Iron Grip Marauders Unit Info and Comparison for Beginners Guide

Iron Grip Marauders Unit Info and Comparison for Beginners Guide by Dekkenek

A lot of players are asking what units are worth getting and what advantages they have over some of the other units of the game. That is why I have taken the time to compile this list, comparing units according to my own experiences and opinions, as well as those of veteran players through the chat.

This list only includes units that players that only have a few days’ experience should be concerned with.

Important: Ballistics are effective against infantry. Explosives are effective against mechanical units.

Militia
Infantry, Ballistics. 4 per unit.

Pros: Cheap, only costs gold, higher than average range. attacks cost 4 AP, 3 AP and a secondary attack similar to the Mounted Bomber’s for 6 AP at lv and up 3.
Cons: Somewhat low attack value. Because it comes in units of 4, when it is dealt enough damage, a soldier in the group will die, reducing the unit’s overall damage.

Verdict: I’m all about quality over cheap cannon fodder, so replace this with Troopers ASAP
(Note: Militia movement range will be used as a standard when comparing other units’ movement, as it does vary among units.)

Bazooka
Infantry, Explosives. 3 per unit.

Pros: Deals splash damage. Medium powered, attacks cost 4 AP, 3 AP when it reaches lv 3. Costs a reasonable price for what you’re getting.
Cons: It’s lower than average range is probably it’s greatest fault, especially since you will be pitting it against vehicles such as the Archos and the Savar, and both of those units have superior range. Coupled with the Bazooka’s inferior movement range, and you often be in a situation where the enemies’ tanks are out of range.

Verdict: Works fine as an anti-mech, since it does pack a better punch than the Savar, your only alternative for this role until you get Tank Destroyers.

Mounted Bombers-MB
Infantry, Explosives. 2 per unit.

Pros: Very high movement and sight range. Deals a powerful attack and splash damage. Highly resistant to explosive attacks.
Cons: Low health, attack’s range is so short it essentially makes the MB a melee unit.

Verdict: Some people prefer the tri-scout which is better at soaking up damage, but it really depends whether or not you tend to use your MBs aggressively. All of your armies should include at least one of these to spot the fog of war. Don’t make an army entirely of MBs and think you can just rush the enemy every time. This isn’t StarCraft.

Troopers
Infantry, Ballistics. 4 per unit.

Pros: High health. One attack deals more damage than a Militia unit that attacked twice the same turn. Same movement distance as militia.
Cons: Attacking costs 5 AP, and has less range than Militia, although this is mitigated by the fact that Troopers can execute up to a 3 AP before attacking to reduce the gap with the enemy.

Verdict: A superior and more aggressive unit when compared to the Militia. Should be the backbone of your anti-infantry force on early levels.

Heavy Machine Gunners-HMG
Infantry, Ballistics. 2 per unit.

Pros: Deals more damage than a Trooper and shoots farther than a Militia of the same level. Can sustain up to half damage before it deals half damage itself.
Cons: Low health, and a whopping 4 AP to deploy. That means that in a turn, when not deployed, an HMG can move up to 8 AP, move up to 4 AP and deploy, or deploy and shoot. When deployed, HMGs can shoot twice, or undeploy and move up to 4 AP. Note that HMG movement range is slightly lower than standard.

Verdict: The low mobility and health of the HMG restricts it to a defensive role. A lot of players find their superior firepower to be a good supporting asset from a vantage point. Personally, I prefer Emilia for that kind of role, so I don’t use HMGs. Good luck taking over high grounds with these.

Assault Archos-Archos
Mechanical, Ballistics. 1 per unit.

Pros: Cheap unit. Can attack up to twice per turn and deals splash damage. Moves farther than standard, as do most mechanical units at this point.
Cons: Slightly weaker attack power and less range than Militia, although the Archos’ range is average.

Verdict: A viable alternative to the Militia, it’s either this or Troopers. Beware of Artillery, Savars, and MBs when using this.

Savar Tank-Savar
Mechanical, Explosive. 1 per unit.

Pros: Good health and better range than Bazooka units.
Cons: Not as powerful as the Bazooka.

Verdict: Even though the Savar doesn’t specify what unit type it is effective against, I know for a fact that it damages mechs more than infantry. The main complaint about the Savar is that it is fairly weak. Some might say that Savars should be deployed en masse to compensate, but maintaining a balanced army is difficult when Savars are taking up most of your deploy points.

Bethes Cannon-Bethes
Mechanical, Explosives. 1 per unit.

Pros: Long range. Isn’t affected by “Line of Sight” because it is an artillery vehicle.
Cons: Low movement for a mech unit. Painfully lacking in firepower for an attack that isn’t even 100% accurate. Low health. Takes up a lot of deploy points for what you get out of it. Can’t attack units that get too close to it.

Verdict: Not worth the investment or the space. Forget Bazookas, 2 or 3 Troopers could easily wipe out a Bethes. It’s attack is only threatening to healing vehicles. Could be dangerous if massed up, but with low level heroes they would simply take up too much space in your army. Wait for the Royal Artillery if you really want some arty.

Wheel of Doom-WoD
Mechanical, Ballistics. 1 per unit.

Pros: High health and lots of damage for just 4 AP. The 360 attack feature becomes quite interesting inside a group of enemy Militias.
Cons: Short range, high deploy cost (same as Bethes)

Verdict: If you asked on the chat if the WoD was any good, I guarantee you most people will answer you have to “know how to use it”. This means use it like the proverbial turd in a punch bowl, or, if you’ve been playing some FPS, as you would a shotgun. It’s an interesting unit indeed, but I would wait until I got some repair trucks before using it prolifically. Keep in mind not to rely entirely on it, but it will make a nice addition to your army. Feel free to replace this with Wreckers when you start producing those.

Tank Destroyer-TD
Mechanical, Explosive. 1 per unit.

Pros: High health, long range, and superior firepower.
Cons: Attacking costs 6 AP. A Bazooka unit of the same level will deal slightly more damage if it attacks twice the same turn.

Verdict: For me, the deciding factor for using TDs was it’s range. I was getting pissed with the Bazookas being just a couple of steps too far from enemy vehicles. Now, I can just scout with a MB and pick them all off in a turn or two, without having to expose my army as much. Keep in mind when you get Propaganda trucks, they increase your units’ damage in percentages. The higher the number, the better increase from the same percentage. Do the math yourself.

Elite Destroyer-ED aka Erectile Dysfunction
Mechanical, Explosive. 1 per unit. Licensed.

Pros: More health than TD. Can attack twice per turn. Sight range higher than average. Average range, good damage. Can attack twice per turn.
Cons: A bit expensive to replace. Doesn’t shoot as far as TD.

Verdict: An ED over a TD can be a tough call. The ED can deal more damage than a TD per turn, but the TD can move AND shoot the same turn, plus benefits from better range, so it can start firing at enemies earlier. If you ask me, you should save those gems for some of the later game licensed units. If it helps, don’t think of it as a variation of the TD, but rather as a Savar on steroids.

Player Heroes

Emilia
Infantry, Ballistics. 1 per unit.

Pros: Long range, can soak up a good amount of damage, exceptionally high attack very low deployment cost for what you’re getting out of her. Movement distance rivals that of MBs
Cons: Has a 1 AP deployment cost, works the same as the HMGs mentioned above. Attacking costs 5 AP.

Verdict: The best hero unit for battles in general. She has mobility and can dish out insane amounts of damage, even to mechs such as the Archos and the Bethes, all for a meager 40 deploy points.

Vancer
Mechanical, Explosives. 1 per unit.

Pros: Large reserve of health points, long range, attacks cost 4 AP. Great for dealing with those pesky Archos and Bethes, even the occasional Osmanov.
Cons: Costs a cumbersome 80 deploy points, plus has less than half the firepower that Emilia has.

Verdict: Not a terrible unit, although will have to be used supportively as opposed to the spearheading your attack force with Emilia. If you get Repair Trucks, you could even use it to draw some enemy aggro thanks to it’s superior health and damage resistances.

Enemy Heroes

Because enemy heroes can’t be controlled by the player, the pros and cons will be going over what to look out for when facing these units, and what is the best method of exploiting their weaknesses, respectively.

Hasseltot
Mechanical, Ballistics. 1 per unit.

Pros: High health, long range. Can attack twice per turn and deals good splashing damage.
Cons: It’s a great unit all around, but it loses power against other mechs

How to Counter: The Hasseltot is the reason why I love TDs so much. They match the Hasseltot in range, plus they are resistant to it’s anti-infantry attack. Until you get TDs though, Savars will be your go-to Hasseltot killers. Vancer is also an effective counter for this unit.

Ozmanov
Mechanical, Explosives. 1 per unit.

Pros: Artillery unit, ignores line of sight. Very long range. Wide splash radius.
Cons: Low health. Attacks only once per turn and inflicts about as much damage as a Bethes cannon, perhaps a bit more. You’ll still want to get rid of this quickly when your mechs get in it’s targeting range.

How to Counter: The only thing the Ozmanov hates more than being surrounded by a platoon of TDs is a lone MB minding it’s own business across the map. Use your explosive-resistant MBs to tank the Ozmanov’s attacks while Bazookas and TD make short work of it. Emilia is the best hero for taking down Ozmanovs, because of her resistance to explosives, and the fact that her attack is so powerful, it’s effective even against a fragile mech like the Ozmanov.

The End. Thanks for reading, and hopefully this will help you decide what are the right units for your army until you get to level 10.

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