RasDom Cluster help

[Kerfuffin(925)]

I am having some trouble rounding out my Rasalhauge Galaxy 1st Tyr cluster. I have 41 mechs assigned and a couple extras from my couple IWM purchases and Kickstarter. I also have another 7 random clan mechs and possibly another clan legendary. I need help filling out to 50 mechs. Looking at it now I’m relatively happy but the mix of second line and omnis bothers me more than it should. I’m not above buying a few more mechs, I’ve been looking at some Arcas and Vulture mk IIIs.

The asterisk means it’s got some sort of electronics.

Scout Star: Ideally I get a Viper and swap out a Grendel for a Viper B. Otherwise I really like this star. The Huntsman is a bit slow, but it provides such big firepower for an otherwise light on the damage Star.

Viper                   K*
Shadow Cat III   B*
Grendel            T
Huntsman           H*
Grendel            T

Probe Star: I like this star too, but one non-Omni doesn’t seem worth it.

Arctic Cheetah   Prime*
Dasher II           3
Ice Ferret           Prime*
Linebacker           A
Storm Crow   Prime

Medium Battle Star: This is a cool star. Idk what to do here.

Ursus II           Standard*
Hunchback IIC   4*
Nova                Prime
Adder           L*
Stooping Hawk   Prime

Fire Star: Swap the Deimos for the Bruin I guess.   

Deimos           D
Thunder Stallion   2
Highlander IIC   3*
Supernova           Standard
Kodiak II           Standard
   
Fast Assault Star: No idea what to do here, especially if I swap the Deimos down here
 
Huntsman           H*
Karhu           A
Guillotine IIC   Standard
Bruin           Standard
Executioner    K*

Command Nova: I’m mostly sold here too. Can split 3/2 brawlers and snipers or 3/2 at 5 walk/4 walk.
   
Karhu           D*
Ebon Jaguar   D
Timber Wolf    C
Kingfisher           X*
Loki Mk II           Prime

Heavy Cav Star: Kind of a 5/8ish star, not sold on the Executioner variant   

Kodiak         2
Mad Dog           Prime
Rifleman IIC   8*
Summoner   HH
Executioner    G(?)*
   
Extras: I haven’t actually chosen any variants here. It was just left over from my copy paste. The shadow cat is already WIP for paint so it’s gotta stay.

Nova Cat            Prime
Marauder IIC   Standard
Kingfisher            X*
Hellion           Prime
Horned Owl   Standard
Shadow Cat   Prime*

Not Yet assigned: I specifically do not want the fire moth. It’s too fast, and can’t take a hit to save its life. Plus it’s an assault cluster

Warhammer IIC
Vapor Eagle
Piranha
Fire Moth


This is my spreadsheet thing if you think other things should be moved around or whatnot.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZEdme82pKV2d6T66-yThq7AiOIPZwjA4oIOegoE6UhQ/edit

[Natasha Kerensky]

I’d group them first by omni versus standard mechs.  This way, you you have pure omni stars for BA mechanization in novas when you want that.

And then I’d group them by speeds bands, like...

Assault Stars:  3/5/X to 4/6/X
Battle Stars:  5/8/X to 6/9/X
Striker Stars:  7/11/X or faster

This minimizes stars with widely disparate speeds.

Doing these groupings gives you the following stars.  I tried to minimize duplicates in any one star.

Assault Star (Frontline, 3/5/X to 4/6/X)
Deimos
Kingfisher
Executioner
Nova Cat
Loki Mk II

Assault Star (Secondline, 3/5/X)
Supernova
Marauder IIC
Highlander IIC
Thunder Stallion
Rifleman IIC

Assault Star (Secondline, 4/6/X)
Kodiak II
Kodiak
Bruin
Warhammer IIC
Guillotine IIC

Battle Star (Frontline, 5/8/X)
Timber Wolf
Ebon Jaguar
Stooping Hawk
Mad Dog
Karhu

Battle Star (Frontline, 5/8/5)
Summoner
Karhu
Huntsman
Huntsman
Nova

Battle Star (Frontline, 6/9/X)
Linebacker
Stormcrow
Shadow Cat III
Shadow Cat
Adder

Striker Star (Frontline, 7/11/X+)
Grendel
Ice Ferret
Viper
Hellion
Arctic Cheetah

You can massage the composition of these stars.

Mechs with MASC, like the Executioner and Shadow Cat, can edge into one speed band higher tactically (if not strategically).

I put your 3/5 standard mechs in a separate Assault Star from your 4/6 standard mechs.  But you may want to mix between those stars.

I put most of your jump-capable 5/8 omnis together so you have a Battle Star for rough terrain.  But you may want to spread them out to the other Battle Stars.

I put all of your 6/9 omnis together so that Battle Star can be teamed with the Striker Star in a single Binary.  Or better yet, if you have the Elementals, make it a Supernova.  These are the best mechs in your inventory for deploying battle armor.

After that, I grouped the best duplicates and leftovers into a Command Star.  And I grouped the worst leftovers into a Solahma or Rogue Star.  By necessity, these stars are not grouped by omni/non-omni and speed bands.

Command Star
Executioner
Kingfisher
Vapor Eagle
Grendel
Horned Owl

Rogue Solahma Star
Ursus II
Hunchback IIC
Dasher II
Fire Moth
Piranha

If you have three more, slow, junky Clan secondline mechs (Ursus, Urbanmech IIC, etc.) you could add them to the Ursus II and Hunchback IIC for a dedicated Solahma Star.

Similarly, if you have two more Clan speed demons (Phantom, Solitaire, etc.), you could add them to the Dasher II, Fire Moth, and Piranha for a dedicated Rogue Star.

Lastly, here’s how I would group these stars into binaries/supernovas for a coherent cluster TO&E:

Binary Command

Command Star
Executioner
Kingfisher
Vapor Eagle
Grendel
Horned Owl

Assault Star (Secondline, 3/5/X)
Supernova
Marauder IIC
Highlander IIC
Thunder Stallion
Rifleman IIC

Binary Assault

Assault Star (Frontline, 3/5/X to 4/6/X)
Deimos
Kingfisher
Executioner
Nova Cat
Loki Mk II

Assault Star (Secondline, 4/6/X)
Kodiak II
Kodiak
Bruin
Warhammer IIC
Guillotine IIC

Binary Battle

Battle Star (Frontline, 5/8/X)
Timber Wolf
Ebon Jaguar
Stooping Hawk
Mad Dog
Karhu

Battle Star (Frontline, 5/8/5)
Summoner
Karhu
Huntsman
Huntsman
Nova

Supernova Striker <— add Elementals here first, then Battle Binary

Battle Star (Frontline, 6/9/X)
Linebacker
Stormcrow
Shadow Cat III
Shadow Cat
Adder

Striker Star (Frontline, 7/11/X+)
Grendel
Ice Ferret
Viper
Hellion
Arctic Cheetah

Rogue Solahma Auxiliary

Rogue Solahma Star
Ursus II
Hunchback IIC
Dasher II
Fire Moth
Piranha

Hope this helps.

[Kerfuffin(925)]

Thanks Nat. I’ll have to wait and see what wave two and the last couple sets of rec guides bring but I’ve got a good start.
I should probably go through and add Omni/Std and speed in my spreadsheet to make it easier to visualize

[Natasha Kerensky]

Thanks Nat. I’ll have to wait and see what wave two and the last couple sets of rec guides bring but I’ve got a good start.
I should probably go through and add Omni/Std and speed in my spreadsheet to make it easier to visualize

No prob.  I forgot to mention that I wouldn’t worry about configurations or variants for your TO&E.  That’s the whole point of omnis (recon configuration one day and fire support the next), and you may even want to leave variants on standard mechs vague to keep opponents guessing and better tailor your force to the scenario.

That said, I adore the Bears’ Marauder IIC 7, if you haven’t checked that variant out.

Same goes for being too specific about star types.  You don’t need to label one of your Battle Stars as a Fire Support Star.  The Clans don’t really use Recon, Fire Support, and similar labels.  More importantly, any of your Battle Stars could do Fire Support one day and then Urban Assault the next.  Just depends on the loadout.

[Tyler Jorgensson]

I agree with Natasha’s unit comp with only two changes.

Personally I’d swap the Assault Star in Binary Assault and the Command Star. With the bigger assault units and the Kodiak (one of the two) as your commanders mech it shows it’s an assault cluster.

Two I’d switch the Karhu for the Nova in Battle Binary. Better composition IMO.

As far as comments go: your Rogue Solahma is a concern of course but don’t discount the Fire Moth. If your using it snag the Dasher II and Piranha and flank something and hit the rear. The D, G, and H make great backstabbers. Bid down your Striker SuperNova to the second star add in those three and run laps around your opponent.

Also Elementals are the best, nothing like a couple points transported by your battle taxis into the enemy rear area.