From TRO:3075
I doubt anyone will be surprised when I tell them that the Horses adopted the ProtoMech into their widely combined-arms Touman. Fielding nearly every type of unit out there is their schtick, and this cheap and disposable new unit type offered a nimble alternative to their vehicle-heavy formations. The ProtoMech would be able to navigate through terrain forbidden to most vehicles, increasing their value in urban, heavily wooded and watery battlefields.
The Orc itself is a rare ProtoMech that remains relatively unchanged throughout all of its variants. It is undoubtedly an ambusher at its core, with every variant fielding low amounts of ammo suited best to hit-and-fade attacks. The constant 6/9 movement profile also gives it some agility - but certainly not staggering amounts for its size. Combined with its relatively light weight, the Orc is not made for tanking more hits than necessary. Keeping them in the line of fire is asking for higher casualties than needed.
ORC
INTRO: 3066
FACTIONS: Coyotes, Goliath Scorpions, and Hell's Horses
WEAPONS: SRM-1(x4) (20 shots)
ARMOR INTERNAL
(4) (1) Arms -> Cored: 14 pts
/ \ / \ Legs -> Cored: 19 pts
(2 / 7 \ 2) (1 / 4 \ 1) Torso -> Cored: 11 pts
| | | | | | Legs -> Destroyed: 8 pts
( 5 ) ( 3 )
The Horses were one of the last Clans to field their own unique ProtoMech; the original Orc entered production in 3066. Each Orc brings the same number of SRMs to the table as a full Elemental point, with an Orc’s alpha equaling the output of two Elementals firing off their missiles. This makes things intriguing - a full point of Orcs can shoot the same number of missiles per turn as two standard Elemental points while remaining a credible threat for an additional three turns. Combine this with greater speed and equivalent or superior protection (the Orc also dies to 11 points of damage to its torso) and you can begin to understand how they might be used.
Now, the fluff here is extremely interesting. Orcs are stated to commonly carry full loads of inferno rounds rather than standard SRM munitions. This would make them staggeringly lethal against conventional units for a ProtoMech of its size. It does give them an obvious use versus BattleMechs as well, but if you’re playing with inferno-only Orcs you’ll reach heat saturation well before the entire point fires their missiles. I’m not sure how I feel about this - I think going with a 50/50 split (10 inferno missiles, 10 standard missiles) would be a much smarter and more flexible choice.
Of course, sprinkling Orcs into a point is a much more attractive option. Putting two into a ProtoPoint will give it very good critseeking/inferno capabilities, while the remainder of the point can specialize in another task such as holepunching or ranged combat. Bathing one or more targets with infernos during an ambush gives other friendly Protos (such as Minotaurs) more time to fully bring their firepower to bear. At 182 BV, it’s not too expensive - but remember that you have a 5-turn limit that forces you to play with either hit-and-run or superaggressive “in your face” tactics.
ORC 2
INTRO: 3067
FACTIONS: Coyotes, Goliath Scorpions, and Hell's Horses
WEAPONS: Machine Gun (10 shots), LRM-2(x2) (6 shots)
ARMOR INTERNAL
(4) (1) Arms -> Cored: 14 pts
/ \ / \ Legs -> Cored: 19 pts
(2 / 7 \ 2) (1 / 4 \ 1) Torso -> Cored: 11 pts
| | | | | | Legs -> Destroyed: 8 pts
( 5 ) ( 3 )
This first spin-off is your typical LRM version, and in my own typical manner I’m not going to be too generous towards it. The Orc 2 keeps some anti-infantry power (albeit with much reduced range and punching power) while focusing much more on ranged combat. The horrendous ammo endurance of the Orc 2 makes me to want to suggest using the LRMs as a slightly longer-ranged ambush weapon, allowing the Orc 2 to strike out at greater (and safer) distances than earlier before fading into the surrounding wilderness.
The machine gun does give it some long-term options if forced into direct combat, but I would consider this to be a last-ditch resort rather than a necessity. 171 BV for three turns of LRMs isn’t a good deal, and there are better AI options out there for those who are truly interested. That it has the same armor as the standard, instead of the reduced armor of the 3 or 4, seems like a bit of a shame. That armor could have easily gone towards making the Orc 2 a more credible threat on the battlefield. Now, this assessment isn’t exactly fair on my behalf - more on this later.
ORC 3
INTRO: 3071
FACTIONS: Hell's Horses
WEAPONS: SRM-3 (3 shots), SRM-1(x2) (6 shots)
ARMOR INTERNAL
(3) (1) Arms -> Cored: 12 pts
/ \ / \ Legs -> Cored: 16 pts
(2 / 5 \ 2) (1 / 4 \ 1) Torso -> Cored: 9 pts
| | | | | | Legs -> Destroyed: 7 pts
( 4 ) ( 3 )
The next variant goes even further down the rabbit hole that the original Orc first dug up. The addition of one SRM tube does come into conflict with the ProtoMech construction rules - three of the SRM tubes are forced to be consolidated in order to fit into the limited number of slots available. While offering more firepower for less BV, the Orc 3 takes the ambush mentality and positively runs it past the touchdown line. It’s very much an all-or-nothing machine - either you’ll accomplish exactly what you set out to do with them, or else you’ll be annoyed that your sole three SRM-3 shots all missed their target.
This division of ammo also complicates ammo selection a tad. It isn’t as easy to fit inferno rounds into its loadout; with three inferno missiles being the golden number for taking out Battle Armor suits, the Orc 3 either has to hope to roll high with its SRM-3 or work alongside a few other teammates in order to reach that golden number. The drop in armor (and replacement of three SRM-1s with an SRM-3) brings BV down to 169, making it a good alternative to the vanilla Orc…even if it does now fail certain important armor thresholds.
ORC 4
INTRO: 3072
FACTIONS: Hell's Horses
WEAPONS: SRM-3 (3 shots), Machine Gun(x2) (12 shots)
ARMOR INTERNAL
(3) (1) Arms -> Cored: 12 pts
/ \ / \ Legs -> Cored: 16 pts
(2 / 5 \ 2) (1 / 4 \ 1) Torso -> Cored: 9 pts
| | | | | | Legs -> Destroyed: 7 pts
( 4 ) ( 3 )
The Orc 4 is the last and cheapest of the bunch. This variant is very gung-ho about taking out infantry, which does allow you to load standard rounds into the SRM tubes for some flexibility or infernos if you want some true carnage. Having a total of six shots per machine gun does give it some additional endurance, but forces users to close in order to get the utmost from it. This is not a great thing; you’ll notice that the Orc 4's armor is the same as the Orc 3 that preceded it.
It does make the Orc 4 the best hyperaggressive ProtoMech of the lot, however. It has the highest damage-dealing alpha strike, and the machine guns encourage closing in and getting in the face of their targets. BV is the lowest yet, and 139 BV is more than easy to fit into most forces. If you’re planning on using your Orcs as disposable critseekers, this one might be your guy.
It is by looking at the Orc that we can truly understand the role of the ProtoMech in the Horse Touman. Each model is quite good at two things: taking out lighter infantry/battle armor clusters, and critseeking. This plants the Orc into a pure and highly focused support role - the Orc excels at supporting heavy tank and ‘Mech formations. This suggests using them as quicker replacements for traditional infantry or lighter Battle Armor (such as the ubiquitous Elemental suit).
Another tactical option would be to field them alongside infantry and BA, but not as holepunchers. This scenario works against enemy vehicles, where the Orc can quickly cripple them through motive hits before groups of infantry swarm the now-pinned target. This obviously works best against Clans using combined-arms tactics (or secondline clusters), but is an effective strategy that frees up larger assets to focus on tougher targets. The Orc, in this case, can also use inferno rounds to demolish enemy (armored) infantry positions that could threaten BA or infantry friendlies.
These tactics promote using the Orc as part of faster mobile warfare tactics (if paired with heavier units), or hammer-and-anvil encirclements (if paired with slower/infantry units). These doctrinal shifts plays well into the Horse’s general style of combat by the mid-32nd century, even if the Orc does drop in usage. While still very present in secondline clusters by 3145, the Reavings were noted to have severely depleted Horse ProtoMech forces. This is understandable; while Orcs have infernos at their disposal, their lack of staying power combined with the difficulty in hitting Proto targets in the first place would eventually lead to a break in the front lines versus many Society designs.
As for good teammates, the Orc works well with other similar ProtoMechs (Centaurs, Procyon-Qs, Satyrs) but also with itself. A mix of Orc 2s, 3s and 4s will all have roughly the same endurance on the battlefield but at different range bands. This gives you multiple firing lines, each filled with a different Orc variant able to engage at increasingly longer ranges. Fall under no illusions, though - you have three turns before you’re forced to pull back and reload, so make sure it counts.
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MASTERUNITLIST:
http://masterunitlist.info/Unit/Filter?Name=orcCAMOSPECS:
http://camospecs.com/MiniList.asp?Action=Detail&ID=806IRON WIND METALS:
http://ironwindmetals.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=16_44_22&products_id=3449