Mastering the Hound: Mechabellum’s Chaff Specialist

Deployment & Core Value

• Chaff Clearance: Deploy Hounds to counter Crawlers, Fangs, or Mustangs. Their rapid attacks shred low-health units.

• Fire Immunity: Immune to fire damage, making them ideal against Vulcans, Fire Badgers, or HE Stormcallers.

• Fire Suppression Tech: Unlock Anti-Flame Systems to extinguish ground fire, protecting allies in burning zones.

• Early Game Niche: Strong against Arclight-heavy starts—a Hound pack stalls Arclights, buying time to build your core army.

Strategic Timing & Matchups

• Early Game: Counter Arclight rushes by swarming with Hounds. Their durability forces Arclights to waste time clearing them.

• Late Game: Transition into a Sledgehammer-like chaff role, but prioritize fire-heavy matchups where their immunity shines.

• Weakness: Feels underwhelming against non-chaff or non-fire comps. Avoid overcommitting unless synergizing with anti-armor units.

Countering Hounds: Precision Tactics

Hounds demand tailored responses based on enemy strategy:

• Early Counters:

  • Charged Shot Arclights: Melt Hound packs before they snowball.

  • Mustangs (Explosive Ammo): Outpace Hound DPS with AoE.

• Late Counters:

  • Raiden/Scorpion/Hacker: Obliterate Hound-supported comps with high burst or disruption.

  • Vulcans: Burn through Hounds unless they have Armor Tech.

• Tech Check: Always scout for Anti-Flame Systems or Armor Upgrades before committing to fire units.

Hound Builds: Optimizing Utility

1. Fireproof Chaff Clearer:

   • Tech: Anti-Flame Systems (mandatory).

   • Role: Clear fire-based chaff (e.g., Vulcan-spawned Crawlers) while shielding allies.

   • Pair With: Stormcallers to exploit fire-extinguished zones.

2. Anti-Arclight Rush:

   • Early Spam: Deploy 4-6 Hounds to stall Arclight pushes.

   • Follow-Up: Transition into Marksmen or Steel Balls once Arclights are distracted.

3. Armored Swarm:

   • Tech: Reinforced Plating (vs Mustangs/Vulcans).

   • Synergy: Combine with Sledges to create a mixed chaff wall.

Key Philosophy

The Hound thrives in specific niches—countering fire-heavy comps or overwhelming early Arclight rushes. While underwhelming in generalist roles, its fire immunity and chaff-clearing speed make it a scalpel, not a sledgehammer. Deploy judiciously, exploit enemy fire reliance, and never force Hounds into mismatched battles.

Mobility - Ground
Giant - No
Cost - 100
Unlock cost - 0
Units - 5
HP - 846
Attack - 267
Target - Ground Only
Attack Interval - 2.4s
Splash Damage - 6m
Burst Damage - 1335
Max DPS - 556
Range - 70m
Speed - 10m/s

Armor Enhancement (400)
HP is increased by 20% and 60 damage is blocked when attacked. The damage blocking effect increases by 60 with each level

Tech Upgrades

Fire Extinguisher (200)
Hound will clear fire and acid effets on the ground within 30m

Range Enhancement (300)
Increases attack range by 40m

Mechanical Rage (300)
Increases movement speed of units by 4m/s and reduces attack interval by 0.8s

Incendiary Bomb (300)
Launches 1 incendiary Bomb every 16s to ignite the ground beneath the enemy's feet. Incendiary Bombs have a max range of 120m and a minimum range of 40m.