Move

Lore & Background

In the shattered world beyond the Breach, the mechs that humanity sends to hold the line are not grand war-machines. They are compact, purpose-built units—each one a single-minded specialist. The Wrench patches hulls, the Hammer cracks shells, the Lancer stabs through gaps. None of them are built for long marches. They are built for the three-tile radius in which they can still do their job.

The Breach itself is a wound in the fabric of the world, a churning aperture that spits out creatures in waves. It does not care about your formation. It does not wait. The mechs, however, must. Each round the board reshuffles around them: a new creature crawls onto a tile, a friendly unit needs to be pulled back before the next enemy turn, a Lancer must slide two tiles to the left so its attack lands on the exposed flank. Move is how the mechs impose order on that chaos. It is the quiet, deliberate counterpoint to the Breach's relentless, mindless advance.

Veteran pilots speak of 'feeling' the three-tile range the way a dancer feels the edge of a stage. You do not count tiles; you see the shape of the board and know, instinctively, which tiles are yours this round and which are already claimed by the creatures pressing in. That instinct is what separates a pilot who survives Wave 1 from one who holds the line through the final assault.

In Their Own Story

The grid was wet. Not with rain—there was no rain past the Breach—but with a faint, iridescent residue that clung to every tile like spilled oil catching light. Kael's Wrench unit crouched on its center tile, hydraulic joints hissing, and watched the Lancer two tiles to the north thread a gap between two Crawlers. Three tiles. Two. One. The Lancer settled, blade extended, perfectly aligned with the Crawler's exposed underbelly.

Kael's own unit had only two tiles of clearance before the Hammer's broad frame blocked the southern approach. Two tiles. Enough to sidestep the next wave's charge, not enough to reach the Wrench's repair radius. She had to choose: protect the Hammer, or let the Lancer be the only one standing. The Breach pulsed behind the creatures, a slow, nauseating throb, and the tiles beneath her treads seemed to lean toward it.

She moved one tile left. Just one. It was enough. It was always enough, if you thought two steps ahead.

Reader's Guide

Every mech gets exactly one action per round, and Move is the most flexible of the four options (Move, Attack, Ability, Wait). You may step 1, 2, or 3 tiles orthogonally and stop at any point along the path. Diagonal movement does not exist; if a tile is occupied by any unit—enemy or friendly—it is a hard wall you cannot pass through or enter.

The tactical core of Move is positioning relative to enemy intent. Because the AI reveals its next action before you commit, you can often use Move purely defensively: slide one tile out of a Crawler's attack range, or pull a Wrench away from a tile the Breach is about to spawn on. Offensively, a Lancer may need to reposition two tiles to line up a 2-tile attack, or a Hammer may need to step into a gap to reach a Crawler that is otherwise shielded by its own allies.

Synergy between mechs is where Move shines. A common pattern is the 'shield-and-strike' loop: the Hammer moves to absorb or block a threat, the Wrench repositions to stay within 1-tile repair range, and the Lancer threads to an open flank. Because each mech only moves once, the order in which you issue commands matters—move the blocker first, then the attacker, so the attacker's path is clear.

Watch the board edges. A mech in the corner has only two possible Move directions; one against a wall has three. Creatures pushed to the edge are also easier to trap, making edge-control a recurring theme in higher-difficulty runs.

Did You Know?

• You can stop a Move at any tile within the 3-tile range—stepping just one tile is a perfectly valid use of the action, and in tight situations it is often the only option that keeps a mech alive.
• Because movement is strictly orthogonal, a mech that needs to reach a tile two squares away diagonally must use its full 3-tile budget (e.g., right-then-down) and cannot shortcut, which makes corner positions especially
• The 'Wait' action exists specifically so you can skip Move and instead let the AI act first, revealing its next move before you commit your mech's position—turning Move into a reactive decision rather than a proactive on
• On higher difficulties the Breach can spawn creatures on tiles adjacent to your mechs, meaning a single 1-tile Move can be the difference between a clean turn and a mech being immediately swarmed.