickly move the Free Marine Hero around the battlefield is a solid combo, and playing the Radio Target Coordinates command card (#34,1 Capitol Command Card Icon, Silver rank, Buyback 2 Silver — "Play after the chosen unit has rolled attack dice. Roll an additional two green (light ranged) dice and add their results to this attack.") on top of one of your three attacks will aid in damage output.
Mortificator Master
;)
What is it?
Crackshot allows you to completely remove the element of luck from Mortificator Master's attack roll. Considering that the Mortificator Master uses two blue (heavy ranged) dice and one yellow (heavy melee) die, this is an insanely destructive power and reflects the Brotherhood's ability to twist fate.
Why is it useful?
For the cost of a single action, you'll have the assurance of always getting the best possible combat roll with Mortificator Master. Giving the player the ability to control even the smallest elements of chance, let alone the devastating potential to determine his or her combat rolls, is potent indeed!
When to use this power?
Choosing the best possible moment to make a devastating strike is up to each player's discretion and battlefield awareness but one good use of this ability would be to either target a high-value opposing unit or to attack an opponent hiding in Cover — in Mutant Chronicles, Cover subtracts 1 point of damage from an attack — since you can count on doing significant damage with this ability and overwhelming Cover's protective effects. Another good strategic use would be to destroy a figure who hasn't acted yet, thus preventing it from doing anything harmful to you in the future.
What to combine it with?
Crackshot is such a specifically helpful ability that it doesn't really need to be combined with anything else to be effective! It just works.
Etoilles Mortant
;)
What is it?
Both Camouflage and Killing Blow are powerful abilities. Camouflage keeps Etoilles Mortant safe from ranged attacks if she's in either Cover or Hindering terrain and Killing Blow gives her the opportunity to take out any unit if she's lucky enough with the green (light ranged) die.
Why is it useful?
Camouflage is simply a great defensive ability and Killing Blow makes Etoilles Mortant as heavy a hitter as anyone in the other factions.
When to use this power?
Camouflage works automatically but Killing Blow should be used to selectively target high-value units for assassination. Using these two abilities in combination with each other can motivate a tentative or defensive-minded player to come to you!
What to combine it with?
Killing Blow allows for a very powerful combo involving Superior Tech (#16, 2 Bauhaus Command Card Icons, Gold rank, Buyback 2 Gold — "Play when the chosen unit is assigned an order. Until the end of the turn, the chosen unit gains one ability or unit action of any friendly Bauhaus unit within the chosen unit's Line of Sight."). Use Superior Tech on a Venusian Ranger Kapitan's (#26, Bauhaus, Gold rank, Uncommon) Burst Fire ability, ("When Venusian Ranger Kapitan is attacking alone, all units adjacent to the target are dealt damage equal to that assigned to the target.") This allows Etoilles Mortant to attempt multiple Killing Blows with a single attack! For a lesser impact, you could also combine her Killing Blow with Speed Reload (#15, 2 Bauhaus Command Card Icons, Silver rank, No buyback — "Play after the chosen unit has made an attack. The chosen unit may take an additional free attack action.") to get an extra Killing Blow attempt.
Mitch Hunter
;)
What is it?
Superior Recon is a unit action (cost = one action) that allows Mitch Hunter to remove either an Order token or a single wound token from any unit within Line of Sight. It's important to point out that the Wound token removal doesn't remove an entire set of Wounds, just one Wound. So if you removed a two-point Wound token, you'd then replace it with one-point Wound token. Be aware that this ability isn't limited to Capitol units only; it can also apply to friendly or enemy units.
Why is it useful?
The most common use for Superior Recon will be to remove an Order from a friendly figure so it can take another action in the same round. Slightly less powerful effects include using this unit action to slightly heal a wounded unit or to remove a Guard token from an enemy figure, thus allowing you to approach them more easily.
When to use it?
Use of Mitch Hunter's ability will be best determined by the tactical situation on the battlefield but most frequently you'll use it in the early portion of the game to race out and grab key Victory Zones (VZ) or, conversely, capture that one remaining VZ necessary for victory during the closing stages of the battle.
What to combine it with?
My favorite combination is to use Mitch Hunter's Superior Recon unit action with the KA 67 Great Grey Scout (#47, Capitol, Bronze rank, Rare — "Vehicle — Flying. Speed 6. Dodge 3. Transport — Action: Choose a friendly adjacent unit. If KA 67 Great Grey Scout moves this turn, place the chosen unit on any empty hex adjacent to the KA 67 Great Grey Scout after the move."). This will allow you to use the KA 67 Great Grey Scout to transport Mitch Hunter rapidly into battle. Once you've activated the Great Grey Scout, you could then use Mitch Hunter's Superior Recon ability to remove the KA 67 Great Grey Scout's previously placed Order, thus freeing it up to transport either Mitch Hunter (again) or someone new further along the battlefield. Now that's mass transit!
So there you have it! Several powerful abilities that you can use to your best advantage on the brutal Mutant Chronicles battlefields of the far future. These are but a small sampling of the cool powers and ability combinations you can use to get a leg up on your opponents. Be sure to pre-order your copy of Mutant Chronicles CMG today so you can start discovering your own clever combos and favorite abilities the moment the game is released! Until then, Happy Mutations!
