BATTLETECH: The Clans, and Ranking Them From Best to Worst

[@paladinslash4721]

Jade Falcon will never not be the Vegeta of the clans.

[@BruceEverett]

I only ever caught snippets of Dragonball when having breakfast in front of CheezTV, but I get the reference. And I agree!

[@krullachief669]

Thanks doc

[@malusignatius]

@@BruceEverett I mean, the only good thing about DBZ is that you could watch it once a month and still follow the plot. :P

[@BruceEverett]

@@malusignatius That certainly didn't go unnoticed.

[@Psychohistorian42]

Silver medal once again...

[@ssjjshawn]

Ill always love the Steel Vipers. Showed up in the Inner Sphere, attacked mostly other Clanners, rage quit Tukkayid, then decided to double down on attacking other Clanners. Then they top themselves again by starting the Wars of Reaving. Steel Viper has killed more Clanners than every House combined, probably even into the IllKlan Era. They are the True Defenders of the Inner Sphere, bless their memory!

[@sinjin8576]

Steel vipers the best defenders the IS didn't want

[@Nikotheos]

I love the fact that you went full “why would I choose a lesser evil, when a greater evil is available? Evil shoots, evil scores!”

[@BigRed40TECH]

Clan Smoke Jaguar isn't evil! ... ... ... ... ... ... it's just the dark-triad of personality traits made manifest! lol

[@dolomaticus1180]

​@BigRed40TECH so quantifiable evil then 😊

[@alexanderwhite298]

​@@BigRed40TECH the true villains are sea fox they have the money the power and the influence with everyone including most likely the pirates and dark cast. The wolf are nothing more than the mask that sea fox uses.

[@Dracobyte]

Hahahahaha!

[@Dracobyte]

Jade Falcon deserves to be top tier, just for creating the cheesy but iconic phrase: "DO YOU DARE REFUSE MY BA'CHALL?"

[@shawnadams1460]

Been my favorite clan since reading the The Way of the Clans trilogy in Highschool!!

[@andrewryan1946]

Did you just…. Put a contraction in Bachall?! I issue a Trial of Grievance

[@Dracobyte]

@@andrewryan1946 I refuse your trial! Hahahahhaha.

[@Eleolius]

Your what?

[@RecklessFables]

@@EleoliusBuddy, I don't know what you are talking about.

[@ZackHeise]

It's also important to note that it was a Smoke Jaguar warrior, a survivor of Tukayyid, that was the catalyst for the Clan’s destruction.

[@PlacidDragon]

Good old Trent :)

[@asimplenobody7797]

@@PlacidDragon Smoked Jaguar made 2 mistakes with Trent; the first was sabotaging a genuinely faithful Clan warrior to such an extent that he practically had no choice but to defect to Comstar. The second was letting him take a ROM agent as a bondsman. Seriously, it's nothing shirt of a miracle that the number of "unfortunate accidents" was as low as it was.

[@PlacidDragon]

@@asimplenobody7797 Well, what it showed more than anything was that the "pure and straightforward martial society" of what was considered the foremost of the clans was... well.. corrupt to the core by petty minded individuals who "cheated" as they saw fit when it suited them. Same as we saw briefly in the bloodname contest in clan Wolf (Phelan vs Vladimir), and as we saw more in depth for the "staunchly traditional" Jade Falcons during the trial of absorbtion (well, trial of refusal) between the Wolves and the Falcons. The general lesson was probably that personal ambition and agendas seemingly always trumps honor and correctness no matter how people publicly present themselves :)

[@CaptainBanjo-fw4fq]

I’m hoping that for MW5 Clans we follow a warrior from the start of the invasion until operation bulldog. If there can be elementals and a branching story, even better.

[@vana.johnson8845]

Our Man Trent aka Should have came and got me from my Bondsmen Status with the Star League Light. #ImNoTraitor #ImABondsman #TrentJaguar🐯

[@malusignatius]

Sidenote about Star Adders: They're the only clan where non-warriors have an official voice on the Clan Council. Admittedly, it's only *one* person representing the entirety of the non-warrior castes, but it's still more than every other Clan prior to the Clan Invasion.

[@jamesricker3997]

The Star Adders are the ilsnake

[@malusignatius]

@@jamesricker3997 ilSnek-Cobra 4 lyfe.

[@Dracobyte]

Thank you for sharing this!

[@nikushim6665]

Didn't diamon shark have universal suffrage.

[@malusignatius]

@@nikushim6665 Not quite. Prior to Operation Revival they had a traditional Clan organisation, and post-Tukkuyid the Merchant caste became dominant, but AFAIK the labour caste and scientist caste were pretty much voiceless.

[@thechazz3230]

Being a self aware fan of Clan Wolf is like beint a self aware fan of The Ultramarines. You go from: "This Old Lore is cool, they're jack of all trades but dont excel like their cousins. What a fun & not power wanked faction." Only for both to go from things like Uriel Ventris series by McNeil, to Ward's bullshit: "Wait they ate The Dragoons/Have a spare chapter to refill losses? That's just bad writing..." or "The weird Incest man did what to The Republic/Marneus Calgar did what to The Avatar? Thats fucking stupid!" And so on & soforth. It poetic I ended up in this situation since above those two. When it comes to Supersoldiers, my top favorites are The Night Lords & Smoke Jaguars. So I'm stuck liking both setting's golden children, & serial axe murderers.

[@timunderbakke8756]

Ultramarines suffered because the authors wouldn’t let the poster boys fail. They’re not my favorite but I do like them more as “Jack of all trades with some Roman flair” than most of the chapters that I feel are just uninteresting excuses to have more canonical color schemes. I did embrace a little bit of the “let’s just go all the way on extremism” because my space marines are all Black Templars. I do love the tabards and extra crusader-y aesthetics after all.

[@dolomaticus1180]

But you really undersell how much Ward did damage to the Ultra's: Before he came, they was the faction you grabbed when the Tyranids was running about (Back in 2nd edition you really had a ton of bug players running around) and they was cool. But when Ward got a hold of them, he was the worst sort of fanboy possible for us. He had them doing things that other UM players was like, this is BS why is he doing this? It was years before someone reigned him in and it took the Space Marine game to have the Smurfs not be reviled. All of this was caused by ONE GUY with a hard on for the UM...and killing Sisters of Battle... He really was weird.

[@thechazz3230]

@@dolomaticus1180 I made direct reference to his story where he had Marneus Calgar 1v1, and *WIN* AGAINST AN *AVATAR OF KHAINE!* I in no way, undersell the damage he did. That one event is legitimately one of the most damaging things to happen to the entire Eldar faction en totale. Because of that one event, The Eldar's answer to Daemon Prince's/Greater Daemons. One of their most important units in the lore & on table top. Has been relegated for decades now, to nothing but a measuring stick for showing how badass a named character is. Yes, the damage he caused with _The Khornate Knights_ event was awful. And it would take literally until the 2010s for Kaldor Draigo to get novels written that would help him become a good character from the atrocious Mary Sue he had been. But neither of those issues can compare in scale to the damage done by having Calgar beat The Avatar. Because no fan of any faction would ever accept that The Grey Knights would ever kill Sisters of Battle, and most people would just ignore Draigo's fuckery because he was thankfully trapped in The Warp. But the power scaling of the setting itself was nigh permanently damaged by establishing that a singular Space Marine Chapter Master was on the level of The Avatar of Khaine. Only in recent time has The Avatar gotten just parts of his reputation repaired.

[@dolomaticus1180]

@@thechazz3230 And IF we are lucky a few more things can be repaired over time. I have always enjoyed the UM, but its hard to have fun when your faction is full Plot armor that puts a battle ship to shame.

[@Prich319]

I now have this image in my head of Alaric Ward as TTS Cato Sicarius. "TRIAL SUCCESSFUL!! I, ALARIC WARD AM NOW THE ILKHAN AND YOUR FIRST LORD! YOU MAY NOW PRAISE I, ALARIC WARD!

[@DiggingForFacts]

As someone who's mostly been IS so far, I think my favourite (from my limited knowledge) is gonna be Ghost Bear. Not too bothered about the "because family" bit though, but I like the idea of them being able to take a step back, look at a situation, then pick a course and drive it hard.People telling you not to take that road? Alright, just ignore them and pack your stuff up quietly. Road's broken? Fine, we'll bring road-building stuff. Road's blocked? Batter through it. Road's an ambush? Sure, spring it and then pound them with your firepower until either they are dead, or you are. The bears might be slow to wind up for a swing, but you had better not stick around for that swing to come down.

[@jamesc.7216]

Affirmative. Ghost Bears have that secret tech of being rational. Best part is post clan invasion GB looked around and figured out that they had won already and left.

[@grimos6490]

I too am a fan of the GB/RD, but unfortunately due to the shenanigans I am looking at the Snow Ravens real hard right now and hoping they clap some skulls.

[@AllForManKind77]

Fans of Ghost Bear. The mightiest of Kerensky Children. Wait and see attitudes, once plunged into action, will do it in 100% approach.

[@THEGRUMPTRUCK]

Remember also that during Tukayyid, the Ghost Bear Khan had taken both cities and Comstar retook one of them. While she knew she had enough forces to retake the first city, she weighed more what would happen post-tukayyid, and didn't want to stretch her clan thin in the event she needed to defend the Ghost Bear systems from other clans. She contacted Focht and asked for a draw to which he agreed. She and her clan were allowed to withdraw with their honor in tact. This move paid off in dividends as the Clans fell apart for a bit after, Jade Falcon and Steel Viper pointing fingers at other clans and crusading them. The Ghost bears, largely unfazed due to taking rather minor losses at Tukayyid, were fine and just sat there doing what they do best.

[@GamerGarm]

​@@THEGRUMPTRUCK Indeed. They are the best for sure.

[@Bomfunker91]

I love the Horses almost exactly because they've got such a...modest success rate. Their logo is by far the coolest of all the Clans, and their obsession with combined arms is neat, but I just love that they're a Clan that is "allowed" to not have plot armor in the slightest. It makes them feel so much more realistic, in a weird way.

[@Dreadwolf3155]

would like to see HH get some wins just because they do use combined arms

[@ALV694]

Honestly they should have used their fleet against the jade occupation zone, they could have won.

[@Dreadwolf3155]

that would have been epic. I do wish we'd see some new naval tech and engagements in the ilClan era.@@ALV694

[@nemou4985]

They invented mechs that turned into wheeled vehicles, essentially making transformers canon, that makes them #1 in my opinion

[@ALV694]

@@nemou4985 if only they revived aerospace mechs, then they would be the goat

[@Tekisasubakani]

Without the Clans, we wouldn't have the rad Mechwarrior 2 soundtrack.

[@timebrain3188]

We possibly wouldn't have had Mechwarrior 2, or a lot of the later Mechwarrior games as we know them.

[@stevenhernandeznon-profitf968]

Forever in our hearts

[@Vanessaira-Retro]

Mech 2's OST is fantastic. Remember the first time I discovered I could put the games disk into a standard CD player and moved to track 2. 😀

[@Tekisasubakani]

@@Vanessaira-Retro Right on, I always loved doing that with game discs to see what I could find. Paid off with the secret message from Alucard on the PS1 Symphony of the Night disc.

[@fredboldman6818]

AMAZING! Speaking of which, where in the First Circuit did Red get this remix? I still remember hearing it for the first time as a new Clan Wolf 'pup.' It gave me goosebumps. Nearly 30 years later, I still consider the Mechwarrior 2 Trilogy my DOS GOAT game(s). That being said, I wasn't as excited about the 3d accelerated versions; probably because they did cut down the audio track lengths...

[@Ironclockwork]

My dislike for Clan Wolf is much akin to my dislike for the character of Rey in the new Star Wars trilogy: The plot bends over backwards to accommodate them and give them wins.

[@bthsr7113]

There are far more egregious characters than Rey for that.

[@Ironclockwork]

@@bthsr7113 Of course; there's a whole slew of Mary Sues and Gary Stus out there in fiction after all.

[@bthsr7113]

@@Ironclockwork And she isn't one of them.

[@Ironclockwork]

@@bthsr7113 Sorry, I'm going to have to disagree with you on that one.

[@izaakburningham3188]

@@bthsr7113 She's a no body, but also she can do emergency repairs on a space ship that she has never seen to a degree that even the OWNER of said ship didn't think about it, and is a force wielder, and also apparently a fucking PALPATINE

[@shrimpofdeath5199]

Every time I replay BATTLETECH, I chuckle when Dr. Murad says "imagine the enlightened society untouched by wars of succession" when talking about the survivors of the Exodus. If she only knew what was coming in a few decades...

[@Deridus]

I wanna know what happened to Mama Bear!

[@jgodwin17]

I’m personally a Scorpion Empire fan. I find their whole culture really interesting and the background of the Empire’s formation feels realistic. Which is the exact reason I don’t like Clan Wolf and agree with you 100%. They don’t feel like a real faction, especially lately. The whole Alaric plot is absolutely comical how poorly it has been written.

[@44R0Ndin]

For me #1 has to be the Ghost Bears, solely because they manage to (until recently) consistently form a plan and then follow it to the best of their ability unless given a logical reason to change course. Don't know what's ahead? Send a scout. If the scout doesn't come back, send in a heavier unit to figure out what happened to the scout, as well as complete the original mission of the scout. Once that's complete, figure out what to do about whatever was encountered, and then complete the tasks that have been planned, obviously accounting for any discrepancies. They are simply the most competent of the clans, without being the embodiment of plot armor, or rather Clan Wolf. For most of their lore, they simply do what is needed to get the job done, without requiring the enemy to be stupid to accomplish it.

[@rotwang2000]

Ghost Bears : "Just because we are Clan does not mean we are idiots or are required to act as such !' "Oh ! Hi Alaric !!!"'

[@THEGRUMPTRUCK]

Their fight at Tukayyid was what originally put me in with their lot. I like how their Khan weighed her options and took a draw, cutting her losses because she knew Tukayyid was going poorly for them. That ensured the ghost bears were fine in the post-tukayyid conflicts between the remaining clans.

[@Arbaaltheundefeated]

For being the only clanners not as dumb as a Klingon, yeah, Ghost Bear #1... Don't mind my pfp, I'm definitely not biased.

[@Fanatic808]

I’ve said it before I’ll say it again. I love the Hellshorses, not because they win or are smart, hell they’re not even successful. The reason I like them is because no matter what they do they will lose, but in doing so will ruin everyone’s day. They’re also completely insane and merciless. In short they are the biggest failures in battletech and that’s why I love them.

[@BigRed40TECH]

I love them, but I can't rate them highly lmao

[@michaelmorford3932]

I agree with this! Also, they love combined arms even though it doesn't work for the setting 😂😂

[@vonshroom2068]

You have a Nuke Urbie painted in hellshorses colors don't you?

[@Fanatic808]

@@vonshroom2068 what? Noooo! Not at all! I have a whole cluster of them.

[@Soulfruit260]

So, tldr: Smoke Jaguar: Godspeed you magnificent bastard Jade Falcon: I just think it’s neat Ghost Bear: Look how they massacred my boy Star Adder: I’m surrounded by idiots Nova Cat: real Coup de etat has never been tried Hells horses: he’s trying his best Steel viper: congratulations you played yourself. Goliath Scorpion: *inhales 100 skooma* Snow Raven: I’m not mad I’m just disappointed. Burrock: HOW TF DID THEY GET A TOTEM MECH Cloud Cobra: have you heard of our lord and savior kerensky? Ice Hellion: *toddler whining* Blood Spirit: Coyote: Big brain time Sea fox: you now own everything, congrats everyone hates you Clan Wolf: DO I NEED TO SAY ANYTHING

[@BigRed40TECH]

That's actually scarily close. lmao

[@Aladine11]

Wish we got diamond shark-i like money, got involved in invasion , harjer monopoly for most of history, refuses to elaborate

[@THEGRUMPTRUCK]

​@krystianmaternia9973 Sea Fox is diamond shark. Clan Snow Raven sabotaged their totem animal by releasing Diamond Sharks knto their world and eradicating the Sea Fox in the process. Thus, they changed to Diamond Shark. Decades later Sea foxes were found alive and scientists helped reinvigorate their population, thus Diamond shark changed back to Sea Fox later on.

[@ShardDeVir]

Goliath Scorpion: inhale 100 skooma and go full on Indiana Jones.

[@Prich319]

Wolverine: The best and brightest, or they would have been if Nicky didn't turn them into a scapegoat. Widowmaker: Truly, they were the biggest assholes of the clans. Stone Lion: *WHAT IS MY PURPOSE!?!?*

[@johnarnold8485]

It's a shame you dislike talking about things you dislike because you are insanely entertaining when you're discussing the wolves in any form. Otherwise super appreciate the insights and a bit of extra knowledge about the clans as you continue to be my lens into the later eras of the game that isn't shaped by one of the MW Merc games.

[@BigRed40TECH]

If you're going to deliver bad news, at least be entertaining while doing it.

[@jefffreese947]

Was playing at the time when the Clan came out. The incredible change to the game was absolutely foundational. The only problem I have with the Clan invasion is that the new clan tech was SO much better that they really haven't been able to come out with any "new" tech that continued to evolve the game because the bar was set so high with the original clan weapons.

[@DonaldWWitt]

FOOKING CLANTECH!!!

[@gokbay3057]

Seriously thought. Just let introtech fall into disuse/periphery and have Clantech become the new standard tech. Inner Sphere replicating Clantech but worse is so stupid.

[@35961107]

Give them a few more hundred years, they would turn Atlas into a gundam.

[@asimplenobody7797]

I'm hoping for a decent placement for the Hell's horses. Their never going to top this list, but I can hope for a mid place showing. Edit: WOOO 9TH PLACE LET'S GOOO! WE BEAT THE WOLVES!

[@theyellowjesters]

Channeling your inner semi-pro. "4th place!!! Whoo!!!"

[@asimplenobody7797]

@@theyellowjesters To be fair, it's the Horses. We take what we can get at this point.

[@666kingdrummer]

Has Clan Sea Fox become a bit of a Mary Sue? Yes. Is their Narrative Arc most likely done in the iLClan era, outside of few skirmishes here and there? Yeah. Do some of the other clans have bigger and better lore and fanbases surrounding themselves? You Bet. But I just can't pull myself away from them, I like the nomad clan that has "figured it out". Clan Diamond Shark was one of the first Clans that I actually liked, and the fact that they were one of the few Clans that weren't completely Batshit insane, was the Cherry on top. Plus, without them how else can I pull off my Khajiit joke? "Sea Fox has mechs...if you have C-Bills."

[@BigRed40TECH]

Enjoy what you enjoiy Kingdrummer :)

[@kennendo8922]

I'm kinda rooting for the Spirit Cats in the Ilclan Era. The Nova Cats kinda got kicked around the setting, I'm glad to see their spiritual successors refusing to cave in.

[@odinulveson9101]

Agree. I feel bad for the Blood Spirit clan though, they just wanted to be left alone. The the Syone Lions found them

[@chrisb3585]

You are spot on with your explanation on the Home Clans in the overall setting, even as a Star Adder fan, speaking of which I did NOT expect them to be third on your list and you are not wrong about them. I appreciate your view on the Jaguars, they are an ideal, if overthetop, antagonistic faction that are an organic product of the setting. And yes, at first Steel Vipers looked cool on the surface, then you take a closer look and... well through their own inability for critical self reflection, they became genocidal, but were ultimately used and genocided in return.

[@BigRed40TECH]

I love Big-Snek. Big-Snek is best Snek.

[@GrammarTron3000]

My favorite clan is probably Ghost Bear. Why? Because they're one of the few that aren't complete pieces of shite, and recognize "hey, families are a good thing, go figure". Second favorite is Nova Cats. SMOKE A BOWL AND PREDICT THE FUTURE, BABY!

[@DrendarMorevo]

Aside from that incident where they realized that an entire Sibko was actually from Wolverine genetic material and forced them to self-eradicate.

[@GrammarTron3000]

@@DrendarMorevo But of course! Kerensky said Clan Wolverine had to go and be gone forever. Therefore, it was the correct move.

[@DrendarMorevo]

@GrammarTron3000 all the more reason Nicholas was a power hungry madman bent on sociopathic control.

[@duanewong1527]

I hope Clan Wolverine returns, they are my favourite Clan, and they were the closest to Kerensky's ideals despite not being holders of the Kerensky bloodname

[@Spr1ggan87]

Eh, didn't they infiltrate Comstar, form The Word of Blake, and start the Jihad?

[@davidnemoseck9007]

Yes! They live!

[@omni-hexagon3514]

What would've been a great twist and the ultimate "fuck you" to Kerensky and, by extension, Clan society as a whole, would've been them emerging during the ilClan trial and massacring the Wolves and Falcons. No glorious victory or honorable defeat, no final consummation of Nicky's vision and ideals, just bloody death and denial by those they spurned and the whole Inner Sphere going, "...so anyway..."

[@ShardDeVir]

​@@omni-hexagon3514 and add atop of that: That's for Andrey Kerensky. For he was a good friend of McEvedy, khan of Wolverines. And we know, that Nicky was behind all that bs.

[@sputnik128]

"Is Clan Mary Sue last?" *fasts forward* "yep, ok, time to watch"

[@XanderDraft]

Ghost bear, diamond shark, and snow Raven for me.

[@smbarta9108]

::sobs in Hell's Horses:: one day we will be as cool as our logo "you make a choice to win, and you don't"

[@BigRed40TECH]

HAH!

[@patstevens9405]

Hells Horses. Combined arms - Check. Told Alaric to piss off - check. Losing battles that they should win - I feel seen. Goliath Scorpian. The GSE has become the most interesting periphery state to me, plus they got the better of the Sea Foxes. Snow Ravens. A machiavellian naval power bordering the Draconis Combine and the Federated Suns equals so many wonderful opportunities for mischief.

[@ShardDeVir]

Iced Hellions - managed to be absorbed by GS, who were marked for death. Talking about going down with style. And taking some mandrills with GS in IS.

[@Szoki86]

Fingers crossed for Scorpions and Ravens. Edit: aaand they even appear in that order, one after another. Awesome.

[@JustinPivinski-cm2rh]

As a ghost bear player, who doesn't like or follow the IL clan Era because I think it's bad writing and isn't logical... I approve this message. Another good video

[@conanthelibrarian287]

Let me guess. Wolf is worst, Mary Sue, plot armor bleebloooo Ima still watch tho Edit: I KNEW IT Still watched to the end. Your opinions are weird. Take your upvote.

[@BigRed40TECH]

Thank you! lol

[@Kurogumo]

"They will be in order of how much I appreciate the most." >first clan is smoke jaguar LETS GO

[@BigRed40TECH]

Striking fast and deadly just like the Jaguar, that's how they came in first.

[@treize6832]

The scorpions have always been my favorite for some reason, and their absorption of he 71st Light Horse (ELH is my favorite Merc unit) and the founding of their Empire just cemented it. Can't really put my finger on why, but Scorpions are my secondfavorite faction overall, after the old FedCom.

[@dessfigures2447]

Woot go Star Adders! Not going to lie, even if probably will never happen. I would love source book about them and other homeward clans fighting the Scorpion Empire.

[@christopherpurches2774]

Largely agree. I'm GB for life, especially Dominion and their conversion to an IS power with Clan military. Their most recent story arcs have put my custom galaxy in a tough spot, though. Their status as reasonable(ish) clan has been thoroughly shaken, and I hate it.

[@chaz706]

To add to this: they accepted a batchall that amounted to a football game. Mind you: said game was comically one-sided due to the fact that Ghost Bear sent ELEMENTALS on the field but they were still sportsmanlike if not completely sporting.

[@nemou4985]

They are an occupation power

[@andyeaton1736]

Ghost Bear was my favorite of the initial invading 4 clans. Nova Cat is second, loved their unique lore. Jade Falcons was next, because they weren’t the favored Wolves. Shout outs to the ridiculous Ice Hellions failing left and right.

[@potsperm1666]

same, with scorpions instead of jf, i like the necrosia arc and their love for history

[@thunberbolttwo3953]

To me Victor Ian Steiner Davion giving his sister to Vladimir Ward was a deliberate insult to her. Vlad chalanged Victor to a trial of possion for her. Instead of fighting to keep her. Which would have meant she had value to him. He just handed her to Vladimir. which is saying Kathrin is so worthless to victor. I will not risk losing anything to keep her. Basically saying Kathrine is totaly worthless.

[@BigRed40TECH]

I don't think he'd have fought for her regardless.

[@dolomaticus1180]

@@BigRed40TECH True, but since Vlad threw down the gauntlet, Victor was like "All you had to do is ask" and just sent her packing. You have to think in the back of Vlad's brain he was like "WTF!?!?! What kind of deal am I getting with her?"

[@vana.johnson8845]

Victor Steiner Davion

[@vana.johnson8845]

Yep Katie Steiner was a waste of Evil Skin....! Take her Vlad Please I beg You.~

[@thunberbolttwo3953]

No I said his FULL name.@@vana.johnson8845

[@redthree603]

I like the Nova Cats, mainly for the culture around the visions stuff and the fact that the Alpha Galaxy paintjob is a banger. My only complaint about them is their hatred of LAMs and the fact they demolished one of the last LAM factories in the Inner Sphere. Especially since it was the last Stinger LAM factory and that model was apparently pretty good!

[@georgeremero4982]

All hail the glory that is the Land Air Mech!

[@pariahdevalis]

Frankly, I thought that irrational hatred of LAMs hilarious. I also thought how WizKidz wrote their destruction several degrees of forced and completely out of left field. That said, while Big Red calls them the backstabbers, I'd call them pragmatic in their outlook. The mission was to reinstate the Star League? Well, invading the IS did achieve that goal! Might as well join them! Mission accomplished, guys! They also knew Kerensky was an absolute nutjob, and that the Wolverines were unfairly betrayed and attacked, but were effectively hostages to the Clan way of life because if they stepped out of line they'd be the next one annihilated. Jumping ship to the IS was inevitable because it was the only way out of the insanity that was Kerensky's vision of the Clans.

[@jumpinghunter9152]

@@pariahdevalis Very much agree, i can't see Nova Cats as backstabbers, because at the end of the day they were the first clan to actually achieve their initial goal, and the *only* one to stop brute forcing it after it's already achieved. They actually got backstabbed very hard themselves, and in my eyes Clan Nova Cat is mostly a tragic faction with rather unfair end, being brutally sterilised to oblivion, like someone didn't want tgis faction to interfere with anything in BT lore because it was too hard to keep them up for some reason. Unique things always get worse treatment than the mainstream ones...

[@potsperm1666]

i like the cats as well and planned to play them as my first clan force but then i read their lore and it seems they always get the disgustingly pointy end of the stick, really really sad story, i mean its kinda their own fault for being so weird all the time but i still feel bad for them....i settled with gb but since i already have some nova cat decals i´ll use them in my "clan snord touman" instead of jf aaand i kinda like protomechs, not possible with gb but i might fiddle something with nc.....no spirit cats though, they´re even for the novas to weird 🐈‍⬛

[@evangilbert5251]

I don't mind Spirit Cats. Lots of Nova Cats left the DC to help kill Wobbies and were among the first in line to fight and help the Republic take Terra. They were among the first Paladins, and thus to the Republic, are (or might be) these kind of exotic mystical warriors from faraway space. The Spirit Cats are thus like a cargo cult of Nova Cat, made up of a few renegade or independent Nova Cat members. Phillip Drummond was admittedly kind of cult-ish, but his visions were sort of like the Aeneid or Fiver from Watership Down. While the Dark Age was going on, the Spirit Cars were kind of in an ongoing flight out of the Republic, which given what happened to the Novas who stayed, kind of makes sense. It's not a perfect parallel, or description, but it is a framework to look at the Spirit Cats through. They are former and wannabe Nova Cats, who have deviated enough from the Combine Nova Cats that by the time they all end up in the FWL, there's kind of a mutual dislike.

[@calumdeighton]

3rd place on Big Reds list. Go Star Adder!

[@BigRed40TECH]

Snake! SNAAAAAAKE!

[@greysonjones5429]

Great video, and GLORY TO CLAN JADE FALCON!!

[@Ironhold_Watch]

🦜🦜🦜

[@ironic7583]

Clan jade falcon RAAGGHHH. What the fuck is plot armor!!! 🦅🦅🦅🦅🦜🦜🦜🦜

[@l0rf]

The closest thing to Space Marines in the universe of Battletech. A great list and source for future reference, even if it is just opinion pieces.

[@darkalman]

Live chat responses: *SPOILERS* 0:00 Oh god this is gonna upset somebody 15:05 and the winner is Clan Genocide! Not my favorite but agree with your reasoning. They were total bastards and are the epitome of Crusader Clans, and they got what was coming to them. Made for really great storytelling. Also I never thought about it that way, but the Clan Invasion is really the story of the Jaguars rise and fall. 21:20 They were always the most reasonable of the invading clans. 25:10 Of all the surprises in the newer story the Star Adders and Wars of Reaving were the biggest for me. The Star Adders and their psychopath of a Khan were such unmitigated bastards 27:10 It's probably because of the TV show but the Jade Falcons to me were always the quintessential bad guy Clan. Backstabby and treacherous. I wasn't a huge fan of the Malvina arc, not because it was bad but because she ended up being far too much of a cartoon villain. 29:20 My favorite Clan. The only way I can describe it is the Jeremy Clarkson meme. "This is great (Wolf) but I LIKE this (Nova Cats)" 31:10 I hate these guys for the same reasons you said they were great lol 32:30 Admittedly they've gotten way more interesting recently 33:30 The Ravens were one of the niche or trope Clans. After a while FASA started making these trope Clans because they ran out of ideas like "the speed clan", the "vehicle clan", the "space ship clan", etc They are probably the most interesting out of the niche clans. 35:30 The vehicle Clan... totally dull. It's not that they are the vehicle/combined arms Clan that's the problem it's that they are so bad at it... 37:20 Clan internal civil war. Constant infighting made them useless 38:15 I used to love this Clan until they turned into a bunch of whiny losers 39:30 I loved the Coyotes by agree they didn't do nearly enough with them story wise. All about past glory 40:30 meh, they barely existed in the story. As soon as the were introduced and expanded upon in Field Manual Crusader Clans it was only to mention the Adders had just absorbed them. 41:40 Least interesting of the Snakes is right, but they are religious for some reason 42:40 The Blood spirits were invented because they needed a worst and most embarrassing Clan. By the Blood Kite is an amazing mech 44:20 the money Clan... yeah, sure. I guess they needed someone to sell out the Clans. Now they are taking over some of Comstars former role in the story, but I don't understand why anyone trusts them at all? And they made the Mad Cat MkII, the mech I hate the most 47:50 Ouch, lol ... and yes Captain Alaric Protagonist and his Plot Armor

[@R17inator]

I would say my top 5 favourite Clans from 1st to 5th would be: Jade Falcon, Snow Raven, BASED Star Adder, Ghost Bear and Smoke Jaguar, with Hell's Horses and Goliath Scorpion as runner ups. I love birds too much, I wish there were more than two bird-themed Clans, like, I do not know, Clan Cobalt Eagle and Clan Sagittarius (Secretarybird) or something. My bottom 4 disliked Clans would be: Fire Mandrill (silly even by Clan standards, imo), Blood Spirit (so their specialty is being irrelevant?), Steel Viper (being a Falcon fanboy demands it) and Wolf (we both know why we hate them).

[@justinarchibald3857]

I absolutely love the Jaguars and Adders were in the top 3. Brutality is the one trait that is believable about any of the clans let alone clans that fought their way to the top.

[@wanwanponpon4263]

One of the very few cool things about Clan Burrock was getting a mech named after them after absorbsion. The Burrock has 6 Heavy Medium Lasers, a UAC 20 and a top speed of 86 km/h with 20 heat sinks. They got a boss level battlemech that can be thrown at players you hate

[@1stpogo]

If I had to pick a favorite clan it would have been Wolf, but I've also not read anything past Tukayyid but after hearing this I can certainly understand why people would dislike Clan Wolf. But I don't have to pick a favorite clan thus I stick with "The only good clanner is a dead clanner" :) I can also completely understand why Smoke Jaguar would rate as number 1, the clans are "the bad guys" so it makes sense to like the baddest of the bunch.

[@HYSXA2]

I could tolerate Clan Wolf during the invasion era because I kinda liked Ulric's cunning and of course the forming of Wolf in Exile. I preferred Wolf in Exile because unlike regular Clan Wolf, they really did struggle and even got heavily decimated during the FedCom civil war. I really liked how they were an underdog clan and their alliance with the Kell Hounds. But of course they were made to rejoin Clan Wolf because dumb reasons. God I despite this Clan Wolf circlejerk. I would have also preferred if the Fidelis remained as such because the whole "betrayal" thing was weak as hell and just another dumb excuse for more Clan Wolf shilling.

[@bbd121]

Oh, sh-t. I actually didn't see it until you pointed it out. There was no challenge for every event to the wolves. It was just the authors waving their hands. Clan wolf could have fought the alliance of the Borg, Skynet, the Cylons, the King in Yellow and old Cthulhu himself and won.

[@spotH3D]

Agree with having Sea Fox so far down in the worst clan category. Clans are cool and unique, but damn don't make BT all about them. Not a fan of getting rid of another unique faction from BT (Comstar/Blakists) and letting them be folded into the super smart and super rich Clan Sea Fox. Worst faction in IlClan era BT BY FAR. Agree about Ghost Bears in IlClan. The vote and everything around it I cannot buy. Doesn't make sense at all, and the only explanation is they needed the end result and did what they could to backfill it.

[@RvnKnight]

Wolverine and Snow Ravens for me. Wolverines: had the balls to tell Kerensky the Younger to F Off and hold to the traditions that they came from. Also, the Wolverine takes no crap and fights like hell. Snow Ravens: in my opinion, they are one of the two lesser eveils of the Clans, the other being Sea Fox. They just want to do their thing not just conquer and steal for the hell of it.

[@thomascraiker6449]

The Wolverines did not do that. Read, Betrayal of Ideals. Which does happen to be a great book so it’s a win/win for you.

[@RvnKnight]

@@thomascraiker6449 I have read it and I still have a copy. They held on to the Lance formations instead of switching to Stars, allowed caste members to change their caste, and many other things that Soup Stock's Son and the other Clans didn't approve of as they tied the Wolverines to the "barbarians they left behind".

[@Goljsin]

Also because there is the fact that the Snow Ravens would likely destroy almost any other clan in a conventional "no clan dueling to decide shit BS" type war thanks to their incredible navy. They have always seemed to me like the most intelligent clan in terms of military decision-making for the long game.

[@imasspeons]

Didn't the Ravens nuke a genetic repository and blame Wolverine? It's been ages since I followed that story.

[@RvnKnight]

@@imasspeons That was the Widows that nuked stuff and blamed the Wolverines

[@argokarrus2731]

For my favorite Clan? Snow Raven, no doubt, seconded by Clan Hell's Horses. I'm a huge, huge space lover, I love JumpShips, I love DropShips, I love ASFs, and I'm a huge, huge sucker for WarShips, and the politics of BattleTech. Hell's Horse is amazing because of how hard they try, and how little they succeed, and how much I want them to succeed.

[@BigRed40TECH]

Warships have always had the problem of blocking the use of conventional forces that Battletech is built around, and so become an obstacle to a faction actually being used. :(

[@argokarrus2731]

@@BigRed40TECH It's so aggravating too, since a little bit of thought could have them both co-exist just fine!

[@BigRed40TECH]

It's just the way they set them up in universe. @@argokarrus2731

[@tikagauntley3396]

I was a huge Ghost Bear fan until dominions divided painted my clan mechs up as Rasalhague Galaxy but my new clan forces are erratic one offs as I paint up clan battle mechs as a ragtag dark caste pirate band

[@jamesc.7216]

Oh clan Wolf. The biggest Mary Sue clan with plot armor thicker than any named Star Wars character. It's really difficult to enjoy the stories when they seem to bumble through everything and get handed Ws. The worst part is how everyone else has to break kayfabe to set them up for the easy win. Even though I liked them as a kid I can't root for them when it's so obvious that their opponents are throwing the fight.

[@joshuaturnquist5538]

Blood Spirit sounds like when you read a manga but the fan translators translated a character's name wrong. Based on the idea of "Esprit de Corps," but then someone at FASA said "That's way too much french for our player base, Blood Spirit is close enough..."

[@TechnoGolem]

Got into Battletech with the SNES game before I found the novels. Due to that, I was always a huge fan of the clans, with Wolf being my favorite. Have to admit they fell off when I was getting back into everything a few years ago. Part of me still likes them, but I'm no longer a kid that finds an unstoppable force exciting. In recent years, I would say that Sea Fox is my favorite. Their way of "war" makes them feel very unique among the clans. I'm also very happy they went back to that name. I always thought Diamond Shark was by far the worst named faction in the series. Didn't help that I considered their emblem to be one of the worst ones.

[@christophera4793]

Scorpions have always had a place in my heart in part because of the Seeker stuff. A Clan of Indiana Jones' wandering the stars, looking for antiques, and dropping acid before strapping into their mechs. Fun. Their developments since being kicked out of Clan space have definitely made them better too. And ever since reading about task force Serpent as a kid I've liked the Eridani Light Horse so part of them being absorbed by the Scorpions is cool.

[@afitz34]

I'm a true Inner Sphere/Fed Suns guy. I did look at some of the Clan factions, one's not in the initial invasion; and Hell's Horses did intrigue me. Mostly because their use and belief in combined arms. This was quite some time ago now(mid nineties) before they got fleshed out over the years. I'm a little sad at their current status.

[@BigRed40TECH]

It's kind of their forever status, lol.

[@afitz34]

@@BigRed40TECHThat’s is unfortunate. I’m only familiar with the lore timeline up to the end of the Fed/Com Civil War and really don’t have too much interest in the events after, so their fate is largely irrelevant to me. I’m not even sure what clan I’d play if I were to switch things up.

[@BigRed40TECH]

@@afitz34 Hopefully the Horses get a better outing in a couple years tbh.

[@Ironhold_Watch]

Trothkin near and far.... Hear my words and abide by my rede for I am the true first comment Do not forget to bring much space popcorn, or your genespawn shall be dezgra for generations Thus it shall be salted and buttered untill we are all but dust Hail the Founders 🦜🦜🦜🍿

[@RecklessFables]

Yes, the Wolves look forward to their green-feathered servants bringing them nomnoms.

[@Ironhold_Watch]

​@@RecklessFablessilence freebirth!

[@RecklessFables]

@@Ironhold_Watch Hush now and bring more noms, Olive Magpie!

[@theomnissiah-9120]

Your bloodlines are all ready Irrevocably tainted. All of your kind are the spawn of deserters, cowards, and traitors. You stole the weapons and soldiers that could have brought the core worlds of mankind under the light of Blake’s wisdom and guidance. You are nothing more the sad parody’s of human beings shaped by a madman in nothing more the beasts. Fit only to be hunted down and slain by the sword.

[@Ironhold_Watch]

​​@@RecklessFablesi am gonna bring you an orbital bombardment

[@maxgaj3015]

Good point about probably the most important part of why wolf is bad, it's not merely that they always win, it's also that their plot armor destroys actually good and interesting factions as well.

[@DevilPogoStick]

While there is supposedly a reason...The Crusaders punishing Ulric Kerensky by promoting him to lead the invasion was truly dumb cause why would you give him that much power? Lo and behold, he made everyone but Clan Wolf look idiotic and they cannot do anything about it. It's still hilarious as hell the Refusal War should have ended Clan Wolf but not only did Phelan kept the Warden side of it pretty intact and found refuge thanks to his dad (so it's not even a Minnesota Tribe like situation), but Vlad literally murdered his way to bring Clan Wolf back from the dead itself. Jade Falcon absolutely lost despite being the winners. 😂

[@bogatyr2473]

Clan Wolf's only super power in the early invasion was just not being idiots and understanding that logistics is a thing. I won't argue that things eventually went off into lala land but I also don't care that much. I learned to love them in the invasion era.

[@Seriona1]

@@bogatyr2473 This is one of things I can't stand about people who shit on Wolf in the invasion era because Wolf took the most logical conclusion to the situation. I think Clan space is 200 LY from the IS and they knew that so they pact their factories to literally move them closer to the IS and then on Tukayyid, they were forced to bid last and decided because of that to throw in all 5 Galaxy into the fight. So in short, they were smart enough to understand Clan logistics were going to be a problem so they brought their factories, they brought more Galaxy to the invasion and committed 100% on Tukayyid and they invaded on the third day so they could watch and learn Comstar's tactics and people are surprised Wolf was a fucking monster in the invasion. I don't get it.

[@infernum5646]

I rather enjoyed this Op Ed. A very clear and concise explanation of how you feel about the clans as a whole and each faction thereof. Good work as always sir.

[@jamesbunker7793]

You should have included clan wolverine and all the other defunct clans just so you could rank wolf lower.

[@BigRed40TECH]

Hah!

[@Raist474]

I loved the Clan Invasion era for the same reasons you brought up. The tension, sense of danger, the feeling of success when you merely survive, and just maybe, win against a clearly superior foe is something you don't find in other eras. Surprised you didn't bring up Natasha 2.0, but reskinned old characters wasn't really exclusive to the Wolves to be fair. Also Sarah McEvedy is upset you didn't mention the most based Clan.

[@BigRed40TECH]

Clan Wolverine was born dead. They're not a real faction, neither is Mongoose or Widowmaker tbh. XD

[@Cytl-bu3nq]

@@BigRed40TECH Kerensky decided to leave with his followers and create his communism/caste system.

[@voidofhope6259]

I definitely hard agree with you on Smoke Jaguar. Absolutely unhinged and fearless. Fully devoted to combat. What you see is what you get with them.

[@dubuyajay9964]

Plz go far Jade Falcon...

[@PeterNXavier]

Overdone? Of the Clans? There hasn't been a game with the clans since Mechwarrior 4 Mercs. Clan Ghost Bear is my favorite. I loved them since Mechwarrior 2: Ghost Bear's Legacy

[@j-frame]

The invasion of Luthien did canonize my favorite Mercenary Group.

[@ianwagstaff2371]

I love my Blood Spirit’s, but I can’t disagree with what’s said about them. They were the canary in the coal mine for Nicolas’ poor leadership. Called out the Clans for manipulating the laws, that were JUST FORMED, against the spirit of the laws. All of the ideals and hope they were sold was shown immediately and wholly a lie when Wolverine was sentenced to Annihilation. From that moment forward, doomed to die and be the measure of how far the Clans have fallen from their stated goals. Their death marks the Homeworld clans being their own weird thing and nothing to do with (either) Kerensky’s stated vision. But also happens about the time the IS Clans well and truly deviate from their Clan roots. Blood Spirit could have been so much more, their idealism could have been a neat counterpoint to the Clans as a whole. Could have had that and their deeply bitter feelings of betrayal by the other Clans. I have the tiniest, tiniest hope there’s a branch of them that survived in Snow Raven or Sea Fox to make an appearance when the Homeworld clans become relevant.

[@Digiarcstudio]

Your thoughts on Star Adder actually got me to change my mind on my next Clan project. I was gonna paint a Cluster for Clan Coyote..... now I'm gonna go with Star Adder

[@mariankoncek4354]

These clans looks more like some sport league teams than genuine descendants of Star League ancestors. Inner sphere factions makes more sense unlike this zoo of clan factions. While it's great to have some followup after Kerensky's exodus the way it's made is not so great, but that's just mine opinion.

[@defiantmechwarrior2397]

DOING MY DUTY OF COMMENTING AND GLORY TO MARIK

[@energyfitness5116]

So...Wolf is the Mary Sue? They getting included in the expanded Marvel Universe?

[@jamesmortimer4016]

Source: It came to me in a dream

[@andrewryan1946]

It came to me on a Necrosia bender 🦂

[@chrissegee]

Ahh those wonderful Ocean Puppies, a horrible combination of Clan Wolf and The Ferengi

[@PopeMetallicus]

Big Red; I love Smoke Jaguar Everyone: *GASP* Big Red: Because they're horrible bastards at all times had me goin in the first half, not gonna lie

[@maxgehtdnixan4913]

I got three words for clan Wolf and one of the reasons why they suck: Michael A. Stackpole. He was terrible in Star Wars and everything I read in BT from him was along similar lines (so I ended up avoiding most of his books). He used to be a pretty popular author due to the Rogue Squadron books, but, one will note they went off the rails and became the "Stackpole Isekai" more and more. I notice he wrote a lot of books with the Wolves in them. I haven't read them, because I find him unreadable, but I can only imagine how that went. This then sets the tone for later Wolf clanners and we have what we have today, woop de doo. So yeah, add a few more bad authours for other wolves and I can see them being full on cringe by the time we reached the current timeline.

[@xerenkeldar]

Best Clan? the dead one

[@BigRed40TECH]

Not another Wolverine fan -.-

[@xerenkeldar]

@@BigRed40TECH lol

[@xerenkeldar]

also Wolverine isn't a clan, its a backstory.

[@alyssinwilliams4570]

Cranston Snord should have been a goliath scorpion! *gets irritated at BigRed, being a battlespace fan* ;)

[@omegavulture8379]

Wars of Reaving in a nutshell: Get snekt

[@ThatJerseyBloke]

Clan Wolf is just so F-ing BORING! I totally agree with them being in last place!

[@treevenewson]

Seafox is Comstar 2.0

[@BigRed40TECH]

Comstar was neither that competent, nor did as many things. They also aren't a cabal of religious wackjobs. It's not Comstar.

[@DrVanBoom]

The are and they are not. The writers want really hard to make you think that way but it doesn't feel right. A invading Clan just turned super manufacturer of all and sells to everybody, controls the HPG Network and the Mercs business (as a Clan!)... a little but too much imho.

[@treevenewson]

@@BigRed40TECH True but they're trying to control all communications and commerce, that's Comstar level evil.

[@rorikodinnson1127]

Bear Clan is Best Clan, barring the lunacy of the most recent sourcebook....

[@thomascraiker6449]

Great video I’m certain we could all change the list around to personal taste. For the most part you could reference this video to anyone on the pro’s/con’s of any clan to a new player.

[@BigRed40TECH]

I dunno if I'd go that far, but thank you for the kind words :)

[@emperorclaudius5499]

"cLaN WoLf bAd cOs tHeY aLwAyS wiN"😂 - Big Red-40TECH

[@Teyl1]

I was a fan of the wolves first, until i learned more about Ghost Bear and Wolverine.

[@patrickballinger8537]

We can be friends! Ranked Bear, Adder, Spirit Cats and Scorpions similar.

[@CrescentGuard]

I know we're only talking about clans that still existed as of 3050, but I'm insanely fond of the Clan Wolverine/Minnesota Tribe. They're just such an interesting entity and I love how they were the ones who came closest to putting an end to the madness of the clans before it had a chance to really set in. They failed of course, but that's what makes them all the more charming as a what-if of the setting. Plus the conspiracies are fun. But yes, of the core list I'm a hardcore Ghost Bear for life... largely because in the Inner Sphere I'm also a hardcore Rasalhaguer for life.

[@MarkoLomovic]

To me Minnesota tribe is what all clans were supposed to be since after them clans are just to stupid to survive.

[@killardan1]

The nova cats are no more. LONG LIVE THE SPIRIT CATS!!!

[@georgeremero4982]

I love your ongoing subjective analysis of the battletech universe, and your opinion pieces are by far my favorite. I have to say that your mention of a potential L.A.M. video in the future perked me up more than railing a line of canopus battle powder. Though I’d be lying if I said I’m not a tad nervous at the prospect. Those of us who worship at the altar of the land air mech will defend the LAM’s right to exist in this setting with the tenacity of a capellan urban mech pilot. (Coincidentally, I find LAM pilots also tend to fall into the ‘capellans can be good guys too’ camp, so maybe we just like tilting at windmills.) To the cult of the LAM, these machines occupy a similar niche to the Harrier or the F-35b and their poor performance in certain situations results mostly from incorrect employment. I’ve seen them slay bodies on the tabletop and be uniquely massacred in equal measure. The early lore reflects their finickiness as well as their belovedness by ground troops for the LAMs unique excellence at rapid response and close fire support. It‘s not until later that the rules gutted the LAM and the lore shifted to them being just barely better than driving a pair of stilts and a trash can lid with a musket taped to it into combat and calling yourself a Locust. They’re not the do it all wonder weapons of a bygone age, but they do have their place. Nonetheless, it seems to me that most folks simply misunderstand the desire to keep them around. The truth is, guys like me got into battletech because we started out as Robotech/Macross fans, saw a battletech box with a Phoenix Hawk fighting an Atlas and thought ‘What is this and why is a VF-1 fighting the Gundams ugly stick bespanked cousin? I must know more!’ We’re pretty used to being shit on by the community, so If such a video does ever begin construction within your hallowed video editing bay, I humbly request that you be kind and fair to us. Neither of which I believe you’d have trouble doing, and I don’t for a moment think that you're one for mudding on someone else's fun. But all the same, I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least mention that we are here too, enjoying this hobby, cursing Amaris’ name, longing for the halcyon days of the Star League, and fighting our way off the dropship for C-bills and glory shoulder to shoulder with the rest of you mad lad mechwarriors and Aerospace jocks. On a side note; is not Hells Horses doctrine tailor made for LAM employment? With generous application of clan tech, glory awaits them if they could merely remove the scales from their sinners eyes and see the glory that is the LAM!

[@BigRed40TECH]

The problem with LAMs, is that no mech moves with the agility and speed to transform the way they do, let alone doing so while taking flight of jumping. I love Starscream for instance, I just don't think his style of machine fits in the setting, especially when other mechs are depicted as lumbering by comparison.

[@georgeremero4982]

​@@BigRed40TECH I agree that they shouldn't move like a Valk from Macross. But a mech that performs as a less well armored, slightly more manuverable version of its terestrial counterpart that can, while behind cover, transition to an aircraft, and or stop in between? I don't see that as too much more far fetched than a Stone Rino being able to walk or a ship being able to travel faster than light. especially where Lostech is concerned. I mean the V-22 Osprey exists in real life after all. But my aim isn't to convert. I just wanted to remind folks we still come to the table, and we'd like to keep on coming with the toys we like. (within reason)

[@ericfeatherstone776]

@@georgeremero4982 And then .... along comes .... the QUAD-VEE! Yet another bold move by Clan Broney! (I mean, Clan Hell's Horses! Seriously, I've come to love the Horses.) Without the stigma of the LAM, the QV, while it's own brand of quirky, is IMHO an attempt at reintroducing dual-natured battlemechs with something similar in spirit to the Southern Cross Veritech Hovertank (though not as out-right ripping off as the LAM did the Veritech Fighters.)

[@asimplenobody7797]

@@georgeremero4982 honestly, if the Horses can have glorified transformers in QuadVees, I think the LAM deserves a place at the table. Fair is fair, after all

[@blackspade1]

Pretty much agree with you on all counts. The GB storyline in the ilClan era has to be some of the most hamfisted garbage I've read from Catalyst. It would have made more sense if they had told Alaric to pound sand and welcome the remnants of RoS as an opposing faction. I would rate the SeaFoxes a little higher, but they are definitely annoyingly obvious manipulators. I have high hopes for the Scorpions but they are so distant in the setting that they are pretty much irrelevant in the IS. I would have liked a longer rant about the Wolfs though, it was enjoyable. They went from my favorite clan faction back in my early 20s to my most loathed in the ilClan era just because they have a totally unearned storyline....and they made the FWL and the GB look like chumps without any real consequences.

[@BigRed40TECH]

I respect Catalyst a lot, but Dominion's just killed me. :(

[@jeremydyck5989]

@@BigRed40TECH I'm a fan of the timeline progressing, but the ilClan era has done the Ghost Bears dirty. Even before Dominions Divided came out, A Question of Survival had me actually rooting for Jade Falcon for the first time in my adult life. It's almost like the personalities of the two factions were swapped for that book.

[@BigRed40TECH]

I liked AQOS, a lot, but the sourcebook follow-up didn't deliver, as it were :|

[@kennetth1389]

As a Scorpion position seven actually feels about right. Seyla. Edit: after commenting I realized how this may sound confusing. Scorpions have not been used narratively very much in the past, and even now we are still in the deep periphery. However, from a rpg perspective Scorpions are the best developed and possibly most versatile clan. My opinion.

[@sanguiniusonvacation1803]

* scorpion noises *

[@AnAngryMarauder]

Get back to work, the imperium and guilliman need you.

[@sanguiniusonvacation1803]

@@AnAngryMarauder I'm sorry I can't hear you, this neural helmet kinda covers my ears and this Kodiak is reaaaaly loud

[@AnAngryMarauder]

@@sanguiniusonvacation1803 please! We need you! The emperor needs you!

[@sanguiniusonvacation1803]

@@AnAngryMarauder Dante and Gabriel got it covered.

[@Warad]

The moral of the story is any clan is the best clan as long as it ain't Wolf. Yes, even those Not-Named.

[@blackspade1]

Especially the Not-named clan.... although if they ended up where I think they did, it would be pretty lame...

[@jeremydyck5989]

Ghost Bear has always been #1 for me. Nova Cat was a close second before being wiped out. Not sure who would fill that roll today...

[@BruceEverett]

I've come to regard Jade Falcon better than I used to, but when, as a teen, every game you played during the clan invasion was up against Jade Falcon, you can come to dislike them. Every. Single. Game since getting TRO 3050. And every one against a clanner before purchasing TRO 3050, when the other guys made you go up against them with standard tech, ton-for-ton. JADE FALCON! *Shakes fist at sky* I've since recovered and appreciate their role in the setting. Honestly. I like Ghost Bear better, obvs. Who'd not want a hug from a Ghost Bear Elemental after losing to them honorably at foosball? But gee. Even during Mechwarrior 2, I had to wonder what the point of Clan Wolf was. I know there's supposed to be a point to Clan Wolf, but I can't get past the taste of cardboard to find out what. Jade Falcon was always at least interesting, even when overplayed.

[@thedocklighter]

Falcons, Bears and Wolves oh my. Horses: Neigh.

[@Prussia1991]

Need that deep dive on everything wrong with clan wolf since Nicholas Kerensky. I need all of it. Everything that has been bungled with these sick dogs from star league to ilclan

[@BigRed40TECH]

I have no interest in delving that deep tbh. It's bad for the community to dog-pile them. I only even made the content the way I did for this video because I literally covered all of them.

[@Prussia1991]

@@BigRed40TECH that's fair you're not wrong. But I still want all that dirt.

[@CloudWallace]

Fuckin' Erebus, get up Kharn is waiting for you

[@Mecha82]

Best Clans? To me those are Ghost Bears and Jade Falcons. Also unlike Big Red I like Prydes with Legend of the Jade Phoenix Trilogy being part of why I like Jade Falcons so much.

[@BigRed40TECH]

Hey, different views on things are a great part of the setting. The Prydes are very profitable for Catalyst and very popular.* Sorry, was doing 5 things when I first responded. lol

[@kilrathi827]

Ghost Bear and the Rasalgague Dominion has been my favorite Clan/Clan Descended state for a very long time. I'm just getting caught up to the ilClan era so I know there is some unfortunateness ahead. :-(