‘Mech of the Week: Blood Reaper

[wantec]

‘Mech of the Week: Blood Reaper



http://www.masterunitlist.info/Unit/Details/408/blood-reaper-standard

This week’s MotW is a personal favorite of mine, but one that easily gets forgotten and left behind in the transition from the 3067 era to the 3145 era. During that time period Clan Wolf, designer of the Blood Reaper, was a little busy and created a few new machines of war, so it’s understandable that the Blood Reaper gets lost in the mix.

For many players, in particular fans of Clan Wolf, many of the units released between 3067 and 3145 first made an appearance in the MechWarrior Dark Age game. Iconic Wolf units like the Tundra Wolf, Sun Cobra, Wulfen, Warwolf, Carnivore Assault Tank, Black Wolf Battle Armor, all appeared as a MWDA game figure before appearing in a TRO. Similarly, the Tomahawk made its first appearance in a fiction piece before showing up in TRO 3145. The Blood Reaper also appeared in a MechWarrior Dark Age novel (Sword of Sedition), but not the game, before appearing in TRO 3085.

In Sword of Sedition a pair of Blood Reapers were used by Alaric (Ward) and another cadet in their Trial of Position. Surprisingly, that one chapter was the only appearance of the Blood Reaper until TRO 3085. While the full stats weren’t given in the novel, we do get a pretty good description: “seventy tons’, “reverse canted legs and Heavy Lasers bulking up each massive forearm”, “ERPPCs”, “running speed of sixty-two KPH”, “advanced tactical missiles”, and plenty of double heat sinks. While not a full record sheet, that’s a pretty good description to build your own version. Which I did, and while I was close to the final version that would show up in the TRO, I didn’t quite guess it all.

Vlad Ward was a cautious Khan when it came to the Wolf Occupation Zone. Most all of the Clan’s production lines were kept in the Clan home worlds. This was partly out of a need to keep the lines running and partly to prevent raiding from Inner Sphere forces. While the supply lines were long, this strategy worked well enough, until the Wolves were kicked out of the home worlds in the Wars of Reaving. The Hell’s Horses invade and take a chunk out of the Wolf OZ.

With all the hits Clan Wolf was taking in the Jihad and Wars of Reaving, Vlad Ward needed new production to keep his warriors fighting. The Tundra Wolf, Sun Cobra, and even the Carnivore Assault Tank filled this gap, providing either jack-of-all-trades versatility or heavy-hitting long range firepower. The typical Clan warrior wants an OmniMech and nothing else. Without the resources to invest in large-scale OmniMech production, Vlad ordered his scientists to create a new ‘Mech, a symbolic weapon (much like a totem ‘Mech), that the Wolf warriors could rally around. Knowing that some warriors would balk at using a non-OmniMech, Vlad appealed to their vanity, challenging them to prove they were better warriors who could win with lesser equipment.

The Wolf scientists created a design that resembled the weapons profile of the Timber Wolf with a few updates. An ERPPC and Heavy Medium Laser are found in each arm, giving that head-capping power every warrior desires and close range punch without any ammo concerns. An ATM6 resides in each side torso with three tons of ammo for plenty of longevity and variety. A total of 18 double heat sinks cover much, but not all of bracketed weapons fire, providing warriors with a slight challenge of heat management. Last of all, four jump jets help whenever a Blood Reaper is forced to fight in rough terrain or cross rivers. Armor is essentially maxed out.

With such a design, proven in combat when a star of Blood Reapers eliminated almost a full Trinary of Hell’s Horses Light and Medium ‘Mechs, requests came in from every Galaxy for Blood Reapers. The design took the place of many non-Wolf designed OmniMechs, conserving resources, and much like the Orion IIC, gave Wolf warriors a ‘Mech they could be honored to pilot, even if it wasn’t an OmniMech.

About a year after the Blood Reaper entered service, a variant appeared which traded the jump jets for a Medium Pulse Laser in each arm. This version is favored in duels and Trials of Position where the extra firepower is preferred over maneuverability. Somewhat surprisingly there are no other known variants (although I have a few of my own). As time progresses to the 3140’s both versions of the Blood Reaper are still in use and appear to only shift out of frontline forces as new Omnis such as the Warwolf, Savage Wolf and others begin to fill out the Wolf Empire touman.

Honestly, if you are playing a Wolf force anytime after 3080 and you have heavy ‘Mechs without a Blood Reaper, then you should really reconsider swapping one into your force, you won’t be disappointed.

An interesting side note of the Blood Reaper, other than slight armor distribution and jump jet location differences, both versions can be built as an Omni configuration of the Nova Cat.

[Maelwys]

Solid designs, nothing flash or quirky, and its gets the job done. 6 tons of ATM6 ammo is probably excessive, but atleast you don't have to worry about extended campaigns too much. The "2" is just more of what the original is, which pretty much fits the Clan mentality to a "T". "Screw the jump jets, give me more firepower and heat!"

The only oddity is probably the design itself. The Clan was already producing the Tundra Wolf at the time, and the Blood Reaper doesn't really do anything the Tundra Wolf can't. They both have XL engines and Endo Steel, so the Blood Reaper doesn't really save on materials or cost except in the most minute quantities, they share similar armor profiles, with the slight edge going to the Tundra Wolf unsurprisingly, and their war loads are close.

I'm not really knocking it, it works perfectly fine. There's just some oddity :)

Oh, and for the Deja vu feeling, the Night Wolf at 90 tons is also 4/6/4 with Endo Steel and an XL engine and similar loadout and proportional armor and would show up 5 years later give or take. The Wolf Scientists seem to be pretty set in their ways. :)

[Empyrus]

I figured what bothers me about the Blood Reaper.
Its few appearances and the fact it wasn't in the ClickyTech despite appearing the novels. I mean, ain't that odd? The design would fit the ClickyTech reasonably with simplistic armaments (many ClickyTech units seem to have only one or two different weapon systems in CBT).

Still not sure what to think about the 'Mech.

[wantec]

The only oddity is probably the design itself. The Clan was already producing the Tundra Wolf at the time, and the Blood Reaper doesn't really do anything the Tundra Wolf can't. They both have XL engines and Endo Steel, so the Blood Reaper doesn't really save on materials or cost except in the most minute quantities, they share similar armor profiles, with the slight edge going to the Tundra Wolf unsurprisingly, and their war loads are close.

To me, it feels like the Blood Reaper is geared more towards dueling in particular and fighting against other 'Mechs. The twin ERPPCs allow it to fight at any range, dealing damage in large chunks with the obvious two chances at head-capping. The ATMs allow it to crit-seek at any range. The extra ammo allows it plenty of variety and ensures that the closer an enemy gets, the more it will suffer.

On the other hand the Tundra Wolf has a more versatile armament, something that will work better against multiple targets or vehicles and infantry. While it can deal roughly the same damage at range, the Tundra Wolf's damage is divided into smaller clusters. It's not until you start moving to the Tundra Wolf 2 and 3 that you get variants more geared towards dueling. Unfortunately, the Tundra Wolf 2 and 3 start to have more weapons than the heat sinks can handle, even bracket-firing, and the 3 in particular trades a lot of armor for those weapons.

I'm not really knocking it, it works perfectly fine. There's just some oddity :)

Oh, and for the Deja vu feeling, the Night Wolf at 90 tons is also 4/6/4 with Endo Steel and an XL engine and similar loadout and proportional armor and would show up 5 years later give or take. The Wolf Scientists seem to be pretty set in their ways. :)

The Night Wolf seems to follow the lead of the Tundra Wolf (variety of weapons, jack-of-all-trades, etc) versus the dueling nature of the Blood Reaper.

[False Son]

Hurray, a mech that isn't old enough to vote!

The Blood Reaper is fairly well constructed.  The speed is a little disappointing for a Clan heavy using a XLE, but the firepower, heat sinks and armor a solid.  I personally find 4/6/4s awkward, and jacking the BV up with 2 CERPPCs isn't my idea of a good time.  But, i've faced Blood Reapers before and can honestly say the simplicity of their design is deceiving.  2 energy headcappers dictates engagement to a certain extent.  You can't really ignore them, and the HMLs and ATM6s pair well with a single ERPPC up close.  Not the most inspired set up, but the kind of thing your Touman can be built around.

As little as I like 4/6/4s, i'm not so sure about the 2.  Replacing jumps jets with MPLs might give you the impression this is a close ranged brawler, which I don't believe it is.  The additional heat from the MPLs means sacrificing something in close engagements for heat purposes.  I suppose having a stronger medium range game is always a good thing.  MPLs and ATM ER ammo at 8 hexes seems like a legit pursuit for a mech that doesn't otherwise penalize itself with the huge BV of twin CERPPCs getting medium range penalties at 8 hexes.  But, having an extra trick up your sleeve is sometimes better than what could have been.

My biggest turnoff from the Blood Reaper (which is otherwise fine, but a little boring) is the name.  Blood Reaper sounds like the kind of thing a teenaged Edgelord would name their mech, or a 90's comic book villain.

[Fat Guy]

If you just looked at the stats and didn't see the picture, your first thought would be "Warhammer".

Not a bad thing to be compared to...

[Maelwys]

To me, it feels like the Blood Reaper is geared more towards dueling in particular and fighting against other 'Mechs. The twin ERPPCs allow it to fight at any range, dealing damage in large chunks with the obvious two chances at head-capping. The ATMs allow it to crit-seek at any range. The extra ammo allows it plenty of variety and ensures that the closer an enemy gets, the more it will suffer.

On the other hand the Tundra Wolf has a more versatile armament, something that will work better against multiple targets or vehicles and infantry. While it can deal roughly the same damage at range, the Tundra Wolf's damage is divided into smaller clusters. It's not until you start moving to the Tundra Wolf 2 and 3 that you get variants more geared towards dueling. Unfortunately, the Tundra Wolf 2 and 3 start to have more weapons than the heat sinks can handle, even bracket-firing, and the 3 in particular trades a lot of armor for those weapons.

Oh sure, I'm not saying their loadouts aren't different. I'm just saying, when you have 4 variants of the Tundra Wolf already, why not simply make the "Blood Reaper" a 5th variant? You have the space in the Tundra Wolf to almost match the layout of the Blood Reaper, even if you keep the MASC. If you drop the MASC you have enough space to upgrade the ATMs.

If the Blood Reaper had been fluffed out as being a budget design, and had been using a standard engine, or if damaged endo steel production facilities had required the use of Ferro Fibrous armor instead, then I could see a reason for the Blood Reaper.

Instead, in the space of 5 years, we see a 75 ton 4/6/4 design with XL engine and endo steel and about 30 tons of weaponry, and a 70 ton 4/6/4 design with XL engine and endo steel and about 30 tons of weaponry. Why not just make a new Tundra Wolf variant?

[GreekFire]

Y'know, I didn't know the Blood Reaper didn't feature in the clicky game. Gotta say Evans scored a point with this one, the design fits perfectly within the clicky aesthetic. 

I've used it a couple of times, and it's decent - but that ATM ammo, that freaking ATM ammo. It always ends up getting popped; I'm never able to burn through enough bins before stuff starts going internal and the and things start exploding on me. You want a refit? Ditch two tons of ATM ammo for literally anything else, as long as it doesn't explode.

My biggest turnoff from the Blood Reaper (which is otherwise fine, but a little boring) is the name.  Blood Reaper sounds like the kind of thing a teenaged Edgelord would name their mech, or a 90's comic book villain.

Yep, definitely a turn-off. That and the mini's looks guarantee that I won't be buying one any time soon.

[wantec]

From a fluff perspective, the Tundra Wolf had developed a reputation, good or bad, but either way it had a set reputation. At the time, Wolf warriors still wanted Omnis, despite (or maybe because of) their reducing availability, even if it wasn't a Wolf design. For whatever reason, the abilities of the Tundra Wolf, even the 2 and 3 variants, weren't lessening the demand for Omnis.

Step back and look at the situation Vlad was facing. He had a limited and diminishing supply of Omnis, Second-line 'Mechs would work almost as well as Omnis and he could produce more of them to increase his overall supply of 'Mechs. But, for many reasons, his warriors didn't want Second-line 'Mechs. In order to convince (some might say deceive) his warriors into gladly accepting Second-liners he needed a new Second-liner that would have additional appeal. So he told his scientist caste to build a symbolic machine the Wolves would rally behind. Then he went out and cranked up the PR machine to show why the Blood Reaper is a superior design worthy of using. In the end it worked and we have two similar machines when one could have been a variant of the other.


Now for an out of universe answer, the name comes from the author, Loren Coleman. Also, in the novel it doesn't say whether the Blood Reaper is a new or old design. Other MWDA source material puts the Tundra Wolf as being designed during or near the end of the Jihad, so we know the opening date for it.


When it comes to modifications (and I'm a little surprised we didn't get any in TRO 3145's or 3150's updates sections) I would drop the HMLs and something else to squeeze in a LPL. The times I've used a Blood Reaper, it's biggest weakness has been against high defensive modifiers. Even using the 2 and the MPLs weren't always enough for me.

[SteelRaven]

Blood Reaper is a good mech that was overshadowed buy other designs. It never got the same attention as the Tundra Wolf in fiction and players, much like Clan Warriors, only see the 'Reaper in the shadow of the Timber Wolf. 

I figured what bothers me about the Blood Reaper.
Its few appearances and the fact it wasn't in the ClickyTech despite appearing the novels. I mean, ain't that odd? The design would fit the ClickyTech reasonably with simplistic armaments (many ClickyTech units seem to have only one or two different weapon systems in CBT).

Still not sure what to think about the 'Mech.

The ClickyTech guys made some weird decisions. Chances are Coleman made the Blood Reaper on his own prerogative while WK continued with their own designs.         

[Nahuris]

I actually liked this design when I first saw the art --- it fit the aesthetic that I like, perfectly.
I even ordered 2 of the figs when it first hit available --- and not done anything other than assemble them, and prime one up......
Those legs.... on the art, they are fine, on the miniature, they look small.... giving the mech a "Bluto" look, from the Popeye cartoons .... huge torso, with itty bitty legs dangling underneath.......

Nahuris

[Colt Ward]

I think the angle on the legs is different on the mini, making the body lower.  I bought one because I liked the art and needed it for a Clan force.  I think one of the guys in my area did the legs differently . . . either cut at the knee or maybe used bits from the Blood Asp?

The missile covers on the art are weird . . . they slide straight up?  They are included with the mini and I have not decided how I will mount them . . . honestly think maybe they should pop outward.

It would have been nice to hear about the Blood Reaper in more than just the single book- for instance as part of the Wolf forces hammering the League states.  A Reaper was in the diorama when the Crusader Wolves took down Stone?

[Heretic]

Cool article. Personally prefer the Savage Wolf over this if only for some more razzle-dazzle, but then again, I've no real experience with the Reaper.

How do I kill it?

[False Son]

Those legs.... on the art, they are fine, on the miniature, they look small.... giving the mech a "Bluto" look, from the Popeye cartoons .... huge torso, with itty bitty legs dangling underneath.......

Nahuris

[Arkansas Warrior]

If you just looked at the stats and didn't see the picture, your first thought would be "Warhammer".

Not a bad thing to be compared to...

I was thinking Marauder, but yeah.  Or Hammerhands, even (which of course ties right into the Whammy comparisons).

[Colt Ward]

Marauder 9M2 . . . but the Warhammer similarity made sense too.

[wantec]

How to kill it, I guess I should have covered that some.

You can't really our range it, so the best way is to try and avoid taking damage. High speed units, backstabbers, you own high damage units, all kind of the basics. Here's on situation where a Snubbie would work well. At 9 hexes you put the HMLs and HE ATMs at max range. The MPLs (if you're facing a 2) would be at long range. All the while the snubbie is at short range.

[Sartris]

I actually liked this design when I first saw the art --- it fit the aesthetic that I like, perfectly.
I even ordered 2 of the figs when it first hit available --- and not done anything other than assemble them, and prime one up......
Those legs.... on the art, they are fine, on the miniature, they look small.... giving the mech a "Bluto" look, from the Popeye cartoons .... huge torso, with itty bitty legs dangling underneath.......

Nahuris

The legs bother me. I wish they were about 20% bigger.

[Colt Ward]

I just looked at my mini . . . and it really looks like the art, legs are proportioned to the torso just like it all.

[Wrangler]

I was actually disappointed when i saw the art for the Blood Reaper in 3085.  I had thought it was going be a more streamline machine, aggressive profile.   The mini for it must have shrunk in the wash, it to darn stubby to me.

Weapon load out is fine, i was glad a (then) statless mech brought to life rules wise.

[Maelwys]

The idea to use Snubnose PPCs is an interesting one. It puts the Blood Reaper at medium and long range for all of its weapons except for ER ammo on the ATMs. And even with the jump jets, the Reaper is slow enough that you might be able dictate the terms of the fight. It'd be tough though.

I'd think heat creating weaponry would be a good idea. You're not going to be able to shut it down, but you can force it to use its secondary weapons instead, and screw with its already sharp heat curve.

[wantec]

The idea to use Snubnose PPCs is an interesting one. It puts the Blood Reaper at medium and long range for all of its weapons except for ER ammo on the ATMs. And even with the jump jets, the Reaper is slow enough that you might be able dictate the terms of the fight. It'd be tough though.

I'd think heat creating weaponry would be a good idea. You're not going to be able to shut it down, but you can force it to use its secondary weapons instead, and screw with its already sharp heat curve.

I thought about the heat weapons, but short of Plasma Cannon/Rifle you have to get close, in range of all those secondaries. With 20 DHS the Reaper can still just shoot a single ERPPC and one or two of the other weapons without gaining heat. Which still leaves it with one head-capping weapon firing at you every turn.

As far as the snubbie, I was thinking something that moves/jumps at least 6 hexes so you could dictate the range better. Something like the Rifleman RFL-7X, Wraith TR2-X, Griffin GRF-4R, Phoenix Hawk -7K or -8CS.