Lyran Alliance Mechs

[vaderi]

I've finished painting my current lot of Silver Hawks and have begun thinking about painting a Timbuktu March Militia lance, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for 3140-50s Lyran mechs.

A Bushwacker is a given, but I'm not sure what else would fit.

[Colt Ward]

Well, they are the Commonwealth again at that point but . . .

 . . . are you getting KS mechs?  The new Rec Guide is giving us some updates for those classic designs.

So with that, I say

Lance 1
Zeus 11S, Atlas of some sort, Viking IIC, Malice?

Lance 2
Bushwhacker as you said, Scourge, depends on how it appears in Rec Guide but maybe Axeman, Warden Wolf design in either the Mongrel or Jaguar (8/12 quad w/turret)

Lance 3
Omni lance- Linebacker, Gauntlet, Firestarter O, maybe Owens or Arctic Fox

[Natasha Kerensky]

The newer Lyran designs in that era are the Zeus-X, Gotterdammerung, Ursa (quad), Gauntlet (omni-version of the Bushwhacker), and Firestarter -M2.  The Elsies also have access to the Scourge, Night Stalker, Mongrel, and Jaguar thru multi-national sales or Arc-Royal/Wolf-in-Exile production.  There may be others.

Were it my campaign, I’d question whether a green House militia unit mostly responsible for pirate hunting along a Periphery border would have access to most, maybe even any, of these newer designs.  If you have the same concern, you may want to pick a frontline Lyran unit or look at older TROs.

[Sartris]

Hollander III?

[Colt Ward]

The newer Lyran designs in that era are the Zeus-X, Gotterdammerung, Ursa (quad), Gauntlet (omni-version of the Bushwhacker), and Firestarter -M2.  The Elsies also have access to the Scourge, Night Stalker, Mongrel, and Jaguar thru multi-national sales or Arc-Royal/Wolf-in-Exile production.  There may be others.

Were it my campaign, I’d question whether a green House militia unit mostly responsible for pirate hunting along a Periphery border would have access to most, maybe even any, of these newer designs.  If you have the same concern, you may want to pick a frontline Lyran unit or look at older TROs.

The Lyrans build the Scourge for sale on the open market I think.  It was a big question b/c it appeared in Lyran, League, Republic and factional colors in MWDA IIRC.

Zeus vs Zeus X IMO depends on if you are in on the KS and how good a mini builder you are . . . the Zeus X has fins on the shoulder and I am not sure how easy it is to put on the fiddly bits.  The new Zeus, -11S, is from the Rec Guides and uses the Classic mini that will be coming in Wave 2 of the KS (IS Fire Lance).  The Zeus X series also uses some of the more advanced materials IIRC.

Keep in mind we may get more Rec Guide options for the Classics of the KS like- Centurion, Wolfhound, Crusader, Warhammer, Marauder, Archer, Banshee, Atlas, Stalker, Hatchetman, Axeman (we got a new Bushie in Vol 2), Hunchback, and Victor that may all fit for the Lyran Commonwealth.  All of these will be able to be used in 3025 and 3150- at least so far since they seem to want to match up the gun ports.

So if you are getting any of the KS re-designs you might want to consider them since you can switch between eras.

[vaderi]

Well, they are the Commonwealth again at that point but . . .

 . . . are you getting KS mechs?  The new Rec Guide is giving us some updates for those classic designs.

oh right, I forgot they decided to switch their name back.

I am, part of why I was asking was to get a sense of whether or not I should wait for more Rec Guides/the KS mechs for putting the lance together.

Lance 1
Zeus 11S, Atlas of some sort, Viking IIC, Malice?

Lance 2
Bushwhacker as you said, Scourge, depends on how it appears in Rec Guide but maybe Axeman, Warden Wolf design in either the Mongrel or Jaguar (8/12 quad w/turret)

Lance 3
Omni lance- Linebacker, Gauntlet, Firestarter O, maybe Owens or Arctic Fox

LC has access to the Jaguar? hmm, I do like me some quads.

The newer Lyran designs in that era are the Zeus-X, Gotterdammerung, Ursa (quad), Gauntlet (omni-version of the Bushwhacker), and Firestarter -M2.  The Elsies also have access to the Scourge, Night Stalker, Mongrel, and Jaguar thru multi-national sales or Arc-Royal/Wolf-in-Exile production.  There may be others.

Were it my campaign, I’d question whether a green House militia unit mostly responsible for pirate hunting along a Periphery border would have access to most, maybe even any, of these newer designs.  If you have the same concern, you may want to pick a frontline Lyran unit or look at older TROs.

Thanks for the suggestions, and fair enough about the campaign aspect though these will be unlikely to see campaign play as a unit since I'm in the middle of an extended Silver Hawks Irregulars campaign that is unlikely to be winding down anytime soon. Though on the topic of older designs, I've been considering some of the Lyran Jihad era mechs, like the Mjolnir and the Eisenfaust, which seem like machines that frontline units wouldn't really be too interested in.

[MarauderD]

For March Militia, I'd go with some older mechs--plenty of which would be in the Kickstarter.  I also would think it might be a little less "Wall of Steel" and a little more "Wal-Mart."

Bug mechs/Commandos for the light lances and plenty of the 55 ton Trinity.  Maybe a couple heavy mechs for lance command rides?  The Bushwacker from Rec Guide Volume 2 is nice, and part of the KS.

[Natasha Kerensky]

The Lyrans build the Scourge for sale on the open market I think.  It was a big question b/c it appeared in Lyran, League, Republic and factional colors in MWDA IIRC.

Like a lot of Starcorps products, the Scourge is built on multiple worlds in multiple Houses, both Elsie (Herzberg, Loburg) and Leaguer (Emris IV) in this case.

[Natasha Kerensky]

Though on the topic of older designs, I've been considering some of the Lyran Jihad era mechs, like the Mjolnir and the Eisenfaust, which seem like machines that frontline units wouldn't really be too interested in.

It’s been three-quarters of a century, so I think that’s fair.  I think MarauderD’s comments on Commandos, bugs, and the holy trinity are also good, as are Colt’s on older designs getting updates in the Recognition Guides.

Field Manual 3145 and its RATs may be your best guide.  In fact, there’s only one mech battalion of Timbuktu Theater Militia left (the Florida TTM), stationed on Halifax.  It’s veteran, at 80% strength, and has a C-grade equipment rating.  That gives it an “11” on average on the associated RAT, which yields the Razorback-10S, Nightsky-6T, Bhargest-4T, and Zeus-X4.  Stuff like the Mjolnir and Eisenfaust show up lower on the table, so they are certainly viable.  So do the Uziel-8S, P-Hawk-7S, Starslayer-3Dr, Griffin-6S, Hatchetman-7S, Clint-6S, Hunchback-5S, and VT-5Sr Vulcan, Stilletto-6S, Wolfhound-5, Scarabus-9T, Commando-7S, Stinger-7S, Storm Raider-R3, and Dart-4S.  More recent/advanced stuff like the Firestarter-M2, Arctic Fox, Thunder Fox, and Gauntlet are within range higher on the table.  Heavier stuff on the table is generally too slow for pirate hunting duty, but the Thanatos, Usa, and Scourge (with a perfect roll) are possibilities.

Of course, RATs are not definitive.  The Bushwhacker doesn’t appear at all on this Lyran RAT, but obviously exists on their rolls, for example.

[Major Headcase]

Or use the newer designs you want to use and make a suitable fluff reason for those who need justification for your choices.
Maybe this new unit is the pet project of a young, ambitious, and overly wealthy merchant scion hoping to buy his place at the noble table through conspicuous patriotism? Sending his shiny new unit full of shiny new mechs driven by shiny new pilots to show those old veterans in thier hand-me-down antiques how hiw it's done! (queue string of humiliating defeats here...)  :thumbsup:

This is one of those times where I think the endlessly detailed layers of Btech publications can be a detriment. I call it the Straightjacket of Canonicity.... too much codified detail removes the space for player creativity, especially around source purists. My 3025 lance has a 3C Rifleman, I had someone flip out and try to have me disqualified because the 3C wasn't introduced into production until 3026, when the list making rules were "late Succession wars or earlier" from MUL... when it comes to Btech which has virtually no set in stone unbreakable army building restrictions, I've always believed in take the mechs you like.  If some of them are a bit far fetched, make a fun reason for that mech to be there! But I'm certainly not going to say you are Battleteching wrong!! 😁

[Colt Ward]

Didn't that Theater Militia get hammered through rebellion?  If so it makes some sense that they have new designs because the old ones got trashed.

[vaderi]

Didn't that Theater Militia get hammered through rebellion?  If so it makes some sense that they have new designs because the old ones got trashed.

So, as far as I can tell in 3150 the Timbuktu March Militia has been whittled down to about 1/3rd it's original size fighting the Buena Collective rebellion. And may or may not have joined Timbuktu when it joined the Rim Collection.