What cover is this?

[SANSd20]

Looking over at Amazon, I found a listing for A Time of War, but with a cover that I am unfamiliar with. Sarna doesn't have it listed. Can anyone clue me in?

[Daryk]

No idea... I've never seen that one before.  It's pretty good, though!  :thumbsup:

[SANSd20]

The oddest thing is that it is from the Catalyst Amazon page

Edit, this was incorrect.

[pokefan548]

As TPTB said, if it sells well enough it'll get a new Mercs cover. Apparently it sold well enough.

[Sartris]

The oddest thing is that it is from the Catalyst Amazon page

catalyst doesn't sell from amazon apart from kindle and print on demand fiction. all products there are from merchants and distributors. the product page says sold by and ships from amazon.com

[Daryk]

So... it's not an official cover? ???

[Sartris]

Has it been revealed through official channels? It’s not official until the bosses say it is. No idea where the seller got the cover

[Daryk]

You're pretty much my official channel, so... no? ???

[Sartris]

I didn’t say it was official. I don’t even *know* if it’s official

[Daryk]

Which is my point... if YOU don't know, how could it possibly be official? ???

[pokefan548]

Shockingly, Ray doesn't tell every contractor and volunteer about everything CGL has in the works all the time.

I mean it'd be neat if he would, but NDA or no step one of keeping a surprise secret is not heralding it to people who really don't need to know, lol.

[Sartris]

Which is my point... if YOU don't know, how could it possibly be official? ???

I know very little

[Daryk]

Rog, bummer...  :-\

Also, looking over the details in the image: +1 for the VTOLs :thumbsup:, -1 for the "Z" on the leg of the 'mech...  :-\

[SANSd20]

Rog, bummer...  :-\

Also, looking over the details in the image: +1 for the VTOLs :thumbsup:, -1 for the "Z" on the leg of the 'mech...  :-\

Yeah, I noticed that letter too. I wasn't happy about it. But the more I look at this, the more the figures look like kids or halflings. They don't look like adults. Except for the guy in battle armor. He looks like a space marine.

[pokefan548]

Yeah, I noticed that letter too. I wasn't happy about it. But the more I look at this, the more the figures look like kids or halflings. They don't look like adults. Except for the guy in battle armor. He looks like a space marine.

They're just aerospace phenotypes wirh very wild career paths.

I feel like I should know, but why the fuss about the "Z"?

[Luciora]

That Z looks awfully close to the Zeta Gundam Z.

[SANSd20]

They're just aerospace phenotypes wirh very wild career paths.

I feel like I should know, but why the fuss about the "Z"?

The letter "Z" has become a prominent propaganda symbol for Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

[guardiandashi]

Looking over at Amazon, I found a listing for A Time of War, but with a cover that I am unfamiliar with. Sarna doesn't have it listed. Can anyone clue me in?

not sure
the versions I have
are

and 

[worktroll]

The letter "Z" has become a prominent propaganda symbol for Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

"Z" is also used by Wolf's Dragoon's Zeta Battalion. This cover, assuming it has any validity, could have been done prior to the symbology of the Ukraine invasion being common knowledge. The MechWarrior shown has a Dragoons patch.

Anyway, we shall see.

[Hellraiser]

"Z" is also used by Wolf's Dragoon's Zeta Battalion. ... The MechWarrior shown has a Dragoons patch. 

This is what I was thinking.
The Mech & Elemental are both in Black & Red.
The V-Tols could be 2 of the common Wolf models from WDSB

[Daryk]

A wolf's head somewhere on the 'mech would have helped with that.

[Dr. Banzai]

A wolf's head somewhere on the 'mech would have helped with that.

The wolf's head on her right thigh probably helps. I think it's probably the next variant cover to go along with the Mercenary's Kickstarter.

[SANSd20]

The wolf's head on her right thigh probably helps. I think it's probably the next variant cover to go along with the Mercenary's Kickstarter.

Since it is out in the wild now, it would be nice to have an official word.

[Hellraiser]

Also,
The Hover looks like a Plainsman maybe, I see lots of SRMs & no ML.  So possibly another Dragoon link.

Finally I think that is a MHQ on the right side?
Not that its exclusive to them or anything but one of their "quirks" setting them apart in 3005 was the fact that they had 5 of them still w/ Fusion Engines & functional holo-coms gear when they arrived & most units could only dream of having one that didn't have 2nd tier gear or running on ICE power instead, etc etc.

[Daryk]

My first thought was Saracen, but I think you're right.

[Death_from_above]

IMO, all vees on the cover are KS redesigns; VTOL: Warrior, hover: Pegasus and on the
right hand side, there's a wheeled vehicle that looks like the rear of the new Skulker.

https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Pegasus (new art)

http://www.masterunitlist.info/Unit/Details/3513/warrior-attack-helicopter-h-7 (new art)

http://www.masterunitlist.info/Unit/Details/2956/skulker-wheeled-scout-tank-mg (new art)

[Liam's Ghost]

That is almost certainly the Zeta battalion logo. It's properly placed on the upper right leg of the mech and kinda even looks like the same font style.



This is pure speculation on my part, but it is possible that we haven't seen it in an official capacity yet because unfortunate rule 4 implications abruptly forced a change.

Of course it's also possible we haven't seen it yet because A Time of War isn't due for a reprint yet.

[Elmoth]

So, each time a real world letter is used it stops being part of the canon of the game?

I really hope the explanation is the "no reprint yet" one.

[Liam's Ghost]

So, each time a real world letter is used it stops being part of the canon of the game?

There is literally no way to answer that clearly without getting the attention of the mods.

[Moonsword]

MODERATOR NOTICE

Folks, please quit poking at Rule 4 with a stick.  This is at least the third time someone has noted the usage of "Z" as iconography in Ukraine in this thread, so it should be obvious why Rule 4 applies given how much of a geopolitical hot potato an active land war in Europe involving Russia is, and also at least three times that Zeta Battalion has been noted to have used that symbol for a long time.  Those are the facts, limited as they are.  It doesn't need to be dragged up again, nor are we going to be hosting speculative Rule 4-adjacent navel gazing over some random image of uncertain provenance someone found browsing the Internet.

If there is some sort of announcement to be made, CGL will do so in their own time through proper channels.  In the meantime, find something other than that one thing on one BattleMech's leg to talk about.