Scorpion tank (Tiberian Twilight)

The AT-20 Scorpion Tank or '''Scorpion Mk. II''' is Nod's anti-armour tank used by the Offense Doctrine during the Ascension Conflict.

Background
"What should have been Nod's most iconic battlefield asset, proved to be just a cockroach for GDI to crush. Kane's generals misused the Scorpion tank to swarm superior firepower. But I do not blame them. How can I, when it was Kane himself who ordered the tank to be a mockery of its name, more Cockroach than Scorpion?"

- Gideon on the original Scorpion tank

Introduced in 2075, the Scorpion Mk. II is the successor of Marcion's own design, which dominated the Brotherhood's arsenals during the Third Tiberium War. Originally meant to inspire fear, the original tank was created at the behest of Kane, who inspired the Black Hand leader to create a terrifying weapon, complimenting the arsenal of Nod as an MBT. The end result was not quite as successful - the tank was often relegated as a support vehicle, rather than a vanguard, consistently misused by Nod commanders as a blunt hammer, rather than a precise scalpel.

Inspired by Brother Gideon's critique of Kane and his treatises, Talia Creigh, the principal designer of the new tank, took the above quote to heart and overhauled the design—emphasizing its iconic battlefield role and giving Nod a proper supporting combat tank: a vehicle they were lacking, as an analysis of the operational doctrine proved. The private unveiling of the new tank was followed by shock from the audience, something Brother Gideon summarised:

"The Children of Nod are rising, finally they understand. The treacherous will not escape the grasp of Nod's claws, or the whip of it's tail."

- Gideon on the new tank

Overview
Resembling an encroached scorpion, the Scorpion Mk. II no longer carries an anti-armour cannon—rather, its primary feature is a large weaponised "tail" protruding from its back resembling a miniature Obelisk of Light, which carries a state-of-the-art laser cannon derived from previous generation Spitfire laser capacitors—though with an output several times more powerful due to the liquid Tiberium generator powering it.

The secondary weapon of the AT-20 are its claws—which can be used by the operator to grab vehicles, and immobilize them using a built-in electromagnetic current generator—disabling the victim whilst allowing the tail laser to rip it apart with ease. Lighter units including infantry can be picked up with the claws and carried off. Scorpion pilots have also been noted to enjoy grabbing GDI's female soldiers, such as the Zone Defender or Zone Raider, and reportedly rewarded Scorpion pilots whom accomplished such a feat with an (unofficial) medal.

The reintegration of Nod's vehicle burrowing technology on the AT-20 has revived the possibility for more interesting ambush tactics among Nod commanders. The Scorpion can use its pincers to quickly burrow underground and resurface amongst enemy troops—causing chaos as the Scorpions quickly melt expensive heavy units to slag.

In-game
The Scorpion is very dangerous in large numbers. Their powerful tail lasers are relatively effective against medium aircraft and vehicles and will tear through the heavy armour of units like the Mastodon easily. Its ability to burrow also makes it very useful for ambushing undefended Crawlers, which may otherwise be safe from attack. The Scorpion's greatest weakness (that it shares with all laser units) is that it cannot fire while on the move.

The Scorpion also has a unique achievement, called Hey Girl, which is gained from Scorpion pilots grappling a female unit (such as a Zone Raider).

Gallery
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