JR7-K Jenner
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As a bit of a preface, I'd like to mention that this write-up will be largely made for those of you that have a bit less experience with BattleTech. I'm writing this with the hopes that after reading this, you'll have a better understanding of how to use the Jenner on the tableteop. I encourage those of you more familiar with the game to share your experiences using the Jenner in the comments below, and if you have any questions about the unit, the fluff, or how to use it - once again, post in the comments, and we'll do our best to answer.
So: you've gotten your hands on a Jenner - either via the older Introductory Box Set, the Kickstarter, or through Iron Wind Metals (links will be provided at the end of the article). What should you do with it? For starters, there are a few things to note when integrating it into a "canon" force. Firstly, the Jenner is a 'Mech near-exclusively produced and fielded by the Draconis Combine. By extension, the only other factions that will field one with a certain regularity will be the factions that border the Combine: the Federated Suns, the Lyran Commonwealth, and the Outworlds Alliance. These factions stand a higher chance of salvaging the Jenner through combat.
Next, a glance at the Master Unit List will give you an idea of what variants are available in the era you want your game to take place in. Although this isn't a necessity, having context to both your force and the era is part of what makes BattleTech fun, so I'd suggest looking into it. As always, though, make sure that both you and the people you are playing with are on the same page concerning force building *before* making your force. For the Jenner, you can find it here:
http://masterunitlist.info/Unit/Details/1692/jenner-jr7-dDo note that while certain variants will not be available earlier than a certain date (say, 3047 for the JR7-K), nearly all variants are available in later eras and rarely go "extinct" - although it is noted when they do.
The "core" variant of the Jenner is considered to be the
JR7-D - in other words, this variant is the one produced by factories within the Draconis Combine. Looking down the Master Unit List page, you can see that the Jenner has multiple other variants, but it's always best to first familiarize yourself with the base variant (in this case, the JR7-D) before branching out.
The JR7-D is a 'Mech with:
- very light armor,
- a 7/11/5 movement profile,
- a heavy weapons payload of four medium lasers and an SRM-4, and
- only 10 single heat sinks to deal with the heat.
Using the Jenner as a stand-and-shoot or "run straight at them" light 'Mech will not go well; it's just not tough enough for that. But if you look at maximizing its strengths while reducing its weaknesses, you can get a lot more mileage out of it.
Its speed, for a Succession Wars era 'Mech, is quite good. It can achieve a +4 movement modifier by running, which can be handy for placing it in the rear arc of an opponent's 'Mech. You should aim for this as much as possible - this way you'll mitigate the flaw of having such light armor, while maximizing the heavy firepower you have. Once you're in the rear arc, I would recommend shooting every weapon you have. This will overheat the Jenner considerably. If you run and shoot all of the medium lasers and the SRM-4, it will put you at +7 heat at the end of the round, where you'll face the heat penalty of -1 walking movement points.
This is where things get tricky. Ideally, you'll want to run or use the jump jets to boost the Jenner into a safe position where it can cool down for a turn without your opponent being able to retaliate. It can take some practice, but once you have the hang of it, the JR7-D can easily become one of the most dangerous introductory light BattleMechs.
If playing fluff-based games, the other Introductory variants should be used sparingly. The JR7-A, as the first variant attempted by the Combine, is considered to be extinct in most modern eras that players usually play in. Meanwhile, the JR7-F is a rare variant, but one that is more "optimized". It drops the SRM-4 for more armor, making this Jenner much more durable.
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If you're ready to take a next step, later variants follow the same formula but with modernized technology. The JR7-K (introduced in 3047 in the Clan Invasion era) barely changes anything. Ferro-Fibrous armor has no in-game impact (beyond letting the design carry more armor for less weight), while its CASE means that ammo explosions from the SRM-4 ammo going off will not lead to autodeath for the unit. The JR7-C is a great spotter to use when playing around with c3 lances for the first time - it drops a medium laser from the JR7-K to add a c3 slave. But in both cases, these Jenners should be used in the same way as the base variant - backstab using your highest movement modifier, only attack when the angles work in your favor, and use the jump jets if things get dicey.
The final variants were made for the Jihad era, and therefore should be avoided unless you've become very familiar with the rules. While these variants are all much tougher (using standard or heavy Ferro-Fibrous armor), the more accurate and harder-hitting weapons of that era mean that nothing should change with how you play them. The JR7-C3 uses 11 double heat sinks along with four ER medium lasers and a c3 slave, making it an easy-to-use spotter that will be difficult to overheat. The JR7-C2 is much more advanced, using an XL engine, XL gyro, small cockpit, an extra jump jet, and three MML-5s along with a c3 slave. Finally, the JR7-C4 is more of a Dark Age variant, and features most of the same technolgoies (although dropping the XL gyro) as the JR7-C2, but dropping an MML-5 for another jump jet (bringing to total to 7) and a Boosted c3 Slave.
While certain other personalized variants exist, along with a single unique testbed, I'll let someone else mention them in the comments if they're asked for. But at their core, Jenners are tremendous backstabbers that requires a bit more finesse to play - which makes them perfect for learning how to use light 'Mechs.
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You can also look at the Jenner in the context of the Inner Sphere Striker Lance available through the Kickstarter. Your three other units in the lance are the Blackjack, Panther, and Wolfhound. As such, the lance would work well flavored as a Lyran Commonwealth, Federated Suns, or Draconis Combine force. The lance does have limited ranged firepower, so using cover to close to shorter ranges (from 0 to 6 hexes from your targets) would be best. From here, the slower and better armored core of the lance (the Blackjack, the Panther) can draw firepower while the quicker half (the Wolfhound, the Jenner) go for flanking and backstabbing attacks. If things do end up as a brawl, three of your units have jump jets and the fourth has decent speed, so you should be able to keep your angles of attack and defense optimized.
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If you're interested in learning more about the Jenner or the Draconis Combine, you can find a miniature of the unit in this product older product:
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/BattleTech_Introductory_Box_Setor a more modernized version here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/450703636/battletech-clan-invasionwhile a metal version can be found here:
http://ironwindmetals.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=1917Meanwhile, you can learn more about the Jenner or Draconis Combine in these products:
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Technical_Readout:_Succession_Warshttp://www.sarna.net/wiki/Combat_Manual:_Kuritahttp://www.sarna.net/wiki/Handbook:_House_KuritaFinally, if you're looking for the record sheets for the different Jenner variants, the Master Unit List (or MUL) will point you in the right direction:
http://masterunitlist.info/
