Article Removed

[GespenstM]

Article removed on 9-17-2013.

[Wrangler]

This is a really interesting and in depth article, GespenstM.  You don't see this blow to blow analyst that often in the much detail.

Thanks! 

[Oddball]

Yes, this was outstanding, thanks!  One question, what size battles do you usually play? 

[GespenstM]

It varies by exact venue (usually I'm on MegaMek campaign servers, very occasional 'casual games' outside that and the latter are admittedly where I have most of my TDR-10M experience from since most campaigns aren't at 3085 or 3145 just yet), but primarily 4 to 12 combat units (where 'unit' is any one BA team, tank/VTOL, aero if legal in the venue and relevant to the map type, and/or Mech) and force BVs ranging from 5,500 to 21,000 (approx.). In fights this size, there is definitely a mid-field and the TDR-10M is really good at playing that space. FWL in particular makes great use of this, because they have several units that become a lot more comfortable to play if they have some breathing room. The Yeoman, certain Archer variants, and many Longbows appreciate someone providing an incentive for enemies to stay around 14 hexes out (said mid-field range), and you can handle 'bodyguarding' these LRM units with something cheap like a Battle Armor team; the Kopis in particular is hilariously good at this job for its BV/resource cost.

This reply edited at approx. 6:26 PM EST on 7-5-2013 to complete a sentence. If you originally read this post and noticed words were missing from one section, I've corrected that.

[Scotty]

Hmmm.  I think you've inspired me to revisit some of my old articles and add this for the various variants and configs, as much as I can for a single post before I hit the character limit (Summoner, looking at you!).  :D

[cold1]

Hmmm.  I think you've inspired me to revisit some of my old articles and add this for the various variants and configs, as much as I can for a single post before I hit the character limit (Summoner, looking at you!).  :D

Yeah we sort of covered the Summomer again recently so might be the right time.

The Thud-10M is probably my favorite IS mech... no seriously.  It's really fun to play, mostly covered here.  Most of my favored clan mechs are either long range hitters or up close monsters.  This plays right into the medium range brawler roll very nicely.  As stated, in a small unit/small map Game this mech basically lives in its sweet spot with competent mobility and armor as well as solid firepower.

[martian]

Foreword: This article differs from a Mech Of The Week entry in that I will be going into significant detail on a single variant. The idea is to hopefully teach you nearly everything worth knowing about this machine in terms of playing it.
...

Nice article describing one of my favorite 'Mechs.

It seems that you returned to your method which you used in your older articles about TMP-3M and TMP-3M2 Tempests.

[GespenstM]

I have, though I've cut down some of the excessive text (for example, constantly translating Hexes into Meters); it was an attempt to improve the 'lore' feeling of them, but I think it made an already long article just too long. Hopefully this works better.

[Kojak]

So maybe it's just me, but it seems like the TDR-10M would also pair fruitfully with the MAD-9M2 (one of my favorite League heavies). The heavy PPCs of course match up well with the TDR-10M's own heavy and light PPC, the Streak-6s are quite useful for covering the minimums of the aforementioned, and TAG allows you to call in your usual guided shitstorm.

[Neufeld]

Great writeup!

What I am missing in the article is reflective armor (and blue shield) under notable weaknesses. Should that not be the worst weakness of them all?

[Wildonion]

Great writeup!

What I am missing in the article is reflective armor (and blue shield) under notable weaknesses. Should that not be the worst weakness of them all?

Maybe on the now-modern Battlefields of 3145, but in the time this variant was produced? That tech was pretty rare.

[Savage Coyote]

So maybe it's just me, but it seems like the TDR-10M would also pair fruitfully with the MAD-9M2 (one of my favorite League heavies). The heavy PPCs of course match up well with the TDR-10M's own heavy and light PPC, the Streak-6s are quite useful for covering the minimums of the aforementioned, and TAG allows you to call in your usual guided shitstorm.

Yeah, that sounds nice!  I also think a 9M Wolverine would do well playing the midfield with the 10M Tbolt, as would the 5r Hermes II (HPPC one) and 6W Talon (HPPC one imported from the LyrCom in the Republic era for Oriente, Andurian, and Regulans)  The faster 'Mechs can dictate range a little easier than the 10M to keep up pressure for anything trying to rush it (and BV/tonnage/how ever you balance your game permitting, the long range Marik stuff in the back as well.) 

Creates a mobile wall of headcappers that at 6k bv I can attest to being effective.  "Hi!  here's five HPPC's and if you were close enough, some lasers and streak SRM's."

[Col.Hengist]

This was a great article. I'm looking forward to more.

[GespenstM]

Thank you! I have a few in mind, though the moratorium/embargo on things that rely on very detailed looks at 3145 content forbids me from posting some of them right away. (Edit: That and they still need to be written, which requires getting more play-time in with these machines anyway. Theorycrafting is fine and all, but some actual play experience needs to back it up for an article of this sort.)

That said, I am definitely considering similar looks at the Anzu R60 (possibly the J70 too), plus the new Black Knights (they're more different than you think, and a primer on how shields benefit the chassis might be useful for some returning players anyway).

I was originally thinking of covering the Carronade too, but that machine is incredibly easy to play; the article would amount to "It's twin gauss (albeit 1x regular, 1x silver) backed by 3 ERML. It has hands for punching if need be, and has good armor. The secret to winning with this unit is simple: Don't be stupid. The Carronade is such an efficient and intuitive design that everything else will work out fine so long as you're even the slightest bit smarter than the MegaMek Bot."

Neufield: Valid point, even if it is admittedly more worrying about the future than anything currently relevant. I may do an update pointing out that the TDR-10M has little to fear right now but this could be a serious problem for it down the line. Edit: Screw that, it took like 10 minutes at most to write up a paragraph about this issue. I've added it to the article.

Kojak, Savage Coyote: You're right, these units would all be fairly compatible. Now, I would not consider TAG a particularly strong benefit to such a group and Semi-Guided LRM MML-5s sound more like 'a nice little bonus' rather than a 'storm' of anything... but hey; use it if you've got it, I guess! Beyond this, the only reason I didn't mention the MAD-9M2 and similar units is their synergy is obvious to virtually every player.

Most of us figured out this line of thought by 3050, or not too long after that. "What's better than one gauss? Two gauss! Better than two? Three, of course!" The same basic idea applies to Heavy PPCs. I have to assume readers are smart enough to see that and don't have to be told "multiple HPPCs can really wreck a formation in a hurry," because their likely (and fair) response to that is: "Yes mom, we know. Thank you." At some point I'll omit a line of thought if it's so obvious to the average reader that telling them about it is just a waste of their reading time and my writing space.

Nonetheless, FWL definitely has the units to make this work. MAD-9M2, HER-5Sr, TDR-10M, but possibly also the FLS-9M as well if we still get that. The other TDR-10M fielding factions (which I believe amounts to "general mercenary", "republic of the sphere", and "Liao"?) probably have roughly equivalent machines to accomplish the same benefit.

[Orin J.]

"What's better than one gauss? Two gauss! Better than two? Three, of course!" The same basic idea applies to Heavy PPCs.

in all honestly, not really. yeah, they have that same wonderful 15-point smack to lovingly hand out to your enemy but the HPPC's 15-point heatload ceases to be ignorable after the first one, and you have a very hard to manage cooling cycle if you unload them all (remember, the HPPC is IS Tech, and their sinks take up a LOT of room in a hurry...) so i can't really encourage people piling them onto a single 'mech.

now, if you meant "get lots of Cicadas, mount one to a 'mech and teach people the true value of fire-for-effect friendship", that's another story, but HPPCzilla is going to spent too much time sleeping off it's heat load for me.

[Savage Coyote]

Sure, but sometimes it helps to mention.  While something might seem pretty obvious to you or me or even the next guy, if one of us doesn't say it, it can get lost.  We play with 6k BV forces in my group (with a little wiggle room with about 100 or less BV) and I was pretty happy when I crammed the MAD-9M2, 9M Wolverine, 5r Hermes II, and 6W Talon into 6080 or so BV.  Heck, I didn't know the Hermes II or Talon had HPPC variants till I started digging.  Only reason I mentioned it was during my test runs with the force against the bot, I had to change my normal strategies of blitzkrieg style attacks and start fencing to keep out of the HPPC's minimum range.  Just wasn't something I'd thought of...

[GespenstM]

but HPPCzilla is going to spent too much time sleeping off it's heat load for me.

I never said 'HPPCzilla'. Nor did Savage Coyote and Kojak. They were discussing the value of adding several 'Mechs to a force that each individually carry 1 or 2 HPPCs, not some supposed 'HPPCzilla'. The idea of putting a MAD-9M2, FLS-9M, HER-5Sr, and TDR-10M together on the same team is pretty intuitive and would leave one hell of a dent in most foes. That's roughly akin to the multi-Cicada idea you offered.

Momentarily going off topic, Savage Coyote, I just looked up your "Gannon's Cannons" Tempest on CamoSpecs, that thing looks sweet.

[Savage Coyote]

Thanks GespenstM!  Sorry for not responding sooner; been out of town all week and only on my phone, which annoys me to use!

Against the bot in MegaMek, the 9M2 Marauder, 9M Wolverine, 5r Hermes II, and 6W Talon are pretty brutal for the 6k fights my group favors.  Sure some are close, but you also have games where turn three or four those five head-cappers claim a head :)