Junkyard Dogs, former LAAF merc lance.

[Terrace]

Deserting from the 6th Lyran Guards at the beginning of the FedCom Civil War after the commanding general openly declared loyalty to Katherine Steiner-Davion, these boys and girls made their way to the Arc Royal Defense Cordon to fight the Jade Falcons. Fighting the Jade Falcons is a rough job, but it's certainly a better way to defend the Lyran Commonwealth than fighting Federated Suns units!

Lieutenant Coulson controls the only Clantech Battlemech the Junkyard Dogs owned when they started, a Timber Wolf that he'd been lucky enough to salvage from Clan Smoke Jaguar during Operation Bulldog, replacing his shot up Marauder MAD-5S

Unit composition, 3062

Timber Wolf D - Lieutenant Brian "Terrace" Coulson
Maelstrom MTR-5K - MechWarrior Lucas "Thud" Jameson
Starslayer STY-3C - MechWarrior Sarah "Sticks" Octavio
Bushwacker BSW-S2 - MechWarrior Stanley "Apple" Wrigley

1x Leopard Dropship, Dog House

As the unit participated in combat operations over the course of the Civil War, they began upgrading their rides, and are using selected examples of Clantech. After the Civil War ended with Peter Steiner-Davion as the new Archon, the unit rejoined the LAAF. Their usual Anti-Clan tactics consisted of hit-and-run tactics, focusing fire from the entire lance against single targets, before withdrawing.

Unit composition, 3067

Timber Wolf D - Lieutenant Brian "Terrace" Coulson
Maelstrom MTR-5K - MechWarrior Lucas "Thud" Jameson
Black Hawk-KU (Custom configuration) - MechWarrior Sarah "Sticks" Wrigley
Bushwacker BSW-S2 - MechWarrior Stanley "Apple" Wrigley

1x Leopard Dropship, Dog House

During the operational life of the Junkyard Dogs, they often painted their Battlemechs gunmetal gray with fake rust, giving the impression that their Mechs had literally been pulled out of a junkyard.

Edit: Made changes in unit composition, as per suggestions. Maelstrom goes to the other Heavy pilot, as the Lance commander was rather stubborn about using the Timber Wolf he'd salvaged during Operation Bulldog, and Thud's old Thunderbolt had been wrecked in the interm. Sticks' Nova uses a configuration consisting of two ERPPCs, two additional heat sinks, an ECM Suite, and a Small Pulse Laser. Incidentally, the entire lance has a movement speed of 5/8, with jump jets on a few of them. Anything they can't outrun, they certainly outgun.

Edit (May 2014): Changing Sticks' 3067 ride from a Nova to a Black Hawk-KU with custom mixed tech configuration. Dual Clantech ERPPCs, Beagle Active Probe, Guardian ECM Suite, and two additional Double Heat Sinks. Full-up Clantech 'Mechs would probably be traded to Clan Wolf-in-Exile to help maintain their touman, and their techs are already used to working with it. A pair of Clan Extended Range Peepers, on the other hand, are much easier to justify this bunch holding onto, given the lance leader already uses a pair of them on his machine, so keeping spares would be simple good sense. And hey, we got this new, shiny Omnimech to replace that shot up Starslayer! Grab a pair of Clanner Peepers from our stockpile of spare parts and hang them on it! Get cracking!  [whipit]

[martian]

1) I am not sure how you can practice "hit-and-run" tactics with the TDR-5SS Thunderbolt, when average Clan 'Mechs are often both faster and batter armed.

2) I have some difficulties with imagining how such obsolete lance could survive against the Clans, not to talk to see such lance completely re-armed from the Inner Sphere tech to the ClanTech - especially if you gave them the Night Gyr OmniMech at first.

3) Do you realize that concentrating fire of the whole lance against single Clan 'Mech means that the Jade Falcons would got extremely pissed-off, and that in turn they would quite probably concentrated firepower of their 'Mechs against yours?

[Terrace]

In order.

1) I am not sure how you can practice "hit-and-run" tactics with the TDR-5SS Thunderbolt, when average Clan 'Mechs are often both faster and batter armed.

Conceded. Drop the Thunderbolt for a Shadow Hawk?

2) I have some difficulties with imagining how such obsolete lance could survive against the Clans, not to talk to see such lance completely re-armed from the Inner Sphere tech to the ClanTech - especially if you gave them the Night Gyr OmniMech at first.

Salvage. Lots of salvage. Successfully defending the ARDC from a Clantech enemy provides piles of it, or so my thinking goes.

3) Do you realize that concentrating fire of the whole lance against single Clan 'Mech means that the Jade Falcons would got extremely pissed-off, and that in turn they would quite probably concentrated firepower of their 'Mechs against yours?

Of course I realize this. I'm not stupid. Aerojocks would describe their tactics as "One pass, haul ass." They blast a single Clan Mech together (Alpha Striking as appropriate), then run for it. This is one of the reasons I chose the D configuration for the Timber Wolf. Clanners have to be cautious when faced with nearly the same firepower on that Mech from the rear as when it's facing them.

And really, they're only a small part of the defending forces. They're really too small to have operational control over the whole of a planet's defenders. Their tactics, however, lets them serve as 'bait' to lure Falcon forces into prepared ambushes.

[Tyler Jorgensson]

What he is referencing is zellbriggen, the Clan version of dueling one on one. Should anyone else disrupt the duel then the battle becomes a melee free for all, and then those five Turkina’s in the background can pour their firepower all into your mech.

On that matter, Clan salvage in that time period is still extremly wanted by all comers: most mercenary contract’s wouldn’t let a new lance of mercs keep it. They could however trade it into other units or the state for higher Inner Sphere tech. There in lies your problem at least fluff wise: you went AWOL from the state, which means the ARDC is paying ALL your bills. That is IF you survive: Berber’s Maruaders among other units didn’t fare so lucky (and they had 60 odd Maruader II and Maruader I chassis!)

And thinking the Jade Falcons as cautious when facing a lance of Inner Sphere warriors? Ouch time.

But on more construction issues: the Timber Wolf and Nova you could probably salvage easily enough. The Cauldron-Born (while one of my favorite mechs) is primarily a Smoke Jaguar machine so if anything your CO uses that from his Bulldog salvage. I would drop the Stormcrow and replace it with a more advanced tech Inner Sphere mech, as well as drop whichever heavy clan mech your CO isn’t using and do the same. Also the Cauldron-Born B variant is more your style of that mech: brutal alpha strike.

[Terrace]

Understood. I'll drop the Cauldron-Born and the Stormcrow for Inner Sphere machines when I get home from work.

Additionally, the presence of their target's star mates would be why they run for it after they do their Alpha Strike. They just don't want to tangle with that many Clanners in a straight up fight.

[Tyler Jorgensson]

Additionally, the presence of their target's star mates would be why they run for it after they do their Alpha Strike. They just don't want to tangle with that many Clanners in a straight up fight.

Agreed  ;D

I would recomend something with longer range heavy weapons: you might be able to get a Marauder II but they are slow so it might not fit your lance well. I will see if i cannot figure out something to help: after all having the Inner Sphere hurt the Falcons for us? Priceless.

[BrotherFluffy]

The FM mercs manual states that salvage rights usually fall under shared or exchange.  If their employer is going to be the Kell Hounds, then it is definitely shared, which means you split salvage equally with your employer, but he pays you market value for the half he takes.  Salvage is split based on tonnage.

[Iron Grenadier]

As a starting unit, perhaps a Maelstrom 5K for the lance leader, a Cestus 6Y in place of the Thud, and a Starslayer 3C in place of the Griffin, and the S2 variant of the Bushwacker?

Those should all be found within the 6th Lyran's TO&E.

[Terrace]

As a starting unit, perhaps a Maelstrom 5K for the lance leader, a Cestus 6Y in place of the Thud, and a Starslayer 3C in place of the Griffin, and the S2 variant of the Bushwacker?

Those should all be found within the 6th Lyran's TO&E.

Lance leader started with a Marauder MAD-5S, but got it shot out from under him during Operation Bulldog. The Timber Wolf he uses during the unit's existence as mercenaries was salvage from the same battle he lost the Marauder in.

[BrotherFluffy]

As a starting unit, perhaps a Maelstrom 5K for the lance leader, a Cestus 6Y in place of the Thud, and a Starslayer 3C in place of the Griffin, and the S2 variant of the Bushwacker?

Those should all be found within the 6th Lyran's TO&E.

The Maelstrom is a really underrated design, imo.  It's got speed, armor, weapons, and it has TAG to mark units.  And it was designed as a offshoot of the venerable Marauder

[Iron Grenadier]

Lance leader started with a Marauder MAD-5S, but got it shot out from under him during Operation Bulldog. The Timber Wolf he uses during the unit's existence as mercenaries was salvage from the same battle he lost the Marauder in.

Yes I read that, but I should have been more clear. If his Marauder was shot out, he was given the Maelstrom as a replacement by his unit's quartermaster. I don't believe the Timber Wolf is common Smoke Jaguar omni - I thought they used Mad Dog's instead. If you really wanted him to have an omni, I think the Mad Dog might make more sense.

[Terrace]

The Mad Dog might be common among Clan Smoke Jaguar, but they also have some of the only Timber Wolf production facilities outside of Clan Wolf, IIRC. You can find a Timber Wolf sporting Smoke Jaguars easily enough.

Edit: Made modifications to the unit composition. Entire lance moves at 5/8, so no one's getting left behind during their mad dashes leading the Falcons to ambushes.