The British feature air mobile options along with the Chieftain Main Battle Tank, which I might add are only six points each. They may lack the ROF 2 of the West Germans and Americans, but can quickly make this up in numbers coupled with great support options and more Milan missile teams than you can shake a stick at.
Mitch has already given us a quick preview, so now we will give you all the new units you can expect in Iron Maiden.
The basic British force structure. There is a plethora of Recce options to choose from here and you can accommodate quite a large force of lighter troops to compliment the Chieftains. As with Leopard, we see a tremendous amount of support units to accompany your force.
You get the option of having either 2 (for 5 points) or 4 (for 10 points) Harriers. Cluster bombs for the win. This will definitely make me want to purchase this air option.
The TOW Lynx model looks amazing. If you are like me, it is the helicopters that have really drawn us into the game.
The Rapier and the Blowpipe are both substantial additions for anti-air options. My favorite here is the Rapier though. 64" range and a 3+ firepower for 1.5 points each model and I can have a unit of 4? That seems like a no brainer to me. The Blowpipe moves fast and carries the AA machine gun and seems like a solid option for taking out helicopters.
You have your standard M109 here. The Abbot does not pack the firepower of the M109, but it is substantially cheaper at again, you guessed it, only 1.5 points per model. Interestingly, both can be bought in units of 8. That is a great deal of artillery to rain down on someone's head.
The British Air Mobile options are going to give the Warsaw Pact reason to stop and reconsider their tactics when rolling forward in force. They are going to have to keep those objectives defended. The options here are absolutely fantastic. The points range from 5 to 11 points depending on what you choose, but I can not help to speculate that these options will be a game changer for Team Yankee.
The model looks really nice, but I am not sure how often I would field the Strikers with a cost of 2.5 points each. The Swingfire missile is a heavy hitter without doubt. The main drawback is that it does not have a moving ROF.
It is pretty clear by now that I am 'uge fan of lighter, cheap vehicles that pack a decent punch. The Scorpion and Scimitar fit the bill, but I am concerned about the tactical movement of 6". With a 26" cross country dash they can definitely get into position quickly or get out of trouble if overwhelmed. They are both only 1 point each which means you just have to find some space for them in your force.
The British just have so many options - you got your mortars, you got your Milan missiles, you got your Carl Gustav's and just a virtual Swiss army Knife of choices depending on what you are facing. Tactical movement again here is not great, but these infantry forces are going to be difficult to dig out and pack a serious punch.
And now.... for the Grand Finale, we have the Chieftain - Main Battle Tank for the British. It is 6 points for each tank and comes in units of 2 or 3. You can improve the armor to 18 for an additional point. ROF 1 on the move will be something to get used to playing NATO forces, but I keep going back to it is only 6 points! Bringing a lot of Chieftains to the table seems to be the way to go so you can bring a massive amount of firepower to the firefight.
Thank you for checking out this preview. Expect a detailed review article of Iron Maiden as well as a thorough discussion on the WWPD: Why We Fight Podcast coming soon. Make sure that you "like" our page WWPD: Why We Fight on Facebook to keep up with all the exclusives on Iron Maiden.
Luke
