Why do we Love the Hatchetman?

[@MechanicalFrog]

It looks like I messed up on the 5DT pretty significantly. Sorry for that. I will punish the editing team accordingly.

[@ericbass1234]

Frog plz no :( they need their space creds

[@Doumaxwell1959]

@MechanicalFrog 1v1 duel to protect their honor Using different variants of the hatchet man

[@tehpw7574]

...but you don't even *Pay* Mini-Frog. How was it HIS fault?

[@Cerxen]

Also kind of funny but while going over Liaos actions at Twycross at 15:50 or so you refereed to the Falcon guards as Com-Guards. (Considering they were at that time I believe still working with Comstar, you weren't necessarily wrong.)

[@randomnetsurfer]

@@Cerxen I caught that as well. But you know, even MechFrogs are only human, so what can you do, right? :D

[@andreykuzmin4317]

"When surrounded, enemy should be left a path to retreat. At the end of that path, there should be a lance of Hatchetmen, waiting in ambush" - Sun Tzu (Liao), probably authentic quote.

[@Bomfunker91]

"To help your new Clan neighbours feel at home in the Inner Sphere, make sure to paint the word "honour" across your hatchet's head before delivering it straight to a Clanner's cockpit."

[@robrib2682]

@@Bomfunker91 or better yet, slightly engrave the words "my batchal" into the axe's metal itself so that when they use their bs scanning technology they understand precisely how the brawl ends

[@TimberWulfIsHere]

I'll paint honour under my foot, freebirth.

[@voidofhope6259]

Hearing “I am Kia Allard-Liao. I am a killer of men” just gives my soul goosebumps man. Staring downs the juggernaut that were the Falcon Guard, no autocannon ammo left, nothing but a damn club, id like to think any clanner would HAVE to respect and acknowledge the warrior spirit there

[@z3r0_35]

The Hatchetman, to me, comes across as a mech originally designed to be something else that was retrofitted with a hatchet as an experiment. It comes across to me as an attempt to make a cheaper trooper mech that was retrofitted to be more...interesting. What makes me think this? It's too slow to close into melee range with things it realistically stands a good chance at beating, and doesn't hit hard enough to be able to duke it out with assault mechs in CQC. That and it has a laser in the arm with the hatchet, although in the original print of TRO: 3025, the shaft of the hatchet was supposed to be that laser, and the "blade" actually held heat sinks. One build I've run in Clan Invasion-era games aims to largely fix this. It utilizes an IS XL engine and additional jump jets to bring the base movement profile up to 6/9/6, but also has TSM to let it run as fast as a Locust while running hot. To compensate for the more fragile engine, it uses the max amount of ferro-fibrous armor the chassis can support and an all-energy loadout consisting of an IS ER PPC, four medium lasers, and two small lasers (none of them being in the arm with the hatchet), cooled by ten double heat sinks. An alpha strike while running will bring its heat up to 9 into the red immediately, priming TSM to do the maximum amount of damage.

[@gbladewarrior6884]

Do you know the Hatchetman, The Hatchetman, the Hatchetman. Do you know the Hatchetman, Who lives on Davion Lane? Yes, I know the Hatchetman, The Hatchetman, the Hatchetman, Yes, I know the Hatchetman, Who lives on Davion Lane.

[@Echowhiskeyone]

Why? Kai Allard-Liao at Twycross. If he is not enough of a reason, then there is no reason. Ask the Falcon Guard.

[@dubuyajay9964]

Ah yes, nothing like having a "I win" button due to Gary Stu plot armor. :-/

[@joelaugustin6407]

​@@dubuyajay9964and thousands of combat engineers getting slaughtered to pull it off

[@dubuyajay9964]

@joelaugustin6407 But it's okay...because Kai and his latest squeeze survived. 🤨🙄

[@AnimeSunglasses]

I can't find them to ask under all this rubble...

[@MisterSpoon69]

@@AnimeSunglasses Well there is Joanna.

[@stormcrow28]

Because there's something visceral about dismembering a big stompy robot with a 4 ton axe. In addition the Hatchetman led to the creation of several melee based designs from the speedy Scarabus to the hulking Berserker.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Melee weapons are for friends.

[@Taurox220]

Nightsky is the ultimate melee mech that doesn't get enough love

[@alessiogiovannetti513]

@@MechanicalFrog isn’t there a problem with the hatchet on the tabletop though?

[@MichaelJCaboose013]

The Hatchetman is an incredible urban bodyguard mech. If you're within melee range, it's already over

[@MechanicalFrog]

It just wants a cuddle.

[@MichaelJCaboose013]

@@MechanicalFrog a gentle headpat for the enemy pilot

[@bthsr7113]

Fun fact, those whiny samurai had to wait 36 years of melee disadvantage for their insistence on needing nible swords

[@MechanicalFrog]

"Can't we at least put a big flag on its back?" Oh of course.

[@kingleech16]

@@MechanicalFrog We’ll call it a very special rudder…

[@bthsr7113]

Okay, but the flags on the back do help with basic IFF that works so long as you have clear line of sight and can even raise morale if personal heraldry is spotted. It's wasteful, but it's not half as bad as ignoring proven weapons technology because you have an insecure ego and delusions of nobility.

[@aaronbosen6743]

Ultimately, it's because the Hatchetman is the batttlemech returning to it's roots: the first mechs in setting were construction and demolition vehicles. Lorewise, you're often going to see Hatchetmen used for clearing locations for field bases, removing enemy fortifications and facilities, and clearing battlefield obstacles by the simple expedient of hitting it with it's axe. There's just something about the idea of a war machine that evolved from vehicles meant for peaceful but still destructive purposes taking on that role again.

[@meining-mech4378]

I played in a FFA style match where this one player with a Hatchetman had lost both its arms in a fight against a Crab. It ended up headbutting the Crab to death, and miraculously survived. I am convinced now that a Hatchetman has to be used with crazy as its modus operandi.

[@nitesy381]

What did Tex say about crazy?

[@meining-mech4378]

That you can’t predict or anticipate it. From his Charger vid I believe.

[@nitesy381]

@@meining-mech4378 there is also something along the lines of IS is where crazy thrives and also crazy works

[@rjhogan07]

Hunchback, Charger, and Hatchetman pilots are all related by the same breed of crazy: the best range is melee, that’s where you can’t miss unless your completely hopeless.

[@Vulpine407]

Hey man, thanks for you work on BPL's "The Turning Point at Twycross." Was fun seeing (hearing) you there.

[@MechanicalFrog]

It was an honor to help out with a tiny piece of what ended up being an amazing video gift to the community.

[@michaelmoolick9419]

Ah Kurita, removing the one bit of kit a mech is named for because .. "elegance"

[@robrib2682]

@@michaelmoolick9419 they're the faction that decided that they didn't want to use the axe because of how "uncivilized" it was despite it being blindfold wartime salvage and instead decided to invent the mech scale katana to dress up this "savage" new technology in the dressings of nobility to appease their own egos. Of course they're going to make a hatchet man without the hatchet if nothing else then to insult their neighbors, and I love it

[@Bhaalspawn]

The full head ejection system also lets you keep any passengers around with you instead of ditching them if you eject.

[@juangalton999]

I sometimes run an extremely fast and lightly armored variant of the Hatchetman. It runs as fast and is as lightly armored as a Locust PB. Those 6 flamers and the iconic hatchet are a Heavy mech's bane.

[@lucindalockhart]

Used the LBX upgraded hatchetman to teach battletech to a couple newcomers, the combination of cluster, melee, movement types, and heat management actuallt helped wrap heads around a lot of the core game.

[@jlokison]

Rock plus stick make really good axe. It cut tree, it cut flesh, break skulls. If quick might kill Cat or Wolf, it even hurt Olliphant... then they angry. Spear, many friends with spear better when hunt/fight them. First Oldowan Hatchetman somewhere in western North Africa, Terra, 1.6 million years ago.

[@ursulcx299]

Well, coming here after Tex's video there's an obvious reason why we love it, but I have very found memories of the BT 2018 DLC with the hatchetman. My first contact was during a random mission in a beautiful forest when a pack of Hatchetman presumably living there chopping wood together attacked my lance. It was a pretty fun moment and I did enjoy the salvage. It's also team banzai and the full head ejection innovation. The hatchetman isnt my favourite mech, its not one I really think of using, but it is a very cool mech, its one with an interesting lore and found memories, it eft an impression and I always smile when I see one.

[@MechanicalFrog]

It has some great lore, and some really great variants down the line. The 3F is a little rough but still quite fun.

[@robrib2682]

Even before the tex talks dropped, I like it because in mw5 if you get a good map for it then it makes you feel like a crazy ciff diving Florida man and that's worth the price. Also in that game they're really easy to put other melee weapons on. It's amazing what you can do with this little thing when you decide to uparmor it

[@MechanicalFrog]

Yeah once the tech advances just a little bit, the Hatchetman gets really good.

[@Lord_Victis]

Shit, just adding the mace gives you what 5 more damage points?

[@SulliMike23]

Hatchetman: I speak softly, but I carry a BIG STICK!!!

[@justinrinker2480]

Like many others I'm sure, I love the Hatchetman for one specific reason. "I am Kai Allard-Liao. I am a killer of men."

[@dubuyajay9964]

"I am a Gary Stu with Cato Sicarius Tier Plot Armor!"

[@viktordickinson7844]

Big chunks being hurled in the hatchetman fandom

[@kvasac123]

While Twycross moment is one hell of a badassery, just look how freaking cool that mech and his choppy chop are. There is more than one reason to love it.

[@stormsurge2103]

@@dubuyajay9964Ulric:”Gotta breed me one of those. . .”

[@nestorgamer9746]

@@dubuyajay9964 just say you hate fun Or you like barbarian invaders

[@keebbles]

Can we get a Team Banzai retrospective? The Axman was only one of their babies.

[@christopherknight7739]

Garry Owen themed? Fun fact, Garry Owen is an Irish drinking song, consequently it is also the moto of 4-7 Cav in the Army. Yes you heard it correctly, a cavalry unit.

[@Takenmynameandmycat]

Buckaroo Banzai designed, Kai Allard-Liao approved.

[@garrettharriman6333]

My hatchetman story comes from the Big Metal Claw operation in the 2018. I took the Solaris gladiator up on his single combat offer. He brought a jumped up crab, I brought the hatchetman.

[@krashkow]

Pretty sure I aged several decades at once when you referred to the twenty year old novel “Flight of the Falcon” as “recent fare.”

[@MechanicalFrog]

It's new because we need it to be... #OldFarts

[@tenchraven]

While I dislike the ilClan era, the 5DT is an awesome machine. A hatchet and TSM is a great way to say "hi there". Even if it's using 3050 tech with a PPC replacing the AC/10 of the original, some armour, and some small lasers to keep the TSM warmed up. I've always thought that the Hatchetman could be optimized as a BA hunter, with the hatchet turned 90 degrees to be a flyswatter to spank Elementals with.

[@robrib2682]

@@tenchraven I have a feeling that that would need an ax that would have to be shaped kind of like a pizza spatula with slightly rounded corners on the end facing away from you. You know the more I think about it the funnier it is that it would probably look exactly like the sort of thing that dwarves in a satirical setting would build

[@richardnicholson3827]

15.love that one's got to hurt.

[@MrAnpu42]

I designed a Hatcheman where I replaced the AC/10, 1 HS, and the RA Medium laser with an AC/20. I never used t but a fellow player did. During his 17 kill over 10-game (Nothing under 80 Tons) rampage he got his pilot 'Deathstalker' included three Assault Mechs in two turns. While in base-to-base contact with an Atlas, a Stalker, and a Cyclops. >Turn 1: AC/30 into the Head of the Stalker, Hatchet to the Head of the Atlas. >Turn 2: AC/20 into the head of the Cyclops, Hatchet to the Head of the Atlas. Now this was back when Punch/Axe used the Punch Table. The Hatchemen was totaled in almost every game, but we figured that with his kill count his CO figured that just keep giving him new Hatchenmen for each new battle was the best way to go.

[@Geeko170]

My best Hatchetman story was a small Ilclan game, where in a 6k list I had a HCT-8S supported by a Hollander and 2 squads of Cuchulainns, squaring up against a pair of full custom clan charge mechs. Thanks to the firepower of the BA squads and Hollander, the Hatchetman was able to jump around and wittle down the monstrosities until they couldn’t do much and used the hatchet to perfectly decapitate both mechs.

[@Bhaalspawn]

The full head ejection system also keeps the pilot enclosed, so if a vacuum or dangerous atmosphere you can be safe for a while to wait for retrieval.

[@ambientlight3876]

My 3025 variant uses a Phoenix Hawk engine, mounts 6 jump Jets, and mounts a single Large Laser replacing the auocannon, while the single medium laser in the left torso. It has 10 heat sinks and 8 tons of armor.

[@gmllama]

The iconic line art hatchetman adorns the cover of my 3-ring mech binder from the early 00's. We ran a huge campaign then and I'm pretty sure half of my forces were made up of Hauptmanns and Hatchetmans due to them being so comparatively cheap. I don't recall any of my hatchies pulling off much heroics but they certainly did try to close in for hatchet attacks every single damn time. Good memories.

[@jefffreese947]

As a long time fan of BT - I think that more "recent" fans tend to forget the "Mad Max" vibes of the early game. When the devastation of the Succession Wars had mankind on the brink of devolving to barbarism. At that time - designing a new battlemech was seen as a huge accomplishment, almost miraculous. The Hatchetman was always something that was new and looked cool, which was more than enough back then before the Clans and the hyper-optimized designs that proliferated to fight them. EDIT: On the MF variant did you intentionally but the ERSL in the same arm as the Hatchet? SInce you can't shoot them if you use the axe - with their short range I'd think that they'd be better off in the torso, even if you don't get the +1 from the AES.

[@1inimilian567]

I would not say that, I mean a lot of new people love the charger and that thing might as well be a forklift that someone strapped and turbocharged V8 to, put on a few sheets of mettle, installed half of a roll cage and then duct taped a 1911 to the exterior. Then used it to ram a refurbished Sherman. That is pretty mad max.

[@tenchraven]

Ah, when Hesperus was a scrap yard planet and there was reason to imagine a team of oxen pulling half of a mech out of a swamp. Or as someone who was a fan of the space cowboy genre before it was well defined, maybe I'm the only who saw the latter.

[@Zippercdrr]

Alot of us came from some Mechwarrior game, where Melee isn't a thing. Some of that's being undone by different personalities who emphasize the Macho Man antics

[@graveyard1979]

@jefffreese947 IntroTech wars, when replacing the head with a makeshift shuttle and bolting an axe to the arm was big tech breakthrough.

[@theelectricgamer9889]

I can’t wait for you to do the Hatchetman’s big brother (Axman) and it’s cousin (Berserker)

[@barrel5368]

I've always thought of the hatchetman as a far lesser version of the nightsky but tex's video on twycross really hit hard. Neat mech

[@bthsr7113]

In fairness, the Hatchetman came earlier, and was the first mech made with a hatchet. Very rarely does the very first implementation of a new tactic and weapon stay on top.

[@ogrehaslayers605]

"wedding cake without frogs on it" 😂😂😂

[@weinerp0wer]

I have been watching this channel long enough now to know the MF variant's plasma rifle is anything but an afterthought.

[@MechanicalFrog]

...maybe.

[@randomnetsurfer]

I find it hard to believe that we had to wait until the MF to get a mech with Hatchet+Plasma... yeesh. Good job, Sir Frog.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Seemed like a very long wait.

[@randomnetsurfer]

@@MechanicalFrog Personally I would have thought that one of the latter 'official' variants would have included one. I was disappointed that this would not be so. The PR is an excellent mid-to-short range weapon with additional capabilities, but perhaps the variants didn't have access to that tech (honestly I didn't check locations, perhaps I should have).

[@KeystoneCarcajou]

tweaked one of these once, swapping an LBX10 for a snub PPC and ferro armor. gave it a 5/8/5 and shifted the arm laser elsewhere, and added DHS. cool running with a devastating short range punch.

[@thegunslinger8806]

Tex: "I'm sure dropping this part about Kai's big last stand at the Twycross pass won't have any repercussions or aftershock effects in the community" One froggy mech boi: "BONJOUR"

[@da_BemBem]

The Hatchetman IS my favorite mech. Well, as close to favorite as anything that isn’t the Gladiator can be. The two swap spots pretty often, jumping up and down and around now and again. A few minor tweaks and it becomes, in my opinion, a peerless Trooper.

[@radwolf76]

Why do we love Hatchetman? His tragic conversion into a Negative-Essence Cyberzombie in the fluff from the sourcebook ShadowTech back on the cusp of first to second edition, giving a heavy narrative weight to the new mechanics that might have otherwise appealed to the more powergame-y types of players. No, wait, that's Shadowrun. Ok, BattleTech answer: When you need to confuse and bluff a column of clan mechs long enough to self destruct your own mech in their face to set off a chain reaction explosion with previously planted explosives down the length of the canyon, burying them, a mech with a built in melee weapon as its signature feature is an excellent choice. ( **Waves Hello to anyone coming in from the BPL to track down places to hear more from the members of the Van Zandt Militia.** )

[@michaelsudsysutherland5353]

I'm not the only one who really liked the Hatchetman largely as a result of the TRO 3025 artwork?!

[@matthewneuendorf5763]

Whoever drew that Tera Campbell art must have recently finished a Ghostbuster rewatch and was a really big fan of Gozer.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I'm not personally a big fan of the Legends books need to make every character look like they have radiation sickness or are burn victims.

[@Furluge]

4:52 - For a mech from the Succession Wars era you really do want that ammo in the Center torso because without case an ammo explosion basically means you're dead anyway, regardless of where the ammo is placed, so you might as well have it in your most heavily armored location. There's a reason why when they made Alpha Strike a critical result of an Ammo Explosion straight up kills a mech unless it has CASE. For those who do not know, ammo explosions apply the full damage for every unfired round of ammo directly to the internal structure of a mech, and it follows the standard damage transfer path toward the center torso.

[@TheDwarfchucker]

The 5K is no SWD-2 Swordsman. Love me that little trooper.

[@Dreadwolf3155]

first summer set strikers FTW! the ax man was one of the first mechs i ever saw! Hatchaetman is like its scrappy younger brother. soon as i found the mech i loved it!

[@jasonfarley9025]

Such good timing! Was this coordinated? Twycross from Tex, and the Hatchetman from you? Glorious!

[@MechanicalFrog]

A happy coincidence.

[@drinkbleachramune9014]

I need a-10 footage dubbed with frogs rac-5 noise

[@MechanicalFrog]

bzzzzzt bzzzzzt

[@gregkun1]

I made a Prized mech chassis hidden in a mimic chest. I called it the Hatchetman II! It was a 65-ton mech upgrade to the Hatchetman 5S variant that I modified to a 65-ton mech that resembled the 6D version. The unfortunate part about that battle scenario. The players arrived at the prize just one round before COMSTAR arrived and were forced to give it up to them. XD "That's what you get Rick! For needlessly wasting 11 rounds to targeting the city's nuclear power plant for a war crime badge!" Hatchetman II HCT-II Weight: 65 tons Cost: 11,072,160 C-bills or BV: 1,608 Role: Brawler Movement: 4/6/4 Engine: 260 Light Double Heat Sinks: 10 [20] / HEAT: 24/20 Cockpit: Standard Cockpit Gyro: Standard Gyro Armor: 188/211 (Ferro-Fibrous) / Internal: 104 Weapons: 1x Ultra AC/10 (Q) in the RT (3-tons of ammo two in the RT with CASE and one ton in the CT) 30 shots total. 4x Medium Lasers two in the LA & RA Equipment: Hatchet in the RA CASE in the RT Angel ECM Suite in the LT Quirks: Stable Prototype Anti-Aircraft Targeting Improved Sensors Weapon Quirks: Ultra AC/10 (RT): Accurate Weapon

[@robertbodov912]

Big stick goes *bonk*. That's why :|

[@TheCADDGUY]

Medium stick goes bonk

[@johannbezuidenhout2976]

Axman Jr.

[@TheStraycat74]

3050 full clan tech rebuild of The HatchetMan HCT-7A, 4/6/4, armor factor 153. 45 tons, 2.25t endo-steel, 3.5 clan XL + DHS, 5t standard cockpit and gyro, 2t jump jets, 8t fero-fiberous, 3t Hatchet (ra), 21.25tons podspace. PRIMARY Config: LB-10X (rt), 2t LBX ammo (rt cased), 4 MPL (r/la), 3 MG's (ra, r/lt), 0.5t MG Ammo (lt cased)

[@davidboothe9620]

Part of my Merc unit was a lance we called the lumberjacks. It was a scarabus, hatchet man, nightsky, and an axeman. They only worked when my unit was in a city flight. Inside the right confines they are just devastating. Mix them with demolishers, ontos, SRM carrier, and hunchbacks you create a nightmare.

[@LeuvahkTrigger]

For me its always been the look. The low head near the body looks like someone leaning forward, eyes focused on you in a glare, as opposed to something like a Hunchback who walks with an upright straightened spine. A hunter as opposed to a warrior. If mechs had family trees, they could be brothers.

[@mikegould6590]

I'll admit that 6D is pretty sexy. Hard to argue with "if you stay over there, you'll eat the RAC5, but if you come closer, you'll eat the Hatchet. Decisions, decisions..." RACCA 4 MORE DAKKA

[@JMIL3025]

15:52, there is a slight mistake. I know Comstar was giving information to Jade Falcon but suppling troops. With your Falcon leaning, you wanted them to be Com Guard troops instead of the Falcon Guard. Great watch while 3D printing.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Yeah I definitely meant to say Falcon Guard there. I've been reading too much Comstar lore...

[@imasspeons]

I was just about to post the very same thing but looks like you beat me.

[@NRSGuardian]

The thing I appreciate about the Davion Hatchetmans is that they don't put any of the ranged weapons into the hatchet arm so you can shoot all your guns and still use the hatchet. Most if not all of the non-Davion Hatchetmans have at least a medium laser in the hatchet arm which you have to forego if you want to use the hatchet.

[@MrNachtwulf]

Fun fact, when 3025 came out, there were no rules for hatchets. It did the same thing as a limb picked up off the ground, club rules. It was only later added to the rules, in Citytech first edition I believe, along with autocannons other than the ac5.

[@graveyard1979]

"I'm Commander Allard-Liao and this is my favorite Mech on Twycross." How much tonnage and critical slots is premium Stackpole-ite plot armor upgrade for the pilot, though? 😂

[@MechanicalFrog]

Yes.

[@null6634]

​​@@MechanicalFrog Hi. Great work. I'm new to the books and lore but have been playing the computer games since the Crescent Hawks Inception. In the second book of Blood of Kerensky, the farmer hears the doctor say, "Kay". So I think that is how Kai's name should be pronounced. In addition in one of the episodes of Of Mechs and Men, it was either Tren Sparks or Stackpole who referred to him as "Kay". It doesn't really matter, but it stood out to me in the books and I mentally corrected myself afterwards. So when I heard it on TTBT and here, I was curious which is correct. Edit. Lost Destiny Chapter 5 Erik smiled. “This far was the eye in a nasty storm. The battle raged all around, but no one came here. I found Deirdre wandering through the woods and I brought her back here.” His right eyebrow arched. “She called you, ‘Kay.’”

[@Brigand231]

The reason for the three ton discrepancy and lack of hatchet on the original record sheet was that the hatchet was intended as more like fluff or a quirk than actual equipment. When it caught on everyone said "why can't my mech have a hatchet too?", so they had to make it an actual piece of equipment and rules for it.

[@andrewszigeti2174]

We love the Hatchetman because it's a barbaric throwback. In a universe of ranged weapons, it's a melee brute. Having said that, a melee specialist mech that topped out at 64 kph and only had 6 tons of armor was always going to be a challenge to fight with. Replace the AC/10 with a PPC and put the difference into boosting the armor and heat sinks and it gets a LOT meaner.

[@polaris30000]

Hatchetman comes without a hatchet on the TRO. Diogenes comes screaming through the wall into the Archon's throne room piloting one, screams "Behold, a man!" while pointing to the lack of hatchet, and runs out again giggling.

[@Yacovo]

The Hatchetman: Really good at being used as a Battle Armor Clan Opener. Entered full production just in time to fulfill this purpose. A happy coincidence. Thanks for the video.

[@basilforth]

First of all, your enthusiasm communicated by your tone of voice is top notch! I think I realized a certain "je ne sais quo" about your episodes. You include the manufacturing information about the various systems when you describe them. Not sure that I've heard others do that. It adds a fun immersion to your video. Keep up the good work!

[@MechanicalFrog]

Thanks a lot. I appreciate the feedback.

[@Vulpine407]

This mech was nicknamed "The Mugger" for good reason. Even with it's weak armor, the original Hatchetman excelled at Urban ambushes. It would hide in wrecked buildings or even in narrow side streets with it's fusion plant idling as low as possible to reduce heat emission. MAG scan was usually useless in an urban environment (especially when the target wasn't moving) -so Hatchetmen could easily hide until a target wandered close enough that the pilot could reach it in a few short steps. Point-blank autocannon fire alongside two lasers followed by a devastating hatchet attack would often maul an opponent before they could even react. The Hatchetman could then jump away on the next turn, usually depriving it's victim of any chance to even the score. Best of all, Hatchetmen were relatively cheap to produce, allowing units to field them in teams of two or even three. Only assault class (and perhaps largest of the heavy class) mechs could hope to survive a surprise ambush by two or three well-hidden hatchetmen in an urban battlefield. Admittedly, this was a very specific situation in which the Hatchetman could thrive. But then one only has to look at the Capellan success record with Urbanmechs in city defense to see that, when operating in their ideal environment, Hatchetmen were very deadly indeed. Edit: I forgot that the Hatchetman cannot fire it's right-arm laser if it plans to attack with the hatchet. Still, it's a devastating one-two assault.

[@CapnArrich]

I liked the Hatchetman before the Tex video dropper. I was just pleased as punch that it was not only featured, but put in work. Coincidentally, do we know which model Kai rocked those clanners with? Sure not a 7D... 😂 Good stuff. Thanks, Frogman.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I think it was the 3F, iirc.

[@CapnArrich]

@@MechanicalFrog That would make the most sense I suppose. The only other option at the time was maybe just the 5S, I think. Another point towards the 3F is lack of designation, so bog standard. Cool.

[@KillerOrca]

Stackpole, as always, maintains his writing chops. I didnt know Blood of Kerensky was his work.

[@dantejones1480]

WHO gave the NORTHWIND HIGHLANDERS the Hatchetman?! Having their own namesake Mech and that thrice cursed jump attack is bad enough 😱😱.

[@Bluehairedgirl89]

Thank you very much for the time and effort you put into making this video Mech Frog, it’s hugely appreciated and I loved the video. I’m glad I finally got a chance to sit down and watch it! The Hatchman is my absolute favorites mech and it’s so cool hearing you detail it out. It’s kinda weird since its design and play style is pretty different from my own but that’s part of what makes me love it even more. I love my 7S or 5DT, although your own 1MF looks very fun. I can’t wait to check it out. Also thank you so much for telling the story of Tara Campbell in brief, she was a personal heroine of mine and it was the series about her during the Dark Ages that got me into Battletech along with giving me my love of the Hatchetman.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Thank you.

[@hideshisface1886]

My biggest problem with the original Hatchie is the speed. For a melee oriented machine, average is not enough. And with poor armour to boot, and exploding ammo slammed right into the middle, it presents a fairly easy and obvious target that does not take long to take down. The Hatchet itself is also a bit of a letdown. For a dedicated melee... it still does less damage than AC10 shot. It is better than bare fists, sure... But considering the risks one must take, and damage to get into range... One would expect a better punch. 5S - a nice refit, if we forget the speed remaining the same as this original... and the IS XL engine. I suppose one can't have everything. At least it can now do significant damage while attempting to close in. 6D - now we are talking. FINALLY a faster Hatchetman... in 3062... Better late than never. RAC/5, 3 ER medium Ls... Better armour. I'd say its decent for what it is. 5K - I'm torn on this one, honestly. If it was faster... Sure. But at least, it is a supreme candidate for that C3 slave unit, if it can get close and provide that juicy targeting data for the rest of the lance. And MRM-30 is nothing to sneeze at either. Sword slashes the damage but... at least it is more accurate. 7D - why does it exist?! 7R - now we are talking... Faster, well armed. It is nice, very nice even. 8S - a bit vanilla, but that Clan engine and weapons make all the difference they need. It took it a while, but this is what Hatchie should have always been. 2 tons of LBX ammo is also nice - it can strip armour while closing in, and crit-seek when needed. This is genuinely nice, if a insanely late. 5DT - now THAT is something, all right? TSM is damn fantastic here. Why did it take this long to slam it into the mech? It can run fast when needed, hit hard with its weapons, and once boosted, the hatchet itself can rip enemy mech's head clean off on a lucky hit. This is something genuinely deadly if you let it get close. Now... to pilot this probably requires similar levels of insanity as rushing in a Hunchback... But that is exactly what I love about the design.

[@angryscotsman93]

I feel like a melee mech like the Hatchetman genuinely NEEDS TSM to be decent, or else that hatchet is almost wasted space. Sure, hitting a little easier in melee with the same damage as a kick is decent, but a melee weapon for a mech should be a point-blank calamity, a block of brute force that strikes well above its weight class. Spending a bunch of weight on a weapon that doesn't even out-damage a PPC at point blank range just ain't worth it. WITH TSM, however, this thing can dish out 18-damage bursts that'll actually give people a reason to fear it.

[@dredlord47]

@@angryscotsman93 >Hatchetman genuinely NEEDS TSM Yes. Which is why it's ass backwards that it took until fucking **3150** effectively for them to put it in. You'd think that since it's a testbed mech that the first mech they'd put TSM **INTO** would be a Hatchetman since it gains the most from it. Also my personal Hatchetman's got a 8/12/3 movement before TSM, because I don't NEED long-ranged weapons if I have 5x Heavy Small Lasers, TSM, and a Hatchet.

[@angryscotsman93]

@@dredlord47 beautiful. I respect the hustle, my friend. And when I say hustle, I mean your mech screaming around at a couple hundred kilometers an hour.

[@csbonepatem]

I love the Hatchetman! My solution was always to turn it into a "zombie" as quickly as the campaign would allow. Originally it was dump the AC-10, max armor, and add some number of medium lasers and heat sinks depending on salvage. Once ER medium lasers appeared I would use some number of those, and double heatsinks if they could be refitted according to the GM. Good times!

[@malusignatius]

One of the scariest mediums to face in an urban environment, though the base variant's low speed and light armour make it vulnerable at range. I'm also a fan of the non-canon HCT-3X from the HBS game, 2 SRM-6s and 2 MGs give it a bit more combat endurance than the single AC-10, though at the cost of overall punch and range.

[@Mortvent]

I remember tweaking this thing a lot in the HBS battletech game... usually ripped the ac/10 out for a snub ppc, armor and some other tweaks. Made it nearly insane with near max armor for a 45 ton mech, good movement, heat and a wonderful light/vehicle killer early on

[@kierdalemodels]

Great vid, 🐸 I think this was the first melee-armed mech I knew of in BT. As you say, the original art is great. I love that it’s being worked on. Gives a great sense of scale.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Thank you.

[@scytheseven9173]

Even against a Spheroid like Tara Campbell, I just don't buy that the other Wolves would have followed Alaric Ward in contriving to wipe out the Northwind Highlanders as a way to get out of a duel he had lost, that's about as dezgra and un-Clanlike behavior as I can think of

[@Bluehairedgirl89]

Definitely!

[@Kepora1]

Also, gotta say this mech is screaming for a PPC or Large Laser instead of an AC10 or RAC2 on the respective variants. A Snub PPC or even a Plasma Rifle would make good replacements to allow more armor.

[@Zeeke01]

I love the hatchetman because it is stupid fun to play and go "Chop chop!" So to add the hatchetman stories, I had hatchetman brawl with another hatchetman... However me and my opponents rolls were just terrible and we were both missing each other constantly... It was glorious and btw they were the two last mechs standing and we agreed to call it a draw. With a lot of laughter. In my headcanon of this fight, both hatchetman pilots were bar buddies and just acting like they were fighting up until the other side called the retreat. Being both focused on acting like they were fighting they didn't realize the fighting was over and shook hands before they went back home.

[@MightyBolamite]

I like the Hatchetman, probably more than I should. I think the first couple of variants gave the chassis a bad name that it hasn't been able to shake for years. The later variants are pretty good. I will admit that most variants would benefit without a hatchet, but come on! I am particularly fond of the 7S. Three tons of ammo makes for a lot of fun special ammo combos you can bring to bear; and ECM is always a treat. Always remember: a mech with a hatchet will get an undue amount of attention from an opponent. You can always use that to your advantage.

[@MrMyu]

Hassan CHOP!

[@maeltac]

I say that almost every time I play a hatchetman in MW5

[@richardnicholson3827]

Darn, you beat me to the punch on that one.😆😄🤣👍

[@afitz34]

Younger players may not get the reference. 😂

[@richardnicholson3827]

@afitz34 Unfortunately, you're probably right on that one. That's when cartoons were really good. The good old Looney Tunes you can't beat them. I knew I should have taken a left turn at Albuquerque. Welcome to Pismo Beach and the great carrot festival.

[@TheStrayHALOMAN]

I had a TSM hunchback kinda like this mech with a Silver Bullet and hatchet that was able to trade fists with an atlas and win... Love me hatchet. It wasn't a hatchet man but it did great for the hatchetman we have at home.

[@bthsr7113]

Some thing old. Something crude. Something Bold. Something new. One of Man's oldest tools and weapons reimagined in the revitalizing of innovation.

[@ObiwanNekody]

I love seeing one instead of something that actually scares me.

[@raifsevrence]

Apocryphal HCT-4TL: *MMMMMMMMM* I cook my food before I cut it up. The filthy rich mercenary company's custom HCT-4TL: *DEAFENING* explosions and _WHOOSHING_ flames accompanied by insane cackling evil laughter...

[@krishonk7754]

Because if you got 60 minutes, call up Lovin' Dan, but if you need some chopping, call the Hatchetman.

[@memph1ston]

Tara Campbell and her Hatchetman were my first introduction to the mech, from "A Silence in the Heavens". Decent book!

[@h0shidont35]

As someone who hasn't ever used one, it feels like an interesting niche. It's right at the start of tonnage where i can see melee attacks being effective, and it presents thay as an interesting thesis.

[@imglidinhere]

I would make a variant but the 5DT model ticks every box for me. TSM is so very good for mechs like the Hatchetman and I'm very happy to see it used appropriately. :D Entirely too hot for the cooling it's equipped with, it cares not and the entire point is to warm up to bonk someone on the snoot in the most physical 'TAG YOU'RE IT" manner possible.

[@1inimilian567]

I saw this is a different comment section and I am forgetting the correct way to say it but I think this quote fits. “Hatchet man pilots are like charger pilots, except they have three more brain cells and are on methamphetamines to compensate for being to intelligent.”

[@calumdeighton]

Best exp I've had with a hatchman was when I ammo shot an Atlas from behind. Jumped, taken a Fire-Control hit and a single point of damage. Rolled a crit and scored big on the chart.

[@anotherdadjoke]

Storytime, involving the 7D: Buddy had a lance with that 'thing', a Phoenix Hawk, and 2 Archers against my 2 TDR's and a pair of walking war crimes (Piranha). He wins initiative for 3 rounds in a row and loses the 7D to a critical hit after losing all armor to all 3 back torsos trying to eliminate just one of my Piranhas. The Hawk went down the next round and we decided to call it there. I win 4-2. TL;DR: Overconfidence kills and Piranha are OP

[@ryanastheimer1521]

I am surprised that as the timeline moves forward that the Hatchetman and Battle Armor pairings aren't the norm. They seem like they would make good ambush buddies.

[@MechanicalFrog]

They would.

[@dredlord47]

From 3067, my variant of the Hatchetman "Zergface" has seen a wide use in arena fighting as well as in battlefield use. Especially in acquiring the salvage from the tubers necessary to make its modifications. With a 360 XL clan engine and 3 of 4 jumpjets, the Zergface is capable of achieving an 8/12/3 movement before activating its Tripple Strength Myomer. 8 tons of Clan FF armor keep the 'mech protected... enough. Ish. (I haven't died yet, so there's that at least.) 11 IS Double heatsinks, often turned off, keep the weapon from overheating *too* quickly, while 5 Heavy Small Lasers keep her toasty and the TSM turned on, two in the left torso, two in the right, and one in the CT right in the crotch. Because I had to. A Clan Laser AMS helps to keep missiles off my ass while I charge. Most memorably, I 1V1'd a Kodiak and won because I cut his legs off between the hit rolls of the lasers and the hatchet. My commander never gives me good orders, though. Always tries to have me stand and fight instead of continuing to move after smackin' a bitch despite speed being the primary thing keeping me alive.

[@ryanastheimer1521]

Given The Hatchetman's prestige and history-1st new Inner Sphere mech design, Federated Suns-Lyran Commonwealth collaborative effort, a 3049 Helm tech variant/test bed, Twycross; I wonder why it didn't get an Omnimech version. Bumping the weight up 5 tons like the Blackjack omni could have shored up the early model's weaknesses.

[@douglasbaker4562]

I hate to nit pick, but the Hatchetman came out in 3023 whereas the Vindicator came out in 2826.

[@MechanicalFrog]

We don't count anything coming out of the Capellan Confederation. They are silly.

[@douglasbaker4562]

@@MechanicalFrog As a proud Taurian, I understand entirely. Good day to you, Sir.

[@andrewrose3748]

Given the clans supposed aversion to melee combat you'd think there would be more inner sphere melee monsters to take advantage especially in city fights where ER everything wouldn't matter

[@kingleech16]

I really want your sound effect for the rotary autocannon to make its way into one of the Battletech games!

[@MechanicalFrog]

Bzzzzt bzzzzzt....

[@STSGingie]

I'm very happy you included the DD Dakka Dakka variant. I was enamored with it when I read it's profile in Shrapnel. It may not be effective but it is fun!

[@wttncfrep3628]

It's been a good week for Hatchetman fans, between this video and Tex's Twycross film it's getting some prime top billing