BattleTech: Why Do We Love The Cauldron Born? Clan Smoke Jaguar's Answer to the Hellbringer
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ก.ค. 2023
- It's a pleasure to finally be in a place where I think I can do the Cauldron Born / Ebon Jaguar justice with a video. Enjoy!
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In our narrative campaign we managed to capture one and a fair amount of omnipod weapons. The commander was a Warhammer driver so twin ppcs, a pair of medium lasers and a pair of SRM-6s along with every clan heat sink we could salvage, a C3s and a guardian ECM. He carries a ton of infernos so we can try and overheat the notoriously hot running clan mechs for more chance at salvage, or melt down elementals lol
Sounds like a blast.
Nasty config
It’s a real fun mech. My partner pulled one out in a match and it obliterated my flanking Commando in turn one by ripping off its leg and scoring a TAC ammo explosion at the same time. Fortunately I had a RAC/5 Shadow Hawk who was up to the challenge, slaying it in a duel. The Shad came out of it as savaged as a mech could be while still living, it was a ton of fun.
Sounds like quite the fight!
When you mentioned the Ebon Jaguar in fiction I immediately jumped to two moments within the story of Trent of the Smoke Jaguars. In the first book of the Twilight of the Clans series he gets his Timber Wolf bullied by a Jaguar in a grand melee. And then later on in his story in the book Forever Faithful there is a really awesome moment where a group being lead by Trent is making a last stand. The Ebon Jaguar sanding alongside Trent gets blasted in the cockpit but gets back up and keeps fighting which was a really cool moment.
Yeah I totally blanked on Trent...
There's some in the later Twilight of the Clans books as well.
Cauldron Born is my Favorite Clan Mech mainly for the reason that it and the Shadow Cat were the only Clan Mechs that didnt have a dual name and that the Inner Sphere name was used by the Majority of Clanners because Smoke Jaguar kept quiet about it.
Makes it easy to remember.
Thanks for the video!
Didn't mention the F configuration but it's probably the most optimal one-two ER PPCs, a targeting computer, 18 double heat sinks, and twin ATM-6 launchers is a scary combo, though three tons of ammo is a bit low if you want to mix types.
Love the Cauldron-Born overall, though I kinda wish they gave production of it to the Alyina Mercantile League in the ilClan era to thematically parallel them moving beyond their Jade Falcon roots.
It's a good one too.
I generally just pack it full of HE or maybe one ton of Standard, because It's got 2 Clan ERPPC's. by the time they get close enough, there should be a good few holes in their armour for the hellacious missile blast to exploit, and I desire to exploit it with maximum kaboom.
This is, by far, one of my favorite mechs. I gravitated towards this design from the first time I saw it in Technical Readout 3058, and I try to make it a cornerstone of my MegaMek forces when I play.
An example of an Ebon Jaguar in the fiction is the Eridani Light Horse anthology. In one of the later stories the commander of one of the ELH remnants pilots one.
Huh, I don't remember that. I might have to go back and re-read.
This thing is a beast. One of the best Clan Mechs hands down.
Agreed!
If you have the chance to jump into the pods at a con, just know that there are two mechs that make you an ace; The couldron born and the mauler with a PPC loadout. I was literally untouchable in the couldron born across five matches. Its fast, hits like a truck, and is low profile enough to get out of the way of incoming fire.
I have fond memories of the pods from Gameworkx back in the 90s.
@MechanicalFrog the old virtua world pods are still around run by some folks called mechcorps. They head to all the cons. Its been a while since I made contact with them but im sure they are still around.
Adore this mech. I’ve been storyboarding a group of ex-Clanners who defected from Clan Coyote during the years of unrest prior to the Blood Scandal. They end up settling in the Taurian Concordat, and after the Clan Invasion they manage to trade for a trove of combined arms seized from the remains of Clan Smoke Jaguar. My Mary Sue character ends up piloting a Cauldron Born. We’ll see if he makes the most of it.
Awesome to hear it getting some love in your story.
@@MechanicalFrog Thanks Frog! It’s been interesting to approach a narrative that spans several generations of human lives as they age. The potential to pay off some of the thematic stuff into and beyond the ilClan era is going to take me a while to wrap my head around.
@@Direfloof Lots of things to keep track of. I have a big white board above my computer that has all the notes and details on characters/mechs/locations. It's a mess.
@@MechanicalFrog as long as I’m not the only one
Let us know how it goes
Love the video! I did the original illustration design for this mech when i was an OG FASA art boy back in the day so I really enjoyed seeing all the imagery together like this, very cool. :)
Awesome. I just hope I did the mech justice. It's been a favorite since the TRO first hit the shelves at our local game shop. Thank you!
In video games, the Cauldron Born is one of my favourite clan Mechs. It's in my top 3 which include the Blood Asp and Mad Dog.
Tabletop wise. I really want to get my hands on one of these machines.
I've only started playing, and I'm doing Alpha Strike. But I'd love to get one of these and add it to my collection. Speed and Firepower. Can't go wrong with those.
I'm told that the CB is extremely good in Alphastrike.
@@MechanicalFrog It's card does say that. Love to pair it with a Firemoth and some Battle Armor as well.
Well, it's not a tabltop experience but I practically used one during Mechwarrior 3 as soon as I got one. I settled on giving it 2 ER-large Lasers and 6 medium Pulslasers... witch made it essentially a Penetrator. The concentrated pulselaserfire on the leegs did pull the rug from under enemy mechs's feet and the ER-lasers could snipe and soften up my foes. Yes, the weapons were more like a penetrator - but, I fell in love with it's tender frame. Mechs double the height getting felled by this petite little murdermachine.12 out of 10, definitive waifu-material.
I use 4 ER large lasers in MWO, and have had considerable success with a mech and play style I typically suck at. I generally just face hug people after some rotate-o potato and splurt SRM and AC20 in their face.
First time I saw the Cauldron Born was in a Ral Partha catalog circa 1995. At the time I was only familiar with the MW2 lineup, so damn near everything was new to me, but the Cauldron Born caught my eye for some reason.
Form and function.
14:44 as a Raven Alliance player and a fan of the Ebon Jaguar, I wholeheartedly agree with that statement
Really wish it had jump packs, though
The Ravens need some love out there on the edge of the Periphery.
well it is an OmniMech, so you can put Jump Jets on it if you want
@@scytheseven9173 You... can? I thought only weapons used Omnislots! Nice
@@vectorstrike nope, equipment like Guardian ECM Suites and Targeting Computers (and jump jets) can also be pod-mounted. Some things can't be, like a Blue Shield system.
Star captain Trent piloted an ebon jaguar with his homeboy russou Howell
Yes I can't believe I forgot our boy Trent.
Had the k'nex one, so i had to pick this up for my first mini.
I used to run a few variants based on the B Variant. All added four Jump Jets One replaced the ER PPCs with ER Large Lasers, another replaced the Large Pulse Lasers with the ER Large Lasers, and the third removed the TAG and Beagle Active Probe and the Medium Pulse Lasers for Jump Jets and two extra Heat Sinks.
I had a variant of the B that pulled one of the ER PPCs for more heatsinks. I don't recall the specifics though.
@@MechanicalFrog Yeah my default thought when looking at an all energy Heavy Mech is does it have Jump Jets? When the answer is no my next thought is how do I add Jump Jets?
I love the Cauldron-Born because it was the last K'nex kit and first battletech product I ever owned. This nasty zombiemech has a special place in my heart and is the source of my bias for the unkillable warmachines.
It's just awesome. I love it.
Cause it's a fantastic gun truck!
Absolutely!
I know the bushwhacker was designed from the advances afforded by studying a vulture, but the loadout reminds me more of a cauldron born. Little bit of errthang.
I have a fondness for the Bushwacker.
Now I hate to even ask as pronunciation came up with your chat with Red, but I always thought it was pronounced rye-star as it is rising star. I always found some of the Clan's abbreviated words like ristar ironic as they detest contractions. Thanks for the vid & definitely need a couple of these bad mama jammas
"Rye-Star" would be the most likely way to say it.
The Cauldron-Born Prime is a crazy blend of weapons but I'd argue it's better than it looks at first glance. The LB 5-X lets you fish for crits at range. The SRM-2 loaded with inferno or frags to neutralize infantry before they can close with you. The LRM-10 lets you join indirect fire missions with a Cauldron-Born B designating targets, or load it with infernos if that's your thing. It's not the hardest-hitting OmniMech, because the Smoke Jaguars already had plenty of options for brute-force heavy hitters, but it's their attempt at creating a utility heavy, an OmniThunderbolt if you will, and they came damn close to getting it perfect, because unlike a lot of iconic Clan OmniMechs it can alpha strike without overheating.
Luthien stands because the Smoke Jaguars made its main gun a Gauss rifle with two minutes' worth of ammunition, rather than an ER PPC whose heat it could easily handle and a targeting computer for the works.
Fair points. And Luthien was a mess...
Some other names who have piloted the Ebon Jaguar is Galaxy Commander Hang Mehta, And Trent. It is a common enough mech that comes up in the Twilight of the Clans series.
It may not be in fiction a lot but they put it in the back of novels a lot
Because it's perty.
Given Sea Fox's proliferation, I wonder if they have some uninhabited star systems they have created a zero-G manufacturing base within? It may well be that they found somewhere in the Close or even Deep Periphery that has raw resources and a good, safe, place to build an orbital factory (necessary for that pesky Endo-Steel)... it would be interesting if that could become some sort of storyline for a revived Aerotech with fleet actions! (I miss all those gravity wells)
Maybe. There needs to be some sort of explanation for why Sea Fox is producing so many battlemechs, so quickly, and selling them everywhere.
Happy the new designs of mechs have them able to torso twist.
Definitely a benefit...
Because the guns/missles form a rainbow of love which embraces us as we fight the dirty Spheroids. Cauldron Born is love!❤
I love the Loki, right up to someone landing hits on it. This mech is a far better war machine
More balanced, I think. I'm almost always going to go with a generalist mech design.
Funny how the Draconis thought the Cauldron Born was a nigh-invincible zombie when it still has an XL engine (I know Clans can survive losing one shoulder, but not both) and all slots in the head and CT are taken up by endo/ferro bits, and so, cannot zombie properly like 'mechs such as the Kingfisher. I guess the reason why they thought that way was because they initially assumed it was going to be a glass cannon like the Hellbringer but it turned out to have more complete armor coverage.
Yeah I think it's a little bit of lore vs. tabletop and the comparison to the Hellbringer which explodes when you look at it funny.
My favorite mech! Aah the Ebon Jaguar
You have great taste!
If I remember right, Trent was piloting one when he defected to ComStar in the Twilight of the Clans series. Game wise, I know it's in MW2 Mercs, during the Battle of Luthein. Oh, and I've had my head handed to me a couple of times by that damn H variant in BTA 3062.
Excellent point. I forgot about poor Trent.
I love using this Omni in my Clan Sea Fox force!
Sleek like fox!
Love the ebon jaguar mech!
It's a great one.
@@MechanicalFrog my personal favorite is the king crab because of pure terror, what’s your fav mech over all? Just curious
@@joshblack2362 Mad Dog, Nightsky, Ebon Jaguar
One of my favorite mechs from mw4
A credit to MW4
Because that mech is awesome.
Fact Check: True
*Heavy breathing from Efnysien intensifies*
All Mabinogion jokes aside, the Cauldron Born is a very good chassis for its weight class. I'm more of an Assault-class nutjob myself, but I like the Cauldron-Born's flexibility and endurance.
*Unintelligible Welsh noises*
Way I see the cauldron born prime. Gauss is there to blast armor off foes during your approach. The lb5x and srm2 are for critting out structure. The Lrm 10 is fire support, and the mlas is there to poke from your backside.
I think the devs were scared of the Cauldron Born being too perfect, so they gave it wonky A-D configurations. They didn't want another Marauder IIC situation.
Yippee, Clan 'mechs!
Aff! *Happy Clan Noises*
My only experience was fighting against it, my house Davion against my friend’s jade falcon. Civil war era. It got to meet the hatchet of my hatchetman to its face whilst taking ppc fire from my 5D stalker
Nobody wants a spicy hug from a Hatchetman.
That is a nice amount of pod space, but I can see the problems caused by less armor if one is not careful. To say nothing of how more pod space can lure one into arming a mech past what its heat sinks can handle. Things to be aware of, I guess.
It's not for the feint of heart.
"Big honking gun arms aesthetic" proves once again to be top tier
Hard to mess with what works.
What a gorgeous mech sleek and smart
It's perty...
I remember this thing from Mechwarrior 4 Mercenaries 😊
I always viewed it as the “Really big Bushwacker.”
Another fun mech. :D
@@MechanicalFrog Aw yes!
The only interesting story I have about the Eben jaguar is when I found one after another in my Hunchback 4J, modified of course. Dropped the two LRM 10s for a MRM 40 was the big difference. Killed two EJs before having to fall back to my Lance and provided fire support for the last two EJs. Lost only one Lancemate. Took heavy damage thou.
Sounds like quite the fight.
Ebon Jag is best boy.
Form and function.
FINALLY, Frog's favorite Mech in the WDWL series!
It was time.
Exodus Road had one in the grand melee for the bloodname.
Ah, good spot.
Great video! Looking forward to more videos!
Awesome! Thank you!
Very cool I like the new versions
As a jade falcon. The ebon jaguar is one of my favorite platforms. It just gets it right and looks good backing up black lanners.
Shame the later variants fail to understand the originals appeal of many multiple weapon systems being more then the sum of their parts.... As long as u remember the UAC-20
My lancemate captured a Cauldron-born B. We left the left arm alone, but the right arm now has a Gauss rifle. This means he can fire 2x15 damage and 1x10 damage, while building zero heat aside from movement.
Solid build.
For written fiction: the first battletech book that I was introduced to when my friend showed me the hobby, Redemption Rift. This book is the reason I got into the cauldron born in the first place. It's piloted by general Henry Kincaid of wolf's dragoons during the conflict between the kuritans and the davions in the dark ages
Awesome! there's some deep lore there.
@MechanicalFrog it's a fantastic read and I believe there are more in the series, the author does a great job showcasing the uneasy relationship between our friendly neighborhood mercs and the warriors of the dragon because of how the kuritans treated them in the past. The honorable kuritan warriors are put on the back line while the mercs take the lead on the offensive, and some of them decide to do something truly evil to tarnish the dragoons' reputation... lots of great political intrigue here.
I only ever wear black pants to battle. They can, however be made brown mid-battle.
Nothing a trip to the laundry cannot fix.
The single greatest mech name ever. And not the Clan name. Cauldron-Born is just so evocative. Especially for a guy who _loved_ The Black Cauldron as a kid.
My personal MWO loadout sports a single ER Medium Laser, and 4 ATM9s. It's disgusting and runs as hot as Ceridwen's cauldron itself.
I find that TRO3058 is full of very underappreciated designs. And I can never shake from my head the aesthetic similarity between the Cauldron Born and Bushwhacker.
While it has some duds, the 3058 is definitely under-appreciated.
Recently found your channel. Would love to see a video on the bushwhacker or the axe man. Keep up the fun videos!
Thanks for the video.
Thanks for coming by!
Not a mech I have come across. Interesting to try it out now. Cheers
Hope you enjoy it!
I love the more avian 'mechs and since Mechwarrior 3 I've had a soft spot for the Cauldron Born.
It's perty.
I’ve only used it in Mechwarrior 3 and 4. Fast, hard hitting and I shut myself down every 2 shots. Maybe constantly Alpha Striking was a bad idea.
Yeah it's definitely not a design that can handle too many alpha strikes.
@@MechanicalFrog if they didn’t want me to shoot all those guns, then they shouldn’t have given me all those guns.
I never knew anything about this mech. I was an old school pre-clan player. Still it looks interesting and I'm going to print a couple of them to try them out.
Love it
Run mine with a Light PPC and ERLL in each arm plus TC.
Each torso uses an lrm 5 and srm 4 turreted. Use emp and fascam on lrms.
Infernos and tandem on srms.
Case II protected.
Head get chin turret and spls
Light engine and supercharger for burst speed when necessary.
Clan light active probe and IS predator Firecontrol.
ECM and 3 more DHS fill out mech.
Armor is Stealth base, null sig.
Vs FF.
Hefty on point cost, but sneaky sniper that can headshot or clear mined paths at range has its benefits.
Use early as a control mech, scrambling sensors with light ppcs, and emps.
TC help in legging or headshots on a shutdown mech.
Would have gone with plasma, but ammo storage and limitations forced me to use the light ppcs.
Srms and spls can control the CQ fighting pretty well too. Tandem is underestimated a lot in combat.
That armored behemoth suddenly finding out there's stuff bouncing around inside his turtle's shell can make them panic.😊
Also no minimum range on lrms means that the aggressor might be facing a bit more pressure than expected.
Being turreted they can both cover rear arc and sides very well.
Often a final surprise.😊
My current EB Build is a modified B-Configuration with one less ER PPC, more heat sinks, an AMS, and an emotional support ER Small Laser.
@@MechanicalFrog wondering if mmls would be better than having lrm srm combos? Think tonnage and space still go to basic models over mmls.
Even with mml srm range increases. Mmls can jam and is a single point of failure.
haven't had the distinct pleasure/displeasure of facing a Ebon Jaguar/Cauldron Born myself though I do have a model I'll definitely try running it in my next BT game
Could be fun.
On the positive side love the Ebon Jaguar. I try to use it whenever I play clans and can find the space BVwise. If you are playing with quirks this thing becomes it IS namesake as it has the low profile quirk and will often only take half damage.
Less than positive though I do not like Sea Fox. Loved them when they were Diamond Shark and just these odd merchants that occasionally sold clan-tech to the IS but now they are just the meme turned up to unbearable. They sell everything, they replaced comstar with the HPG network and writing the TROs.
I expect CGL to pivot and stop feeding so much gear to Sea Fox. It cannot be the magical wishing box for every other faction's travel/communication/gear needs.
I like mechwarrior 4's model allot more then the others ive seen it's like a jet on legs.
It can get the zoomies from time to time.
"I'll leave it up to you to speculate [which one is MF's favourite]"
...If there's one with a plasma rifle, it's THAT one.
Oh there isn't one... okay, ummm... I'm gonna go with the D?
(I can never get behind the non-improved heavy lasers. -3 to hit is just a non-starter)
I usually run the B.
Cauldron born means something very different to my HZD brain.
Hmm...
this should have 50,000 likes, not 30.
Maybe some day.
Here is a CB loadout for you: 2LRM20's and 2 LBX20's. That's all it has, but try and get close.
Simple, effective... powerful.
Ebon Jag is one of the fun mecha i like to field. Far as Smoke Jag is concerned they can burn with all the cbils they're making. What im wondering is GB has substantial manufacturing resources in the Dominion. Maybe they stockpiling mechs and resources for when they inevitably have yo take down Alric. That would be fun finding out that Ghost Bear has three times the personelle and inventory than they displayed. Anyway keep up the good work.
We'll see on this Alaric thing... I'd like to see him gradually embrace his inner tyrant as he discovers building a Star League is much more difficult than destroying a republic.
The Prime,D,H, and the X are probably my favorite configs of the Cauldron-Born. I do wish there was more IS weapon equipped configs with the Capellans getting their hands on these...ah well.
Regardless of that I do feel this is a really fun to use Omni that I'm not to much a fan of due to it being outshined by the Grizzly in my own opinion. (it'd be amazing with hand actuators but I'm extremely bias on that and I don't think the mech would be visually appealing with hands, unless it got hands akin to the Dragon/Grand Dragon/Awesome/Regent. Now that'd be awesome.)
unfortunately the only experience ive had with a cauldron born on the table top is my Kodiak completely crippling it in one turn and then finishing it off the next before it could do anything. never got to see how it performs, kodiaks will do that
Oh no! :(
I´m telling you, Sea Fox probably has some kind of high tech 3D printing technology developed that allows them to produce literally ANY mech they have the plans and the rights (though those are merely optional...) to!
Jokes aside though, the Cauldron Born is a cool mech, i prefer the MWO/MW5 over its older looks, and i generally don´t like the "avian leg" because that is anatomically wrong, but the CB does it well enough to not look outright horrible.
A version for every taste...
Sea fox focusing on the macro play 😁.
"Let's win by just making everything and controlling communications and travel" oh... ok.
I've not run into this mech when playing. sounds like a nasty customer
Not to be underestimated.
Funny you mentioning the mech being produced by star adder. My Clan rp character piloted an H variant. Had it painted up in alpha galaxy, but in the black parts of it did a star field pattern much like the belly of the star adder logo. This bar none is one of my favorite Clan heavies and, like you, it had to do with the art. Sleek and aircraft like lot of fun to paint too.
Thanks to Star Adder, the homeworld clans are all running Cauldron Borns instead of Hellbringers. Credit to them!
@@MechanicalFrog honestly probably the most pragmatic and cleaver clan. Part of me wishes they and they wolves would have it out. I'm not sure Alaric would do so well against them.
Aff! Another good video
Glad you enjoyed it!
I still have MW4 installed just to play in 3rd person. Le sigh for MWO.
Yeh...
I was playing the old games up until a few months ago because I hate MWO too. But MW5 has enough mods to be worth checking out now imo. The "Yet Another..." series of mods include full mech labs, prominent IS and clan mechs in the TRO art style, and several MWO mechs ported in (including the Ebon Jag).
Could be misdirection to the "trader" clan by the actual builders.
"The markings don't matter, the serial numbers don't matter, the paper clearly says it is traded by clan sea fox. Build by it even."
"But that system it's supposed to be build hasn't even a habital planet"
"But there is a space port. Which also makes this technically true, as long as at least a bolt was changed. Speaking of which, do you have found any issues with so much as a bolt of this Clanmech? What am I talking of, of course you haven't."
"No the only issue might be this could be from a clan we might not be allowed to trade with. Or that wants to trade with us."
"But you don't have one with clan sea fox, which is why this mechs are clearly build by sea fox. I as a seller says so, you as the buyer says so, hell even the paper trail says so. So wehere is the problem?"
Interesting possibility.
Something that bugs me with a lot of mech designs is their legs are on backwards. They're not digitigrade/chicken walkers, but just have their knees facing the wrong way, which doesn't seem like it's very good at letting the thing move.
But it looks cool!
Which of the new configurations could be favourite of a LPL loving author? Hmmm...
I run a modified B-Configuration that drops one of the ER PPCs in favor of additional heat sinks, an AMS, and an ER Small Laser. www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/6g8ly4463y87uu88rkuqe/Cauldron-Born-Ebon-Jaguar-B-MF.pdf?rlkey=f1ue300w38bzb3jcaldrx5dk7&dl=0
Frog :3😊
All day, every day.
Iam someone who s like this mech sounds cool i take it :3
Would you like it gift wrapped or will you be piloting it out of the store today?
@@MechanicalFrog First how long does the reactor last, and will i get a extra pair of legs for snow planets, and is this a mech who will get you some girls you know des it have extra space ? XD
@@MechanicalFrog First how long does the reactor last, and will i get a extra pair of legs for snow planets, and is this a mech who will get you some girls you know des it have extra space ? XD
@@minimundus1712 It will last as long as it lasts. Probably not as long as you hope, but just long enough to be out of warranty.
@@MechanicalFrog Deal, maybe with this Mech i will get a elemental gf....
I Prefer call it Ebon-Jaguar. And Im not even Vatborn
I find myself going back and forth...
😂
Not my favorite omnimech. Some good configs (A, F), but most seem to be somewhere between bad to absolute trash.
Well, it's not for everyone, I suppose. :D
Might be my internal "min/maxxer", but I can't get around a mech that "wastes" tonnage on ballistics while being incredibly oversinked (not all ballistics are bad IMO - just very situational). The prime version is like a clan Shadowhawk 2H, and that's not a good thing. It could alpha strike on the surface of the sun and not overheat. And I want to love the design - because it should be absolutely bad ass! I just feel like so many of the configs are downright bad because they try to utilize "new" clan weapons that are unfortunately gimped compared to the initial offering from 3050. I think a great discussion would be around the clan weapon systems - because it's unreal how went from amazing "pre-Revival" and then seemed to hit the wall after that. @@MechanicalFrog
Exactly why I don't play in the ilKhan era, The world building skills of Catalyst's writers isn't worth 💩IMO.
:O