“Toss THIS in buffalo sau- aw man, I made fun of myself again, didn’t I?”Following the horrors of the Jihad, there were very few militaries that could look at their losses and say ‘no big deal’. Some militaries were smashed literally beyond repair, and even the most sunny outlooks involved years of reconstruction. This was doubly-trying for the Clans that remained in the Inner Sphere- not only were they left with heavy losses from the fighting against the Blakists, but varied degrees of internal conflict against the Society had wounded them as well- and all were cut off from the Homeworlds, a problem ranging from a ‘meh’ from the Cats and Bears to an ‘oh god everything is doom’ from the Wolves. The Falcons were an intermediate case- heavy losses and an inordinately large Society problem left them reeling, but the loss of production from worlds like Ironhold was made somewhat less crippling by the Clan’s holdings in their occupation zone such as Sudeten.
Where it would have been enough for the Falcons to simply ramp up production of their longtime favorites like the Kit Fox and Summoner to cover for their losses, we’ve long seen a flair for the dramatic from Kerensky’s children. This includes the ‘totem Mech’ concept, which has appeared with mixed success in a number of forms across the Clans such as the Fire Scorpion, Mandrill, and Kodiak. In retrospect, it is actually surprising that it took the always-proud Falcons this long to come to the conclusion that they needed their own version… and in typical Falcon fashion, if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing. Not one but FOUR bird-of-prey themed designs began filling out the Falcon touman in the years following the end of the Jihad and Reaving, and while the other three deserve articles of their own we’ll be focusing today on what the author believes is not only the best of the lot, but possibly the best Battlemech to debut in the Dark Age era: the Gyrfalcon.
For those not familiar with standard Jade Falcon tactics, the Clan adores mobile warfare. Not quite in the Ice Hellion sense, but they do love quick-moving designs, preferably with jump jets as well. The classic Summoner ia a great example of Falcon thinking, and with that in mind the Clan stayed close to what they know when it came to rebuilding. The Gyrfalcon then feels familiar to Falcon players in that regard. But there’s another Mech that the Gyrfalcon feels familiar to, and it makes the Gyrfalcon the ultimate extension of an old friend- the RFL-3N Rifleman. We’ll be referencing that design a few times here.
The show starts on the Gyrfalcon with the same mobility as the venerable Summoners it serves to support- 5/8, thanks to a 275-rated XL engine. This gives the 55-ton Mech fairly average speed for its size, but a MASC system allows for brief boosts up to ten MP a turn. That’s nothing to sneeze at, particularly with the Mech’s other abilities in mind. Jump jets backed by a partial wing give the Mech a surprisingly good leap, allowing it to quickly reach good firing positions or escape danger. It’s not going to put the Spider out of business for quick movement, but for its size and role the Gyrfalcon can get around. A battery of laser heat sinks (debuted years earlier on the Night Gyr) reduce the threat from ammo explosions a slight bit more than usual.
Many things can be said about the Clans being rigid and incapable of learning new tricks. Let that never be said about their engineers. In addition to the partial wing, the Falcons introduce another new innovation to the Gyrfalcon- reflective armor. Nine tons of this plating covers the Gyrfalcon in what we’ll admit here isn’t a particularly thick hide. Only the center torso could survive an AC-20 hit, though all non-rear locations can hold out a Gauss hit at least (once). With the Mech intended to serve in a long-range sniper role, the amount of return fire is going to likely be limited, however- and the reflective armor means that some of the more potent inbound shots such as ER large lasers and PPCs are far less effective than usual. The vulnerability to artillery is nullified by the mobility of the design, while one can’t feel too worried about physical combat problems in a Mech intended to engage from across the battlefield.
And let’s talk about that, because as with any Mech the weaponry defines its role. Here we have a dedicated mobile sniper, and the weapon loadout reflects this better than almost any other design since the Hollander. Each arm has a familiar sight to Rifleman fans, an over/under large laser and autocannon. Of course, the Falcons aren’t using the old Star League standbys. The large lasers are both extended range models (in absurdly large mountings), while the cannons are LB-2X guns (each with its own 45-round drum magazine). A light active probe in the head adds a little extra sensor advantage to round it out. Now, that doesn’t sound particularly powerful- and really it isn’t, at least in terms of raw damage output. But there’s a few things to consider here. First, the LBX guns are excellent at causing aircraft problems, making it much more difficult to deal with a marauding Falcon force via air attack. We also find that while the Mech will build a bit of heat from firing its weapons while on the move, it isn’t an unmanageable mess (thank you, partial wing!), so leaving out a laser every few turns will keep you running just fine. And of course, perhaps most importantly, all four weapons range out beyond the max ranges of most return fire- the lasers can reach 25 hexes, while the cannons can reach a staggering 30. A Gyrfalcon can strip a targets armor clean before it can take even a wild return shot.
Perfección de pollo verde!To elaborate just a bit further there, we have a Mech that can put out four shots at range many Mechs can’t even reply at. But it’s worse than that for the enemy. What return fire you do have is going to be made even more difficult by the Gyr’s movement curve. What shots do hit are mitigated by the reflective armor soaking up much of the damage. And because it moves as quick as it does, it can continually move backwards as fast as larger Mechs can approach it, allowing the beast to keep its range advantage for a long time. It’s everything a Rifleman pilot could have dreamed of- and used intelligently, is nothing short of a winged nightmare to bring down. The best bet are fast strike units that can chase it down and bring it to justice- even then, it will likely take work to finally end the threat.
A somewhat lower-tech version, the Gyrfalcon 2 drops the reflective armor for ferro-fibrous plate. That armor provides the same protection, but frees up a little weight- which, along with the removal of the probe (a system not likely to be useful on a Mech engaging from 20-odd hexes away from most targets), allowed for the addition of two more heat sinks, allowing for cool alpha strikes while running. That’s not a small thing- and makes the Gyrfalcon 2, in the author’s opinion, the superior to its reflective cousin in many situations. It’s worth trying both and seeing if your style results in taking more hits than not- if you play a high-risk style, the reflective may be the better bet, but if you focus more on sustained fire this is your machine.
Gyrfalcon 3 keeps the Ferro plating from the 2, as well as a switch to standard double heat sinks. The superb AA-abilities of the LBX guns are traded (foolishly) for Ultra AC-2s, a baffling ‘upgrade’ that removes the AA flexibility and even a few hexes of range for dubious gains in fire rate. However, a targeting computer does make all four guns more accurate, so… there’s that at least? Falcon pilots will no doubt keep ranting or cheering to a minimum while crammed into a small cockpit. While the computer is nice- and in the hands of a good gunner could allow for some wicked aimed shots- this is probably the least useful of the Gyrfalcon family.
And then there’s the Gyrfalcon 4, the oddball of the group. We’re back to the heat sinks of the 2 combined with its armor, but where we had the LBX guns we now have a pair of TSEMP cannons. This is a polarizing weapon, and not everyone’s a fan of the big risks in using them. But, here they are- so if you’re a fan, your ship has come in. Two of them on a fast-moving frame mean that you’ll get two chances to smack your target and shut them up. If you’re not a big TSEMP fan, obviously this won’t give you any big thrills. With the somewhat lacking armor, the author doesn’t suggest this version for frontline work.
It then remains to note one last Gyrfalcon version, that of Galaxy Commander Aleks Hazen, deceased brother to current Khan Malviina Hazen. Aleks is noted as having the two large lasers as usual, but using Ultra AC-5s in place of the usual autocannons. Where the weight came from for that is unknown. What is known is that Aleks used a Mech known for its long-range prowess and tried to get in a fistfight with a Hatchetman, and got exactly what he deserved for doing so. Whether he had reflective armor or not is unknown, but if so he had double the folly on his head for this asinine operation and deserves nothing but scorn from Falcon fans and haters alike for this foolish act.
Where would you find one of these? Well, it’s hard to swing a dead nova cat in the Falcon touman these days without hitting a Gyrfalcon- it’s a common sight in the Clan’s formations, providing both long-range support and morale boosts to Falcon forces watching an avatar of Turkina herself stride into battle alongside them. The design was used heavily in the invasion of the Republic and the
desant leading up to it, and has also seen combat against other Clans- the TRO entry notes a star of these machines facing off with a star of Hells Horses’ Balius, defeating their enemy. The Balius’ were then destroyed rather than taken as the prize of the fight, specifically to taunt the Horses, because the Falcons are out of their minds these days if you haven’t heard.
So there you have it, folks. It’s a little frail, but won’t get hit much to begin with. It slashes at ranges that most targets can’t even reply at, murders aircraft with cruel indifference, and makes Rifleman pilots green (jade?) with envy. It’s a joy to use, so if you haven’t had a chance to do so, be sure to give it a shot sometime. And of course, dive in to discuss this impressive war machine below- or go hit the design forum to come up with your own configuration.
“Watchoo starin’ at? Reply to the thread, mah dude!”
