Fangs of Steel: Clan Steel Viper

[Leonard Kerensky]

any vipers in the nest?  :D

[Johnny 'NKH' Leyland]

I'm a big fan of the Vipers, though I'm not a dedicated player of them (or of any one faction). Mostly I like them for their cold badassery.

[Crimson Dynamo]

I like 'em. They can run with the big boys anytime, and are pretty hardcore about it too.

[Daishi411]

I'm a big fan of the Vipers, though I'm not a dedicated player of them (or of any one faction). Mostly I like them for their cold badassery.

this is why i like them to, but i;m also loving how badass they've become since being forced back into the home worlds, and now they have and ilkhan!

[Leonard Kerensky]

to be quite honest i wasn't very dedicated to any faction other than the Combine until the events of gencon2009. .. after that point however, i sank my teeth into what the Steel Vipers are and how they take the field.

i have to ask my GM if it's okay to let my fangs out, otherwise people start giving me this look of 'don't come any closer than you are'

[ShockaTime]

Cool, it's nice to see the Vipers get a thread, while I don't play them I get a lot of use out of the Crossbow and the Battle cobra and have a lot of respect for both mechs.

[Johnny 'NKH' Leyland]

I look forwards to finding out what made them go psycho in the 3070s.

[Daishi411]

Cool, it's nice to see the Vipers get a thread, while I don't play them I get a lot of use out of the Crossbow and the Battle cobra and have a lot of respect for both mechs.

honest truth, in my experience using both mechs, they are two of the most effective mechs and i think they are severely underestimated, especially when you put a good viper pilot in them. The battle cobra has always been a simply fantastic little mech and i've seen it do some evil things

[ShockaTime]

Cool, it's nice to see the Vipers get a thread, while I don't play them I get a lot of use out of the Crossbow and the Battle cobra and have a lot of respect for both mechs.

honest truth, in my experience using both mechs, they are two of the most effective mechs and i think they are severely underestimated, especially when you put a good viper pilot in them. The battle cobra has always been a simply fantastic little mech and i've seen it do some evil things

Better yet, an elite Blood Spirit pilot in them }:)

[Daishi411]

Cool, it's nice to see the Vipers get a thread, while I don't play them I get a lot of use out of the Crossbow and the Battle cobra and have a lot of respect for both mechs.

honest truth, in my experience using both mechs, they are two of the most effective mechs and i think they are severely underestimated, especially when you put a good viper pilot in them. The battle cobra has always been a simply fantastic little mech and i've seen it do some evil things

Better yet, an elite Blood Spirit pilot in them }:)

ain't that the truth though, since the crossbow and battle cobra appear just as frequently with the spirits as they do with the vipers. Honestly i'm secretly hoping the vipers and spirits will become at least nominal allies in the conflicts in the homeworlds, since at least in my mind, they do have several things in common, and i think they'll mesh well together, and will be an absolute epic fighting force together, assuming they can get over themselves  ;)

[Johnny 'NKH' Leyland]

I like the Crossbow for mostly arbitrary reasons but I don't think it's a great mech. I've had success with the A and B versions and even with the crappy H config but IMHO the mech just lacks the pod-space to be a top flight killer. The two crazy configs from RS:3060U look pretty amusing but I haven't used them.

The Battle Cobra is pretty good, has several good canon configs. I like this one as a handy support mech.

The Vapor Eagle is probably their best mech overall (I prefer the Vapor Eagle 3 for looks and style). The Black Python is also fierce and the Matador is a nice brawler for the sheer amount of weapons it carries. The Scylla is rather underrated I think, it's a capable Assault mech even if it's not in the same league as some other 100ton Clan mechs.

[Leonard Kerensky]

I like the Crossbow for mostly arbitrary reasons but I don't think it's a great mech. I've had success with the A and B versions and even with the crappy H config but IMHO the mech just lacks the pod-space to be a top flight killer. The two crazy configs from RS:3060U look pretty amusing but I haven't used them.

The Battle Cobra is pretty good, has several good canon configs. I like this one as a handy support mech.

The Vapor Eagle is probably their best mech overall (I prefer the Vapor Eagle 3 for looks and style). The Black Python is also fierce and the Matador is a nice brawler for the sheer amount of weapons it carries. The Scylla is rather underrated I think, it's a capable Assault mech even if it's not in the same league as some other 100ton Clan mechs.

personaly i've a certain fondness for the Summoner C, though the Black python is very fierce. i've not yet had the opertunity to field or use many other mechs found in the vipers taumon as yet.. but i do hope to change this sometime in the future.

[Stormcrow]

Like the Vipers above all the other Clans, though I do have an affinty for the Hellions and the Ghost Bears as well

[Joshua D]

the Matador is a nice brawler for the sheer amount of weapons it carries.

I always find it quite entertaining to simply alpha-strike every little 'Mech that gets too close, even if the HS aren't nearly close to keeping up with the heat spike...

[Leonard Kerensky]

the Matador is a nice brawler for the sheer amount of weapons it carries.

I always find it quite entertaining to simply alpha-strike every little 'Mech that gets too close, even if the HS aren't nearly close to keeping up with the heat spike...

that is fun to do with any mech that has a large plethora of weapons and the will to use them.. on a light mech.

that said, watching the look of 'oh gawd i'm going ..*static*'  on a players face when you do that, well. it's funny.

[Skyth]

I have always been a fan of Steel Vipers.  The Black Python is one of my favorite mechs.  So much that I have designed a 70 ton Omni (The Steel Python) based on it.

[Daedalus]

I also like the Vipers, because they seem to be the only clan where secondliners are more powerful than the specific omnis.
Crossbow and Battle Cobra are quiet useful, sure, but Scylla, Black Python, Phoenix Hawk IIc 2-4 and Vapor Eagle are far superior.

[Leonard Kerensky]

i have to wonder if it is intentional for the 2ndline mechs to have so much more bite to them than the omni mechs clans are so renowned for. it certainly does give pause for thought.

[Stingray]

Honestly I'm not sure if I know why the Vipers tend to use better Tech on secondliners. Could be the ease of production allows more room in the budget for better parts on a Non Omni. That or the Vipers do it to help counter the versitility advantage of the Omni Mech. Also even crappy pilots are threats in TC + Pulse boats :p.

@Shockatime... While BS Mechwarriors are better, the Viper's training program is very select/difficult also so I would say they should come close to second on skills straight from their Sibko. Now Blood Spirits have better field experience since they seem to always be fighting the Adders.

Perhaps the Steel Vipers went berserk because we got bored...

[ShockaTime]

@Shockatime... While BS Mechwarriors are better, the Viper's training program is very select/difficult also so I would say they should come close to second on skills straight from their Sibko. Now Blood Spirits have better field experience since they seem to always be fighting the Adders.

I agree O0

[Daishi411]

its not 'better' tech, omnis are still prestigious rides in the vipers and are what frontline warriors use, it just so happens they have potent second line machines and units, used mostly for dueling i think

[Leonard Kerensky]

potent and deadly. i've played with a black python. to say that i cored out the mech would be to say you can take the head off a mech with one shot. .. i am pretty certain that most of the mech was scrap.

[Deadborder]

So I'm going through old sourcebooks looking for info on the Falcon-Viper war and I come across an amusing tidbit. On Blackjack (and I think some other worlds) the citizens actually cheered for the Falcons and celebrated being "liberated" by them. Lookign over WoK and its comments on how restricitve the Vipers are, I can only imagine that the populations of those worlds saw the Falcons as a welcome break.

Well, either that or they really like the colour green.

[Precentor Scorpio]

What do I like about the Steel Vipers -
First clan that did not have omni-mechs in their frontline clusters/galaxies.
Hit and Run tactics
A belief of working together with the Inner Sphere to resurrect the Star League.

I hope the Steel Vipers survive the current situation in the home worlds so  I can see their new view on the Inner Sphere.  I do not see this new view being open to compromise or a partnership with the Inner Sphere powers.

[Trajan Helmer]

I hope the Steel Vipers survive the current situation in the home worlds so  I can see their new view on the Inner Sphere.  I do not see this new view being open to compromise or a partnership with the Inner Sphere powers.

I could see the Viper view as being the basic philosophy of whatever becomes of the Homeworlds. Time will tell.

[Thoth]

Hey!

I had forgotten there were a few Viper fans kicking around.

:)

[RAE]

Not my favourite Clan, but I like Vipers a lot. They've got fun selection of 'Mechs and... well, you can't help it but to love a Clan that at one point had bald, stern-looking men with beards both for its Khan and saKhan ;)

[Nibs]

Not my favourite Clan, but I like Vipers a lot. They've got fun selection of 'Mechs and... well, you can't help it but to love a Clan that at one point had bald, stern-looking men with beards both for its Khan and saKhan ;)

Or one of my favourite Khans, Natalie Breen!

And I am the leading advocate of Natalie being the Viper ilKhan rumoured to have taken power during the opening years of the Jihad.

[Johnny 'NKH' Leyland]

It's possible but I find it hard to buy into. She was disgraced by Tukayyid, and earned distrust when she was closetted away as an advisor on Strana Mechty (the other Clans noticed this).

I think both Brett Andrews and Nicole Hoskins are strong contenders.

[Nibs]

Yeah, but I'm rooting for her anyway!  ;D