Alpha Strike Guide: The Care & Feeding of C3, or how to make a C3 OpFor (done!)

[Tai Dai Cultist]

I think the Strider-M is broken good, but you've tested C3 much more than I have.  I was curious what you thought :)

And boosted C3 can be freely mixed and matched with regular C3.

[iamfanboy]

I personally think it's broken good as well, and I've done some minor workups of points value - nothing too much, but it takes my 'standard' 500 C3 company from needing some filler units to having nothing but decent stuff (as allowed by my collection!), with a side order of two Cheetahs providing air support.

And while it is answered for TW, it's important to get an answer (even if it's just "Yeah, duh, look at this thread") for AS.

So, now I need to look at the boosted stuff. And finish the C3I section, which I apparently derped on.

[Tai Dai Cultist]

Huzzah!

[A. Lurker]

As far as point costs go, while it's true that C3 "proper" only adds +0.1 to your Blanket Offensive Modifier, don't forget that most forms of C3 also contribute to a unit's MHQ special, for which the PV system then charges separately under Force Bonuses. And while MHQ technically provides benefits distinct from C3 itself (mostly during setup), C3 and dedicated communications equipment are about the only ways to get MHQ in turn, so it's pretty close to being a C3-specific extra point cost anyway.

A minor tidbit I've just noticed: By the book (p. 91), in Alpha Strike a unit with two C3 masters qualifies for shutting off its MHQ special to generate an ECM or ECCM effect in its place even if it doesn't have ECM otherwise, courtesy of its MHQ score (minimum 10) handily beating the 7 needed to do so.

[iamfanboy]

That's... an interesting point, and it does give a reason to use a C3M2 unit as a single C3M if it basically adds ECM to its list of Specials.

Speaking of ECM...

p51, C3 Boosted Systems
Add new paragraph
""Standard and boosted C3 systems can be connected together into the same network. However, communication is a two-way street: in such a network, communication with a non-boosted member is still cut off as normal if data is transmitted through, or into, the effect radius of any hostile ECM. "

Now what this means is that you can use boosted components together with non-boosted, but as long as it's a mixed network it's the weakest link. So if you had a C3BSM, 2 C3S, and 1 C3BSS, the network would NOT be cut off if an ECM bubble were on the C3BSS, if an ECM bubble was on a C3S than it would be cut off as normal, and if an ECM bubble was on the C3BSM than the two C3S would be cut off.

This does prevent a C3M network from using a C3BSS as another ECM unit choice (darn!), and does add some more bookkeeping a mixed network, but overall it makes Boosted strong without being a must-include.

I really will try to finish up the post today, as my boss canceled, but I can't make super-duper promises.

[iamfanboy]

I rewrote the first C3I section a bit, so I included it in this post, to put in the first post as well.

C3I LEVEL II

C3I forces have an advantage and a disadvantage compared to C3M forces. While it's fairly obvious to vets, I'll spell both out right now. Advantage: No vulnerable C3 Master, so you don't have to worry about the destruction of a single unit ending your entire network. Disadvantage: Only six units can EVER be in a C3I link, unlike C3M/C3S where you can have a total of 13.

That six units reshapes the entire approach of C3I, and renders the strategy of disposable first-wave/expendable second-wave/damage dealers bad in a way that doesn't involve raw PV, as each unit destroyed is a 1/6th reduction in firepower, making the idea of disposable/expendable difficult.

As it stands, a C3I player can adopt one of three strategies when constructing a force: the wave approach outlined in the C3M/C3S section, the disposable approach, and the powerhouse approach. With the wave approach, you have to minimize your losses to its paradigm so one first-wave unit, two second-wave units, and three damage dealers would probably be the best blend. With the disposable approach, everything in the network is cheap, to wreak as much havoc as possible before being destroyed. The powerhouse approach is the opposite, where everything is a blend of powerful, tough, and fast, with no respect for PV cost. Any units mentioned in the following list will be annotated with W/D/P (or all three) for what type they fit into best.

C3I + ECM
Even more than C3M, C3I is vulnerable - after all, it's why the Savannah Master Interdictor exists. But there's a dearth of good C3I + ECM units.

For fast (over 14"), the Nightshade ECM VTOL (W/D) wins for both cheapness and speed; at 24" you'll be in short range turn one. Just barely slower is the HER-4M Hermes (W/D), which also has 3/3 damage and 22" speed, and the MON-266 Mongoose II (W) at 20" and A/S 4/2. The OTT-9CS Ostscout (W) has 16"j and A/S 3/2 - low damage, but a TMM of 4 with jumping will help it survive longer. An Zephyr Hovertank (W/D) clocks in at 18" and A/S 4/2, with a reasonable 2/2 sting. The CNS-TD9 Cronus (W/D) may be ugly, but it's fairly fast (16"), reasonably tough (A/S 4/3), and has STL to protect it early on and MEL to compensate for its light damage. The GAL-103 Galleon (W/D/P) has 5/2 A/S, 14" speed, and 2/2 damage - just fight for some roads on the board and you're golden.

For second-wave units (10"-12"), there's a lot fewer good choices. The GRF-6CS Griffin(W/P) is best in category - 10"j, A/S 5/3, and 3/3/3 damage. The CRB-30 Crab (W/D) has okay armor (5/2), 3/3/2 damage, but not much else. The BTL-C-20A Battle Cobra (D) may be a bit flimsy at 4/3 A/S, but it does have 4/4 damage. The RJN 200-B Raijin II(W/P) has the opposite problem: fast and durable (A/S 6/3, 12"j, STL), but only breaks 3 damage using OV AND it's expensive; the 200-C has TSM and is slightly cheaper.

Top-end damage dealers with ECM, though, are quite common. My personal fave is the KGC-008 King Crab(W/P): 6"j, A/S 10/8, 4/4/4 OV1 damage.... very nice. The Archangel Comminus(W/P) does 6/6 damage and has A/S 10/10, definitely among the highest available period, not just with ECM! A Seraph Comminus (W/P) has TSM, A/S 9/5, and 4/4/2 with OV2 - all respectable stats. The GOL-5W Goliath(W/P) has 3/3 OV1 damage, A/S 9/6, and STL - fine for sitting at Medium in water and firing away, or moving closer once lighter units have gone down. Between the Deva Comminus (W/P) or Infernus, I'd say the Comminus wins out because it has 8"j and the same damage at M, making it more durable. Lastly, the AV1-OE Avatar(W/D/P) is on the borderline of being bad in armor, damage, and speed, but it isn't OVER the line.

OTHER C3I

For first-wave units, the lack of ECM is usually a deal-breaker, but there are some exceptions that have a nice combination of stats or Specials. The CLR-03-0 Celerity (T/D) lives up to its name; at 40" it can put your Level II in Short range turn one, and is has DRO so you don't risk an actual pilot. While the Gurkha has a fair variety of units, the GUR-8G Gurkha (T/D) has TSM, MEL, and a decent 14" with A4/S2, perfect for backstabbing melee hits. With 20"j and 20 PV, the OTT-10CS Ostscout (W/D) is a cheap alternative to the ECM Ostscout. At the high-end, the Preta Dominus (W/D/P) has 16"j, A5/S2, and S3/M3 - not bad at all.

For second-wave and powerhouse closing units, there are several good choices. The FLS-9C Flashman(W/P) has A7, MV 10", and 4/4/3 OV2, which adds up well. IJJs makes the MAD-9W Marauder (W/P) mobile, with a decent turn of both armor and damage.

The list of budget Snipers is thankfully pretty good. The BTL-C-2OD Battle Cobra (D), the CRB-45 Crab (D/P), the Burke Defense Tank (D), . At a slightly higher price, but being faster and tougher: LNC25-06 Lancelot (W/D/P.

Beatsticks also have a long list. A Demon Tank HGR(W/D) is cheap and powerful, with the PAT-007 Puma (W/D) tougher and a bit stronger.  A P1W Perseus (W/P) falls between the cheap Demon and the more expensive choices and still breaks 5 damage. The Seraph Eminus (W/P has 3/4/4 damage, with TSM to move faster or smack down enemies in close; for a few more points the Archangel Eminus(W/P) has better damage and armor, OV1, and ENE. The VQR-7V Vanquisher(W/P) has already been mentioned by Scotty as pretty brutal. FNR-5WB (T/P is slow, but tough, has full Structure to use its ENE, and breaks 5 damage. While the King Crab has an ECM variant, the KGC-005 King Crab has S5/M5/L1 with FLK 3/3 and is cheaper, both of which can be handy. The MR-6B Cerberus (W/P) has 5/5/3 OV2 and MV 8", slightly faster than others in this category.

Jumping beatsticks are fewer, but very handy for their mobility through treacherous terrain. The HGN-736 Highlander (T/P) has S4/M5/L4. A CRK-5004-1 Crocket (W/P) is mobile and tough.

For those waiting for me to mention the Omega, it's listed as Experimental, and for the purposes of this list I don't do Experimental - it usually means one-off or extremely limited runs of a unit, so it isn't commonly available. If you want to do the Fall of Terra, the Omega is surprisingly cheap for the damage and armor it has at only 64 PV.


Lastly, I'm gonna cover the C3BS systems as a new section, because using only Boosted gives the advantage of ignoring anything but AECM. It should be tomorrow.

[BirdofPrey]

Just a note: you can only have 12 units in a standard C3 network.

[iamfanboy]

Just a note: you can only have 12 units in a standard C3 network.

Darnit, you're right. For some reason I was applying math to it instead of looking at the book - one master hooks into three masters which each hook into three slaves, 1+3+9=13. Incorrect, of course, I shoulda known better.

[iamfanboy]

I've made some pretty significant changes to the initial post's organization, and I'll cut-and-paste those changes here real quick. Also, any mention of 'traditional' approach was replaced with 'wave', because it really is the wave tactic.

Now I spend the rest of my morning writing the Boosted section.

COMMAND/CONTROL/COMMUNICATION (C3)
NETWORK OVERVIEW

A C3 network connects the systems of multiple units together, which gives two advantages. First, it allows every unit in the network to use the Range modifier of the networked unit closest and with a valid LOS to a target - this doesn't work with the IF special, sadly, as the firing unit does have to have its own valid LOS. Second, when using the Battlefield Intelligence rules, having a network gives enough MHQ points that you will almost certainly have bonuses to your Iniative.

Now, what's the vulnerability? ECM. Any C3 unit within an enemy ECM's area will lose its connection to the network, unless it has a friendly ECM to counter its effect. These effects do stack, so (for example) if a C3S has three enemy ECM bubbles and two friendly bubbles on it, the enemy ECM wins out.

There are three types of C3 networks available in Alpha Strike: C3 Master/Slave, C3 Integrated, and C3 Master/Slave Boosted - while there is a C3 Integrated Boosted Special, as of yet no units are equipped with C3BSI.

C3 MASTER/SLAVE NETWORK

A C3 Master/Slave network has a central computer (or several!) which each control up to three slave computers - and yes, a master of one network can be the slave of another, which allows a maximum network size of 12. Always shoot for 12 in a network; that way the extra PV you pay for C3 is working to its maximum.

The faction most associated with C3M/S is the Draconis Combine; House Kurita was the first house to really push C3 networks under the guidance of Kanrei Theodore Kurita. However, all the Successor States have access to C3M/S, and mercenary units also make use of it.

C3I LEVEL II

C3 Integrated takes a different approach: Rather than having a central computer, it spreads the computation around to all the networked units. Two factions specifically use C3I networks: Comstar and Word of Blake, as the networks themselves are sized to fit their base six formation. The Republic of the Sphere also inherited the C3I tech, though from what I can glean they appear to use it rarely if at all.

[iamfanboy]

C3 BOOSTED MASTER/SLAVE

Lastly, we discuss the Boosted networks. These didn't start appearing until the tail end of the Jihad, with the Federated Suns being the first to deploy it; with the proliferation of ECM it made a standard network difficult to run (as we can see with my insistence on listing ECM units in this guide!)

The advantage of a Boosted computer, Slave or Master, is that it is immune to ECM, with only the more powerful Angel ECM (AECM) being able to cut it off.

You can mix Boosted and non-Boosted computers together, be it Masters or Slaves, but note that only the Boosted parts of the network are immune, and only if connected to a C3BSM - if a C3BSS is hooked to a C3M, it's treated as a C3S. Example: A C3BSM, 2 C3S, and 1 C3BSS are networked. The network would NOT be cut off if an ECM bubble were on the C3BSS, if an ECM bubble was on a C3S than it would be cut off as normal, and if an ECM bubble was on the C3BSM than the two C3S would be cut off but the C3BSS would still be connected.

C3 BOOSTED MASTERS
In the C3BSM2 department, there are two good choices. The Gulltoppr OmniMonitor takes the concept of "impossible to kill" to an extreme, with A23/S13, and its only armament is dual Long Tom Cannons; however, it is a superheavy vehicle and is easy to hit, and it costs a whopping 85 PV!

In this author's humble opinion, the SR1-OM Strider is amazing at 28 PV. It's a C3M2 on legs and nothing else; for those keeping track at home, this is perfect for the 'hide your company-coordinating computer' tactic. This lets you conserve points on the central part of your network and spend them on more damage dealers; even if this guy does nothing else for 28 PV, it doesn't have to. PROTIP: When setting up terrain, try to make sure that some deep water is on each side of the board and park this guy in there when the game starts. ;)

The C3BSM unit list is kind of limited as to what meets our criteria: A6+ and Long 3+, with a non-Experimental caveat - nearly half the list is Experimental. The Fury Command Tank and HA1-OM Hauptmann are about it, but both of them are great. The Hauptmann in particular boasts a Damage 3/5/5. A borderline unit is, once again, the FEC-5CM Fennec; A6/S2 and 10" is durable enough, but it only has D3/3/0 OV1 with a grab bag of Specials that it'll find hard to use.

C3 BOOSTED SLAVE UNITS
In the fast (14"+) category, there are few units of note. The COM-8S Commando is fast, cheap (17 PV), and comes in the IBS. The ZPH-5A Tarantula is faster and slightly tougher for 19 PV. The Saladin II HCV is tough and has 20"h for 21 PV.

At 10"-12", there are more units. The CDR-2BC3 Cuirass has 12"j and MEL, plus it looks bad-ass. The CN11-OE Centurion is notable for having AECM, as is the LI-0 Vandal - the Vandal's better at 12" A7/S3 D4/3/0, but the Centurion is cheaper. The LI-0B Vandal doesn't have AECM, but it does have MEL at SZ3, and is only 35 PV. At the top end, the MTR-7K Maelstrom has 12" A8/S3 D4/4/2 OV1 - pretty damn good stats, but for 44 PV it should.

The rest of the good stuff are almost all long-range killers, though the SGT-14D Sagittaire deserves note for that 6"j, A10, and D4/3/0 OV3. At Long 3+, in ascending order of damage, the WHM-8D2 Warhammer, PPR-7T Salamander, LGB-14C2 Longbow, NK-BC3 Narukami Heavy Tank, Fury Command Tank, BNC-9S2 Banshee, and the SD1-OF Sunder exist. Of special note are the Banshee and Sunder, which break Long 5.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

C3 is a good tactic because it destabilizes the Range mechanic - each increment of Range you shave off via a network is worth Skill +2, which for some of the above units is a pretty big number!

However, it requires judgement and solid tactical ability to succeed, as a C3 force will have generally have fewer units on the table and will especially be missing the support units such as AFs and artillery. To put it simply, if you go C3 you're going C3 all the way, with little room for anything BUT C3 in your OpFor.

It is also not difficult to counter when the opponent brings enough ECM to the table - which, if someone knows you're running C3, can be done cheaply via the Savannah Master (Interdictor) or a dozen other SZ1 units. Plenty of powerful units have variants which toss an ECM Special on there, making tournament preparation for ECM easy as well. "Gee, this Battlemaster has D5/5/1, A9/S9, and ECM; might as well bring it just in case..."

But if you shoot straight, expend ammo, and buy your 'Mechs from the Dragon, you can succeed with C3.

[iamfanboy]

I'm DONE, but for one question:

About halfway through, I switched from not listing the model numbers to listing them. That inconsistency bugs me, but I wanted to ask you guys which method you prefer: With model numbers, or without them?

Even if you want the model numbers, I can't guarantee that it'll stay in; the initial version of the guide was too long for the character limit, so I had to edit it down! It's pushing the limit as it is.

[truetanker]

Would it be too much to ask for a grouping of like models within their respective roles and equipment values? Such as C3, C3i, Boosted C3 and Nova CEWS? Just a simple wall of models with their general roles. You could even make a posting for each method.

TT