Vehicle of the Week Update: Myrmidon(The original article is no longer available.)This edition of Vehicle of the Week Updates is focused on the Myrmidon medium tank. At 40 tons, it's on the small side as tanks go (the infamous Demolisher, Slayer of 'Mechs, is twice the size), but that tonnage is used efficiently, producing a superior budget line tank. New Earth Trade Company, better known for the Karnov, built it to cash in on the arms market boost from the Clan Invasion and the Sarna March "tensions" as TRO3060 characterizes things. A lot of them wound up on the Clan front with many of the others in the hands of different independent outfits in the Chaos March. Judging from the MUL, they proliferated further after that, winding up in just about everyone's hands. The heart of the Myrmidon is a 200 rated Nissan standard fusion engine, driving the treads at 5/8 across the battlefield with acceptable off-road potential and giving you 10 free heat sinks. Those sinks are promptly invested in the use of a PPC in the turret, the same Parti-Kill as the Manticore, guaranteeing an instant stock of replacement parts. To supplement this, an SRM 6 is also mounted on the turret, providing an excellent one-two punch or the option of using Infernos to kill other vehicles or infantry in an expeditious fashion. Choose wisely, though, since you've only got one ton of ammo. Finally, the tank is wrapped in 9 tons of standard armor in a 35/25/24/35 configuration, almost prodigious for a tank this size and providing a very solid shell around the happy PPC/SRM goodness. Appearing at the end of the 3050s, it's a shame this tank wasn't around for the Succession Wars, because with a pure Introductory/Level 1 rules load out, it would have fit in perfectly. While it lacks the Vedette's ability to kill infantry without trading out its short-range weapon's ammo, it's similar in operational profile but packs a much better punch. To stop it, immobilize it with the usual range of options (LB-Xs and SRMs, although Clanners might want to look at HAGs), then apply weapons fire until it stops firing back.
Two advanced technology variants of the Myrmidon have surfaced in recent years as the Jihad sweeps over the Inner Sphere. The first and more generally useful (not to mention the one requiring fewer rules references at the table) is the Myrmidon P (Tate) in XTRO:Pirates. The armor is replaced by LFF to free up a half-ton, while the main gun is replaced by a snub-nose PPC, marking this model as an in-fighter instead of the original's all-range jamboree with the mixture of a standard PPC (which knocks on the edge of long-range to many people) and SRM 6. The punch line here is the replacement of the SRMs with six LMGs mounted in two arrays, fed by a full ton of ammo. Okay, I know, nothing beyond tourney rules here yet, but each array is mounted in a sponson on either side of the tank for a 180 degree arc of fire independent of the turret and not a discrete hit location. This is an urban warfare tank intended to deal with close-range attacks and infantry, no doubt about it. Three LMGs is a fairly murderous amount of lead to get sprayed with, on average hit chopping off over a third of a platoon's manpower in a single round of fire, and as ambush weapons, snubbies are hard to beat. The only known example of this variant is in the hands of a band of brutal thugs working with Breed's Brawlers and has also seen those same LMGs applied against innocent civilians fleeing a hospital. Lovely fellows, huh?
The other version, apparently operating with the CCAF and termed the Myrmidon Type 2, is a little less conventional and distinctly less of a return to World War I (or a departure to Warhammer 40K, depending on your tastes). Unlike Tate's variant, the engine is removed for a light fusion model (which means someone is spending an awful lot of time on this) that pushes the tank along at 6/9 but doubles the base cost. The other changes are a bit less time consuming. The armor is overhauled to standard ferro-fibrous, with the extra four points distributed on the sides, and the weapons fit was completely replaced. The main gun is now a plasma rifle - not a bad choice at all, although three tons of ammo is probably overkill - while the SRMs were replaced by six mine layers. Now, I have no particular objection in the abstract to someone providing us with a mine layer vehicle. It's a useful combat role that's been around for centuries. However, doing so by neutering your tanks is probably not the brightest idea you've ever had. EarthWerks makes plenty of cargo trucks that can do this job. To make the best of it, use these Myrmidons in combination with the normal version, and have them lay minefields at strategic points, then fall back using their superior speed. They can also be a pain in the neck in urban warfare situations, laying mines in a reactive role as enemies move around while using the plasma rifle as a general anti-everything weapon. (Author's Note: There was some dispute on this when the article was originally posted and my own views have moderated over time. I still think the cost is kind of pricy for what you're doing but it's not that bad if you need a tactical minelayer.)
In the wake of the Jihad, Jalastar Aerospace on Panpour, a builder of the Manticore, found themselves told fairly bluntly to start building Myrmidons after licensing the design from NETC. They dragged their heels to avoid competition with their RAC Manticores which operates in a related tactical niche, then pounced on reports of the P (Tate) with relish. Mercenaries were sent to drag the tank in for study. The end result didn't especially amuse the AFFS Department of the Quartermaster but certainly delighted Jalastar marketing types. I'll describe this one in terms of the original to give you an idea of why Jalastar wound up cutting the AFFS a deal on Manticore sales for a while to make up for their agitation at this stunt. The main gun is an Exostar ERLL. You lose a bit of concentration but the range brackets are more workable so I'm inclined to shrug and move on as far as that's concerned; your opinions may vary. The SRMs were replaced by a pair of triple LMG sponsons but unlike the P (Tate), they're not in arrays. They're fed by a full ton of ammunition that makes me a little leery considering there's no CASE but that's not a new complaint by any means.
Personally, of the four, I still prefer the original - simple, durable, and capable. But all three variants have their own solid roles and applications for the enterprising tank enthusiast.
References: As usual, the Master Unit List
has most of the variants covered but has yet to be updated for TRO: Prototypes at this time. CamoSpecs has
two examples to peruse, both of them in the original PPC/SRM configuration.
