So, what happened was that a mech cluster dropped right at the edge of my map with a countdown to wake up in three in-game days. I have a very elaborate killbox, and the assault units looked fairly weak, so I decided to wait it out and let them come to me.

The problem was the Auto Mortar. It had a completely ridiculous range and kept firing nonstop at my base, hitting my animals, storage rooms, crops, and even my guests. I started panicking because my only apparent options were either calling for help or launching a direct assault. The cluster's fixed defenses were intimidating enough that I wasn't eager to attack it head-on, as you can probably tell from the image.

Then I remembered that I had unlocked several Anomaly rituals. A few of them, such as Draw Shamblers and Summon Fleshbeasts, seemed like they might help. My goal was to activate the mech cluster early and, hopefully, cause some damage in the process.

Shamblers are slow and fairly weak, so I decided to summon Fleshbeasts instead, hoping they would spawn close enough to the cluster to do something useful. To be honest, after seeing the Scorchers and the flame turret, I didn't have much faith in them.

I quickly gathered my colonists and started the ritual while the Auto Mortar continued bombarding my poor base. Fingers crossed, I watched the ritual progress bar slowly reach the end.

Kid you not, the Fleshbeasts spawned right next to the mortar.

They immediately rushed it, and before any of the turrets or mechs could properly react, they had already destroyed it. Although the Fleshbeasts were annihilated almost instantly afterward, they had performed a miracle.

With the mortar gone, I easily mopped up the assault mechs. As for the remaining turrets, I decided to leave them for the next raid to deal with.

Another W for Anomaly.

I fucking love Anomaly