The Striker on the cover is 100% better than the "RV with Katyusha option" silhouette image that was used for its debut in Mechwarrior RPG (1st ed). Unlike the 3025 TRO, the 3026 designs show a greater amount of similarity, completion, and thought put into them.
Missile carriers in HBS BT are absolutely horrifying. I remember losing a mech to an SRM carrier on my first playthrough and thinking "oh God it's still firing"
the most important distinction to remember is tanks aren't weak. they're cheap. As in that they cost less for the same guns and armor as a mech. The the counter being less movement and increased chance of waffles. An SRM carrier has more damage potential than any mech of it's equivalent mass and, as a tank, doesn't generate heat on missile weapon shots. these things get prioritized fro PPCs and LRMs them moment I figure out what they are. Believe me it is the last tank you want to try to melee to death, even more so than the Demolisher.
Hello Frog. I have used all four of these designs in battles on tabletops over the decades. Although, not all at once. I tend to favor the Shrek PPC Carrier and the LRM Carrier for the most part. In one memorable battle, I pitted three LRM Carriers against an advancing pair of Mech Lances. The Lances were composed of mostly Medium and Light Mech designs. The Carriers 'showered' them with repeated salvos of LRM 'rain'. A total of 180 missiles per combat turn, until they were forced to 'fall back' into deeper cover. The Enemy, enraged at the affront of being the target of long ranged firepower without recourse to equal ranged attacks, closed upon the Carriers. By the time they could close to effective combat ranges, the LRM Carriers had retreated into deep woods, far enough to be off the sensors of the advancing Mechs. From there, they pivoted and 'ran away' as fast as they could, around the shoulder of a hill. But, instead of continuing to 'run away', they stopped there, in the shadow of the hill, and resumed fire... but this time indirectly. Meanwhile, the advancing Enemy units had entered the trees and were frantically looking for the Carriers, only to have my Mech force round the other side of the hill and engage them at close range. Now, since ALL the advancing enemy Mechs had taken various damage from the missile rain, their armor coverage, in some cases, was quite thin, or nonexistent. This enabled my Mechs to 'finish off' most of the Enemy force, for little, to no, real damage in return, at close to point-blank ranges. Since we were using 'place the mini when it can be detected' on the table rules, the sudden appearance of my Mech force at such close range had the Enemy Commander screaming 'Cheating!'. This was ruled incorrect, and the battle progressed to the point that only 2 enemy Mechs were able to disengage and make a run for it, being 'peppered' by the remaining LRMs of the Carriers as they fled the battlefield. Pursuit was declared as 'not worth the effort', and the battle was called in my favor. The attacking Player still maintained that I had 'cheated', and was quite angry with me for several weeks... until he was my partner in a similar battle, where I used Shrek PPC Carriers similarly to draw in the Enemy force for his own Mechs to 'mug' at close ranges. Funny... he didn't mention 'cheating' when we won the encounter. In the case of using the Shrek tanks, I pulled back into heavy woods, maneuvered around a hill, and then paused to let the supporting Mechs engage. Only then, rolling up to the top of the hill to use the PPCs as 'supporting fire', and to 'finish off' crippled enemy units. Isn't it interesting how 'cheating' is perceived, depending upon if you're taking the beating, or dishing it out?
I have used these and other vehicles to great effect especially against people who think that Clan machines brimming with high tech will see them through any opposition. But for every 0/0 Mad Cat II you field I just get more low BV, good enough weapon systems that will quickly wear down the most effective mech. I'm also a big fan of the Saladin. Fast and potentially deadly you keep it behind your first line and then speed it into the rear of an occupied enemy and give them a nice AC/20 kiss up the backside. And if you do have some BV to spend at leisure, don't underestimate the Manticore. A solid all rounder.
the original 3026 TRO and the vehicles at the end of the 3025 TRO, are a must get. CGL would benefit greatly by putting out a succession wars vehicle TRO. especially if they timed it to release in proximity to the new kickstarter.
I would love it if they had a print on demand option for some of these older TROs that are impossible to find at a reasonable price on the secondary market.
I personally love the Goblin, if just for the fact that it gives a whole other meaning to someone bringing a company of mechanised infantry to the party.
@@MechanicalFrog That was big concern for the FWL models while the NWS produced didn’t have to worry so much. With that plant being based in the land of PPCs and with AC 5s being rarer for them.
Excellent! I love their look. Of all the classic BT tank designs, it's also one of the most realistic considering how vehicles have evolved in the past 40 years.
It’s unbelievably solid for its size. Two of those escorting a quartet of trucks with two medium lasers each (I forget what they were) completely wrecked a lance of mine at one point, and I had a Warhammer up front.
@@dashiellgillingham4579 I've noticed a few 'Mech's are Kings!' sorts gain a bit of education when they run into Strikers. It was that sort of situation that earned my respect for them.
I love to spend any extra battle value points on Savannah Masters. At the very least, they force your opponent to re-deploy to cover a possible rear armour hit, and at best they keep Dashers thinking twice without devoting an entire lance of light mechs to hunt the little buggers down.
My all time favorite vehicles were the trio of hover tanks from Scarborough. The Saracen, Scimitar and the Salidan. The first two are good all rounders. One uses LRMs the second uses a A.C. 5 for long range fun but the Salidan has a hull mounted A.C. 20. In open country you can hear butt holes puckering as these hover tanks make hit and run attacks.. At flank they all move 12.
I used a platoon of 3 LRM carriers hidden for indirect fire with a thunderbolt as a spotter in a tabletop game, scared the hell out of the enemy assault lance, they retreated 3/4 way through the battle, they couldn't find them most of the game, and when they did they couldn't get close enough to kill them all.
I love the art of this TRO, maybe my favorite in Battletech. If I'm picking four, I'd have to agree with you on the Striker and Schrek, just classics. I love the low cost of a Scorpion, with its low speed and armor, it's a cheap way to get some ranged direct fire and basic anti-infantry on the table. Lastly, I'd have to say the Manticore, it looks like someone started with a regular gun tank and kept adding and stacking weapons systems all over it.
If you switch out the LRM 20s for LRM 5s on the heavy LRM carrier you get 100 LRM tubes in the turret instead of 80, with no loss of ammo or armor. Also, every shot that hits gets its own crit chance, which is imo a fair trade for slightly more spread out damage. The average damage (if every shot hits)* is increased by 8, and the variance is lower on account of a greater number of to-hit roles. *There is too much uncertainty in to-hit chance to easily take it into account. Edit: adjustments for costs are +31 for BV, -720K for C-bills.
@@EmeryCalame quintuple. 4x LRM 20 vs 20x LRM 5 20/4=5 (5x is "quintuple") Also, it's +15 extra to-hit roles per tank. So essentially what I'm saying is it's *worse.* 😂
All good vehicals. Have good memories with a shiek out PPCing an awsome. My opponents's dice rolling being subpar helped. Also, two LRM carriers sand papering the entire left side of a grasshopper off, after it got sick of the indirect missle spam jump to edge of the wood but now in line of sight.
Good choice of vehicles to use to drive the battlemech aces up the wall. I can speak from experience on both sides of the action. 😄 Striker: The least offender on the list. A lance of these plus some spotters can make for artillery on the cheap. They can do well, and are an acceptable loss. Shrek PPC Carrier: Or as I know it, "the Gamilas Tank". Look at the design, it'll leap at you. 😉 Fortunately for all of us Harmony Gold didn't own the rights to Space Battleship Yamato/Star Blazers, so it never went into the Unseen box. It's a real beast of a sniper tank, I used to have on in my merc unit's assault company. The AC 5 substitute version just makes a player sad. LRM Carrier: LRM spam for days, or at least turns. This is why the Swiftwinds and Packrats lead the advance, to find the bastards before the steel rain falls. Beware of the player who has a few of these on his OB when setting up the map. He knows how to drop the hammer! SRM Carrier: In MW 5 this is a pathetic lightly armored speed bump. In TT matches this is one of the worst things to turn a corner and face in a city or canyon map. They tend to die a lot, but only after giving the opposing player a real bill of damages. Savannah Master: Poor, poor, Savannah.... I know of matches where these biting flies were prohibited because they interfered too much with stated victory conditions. I always thought of this gadfly hover tank as a vehicle purposefully designed to make underfinanced pirates and rebel movements more of a challenge, since they can get a lot of use for the money and frustrate TT gamers who were expecting an easy win.
the Savannah Master......one of my favorite, inexpensive vehicles to use......in a large battle where I ( Comstar with 1 lance of mechs and 1 veh1cle lance plus...you'll see) was defending and a large ( A trinary of omni mechs plus battle armor)...hidden rules applied...s0 everything hidden....table 4 ft by 6, clan enters far narrow end and a narrow gap. The clan player enters the gap and his HQ mech gets hit by artillery, gauss rifles( alacorns) SRM's from hidden srm carriers...and dies.....Clan player enraged moves all other mechs forward ......into open ground to ferret out hidden units...............so I had 18 savannah masters in the center of the board....a kamikaze squadron.....move their full flank speed and each savannah master with a good pilot....crashed into the legs of every clan mech, yes it was cheap, yes it was not nice...but...oh did it work, every mech sustained heavy leg damage and still had the rest of the board to go looking for my hidden Units. And that is where not only did he find mechs, but minefields........by the end of the battle he had a damaged star and few battle armour to limp off the battlefield with, where i lost all savannah masters, 1 srm carrier, a kintaro and an excaliber....a few other mechs had been badly damaged but still fuctional
Definitely one of my favorite eras for vehicles, both function and artwork. I had intended to put a Longbow in my WoB 6th division, but honestly a vehicle Lvl.2 designed around LRM carries sounds much more cost effective and strategic, rather than putting all my eggs in one basket.
@@MechanicalFrog Hah, me too. I got into BT back in 8th/9th grade, (c. 1990). I don't recall exactly when I picked up that TRO, but it was well-worn, and much loved. It was dog eared, with margin notes, doodles and the rest. And yes, I'm old, but the fact that we're even discussing this topic makes that obvious. :P Thanks for a good post, MF.
For it´s low price the Strike is a very cost effective fire support vehicle for urban and open terrain. The wheeled chassis makes it unsuitable for woodland and difficult terrain. When deploying the striker I would always field multiple units because of their general vulnerabilty. Another of my favorites from the 3026 TRO is the Pegasus hover tank. It is fast and packs a considerable punch. Used in favorable terrain the Pegasus is probably a good alternative to many light Mechs in the scout and skirmisher role. I am not a fan of heavy and assault class vehicles. They are too vulnerale to critical hits and tend to lose mobility too quickly. They have some use in defense and ambush scenarios. Because of the high risk of mobility hits, it is extremely important that a vehicle has it´s main weapons turret munted.
Also the three AC/5 Shreck is inferior to the four AC/5 Partisan. Other things to note: J.Edgar and Pegasus - Durable and annoying. Saladin - 8/12 AC/20 jousting anyone? Hetzer - A cheap way to hide AC/20 somewhere. Or a whole bunch of SRMs. Sturmfeur - You want an LRM pillbox that can move? Steiner delivers! Ontos - Always fun to find that the forest was hiding an angry beast. Neptune - Maps with water have suddenly become far less fun for one side than they used to be.
I've always had a soft-spot for the vehicle designs. If I ever picked up the tabletop game there's a high chance I'd build a majority vehicle force. The Striker, Schreck and Carriers are great designs. They've all got flaws but fit very much the setting. The Savannah Master is a meme vehicle in my mind.
Striker, Partisan, Shrek PPC Carrier, Ontos, J. Edgar, Pegasus, SRM Carrier, and Scorpion, all are great vehicles and need more love. I have all of them, and they have proven they can round out any force with minimal BV cost.
In canonical lore, the Schrek is a "what if an Alicorn but you can afford it?" In the real world of publishing, because they are almost a decade apart, the Alicorn is "what if a Schrek but with unlimited budget?"
My favorite vehicle thus far has been the Striker Light Tank. Two of them, 2 Warriors, and a Rakshasa / Bushwacker that can actually keep up with the vehicles and can fire missiles as well
@@MechanicalFrog the Dragons are also fast so Shrecks would need to use their low profile to sneak around and then escape by destroying a bridge. Then they should be clear to go back to Lord Farqhuad and sign a ceasefire over the swamp.
@@MechanicalFrog I remember one battle we had in particular where our opponents thought little of our urban AFVs until they had to follow us into an urban area and all their tactics fell apart once everything devolved into point blank range knife fights.
Savannah masters can be EXTREMELY frustrating to fight. I've seen them bring down many bug mechs and even Crusaders . Pair them up with a few Schrecks for a really fun fight .
As far as I can tell, the AMS on the Schrek (Armor) variant is a typo. I don't have the record sheet myself, but according to the errata reporting thread, the AMS doesn't have any ammo. I also can't find a way to give it an AMS and ammo for the listed C-bills and BV on the Master Unit List. Doing so also drops it to less armor than the original, even with Heavy Ferro.
For me to in the back of mechwarrior 1st edition was some cool stuff to lit inf sleds with fution power small laser and 4 pts armor frt and aft 21 of these is killer
The Shreck was still excellent with capable crew. You go Hull down, shoot, move back on the reverse slope... If no hills or terrain, your only option is to stay at long range and move, stop shoot, repeat. But with a lance/platoon of these things at long range.. they can be pesky and still offer significant damage. However, if targeted they are glass cannons, better to evac and fight another day then to be crushed by LRM's or other long range firepower from even Medium size Mechs.
The Shreck is probably one of the best intro unit vehicles in the game. Its like the Awesome 8Q, only no need to worry about heat in game and less armor. SRM carriers are noob checks for campaigns. Thinking you can take one on at close range is death. My Assassin only survived because over 80% of the missiles missed (misses and bad roll on the cluster charts). My pilot proceeded to defecate from extreme fright and I played it off as him having trauma every time an enemy shot SRMs at him. The MRM carrier version of the LRM carrier I find is rather underated. My Wobbie LRM carriers are what I tend to bring with my C3i (because C3 networks are not worth it in tabletop). The savanahs are only scary if people charge with it, but then you just stand in the woods to prevent it from moving there.
@@MechanicalFrog No need to theorycraft. The MRM carrier is in Record sheets 3058 unabridged. It's got three MRM 30's, 1 ton of ammo for each, a C3 slave, and 3 tons of FF armor. So still squishy at 14 armor (11 rear) per location but....mrm 30's can be scary when you have 3 of em aimed at ya.
You are making me want to field a lance of Savannah Masters and a lance of SRM and LRM carriers instead of my current vehicle setup ( 2 lances of 3LRM+1 AC Carrier).
@@MechanicalFrog I may have a better idea. An artillery battalion of vehicles: 2x lances of LRM carriers, 1x lance of Strikers, and 1x lance with a mobile command post, 2x SRM, and 1 Striker. Add a detachment or two of anti-mech, jump infantry. I think that may be fun against a lance of mechs or two.
Ah, the missile carriers. Feared by all well seasoned pilots, and serving up closed caskets filled with the cocky or inexperienced day after day, stack after stack. Though not only would these nightmares be modified to incorporate more advanced tech, possibly even a Clan built SRM carrier with ferro fibrous, but see worthy successors built in the Periphery. The Light SRM carrier boasts increased speed, armor, and ammo endurance for less than half the price. This comes at the cost of tracks and half the launchers. The Heavy LRM carrier goes in the opposite direction by being bigger, heavier, more expensive, and slower than its progenitor. In exchange you get a turret and a 4th LRM20. Sarna doesn't list ammo amount.
Excellent video. For some reason, I'm genuinely curious about the striker's electronics package. I have so many questions about how a unified electronics package would be implemented, and what the implications are for reliability, repair, replacement, and cost. Is this a single board that has to be replaced as a whole unit, or more like a computer with several subsystems that can be individually replaced as needed? Given that this is often used by militias or other garrison units, what is the lifespan of the component under non-combat operating conditions? While this reduces the purchase cost, does it drive up the cost of repair or salvage, or is it so much cheaper than the alternatives that this isn't a problem? Genuinely curious if the technical readout goes into detail on this. Something that leapt to mind was that an unethical manufacturer could cheap out on the electronics package and make it difficult or impossible to repair, so that if (or rather when) a single element of it failed due to routine wear the entire system would have to be replaced rather than just being able to swap out a single faulty board or chip, driving up the cost of maintenance. While I doubt the original vehicle would have been adopted or remained in use if this was the case, it's something I would watch out for with copycat designs or aftermarket components.
(paraphrased) "The armour is there to save the crew from the missile exhaust" ...that crew better be *dedicated* to your cause or they're gonna RUN. Haha! More seriously, I get the LRM carrier. The SRM carrier...? I'd say it's a deathtrap.
Loves me some carriers. Little known fact: the SRM carrier actually only has *three* tons of armor, not four... The other one ton is dedicated to cargo space for the gigantic, steel balls of its operators.
Very good vehicles. Shrek is downright scary when you think about it - it has firepower equivalent to an Awesome, with only slightly more than a half of the price. AND it suffers no heat issues - no need to cycle a PPC every other round. If you can keep it safe, it will serve you well. Missile carriers are honestly terrifying - LRM carrier is a specialised assault mech worth of missile payload for moderate price. SRM carrier is slow, badly armoured and not that useful in most engagements, because it simply struggles to get into range, unless in urban combat, BUT it basically creates a no-go-zone if positioned well. Striker is a good warhorse of a vehicle, as far as mobile missile launchers go. And Savannah Master - well, this is the epitome of annoying little bastard. I personally have a sweet spot for Patton/Rommel tanks - wonderful MBT type vehicles, these ones.
Love vehicles and infantry for single games, but in a campaign your vehicle crews and infantry die before ever gaining useful experience points. So I tend to run more battlemechs in campaigns.
The only problem I have with the Schrek PPC Carrier is its misnomer of a designation. Pretty much every "Carrier" vehicle in Battletech has its weapons hard mounted facing forward, as they do not have turrets. It should be called the Schrek Assault Tank or Heavy Tank.
For me to in the back of mechwarrior 1st edition was some cool stuff to lit inf sleds with fution power small laser and 4 pts armor frt and aft 21 of these is killer
The colored "technical drawing" look from the 3026 is just so beautiful, I had to remind everyone.
The Striker on the cover is 100% better than the "RV with Katyusha option" silhouette image that was used for its debut in Mechwarrior RPG (1st ed). Unlike the 3025 TRO, the 3026 designs show a greater amount of similarity, completion, and thought put into them.
Missile carriers in HBS BT are absolutely horrifying. I remember losing a mech to an SRM carrier on my first playthrough and thinking "oh God it's still firing"
Yes it's very important not to confuse the HBS and the MW5 versions. It can be a deadly mistake. :D
the most important distinction to remember is tanks aren't weak. they're cheap. As in that they cost less for the same guns and armor as a mech. The the counter being less movement and increased chance of waffles. An SRM carrier has more damage potential than any mech of it's equivalent mass and, as a tank, doesn't generate heat on missile weapon shots. these things get prioritized fro PPCs and LRMs them moment I figure out what they are. Believe me it is the last tank you want to try to melee to death, even more so than the Demolisher.
Little unknown data about those SRM carriers. They're crewed by 5 year olds, hopped up on sugar, who hate sleep, and LOVE pushing buttons.....A LOT.
@@wellhello1575 You say they have less movement, but that's only until you remember that the tank version of an average light mech is 200-300BV.
KOS.
The Shrek is an Awesome tank. One could even call it... an All-Star
The crits start coming and they don't stop coming.
Crits over here, over there...everywhere... something something green eggs and ham.
Somebody once told me....
Hey Now...
Hello Frog.
I have used all four of these designs in battles on tabletops over the decades. Although, not all at once. I tend to favor the Shrek PPC Carrier and the LRM Carrier for the most part.
In one memorable battle, I pitted three LRM Carriers against an advancing pair of Mech Lances. The Lances were composed of mostly Medium and Light Mech designs. The Carriers 'showered' them with repeated salvos of LRM 'rain'. A total of 180 missiles per combat turn, until they were forced to 'fall back' into deeper cover.
The Enemy, enraged at the affront of being the target of long ranged firepower without recourse to equal ranged attacks, closed upon the Carriers.
By the time they could close to effective combat ranges, the LRM Carriers had retreated into deep woods, far enough to be off the sensors of the advancing Mechs. From there, they pivoted and 'ran away' as fast as they could, around the shoulder of a hill.
But, instead of continuing to 'run away', they stopped there, in the shadow of the hill, and resumed fire... but this time indirectly.
Meanwhile, the advancing Enemy units had entered the trees and were frantically looking for the Carriers, only to have my Mech force round the other side of the hill and engage them at close range.
Now, since ALL the advancing enemy Mechs had taken various damage from the missile rain, their armor coverage, in some cases, was quite thin, or nonexistent. This enabled my Mechs to 'finish off' most of the Enemy force, for little, to no, real damage in return, at close to point-blank ranges.
Since we were using 'place the mini when it can be detected' on the table rules, the sudden appearance of my Mech force at such close range had the Enemy Commander screaming 'Cheating!'. This was ruled incorrect, and the battle progressed to the point that only 2 enemy Mechs were able to disengage and make a run for it, being 'peppered' by the remaining LRMs of the Carriers as they fled the battlefield.
Pursuit was declared as 'not worth the effort', and the battle was called in my favor. The attacking Player still maintained that I had 'cheated', and was quite angry with me for several weeks... until he was my partner in a similar battle, where I used Shrek PPC Carriers similarly to draw in the Enemy force for his own Mechs to 'mug' at close ranges.
Funny... he didn't mention 'cheating' when we won the encounter.
In the case of using the Shrek tanks, I pulled back into heavy woods, maneuvered around a hill, and then paused to let the supporting Mechs engage. Only then, rolling up to the top of the hill to use the PPCs as 'supporting fire', and to 'finish off' crippled enemy units.
Isn't it interesting how 'cheating' is perceived, depending upon if you're taking the beating, or dishing it out?
Quite the story. I think it confirms the fact that it's more fun to be on the dishing out end of tank shenanigans.
Good to see the Shreck getting some love. A hull-down Awesome for 950BV is nothing to sneeze at.
You could sneeze on it, but I'd make that Plan B after destroying it with weapons fire.
It's all Ogre...
I have used these and other vehicles to great effect especially against people who think that Clan machines brimming with high tech will see them through any opposition. But for every 0/0 Mad Cat II you field I just get more low BV, good enough weapon systems that will quickly wear down the most effective mech.
I'm also a big fan of the Saladin. Fast and potentially deadly you keep it behind your first line and then speed it into the rear of an occupied enemy and give them a nice AC/20 kiss up the backside.
And if you do have some BV to spend at leisure, don't underestimate the Manticore. A solid all rounder.
I almost added the Manticore just to say, "Manticore!" repeatedly in dramatic fashion. Fun tank!
With the proper ammunition, the LRM carriers are great for laying mine fields.
Very fun.
the original 3026 TRO and the vehicles at the end of the 3025 TRO, are a must get. CGL would benefit greatly by putting out a succession wars vehicle TRO. especially if they timed it to release in proximity to the new kickstarter.
I would love it if they had a print on demand option for some of these older TROs that are impossible to find at a reasonable price on the secondary market.
I believe that is what the recently teased Classic recognition guide is going to cover. Though, we will not know for sure till we get to see inside.
@@zraal3759 Good times had by all.
I personally love the Goblin, if just for the fact that it gives a whole other meaning to someone bringing a company of mechanised infantry to the party.
Yes! More mixed arms please.
When you mentioned there was an ac/5 version of the Shrek I recoiled. Physically
It's so evil... so wrong... It makes me sad.
It knocked down the price massively. An ICE cannot handle the heat load and amp load of 3 PPCs.
@@MultiKbarry At the time PPCs were hard to come by, so the Schreks were cannibalized.
@@MechanicalFrog That was big concern for the FWL models while the NWS produced didn’t have to worry so much. With that plant being based in the land of PPCs and with AC 5s being rarer for them.
Always been a fan of the Striker and include them in my forces whenever possible.
Excellent! I love their look. Of all the classic BT tank designs, it's also one of the most realistic considering how vehicles have evolved in the past 40 years.
It’s unbelievably solid for its size. Two of those escorting a quartet of trucks with two medium lasers each (I forget what they were) completely wrecked a lance of mine at one point, and I had a Warhammer up front.
@@dashiellgillingham4579 For their BV, they're solid.
@@dashiellgillingham4579 I've noticed a few 'Mech's are Kings!' sorts gain a bit of education when they run into Strikers. It was that sort of situation that earned my respect for them.
I love to spend any extra battle value points on Savannah Masters. At the very least, they force your opponent to re-deploy to cover a possible rear armour hit, and at best they keep Dashers thinking twice without devoting an entire lance of light mechs to hunt the little buggers down.
They are a delightful wild card.
Missile carriers are the Jason Vorhees of the TT, especially if your caught napping or they pop out of a building behind a mech unexpectedly.
This is why you always fire a few more times into their smoking hulls to make sure they don't show up later with a kitchen knife.
I enjoy all of Mechanical Frog videos 🎉
Thanks!
My all time favorite vehicles were the trio of hover tanks from Scarborough. The Saracen, Scimitar and the Salidan. The first two are good all rounders. One uses LRMs the second uses a A.C. 5 for long range fun but the Salidan has a hull mounted A.C. 20.
In open country you can hear butt holes puckering as these hover tanks make hit and run attacks.. At flank they all move 12.
Sounds painful for any mech wandering by.
I used a platoon of 3 LRM carriers hidden for indirect fire with a thunderbolt as a spotter in a tabletop game, scared the hell out of the enemy assault lance, they retreated 3/4 way through the battle, they couldn't find them most of the game, and when they did they couldn't get close enough to kill them all.
I still have that book. 'Technical readout 3026"
It is one of the best.
I love the art of this TRO, maybe my favorite in Battletech. If I'm picking four, I'd have to agree with you on the Striker and Schrek, just classics. I love the low cost of a Scorpion, with its low speed and armor, it's a cheap way to get some ranged direct fire and basic anti-infantry on the table. Lastly, I'd have to say the Manticore, it looks like someone started with a regular gun tank and kept adding and stacking weapons systems all over it.
Plus every time you say it's name, you have to say THE MANTICORE, in dramatic fashion.
I've been modeling some mechs and vehicles in blender. One of those vehicles is a Striker variant built around an MML 9.
Oh sweet!
Love the Striker, both the vee and the mech
It's just adorable. I love it.
Pegasus hover tank never gets the love over a savannah master. Better than a locust at least.
Maybe it needs a video...
yes please
@@MechanicalFrog
J edger hovertank is a must. Expensive sure. For cheap scorpion light tank or bull dog tank.
J.E. is a good one.
If you switch out the LRM 20s for LRM 5s on the heavy LRM carrier you get 100 LRM tubes in the turret instead of 80, with no loss of ammo or armor.
Also, every shot that hits gets its own crit chance, which is imo a fair trade for slightly more spread out damage.
The average damage (if every shot hits)* is increased by 8, and the variance is lower on account of a greater number of to-hit roles.
*There is too much uncertainty in to-hit chance to easily take it into account.
Edit: adjustments for costs are +31 for BV, -720K for C-bills.
Absolutely devastating.
@@EmeryCalame quintuple.
4x LRM 20 vs 20x LRM 5
20/4=5 (5x is "quintuple")
Also, it's +15 extra to-hit roles per tank.
So essentially what I'm saying is it's *worse.* 😂
my 3026 TRO say 3 lrm 20's on the lrm carrier @@1337w0n
All good vehicals. Have good memories with a shiek out PPCing an awsome. My opponents's dice rolling being subpar helped. Also, two LRM carriers sand papering the entire left side of a grasshopper off, after it got sick of the indirect missle spam jump to edge of the wood but now in line of sight.
RIP Grasshopper, You went too soon.
Good choice of vehicles to use to drive the battlemech aces up the wall. I can speak from experience on both sides of the action. 😄
Striker: The least offender on the list. A lance of these plus some spotters can make for artillery on the cheap. They can do well, and are an acceptable loss.
Shrek PPC Carrier: Or as I know it, "the Gamilas Tank". Look at the design, it'll leap at you. 😉 Fortunately for all of us Harmony Gold didn't own the rights to Space Battleship Yamato/Star Blazers, so it never went into the Unseen box. It's a real beast of a sniper tank, I used to have on in my merc unit's assault company. The AC 5 substitute version just makes a player sad.
LRM Carrier: LRM spam for days, or at least turns. This is why the Swiftwinds and Packrats lead the advance, to find the bastards before the steel rain falls. Beware of the player who has a few of these on his OB when setting up the map. He knows how to drop the hammer!
SRM Carrier: In MW 5 this is a pathetic lightly armored speed bump. In TT matches this is one of the worst things to turn a corner and face in a city or canyon map. They tend to die a lot, but only after giving the opposing player a real bill of damages.
Savannah Master: Poor, poor, Savannah.... I know of matches where these biting flies were prohibited because they interfered too much with stated victory conditions. I always thought of this gadfly hover tank as a vehicle purposefully designed to make underfinanced pirates and rebel movements more of a challenge, since they can get a lot of use for the money and frustrate TT gamers who were expecting an easy win.
LRMs for days.... forever... a hundred years... countless adventures.
Always fun to take on a clan star with a combined arms battalion... :D
Savannah Masters vs. Elementals. Go!
the Savannah Master......one of my favorite, inexpensive vehicles to use......in a large battle where I ( Comstar with 1 lance of mechs and 1 veh1cle lance plus...you'll see) was defending and a large ( A trinary of omni mechs plus battle armor)...hidden rules applied...s0 everything hidden....table 4 ft by 6, clan enters far narrow end and a narrow gap. The clan player enters the gap and his HQ mech gets hit by artillery, gauss rifles( alacorns) SRM's from hidden srm carriers...and dies.....Clan player enraged moves all other mechs forward ......into open ground to ferret out hidden units...............so I had 18 savannah masters in the center of the board....a kamikaze squadron.....move their full flank speed and each savannah master with a good pilot....crashed into the legs of every clan mech, yes it was cheap, yes it was not nice...but...oh did it work, every mech sustained heavy leg damage and still had the rest of the board to go looking for my hidden Units. And that is where not only did he find mechs, but minefields........by the end of the battle he had a damaged star and few battle armour to limp off the battlefield with, where i lost all savannah masters, 1 srm carrier, a kintaro and an excaliber....a few other mechs had been badly damaged but still fuctional
It's the 260 grots army of 40k, for those who need the comparison.
Definitely one of my favorite eras for vehicles, both function and artwork. I had intended to put a Longbow in my WoB 6th division, but honestly a vehicle Lvl.2 designed around LRM carries sounds much more cost effective and strategic, rather than putting all my eggs in one basket.
It's just nice to have the option.
Was always my favorite TRO, actually.
There are so many good things about it. I really miss my physical copy.
@@MechanicalFrog Hah, me too. I got into BT back in 8th/9th grade, (c. 1990). I don't recall exactly when I picked up that TRO, but it was well-worn, and much loved. It was dog eared, with margin notes, doodles and the rest.
And yes, I'm old, but the fact that we're even discussing this topic makes that obvious. :P
Thanks for a good post, MF.
@@MrAjmay1 I feel very blessed to be able to share and prompt some of these old BT memories in others.
For it´s low price the Strike is a very cost effective fire support vehicle for urban and open terrain.
The wheeled chassis makes it unsuitable for woodland and difficult terrain. When deploying the striker I would always field multiple units because of their general vulnerabilty.
Another of my favorites from the 3026 TRO is the Pegasus hover tank. It is fast and packs a considerable punch.
Used in favorable terrain the Pegasus is probably a good alternative to many light Mechs in the scout and skirmisher role.
I am not a fan of heavy and assault class vehicles. They are too vulnerale to critical hits and tend to lose mobility too quickly.
They have some use in defense and ambush scenarios.
Because of the high risk of mobility hits, it is extremely important that a vehicle has it´s main weapons turret munted.
Good stuff. The Pegasus is fun!
Also the three AC/5 Shreck is inferior to the four AC/5 Partisan.
Other things to note:
J.Edgar and Pegasus - Durable and annoying.
Saladin - 8/12 AC/20 jousting anyone?
Hetzer - A cheap way to hide AC/20 somewhere. Or a whole bunch of SRMs.
Sturmfeur - You want an LRM pillbox that can move? Steiner delivers!
Ontos - Always fun to find that the forest was hiding an angry beast.
Neptune - Maps with water have suddenly become far less fun for one side than they used to be.
I've always had a soft-spot for the vehicle designs. If I ever picked up the tabletop game there's a high chance I'd build a majority vehicle force.
The Striker, Schreck and Carriers are great designs. They've all got flaws but fit very much the setting. The Savannah Master is a meme vehicle in my mind.
Good times had by all.
The Missile Carriers are great.
They can be quite fun.
You cover all the hits from the HBS game. Nice!
Wish a VTOL had made the list, though...
There might be a VTOL video in the near future...
The vehicle stuff coming out for the new kickstarter has got me super excited.
Yep. It's just a shame we have to wait so long to get it.
Striker, Partisan, Shrek PPC Carrier, Ontos, J. Edgar, Pegasus, SRM Carrier, and Scorpion, all are great vehicles and need more love. I have all of them, and they have proven they can round out any force with minimal BV cost.
In canonical lore, the Schrek is a "what if an Alicorn but you can afford it?"
In the real world of publishing, because they are almost a decade apart, the Alicorn is "what if a Schrek but with unlimited budget?"
My favorite vehicle thus far has been the Striker Light Tank. Two of them, 2 Warriors, and a Rakshasa / Bushwacker that can actually keep up with the vehicles and can fire missiles as well
I can proudly say I have used an LRM carrier in a tabletop game, granted it sat behind an Omega and a Nightstar the whole game but still!
I was a really big fan of that book when it 1st came out. On bought it right after it was released and I loved the j egger which was also in it
It's one of the best, still after all these years.
A force of dug-in Shrecks defending a swamp against attack from a great house's mech units
What could go wrong?
@@MechanicalFrog the house might hire the Shrecks to rescue a captive from a fortified position guarded by Dragons
@@jonbezeau3124 It would be interesting as the Schreks are usually better off on D.
@@MechanicalFrog the Dragons are also fast so Shrecks would need to use their low profile to sneak around and then escape by destroying a bridge. Then they should be clear to go back to Lord Farqhuad and sign a ceasefire over the swamp.
Love this format!
I'm glad you appreciate it.
Fighting vehicles are fun. They're incredibly powerful and subsequently result in giggles and tears of joy :P
They can sure mix things up.
@@MechanicalFrog I remember one battle we had in particular where our opponents thought little of our urban AFVs until they had to follow us into an urban area and all their tactics fell apart once everything devolved into point blank range knife fights.
Savannah masters can be EXTREMELY frustrating to fight. I've seen them bring down many bug mechs and even Crusaders . Pair them up with a few Schrecks for a really fun fight .
Quite true.
Liked, keep the content flowing
Appreciate it. Working on the next one right now.
As far as I can tell, the AMS on the Schrek (Armor) variant is a typo. I don't have the record sheet myself, but according to the errata reporting thread, the AMS doesn't have any ammo. I also can't find a way to give it an AMS and ammo for the listed C-bills and BV on the Master Unit List. Doing so also drops it to less armor than the original, even with Heavy Ferro.
Ah, good catch.
I love this book so much I have two💖
Lucky duck. I'm trying to get my hands on a new copy after losing my original many years ago.
August I get my Mercenary box so excited hope you and your kids enjoy the game my son and son-in-law’s love BT
My oldest hasn't caught the BT bug but the younger child is all about the King Crab.
Schrek is scary. Not quite a Awesome on treads, but it can't overheat at the same time.
It definitely cannot be ignored.
For me to in the back of mechwarrior 1st edition was some cool stuff to lit inf sleds with fution power small laser and 4 pts armor frt and aft 21 of these is killer
Good Times Good Times Indeed
The Shreck was still excellent with capable crew. You go Hull down, shoot, move back on the reverse slope... If no hills or terrain, your only option is to stay at long range and move, stop shoot, repeat. But with a lance/platoon of these things at long range.. they can be pesky and still offer significant damage. However, if targeted they are glass cannons, better to evac and fight another day then to be crushed by LRM's or other long range firepower from even Medium size Mechs.
Can't ignore a Schreck.
The Shreck is probably one of the best intro unit vehicles in the game. Its like the Awesome 8Q, only no need to worry about heat in game and less armor.
SRM carriers are noob checks for campaigns. Thinking you can take one on at close range is death. My Assassin only survived because over 80% of the missiles missed (misses and bad roll on the cluster charts). My pilot proceeded to defecate from extreme fright and I played it off as him having trauma every time an enemy shot SRMs at him. The MRM carrier version of the LRM carrier I find is rather underated. My Wobbie LRM carriers are what I tend to bring with my C3i (because C3 networks are not worth it in tabletop).
The savanahs are only scary if people charge with it, but then you just stand in the woods to prevent it from moving there.
I might have to theorycraft an MRM carrier just to see what it can do.
@@MechanicalFrog No need to theorycraft. The MRM carrier is in Record sheets 3058 unabridged. It's got three MRM 30's, 1 ton of ammo for each, a C3 slave, and 3 tons of FF armor. So still squishy at 14 armor (11 rear) per location but....mrm 30's can be scary when you have 3 of em aimed at ya.
@@durnaxe8708 Ah, good times.
The story of how the Savannah Master got its name is...well, let me just say it probably wouldn't fly in a TRO published today.
I feel pretty bad for the mechwarrior. She got the short end of the stick there...
Ah, the star of the classic Savannah Master swarm/ramming tactic...
Good times had by... almost all.
I'm looking to deploy maybe 3 LRM carriers babysat by a HBK-4J, and a lance of front liners.
Sounds... explosive.
I miss this book so damn much
It is a great one.
That was great👍 I’d love to see a VTOL vid if you can do one.
Coming soon!
You are making me want to field a lance of Savannah Masters and a lance of SRM and LRM carriers instead of my current vehicle setup ( 2 lances of 3LRM+1 AC Carrier).
Give it a try. You might not win but you will have fun.
@@MechanicalFrog I may have a better idea. An artillery battalion of vehicles: 2x lances of LRM carriers, 1x lance of Strikers, and 1x lance with a mobile command post, 2x SRM, and 1 Striker. Add a detachment or two of anti-mech, jump infantry. I think that may be fun against a lance of mechs or two.
@@RvnKnight Sounds like a fun battle, no matter what happens.
this is what i like to see
Working on the next one right now. Thanks for watching.
Ah, the missile carriers. Feared by all well seasoned pilots, and serving up closed caskets filled with the cocky or inexperienced day after day, stack after stack.
Though not only would these nightmares be modified to incorporate more advanced tech, possibly even a Clan built SRM carrier with ferro fibrous, but see worthy successors built in the Periphery.
The Light SRM carrier boasts increased speed, armor, and ammo endurance for less than half the price. This comes at the cost of tracks and half the launchers.
The Heavy LRM carrier goes in the opposite direction by being bigger, heavier, more expensive, and slower than its progenitor. In exchange you get a turret and a 4th LRM20. Sarna doesn't list ammo amount.
I am a bit upset that mw5 doesn't have more vehicles. All these updates and relatively little to new enemies
Yeh I am kind of burned out on killing LRM/SRM carriers that don't fire their missiles.
2med Lazer and almost all vehicles are destroyed
Excellent video. For some reason, I'm genuinely curious about the striker's electronics package. I have so many questions about how a unified electronics package would be implemented, and what the implications are for reliability, repair, replacement, and cost. Is this a single board that has to be replaced as a whole unit, or more like a computer with several subsystems that can be individually replaced as needed? Given that this is often used by militias or other garrison units, what is the lifespan of the component under non-combat operating conditions? While this reduces the purchase cost, does it drive up the cost of repair or salvage, or is it so much cheaper than the alternatives that this isn't a problem? Genuinely curious if the technical readout goes into detail on this.
Something that leapt to mind was that an unethical manufacturer could cheap out on the electronics package and make it difficult or impossible to repair, so that if (or rather when) a single element of it failed due to routine wear the entire system would have to be replaced rather than just being able to swap out a single faulty board or chip, driving up the cost of maintenance. While I doubt the original vehicle would have been adopted or remained in use if this was the case, it's something I would watch out for with copycat designs or aftermarket components.
Midlife crisis? I'm pretty sure Mech Frog is roughly the same age as me and im only... Oh God... I'm middle age...
Welcome to the Thunder Dome.
what do you consider middle age? I'm 50+
(paraphrased) "The armour is there to save the crew from the missile exhaust"
...that crew better be *dedicated* to your cause or they're gonna RUN. Haha!
More seriously, I get the LRM carrier. The SRM carrier...? I'd say it's a deathtrap.
Loves me some carriers. Little known fact: the SRM carrier actually only has *three* tons of armor, not four... The other one ton is dedicated to cargo space for the gigantic, steel balls of its operators.
The math checks out. :D
Honestly the SRM carrier should be converted to a RL carrier, I don't think it ever gets off more than a single round of fire
@@ironboy3245 HRM. You might be on to something there!
Very good vehicles.
Shrek is downright scary when you think about it - it has firepower equivalent to an Awesome, with only slightly more than a half of the price. AND it suffers no heat issues - no need to cycle a PPC every other round.
If you can keep it safe, it will serve you well.
Missile carriers are honestly terrifying - LRM carrier is a specialised assault mech worth of missile payload for moderate price. SRM carrier is slow, badly armoured and not that useful in most engagements, because it simply struggles to get into range, unless in urban combat, BUT it basically creates a no-go-zone if positioned well.
Striker is a good warhorse of a vehicle, as far as mobile missile launchers go.
And Savannah Master - well, this is the epitome of annoying little bastard.
I personally have a sweet spot for Patton/Rommel tanks - wonderful MBT type vehicles, these ones.
So... Savanah master spam is going to be a thing?
Only until you run out of friends to play with.
has anyone else refit the savannah master with a clan er med or 2 clan er small
given they're speed the pegasus or harasser can effectively use multiple lrm5's in place of the srm6's. still do dmg but not risk close range fights
Missiles from everywhere, all at once.
exactly
@@MechanicalFrog
so many goblins
because the OG vehicles were the coolest!
I prefer cheap LRM vehicles with medium Brawler Mechs.
All things useful in their proper time and place. Except the Urbanmech.
Love vehicles and infantry for single games, but in a campaign your vehicle crews and infantry die before ever gaining useful experience points. So I tend to run more battlemechs in campaigns.
That's fair.
The only problem I have with the Schrek PPC Carrier is its misnomer of a designation. Pretty much every "Carrier" vehicle in Battletech has its weapons hard mounted facing forward, as they do not have turrets. It should be called the Schrek Assault Tank or Heavy Tank.
“Moon landing units.”
"Americans will measure in anything except metric. How big is that whale? About the size of a basketball court."
@@MechanicalFrog “It weighs as much as five baby elephants.”
@@SRTifiable "The boulder was the size of three VW Bugs and my uncle Jerry."
@@EmeryCalame We know. Just here for the jokes my friend.
@@EmeryCalame "Gimmie a literacola."
As in unenlightened American, I resemble that remark 😜🤪🤣👍😁
Good for you for still honouring Imperial Britain despite declaring independence from them.
would the Shrek pair well with the Ontos?
The Ontos would be a great support mech for the Schrek.
makes me want to print some. also - First?!
Gold star first post.
No Mantacore? Sad
It was on the short list but I felt it might get annoying if I dramatically yelled out, "The MANTICORE!" repeatedly.
savannah master variant replace med laser with 2 clan er small laser
in the 3026 tro the stats for the hunter light tank don't make sense. 35 ton 245 engine should be 7/11 not 5/8
Nothing makes sense. We just appreciate the pretty line art.
agreed
@@MechanicalFrog
could it be house ruled to do it's true movement?
Sure. If this Oreo cookie can represent my hopes and dreams for a nice Wednesday afternoon, anything is possible.
lmao@@MechanicalFrog
i was gonna make my own militia turned merc unit after the gdl's lead
seeing the shreck tho
now i have to. so many memes
For me to in the back of mechwarrior 1st edition was some cool stuff to lit inf sleds with fution power small laser and 4 pts armor frt and aft 21 of these is killer