’Mech of the Week: Executioner-B 
Record Sheets Here:
https://bg.battletech.com/wp-content/uploads/22/03/Shrapnel-8-record-sheets.pdf
Source: Shrapnel #8
https://bg.battletech.com/shrapnel/
The early 1990s were a crazy time, and the arrival of the Clans in Battletech was truly the wild west. Ignoring the gaping construction errors in TRO3050, the early Clan novels were full of ‘Mech descriptions which varied from switching variants between ‘Mechs to flat out impossible weapon loads. Some writers were clearly writing with insufficient information. The Executioner-B is an attempt to explain some of the more weird and wonderful Executioners over the years.
First appearing in Shrapnel #8 the Executioner-B makes use of TRO3050U’s description of an earlier Clan Burrock Executioner modified by Clan Ghost Bear. The Burrock Executioner is constrained by descriptions of Vlad (Ward) using twin gauss rifles as well as the traditional Executioner Prime lasers during Phelan kell’s Trial of Position, which sets a minimum pod space available. That forces a reduced engine size. That is sort of a good thing because it frees up a heap of pod space. But then the Executioner-B needs to be nerfed so that there is a legitimate reason for Clan Ghost Bear to make their changes. So, we get a pair of fixed jump jets. It is not great, but it is not crippling. Plenty of OmniMechs have undersized arrays of jump jets that can be added to as needed. I am surprised that none of the variants do so. Now that has me thinking of a 3/5(6)/1 movement pattern as a sort of lead-in to the Executioner. Things that could have been, I guess. The 16 fixed double heat sinks are the same of that of the final Executioner. They take up valuable torso real estate, but that isn’t unusual for a 3050 OmniMech. The Dire Wolf, Warhawk, and Executioner are all guilty of that. Probably the gravest sin as far as I am concerned is the extra half ton of ferro-fibrous armor. Clearly there was a half ton that needed filling, but it got used on the side torsos which makes the modern Executioner’s weak side torsos even more baffling. Anyway, the Executioner-B ends up with 47 tons of pod space which is reasonably respectable. 95 tons, two tons short of maximum armor, two jump jets, it is not far off a Turkina, and few people call that a poor ‘Mech.
There are four variants of the Executioner-B. The Prime mixes large pulse lasers, UAC/2s, an ERPPC, and an UAC/20. The UAC/2s match up to the machinegun ports of the Executioner which means the ERPPC matches up to the blank port on the other side of the chest. A rather disturbing case of WYSIWYG. With only 17 double heat sinks the Executioner-B is impressively incapable of generating useful firepower. Okay, maybe I am basing that on modern standards. Long range firepower is similar to a Dire Wolf Prime, but as the range drops it doesn’t really ramp up. Ultimately it lacks good combinations of weapons to use the heatsinks effectively.
The A runs cool and is BV cheap. I guess you can say that about it. I am not a big fan of UAC/10s. Theoretical damage is good, but they are a little hot, a little short ranged, and a little inaccurate compared to a gauss rifle. The Executioner-B A has two UAC/10s. These are backed up by a pair of LB10-Xs and a pair of ER small lasers. Total firepower is probably better than the Prime. It is not a bad ‘Mech, but it is a little underwhelming and misses a 15 or 20 point weapon to really open holes.
The Executioner-B B is probably the best of them. Solid damage at range, ramping up to brutal under 10 hexes. A pair of gauss rifles, a pair of ER large lasers, and four medium pulse lasers. With 18 double heatsinks cooling is scalable with options from running icy to overheating for effect. Obviously this is Vlad’s ride.
The Executioner-B C is an interpretation of the Executioner used in MechWarrior 2, Ghost Bear Legacy’s aquatic level. As such I am a little disappointed that this variant has SRMs rather than SRTs. We don’t see enough aquatic ‘Mechs. On the land this variant is frustratingly hot. Twenty double heatsinks sort of allow you to use your four ERPPCs in a three/two pattern, and the UAC/5s chip in as low heat support, but really it is pretty underwhelming. At 3/5 movement you can’t really afford the -1 to movement in the same way a Warhawk Prime can. That said underwater things are going to be a lot more manageable.
So, using an Executioner-B. This isn’t an Executioner. You aren’t going to be moving at speed. This is a big slow assault ‘Mech. Actually that does raise a good point. The Executioner-B has an intro-date of 2873 compared to say the Dire Wolf in 3010. The Kingfisher is 2887 and the Executioner is 3001. This is an old OmniMech, so in many ways it is better to use it as a vintage machine back in the Golden Century. It will perform a lot better against the more limited opponents back then.
Anyway. The Executioner-B is a 3/5 assault with the armor of an 85 ton ‘Mech and the guns of a standard engine 3/5 assault, but not the toughness. Move carefully and slowly to maximize hits and reduce return fire. As a rule, firepower does get better as you close the range, so it is probably worth while doing so. If I had to pick a variant, I would go B for effectiveness or A for a low BV surprise for someone looking at your mini and expecting and Executioner.
Killing an Executioner-B is simple enough. It is a slow assault ‘Mech. Even with the vestigial jump jets it won’t be getting out of the way of much. You could make an argument about targeting the still-weak side torsos, but seriously, the odds of hitting them don’t really make it worth the effort. You might get some advantage from trying to stay at range against it. It is a little weaker than its peers, but it is not bad per say. Probably the big thing is it has a little less firepower and a little less armor than its peers so on average an Executioner-B will lose in a simple grinding battle most of the time.
Where does that leave us? The Executioner-B is a vintage OmniMech. It is a little bit weaker than its modern peers but as solid as you might expect for any other big Clan assault ‘Mech. To match existing fluff it makes some questionable design choices, which have a negative effect, but still can’t be ignored on the battlefield. In a lot of ways, it fits in with TRO3050 very well in its odd use of equipment. It could have done with more 3/5/3 variants to properly exploit the jump jets. All in all, not a good ‘Mech, but the benefits of Clantech mean that it isn’t a bad ‘Mech either. Pre-3000 it is probably well worth the effort given how few of the familiar Clan terrors exist yet. Especially if you can leverage the logistical benefits of Omnitech.
So that is the Executioner-B. Hopefully we will see more of it stomping across your Golden Century battlefields in the near future.
