Why do we love Mechs? And we think it’s safe to we do love them. Those giant robots with guys piloting them have been around forever. HG Wells’ 1890’s War of Worlds Tripods are maybe the first mechs with strange looking Martians piloting them.

A Whole World of Mechs!

It was Japan in the middle of the last century where Mecha took off. The Gundam and Macross anime, among many others, popularized the big fighting robots. Eventually they were shipped to the west via Voltron, Thundercats and Robotech and their popularity became worldwide.

Why is it that we love these guys? It’s not like they’re practical. A tank is much more useful. I think the idea of piloting a giant robot through a city fighting either other robots or monsters sparks the imagination! It is what makes these guys so much fun.

In wargaming, miniature mechs have been around since at least Battletech in the mid-eighties. These guys are not the huge models we are lucky to have now but it started to scratch the itch. Their popularity is shown by the fact that Battletech is still going strong after thirty years.

Joining them at this, small scale, level are Heavy Gear and the new Robotech RPG Tactics. But what we really want are the big guys!

Games Workshop's Warhammer 40K has given us some impressive large scale mechs which seem to just be getting bigger and bigger.

They also created a whole new aftermarket of other companies making mechs for that game. DreamForge Games and Puppets War have both made some impressive mecha to be used in 40K but they aren’t they only mechs in town.

Warmachine has its imposing Warjacks. These are just a few of the many great looking, giant models.

DUST has their Weird War 2 Walkers. With German, Allies and Russian versions. Coming in a variety of impressive styles and sizes.

Newcomer Prodos Games’ Warzone Resurrection has thrown its hat into the ring with the Mishima Meka, Capitol Orca Battlesuit, Bauhaus Vulkan Battlesuit and Imperial Hurricane Walker. All looking gorgeously detailed as we’ve come to expect from Prodos.

Deadzone Mechs!

So what does this all have to do with Deadzone? Mantic is releasing five new mech models in their wave 2 of Deadzone. They call them Striders but we all know they are the mecha we’ve been secretly wanting.

The Enforcers are getting a scaled up version of the Dreadball Mech called the GR77 Strider. At a mere 26 points this will be replacing a few Enforcers in the 100 point, Code 13 missions. It’s BFG has AP4 and, although slow to shoot, having Irresistible makes this guys a Plague Stage 1/2 Killer.

The Plague Strider is a ruined version of the Enforcer one with different weapon options and stats. Slightly more expensive than its Enforcer counterpart but it adds a Flamers which is always fun and has the mandatory Chainsaw! A Plague with an AP3 weapon is scary for any Enforcer player!

It seems the Plague stole their Strider off the Rebs. It too has the Flamer/Chainsaw combo but, at a 5+ Attack instead of 4+ for the Plague, the Reb one is slightly less menacing. Not to mention that it’s wearing a loin cloth… enough said.

As always the Marauders are slightly behind everyone else by fielding an older version of the Strider. The Stuntbot’s stats are not good but makes up by having three weapons. Buzzsaw (the same as the Chainsaw rules wise) and a one-use Flamer are augmented by a short range Thermal Cannon. We think that the Marauders might be better off sticking with their Ripper suits this time.

Lastly, we have the Forge Father’s Iron Ancestor. We don’t have the stats for this bad boy yet but knowing those industrious little space dwarves this guys is going to be tough. The Iron Ancestor has previously appeared in the Warpath game but the Deadzone version is new and improved and we are not looking forward to being bashed by that massive hammer!

So the face of Deadzone is changing and getting bigger. How will the addition of these behemoths affect the quick, light current game? Only time will tell. One thing is for sure though, Deadzone is officially in the game by finally adding some Mechs! And we’re sure these won’t be the last Striders we see from Mantic. Ronnie Renton, owner of Mantic Games, has mentioned multiple times that he wants the Warpath/Deadzone universe to be epic so we think we can expect big mechs in the future from them. We can only hope they’ll be a cool looking as some of the competitions versions!

Did we miss some cool looking miniature mechs? Let us know your favourites in the comments below!