By Georgie Reeve
In our previous update, we took a closer look at one of the manufacturers, Aesir Gewehr, and their specialist Walker elements made for the Euro Consortium. We’re now switching things up to take a closer look at the political alliance of the African Federation. This faction features two manufacturers who combine the best of Silicon Valley’s tech minds with the tried and tested ex-private military contractors who are no strangers to the battlefield. We’ll take a closer look at them, their elements, and what you should include if you want to build a dedicated African Federation force.
With the west seeing Europe boiling from the climate crisis and the United States locked in a brutal civil war, the east needed to find solutions without their aid. Most of the markets were closed off to non-Chinese companies, so a cabal of powerful transnationals who saw the potential in Africa banded together and after a 20 year deficit, they prospered with minimal resistance. With the Democratic Republic of Congo’s strategic positioning on the fabled Congo river and access to mineral resources, the capital Kinshasa was second to Nairobi as the African Union’s favourite corporate capital.
As the fallout from the United States civil war worsened, many of the Silicon Valley tech moguls began to flee and evacuate their assets. Within 10 years, 90% of them had moved to Kinshasa. From this great migration, the manufacturer Anansi Combine was born. As the refugees began to find their feet in this new landscape, new land and less restrictive opportunities made it that little bit easier on them. With all of the changes on the horizon, these fledgling companies evolved from app developers towards implementing practical combat software.
Gone were the days of UI/UX designing for people on smartphones as a demand for AI combat algorithms, intrusive and defensive software, military-grade comms, and targeting systems became their new niche. Anansi established a solid track record in solutions that gained value for those who purchased them, like their previous tenure in tech amongst the ruthless in Silicon Valley providing shareholder value comes as easy as breathing to them. Soon after releasing their first vehicles installed with this proprietary tech, their contributions to Hardwar began, specialising in quadruped walkers and “anti-grav” tanks.
Another manufacturer, Xhosa or Khosa international, also emerged through this turmoil. Private military industries consolidated around the time of the First African Union and rose as reliable manufacturers of Generic-grade equipment recognised worldwide. Their most recognisable elements come in the form of the Zulu APC and the defensive monster Apollyon.
Mantis SRM 40mm base with hover stand, Mantis RC 40mm base with hover stand, Moccus MRP 40mm base, Atrax 50 x 80mm pill base, Efreet 40mm base, and Apollyon 50mm base. All units supplied in resin and unassembled, will need washing and putting together before painting.
The African Federation Phalanx miniature set contains a mix of mainly tracked vehicles, with the exceptions of the quadruped Atrax and bipedal Efreet. Whilst the Efreet is equipped with Lasers, most of the elements are equipped with Gatling to shred through the armour of elements in their way. With the smaller elements like the Mantis having more maneuverability with Jump Jets and the Moccus being a reactionary element utilising the AI combat algorithms developed by Anansi via Combat Hacker and Countermeasures. Adding any of their elements to your own forces will bolster your defenses to airborne elements, and ensure that you can rip through opposing Commander’s elements with yours utilising Gatling. If you want to support other elements on the field, the Moccus MRP can use a Special Action to deploy disposable swarms of attack drones via its Troop Transport upgrade. Or if you want an all-out attacker who can swing with everything in one hit, Khosa’s Apollyon would be an asset to your forces. With the Full Strike upgrade, it can unleash all weapons and ammo targeting a single element in an attempt to wipe them off the face of the battlefield. Next, we’ll take a closer look at Anansi’s flagship quadruped element, Atrax.
The Atrax, manufactured by Anansi, is a terror on the battlefield. Bolstering Anti-Aircraft technology to hunt the skies for its commander’s opponents, and Dual weapons that can shoot simultaneously for both accurate and destructive effects. Elements like the Chinese Democracy’s Meng and Exor’s Mauser will not stand a chance if caught in Atrax’s crosshairs! This element can keep the skies clear for its allies so they can utilise their Gatling weapons to shred through their opponent’s armour. Combine all of this with its ability to Self-Repair, the Atrax is not a threat to be overlooked. With a strong combo of Armour and Firepower at 4, the Atrax will be a mainstay keeping the skies clear for its allies to hit enemy elements hard. If you find yourself in combat with an Atrax, keep any airborne elements you have clear of it as its Anti-Aircraft ignores height differences when deciding distance for firing. Instead, utilise your ground elements to hit it from afar and deal damage that way, you could even use your own elements with Gatling against it to cut through its armour and render the Atrax defenseless.
The African Federation is a faction with a deadly concoction of ex-private military contractors who are tried and tested on the battlefield paired with Silicon Valley tech moguls who took their genius to developing combat software. A potent mix for the elements they manufacture. With a widespread group of elements available, any number of strategies can be employed when utilising them. With most of them using Gatling weapons, they rely on weakening opponents from a distance when firing and preventing any aircraft from swooping in to save the day. If playing against elements from these manufacturers, remember which of them use Gatling to eliminate Armour or Cover Distance and plan your strategy accordingly. Use your own elements that engage with Close Combat Attachments and cause havoc by flipping or displacing these elements to interrupt their reign of terror with Gatling weapons.
Will you be using any of the African Federation elements in your forces?
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