History Main / TacticalSuperweaponUnit

* ''[[VideoGame/ElementalWarOfMagic Fallen Enchantress]]'' has a unique event where if you succeed, allows you to build dragons - the most powerful units in the game. Besides fantastic stats, they can move far and have a melee attack that hits in a radius plus they have a BreathWeapon so they can severely harm or kill other powerful melee units before they get in range. Additionally having a unit with large stacks doesn't help against a dragon, since dragons have the overpowering trait so any dragon attack hits every member in a stack.

* ''VideoGame/Warhammer40000ChaosGate'' has the Terminator squad. These guys aren't available until you reach a certain point in the campaign and even then only non-hero Ultramarines who earned a Terminator Honor award can be made a Terminator. They can't run and they can't crouch plus they're bulky. They also have an additional balancing penalty in that only one Terminator can field an assault cannon and only one Terminator can use the heavy flamer. But when they're on the field, Chaos forces are doomed. Termies have triple the armor of the already tough Space Marine and are likely at least Champions in experience level. A starting Termie gets a power fist and storm bolter, this combo alone makes them superior to every marine and hero you have except possibly the Librarian and a marine with a multi-melta. A Termie with an assault cannon can wipe out the map [[OneManArmy by himself]].

* ''VideoGame/TheBattleForMiddleEarth II'' has the "Ring Heroes," a cross between this and a HeroUnit. They require that the player have [[MacGuffin The One Ring]], about 10,000 Supplies, and a good five minutes. Evil factions get [[EvilOverlord Dark Lord]] Sauron (a fallen angel) in all his two-ton-mace-swinging, lava-bomb-summoning glory, while Good factions get Storm Queen Galadriel (an elven queen and powerful enchantress), who can conjure tornadoes. It also allows certain Evil races to summon a demon (the Balrog, a BigRedDevil who is constantly on fire and wields a whip and a [[OneHandedZweihander gigantic]] [[{{BFS}} sword]]) or a dragon (a wyrm) through {{Support Power}}s. The ''Rise of the Witch-King'' expansion pack allows players to field a single squad of EliteMooks.

* ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper2'': The [[ADungeonIsYou Keeper]] gets the late-game power to {{summon|Magic}} the Horned Reaper, an [[CompleteImmortality invulnerable]] LightningBruiser that can steamroll anything in his path. His only drawback is the ruinous {{Mana}} cost to keep him on the field. If you consider the Horned Reaper actually a power, then true end-game units are the Dark Angels which are the last units you discover in the campaign. While having only above average durability, the Dark Angels have strong magic and devastating sword attacks and in numbers will easily wipe out a larger enemy force.

* ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper2'': The [[ADungeonIsYou Keeper]] gets the late-game power to {{summon|Magic}} the Horned Reaper, an [[CompleteImmortality invulnerable]] LightningBruiser that can steamroll anything in his path. His only drawback is the ruinous {{Mana}} cost to keep him on the field.

** Each race has a unique Titan unit at the top of their tech tree. A Titan can only be built once per match and has a high resource cost, but each one is incredibly powerful. All players are informed that "A Titan walks the land" whenever one is built.

* ''Warrior Kings'' from Microids had one for each faction. The Imperials got the Archangel, the Pagans have the demon lord Baal and the Renaissance had their Rocket Towers. Uniquely among these 3 units, the Rocket Towers were controlled by the player and while expensive more than one Rocket Tower can be produced at a time. The only drawback is that an individual Rocket Tower isn't a durable and damaging as the Archangel or Baal.

** The ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer3TiberiumWars'' "Kane's Wrath" expansion pack gives each faction a super unit, armed with a devastating weapon out-of-the-box and the option to garrison a number of infantry squads in their "hardpoints" for various effects, as well as a unique gimmick (usually some method of generating income).

** The Tau get, depending on which MutuallyExclusivePowerups they choose, either the Hammerhead tank, armed with two plasma miniguns and a [[MagneticWeapons railgun]], or the Greater Knarloc, a terror bird the size of a T Rex. It can have more HP than a Squiggoth (due to being a Kroot and therefore sharing in their CannibalismSuperpower), but spends most of its time turning around, and the Etherial, a MookCommander who is also a powerful "caster," able to call in airstrikes, summon a team of bodyguards, and create holographic dummy units, in addition to providing a map-wide morale boost.
** The Dark Eldar have the Dias of Destruction, a combination party boat/ giant HoverTank which sports huge dark energy blasters, {{Disintegrator Ray}}s, and some sexy ladies (not a euphamism for anything). It's piloted by Asdrubael Vect (leader of the entire Dark Eldar race, not just the faction present in the game) himself.

* The Heirarchy from ''VideoGame/UniverseAtWar'' produces these as a matter of course. Their barracks, factory, and research "structures" are actually huge {{Spider Tank}}s that act like a BaseOnWheels, and while they totally have a conventional army, a perfectly viable strategy is to load up one, two, or all of their Walkers with weapons or weapon upgrade modules, and maybe a couple {{Flying Saucer}}s set to Repair mode if you don't want to sacrifice a leg socket for a Repair Bay module to keep them fighting fit. They can't be destroyed normally, instead requiring that at least two of the CognizantLimbs in the upper section be destroyed to expose the reactor, which then must be destroyed. However, a very low-tier research ability causes the breached reactor to irradiate the surrounding area, either killing or zombifying the enemy troops while stimulating the HealingFactor of the Heirarchy's own.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000: Epic'' has Titans, HumongousMecha with devastating weaponry that require either dedicated Titan-killer units or another Titan to stop.
** Lord of War is a battlefield role reserved for super-heavy vehicles, walkers, aircraft and gargantuan creatures that are insanely durable and boast destructive weaponry far beyond normal units, but represent a significant points/power level cost to field. Coupled with their sheer size, you can be sure that your opponent will be prioritizing its destruction with everything they have (which tends to make them AwesomeButImpractical). In 4th and 5th editions, you can only field them in Apocalypse games; in 6th edition and beyond, they can be taken in normal games but need their own special detachment. In a normal 2000pts game, a single Lord of War will probably constitute a quarter of your armies' points value.

* Invoked by the "Distraction Carnifex!" tactic in tabletop wargames (despite the name, the "carnifex"[[note]]A GiantEnemyCrab with guns on fielded by Warhammer 40k's Tyranids[[/note]] can be any unit, as long as it's tough and intimidating). The hope is that the appearance of a [[PaperTiger big, scary, but ultimately disposable]] unit will distract the enemy from what you're actually doing, such as trying to [[StrategicAssetCaptureMechanic take an Objective Marker.]] Ultimately, the enemy must choose between stopping your sneaky unit running for the objective, or the big, scary monster that's eating 1d6 of their guys per round. It meshes very well with the "Death Star" strategy, which is also based around the use of a big tanky unit, or group of Awesome, yet Practical units but one (et al) that can actually fight back effectively, rather than just hold an opponent's attention.

* ''VideoGame/CompanyOfHeroes'' has several vehicles that can only be obtained through {{Support Power}}s, but the one most applicable is the Wermacht Armored Company's Tiger II, a huge tank with a monstrous 88mm cannon that can only be summoned once per game.

* ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'' (a hybrid of RhythmGame and ''Battlezone''-style RTS):

** There's also the Perun Flagship for Russia. Its a large bulking helicopter constantly boosting other Tesla weaponry near it, while its own Tesla cannon tears enemy units apart. While cut from the game and unbuildable in skirmish,[[spoiler:it is used by the Epsilon in the final Soviet campaign mission.]]

* ''VideoGame/TheBattleForMiddleEarth II'' has the "Ring Heroes," a cross between this and a HeroUnit. They require that the player have [[MacGuffin The One Ring]], about 10,000 Supplies, and a good five minutes. Evil factions get [[EvilOverlord Dark Lord]] Sauron (a fallen angel) in all his two-ton-mace-swinging, lava-bomb-summoning glory, while Good factions get Storm Queen Galadriel (an elven queen and powerful enchantress), who can conjure tornadoes. It also allows certain Evil races to summon a demon (the Balrog, a BigRedDevil who is constantly on fire and wields a [[WhipItGood whip]] and a [[OneHandedZweihander gigantic]] [[{{BFS}} sword]]) or a dragon (a wyrm) through {{Support Power}}s. The ''Rise of the Witch-King'' expansion pack allows players to field a single squad of EliteMooks.

* ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' has its top tier of units locked behind the ownership of a "Relic," a special Capture Point. These include squads of heavy infantry and super-heavy tanks. In the original and in ''Winter Assault,'' you could build as many as you'd like, but from ''Dark Crusade'' onwards, they are restricted to one each.

* ''LightNovel/HeavyObject'' is set InAWorld where power creep has replaced conventional armies with [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 Technodrome-esque]] land battleships, the titular Objects. Warfare in the setting revolves around the idea that only an Object can stop another Object (they can even shrug off direct hits with nuclear weapons), and lesser military units are simply swept away beneath their power, as Objects routinely dump enough energy per-shot that a miss can cause earthquakes. The protagonists are the "Dragon Slayers," a group of soldiers who accidentally proved that Objects can be infiltrated and brought down from the inside while on a self-imposed mission to rescue their pilot.
* Parodied with the Great Golem from ''[[LightNovel/TheSlayers Slayers Next]],'' which was a MagiTek HumongousMecha armed with a powerful laser beam cannon. The royal family of the nation who discovered it (in one of their castle turrets) certainly ''thought'' it was one of these, but due to centuries of neglect, its first test-firing tore it to peices.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', of the three HumongousMecha units available for use in the PlayerVersusPlayer mode Rival Wings (which is between teams of 24 players and some AI {{Mooks}}, and features some elements of TheSiege), Brute Justice stands head and shoulders above the rest. Its RocketPunch can heavily damage structures or stun players to open them to being demolished by its WaveMotionGun. It also possesses a flamethrower to melt waves of mammets and players unfortunate enough not to get out of the way in time. This power means that unlike the more specialized Cruise Chaser and Oppressor, Brute Justice can only by a team that has lost a tower, making it purely [[BackFromTheBrink a comeback tool.]]

*** GDI gets the M.A.R.V. superheavy tank/miner, which sports a tri-barrelled cannon and four hardpoints. It can run over Tiberium deposits to stripmine them - and those Tiberium fields [[BanditMook doesn't need to be yours]]

*** The Scrin get the Hexapod, a gigantic [[OrganicTechnology organitek]] SpiderTank with a plasma disc launcher similar to the ones mounted on their Destroyer airships, and three hardpoints. If a unit is killed within a certain radius of it, it automatically recycles them.

** The Death Star from ''Film/StarWarsANewHope'' is a [[PlanetSpaceship moon-sized]], nearly indestructable starship so big it can only be called a "space station," built to solo an enemy fleet and zap their homeworld with a [[PlanetDestroyer planet-busting]] WaveMotionGun. TheEmpire was planning to hinge its utter domination of the Galaxy on the threat of using it on rebellious planets. It has the [[AttackItsWeakPoint critical weakness]] of an exhaust pipe that leads directly to the main power plant (which was, according to ''Film/RogueOne,'' done deliberately because its designer was horrified at his work being used for evil, and accordung to ''Literature/DeathStar, done by accident because it was built from cockeyed plans by angry slaves), allowing a single SpaceFighter to blow it up with the kind of ordinance intended for use on other starfighters-[[AirstrikeImpossible if they can get close enough, dodge all its defense turrets and fighter squads, locate and fly down the right trench, and shoot a teeny-tiny target, all while trying not to get blown into space junk.]] The one in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' is bigger, badder, and [[spoiler: can use its planet-busting main gun to snipe enemy ships [[ArmorPiercingAttack right through their]] {{Deflector Shield}}s several times in a row]].

** The Death Star from ''Film/StarWarsANewHope'' is a [[PlanetSpaceship moon-sized]], nearly indestructable starship so big it can only be called a "space station," built to solo an enemy fleet and zap their homeworld with a [[PlanetDestroyer planet-busting]] WaveMotionGun. TheEmpire was planning to hinge its utter domination of the Galaxy on the threat of using it on rebellious planets. It has the [[AttackItsWeakPoint critical weakness]] of an exhaust pipe that leads directly to the main power plant, allowing a single SpaceFighter to blow it up with the kind of ordinance intended for use on other starfighters-[[AirstrikeImpossible if they can get close enough, dodge all its defense turrets and fighter squads, locate and fly down the right trench, and shoot a teeny-tiny target, all while trying not to get blown into space junk.]] The one in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' is bigger, badder, and [[spoiler: can use its planet-busting main gun to snipe enemy ships [[ArmorPiercingAttack right through their]] {{Deflector Shield}}s several times in a row]].

* ''LightNovel/HeavyObject'' is set InAWorld where power creep has replaced conventional armies with [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 Technodrome-esque]] land battleships, the titular Objects. Warfare in the setting revolves around the idea that only an Object can stop another Object (they can even shrug off direct hits with nuclear weapons), and lesser military units are simply swept away beneath their power, as Objects routinely dump enough power per-shot that a miss can cause earthquakes. The protagonists are the "Dragon Slayers," a group of soldiers who accidentally proved that Objects can be infiltrated and brought down from the inside while on a self-imposed mission to rescue their pilot.

* Invoked by the "Distraction Carnifex!" tactic in tabletop wargames (despite the name, the "carnifex"[[note]]A GiantEnemyCrab with guns on fielded by Warhammer 40k's Tyranids[[/note]] can be any unit, as long as it's tough and intimidating). The hope is that the appearance of a [[PaperTiger big, scary, but ultimately disposable]] unit will distract the enemy from what you're actually doing, such as trying to [[StrategicAssetCaptureMechanic take an Objective Marker.]] Ultimately, the enemy must choose between stopping your sneaky unit running for the objective, or the big, scary monster that's eating 1d6 of their guys per round. It meshes very well with the "Death Star" strategy, which is also based around the use of a big tanky unit, but one that can actually fight back effectively, rather than just hold an opponent's attention.

** ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert'': The ''Counterstrike'' and ''Aftermath'' expansions feature the {{cyborg}} {{supersoldier}} Volkov. Nominally the Soviet Union's HeroUnit, he has at minimum over 3-4 times the hit points[[note]]2500[[note]] of Mammoth Tanks and Cruisers[[note]]600 and 700 respectively[[/note]] (the toughest producible[[note]]One ''Aftermath'' mission features a number of enemy Soviet Super Tanks that boast a whopping 10,000 HP, but they're just mission-exclusive palette swaps of the Mammoth Tank[[/note]] units in the Soviet and Allied arsenals, respectively) [[note]]in ''Deus Ex Machina'' Volkov's HP is boost further to a monstrous 6000[[/note]], is armed with a HandCannon that mows down infantry with ease and can make short work of tanks and even the aforementioned Cruisers in just a handful of shots, and can blow up structures with C4 charges. He's so overpowered, in fact, that he only makes a single appearance in ''Counterstrike'', and all but one of his ''Aftermath'' appearances nerf him severely into just a slightly more durable version of the Allied HeroUnit Tanya.

** VideoGame/RedAlert3: The Uprising expansion gives such units with ridiculously high price tags but still suitable for mass production ([[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard especially by the AI]]):

* ''LightNovel/EightySixEightySix'' introduces the Legion's new unit "Morpho" in Volume 3, a high-speed giant train-based weapon armed with a devastating 800mm railgun that has a range of over 400 kilometers that would allow it to bombard a nation's capital and rapidly move away to avoid retaliatory strikes. Much of Volume 3 revolves around a multinational operation involving three armies to box in the Morpho and launch a special strike team to destroy the machine. Future volumes reveal that this was far from a unique weapon: in Volume 4, a second Morpho under construction is found half-complete after a Legion Weisel mobile factory is seized, and in Volume 8 another Morpho is placed in an oceanic offshore platform to bombard an island nation to oblivion. It gets even worse in Volume 11 [[spoiler: which reveals the Legion have another 6 Morphos under construction.]]