I personally love the Catapult. It's a cockpit on legs that shoots missiles out of boxes. The fun begins when you realize that by stuffing those boxes full of SRMs you effectively make a missile shotgun. It's really funny how well it works.
@@NeroLordofChaos Of course, I watched the premiere. I do still love the Catapult for reasons beyond memes. It's a very simple and functional mech that's very good at being kitted out and customized for specialist roles. It generally doesn't do well as an 'all rounder' mech but it is VERY good if you go all in on an idea (such as, giving the -j variant snub PPCs and going cockpit hunting, or my own favorite of firing an entire shoulder of SRMs at a light mech with a single trigger pull).
The Shadowhawk will always be my favorite. There's just something so, SO sexy about seeing that autocannon right next to your cockpit. Plus I just really love simple, workhorse mechs.
The Awesome shall always be my favorite. First mech my dad let me pilot in MW4 [He was apparently one of the best Team Attrition players, though he preferred the Sunder.] I will never forget treading across a battlefield, peppering to death enemies with unrelenting PPC fire. Bought MW5 and played MWO solely to get my hands on it. Truly is my darling.
I always liked the Warhawk for similar reasons. I always ditched the LRM10 for extra heat sinks. 4x ER PPCs is scary regardless of how much armor you got.
I remember when Harebrained Schemes did their dev gameplay showcase video prior to release. Guy starts up the mission, has an Atlas, goes into combat, and it immediately takes a critical headshot and dies... that's actually how I've always felt about the Atlas.
Thats how i got my Atlas in Mechwarrior 5 😂. I knew i couldnt go toe to toe with this thing, but i was a pretty mean shot with my AC10 Centurion. So i kept going for headshots. When the salvage screen popped up, i saw the only part that took serious damage was the cockpit. 🤣
@Jonathan Wolfe all mechs have atleast some form of EW suites even if there are mechs with ecm that make that effectively useless.... and the maddog from the front has a great hitbox actually... rear and sides are a deaths sentence... just like a normal tank
The Crab has to be my favorite battlemech. At first I was drawn to it for it's silly name and meme factor, but what I found was a reliable, fast, decently well armored, and well armed little machine. The Crab goes from being a humble but solid 50 ton mech, to being an aggressively armed monster on the battlefield that gets faster and faster as well as packing exponentially more effective armament as time goes on. Despite being familiar with it's variants, I find myself frequently going back to double take what they have because I'm continually surprised with how much these machines can bring to bear on the battlefield. Any time I put together lances, I always find myself trying to slot in a Crab no matter if it's a light lance or a heavy lance, it's fast enough to keep up with the lights, and well armed enough to keep up with the heaviest. Truly a fantastic mech 🦀
Agreed, I'm unsure if it's my #1 (the Warhammer is stiff competition after all) but it's definitely in my top 2 for all of the reasons you listed. It's a beautiful all-rounder and the lack of ammo means it can never stop hitting (absent damage, of course). It's also one of the few mechs that I prefer the MWO/HBS design to the CGL one. Glad I have access to a 3D printer so I can field it on the tabletop. :)
It is one of my favourites as well. The armor is outstanding for a medium in my optinion an dit makes for a great companion to a Marauder. Also I do have a meme lance witha king crab and how ever many crabs the game allows.
For me it would be: -Timber Wolf - I cannot get enough of its iconic look, especially when painted in Jade Falcon colors. -Night Gyr - Clan pocket assault, what I think the Hellbringer should have been. -Summoner - A little undergunned, but what is a Jade Falcon fan without liking this classic? -Bane - Who let an Ork in the Clan Scientist Caste? -Stalker - Looks like a Kirov on legs. Wish there was more art of it with a shark-faced nose paint job. -Charger - Everyone looks to the Urbanmech as the meme king, but for me, it is this terrible running pile of hilarity, fisticuffs, and shoulder tackles. -Fire Moth - FAST, and I cannot get enough of the funny gangster arms. -Adder - Hits really hard for a light, I remember being surprised by their twin PPCs when I decided to try fighting a couple of them in the instant action mode in MW3. -Kingfisher - Arguably THE Clan zombie mech. -Stormcrow - Flashbacks to the first Jade Falcon mission in MW2, and in my opinion, the true medium brother to the Timber Wolf, not the Mad Cat III.
That and the charger can dish out more pushiment over a shorter amount of time in close range being 80 tons and lots of small lasers... nice choices btw for the most part... some of those you picked I cant seem to find a loadout on table top or in games that I like
The Stormcrow is a surprising 'mech. "Eh, it's a medium laser boat, nothing fancy." Oh so wrong. One of my highest ranked matches in MWO, I decided to run the Stormcrow in its Prime variant. It was gross. Even more so because it was on that long, flat snow map that usually results in a LRM-off to the death.
I have gotta love your choice of mechs, I more in the wolf camp though not the main group. I play a own group called the Star Wolves, and my own favorites would be this 1/ Stone Rhino - though it's the only clan mech that I prefer the IS name over it's clan name - Behemoth 2/ Timber wolf II 3/ Timber wolf 4/ Mist Lynx / Timber Wolf III 5/ Shadow Hawk IIC 6/ Adder 7/ Alpha Wolf 8/ Nova 9/ Mad dog 10/ Piranha
Disagree with the hellbringer. It's supposed to be a recon, high tech battlemech that can hold its own ground long enough to get room to retreat before it's armour gets ripped off. The summoner is what the hellbringer should be but without the electronics, more armour and tonnage to use but no, it's a disappointment.
I loved the mech designs in mechcommanders art book. It was the first game related to mechwarrior my brother and I played. Always wondered what the Marauder would have looked like in that game if it could have been included.
The Marauder is sexy, if that term can be used for a weapon of war. Before the Clan Invasion, the Marauder and the Warhammer were two of my faves. Now that I'm a Clanner, I love me the Timber Wolf, although the Dasher, Nova, and Warhawk and Warhammer IIC all hold places in my little black Nova Cat heart, nyao.
I have a soft-spot for the Bushwacker. I feel like it's a smaller Marauder, and it's probably my favourite jack-of-all-trades mech. And I like it's goofy look
I love the Catapult K2K because you can configure it into almost anything. I eventually shove a 400XXL engine with a masc+supercharger and hardened armor on it when I can afford it then use corrosive cooling systems and clan lbx2, heavy medium lasers and 2 clan erppc so I can be a nasty 130+ kph maniac in a mech that's been tinkered with over a campaign to the point it costs more than any other stock mech in battletech. It hits very hard just by ramming into smaller mechs, the hardend armor makes crits through the armor non-existent... you literally have to strip 16 tons of hardend armor off a catapult moving 130+ kph in order to land a crit. It's a massive waste of money and I love it.
"It's a massive waste of money and I love it" Being a fellow fan of the catapult (mostly as I just live for Robotech style missile swarms), I'm gonna have to play around with this idea next time I get the chance. Cheers
In the Succession Wars, imo, the 6M is the best mech of the era for its abilities on the tabletop. It's not undefeatable, but everything from lights to assaults should be terrified of it. Especially with a good pilot inside.
I do like the Black Lanner. I feel like someone during the design phase mixed up the blueprints of a Shadow Cat and a Cougar and was like... That works.
The Marauder has always just been the mech that was the best looking and best performing to me. Even though they might not have the pure DPS of some other mechs, the consistency that they can lay into enemies just puts them over the top for me.
Another fun thing about the MadCat II is that at the time of it's first appearance, it's more common in certain IS factions than in some of the Invading Clans.
The quality of the art does help with my appraisal of a mech and the Nightstar stayed under the radar for ages until I picked one and realized how good it was.
Adding my 2 c-bills worth to the mix: 10. Mad Dog Prime - reach out and touch someone... 9. Awesome 9M - the name says it all... 8. Warhammer 7M - coz AMS... 7. King Crab 000B / KJ / CAR - makes enemies piss in their pants 6. Black Knight 6B - for days when u don't wanna carry any damn ammo... 5. Highlander 732B - mobile any-range firepower 4. Nightstar 9J / FC - king of the headclippers in my opinion... 3.Timberwolf Prime - long range missiles of doom rain upon thee, then shooty shooty face melty... 2. Marauder II 4A - 2 ER PPCs to the face means never having to say sorry... 1. Marauder 5D - sleek, deadly and it jumps!
@@anexistanthuman2435 well its... Honestly kinda awesome. It does nothing perfect, but it's not supposed to. It's come out around the same time as the OG Warhammer and rifleman, and from the same idiots that built the charger. The mech is ancient, and managed to go 500 years with few substantial upgrades. It's SUPPOSED to be overshadowed, but it's still very good at what it does. I think that's kinda cool.
@@tybirous3417 The 9M Awesome is an upgrade introduced right before the clan invasion that gave it an XL engine and some SRM's as backup weapons, as well as giving it ERPPC's and double heat sinks. I love the 8Q and especially the 9Q, but the 9M always felt weird, it trades durability for more firepower and speed, which is fine but not my thing
I like the Grasshopper, it's a heavy scout done right. Not terrible in a brawl either since it's good at jumping behind enemies and shooting them in the back.
In BTA3062 I've got one that is armed with 10 heavy flamers. It auto shuts down 85% of the mechs it shoots. It melts vehicles and battle armor into slag. And I use it in assassination attempt missions where I get 1 mech vs 2. Run up, shut one mech down, shut the next mech down while the first one blows itself up. Repeat. What a beast.
I've got a Grasshopper in my current RogueTech campaign. Its role is recon and spotter - TAG and a Guardian ECM. Especially useful against those damned EW stars the WoBblies field.
You can make it much scarier if you start with the 5H, take out the LRM-5 and downgrade the large laser to a medium to fit two more medium lasers, whatever balance of extra heat sinks and small lasers you care for, and an extra ton of armor.
I love the 5N and the 5P from Mechwarrior 5. I've got one of each in my current Mechwarrior 5 Career but refit with ER PPCs n in place of their standard PPCs. The 5P is my character's primary ride while the 5N used to be his main Mech but he now uses it for the second mission of multi-mission contracts
for me, in no order, the mad dog (the mech that got me into battletech), the timberwolf (an icon that I absolutely love the look of, especially the more modern depictions with shorter, thicker arms that dont look like they are about to snap from their own weight alone), the king crab (nuff said), the atlas (the icon of the sphere as much as the timby is to the clans, and one of the faces of the franchise indeed), and the savage wolf as probably my top mech, for both being a striking, unique design while still being clearly identifyable as a modernized timberwolf
My favorite mech dates back to my time playing MechWarrior 3, the Shadow Cat. I just somehow always seemed to perform better with the machine over any other. I gladly took it up against the Annihilator, and won. I know it is far from the "best", but it served me well.
The annihilator pilot must be ripping their hair out from beyond the grave from how they were bested by something slightly less then half their mechs weight
@@anexistanthuman2435 it always scared me when I ran into it, if I was in anything other than my Shadow Cat I came away missing multiple components if I even managed to survive.
Seeing that image of the Archangel makes me realize that we really don't have much BattleTech/MechWarrior games outside of tabletop that take place in the Jihad era and onwards. Really hope that we do someday. I really want to stomp around in a Celestial during the Jihad or just zoom across battlefields in a Lament during the Dark Ages.
Thunderbolt is my favorite. Heavy enough to threaten anything, weapons for any range, it can take a punch, I love the blocky no-nonsense design, and it has the best name. ⚡⚡⚡
@@Maladjesterit's my favorite mech because, like the atlas, orion and highlander, it's only gimmick is being a hammer to smash your enemies with, no matter the tonnage of the enemy, the thunderbolt is a valid solution to make them go away expeditiously. Anyone who can, will have a thunderbolt, and anyone who can't, will feel the lack of it. A marvelous hammer indeed.
When I started playing, I loved the MAD-3R Marauder, but once I started playing, I quickly switched to the Thunderbolt. Good at all ranges, and enough armor to stand the line against everything
I love the annihilator. Yes it's got issues, yes its painfully slow, yes it doesn't have the best armor. But it has DAKKA. When recon says "Sir, we have hostiles coming in from that direction" The annihilator responds "Roger, removing that direction" Plus it kinda resembles a Reaver titan from warhammer 40k and that just makes me so happy.
My very first exposure to BattleTech was way back, in the 80s. Mum bought me a book, because I read a lot, and it was the first book in the grey death legion saga, or whatever it was called. I can't even remember the title now, I just think of the game, The Crescent Hawks Inception, which I played a LOT on my brother's Commodore 64, but that is not the title of the book. Most of my memory is hazy. But I remember reading, and loving, the book and then sharing it with my friends. One, I think it was Tim or Chris, was into D&D and they made a map of sorts and a game based on the book, just mocked up a battle from the book on paper. Then the next year, one of us, Mike I think, got the actual board game! Oh, such heavenly fun. Until my luck turned negative and I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. With anything. At point blank range. It f***ing sucked! My friends would walk quietly up to my 'Mech and lie down to give me the maximum chance to hit and I would miss. The dice hated me. My luck has not improved in the last 30+ years. I always liked the Shadow Hawk, from the book. And because I like the darkness (Shadow Hawk). It's easy on the eyes and mine are sensitive to light.
Anyone who's talked with me will know my number one is the Black Knight. But after it, in no particular order, I enjoy the Enforcer, Centurion, Awesome, Marauder II, Caeser & Zeus. While I like plenty of other mechs these are among my absolute favorites.
I generally play introtech, and have never really gotten beyond the Clan Invasion, so I’m working on a somewhat limited set of machines. That said, my favorite ‘mech is a Grasshopper, specifically when you rip out the LRM-5 and downgrade the large laser to a medium to fit two more medium lasers, several small lasers, several more standard heat sinks, and extra armor. With max jump jets it is excellent at jumping in, ripping the center backs out of battlemechs of any size, and then jumping away. It’s also easy on logistics in campaigns, because you can fit more small heat sinks and standard lasers than technologically superior versions, and have no ammunition needs.
The Warhawk (Prime). Four clan PPCs with a targeting computer to make sure they hit. LRMs for indirect fire. Plus it has the same 'narrow/squat' perk of the Marauder. It was my favorite in MechWarrior 2, and it is a long range monster on the board.
My Top Five: 5. Black Knight (BLK-6b-KNT) - This mech to me embodies what a heavy mech should be. Visually, narratively, and mechanically it is an aspirational monster. The Star league model in particular seems fitting in how it promotes its mythical, invincible status. 4. Firestarter (FS9-H) - No mech has done more work for me in the tabletop than the FS9-H across any of the eras I've played in, including Dark Ages. It just has so much going for it. I've ruined an entire lance with this little terror and some lucky crits. 3. Ostsol (OTL-4D) - This mech is very dear to me. I love the design mechanically, but also it just has a few things that no other mech has. Its very unexpected, and often by players regarded as a curiosity more than an actual threat. So much so that (in my experience) it is generally unpopular, which means it is often underestimated. Its able to stay at range and harrass, or close in and devastate with its lasers, or come to knife fighting range where all of its weapons work just fine - including its weaponless fists. 2. Flashman (FLS-8K) - The Flashman is all of the strength of the star league, and all of the strength of the clans; but half a millennia ahead of its time. It is also a hilariously misshapen little battle-egg. It embodies all of the personality and idiosyncrasy that the old era of battletech was built on. Its newer iterations are beautiful, but it's always going to be the deadliest little walking lightbulb to me. 1. Kodiak (Prime) - This is the mech that got me into battletech. In 1998, I unwittingly attended a launch party for an expansion to the battletech TCG, and was given a couple free booster packs. The Kodiak was the first card I drew from the pack carrying the same art on its logo. It was the first card to have introduced me to the game, the system, and the setting. The original art so captivated me that I spent literally years drawing it on the back of homework assignments and scrap printer paper. Then, as I matured and got further into the setting, my love for it only grew. It's a fantastic, meaningful, brutal mech in every iteration its been seen. It is, to me, the embodiment of what a clan mech should be, what an assault mech should be, and what every battlemech should aspire to.
I love your list. love it a lot. 1.)agree about the ostsol and ostroc....under-rated by my opponents. Even when they dont under-rate it, it's too low-priority to shoot at, if I bring some "dangling keys" high-profile assault mech as a distraction. there's a version of the ostsol that never got upgraded properly, in my opinion: the one with THREE large lasers and 15 heat sinks. if you gave it 12[24] double heat sinks and used the extra 3 tons for ANYTHING else: MASC, 3 JJ, SRMs, LRMs, armor (new or old)....it could have been a baby flashman! All the versatility of a flashman and under-estimated by it's opponents. ah well. for the most part, the ost series upgrades were mostly pretty good. I'm a fan of it's beautiful ugliness. 2.)flashman - flashman is the anti-cool-kids mech to me. When it came out, ALL the cool kids were putting ERPPCs here and Gauss rifles there and upgrading EVERYTHING with new tech because it was shiny and new and NOT because it was practical. BUT....if you kept your cool when the new toys came out, you can combine old and new tech into something fearsome....like the flashman. Older lasers, newer heat sinks. Older chassis, newer engine. BOOM: a heavily armored, heavily armed, heavy mech that moves fast and runs cool. 3.)That Firestarter mirage - full suit of armor, 20pts of damage at close range. All the deadliness of an advanced mech in an intro tech designation. It was years ahead of its time. ANd for me...while it's not a "favorite" of mine, the Falconer is one helluva design: 5/8/5 Gauss Rifle + ERPPC for range, 4 ML for short....75 tonnes. it's like the Flashman's flashier younger foolish middle-child brother, seeking attention and trying hard to prove he's tough . When he gets knocked on his ass, you gotta go get him outta the stink with the Flashman because no one craps on family but me.
I'm loving the love for the Firestarter. It's hardly a powerhouse or iconic, but it's such a damn useful mech. It, along with the Crab for me, are the ultimate "I dunno, just throw it in" mechs. The Firestarter will ALWAYS pull its weight, it will ALWAYS play a critical support role, and, while it's not even like, "supposed" to be a good anti-mech weapon, I find it usually punches up very favorably as well. Such a good mech.
My favorite megemek (virtual tabletop) memory is hiding 3 firestarters in a level -2 ravine for THREE HOURS (double blind game) while maneuvering the rest of my unit.....until the opponent got too close to the ravine, then I jumped out and backstabbed an Awesome and Zeus to death in one turn. He surrendered 10 minutes later. That game lasted 3 hours and 10 minutes...and I won it in that last 10 minutes with 3 Mirage firestarters.
For one, I love the dripping enthusiasm you have for all these 'Mech and especially your favorite factions! Now, as for mine. This is a bloodletting exercise, because there are many 'Mechs I adore, and I'll drop honorable mentions first, then the top ten. HM 1: Hunchback HM 2: Ares HM 3: Scorpion HM 4: Locust IIC HM 5: Marauder 10: Omega 9: Warhammer 8: Goliath 7: Shadow Hawk 6: Highlander 5: Doom Courser 4: Commando 3: Rifleman IIC 2: King Crab 1: Rifleman People may notice I like some more... Odd designs, and most of these are based off aesthetic, and I've only had MW5 as my gaming experience.
I'd have to go with the Marauder 2 as my number one. It takes everything I love about the Marauder and cranks it up to 11! There's just something about the design that steps away from a traditional humanoid look to something alien that makes it appear so menacing yet beautiful. The Wolfhound would be my second place, followed by the Champion.
I love the Cauldron Born, Catapult, Madcat MkIV, Vulture and Stalker. All of my favorite mechs are the least humanoid, most cold, angular and mechanical looking war machines in the setting.
8:20 "Makes it look like a horribly mutated penguin" Excuse me what I've got to see this (Checks sarna) Oh dear God In all honesty, I do actually like the design style of Clan mechs that modern BT has developed, primarily as a foil or counterpoint to IS mechs. While IS mechs are usually humanoid in their appearance, Clan mechs are like walking jets or helicopters, focusing less on anesthetics, except for their totem mechs. It's a nice little bit of variety, I think.
Had this on in the background while painting some of my 'Mechs, and opened the Wolverine's Sarna page to check how to paint the cockpit of the Wolverine I happened to be painting. As I closed the page I thought "Yeah, his number one isn't going to be a Wolverine". Had to laugh when no.1 rolled round! It is a great mech though, and my quick dismissal of it as a number one just goes to show how easily opponents can do the same, to their detriment. Would love some top 10's of the various size categories as well, or maybe top 10 line mechs like the centurion, thunderbolt, etc.
@THEROOKIE6666 In my current campaign, we are playing with mech quirks. The Wolverine's ability to double torso twist caught our gm off guard and as such, a masterful rear guard was executed.
As a kid that grew with Macross (Robotech in my country during the 80s), I was mesmerized with the swarm of missiles flying all over. When I started playing BT I fell in love with the Archer, even more when I read the Kell Hound novels. I could say that my top 3 is Archer, Thunderbolt and Wolverine.
got to be the annihilator for me. the way its built as a urban assault so its often able to see over buildings combined with enough fire power to peak out and deal more then average damage then other assaults make it a great urban style fighting machine and the way it plays into the theme even to its detriment is what i love
Brand new fan here. Started on MechWarrior 5 and HBS Battletech. Just bought the Starter Box and Game of Armored Combat. Going to mug some of my ttrpg friends and force them to help me run some basic games. Already though, I got to love the Marauder, Catapult, Crab, and Wolfhound!
My favourite battlemech is Phoenix Hawk. Funny enough through your channel my choise for the spot has changed twice already, used to be Catapult, before I gave a Banshee a spin after that great video, and then Phoenix Hawk video + listening through Ideal War made me give Phoenix a spin, and oh boy, my life was never the same.
Crab has to be my favorite. I mostly familiar with Battletech 2018 game, where I use it as a backstabber/melee brawler with 4 M lasers and 2 MGs with crit bonus. It just doesen't die and cost-effective to refit and repair. Great for backstabbing mechs, tearing off limbs, drawing fire from flankers or stomping vehicles. And there is nothing as amusing and terrifying in equal measure, than to see this thing soar over battlefield.
:D A very cool list. Tbh, when you do approach the Wolverine again, I think it might be interesting for you to mention the evolution of 55 tonners. From GRF to SHD to WVR, there is a fantastic bit of story telling imo, in that it shows changing battlefield philosophies. One is a ruthless hunter, which uses half of itself as a shield. One is specifically good as an operations, support fire, and once armor has been reduced, striker in service of heavier lances, and then the next is a heavily dedicated striker that can maneuver independently. Thanks dude! ✌
the true icon of battletech has always been and will continue to be; the Robotech tomahawk, aka, the Warhammer. since it first appeared on the covers of Battledroids, 2nd ed and 3rd ed, it has always been imposing and eye catching. while the Atlas has been a solid member of the game, the next real icon of the game would be the Madcat aka Timberwolf. being prominently displayed on covers like the battletech compendium and TRO 3050, it is the face of the clans.
I saw that #1 spot coming a mile away. Your love for the wolverine is well documented and imo completely appropriate. Its just one of those mechs that reliably perform well, regularely punches above its weight class and additionally happens to be rather handsome. Its just all around a loveable machine
I am in love with the Huntsman, it's the first mech I ever picked up in MWO. I experimented heavily on it to see what builds worked and to me was the ultimate Clan medium, highly configurable and a default loadout that packed a lot of personality. Plus, Iglesias' redesign for it was killer, sharp angular edges get to me
No need to wait! Here they are: 10. Woodsman - first Wolf heavy omni 9. Night Wolf - giving mechs, vehicles, and infantry equal opportunity for destruction by Clan Wolf… 8. Tundra Wolf - showing Wolf adaptability, having been designed and built in the IS 7. Gargoyle - because Wolves are FAST!!! 6. Timberwolf - piloted by Vlad Ward! 5. Warwolf - building Wolf strength on top of Wolf strength 4. Orion IIc ONLY the Wolves could make Kerensky’s mech BETTER! 3. Goliath C - taking the quad design to Clan Wolf levels of epicness!!! 2. Stormwolf - legendary collaboration between the Wolf and Sea Fox. The greatest clans! 1. Alpha Wolf - newest and bestest!
warhammer iic was my absolute favorite mech in battletech. It's basically a warhammer with all its shortcomings fixed. We can technically optimize it even further but hey, that is barely even necessery. Also happens to be very good for bv value
@@machinist7230 nope, thug has 2smr6s as its backup. IIC is just medium and small lasers being upgraded to chad cMPLs and have enough heatsinks to fire with ease and enough armor to withstand punishment, all the while keeping standard engine. Mad Cat Mk IV is alot more of a thug than this mech. That one is actually specializes in Srms with ERPPCs.
I love the Wolverine; it's everything I want in a mech. Hits hard, goes fast, and takes a beating. I lost my WVR-7K in the campaign I'm playing, but hopefully I can get a new Wolverine. I take one to every battle I can because it just does its job so well.
In HBS BT, my current favorite config for the AS7-DH is 2 large pulses, 2 ER large lasers, 2 LB2s and 1 each of LRM15 and LRM5. Full frontal armor and 3 JJs. Satisfyingly OP.
So for my list: 10. Timberwolf - It's just iconic 9. Marauder - Another that is iconic to the setting. 8. Longbow - Lots of missiles in a cool package. 7. Wolverine - Arguably the best medium mech. 6. Griffin - Kind of lame in the firepower department, but I have always liked how they looked. 5. Penetrator - Caught a glance of the new sculpt being released, and it looked really good. Laser boats are fun. 4. Archer - The mech of Jamie Wolf and Morgan Kell. 3. Thunderbolt - A solid heavy mech. Might not look the best, but I like it. 2. Nightstar - The new sculpt looks amazing. Hope it will stand up to my wife's filthy clan mechs. 1. Awesome - I always have an awesome. I just think they look cool and are pretty solid.
Warhammer 6R for me - for the same reasons you like the Wolverine. Took out 300+ tons with one with minimal support including punching an Orion to pieces. Epic when stuff like that happens in a game, congrats on the Wolverine stomping the daylights out of them.
I’ve been a Dire Wolf guy from day 1. It was on the cover of the first book I ever read and I’ve never faltered. It is a 100 ton death machine and was also my favorite mech in the Clix game.
As a Succession Wars era player (and one who generally plays ELH), your selection of the -6M is totally spot on. My personal fav is the mech that I started with back in college in 1988, the PXH-1D. Especially as the command mech in a light recon lance. In a succession war era medium recon lance my command choice is the WVR-6M.
My Top 10 , in no certain Order: - Warhammer (PS: @BigRed40k the MWO-Hero Mech Version has exactly what you want...no Small Laser but 2 more Maschineguns for it 😉 ) - Marauder (All Time Classic like the Warhammer) - Wolfhound (Dan Allard Special^^) - Centurion (Justin Allard Specal with Yen-Lo-Wang at Solaris) - Atlas (nothing left to tell after your Video^^) - Banshee (here you are Guilty that i love him with your Video) - Rifleman (This Mech has something...even if he is not the Best one) - Marauder II (Again your Video brought him to me...before i know of him but did not knew him) - Atlas III (Thanks to your Great Video about him) - Exterminator (I like this Mech since he was first spoken of in the Battle of Tukayid...and with all the Mech-Sheets about him in the defferent Source Books i was Able to create my own Version that can hold his own without Chameleon Light Polarisation Shield and Null Signature Device. But since he is able to carry them..he becomes a Terror to Command Mechs 😁😈 )
Very good list. Of all of them, the only one I wouldn’t have on my list is your number one, but hey… you can agree with someone 100% of the time. I’d move your 3 and 2 to 2 and 1 and put the hunchback in 3. I’d add the hellbringer/Loki and the crusader to the honorable mentions. Those are really the only changes I’d make.
Awesome list! Thanks for sharing! Marauder BH is my favorite overall, with several quirky options behind that, for similar character reasons! Awesome options across the sphere!
Love the video, your thoughts, and your anecdotes. An amazing wolverine story. Picking favorites is so rough with this stuff, even with my unfamiliarity of a lot of eras. But I'm delighted you mentioned the Centurion who I adore and the King Crab who only is outranked in the field of AC20 delivery systems by the Hunchback solely because of a particularly legendary Hunchback pilot of mine. The Stalker was the first mech I ever rolled for as a child (well before I knew that the name had connotations) and I don't know what all can match up to that initial nostalgia hit.
Black Lanner is a beauty, and I'm glad you listed it. I was first sold on it when playing MWO with a friend and she suggested it to me. It's like a Shadow Hawk in it's base loadout, but clantech makes the jack-of-all-trades design work.
True... but no differences between armor and structure made most mechs in the previous games severely weakened compared to the newer games and tabletop
It's the Marauder II for me. It's just as tough as an Atlas punches hard from a distance, can jump, is insanely durable, can shoot over cover with its shoulder cannon, has numerous configurations that are viable and just looks sexy as hell.
Someone who actually mentions the Black Lanner... I love that thing, if only because it's effectively a light Mech with medium Mech weapons tonnage. ECM, combined with ~150km/h run speed with its MASC and a firepower of 40+ damage with its lasers makes for a terrifying light hunter or a backline assassin. It's an awesome wolfpack mech. Grab a buddy, load up your Lanners in MW:O, break through the lines and then just go on a hunting spree. Two of em in the backline are a nightmare. "Oh, you've got a Catapult in your backline, LRMing our team?" Well, guess what... Now you don't! The amount if times I've sat behind an unsuspecting Mech thanks to the ECM, counting down to zero.. Suddenly that Mech got 90ish damage worth of lasers in their back armour, most of the time instantly melting the center torso, instakilling even assault mechs... Good times. Good times. :D
Counting the honorable mentions, a good portion of my personal top ten would be from this list. My favorite from the first time I saw it was the Atlas and all these years later it is still my favorite. Only a few others, like the Mad Cat 2, are even in the same general level for me. My favorite from the ones you didn't mention is the Cyclops. I love having a command mech like that and I like the benefits it provides. Separately, since you mentioned them, I would love to see you do a video about your favourite physical merchandise - like models or miniatures. I know that would be more focused on how they look versus how they play or perform, but I love looking at them and know I haven't seen a lot of them.
@@rultkiraly43 there's always something to be said for a wargame choice that's nothing but fast and hella durable. Make it a poor choice to shoot at it, and a worse choice to ignore, and suddenly you have something that will firmly declare "these hexes are mine now, and I have the points to punish you, severely, for trying to take them back." In chess terms, it's a knight, and if you lose it, but open your opponent's position by doing so, you're not feeling too bad about it. On the other hand, if you get it where it wants to be, it still forces your opponent to make some really bad choices, and lose valuable material in the process.
My all time favorite is the Battlemaster. I know it isn't great but I fell in live wuth its lore in the original technical readout and actually liked that it had rear facing weapons in the 1 G configuration and that the PPC was hand held and coukd be "dropped" to engage in fisticuffs.
Honestly the reason I like the Battlemaster is ... the cockpit. That long canopy gives it a very distinctive look that sets it apart form the rest of the crowd. Outside of that it is a competent brawler. Well worth adding into any assault unit, just to enjoy the sight of it marching.
Favorite Inner Sphere Mechs, one from each weight class: Mongoose, Clint, Marauder, and Highlander. Favorite Clan Mechs, one from each weight class: Koshi, Nobori-Nin, Vulture, and Masakari.
Saddened that my prized Centurion is only in the honorable mentions. Still it made into the video. Great stuff mate, just came back to Battletech after a cold intro with MWO and the Battletech game. Your vids have been amazing in getting the lore in.
Finished watching this at 1135hrs on New Year's Eve local time. I must say that you and I share a lot in common when it comes to choosing our favourites though my list differ somewhat, partially due to my own bias against later BTech storyline. That being said, there are a few 'Mechs I'm pretty fond of which are often not covered by people. Anyway, here's just a few in my list in no particular order: 1. Bushwhacker (good ol' jack of all trades and never professed to be an expert at anything, much less a master of) 2. Phoenix Hawk (because: Crescent Hawk's Inception [yes it was the LAM shown, but the model it was based on is THE 'Mech]) 3. Thanatos (just for being unimaginatively correct to my playstyle) 4. Uziel (medium PPC platform? Bring it on) 5. Gunslinger 6. Hunchback 7. Piranha (great for laughs, until your opponents drop their jaws when you run to the back of their medium 'Mechs and hammer them with your one dozen dakka output and punching for good effect) 8. Grand Titan???? (Just because of the commercial stint depicting it defeating an Atlas in a one-on-one, crushing the skull of the Atlas just for show.... and the fact that no one tends to talk about it. Despite the design's long list of weaknesses including a ridiculously hefty price tag [you can buy 3 Atlases for the cost of a single Grand Titan], the marketing stint got stuck in my mind)
Lol just thinking about a firestarter smashing through a building "OH YEAHHHHHHHH" and just hearing the screams and flaming bodies....never underestimate the lights lol....another great vid like always btw!
Succession wars? The Centurion for sure. The look, the ac20, the sacrificial arm I love it all. For clan though, it has to be the Thor (summoner!) It's just the most versatile mech I know with plenty of weight for armaments, plus it's got hops to supplement it's speed and range of engagement distances. It may look funky to some, but to me, that's amore'
1. Highlander. 2. Warhammer (& IIC) 3. Orion. Nothing fancy, timeless designs that have put in work for centuries and are still standing. Honourable mentions: Timber Wolf, Thor, King Crab, Victor, Firefly.
It's pretty refreshing to see Dark Ages mechs, and surprising to see the Anzu in the honorable mentions. I know a lot of people dump on the Dark Ages, and I do also dump on the setting and real world shift into the Dark Ages, but many of the mechs that came out of there are fantastic. I personally love the Night Wolf. That'd probably top my own ten favorite mechs list.
Pretty glad to see the Firestarter make the list. I recently got back into Battletech 2018 and was quickly reminded why these ''little'' monsters are to be feared. In fact as soon as I got my hands on a FS9-H I got a little spark of inspiration and equipped it with nothing but small lasers, machine guns and jump jets. During a fight with a pretty heavy lance, I kept most of the opposition pinned down with my Medium mechs while my little modified Firestarter circled around and jumped right on the back of a 70-ton Warhammer, unleashing all of its small lasers and machine gun fire right in the center back torso, hitting the cache of ammunition foolishly stashed there and taking the behemoth out in one hit. Since then I've basically made the FS9-H the mascot of the team, given it a custom name and used it everytime I needed a nimble little metal gremlin to take out things far, far heavier than itself.
In my opinion, the best light Mach is the clan mech The phantom, I just find it fascinating, and his speedy as hell and I don’t remember the variation but I had like a lot of small pulses
Stormcrow is one of my faves - fast, punchy, nice mix of variants and looks sharp. I also appreciate the Nova as its slightly less flashy counterpart, nothing too special with the clan equipement but plenty of pod space.
By design, the Mauler just look so cool in my opinion. As for clan mech, a pack of cougars is just simply such a beautiful sight. Like a pack of hunting dogs of war ripping apart the enemy piece by piece.
Excellent Video liked all of the mechs you listed. If i had to go with favorites Lights - Firestarter Medium - Hatchetman or Wolverine Heavy - Catapult or Marauder (the unseen appearance is so cool) Assault - Atlas (first mech mini I got as well) Nightstar is a close runner up (MW5) I'm not familiar enough with mechs post succession wars (just now getting into the clan invasion era lore wise) to have many favorites besides the Mad Cat Series.
Those ranking are great. I am fascinated with formation rank 'mechs. 'mechs that make others work better. Watchman, wolfhound, hoplites, enforcers. The ignored 'mechs that serves to fill up a company and are cheap in BV and C-Bills.
Nice mech choices. Topically enough, for the firestarter, I find it gets much more lethal when the flamers get removed in the mirage variant. Those extra machine guns make it still very anti infantry capable, and the extra 3 tons of armor and small lasers, with the machine guns, make it a rear crit seeking nightmare that's hard to put down. TBF between the fire starter, Jenner, wolfhound and other fantastic lights the common theme seems to be that 35 tons is just that weight sweet spot for giving the machine what it needs for its niche and keeping it still speedy (although not necessarily cheap, 20 and 25 tonners still have a place). Also for the wolverine 6M, all I can say is glory to Marik.
@@THEROOKIE6666 In the clan era, I'd fully agree, in the introtech era, I think the MGs, in the age of single heatsinks, are a decent choice for light mechs you expect to get up close and personal, given they can give you 2 damage per gun for ZERO heat. Its like 2 MGs are a heatless SRM2 for the same weight including ammo, if even shorter ranged. Although, usually most designs have way too much MG ammo, there's never a good reason for more than half a ton unless your rocking 8 MGs or more. Oh and infantry, if you take away the flamers there still needs to be something to make those ground pounders wear the brown pants.
My favorite of all time is the Thunderbolt. My favorite medium is the Shadowhawk closely edging out the Phoenixhawk. My favorite light would have to be the Spider with the Mongoose and Mercury close runner ups. (Very much a TRO 3025 guy.) My favorite assault is a hard call... but I got to go with the Devastator.
I am with you with the "characterful" aspect: My favorite has to be the Hellbringer Prime. Yes, it is under armored quite substantially, but geez, it makes some holes. I remember hitting an Awesome with a center torso critical hit (engine, twice) and a head clip in the same round from a distance at which the Awesome could not even return fire in one of my earliest games of REVIVAL. Against the IS during that period, it was a spectacular mech. To quote you: Anything it could not outgun, it could outrun. I started to play it as a sniper that did not need a bodyguard unless the most hard hitting flankers showed up and it excelled in that role, being able to snipe away any flankers that might become dangerous with (relative) ease early in a battle. That mech showed me how devastatingly superior clan tech was when used wisely. Another Mech that has a place in my heart is the CRD-3L "Crusader" in 3025 games. It is not spectacular in its own right, but as part of a lance it is a very capable Mech for finishing of what others have begun. I often pair it with snipers or brawlers since again, this missile boat does not need protection unless faced with the most hard hitting flankers - which again are usually at the top of my target priorities. Another game I remember is my CRD-3L performing a death from above into an Atlas out of desperation. A turn later, the Crusader was destroyed, but the Atlas was so battered that it went down the next round.
I thought about this for a bit and here's mine. Now this is based on very limited tabletop and lore experience. So they're based on aesthetics and video games. 1. Hunchback (This is the only one that comes mostly from a lore/spirit perspective) 2. Arctic Wolf 3. Hellhound 4. Marauder 5. Archer (Robotech Gladiator) 6. Locust 7. Uziel 8. Fafnir 9. Hellspawn (like a mini warhammer) 10. Raven
I remember my first ever mech was the Commando. I basically loaded it up with way too many lasers and not enough heat sinks, to where one alpha strike instantly overheated my mech. I've since swapped over to a custom King Crab, focused on rushing down enemies before tearing them in half with it's Crusher Claws. Magpulse rockets support this tactic, making sure they have a harder time hitting me before I get too close.
I have to go with two of your honorable mentions as my absolute favorites: The Highlander and the Banshee 5S. Although, piloting an assault mech can sometimes feel like a luxury, so I have to mention that I also have a supreme love for The Vulture (Mad Dog). I don't think I've seen you do videos on the Berserker or the Wraith, but I hope those are in the pipeline because while I've never had the chance to play with either of them, I find them very intriguing and would love your take on them.
I personally love the Catapult. It's a cockpit on legs that shoots missiles out of boxes. The fun begins when you realize that by stuffing those boxes full of SRMs you effectively make a missile shotgun. It's really funny how well it works.
Catapult is my favorite by far and it is the only one I bought a founder's pack for in MWO all those years ago.
I've always loved the Catapult, just such a nice design
A fellow follower of the BPL I see. You see Tex's new video on the charger?
@@NeroLordofChaos Of course, I watched the premiere. I do still love the Catapult for reasons beyond memes. It's a very simple and functional mech that's very good at being kitted out and customized for specialist roles. It generally doesn't do well as an 'all rounder' mech but it is VERY good if you go all in on an idea (such as, giving the -j variant snub PPCs and going cockpit hunting, or my own favorite of firing an entire shoulder of SRMs at a light mech with a single trigger pull).
I tried the Catapult Shotgun in MWO for fun. It's only effective in urban combat but that alpha strike is nasty to get hit in the face with.
The Shadowhawk will always be my favorite. There's just something so, SO sexy about seeing that autocannon right next to your cockpit. Plus I just really love simple, workhorse mechs.
The Awesome shall always be my favorite. First mech my dad let me pilot in MW4 [He was apparently one of the best Team Attrition players, though he preferred the Sunder.] I will never forget treading across a battlefield, peppering to death enemies with unrelenting PPC fire. Bought MW5 and played MWO solely to get my hands on it. Truly is my darling.
Do you know what's better than three PPCs? 4 clantech ER PPCs ( _Awesome C_ ) 😵
I always liked the Warhawk for similar reasons. I always ditched the LRM10 for extra heat sinks. 4x ER PPCs is scary regardless of how much armor you got.
I remember when Harebrained Schemes did their dev gameplay showcase video prior to release. Guy starts up the mission, has an Atlas, goes into combat, and it immediately takes a critical headshot and dies... that's actually how I've always felt about the Atlas.
Thats how i got my Atlas in Mechwarrior 5 😂.
I knew i couldnt go toe to toe with this thing, but i was a pretty mean shot with my AC10 Centurion. So i kept going for headshots.
When the salvage screen popped up, i saw the only part that took serious damage was the cockpit. 🤣
Mad Dog! love it's versatility and it's start as a mockery turned into a mainline support unit for most clans.
Aswell as most clan mechs being cool.. most mechs in general being cool
@Jonathan Wolfe that nose mount doesnt exist in mwo and mw5... well it does but it doesnt... it counts as ct now
@Jonathan Wolfe all mechs have atleast some form of EW suites even if there are mechs with ecm that make that effectively useless.... and the maddog from the front has a great hitbox actually... rear and sides are a deaths sentence... just like a normal tank
The Crab has to be my favorite battlemech. At first I was drawn to it for it's silly name and meme factor, but what I found was a reliable, fast, decently well armored, and well armed little machine. The Crab goes from being a humble but solid 50 ton mech, to being an aggressively armed monster on the battlefield that gets faster and faster as well as packing exponentially more effective armament as time goes on. Despite being familiar with it's variants, I find myself frequently going back to double take what they have because I'm continually surprised with how much these machines can bring to bear on the battlefield. Any time I put together lances, I always find myself trying to slot in a Crab no matter if it's a light lance or a heavy lance, it's fast enough to keep up with the lights, and well armed enough to keep up with the heaviest. Truly a fantastic mech 🦀
Agreed, I'm unsure if it's my #1 (the Warhammer is stiff competition after all) but it's definitely in my top 2 for all of the reasons you listed. It's a beautiful all-rounder and the lack of ammo means it can never stop hitting (absent damage, of course). It's also one of the few mechs that I prefer the MWO/HBS design to the CGL one. Glad I have access to a 3D printer so I can field it on the tabletop. :)
It is one of my favourites as well. The armor is outstanding for a medium in my optinion an dit makes for a great companion to a Marauder. Also I do have a meme lance witha king crab and how ever many crabs the game allows.
For me it would be:
-Timber Wolf - I cannot get enough of its iconic look, especially when painted in Jade Falcon colors.
-Night Gyr - Clan pocket assault, what I think the Hellbringer should have been.
-Summoner - A little undergunned, but what is a Jade Falcon fan without liking this classic?
-Bane - Who let an Ork in the Clan Scientist Caste?
-Stalker - Looks like a Kirov on legs. Wish there was more art of it with a shark-faced nose paint job.
-Charger - Everyone looks to the Urbanmech as the meme king, but for me, it is this terrible running pile of hilarity, fisticuffs, and shoulder tackles.
-Fire Moth - FAST, and I cannot get enough of the funny gangster arms.
-Adder - Hits really hard for a light, I remember being surprised by their twin PPCs when I decided to try fighting a couple of them in the instant action mode in MW3.
-Kingfisher - Arguably THE Clan zombie mech.
-Stormcrow - Flashbacks to the first Jade Falcon mission in MW2, and in my opinion, the true medium brother to the Timber Wolf, not the Mad Cat III.
That and the charger can dish out more pushiment over a shorter amount of time in close range being 80 tons and lots of small lasers... nice choices btw for the most part... some of those you picked I cant seem to find a loadout on table top or in games that I like
The Stormcrow is a surprising 'mech. "Eh, it's a medium laser boat, nothing fancy." Oh so wrong. One of my highest ranked matches in MWO, I decided to run the Stormcrow in its Prime variant. It was gross. Even more so because it was on that long, flat snow map that usually results in a LRM-off to the death.
I have gotta love your choice of mechs, I more in the wolf camp though not the main group. I play a own group called the Star Wolves, and my own favorites would be this
1/ Stone Rhino - though it's the only clan mech that I prefer the IS name over it's clan name - Behemoth
2/ Timber wolf II
3/ Timber wolf
4/ Mist Lynx / Timber Wolf III
5/ Shadow Hawk IIC
6/ Adder
7/ Alpha Wolf
8/ Nova
9/ Mad dog
10/ Piranha
Disagree with the hellbringer. It's supposed to be a recon, high tech battlemech that can hold its own ground long enough to get room to retreat before it's armour gets ripped off. The summoner is what the hellbringer should be but without the electronics, more armour and tonnage to use but no, it's a disappointment.
@@TimberWulfIsHere ever tried laser only summoner? Its decent... plus the hellbringer is apparently half of a summoner legs wise
It has to go to the OG Marauder for me. Or the Crab. They're just so pretty.
The OG Marauder had serious heat problems and weak torso armor over its AC-5 ammo
The Crab is a solid design
I loved the mech designs in mechcommanders art book. It was the first game related to mechwarrior my brother and I played.
Always wondered what the Marauder would have looked like in that game if it could have been included.
@jamesricker3997 as a Warhammer main, marauders give me genuine pause. Especially with advanced rules with quirks. Glancing hits suck..
The Marauder is sexy, if that term can be used for a weapon of war. Before the Clan Invasion, the Marauder and the Warhammer were two of my faves. Now that I'm a Clanner, I love me the Timber Wolf, although the Dasher, Nova, and Warhawk and Warhammer IIC all hold places in my little black Nova Cat heart, nyao.
@@kitirena_koneko Yes. Yes it can. Also aaaaghr ! Clanners aren't real people ! (Sorry.)
I have a soft-spot for the Bushwacker. I feel like it's a smaller Marauder, and it's probably my favourite jack-of-all-trades mech. And I like it's goofy look
I love the Catapult K2K because you can configure it into almost anything.
I eventually shove a 400XXL engine with a masc+supercharger and hardened armor on it when I can afford it then use corrosive cooling systems and clan lbx2, heavy medium lasers and 2 clan erppc so I can be a nasty 130+ kph maniac in a mech that's been tinkered with over a campaign to the point it costs more than any other stock mech in battletech.
It hits very hard just by ramming into smaller mechs, the hardend armor makes crits through the armor non-existent... you literally have to strip 16 tons of hardend armor off a catapult moving 130+ kph in order to land a crit.
It's a massive waste of money and I love it.
"It's a massive waste of money and I love it"
Being a fellow fan of the catapult (mostly as I just live for Robotech style missile swarms), I'm gonna have to play around with this idea next time I get the chance. Cheers
@@tybirous3417 The corrosive cooling system means you have acid for blood, if that hard shell can be cracked.
Although the basic kilo2 variant is terrible. Oh no! It's Lady Loudmouth and her Amazing Overheating Kilo Cat! Bring fire. Lots of it.
@@sword_of_light Honestly 4 Large Lasers and 2 LMGs feels like a better all-rounder loadout than the starting loadout
The Wolverine has been my personal mech on the tabletop since 1986. It is nice to see my old friend getting the love it deserves in this video.
In the Succession Wars, imo, the 6M is the best mech of the era for its abilities on the tabletop. It's not undefeatable, but everything from lights to assaults should be terrified of it. Especially with a good pilot inside.
I do like the Black Lanner. I feel like someone during the design phase mixed up the blueprints of a Shadow Cat and a Cougar and was like... That works.
Except for the weird arm configuration it has... like they wanted to copy the thor but messed up royally
Black Lanner remains me of a clan omni version of the the Champion.
Agreed..... and I like the art created for the Battletech TCG. I had a star of them in my Jade Falcon deck.
The Marauder has always just been the mech that was the best looking and best performing to me. Even though they might not have the pure DPS of some other mechs, the consistency that they can lay into enemies just puts them over the top for me.
Another fun thing about the MadCat II is that at the time of it's first appearance, it's more common in certain IS factions than in some of the Invading Clans.
The Nightsky is easily my favorite mech. The look of it, the speed, the all pulse loadout, it's wonderful
The quality of the art does help with my appraisal of a mech and the Nightstar stayed under the radar for ages until I picked one and realized how good it was.
Nightstar with 2 Gauss is awesome
Having rolled the dice and trying to make it work.. Pulse is a lie! Lol
Adding my 2 c-bills worth to the mix:
10. Mad Dog Prime - reach out and touch someone...
9. Awesome 9M - the name says it all...
8. Warhammer 7M - coz AMS...
7. King Crab 000B / KJ / CAR - makes enemies piss in their pants
6. Black Knight 6B - for days when u don't wanna carry any damn ammo...
5. Highlander 732B - mobile any-range firepower
4. Nightstar 9J / FC - king of the headclippers in my opinion...
3.Timberwolf Prime - long range missiles of doom rain upon thee, then shooty shooty face melty...
2. Marauder II 4A - 2 ER PPCs to the face means never having to say sorry...
1. Marauder 5D - sleek, deadly and it jumps!
You're the first person I've ever seen that likes the 9M Awesome.
@@anexistanthuman2435 well its... Honestly kinda awesome. It does nothing perfect, but it's not supposed to. It's come out around the same time as the OG Warhammer and rifleman, and from the same idiots that built the charger. The mech is ancient, and managed to go 500 years with few substantial upgrades. It's SUPPOSED to be overshadowed, but it's still very good at what it does. I think that's kinda cool.
@@tybirous3417 The 9M Awesome is an upgrade introduced right before the clan invasion that gave it an XL engine and some SRM's as backup weapons, as well as giving it ERPPC's and double heat sinks. I love the 8Q and especially the 9Q, but the 9M always felt weird, it trades durability for more firepower and speed, which is fine but not my thing
I like the Grasshopper, it's a heavy scout done right. Not terrible in a brawl either since it's good at jumping behind enemies and shooting them in the back.
In BTA3062 I've got one that is armed with 10 heavy flamers. It auto shuts down 85% of the mechs it shoots. It melts vehicles and battle armor into slag. And I use it in assassination attempt missions where I get 1 mech vs 2. Run up, shut one mech down, shut the next mech down while the first one blows itself up. Repeat. What a beast.
I've got a Grasshopper in my current RogueTech campaign. Its role is recon and spotter - TAG and a Guardian ECM. Especially useful against those damned EW stars the WoBblies field.
The Grasshopper is my favorite mech, I love the way that it plays on the table.
You can make it much scarier if you start with the 5H, take out the LRM-5 and downgrade the large laser to a medium to fit two more medium lasers, whatever balance of extra heat sinks and small lasers you care for, and an extra ton of armor.
I love the 5N and the 5P from Mechwarrior 5. I've got one of each in my current Mechwarrior 5 Career but refit with ER PPCs n in place of their standard PPCs. The 5P is my character's primary ride while the 5N used to be his main Mech but he now uses it for the second mission of multi-mission contracts
for me, in no order, the mad dog (the mech that got me into battletech), the timberwolf (an icon that I absolutely love the look of, especially the more modern depictions with shorter, thicker arms that dont look like they are about to snap from their own weight alone), the king crab (nuff said), the atlas (the icon of the sphere as much as the timby is to the clans, and one of the faces of the franchise indeed), and the savage wolf as probably my top mech, for both being a striking, unique design while still being clearly identifyable as a modernized timberwolf
My favorite mech dates back to my time playing MechWarrior 3, the Shadow Cat. I just somehow always seemed to perform better with the machine over any other. I gladly took it up against the Annihilator, and won. I know it is far from the "best", but it served me well.
Yeah shadow cat was a fun mech to start with 👍
@@helljester8097 started with a Bushwacker in Mech 3.
The annihilator pilot must be ripping their hair out from beyond the grave from how they were bested by something slightly less then half their mechs weight
The annihilator is pretty bad
@@anexistanthuman2435 it always scared me when I ran into it, if I was in anything other than my Shadow Cat I came away missing multiple components if I even managed to survive.
The Marauder always has a place in my heart, but I love the Thug for some reason.
It's because the Thug provides that Thug Life.
Seeing that image of the Archangel makes me realize that we really don't have much BattleTech/MechWarrior games outside of tabletop that take place in the Jihad era and onwards.
Really hope that we do someday. I really want to stomp around in a Celestial during the Jihad or just zoom across battlefields in a Lament during the Dark Ages.
The Timber Wolf will always be the glorious beauty of prowess, but the Thunderbolt really sings to me.
Thunderbolt is my favorite. Heavy enough to threaten anything, weapons for any range, it can take a punch, I love the blocky no-nonsense design, and it has the best name. ⚡⚡⚡
@@Maladjesterit's my favorite mech because, like the atlas, orion and highlander, it's only gimmick is being a hammer to smash your enemies with, no matter the tonnage of the enemy, the thunderbolt is a valid solution to make them go away expeditiously.
Anyone who can, will have a thunderbolt, and anyone who can't, will feel the lack of it.
A marvelous hammer indeed.
That was my first mech when I started playing; a solid all-rounder.
When I started playing, I loved the MAD-3R Marauder, but once I started playing, I quickly switched to the Thunderbolt. Good at all ranges, and enough armor to stand the line against everything
I love the annihilator. Yes it's got issues, yes its painfully slow, yes it doesn't have the best armor. But it has DAKKA.
When recon says "Sir, we have hostiles coming in from that direction"
The annihilator responds "Roger, removing that direction"
Plus it kinda resembles a Reaver titan from warhammer 40k and that just makes me so happy.
My very first exposure to BattleTech was way back, in the 80s. Mum bought me a book, because I read a lot, and it was the first book in the grey death legion saga, or whatever it was called. I can't even remember the title now, I just think of the game, The Crescent Hawks Inception, which I played a LOT on my brother's Commodore 64, but that is not the title of the book. Most of my memory is hazy. But I remember reading, and loving, the book and then sharing it with my friends. One, I think it was Tim or Chris, was into D&D and they made a map of sorts and a game based on the book, just mocked up a battle from the book on paper. Then the next year, one of us, Mike I think, got the actual board game! Oh, such heavenly fun. Until my luck turned negative and I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. With anything. At point blank range. It f***ing sucked! My friends would walk quietly up to my 'Mech and lie down to give me the maximum chance to hit and I would miss. The dice hated me. My luck has not improved in the last 30+ years. I always liked the Shadow Hawk, from the book. And because I like the darkness (Shadow Hawk). It's easy on the eyes and mine are sensitive to light.
Anyone who's talked with me will know my number one is the Black Knight. But after it, in no particular order, I enjoy the Enforcer, Centurion, Awesome, Marauder II, Caeser & Zeus. While I like plenty of other mechs these are among my absolute favorites.
I generally play introtech, and have never really gotten beyond the Clan Invasion, so I’m working on a somewhat limited set of machines. That said, my favorite ‘mech is a Grasshopper, specifically when you rip out the LRM-5 and downgrade the large laser to a medium to fit two more medium lasers, several small lasers, several more standard heat sinks, and extra armor. With max jump jets it is excellent at jumping in, ripping the center backs out of battlemechs of any size, and then jumping away. It’s also easy on logistics in campaigns, because you can fit more small heat sinks and standard lasers than technologically superior versions, and have no ammunition needs.
Love me some Grasshopper laser disco ball, as well!
The Warhawk (Prime). Four clan PPCs with a targeting computer to make sure they hit. LRMs for indirect fire. Plus it has the same 'narrow/squat' perk of the Marauder. It was my favorite in MechWarrior 2, and it is a long range monster on the board.
My Top Five:
5. Black Knight (BLK-6b-KNT) - This mech to me embodies what a heavy mech should be. Visually, narratively, and mechanically it is an aspirational monster. The Star league model in particular seems fitting in how it promotes its mythical, invincible status.
4. Firestarter (FS9-H) - No mech has done more work for me in the tabletop than the FS9-H across any of the eras I've played in, including Dark Ages. It just has so much going for it. I've ruined an entire lance with this little terror and some lucky crits.
3. Ostsol (OTL-4D) - This mech is very dear to me. I love the design mechanically, but also it just has a few things that no other mech has. Its very unexpected, and often by players regarded as a curiosity more than an actual threat. So much so that (in my experience) it is generally unpopular, which means it is often underestimated. Its able to stay at range and harrass, or close in and devastate with its lasers, or come to knife fighting range where all of its weapons work just fine - including its weaponless fists.
2. Flashman (FLS-8K) - The Flashman is all of the strength of the star league, and all of the strength of the clans; but half a millennia ahead of its time. It is also a hilariously misshapen little battle-egg. It embodies all of the personality and idiosyncrasy that the old era of battletech was built on. Its newer iterations are beautiful, but it's always going to be the deadliest little walking lightbulb to me.
1. Kodiak (Prime) - This is the mech that got me into battletech. In 1998, I unwittingly attended a launch party for an expansion to the battletech TCG, and was given a couple free booster packs. The Kodiak was the first card I drew from the pack carrying the same art on its logo. It was the first card to have introduced me to the game, the system, and the setting. The original art so captivated me that I spent literally years drawing it on the back of homework assignments and scrap printer paper. Then, as I matured and got further into the setting, my love for it only grew. It's a fantastic, meaningful, brutal mech in every iteration its been seen. It is, to me, the embodiment of what a clan mech should be, what an assault mech should be, and what every battlemech should aspire to.
I love your list. love it a lot.
1.)agree about the ostsol and ostroc....under-rated by my opponents. Even when they dont under-rate it, it's too low-priority to shoot at, if I bring some "dangling keys" high-profile assault mech as a distraction.
there's a version of the ostsol that never got upgraded properly, in my opinion: the one with THREE large lasers and 15 heat sinks. if you gave it 12[24] double heat sinks and used the extra 3 tons for ANYTHING else: MASC, 3 JJ, SRMs, LRMs, armor (new or old)....it could have been a baby flashman! All the versatility of a flashman and under-estimated by it's opponents. ah well.
for the most part, the ost series upgrades were mostly pretty good. I'm a fan of it's beautiful ugliness.
2.)flashman - flashman is the anti-cool-kids mech to me. When it came out, ALL the cool kids were putting ERPPCs here and Gauss rifles there and upgrading EVERYTHING with new tech because it was shiny and new and NOT because it was practical.
BUT....if you kept your cool when the new toys came out, you can combine old and new tech into something fearsome....like the flashman. Older lasers, newer heat sinks. Older chassis, newer engine. BOOM: a heavily armored, heavily armed, heavy mech that moves fast and runs cool.
3.)That Firestarter mirage - full suit of armor, 20pts of damage at close range. All the deadliness of an advanced mech in an intro tech designation. It was years ahead of its time.
ANd for me...while it's not a "favorite" of mine, the Falconer is one helluva design: 5/8/5 Gauss Rifle + ERPPC for range, 4 ML for short....75 tonnes. it's like the Flashman's flashier younger foolish middle-child brother, seeking attention and trying hard to prove he's tough . When he gets knocked on his ass, you gotta go get him outta the stink with the Flashman because no one craps on family but me.
I'm loving the love for the Firestarter.
It's hardly a powerhouse or iconic, but it's such a damn useful mech.
It, along with the Crab for me, are the ultimate "I dunno, just throw it in" mechs. The Firestarter will ALWAYS pull its weight, it will ALWAYS play a critical support role, and, while it's not even like, "supposed" to be a good anti-mech weapon, I find it usually punches up very favorably as well.
Such a good mech.
My favorite megemek (virtual tabletop) memory is hiding 3 firestarters in a level -2 ravine for THREE HOURS (double blind game) while maneuvering the rest of my unit.....until the opponent got too close to the ravine, then I jumped out and backstabbed an Awesome and Zeus to death in one turn. He surrendered 10 minutes later.
That game lasted 3 hours and 10 minutes...and I won it in that last 10 minutes with 3 Mirage firestarters.
Absolutely love the Firestarter. That and the Urbie for the same reason. The ability to punch well above their belts is great.
For one, I love the dripping enthusiasm you have for all these 'Mech and especially your favorite factions!
Now, as for mine. This is a bloodletting exercise, because there are many 'Mechs I adore, and I'll drop honorable mentions first, then the top ten.
HM 1: Hunchback
HM 2: Ares
HM 3: Scorpion
HM 4: Locust IIC
HM 5: Marauder
10: Omega
9: Warhammer
8: Goliath
7: Shadow Hawk
6: Highlander
5: Doom Courser
4: Commando
3: Rifleman IIC
2: King Crab
1: Rifleman
People may notice I like some more... Odd designs, and most of these are based off aesthetic, and I've only had MW5 as my gaming experience.
I'd have to go with the Marauder 2 as my number one. It takes everything I love about the Marauder and cranks it up to 11! There's just something about the design that steps away from a traditional humanoid look to something alien that makes it appear so menacing yet beautiful. The Wolfhound would be my second place, followed by the Champion.
As a far more erudite man than I once put it, "if the Marauder is a duelist, the Marauder 2 is a nitromethane fueled steamroller."
I love the Celestial series mechs. They look cool.
I love the Cauldron Born, Catapult, Madcat MkIV, Vulture and Stalker. All of my favorite mechs are the least humanoid, most cold, angular and mechanical looking war machines in the setting.
8:20 "Makes it look like a horribly mutated penguin"
Excuse me what I've got to see this
(Checks sarna)
Oh dear God
In all honesty, I do actually like the design style of Clan mechs that modern BT has developed, primarily as a foil or counterpoint to IS mechs. While IS mechs are usually humanoid in their appearance, Clan mechs are like walking jets or helicopters, focusing less on anesthetics, except for their totem mechs. It's a nice little bit of variety, I think.
I'd overlooked him saying that. Thank you for that comment, that is now my favorite Battletech art.
"Noot Noot" indeed. That art is... unfortunate.
Had this on in the background while painting some of my 'Mechs, and opened the Wolverine's Sarna page to check how to paint the cockpit of the Wolverine I happened to be painting. As I closed the page I thought "Yeah, his number one isn't going to be a Wolverine". Had to laugh when no.1 rolled round!
It is a great mech though, and my quick dismissal of it as a number one just goes to show how easily opponents can do the same, to their detriment. Would love some top 10's of the various size categories as well, or maybe top 10 line mechs like the centurion, thunderbolt, etc.
Wolverines make excellent sleeper mechs... people dont always expect it to melt their Lance's
@THEROOKIE6666 In my current campaign, we are playing with mech quirks. The Wolverine's ability to double torso twist caught our gm off guard and as such, a masterful rear guard was executed.
As a kid that grew with Macross (Robotech in my country during the 80s), I was mesmerized with the swarm of missiles flying all over. When I started playing BT I fell in love with the Archer, even more when I read the Kell Hound novels. I could say that my top 3 is Archer, Thunderbolt and Wolverine.
got to be the annihilator for me. the way its built as a urban assault so its often able to see over buildings combined with enough fire power to peak out and deal more then average damage then other assaults make it a great urban style fighting machine and the way it plays into the theme even to its detriment is what i love
I gotta give it to the Banshee. It's got a great story, and with the 3s and after, it's extremely formidable!
Brand new fan here. Started on MechWarrior 5 and HBS Battletech. Just bought the Starter Box and Game of Armored Combat. Going to mug some of my ttrpg friends and force them to help me run some basic games.
Already though, I got to love the Marauder, Catapult, Crab, and Wolfhound!
My favourite battlemech is Phoenix Hawk. Funny enough through your channel my choise for the spot has changed twice already, used to be Catapult, before I gave a Banshee a spin after that great video, and then Phoenix Hawk video + listening through Ideal War made me give Phoenix a spin, and oh boy, my life was never the same.
Crab has to be my favorite. I mostly familiar with Battletech 2018 game, where I use it as a backstabber/melee brawler with 4 M lasers and 2 MGs with crit bonus. It just doesen't die and cost-effective to refit and repair. Great for backstabbing mechs, tearing off limbs, drawing fire from flankers or stomping vehicles. And there is nothing as amusing and terrifying in equal measure, than to see this thing soar over battlefield.
:D A very cool list. Tbh, when you do approach the Wolverine again, I think it might be interesting for you to mention the evolution of 55 tonners. From GRF to SHD to WVR, there is a fantastic bit of story telling imo, in that it shows changing battlefield philosophies. One is a ruthless hunter, which uses half of itself as a shield. One is specifically good as an operations, support fire, and once armor has been reduced, striker in service of heavier lances, and then the next is a heavily dedicated striker that can maneuver independently. Thanks dude! ✌
I do love all three 55 tonners.
10. Panther
9. Victor
8. Thunderbolt
7. Archer
6. Battlemaster
5. Marauder
4. Orion
3. WolfHound
2. Crusader
1. Atlas
the true icon of battletech has always been and will continue to be; the Robotech tomahawk, aka, the Warhammer. since it first appeared on the covers of Battledroids, 2nd ed and 3rd ed, it has always been imposing and eye catching.
while the Atlas has been a solid member of the game, the next real icon of the game would be the Madcat aka Timberwolf. being prominently displayed on covers like the battletech compendium and TRO 3050, it is the face of the clans.
I saw that #1 spot coming a mile away. Your love for the wolverine is well documented and imo completely appropriate.
Its just one of those mechs that reliably perform well, regularely punches above its weight class and additionally happens to be rather handsome. Its just all around a loveable machine
I am in love with the Huntsman, it's the first mech I ever picked up in MWO. I experimented heavily on it to see what builds worked and to me was the ultimate Clan medium, highly configurable and a default loadout that packed a lot of personality.
Plus, Iglesias' redesign for it was killer, sharp angular edges get to me
No need to wait! Here they are:
10. Woodsman - first Wolf heavy omni
9. Night Wolf - giving mechs, vehicles, and infantry equal opportunity for destruction by Clan Wolf…
8. Tundra Wolf - showing Wolf adaptability, having been designed and built in the IS
7. Gargoyle - because Wolves are FAST!!!
6. Timberwolf - piloted by Vlad Ward!
5. Warwolf - building Wolf strength on top of Wolf strength
4. Orion IIc ONLY the Wolves could make Kerensky’s mech BETTER!
3. Goliath C - taking the quad design to Clan Wolf levels of epicness!!!
2. Stormwolf - legendary collaboration between the Wolf and Sea Fox. The greatest clans!
1. Alpha Wolf - newest and bestest!
I don't think weshare a single mech in common for that list. XD
This "wolf" nomenclature, it dominates your choices....
@@observationsfromthebunker9639 Trolling because it’s fun 😊 I worked as much in as I could, Wolves, quads, Sea Fox, War Wolf, etc 😂
@@fearlessfarless You had a true top 10 of wolf mechs.
All these wolves and no wolfhound?
warhammer iic was my absolute favorite mech in battletech. It's basically a warhammer with all its shortcomings fixed. We can technically optimize it even further but hey, that is barely even necessery. Also happens to be very good for bv value
Because the Warhammer is just so solid. I painted mine like Master Chief.
can't go wrong with warhammer
When you really look at it, The _Warhammer IIc,_ is really more of a clantech upgraded _Thug._ 🤔
@@machinist7230 nope, thug has 2smr6s as its backup. IIC is just medium and small lasers being upgraded to chad cMPLs and have enough heatsinks to fire with ease and enough armor to withstand punishment, all the while keeping standard engine. Mad Cat Mk IV is alot more of a thug than this mech. That one is actually specializes in Srms with ERPPCs.
I'm on my first steps into Battletch TT so I think this channel will have a lot to teach me
I love the Wolverine; it's everything I want in a mech. Hits hard, goes fast, and takes a beating.
I lost my WVR-7K in the campaign I'm playing, but hopefully I can get a new Wolverine. I take one to every battle I can because it just does its job so well.
In HBS BT, my current favorite config for the AS7-DH is 2 large pulses, 2 ER large lasers, 2 LB2s and 1 each of LRM15 and LRM5. Full frontal armor and 3 JJs. Satisfyingly OP.
Just never forget how amazing you are and haveonly the best of luck in all things
So for my list:
10. Timberwolf - It's just iconic
9. Marauder - Another that is iconic to the setting.
8. Longbow - Lots of missiles in a cool package.
7. Wolverine - Arguably the best medium mech.
6. Griffin - Kind of lame in the firepower department, but I have always liked how they looked.
5. Penetrator - Caught a glance of the new sculpt being released, and it looked really good. Laser boats are fun.
4. Archer - The mech of Jamie Wolf and Morgan Kell.
3. Thunderbolt - A solid heavy mech. Might not look the best, but I like it.
2. Nightstar - The new sculpt looks amazing. Hope it will stand up to my wife's filthy clan mechs.
1. Awesome - I always have an awesome. I just think they look cool and are pretty solid.
despite the lack of a Warhammer on the list, I endorse this OG favored list.
I love the Penetrator, where did you find the new sculpt? Is it arriving in the new Kickstarter I presume?
@@benthomson1132 It is on the Hansen's Roughriders Battle Lance box.
@@dicksledge4323 Awesome, thank you! And you're right, that sculpt looks great.
Warhammer 6R for me - for the same reasons you like the Wolverine. Took out 300+ tons with one with minimal support including punching an Orion to pieces. Epic when stuff like that happens in a game, congrats on the Wolverine stomping the daylights out of them.
I’ve been a Dire Wolf guy from day 1. It was on the cover of the first book I ever read and I’ve never faltered.
It is a 100 ton death machine and was also my favorite mech in the Clix game.
As a Succession Wars era player (and one who generally plays ELH), your selection of the -6M is totally spot on. My personal fav is the mech that I started with back in college in 1988, the PXH-1D. Especially as the command mech in a light recon lance. In a succession war era medium recon lance my command choice is the WVR-6M.
The summoner is my absolute favorite in regards to aesthetics and play style
My Top 10 , in no certain Order:
- Warhammer (PS: @BigRed40k the MWO-Hero Mech Version has exactly what you want...no Small Laser but 2 more Maschineguns for it 😉 )
- Marauder (All Time Classic like the Warhammer)
- Wolfhound (Dan Allard Special^^)
- Centurion (Justin Allard Specal with Yen-Lo-Wang at Solaris)
- Atlas (nothing left to tell after your Video^^)
- Banshee (here you are Guilty that i love him with your Video)
- Rifleman (This Mech has something...even if he is not the Best one)
- Marauder II (Again your Video brought him to me...before i know of him but did not knew him)
- Atlas III (Thanks to your Great Video about him)
- Exterminator (I like this Mech since he was first spoken of in the Battle of Tukayid...and with all the Mech-Sheets about him in the defferent Source Books i was Able to create my own Version that can hold his own without Chameleon Light Polarisation Shield and Null Signature Device. But since he is able to carry them..he becomes a Terror to Command Mechs 😁😈 )
Very good list. Of all of them, the only one I wouldn’t have on my list is your number one, but hey… you can agree with someone 100% of the time. I’d move your 3 and 2 to 2 and 1 and put the hunchback in 3. I’d add the hellbringer/Loki and the crusader to the honorable mentions. Those are really the only changes I’d make.
I also love Wolverine 6M was well. It has worked well for me. When I play MW5 and the tabletop games It has become my go to medium mech.
Awesome list! Thanks for sharing! Marauder BH is my favorite overall, with several quirky options behind that, for similar character reasons! Awesome options across the sphere!
I find these very informative and helpful as I get back into the universe of Battletech... thank you
Love the video, your thoughts, and your anecdotes. An amazing wolverine story. Picking favorites is so rough with this stuff, even with my unfamiliarity of a lot of eras. But I'm delighted you mentioned the Centurion who I adore and the King Crab who only is outranked in the field of AC20 delivery systems by the Hunchback solely because of a particularly legendary Hunchback pilot of mine.
The Stalker was the first mech I ever rolled for as a child (well before I knew that the name had connotations) and I don't know what all can match up to that initial nostalgia hit.
Black Lanner is a beauty, and I'm glad you listed it. I was first sold on it when playing MWO with a friend and she suggested it to me. It's like a Shadow Hawk in it's base loadout, but clantech makes the jack-of-all-trades design work.
For me, the Daishi/Dire Wolf holds a special place in my heart from my MW4: Mercs. Ruling the battlefield was easy with that thing
True... but no differences between armor and structure made most mechs in the previous games severely weakened compared to the newer games and tabletop
Mad Cat MK 2 is easily one of my top 3. Just fantastic.
Fast, well armed, well armored. Jump jets, head clipping. Good stuff.
It's the Marauder II for me. It's just as tough as an Atlas punches hard from a distance, can jump, is insanely durable, can shoot over cover with its shoulder cannon, has numerous configurations that are viable and just looks sexy as hell.
Someone who actually mentions the Black Lanner... I love that thing, if only because it's effectively a light Mech with medium Mech weapons tonnage. ECM, combined with ~150km/h run speed with its MASC and a firepower of 40+ damage with its lasers makes for a terrifying light hunter or a backline assassin. It's an awesome wolfpack mech.
Grab a buddy, load up your Lanners in MW:O, break through the lines and then just go on a hunting spree. Two of em in the backline are a nightmare. "Oh, you've got a Catapult in your backline, LRMing our team?" Well, guess what... Now you don't!
The amount if times I've sat behind an unsuspecting Mech thanks to the ECM, counting down to zero.. Suddenly that Mech got 90ish damage worth of lasers in their back armour, most of the time instantly melting the center torso, instakilling even assault mechs... Good times. Good times. :D
Counting the honorable mentions, a good portion of my personal top ten would be from this list. My favorite from the first time I saw it was the Atlas and all these years later it is still my favorite. Only a few others, like the Mad Cat 2, are even in the same general level for me. My favorite from the ones you didn't mention is the Cyclops. I love having a command mech like that and I like the benefits it provides. Separately, since you mentioned them, I would love to see you do a video about your favourite physical merchandise - like models or miniatures. I know that would be more focused on how they look versus how they play or perform, but I love looking at them and know I haven't seen a lot of them.
Ostscout, UrbanMech, JagerMech, and Charger.
That's like the perfect Lance right there.
The misfits?
@@argokarrus2731 With the charger? The Misfist
@@rultkiraly43 if you pilot it right, that fist doesn't miss...
@@andrewamann2821 yeah. BPL convinced me about the FloridaMech
@@rultkiraly43 there's always something to be said for a wargame choice that's nothing but fast and hella durable. Make it a poor choice to shoot at it, and a worse choice to ignore, and suddenly you have something that will firmly declare "these hexes are mine now, and I have the points to punish you, severely, for trying to take them back."
In chess terms, it's a knight, and if you lose it, but open your opponent's position by doing so, you're not feeling too bad about it. On the other hand, if you get it where it wants to be, it still forces your opponent to make some really bad choices, and lose valuable material in the process.
This was a fun list! The top choice surprised me, but now I have a new appreciation for it.
My all time favorite is the Battlemaster. I know it isn't great but I fell in live wuth its lore in the original technical readout and actually liked that it had rear facing weapons in the 1 G configuration and that the PPC was hand held and coukd be "dropped" to engage in fisticuffs.
Honestly the reason I like the Battlemaster is ... the cockpit. That long canopy gives it a very distinctive look that sets it apart form the rest of the crowd. Outside of that it is a competent brawler. Well worth adding into any assault unit, just to enjoy the sight of it marching.
@@Chris_Sizemore agree on all points.
Favorite Inner Sphere Mechs, one from each weight class: Mongoose, Clint, Marauder, and Highlander.
Favorite Clan Mechs, one from each weight class: Koshi, Nobori-Nin, Vulture, and Masakari.
Saddened that my prized Centurion is only in the honorable mentions. Still it made into the video. Great stuff mate, just came back to Battletech after a cold intro with MWO and the Battletech game. Your vids have been amazing in getting the lore in.
Finished watching this at 1135hrs on New Year's Eve local time. I must say that you and I share a lot in common when it comes to choosing our favourites though my list differ somewhat, partially due to my own bias against later BTech storyline. That being said, there are a few 'Mechs I'm pretty fond of which are often not covered by people. Anyway, here's just a few in my list in no particular order:
1. Bushwhacker (good ol' jack of all trades and never professed to be an expert at anything, much less a master of)
2. Phoenix Hawk (because: Crescent Hawk's Inception [yes it was the LAM shown, but the model it was based on is THE 'Mech])
3. Thanatos (just for being unimaginatively correct to my playstyle)
4. Uziel (medium PPC platform? Bring it on)
5. Gunslinger
6. Hunchback
7. Piranha (great for laughs, until your opponents drop their jaws when you run to the back of their medium 'Mechs and hammer them with your one dozen dakka output and punching for good effect)
8. Grand Titan???? (Just because of the commercial stint depicting it defeating an Atlas in a one-on-one, crushing the skull of the Atlas just for show.... and the fact that no one tends to talk about it. Despite the design's long list of weaknesses including a ridiculously hefty price tag [you can buy 3 Atlases for the cost of a single Grand Titan], the marketing stint got stuck in my mind)
Great video. Love all those mechs. The Lanner was a cool surprising addition.
Not all mechs are speroid mechs :)
@Big Red 40k gotta have some good mechs in the list I hear ya ;)
I asked you if you'd make a video on this and you said no! Glad to see you came around!
Lol just thinking about a firestarter smashing through a building "OH YEAHHHHHHHH" and just hearing the screams and flaming bodies....never underestimate the lights lol....another great vid like always btw!
Succession wars? The Centurion for sure. The look, the ac20, the sacrificial arm I love it all.
For clan though, it has to be the Thor (summoner!) It's just the most versatile mech I know with plenty of weight for armaments, plus it's got hops to supplement it's speed and range of engagement distances. It may look funky to some, but to me, that's amore'
A most excellent video... I love your videos along with. The on point commentary...
1. Highlander.
2. Warhammer (& IIC)
3. Orion.
Nothing fancy, timeless designs that have put in work for centuries and are still standing.
Honourable mentions: Timber Wolf, Thor, King Crab, Victor, Firefly.
It's easy to hear the pride you took in making this list.
It's pretty refreshing to see Dark Ages mechs, and surprising to see the Anzu in the honorable mentions. I know a lot of people dump on the Dark Ages, and I do also dump on the setting and real world shift into the Dark Ages, but many of the mechs that came out of there are fantastic. I personally love the Night Wolf. That'd probably top my own ten favorite mechs list.
I like the Dark Age personally. :)
Pretty glad to see the Firestarter make the list. I recently got back into Battletech 2018 and was quickly reminded why these ''little'' monsters are to be feared.
In fact as soon as I got my hands on a FS9-H I got a little spark of inspiration and equipped it with nothing but small lasers, machine guns and jump jets.
During a fight with a pretty heavy lance, I kept most of the opposition pinned down with my Medium mechs while my little modified Firestarter circled around and jumped right on the back of a 70-ton Warhammer, unleashing all of its small lasers and machine gun fire right in the center back torso, hitting the cache of ammunition foolishly stashed there and taking the behemoth out in one hit.
Since then I've basically made the FS9-H the mascot of the team, given it a custom name and used it everytime I needed a nimble little metal gremlin to take out things far, far heavier than itself.
I‘ve just stumbled over your Channel. It’s a great source, especially as a newbie to the BattleTech Universe.
In my opinion, the best light Mach is the clan mech The phantom, I just find it fascinating, and his speedy as hell and I don’t remember the variation but I had like a lot of small pulses
You've been getting better and better with these videos over time, I've been a fan of yours since I first found your videos around nine months ago
Stormcrow is one of my faves - fast, punchy, nice mix of variants and looks sharp. I also appreciate the Nova as its slightly less flashy counterpart, nothing too special with the clan equipement but plenty of pod space.
By design, the Mauler just look so cool in my opinion. As for clan mech, a pack of cougars is just simply such a beautiful sight. Like a pack of hunting dogs of war ripping apart the enemy piece by piece.
Excellent Video liked all of the mechs you listed.
If i had to go with favorites
Lights - Firestarter
Medium - Hatchetman or Wolverine
Heavy - Catapult or Marauder (the unseen appearance is so cool)
Assault - Atlas (first mech mini I got as well) Nightstar is a close runner up (MW5)
I'm not familiar enough with mechs post succession wars (just now getting into the clan invasion era lore wise) to have many favorites besides the Mad Cat Series.
Happy New Years!! Great video. Thank you. Black Knight for life!!
Those ranking are great.
I am fascinated with formation rank 'mechs. 'mechs that make others work better.
Watchman, wolfhound, hoplites, enforcers. The ignored 'mechs that serves to fill up a company and are cheap in BV and C-Bills.
Nice mech choices. Topically enough, for the firestarter, I find it gets much more lethal when the flamers get removed in the mirage variant. Those extra machine guns make it still very anti infantry capable, and the extra 3 tons of armor and small lasers, with the machine guns, make it a rear crit seeking nightmare that's hard to put down. TBF between the fire starter, Jenner, wolfhound and other fantastic lights the common theme seems to be that 35 tons is just that weight sweet spot for giving the machine what it needs for its niche and keeping it still speedy (although not necessarily cheap, 20 and 25 tonners still have a place). Also for the wolverine 6M, all I can say is glory to Marik.
Or better yet no MGS and instead more small lasers so it doesnt have to worry about battle armors whatsoever or reloading its stock of ammo
@@THEROOKIE6666 In the clan era, I'd fully agree, in the introtech era, I think the MGs, in the age of single heatsinks, are a decent choice for light mechs you expect to get up close and personal, given they can give you 2 damage per gun for ZERO heat. Its like 2 MGs are a heatless SRM2 for the same weight including ammo, if even shorter ranged. Although, usually most designs have way too much MG ammo, there's never a good reason for more than half a ton unless your rocking 8 MGs or more. Oh and infantry, if you take away the flamers there still needs to be something to make those ground pounders wear the brown pants.
My favorite of all time is the Thunderbolt. My favorite medium is the Shadowhawk closely edging out the Phoenixhawk. My favorite light would have to be the Spider with the Mongoose and Mercury close runner ups. (Very much a TRO 3025 guy.) My favorite assault is a hard call... but I got to go with the Devastator.
I stared with Mechwarrior 4 Vengeance so I've always loved the vulture ever since that first cinematic.
I am with you with the "characterful" aspect: My favorite has to be the Hellbringer Prime. Yes, it is under armored quite substantially, but geez, it makes some holes. I remember hitting an Awesome with a center torso critical hit (engine, twice) and a head clip in the same round from a distance at which the Awesome could not even return fire in one of my earliest games of REVIVAL. Against the IS during that period, it was a spectacular mech. To quote you: Anything it could not outgun, it could outrun. I started to play it as a sniper that did not need a bodyguard unless the most hard hitting flankers showed up and it excelled in that role, being able to snipe away any flankers that might become dangerous with (relative) ease early in a battle. That mech showed me how devastatingly superior clan tech was when used wisely.
Another Mech that has a place in my heart is the CRD-3L "Crusader" in 3025 games. It is not spectacular in its own right, but as part of a lance it is a very capable Mech for finishing of what others have begun. I often pair it with snipers or brawlers since again, this missile boat does not need protection unless faced with the most hard hitting flankers - which again are usually at the top of my target priorities. Another game I remember is my CRD-3L performing a death from above into an Atlas out of desperation. A turn later, the Crusader was destroyed, but the Atlas was so battered that it went down the next round.
I thought about this for a bit and here's mine. Now this is based on very limited tabletop and lore experience. So they're based on aesthetics and video games.
1. Hunchback (This is the only one that comes mostly from a lore/spirit perspective)
2. Arctic Wolf
3. Hellhound
4. Marauder
5. Archer (Robotech Gladiator)
6. Locust
7. Uziel
8. Fafnir
9. Hellspawn (like a mini warhammer)
10. Raven
I remember my first ever mech was the Commando. I basically loaded it up with way too many lasers and not enough heat sinks, to where one alpha strike instantly overheated my mech.
I've since swapped over to a custom King Crab, focused on rushing down enemies before tearing them in half with it's Crusher Claws. Magpulse rockets support this tactic, making sure they have a harder time hitting me before I get too close.
I have to go with two of your honorable mentions as my absolute favorites: The Highlander and the Banshee 5S. Although, piloting an assault mech can sometimes feel like a luxury, so I have to mention that I also have a supreme love for The Vulture (Mad Dog). I don't think I've seen you do videos on the Berserker or the Wraith, but I hope those are in the pipeline because while I've never had the chance to play with either of them, I find them very intriguing and would love your take on them.