Week four on our magnificent journey. We've covered 23 out of what is now 2997 unique 'Mech variants and designs. That's the very definition of having our work cut out for us, but this week we're going to take it a bit easier, and cover one 'Mech with a single variant, and that'll be that.
This week's 'Mech is none other than the Uraeus, notable for having more vowels than it does actual letters in the name.
There is exactly one variant of the Uraeus, the UAE-7R. Let's give it the typical rundown. Size three, which makes it a Heavy 'Mech, and capable of some pretty nasty physical attacks. There's more to that story later, but I'll say right now that the Uraeus is the first 'Mech we've seen so far that actually
wants to be in physical range of someone, and it's pretty handy at getting what it wants. A MV of 8” is good for a TMM of +1. Not spectacular, but not horrible either. This was pretty much the standard for most Heavies and a good deal of Medium 'Mechs for literal centuries. You'll dodge some shots, but most will get through to hit at decent ranges.
In terms of raw durability, the Uraeus is actually pretty good. Seven points of armor and six points of structure adds up to something that can take a lot of killing to actually kill. A 'Mech this large can technically squeeze on enough armor to get up to eight points, but with the use of a standard engine, the Uraeus can keep the internals pretty sturdy, too. A total of 13 points of armor and structure edges out one of the paragons of combat efficiency, the Timber Wolf (12 points, arranged 8/4). Standard engines really shine in Alpha Strike. Even though armor is always better than structure, more points is more points, and every point you have is another damage a unit can soak before limping off the field or being destroyed.
That brings us to the guns. The Uraeus is very unusual when it comes to the guns it mounts in the standard BattleTech game, and in Alpha Strike that translates to a weirdly flexible and potent offensive punch. Damage brackets of 4/4/2 are pretty average for something of this size and time period (that being the Dark Ages), but it's respectable enough, and the long range punch means that even the 8” movement isn't a great handicap. In the Uraeus's case, however, the listed damage values are only part of the story.
Take a look at the Specials in the field below. There are a few we haven't seen before, alongside a few we have. ARM and CASEII make a comeback, which much like the Mad Cat Mk IV makes the Uraeus a pretty tough customer to actually cripple without just pouring more damage on. Ignoring the first crit entirely, and ignoring any ammunition hit after that is a pretty nice way to not catastrophically lose your 'Mech to an errant dice roll.
But enough about those lame Specials that we've already seen, let's take a look at the new shiny. We were just talking about guns, so we'll buck the normal trend of examining them in order, and skip straight to this fancy TUR(2/2/-) thingamabob. What does that mean? Why, dear friends, that means that our precious Uraeus here has a turret. Turrets in Alpha Strike are pretty damn handy, for a couple of reasons. First, they give you a 360 degree firing capability with pretty good firepower. That, in and of itself, is a pretty nice reason to have them around. No such thing as dodging the firing arc on a Uraeus. Second, they are one of very,
very few ways in the game to split your attacks and damage. Aside from the Multi-Tasker SPA, and the REAR special, turrets are just about it when it comes to splitting up your damage between different targets. Now, the wording isn't especially clear in the book whether you can split fire between two different targets in front of you, or if they have to also be a valid target behind you in order for the second attack to be a legal attack. Even if they do, the major difference between TUR and REAR is that TUR doesn't impose a to-hit penalty like REAR does. With a damage value of 2/2/-, the turret can only engage to medium range, but odds are you don't want to be splitting your damage much at long range anyway. Every time you use the turret, you subtract the turret's damage from your damage value for your remaining attack. That means, first of all, declare your turret attack first (or that you're going to use your turret attack, at least), and second of all, don't split your fire if you don't get anything out of it. Dealing two damage to two different targets means nothing if you're just scratching armor on both. It means a
lot if each attack is going to prompt a critical hit roll. Use it wisely. The other very interesting thing about this particular turret is that it has the Uraeus's bombast laser and nothing else. The bombast laser, in Alpha Strike, does exactly 1.02 damage at short and medium range. Normally, this means absolutely nothing. However, weapon damage rounds up to the nearest whole number, which means that in the turret, the bombast laser's 1.02 damage is good for 2/2/- damage values. I get the feeling that the 1.02 damage value is specifically intended to make the Uraeus worth using, somehow, in a situation exactly like this. Or maybe to make the bombast laser more useful than a PPC for the same tonnage and slightly more heat. That sort of rounding definitely makes it a lot better.
Back at the beginning of the articles, I also mentioned that the Uraeus is a 'Mech that likes to get into melee range. That's because of the remaining two Specials we haven't looked at yet. MEL represents a melee weapon on the 'Mech, and does two things simultaneously. First, the physical attack range of a unit with the MEL Special is increased to 2”. Second, the physical attack damage is increased by one point. This means that the Uraeus, when swinging that vibroblade of its, will connect and deal 4 points of damage. This is coincidentally the same amount of damage it deals when shooting at short range. The reason to attempt a melee attack at all is also closely related to the fact that units in base-to-base contact with each other cannot make weapon attacks against each other, only physical attacks, where the Uraeus has the advantage over most opponents.
It gets better. The last Special we haven't seen yet is TSM. TSM works exactly the same way it does in regular BattleTech. If a unit is heated up, they move faster, and they hit harder with physicals. In Alpha Strike terms, if a unit has any heat at all, even one point, it moves the traditional speed faster, and deals one additional damage when it connects with a physical attack. At one point of heat, a Uraeus moves 10”, and will connect with a five point physical whallop out to two inches of range. That's pretty significant, especially since heat doesn't affect the chances of a physical attack hitting. It's even more significant when you realize that the first point of heat puts the Uraeus up into the +2 TMM category. Not only do you get faster, you also get harder to hit, as well as hitting harder physically. Win-win. Past one point of heat, you start slowing back down again, but retain the extra chopping power. A five point hit is nasty, especially if the defending unit is only capable of striking back in kind, where it will almost certainly be at a disadvantage. “But the Uraeus doesn't have an overheat!” you say. “It doesn't need one!” I jovially reply. 'Mechs in Alpha Strike can generate heat without even trying. Literally, you can just declare that you're generating a point of heat, specifically in order to activate things like TSM. The big thing with TSM is to watch out for things with the SRM Special or that can deal HT. Extra heat really messes up TSM designs, because they start to lose mobility very quickly. On the other hand, 'Mechs with TSM in AS can generally manage their heat fairly well. Keeping the heat up is a simple matter of firing every turn, if you have a target, or declaring that you're generating one heat. A 'Mech is allowed to keep that single point of heat whether it's overheating and didn't fire on a given turn or not. For example, if a 'Mech is at heat level 3 (thanks to some opportunistic bugger with an SRM Special), the 'Mech may choose to not make a weapon attack next turn, at which point its heat sinks to zero, and immediately after which may be bumped up to 1 point, in order to keep TSM active. Considering that units making a physical attack are fully incapable of making a weapon attack, this is pretty handy for keeping TSM useful at all.
At 41 points, the Uraeus matches fairly well for a high end Heavy from the Clan Invasion onward. You get what you pay for, and arguably a little bit more. There are very, very few 'Mechs in the game that can split their fire without an SPA your group might not like using, and TSM with MEL is nasty on just about anything. As a Brawler, the Uraeus fits in with most line combat oriented lances, most typically Battle and Command Lances. With good armor and solid punching power, the Uraeus is a far cry from its normal BTech self.
And that, in a nutshell, is the Uraeus.
The MUL doesn't have the faction availability for this one yet, but if you know the unit then you're pretty well aware this is a ComStar and Republic of the Sphere exclusive, and no one is likely to have it anywhere else. Pretty much period. There is also no miniature for this 'Mech yet, so no camospects to link.
