AT-43 Dispatch: Rise of the ONI

Hello everyone, and welcome to the return of the AT-43 Dispatch!

This issue, we are going to take a look at the latest of the new army boxes that will be coming out from Rackham. So without further ado, let's head right for the front lines!

Incoming!!!
Taking a Look Inside the Upcoming ONI Army Box

Slated to come out in November, the ONI army box will continue Rackham's new trend of selling complete armies for a very reasonable price. The ONI will also expand the AT-43 universe so that it will include six different factions for players to choose from, providing lots of options for new and existing players alike.

Enough of the sales pitch though, what exactly is this box supposed to contain? As it just so happens, we have a picture that shows just what there is.

A whopping 26 miniatures for $70. Definitely not a bad deal, especially considering two of those miniatures are actually vehicles plus all of the other stuff that comes in the box. There is even some information floating around about just what these units are, so lets dig a little deeper to see what we can find.

First up are the zombie Detonators.

In a universe where no one can escape war, these happy go lucky fellows just want to give everyone a hug. Sure, they explode while they do it, but isn't it the thought that counts? As if that wasn't bad enough, the charges these guys carry are supposed to be strong enough to even damage an AFV, meaning this one unit that you really can't leave sitting around for too long. With no weapons, it should be possible to just run them every turn and before you know it... BLAM!

Next up are the what I have only seen called "super zombies". Fitting perhaps, but for some reason I don't think that's the official name.

Equipped with autoshotguns and buzzsaws, I expect these critters will be a terror in close quarter fights. Imagine fighting a zombie with a circular saw and a shotgun in a building. Eeesh... My advise? Run away and shoot them at range.

Next up are the zombie TacArms Alpha.

With some of the first images put into circulation more than a year ago, it now makes sense why they look the way that they do. They're zombies! It's all so clear now...

Equipped with a laser cannon and a zombie gun, it will be interesting to see just what these guys can do. The laser cannon will give them some serious armor piercing punch but the zombie gun... Not sure of the specifics but there was mention on the AT-43 forums that it creates more zombies. Take it from a Therian player, being able to create more troops during a game is always a good thing.

The last of the infantry units in the box is actually a hero, Shogun N. Bokov. Described as being "as beautiful as she is dangerous", she looks like she will add an interesting twist to the army. A commander with a sniper rifle? That's one way to keep your leader out of the thick of it. And unlike the rest of the army, she is actually not a zombie.

The last two miniatures are the Vlad heavy battle tank and the medium Destroyer.

The vehicle on the left is the Vlad and looking at that cannon I would say that range is not going to be a problem for it. The thing that I do wonder about is if it will be an area effect weapon or a direct fire. I am going to guess that it will be direct fire since it does not look like it can elevate high enough for indirect fire. Other than that, the only other real question is "What happens if you fire the cannon with the turret turned to the side?" But enough about recoil and real life physics...

It's counterpart, the Destroyer, looks like it might actually be some kind of a transport vehicle which would make the ONI the first of the factions to have the real transport model! As for the gun on the top, it is described as being a medium graser cannon. The UNA Fire Crawler mounts the heavy version of this weapon and based on the stats for that one, the medium graser should pack a pretty good punch as well.

In addition to all of this ONI goodness, there is also a container, six low walls, an area effect template, a tape measure, dice... Everything you need in one box so you can just open it up and dive in right away. As with all of the new army boxes, the ONI army box is an incredible value for a mere $70.

Well, that's it for this issue but be sure to come back for the next issue when we will take a look inside the Cog army box and all their wacky orange figures. So until next time, may all of your dice come up Dragons!