Anybody have any examples of Society forces/Opfors they'd like to share?
Here's my Sept:
1x Cephalus prime
2x Septiciemia prime
6x Boggart 2
3x Sprite 2
7x Vali
That's an interesting Sept. It goes for sheer armor-defeating firepower over the Society's usual "dirty trick" attacks on heat sinks and myomers.
I am of the opinion that the best way to mitigate the bad (fluffed) gunnery of Society vee forces is to use vees where lack of good gunnery matters the least...
I agree. Alternatives could include the Huey, Pollux, Padilla, Chaparral, Ballista, Marksman, and Thor. Whether you're Society or not, it's almost always better to use vehicles in the off-board artillery role due to their fragility than waste more durable mechs.
Short of these artillery platforms, the next best vehicles for unskilled Society crews are those that carry weapons with a targeting modifier, like pulse lasers, LB-X cluster, or TCs. But even between the SLDF and Golden Age, such vehicles are few and far between. Only the LB-X Carrier and Oro come to mind. (We are in great need of a handful of vehicle Zs with Nova CEWs and/or iATM conversions.)
My impression is that, while vehicle crews may have been the worst, all types of Society warriors suffered from a lack of training and/or trueborn fitness relative to Clanners. So I think that also argues for weapons on Society omnimechs and protomechs that impose targeting and other modifiers whenever possible, including modifiers that benefit the Society warrior (pulse lasers, LB-X cluster, TCs, etc.) or that impose penalties on the Clanners (EDP, infernos, IMP, IIW, plasma cannons, smoke, etc.).
Since the latter tend to be shorter-ranged weapons and munitions (under 15 or 9 hexes), I prefer faster omnimechs and protomechs for delivering EDP, infernos, IMP, IIW, and plasma cannons. And since the former can be longer-ranged, I prefer slower omnimechs and protomechs for delivering large pulse, LB 10-X or smaller, LRM smoke and FASCAM, etc.
For omnimechs, this actually turns some Society tactical fluff on its head. Instead using the Cephalus Prime, I employ faster omnimechs with iATMs in the Nova CEWs spotter role, like the Mist Lynx Z, Viper Z, Stormcrow Z, and Timber Wolf Z. This ensures that my IMP and IIW (and even HE and standard ATM) warheads get into range. I also prefer to run two of these spotters, both to make the Nova CEWs network more resilient and to only expose one at a time while the other gets Nova CEWs bonuses for its iATM attacks.
(And unlike Clanners in-game, no player with half-a-brain is going to be fooled into ignoring a Cephalus, anyway.)
Since they have trouble getting into range for IMP, IIW, and HE warheads, instead of using the Osteon Prime, Savage Coyote Z, or Turkina Z for iATM delivery, I use designs like the Osteon D and its four pulse large lasers tied into the Nova CEWs network for reliable ranged support.
It's more straightforward for Society protomech tactics. Generally their shorter-ranged weapons (EDP, Fusillade, plasma cannon) are aligned with their more mobile protomechs, like the Basilisk Quad and Boggart, while their longer-ranged weapons (LRM smoke or FASCAM) are aligned with their slower protomechs, like the Sprite.
(However, I skipped the Sprite since the LB-X carrier comes with three LRM-5s for smoke/FASCAM delivery.)
Finally, since the Society fields so many vehicles per Un, I'd be tempted to put a Mobile HQ or something else with 4-7 tons of communications equipment off-board for the initiative bonuses. Those bonuses will really boost the value of the more mobile protomechs and the omnimech Nova CEWs spotters.
Putting it altogether, it looks like this:
Un 1: Basilisk Quad B, Basilisk Quad B, Basilisk Quad B
Un 2: Boggart, Boggart, Boggart
Un 3: Stormcrow Z (w/ IMP and IIW)
Un 4: Stormcrow Z (w/ IMP and IIW)
Un 5: Osteon D
Un 6: Osteon D
Un 7: Mobile HQ, Oro, Oro, Oro, LB-X Carrier (w/ smoke/FASCAM), LB-X Carrier (w/ smoke/FASCAM), LB-X Carrier (w/ smoke/FASCAM)
Aided by initiative bonuses from the Mobile HQ off-board, the Basilisks and Boggarts cripple Clanners with initial attacks on their heat scales (plasma cannons) and targeting/movement (electric discharge armor), while the lead Stormcrow Z and the LB-X Carriers keep the Clanners down with similar heat sink/myomer attacks from IMP, IIW, and LRM smoke/FASCAM munitions. Then the Nova CEWs on the lead Stormcrow Z guides accurate pulse laser fire from the Osteon Ds and accurate HE or standard ATM fire from the second Stormcrow Z to finish off the Clanners. If that's not enough to kill, then massed pulse laser and LB-X fire from the LB-X carriers and Oros can deliver the coup de grace.
I'd also note that with all the incendiary attacks and LB-X cluster rounds being thrown, this Sept should also have no problem with Clanner battle armor, vehicle, or solahma infantry (and maybe even aerospace fighters).
This Sept lacks a massed artillery attack from off-board or big guns like the HAG-40s on the Septicemia Prime. But it still delivers a lot of raw firepower, while maximizing nearly all the modifier levers (heat, targeting, movement, initiative) that the Society can pull to make the battle as uneven as possible.
It would be interesting to "experiment" and see what Septs do best against a standard Clan binary or trinary on a regular board.
And of course, this is all optimized without BV or other constraints.
FWIW...