This thread is for 'Mech commanders looking to improve their small-unit tactics with tried and true maneuvers that work in a variety of common battlefield situations. Some of these are moves that I learned about in my early years playing BattleTech, others are ones that (embarrassingly) I only discovered recently, often through seeing them used against me.
I encourage anyone who has cool maneuvers to share to post them in the thread!
--The Back-and-Forth--
One of your main goals in moving your units is to run up your opponent's Target Movement Modifier numbers, while minimizing your own Attacker Movement Modifiers. This is easiest to do with units that are at least moderately fast, i.e. that move at a 5/8 speed or better.
With units at 5/8+ speed, a couple hexes of clear terrain can be just as good as standing still in woods. If you have a firing position you like in clear terrain, with another hex or two of clear terrain adjacent, simply back up and then walk back into the hex where you started (or perhaps the hex directly in front or in back). With a walk speed of 5, you can give your opponent a +2 TMM while taking only a +1 AMM yourself.
With faster units you can utilize terrain in combination with this maneuver. See example below: the Cicada walks back and forth to generate a +2 TMM, and also winds up back in the heavy woods where it started for a total +4 modifier to enemy shooting. This is what makes fast sniper units like the Jackal, Pack Hunter, or the Cicada-3F pictured so useful in long-ranged combat.
Although it isn't optimal in most situations, you can also use this move with slower units moving 4/6 or 3/5, if you have superior range or gunnery skill to the enemy. Keep in mind that if you're driving their To-Hit Number up from 8 to 9, at the cost of increasing your THN from 6 to 7, that will pay off on average.
--The Sweet Spot in the Rear--This is a classic move against BattleMechs with asymmetrical arm weapons. If you get into your opponent's rear arc, the most intuitive thing to do is stand directly behind them. But against a 'Mech with a strong right-arm weapon and a weak or unarmed left arm, there is a better place to go. Note in the images below how the Wraith's large pulse laser can't target the Cicada, no matter how the Wraith torso twists.
Of course this isn't actually ideal against a Wraith, which has a strong medium-laser arsenal in the left arm as well. But against something like a Phoenix Hawk or a Thunder Hawk this is a very valuable maneuver indeed. Keep track of which enemy 'Mechs have lost an arm; the sweet spot move also works great against a one-armed Marauder. Just keep in mind, it's no use against turreted vees or 'Mechs with flippable arms, and you are forgoing your physical attacks.
--Advancing LRM Tanks Under Cover--There are units in this game that go from OK to decisive in the right terrain. No unit better exemplifies this principle than the fast tank armed with LRMs (the 3025 Hunter, or ideally a hover like the Saracen or the Scimitar-LRM).
In terrain with a lot of low hills or craters, these tanks go from decent units for defense and fire support to devastating attackers. The reason is that they are only one level high. If there's a level-one hill or cliff between you and your enemy, send your missile tank behind it and all of a sudden you have free indirect-fire potshots with no danger to your attacking tank. See below, where the Scimitar moves up to short range to attack the Wraith.
This is one of the best ways to force an enemy to abandon a good defensive position. Unless they have artillery or a way of attacking your spotters, there is no easy defense against this. If they send up fast units of their own to attack the missile tanks, sure they can do that, but now those units are out in the open in front of your main battle line (which should be behind the tanks).
Ironically, this also means that attacking uphill is better than downhill if you bring the right force!
(This is one of those battlefield roles that has not been filled to my satisfaction by any canon units. The Scimitar-LRM is fine, but a single LRM-15 is not that much punch. It's pretty easy to build an equally fast hovertank with twice that much indirect firepower.)
