Editor's Note: Since this was written by JadeHellbringer, we've gotten information on the AC/10-armed Mk. III and AC/20-armed Mk. IV with TRO3058U's publishing in June 2006, although the I, II, and V are still enigmas. There's some discussion of those variants in the quotes.Original Poster: JadeHellbringer
Original Post Date: 16 October 2005
Some time ago, you, my faithful readers, joined me in a spirited discussion about the mighty Demolisher tank. Today, thanks to a request from GreyWolfActual, we're going to discuss its big brother. Meet the mighty Alacorn!
Before we get too far into this, I should note that my request box was accidentally emptied due to cleaning my PM box before coffee was ready. The result is that if you have requested something and its not up, you should probably re-send that request. And if you just have one you want covered, send it too. Please check the index first to see if its been done before- I've turned down a few lately from people asking for articles already covered before.
Now then. In 2587, NETC gave the SLDF its first of a new breed of monstrous battle tank, the mighty Alacorn. Now, the designation Mk.VI indicates that there were five previous versions, but no info has ever been published for them. So whether 2587 was the delivery of the first Alacorn, or the first Mk.VI, no way to know. What we do know is that in 3055 NETC has begun producing this beast of a tank again, to the joy of armor commanders everywhere. Lets see why they are so excited to have these in their forces.
The Alacorn starts off where we always look first- the engine. A 285 XL provides low weight and an average 3/5 movement for a huge tank like this. The cost is huge, but with a tank like this cost isn't a driving factor- saving weight for other things was. This is a 95 ton tank, so don't plan on it being anywhere fast. It is best used in a defensive role (paired with other slow tanks like the Demolisher) or in slow, 'moving wall' style attacks, both of which are best done by the most common Alacorn customer, the Lyran Alliance.
Few tanks are as tough as the Alacorn. Thirteen tons of armor coat the tank in a thick hide. I always administer the AC-20 test to large vehicles, and this week is no exception. The front and turret have fifty points each, enough to easily weather two AC-20 hits and still have spare! The flanks are stripped only by two AC-20 hits, and even the rear can take a whole 28 points before caving. Alacorns only die from lucky shots- it is almost impossible to just pound one apart unless you use absolutely overwhelming force- not a bad idea anyway, by the way.
Why focus so much power on the Alacorn? Well, because otherwise it will kill you. No ifs, ands, or buts. Because in the turret sit three might Norse-Storm 7D Gauss Rifles! Yes, three of one of the games most powerful weapon systems! A three-gun salute can simply obliterate light and medium Mechs, and even the toughest assault designs find themselves outranged and in serious pain in battle with an Alacorn. Forty rounds of ammo mean that you can't wait for the beast to run out of ammo either.
How to fight such a tank? Well, in the case of the Demolisher, you just stayed out of range of the ACs. You can't do that here- few weapons outrange the Alacorn. There simply is no safe way to do the job short of overwhelming force (and feeling the price for it), inferno SRMs (a cheap way to do it), or to just hope and pray for luck. This is, in this writers opinion, the single finest heavy tank in Battletech. End of story- it has no real weakness.
But the story isn't over. Enter Steiner's newest tracked fiend, the Alacorn Mk. VII! First of all, the Chaosmarch.com readout on it is wrong- the armor listed there is for the Mk.VI, and is incorrect. The new model drops the three Gauss Rifles- and the turret they sat in- for two Defiance Hammerfist Heavy Gauss Rifles. Thats right- a rolling Fafnir. The armor on this model is the single best of any Battletech tank- the front has a whole 112 points to have to batter through! 75 on the flanks and an amazing fifty in the rear make it even harder to kill this version without lucky hits, though the front facing of the rifles hinders its ability to cover itself from harm. A more Steiner-minded vehicle is hard to imagine, but the Mk.VI is superior in most ways.
How to improve the Alacorn? The Mk.VIII is a personal variant of mine that [REDACTED]. There are so many ways to have fun with it, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you all come up with. Share stories too- most of us have seen this up close before, and we have all gone through the hell of fighting one...
Join me next time for VotW, and get those requests in folks! Otherwise I'll have to pick one myself next week, and I'm feeling like doing something really weird...
The picture, so Chanman doesn't complain:
Editor's Note: The original art link is no longer available but I do have this handy link to the MUL for you. There's also a few images on CamoSpecs to look at.