By Michael Kelly

I'm sure that (if you've been playing WC long enough) you've realized that certain units are better buys than others (the most notable is the BAT). But few players ever invest more than a token amount in one of the best buys of the game ...the BMR. This is because few players understand how to effectively use this unit or are just too impatient to invest enough time and build steps to make it effective.

Sure, a single BMR will do an insignificant amount of damage to a production center. But a group of 10? Consider the implications. 10 Green BMRs will do 12 build steps of damage, on average. Say this occurs on turn 10. Turn 11, the metropolis loses all 10 of its production. On turn 12, the metropolis has 1 build step recovered and will probably use it for a 99 order to repair the damage. Effectively, the metropolis has just lost another 10 steps of production. Turn 13 the metropolis has four build steps recovered and uses another another 99 order to repair more damage and loses another full turn of production. Turn 14 the metropolis has 7 build steps recovered and uses them for production and loses 3 of its 10 build steps. Turns 15 loses 2. Turn 16 loses 1. TOTAL LOSSES = 36 build steps. After hitting one production center BMRs have the endurance to move on to yet another one for an additional 36 point production loss. And you still have your BMRs.

But wait...Let's assume that 2 BMRs are following and hit the production center(s) on Turns 13,14,15...Each turn the bombers hit they will effectively eliminate 1 turn of production for every 3 hits infllicted for an average of 3 1/3 points of production loss per hit. Why? Because it costs a metropolis 1 full turn of production to repair 3 steps of damage, but only when the damage level is over 4. At four or below the production center would find it more cost effective to wait it out. So by hitting a large production center HARD, and keeping it at a high level of damage, you can effectively keep the production at levels usually associated with villages.

AND there's more! Most people who do send out a BMR group will hit a city or two and return home for refuelling. A very foolish move. Consider making an investment in a couple of airbases. By placing the airbase in the ending location of your BMR group, the BMRs will refuel 200 endurance during the end-turn automatic refuelling phase. 200 END will allow 10 BMRs to hit an additional 2 or 3 cities without spending turns returning home and burning more fuel flying back into enemy territory.

The rules only allow 2 placement (W) orders per turn. You may place an additional AIR using a precious redeployment, but try to avoid wasting them during placement. Next turn you can redeploy the AIR back to friendly territory or sacrifice them to angry ground units. Your sacrifice of 10 build steps of AIR is well worth it.

In order to make this tactic effective, you must refuel the BMRs before they get too exhausted since the refueling is done BMR by BMR. This means that if you have 10 BMRs with only 10 END left each, the AIR will refuel 6 of them completely, 1 of them up to 30, and the remaining 3 will be left at a level of 10. Much better to time the placement to occur when the BMRs are at 20 each. However, this tactic is used with a risk. If your enemy, by stroke of luck or shrewd insight, manages to position a ground unit in the destination location. You will lose the AIR and you can't refuel. So be careful and unpredictable when you making this move. It won't take long before your opponent is tearing out his hair.

In my opinion the BMR is the best scout in the game. Its speed, endurance, the fact that it can't be pinned, and it takes 3 hits from only AAG and FTR make it well suited to scouting. Later it can be combined with others to make it an effective destructive unit. The RCN, on the other hand, is slow, short range, does not move until phase 2 (making it easy to pin or exhaust), and a total wimp in a battle.

This scenerio is possible because you are facing an opponent with multiple metropoli. This is very rare in the early game but quite common during mid to late game. If your opponent hasn't yet developed his cities, then a BMR raid is even more effective. You can overwhelm and dispatch him before he can build the forces to defeat or stall your attack. This is particularly useful if you are facing an opponent who has more build steps than you. They are relying on the security of their superior production to win the game, and may be unprepared to respond to both your economic assault and your invading forces.

Plan ahead, invest your resources in BMRs and BOMBS AWAY!!!