Fed Suns company help needed!

[pupecki]

Hey guys, I'm not sure if this is the right place for this so if it isn't I apologize. Anyways, I'm creating a Fed Suns company and need help choosing a marauder variant for my command lance. But before I get to far ahead I figure I'll go ahead and post my lance so far.

Banshee BNC-5S
Marauder MAD-5R/7D
Warhammer WHM-9D
Blackjack BJ-3

So I'm having a hard time trying to decide what variant to use between the 5R and the 7D, the era is during the jihad and the company will not have a c3 network since I currently do not have any mechs capable of having a master c3 and all of my other mechs but a handful even have variants with c3 on them.

any input would be greatly appreciated, I was originally going to go with the 7D and use it as a harasser/body guard while the other units sniped, a role I thought it would be good for since it has a nice array of lasers + RAC + TC, however I do get a little more range and damage output with the 5R. I can post the rest of my company if you it would help anyone decide what the best variant would be on a company level.

Thanks for any and all help!  O0

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Of the two, I prefer the 5R.

[MarauderD]

Veteran pilots or better I'd be tempted to stick them in the 5R.

Regular or greenpeas might do better with the 7D because of the TC.

[Saint]

7D because it can deal with heat better, and keep up a higher rate of fire. Also the 5R has a waste of a C3 Slave.

[William J. Pennington]

As for the marauder choices--both are solid choices.

I'd actually look more at other members. Given the movement curve of your Lance, a more durable Warhammer 8D probably fits in better than a 9D, 400 cheaper in BV. Give it a 3 Gunnery Value, and it still is cheaper than the 9D.

And, surprisingly enough, I'd go for a 3S over a 5S.

The 5S has XL vulnerability coupled with Gauss explody-ness, perhaps even worse heat problems at long range.  Heck, you could take specialty munitions for the AC 10 and still have 25% more shots than the Gauss rifle. 16% Cheaper in BV. Sure, you drop some range off, but you have a Blackjack armed with standard PPCs as well, this way it has a friend to wander into the same range bracket with it, which is a nice way of supporting each other. The more fragile Blackjack has a big brother to protect it, while the slower Banshee as a jumping Blackjack with good medium laser support to help watch its back.

The 3S can walk and salvo its PPC's without heat problems, unlike the 5S and its ER PPCs.

[MarauderD]

I'd like to see the rest of your company just for fun!

[pupecki]

Here is the rest of my company as it currently stands:

Command Lance:

Banshee BNC-5S
Marauder MAD-5R
Warhammer WHM-9D
Blackjack BJ-3

Fire Lance:

Orion ON1-MC
Thunderbolt TDR-11SE
Argus AGS-5D
Bushwacker BSW-S2

Strike Lance:

Wolverine WVR-8D
Wolfhound WLF-5
Javelin JVN-11D
Raptor RTX1-OF


I was planning on using my command lance as a base of fire unit where I dont have to move too terribly much and can just rain down pain with long range weapons. My fire lance are my brawlers and I plan on using them to get close and tie up the enemy, then bring in my strike lance and preform hammer and anvil maneuvers while receiving supporting fire from the command lance. I compiled this list only using what the MUL said was available for the Fed Suns in the Jihad era, as I'm sure more of you can tell I'm still pretty green to battletech so if you could give me any input to what works/doesn't wont/ would work better as far this company goes I'm all ears and would love to hear the feedback!   

[Rorke]

Not bad, me I'd prefer a heavier strike lance but to each his own.

I would likely drop the Orion though, probably for something a touch
more Davion.  A Black Knight 12D for example would make a more
fitting replacement.

[MarauderD]

I find it fun to see what is available on the MUL as well!

The thing you can't get from the MUL is how rare a mech may be. I think the Orion and the Bushwacker would both be pretty rare mechs during the Jihad, and especially by the end. Come to think of it, both the Banshee and the Bushwacker were Lyran manufactured, so as the Jihad went on, it would be difficult to get replacement parts for them.

If you wanted to go with Davion produced mechs that might have an easier time getting parts as the Jihad progressed, you could replace:

Banshee with: Devastator, Templar, Longbow, Nightstar, maybe a Marauder II 4S if you really want a Steiner design as your lead mech.

Bushwacker with: Enforcer III (any), Shadow Hawk 5D, Rifleman 8D, Jager (DIII or 7F)

Orion is a great flavor mech and maybe keep it for variety's sake? If not

Lastly, and probably least relevant: I have god awful luck with the 8D and 9D Wolverines. Davion mechs to be sure, but those RAC-2s just don't do the justice when for 2 tons you could stick a 5 on there. That, and mine seem to always get a TAC Gyro or Engine crit early on. If the goal of strike lance is to move into close combat, you might be better off with the lower tech Shadow Hawk 5D because it lacks the XL engine and is a decent zombie with Case.

Just some ideas.

Orion is a great flavor mech but would be super rare in the Suns IMO.

[pupecki]

I didnt really think about rarity so thats something I will consider, the main reason why I have the banshee, wolverine, and orion in there is because they are both from my 3025 and clan invasion lance so I figured instead of  buying more mechs than I have to at one time I would just reuse some of what I already have until I buy more mechs. also my strike lance is so light because I wanted to start off with a nice mox of heavy, medi, and light designs so I can play pick up games or do recon missions in a campaign setting and so on

[MarauderD]

Well then you have a good reason to be using those mechs!

[Rorke]

We'll always pick over others choices, but ultimately it is down to you.

We've all our own set of preferences after all, but do tell us how you get
along with whatever you finally choose.  It's nice to hear how selections
fare.

[pupecki]

would you reccomend the wolverine WVR-7K in the strike lance instead? the wolverine was another one of the mechs I was not happy with but couldnt find a variant I like on the MUL

[MarauderD]

Honestly, the Marik made 7M would have been imported back in the 50s and 60s and is a great mech. There really isn't anything wrong with the 8D--just make sure you have some hole punchers in the same lance so it can crit seek for you.

It seems like you want a Wolverine, but the Steiner design Griffin 6S was built at Talon (I think) for a year or two before that plant went kaboom in the Jihad. Light Fusion Engine makes it a more durable mech and it still has the 5/8/5 movement profile.

Are you sticking with certain mechs because you have those minis by chance?

[pupecki]

you are correct sir! I do plan to eventually get a lot more it's just at this moment I only have the mechs that I listed so that's why I'm trying to find the right variants for these

[William J. Pennington]

Don't worry about having a few more rare choices. Its available, and heck, its ok to have the occasional out of faction one for a personal unit. There's always an exception to the rule.

[pupecki]

Okay guys so after much deliberating this is what I have come up with.

Command Lance:
Banshee BNC-3S
Marauder MAD-7D
Warhammer WHM-8D
Blackjack BJ-3

Fire Lance:
Orion ON1-MC
Thunderbolt TDR-11SE
Argus AGS-5D
Bushwacker BSW-S2

Strike Lance:
Wolverine WVR-8C
Wolfhound WLF-5
Javelin JVN-11D
Raptor RTX1-OF


Also I figured I would post my clan invasion company just in case anyone was interested.

Command Lance:
Banshee BNC-3S
Marauder MAD-5D
Warhammer WHM-7K
Blackjack BJ-2

Fire Lance:
Orion ON1-MA
Thunderbolt TDR-7M
Argus AGS-2D
Bushwacker BSW-X1

Strike Lance:
Wolverine WVR-7K
Wolfhound WLF-2
Javelin JVN-11A
Raptor RTX-OF