Sturm (Japanese: ヘルボウズ, Hell-Bouzu) was a CO and ex leader of Black Hole. He appears during the first two Advance Wars games as the main villain. In the first game he is the only Black Hole CO apart from Clone Andy, though in the next game he is joined by several others who serve him. Not much is known about him other than that he is an alien who enjoys war and hates peace. He is pure evil, bent on conquering the world, and lacks any respect for his enemies, constantly calling them "worms". He lacks compassion and does not value life, even willing to destroy Wars World rather than be defeated.
Advance Wars
In the original game, Sturm is the real mastermind behind the conflict. He manipulated the other forces with the Clone Andy, using him to frame Orange Star for the attacks on the other nations. Fortunately they realized their error and faced Sturm, defeating him and forcing him to retreat. During Campaign players only fight against Sturm twice, on the final two missions, despite him being the one responsible for the outbreak of war. Sturm noted that he underestimated the forces of Wars World, but survived the battle and escaped.
Unlocking
To unlock Sturm you must first unlock every other CO (Except Nell), then he will become available to buy for 100 Coins.
Statistics
Sturm, who is widely seen as a very powerful CO, with overwhelming overall unit averages, is actually quite the opposite. In Campaign, he is more powerful than in VS. Mode, in which he has been weakened. He is more of a defensive CO and does not focus strictly on firepower. In VS. Mode his Units stats are 80/120 while in Campaign mode his units are 130/80, so they possess low firepower, making Sturm a CO not to be used to overwhelm the opponent or to rout your enemies, which can be frustrating for those who try to win in that fashion. Sturm is to be used defensively and very strategically when attacking. Also, Sturm's Units are not affected by any Terrain and can move quickly through features such as Mountains (Infantry), Woods (Units with Tires), Plains (Units with Tires) and Reefs (Naval Units). This allows for quick invasions with stealth. Oddly, a CPU-controlled Sturm has a tendency to create T-Copters with Infantry on the first day of VS. Mode, which other CO's do not usually do.
CO power
Sturm's CO power is Meteor Strike. It deals 8 damage to all enemies units in an 3 squared-radius diamond (it is unable to drop the HP of enemy units below 1) and makes so his units stats are 150/90. When playing as Sturm you may not choose where to target with it, it's chosen automatically. The playable version's Meteor Strike is weaker than what he had in the campaign, dealing only 4 damage and makes his units' stats 90/144. The target will be chosen by finding the biggest amount of fund damage the meteor can do (for example, a full hit point Rocket unit costs more than a 9 hit point rocket, so he will choose the first), with the cost of his units being decreased from this calculation (since the meteor WILL damage his own units).
Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising
Sturm returns in the second game, again the leader of the Black Hole forces though this time he's brought some other Black Hole COs with him. This time Sturm attempts to overwhelm the allied nations by force and by his command the Black Hole army invades the allied home nations, making use of new weapons including factories and pipe lines used to fuel the invasion forces led by these Black Hole COs. Sturm stays in Black Hole territory himself. Again he is defeated by the Allied Nations when they repel the Black Hole offensives and attack Black Hole's headquarters. After the final battle he attempts to detonate a bomb to take the other forces' COs down with him, but is prevented from doing so and killed by Hawke.
His units are stronger overall, boasting 120% attack and 120% defense across the board. Sturm's units retain the ability to move across all terrain unimpeded except when it is snowing.
Unlocking
To unlock Sturm in the second game you must get an overall rating of S in the Normal campaign or Hard campaign, then he will be purchasable from Hachi's store.
CO power
Sturm does not have a CO power.
Super CO power
Sturm retains his CO power, Meteor Strike, from Advance Wars, as his Super Power. It now boosts his units' offense and defense to 140% and 150% respectively, in addition to the same area damage (8 damage within a diamond with a radius of 3 squares).
Quotes
Advance Wars
"Hmm": Missions "Enigma" during his 1st turn
Black Hole Rising
Campaign
"Hawke... you... traitor...": His last words before he died
Power
"You will tremble before my power!"
"Fear is all you have left..."
"You shall not survive!"
"Prepare to embrace darkness!"
"Such power... I regret crushing it."
"Burning earth!!!"
Victory
"My name is Sturm. Hear it and tremble."
Tactics
There's a reason Sturm is banned from most competitive settings. In AW2 Sturm's units receive a powerful boost without drawbacks, but Sturm's most devastating power is the ability of his units to move through any terrain without a movement penalty except when it is snowing. This allows Sturm to completely dominate the capture phase and often win the game in the first few turns. Consequently, Advance Wars By Web, despite using AW1 VS Mode stats for Sturm, has map design make sure to not have too much relevant slowdown terrain such as Forests that Sturm can exploit, a concept known as Sturm-Proof; or just make sure to ban Sturm.
Alongside this, Sturm has the absolute hardest hitting Super CO Power in the game. It deals 8 damage in a 4x4 radius to all units, regardless of Sturm's units or not.
This is very broken, as the game's programming has the meteor aim for the most expensive troop that is on the field, or an equivalent of. As such, Sturm's power can entirely decimate an army, and there's not much to do about it.
This is why Sturm is one of the absolute best COs in the game, only being closely matched by Hachi.
Trivia
- Sturm's appearance in Advance Wars strongly resembles a snifit from the Mario series.
- Most players don't know that, in Advance Wars, Sturm's units when playable have their stats inverted, and his CO power is also nerfed, dealing 4 damage to all units caught in the blast instead of 8.
- Sturm means "storm" in german.
- Although his Advance Wars 2 in-game's description states that he is weak in the snow, this is in fact not true, as only his movement is affected, like any other CO. This description is most likely used because snow is the only thing that can counter Sturm's better movement through terrain.
- Sturm is the only CO other than Eagle to have his original CO Power from Advance Wars become his Super CO Power in Advance Wars 2.
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| Black Hole | |
| COs: | Adder | Clone Andy | Flak | Hawke | Jugger | Kindle | Koal | Lash | Sturm | Von Bolt |
| Bolt Guard: | Jugger | Kindle | Koal | Von Bolt |
| Black Hole Technology: | Oozium 238 |