What’s the smallest possible game of MAC Attack?
By the book a force must have at least three MACs. The cheapest MAC you can build is a Class 1 (12pts) with the maximum of three Frame modules (each reducing its cost by 1pt) so 9pts in total. Three of those give us a minimum legal force of 27pts.
MAC-27. A force for the MAC Commander on a tight budget.
But Why?
I dunno. Because we can? I want the game to be fun with the minimum financial investment of three miniatures each, and this extends that philosophy to the points cost.
These MACs are going to be pretty limited, with only three module slots left after taking those Frames. They should also be simpler for new players to play with, but there’s a risk they just aren’t that fun.
They’re sure to have bad heat management, but they probably won’t generate all that much heat either.
They won’t have much firepower, but they’re also pretty flimsy, and unlikely to have much in the way of defensive modules.
So is a 3v3 battle with shitty MACs actually fun? Let’s make some and I’ll try it out.
Discount MACs
Okay, here are the forces.
I’m not doing a normal scenario, instead just bringing the MACs onto the board from the centre of opposite board edges and playing for a total wipeout of the other side. 24x24" board with a few patches of cover and rough.
Post Battle Analysis
The most obvious effect here is that the MACs were all super simple, even more so than I expected. There were half the normal number of modules to keep track of, mostly focused on a few weapons. This is sometimes good, but a frame being destroyed is just less interesting than blowing up a weapon or a radiator, which often alter the way a player needs to pilot that MAC.
Cooldown went a lot more quickly too, as all of the MACs just cooled 1 Heat, with no extra modules to factor in.
I tried to avoid building these MACs to some imagined meta, but with all these small MACs running around certain modules (Burst weapons, Mesh) felt more appealing than normal. In play, piercing weapons still felt good, as even small MACs tend to slow down once the firing starts, as Rushing restricts how much you can rotate, making it harder to keep the enemy in your sights.
Final verdict? It was fun! Definitely something I’d keep in my pocket if I wanted to introduce the game to a particularly inexperienced wargame player.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
This post was originally sent as a reward to all Patreon supporters, and is released freely on this site the week after its original publication.
If you want to support my blog, podcasts, and video content then head over to my Patreon.
