War Crow OmniMech, from ilClan Recognition Guide: Volume 7
Clan Snow Raven has never been a tremendous producer of heavy designs. Originators of the Kingfisher and Stormcrow OmniMechs, their time as part of the Raven Alliance has not changed their doctrinal preferences. Recent industrial endeavors have widely expanded their range of hard-hitting lights and mediums (with the Devil, Kit Fox, Dark Crow, Stormcrow, and Vapor Eagle having all recently entered production—just to name a few), while a solid corps of assaults anchors their forces and gives the lights a powerful anvil to smash targets against (the Omen, Deimos, and Warhammer IIC being three currently produced examples).
This has left a significant gap in the Raven touman. Other Clans, notably the Wolves and Falcons, have a true wealth of designs to fill the heavy cavalry or pocket assault roles. But within the Raven Alliance, confirmed heavy production could basically be boiled down to two units: the Bombardier and the Merlin, both of which horribly unsuited for use within front-line Raven commands.
Enter the War Crow.
First featured in the ilClan Recognition Guide series, the War Crow is the Raven Alliance's newest, most cutting-edge, and likely soon-to-be premier heavy OmniMech in their touman. The design plays it safe, and it doesn't try to reinvent the game. Coming in at 70 tons, it has the standard speed for a Clan Heavy (5/8), uses standard weight-saving technologies (endo-steel, XL engine), and stuffs as many double heat sinks as it can into its 350-rated engine (14 DHS). Where it really stands out as a more modern product is its armor protection. 217 points give it the absolute maximum a 70-ton design can carry, every single point of it the Ravens' advanced Ferro-Lamellor armor. The lot leaves the design with 25 tons of podspace, a rather average value for a Clan heavy.
War Crow
INTRO: 3145
MANUFACTURER: RAVEN ALLIANCE
--- Speed: 5/8 (350 cXL) ---------------------------------
--- Armor: 217/217 (Ferro-Lamellor) ----------------------
--- Base Heat Sinks: 14 Double [28 heat dissipation] -----
FRONT REAR INTERNAL
( 9) (**) ( 3)
/22|32|22\ / 8|12| 8\ /15|22|15\
(22/ || \22) ( | | ) (11/ || \11)
/ /\ \ / \ / /\ \
(30/ \30) / \ (15/ \15)THE CONFIGURATIONSEven the best designs, though, can be hampered by their configurations. But there's no need to break a sweat here—this isn't the case for the War Crow. Nearly every variant is more optimized than not.
Primary Configuration
ER PPC w/Capacitor (LA)
2x LRM/15 (LT, RT)
---LRM ammo (4 tons) (2xLA, 2xRA)
2x ER Medium Laser (CT, H)
2x Medium Pulse Laser (LT, RT)
Double Heat Sink (LA)
The Prime is a bracket fighter with a clear firing pattern. The ER PPC+Capacitor, when fired alongside the LRMs, makes full use of the chassis' heat dissipation abilities. Meanwhile, firing the array of lasers alongside the LRMs can give you a chance to recharge the Capacitor for yet another 20-point hit on the following turn. Punch holes, sandblast with the LRMs and lasers. It's that simple. And there's no real range that it's bad at—it's really a configuration that's a strong threat in every sort of situation.
A Configuration
ER Large Laser (RA)
HAG/30 (LA)
---HAG ammo (4 tons) (LT)
2x ER Medium Laser (CT, RT)
ER Small Laser (H)
Supercharger (RT)
The A continues the generalist trend. The ER Large Laser, HAG, and Supercharger all combine to give it better sniping potential than the Prime; that said, the fourteen double heat sinks encourages players to move in to use it as a mid-ranged brawler instead, where it can add both ER Medium Lasers to its fire without breaking a sweat. At the end of the day, though, damage potential is nearly the same as with the Prime. One only needs to determine whether they prefer the 20-point hit on the Prime or the better range and speed of the A.
B Configuration
Large Pulse Laser (RA)
Streak LRM/15 (LA)
---Streak ammo (2 tons) (LA)
2x Medium Pulse Laser (CT, RT)
ER Medium Laser (H)
5x Jump Jets (LL, RL, LT, CT, RT)
The B is a bit more of an skirmisher. The Large Pulse Laser has more than respectable range when thrown against Spheroid opponents, so when combined with the Streak LRM gives the B a solid punch at decent ranges. The jump jets and pulse array combo make it a nasty harasser and give it the ability to keep up with the myriad of 5/8/5 mediums and heavies that Spheroids love to field. Once again, overall damage output is rather similar to the other configurations, so choosing to field the B tends to come down to whether jump jets are needed more than the range of the A or that 20-point hit on the Prime.
C Configuration
2x ER Large Laser (LA,RA)
2x ATM/9 (LT, RT)
---ATM ammo (4 tons) (2xLA, 2xRA)
2x ER Medium Laser (CT, H)
Cooland Pod (LA)
The C...you guessed it. It's another generalist of sorts. This one, however, is the only configuration without intuitive heat brackets. You can't fire all of the ranged weapons on it without overheating, so some restraint is best. How you use it is up to you; charging in to use HE ATM tends to be best, as it has the most close-in oomph out any of the variants. The ER Large Laser and ER ATMs are just there to give you a ranged option; if you want to focus on playing a more finessed-base ranged game I'd suggest sticking with the A.
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The War Crow doesn't try to be too fancy—durability is the name of the game. The ferro-lamellor armor alone gives it protection that's akin to a fully-armored 85-ton BattleMech. In addition, all ammo or explosive components are always found in the arms, giving it durability beyond most of its other heavy Clan contemporaries. The slightly heavier rear armor also encourages more aggressive play, all fitting for a line heavy that's meant to be at the forefront of any attacks.
Most notable, though, is what the War Crow accomplishes through its very existence. The design, as it stands, manages to outclass the older Savage Wolf in multiple different ways. The armor difference between the two is largely negligible (calculations showed me that it took roughly the same number of 5- and 10-point hits to destroy almost every location on both'Mechs). The XXL on the Savage Wolf is a glaring weakness compared to the War Crow's standard cXL, and its weaker rear armor protection encourages more cautious play from the elaborate Sea Fox design. Even the Savage Wolf's extra podspace and one extra internal heat sink are largely nullified by its hotter-running engine; most of that extra space needs to be spent on heat sinks for it to be able to use similar configurations to the War Crow. This can be seen most when comparing the War Crow C with the Savage Wolf A; while the Savage Wolf runs slightly cooler and has a slightly larger array of tertiary weapons, the War Crow is able to mimic the Savage Wolf's configuration while barely losing any effectiveness.
While this does make the design a fearsome beast on the tabletop, its largely generalist nature does make many of the configurations feel somewhat samey on the table. The Prime stands apart most with its two distinct volleys, but the design has no true specialist configurations as of now (though, of course, you do have anti-air capabilities with the A and a decent anti-light/harasser config with the B). There's a lot of unexplored potential for the design, and I'm certain that as time goes on we'll see the War Crow pushed into a larger array of roles.
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Master Unit List:
http://masterunitlist.info/Unit/Filter?Name=war+crowilClan Recognition Guide, Vol. 7:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/334599/BattleTech-Recognition-Guide-ilClan-Vol-7
