Vehicle of the Week: Stygian Strike TankIntroduced in 3062 in response to a 3050s push by Captain-General Thomas Marik (who wasn't actually Thomas Marik, but that's another article...) to build up League forces in a more economical way than just the expensive BattleMechs of the 3050s. Brooks Incorporated's Irian facilities responded by building a bigger version of the Harasser armed for long-range missile combat, a field that the FWLM had spent a considerable amount of time and effort developing advanced new munitions for. After field testing with the 2nd Free Worlds Legionnaires, nicknamed the Stygians, the tank was renamed by Brooks in thanks when Corrine Marik, the 2nd's commander, recommended it for widespread deployment with the FWLM. Initially concentrated in the 2nd, the Stygian began to be disseminated more widely within the Legionnaires in the months leading up to the Jihad according to ComStar in
Technical Readout: 3067. And then someone kicked over the apple cart. Given some of their other shenanigans, it's entirely possible the Word had been skimming some of the Stygians off from Brooks' production for years in a scheme akin to the one they perpetrated with the Po. From October 3070 to 3075, though, the Word had the cooperation of Irian Technologies and control of the planet Irian, so you're going to find plenty of Stygians in Word colors during the Jihad. The status of the factories currently is hard to glean. We know Brooks is still there because they're still building Thumpers, including the new Thumper Angel. The Word nuked several IrTech facilities as a going-away present when they pulled back in the middle of 3075 but Brooks wasn't mentioned. I'd look at the MUL to see if there are any suggestions but availability on the Stygians hasn't been finalized yet. Even if it was, former FWL or Word hardware turning up in the ranks of the Republic Armed Forces isn't exactly a reliable indicator of anything. For now, it's a bit of a wait-and-see.
At 40 tons, Styigans are on the big side for a hover tank, only 10 tons below the maximum for standard combat units. An outsized Magna 185 fusion plant drives the Stygian to a speed of 151 kph in clear terrain, faster than classic designs like the Maxim or Scarborough's 35 tonners, and gives you a basically unlimited range as long as you keep the crew topped up on energy bars and stale coffee. The Maximillian 43 standard plate is a little less impressive at a mere 5.5 tons. You're beating the Saladin even on the nose, at least, but enough damning with faint praise. An 18/18/18/16 armor spread is sufficient for a little bit of fire and will protect you at least once from the usual threats a Stygian would encounter at its typical combat ranges but speed is life only gets you so far in this game sometimes. Keep that in mind when you start getting shot at. The rest of the tonnage goes for the Magna Longbow LRM 15 in the turret and a pair of Diverse Optics ERMLs fixed forward. I'm not going pretend I like having my short-range guns fixed forward but at least you've got the speed to hopefully make it work if you're forced to use them. The LRMs, on the other hand, get nothing but approval with their three ton ammo bin. Totaled together, that's the one quarter of mass the TRO was talking about. No CASE, unfortunately, but that's not really news where combat vehicles are concerned, now is it? That ammo bin explains what you're supposed to be doing with the Stygian. The FWL was a leader in introducing or redeveloping special LRM munitions, including such minor trifles as the semi-guided LRM and the magnetic pulse warhead (okay, that one really was kind of a dud), and given their relatively friendly relationship with the CCAF for a while, the League can probably be counted on to be introducing Thunder-Augmented LRMs pretty promptly. Stygians might not have huge throw weights individually but they have plenty of speed and they've got fire endurance. If you can't figure out how to use that with those shiny new LRM ammo types, you're just not trying hard enough,
While the 2nd Legionnaires were generally satisfied with the tank that now bears their moniker, during testing they recommended a version with a smaller Magna 145, reducing the tank's speed but saving 3.5 tons. (The engine's only 7.5 tons but remember that 20% minimum engine weight for hovers means you've got at least an 8 ton engine on a 40 tonner.) 2.5 tons were piled into more armor, winding up with a 38/26/17/21 armor spread. While hovers are always supposed to try to have their front pointed at the enemy since it reduces motive hits, I'm not sure exactly why they felt the need to cut a point of armor on the rear and I really would have preferred a smidge more on the turret, too. Quibbles aside, that's a significant upgrade. Another ton expanded the ammunition bay. Deemed the “Stygian Mudskipper”, this variant was born for fast battlefield delivery of special munitions, even under fire. A 15 point minefield doesn't sound too intimidating until you have several hexes of it stacked up in your line of retreat. It also enough fire endurance to be cut loose as a raider without frequent resupply.
The Word either refitted or had Brooks specially construct a variant just for them based on the original Stygian, one that really manages to alter the design's feel despite still having a couple of lasers and an LRM rack. I'll start with the reduction in LRM throw weight to a 10 tube launcher to free up 2.5 tons, then cutting the ammo bin to a mere ton for half the original's endurance and far less flexibility. Part of the tonnage went to swapping the lasers out for MPLs. I'm a long way from being an MPL hater but where the ERMLs overlapped pretty well with the original, letting you skirmish, the MPLs turn this into a knife-fighter that uses the LRMs for sniping or support. The remaining 2.5 tons were perfect for a C3i computer. If the original Stygian's job was being a skirmishing missile boat, the WoB variant's role is as a fast, reasonably flexible member of a Level II that can act as a close-in spotter or fire LRMs in support of another unit. Introduced around the same time as the Zephyr (LRM), I'm wondering why the Word really felt they needed another 9/14 hover tank with C3i, 10 LRM tubes, and a couple of lasers.
Operationally, the Stygian reminds me a lot of the Saracen. The original isn't quite as tough but I suspect that the general resemblance to a tank that was a major hit with the FWLM could be one reason the Legionnaires were so enthusiastic. It's a harasser and a flanker but you've also got the ammo capacity to be a real pain in someone's backside with Thunders while still packing in enough standard or semi-guided LRMs to have a useful combat endurance in a straight-up fight. They also make a decent scout or, in groups, a scout hunter, able to pace or outrun a lot of light 'Mechs and packing in enough firepower to be a bit of a handful. Unfortunately, Stygians don't handle tight quarters well, cutting the tank's mobility and making it more likely to expose a Mudskipper's flanks to fire. Whatever you're doing, try to stick to open terrain and keep enemies from getting side shots you don't need to give them. If you have to close, do it and then blow past the enemy and circle around out of arm's reach, using your turret to pelt them with LRMs while you do it. The Word variant might want to opt for charging down someone's throat to use the MPLs to cut down light 'Mechs, though.
Killing Stygians isn't that hard. The LB-X, especially the LB 10-X, remains one of the best options you've got, with the Silver Bullet Gauss another one. Fortunately, the SB experience is rare - even now that they're more common, SB Gauss rifles aren't all that common. Precision ammo, pulse lasers, an SNPPC, or anything else with a lot of reach to reduce range modifiers are all good standby options. And bring ECM if you're facing the Word, or even just the FWLM - Narc may not be all that common compared to the Artemis this thing doesn't have but reducing the effect of any digital shoot me signs someone tapes to your armor is always helpful.
References: The
Master Unit List has information for all three variants, although post-Jihad availability for anything but the Word variant is still to be determined as of the time this is being written. All of the examples
on CamoSpecs are from the Free Worlds League.
