EMZ-18 Malder
Type: Snail
Total length: 8. 5m
Total height: 6. 5m
Weight: 34. 6t
Speed: 120 km/hr

Equipment:
Induction Missile Launcher
Central Electromagnetic Launcher
Accelerated Beam Cannon
Laser Multisensor X2
Laser Machine Gun X2

Armor Description:
It's safe to say the Malder's the polar opposite of the Gun Sniper. Whereas the velociraptor-like Gun Sniper has speed, lots of offensive capabilities, and thin armor, the Malder is slow, with little in the way of weaponry, but packing a shell comparable to a Gustav. The little snail is tough and relies on outlasting its opponent to win the battle, especially since it doesn't have much weaponry outside the mortar. The armor composition is akin to that on the Killer Dome, but the snail's packing at least double the thickness. Of course, that's only the shell itself. The "mantle" underneath the pop-out sections is rather soft structure, like any snail. Its Achilles heel is its soft internal structure, as it receives much of its support from the thick, durable shell. Should a pop-out section be removed, the Malder's internals will be very vulnerable.

Mobility and Power Source:
The Malder is a snail, and as such is even slower than the Republic's Cannon Tortoise. In many ways, the Malder's the Imperial answer to the famous bombardment machine, and its thick shell was created to withstand repeated direct impacts from the Tortoise's huge energized mortar, while replying with a slightly more rapid-fire artillery piece. It can turn in place fairly quickly, but can't maintain even its sluggish top speed for any appreciable length of time. It's a good urban fighter, though, as well as a bombardment piece. It achieves mobility thanks to a reverse-magnesser drive system that sticks it firmly to whatever surface it's on presently. Like any snail, it's almost impossible to pry the Malder loose. Even the shockwave from a CPG won't dislodge it, but the same system renders it sluggish and completely incapable of jumping. On the flip side, it can traverse the seafloor at 20 knots, as well as surface and dive at ten knots to engage in naval operations.

Weaponry and Equipment:

Central Electromagnetic Launcher
The first of the Malder's interchangeable cannons. Both fit into the central pop-out section in the front of the shell. The EM Launcher is a large, 160mm mortar many affectionately dub the "Blockbuster" thanks to its superior terrain and armor-busting capabilities. It fires at an admirable rate of one shell every 1.5 seconds. Why's it an "electromagnetic" launcher, then? Firstly, each shell is launched off a magnetic launch rail allowing the Malder's computers to adjust the muzzle velocity, allowing the shell to land anywhere from 20 meters away to a few klicks over the horizon. Secondly, each shell bursts with both a standard high explosive as well as an electromagnetic pulse, which serves to hurt shields further as well as temporarily (0.5 to 1 second) blind the enemy's lower-wavelength sensors, such as radar and infrared.

Induction Missile Launcher
Another geeky name for another geeky weapon. Like the Blockbuster, the Induction Missile Launcher (which can mount in place of said Blockbuster) is a dedicated artillery weapon. Each fits into the pop-out section in the front of the shell, which is immensely heavily armored from the front, but only covered by a relatively thin roof when deployed. The Induction Missile Launcher takes its name from the fact that its power, like the Blockbuster's, comes from the induction of a large magnet under the shell. Instead of running wires through the shell, which would reduce its structural integrity somewhat, the power and commands from the cockpit come in the form of magnetic pulses through the shell itself, allowing the armor to be kept solid throughout. It's a standard missile launcher, firing two missiles at once. The Malder has a stock of ten missiles, and must close its shell to rearm this launcher. The missiles fired are able to target air and ground targets with equal precision, and are quite effective against aerial targets.

Accelerated Beam Cannon
Located on a pop-out section on the left side of the Malder's shell is this accelerated beam cannon. Packing a caliber of 60mm, this thing is able to turret 45 degrees up and down from its mount. With an accelerated capacitor system, the beam cannon has a semi-automatic rate of fire, and is excellent against armor and energy shields of any stripe. Due to its pop-out mounting, it takes about a second to deploy.

Laser Machine Gun x2
The only weaponry on the Malder that doesn't have to deploy before firing. Located on the right side of the shell, the twin laser machine guns are very accurate, thanks to their stable mount, as well as being lasers, but aren't all that powerful. Each bolt hits like a 20mm armor-piercing bullet, except in laser form, and you get ten shots per second each. They can face 30 degrees outward, and turret 360 degrees quickly on the vertical axis.

Laser Multisensor x2
The Malder's antennae contain laser motion detectors, 3D radar/terrain mapping systems, sonar and audio detection, as well as infrared tracking to sniff out cloaked Zoids. Like an early version of the Molga's system, this information is projected into monitors inside the cockpit which, admittedly, affords rather poor visibility on its own. Unfortunately, the stock Malder doesn't have the equipment to transmit any of this information to its teammates.