Guess I'll take a stab at this one...
Lights:
MON-67 Mongoose: I have to go along with this one, it seems almost like it is the ultimate optimized light mech, fast enough, armored enough, armed enough. The BAP was effectively icing on the cake, so losing it doesn’t hurt this design at all.
THE-S Thorn: I actually like the Thorn. It’s a 20 tonner with an LRM launcher, but it isn’t paper thin like the Locust ends up being. I would take this as a fire support platform for a recon lance any day and as a garrison mech on Tuesdays too!
HER-1A Hermes: It’s a bit light on armor, and at 9/14 it shouldn’t need to defend itself against infantry, but I suppose it would make an adequate infantry and light hovercraft hunter or sorts.
HNT-151 Hornet: So basically this is a Thorn, but slower, with jump jets…SL vs. ML…I dislike its looks, intensely, but have no issues overall with its performance. 5/8/5 vs. 6/9 is the big difference, and I have seen arguments for and against both. I will judge it badly, and say that is largely because I have bad luck with jump jets, and it’s a golf ball with legs…
MCY-98 Mercury: Meh, I’ll take a Locust -1E instead, I like its looks better, and it’s basically the same mech. This one works, sure, but it just seems to lack some essential style factor.
FLC-4N Falcon: This as a SW era mech? Two machine guns are nice I guess, but both of them out the back? And two small lasers instead of another medium? Why? I suppose as an alternative to the Wasp or Stinger it works, but it fails to thrill me really. I do like the six tons of armor at least, so it’s a really tough super bugmech. A Wasp and a Stinger is a quarter against the BV (1), and arguably more mech to boot. I guess the decider is the pilots BV cost really. Overall, Pass.
FLE-4 Flea: Holy Crap…a 6/9 large laser, but only 2 tons of armor…the Hussar does it better, and a 20 tonner shouldn’t do it all. Leave large lasers to 25, or even 30 tonners instead. That and it farts flame…really, really uncool…
HSR-300-D Hussar: Not an XL Laser, 1.5 tons of armor, nuff said. It doesn’t work outside of 2750, and it isn’t till much later it goes back to having any point at all. Extra points for style though…
Mediums:
CRB-20 Crab: While I question the choice of a small laser over another half ton or armor, the ability to run, fire two decent guns for 2 heat, sport decent armor, and have a working heat index of 6 in 3025 does much to endear this mech to me. That, and I have had decent luck with it too.
WVE-6N Wyvern: As silly as it seems, I like 4/6/4 trooper mechs, and this one has the additional advantage of having indirect capability, a decent main gun, and an alright back up missile b=pack. I would actually trade the two small lasers for an MG and a half ton of ammo for some decent anti-PBI work, but then I don’t recall seeing anything about variant here. Even so, decent marks.
STN-3K Sentinel: The armor on this one is too light, especially at “only” 6/9, but I have used one successfully as a harasser, hanging at 10-12 after moving 7-8 hexes, and done alright. I would trade a ton of ammo for either half a ton or armor and an upgrade to a medium laser from the small, or to swap the SRM-2 for an LRM-5 instead, and allow it to stay well outside engagement ranges.
KTO-18 Kintaro: We had one. It blew up. We got another one. It too blew up. They gave us a third one. I blew up, killed the pilot, killed a recovered target, and fragged a command track standing underneath it. These things are dangerous. Like a Marauder, but without the armor and range to back it all up.
Heavies:
FLS-7K Flashman: Face it, it’s pretty hard to beat this version. High marks here as well.
GLT-4L Guillotine: Decent armor, no real ammo issues, classic ground movement, and it jumps. I have to admit, this one almost edges out the above laser egg. The only reason it doesn’t is because it still has ammo, which normally isn’t an issue with me. (Being part of the medium laser mafia, I would actually trade the large for two more mediums in the arm, two more in the side torsos, two more heatsinks, and a pilot with a penchant for getting really, really close to his opponents. And maybe inferno rounds instead of standard…)
CHP-2N Champion: I know that this is supposed to be a 60 ton version of the Locust/Cicada paradigm, but 8 tons of armor is a bit light. I CAN live with that really. Still, two small lasers, instead of a machinegun for anti PBI work…or even a flamer…for shame…
EXT-4A Exterminator: While its fairly mobile, it isn’t really armed like I would expect for a 65 ton mech. It’s also a tad lightly armored for my tastes. Too much is expended unto making it mobile, so in the end, it’s a moderately tougher 45-50 ton mech. It can’t to the job it was intended to do, and it can’t really do the job a 65 ton mech should do, and its too expensive to do the jobs that call for 45 or 50 ton mechs. Honestly, This makes a moderately decent command mech for a 45-55 ton jump capable lance, but that’s about it really.
BL-7-KNT Black Knight: Too many guns, not enough heatsinks and armor. Pass
LNC-25-02 Lancelot: Too many guns, not enough heatsinks and armor. Pass
BMB-10D Bombardier: This one tries to do the job of an Archer, but without enough ammo. They should have sacrificed something else to get two more tones of armor at a minimum. Less armor, fewer tubes, scrap the secondary weapons, something really. Pass
Assaults:
THG-10E Thug: Good armor, reasonable heat curve for a 3025 era mech, and a really nasty punch to deal with those really close range dance partners trying to get under your guns. I think this is a pretty food heavy mech really…too bad it’s an assault mech instead. Still, I would be happy to have one of these backing up my CO.
CRK-5003-0 Crockett: Good armor, decent weapons, an expected movement rate for an assault mech. But it has a very unforgiving heat curve. It would almost be better to swap the jump jets for heat since, and make it a fire support platform of sorts, but as it, I still can’t say it offends me. And apparently it was also used to train assault mech pilots…wouldn’t combat in lighter mechs tend to be better training…
HGN-733 Highlander: Good armor, decent weapons, an expected movement rate for an assault mech. But it has a very unforgiving heat curve. Unfortunately, I can’t say this one is a good idea, at least not without double heat sinks. But it does have a decent main gun, the LRM-20 is a pretty good weapon with a lot of ammo, and the other weapons all give it good close range potential. Still, two tons of SRM ammo instead of another heat sink? *Shrugs* Whatever…
KGC-0000 King Crab: Nope, not worth it really. Five shots per big gun, eight for the launcher, and a single large laser to back it all up? I would have preferred a pair of mediums and a ton of additional ammo per weapon system. You lose a long (for 3025) range weapon, but at least your LRM can fire more often, and the AC-20s last long enough to be a real threat. Ah for the era of the gauss rifle…
