Tracked Rapier: Difference between revisions

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[[File:TB123.jpg|300px|right|thumb|The Stat Card]]
[[File:TB123.jpg|300px|right|thumb|The Stat Card]]


'''In Team Yankee''' PLACEHOLDER TEXT
'''In Team Yankee'''  


A division level support unit granted to your lowly company of heroes, the Blowpipe Section (Battery in Real Life sizes, a section would mean 2 blowpipe operators with their assistants) provides a versatile choice for anti-air at 1.5 points per vehicle, taken in a unit of 2, 4 or 6. Compared to its direct opposite the Tracked Rapier, Blowpipes provide less shots per point with a firepower of 4+, compared to the Rapier's 3+. In addition, it also has a lower range of 48 inches compared to the Rapier's 64 inches.  
Hailing from the Royal Artillery, the Tracked Rapier is an air defense weapon system at the Divisional level. As a dedicated anti-air unit, the Rapier is totally incapable of dealing with any ground forces whatsoever, to the point where the unit literally dies the moment it is assaulted by infantry. What it can do, however, is to destroy enemy aircraft and helicopters with impunity. Boasting a 3+ FP and stationary ROF 3, a battery (A section refers to an infantry unit of 8 men, not a vehicle!) of 4 Rapiers can comfortably put out 12 shots with guided, meaning that it does not suffer from the typical penalty for units beyond 16 inches. With an all-round armor profile of 1, the Rapier can withstand pepperings of artillery fire (compared to the unarmored Gecko and Chapparal).  


So why take blowpipes in the first place? Two reasons: You've gone mad and decided to waste precious points, or you find Rapiers far too specialized for your meta. Due to the tunnel vision of Rapiers, they provide excellent anti-air but nothing else, meaning that these units are literally worse than useless when facing a force without any air assets. Blowpipes however, retain the ability to threaten light armored vehicles and infantry with their Blowpipe missile and 7.62mm MG. In essence, blowpipes are a versatile choice for those who require anti-air but are willing to sacrifice some of that specialization for versatility. A blowpipe can function as a worse, overcosted Milan section if your opponent hasn't called in their air support yet.  
HOWEVER, with all of these advantages wouldn't the Rapier be an auto-include? No. The current meta favors massive blocks of infantry with supporting arms, meaning that taking a Rapier battery would be a gamble. Should the enemy not take a single aircraft, it means that you have just wasted 6 points in your list and your opponent now has a point-advantage. With this issue, players in a meta with an unpredictable air presence may opt for a Blowpipe battery instead which sacrifices efficiency for versatility. Consider these two options very carefully.


Despite the open hatch, it retains a top armor of 1 suggesting that Blowpipe operators are either made of steel or utterly drunk from all that Irish Guinness they've been drinking off duty.
Costing 1.5 points per vehicle and coming in units of 2 or 4, the Rapier is a brutally cost-efficient unit on par with Soviet Geckos, comfortably surpassing Roland and Chapperals.  




'''In Real Life'''
'''In Real Life'''


Unlike the ingame models, the actual Blowpipe AA Battery would almost always dismount rather than fire while standing out of an open hatch. In addition to being far harder to aim in the confines of a vehicle, Spartans are incredibly poor at hiding (most vehicles are). A dismounted battery has the ability to reach ideal anti-air positions such as hilltops or forest clearings, giving additional stealth and sometimes giving an easier time aiming against the target. After firing a volley or until an order to fall back is given depending on the mission, the Battery would then remount and displace to the next location. In the event that troops actually needed to fire from the hatch, it would typically be a result of the aircraft being spotted far too late; air defense units would almost always get a heads-up to prepare for incoming aircraft from a certain direction.
In the proud NATO tradition of turning metal boxes into death machines, the Tracked Rapier is essentially an M113 variant designed to carry the British Rapier missile.
 
The Blowpipe model comes separately, so you may consider basing him and an assistant on a 2 man base to represent the section dismounting rather than firing from the back. Treat the base as absent for all purposes; the models commit suicide should their favorite teapot meet an untimely end.

Revision as of 14:16, 28 February 2018

Tracked Rapier

The Stat Card

In Team Yankee

Hailing from the Royal Artillery, the Tracked Rapier is an air defense weapon system at the Divisional level. As a dedicated anti-air unit, the Rapier is totally incapable of dealing with any ground forces whatsoever, to the point where the unit literally dies the moment it is assaulted by infantry. What it can do, however, is to destroy enemy aircraft and helicopters with impunity. Boasting a 3+ FP and stationary ROF 3, a battery (A section refers to an infantry unit of 8 men, not a vehicle!) of 4 Rapiers can comfortably put out 12 shots with guided, meaning that it does not suffer from the typical penalty for units beyond 16 inches. With an all-round armor profile of 1, the Rapier can withstand pepperings of artillery fire (compared to the unarmored Gecko and Chapparal).

HOWEVER, with all of these advantages wouldn't the Rapier be an auto-include? No. The current meta favors massive blocks of infantry with supporting arms, meaning that taking a Rapier battery would be a gamble. Should the enemy not take a single aircraft, it means that you have just wasted 6 points in your list and your opponent now has a point-advantage. With this issue, players in a meta with an unpredictable air presence may opt for a Blowpipe battery instead which sacrifices efficiency for versatility. Consider these two options very carefully.

Costing 1.5 points per vehicle and coming in units of 2 or 4, the Rapier is a brutally cost-efficient unit on par with Soviet Geckos, comfortably surpassing Roland and Chapperals.


In Real Life

In the proud NATO tradition of turning metal boxes into death machines, the Tracked Rapier is essentially an M113 variant designed to carry the British Rapier missile.

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