The Blandest of the Bland - A BattleTech Thought Experiment

[Fat Guy]

My initial response was going to be the Vulcan, but the Eagle is definitely easy to forget and I even own one.

The Eagle is so forgettable, that I actually did forget about it when picking the Vulcan!

[Sartris]

Marshal
Lineholder
Enfield
Watchman
Initiate

[sadlerbw]

#1 for me is definintely Wyvern. Not only is it slow and not terribly effective at anything, but is also is probably the most boring of the original art designs. It just looks like a guy made out of tiny squares, not a BattleMech. The Hornet was also a good choice, as I had legitimately forgot it existed. However, once mentioned I did have a pretty clear picture of what it looked like in my head. The 'egg with turbo-jets and stick-legs' was at least somewhat memorable. With the Wyvern...yeah, I can't picture it all that well. I think it has kind of squinty eye holes...maybe. Other than that, nothing about it really stands out.

I can see why folks would say Eagle though. I happen to have used it enough to remember it, but I can see how it would be easy to forget.

Also, I'm not sure if this exactly counts, but I tend to get the Grand Titan and Titan II confused all the time. I always forget which one is Optimus Prime, and which has a wing for a head.

[Kit deSummersville]

How about that von Rohrs? Can you even remember what weight class its in?

[Tai Dai Cultist]

How about that von Rohrs? Can you even remember what weight class its in?

I'd call it more obscure to begin with rather than being so bland it becomes obscure.

I'd have suggested many of the mechs already listed upthread, but I wanted to add a couple more in the Cossack and Garm.
Then I realized that they, and many others upthread, all have something in common.  They come from the same source.

So I'm going to go so far as to nominate the entire TRO:3060 as being blandest of the bland.

[Colt Ward]

What?  I love the Garm as one of the few low BV or light AA/anti-armor platforms.  I was always trying to get one on the L2 servers and I remember one trade deal with a FedSun player with it caused a bit of a stir.

[Sartris]

So I'm going to go so far as to nominate the entire TRO:3060 as being blandest of the bland.

YOU LEAVE THE NOVA CAT OUT OF THIS

[Garrand]

So I'm going to go so far as to nominate the entire TRO:3060 as being blandest of the bland.

That's because of some terrible art, IMHO. When I got that book I couldn't evaluate how good the designs were because the art was so distracting. Not poorly executed, just looked dumb overall.

Except the Hauptmann. That one grew on me...

Damon.

[monbvol]

Mongoose and Mercury for me.

They just do not stand out in either direction.  Neither do something one of the already existing bug mechs do just as well in some variant and I can remember those a lot easier.

[RoundTop]

Arctic Wolf is a good one. I even have that mini and forgot I had it.

But I agree that the Eagle is even blander and more forgettable (and the artwork is equally as bland)

[Iron Mongoose]

I think my absolute forgettable pick is probably the Great Wyrm.  I did the Mech of the Week on it (twice, actually) and no other article I've written got so many replies of "I'd forgotten this" or "thanks for introducing it to me."  Now, of course, I never forget it since it was a Mongoose mech and I use it fairly regularly, but everyone else does.

But, I think on a more modern mech, there's being forgotten and never being known about.  There are plenty of Dark Age mechs that are terrible, but I don't know about them because I never learned.  Contrast that with forgetting a mech from the 1980s, which has been in fiction and who's brothers are some of the most famous and remembered mechs in the whole of the pantheon.  That would be something.

I'd name the Goliath.  One of the unseen, adjacent in the pages of it's TRO to mechs like the Marauder and Battlemaster, and yet if it got 1% of the mentions as either of those two I'd poo my pants.  It got a famous mention in the Warrior books, when a battalion of them was blasted to hell, and it's scarcely been heard of since. 

[SteelRaven]

Seen a number of these threads, you always end up accidentally insulting someone by mentioning one of their favorites. Everyone has their own taste and years of TROs have given us allot of mechs, not all of them are winners and easy to forget.   

[ravensword]

I'd second the Enfield mention above--I remembered most of the others mentioned, but not that one.

[JadeHellbringer]

What?  I love the Garm as one of the few low BV or light AA/anti-armor platforms.  I was always trying to get one on the L2 servers and I remember one trade deal with a FedSun player with it caused a bit of a stir.

Oh man, I'll back that. The other versions are pretty forgettable, but the LB-5X Garm is THE way to get rid of aircraft on the cheap for a FedSun unit. From an anti-Mech perspective, yeah, it's crap, but anything airborne (and anything on wheels/tracks, while we're at it) should be fleeing in terror upon seeing a Garm show up on the field.

Mongoose and Mercury for me.

They just do not stand out in either direction.  Neither do something one of the already existing bug mechs do just as well in some variant and I can remember those a lot easier.

To reinforce Monbvol here, I had to stop and hit up Sarna real fast just to remember the Mercury's loadout. It's that forgettable that I forgot almost all about it.  ;D

[Kit deSummersville]

Oh man, I'll back that. The other versions are pretty forgettable, but the LB-5X Garm is THE way to get rid of aircraft on the cheap for a FedSun unit. From an anti-Mech perspective, yeah, it's crap, but anything airborne (and anything on wheels/tracks, while we're at it) should be fleeing in terror upon seeing a Garm show up on the field.

The RAC/5 version is a cheap way to drop 20 on someone who is overlooking it with a bunch of other stuff around.

[JadeHellbringer]

The RAC/5 version is a cheap way to drop 20 on someone who is overlooking it with a bunch of other stuff around.

Sure, if you don't jam the gun.

Go on, ask how often I jam RACs. Do it. DO IT.  #P

(Suffice to say that I don't get as much out of most modern FedSuns tech as I'd like.)

[glitterboy2098]

The Thunder Hawk. Turrettech at its worst.

Three Fricken Gauss rifles. this one everyone knows of and isn't about to forget.

I find the Hellstar bland. It's min-maxers wet dream, So powerful that it is actually boring to use.

Quad fricken CERPPC's on a heat neutral cavalry platform? that one is so memorable it has seared itself into the brains of every player.. which is a good parallel for what the sight of it does to the minds of enemy pilots..

remember just because you don't like a design does not mean it is not memorable. heavily optimized designs might be overly common now, but they tend to be popular and well known in the fanbase. the OP was asking about mechs that are routinely forgotten to even exist by the fanbase, because they aren't optimized, but aren't spectacular disasters, and are competing with other more memorable middle of the road mechs.

The Cestus might still win this for disappearing from TRO 3058 and me not noticing.

the Cestus is probably the most forgettable of the standard guass mechs. which a is a shame, it is actually pretty good.

[Kit deSummersville]

Sure, if you don't jam the gun.

Go on, ask how often I jam RACs. Do it. DO IT.  #P

(Suffice to say that I don't get as much out of most modern FedSuns tech as I'd like.)

On the plus side you've got no reason to not clear it, where as that Templar you have to just endure the jammed RAC while firing all the other guns.

[Kovax]

Mongoose and Mercury for me.

They just do not stand out in either direction.

The Mercury isn't anything extraordinary, but the Mongoose is another creature entirely.  If I can acquire a Mongoose in a campaign, you'll hear evil cackling laughter.  The Mongoose is, for game purposes, a Locust on steroids.  With a Locust, it creates a distraction while my heavies to move in for the kill.  With a Mongoose, my heavies are the distraction, the Mongoose is the threat.

[glitterboy2098]

my own votes would be for the Maelstrom.. a design so forgettable that i had to do a sarna search for its marauder cousin just to view the "related to" section so i could remember the name.

[Mattlov]

Initiate

Not really bland.  Can something with 3 ER small lasers be bland?  But I never remember it exists when putting together a WOB unit.

Use it in Alpha Strike.  You'll remember it.  It is still slow, but it somehow has incredible firepower.

[Major Headcase]

The Clint...

It's been in Btech since just about the beginning.  I have it in no less than 3 TROs. It's represented in published artwork in numerous Btech sourcebooks.  And yet... when I ordered the Lance Pack with the Wolfhound and the Jenner for my companies, I had to look that mech up on Sarna because I couldn't remember what it was... truly a forgettable dud of a mech. And not just stats wise, it's physical look is the definition of "nondescript" and boring...

[Major Headcase]

#1 for me is definintely Wyvern. Not only is it slow and not terribly effective at anything, but is also is probably the most boring of the original art designs. It just looks like a guy made out of tiny squares, not a BattleMech. The Hornet was also a good choice, as I had legitimately forgot it existed. However, once mentioned I did have a pretty clear picture of what it looked like in my head. The 'egg with turbo-jets and stick-legs' was at least somewhat memorable. With the Wyvern...yeah, I can't picture it all that well. I think it has kind of squinty eye holes...maybe. Other than that, nothing about it really stands out.

I can see why folks would say Eagle though. I happen to have used it enough to remember it, but I can see how it would be easy to forget.

Also, I'm not sure if this exactly counts, but I tend to get the Grand Titan and Titan II confused all the time. I always forget which one is Optimus Prime, and which has a wing for a head.

The only reason I always remember the Wyvern is because long ago someone painted up a Wyvern and an Urbanmech as R2D2 and C3PO. Stuck in my head ever since... 😂

[marauder648]

For me the Cauldron Born

When initially introduced it was basically a squat Hellbringer, a Clan 5/8 65 tonner that has well wishes and thoughts/prayers are with Kerensky as protection, and the weapon mix was chosen seemingly by letting someone with ADD get hepped up on Red Bull and 12lb of popping candy.  It looks neat and some of the later configs are better, yet it somehow comes across as less fun than a Hellbringer and less well armed, and just (if only slightly less) squishy. 

Its a bit rubbish, and is very forgettable.

[marauder648]

That's because of some terrible art, IMHO. When I got that book I couldn't evaluate how good the designs were because the art was so distracting. Not poorly executed, just looked dumb overall.

Except the Hauptmann. That one grew on me...

Damon.

The Clan Mech's look fine, less said about the Clan vehicles the better though.   And some of the IS Mech's look fine too but most are "Yo dawg, we heard yo like pannels so we put pannels with yo pannels on yo pannels!"

[jimdigris]

The Whitworth, Clint, and Dervish.  Even in the 80s, they were ignored by everyone.  They were always on the store shelves because no one was interested in buying them.

[jimdigris]

Oh, I forgot the Quickdraw.

[Foxx Ital]

 Javelin..i mean seriously.

[S.gage]

Again, not bad, just forgettable:

There's a lot of forgettable IS 'Mechs in 3055 and 3060. How about the Hercules?

Honestly, I did not expect to forget any from 3025, 3050, 3058, and 2750, but sure enough, there was one - the lovable Thorn. Not to say it's bad, it's just forgettable.

[Daryk]

*snip*

I'd name the Goliath.  One of the unseen, adjacent in the pages of it's TRO to mechs like the Marauder and Battlemaster, and yet if it got 1% of the mentions as either of those two I'd poo my pants.  It got a famous mention in the Warrior books, when a battalion of them was blasted to hell, and it's scarcely been heard of since.

You do know the Goliath was on the cover of an issue of BattleTechnology, right?  And was in the feature article of that issue (Goliaths on St. Andre)?  Don't get me wrong, the design is nothing to write home about, but forgettable?  How many quads existed back in 3025 again?  And what design do you think drove the introduction of turrets for 'mechs in the current rule set?