One Mech seems to be a smash hit with all my players.

[adamhowe]

That Mech is the Hunchback HBK-4G.  What does everyone else think of the Mech?

[Scotty]

It's slow, heavily armored for its size, and carries the biggest boomstick in 3025.

I don't particularly like it.  It's great for city fights, and if you're Lyran, but I prefer more mobile Mediums.  The Heavies and Assaults are what I prefer to be handling my heavy weapons.

[adamhowe]

It's slow, heavily armored for its size, and carries the biggest boomstick in 3025.

I don't particularly like it.  It's great for city fights, and if you're Lyran, but I prefer more mobile Mediums.  The Heavies and Assaults are what I prefer to be handling my heavy weapons.

For a 3025 lance I would pair 2 HBK-4G's with 2 4R Enforcer's.

[foxbat]

It's a very interesting mech, both powerful and fragile. Not that easy to use, as it is a fire magnet, but when it gets into position it will often turn the tide ;)

[adamhowe]

It's a very interesting mech, both powerful and fragile. Not that easy to use, as it is a fire magnet, but when it gets into position it will often turn the tide ;)

Yes the AC/20 once in range will just rip huge chunks off of it's targets.

[Stormcrow]

The Hunchie definitely needs a lance to complement its short-ranged loadout and lack of speed. It's great as the Mech that delivers the killing blow after its lancemates have weakened the enemy. By itself it is a sitting duck to many Mechs in its weight class. The other Level I varints go along way to making it a better all around Mech, but it isa bit too slow for a Medium even in the pre-Clan era

[adamhowe]

For a 3025 lance I would pair 2 HBK-4G's with 2 4R Enforcer's.

What does everyone think of this as a lance?

[Scotty]

It's certainly workable.  Really it's the combination of slow and short-range that I dislike about the -4G.

Personally, I'd swap the HBK-4Gs for a pair of CN9-As.

[martian]

Good 'Mech, but harmless outside nine hexes. Plan accordingly.

For a 3025 lance I would pair 2 HBK-4G's with 2 4R Enforcer's.

What does everyone think of this as a lance?

It depends who are you going against.

[adamhowe]

How does this 3025 lance sound, 2 Hunchbacks, and 2 Dervishs?

[Col.Hengist]

 The mech is great in what we call a purcupine ball. 2 4G's,a 4P and a 4SP. Just run them all up together and unload.Works best in a dense area of cource or with a fire support lance backing them up and keeping your oponents ducking for cover.

[Diablo48]

Honestly, I would not be running two of these in a lance-sized formation unless I was expecting tight terrain.  I would instead use one with a faster (preferably 5/8/5) medium brawler to draw some attention off it and a pair of longer ranged machines.  A sample lance would be one Hunchback, one Wolverine, one Dervish, and one Panther.

Another idea would be to fold it into a heavy lance where you can grab a good trooper to march in with it and get some heavy duty fire support platforms for your long ranged kick.  This might look like a Hunchback, Thunderbolt, Archer, and Marauder.

[Ian Sharpe]

The HBK is a great mech in games dominated by 4/6 heavies and troopers, due to the concentration of damage.  Falls a bit flat against 5/8/5s and 6/9/6s, but due to fluff and necessity, they're prevalent in my Liao and Canopian 'assault' units.

[Col.Hengist]

They are pretty easy to take out tho. 94% armor is pretty good but some long range sniping should do the trick.

[Fireangel]

Hunchback HBK-4G is one of those 'mechs that dominate games in small battlefields where the ML is king; that AC/20 boomstick generates a "bubble o' doom" that few 'mechs of any tonnage care to cross.

In city fighting it is good, but not great; the SL as the sole anti-infantry weapon and lack of jump jets really hurt it when you look at its armour.

When facing more mobile opponents with longer-ranged weapons in larger battlefields its limitations shine; its 4/6/0 MP makes it hard to put longer-ranged units in its sights.

[Dave Talley]

the 4G is great, but my fave is the 4P

double the total damage albeit spread all around
8 mediums and a buttload of sinks

[blackjack]

The 4G for me Has been like an NFL kicker. Either a hero (crushes every mech it meets) or a zero (gets backstabbed by a locust & gets crits on the ac or ammo). Never any middle ground.

[Greywind]

It's certainly workable.  Really it's the combination of slow and short-range that I dislike about the -4G.

Personally, I'd swap the HBK-4Gs for a pair of CN9-As.

It's only slow in the later years.  Around 3025 it's "average".

[Scotty]

Doesn't change that it's really short range.  It's great in a city, but anywhere else I'd rather have the Centurions for the extra range of the AC/10s.

[Greywind]

I've never been a fan of the Cent.

For the mediums I prefer Griffins.

[Saint]

She's a nice brawler, unfortuneatly everyone knows it and pounds them from range if they can. I've had more luck with the SRM variant myself.

[Dave Talley]

Doesn't change that it's really short range.  It's great in a city, but anywhere else I'd rather have the Centurions for the extra range of the AC/10s.

well there is always the hunchy ac10 version with 4 mediums ;-)

[Force of Nature]

the 4G is great, but my fave is the 4P

double the total damage albeit spread all around
8 mediums and a buttload of sinks

Yeah, a lance of four Hunchback 4Ps are just fearsome in 3025. As long as you keep them together.

28 medium lasers and run for no heat... 32 mediums and run for a little heat when you need to really put the hurt on someone...

I've done this twice over the years in 3025 battles. Good times.

Force

[Col.Hengist]

Yea, the 4p is the 3025 version of the nova...mix in the 4sp for critseeking.

[House Davie Merc]

For the same BV you can have a Phoenix Hawk PXH-1 .


The Hunchback 4G has a limited roll because it's slow and has only max range 9 weapons .

It's great if the conditions exist where you can exploit it's abilites .

It's a magnet for fire otherwise .

I  prefer the versatility that it lacks .

[Matti]

That Mech is the Hunchback HBK-4G.  What does everyone else think of the Mech?

Play Griffin against it. Then ask what your players think of that.

[Lysenko]

How about this Marian Century? I like the mix that the Hegemony has in 3085 of different tech levels. :)

I Centuria (6376 BV)
1. Orion ON-1M (1414)*
2. Rifleman RFL-9T (1546)*
3. Shadow Hawk SHD-5M (1430)*
4. Centurion CN9-A (945)*
5. Hunchback HBK-4G (1041)*

[A. Lurker]

The classic Hunchback is really a specialist. It's got the big, short-ranged boomstick pointing forward, so anything that stumbles into its firing arc at reasonably close distances is potentially in for a world of hurt, especially anything in about its own weight class and lower.

On the other hand, it's vulnerable both to long-range attacks (where it can't return fire at all or at least not accurately -- you certainly can shoot at anything within the 7-9 hex bracket, you're just going to fire at +4 right off the bat and had probably better hope not too many other adverse modifiers stack up) and to shots from the rear, where its torso armor is painfully thin and it can only return fire with a single medium laser at best. And its 4/6 movement is at the low end even for 3025-era medium designs -- sure you've got your Centurions and such as well, but you've also got your Griffins and Phoenix Hawks (and Cicadas if you want to go there, even), which pull the average up.

A single Hunchback on its own is honestly not that hard to beat with another single 'Mech, which can probably either outrange or outmaneuver it. It's when both sides field larger forces than that that things get interesting -- sure you could pick at that HBK over there with your LRMs before it can lumber into range, but it probably has the forward armor to stand up to that kind of attention for a while, and wouldn't you rather first take care of that Griffin that's already shooting at you right now?

[StCptMara]

The Hunchie 4G is a decent 'mech for city fights, as had already been said. However, I have always found a soft
spot for the 4J.

At the same time, a 4G is vulnerable to anything with speed, and a range over 9 hexes. It is vulnerable to a Hussar
if there is not back up for it, and I have taken them out with LCT-1Ms, as well as the slightly slower, but carrying a
PPC Cicada. Even a classic Phoenix Hawk or Shadowhawk has a good chance against a Hunchie 4G on its own.

[Mohammed As`Zaman Bey]

  Pretty much everything's already been said.
  My gaming club plays on a huge tabletop so small-map monsters have a hard time in a brawl unless opponents are forced to close. I agree with the PHX-1 advantage in 3025-era fights.

[Stormcrow]

The Hunchie 4G is a decent 'mech for city fights, as had already been said. However, I have always found a soft
spot for the 4J.

I'm a big fan of the Hunchie 4H. I still have the big gun (with more range) backed up by medium laser spam.

[AWAD]

That Mech is the Hunchback HBK-4G.  What does everyone else think of the Mech?

Looks really cool?

Plus in 3025 era anything else less than 80 tons carry the big hole maker?

Yes it has its flaws but it can be used as an anvil, area denial, or bait. And it is relatively cheap.

Did I say looks really cool

AWAD- My real man Locust  self stays away until I get a chance to backstab

[klinktastic]

Don't see too many Hunchbacks in our campaign.  I think we had one at one point, but it has long since been destroyed or sold off.  It's decent in 3025-3050, but as Lostech makes it way back into the fold, there are too many hard(ish) hitting long range weapons that can nullify the Hunchback before it gets into the fray. 

Side note - A dirty trick is to dump most of the AC20 ammo pregame, so you don't go boom.  It turns it into a nice Fire Magnet / Meatshield that won't instantly explode under concentrated fire.

[Ian Sharpe]

Aye, as far as stats go, you're almost certainly better off with a Swayback, but the HBK belongs in set piece battles or defending.  Send the HBKs in when you've run the enemy to ground or pinned them, and a heavily armoured beatstick is what's needed.  Where the HBK really missed the boat is 3050...it never got faster, despite any other 'improvements'.  Its especially damning when the Stormcrow B is such a glaringly superior machine and even the Kit Fox can carry a similar armament.  The IS gets Thunders(which are good) and Blitzkriegs(meh) but the HBK still languishes save the SG, which addresses the range and ease with which it is hit.

[Scotty]

To be fair, a lot of 'Mechs in 3050 got beaten with the "Questionable Upgrade" stick.  Enough that I get a fair amount of fun taking new tech and actually making sensical upgrades.

The HBK-4G in particular has quite a few wonderful options available for upgrade.  Switching to double heatsinks and dropping down to ten is a no brainer, as it takes up a grand total of one more crit on a frame that's got a couple dozen left over anyway.  Keep the AC/20 or switch it for a Gauss Rifle, whichever you prefer; when you drop the three new extra heatsinks, you've got a few extra tons to buffer the upgrade, or to add some more ammo to the AC.  The -4G is one of the very few 'Mechs that gets a no questions asked upgrade to XL engine, as you can bump the speed all the way up to 6/9 if you keep the Gauss Rifle with two tons of ammo or the AC/20 with three.  In 3050 ER lasers besides the large aren't available, so keep those the same.  Endo-Steel and Ferro-Fibrous are pretty much completely unnecessary, and the result is a 6/9 heavily armored Gauss Rifle and some lasers.  Slightly less powerful bubble of doom, but it's still a headcapper, and now it reaches out and touches someone at 24 hexes.  Or you can just have a faster AC/20 with the same armor and some more ammo.

3050 designs are just headscratchers.

[StCptMara]

To be fair, a lot of 'Mechs in 3050 got beaten with the "Questionable Upgrade" stick.  Enough that I get a fair amount of fun taking new tech and actually making sensical upgrades.
>snips hunchback upgrade discussion<
3050 designs are just headscratchers.

In my group, we call it "new toy syndrome."
If you notice, right after a new piece of tech was developed for the Inner Sphere, among a few good designs, a good number
of the initial ones, frankly, sucked. (C3 Master Atlas with the C3 Master in an arm, Heavy Gauss Hollander II, almost every
mech in TRO 3050 with an XL engine...)

[martian]

HBK-4G is good in 3025 games, but of limited use in 3050+ games (bodyguard, city fighting ...). Luckily, there are dozens of variants to choose from.

[mitchberthelson]

The Hunchie 4G is a decent 'mech for city fights, as had already been said. However, I have always found a soft
spot for the 4J.

Many of the Hunchie's variants are excellent, whether you're adding LRM's, SRM's, or Medium Lasers in place of the AC. Additionally, the 5N fixes the "stupid ammo" problem, and the 6N goes even further and carries four tons of ammo while removing the oversinking issues of the 5M and 5N. The 5SG would have been a dream if actually produced, but you can get close by doing the Gauss swap a few people have already mentioned.

One other thing that the Hunchback does well aside from close fighting in tight terrain is acting as a bodyguard member of a Fire or Assault Lance. Have it act as close in defense for three Archers and it can serve well. It also shines when paired with machines like the Stalker or Awesome which tend to draw fire away from it and can benefit from protection against backstabbers (though in the Stalker's case, you'll mostly be keeping it from having to split its attention, since its weapons array offers good backstabber protection).

[A. Lurker]

One other thing that the Hunchback does well aside from close fighting in tight terrain is acting as a bodyguard member of a Fire or Assault Lance. Have it act as close in defense for three Archers and it can serve well. It also shines when paired with machines like the Stalker or Awesome which tend to draw fire away from it and can benefit from protection against backstabbers (though in the Stalker's case, you'll mostly be keeping it from having to split its attention, since its weapons array offers good backstabber protection).

There is that, I suppose. One thing that's sometimes easy to forget is that, Solaris VII, zellbrigen, and maybe bushido and some other more personal codes of chivalry aside, most 'Mechs aren't built for dueling. They're armored combat units very much like tanks -- their primary purpose is to operate as part of a larger force (which also generally handles the logistics of keeping them in ammo, replacement armor, spare parts and the occasional spare pilot), not go out on their own without backup to challenge the enemy to single combat. Yes, that sort of thing quite naturally happens anyway, but it's still not what your average BattleMech, certain Solaris designs perhaps aside, is generally for.

It's just easy to forget because duels are the easiest kind of fight to set up and run at the actual gaming table. ;)

[billtfor3]

Tactics make a Hunchie valuable anywhere.  If you have something that would draw a lot of fire, put the HBK with it as a shield/OH SHEET KILL DA HUNCHBACK.

Run everywhere, and from cover to cover.  When something is within 9 hexs WALK or RUN straight at them.

Have Fire Support?  Let the HBK guard them to keep pesky recon Mechs from getting in their minimums.

[BARNESGN]

I like it and my players like it. Imagine a world with a bubble of death 9 hexes round. Well pretty close.I like to think of the Hunchback as a pusher mech it pushes the enemy around the map nicely.

[Fireangel]

Tactics make a Hunchie valuable anywhere.*

*If you have something that would draw a lot of fire, put the HBK with it as a shield/OH SHEET KILL DA HUNCHBACK.

"Anywhere" does have limits; don't try to cross open plains defended by Gauss & LRM's. O:-)

[Dave Talley]

 KILL DA HUNCHBACK.

with my spear and magic helmet!!!

[Col.Hengist]

Shhhhhhh. Be vewy,vewy quiet... I'm hunting hunchbacks. Huhuhuhuhu  ;D

[I am Belch II]

I think the Hunchback is a great, city or terrain fighter, but in clear field it could be better.

[Force of Nature]

Plus in 3025 era anything else less than 80 tons carry the big hole maker?

Yes there is. There is an Urbanmech variant with an AC20 and a Centurion variant with an AC20 also that I can think of offhand. Rommel tank, Hetzer wheeled tank and Saladin hover tanks all have AC20s and are less than 80 tons.

Force

[StCptMara]

Yes there is. There is an Urbanmech variant with an AC20 and a Centurion variant with an AC20 also that I can think of offhand. Rommel tank, Hetzer wheeled tank and Saladin hover tanks all have AC20s and are less than 80 tons.

Force

Of course, the Urbanmech has almost no armour and only 1 ton of ammo, the Hetzer and Saladin both only face forward, so are
much more vulnerable to outflanking. The Centurion has an LRM 10 as its only back-up weapon to the AC/20.

[Greywind]

Properly employed, the LRM 10 is a lead-in, not a backup.

[A. Lurker]

Aye, as far as stats go, you're almost certainly better off with a Swayback, but the HBK belongs in set piece battles or defending.  Send the HBKs in when you've run the enemy to ground or pinned them, and a heavily armoured beatstick is what's needed.  Where the HBK really missed the boat is 3050...it never got faster, despite any other 'improvements'.  Its especially damning when the Stormcrow B is such a glaringly superior machine and even the Kit Fox can carry a similar armament.  The IS gets Thunders(which are good) and Blitzkriegs(meh) but the HBK still languishes save the SG, which addresses the range and ease with which it is hit.

Hm, point. With advanced construction it wouldn't be hard to push the Hunchback to 5/8 on even a standard engine, faster still if you use a lighter one...

...that said, I suppose one in-universe reason could be that the flat-out more powerful engines (regardless of type) needed to make that upgrade were already in demand for other machines both old and new and so the question of sticking a 250- or even 300-rated fusion reactor that could just as well go into revolutionary new 'Mech X into the plain old traditionally slow Hunchback instead just somehow never came up.

[dirty harry]

There is already a faster Hunchback, the -6S from RS 3050 upgrade. It runs 6/9/0 and looks like a stopgap measurement between the standard Hunchback and the Blitzkrieg (not as fast as a Blitzkrieg but with more weapons).

That said i am not a friend of the -4G, i tend to use the -4H. An AC 10 around 3025 is still a threat but has the longer range and this Hunch can still hit with the same damage volume at shorter ranges.

[willydstyle]

There is already a faster Hunchback, the -6S from RS 3050 upgrade. It runs 6/9/0 and looks like a stopgap measurement between the standard Hunchback and the Blitzkrieg (not as fast as a Blitzkrieg but with more weapons).

That said i am not a friend of the -4G, i tend to use the -4H. An AC 10 around 3025 is still a threat but has the longer range and this Hunch can still hit with the same damage volume at shorter ranges.

I think the AC10 gets saddled with a lot of the autocannon hate that people associate with the 5 and 2.  It's a damned fine gun for the era.

[A. Lurker]

I think the AC10 gets saddled with a lot of the autocannon hate that people associate with the 5 and 2.  It's a damned fine gun for the era.

The AC/10 is a good gun for its era, but some people will still compare it to a PPC or large laser and come to the conclusion that it falls a bit short. The fact that there was a time when the LB 10-X made it strictly obsolete once available (before the RL introduction of alternate standard AC ammo types, and especially in that brief period when the 10-class was the only type even available in LB-X) may also still play into it a bit.

Really though, I think it's safe to say that the 20-class autocannons are the only ones that stand out enough from the crowd for most people to immediately respect. The others kind of just blend in with the general weapons mix.

[Orin J.]

Really though, I think it's safe to say that the 20-class autocannons are the only ones that stand out enough from the crowd for most people to immediately respect. The others kind of just blend in with the general weapons mix.

that isn't respect, it's fear. a 20-point blow will take almost any section off of a light and some medium 'mechs with no questions asked and put a big weak point on nearly anything else. anything that can hit you once and reverse your plans is scary.

[AWAD]

that isn't respect, it's fear. a 20-point blow will take almost any section off of a light and some medium 'mechs with no questions asked and put a big weak point on nearly anything else. anything that can hit you once and reverse your plans is scary.

I agree with the both of you. 4 ML or an AC20? Heck 6ML or an AC20? which breeds fear? The 6ML may have a better damage curve but it is all about location location location. That it just  looks cool.

AWAD- To me I think the Panther gets more Agro than the Hunchback..... thus I drive my innocuous Locust.

[Kovax]

You want HBK heaven?  Try fielding a "one each" lance of HBK-4G, 4H, 4J, and 4P.  That's enough variety and sheer weight of weaponry, and probably enough armor, to scare most assault lances.

You've got:
2 - LRM-10 racks at long range
1 - AC/10 at medium
1 - AC/20 and something like 18-20 MLs at short
...with the ability to fire the vast majority of it every turn.

At a respectable 160 points of armor per 'Mech, it's not going down without concentrating comparable firepower back at it.

About the only thing I'd be afraid to take on with it is a horde of Locusts (a backstabber's dream: 12 movement points to spend, and a HBK's paper-thin rear armor at the end of it).

[StCptMara]

You want HBK heaven?  Try fielding a "one each" lance of HBK-4G, 4H, 4J, and 4P.  That's enough variety and sheer weight of weaponry, and probably enough armor, to scare most assault lances.

You've got:
2 - LRM-10 racks at long range
1 - AC/10 at medium
1 - AC/20 and something like 18-20 MLs at short
...with the ability to fire the vast majority of it every turn.

At a respectable 160 points of armor per 'Mech, it's not going down without concentrating comparable firepower back at it.

About the only thing I'd be afraid to take on with it is a horde of Locusts (a backstabber's dream: 12 movement points to spend, and a HBK's paper-thin rear armor at the end of it).

I actually will NOT use that lance with the sheer percentage of newbies/not much practice players in our group. Frankly, that
would just be evil with some of them(One guy couldn't take down a Gauss-zilla with a GRand Dragon 7K on a map with plenty of cover!)

[willydstyle]

I actually will NOT use that lance with the sheer percentage of newbies/not much practice players in our group. Frankly, that
would just be evil with some of them(One guy couldn't take down a Gauss-zilla with a GRand Dragon 7K on a map with plenty of cover!)

Considering that the dragon doesn't have jump jets, so its mobility will be hampered by a map with "plenty of cover" I don't see how this is evidence that someone is not a good player.  The Gausszilla's damage output is simply way higher, and with only a 2 hex minimum range gauss rifles aren't that weak in close.

[X-ray]

Love it, it's a first pick for me in any 3025 era game.

[StCptMara]

Considering that the dragon doesn't have jump jets, so its mobility will be hampered by a map with "plenty of cover" I don't see how this is evidence that someone is not a good player.  The Gausszilla's damage output is simply way higher, and with only a 2 hex minimum range gauss rifles aren't that weak in close.

Because he did not use his speed advantage to get around behind the Gausszilla, and tried to attack it head on?

[willydstyle]

Even at 2/3 a mech can get you in it's front arc with a walking AMM and torso twist, on turns it wins initiative.

[Scotty]

How do you get around behind the Gausszilla anyway?  It only takes 3 MP to pivot in place, and if he just parks, damage at range will overwhelm the smaller, faster machine long before it inflicts any meaningful damage anyway.

[willydstyle]

Does it have flippy arms?

[StCptMara]

Does it have flippy arms?

Nope..it is on an Annhilator Chassis

How do you get around behind the Gausszilla anyway?  It only takes 3 MP to pivot in place, and if he just parks, damage at range will overwhelm the smaller, faster machine long before it inflicts any meaningful damage anyway.

Terrain was such that if the Grand Dragon lost initiative, it could get behind cover, and there was nothing the GZ could do to get
LOS, and if he won, no matter how the GZ turned, he could get in the rear. Instead, the Grand Dragon pilot took to woods one turn while closing to medium range with his weapons, and then..went down the middle, not using terrain past that point..

[Devens]

It's slow, heavily armored for its size, and carries the biggest boomstick in 3025.

I don't particularly like it.  It's great for city fights, and if you're Lyran, but I prefer more mobile Mediums.  The Heavies and Assaults are what I prefer to be handling my heavy weapons.

Actualy we Lyrans prefer our mediums with more mobility, such as the Griffin and Phoenix Hawk.

The hunchback is a Free Worlds League design.

[Dave Talley]

The AC/10 is a good gun for its era, but some people will still compare it to a PPC or large laser and come to the conclusion that it falls a bit short.

yeah in megamek one of my new faves is the 3025 Hammerhands
bangs away all day, ammo to burn

[X-ray]

Actualy we Lyrans prefer our mediums with more mobility, such as the Griffin and Phoenix Hawk.

The hunchback is a Free Worlds League design.

If I remember my fluff right, FWL and DC are the biggest users

[Scotty]

Nope..it is on an Annhilator Chassis

Terrain was such that if the Grand Dragon lost initiative, it could get behind cover, and there was nothing the GZ could do to get
LOS, and if he won, no matter how the GZ turned, he could get in the rear. Instead, the Grand Dragon pilot took to woods one turn while closing to medium range with his weapons, and then..went down the middle, not using terrain past that point..

Grand Dragon isn't fast enough to get behind a GZ from more than three hexes away, especially if the GZ pilot knows anything about what he/she is doing.

Losing to a GZ is not an indication of a bad player.

[mitchberthelson]

If I remember my fluff right, FWL and DC are the biggest users

They are the biggest, but Steiner uses them in moderate numbers and even has Norse Storm building them in certain eras (I think they team them with their huge piles of Crusaders for urban fighting). Xotl and Worktroll's protects related to army composition and variant availability show it as reasonably common for Lyrans in the pre-3050 era, but not exactly a rock star (in the "10" slot on the 3025 Army Book RAT and a spread of about 50-60 points between three variants in Xotl's big variant PDF).

[X-ray]

Yeah that's what I thought.  Pretty much all of those original tro3025 mechs are used by all factions on some level though

[StCptMara]

Grand Dragon isn't fast enough to get behind a GZ from more than three hexes away, especially if the GZ pilot knows anything about what he/she is doing.

Losing to a GZ is not an indication of a bad player.

Not saying he is a bad player, but I am saying that he is an uncreative player. If you are facing something like a Gausszilla,
you do NOT launch a frontal attack. Strangely, the player identifies himself as Kurita, but...fights a bit more like a Steiner.

The "One of Each" Hunchback lance? That would eat him alive!

[Greywind]

Not all players are creative.

Not all high ranking strategists are creative.

[willydstyle]

Also, all the Gauszilla player has to do is park himself on a hill, and any advantage the Dragon could gain from mobility would be pretty well negated.

[Ian Sharpe]

There is already a faster Hunchback, the -6S from RS 3050 upgrade. It runs 6/9/0 and looks like a stopgap measurement between the standard Hunchback and the Blitzkrieg (not as fast as a Blitzkrieg but with more weapons).

Excellent for generating crits, too, it seems.  LB-20 plus SRM-6?  Definitely going to have to use some of these soon.  Thanks for pointing it out! O0

[Dave Talley]

Not saying he is a bad player, but I am saying that he is an uncreative player. If you are facing something like a Gausszilla,
you do NOT launch a frontal attack. Strangely, the player identifies himself as Kurita, but...fights a bit more like a Steiner.

The "One of Each" Hunchback lance? That would eat him alive!

yeah
I remember the look on an opponents face at my first and only tech tourney
you were to bring 4 mechs totalling 225 tons (3025)

so I had the liao marauder with the 2 large lasers and 3 hunchy 4Ps
:-)
fun game IIRC

[willydstyle]

yeah
I remember the look on an opponents face at my first and only tech tourney
you were to bring 4 mechs totalling 225 tons (3025)

so I had the liao marauder with the 2 large lasers and 3 hunchy 4Ps
:-)
fun game IIRC

Liao MAD is a PPC, a LL, and an AC5.  It's my favorite variant, actually.

[Dave Talley]

ok marik version then

the liao is kinda schizophrenic, but then that's Liao

[willydstyle]

It has really good heat-management capabilities, IMO.

[Hellraiser]

How does this 3025 lance sound, 2 Hunchbacks, and 2 Dervishs? 

I was actually going to suggest Trebuchets for that all Marik feel.

And IMHO its a workable unit, mobile LRMs to keep people at range & a big fat AC20 sitting in front of them waiting for someone to charge.  I use a similar set up w/ tanks by pairing Demolishers w/ LRM Carriers.  Nobody wants that much indirect LRM and getting through the Demo's is PAIN

[Hellraiser]

The mech is great in what we call a purcupine ball. 2 4G's,a 4P and a 4SP.

That is just a fire magnet of a Lance but god help you if you ignore it.........OUCH

[StCptMara]

yeah
I remember the look on an opponents face at my first and only tech tourney
you were to bring 4 mechs totalling 225 tons (3025)

so I had the liao marauder with the 2 large lasers and 3 hunchy 4Ps
:-)
fun game IIRC

That is the Marik Marauder.

[X-ray]

I was actually going to suggest Trebuchets for that all Marik feel.

And IMHO its a workable unit, mobile LRMs to keep people at range & a big fat AC20 sitting in front of them waiting for someone to charge.  I use a similar set up w/ tanks by pairing Demolishers w/ LRM Carriers.  Nobody wants that much indirect LRM and getting through the Demo's is PAIN

Or catapults for that DC feel

[Devens]

They are the biggest, but Steiner uses them in moderate numbers and even has Norse Storm building them in certain eras (I think they team them with their huge piles of Crusaders for urban fighting). Xotl and Worktroll's protects related to army composition and variant availability show it as reasonably common for Lyrans in the pre-3050 era, but not exactly a rock star (in the "10" slot on the 3025 Army Book RAT and a spread of about 50-60 points between three variants in Xotl's big variant PDF).

Xotli is a Fan product and not exactly cannon.

[mitchberthelson]

Xotli is a Fan product and not exactly cannon.

Correct, but his work is some of the most extensive on variant availability done to date and given that he's on the MUL team and involved quite often in research for that effort, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. The fact that the Lyrans actually build the 'Mech in question (in some eras via two different companies) backs this up further.