Group Attack – Wolfpack Tactics in BattleTech Alpha Strike
Sometimes it’s not enough to place a few heavy mechs in the middle of the field and attack the enemy head-on. In BattleTech Alpha Strike in particular, there is a very effective way of playing that is inspired by a completely different area of war history: the wolf pack tactic, or group attack.
The idea behind it: Several fast, agile units hunt in packs and pounce on isolated, weaker targets. Instead of overwhelming your opponent with pure firepower, you use speed, maneuver and concentration of fire to dismantle his army piece by piece.
Origin of the wolf pack tactic
The term “wolf pack tactics” originally comes from the submarine warfare of the Second World War. German submarines did not attack merchant ships individually, but in coordinated groups – similar to a pack of wolves that encircle prey and remove weak animals from a herd.
Applied to BattleTech Alpha Strike, this means:
- Search for weak points
- Picking out isolated targets
- Strike in a pack before the opponent can react
The basic idea of wolf pack tactics in Alpha Strike
A wolf pack usually consists of 2-4 fast units, sometimes more. Typical are:
- Hovercrafts (e.g. Pegasus Scout Hover Tank, Condor or J. Edgar Light Hover Tank)
- Light, very fast mechs (e.g. Flea FLE-16, Spider or Fireball)
- Light wheeled vehicles (e.g. Skulker Wheeled Scout Tank)
Important features:
- Speed: At least 16 inches of movement, preferably more. This gives you TMM 3 or 4, which is crucial for survival.
- Firepower: An appropriate ratio of points to damage (rule of thumb: about 1 point of damage per 10 PV).
- Flexibility: Some units in the pack can fulfill additional roles – such as spotter for indirect fire.
The focus is not on armor, but on avoiding hits and striking quickly.
Important rules of use:
- Always keep moving to benefit from the high TMM
- Attack a single target together and ideally destroy it immediately
List building with wolf packs
Wolf packs don’t appear by chance – you should plan for them when buildinglists/units .
Typical consideration:
- Do I have units in my list that I can also use flexibly as a hunting unit?
- Can I invest about 60 points in fast “hunters” without weakening my list?
- What other units do I need around it (e.g. with indirect fire) to support the wolf pack?
The result is an army that not only plays statically, but can also deploy sub-units for specific tasks.
Deployment on the battlefield
The success of the wolf pack depends heavily on movement and timing.
- Target selection: Each round should be checked: Which of the enemy’s units is isolated, heavily damaged, weakly supported or too far advanced? Clever target prioritization is necessary for target selection.
- Activation sequence: It is best to wait until the desired target has already been moved – then it can no longer react when the wolf pack strikes.
- Concentration: Several fast units concentrate their fire on exactly one target, which is usually eliminated in one round.
- Cover and terrain: With hovercrafts and fast mechs you can play around the flanks, emerge from cover and disappear again immediately.
Countermeasures – How to combat wolf pack tactics
Of course, every tactic has a weak point. If you want to defend yourself against wolf packs, you should consider the following:
- Discipline during movement: Do not allow units to advance in isolation. Always in groups or with “bodyguards”.
- Counter enemy packs: Your own pack of fast units can chase the enemy pack.
- Indirect Fire / Artillery: Wolf packs tend to stand close together – a perfect target for artillery strikes.
- Bait & Trap: Set up bait to lure the enemy pack out of cover and then strike with your own forces.
Conclusion
The group attack (wolf pack tactic) is one of the most exciting and dynamic tactics in BattleTech Alpha Strike. A well-deployed wolf pack can have an enormous impact on the game with relatively few points – by eliminating targeted units, forcing the enemy onto the defensive and restricting their freedom of movement.
If you want to play more aggressively and flexibly, you should send the pack on the hunt. But beware: without discipline and good timing, your own wolf pack can be destroyed just as quickly as it strikes.
