The Cauldron Born is a solid mech, it is cool to see it getting some love. The new art work is incredible! It finally makes me want to get the minis!
As I typically play Invasion / Fedcom Civil War period (at the latest) the Prime, A, B and C get the most playtime when we roll with clans. It is honestly one of my favorite clan Omnis and while the stock configs can be a little weird most play pretty well and you can build some really nasty customs using the pod space.
The "light" armor never really bothered me, playing it similarly to a Mad Dog Prime (Hang back and soften up targets and then come in for the kill) it plays well. I think you have to compare it to its contemporary designs as well, (mainly the Mad Dog & Hellbringer). Compared to these two similar weight / BV designs it compares well. The Mad Dog offers some configs that I think are superior and I am of the opinion that the Hellbringer is a waste of tonnage / BV. It isn't a strictly "optimized" omni like a lot of the clan designs but with a little careful bracket fire the Cauldron Born can more than pull its weight. The Prime is like an IS Shadow Hawk got a free Gauss rifle, sure the armament is a little "kitchen sink" approach, but it also deals well with all types of threats at all ranges, and thats something that few clan Omnis in their primary config can do. Further the design is just well laid out for what they did stick in there between the crit padding, location of equipment etc.
The A Config is my personal favorite, you have 2 clan ERLL head-cappers with a 25 hex range that you can shoot all day long while running. You can get in some solid hits at range and really be a pest, your opponent will eventually have to come deal with you, and when they do that UAC/20 is going to put them in the dirt. The extra "anti infantry weapons" are kind of useless in a mech on mech fight but versus combined arms provide the Cauldron Born with something that so many clan mechs lack. This is a mech that forces your opponent into a tactical dilemma and is something that no one wants do deal with but they are going to have to.
The B model is a superior Hellbringer Prime in every sense to me. You have the 2 Clan ERPPCs, same speed and heat sinking but gain some solid armoring. The Pulse laser backup exceeds the Hellbringers secondary weapons and tarcomp in my opinion and provides you the ability to melt another mech (and yourself) with an alpha strike, but unlike the Hellbringer you don't have to worry about cooking off ammo and you can survive more than a stiff breeze.
The C is a solid support mech and I would take it over any other similar weight / BV clan design (of the same era) when it comes to LRM support. (It is no Nova Cat B) This config is a major BV bargain coming in at only 1831 which puts it in the same BV range as most clan Mediums. The utility of the Ebon Jaguar is way better than something like a Crossbow Prime. The deeper bins for the LRMs when compared to its contemporaries are something that many clan Omnis lack. It is also fast, and has a solid "back up" weapons array. The UAC/2's can lawn dart VTOLs or provide some long range crit seeking and the extra SRM ammo lets you pack infernos. Considering you can shoot everything on a run for no heat hitting with a potential of 62 (heat free) damage is nasty.
My Jag forces pair them with Mad Dogs and Storm Crows to nasty effect. Given a token "brick mech" like a Warhawk or Dire Wolf for your opponents to focus fire on the Ebon Jags can go to work. Few mechs in the Clan Toumans Heavy weight class are able to adequately deal with IS Combined Arms as well as the Ebon Jaguar can. Admittedly using Zell or fighting with clan Honor in place, the Ebon Jaguar does not play as well considering it is more of a generalist rather than a duelist.
