Vehicle of the Week: Carnivore Assault TankSometimes you get assault tanks that claim to be main battle tanks, a term that a lot of people prefer to reserve for things like the Manticore or Po, or perhaps the Kinnol on the high, speedy end. This week we're looking at something named an assault tank that maneuvers like the MBTs of yesteryear, the Wolves' newest tank to debut in combat. Designed in a rebuilding program intended to get armaments out the door quickly, whether they suited Clan prejudices or not, the Carnivore reuses a lot of components. The communications and targeting systems were lifted from the Ares (and, in the targeting system, probably some programming changes for a very different weapons load) and the weapons are also shared with other units. Someone did their homework designing the tank's fluff. Coming into service in 3082, some have gone to bulking out frontline units with variants primarily going into the open market but deployment to the second-line units has been slow due to their lesser need for replacements. I imagine that as more 'Mechs come online, that will change, but for now, a Carnivore is more likely to be blundered into by someone hitting a front-line force. As a note, the Wolves, Falcons, Exiles, and Lyrans are, to date, the only factions deploying any of these, but per the MUL, all four have at least a few of each model.
The Carnivore
is actually an assault tank, but only barely, squeezing in with an 80 ton tracked chassis. A 320-rated extra-light engine powers it to speeds of 64kph for the same 17.5 tons a Schrek (or fusion-powered Demolisher) invests in its 240-rated standard fusion engine. (Price comments can be filed to /dev/null for mutual convenience.) 15.5 tons of standard plate armor gives more protection than the Alacorn that's been bandied about recently can boast of, layered 62/46/42/52. Not only does everything pass the double AC/20 test, everything but the rear can withstand three Gauss impacts and still have armor left, exceeding the Mars but not nearly as much in the way of overkill as the Athena's HAG variant. Those of you who know your Demolishers are going to find the armament package here strongly reminiscent of one of the post-Invasion advanced models - specifically, the Gauss model. The turret has a pair of Gauss rifles kept fed by four tons of ammunition, the bog standard 16 per gun, and in keeping with the reuse theme going on, they're the same Series II model found on the
Sun Cobra. They declined to invest the half-ton for turreted lasers, but a pair of Series 2d ERMLs grace the front glacis, an older model found on several second-line 'Mechs, the Oro, and the Hachiman. Where the side-mounted single HMGs were pulled from, I don't know and can't especially be said to care beyond wishing they'd send them back for more generally useful weapons, but infantry trying a close flanking maneuver may not agree with my opinion. A half-ton of 50 rounds will keep them firing for a while. (Keep in mind that HMG ammo is twice as heavy as standard MG ammo, perhaps the weapon's
only real boon over a pair of the original model, and that only from an explosives safety standpoint.) Just to put the boot in against the trend of heavy use of advanced electronics, someone in the Wolves' technical establishment slipped an ECM module into the CAD plans at some point. Overall, this is not a tank an enemy is going to be happy seeing downrange,
especially MechWarriors.
Like any good pack of semi-civilized carnivore-worshiping post-hyperspace Vikings with some tool kits in the back of the shed, the Wolves weren't quite done with that worthy. This is exclusively an armament switch - the armor, drive train, and ECM are all still in place. The main guns were pulled and replaced with a HAG/40 with five tons of ammunition. You've lost the sheer penetration that makes Gauss rifles scary but in exchange, the range is a bit longer and the ability to throw up to eight clusters into someone's teeth like a brick isn't something to sneeze at. VTOLs, WiGEs, and fighters won't enjoy the flak bonus one bit, a nice bonus in a battlefield where combined arms and aerospace are getting more common. The lasers were replaced by medium pulse models for increased accuracy. In a smart move, the side-mounted HMGs were upgraded to twin APGRs, doubling anti-armor penetration and increasing infantry killing by a third while dramatically enhancing range and, outside 30 meters, accuracy with 80 shots to go around. The turret also gained a double mount of AMS fed from two tons of ammo. I might have swiped a ton of ammo from one of the secondary weapons or the other to get more HAG endurance - especially the APGRs, which are both the shortest-ranged weapons and not as likely to come into use due to facings - but once again, this is a quality design. In some highly scientific testing involving MegaMek, two points of Carnivores, the bot, an FWLM heavy and assault lance consigned to said bot's ham-fisted tactics, and Twitter, I found the mixture of HAG and standard Carnivores quite effective as far as firepower goes.
The second-line variant is proof that you can teach an old wolf new tricks. In this case, they were lessons right out of the Diamond Shark Merchant's Handbook. Instead of the method I hinted at above - replacing the engine with the same 240 SFE already being used in the Clan version of the Demolisher, which would leave the armament intact but dramatically lower the sticker price - the Wolves noted that these were being sold to other people and gutted the armament for a 320 SFE. The end result of the process reminds me strongly of an overweight Clan Patton. The armor's the same, just as it was on the HAG model, and the ECM is still in place. The nose guns are the same MPLs from the HAG. The side mounts were downgraded to LMGs - longer ranged and more accurate but less powerful with a full ton of ammo. The real kicker is the fact that they replaced the turret guns with an LB 10-X. Note the singular article. The MPLs are doing their usual bang-up job of making nuisances of themselves, though, and this one needs to get them into range quickly. Overall, it's more dangerous to tanks than 'Mechs, which can afford to weather the pellet storm longer, but unlike some tanks, the armor is still going to make killing it take some effort. The "main gun" certainly isn't a real improvement over the IS model since the LB 10-X is probably the single closest match to IS hardware in the game - still a worthy gun, mind you, but not really the magnificent display of ranged beatdown featured on the other two models. The Wolves have evidently deployed a few of these things to their own forces, which makes a certain amount of sense if they're looking for an MBT on the cheap. Why the Lyrans and the Wolves-in-Exile are buying them is less clear - there are platforms out there that are much cheaper and do most of the same job already. The Carnivore is certainly somewhat tougher but it's also more expensive and the Lyrans are looking at not having ready access to new parts for the weapons. It's possible that this is a subtle hint that Defiance's tank lines (their main source of the Patton and the Manticore, both of which could be fairly easily modified to occupy this niche) aren't back up to speed, but that's supposition. It's entirely possible that someone got dazzled by a fast talking Wolf in Shark's clothing, too.
The Carnivore is a big departure from traditional Clan design theory and it's not necessarily going to be a popular one given the resources employed in making it a very powerful battle tank. I do recommend following the canon practice of mixing a few HAG models in with the Gauss variants. The MPLs are useful all on their own and what a HAG/40 can do for you in terms of either thinning armor or exploiting where the Gauss rifles have cratered it already is almost a religious experience. It's a decent weapon for poking at someone from a distance but the real beauty is when it closes and that +2 cluster bonus comes into play. The HAGs will also increase coverage against airborne threats, including a nasty chance for disabling the Lyrans' new toy called the Fensalir. You generally want to point the front at the enemy where possible to bring your lasers into play and conserve ammo for good shots in most cases and avoid exposing the sides to reduce motive damage, although against infantry turning to give them a blast from the side-mounted PBI disposal units isn't a bad idea.
Carnivores aren't going down too quickly unless you concentrate quite a bit of fire on them, so the main focus needs to be disabling them to allow you to maneuver against them more freely. The LB 10-X is, as usual, the standout recommendation here for the combination of range and cluster generation, but anything that generates a lot of clusters at range will work. If you're lucky, you'll also disable the turret in an inconvenient direction. While you're doing that, try to avoid offering the vehicles the opportunity to focus fire, and keep moving. If you can, avoid the forward arc, especially if it's disabled - the APGRs on the HAG variant can be annoying but they're a lot less dangerous than any of the laser mounts are. Clan Wolf's vehicle gunners don't tend to be the best, so Carnivores frequently aren't as dangerous as they could be, but with a vehicle this tough, they're likely to be getting better at their jobs just from surviving to accumulate experience.
Image References: While Iron Wind Metals does have two results for a search on 'Carnivore', both of them are fantasy sculpts. The
Master Unit List has the TRO picture and BV for your perusal.
