'Mech of the Week: Y-H* Yu HuangHappy New Years, everyone! Taking a request from our own Jymset, I'm returning to the modern day this time around to look at the
Yu Huang. This BattleMech is the third offering from Shengli Arms of Victoria; the first two were the the
Duan Gung and the
Jinggau. With a design changed under the tenets of Xinsheng, the
Yu Huang is supposed to be named for the
Jade Emperor ruling the court of heaven and should therefore "[mete] out justice to those who would transgress against us." Capellan nationalism aside, the art isn't bad with a nicely solid look to the overall bulk but well curved. Initially, they were deployed very widely, even offered to long-serving mercenary units, distributing the Y-H9G and Y-H10G models across the Capellan Confederation Armed Forces' various formations and was, based on the fluff in TRO3060, intended to be a third big-name Capellan design.
Looking at the Y-H9G, it's clear this is a close-range fighter despite some concessions to the need for long-range sparring. At 90 tons, the
Yu Huang is the same size as the
Emperors built by Star Corps just about everywhere or the Star League's
Highlanders, but where those machines are both traditionally known as 3/5/3 performers, the
Yu Huang uses a Hermes 360 extra-light fusion plant to reach flank speeds of 65 kph. The engine's sheer size contains all thirteen double heat sinks. Rodan-90 jump jets bring a full 120 meters of jump capability just to increase the 'Mech's maneuverability. (Coincidentally, this means that all three of Shengli Arms' debut designs are jumpers.) The design is burning two and a half tons compared to an 85 ton chassis thanks to the jets but the baseline
Yu Huang also carrying more armor than such a chassis could at 272 points, no less than 17 tons of standard plate. The armor layout is just a bit off from what I'd call a "most efficient" placement but if nothing else, the sheer thickness is covering a lot of sins. My only real concern about the armor distribution is the lack of 30 points on the side torsos to deal with double Gauss hits, but it only falls short by two points. The legs and center torso are quite thick indeed. The other major survivability issue I have is the lack of CASE. Salvage is good, people, and the CCAF doesn't have 'Mechs to burn. The armament is, as noted above, biased toward close range fighting. Your main concessions to the fact that the world does not drop off somewhere around 350 meters out are an ER PPC and a Zeus LRM 10 with one ton of ammunition. (While the model is not provided in the text, Mad Capellan's
Objective Raids 3067, a highly reliable tome, suggests that it's a Shengli weapon due to the way the plant is largely self-sufficient.) Depending on your situation and the rules in play, T-Augs may be a wonderful load for that launcher, circumscribing where you hold court by obliging someone to either stay in range of your main gun or suffer the wrath of the mines. And just what is that main gun I speak of so respectfully? No less a power than an LB 20-X rests in the right arm and right torso, giving the Jade Emperor a mighty blade with which to smite those who would ignore the Celestial Wisdom. Backing this up are a pair of medium lasers and a medium pulse laser, located alongside the ER PPC in the left arm. Watch your firing patterns in close - there are going to be times it's worth it to conserve ammo and unload with a full energy barrage, times to use the lasers and the autocannon, and times to juggle the lasers around to manage your heat load. Don't forget the
Yu Huang's jump jets - this has its uses both to escape when heat buildup has reached a critical point and for fine maneuvering in close. Considering your armament's bias toward short-range combat, I suggest bringing something like a
Caesar, or
Cataphract to provide some extra long-range punch. The 3050
Vindicator is also a nice little buddy to attach another ER PPC to the force and keep the Yu Huang[/i]'s flanks clear; certain
Blackjack Omni configurations or the BJ-3 can also do the job nicely if you've got either one handy.
At the same time, a second variant was introduced to increase the availability of the
Yu Huang within the Capellan Confederation Armed Forces. The power plant, jump jets, and armor are all identical on the Y-H10G. The new armament reminds me of the JN-G8A
Jinggau. A Gauss rifle (probably the same Zhi-tong-yao model from the aforementioned
Jinggau) replaces the LB 20-X in the right arm without sprawling into the torso the way the autocannon does and is fed by the usual two tons of ammunition. The left arm only bears an extended-range large laser along with a Beagle probe. Each torso mounts a trio of Diverse Optics extended-range medium lasers. An ECM module was installed in the center torso to round out the electronics. Three more double heat sinks bring the total to sixteen. Overall, this is still a short-range combatant but the Gauss rifle provides a much more authoritative answer for a bit of sparring alongside the ERLL. Punch a few holes on your way in, keep firing the Gauss rifle every time you're clear of the minimums, and use the lasers to simply wear the opponent down. The explosive risks are a lot lower on this model, although certain people (like Gio) may want to avoid the Gauss rifle.
The next
Yu Huang to appear was the Y-H9GC, striding onto the battlefield during the period of discord in the Federated Commonwealth Civil War. Based closely on the eponymous Y-H9G, the Y-H9GC trades the LRM launcher for a C3 master, providing the CCAF with a homegrown C3 command 'Mech in a sturdy chassis. Since the spare ton from the LRM ammo was invested into an extra heat sink, something that can be accomplished in a transport bay, I suspect this may be a field refit of the Y-H9G, perhaps introduced during the absorption of the St. Ives Compact. As a lance master, this
Yu Huang isn't my first choice although headhunters are going to find tangling with a Y-H9GC unpleasantly akin to harassing a
Shootist with the added danger of marking themselves as a priority target for everyone else in the network. Pay attention to opportunities to either TAG someone for something unpleasant or those golden opportunities to catch someone with your short-range weapons from 9 hexes or so. The armament mix may be a sign the Capellans, not major users of C3 to begin with, simply don't have a really solid C3 doctrine and units are adapting what they have on hand to do the job.
Two separate Jihad models were provided in RS3060 Unabridged. The first, the Y-H9GB, is a simple variation on the Y-H9G's theme. The LB 20-X was replaced by an Ultra/20, trading finesse and a bit of range for sheer firepower. (Makes me wonder if Thomas Hogarth was involved.) The ER PPC and MPL were replaced by a standard large and medium laser, respectively, paying for the extra ton of autocannon and two more heat sinks. Even more than the Y-H9G, this model wants to suck someone into the phone booth and keep them there - it lacks even a 3025
Atlas's ability to spar while it closes the range. Get in close and unload the lasers and the autocannon, toggling the large in and out for heat control if you're using Ultra mode fire. (The usual caveat about not tempting Murphy with unnecessary rapid fire applies, of course.) Something with capable crit-seeking is an excellent companion - the
Emperor is a bit slow but very dangerous while the CTF-3L or CTF-3LL
Cataphracts can pace you.
The final model, lavishly equipped with Total Warfare goodies, is the Y-H11G
Yu Huang. As with all the others, the armor and power plant are identical. Most of the armament of the Y-H9G was pulled, although the same mix of medium lasers is still there in the left arm. Each arm now boasts a plasma rifle, fed by four tons of ammunition in the center torso, a configuration allowed by a compact gyro. The launcher is now a pair of MML 5s, allowing two quite different configurations to match the existing artwork. Two tons of ammo allow normal SRM and LRM loads, each protected by CASE, making this the only
Yu Huang model that isn't remotely at risk of being rendered unsalvageable due to an ammo explosion. (Remember that plasma weapons are the rare exception to the general rule in BattleTech that if it uses ammo, either the ammo explodes or the gun does.) Another four heat sinks were also added, bringing the Y-H11G to 16 freezers. Pretty hard hitting, especially against non-'Mech targets, the Y-H11G can lay waste to tanks and battle armor or wreck the delicate heat curve of many Blakist 'Mechs even as it burns their armor away with equal facility. The last entry in the series for now, the Y-H11G proudly continues the grand
Yu Huang family tradition of in-your-face mayhem.
As I noted when talking about specific variants, every
Yu Huang is a close quarters specialist of one flavor or another. Only the Y-H9GC really has any reason at all not to get right in someone's face at the earliest opportunity and even then, to use its weapons, it's going to get a lot closer to an opponent than most masters would. If you're planning to be coy and plan a fencing match, flip a few pages back in TRO3060 and start reading about the
Jinggau or bring a few stealth 'Mechs. The Jade Emperor cares not for such things, willing and able to wade into the enemy and teach him the folly of opposing the Capellan people up close and personal with skill and firepower. Don't neglect the jump jets, either - between the potential for hitting someone from an unexpected direction and the way they let you dance in close quarters, jump jets are a big part of the
Yu Huang's cachet, and frankly, if you're going to burn eight tons on the things, you ought to get some use out of them. If you have access to them, Thunders of various types may be useful instead of the normal LRM loads - either defensive deployments or laying mines to limit an opponent's ability to run from the
Yu Huang can be quite useful. Narc is another fun option, harmonizing well with the
Raven. As usual for a close quarters BattleMech, the
Yu Huang can also either round out or act as an escort for a force of longer ranged units, keeping enemies from closing while benefitting as an emperor should from the succor of the people.
Cataphracts, with their general 4/6 speed, are another good choice very in keeping with the flavor of the design.
To counter a
Yu Huang, you need to do two things. First, try to stay out of reach of the main gun on most of them, or at least keep to long range - you can't manage it very well on a Y-H10G, but the others aren't that hard for faster units to outmaneuver and reduce their firepower to something comparable to a medium and you'd really rather not be dealing with those massed lasers on the Y-H10G anyway. Second, bring a mix of big guns to break the armor down and crit-seekers to exploit that once it's done - most of them have something that goes bang next to the XLFE, and on the Y-H10G, getting rid of that Gauss rifle is worth doing on general principles. If you do get close, don't underestimate a
Yu Huang's ability to maneuver in close quarters. It's a bad idea against a
Highlander and an even worse one with something faster with a real emphasis on the close-in beatstick role.
Image References: There's quite a few
Yu Huangs at Camospecs but the artwork from the TRO is available
in the MUL database along with availability and BV data. In general, they're available to the Capellans (obviously), while the Y-H9G is also available to both the Taurians and Canopians and the Taurians can use the Y-H10G.
