I'm just the middle-man today--posting this on behalf of Diplominator, Falcon aficionado extraordinaire Jade Phoenix85-ton Clan OmniMechSource: ilClan Recognition Guide Vol. 22"SCRAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW "
This is gonna be a weird one. Most MotW articles start with some variation on "hey we all know this thing sucks, but here's how to get the most out of it" or "this thing rocks, but have you considered the following weaknesses?" Something along those lines. How to salvage a flawed design, finding the flaws in the otherwise implacable.
But, yeah. No. Different thesis, this time.
The Jade Phoenix is perfect.
Um.It's the best 'Mech that there is.
That's a bit of a stretch, right?Is it? Something has to be the best, right? Why not the Jade Phoenix? I'm actually not joking; it really is the best.
Let's take a look at it. It's an 85-ton OmniMech, 37 of those tons pod space. A 340 XL engine gets it moving at a respectable 4/6. The only fixed equipment is a Partial Wing and the maximum three DHS you can fit in the engine. Armor is four points shy of maximum, and after the endo-composite structure and ferro-fibrous armor it's got 30 crits to spare.
In case it's not obvious, that means that at every turn, this chassis is making the most efficient choices possible. 85 tons is the best tonnage for 4/6 without going to another jump jet weight class. 4/6 is a great speed for a partial wing because the extra distance pushes you into a new movement modifier bracket for either standard or improved jump jets. 37 tons in 30 crits is a bit cramped, buuuut a lot of good Clan weapons are very crit-dense. For that matter, so are the jump jets that the partial wing encourages you to use. Additionally, the crit placement only prevents a few niche types of equipment, making it a very versatile platform and a very good use of OmniMech technology. It is capable of mounting Arrow IV, Talons, a HAG-40...really the only noteworthy things that are precluded are Heavy Gauss Rifles and Long Tom Cannons and...well, LTCs are good, but I think I can probably live.
Okay, but plenty of OmniMechs have a good chassis. It's all about the configurations.That's true enough, but the Jade Phoenix doesn't slack off there. Broadly speaking, the chassis lends itself to being either 4/6/5 with normal jump jets or 4/6/7 with the heavier improved versions. The Jade Phoenix Prime goes with the former. For weapons, it includes twin Clan ER PPCs in one arm, a HAG-30 with three tons of ammo for the other, and five extra heat sinks to almost totally cover the heat generation. Once again, the Falcons made smart, efficient design choices, using the limited critical slots efficiently to give it mobility, range, decent firepower, and a certain amount of flexibility with the HAG's crit-seeking ability.
Isn't that a little undergunned for a Clan assault 'Mech? The Blood Asp is the same speed with way more pod space. Even the old Warhawk has more crits and more total tons of guns and heat sinks.Right, but comparing the Jade Phoenix to assault 'Mechs is misleading. You need to be comparing it to 'Mechs its own speed.
I...was?Sort of. That fifth jump MP matters a great deal. It gets it to a target movement modifier of +3, matching the +3 it takes from jumping in the first place. That's a very important breakpoint, as it minimizes damage taken while ensuring that the Jade Phoenix's guns have at least the same odds to hit as its opponent. Don't think of the Jade Phoenix as an Assault 'Mech; think of it as a very strange Heavy.
But it's an Assault 'Mech?Just stay with me a second. Compare it to the Grand Summoner. That's a very good Heavy design, a sensible upgrade to a solid performer from the Invasion era. Compared to the Grand Summoner, the Jade Phoenix has only one disadvantage: if it doesn't jump, it's a couple MP slower than the Grand Summoner, at least on relatively clear terrain. In return for this limitation, however, the Jade Phoenix receives over 30% more armor, and over 20% more pod space. To me, that seems like an extremely easy choice, especially given that, if the Grand Summoner does exercise its ability to run faster on land, then a sizable percentage of its pod space is devoted to jump jets that are doing nothing for it. Meanwhile, as long as it jumps, every ton of the Jade Phoenix is relevant every turn.
Okay, I sorta see your point about efficiency. What about the rest of the variants?Okay, so, if the Jade Phoenix Prime is an incredible Heavy 'Mech, the Jade Phoenix A is an incredible Medium.
It's 85 tons!Yeah, but it jumps 7, and it carries a UAC-20 and one of each pulse laser. It's basically just a better version of the Flamberge 3, which has been a fantastic design for over six decades in-universe (and about a decade out of universe, if you didn't feel old yet today). Take the Flamberge 3, keep the UAC-20, adjust the secondary array a bit while keeping the focus on pulse lasers, and add almost 20% more armor. Oh, and make it an OmniMech, which the Jihad-era Falcons never managed.
Okay, but how is an Assault, that you say is an improved version of a Heavy, a Medium 'Mech?It's not literally a Medium, but that's how it fights on the battlefield. If you could get a Hunchback moving like an Assassin, with about the armor of both combined, that would be the Jade Phoenix A. Once again, you lose out on raw ground speed, but it's still fast and armored enough that it can expect to survive to close to UAC-20 range, and to do some damage once it gets there.
Seriously, compare it to every 'Mech that can jump 7 or 8. It out-armors all of them, and it outguns...okay, it outguns most of them. The Gargoyle J is kind of diluting my point here, but even then the Jade Phoenix can outrange it. As for the rest? The Jade Phoenix A shames them. It's a weirdly impervious Stormcrow that doesn't have to care about terrain. The Stormcrow was an incredible design in any era, and the Jade Phoenix is better than that.
So, that's what you mean by "best 'Mech?"Basically, yes. It can combine maneuverability, firepower, and speed in ways that outdo even fairly dominant examples of Medium and Heavy 'Mechs.
Alright, that's pretty brutal. Next variant?The B is pretty similar to the Prime, actually. Still 4/6/5, a gauss rifle in each arm mimic the performance from the PPCs, and a large and medium improved heavy laser round out the arsenal. It ends up with less total damage potential than the Prime, at shorter range, but in more concentrated chunks (including a third headcapper). Honestly, this one is the most lackluster. Too many explosive components, ammunition concerns for the main weapons, less range, and the torso-mounted lasers make carrying BA less attractive. Most of all, it just...barely offers any different performance from the Prime. I'd have liked to see a more radical departure; maybe something with talons.
Hmm. What's next? A more radical departure, with Talons. The Jade Phoenix C has paired ATM-12s, paired SRM-6s, and paired ERMLs. And talons, because I guess if you can't fit an improved Heavy Gauss Rifle on your OmniMech, you can at least kick like one. It's also got four standard jump jets for that nice five hex jump range. The missiles are a bit of a departure from the other variants, but that many ATMs give it the ability to wither targets at range while still being able to crush them up close. The talons will just flat out remove legs from many medium and most light 'Mechs, and badly hurt anything else. That combination of mobility and close-range lethality is nearly unprecedented, and it ends up functioning a bit like a bigger Flamberge, or like a much bigger Eyrie. Allegedly the Jade Phoenix is mainly in use by more traditional Falcons, but I suspect the Mongols would be right at home in the Jade Phoenix C.
Do all these variants have Jump Jets?Not all of them. The Jade Phoenix D is the lone non-jumping variant, mounting a pair of ER PPCs in one arm, a gauss rifle in the other, and a spare ERML in the center torso. It supports that fairly wicked arsenal with plenty of ammo and heat sinks, along with a targeting computer. Three headcappers with a TC are hard to argue against too strenuously, and I'll even forgive the lack of jump jets. Obviously, the D wastes some of the potential of the partial wing, and thereby misses the some of the other variants' ideal of every ton being relevant all the time, but at the same time, it's a variant worth having. Not every battle will be on terrain where jump jets make sense to bring, and it's hard to say the Jade Phoenix D doesn't make the most of its pod space.
Still, sounds like a worse Hellstar.Basically everything that moves 4/6 wishes it was a Hellstar.
Okay, but you said this was the best 'Mech. Right here!Okay, yes, fair. And I stand by that! But, to be clear, that doesn't necessarily mean it can beat everything. More that I think if you didn't know what you'd be fighting, you'd want a Jade Phoenix over anything else. It's hideously tough, maneuverable, dangerous, and above all, efficient.
That it for variants?Nope, one last one. Very similar to the Prime, but with Plasma Rifles in place of the PPCs and an LB-20x instead of the HAG. It loses a lot of range and absolute damage potential, but it gains some ability to butcher conventional units like tanks, aircraft, and infantry. The complete dependence on ammunition is a little concerning, but it still scares me quite a lot. Oh, and it also has a supercharger, which...I don't want to like, but I kind of do anyway. Yes, using the supercharger means that the jets and the partial wing aren't doing anything, but it's nice to be able to put on a burst of speed when you have an AC-20 like that, and you can still jump every other turn to keep the supercharger rolls less scary.
Plus it keeps the two-energy-one-ballistic aesthetic.Well, yeah, that's the most important thing. I will say that while it's nice to have a specialized anti-conventional variant, I do wish we'd have gotten a second 4/6/7 design. It fits on the chassis so well, but the A is a little close-ranged to be truly general-purpose.
I also don't want it to pass without mention that this is a design that the Jade Falcons have been making for close to a century. They got ever so close with the Night Gyr but they fixed the jump jets. They got closer with the Flamberge but they only got the OmniMech tech or the partial wing, not both. They got the size closer with the Onager, but didn't have enough firepower. They got closer with the Shrike, to the point where it became a totem design, but it still had kind of anemic firepower. The Jade Phoenix is the endpoint of that whole legacy and it will rip your entire face off if you let it. There's very little else out there with that sort of lineage of experimentation and improvement.
Because it's the best 'Mech?Because it's the best 'Mech. Be interesting to see who actually gets to use them moving forward, given Alyina's somewhat tumultuous status.
Let's say I want to add some tumult to Alyina. How do I kill it?Part of why I've been saying that you should treat the Jade Phoenix as a Heavy or medium is that it doesn't quite hold up as an Assault. Getting it in a scenario where it has to act like an Assault 'Mech is going to put it at a disadvantage. That means forcing it out of cover, denying it good targets without exposing itself to return fire, and the like. It tends to have the most trouble with really heavily armed and armored units that it can't swoop in, degrade, and then move onto the next target. Pulse lasers can also mess it up pretty good since its more reliant on mobility than most Assault designs. Just anything you can do to change it from an overarmored Heavy to an undergunned Assault.
I want one.Me too, bold text voice. Me too.
