Strip Mining for Fun and Profit

By Marc Porto

Lately I’ve got a new favorite power in Servo, Reece’s Strip Mine.  Reece is one of several pilots that you can choose to use in your Servos, each with their own special power.  His Strip Mine power destroys a Bloom Well, removing it from the map and giving you 300 Bloom in the process.  Bloom Well's are found at various locations around maps and players can claim them to build a Bloom Refinery on them that produces resources over time.

Bloom Wells can change hands though, as players move units nearby to capture them, and Bloom Wells can also serve as forward bases for players to be built up with Turrets and other buildings to help launch assaults.

How does Strip Mine come into play then?

Got a Bloom Well too far out to protect? Strip Mine.

Need to deny your opponent a chance to retake a forward base? Strip Mine.

Economy in a slump? Strip Mine.

Now, many people might say that I’m wasting potential future resources by not building, protecting, and upgrading a Bloom Well. But after the initial investment, time required to pay for the building, and then time to actually make a profit, sometimes trashing the Bloom Well for some easy resources is the way to go. Especially if you don't think you’ll survive long enough for it to pay off.

Like many strong powers, this is a double edged sword. Be careful that your investment pays off in either upgrading already existing Bloom factories, or in additional Bloom from killing Bloomspawn.  If you don't, you can quickly end up out of resources and luck while the enemy stomps on your Dropship.

I really like using Reece as my first pilot, it gives me some good options in the early game on how hard to rush and the possibility of crippling my opponent’s expansion opportunities.