Vehicle of the Week: Enyo Strike TankDespite the usual Clan aversion to XLFE vehicles, Khan Malavai Fletcher initiated a program to apply it to a fast-moving, hard-hitting tank to maximize the gains. Described, perversely, as "a lackluster concept tank" in TRO3067, the Enyo built on trials of an XLFE-powered Mars variant mentioned in TRO3060 and was decreed to be a medium unit that could outmaneuver Clan armor and keep up with the 'Mechs it was to supplement. Initially concentrated with Gamma Galaxy and the 21st Mechanized Assault Cluster, the Enyo has also been used to replace older Star League tanks. More recently, the Horses have been playing with making the next generation of Enyo, starting with an extremely ambitious (and expensive) prototype from XTRO: Clans before settling into a more conventional role with the Enyo (ER Pulse) in TRO: Prototypes. The new Enyo (ER pulse) is apparently replacing older designs in addition to filling in holes in the heavy and medium vehicle ranks; how well that works with things like the Indra, Hachiman, or Athena, which it lacks the armament to really replace operationally, is one of those interesting questions the Horses players are going to have to answer for us.
At 55 tons, the Enyo is sitting just over the normal stopping point of medium combat vehicles; technically a medium vehicle itself, the fact that it requires a heavy vehicle bay puts it into the same odd middle ground as the Prowler, Padilla Artillery Tank, and Tiger. Another oddity is the 330-rated extra-light engine that gives it the speed to run at 97 kph in open terrain, fast enough to outrun a Myrmidon (or a
Hellbringer) or pace the Star League's Chevaliers. Even at cruise, it can keep pace with your typical MBT's flank speed of 65 kph, and the extra motive points let it absorb the additional terrain costs or movement hits to some extent, lending the Horses' experiment a certain amount of practicality on the battlefield it lacks in the ledger books. The armor is a fairly normal for a Clan vehicle this size, a little lighter than an MBT's but still solid at 7.5 tons of ferro-fibrous arranged 30/29/29/27. In terms of weaponry, the Enyo does well for itself, with a Series 44h large pulse laser for a main gun, a weapon that's been accused in some quarters of being the cheesiest gun in BattleTech, backed up by three Type VI-Bravo Streak SRM 6 launchers, one in the turret and two fixed forward, sharing a common two ton magazine. Two machine guns, one left and one right, share a half-ton of ammo to provide some anti-infantry deterrence.
My basic impression of the Enyo-XR is it's a tracked tank desperately trying to pretend its a hovercraft. A 22 ton 385 XXL engine gives it a basic ground speed comparable to the Musketeer but then some speed demon attached a supercharger, letting it sprint up to 14 MPs in a single turn at the cost of another 2.5 tons. When you remember that we're talking about a 55 ton tank, that speed is even more impressive. To keep the speed up, the motive system was armored at the cost of another 5.5 tons. All of that means that there was a cost somewhere and the weapons and armor got to pay the piper, losing the Streaks and machine guns, then getting knocked down to only 6.5 tons of armor arranged 29/25/25/20. In partial recompense, the LPL was replaced by a large ER pulse laser, giving you a little more range at the cost of half your pulse bonus and three more heat sinks. It's a choice some might make. I'm not one of them, mind you, but some people have made some solid arguments in favor of the weapon's place in the Clan armament selection. Where the original Enyo was a brawler with the ability to snipe on the side, this is an uncompromising sniper. You don't want to get in close against many opponents. Stand off and pick someone apart while dashing around at speeds vehicle crews normally only get to experience in hovercraft.
The Enyo-XR was regarded as, to say the least, excessive. Unlike some posters, I'm not necessarily dismayed to see an XL engine on a vehicle, but XXLFEs push things too far in nearly every case and even when they're used effectively, they're frequently too costly to justify the expenditure. The Enyo (ER Pulse) in TRO: Prototypes was intended to address the problem but managed to stumble into its own mistake in the process. The ER large pulse laser was replaced not by the standard LPL from the original Enyo (which has never failed to turn in a solid performance every time I've used it) or even an ERLL but by a pair of new Series 2Ph ER medium pulse lasers. Yes, your total punch is heavier, but you don't have the range to match Clan ERMLs, let alone any truly long-range weapon, most of which can freely loiter in your long range bracket and still gain a -1 relative targeting modifier. The loss of accuracy compared to normal pulse lasers doesn't help anything, nor does the loss of the concentrated 10 point hit, although that's the least of the three problems given how powerful Clan medium lasers are. Two forward-mounted Pattern J7 six-tube SRM launchers are carried as secondary weapons, fed by two tons of ammunition, losing range and sheer striking power compared to the original but picking up some flexibility in the process, including the ability to carry Inferno or fragmentation rounds to deal with infantry if necessary. The armor is one of those "six of one, half-dozen of the other" situations. Even considering the 2-for-1 nature of hardened armor, you can get more protection out of ferro-fibrous for your tonnage, not to mention not having the Driving Skill Roll modifier it imposes (which, fortunately, is less of an issue on tracked vehicles than it is for hovers and VTOLs), but the way hardened armor cuts down on TACs is a blessing. The arrangement, 20/19/19/15, passes the double Gauss test everywhere, improving substantially on the original Enyo. This is an obligate brawler, so use it as one or as a close escort for more powerful tanks.
Operating the various Enyos is a little bit different because of the way their armaments differ. The original needs to forge in, using the LPL to spar until it can close and shred someone with massed Streak SRM fire. Keep moving, hopefully pulling at least a +2. You need to rip into someone quickly before motive damage slows you down to the point that massed fire can finish you off. The variant is a long-range sparring unit. Fence with someone and use your speed and armor to survive until you can hopefully bring them down. These two both behave a little like hovers in some ways because of their speed but don't forget that they're tracked tanks, so the terrain options are different. Your armored motive system will help in that regard. The new Enyo (ER Pulse) needs to get in close as soon as possible - you don't quite have the range to meet ISLLs or Clan ERMLs, let alone any real long-range weapons.
To deal with them, your critical issue is immobilizing them. Cluster ammo (either LB-Xs or the SB Gauss rifle) are your usual best bet but SRMs will do it since two of the Enyos are likely to close in anyway. Once one is slowed down or immobilized, focus fire on it and kill it dead. Their firepower isn't especially overwhelming but the pulse lasers can be annoying, not to mention the massed Streaks if an original's managed to get that close, so go ahead and do what it takes to get them to stop firing.
References: At this point, the Master Unit List has not been updated for any of the sources the Enyo appears in and, for that matter, we're missing at least one record sheet (TRO: Prototypes). CamoSpecs, on the other hand, does have an
Omega Galaxy Enyo miniature while the BattleTech Wiki over at
Sarna has an article on it.
