Speedy Swiftclaw Biker
Austria-Graz
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Cogs Army book has been released I week ago after so much excitement from At-43 players and die-hard fans alike; the cogs are the first truly Alien species released in the At-43 universe (the Therians are actually us, the humans, the Avans --UNA and RB-- are Therian clones and the Karmans are based on a Gorilla from Earth)
The book
Cogs AB has is a 63 page book as the previous army books and it is printed on a nice glossy paper that makes reading quite easy, you don’t really have to squint your eyes for reading small or strange letter. With very few exceptions, almost all pages have some sort of drawing of the cogs, some of them are previously known and some others are “new”. My native language is not English, and even though I think that the translator Aaron Galbraith made an excellent job translating, as this book reads and feels more natural compared to the previous army books (I cannot say anything about the Rule book as I mine is in Spanish); for me though there were some sentences that were strange to understand in the first catch but it may be directly related to my knowledge of English, even with those 2-3 sentences the book is a fun reading and the quality has improved, so far I have just found one little mistake (I’m not saying is the ONLY one as probably native speakers will found a few more) -- 2 words still in French in the Sharpshooters profile. I believe this long-awaited army book is a fun read and full of small hints of information regarding the future and some jokes – “Fort C-nox” just to name the most obvious.
The fluff
As mentioned before, Cogs are the first truly Alien race developed for the AT-43 and in my opinion it did not disappoint; although it is commonly mentioned in the forums that AT-43 is based on the WWII with the twist of Aliens and probably something more, it has evolved outside that scope and completely made a different story, based on that premise it was suspected that the Cogs would be some sort of “grays”.
And certainly look like grays as any Cogs drawing shows them being similar at least in the model –humanoids, bald and big eyes, however the fluff in itself is refreshing; Cogs are for the lack of a better world, “predators” (not related to the movie) they hunt and kill and try to be at the top of the food chain or the sex chain to be more accurate, as when they dominate/defeat an opponent, they can force their gene code into the receptor Cog which then is the incubator of the Clone of the “father”.
Continuing with the fluff, this Clone/gene/domination relationship has made them by their own specialization, masters of cloning and modification of their own genes, pretty much ALL Cogs are clones of 4 Cogs (each leader of each of the 4 lines) and each can be changed mutated to do a particular task, either military, administration or science. To not spoil the fluff for those who haven’t read the book yet, I just will go directly to the armies and let the details in the book.
The army
There is 1 generic platoon available and 4 platoon variations as with other armies, each of the 4 variations have some really nice and twisted advantages some of them are quite different to any of those previously released armies and personally I cannot wait to test some of them; the resume below is just a quick resume of the stile that it seems will prevail in each of the lines (platoons)
A-volution: They are all about AFV’s, 2 of the 5 possible units in a platoon must be filled with AFV’s and a third selection is divided about AFV and infantry while the last two are infantry. However this “balanced platoon” is nothing new in the armies; however what makes A-volution special is the advantage/disadvantage. Long story short, it basically only works for type 1 AFV as you can buy a unit of 4 type 1 AFV and pay only 3 (i.e. 25% of the costs is free) I wouldn’t expect to see this platoon in small games (<2000 AP) but in bigger games they will come to its own with masses and masses of AFV
C-naps: Fluff-wise--they will sell their mother, family and whatever they come across to obtain “victory”. The platoon is 60% infantry and 40% AFV. Nothing special so far BUT the weirdest part of the deal is that they can sell VP’s earned to gain Reinforcement points however, under certain conditions; the enemy may buy those VP with reinforcement points. truly a new way of dealing with the enemy and very fluffy with a twist of Fun.
G-Nocrat: they are all about infantry and more infantry (80% infantry and 20% AFV), I would say this is a simple platoon and very direct use as all leaders and/or heroes are doctors (in some cases each can use the ability twice) so it is very simple its approach; however be careful of snipers as a heroes are needed to make this platoon work properly, since leadership is a factor in their disadvantage. Disorganized units are dead.
T-regulator: Again a fairly balanced platoon built similar to A-volution and no extreme surprises in it, however fluff- wise T regulators are supposed to be, in an extremely simplified way: “pirates” as in “Arrr… matey” or something like that, they are raiders and pillagers, no more. So basically what makes them unique is the fact the advantage that they have CAN make a rush movement and still shoot. The disadvantage is one of those that can be theoretically a blow in the face for you if things go wrong, as if you cannot go first ( by loosing authority test) you play your units randomly (i.e. you don’t have activation sequence) this could potentially spell doom in your forces but can be really funny to play
Heroes
The only officials in a Cog army are heroes. I will not cover each hero as it would be lengthy and tedious however I would explain quickly what I perceive as the most important points and limitations. There are basically 12 “different” heroes divided in 4 triumvirates each belonging to a particular line, each one is a clone of each other so you can have multiple copies in each army, provided you fulfill some limitations explained very clear in the army book. Besides the generic
Having said this, 12 different heroes mean a lot of options and “special” abilities to choose, nothing in my opinion is game-breaking (at least no more than the ”normal” power of the cogs that is). Each triumvirate of heroes belong to a particular line so you cannot put a hero that does not belong to the same line as the platoon – unless you use the generic platoon, of course-- There are two rank- 5 commanders, one rank 4, two rank-3, two rank-2, and four rank-1, giving the cogs a wide selection and possibilities to do.
Units
Before I start with the units it is important to mention 3 points; all weapons…ALL, have at least one re-roll! that’s rude…. there are no Flamers in the cog Army AND there are only 3 units that use mortars… so grounding units would be more difficult.
Infantry
Warmongers type *: the classic basic infantry (although in the cogs most infantry seems to be good) the normal weapons, Quantum pistols have a maximum range of 90cm… yes they are that good! The penetration is 4 so most UNA/RB type *infantry can be damage on a 4+, Therians/Karmans are tougher so mainly would be killed on a 5+. Tac Arms are immune except the UNA that they need 6+ to be killed. The CC weapon is the QuantumBlade that is better than the pistol making damage (needing a 3+/4+ for the UNA/RB, 4+ for Karman/Therians) with the exception of RB kollosi, all other Tac Arms can be dead in Close combat. The special weapons are common anti AFV (Jammer) or anti Infantry (Quantum MG) making fairly easy to tool up your warmongers for whatever purpose you desire and they have better accuracy and penetration.
Stalkers type *: Similar to Grim golems, they are made for CC, no more, no less; they have stealth and 2 Quantum blades so tactics are just “run and get to CC asap”
Sharpshooter type **: this unit has the Quantum rifle and for me, they will become for sure the core of my army, high accuracy (130cm max and reroll) enough shoots per weapon and higher penetration compared to the pistol, making them a good all-rounder unit. Customization is possible as well as the Anti-AFV (Jammer) or Anti-infantry (sniper) mention goes to the sniper (170cm maximum + the all too common re roll).
Gunslinger type **: Basically an upgraded warmonger (a bit better accuracy) and a second pistol, in this case they unleash a torrent of fire, can be upgraded to anti-AFV, but IMHO that’s just a waste of points; I think that cheaper units can get the same role with the jammer. I tghink the best tactic with this would be to harass infantry at better range.
All type *** infantry has Detection (anti stealth) and are jump infantry (very good at covering terrain)
Counter sniper type ***: whats better than a sniper? a counter sniper… better range (180cm max) more armor (as it is a Tac Arm) but more expensive. Great against infantry, good against tac arms and maybe (if no other targets) useful to kill light armored AFVs
Gunfighters type ***: they are the gunslingers in a tac arms armor. More accuracy and better protection, not my thing I believe that Gunslingers can fulfill better that roll and there are more bodies to suck bullets.
Gunman type ***: As with the 2 previous type- 3 infantry, this is as well dedicated anti-infantry and light tacarms/AFVs killer. somewhere in between the two previous, less range than the C-sniper, better accuracy than the gunfighters, more shots than both but less penetration that the C-sniper. Another well all around unit, but still I like the C-sniper more (just fluff-wise)
Skirmisher type ***: Long distance anti-infatry, and useful against AFV but not dedicated tank hunter, I don’t think I will use them as the C-snipers are better in all stats, but 25AP more expensive. I would save in other areas to get those 25 AP and use C-sniper instead of these.
Hunters type ***: finally some dedicated anti AFV, they are only 2 hunters in a unit, but they are very similar to RPG kollosi EXCEPT that their rockets have a better accuracy and …. re-rolls ! I think I will use them VERY often. Can squish infantry too.
Tracker type ***: Last of the cogs Tac Arms, they are without doubt the anti-AFV unit with the jammers… excellent in what they do but pretty much useless if there are no AFV’s… I would use them if in particular missions though
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AFV’s
Starting with the Review of the AFV’s, cogs only have 2 types big or small (i.e. type* or ***) nothing in the middle, amour is obviously low 12 or high 16. Two things are common in all AFVs are the Autorepair (1 SP to repair per round) and Nerves of steel (no morale tests taken); as mentioned previously all cogs weapons have at least 1 re-roll in the “to hit”, further more the vandal (***) is without doubt a beast as not only has the previous advantages but also his Heavy Quantum Cannon has 2 rerolls, and just for those wondering this is one of two weapons that have two re rolls in the “to hit” roll, just to make it more scary he can control objectives. A common disadvantage of all the AFV’s, is that they don’t have heroes attached so you need to pay LP to activate them.
The 4 type * AFVS are based on the same pattern, 12 amour, 5 SP, and moving 30cm +10 if rushing; the 2 SP in the frame make them somewhat “delicate” but don’t make the mistake to think them as easy kill, I believe that AFVs * will be, more often than not, taken in 3-4 fighters per unit, threatening all. Now to the Description. There are basically 4 weapons used by them (jammers – anti AFV-, Launchers – anti inf Mortars-, Cannons –anti AFV- and MG –anti Inf-) the advantages of them are obvious for experienced AT-43 players, however for the sake of the future Clone-commanders I will make a quick review.
Jammers
Pros: Maximum 130cm range, 2 shots + rerolls, and hits on 3+ on a D6, ideal for killing AFV’s as their armour becomes irrelevant
Cons: Only usable against AFV’s and “only” make 1 SP damage per hit
Quantum Cannon:
Pros Maximum 150cm range, 2 shots + 2 rerolls, 14 penetration ideal for killing low to medium size AFV. To kill the type *** they need a +5 on a D6, not impossible, but you will need more salvoes, and if there is nothing else to shoot at, can kill any other thing,
Cons: Only 2 shots, not enough to destroy any AFV alone (except lucky shots against other cogs striders)- more salvoes or in units required to REALLY kill an AFV- and the cannon only make 1 SP damage per hit
Quantum MG:
Pros: Maximum 120cm range, 4 shots + 1 rerolls, ideal for killing low to medium infantry and “ok” against tac arms. in units of 2 or 3 can devastate an infantry unit
Cons: Cannot see any particular disadvantage, they do well what they do except is not my thing, I think infantry can do this as good as well
Quantum Launcher:
Pros Maximum 110cm range, 2 shots + 1 rerolls, 3 in area of effect doesn’t seem much but imagine a unit of 4, eight shots with re-roll, make it a scary prospect for low medium /infantry and for the heavy, well grounding is good anyway
Cons: Penetration is not extremely high so tac arms –except UNA- will be seldom killed. this is my favorite weapon in general, Grounding is fantastic
So now I have described the 4 weapons, personally the main disadvantage that I see, and it’s based ONLY on my personal preferences; No AFV is specialized, all are Anti infantry AND anti AFV, personally I would prefer the AFVs to have the same weapon twice.
Ravager Jammer and Launcher
Prowler Cannon and MG
Pillager Cannon and Launcher
MarauderJammer and MG
Due to my preferences I wouldn’t bother with the Prowler and Marauder, I just don’t like the MG, and since all AFVS cost the same, well there is no penalization in terms of AP. I prefer the Ravager overall as the Jammer is deadly and can make heavy AFV scared, but I will not take it in ones or two, I would take them minimum three to really use the advantages of the jammers and 4 would be plain mean as well.
The famous Vandal; we have seen what other type *** can do, all are mean but not indestructible, The Vandal is the same, it is as well an Anti-AFV and anti-infantry in a strider, the cannon is a beast, 4 shoots and 2 rerolls with a maximum distance of 160cm and penetration of 16, each 2 damages, well I don’t see enemies AFV lasting long, seriously. The mortar one of his kind AoE is 10 cm and maximum distance is 120, the biggest advantage I see is the re-roll, as it would in theory reduce the risk of 10 cm dispersion and if both shots hit, well that’s 2 damage tests per mini under the template, deadly and efficient.
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