BATTLETECH: Mauler MAL-1R Battlytics | Mercenaries Kickstarter | Mech Review | Clan Invasion Era

[@Stormeris]

Honestly, Mauler is one of those mechs that are a lot better than they look

[@harvestblades]

Which says a lot because it's a damn good looking mech!

[@HouseDavieMerc]

Very interesting Battlytics. I can't wait for the Somerset Strikers pack! Little known fact- Geo-Hex made a series of Officially licensed structures for Battletech that were from/inspired by the "Hit" TV cartoon. They were THE only officially licensed Battletech mini scale product specifcally from the TV series. I have samples of them and I'm working on a diorama of the Somerset Academy center square to go with the Somerset Strikers pack for the Battletech 40th Anniversary. They never made the main academy building so I have to scratch build one based on images from the cartoon. Hope I can get them done in time!

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Very cool! I did not know that!

[@Ichaerus]

"Hook a coolant truck up to its butt." Now I have a picture of a Mauler with a colostomy bag attached, just dragging it along with a sad face because of incontinence.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

LOL

[@ncemt]

I have my MAL-1R5. Drops the erLLs for standard Large Lasers. Drops a ton of AC2 ammo for an extra ton of armor. Adds survivability and some heat management at the cost of range in terms of the Lasers.

[@misterbeeps]

Just imagine that Mauler pilot plinking away squirrels at 800 meters with those ac/2s. That's where the "smoothie" name comes from. Dinner is served. Bring a straw boys. Bring a straw.

[@subtlewhatssubtle]

The Mauler was my first piece of Battletech cartoon merch and as a result has always held a special place for me. Good or bad, it's big and it looks awesome, and there's even some variants that almost make it work. I won't go as far as to say the MAL-1R is one of them (and boy, watching one of them explode in MWO was always a good time) but I'll still have a fondness for it all the same.

[@wilsonw13]

"Who puts 4 AC2's on a mech?" The Kraken is waiting in the wings for his review now...

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Haha well played.

[@DapperRaccoon]

Getting a Mauler in MW4 was always a joyous occasion and when it eventually had to be replaced with something heavier I was always sad.

[@joshkellemen5931]

By then you have two lbx 10s and yeah

[@DerKrampus-ou2ln]

I still remember having to fight that guy in the damned swamp.

[@lesjames2478]

I once fielded the one variant with c3 at like a skill 2 and it put in work for days. The non-c3 variants are criminally under rated. People see the AC2s and assault and assume they are terrible but they are great long range plinkers/harassers

[@gavincross2902]

The Mauler was a heck of a surprise for the FedCom when they (choked) invaded the Draconis Combine.

[@TAVAAR7]

I like the mauler, it was the one tyco mech toy I had as a kid (unfortunately not anymore) so Ive got a soft spot for it. Its a way better mech than its typically given credit for, but even with the value in its role and the sodt spot....I still can't get over the AC2s...and 4 torso mounted at that. I could see a build for lore that used 4 with at least 2 arm mounted for "flack" roles, but then we just have a DC specific rifleman/jagermech...

[@desc4405]

Honestly pleasantly surprised at how this shook out. The Mauler is my favorite mech and the BV cost always seemed well worth it hat you got.

[@joshkellemen5931]

The 90s are now 30 years ago. We are old

[@christopherpurches2774]

Two things that make the mauler even better: 1. Its quirk. It reduces its AMM by 1 for the ACs. 2. Special ammo. There's tons of options for standard autocannons and LRMs

[@gregmichaud7314]

Mauler 1R is often seen on our battle field my son loves this configuration and does him well. All thanks to the cartoon

[@nicholassmith8027]

Holy shoot, look at the predecessor, the Daboku! Normal large lasers, normal fusion engine, honestly not bad heat curve management. And the battle value is even more bargain blowout

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Oh man, I need to go look that up. You know I love standard fusion engines haha

[@jessepunch8945]

I wish this mech had standard large lasers and not the ER ones, imagine how good it would be then!

[@MiriOhki]

One thought: Loading up the autocannons with specialty ammo, maybe Precision. Sure you can try AP, but it probably wouldn't do much. 44 shots of precision would give some nice range plinking.

[@mathewkelly9968]

Loathed mech but when I've taken one it's never failed .

[@gorkwobbler]

I think the reason this mech is so efficient is that the BV system often undervalues mechs with bad redline performance. A mech's heat efficiency has a big impact on its BV

[@brandonjohns8981]

A Mauler with precision ammo is great speedy vehicle killer.

[@lukedudley5030]

A much better mech than it first looks...and a good advert for the ac 2 that is much maligned :-) another great analysis as always of a mech i like to use when people dont know the game that well and underestimate it.

[@jasonrucker4722]

Agree to your observations - surprised that the MAL-1R is so efficient. The Fire Support role is spot on, it's name tends to lead a pilot to move in to short range, but against other Heavies / Assaults brawlers, it would get iced. I think I would adjust and create a modified version of MAL-1K; drop everything and add 2x UAC/5s (2 tons ammo), 2x LRM-10s (4 tons ammo), 1 ER Large Laser, 1 Medium Laser, and CASE in both torsos, upgrade the engine, take more armor and 1 additional double Heat Sink (12 total). This should allow the MAL-2K (or what I would dub it) to do more damage at medium range and survive.

[@redbaronsnoopy2346]

Luv the video & the Mauler. Those big boys play off the back foot, fire support for your Lyran Scout Lances ;-) Thanks again for the content, you keep my luv for Battletech stoked...

[@matthewmarek1467]

Color me shocked! Way better than I thought. I guess that high side torso armor helps negate the XL to a degree. The sculpt I want is the MW4 Mauler with those angled missile towers on each side of the cockpit.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

MW4 Mauler is a classic. And yah, the low BV is very useful too!!

[@darkmalakan9004]

Love the Mauler, after the first KS all arrived I built a force and took like a hour of looking through my miniatures that I figured out it wasn't out in plastic. Was happy to see it show up with some classics this go around and had a pick up a few.

[@merkarion7883]

Mauler is a OG Draconis Combine Mech But i hope that we will the the DRG-4F "Dragon Fire" next in Battlytics

[@justinbingham4420]

Love the wolfhound callout.

[@mathewkelly9968]

Heresy "if you can't really shoot the ER Large lasers why not go 6 AC/2s ?"

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Hahah LRM-10s and more heat sinks even.

[@Jackelmandingo]

The easy thing to do is swap the Ferro-Fibrous for Endo Steel and the XL to a Light and add one ton of armor. Yes you get less armor pips but over all survivability increases.

[@benthomson1132]

I've loved this mech since getting its toy from the cartoon as a kid. I'm so glad that I got the Somerset Strikers Force Pack in the Kickstarter. Great video and great insights, thanks!

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Yessss! I had the toy too. I am pretty sure I shot my buddy in the eye with the spring-loaded LRMs.

[@benthomson1132]

@@DeathfromAboveWargaming lol, yeah, the fact that each missile launcher shoots four LRMs at a time is pretty rad. My son has now inherited it, along with the Hunchback IIC, a couple Elementals, the Infiltrator, Thor, Bushwacker, and Axman. What I would give for a new cartoon, if only to kickstart a new toy line!

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Would be awesome with today’s level of CGI!

[@fmailaender]

Really interesting. First impression, why so few CT armor and so much LT/RT Armor. Then the survivability more ammo and engine deaths than CT, so the Armor distribution is totally reasonable. Makes total sense but I would totally have missed it. I just wouldn't have thought about it.

[@madcat3525]

Great review! Mauler is not my first choice. I poking forward to more videos.

[@matthewbirdsall9518]

The ole Smoothie-Twos, lol. That efficiency is madness! somehow this tragedy of a mech somehow boxes.... blow away.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

I am throwing some Smoothie 2s on my Evo.

[@matthewbirdsall9518]

@@DeathfromAboveWargaming and spamming Maulers with 0 skill pilots FTW... the weird win.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

There are no rules against being weird. 😂

[@jessepunch8945]

This one I’ve been waiting for for a while now

[@EnderPryde]

Honestly, aside from the AC2's, I always thought the Mauler was pretty okay. Not as good as the analytics says, but perfectly servicable. It has the same general weapons shape as an Awesome 8T, which is a pretty solid mech. It obviously is less heat efficient, and the combination of low armor, low speed, and XL engines really hampers it in brawling, but it was fine as a sandblasting sniper.

[@135forte]

The problem with IS erLLs is that they are worse than a PPC on the table and not a lot better than a PPC when you you are building the mech (at least if you are trying to run cool). I would personally swap the erLLs for LLs and run specialist ammo ammo in the ACs if my opponent would allow.

[@JustinPivinski-cm2rh]

For as much hate as the cartoon got I will always have a fondness for this mech. I even had the big ol toy for it. I was excited to hear that it was going to be in a box for the kickstarter

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Same - always liked the design. Looking forward to painting a new one up!

[@harvestblades]

I love the OG Mauler & this series!

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

We love your support! (Almost as much as I love the Mauler haha)

[@sebastiang.5032]

Looking forward to the new mini!

[@geoclisymmk2135]

If using advanced quirks it does have the stabilised AC2 so -1 to self movement modifier to hit.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

I had no idea!! Awesome tip! Even better.

[@joshkellemen5931]

Its also the mech in primary campaign of mech 4 for almost all of it unless you want the mc2. Putting three lbx in and just lumbering up and shooting a leg. Ah fun

[@mathewkelly9968]

17:10 I differ I wouldn't bother moving , I'd park it in partial cover preferably in a wood and just fire away .

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

I’ll allow it! And yah, even in a little river for some cooling benes. I can get behind this.

[@brianhenry152]

I was really surprised at how the numbers shook out on the Mauler 1R. Not one that I ever played on tabletop, but I did like it a lot in MW4. Since its coming out in the Kickstarter i know I'm getting at least one, so i might just give it a go!

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Well worth your BV if used with care!!

[@brianhenry152]

@@DeathfromAboveWargaming I would imagine this works well when combined with some heavy hitters to blow holes in enemy armor, and then use all of its little weapons to fish for crits late in the shooting phase.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

For sure. And as some others have commented, if your opponent is foolish enough to allow special munitions, you’ve got some fun options (smoke rounds obviously).

[@joshkellemen5931]

​@@DeathfromAboveWargaming Armor piercing and tandem makes this thing a friendship ender

[@cargo_vroom9729]

I have a Mauler and Catapult K2 models on the way from etsy to form a Kuritan lance with my existing Panther and Jenner. I don't care if it's good, it's just going to be For The Dragon as heck. And just under 5k BV, or 125 points in AS at default skills. I can even add a company of Raiden battle armor to guard and discourage closing to brawl and backstab for about 1k BV.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

For the Dragon!! Great and fluffy lance - min/maxing is for kids. Real men play by the narrative. 😂

[@theyellowjesters]

I love the mauler. ....except for those ac2s. I would love to have them swapped out for 2 ultra ac5s, with 4 tonnes of ammo, 4 to 5 tonnes of armour and 4 or 3 heat sinks. That would sacrifice some range but I think the benefits would be well worth it.

[@joshkellemen5931]

New version that has rac2 works better. Vey good vehicle killer

[@jordansimpkins8784]

Great video

[@mechghost5742]

Drop the ER large lasers to standard large lasers. Much better for heat management.

[@TinBane]

I was excited/dreading this one. I thought it would rate a 6 on efficiency and then I’d be one of those “always works for me” guys in the comments. I think the mauler is cheap because it’s weapons are under priced on BV and it gets the too much heat discount plus xl engine discount too. But the volume of fire means its main weapon is actually the law of large numbers. It’s even better (comparatively) in override I think.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

I am anxiously awaiting the new model. And yah in Override, you can TIC them bad boys up!

[@TinBane]

I can’t remember if its customs or official variants. But LBX and UACs work well, and I think I made one with UAC 5s that traded a bit of ranged fire for better brawling. I should dig those out.

[@pudge131]

Smoothy twos!

[@Dazzxp]

Ah the Mauler a great mech but has the same issue like the T72+ of the modern era they like to explode because ammo is everywhere lol.

[@stevelewis2658]

Hey guys, love your channel! Just getting back into Battletech, having played in the 80’s. On your 3D playing area, are you placing hills under a mat, or is it a custom board? Thanks for doing what you do!

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Welcome back to BT!! There are “hills” under the mat… there is an old tutorial floating around in our hobby playlist. Though we will be doing a new one likely soon!

[@kevtor3318]

Kind of like the MAL-2R no XL, 4x Ultra AC 2s but 4x Medium Lasers instead of the larges, and downgrades to two LRM 10s.

[@TheGreystroke]

if your playing DC the mech to pair this with is the Gunslinger as its DC and a mech from the 55 book and a twin gauss monster one of the few the snake's have

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Mmmm I may or may not be featuring a DC Gunslinger in our next Battle Report!

[@WolfHreda]

While the Smoothie autocannons are a good name, they'll never compare to the Parti-Kill PPC used in Myrmidons and Manticores.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Hahah such great names.

[@MrDmitriRavenoff]

Mauler supported by a Charger as a body guard. Charger can have a stock 4 gunnery and make them a good pilot. Anything getting withi 8 inches can ger wrecked with fisticuffs.

[@Magermh]

Mauler works nicely as AAA. Load it with some flak ammo for the AC-2s.

[@cargo_vroom9729]

Or Precision ammo so those plinkers basically don't miss anything.

[@Funkin_Disher]

Now try on the doubletapping ACs rule and watch it go to work

[@joshua425]

These got smashed by the clan's on the cartoon :( and stiener had so many. I guess 4/5 pilots 😂

[@Andrewlik]

This is a mech that is only good for BV, if you were in universe and paying for tonnage this wouldn't hold up. That is why we have BV 😊

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Haha completely agree. It’s a 90 ton sissy that hangs out with the Blackjack and Jagermech at recess. … though I hear the new ilClan Rec Guide refit is hot. I need to take a closer look. Someone told me clan large pulse lasers are involved … 😁

[@Bolththrower]

Looks like this is fresh of the press so let me be the first to smudge some "ink" in the comment section.

[@Dmorris556]

Mechs you hate to love. TLDR, it is a long range stalker.

[@HouseMasterPoDing]

Master Po does not approve of the Mauler. This design is hotter than an oven, and deals potato amounts of damage. Weak armor on top of that? Po says No. This is a Draconis Combine classic to be sure.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

Liao bias.

[@HouseMasterPoDing]

The only proper bias!@@DeathfromAboveWargaming

[@paladinslash4721]

The mauler is a travesty of mech design. What had the potential to be a vicious medium-long range mech is ruined by wasting 24 tons on AC2s.

[@DeathfromAboveWargaming]

It could be so much better from a firepower perspective, but the low price tag keeps it competitive.