Model Tactics: Aronnax-Class Submersible

Worms in our world are, as a whole, not the most terrifying creatures. Essential, yes, and beloved by gardeners, but not terrifying. In the Dystopian world, on the other hand, the worm is an object of pure terror, tearing all asunder in a blizzard of teeth and lasers. The particular worm in question, if you hadn't guessed by the unsubtle image above, is the Aronnax-Class Submersible. A model described by any player who has encountered me as "resoundingly unfair", though usually in less polite terms.

So why is the Aronnax so feared? One could put it down to the incredibly variable number of Rs and Ns that seem to feature in its name on the official forums, or the rather... interesting shape of the closed mouth version. But the true answer is in this monstrosity's capability for insane violence. We'll start with the first purpose of this unit; a boarding option for the Covenant. Though less capable in a straight boarding action than, say, the Blazing Sun Ika Mechanical Squid, it only loses out 1AP, with a compliment of 8AP in total, and Ferocious. You might think that this makes it a worse choice. Wrong. With an extra inch of movement and Sturginium Boost (One Dice Ability Counter: 1), the Aronnax is fast. And while the Ika's gunnery options are usually described as "suicide", the Aronnax is more along the lines of "hilarious". First, it has the Maw Gun, a solid 8AD at RB1. Second, it as a Particle Accelerator- a full, 12AD Particle Accelerator, beam of doom, bringer of fun (A technical term). All with High Angle, because even flyers shouldn't be safe. And once it's too damaged to take advantage of the guns it has, the sandworm of doom has a Ram Rating of 8. Because teeth. And if you think that's enough chaos for this thing, it has a Sonic Generator (One Dice Ability Counter: 2)- after all, it has to have some sort of terrifying roar as it breaks the surface of the waves and tears into a warship. And if you run out of things to board, and just start shooting and ramming, it has Panic Dive (One Dice Ability Counter: 3) to keep it alive. And for 15 points, it can take a Cloud Generator, to make sure it has no problems with those damned torpedo bombers. Oh, and if you thought you could escape by running inland, it has Semiaquatic, so it can move up to 6" on land (with a working Sturginium Boost). The only downsides of this monster are lower than average survivability for its size class, with only DR5, CR8 and 6HP, and its poor auxiliary stats, with only 3AA and 3CC. And what is the cost of this all-terrain blender? 145 of your hard earned points for the basic version. So it's fairly cheap, too.

I'm sure you've all worked this out as you read the previous paragraph, but here's how to use this beast: OMNOMNOMNOMNOM. Alright, that might be a bit vague. I'll start with my preferred tactic:

The Sacrificial Worm

This is a fairly simple tactic- pair the Aronax with a Callimachus Time Dilation Orb, and hurl it towards the enemy. Depending on fleet, this may vary in complexity and target. With a long range fleet such as Britannians, choose the nearest squadron of Lord Hoods and drop the worm on them as soon as possible. Reduce Hoods to wrecks, then move on to whatever else happens to be within range. Make sure that the worm turns as late in the turn as possible when it teleports, and then goes early in the turn next turn, as it certainly will not survive long without extreme luck. Against opponents such as the Prussians, timing is more of a fine art- you have to ensure that the Aronax is going to drop onto a squadron that will really throw a spanner in the works for your opponent to lose- for example, an imminent medium or small boarding attempt. Remember not to leave this too late, as the Aronnax does not do too well when boarding larger targets without some luck- I once had the misfortune of sinking my sandworm's main target with another unit's gunnery, leaving the enemy dreadnought as the only viable target, which proceeded to not notice the worm's boarding attempt. This little tactic in a tournament earned me approximately all the medium units I laid eyes on, causing explosions (responsible for at least five throughout the three games I played) and fury at every turn, especially when it ate a French commodore first turn (I lost that game in the end, but the Aronnax was hilarious as always.). As of yet, this tactic has never failed to claim more than the cost of the Aronnax, almost always at least 200 points, and in one case, 450 points in one activation, as a drifting derelict Hood collided with its squadronmate and caused a string of four explosions to clear out almost everything except the eldritch monster.

With the new E-Turret rules and upgrades, this becomes even scarier- you can now use the actually worthwhile energy turrets to soften up your target and weaken the inevitable retribution, then drop the sandworm.

Boarding? Oh, I Brought a Playmate

Of course, if you don't want to hurl it forward unsupported, keeping it in reserve is a valid option- and opponent will be afraid of this monster descending on them, and it can stay submerged and near the fleet's air support to keep it alive. The Aronnax will tear through any squadron of mediums or smalls it gets to, and can put a big dent in larger models. Even then, using the Sonic Generator will mean that you can seriously weaken enemy boarding attempts that turn, though killing targets is usually the better option. Be aware that this will give enemy TFTs time to try a torpedo run on it, so care will be needed to avoid this, either through use of escorts, TFT countering or the Cloud Generator. Using this allows your fleet to support the Aronnax, and in turn, the Aronnax to support the fleet, but you may lose out on putting that early game heat on to the opponent.

Wrap-Up

I love this model. Other players (The ones that don't play Covenant) hate it, because it will do something nasty and scary. It is almost certain, when used correctly, to take out a squadron of mediums on its own, and often more. You'll notice I didn't make much mention of Panic Dive in the tactics- usually the worm won't live long enough to make use of it, due to the order of actions in an activation. A terrifyingly destructive model, I generally only bring it out when I feel mean, or think someone's been likewise (For example, a Russian Coalition player taking a double battleship list against a newbie player...). And yes, it does have three abilities based on rolling a single dice at itself or targets, and hoping for a 5+. Unlike the Fresnel, it has enough of them that one or two will probably work.
On land, the same principles apply as at sea, except that the Cloud Generator is more of an important purchase, as you lose all benefits relating to being a diving model when operating on land.

I call my Aronnax by the name CNS Jormungandr. And he certainly lives up to the name.