Mech of the Week: Incubus/VixenOne of the earlier 'new' designs seen among the Clans, the
Incubus is actually one of their older units, first encountered among Jade Falcon garrisons. Initially enigmatic, it was eventually determined that the
Incubus, termed the
Vixen by the Spheroid community, was a duelling 'Mech introduced around the end of the Golden Century, although it was sometimes used by second-line units in standard combat situations. Following their capture of Tokasha MechWorks, the Hell's Horses begin to produce newer models, both as part of the next wave of Clan designs to emerge after the Great Refusal and as part of the revival of the Unseen. Later developments (something about a Reaving and a loss of access to the Homeworlds) cut the Clans' supply lines back home, leaving most of the Spheroid Clans scrambling to get new production up and running. The Horses were part of the general struggle and turned to their allies in Phelan Kell's Wolves-in-Exile for assistance, a partnership that had already produced the
Hellstar. Once the design work on what could be a controversial new upgrade around here was done, it was put into production at Csesztreg Industrialplex Alpha. The Horses are using them to rebuild their touman while the limited number in WiE hands are acting as reconnaissance specialists in light 'Mech units.
The original
Incubus is a light that focuses more speed and armor than firepower but what's there is pretty effective for the most part. 30 tons puts it at the size of a
Kit Fox, but a 270-rated XLFE makes it 50% faster than the Falcons' main light OmniMech before the introduction of the
Fire Falcon and
Cougar. An endo-steel frame saves some tonnage, as well, and the unit is wrapped in 5.5 tons of ferro-fibrous armor, maxing a 30 tonner out. 10 points across the arms and forward side torsos protect against Clan large lasers, 15 on the CT from Gauss rifles or particle cannons, with 14 points on the legs stopping a pair of hits from the ER or pulse versions of the medium laser. The rear torsos, as 4 points on the sides and 5 on the rear, are about as good as they can get without eroding the forward protection. Your 'big gun' is a large pulse laser mounted on the right arm, supported by an extended-range medium laser and a pair of machine guns in each torso. Personally, I think the designers were leaning more toward the ability to spray someone with lead at point-blank range since a dueling 'Mech would have relatively little use for infantry killing. In one of those “drugs in the water cooler” moments, someone stuck the half-ton of machine gun ammo in the center torso. On non-CASE designs, where any significant amount of ammo going up is pretty much going to end the 'Mech's salvage potential right there, this can make some sense to get the ammo behind the thickest armor but on a Clan unit, it's mainly a good way to occasionally waste resources when someone tags the ammo bin.
The
Incubus 2 (not to be confused with the
Incubus II) swaps the LPL out for an ER PPC, trading accuracy for sheer firepower. Considering the speed, either one is going to make a hellacious sniper, and unlike the
Pack Hunter, they have the armor and weapons to get close and play with someone if they have to (up to a point, anyway). The 2 lacks the original's heat balance, sharing the same 10 double heat sinks, but careful judgment should let you keep firing easily enough. Make no mistake, though - lights dueling with ER PPCs are slaves to the whims of their malevolent cubical masters.
In contrast to its predecessors, the
Incubus 3 is a dedicated in-fighter. The machine guns are still there but the lasers were replaced entirely, opting for a medium pulse laser in each torso and a Streak SRM 6 out in the old LPL mount on the right arm. Although you can't shoot past 12 hexes, the accuracy gains and raw speed might be worth it in the right terrain. Tanks are going to hate this one.
The Horses' first effort to improve the design was the
Incubus 4. Continuing with the infighting theme, the main gun is now a heavy large laser, the hardest-hitting energy weapon available to 'Mechs (not counting capacitor-backed PPCs here). Unfortunately, they didn't add any heat sinks, so using it occupies basically your entire heat scale. The backup lasers are two medium pulse lasers, hitting both ends of the accuracy scale simultaneously, along with two of each type of micro laser, evenly split between the left and right torso. Personally, I'd go for the 2 or 3, but aggressive MechWarriors with good aim can probably do some nasty things by circling around a heavier opponent, then tearing into their rear plates.
The
Incubus 5 is the revenge of the
Incubus 3. An ATM 6 hangs off the right arm, fed by two tons of ammunition (I suggest you use ER and HE), and each side torso has an ERML and a pair of LMGs, trading firepower for twice the range. Exactly why the design has a full ton of LMG ammo instead of, say, a light TAG or active probe, I don't know, but the decision displeases me a bit.
The
Incubus II takes all of that history and goes kind of sideways on us. Still using the same armor on the same endo-steel skeleton, the Horses slowed the 'Mech down to “only” 129 kph at a run. To make up for that, they added eight jump jets, giving you the mobility of a
Spider, and then mounted a partial wing to grant another 2 jump MP and 3 heat dissipation in standard atmospheres. (I leave looking up the other atmospheric pressures on pages 293 and 295 of Tactical Operations as an exercise for the reader.) The armament is sort of familiar and sort of not. The classic battery of super-light weapons and the nasty arm gun are gone but the side torsos each mount an extended-range medium pulse laser. ER pulse lasers strike me as neither fish nor fowl a lot of the time, running hotter than either of their predecessor laser types while trading either range and size or accuracy to produce a weapon that's somewhere in between. Although I still think that's the case, here, the Horses just might have a point. The
Incubus II has the dissipation to soak the heat and the reach vs. pulse lasers is handy sometimes, although an argument can be made in favor of the classic ERML battery. A laser anti-missile system is also mounted in the left torso, with a light active probe in the head. Not being a fan of LAMS heat generation, particularly on a 'Mech with enough heat generation to run the scale up on its own, I'm not too sure I wouldn't have opted for ECM instead but the extra defensive strength comes in handy sometimes. The real joker in the deck, though, is the selection of handheld weapons. Each pod has 8 points of armor; the total ammunition for the weapons is noted in parentheses. Your weapons selections include two medium chemical lasers (15), a Streak LRM 5 (12), two LRM 5s (12), a Streak SRM 4 (12), a trio of APGRs (40), a quartet of machine guns (100), and TAG.
The
Incubus II perfectly demonstrates both the potential and the limitations of the handheld weapon concept. There's one basic problem with the idea, demonstrated to graphic effect on the
Incubus II: Handheld weapons prevent the use of arm- and torso-mounted weapons. Please keep in mind that the
Incubus II's lasers and its LAMS are torso-mounted. Yes, I know David White's lovely artwork implies it's only on one arm, but the actual rules indicate otherwise. Pods are fragile, too, although they're not too likely to get hit. Another thing to keep in mind is that anyone can pick up and use a handheld weapon if it's 10% or less of the 'Mech's own tonnage. How big a problem that is in practice is debatable - sure, they can pick the weapons up, but then
they get to deal with the same limitations - but it's worth knowing about none the less. So if I'm clearly inclined to think this is another one of those situations where a nifty idea simply doesn't work that well on the battlefield, where's that potential I'm talking about? Simple. If you're in a situation where those limitations can be worked around, several of the provided pods do have their uses. The LRM weapons worked out for us in Prototypes have the obvious benefit of providing a long-range fire option but you can also use the
Incubus as a minelayer a la the
Sling if you put Thunder rounds in the handheld pod. A few of the other munitions might be handy, too, such as smoke rounds. Arming your typical
Archer with handheald munitions is a bad idea; arming a
Hunchback with LRMs isn't and the
Incubus II falls closer to the
Hunchback on the armament range scale. The TAG and anti-infantry weapons (coming in APGR and MG flavors; personally I prefer the former) give you some additional options when you simply don't have another 'Mech or tank around to deal with the problem, but they also cost you all of your heavier firepower. The chemical laser weapon looks interesting but considering your own ER MPLs offer greater range and firepower, I'd tell the techs to put them on tanks where they belong. The Streaks are similarly nebulous. I'm simply unvoncinced a Streak 4 is worth losing your lasers under most circumstances.
As a light duelist, most of the series is competent, having solid armor for their size and a mixture of weapons that let you use the 'Mech's speed to good effect against the more heavily-armed lights we're used to seeing in front-line formations. That said, you absolutely
have to use that speed aggressively in such situations to control the terms of engagement. Letting a
Kit Fox or
Adder really use its heavier weapons load, let alone doing that with a
Cougar, is a thoroughly excellent way to lose. The same speed makes it an effective scout, raider, or harrier, with the original, 2, 5, and with the right handheld weapon, the II all having the ability to snipe at someone and harass them. These aren't really Clan tactics but many of the Clans have learned some hard lessons in tactical pragmatism when dealing with Spheroids, so put those lessons to good use. And remember, a light like this embraces the maxim “Speed is life!” It's very, very true.
Countering the
Incubus isn't too hard if you can hit it in the first place, so your options need to focus on two aspects: Bringing the right equipment if possible and trying to force it into terrain that will bog it down, something that's much harder to arrange for the jump-mobile
Incubus II. As for hitting it, the usual suspects - pulse lasers, targeting computers, cluster shot for LB-Xs, precision ammo for standards - and the crop of Tactical Operations options (with special mention of the Long Tom Cannon, something no light ever wants pointed in its general direction) are all things you want on the table for dealing with sort of 'Mech. A well-armored light is still a light, so once it's hit, kill it fast and move on to bigger prey.
References: The
Incubus isn't a new 'Mech, meaning it's not surprising to find the older models
in the MUL, although we're still waiting for information on the units from TRO: Prototypes. Eight different miniatures grace the pages of
CamoSpecs.
