I've been a life-long FEDRAT. I picked up the "BattleDroids" boxed set when it first appeared in 1984 and played 2nd edition all the way through high school. I have a special place in my heart for Eridani Light Horse since an upperclassman got the Black Widow scenario box and he needed an opponent for the Hoff Campaign. Fell out of the hobby post-Clan Invasion. I got back into the Battletech universe during the COVID era and I'm trying to work up companies from the tried and true canonical forces- McKinnon's Raiders, Sorenson's Sabres, Black Widow Company, etc. Loving the videos, keep up the great work!
I've been playing Battletech since the 80's when it first came out. My factions I play on a regular basis are 1st Davion Guards, 17th Avalon Hussars, Eridani Light Horse, McKinnon's Raiders, 1st Blackburn's Raiders (Homebrew Mercs), Black Widow Company, Clan Wolf's 13th Wolf Guards, Clan Hell's Horse, Clan Ghost Bear and Marik's 1st Free World's Guards.
I migrated from 40k, and a faction I thought was cool but never got into was evil suns, so when I ran across the Ice Hellions, and noticed their whole deal was basically “head empty go fast”, I saw my opportunity. I was kinda bummed that the lore makes them look like clowns a bit, but then I realized I could lean into that, and one thing followed another and now I have a comedy dumb tough guy accent I do for them.
Factions of choice..........TO SIMPLE. Federated Suns/Free Worlds League/Mercenaries. As to the reason why, that's simple too. Back in 1986 I bought my FASA, 2nd edition of Battletech. (YES! I"M THAT DAM OLD!) I had seen a game called 'Battledroids' about a year earlier and thought to myself, "What a stupid name for a game", and passed on it. (hindsight would have been very useful.) Upon opening the Battletech box I began to "Aaah" & "Oooh" over the cardboard components. (We had imaginations back then & didn't need no plastic minis, although my current plastic mini count is somewhere around 300-your welcome Catalyst!) While scanning over the cardboard sheets I came across a crest I thought looked AWESOME. A horned, white skull on a blue shield background. Any game we played thereafter my stand-up cardboard mechs adorned the crest of Hansen's Roughriders. The only group to have ever beaten the Black Widow Company! (HEY! It's in Sarna.....gospel!) HAPPY GAMING TO ALL!! (AND, YES, I've been gaming that dam long!) 🙂
I went for mercs to start with. The lore was kinda dense and detailed, so took me a while to get into. I wasn't too sure about any factions yet. Then I learned mercs are a thing, so that felt good. Fitted well with the whole 'salvage' idea, the way it was really hard to find the models for sale (+-2 years ago). The internet was my "battlefield", my first few boxes were mixed inner sphere and clan packs "salvage", so that would be a good excuse to mix them together. Not having to nail any official colours down and worrying about facrion accurate decals, I could simply have fun painting them my own way and have fun with that. The choice was pretty much an opportunistic one, giving me time to get to know the setting. I did (and still do reruns) have a lot of Tex Talks Battletech while im painting mechs. Im currently planning to build a Davion force, since the whole "knights fighting a (proverbial) Dragon" appeals to me. And they border with some periphery areas that my common opponent puts pirates in, so that's pretty much perfect. All my DRD tanks and Vtols are painted in a pretty generic camo schem. I like those low tech things to be planetary defense forces to be either helped or attacked by the mercs.
I love the Kell Hounds. I read the story where Morgan challenges single combat and makes his Archer bow. That was a cool part of the story right after the Prince of House Davion does in his Atlas.
I started trying to work out building my own faction, wondering why people would pick something out of the lore when being creative and making something your own is just so much fun! Then I realized why. It's also hard. Really hard, depending on how lore-conscious you want to be. Myself, I'm piecing together an outlaw faction taking inspiration from Robin Hood's Merry Men, probably set around the Succession Wars because I haven't read any books past the FedCom Civil War yet. But I need to do some more experimenting and learning with painting before I land on a color scheme I like. It's just more learning all the way down. I also love the idea that you can use ComStar as a generic adversary. No matter who you are, no matter what you've done, at some point Space Comcast sent the bill collectors your way.
I have been a fan of Clan Ghost Bear since 1995’s Mechwarrior 2: Ghost Bear’s Legacy PC game expansion. Not only did Mechwarrior 2 get me into Battletech as a whole, the expansion introduced me to the Ghost Bears. I fell in love with their strength, family values, belief in “Haste Makes Waste”, and lore. I am also a fan of bears in general and very much prefer winter to warmer seasons which is a plus. I loved the story of Sandra Tseng and Hans Jorgensson’s love and journey in exile which led to the formation of the Clan. I am a Ghost Bear for life! I have never played another faction in 30 years.
we've been playing since Battledroids. I started with kurita, then comstar and Wolf in Exile. when we decided to develop our mercenary forces, I went with Northwind Highlanders due to my own Scottish ancestry. over the course of 31 years (our campaign has been ongoing since 1993), the original battalion has grown into an Army of 5 Corp (35 regiments). we somewhat follow the history. our biggest diversion from cannon lore, the various factions didn't obliterate their space fleets during the succession wars.
As someone that's only gotten into Battletech over the past 2ish months, I was immediately drawn to the clanners first and so Ghost Bears were a natural pick for being one of the 'nicer' clans. It definitely helps the Kodiak is an awesome totem mech as well. I figured I might as well have a spheroid force too and I gravitated towards the Lyrans for their love of big ole mechs and throwing said mechs at all their problems over and over again until it goes away. Gotta love that German war machine.
I started last year with Clan Wolf because I played Mechwarrior 2 as a kid. But right now I’m putting together a Kurita company of 6th Ghost because I thought their lore is cool as an all-female regiment. Although painting a light gray scheme is PAIN so I’m jazzing them up with one limb painted like an Arizona Green Tea can with freehand cherry blossoms because Space Japan.
Back about 10 years ago (maybe a few more) playing MechWarrior Online, joined up a Faction Battle, knew I liked Clan Mechs so had to play the Clans... Looked through the 6 or so available... Jade Falcons were too strict, Bears looked really interesting, and then I looked at Wolf, and saw "more relaxed about honor rules" and that resonated with me. Fast forward a few years, I read through Blood of Kerensky and found out my chosen Clan was kinda badass. Fast forward to present day, I realize Wolf has a lot of people hating on them because they always win, and are always the best... So I slightly regret my decision, but I had absolutely no idea who they were originally, or anything about the story, just "Wolves are cool, wolves are relaxed and laid back, and they have the coolest mechs."
A few years ago I had picked up a bunch of the old Alpha Strike lance packs, and debated volunteering as a demo agent, so I grouped my mechs by faction flavor, one lance per major faction. Those lances have since grown into full companies. But I assume I'll be instructing new players who might wanna try some cool piece of tech, so I grouped each of my companies around a theme (Draconis = C3 network shenanigans, FRR = Melee combat specialty, Liao built around mechs with Stealth Armor variants, etc.) Then I perused Sarna (best damn' wiki ever!) and found mercenary companies that more or less aligned with my factions, and that's how I painted my stuff. If someone wants to try a special tactic then I've got an army to lend them, and since most of 'em are mercenaries I can create a plausible reason why any of "my" armies would fight any other force I painted. I can't go wrong!
I'm drawn to the Calderon Protectorate. I got into the verse with Mechwarrior 2 Mercs in 1997. Digging in, I liked the Concordat because of what they stood for. Protectorate is a continuation. I have a homebrew Merc company built around that idea. What I DON'T like is that some of these Periphery factions get sh** for special rules (especially Battlefield Intel). I guess they're kind of a horde faction?
Clan Wolf Beta Galaxy trinary, Wolf's Dragoon star, House Marik two lances, FRR 2 lances, Comstar multiples Level II's, and an unnamed pirate lance at the moment...🙃
Btw, have you seen the new Northwind Highlanders lance pack yet? If you haven't, it's hillarious! The new-sculpt Highlander comes with optional "just buried" Urbie for hex terrain you can park the Highlander on top of.
My main faction is a merc group called Dominus Pizza. Started with a Lance of mechs painted to look like pizza standing on some Domino's Pizza boxes. Started as a joke...and now it's a full battalion. My other faction is Clan Smoke Jaguar's Omega Galaxy...because I'm an idiot that enjoys painting checkers...
I was supposed to pick a faction? I'm just building an equal force for each of the 8 major factions. That being the 5 Great Houses, various Periphery States, assorted Mercenary units, and the main Clans. Thinking of making a small ComStar force in addition to all of that.
I just started with Battletech and started painting them in half orange half teal split down the middle. I did it because you don't really see a split color army. Made my own homebrew faction. In short a small group that is involved in mech software. 😂
My very first faction, way back in the VERY early 90's was Kurita. When the clans invaded, my group of 6 guys decided we needed a couple of clan players. So, my buddy, who's last name was wolfe, went clan wolf (of course) So, I went Jade Falcon, so we could fight each other, too. The group swapped our mechs one for one (except our leader mechs) I had 2 companies worth...... I have played Jade Falcon ever since. Surprisingly enough, my main commander, has never died. He has had countless mechs shot out from under him, has won countless battles. before we eventually all moved away, got families, etc we did pilot progression with every 5 kills, no cap, so we went into negatives on skills, Star Colonel Buhallin ended up -4 -3. on my current lists he pilots a custom Night Gyr, 1 gauss, 2 erppc, 2 er mediums. tcomp, ecm.
I picked Combine because I took liking on they theme of Imperial Japan in space with some idealised samurai culture mixed in. Other than I have been clanner with some jumping between Clans Jade Falcon, Wolf and Ghost Bear for various reasons.
All valid selections (except Jade Turkeys in the ilClan era! Ewwwww! Lol 😂). Also Beta Galaxy is best Galaxy CLAN WOLF! In all seriousness, all solid picks. Ghost Bear has been growing on me…I have around 20 mechs earmarked for a small force to paint up as time allows ;)
Alpha Strike seems to make the faction choice less mechanically impactful. The simplification of the units makes it so that it's reasonably easy to find equivalent units.
That is accurate but with the fee CBT players I’ve encountered and the vocal ones I see online they seem to just pick what they want and claim “salvage” or “isorla” anyway so it’s about the same. People seem to find a reason to play with what they like regardless.
@@Thearmedpainter indeed. The only times a faction has really made a difference with force creation for me, personally, is when I have randomly generated it. I've also only ever played casually tho.
Since you asked.. and since I've been swimming in the deep end of BattleTech all year I'll let y'all know my current faction roster First, my OC Mercenary Company, Les Chien du Desert. "The Dogs of the Desert", a 3 Lance company with a Heavy Command Lance, a Missile Support Lance and a Scout/ Recon Lance. Currently operating during the period from the 4th Succession War through the FedCom Civil War. Second, an OC Federated Suns Brigade, The Legion Etrangere. Basically the Federated Suns' version of the French Foreign Legion, and the crucible where Les Chien du Desert began. Third, another OC Mercenary Company, Wojohowicz' Winged Hussars, a company based loosely on my Konflikt '47 Army, Polish Airborne. Finally an OC Jade Falcon Binary (soon to be Trinary), the 3rd Trinary, 13th Provisional Guard Cluster; Delta Galaxy. Operating in 3051 during the "year of Peace" after the death of IlKahn Leo Showers. The 13th is a temporary cluster made up of un-named Warriors left behind after all the Bloodnamed returned to Strana Mechy to elect a new IlKahn. I chose the Falcons because that (to me) would be the most interesting clan in this year. Being so traditional, most un-named Falcon Warriors would be either Freebirth, or if they were Trueborn with enough experience to command a Cluster or a Galaxy (provisionally), they would be very disrespected. Thus, if they succeed in their mission to hold their systems while the Invasion was paused, no credit would be given, and if they failed in *any* aspect, they would be punished. They're a bunch of undersupplied (because all the best gear and supplies went with the Bloodnamed) underappreciated, losers who are saddled with a thankless job in hostile territory 1000 light years from home.
My brother and I just started collecting and playing 6-ish months ago. I haven't painted minis in a couple of years, so I'm doing a lot of planning before jumping back in. So far, I've separated my collection into Capellan Confederation, Draconis Combine, Federated Suns, and Taurian Concordat. I plan to lump the extras into a yet to be determined mercenary company.
I started with just inner sphere and I get bored painting too many of the same scheme so I have some Draconis Combine, Fed Suns, Taurians, Magistracy, Wolf's Dragoons, and White Witches. Once I eventually get into clans I'll probably start with Nova Cat
Spirit Cats! Been my faction of choice since the clix age of battletech. I loved the quasi-spiritualism. Maybe the vision quest aspect. And the balls to follow said vision. Also my first unique mech in clix was Janis Novacat in her arbalest. And now playing normal battletech, or Alphastrike. I play Spirit Cats. P.S. Southern assault 3 was a blast! Can't wait for next year!
Glad you had fun! If you and John are able to make it I’ll be running Northern Assault again at NOVA 2024 :) Haven’t seen John in like a decade, was great seeing you guys there.
Eridani Light Horse first faction I have well over a regiment of mechs alone, then the Northwind Highlanders, bagpipes, whiskey, and crazy all in one unit king live Royal Black Watch. And for the clans it’s Ghost Bear all the way, got to love a clan that won a planet with a football game.
They first faction was St Ives. I had some friends that built up a community around the CCG in college, and occasionally broke out he 4th edition box set. No one was playing St Ives, and I always liked the small fry factions so I threw my loyalty in with the horsey soap guys. When I got into the fiction the Allard-Liaos were awesome so I was hooked. I was very upset when the Cappelllan Solution killed them. With St Ives dead (and Free Capella) I pivoted to Diamond Shark. I love their Mechs, and their lore especially post Tukyiad, is pretty rad. Ilkhan Era was a giant book to fans of the clan, even if it meant a name change. Tiburan Khante in particular. Well I had a clan and a house faction, so I needed a periphery faction right? I have just started a Larsons Loners force for the Mica Majority. The Majority reminds me of where I grew up, and I think it's got a lot of narrative potential. Plus it gives me an excuse to run trash industrial mechs.
I leaned towards Comstar, for a few reasons. First, I like white armor, and while it's... objectively bad, and I know most people thought that Snow Raven/Raven Alliance would have looked pretty, I know I can, and want to paint white. Secondly, I am a big fan of Asimov, and the Foundation, and while the section with the Galactic Spirit religion in Foundation is only a small portion, it was still inspiring. I decided to lean towards Blakist, more religious parts of Comstar as well, because of the way the religion, and Blakism is potrayed and works is similar to other groups I love, such as the Brotherhood of Steel from Fallout, where the fait is more respect to keep repeats of the horrors those who didn't fully understand what they used on others from happening. Also space wizards and running the bank and telephones, pretty damn useful. And finally... I just wanted a faction that could be in the "main" universe for earlier periods then a clan force, and post Clan Invasion, Comstar would definitely enjoy having some salvaged Clan Mechs, so I can play pretty much any era. Technically, I focused specifically on a custom, semi fantastical and fanatical sect I named "The Red Hand of Blake", or "The Red Hand" if speaking to outsiders. They fully fall into the mumbo jumbo, and are united by the belief that enforced Blakism would cease many of the abuses and full ravages of war far better then any other system like "Clan Honor" and such. IN practice, they're zealots that masquerade as a merc company that receive grant money and toys from Comstar members attempting to ensure Blake's vision is fulfilled. Theoretically they do live post dissolution of Comstar, separate from the Blessed Order of one of probably a dozen mercenary companies acting as training and recruitment organizations to keep the fire of Blake's dream alive, but that's just to handwave them being able to fit in any point in Battletech history. Minus Star League but... eh, it's a paintjob, doing my best here.
As for the name, I decided to break up the white with some gold, then eventually went with red on their weapons and hands, inspired by the Night Lord's use of red gauntlets to mark those condemned.
I chose Kurita because nukes are always an option. They're the classic evil guys. For the higher tech mechs I've bought, and any that don't fit the DCMS MUL, I'm giving them a Republic of the Sphere paint job - the last good guys making a final stand. To go with my DCMS, I've given my Clan mechs a Nova Cats paint scheme, so I can either ally or fight myself depending on the era.
I have been in the hobby since the 80s started with a Mercenary group as my first pick. As it let me paint mechs up in a variation of the SLDF colours. Then you need an Opfor unit to go up against. So that became House Liao and Kurita. As my force worked for the Federated Suns before the Commonwealth was formed. But over the years different factions.
I had already started painting my miniatures in a semi-jade green color before I realized later it was close to Capellan green, so now my IS lances are in various Capellan regiments, now heavily favoring warrior house Imarra colors. Go House Liao, I guess.
Ah yes, the old fell into a Warrior house faction because of paint scheme story. Same, my wife picked my paint scheme no idea of lore and now I'm house Imaara.
@@screenmonkey The bone white with green/gold actually looks pretty good. Plus it gives some wiggle room for how I put it on the mech. I got a Wolfhound where the Large Laser arm is gold plated. Still technically Imarra, but this pilots got the Midas touch.
I honestly created my own faction lol, Knights Republic Legion. Its a faction set from the 3090-31 w/e the hell year the game is in. Soooo, Dark Ages? Or w/e its called. Main HQ is a 25x25 sq mile area on Terra in Ontario Canada and its not a terribly huge faction, but it is very well equipped, well trained, motivated and generally bad ass. We specialize in defense and sustainability. Our armor is top notch and results in our units, including infantry taking unbelievable amount of punishment. RAPA Class II, in TTBT its basically got the damage reduction of Hardened armor while having the space and weight of IS Standard. It gives 16 points of armor per ton(IS Standard is 17 per ton innit?). It is quite expensive and time consuming to repair and build, but its insanely protective. My faction has it's own navy, own weapon manufacturing(Drillz and Sparkz series) and battlemech variant designs, the KREC, Knights Republic Engineering Corps does our RnD and such. We've taken the planets: Zion, Berenson, Wasat and Tall Trees from the Cappellan Confederation and occasionally have to fend off incursions from uprisings as the Cappies secretly try to take back their worlds. We're allied with Republic of the Sphere and Steiner and try to not get on everyone's shit list...kinda do our own thing.
@@Thearmedpainter YEah, my faction has been worked on in various forms since I was like 6-7. Its just gotten more matured and believable the older ive gotten and learned about the lore of Battletech.
I initially picked House Kurita because I'm a weeb and heard their culture were based on Feudal Japan, and I like red. But then I learned about their lore and all the horrible, terrible things they did, and how in reality they're more like Imperialist Japan pretending to be Feudal Japan. I was glad to see that my initial choice was the correct one. *GLORIOUS MANIFEST DESTINY FOR SPACE NIPPON!*
People keep saying "homebrew mercenary faction", but from what I've read so far I feel like every faction has a ton of militias, local volunteer regiments and all kinds of paint schemes you could use without being mercenaries
That’s true, but everyone has the choice to do what they want. Home brew merc units are common and fun, similar to how many people will make their own Space Marine chapters, nothing wrong with that and at the end of the day it gives them a stronger connection to their minis.
My friend is currently trying to rope me into backing the Mercenaries kickstarter. I know very little about Battletech (just some major plot points like everything being kinda shit and constant war and Dune'ish politics/events). I am leaning towards inventing a merc faction (IF I get into the game) because it's easier than absorbing all the lore about everything and then being able to choose a faction I really like. It's just too much stuff and my taste in factions is very complicated sometimes, I like a bit of a bad guy but only honorable bad guys and perhaps stealthy but maybe also brutish and yeah, the mix makes the taste. So I will probably just go for a color scheme I like from my 40k stuff and transfer that to my potential mechs. Lore comes after in that case.
I been really getting into the Magistracy for so many reasons, including painting and the story’s they have been involved in. And soon to start on Capellan confederation and Draconis Combine. But I will do everything I can for starleague era games in the future, and into the later era with comstar. Not really a fan of the clans, so why I am doing clan Seafox I don’t think I will branch out from there much. And will personally skip the clan invasion and do some modern stuff as well for the latest era 😅 lots of work ahead, but I have painted almost 40 mechs this year so far. 🎉
I really like your take as what survivors of the Republic would be doing! I am really interested in seeing where they wind up as well. We have a bunch missing - Jonah Levin, the surviving Knights and Paladins, etc. all disappeared. Will be cool seeing them pop up again. Republic is definitely one of my favorite factions though. Secondly I like FedSuns and Ghost Bears. I will quickly be fan fiction retconning the major death in the Ghost Bears, already figured out how he will be revived, I disagree with the handling of the Rasalhague Dominion in Dominions Divided. Then FedSuns, it is awesome seeing Julian take back New Avalon. There is a good variety of awesome mechs - Ghost Bears have the Kodiak I&II, Karhu, Ursus I&II, Bear Cub, Rhime Otter, and Mastodon to get started. FedSuns with the Vulpes, Gunsmith, Templar I&III, Scarecrow, Black Knight, etc. Finally the Republic mechs I love are the Lament, Malice, Doloire, and Ares (Hephaestus specifically). Also, you final panel still says "facbook".
I do not pick. I build. I don't play wargames to play what others have already created. (Which is why I don't play a lot of historical) Which is why I field Periphery mercenaries and pirates. I also play Marik, but my own original division.
I was starting out with Mercs and Capellans next thing I knew it was those two plus Kurita , Davion , Steiner , Nova Cat , Jade Falcon , Wolf in Exile and Generic Militia
I'm thinking of starting of with Mercs, I don't know why but I always gravitate towards the Mercs/Neutrals in most wargame. I just find that they have so much characters and can make their own decisions. I'm not entirely sure yet but I'm thinking Kell Hounds to get me started. For the Clan side, I haven't made up my mind yet. Do the Wolf Dragoon's use Inner Sphere Mech or do they stick with Clans mech? And do you build stars with them or lances?
So I love mercs for a lot of the reasons you listed. Dragoons are my boys! So their story is such that they use IS and Clan tech depending on the era. They also use lances or stars depending on the era and group composition. If you’re talking pre/clan invasion era you’d see mostly IS tech and lances as they were essentially a spy/scouting force for Clan Wolf and thus needed to blend in. They are one of my favorite factions and their stories are really cool.
I first got into Battletech in the late 80s just as I went off to university. Was drawn to the FWL as they seemed like the more federally organised faction rather than the feudal ones. Been dabbling in and out of Battletech ever since (even dabbled with cl8ckytech)
I've always liked BattleTech but never played or indulge in the lore, until recently. Now I'm starting my first factions. Clan Wolf, because their Chads and Timberwolves.Also making Clan Wolverine cause they fought til the end but yet may still be alive? Which would be a fun homebrew merc company/ComStar agents full of wolverine warrior legends 331💪
@@Thearmedpainter ty dude. You definitely got me more pump for BattleTech seeing your beautiful mechs. The biggest challenge for me is deciding the color scheme I would be happy with xD
"x was my most disliked video" People need to learn to separate between a fiction person/faction and the player/actor/author/etc. The amount of crap those creators/actors get for portraying or embracing something that is objectively bad but FICTIONAL is insane. The GoT prince guy was bullied out of acting forever. You got your video disliked. It's mindboggling.
I've been a life-long FEDRAT. I picked up the "BattleDroids" boxed set when it first appeared in 1984 and played 2nd edition all the way through high school. I have a special place in my heart for Eridani Light Horse since an upperclassman got the Black Widow scenario box and he needed an opponent for the Hoff Campaign. Fell out of the hobby post-Clan Invasion. I got back into the Battletech universe during the COVID era and I'm trying to work up companies from the tried and true canonical forces- McKinnon's Raiders, Sorenson's Sabres, Black Widow Company, etc. Loving the videos, keep up the great work!
I've been playing Battletech since the 80's when it first came out. My factions I play on a regular basis are 1st Davion Guards, 17th Avalon Hussars, Eridani Light Horse, McKinnon's Raiders, 1st Blackburn's Raiders (Homebrew Mercs), Black Widow Company, Clan Wolf's 13th Wolf Guards, Clan Hell's Horse, Clan Ghost Bear and Marik's 1st Free World's Guards.
That’s a lot of factions….I love it!
My last name is Steiner and I always love the meme of if brute force isn't working you aren't using enough soo
shout out to a fellow former MW:DA player! just wanted to say your mini's paint jobs make me quite the jealous boy! they look sweeeet!
I migrated from 40k, and a faction I thought was cool but never got into was evil suns, so when I ran across the Ice Hellions, and noticed their whole deal was basically “head empty go fast”, I saw my opportunity. I was kinda bummed that the lore makes them look like clowns a bit, but then I realized I could lean into that, and one thing followed another and now I have a comedy dumb tough guy accent I do for them.
Factions of choice..........TO SIMPLE. Federated Suns/Free Worlds League/Mercenaries. As to the reason why, that's simple too. Back in 1986 I bought my FASA, 2nd edition of Battletech. (YES! I"M THAT DAM OLD!) I had seen a game called 'Battledroids' about a year earlier and thought to myself, "What a stupid name for a game", and passed on it. (hindsight would have been very useful.) Upon opening the Battletech box I began to "Aaah" & "Oooh" over the cardboard components. (We had imaginations back then & didn't need no plastic minis, although my current plastic mini count is somewhere around 300-your welcome Catalyst!) While scanning over the cardboard sheets I came across a crest I thought looked AWESOME. A horned, white skull on a blue shield background. Any game we played thereafter my stand-up cardboard mechs adorned the crest of Hansen's Roughriders. The only group to have ever beaten the Black Widow Company! (HEY! It's in Sarna.....gospel!) HAPPY GAMING TO ALL!! (AND, YES, I've been gaming that dam long!) 🙂
I went for mercs to start with. The lore was kinda dense and detailed, so took me a while to get into. I wasn't too sure about any factions yet. Then I learned mercs are a thing, so that felt good. Fitted well with the whole 'salvage' idea, the way it was really hard to find the models for sale (+-2 years ago). The internet was my "battlefield", my first few boxes were mixed inner sphere and clan packs "salvage", so that would be a good excuse to mix them together.
Not having to nail any official colours down and worrying about facrion accurate decals, I could simply have fun painting them my own way and have fun with that.
The choice was pretty much an opportunistic one, giving me time to get to know the setting. I did (and still do reruns) have a lot of Tex Talks Battletech while im painting mechs.
Im currently planning to build a Davion force, since the whole "knights fighting a (proverbial) Dragon" appeals to me. And they border with some periphery areas that my common opponent puts pirates in, so that's pretty much perfect.
All my DRD tanks and Vtols are painted in a pretty generic camo schem. I like those low tech things to be planetary defense forces to be either helped or attacked by the mercs.
I love the Kell Hounds. I read the story where Morgan challenges single combat and makes his Archer bow. That was a cool part of the story right after the Prince of House Davion does in his Atlas.
Thats super neat!
I started trying to work out building my own faction, wondering why people would pick something out of the lore when being creative and making something your own is just so much fun!
Then I realized why. It's also hard. Really hard, depending on how lore-conscious you want to be. Myself, I'm piecing together an outlaw faction taking inspiration from Robin Hood's Merry Men, probably set around the Succession Wars because I haven't read any books past the FedCom Civil War yet. But I need to do some more experimenting and learning with painting before I land on a color scheme I like. It's just more learning all the way down.
I also love the idea that you can use ComStar as a generic adversary. No matter who you are, no matter what you've done, at some point Space Comcast sent the bill collectors your way.
I have been a fan of Clan Ghost Bear since 1995’s Mechwarrior 2: Ghost Bear’s Legacy PC game expansion. Not only did Mechwarrior 2 get me into Battletech as a whole, the expansion introduced me to the Ghost Bears.
I fell in love with their strength, family values, belief in “Haste Makes Waste”, and lore. I am also a fan of bears in general and very much prefer winter to warmer seasons which is a plus. I loved the story of Sandra Tseng and Hans Jorgensson’s love and journey in exile which led to the formation of the Clan.
I am a Ghost Bear for life! I have never played another faction in 30 years.
we've been playing since Battledroids. I started with kurita, then comstar and Wolf in Exile. when we decided to develop our mercenary forces, I went with Northwind Highlanders due to my own Scottish ancestry.
over the course of 31 years (our campaign has been ongoing since 1993), the original battalion has grown into an Army of 5 Corp (35 regiments). we somewhat follow the history. our biggest diversion from cannon lore, the various factions didn't obliterate their space fleets during the succession wars.
As someone that's only gotten into Battletech over the past 2ish months, I was immediately drawn to the clanners first and so Ghost Bears were a natural pick for being one of the 'nicer' clans. It definitely helps the Kodiak is an awesome totem mech as well. I figured I might as well have a spheroid force too and I gravitated towards the Lyrans for their love of big ole mechs and throwing said mechs at all their problems over and over again until it goes away. Gotta love that German war machine.
Clan horses because of blood asp mech and combined arms. They seem relatively pragmatic as well
I started last year with Clan Wolf because I played Mechwarrior 2 as a kid. But right now I’m putting together a Kurita company of 6th Ghost because I thought their lore is cool as an all-female regiment. Although painting a light gray scheme is PAIN so I’m jazzing them up with one limb painted like an Arizona Green Tea can with freehand cherry blossoms because Space Japan.
Now that needs some photos shared is the minis :)
Back about 10 years ago (maybe a few more) playing MechWarrior Online, joined up a Faction Battle, knew I liked Clan Mechs so had to play the Clans... Looked through the 6 or so available... Jade Falcons were too strict, Bears looked really interesting, and then I looked at Wolf, and saw "more relaxed about honor rules" and that resonated with me.
Fast forward a few years, I read through Blood of Kerensky and found out my chosen Clan was kinda badass.
Fast forward to present day, I realize Wolf has a lot of people hating on them because they always win, and are always the best... So I slightly regret my decision, but I had absolutely no idea who they were originally, or anything about the story, just "Wolves are cool, wolves are relaxed and laid back, and they have the coolest mechs."
I’m a wolf fan too…but Ward lost me at the end of HOTW. ;)
Also don’t regret it. You like what you like and that’s ok!
A few years ago I had picked up a bunch of the old Alpha Strike lance packs, and debated volunteering as a demo agent, so I grouped my mechs by faction flavor, one lance per major faction. Those lances have since grown into full companies. But I assume I'll be instructing new players who might wanna try some cool piece of tech, so I grouped each of my companies around a theme (Draconis = C3 network shenanigans, FRR = Melee combat specialty, Liao built around mechs with Stealth Armor variants, etc.) Then I perused Sarna (best damn' wiki ever!) and found mercenary companies that more or less aligned with my factions, and that's how I painted my stuff. If someone wants to try a special tactic then I've got an army to lend them, and since most of 'em are mercenaries I can create a plausible reason why any of "my" armies would fight any other force I painted. I can't go wrong!
I'm drawn to the Calderon Protectorate. I got into the verse with Mechwarrior 2 Mercs in 1997. Digging in, I liked the Concordat because of what they stood for. Protectorate is a continuation. I have a homebrew Merc company built around that idea. What I DON'T like is that some of these Periphery factions get sh** for special rules (especially Battlefield Intel). I guess they're kind of a horde faction?
Clan Wolf Beta Galaxy trinary, Wolf's Dragoon star, House Marik two lances, FRR 2 lances, Comstar multiples Level II's, and an unnamed pirate lance at the moment...🙃
Btw, have you seen the new Northwind Highlanders lance pack yet? If you haven't, it's hillarious! The new-sculpt Highlander comes with optional "just buried" Urbie for hex terrain you can park the Highlander on top of.
I have an unboxing video of it ;)
@@Thearmedpainter I must have missed it ;)
My main faction is a merc group called Dominus Pizza. Started with a Lance of mechs painted to look like pizza standing on some Domino's Pizza boxes. Started as a joke...and now it's a full battalion.
My other faction is Clan Smoke Jaguar's Omega Galaxy...because I'm an idiot that enjoys painting checkers...
I think I have seen your mechs on Reddit? If so they look awesome!
@shagakhan9442 yup I've posted them there a few times. Getting ready to add the new Gunslinger to the battalion!
I was supposed to pick a faction? I'm just building an equal force for each of the 8 major factions. That being the 5 Great Houses, various Periphery States, assorted Mercenary units, and the main Clans. Thinking of making a small ComStar force in addition to all of that.
just never forget how amazing you are, your painted mechs look great
Thank you :)
New to Battletech: thanks for the Tex talks recommendation
He’s awesome :)
I just started with Battletech and started painting them in half orange half teal split down the middle. I did it because you don't really see a split color army. Made my own homebrew faction. In short a small group that is involved in mech software. 😂
My very first faction, way back in the VERY early 90's was Kurita. When the clans invaded, my group of 6 guys decided we needed a couple of clan players. So, my buddy, who's last name was wolfe, went clan wolf (of course) So, I went Jade Falcon, so we could fight each other, too. The group swapped our mechs one for one (except our leader mechs) I had 2 companies worth...... I have played Jade Falcon ever since. Surprisingly enough, my main commander, has never died. He has had countless mechs shot out from under him, has won countless battles. before we eventually all moved away, got families, etc we did pilot progression with every 5 kills, no cap, so we went into negatives on skills, Star Colonel Buhallin ended up -4 -3. on my current lists he pilots a custom Night Gyr, 1 gauss, 2 erppc, 2 er mediums. tcomp, ecm.
I picked Combine because I took liking on they theme of Imperial Japan in space with some idealised samurai culture mixed in. Other than I have been clanner with some jumping between Clans Jade Falcon, Wolf and Ghost Bear for various reasons.
All valid selections (except Jade Turkeys in the ilClan era! Ewwwww! Lol 😂). Also Beta Galaxy is best Galaxy CLAN WOLF!
In all seriousness, all solid picks. Ghost Bear has been growing on me…I have around 20 mechs earmarked for a small force to paint up as time allows ;)
Mercenaries:Wilson’s Hussars, Clan Coyote/Smoke Jaguars.
Clan Ghost Bear. Fear the Kodiak!
Alpha Strike seems to make the faction choice less mechanically impactful. The simplification of the units makes it so that it's reasonably easy to find equivalent units.
That is accurate but with the fee CBT players I’ve encountered and the vocal ones I see online they seem to just pick what they want and claim “salvage” or “isorla” anyway so it’s about the same. People seem to find a reason to play with what they like regardless.
@@Thearmedpainter indeed. The only times a faction has really made a difference with force creation for me, personally, is when I have randomly generated it. I've also only ever played casually tho.
Since you asked.. and since I've been swimming in the deep end of BattleTech all year I'll let y'all know my current faction roster
First, my OC Mercenary Company, Les Chien du Desert. "The Dogs of the Desert", a 3 Lance company with a Heavy Command Lance, a Missile Support Lance and a Scout/ Recon Lance. Currently operating during the period from the 4th Succession War through the FedCom Civil War.
Second, an OC Federated Suns Brigade, The Legion Etrangere. Basically the Federated Suns' version of the French Foreign Legion, and the crucible where Les Chien du Desert began.
Third, another OC Mercenary Company, Wojohowicz' Winged Hussars, a company based loosely on my Konflikt '47 Army, Polish Airborne.
Finally an OC Jade Falcon Binary (soon to be Trinary), the 3rd Trinary, 13th Provisional Guard Cluster; Delta Galaxy. Operating in 3051 during the "year of Peace" after the death of IlKahn Leo Showers. The 13th is a temporary cluster made up of un-named Warriors left behind after all the Bloodnamed returned to Strana Mechy to elect a new IlKahn. I chose the Falcons because that (to me) would be the most interesting clan in this year. Being so traditional, most un-named Falcon Warriors would be either Freebirth, or if they were Trueborn with enough experience to command a Cluster or a Galaxy (provisionally), they would be very disrespected. Thus, if they succeed in their mission to hold their systems while the Invasion was paused, no credit would be given, and if they failed in *any* aspect, they would be punished. They're a bunch of undersupplied (because all the best gear and supplies went with the Bloodnamed) underappreciated, losers who are saddled with a thankless job in hostile territory 1000 light years from home.
I've also been playing Battletech since the mid-80s. With the cardboard standees and Ral Partha lead minis.
My brother and I just started collecting and playing 6-ish months ago.
I haven't painted minis in a couple of years, so I'm doing a lot of planning before jumping back in.
So far, I've separated my collection into Capellan Confederation, Draconis Combine, Federated Suns, and Taurian Concordat. I plan to lump the extras into a yet to be determined mercenary company.
I started with just inner sphere and I get bored painting too many of the same scheme so I have some Draconis Combine, Fed Suns, Taurians, Magistracy, Wolf's Dragoons, and White Witches. Once I eventually get into clans I'll probably start with Nova Cat
Spirit Cats! Been my faction of choice since the clix age of battletech.
I loved the quasi-spiritualism. Maybe the vision quest aspect. And the balls to follow said vision.
Also my first unique mech in clix was Janis Novacat in her arbalest.
And now playing normal battletech, or Alphastrike. I play Spirit Cats.
P.S. Southern assault 3 was a blast! Can't wait for next year!
Glad you had fun! If you and John are able to make it I’ll be running Northern Assault again at NOVA 2024 :)
Haven’t seen John in like a decade, was great seeing you guys there.
I just watched this vid finally. I uhhhhh really like that Highlander scheme. Time to go see if you showed it off elsewhere....
Eridani Light Horse first faction I have well over a regiment of mechs alone, then the Northwind Highlanders, bagpipes, whiskey, and crazy all in one unit king live Royal Black Watch. And for the clans it’s Ghost Bear all the way, got to love a clan that won a planet with a football game.
They first faction was St Ives. I had some friends that built up a community around the CCG in college, and occasionally broke out he 4th edition box set. No one was playing St Ives, and I always liked the small fry factions so I threw my loyalty in with the horsey soap guys. When I got into the fiction the Allard-Liaos were awesome so I was hooked. I was very upset when the Cappelllan Solution killed them.
With St Ives dead (and Free Capella) I pivoted to Diamond Shark. I love their Mechs, and their lore especially post Tukyiad, is pretty rad. Ilkhan Era was a giant book to fans of the clan, even if it meant a name change. Tiburan Khante in particular.
Well I had a clan and a house faction, so I needed a periphery faction right? I have just started a Larsons Loners force for the Mica Majority. The Majority reminds me of where I grew up, and I think it's got a lot of narrative potential. Plus it gives me an excuse to run trash industrial mechs.
What an awesome comment! That’s some history and an awesome explanation of your selections!
Inspiring work! Keep it up!
I leaned towards Comstar, for a few reasons. First, I like white armor, and while it's... objectively bad, and I know most people thought that Snow Raven/Raven Alliance would have looked pretty, I know I can, and want to paint white. Secondly, I am a big fan of Asimov, and the Foundation, and while the section with the Galactic Spirit religion in Foundation is only a small portion, it was still inspiring.
I decided to lean towards Blakist, more religious parts of Comstar as well, because of the way the religion, and Blakism is potrayed and works is similar to other groups I love, such as the Brotherhood of Steel from Fallout, where the fait is more respect to keep repeats of the horrors those who didn't fully understand what they used on others from happening. Also space wizards and running the bank and telephones, pretty damn useful.
And finally... I just wanted a faction that could be in the "main" universe for earlier periods then a clan force, and post Clan Invasion, Comstar would definitely enjoy having some salvaged Clan Mechs, so I can play pretty much any era.
Technically, I focused specifically on a custom, semi fantastical and fanatical sect I named "The Red Hand of Blake", or "The Red Hand" if speaking to outsiders. They fully fall into the mumbo jumbo, and are united by the belief that enforced Blakism would cease many of the abuses and full ravages of war far better then any other system like "Clan Honor" and such. IN practice, they're zealots that masquerade as a merc company that receive grant money and toys from Comstar members attempting to ensure Blake's vision is fulfilled.
Theoretically they do live post dissolution of Comstar, separate from the Blessed Order of one of probably a dozen mercenary companies acting as training and recruitment organizations to keep the fire of Blake's dream alive, but that's just to handwave them being able to fit in any point in Battletech history. Minus Star League but... eh, it's a paintjob, doing my best here.
As for the name, I decided to break up the white with some gold, then eventually went with red on their weapons and hands, inspired by the Night Lord's use of red gauntlets to mark those condemned.
Going to share this with a few friends. Great topic that and helps everyone out.
Hope it helps :)
I chose Kurita because nukes are always an option. They're the classic evil guys. For the higher tech mechs I've bought, and any that don't fit the DCMS MUL, I'm giving them a Republic of the Sphere paint job - the last good guys making a final stand. To go with my DCMS, I've given my Clan mechs a Nova Cats paint scheme, so I can either ally or fight myself depending on the era.
I have been in the hobby since the 80s started with a Mercenary group as my first pick. As it let me paint mechs up in a variation of the SLDF colours. Then you need an Opfor unit to go up against. So that became House Liao and Kurita. As my force worked for the Federated Suns before the Commonwealth was formed. But over the years different factions.
I had already started painting my miniatures in a semi-jade green color before I realized later it was close to Capellan green, so now my IS lances are in various Capellan regiments, now heavily favoring warrior house Imarra colors. Go House Liao, I guess.
Ah yes, the old fell into a Warrior house faction because of paint scheme story. Same, my wife picked my paint scheme no idea of lore and now I'm house Imaara.
@@screenmonkey The bone white with green/gold actually looks pretty good. Plus it gives some wiggle room for how I put it on the mech. I got a Wolfhound where the Large Laser arm is gold plated. Still technically Imarra, but this pilots got the Midas touch.
I honestly created my own faction lol, Knights Republic Legion. Its a faction set from the 3090-31 w/e the hell year the game is in. Soooo, Dark Ages? Or w/e its called. Main HQ is a 25x25 sq mile area on Terra in Ontario Canada and its not a terribly huge faction, but it is very well equipped, well trained, motivated and generally bad ass. We specialize in defense and sustainability. Our armor is top notch and results in our units, including infantry taking unbelievable amount of punishment. RAPA Class II, in TTBT its basically got the damage reduction of Hardened armor while having the space and weight of IS Standard. It gives 16 points of armor per ton(IS Standard is 17 per ton innit?). It is quite expensive and time consuming to repair and build, but its insanely protective. My faction has it's own navy, own weapon manufacturing(Drillz and Sparkz series) and battlemech variant designs, the KREC, Knights Republic Engineering Corps does our RnD and such. We've taken the planets: Zion, Berenson, Wasat and Tall Trees from the Cappellan Confederation and occasionally have to fend off incursions from uprisings as the Cappies secretly try to take back their worlds. We're allied with Republic of the Sphere and Steiner and try to not get on everyone's shit list...kinda do our own thing.
Diving into creating a custom faction/force is soooo much fun! Sounds like you've put some thought into it :)
@@Thearmedpainter YEah, my faction has been worked on in various forms since I was like 6-7. Its just gotten more matured and believable the older ive gotten and learned about the lore of Battletech.
I initially picked House Kurita because I'm a weeb and heard their culture were based on Feudal Japan, and I like red. But then I learned about their lore and all the horrible, terrible things they did, and how in reality they're more like Imperialist Japan pretending to be Feudal Japan.
I was glad to see that my initial choice was the correct one.
*GLORIOUS MANIFEST DESTINY FOR SPACE NIPPON!*
People keep saying "homebrew mercenary faction", but from what I've read so far I feel like every faction has a ton of militias, local volunteer regiments and all kinds of paint schemes you could use without being mercenaries
That’s true, but everyone has the choice to do what they want. Home brew merc units are common and fun, similar to how many people will make their own Space Marine chapters, nothing wrong with that and at the end of the day it gives them a stronger connection to their minis.
My friend is currently trying to rope me into backing the Mercenaries kickstarter. I know very little about Battletech (just some major plot points like everything being kinda shit and constant war and Dune'ish politics/events). I am leaning towards inventing a merc faction (IF I get into the game) because it's easier than absorbing all the lore about everything and then being able to choose a faction I really like. It's just too much stuff and my taste in factions is very complicated sometimes, I like a bit of a bad guy but only honorable bad guys and perhaps stealthy but maybe also brutish and yeah, the mix makes the taste. So I will probably just go for a color scheme I like from my 40k stuff and transfer that to my potential mechs. Lore comes after in that case.
You can also create your own mercenary faction/group or periphery state, nothing saying you can't :)
I been really getting into the Magistracy for so many reasons, including painting and the story’s they have been involved in. And soon to start on Capellan confederation and Draconis Combine. But I will do everything I can for starleague era games in the future, and into the later era with comstar.
Not really a fan of the clans, so why I am doing clan Seafox I don’t think I will branch out from there much. And will personally skip the clan invasion and do some modern stuff as well for the latest era 😅 lots of work ahead, but I have painted almost 40 mechs this year so far. 🎉
I really like your take as what survivors of the Republic would be doing! I am really interested in seeing where they wind up as well. We have a bunch missing - Jonah Levin, the surviving Knights and Paladins, etc. all disappeared. Will be cool seeing them pop up again. Republic is definitely one of my favorite factions though. Secondly I like FedSuns and Ghost Bears. I will quickly be fan fiction retconning the major death in the Ghost Bears, already figured out how he will be revived, I disagree with the handling of the Rasalhague Dominion in Dominions Divided. Then FedSuns, it is awesome seeing Julian take back New Avalon. There is a good variety of awesome mechs - Ghost Bears have the Kodiak I&II, Karhu, Ursus I&II, Bear Cub, Rhime Otter, and Mastodon to get started. FedSuns with the Vulpes, Gunsmith, Templar I&III, Scarecrow, Black Knight, etc. Finally the Republic mechs I love are the Lament, Malice, Doloire, and Ares (Hephaestus specifically). Also, you final panel still says "facbook".
12th Vegan Rangers. It's a long story.
Who is more despised? Capelleans or Jade Falcons? Hmm.....
Capellans lol! Jade Turkeys at honor at one point :P
i could never make marik or liao look cool. So mostly i stick with Taurian Concordant.
I do not pick. I build. I don't play wargames to play what others have already created. (Which is why I don't play a lot of historical) Which is why I field Periphery mercenaries and pirates. I also play Marik, but my own original division.
I was starting out with Mercs and Capellans next thing I knew it was those two plus Kurita , Davion , Steiner , Nova Cat , Jade Falcon , Wolf in Exile and Generic Militia
I'm thinking of starting of with Mercs, I don't know why but I always gravitate towards the Mercs/Neutrals in most wargame. I just find that they have so much characters and can make their own decisions. I'm not entirely sure yet but I'm thinking Kell Hounds to get me started. For the Clan side, I haven't made up my mind yet. Do the Wolf Dragoon's use Inner Sphere Mech or do they stick with Clans mech? And do you build stars with them or lances?
So I love mercs for a lot of the reasons you listed. Dragoons are my boys! So their story is such that they use IS and Clan tech depending on the era. They also use lances or stars depending on the era and group composition.
If you’re talking pre/clan invasion era you’d see mostly IS tech and lances as they were essentially a spy/scouting force for Clan Wolf and thus needed to blend in. They are one of my favorite factions and their stories are really cool.
I first got into Battletech in the late 80s just as I went off to university. Was drawn to the FWL as they seemed like the more federally organised faction rather than the feudal ones. Been dabbling in and out of Battletech ever since (even dabbled with cl8ckytech)
MWDA was my first serious war game :)
Started in 1991 and FWL ever since.
I've always liked BattleTech but never played or indulge in the lore, until recently.
Now I'm starting my first factions. Clan Wolf, because their Chads and Timberwolves.Also making Clan Wolverine cause they fought til the end but yet may still be alive? Which would be a fun homebrew merc company/ComStar agents full of wolverine warrior legends 331💪
Good choices all around my dude! :)
@@Thearmedpainter ty dude. You definitely got me more pump for BattleTech seeing your beautiful mechs. The biggest challenge for me is deciding the color scheme I would be happy with xD
Davion because they are the good guys😂
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"x was my most disliked video"
People need to learn to separate between a fiction person/faction and the player/actor/author/etc. The amount of crap those creators/actors get for portraying or embracing something that is objectively bad but FICTIONAL is insane. The GoT prince guy was bullied out of acting forever. You got your video disliked. It's mindboggling.