| Cost: | 200 | Time: | 375 | |
| Hit Points: | 100 | |||
| Sight: | 5 | Speed: | 1 | |
| Gnd. Atk.: | 5 | |||
| Gnd. Rng.: | 2 | |||
| Gnd. Rate: | 25 | |||
| Gnd. Arm.: | 1 |
The Bug unit is he first of its kind that I’m aware of. A decent reservoir of health for a first unit, fast enough to keep up with the group, can’t see too far, the ability to repair itself when damaged, and an extraordinary ability: duplication. The Bug can duplicate itself for no energy cost, producing another Bug. The health of the two bugs is split evenly from the health of the old bug.
I used to think that because the health of the two new Bugs was split evenly between them, this was a bad ability (but I also didn’t understand how the auto-repair worked). Then someone pointed out to me that before duplication, you have X health and 5 attack. After duplication, you still have X health and double the attack. Given enough time, you can produce a "Bug carpet."
Some think Bugs are too powerful. I think Bugs are powerful enough as they are. After a few rounds (and you’ve produced a few Bug carpets), feel free to decide yourself.
| Cost: | 125 | Time: | 250 | |
| Hit Points: | 64 | |||
| Sight: | 8 | Speed: | 15 | |
| Gnd. Atk.: | 5 | Air Atk.: | 5 | |
| Gnd. Rng.: | 14 | Air Rng.: | 14 | |
| Gnd. Rate: | 30 | Air Rate: | 30 | |
| Gnd. Arm.: | 0 | Air Arm.: | 0 |
The Robot unit is the second ground unit the Machines can produce. Unlike the Bug, the Robot has range and it can attack air units. The Robot’s major downfall is its slow walking speed. When you send them from point A to point B, be sure to allow them forever and a day to get there. OK, that’s extravagant, but it illustrates my point. Robots are slow. Their rate of fire also is slower than that of the Ranger, so don’t be expecting them to win any quick-draw shooting contests. In terms of range, however, they can outrange the Gods’ Sentinel. Considering the Sentinel’s range, that’s a magnificent feat. Unfortunately, they don’t have the sight to do so, so it’s still a problem.
In my opinion, your better off producing Bug carpets than Robot armies.
| Cost: | 150 | Time: | 330 | |
| Hit Points: | 310 | |||
| Sight: | 5 | Speed: | 1 | |
| Air Atk.: | 15 | |||
| Air Rng.: | 12 | |||
| Air Rate: | 25 | |||
| Air Arm.: | 0 |
The Destroyer is a powerful anti-aircraft unit. Like the Robot, it’s produced at the Core, though you need to have a Dome to create them. I usually create them to compensate for my Bug armies’ lack of anti-air ability. They are far more effective against aircraft than the Ranger or the Robot, and about equal is anti-air power to the Shark.
| Cost: | 250 | Time: | 450 | |
| Hit Points: | 220 | |||
| Sight: | 15 | Speed: | 6 | |
| Gnd. Atk.: | 8 | Air Atk.: | 16 | |
| Gnd. Rng.: | 8 | Air Rng.: | 11 | |
| Gnd. Rate: | 35 | Air Rate: | 35 | |
| Gnd. Arm.: | 0 | Air Arm.: | 0 |
The Shark is the Machine’s first air unit. It might slightly be equated to the Burner. In terms of power, the Shark isn’t going to take first place, but neither will it take last. The Shark is best used against fellow aircraft, but is can fight well against ground units as well. In general, I think the Shark is a moderately powerful unit.
| Cost: | 1000 | Time: | 6000 | |
| Hit Points: | 512 | |||
| Sight: | 14 | Speed: | 2 | |
| Gnd. Atk.: | 20 | |||
| Gnd. Rng.: | 13 | |||
| Gnd. Rate: | 40 | |||
| Gnd. Arm.: | 0 |
The Stormbird is the second Machine air unit. Unlike the Shark, the Stormbird can only fire against ground units, though with greater force than the Shark hits aircraft. The Stormbird is also incredibly slow. When it has enough stamina, the Stormbird can produce HYDRA Mines, which are anti-air units of sorts.
One of the advantages of the Stormbird is its long range. A Stormbird is a good investment against Rotor Defenders, if you protect them well enough.
| Cost: | 150 | Time: | 300 | |
| Hit Points: | 65 | |||
| Sight: | 10 | Speed: | 1 |
HYDRA Mines come from Stormbirds. When they sense aircraft nearby, they duplicate and one of the duplicate flies off after the enemy. One might call them AirBugs. An aircraft flying into a field of HYDRA Mines won’t by flying for much longer. HYDRA Mines are also cloaked, so the enemy won’t be able to see them. Unfortunately, HYDRA Mines only scan for enemy units when it’s spinning.
| Cost: | 600 | Time: | 825 | |
| Hit Points: | 400 | |||
| Sight: | 11 | |||
| Gnd. Atk.: | 1 | Air Atk.: | 1 | |
| Gnd. Rng.: | 10 | Air Rng.: | 12 | |
| Gnd. Rate: | 200 | Air Rate: | 100 | |
| Gnd. Arm.: | 0 | Air Arm.: | 0 |
The Iris building is the Machines’ static defense unit. It attacks by unleashing several particles that seem to “see-saw” over a unit. If a particle is over a unit, it receives damage. This applies to nearby units as well., thus making it “splash” damage. I don’t typically use the Iris, instead relying on Bug carpet for defense. Once you have over 100 Bugs, do you think your going to need an Iris?
Of course, the Iris can be a good Bug killer, as well. If you need to defend against Bug carpet attacks, build many Irises and put them in a row. You should see several Bug explosions.
| Cost: | 500 | Time: | 1500 | |
| Hit Points: | 1900 | |||
| Sight: | 11 | Speed: | 1 |
Is the Cocoon a building? Does the fact that is moves classify it as a unit? If so, does that make the Watcher a unit? Alas, it is still a good question. However, I say building. The Cocoon (plain) is the detector for the Machines. With it, you can detect invisible enemies. Useful, no? All buildings are produced as Cocoons. When the scenario begins, you have a Super Coil and a Spiral in Cocoon form. When the Spiral produces buildings, they’re all in Cocoon form. Building Cocoons have the same properties as the Cocoon (plain), fortunately, which means I don’t have to list all that information.. Each building, though, has a different amount of time that it takes to morph from Cocoon and to Cocoon. Here they are: