NOTE: A couple of half-finished –otW articles popped up on an old USB drive recently. I need the drive for work, so I’ve polished up these turds and am posting them over the next couple of days rather than let the effort go to waste.The Clans have a very odd view on combat vehicles- it’s not that they’re useless, but they like to pretend they are. The idea of a unit that requires teamwork to function fills them with revulsion (never mind that a Point of battle armor do exactly this)- but, at the end of the day, a Battlemech is a resource-intensive unit that may not always fit the job. Clan security forces, for example, needed a capable light tank that could perform garrison duty on the cheap, and the Mithras was a reasonable solution. Let’s give this underappreciated, homely little guy a look.
The Mithras weighs a mere 25 tons, and as a result we can’t expect it to be a powerhouse- few units at this size are, after all. The Clans weren’t exactly in ‘spare no expense’ mode for a garrison tank, but their standard technology still gives the little tank some advantages that its IS cousins simply can’t match. The IS Scorpion provides a good comparison, if only to highlight this- it’s slower, outgunned, outranged, and otherwise simply outclassed by its Clan cousin, and even the venerable Vedette is no match despite being double the weight!
The crew of two sit in a vehicle that looks more like a Mad Max-esque repurposing of a bulldozer into a makeshift tank, and there’s probably something to be said for that- the Clans didn’t want to put resources into vehicle design, so using existing units as a basis (as the Ku did with the old SLDF Turhan, or the Zorya seems to have done with arctic vehicles) likely was a staple of their designs- so construction equipment may very well have been the basis here. The looks aside, few bulldozers will be able to boast this kind of performance- while the Mithras isn’t going to break records for speed, it uses a 150-rated fusion engine to rumble along at a respectable 6/9, which is plenty enough to pace most combat situations. That fusion motor gives the little tank a big boost in capability compared to its IS cousins, as we will see when we look at its loadouts.
Light tanks simply can’t carry heavy armor, there’s no way around it. And yet, the Mithras manages to be surprisingly tough for its size. Ferro-Fibrous armor is utilized here, surprisingly enough on a garrison unit, but there’s still only three and a half tons of the stuff. Against lighter weaponry, it’s a respectable shell that will stand up to a surprising punishment, though heavy weaponry will simply end a Mithras (as one would expect). 16 points up front will hold out a Gauss hit, if only once, while 14 points cover the sides and turret. A worrying nine points on the derriere sounds reasonable at first, but considering Clan weaponry it’s a one-hit reprieve and little more.
The classic loadout for a garrison tank like the Scorpion is a low-end autocannon backed by a machine gun. The Clans went about things a little differently here, with the AC/5 of the old designs replaced here by an Ultra AC/2. This gun is heavy for a 25-ton tank, with only minor damage to show for that weight, but it also doesn’t require heat sinks. One ton of ammo (protected by CASE, as always on a Clan unit) is plenty for most engagements, even at a double rate of fire- remember that as a garrison unit, the Mithras will rarely stray from supply lines to go on the attack, so ammo concerns are likely rare in most situations. The gun has absurd ranges, meaning that a Mithras can start chattering at its enemy long before they can likely fire back- and with the respectable ground speed, the Mithras can back away to keep that range advantage if the situation allows for it. Two points isn’t much, but it is likely rare to only encounter one Mithras at a time.
A co-axially mounted ER medium laser backs the cannon, with a second one mounted in a casemate mounting facing forward. These are a joyous addition to the tank, delivering a massive punch for a small tank. They nicely use up the engine’s heat sinks as well. While an MG and ammo might be handy in case of infantry concerns (Dark Caste, sohlama, etc.), the light show from a Mithras is a serious threat to small armored units like light Battlemechs- in testing, a Point of Mithras regularly took on light Clan Mechs with ease, and at one point even took down a Galahad through lucky hits and bad aim by the Mechwarrior.
A variant was released in the Jihad era, and it’s a lot of fun to play with, if a little bland. The weaponry is removed entirely, but the engine and armor remain the same as ever. The cannon is replaced with an ER large laser, a big upgrade at a glance over the pitiful damage the autocannon provided and with similar range. However, two extra tons had to be applied to this weapon for added heat sinks, souring the idea slightly. An AP Gauss rifle with 40 rounds of ammo replaces the forward-mounted laser, providing handy advice for infantry looking to cause problems. And a targeting computer is always a welcome addition to a sniper unit like this, particularly with Clan vehicle crews being… shall we say, ‘less than skilled’ generally. It’s a handy unit, and pairs well with the original actually, but if you really need a light Clan vehicle to provide long-range ERLL support the Donar (particularly the second variant) is probably a better choice.
Small, ugly, surprisingly tough, and a bulldog in a fight. It’s not much to look at, true, but both versions of the Mithras demand respect, and woe to the unsuspecting commander who doesn’t give the proper respect.
