From Technical Readout:3060
Clan Hell's Horses, from their baptism in fire during Operation:Klondike through to the modern era, has always nurtured and embraced their part as the combined arms Clan. With multitudes of vehicle and infantry designs attributed to Clan, along with the later addition of ProtoMechs and Quadvees, the Hell's Horses would always have a flexible corps of units suited for multiple roles. These conventional assets would, of course, not remove the necessity of BattleMechs from the Horse Touman, although they would encourage the development of certain designs that would be anathema to the Clan's Homeworld peers. This brings me to the 'Mech that we'll be taking a look at today: the
Thunder Stallion, an Assault BattleMech requested by local forum-goer and combined-arms superstar Kojak.
With its development in 2850, towards the beginning of the Clan Golden Century, it seems fitting to cover the
Thunder Stallion with the upcoming release of the era's synonymous Technical Readout. As one of the Hell's Horses' earliest Clan-tech designs, it ties into early endeavors at Clan symbology by being an attempt to create a "Totem" design for the Clan. However, with poor showings from the earliest ventures at Totem 'Mechs (the
Mandrill and
Fire Scorpion) putting an end to this short-lived fad, the Horses would largely redesign the visual aesthetics of their new design to distance themselves from the unpopular Totem trend. Even so, this did not help endear the design to the Clan's 'MechWarriors; the
Thunder Stallion would remain an unpopular and disliked ride for most of those assigned to it.
The role and capabilities of the design itself would play a key role in its unpopularity. Although massing a respectable 85 tons, with a standard engine giving it a top speed of 54 kph (3/5 movement) in an era where heavy cavalry speeds were not yet the norm, it was the weaponry and configuration of the 'Mech that would mainly relegate it to support roles. Mounting four LRM-15 racks fed by a total of eight tons of ammo for nearly three minutes of continuous firepower (AKA, 16 rounds per launcher), the
Thunder Stallion would be able to muster respectable - albeit scattered - ranged damage. A single LB-20-X autocannon with two tons of ammo would act as a close-ranged complement, often fielded with a ton of both cluster and slug rounds. Armor would be generously layered onto the chassis, with the design carrying the chassis' structural maximum of 17.5 tons of standard armor plate (279 points). Fourteen double heat sinks would allow the 'Mech to fire its full array of firepower, run, and remain cool.
Why does this translate into a design better suited for support work rather than 'Mech-on-'Mech combat?0
- Firstly, the fact that the Thunder Stallion is a quad. Opposing 'Mechs can easily slip into blind spots on this slower design, forcing the 'Mech to have some sort supporting elements to cover its main weakness.
- Secondly, although its ranged firepower is respectable, it suffers from an inability to reliably punch holes at range. Against contemporaries from the same era—such as the Supernova, Warhammer IIC, or Wakazashi—its scattered missiles would not deal the raw damage other designs throwing out much larger damage blocks could do.
- Thirdly, the Thunder Stallion's armor distribution. A flaw suffered by many quad designs, the side torsos of this 'Mech has a 20/16 front/rear armor layout. When facing traditional 'Mech opponents, this makes the Stallion much more vulnerable to incoming firepower, doubly so when considering its weakness to side torso criticals.
These individual limitations combine together to create a design that performs better when combined with better ranged holepunchers (such as the
Athena), spotters for indirect firepower (such as the
Epona or
Asshur), or as a means to support slower infantry (such as Elementals). A
Thunder Stallion used in this way can rely on its thick hide to deal with backstabbing flankers or opposing Battle Armor, with its large number of damage blocks and LB-X cluster rounds performing admirably in this supporting role.
The
Thunder Stallion would receive its first variant in 2877. A rather straightforward modification, the
'Fire Stallion' replaces its secondary LB-X with two Large Pulse Lasers and two additional Double Heat Sinks. With better mid-ranged firepower and more accuracy against lighter targets, I'm personally fonder of this design. It offers greater battlefield longevity and a bit more redundancy in terms of weaponry. As it does run a bit hotter, personal player preference between the Standard and 2 might boil down to whether the 'Mech is often used at short range, against slower targets, or at longer ranges against quicker targets.
The third (and final) variant would appear in 3069—in time for the Clan's invasion of the Inner Sphere and the conquest of Clan Wolf's Periphery holdings. Going the opposite route from the
'Fire Stallion' the 3 would instead replace all four LRM-15s with a single HAG-40, fed by a generous 6 tons of ammunition (for 18 rounds of firepower). This would also free up enough weight for another ton of LB-X ammo, an ECM Suite mounted in the head, and a tertiary weapon system in a single center torso-mounted ER Medium Laser. Due to the heavy weight of the HAG, heat sinks are reduced to 11 Doubles, though the lowered heat output of the HAG vs the LRMs means that this variant runs just as cool as the standard model.
As more of a direct combat variant, the HAG's increased range is welcome, while its multi-use nature allows the
Thunder Stallion 3 to be a credible anti-air threat. Of course, it also means that this variant works best at ranges under 360 meters (12 hexes), where its HAG is at its greatest effectiveness and its LB-X can come into play. This is much more of an all-or-nothing variant in terms of raw damage, while its reliance on a large HAG in an already-vulnerable side torso increases the preexisting weakness to side torso criticals. Personally, I prefer the flexibility and increased durability afforded by the standard design.
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How to use one? At range, or indirectly if possible. Use its heavy armor to keep it alive if it finds itself targeted by artillery, LRM counterfire, or flankers, and only bring it into direct-fire play once most of the LRM ammunition is expended. Don't close too quickly with one, as it can often find itself outmaneuvered at short range, and always use it with friends. It can also find use as a damage magnet for more fragile partners, although be well aware of its limitations. It's also worth bringing a few tons of alternate munitions for the LRMs; with four launchers, the
Thunder Stallion can quickly spread a potent minefield onto a key location of a map, giving it some more battlefield utility. How do you counter one? Aim for the side torsos and flank it. Moving into either the left or right side torso blind spot is one of the best moves you can make against a
Thunder Stallion, where all it takes is three Clan ER Medium or Medium Pulse Laser hits to start going internal.
So there you have it: a semi-Totem 'Mech in an era where they were falling out of favor, filling a role that was also nearing obsolescence in Clan space. It should come to no surprise that the design is not widespread throughout the Clans, although the Ghost Bears and Goliath Scorpions do find themselves with more than a few during the Civil War and Jihad eras; most likely salvaged in combat either during the Horse's temporary occupation of three Spheroid planets (for the Bears) or during the heavy fighting on Tokasha (for the Scorpions). It's interesting to note that the early Golden Century fad of designing Totem 'Mechs reignited with a vengeance by the Dark Age, with nearly every Spheroid Clan fielding designs reminiscent of their Totem animal. With the Horses themselves producing the
Svartalfa,
Buraq, and
Balius, it wouldn't surprise me to see a refitting and resurgence in old
Thunder Stallions, perhaps even giving them updated aesthetics to bring greater pride to the Hell's Horses MechWarriors piloting them.
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Iron Wind Metals:
https://store.ironwindmetals.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4817&osCsid=jrui03qpe5scruni3478077j53Camospecs:
http://camospecs.com/IWM/Details/87/thunder-stallionMaster Unit List:
http://masterunitlist.info/Unit/Details/3224/thunder-stallion-standard
