So I've diddled long enough, keeping everyone in suspense as to who the winner is. The good news is, we have chosen one! We've already reached out to the individual, and have begun working with them on the design of that 'Mech so we can turn it into a kick-ass mini. But first... I really want to thank everyone who submitted a design for this contest. There were some really great entries in the group of 'Mechs that were submitted; and yes, there were a few duds as well. As the judges looked at all of the designs, we each had some that we absolutely loved. I think we all had our own favorite for one reason or another.
In the end though, there were six designs that we had a consensus on that were better then the rest, and each ranked fairly high in our individual lists. Those six consisted of a fairly wide variety; at least considering such the small subset. Of those six, we had two Introductory designs, two Tournament Legal designs, and two Experimental designs. They ranged from a low of 40 tons, to a high of 95 tons.
It ended up being a spirited debate among the judges, each listing out why they liked one design over the other. But in the end, there was one that just stood out in a lot of different categories for us. It checked all of my personal boxes and then some. I actually had such a good time looking at these designs, and weighing how much I liked them, that I've decided to expand the prize pool beyond a 1st place! That's right, I decided to give out a prize for 2nd as well as 3rd place finishers! So without further ado...
3rd Place - $15 Iron Wind Metals CreditBanshee BNC-3S-MB1C : We all really loved this design, which was a surprise to me at first, because I don't typically go for the assaults. They're always too slow for my tastes. But there was something about this one I liked. It's a phenomenal upgrade for the Banshee chassis. It has a great mix of weaponry to satisfy different range brackets. It also has a Guardian, which I have always dismissed in standard game-play, but found a new love for when I positioned it in the context of this challenge! And if I'm going to pilot an assault, it would definitely fall into the 3/5/3 movement profile. And it manages to do all of this without the use of an XL! If I didn't have an insatiable need for speed, this one very well could have come out on top.
2nd Place - $35 Iron Wind Metals CreditClaymore CMR-1-MB1C : To understand why this ranked so high, one needs to realize that the 5/8/8 movement profile is, by far, my favorite in BattleTech use. It requires the use of Improved Jump Jets, which some simply hate, but I'm rather fond of. Using IJJs allows you the benefit of far more movement without a larger engine. It has potential heat issues, but as one who was brought up learning in the 3025 era, this didn't bother me. In addition to the movement, what we really loved about this design was the use of the large vibroblade in conjunction with the actuator enhancement system. The use of this 'Mech will surely ruin someone day who is on the opposing side! A great ride for Solaris games for sure. The only reason this one did not come out on top is, I'm not a huge fan of close-in combat, and only engage in those scenarios when absolutely necessary.
1st Place - $75 Iron Wind Metals Credit + Sculpted Mini(s)Stonewall (The Magic Carpet) SWL-2A-MB1C : I instantly fell in love with this one. It matches the base 5/8/8 movement profile that is my favorite, but pairs it with one of my favorite pieces of newer technology, the partial wing. By doing this, it allows for an astonishing jump movement of up-to 300 meters (10 hexes)! The ability to hit this thing will be extremely difficult. It pairs this eye-popping movement with a weapons suite that allows you to stay at a longer range, or get in a tad closer, depending on your mood. It once again does this without having to use an XL engine. We debated this one for a while simply because of the Clan partial wing, which in 3071 was still in the prototype stage. But the designer accounted for this in the fluff (a case where the fluff really did help) with a keen sense of the lore!
Anyways, this was such a blast there's almost a 100% certainty that I'll be doing another one at some point in the future!