# MDS-TDGambit — Explosive, tactical TD > Explosive, tactical TD (iPhone/iPad app by Bruce Mattison.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mds-tdgambit/id6739622461 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Bruce Mattison](https://appshunter.io/developer/1786343567) - Category: Games, Puzzle, Strategy - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Age rating: 12+ - Requires: iOS 18.0 · 172 MB - Languages: English - Released: 2024-12-26 - Data updated: 2026-07-06 - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mds-tdgambit/id6739622461/reviews.md ## What is MDS? Something strange is happening. Cities are being taken over by waves of identical vehicles. But who or what is driving these vehicles? And in such precise formation? Several cities have already fallen. They are now creating vehicles too and in more varieties. These waves need to be stopped. This is a tough tower defense game. Can you make the right strategic choices? • Wide variety of enemies, weapon types and maps • Each gun has its own targeting mode:  Nearest, Fastest, Slowest, Closest to the End etc. • Buy the map chapters, once and play them for life • Choose your commander to boost your defenses and unlock greater power as you progress. Strategy: You have many decisions to make, choose well and you will win. For example: • Where should you deploy your guns?  • Which types of guns should you use? • What targeting mode should you choose? • Which booster bonus should you choose?  More gems per kill, instant gems, cheaper upgrades? Aim of the game: Destroy the enemy vehicles before they reach the end of the map. Keep at it until all the waves of enemies are finished. If you can reach the end with lives to spare then you have completed the map/level. Level and map are used interchangeably, they mean the same thing. Simply surviving is not enough for a good score. How to play: Choose which weapon type to place and of course where to place it. Then simply drag and drop it into position. Tap on any placed weapon to upgrade, change its targeting mode or to sell it. Commanders: Commanders provide passive abilities and a special strike ability. Passive abilities are always active. They provide permanent bonuses, such as increased weapon damage, rate of fire, range, and other stats. The Special Strike ability is a powerful, targeted action that you activate manually. After use, it enters a cooldown before it can be used again. • The base cooldown is 10 minutes • Cooldown time can be reduced through upgrades To use a Special Strike: 1. When ready, the commander’s image is replaced by a target icon 2. Click the target icon 3. Drag it to the area you want to strike 4. Release to activate the ability You need 'Points' to upgrade your commander’s abilities. All commanders start with 10 Points when you first launch the game. You can earn more 'Points' by completing levels and receiving 'Star' ratings based on your performance Each 'Star' you earn gives you 1 Point. There are currently 9 commanders available (3 for each chapter) Each commander has different passive abilities and Special Strike options, allowing for different play-styles. General: Each map will provide different challenges as the set path enemies follow will change. Vehicles do not block each other. This makes for a more challenging game. Maps/levels are grouped into chapters. Buy the map chapters once and play the purchased maps for life.  No other purchases are required to play and beat the game. Some guns are restricted to higher map/level but as soon as you successfully complete the required map/level, the gun will be available for subsequent levels. No purchase is required to unlock any gun. Chapter 3 has gun upgrades that are not available in chapter 1 and 2. There are 3 separate map chapters available for purchase. GambitAx Gems GambitAx Gems can be used to purchase or upgrade weapons. When spending gems, the game will use normal gems first, and then GambitAx Gems to cover any remaining cost. Buying GambitAx Gems isn’t required. You can beat the game without purchasing any. Awards: Gain awards by reaching the relevant threshold in a category. There are several award categories. New awards are given at the end of the level.  Disclaimer: All in-game items and GambitAx Gems (premium currency) are purely virtual and hold no real-world value. They cannot be exchanged, transferred, or redeemed for cash or other real-world goods. Refunds are handled according to Apple’s policies. ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **One-time purchases** | Purchase | Price | Type | | --- | --- | --- | | Chapter 3 Maps | $1.99 | one-time | | 100 GambitAx Gems | $0.99 | one-time | | 300 GambitAx Gems | $1.99 | one-time | | Chapter 1 Maps | $1.99 | one-time | | Chapter 2 Maps | $1.99 | one-time | | Play Maps in Any Order | $3.99 | one-time | | Hard and Insane Difficulties | $0.99 | one-time | ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 3.0.1 — 2026-06-26 Added gun rotation animations between shots, playing only when a target change requires a reposition. Bug fixes ### 2.2.0 — 2026-02-27 Added recoil to guns. Added EMP graphical effects to slowed enemy units. Added fire graphical effects, flames and smoke, to enemy units set on fire by flamethrowers. Rebalanced the difficulty of most levels, as they became too easy after the introduction of commanders. Improved the shop layout for GambitAx Gems. Comments and Hint text boxes can now be dismissed by pressing on them and swiping up. Minor bug fixes. ### 2.1.0 — 2026-01-30 Added GambitAx Gems : GambitAx Gems can be used to purchase or upgrade weapons. When spending gems, the game will use normal gems first, and then GambitAx Gems to cover any remaining cost. Buying GambitAx Gems isn’t required. You can beat the game without purchasing any. Now, you have the option to use them if you want. Added 2 new Commanders, 1 each per chapter. Each chapter now offers a choice of 3 Commanders. Added an initial 2 minute setup time for the Commanders Special Strike. Re-arranged the game labels to make space for GambitAx Gems current balance label. Changed the background colour of the gun detail view popup to improve readability. Minor bug fixes ### 2.0.0 — 2025-12-24 Added 'Commanders' to the game. Commanders provide passive abilities and a special strike ability. Passive abilities are always active. They provide permanent bonuses, such as increased weapon damage, rate of fire, range, and other stats. The Special Strike ability is a targeted action that you activate manually and has a cooldown period before it can be used again. There are currently 4 Commanders to choose from. Each commander offers different passive abilities and special strike options. Changed the gun model for the laser weapon. Changed the gun model for the EMP. Improved the visuals for the flame thrower weapon. Weapon damage and enemy health have been scaled by the same amount to improve damage readability. This change does not affect game difficulty. Minor bug fixes. ### 1.5.0 — 2025-11-25 Added support for offline play — you can now access all purchased maps and features even without an internet connection. Added higher resolution images for all enemy units Added two new visual variants for two existing enemy units; this update does not affect gameplay. Added additional in-game voice and text commentary. Minor bug fixes ## Apps similar to MDS | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Super TD Bros](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/super-td-bros/id6741387527) | 2.3 (3) | Free | Games | | [Dead Defense](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dead-defense/id6742695224) | 1.3 (3) | Free | Games | | [PvP Arena: Tower Defense](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pvp-arena-tower-defense/id6742077554) | 3.8 (5) | Free | Games | | [Knight Castle Defense](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/knight-castle-defense/id6744154472) | 5.0 (1) | Free | Games | | [Neat Nexus: Idle Tower Defense](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/neat-nexus-idle-tower-defense/id1670950808) | 2.0 (3) | Free | Games | | [Zone Attack](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zone-attack/id6743851162) | 5.0 (4) | Free | Games | --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-07-06.*