Battletech Tactics: Top 4 BEST Light Mechs

[@jonwooldridge3766]

I'm so glad you included the Javelin. A much maligned mech. I wonder why you didn't include the Firestarter: good speed, good energy damage, plus a little heat for infantry and tranks. Plus, along with the Javelin, it jumps.

[@TheDaNuker]

I usually trade the Valkyrie for a Panther as the 10-point PPC blast is more consistent in damage but the Valkyrie is no slouch. And I would usually pick a Mongoose (if it is available) or the Wolfhound as a Commando sidekick/replacement. It depends on which faction you are playing for and how lore accurate you want the force to be. One side advice for the Javelin, if you end an early game turn in a wooded hex, use the turn to uproot a tree as a Club if you don't have anything to do. You don't have weapons in the arms and sometimes a single club attack is better than two fists or a risky kick.

[@andrewpantke1533]

Urbanmech x4

[@treevenewson]

Trashcans attack!

[@AnimeSunglasses]

I suddenly hear "We Will Rock You" being played on trash can lids...

[@rotwang2000]

The Wolfhound covers most bases. Decent range, carries the firepower to take down anything wounded and still fast enough to move away from anything with big guns. And it's all energy weapons. If you want something durable that can still contribute to the fight get the Valkyrie. If you're not scared of going in close get the Commando or the Javelin. Now for great light mechs with drawbacks. The Jenner is the best, but for that firepower to work you need to manage your heat very carefully. You can alpha strike with it and it will hurt you and your opponent. The Panther is also a good hole puncher, but lacks the speed, but if you are willing to go with that, the Panther can be a good pick. Finally there is the most efficient mech out there, efficient as it has high stats for a machine its size, it's the Locust. It's not a strong mech, but the armour/ton, speed, even the range and firepower makes the Locust incredibly efficient. It's not the greatest mech in absolute numbers, but the WAHSMR ratio is the highest of any mech in the 3025 era. The absolute best mech is my custom Urbanmech, carries a TSEMP and a Snub-nose PPC, imagine four of those prowling a city ...

[@Linkous12]

I agree with how solid the Wolfhound is. The only thing from keeping it from being my favorite light would be it's lack of jump jets.

[@IVIaskerade]

I love having a firestarter in my force, scooting around the sides, burning terrain for smokescreens and keeping the ankle-biters away

[@Wraithcannon]

Spider 8K, 2 MPL and 8 jump jets. Scarabus 9T is also a terror on the field. Heat him up and he gets a 12 point axe attack and moves like a demon.

[@hermes7587]

I agree on the Jenner and the Javelin. Other very good light Mechs are the Mongoose, the Spider and the Wolfhound.

[@tomssimshack398]

Commando, Hollander, Firestarter, Snubnose PPC Urbie. Yes, I had to add the urbie.

[@Haldrahir]

This is a hard one to answer because my choice does depend so much on the kind of force I am going to be playing, faction and the time period as well. Normally I want my light ‘mechs to be fast, able to handle infantry or BA and to take care of blowing objectives up as needed. I generally only fight with my light ‘mechs if they are working as a pack. Trying to take all of that into account and only choosing four is hard, but here are my top choices as of late (having looked back at my last dozen lists); Arctic Cheetah (Prime), Hitman, Cadaver, Koshi (Standard). But looking at my collection I own 14 Commando BattleMechs. The largest single type of light 'mech I own.

[@deathryte4463]

I know this is old but if you ever update this please include images of the mechs. Was very interesting for me still.

[@neogoterra]

Should I be a dirty clanner and say the uller and the puma are two of my favorite lights? I also have a soft spot (right between my ears) for the locust 1m and the hollander.

[@taemien9219]

My pick of the top Four would be: 1. Raven. Narc, Tag, ECM, BAP, it is Scout/Support personified. Its the greatest thing to come out of Melissa's wedding present. 2. Jenner. Just can't go wrong with this one. Its fast and hits hard. 3. Panther. A cheap PPC platform. 4. Toss up between the Puma and the Cougar. There's one thing the Clans do right and that is light mechs. They're still pretty cheap on the BV, have loads of firepower, decent armor for their size, and just can't hit the bastards. 20-30+ points of alpha damage cannot be ignored.

[@tywren2486]

The Panther is just a hot mess, too slow to hang with the other light mechs, but not enough firepower/armor to play with the 4/6 medium mechs. A Wolfhound's large laser brings is a comparable weapon to the Panther's PPC mounted to a much faster frame. Meanwhile, at only 5 tons heavier, the Whitworth has the same movement profile, but with 1.5 tons more armor, and 2 LRM 10 launchers that provide more damage than the Panther at a greater range.

[@taemien9219]

@@tywren2486 Can't really compare the Panther to the Wolfhound. 1000BV. Then there's an issue of cbill cost and the really pesky one of the Wolfhound not even being available till late in the 4th Succession war (and not really the good one). The LRM10s are going to take a few hits to punch through armor. Once that's done they are great. But ideally you'd want to pair it with something that can do that. But as I said, the Panther is a cheap PPC platform. Ton for ton, its horrible, but most are playing by BV or Cbills. So that doesn't apply usually.

[@Fireproofjeans]

My opinion's a little twisted from the video game, but Firestarter, Raven, Wolfhound, and Panther. With roguetech's expanded mechbay there are enough stealth options to make the Raven viable as a stealth spotter, the wolfhound and panther get stealth options to combine with their heavier armor and cover their slower speeds while still making incredible snipers, and the firestarter with a full compliment of small lasers becomes an ambushing commando, but without ammo requirements.

[@longinogarcia6310]

I know I'm late, but I 3d modelled and printed some low res 6mm skater punk gangers with mohawks and leather jackets for myself as infantry. Would you be interested in them for your dispossessed?.

[@ryanmclemore1558]

Wolfhound, Jenner, Large Laser Commando, and Hollander Topic idea: Thoughts on Land Air Mechs?

[@theodorewiltrout8770]

My experience in battle tech is that missile carriers are just targets for mechs with guns to take out. And the missiles never did much damage. And they rarely got critical hits.

[@thoruszwolf4153]

I never found missiles much use either... unless you are using heat damage rules and inferno ammunition -'J

[@edwardclay7551]

I loved the older Stingers and Commandos.

[@colezondag3775]

Wolfhound Valkyrie Commando and Firestarter

[@matthewneuendorf5763]

Mongoose, Valkyrie, Wolfhound, Firestarter. Even better if you play in the context of a campaign where you can do small mods over time.

[@rbmore3]

Jenner, Mongoose, Spider, Firefly. i like the Javelin, but they really shine in pairs around a larger formation, coming in after something else has knocked holes in a mech to finish it. the commando is just a hair too slow, if something bigger catches it it is dead and if it is punching it is usually a one-way trip.

[@fullgreys0n738]

Love your content.

[@mikegould6590]

Wolfhound, Jenner, Valkyrie, Panther. Speed, firepower and versatility.

[@Magermh]

Locust, Mongoose, Spider, and Jenner and some others but seems like I favor those resent. I have also been playing with the Panther, Javelin, Hermes, and Hussar. I do play with the commando but I believe that my nephew has done better with it than I. He pared it with a Griffon and seems to take the arms off of my mechs. :)

[@MrGonecrazy001]

"Mugs you for your Cbills" I'm dead! lol

[@michaelbruce1692]

the mercury is a fun 20 ton scout, it has some interesting standard equipment, and of course playing at the 20 ton range makes you feel like a titan

[@owlsayssouth]

Um-r90 is solid in open spaces for the only reason to take a light mech: points. Fast scouting is better in other vehicles, and otherwise scouting in force like house steiner.

[@KeystoneCarcajou]

IS: Wolfhound, Jenner, Firefly, Mongoose. Clan: Fire Moth, Koshi, Cougar, Mongoose C2.

[@patrickcoyle5469]

I'm not very good at gauging things like Battle Value, so if I were asked for the best, I'd simply think "Mechs that I would never be unhappy to use." The first three are easy - Jenner, Panther, and Valkyrie. The Jenner has speed and significant close-in firepower, the Panther and Valkyrie have about the best long-range punch you could hope for in the lightweight class, and all three have jump mobility. The fourth? I want to say either the Commando or Javelin, but neither is quite there for me - the Javelin spreads its damage a bit too much, and the Commando can't jump. Maybe a Commando that downsizes the SRM-6 to a 4 and adds jump jets, or a Javelin that downsizes an SRM to add a medium laser would work for me.

[@AnimeSunglasses]

How about just refitting another Valkyrie with SRMs? (I'm not sure how hard that is on tabletop yet.)

[@patrickcoyle5469]

​@@AnimeSunglasses According to Strategic Operations, you can do it with a proper mech cubicle and a couple days' work (or about a week, if you want to minimize the chances of the techs screwing up the job). The trick is deciding whether to go for an SRM-6 and 4, which replace the LRM-10 nicely but require a second ammo bin, or two SRM-4s and having an extra ton left over to work with. Downgrading a Javelin's SRMs to fit in a laser or two would be about the same amount of work though, so either one's possible. The choice then is between the Javelin's speed or the Valkyrie's armor.

[@AnimeSunglasses]

@@patrickcoyle5469 I'd be inclined to keep the extra ton, and spend it on either armor or a speed increase.

[@AnimeSunglasses]

@@patrickcoyle5469 This is making me hope that HBS will add the Valkyrie to their Battletech, I really want to play around with configurations in that... Also, do you have any thoughts about my choices in my video response post at the top?

[@David_Fellner]

What are your thoughts on the Firestarter? Does it have too high a battle value to justify its niche role? I've never played the tabletop so I'm still trying to figure out how the HBS game and MechWarrior translate.

[@ThroatSore]

Jist getting in to this. Could you guide me as to light clan mechs?

[@mathewkelly9968]

3025 tech level : Jenner , javelin , stinger LAM , commando Star league/3050 : Jenner , wolfhound , Mongoose , raven 3055 : Dart (with med lasers) , Scarabus , jackal , hitman No order to any of the above top 4s

[@8bitkefka]

Awesome video thank you

[@Eulemunin]

It’s era dependent, But for the 3025 Jenner Panther Spider

[@ATurkeySandwichGAME]

Best 4 light mechs. 1. Urbanmech 2. Urbanmech 3. Urbanmech 4. Urbanmech

[@ATurkeySandwichGAME]

Joking aside 1. Locust 2. Panther 3. Jenner 4. Urbanmech variant with the ac20

[@owlsayssouth]

Um-r90 is a solid design, no joke.

[@CrankyOldGamer]

Jenner, Spider, Mongoose, Valkyrie

[@rockwellMM]

I don't usually care about my battle value and how much stuff can cost since I use "The Rule Of Cool." Plus I am kind of a huge 3050 and forward kind of guy. I picked two from each IS and Clan so that way we can have some variety. 1. Cougar Prime or A (www.sarna.net/wiki/Cougar) The prime has a great bite for being a light mech. It is slow but it can put some long range hurt better than even some IS heavies. The A variant is basically a mini clan archer for half of the tonnage. 2. Owens (www.sarna.net/wiki/Owens) This one is a lot less powerful while having that XL that you have to worry about. But I like it as a long range scout. I treat it like it's a longer range Raven 3. Kitfox (www.sarna.net/wiki/Kit_Fox_(Uller) I just like the look of this machine. It has great firepower for a light but then again, what clan lights don't have great firepower? 4. Firestarter (www.sarna.net/wiki/Firestarter_(BattleMech) This thing can be fun for campaigns but not as much if it's following the standard rules. My friends and I use some home brew flamer rules that apply heat damage which makes flamers feel a lot better to use if you are not worrying about terrain or infantry. On a side note: It seems like most people who play the TT don't enjoy the clans and on as much. I just find that interesting because I was introduced to battletech from Mechassault 2 (Great game, Don't @ me). I worked my way backwards on the timeline and I just really enjoy how the clans threw the IS for a loop when they came knocking.

[@celebrim1]

The reason table toppers don't like the Clans is that the original game was much more balanced and the Clan tech is not only not balanced with the IS tech, but it's not even internally balanced with itself as even against other clanners there is too much cheese and too much random factor from the dice. The high tech stuff is fine for a twitchy first person shooter sort of thing where there are other player skill inputs than just decision making, but just doesn't work well on a table top.

[@tywren2486]

Jenner: Agreed only I use the variant that drops the SRM4 + Ammo in exchange for more armor Valkyrie: Eh I try to avoid mechs that lean into LRMs because of how preposterously inefficient the weapon's scaling is. Using the Valkyrie as an example, if I replace the LRM 10 with two LRM 5 I can save a ton that can be reinvested into more armor, or a heat sink, or another med laser, or more ammo. And this is an issue that only gets worse as the size of the launcher goes up; swapping an LRM 20 out for a quartet of LRM 5 saves 2 tons and a crit slot, so why would I ever want to use the larger launchers?! Javelin: Another Meh mech for me. Yes, the SRM 6 has huge potential damage, but rarely lives up to it due to the randomness that is the Missle Hit Chart stacked on top of the randomness of the Hit Location Table. Throwing out a hand full of 2 point hits is generally only useful later in the battle after armor starts being stripped, and you're looking to land some crits. If the people you're playing with allow for customizing mechs, I recommend lowering the SRM 6 packs in the Javelin to SRM 4 and adding a pair of med lasers; this actually increases the max damage potential, and at the same time allows you to keep fighting should you run out of ammo. Commando: I would have put this mech in 3ed spot instead of the Javelin. Personally, I like my light lance to look like this, at least as long as we're talking about the 3025-3039 era. JR7-F Jenner WLF-1 Wolfhound COM-2D Commando RVN-2X Ravin This group brings a pair of large lasers for ranged work, a lot of med lasers for brawling, and a good number of SRM launchers for the later parts of the game when you're trying to crit out your target.

[@treevenewson]

3025+ years Wolfhound, Jenner, Falcon and Panther. Panthers= Big guns, without the PPC is below par. Valkyrie is an honourable mention.

[@celebrim1]

Full disclosure. I agree with your choices to some extent, but I think you ignore the main point. There are no good light mechs. What's even more surprising is that there are very few good light mechs that are good at scouting, which is really the only reason you'd ever want to have a light mech. The truth is that there are almost no battletech scenarios where speed matters in the only way it really matters which is operational mobility and reconnaissance. And, the truth is that if you really did need operational mobility and reconnaissance, cheap hovercraft and VTOL's are better at the job and would allow you to have more tonnage of battletechs to bring to the fight once your superior intelligence assets told you where you needed to fight. However, if you must run a light mech in a classic light mech role of a mech that survives using its speed, there is only one good one light mech in canon and that's a Jenner. In order to be fast, you have to be faster than your hunters. The Jenner has 7/11 speed, which is the slowest a light mech can be and be actually fast. The only mechs that can hunt you down are the 8/12's, and the only one of those that could threaten you given your firepower is the somewhat rare glass cannon, the LCT-1M with it's LRM-5s. Incidentally, if Btech was a wargame and not a tactical skirmish game, the Jenner would almost certainly drop the SRM-4 for an LRM-5 to avoid getting hunted like that. But of course, this just shows why there are no good light mechs, because for less C-Bills and roughly equal battle value, you could field faster and better armed VTOLs and hover tanks that can not only control the range and break off from any engagement that they are outclassed, but can outclass a Jenner in combat either by controlling the range and outranging it or bringing something like an AC-20 or multiple SRM-6's into the fight. Not only are light vehicles probably better scouts, they are arguably better fighters than light mechs, because being light mitigates almost all the advantages mechs have in the rules (cheaty internals and fewer criticals mostly). If you can't take hits, well you can't take hits whether vehicle or mech. Beyond that mechs like the Valkyrie, the Panther are some of the best of the light mechs, but they aren't good mechs. They are efficient mechs. They are light mechs in the role of heavier mechs. What you have here are second line, support mechs, which someone might build and utilize in roles where the cost of a larger mech couldn't be justified. With something like the Javelin or the Commando, I really feel like, "What is this mech's job? Suicide?"

[@celebrim1]

Couple of additional points to make. 1) Conversely, there are no good heavy vehicles. If you look at say a 40 ton vehicle, with a turret you get 20 points of internals, the loss of any 4 of which destroys your vehicle. This compares to like 65 points of internals for a 40 ton mech, dozens of which you are likely to survive losing. Likewise, basically 1 in 6 hits by passes armor compared to 1 in 36 on a mech and even then it isn't as often lethal as it in in a vehicle. Thus, there isn't much point in building bigger vehicles compared to more of them. 2) In order to keep the games focus on mechs, the designers of the 3026 supplement seemed to go out of there way to badly design virtually every vehicle. But even the few somewhat good ones they did design, like the Warrior, Scimitar, and Saracen show why the role of light mechs should be turned over to light vehicles instead.

[@tywren2486]

The problem with your solution is that hovercraft can't move through things like woods, and VTOLs will draw fire from dedicated anti-air mechs like the Rifleman, and Jagermech

[@psychkosys]

Panther. Kurita is filled with these little buggers. I don't know what the BV is but that and the wolfhound are spectacular level 1 light Mechs.

[@AnimeSunglasses]

I'm still very new to the game, but I really like the Night Hawk. It's more expensive, but not that much more (it seems to me) than the Valkyrie, and gets you two fast-moving large lasers... Apropos of which, I find your argument for the Valkyrie to be convincing as well.

[@AnimeSunglasses]

I feel like if I had to pick a light lance off the top of my head, NOW, and assuming pre-clan invasion, I'd pick Night Hawk, Valkyrie, Panther, Mongoose...

[@AnimeSunglasses]

Also, Raven. Might swap that for any of the other four depending on mission. Post-clans: Tarantula, Raptor II, Stiletto-6X... Nyx, or maybe Hollander. Clans: Cougar, really not that knowledgeable about clan light mechs yet...

[@fistan5447]

any tech lvl 2 mech will mop up the floor with tech lvl 1s he listed. Double heat sinks alone make all the difference which Night Hawk has. That is why it can move like a light while have firepower of a solid medium

[@josephmitchelljr.4354]

MCY 99 Mercury 8/12(16) med. Laser RA and LA,small laser ct ant head ,THE-N Thorn , MON 66 MONGOOSE , RVN-3L Raven love them

[@danielmarshall4344]

Jenner, Mongoose, Raven, Mercury and Hollander (kills Wasps...dead)

[@Impossible_Emporium]

9:54 Commando (Pick 4)

[@tomwright2582]

I always like the Panther..

[@mr.gunzaku437]

Jenner, Wolfhound, Hitman, Firefly

[@rexstuff4655]

For my money, the Packhunter is almost the perfect design for a light mech.

[@durnaxe8708]

Auto include light mechs? Gunsmith Koto Locust 5m Rattlesnake Firemoth Arctic cheetah Those are my go to light mechs in that order. I dont care too much about bv as long as I can bv get as much speed, firepower, and armor on a light mech that I can get.

[@stevend1325]

I like the Jenner javelin panther and wolfhound

[@CDMJDMHHC]

The Talon

[@CarlosSempereChen]

Vanguard Miniatures (Defeat in Detail -> Novan Regulars product line) and Onslaught Miniatures make 6mm infantry meant for Epic 40k. They might not fit the aesthetic you’re looking for but they’re great minis.

[@SupermarketZombies]

If we're talking only 3025 tech: Wolfhound, Commando, Panther, Firestarter.

[@celebrim1]

Wolfhound is 3050 tech. The first Wolfhound wasn't made until 3028, and without the double heat sinks of later models it's just not that good. And since the video maker is judging mechs by BV, you are also paying about 250 BV more than the Jenner for a mech that really has few advantages over the Jenner until you add the double heat sinks and abuse the fact that the first 10 heatsinks are free and have no weight.

[@michieldeboer6221]

You forgot to mention the succesion war era. Or I asume you have selected mechs from only this era. The Valkyrie is mostly used by the Federated Suns and some merc. Jenner, Spider, Locust, Javelin Mongoose if I would play Comstar

[@jordansimpkins8784]

The Jenner is my favorite light mech

[@tonimickiewicz8453]

Haha no way the Firestarter shouldnt nake that list. Had a Firestarter once take down 3 clan Mediums in a Tukayyid campaign. There are other Inner Sphere mechs, for Clans Kiy Fox does it. Agree mostly with the Jenner, would never bank on a Javelin tbh

[@user-cp4ku4gs7q]

Locust mongoose raven jener panther

[@79geargrinder]

JR7-F Jenner

[@nathanhughes9874]

Venom Spider Wulfen Ebony

[@NemFX]

Piranha, ice ferret, puma, uller. Light mechs that can punch up. One on one? These can take out Inner Sphere heavies

[@fistan5447]

There's always one. It was implied through his selection that he was going for 3025 tech IS light mechs and you literally mentioned a clan medium mech. And yes, no matter how fast it is, an ice ferret is a clan medium.