Battletech: Proliferation Cycle Pack Unboxing

Tune in today as I check out the new new Proliferation Cycle pack!
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[@danielpotter3603]

The 'Mechs in the box are the first homegrown 'Mech fielded by each great house. The exception is the Coyotl, which is the first OmniMech, developed by Clan Coyote. The code for the fiction is for the Proliferation cycle which is a collection of short stories explaining how each house got the tech to build 'Mechs.

[@YesNoMaybeOkSure]

The BWP designation for the Ymir stands for "Bipedal Weapons Platform". The Lyrans were the first house to swipe mech tech from the Hegemony and the Ymir was their first homegrown "proof of concept" design after they reverse-engineered the Mackie.

[@geoclisymmk2135]

I think the Battleaxe and the Hammerhand were both the progenitors of the Warhammer, vagully remember Tex or Bigred 40k mentioning it.

[@YesNoMaybeOkSure]

Yes. The FedSuns stole mech technology from the Hegemony and created those two mechs. They worked out well enough that the Hegemony took an interest and stole the basic designs right back, creating the Warhammer.

[@joshuawells426]

Tex did first

[@Thearmedpainter]

Thanks for the reply, sorry if your comment wasn't showing YT flagged it for some reason as 'spam' but it clearly isn't, Also, I love Tex, fantastic content.

[@jamesbeard5513]

@@YesNoMaybeOkSure They didn't steal from the Hegemony, they negotiated with the Steiners who stole the information from the Hegemony. And it wasn't the Hegemony that stole the design, it was StarCorps, and they sold it to everyone, though it was popular in the SLDF Gunslinger program. Might want to rewatch the Warhammer episode of Tex Talks Battletech.

[@jeffreyvandoren3740]

BattleAxe was one of the orginal mechs from the metal BattleDroids line. First Federated Suns design. Ymir is a relatively recent mech,but is dated to be the first Lyran Commonwealth design. FireBee is same as Ymir and is dated as first Cappellan Confederation design Mackie is the Mackie Gladiator is same as the Ymir&FireBee,but is dated as first Draconis Combine design There was a BattleDroids miniature with same name,but not sure it's the same lineage. Icarus II is again same as above,but is dated as Free Worlds League design. Coyotal is as another person commented. First OmniMech Of them all the BattleAxe(maybe Gladiator too) is the oldest design miniature wise. Rules wise as well since Mackie didn't debut until Tales of the Black Widow and was somewhat different then put in TRO 3058.

[@harvestblades]

So again as he said go watch Tex's video and bask innthe glory of the Warhammer documentary (that is what it is), & you can see this was a lackluster protégé so to speak of what became one of tge greatest mechs.

[@BlUsKrEEm]

Age of War is my jam! This set is amazing for me. The Firebee is absolutely brutal at the time, especially when used with Inferno (which is the default) not much in the era can handle the heat.

[@NarcolepticLTD]

Coyotle story is, it was the first omni mech... Which has been brought back to life in ilclan at your local seafox dealership (kinda like ford brought back the bronco). Several interesting variants

[@charlesk8492]

Others already mentioned the Coyotl, as for Kincaid I'm pretty sure he was the test pilot for the Mackie which would have made him the first in-universe Mechwarrior. Also, I did for some strange reason laugh from peepee gun somehow leading to serious talk, so yay for silly, goofy humor .

[@NarcolepticLTD]

AN EFFIN COYOTLE IN PLASTEEK? I don't need this but I really need this

[@johntaylor8095]

Appreciate the video. This box is the one I'm the most excited about. These mechs are each factions earliest mechs.

[@matthewpena3932]

Just ordered this box online and re-watching the video for a second time. Noticed that the Gladiator is Combine mech but never is listed as a available for DCMS forces on any variant at any era on the MUL. But will work for merc unit.

[@mattcarper9853]

SPACEMAN MACKIE!!!!! Must. Buy. NASA. Decals.

[@lorcannagle]

Other people have covered the in-universe history of the designs here, so I thought you might appreciate a bit of the publication history. So a lot of these mechs have been mentioned in universe as the first or early BattleMech designs, and the Firebee, BattleAxe and Gladiator had minis in the original BattleDroids line, but never had stats published in a BattleDroids or BattleTech book. The Gladiator did get a writeup in BattleTechnology issue 3 and the BattleAx in issue 5, but that was it. The Mackie had stats published in a MechForce UK book (and possibly by MFNA as well, I've not delved too deeply into their magazines yet), this version was 55 tons instead of 100. An official Mackie TRO entry came shortly after in TRO 3058, where it was listed as 100 tons in mass but with 19 tons of unused tonnage to represent lower-tech equipment. As the Gladiator, Firebee and BattleAxe minis were loosely based on Macross designs, they're effectively part of the unseen even if they never saw official publication in that form. Rules for Primitive tech were first published in, I think it was Mercenaries Supplemental II and then later refined and republished in one of the Jihad sourcebooks, with the idea that various factions had begun to rely on pumping out lower-tech mechs from less advanced factories to be able to field mechs in appreciable numbers, and then a retrotech section in Technical Readout 3075 gave us original art and stat lines for all the mechs in this set (as well as a bunch more mechs, vehicles and spacecraft for each faction) bar the Coyotl, as well as variants that used modern technology. The Coyotl has a far less interesting history, after being listed as the first OmniMech in various sources, it was written up in the recent Technical Readout: Golden Century. This is only sold by CGL as a PDF, but you can get a print on demand from DriveThru RPG

[@catboxvideo]

yes the Warhammer was based off of the Battle Axe and Hammer Hands - both Fed Suns. The Warhammer was designed by a third party based on them

[@fiachramacaodha1260]

Was always fascinated with the origins of the battlemech even before the Proliferation Cycle was released, this is a must buy.

[@deleonfrancis60]

Oh crap I’m gonna have to make a battle report with that one once I get my hand on it

[@madcat3525]

Great Unboxing! Looking to get at least 2 of these packs. Looking forward to more videos.

[@itsallfunandgames723]

Those plastics are looking sharper than ever. I just pre-ordered my pack, I thought maybe I'd paint them up as a group of 'Mech piloting, super thieves who steal priceless artifacts, including the 'Mechs they drive.

[@lord17c]

That is a cool pack. I'll have to add it to my ever expanding list of things to get.

[@SamuelNolton]

"When you were younger" might not be too easy haha - the Ymir, Battleaxe, Gladiator, Icarus II, and Firebee are actually NEWER designs IRL, introduced in TRO 3075 back in like 2015 ish. But lore-wise they're the oldest 'mechs in existence from the Age of War era.

[@Thearmedpainter]

So old lore wise but not old minis wise lol. That clears some things up, I figured these had really old minis too, learn something new all the time.

[@SamuelNolton]

@@Thearmedpainter Yeah exactly - personally I'm a huge fan of the Age of War era stuff - the rugged, sharp-edged designs really appeal to me. The Ymir, Koschei, and Xanthos are probably my favorites from that era - hoping those other two get redone in plastic soon.

[@YahBoiCyril]

Lots of thicc chonkers with low mid damage.

[@billwebb1320]

All of these original mech stories have come out since Catalyst took over Battletech. I have followed since the late 1980s. I loved the expanded universe. Even the Dark Age was kind of interesting.

[@billwebb1320]

Most of these mechs show up in the Battletech PC game mod: BTA 3062.

[@pablofiasco2]

man, that random urge to buy two boxes, to paint each paint scheme depicted on the cards, even though skills and cash wont allow it X_X

[@roshee5573]

Like . Me , I’m a Pokémon Mech collector. Gotta get ‘em all 😂 . Thanks for the preview

[@KaryudoDS]

Always thought the Mackie's uh, lower guns, looked ridiculous. This sculpt though looks great in general. Neat idea though tying a force pack to something like this.

[@Thearmedpainter]

lol

[@boneshaman8912]

I actually prefer the classic Mackie. It has a Mark I feel to it. The new model looks like it would be a 2nd or 3rd generation upgrade. Maybe one that has all the kinks worked out.

[@Joric78]

Very cool box set. Hope I can get my hands on it locally, but if it's just getting previewed in the US it might take a few years. I'm only really aware of these mechs from playing the Roguetech mod for the HBS Battletech turn based strategy PC game, never seen them on the table. The idea of the original Mechs for each house getting classic status and becoming popular with hot rodders in later eras, or rebuilt as "Modern Classics"/RetroTech really appeals to the gear head in me. The design aesthetics with the heat shields etc appeal to that as well. Although a lot of the "hot rod" variants seem to be from the JIhad era, which I never play.

[@Thearmedpainter]

I believe they hit general retail in June :)

[@WRXSEVEN]

Old timer here... most of these mech designs are only about 15 years old and came out in 2008 with TRO 3075. So, newer than anything in TRO 3067 or earlier.

[@matthewpena3932]

So if you take a look at the cards and master unit list it looks like the new in box cards allows for more eras.

[@Thearmedpainter]

I hadn’t compared yet, interesting!

[@CoolGuy-th7bl]

With the exception of the Coyotl these mechs all date from the Age of War and pre-date the foundation of the Star League and the exodus of the SLDF.

[@wolfehoffmann2697]

For the Ymir, I think the similar shaped Chaos thing you're thinking of is the Decimator Engine. It's a forgeworld model, but it's been around for over a decade and being more affordable, it's one of the more common FW chaos models. It's about the size of the Armiger-class knights. I have a couple of them myself and they're a very fun model to work on, highly poseable and you can do a lot with them on a 100mm base. I think they're still being supplied with a 60mm base that is way undersized for them though. No clue if they even have current rules, since I've given up on the rules side of WH40K completely. The Ymir is also at it's core, just a Mackie that's slimmed down. Same frame, different armor pattern and weapons. Only weighs 10 tons less. The Battleaxe is indeed a precursor to the Warhammer. The Tex Talks Battletech episode on the Warhammer covers it's development history and precursors, so it covers the Battleaxe and Hammerhand which were made by the same company. Think of them as three generations of the same concept with each taking lessons from the one that came before it: A well balanced main battle mech that isn't anything special, and doesn't need to be anything special. The Coyotl is the first Omnimech. Clan Coyote invented Omnimech tech.

[@johntaylor8095]

Oh I didn't know this box was coming out and just recently purchased an IWM Gladiator, BattleAxe, and Icarus II.

[@wolfehoffmann2697]

They had a few early release boxes at Adepticon. It's gonna be a few months before it hits retail though. CGL says late spring. Given that they're always several months later than they say, I'd expect early-mid Fall instead. But I'd be happy to be wrong for once.

[@johntaylor8095]

@@wolfehoffmann2697 I'm interested to see how they made the Mackie available in all eras.

[@BlUsKrEEm]

The IwM Gladiator is a sexy sculpt though.

[@johntaylor8095]

@@BlUsKrEEm I completely agree! But full disclosure there's tons of IWM models I like.

[@youtmeme]

oh man he's lucky!! cgl announced on their chat that all these packs sold at the con would not b available for the kickstarter, only after it...so not for a long time will we be able to get them retail!😢😭😭

[@Thearmedpainter]

I've been told these are likely to be in retail stores in June :)

[@youtmeme]

@@Thearmedpainter that would rock!!🤞🙏🤙🤟✌

[@Hardtakk]

Super cool box. I've noticed that you talk about MHQ# a lot in conjunction with C3 stuff. The point extra cost comes from C3 because if a unit has C3, it will always have an associated MHQ value with the kind of C3 special it has..

[@Thearmedpainter]

Usually one of the reasons I bring it up is you’re paying for it and if you aren’t building a list to use it it’s wasted points and the benefits from MHQ are optional rules so no sense in paying points for a unit if you aren’t using the rules associated with it.

[@Hardtakk]

@@Thearmedpainter Right. What I'm saying is that you're not paying for MHQ. You're paying for C3, which always will have MHQ attached to it. EDIT: In the technical sense, you're right that you're paying for MHQ. I'm explaining this badly. If you have a C3 special, there will always be a corresponding MHQ# special that comes with it, so it's inherent to any C3 unit you have.

[@Ifligpoo]

These mechs are newer to the lore of Battletech. They are listed as being from the Civil War times but were not introduced until much later in the games development.

[@Thearmedpainter]

I thought the Mackie was super old but maybe the story came out later and it retconned the universe? I remember the Tex video about it and I thought it was the first Battlemech.

[@donavanmarsh972]

atta’boy! this is the content i come for

[@canislupus3655]

Huh, the backing artwork in the box is the exact same as the thumbnail for the BPL Mackie video.

[@Thearmedpainter]

Considering the one of artists that does Tex graphics works for CGL ;)

[@jesusthugmusic]

Something about the ymir reminds me of the spider. Not sure what it is about it though lol.

[@jesusthugmusic]

I think it's the general profile, maybe lol. 😂

[@Chris-dz3rs]

Hmmm.....might be suitable for my Brotherhood Of Randis unit....

[@Dazzxp]

Well it was worth a shot in trying the code lol

[@Thearmedpainter]

Lol! Honestly…when I tried using it it said it was already used as well. Either an error or I already have the digital product.

[@Krix6426]

Great material. I was on the fence with this box, but now I must have it. The thick boy meme is from the old pervy on Family Guy BTW. He likes pee-pee guns. lol Thanks for the video!

[@CDMJDMHHC]

Wow after all this time I have bin yelling at the screen you never heard a single word!

[@mikea5562]

Hi New to the game. Would like to know what do you play most of the time clan star or inner sphere. Just like to know.

[@Thearmedpainter]

Well, my favorite faction would have me say “both” as Wolf’s Dragoons sort of fall under both (if you’re interested in their backstory I can grab you a link). For pure gameplay purposes I really like playing Inner Sphere. The big reason for this is that in matches with scenario play (which is what we should all be doing lol) quantity is a quality of its own, that is to say, having more minis means more opportunities to push the objectives and play to the mission at hand. Clan forces tend to skew low model count better quality which makes it harder to spread out for objectives and when you lose a model you feel it more. From a lore perspective this also makes sense but on the table top, I love dropping a company (12 mechs / 3 lances) of Inner Sphere mechs and driving them down the field :)

[@mikea5562]

Year's ago I played some whiz kids Mech something. I played jade falcon in that.looking to play mercenaries and jade falcon. What box sets would you say to get.

[@youtmeme]

whoa!!!😮😮 awesome!!!🥳😎🤓👍🤙🤟✌ also, price?

[@wolfehoffmann2697]

Proliferation Cycle box is $45 USD. Not bad at all for a box of 7 mechs.

[@danielpotter3603]

retail is $40

[@ruthiekest3218]

​@@wolfehoffmann2697 not bad

[@ruthiekest3218]

We're u buy these ones

[@ShimmeringSword]

Not out for retail yet. There were 100 copies sold at Adepticon, gone in a flash.

[@Thearmedpainter]

I snagged them at the CGL booth when they went on sale. As Shimmering mentioned they aren’t at retail yet though I’ve been told June-ish is the expected retail date. Take that with a grain of salt of course but fingers crossed! Not too long of a wait.

[@ruthiekest3218]

​@@Thearmedpainter I try grab them right away I checked they have pre order

[@ruthiekest3218]

​@@Thearmedpainter I pre order them.theres a chance they could be rare