Welcome back to the actual, scheduled Alpha Strike 'Mech of the Week article for this week. I've lost count of how many variants have been covered, but surely we're getting up close to 70 since two of the Unseen/Reseen got reviewed. Today we'll be adding
seventeen more in the form of the Catapult and its variants. God help me. Obviously, some of those that are very similar to others may be a bit rushed and glossed over. It's a necessary consequence of having so many variants.
And here we go! Let's give it the usual. Rolling off the lines in 2563, we start with the Catapult -A1. Size 3, a Heavy. But then, you knew that if you've ever played BattleTech. The MV on this one is 8”j, giving it a decent speed for a heavy, especially for the stereotypical fire support 'Mech. Jump jets offer some tactical flexibility, allowing the -A1 to jump behind cover to rely on indirect fire or escape concentrated fire. It's also capable of boosting the TMM from the normal +1 for walking to +2, in case not being hit is more important than doing damage in return.
With 6 points of armor and 5 points of structure, there's room for improvement but it's pretty damn good. Six points of armor withstands two of the trademark ASMOTW's Thud hits without taking a crit, and 11 points total is enough to survive damn near everything at least once, especially at range where Catapults are typically most at home.
Speaking of those ranges, the Catapult -A1 acquits itself... rather anemically, with this variant. A damage block of 1/2/2 with OV0 is not impressive, especially on a Heavy. It does, however, come loaded with utility. LRM1/2/2 means you can drop special LRM munitions for your entire damage value. That's unusual for any 'Mech, but having it for LRMs is pretty nice. You can lay minefields with Thunder munitions, target whole lances and play against the law of averages with Swarm, lay smokescreens with Smoke, or get extra damage from TAGed targets with Semi-Guided. The uses are numerous. IF2 also comes into play, meaning that a Catapult need not be in the enemy's face to engage. Once again, TAG and NARC are great helps, and the Catapult notably loses exactly zero points of damage in IF.
At 33 PV, the Catapult -A1 is a little bit on the pricy side for the offensive capabilities it demonstrates. However, there's a good deal of utility there, and it's on a sturdy enough, maneuverable enough platform that I tend to think it's worth the cost. To no-one whatsoever's great surprise, the -A1 is a Missile Boat, making it a favored member of Fire and Fire Support Lances. This benefits exactly the Capellan Confederation, the only major users of the -A1 for the duration of its existence. Long time users may be dismayed to note that the -A1 is officially extinct in the Republic Era.
The next variant, the Catapult -C1, is oddly older. It debuted in 2561, two years before the -A1. It's less specialized, but also less versatile. If that makes any sense at all. The speed remains the same, at a brisk 8”j. This particular model loses a single point of armor from the -A1. This brings the total down to 10 points, split 5/5. The -C1 will now take a critical hit from two Thud shots, which isn't a great thing, but it still survives three hits with more to spare. In that respect, it meets at least one of the critical thresholds. Good enough.
Where the major difference happens is in the damage block. A full spread of 2/3/2 with OV1 is a significant bump over the -A1. The capability to, even if not consistently, pump out 4 points of damage at medium range is not to be underestimated.
And now the less versatile part. The IF has been downgraded to 1, while the LRM has likewise been reduced to 1/1/1. This version of the Catapult likes significantly more to stand and fight than its -A1 sibling. Odd to think of any stripe of Catapult, but there it is.
The Catapult -C1 weighs in at 33 PV, exactly the same as the -A1. Picking between one or the other is a matter of taste. Do you prefer to hail missiles from behind cover and use alternate munitions to lay minefields and smokescreens? Then you want the -A1. Do you prefer raw damage dealing potential, at the expense of flexibility and alternate munitions? Then you want the -C1. I tend to lean every so slightly on the side of the -C1. It is also a Missile Boat, with the same things that entails from the -A1. This version of the Catapult is on the IS General list for a very long time, clear through the Jihad. By the Republic Era, the -C1 is on the Periphery General list and nowhere else.
Coming up almost immediately in the article, we have a unique, personal variant. The -C1 (Jenny) “Butterbee” is... well, it's less of a Catapult than we're used to seeing, and more of a roided out Kintaro.
Armor and movement profile are the same as the -C1, but the weapons suite is a whole different beast. A damage block of 3/3/0 with OV3 is... painful. Very painful. It deals good damage out to 24 inches, and in a pinch it can deal some truly enormous pain, more than enough to take out Light and low-end Mediums in a single shot. Very nice. OV3 isn't particularly pleasant for the user either, though, so keep that in mind before letting rip with a full fusillade.
The Specials block rearranges itself to fit SRM2/2. I personally like SRM alternate munitions more than I like most LRM munitions, because they can buoy the attacking unit simultaneously, rather than a turn or two later. Infernos in particular are great uses of SRM. It takes the points in HT out of the normal damage of the attack, but 2 points of HT is the maximum that can be imparted to a unit on a given turn externally. After that, follow up with a round of Heat-Seeking rounds, and you can do extra damage at the same time your opponent is reeling from the slow down and difficulty targeting.
The PV cost actually goes down to 32, and the role switches to Skirmisher. This thing is less a Catapult than a blunt instrument of SRM death, so don't think you can use it like an indirect fire support unit. I'm a fan, but the property of the unit that renders it unique makes it hard to justify using more than one of them.
The Catapult was one such 'Mech to get a Royal variant, the -C1b. Entering service in 2688, The -C1b takes the -A1, which it resembles much more than the -C1 in Alpha Strike play, and improves on it significantly. The MV stays the same at 8”j, and so does the armor at 6/5. Good places to start, and arguably the strengths of the Catapult chassis.
The damage block is where the majority of improvements come about. With a painful 3/4/2 and OV0, the -C1b puts out 4 damage all day long at medium range, its new favorite engagement range. The IF2 and LRM1/2/2 from the -A1 are intact, and CASE is added to help with ammo explosions. The damage increase makes it more difficult to use this one, seeing as instead of getting full damage indirectly, you're taking fully half of your damage away in order to use those specialty munitions or indirect fire at your optimum engagement ranges. That's PV you're paying for something you're not using. In that respect, I prefer to use the -C1b and 'Mechs like it as main line combatants, albeit ones that may still have an avenue of attack even if LOS is blocked. Keeping them deliberately out of sight means you're paying an extra six points over the -A1 for exactly zero increase in capability.
Speaking of an extra six points, that's how much more than the -A1 the -C1b costs. 39 PV is pretty steep, but with direct damage like that you'll earn your points back pretty quick. We're back to the Missile Boat role, so this guy fits into a Fire Lance well. Using Sniper to cut down range modifiers at medium range even by 1 point is enough to make a substantial increase in damage, especially for this one. I consider it a good buy.
The Royal Catapult is extinct through most of the pre-Clan era, and available on the IS General list after that.
The next one on the list goes pretty far out of order, chronologically. For some reason, the -C2 postdates the -C3 by 14 years. No biggie. Rolling off the lines in 3062, the Catapult -C2 switches to an XL engine. This... doesn't go as planned, at least in Alpha Strike terms.
The change to XL means that the structure drops from 5 to 3. Armor is a solid six, so the total health available is 8 points. That crucially misses the triple triple threshold, which means this one is significantly more fragile than the other Catapults shown so far. It does still manage to avoid taking a crit after two solid whacks, which is a point for it.
The weapons are where most of the engine tonnage went, and not a lot comes of it. The LRMs gain Artemis IV. In this instance, that's not a good thing. They gain one point of damage at long range, in exchange for not getting LRM at all. Units with Artemis are automatically unable to get any alternate munitions Specials. It's a major strike against the system in general. Additionally, in standard BattleTech, the -C2 gets a pair of LB-2X autocannons. This translates to FLK0*/0*/0*, and exactly zero extra points of damage in the regular block. Thirteen tons well spent! Variants like this are why I'm writing an article on how to Alpha Strike Construction later.
At 34 PV, it even costs more than a normal Catapult. The extra point of long range damage accounts for that, because alternate munitions Specials don't cost points. Their loss is felt far more than the extra point of damage. The -C2 is still a Missile Boat. Once again, much like the -A1, this is pretty Capellan exclusive until the Republic era, when a bunch of former Free Worlds League states pick it up for some reasons.
Step 14 years back in time, and unleash my very favorite Catapult variant. And Weirdo's favorite. And, really, anybody who like artillery. Say hello to the Catapult -C3. The MV and A/S of the -C1 come back, and that's once again a pretty decent base to work from. No fragile XL engine is definitely good.
The damage block of the -C3 looks like it's been mangled with something sharp that didn't manage to get all the pieces. At 2/2/0, it doesn't exactly inspire fear in anything, but that's not why this thing exists. No, the entire purpose for this Catapult is in the Special box. ARTAIS-1. What does that mean? It means that this Catapult mounts an Arrow IV Missile Artillery Launcher. Hell. Yes.
Artillery is interesting in Alpha Strike. Recent errata has seen it added to the standard level of the rules, so we'll dedicate this part of the article to that. A more in-depth look at artillery, including advanced rules and equipment, will come on Monday. For now, however, all you need to know is that artillery is one of the most fun things in the game. There are several different kinds, but for right now I'll keep it primarily to the Arrow IV system.
Under standard rules, full on artillery pieces reach out to long range (42”). They may fire direct or indirect, and in direct fire may either target a unit or a Point of Impact (PoI). The recent errata also simplified things a great deal, to the point that it's as simple as a normal weapon attack. When firing directly at a target, add the terrain modifiers
and the target's TMM. All artillery attacks use long range modifiers. The resulting number is the target number for the attack. If the attack succeeds, it strikes the point of impact (centered on the unit you're directly firing at), which becomes the center of a 2” splash template. Anything in those two inches takes full damage from the artillery. In Arrow IV's case, that means 2 damage.
Firing indirectly is similar, but can only be made against a point of impact and requires a spotter. Firing indirectly imposes a +1 to hit on the attack. This can be offset with the spotter's equipment. If an artillery spotter has the RCN Special, then the indirect modifier is canceled out with a -1 to hit. In the case of Arrow IV, it's actually
more than taken care of, with a -2. If the spotter fired, that's another +1, so even if an artillery spotter with RCN fired that turn, you'd still break even as if it were a normal attack at long range.
If the attack misses, however, it drifts. The splash template has some numbers on it to indicate drift direction. Roll 1d6 to determine the direction (with the template held such that the '1' result is 'north' on the map), and then another d6 to determine drift. For tube artillery, what you see is what you get. For missile artillery like Arrow IV, you double it, and then see where the POI ends up. It's entirely possible to still hit an enemy target (or a friendly one!) even if you miss, which is part of what makes artillery so powerful and useful. Of note, artillery attacks are separate weapon attacks that happen in the combat phase. A unit that makes an artillery attack may make an
additional regular weapon or melee attack that turn as well.
There are a number of alternate munitions for artillery, as well. I'll go into those on Monday.
For now, back to the Catapult! As you can see, the -C3 is a supremely helpful unit, as well as one of the more mobile and well protected artillery launchers in the entire game. Artillery, far more than in the regular BattleTech game, is easy and
fun to bring to the table, so this variant sees a lot of use at my tables.
At 35 points, it's only a little bit more expensive than the -C1, and the presence of artillery on the table is never to be ignored or downplayed. It's a steal at that PV level. It's also still a Missile Boat, which is helpful when forming Artillery Fire Lances. With Oblique Artilleryman, your indirect artillery attacks are made at -1, canceling out the indirect fire modifier by itself, and allowing a spotter with RCN to make a shot a full -2 easier. With Forward Observer from a Recon Lance, it's actually possible to apply a
-4 modifier (-2 spotter with RCN, -2 for Forward Observer, +1 for Indirect, -1 for Oblique Artilleryman) to the TN, making your artillery arguably more accurate than your normal attacks. Yes please.
The -C3 is available to most folks
eventually, though it's concentrated with the Capellans and the Federated Commonwealth to start.
The Catapult -C4 practically takes the non-artillery, non-unique versions of Catapult we've seen so far and averages them. The MV, like most Catapults, stays at 8”j. At this point, I'm going to stop mentioning it unless there's something different about it. The armor and structure are also similar, with the typical-of-half-of-them 5/5 split.
The damage block is pretty average, but also not deficient in any way. It stands at 2/2/2 with OV1. Consistent damage at every range, and OV to help out when needed. What's more, there's OVL hiding down there in the Special box, which means that this OV will help clear to long range. Definitely useful for a fire support design. We also see a return to IF2 and LRM1/2/2. Pretty solid, all things considered.
At 32 PV, it's actually cheaper than most of the Catapults we've seen so far. I rather like it, with the OVL offering good damage at range, and the LRM and IF allowing it to contribute while outside of the line of fire as well. This variant, like the -A1, is almost exclusively Capellan until the unit goes extinct in the Republic Era.
Here we go, a Catapult that does something useful with an XL engine! The armor sticks at 5 points, but the structure goes down to 3. A total of 8 points is more fragile than I like, but the freed tonnage went to actually improving the 'Mech this time.
Damage improves to 3/3/3 OV1. The -C4C lost OVL, but the improved damage at long range at all times makes up for it, and now you can pump up to 4 damage at short and medium. IF2 and LRM1/2/2 hold steady, and this one adds RCN and PRB. This makes it, amusingly, a
superb spotter for other Catapults, particularly the -C3. Pairing a -C3 and a -C4C gives you good, consistent damage at all ranges, followed up by an artillery shot at -2 to hit. Good stuff.
PRB and RCN aren't free, and come with a PV bump up to 37. This makes it a fairly expensive Catapult by the standards we've seen so far, but that consistent damage and RCN is pretty significant, and I consider it well worth the 4 extra points from the baseline -C1. More good stuff. I'm a big fan of the Catapult, because most of the variants are pretty good on their own merits. It's a good base to make things out of.
Another artillery version! The Catapult -C5, coming into being in 3061, takes what made the -C3 great, and then improves on it. Most things remain unchanged, including the damage and MV, but the armor changes significantly. From the Catapult 'average' of 5/5, we see a jump all the way up to 7/5. This makes it the most armored Catapult to date. Twelve points isn't enough to withstand a fourth Thud hit, but every point matters, and it means you can use the -C5 in a dual-purpose role, firing artillery at dug in targets indirectly and shooting at main line combatants in the same turn, or doubling up to crit the hell out of whatever is in its way. Being able to make two attacks in a turn is a very powerful advantage, especially if one of those attacks can hit multiple targets.
You pay for the extra armor, and the PV for the -C5 bumps up to 40. That extra armor is invaluable. Whether keeping it on the front lines for integral fire support to an advance, or using it to withstand counter battery fire for a few more turns, you can never have enough of it. Like most Catapults, this one is a Missile Boat. Also like most Catapults, it's Capellan nearly exclusive for most of its life. This one lasts into the Republic Era intact.
There are a lot of Catapults. This particular one, the -C5A, rolled into battle in 3068, right at the beginning of the Jihad. It's a pretty good one, I think. It keeps the armor of the -C5, but mixes up the weapons. All of the mass from the Arrow IV goes into guns, bringing the damage block for this guy up to 3/4/3, OV1. Pretty painful, especially at medium range. Being able to do five points of damage at medium range when it's needed is big. That damage improvement is gained through the use of Artemis over other Catapults, so there's no LRM Special on this one, but you do get to keep the IF2, and also add CASE for good measure.
At 43 points, this is the most expensive Catapult, period. With damage like that, it deserves to be, quite frankly. It remains a Missile Boat, too, for use with Fire Lances.
Do you like plasma rifles? I like plasma rifles. So does the Catapult -C6. The armor and movement remain the same as the last few, at 8”j and 7/5. The -C6 is mostly shorter ranged, a Skirmisher rather than fire support design. Damage values of 3/3/0, OV0 mean that it is at its best every turn. It doesn't get all the way up there on the pain scale, but it delivers a pretty solid wallop to medium range. Additionally, the plasma rifles that I adore so much add HT1/1/- to the Specials. Being able to heat up the opponent at the same time as a full strength attack every turn is invaluable. A good show, -C6.
The much reduced damage from the -C5A results in a 37 PV price tag. Hefty, but not huge, and definitely not even the most expensive Catapult. As a Skirmisher, this one doesn't fit into Fire Lances nearly as well as its cousins, but does fit into Battle, Striker, and even Pursuit Lances. It's more flexible in a force composition sense in exchange for being more focused on the field. In what is surely a surprise to no one, the -C6 is a Capellan exclusive.
What's this? A Catapult with a different letter? The -H2 arrives on the field in 3064, and is promptly really, really average. Armor is back down to the 6/5 standard of the early C models. Damage is rearranged to 3/3/1, OV0. Really, that's as average as average gets. Additionally, there are no Specials. What you see is what you get. I think everyone knows my stance on 'Mechs without Specials by now.
The good news is cost. At 34 PV, it's on the lower side of the cost spectrum than most of the higher mark Catapults. It, too, is a Skirmisher. Flexible, but utterly, boringly average. In a stunning reversal of expectations, the -H2 is used primarily by the Marians and various pirates, of all people. I suppose it makes sense that a Periphery brand Catapult would be average as hell.
We don't stick with the H designation for long. We also go back in time to see this one, back to 3033. The Catapult -K2 is the alternate Catapult that we haven't seen until now. It bucks the trend every Catapult to date has kept, and ditches the 8”j movement. It's down to 8”, no jump, and it's not immediately clear where that tonnage goes. Armor is to the early C-series standard, 6/5 A/S. Decent. With the loss of mobility, not as great, perhaps, but still solid.
The damage block reads a lot like an -H2, but with a bit of a long range boost. 3/3/2, OV0. Decent enough by itself. There are no Specials to recommend it, so the LRM flexibility isn't there, and neither is the IF to contribute from out of sight. This version of Catapult is pure main line combatant, nothing else. No support aspect. I'm honestly not a big fan, unless you really, really, really want to field a Catapult but don't like using indirect.
That said, there's hope if you also don't like playing Capellan. This version is available to the Draconis Combine and Rasalhague, until its extinction in the Republic Era. Before that, it costs 32 PV, making it one of the cheapest Catapults we've seen. Silver linings, I suppose. It's also a Sniper, meaning you can use it in a different sort of Fire Lance, or as part of an Assault Lance if you bring two.
Second verse, same as the – wait, what? No, that's definitely not the same. The typical Catapult movement (that was already bucked with the -K2) is usurped again, and this time in slightly more extreme fashion. This particular Catapult moves 10”, making it capable of attaining a +2 TMM without jumping. Okay, I was a little skeptical at first, but sign me up! Getting that fast means sturdiness suffers a bit. An XL engine means that the structure is 3 points, rather than 5. Armor is improved to 7 points, however, yielding a total of 10 points. That's enough to take three Thud hits, which is fine by me, and it avoids a crit on two of them. Good enough for me.
How does the damage stack up? 3/3/2, OV0. It's okay, exactly the same as the -K2. In essence, this model trades away two points of structure for 2” of movement and one point of armor. I'll take that trade, any day. ENE rounds out the Specials, making ammo explosions a thing of the past.
At 34 PV, we're back at Catapult average. Not too shabby, nothing extravagant. The -K2K, like the -K2, is a Sniper, so all the same building tips apply. Also similar to the previous model, the -K2K is available to the Draconis Combine, but this time not Rasalhague. This may be a minor side effect of Rasalhague effectively ceasing to exist by the 3058 production date of the -K2K.
Curiously, the -K3 comes out 11 years before the -K2K. Naming conventions, how do they work. We're back down at 8” move, no jumping. My least favorite Catapult move profile. Armor and structure are back to the C-series average of 6/5. Adequate, not as good as it's possible to hit. Damage gets a bit of a bump at short range, resulting in a 4/3/2 OV0 block. No frills, no thrills, great damage at short, good damage at medium, better than average damage at long range (for long range, at least). Simple, effective. No Specials, including a lack of CASE or ENE.
At 33 PV, it's even cheaper than the -K2K. It's also still a Sniper. By this late in the article, even if you were completely new to how PV works, 12 variants (ugggggh) later you should have a good idea of whether this is worth the cost. Once again, the -K3 is available to the Draconis Combine. Until the Republic, at least, when it becomes extinct.
Back to the Jihad! 3068 rolls around, and so does this new Catapult, the -K4. This one goes in new directions. It slows down, of all things, changing to 6”j. This makes it the slowest Catapult by far, but it still matches the +1 TMM of the normal speed variants. What you lose is a little maneuverability. That's pretty important to me, but I know some folks don't care as much. Armor is the best it will get, 7/5 A/S.
Damage for this one hits a health 3/4/3, OV0. Good damage at all ranges. What makes this Catapult unique among its peers is the presence of a C3 Slave, giving it C3S and MHQ1 for Specials, along with ENE.
Who would do such a thing? The Draconis Combine, of course. The Word of Blake also apparently sneaks a look into the -K4 during the Jihad. At 42 PV this is one of the expensive ones, but that's easily explained as the good damage at all ranges, compounded by C3 adding a PV premium. You get what you pay for, and this Catapult goes fantastic in a C3 linked Fire Lance or company, thanks to its Sniper role.
The final Catapult variant (thank god!) is the -K5. Debuting in 3058 (dates are weird), it goes back to the standard 8”j of most Catapult variants, and mixes the high armor of 7 points with an XL engine for some interesting damage. 5/5/0 OV0 is pretty painful, and the most consistently high damage of any Catapult variant. It lacks at long range, and doesn't have many ways to close against maneuverable opponents, so this one perhaps more than any other needs support. If it did less damage, perhaps it would be a different story, but 5 point thumps will get an opponent to notice and avoid. That can be a victory in and of itself sometime, but I like the things I spend lots of points on to do damage.
C3 is not used to the best of its ability on the -K5. Being unable to respond at all at long range means that the -K5 still has to close to at least medium range itself to engage, and at that point the major benefit of C3 is lessened compared to what's possible at long. If you end up using the -K5 as your spotter you neatly solve that problem, but you're not getting to short range consistently with this guy.
Still, at 41 PV for that damage, and the opportunity to take longer distance shots at short range modifiers is pretty good. The -K5 is available primarily to the Draconis Combine and the Free Rasalhague Republic. This one is also a Skirmisher, meaning it fits into a good number of lances that can take advantage of its C3 and good damage at medium range.
That takes care of every variant I can break down. All 17 of them. #P As usual, there are
a few Catapults can be found over at
CamoSpecs. There's also a
previous 'Mech of the Week article, one of the first on this iteration of the boards.
