BattleTech: Rating the Mercenaries Box Set 'Mechs | Classic BT Strategy & Tactics

Rating all eight 'Mechs from the Mercenaries' Box Set on a scale of A-D.
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Music by Karl Casey @WhiteBatAudio
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[@MrKazyFreak]

I wish there was an ost force pack. Maybe in the future. And I'm looking forward to adding the flea to my bug swarm merc group.

[@TrailblazerBT]

Yeah the osts are good and I don't currently have minis for any of them!

[@WolfHreda]

The Starslayer strikes me as "What if the Shadow Hawk stopped fucking about, and chose something to do well?"

[@TheManyVoicesVA]

To me it's more "what if Crab but jump jets?"

[@jochenwenzel8878]

It's a modernized OSR-2C that went to the gym to lose some weight.

[@Xydarc]

Looking forward to seeing the Starslayer in plastic.

[@TrailblazerBT]

For sure--although the old metal Starslayer holds up better than a lot of older minis

[@Kingofdragons117]

We also are getting a jumping one in the Big MAC box.

[@MKmaki6094]

As someone who plays fluffy with their forces, I love how the selection (tho not many are my favorites) in this box reflects the Mercenary life. Cause when you're a group of people where the income could vary from job to job, you use what you have not what you want.

[@Spartaner251]

the Ostsol-4D works very well together with a Crab!

[@televiper11]

Thanks for this. Was unfamiliar with the mechs in this set. Now I’m excited.

[@HouseDavieMerc]

I can't wait for the Osts as well as the quads in the Kickstarter. With these mechs we will now have ALL of the previously unseen mechs with acceptable new artwork available in plastic . It's an unbelievable victory for those of us who have waited for so long to have a modern mini in production. Well-there is technically 3 units left but I don't know if we'll ever see them. As previously mentioned-the new Classics don't have any official artwork for LAM versions. They may never as they are distancing themselves from them. I'm still crossing my fingers for Scroggins to pull off just one more absolute miracle.

[@TrailblazerBT]

I'm definitely with you on the LAMs!

[@Saucychemist]

Thanks for the rate/review of the new box set. I've been a fan boy of the devastator ever since getting a copy of McCarron's armored cavalry back in the 90s. Having that beast as the "final boss" of the campaign was awesome.

[@TrailblazerBT]

@@Saucychemist Ah yes, the same book that introduced the Spector. Two of the best!

[@mathewkelly9968]

Cant wait for the Kickstarter to finally come out , exciting times for BattleTech

[@NotMyGoogleID]

any chance of you covering merc forcepack mechs as well? or will that be just too many?

[@TrailblazerBT]

If this gets a strong enough reception, I may start doing similar vids on the forcepacks. I usually have more fun making tactics videos, but people seem to appreciate mech-rating videos more, and they are pretty easy to make. On a related note, the Coolant Pod podcast just released an episode on one of the force packs, and those guys are smart players who know what they're talking about.

[@NotMyGoogleID]

@@TrailblazerBT well imo partially because the mech review/rating helps people deciding on whether they should spend their money on the mech/forcepack or not

[@TrailblazerBT]

@@NotMyGoogleID For sure, I get why people like mech reviews so much! And any Battletech nerd likes talking about mechs, I'm no different

[@MOrab46019]

You could take a Firefly sm laser off and add that one JJ. Then you get 5/8/5.

[@boneshaman8912]

In the defense of the camelion. It is supposed to be a training mech.

[@FireflyMyLife]

Great discussion! I appreciate the detail, the comparison to other mechs, and the ever-present threat of Clan opposition. I was wondering if you had certain mechs you would prefer as duelists as opposed to running in a lance composition?

[@TrailblazerBT]

@@FireflyMyLife That's a good idea for a future video, will have to think about it.... Do you play a lot of one on one duels?

[@FireflyMyLife]

@@TrailblazerBT Indeed! A biannual tourney in my area is a Solaris-style event with no BV limit, 3/4 pilots, must exist in the IlClan era, with no Adv/Exp mechs (4 rounds: light, medium, and heavy duels, and a 100-ton-max FFA). Maneuver really dictates everything in those duels. I happened to win it recently, but I feel bad. I showed up with a lot of mechs to choose from (for BV parity rather than a favorable matchup since I had seen and experienced 1k BV mismatches in the previous tournament), but it was blind pick and I panicked and chose four clan mechs, though the BV discrepancy wasn't always in my favor. For the next one, my challenge to myself is to play using all IS mechs. (A clan player mentioned to me that he uses bidding to level the playing field if he showed up with an overpowered mech, which is a brilliant solve, so I then used it for the Heavy matchup where I was the one at a BV advantage.) The Assault FFA was on the huge BFM airport map which shrank every round, and I was invited to be part of an alliance which held strong throughout, which was probably more consequential than mech choice. I got lucky, won initiative when it mattered, and I brought some really decent mechs, so there was nothing brilliant on my part other than a few good positional moves.

[@TrailblazerBT]

@@FireflyMyLife Sounds like a great event, although it'll tend to be very swingy!

[@FireflyMyLife]

@@TrailblazerBT Yup - though everyone got two edge re-rolls per match to help with the swingitude. Keeping them for defensive use made the most sense to me.

[@TrailblazerBT]

@@FireflyMyLife that's great, definitely agree that defense is best, did you have to use them?

[@samuelbaldwin2184]

Yea most of the mechs in the box set are just ok. The ostsol and the starslayer definitely stand out for me.

[@TrailblazerBT]

Starslayer rules, and while no Ostsol variant absolutely blows me away, there are lots of solid variants

[@mathewkelly9968]

The 9/14 Fleas are ok , the rest are aweful ......... love them though

[@riptors9777]

Ostsols, great mech in one off matches... horrible resource drain in campaigns because of those flimsy arms on most of em (especially the earlier versions). You will be constantly reorder those arms, actuators, hands etc. Wich can get really costly really fast. And the devastator... nicknamed "The wall" in my circle... subtle as a sledgehammer and just as brutal. Just protect its reararmor from fast light mechs.

[@TrailblazerBT]

@@riptors9777 Good point about the Ostsol repair costs!

[@135forte]

It was an odd choice to put several well known bad to meh mechs in the box was interesting. The Flea is especially bad, but the Chameleon has a noteworthy lore blurb about a bunch of cadets being slaughtered by the Wolves because in them. But I refuse to hear any slander toward the Caesar, some of the best Cataphract builds are based on it.

[@TrailblazerBT]

@@135forte Cadets getting slaughtered, sounds like the first episode of the old cartoon!

[@monostripezebras]

Hey, I had a firefly mini in the mid 90ies

[@TrailblazerBT]

@@monostripezebras I mostly only bought the plastic ones back then

[@derekburge5294]

I can't get behind the Ost line for their vulnerability to back attack. Without arm weapons, you shouldn't be brawling.

[@TrailblazerBT]

@@derekburge5294 The rear armor is a big flaw but if you compare them to the other 3025 60 tonners they are pretty good

[@derekburge5294]

@@TrailblazerBT Less about the armor for me, but more the inability to strike straight back. The limited field of fire rankles on me.

[@potsperm1666]

flea is sooooo cute though but the firefly is quite impressive, love that mech

[@hardluck4031]

Any chance on a Clan Mech list?

[@TrailblazerBT]

@@hardluck4031 Coincidentally my next mech rating video in a couple weeks will be rating the 3050 medium omnimechs

[@BlUsKrEEm]

Love the odd mix of mechs in this one. The vehicles win the day IMO, but the mechs are fun.

[@deleonfrancis60]

still waiting.

[@LittleSoldierTV]

No, it's not an Awesome looking mech, it's a Quickdraw

[@mali5698]

I'm introducing a friend into BT, and he always tells me to "shut the fuck up" whenever I make that joke xD I love it