Von Bolt - Death-Cheating Dictator
Continuing in the Black Hole Commander tradition of sharing traits with Darth Vader, Von Bolt is an ancient man kept alive by a life-support system. (He also makes the Darth Vader breathing noises.) Self-declared successor to Sturm, Von Bolt is very experienced in the field of war and his abilities reflect this.
Day To Day Abilities
- 110% attack
- 110% defence
COP - None
Von Bolt has no standard CO Power. Old age and all that, he probably forgot about it.
SCOP - Ex Machina **********
- A blast of energy (radius 3) disables units and damages for 3hp
- 120% attack/defence
Out of the machine... Von Bolt unleashes some of the energy stored in his life-support chair as a crippling blast of lightning that aims for the most expensive bunch of units in a 5-square diametre it can find (Allied units are never targetted). Every enemy unit it hits takes 3HP damage and is disabled the unit owner's next turn, meaning it's two turns before they can move again. Disabled enemy units you attack still counter-attack, though. At 10 stars this is an overpriced power, but it has its uses in shutting down critical regions of enemy units.
Tags
+ 
(The entire Allied Nations)
90%
Von Bolt has a 90% tag with every CO in the Allied Nations. This includes all of Orange Star, Blue Moon, Green Earth and Yellow Comet. Not really a party guy.
Notes & Tactics
Frail old man he may be, but weak CO he is not. Von Bolt is basically a more extreme version of Hawke - very good day-to-day, but relatively weak powers. The extra strength gives Von Bolt the edge over his opponents in nearly all areas, and comes close to matching them in their areas of specialism. He is also one of the few COs to get an innate bonus to defence, and the only CO to get the all-round defence without paying extra for units.
When using Von Bolt, your aim is to lord it over your opponent with superior stats every single day, as opposed to waiting for a power to help you get somewhere. That isn't to say Ex Machina is useless, but it comes once in a Blue Moon and is rather expensive, so don't rely on it.
Use that day-to-day edge to get what you want, then when Ex Machina is charged, don't blow it on the first thing you see. At 10 stars expensive, you'll want to hold on just a bit, looking for the right moment to let it affect something rather than hitting a Md. Tank miles from battle. Good uses for Ex Machina are on chokepoints, where paralysed enemy units can halt an advance and leave it open to attack. Also, if your enemy has just built some expensive units at HQ or in a cluster elsewhere (as bases tend to be), you could launch it at those to force 3hp's worth of cash-draining repairs, and block up production for a good day or two. Of course, there is always the option of using it to ensure the destruction of a close two or three strong units that need holding still and taking out.
Either way, Von Bolt is a slow and steady CO, much like the ancient man inside the lightbulb.