| Name | Abilities | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Soldier | 1/2/0/1/4/18 | This unit is the most valuable of the infantry units, period. It is cheap and that makes it valuable during expansion when you need every dollar to buy more units to grab more cities and resources. Some may argue that a Panther is better during expansion because of it's much higher movement point value, but this is not so. For more on why, go to the page on Movement. However, that said, when it comes to attacking your enemies, soldiers should be used only in very limited situations. These are basically limited to attacking units with a defence rating of 1 out in the open and nothing else (and even then, you shouldn't be surprised if one unit can't finish the job...). |
| AlphaWarrior | 3/3/0/1/5/34 | This unit is much overused by inexperienced players. The experienced player knows that the use of this unit is best reserved for attacks on fortified cities (using a good surround bonus only), soldiers, trucks, transports and other targets that aren't going to move very much and can't stand up to much. It may also be used in assaults on enemy bases where money and technology is limited. For instance, when using Grizzlies to destroy porcupines, you need a 200% surround. Even then, there will be some units that are not destroyed in one shot. Alpha Warriors in these circumstances are quite capable of blowing away Porcupines that have 4 of their units remaining (most of the time) and are the cheapest thing you can buy that is capable of it. |
| Panther | 3/3/0/1/8/40 | The Panther is best used for expansion only when going into areas that have a lot of cities together. They are best used in attack when moving in force into an area you believe to be lightly defended by the opponent. They can then use their 8 movement points to full advantage as they capture both cities AND resources. As far as attacking anything goes, a Panther is inferior to an Alpha Warrior due to it's increased cost (assuming you can reach what you want to attack with the Alpha Warrior and the two are equally available in that region). |
| Commando | 2/3/0/1/10/88 | For an infantry unit, the Commando unit is hideously expensive. As such, it is best
used exclusively for what it is best at. And that is sneaking (see here) and spying. If attacking a base that is at least
moderately defended (especially if your opponent has several bases and you can't make a
valid guess on how many Porcupines are in the bases you can attack), a Commando is
indispensable (more information in Intelligence). A
Commando is also indispensable for detecting Fortifications without the wastage of
movement points or units. If a city is fortified you merely spy the city instead of
wasting movement points or getting your valuable infantry blown away. It also saves you
from having to "attack" every city that you suspect to contain fortifications
with a more powerful unit before you deem it safe for your infantry to approach. Basically, a Commando is not used directly for combat, but to determine how you will attack and what you will attack. |
NOTE: Infantry units are the only units that can capture cities. They are also the only units capable of taking over enemy cities and resources. You can win a game of Metal Knights without any other units at all (if your opponent is grotesquely incompetent), but you can't win a game without them!
| Name | Abilities | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Transport | 1/3/0/1/9/33 | The Transport is probably the most useful unit you will come across, excepting the
lowly soldier, the workhorse bulldozer and the money grubbing truck. A Transport is used
in almost situations until you get the Hercules university, and even then it is good for a
few more miles. It only carries 3 units, compared to 8 for the Cargo and 5 for the
Hercules, but this is actually just about the perfect number for an efficient expansion. In combat, a Transport is a poor choice for quick decisive strikes, but excels in a slow grinding offensive where the opponent has protected themselves well with Porcupines, Fortifications and Flags. In part, this is because a Transport has an attack value which can be used to destroy or severely damage a flag with its last movement point! Pretty valuable when you think about it... You don't need a soldier to do the same job then... |
| Cargo | 0/5/0/1/18/60 | The Cargo is big, but has few uses relating to expansion. In this role, it is best
used to transport a Soldier or two to a distant shore where the soldier disembarks and
creates a factory. Then you buy your Bulldozers, Trucks and Transports (plus any other
infantry you need) and expand across the land. It is also useful to transport Sharks to
distant wreck sites and where Wrecks are more than 2 squares apart (which means you get
more Wrecks for your buck of course!). In it's more aggressive role, the Cargo is used to make lightning strikes across rivers, lakes and oceans at enemy bases and other heavily protected regions as they can load in enough units so that even if you can only get 2 Cargoes in for the surround bonus, you can still get 180%! In this respect, they are more efficient than the Hercules or Transports. |
| Hercules | 0/5/0/1/14/103 | The Hercules can be a very useful tool in both expansion and war. In expansion,
because of its hideous expense compared to the Cargo and Transport, it should be used only
in situations where it is more efficient (ie. more efficient than 1 Cargo or 2
Transports). Such situations are usually restricted to Desert and Snow where cities and
resources are fairly spread out crossing restrictive terrain such as Islands, Skulls,
Mountains and difficult river areas where Cargoes are slowed down too much. In War, the Hercules is possibly the ultimate transport unit. It is able to carry a good number of units over any terrain for only 1 movement point cost, in any direction and for a large number of moves. This strategic flexibility put it light years ahead of the Cargo which is only useful on water and is slowed down when moving into waterfront squares and the Transport which can only carry a low number of units at a relatively low speed over fairly easy terrain. In war situations, the Hercules' expense is more than offset by its ability to aid you in taking big bites out of an opponent's Empire. Use it for lightning fast strikes against poorly protected areas only though! It can be wasteful to use it against heavily protected areas. Instead, use Transports to open the way and then send the Hercules past the front line and into the rear areas. The Hercules is also useful when attacking heavily defended targets on land (where Cargoes cannot go remember?). If you can wedge 3 fully loaded Hercules around a target you can get a 180% surround bonus! It takes 5 Transports to do the same job (even they can even reach that far or you can fit that many units in without taking out other targets first). |
NOTE: Transportation units are the only units capable of carrying other units inside them. This means that you can increase the speed of all of your units! For the full implications of this, see Movement.
| Name | Abilities | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Bulldozer | 1/1/0/1/5/25 | Bulldozers are an essential component of every players forces and you should have one with just about every transportation unit you use in the expansion stages of the game. As they can drop flags to protect cities that you have captured from the enemy they are even useful when you go to war. Bulldozers build roads, drop Flags and open up mines. Units don't get much more useful than this! For more on these abilities go to Farms and Roads, Resources and the comments on Flags. |
| Truck | 1/1/0/1/5/24 | Many battles are won or lost on the use of this simple unit! This is the only unit that is capable of hauling resources from the mines to the cities. If used correctly, your expansion will be enhanced greatly and the cash you have available for war will be great indeed! For more information see the page on Resources. |
| Shark | 6/8/0/1/15/99 | Sharks are the other unit in the triumvirate of fast money makers. While expensive, the Shark is the only unit capable of collecting Wrecks. On many maps, the wreck is actually the primary source of income by far in the early stages of the game. They are also one shot wonders. This makes it vital that you use Sharks early and well if you are going to get the money from wrecks as your opponents are more than likely to take it all and kill you easily if you don't. More on this in the page on Wrecks. |
NOTE: The resource units are the only units capable of taking advantage of mines and wrecks. Use them. You cannot win a game without using them against a player who does.