Why hasn't there been a Wraith MotW article yet?Okay, with that personal motivation out of the way, let's jump back to the fictional year 3055, or the real-world year 1992. Six (or two) years had passed since the Clans first struck, and the Truce of Tukayyid had been going for three years by then. No longer pressured to push out any haphazard upgrade they could prepare from the Helm Memory Core just to slow down the Clans (well, so went the story back then), the Inner Sphere found enough time to focus on what can actually kill a Clanner.
Enter Curtiss Hydroponics, long held in high regard for their water-purification tech this side of the Free Worlds League. Budget was getting tighter and tighter with each year - seeing that demand for new 'Mechs was still rather high, they decided "why not?" and went about with their blueprints. A good number of analysts called the move questionable, and predicted that their as-of-yet-unknown design was going to be nothing more than a "water cooler on legs".
Water cooler, pah. We know how it ends already, let's get to the real juicy bits.Alright, then. Juicy bits!
copyright Joel Biske / CGLWell, now. That looks like a bugmech that has had enough of its fate as a punching bag and started donning hoods like the boxing champ that it was meant to be. Or a super droid with a Jedi hood, take your pick. The 3055u art slaps on a few skulls for good measure for the additional edge factor, but you'll see that in a few moments.
Whatever it is, it all starts with the baseline. 55 tons marks it at the very top end of the medium class, where a massive 385 XL Engine of various models propels it to a good 118.8 km/hr (7/11 in TW). That's as good as it gets for that chassis; any bigger and things get... weird. An Endo Steel chassis, and homegrown at that, frees up the tonnage it needs, at the cost of space it was unlikely to fill up anyway.
Wouldn't a 50-tonner have 2.5 more tons to play with for this kinda thing?Yes, but as far as inefficiencies go it's not as big as usual FASA stuff of the era. They're definitely learning, at least. Besides, I can live with that inefficiency, considering what we got is the
original menacing backstabber of the Inner Sphere circa 3055...
copyright Matt Plog / CGLThe TR1 model of legend mounts an IS-tech LTV 385 XL engine, as well as seven jump jets to leap 210 meters over ten seconds (7/11/7 in TW). That's speed in the triangle right there - and the Wraith's infamy was cemented the moment it picked firepower as its second choice. Say what you will about IS pulse lasers, but a large pulse on the right hand and two medium pulses on the left all together can just barely threaten a PSR from a jump. The pulses are its best choice for offsetting jump penalties, and a good number of units won't like something buzzing with a nine and a pair of sixes on their rear ends.
Heat sinks kind of struggle here. It only mounts the base 10, which is enough for a running alpha strike, but a full jumping alpha strike pushes the temperature enough to slow its ground speed. A second after that slows it down further and messes up the targeting systems, which - if Jenners had taught pilots anything - is the cue to jump back into cover to flush it all out.
Speed, firepower... so what happened to the armor?Curtiss really tried, at least, bringing out the Ferro-Fibrous weave. The sheer weight of everything else, unfortunately, forces it to only carry eight and a half tons. The head isn't maxed out, leaving it vulnerable to its own primary weapon blasting its head off. Most locations can at least take one Clan ERML or MPL hit - the rear side torsos being the exception, being able to only take a standard medium laser hit each. Rear CT can take exactly one, arms are bare after two such hits, STs can take two plus a pair of SRMs each, legs can take two and an additional IS MPL hit, and the front CT needs three and an SRM hit to open up. Even the flyswatter C-LPL struggles a little; each frontal location can take one hit, with the legs and CT capable of tanking two. A Gauss Rifle or Clan ER PPC can crit the arms from pristine condition, but that threshold aside the Wraith passes the smart armor test for the most part.
BV2 is at 1287, which is expected for a 7/11/7 unit with any significant amount of firepower.
Alpha Strike presents a different, yet similar, take. Size is 2, so physicals aren't really the focus. Speed is a natural 14"j, enough for a +3 TMM. Damage loses its accuracy edge, but benefits from pulse bonus and rounding-up, pushing it to 3/3/0 OV0. That's Thud levels of consistent damage there, with the speed to get in close and go for the 4-point backstab.
Armor is where the conversion benefits it a little - it can't quite take two Thuds without getting critted, but it sure can weather one 5-point hit, which is a distressingly common thing among Clan forces. Structure is at 3, which lets it just barely survive a 7-pointer.
Specials? Well, considering it's a pure combat unit, it has exactly one: ENE, which nulls ammo crits and halves its damage versus Reflective armor. Considering the era, however, it's unlikely that this special would be used against it, so it's basically just there for free.
Its role is, surprisingly for me, Skirmisher. I'd have expected Striker, but I suspect the durability disqualified it. Regardless, it makes the Wraith a surprisingly flexible pick, capable in both Recon and Striker Lances, though it can fit in a Battle Lance in a pinch. Speed Demon in particular makes its already amazing jump range even more so, letting it deal backstabs and fade away as it sees fit.
At 41 PV, it's a tad on the expensive side (for comparison, the Enforcer III 6G is a 4/4/2 10"j 5/2 at 35 PV), but you get the massive speed and options from that.
I've got chronic backstabbing syndrome and am looking for the very best in that role. Where do I sign up?Well, you're mostly in luck. According to the MUL, the FWL, CapCons, and the Combine all have their fair share of Wraiths. Canopians also get a few, and where FWL goes, WoB follows.
The kicker? It's on the Mercenary list. If you're wealthy enough to take a few hits due to engine repair parts from bad runs, the Wraith is an excellent raider with little need of supply lines.
Wait, I'm pretty sure the Regulans nuked the Curtiss plant flat in 3080 or something.They sure did (the bastards!), but Hellespont was having nothing of that. By 3145, they're already pumping out fresh TR1s in Sian - Capellans, rejoice! We have FM: 3085 and 3145 to thank (or blame) for that.
So that's the OG Wraith. What about the others?Well... there are two regular variants and two custom variants. Both custom variants are Solaris-exclusive, so let's start with the regular ones first.
As if you'd start with one-offs first, anyway.Eh, fair. Besides, if we're getting pedantic, neither variants are Curtiss-endorsed. Can't mess with near-perfection, after all.
copyright Matt Plog / CGLSo, the TR2 Wraith. Someone out there in the field decided that the TR1 didn't have enough range, so they went and did a straight swap of the LPL for an ER PPC. Nothing else changed in this refit, save for some ugly scars in the right arm (if the TRO is to be believed).
I'm not sure about my feelings for this refit. On one hand, an ER PPC on a 7/11/7 is a pretty sweet deal - you get to dictate the range for the most part
and evade incoming fire. On the other, a jumping strike with the ER PPC alone is already +2 on the scale, and a full jumping alpha heats it up twice as fast as the original.
BV2 shoots up to 1485, and frankly this is where it kind of fails. The increased range and 1 damage is not worth 198 BV in my opinion, not on something already as expensive as the Wraith.
Amusingly, Alpha Strike seems to agree - the PV goes down 3 whole points to 38, thanks to the damage being changed to 2/2/1 OV1. It still can deliver painful backstabs every so often, and it has the long-ranged poke to keep itself relevant after getting ravaged, but it just doesn't have the consistency that it used to have. Its role is still Skirmisher, at least.
The TR2 is FWL, DC, and Capellan estate with some Canopian and Mercenary use until Jihad and beyond, where it becomes a DC, Oriente, Andurien, and Mercenary exclusive.
Now for the TR3...
Hang on, what are the Wobbies doing here?Well, it
is a Marik design, after all. At some point, those fanatics must have taken notice.
copyright Matt Plog / CGLFirst off, the good: there's an C3i computer in there, so the Wraith can jump in and guide the rest of the Level 2's shots from a fair distance. To accommodate this, the MPLs were dropped for ERMLs, giving it a different target range. While the previous two Wraiths liked it best at 2 hexes and below, this one does fine at 7 hexes and at 3 hexes (provided that ECM doesn't jam its C3i).
Those who keep track notice a half-ton discrepancy. That's where the bad comes in - it removed a jump jet to fit the C3i. That lost point of jumping movement brings its TMM down by 1 point, making it more vulnerable. That's bad news for a supposed point man of a C3i team, especially one as fragile as the Wraith.
The heat curve is more or less the same - +2 for a running alpha, +6 for a jumping. It's going to run a little hotter on a jump, but it can still sustain the same pattern of "jump and alpha twice, then bounce away to cool off".
And the ugly?Mostly fluff, but it did mention something that messed up its sleek frame. Ah, well.
BV2 is up from the TR1, but not by much - 1,310 is just 23 more. The C3i cost is likely to pull that up further, however.
Alpha Strike conversion is... well, it sure isn't kind to the TR3. Movement loses 2"j for a total of 14"/12"j, with JMPW1 highlighting the loss of TMM from that. Damage takes another hit, pulling it down to 2/2/0 with no OV to speak of. Specials include C3I and MHQ2 on top of ENE, so not all is lost - but it also means it doesn't get much of a discount from the TR1, landing at 40 PV. Role still remains a Skirmisher as before.
The TR3 is a WoB exclusive, and like others it goes kaput once the Wobbies died out. C3i seems to be why; there doesn't seem to be much effort to keep that tech alive.
Good riddance for those nuke-happy folk, I'd say. So what about those Solaris variants?Technically speaking, there are two, but only one of them has a MUL entry. The other... erm, we'll get to that once we're there.
copyright Brent Evans / CGLThe first of two is the TR2-X "Alexander", from the Zellbrigen Stables in XTRO: Gladiators. Now with that name, you'd expect some Clan involvement, and you'd be right - the stable itself was formed from disgruntled Jade Falcon warriors, trying to prove themselves superior to the show-offs already in the Games. One Angelique Claw provided guidance to the engineers, providing Clan technology where they were deemed necessary. The result is a mishmash of Clan and Inner Sphere technology, a tech demo of sorts.
At its heart is a Clan 385 XL engine, letting it survive getting a torso ripped off. The Endo Steel structure remains the same, but a new coating of Clan Ferro-Fibrous armor gives it a little more for the same tonnage. The additional points were smartly put into the arms, side torsos, and head - the arms can take a Gauss slug and an SRM cleanly now, the side torsos can stop an AC/20 shot exactly once, and the head is back to the full 9 points.
Weapons were shifted as well - the right arm LPL found its natural evolution in the Snub-Nosed PPC, while the left arm had its MPLs swapped out for Clan-spec ERMLs.
Once again, those keeping track will notice three spare tons. This is where the real piece of work goes - the Partial Wings on its side torsos provide another 60 meters of jump range and 3 points of cooling in Earth-like atmospheric conditions, pushing it to 270 meters (7/11/9). It's one short of another TMM, but jump range is jump range, especially for a 'Mech that wants to fence with the enemy.
Speaking of fencing, it can actually keep up its barrage for longer - up to three jumping alpha strikes can be sustained before the threat of shutdown looms, though the third one will have your targeting systems complaining on top of the lack of pulse bonuses.
Smells of cheese.Nah. If they really wanted cheese, they'd have gone full Goshawk and just slapped a Clan-spec LPL on the design instead. As it stands, it's got a bit of finesse going on - which needs to be used to the fullest, considering the 1816 BV2 price tag.
For all of what I've said above, though, Alpha Strike conversion means that most of it doesn't mean anything. It's still mostly the TR1 stats, with exactly one difference: the jump goes from 14" to 18". That's it. Exactly one point difference from the TR1 puts it at 42 PV.
Its role, however, changes to Striker. It gets a little more limited there, but Speed Demon still is a wonderful SPA for the Wraith, especially as the range is extended all the way to 20" total. Dang.
Huh, go figure. So what's this weird one you were referring to?Well... thing is, it doesn't have a MUL. It doesn't even have an AS card, or even its own image. That is all because this one debuted in - of all things - an April Fools TROlet featuring Solaris 'Mechs as 20th-to-21st-century Disney icons in 3145.
... what?No, seriously. From XTRO: Royal Fantasy, we have the Wraith TR2-P "Pocahontas", piloted by one Ira Kuhn-Bedard, image censored in-TRO for fear of invoking copyright wrath. Strap in.
(I blame Herb.)
Like the Alexander, the Pocahontas is brought to life by a Clan XL engine.
Unlike the Alexander, however, it doesn't opt for mundane Clan Ferro-Fibrous, no. This baby is coated in Ferro-Lamellor, still eight and a half tons of it.
It gets a little weird describing Ferro-Lamellor in terms of thresholds, so we'll go with numbers: 9, 18/6, 15/5, 10, 13. At minimum, that translates to 12, 23/8, 19/7, 13, 17, assuming all hits are efficient. However, considering this is still a Wraith we're talking about, the most likely hits are coming from Snub-PPCs and pulse lasers of various sizes. Snubs and Clan LPLs are the most efficient, being knocked down to 'just' 8 damage. IS LPLs go to 7 damage, Clan MPLs are pushed to 5, and IS MPLs are tossed to a pitiful 4, no better than a regular IS medium laser.
All this means is that the side torsos can take a third C-MPL hit this time around, and all locations can take SRM hits much more easily. LBX clusters cease existence as soon as they make contact until armor breaches show up. Not bad a trade - the only painful part here is that the legs can be blown apart by a lucky AC/20 hit this time around.
So the armor's been sidegraded. What about the weapons? Well... it has four Clan ERMLs. Yup. Not as accurate as the pulses, but they hurt pretty bad for their size, and have actually decent range to boot. No additional heat sinks were installed, as with the rest, so a jumping alpha is +7. Not ideal, but workable; the fourth seems a little superfluous at times, though.
Where's the rest of the tonnage? Well, they've been invested in two things: MASC, and a Hatchet. Nothing says "aaaaaaaaaaaa" like a Wraith charging at you, tomahawk in hand, looking to deliver a head crit where it would hurt the most. Needless to say, this is heavy on the flavor; the Wraith was never one to look for running starts, and a hatchet in the right arm where two of the four lasers are seems like a bit of a waste.
BV2 hates jumpers that try to move faster with MASC, and it hates the Clan ER Medium Laser. Playing this unique unit comes with a hefty 2051 BV2 price tag. Ouch.
Alpha Strike stats are guesswork at best, but it looks like a 18"/14"j design with 5/3 A/S, 3/3/0 damage, MEL for Melee, CR for Crit-Resistant, and ENE. That likely converts to around 43 or 44 PV, with its probable role being Striker. A 3-point melee smack doesn't seem worth it, however.
Still, this variant's claim to fame is being a 'Mech-scaled version of a Native American icon of sorts, so... yay, I guess?
Huh. Well, that aside, how do you play a Wraith?Remember the Jenner comment earlier? Play it as one would an oversized Jenner: find a good target, stab them in the back repeatedly, then jump away to cool off. One could just let off on some of the triggers as well if cover is not a luxury the Wraith can afford, though if that were the case it might be in serious trouble real soon.
All of them play somewhat similarly, though they differ in options and preferred range bands. The TR1 likes it best at range 2, just outside the reach of physical attacks, but within the MPL's short range. The TR2 is most effective at that same range, but gains options in either staying in the ER PPC's sweet spots of 7 and 14 hexes, or just plinking away from afar. The TR3, lacking its own ECM, prefers staying at range 7 for the most part. "Alexander" prefers range 9, and "Pocahontas" range 5.
I'm a Lyran, a FedSuns, a Clanner, or in the Periphery. How do I get rid of these irritating pests?Well, for those in the Periphery,
ouch. Someone must have hated you enough to bring out some shiny toys to pound you into the dirt with.
As with all fast-moving jumpers with limited armor, though, the biggest obstacle to killing them is hitting them in the first place. Pulse lasers help, as do targeting computers. Artillery weapons can flush them out, too. The Wraith doesn't have all that much armor no matter the variant, so a good hit or three will quickly force a retreat.
The Clans have it easy in this regard - the Clan LPL is one of the few weapons that can really put the fear of Death into Wraith pilots, and nobody would even shame you for bringing out one upon seeing a Wraith.
Come the Dark Ages, the TR1 in particular gains a hard counter - VSPLs. Mediums and especially Larges can create a no-jump zone for them. The Tenshi A and Quasimodo in particular are dangerous opponents, though mercifully they tend to be in the hands of the Wraith pilots' allies.
Alpha Strike tactics wise, admittedly my knowledge fails at that point, aside from the lack of pulse accuracy making things a bit dicier for the Wraith.
Thankfully, this is where the article ends - on my end, at least. What other ideas do you have regarding this medium powerhouse?
Really? Going with that cop-out of an ending?What? It's getting late, and the article's getting rather long. Ah, well.
