Hey Game Fans, we’re taking a short break from Special Abilities to show off an important part of Alpha Strike, Lances. Come take a look!
Lances are the standard organizational unit for the game, filling the role of squads and squadrons in other games. Today we’re going to take a look at four of the specific Lances and the standard packs you should be able to find at your local battletech retailer. Let’s take a look at the first four Lance Packs
The Striker Lance
Striker Lances, or Cavalry Lances are fast moving units that either serve as a reserve to push through an opening in the lines, or to hold the lines. The units are quick, and certainly capable of shifting the balance of a fight by adding firepower at just the right time and in just the right place. Units in this formation have some specific requirements, and gain some special abilities.
- Units must be Size 3 or smaller.
- They must have a minimum Ground Movement Speed or a Minimum Jumping Speed.
- At least 50% of the Units must have either the Skirmisher or Striker Role.
- For meeting these requirements, 75% of the Unit gains the Speed Demon Special Pilot Ability.
Now the default Striker Lance pack you can get from a variety of sources comes with a Panther, a Guillotine, a Dragon, and a Quickdraw. If you were to pick up this Lance Pack, you’d find double sided dry erase cards for each of these mechs, (one side has a low tech version of the mech, the other side has more high tech gear). In addition, you’d find a unique pilot, a history of a faction (in this case the Draconis Combine), and a card detailing this lance’s special abilities. Finally, you’ll find a stat card for a metal miniature produced by Ironwind Metals.
Fire Lance
Fire Lances or Fire Support Lances are long ranged support batteries. They either carry large LRM packs or heavy energy cannons to deal death at a distance. Fire Lances aren’t usually the fastest units in the game, but they pack a heavy punch. Units in this formation have some specific requirements, and gain some special abilities.
- At least 75% of the Units must have either the Missile Boat or Sniper Role.
- For meeting these requirements, 50% of the Unit gains the Sniper Special Pilot Ability. You can switch which units are using this ability at the start of the turn.
Now the default Fire Lance pack you can get from a variety of sources comes with a Shogun, a Dervish, a Trebuchet, and a Stalker. If you were to pick up this Lance Pack, you’d find double sided dry erase cards for each of these mechs, (one side has a low tech version of the mech, the other side has more high tech gear). In addition, you’d find a unique pilot, a history of a faction (in this case Mercenaries), and a card detailing this lance’s special abilities. Finally, you’ll find a stat card for a metal miniature produced by Ironwind Metals.
Recon Lance
Recon Lances are designed to move quickly, find critical information, and get back to base. These units rely on their speed to keep them on mission and out of trouble. With the right combination of speed and firepower, they can overwhelm similarly equipped units. Recon Lances have some specific requirements but earn some interesting benefits.
- All the units in the Lance have a minimum speed requirement
- At least half of the units need to belong to either the Scout or the Striker Roles.
- For meeting these requirements, up to 3 units in the formation gain the benefit of the Eagle Eyes or Maneuvering Ace Special Pilot Abilities. Further, all units in the formation gain the benefit of the Forward Observer Special Pilot Ability.
Now the default Recon Lance pack you can get from a variety of sources comes with a Flea, a Spider, a Vulcan, and a Cicada. If you were to pick up this Lance Pack, you’d find double sided dry erase cards for each of these mechs, (one side has a low tech version of the mech, the other side has more high tech gear). In addition, you’d find a unique pilot, a history of a faction (in this case , the Free Worlds League), and a card detailing this lance’s special abilities. Finally, you’ll find a stat card for a metal miniature produced by Ironwind Metals.
Command Lance
Command Lances perform two vital tasks. First, it puts an experienced officer on the table, with abilities that benefit the other units around him. Second, it creates a bodyguard for said commander. Command Lances have some specific requirements but earn some interesting benefits.
- At least one unit has to be designated as a Force Commander.
- At least 50% of the units need to belong to either the Sniper, Missile Boat, Skirmisher, or the Juggernaut Roles.
- One additional unit must belong to either the Brawler, Striker, or Scout Roles.
For meeting these requirements, up to 2 Non-Command units in the formation gain the benefit of the Antagonizer, Blood Stalker, Combat Intuition, Eagle Eyes, Marksman, or Multi-tasker Special Pilot Abilities. Further, the Command Unit receives the benefit of the Tactical Genius Special Pilot Ability, and gains an additional benefit if they all ready have that ability. 
Now the default Command Lance pack you can get from a variety of sources comes with a Cyclops, a Raven, a Catapult, and a Cataphract. If you were to pick up this Lance Pack, you’d find double sided dry erase cards for each of these mechs, (one side has a low tech version of the mech, the other side has more high tech gear). In addition, you’d find a unique pilot, a history of a faction (in this case , the Capellan Confederation), and a card detailing this lance’s special abilities. Finally, you’ll find a stat card for a metal miniature produced by Ironwind Metals.
Conclusions
Those are just four of the standard lance packs you can find in the Alpha Strike line. Next week we’ll probably catch the other four, and then we’ll get back to Special Abilities and other crazy things. We might even put together another scenario for you tinker with. That’s it for us this week, Game On, Game Fans.
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About the Author: Zardoz the Magnificent
