Dropzone Commander - Not sold on Fast Movers

There are many moving parts in the machine that is Dropzone Commander.  One of those parts is the Fast Mover. The fluff describes Fast Movers as that critical airstrike that takes out a vehicle, building, or hard hitting unit behind enemy lines.  The theory is that the fast mover comes on, strafes the target and obliterates it, then flies off the table and then circles back for another round.  So far I have not seen the Fast Mover worth the points paid.

Fast Movers have some gorgeous models. Above are a pair of UCM Archangels. I didn't paint them - those are shamelessly borrowed from Hawk's website. The idea is when they are activated they will fly on and rain death on other aircraft or soft targets. However there are a few considerations.

1) In all battles I've seen they start in reserve. Translation - while ground units start on readiness and can come onto the board upon their activation. With units in reserve you have to roll on the Reserve Table.  Chances are this unit will not make it onto the table until turn 3 or 4 unless you are very lucky.

2) Even if you do make the Reserves roll you have to check and see if the Fast Mover is ready. Another die roll - and a roll of a 1 and the pilots are joyriding around, having a smoke and a drink, something.  Still more points sitting off the table.

3) If you do make your reserve roll AND you make the readiness check you still have to paint the target (so to speak) set your entry and exit point, and make the run.  If you are against a PHR player they have some nasty AA units. They'll hit on a 4 (and that is with the Reaction fire) and destroy you on a 3.  One Damage Point is pretty flimsy.  Oh, and they have a 24" range so unless you are skimming at 2" and not the normal 6" you have a pretty decent chance of being shot down before you even reach your target. The gun on the Archangel has a 12" range and without the ability to pre-measure you really are pressing your luck.

The PHR Athena - still not painted by me!

I guess some tricks to use are to try and get the enemy AA to fire before you try to activate your Fast Mover but a savvy opponent will leave one ready to blast you out of the sky unless there is an opportunity or reason they cannot.

In the two times I have attempted to use the Fast Movers they have not paid for themselves.  I've seen a couple of games with them used - and even when they were not shot down they did not do much. I've seen a lot of battle reports and the general mantra is "They look great but usually die a gruesome death."

I'll have to check out the Forward Observer rules but so far I am underwhelmed by this aspect of the game.  I NEARLY picked up some archangels until  I actually proxied a pair.  More work will have to be done to get me to commit my hard earned cash to add them to my current army.

What are your thoughts on the Fast Movers?  Have you had any better luck? Any strategies I should try? Hawk took the time to design and write rules for them, I hate to leave them off the table.