I got back into Battletech after a long hiatus, the last few years have really been a golden time to get back into it. Really, just having Megamek allows one to get into the nitty-gritty by itself, and really see how things play out and cost, before I was only into the fluff and novels because I didn't have like minded people to play with. I've purchased various source books lately, so I really think Megamek is a boon to the business.
As I began my career as the leader of a mercenary command that grew out of the security unit for a family trade and logistics firm, these were my mech (and vehicle) surprises:
1. Axeman, Marauder and Phoenix Hawk clan invasion upgrades (and not in a good way): Growing up these were my hero mechs. In The Crescent Hawks Revenge, the Marauder MAD-5S was my jam! The Phoenix Hawks with the XL engines and dual ERLLs? They seemed like the hero mechs for our swash buckling mechwarriors to help stem the tide of ravaging Clanners!
Axeman? I thought they were the smart way to simplify your acquisitions and maintenance with one chassis being able to handle your close in fighting and LRM fire support needs, all the while having that melee edge....then I began to mess with MechLab and the reality of the cost of XL engines settled in. :o
A new character *popped* into existence in my head cannon...the Unit's Head Accountant. My Mercenary units almost always only have XLE mechs they salvaged.
2. The Chameleon. For a mech that is often forgotten, it's pretty nice. Anything a Phoenix Hawk can do, a Chameleon could in theory do better. Sure it could be a tad more expensive too, but the chassis can carry more armor, hit harder in Melee, they are easy to pilot, and I'd like to think you could find a dilapidated model to refurbish at your local academy for a bargain price.
The CLN-7W seems like a great "modern" mech for your average Mercenary command to get their hands on. Standard engine, ERLL, ML, MPL, double heatsinks and nine tons of standard armor. I'd experiment with trading the MPL for two more MLs and you have a machine than can force a PSR. The CLN-7W is close to the set up my mercenaries run from upgraded 3025 tech Chameleons.
They also run on the famous 300 series engines, so you can have some repair synergies with some really gnarly mechs up the tonnage range. :)
3. Marauder II MAD-5B: I always thought a Marauder II would be out of reach for any non-Mary Sue Mercenaries I would run....but in an age where Wolverine-7Ds run 11M C-bills, and the above mentioned MAD-5S runs 15.5M C-bills, a MAD-5B with virtually the same firepower as a MAD-5S is a good deal at 10.4M C-bills! Admittedly thing are less crazy in terms of BV.
4. Grasshoppers in general, the 5N in particular: I always had the fluff of the 5N in the back of my mind (heat hog), but some play testing really lead me to believe that most pilots would prefer it to the 5H (1PPC+ 5MLs > 1 LL+LRM5+4ML, in most situations...Thunder LRMs not withstanding). Heat management and weapon choice is easier, and the concentrated damage of the PPC is arguably better than the more spread out damage of the LL+LRM5.
Latter on in the era of double heats sinks and FF armor, while the early Clan invasion era cannon upgrades are infamously not that great, I've run some "easy" upgrades (no XL Engines or "adding endo-steel", as stated above, my unit only runs those if the mech came with them, and preferably was salvaged ) with dual ERLLs, MLs and a hatchet that are an absolute terror and good value alternatives to Axemen.
3. Dragoon. Jesus, these things are a terror. Really fun and optimized mechs. These need to be brought back by the TPTB as Imperio mechs from a reactivated RWR plant on a long lost colony found by Seekers. Yes, I know the Dark Age Comstar splinter faction had a new variant.
4. Intro-Awesome and the 9Q: How can these be a surprise? Let's put it this way. A 9Q with four PPCs and double heat sinks costs 7.5M C-bills. An intro-tech Victor? 8M C-Bills.
Due to the relatively small engines, Awesomes are ridiculous values, something that comes as a surprise when you go from a fan of the novels to playing actual games/using MM. You just imagine they are crazy expensive because of the large number of PPCs. They are slow of course, convoy escort is not their thing, but for the right mission profiles they are brutal.
5. Scorpion: The supposedly "maligned" quad. The gunnery bonus they get as quads basically turns them into Pulse PPC carriers, or a PPC carriers with tarcomps. In an intro tech/early Clan invasion setting that's a heck of an advantage.
I played an attack on a pirate base scenario, with my Marik allies advancing down a valley towards the Pirate base from the NW and me from the NE. A swarm of light mechs and good light vehicles boiled out of the Pirate base. The allied AI FWL unit got a bit shot up by the pirates. I, on the other hand, had a solid line of medium mechs screening my advance, with a Scorpion from my Marik liaison that I controlled running a bit behind.
It just absolutely tore s**t up. After picking a nice position where it didn't need to move much so as to minimize heat, it started racking up kills or forcing cripples to retreat left and right, usually after they'd been softened up a bit by my screening Meds. I was very impressed. My mercenaries are always on the look out to buy one of these "poor reputation" mechs.
6. Blackjack BJ-3: Blackjacks are another "poor rep design", but the BJ-3 model? Two PPCs, four MLs, 4/6/4 movement, 88% of max armor? Wow. That compares favorably to a stock 3025 Warhammer, and a BJ-3 is a good deal cheaper.
Production of these little beasties started in the Fourth Succession War, and continued in St. Ives afterwards. So by the start of the Clan invasion they've been in production almost 20 years? Megamek has an intro date of 3042. So there may be a discrepancy.
Still, the only advanced component is the heat sinks. Even if you can't convince St. Ives to sell you some right off the production floor, If you can get your hands on some double heat sinks, and pair of bog standard PPCs, I have to imagine that refit kits for the specific wiring and software changes should be available "much" sooner than for the vast majority of other advanced designs. My Mercenaries are also on the look out for used Blackjacks they can convert to a dependable cannon design for which refit kits should be available "early".
Vehicle honorable mentions:
1. Prowler: These things really can do everything. Many of my combined arms units have come to the conclusion that they need to form demi-companies with at least one of these at their heart. The "Support" variant with an LRM 15, two MLs, a SRM-2 (loaded with infernos) and a 4T infantry bay can go a long way to meeting your fire support, APC/IFV/BA carrier, anti-infantry and general fire power needs. The 3025 variant with 10T of cargo space can be your delivery in hostile terrain hero.
2. Hunter: In another thread I noticed that someone asked why these tanks are so comparably expensive . I disagree, not only are they an excellent value...the introtech versions are arguably a bit Nerfed! 8) Seriously.
With some slight tweaking they are pretty scary. Supposedly they mount a flamer in the back to cover their retreat. OK, but in a lance of them do you really need four flamers? A lance of them really compares well versus an Archer. If in a lance of them you replaced the flamer with a ML on three of them you'd bring twice weight of LRM fire (80 LRMs) , 3 MLs (MLs are good for fires too!), and a flamer, with a higher top speed, just as good mobility in woods, and really decent armor (an intro tech Hunter has 32 point of armor on the front, and if you bring 4, your enemy has to disperse their fire, not to mention initiative issues.) You also save 1.85 M C-bills over an Archer.
Even in terms of BV, you can get two Hunters and some nice spotting units for the price of an Archer, and proceed to pound your enemies from cover, and relocate at 86 KPH if they get close.
Similarly, with some minor tweaks you can get a lot more millage out of the LRM 15 and LRM 10 variants. You can replace the LRM 10 variant with a version with 4 MLs, 2 LRM5s, and 2 MGs...a pair of which is a better value than an Ontos.
3. Vedettes, particularly the Liao variant. The Liao variant with two MLs is dirt cheap, has twice the effective fire power of the standard version, won't run out of main gun ammo, moves at 86 KPH and has enough frontal armor to survive an AC/20 hit or two PPCs.
I'd imagine even a strict GM will let you scale back the ammo bomb of 2 TONS of MG ammunition when you are on an well industrialized world...not even a high tech one. Cutting it down to half a ton will allow you to increase the armor by a ton and mount an additional MG on the turret. A lance of these brings 8 MLs to the field at 86 KPM with decent armor.
I remember once using a lance of these to rush and hold a valuable wooded hill. With a pair of mechs to reinforce them, they broke a strong enemy force that tried to dig them out. I've cooked up a few introtech tank destroyers with the turrets removed that are really tough without using any advanced or expensive tech.
That's it for now...I'll see if can think of a few more.