More designs for Alpha Strike, this time from MFUK, also, some designs from Battletechnology!

A lot of us remember a little organization known as MechForce UK (MFUK), and the nifty record sheets and miniatures they put out. I remember getting my hands on their Crusader variant (the Templar, which had multiple medium lasers), and then letting it sit in my "to-do" box until I sold the entire thing as I needed to make room as I was moving, that's ok, it went to a good home.

Recently, they have established a Facebook page and have posted all of their published works for free download if you are a member of the page. I naturally decided, why not convert some of the designs to Alpha Strike?

I also made to convert some designs from an oldie but goodie, Battletechnology, which I used to pick up with gust from my FLGS every time I saw a new issue.

So, I did. Note, this list is not exhaustive...but I picked some designs we could all have some fun with and can get some miniatures easily for, or just happened to catch my fancy...

So, without further ado, let's get started, shall we?

Clan-Model Battlemaster

Both models of the Clan-model Battlemaster are absolute beasts at Medium and Short range, at Long range, the Wolf Clan model has a slight advantage, but the Nova Cat model is a bit more heat efficient, and a bit faster, due to the fact the 'Cats took an 85 ton Battlemech, and made it 75 tons, which can be an unpleasant surprise for a lot of folks expecting a 8" move out of a bog standard Battlemech. The Wolf Clan mech is tougher though, and can take a real pounding, whereas the Nova Cat model, once the armor is gone, you're best served to make for home, as you're not going to be around very long. Point values are similar, due to the fact both 'Mechs are obscenely over-gunned. Both of these models would go very well in a solahma or other 2nd Line Trinary, and would be a fun opponent for anybody raiding either Clan's holdings.

The "Wolfman"

When the "Wolfman" appeared in the pages of Battletechnology, I was, unlike most readers, intrigued. It was the heyday of "Mad Max Battletech" and I think everyone designed at least one "FrankenMech", but this one had some real promise. Somehow, even with FASA Physics, they got a 60 ton Rifleman and a 55 ton Wolverine to somehow meet in the middle and make a decent, if not great Medium design that would be...respectable if you're playing 3025. It's got promise as a Sniper, but it's not the fastest thing on the table. It can at least hit out to Long range, but the damage numbers are a bit anemic, and when you have more structure than armor? It's best not to go picking a close range fight. But, it's got a decent TMM and I do wonder if a SL-tech refit of this thing might be fun to try, of course, Ultras are just right out, the weight is kinda tight on this design.

FOX-1X Fox Fire

The Fox Fire comes from the MFUK book "The Further Adventures of the Fox's Teeth" by David L. McCulloch, who also wrote Starterbook: Sword and Dragon. Both books had a lot of similarities in the way they treated the Fox's Teeth, but "Further Adventures..." went more into detail into the unit's activities raiding the 'Clans. Moreover, they had some 'Mech designs in the back of the book, including this one; the FOX-1X Fox Fire. So, there's a lot to like here. It's probably one of the nastiest 40 tonners I have ever seen. It's fast, even faster when the TSM activates, which with no overheat, it won't in Alpha Strike. It's an all energy loadout, and has ECM, so it's really going to dash in, wreak havoc, and then run like hell before the heat comes down. which I can appreciate in a design. In short, this is a 'Mech with few bad habits and a lot of good ones. Just don't get into any long range fights with this thing..it's not meant for it.

PLG-1N Pillager

We know, this is a 'Mech from Stardate Magazine, but I decided I wanted to have an original Pillager with the original artwork. And yes, it does look pretty good, no? The Pillager dates back to when 'Mechs had two pages of lovingly crafted and written TRO entries (and the Pillager's original entries were at times, a bit unsettling...especially under the notable pilots section). But as a 'Mech, who wouldn't want something in the 3025 era that packed two AC/20s? Heck, this thing could compete in the later eras as well. It's not fast, nor is it blessed with long range fire, but it's Short and Medium range numbers are scary, not to mention if you throw in the overheat. My best advice for fighting a 'Mech like this? Don't close, ever. Shower this thing in LRM fire and call it a day, but it's going to take a lot of LRMs to do it, as the armor and structure numbers are gigundus. 

So, that's it for today. I will post more as I can make them, but hey, this ought to keep you guys happy for a while.

Custom Alpha Strike Mechs, Part 3

This is the last of my article series on custom designs for Alpha Strike. It's been fun doing this, and sharing them with you, my readers.

Some of these are again, refits that occurred to me that make a bit of sense and in one case, I actually made a miniatures conversion for it (and boy, was it a lot of work). One was an also ran in a CBT.com forum contest, that actually I think is a solid 'Mech design.

So, without further ado, let's get started.

HBK-6S Hunchback

Come on, who doesn't have their Hunchback HGR refit? Well, this one is mine. The medium range, of course, isn't bad. the others well, don't try to fight this thing at long range IMO. Speed is meh, armor is decent, but nothing to write home about. Basically, this gets an HGR into the fight and keeps it there for a bit.

HBK-7M Hunchback

Ok, this was an idea I am surprised nobody came up with. A serious (not fanciful) attempt to increase the engagement range of the Hunchback. (Gauss Rifles are nice, but nah, not my idea of a serious idea for the Hunchback, congrats, you just created the world's slowest Hollander). So, I removed the AC/20, and replaced it with an Ultra AC/10. More range, and yeah, both shells MIGHT hit? Is it a perfect solution? No. but it beats having the jerk with a PPC (most Capellan designs) dance out of range of your guns while he picks you apart. Now you have a surprise for him. A lance of these things would be real fun to see, damage is respectable, but not awesome at Medium and Long range, which is what it's intended to do. Armor is again, meh. So is speed. You use the 'Mech inside it's role, and you'll do alright. 

HCT-8S Hatchetman

An all-energy Hatchetman with TSM, and it's faster to boot. Yeah, I am also surprised nobody came up with this sooner either.  It's initial damage curve is low, but the Overheat makes it brutal. The speed is nice, and with a 10"j move, there is not a lot of places you cannot get on the table. Armor is decent, but structure is weak (my darn XL engine fetish again). In short, this 'Mech is a striker, it gets into trouble, hits fast, and then runs like hell before the weight of fire comes down. It also does well as a Skirmisher, probing the enemy line to find out where it is.

LND-1R Landschenkt

The Landsheckt is an affordable 'Mech for mercenaries, but with new tech. Entries were capped in the proposal for the contest at 7.5 million C-Bills, and I think I came in around 5.5 or so. It was reasonably fast, based on a Thunderbolt Chassis, but strengthened, and had a Gauss Rifle, a brace of lasers and machine guns (hey, counter-insurgency contracts come and go, right?) and had decent armor.

It came in as an honorable mention, and I was happy with that. I still think it's a viable design for merc outfits, or some of the more wealthy militias out there. Speed is meh, but the damage curve is pretty decent. It does a skirmish role well, and can stand in the line pretty well too. It's armor is good, and will take punishment for a while, and if it gets close, it's going to hurt with both the weapons, and the hatchet. In short, this thing is a fairly decent design for the intended role.

NSR-9D Nightstar

This is my idea of an emergency variant for the Victor forces and other customers for the Nightstar during the Civil War era. A shortage of Gauss Rifles could lead to an emergency variant mounting RAC/5s instead. I can see this thing being real popular after, though it has some flaws, namely, ammo limits, but RACs have always done well by me. At least, they have in CBT.

The 'Mech loses some of that granularity in Alpha Strike, but it is still a beast, especially if it Overheats. Close and Medium range firepower is just plain scary, it moves well, for an Assault, especially when it jumps. It may not have the twin Gauss to hold enemies at bay, but pair this with some plain vanilla Nightstars, or some other Assaults with LRMs or Gauss, and this thing is going to put some hurt out there.  Armor is quite a bit, so you can stay in close for a while, but once it's penetrated, it's time to go, as the structure is a bit thin.

I did a miniature conversion for this thing, but inexplicably, I did not take any pictures of either one I worked on? Good thing I still have one, eh?

More Custom Designs for Alpha Strike, Part 2

So, here we are again with some more custom designs, I really used to churn them out in my youth, and one we're going to see here is an oldie, but a goodie. It's killed a lot of Clan 'Mechs since my Junior High days when I first unleashed this monster.

The rest are more refits, ideas that popped up here and there, and a 'Mech I designed during a really dark night. Who says looking into the abyss can't have it's inspiration?

So, without further ado?

DCR-7/8/9/10D Destructor

I designed the Destructor to respond to some of the issues I was having in CBT at the time (Junior High). I was tired of folks in light mechs getting behind my heavier stuff with impunity, and when I read the rules about arm flips..I got inspired. Very inspired. I also had, at the time, been reading a lot about WW-I Battleship and Battlecruiser design, and it has influenced my ideas on 'Mech design to this day, where I tend to group my weapons into range brackets, one bracket for long range, one for medium, and one for short, with Alphas only for emergencies. 

I must say, it worked pretty well, the Destructor, in an early field test, killed a Dasher that tried to get behind it on the left side..right where the Gauss Rifle flipped around and caught it in the face. 15 points to a Dasher's leg is enough to pretty much put it out of action.

It also went nuts and melted a Mad Cat's center torso with it's bevy of Medium Pulse Lasers. Yeah, it was a monster, but a hot running one. You really had to watch the heat with the Destructor, but it delivered on the mayhem quotient, if you understood how to use her. 

In Alpha Strike, she is a well armored beast, though not much structure (I had a thing for XL engines in Junior High/High School). Her range numbers are to be honest, a bit surprising to me, but the overheat of 3 doesn't. If it wants to go wild, it sure can, but it will pay for it.

I have upgraded the design over the years, the 8D was an attempt to increase some speed and lethality at close range. It worked, to a point, and the overheat goes down to 2. It's still a beast of a design, in my opinion. The increased speed is a plus, but like most assault mechs, it should stay close to it's lancemates.

The main change I made with the 9D was replacing the Gauss Rifle with an Ultra AC/20 and the SRM-6 with an SRM-4 Streak. It made the 'Mech an absolute beast at close range, but hurt the long range potential. Thus, the 9D is like a lot of Assault 'Mechs, it needs to be close to do most of the hurt it's capable of. The Overheat of 4 is very high, probably the highest I have ever seen it on an Alpha Strike card. Yeah, the 9D could be frightening at close range. But with it's movement, it has to get there.

The 10D was a hybrid of the 8 and 9D, but the Gauss Rifle was replaced by a RAC/5 and a Targeting Computer. All the lasers became standard versions, and yeah, the numbers were not at all changed from the 9D. 

All in all, properly used, the Destructor is a beast of a 'Mech. But that hinges on the concept of "properly used". Improperly used, the 'Mech will easily shut down and become a paperweight. Judicious use of the overheat rule, however, will make a lot of threats go away.

Cadet

This 'Mech was designed to answer the question of "what the heck do the Clans use for training 'Mechs?" So, I designed this. As it turns out, it's a solid 40 ton design with one of each basic type of weapons system in CBT: Projectile, Short and Long Range Missile, and Energy. It's not the most mobile 45 tonner in the world, but it can jump, and the weapons systems are all tried and true. In fact, some of the lesser clans probably issue the mech to some of their Solahma clusters.

So how does she translate into Alpha Strike? As you can see, pretty respectably, decent armor, and structure, good turn of speed, and decent damage at all rangebands. It's TMM is a bit low for it's type, but hey, it's a training 'Mech, right?

TG-1V-Totenvogel

The Totenvogel (Death Bird) has been one of those designs that came unbidden during a night I'd kinda rather forget. Sometimes, it's not always the light that inspires us. And this thing, well, it's the Aramis answer to the Stuka.  She was designed to deal primarily with non-Mech forces in an urban environment. You can imagine what uses Aramis put her to. I guess I should not have been surprised, but the Totenvogel seemed to have a bit of a following on the internet at one point, and it was fun to write the fluff, from a dark point of view, but we're not here for any of that.

We're here to see how this thing translates into Alpha Strike.

The TG-1V model translates pretty much as it should, it's a 55 ton 'Mech optimized for urban combat, good turn of speed, and it jumps. Armor is meh, but what do you expect? She can put out decent, but not great firepower at close range, and even can do some damage at long range.

The TG-2V model was a field modification done by Aramis 'Mechwarriors who felt they needed more anti-Mech firepower from the design. It increased the medium range firepower a bit, but other than that, it's really not that much different from the 1A.

Well, that is it for today, see you next time!

Some Custom Designs for Alpha Strike, Part 1

As we all know, name a CBT player who doesn't have a custom design, or 20 sitting around in a folder, or a hard drive somewhere. Maybe about half of them have actually been played with, but hey, what the heck, right, it's fun just to develop the things!

One thing about Alpha Strike is that it granulates the Record Sheets into small cards, and yes, some of the more nuanced features of our designs tend to get lost, but let's face it, it's a great way to get a veritable horde of your designs onto the table!

So yeah, I love the CBT Conversion rules in the Alpha Strike Compendium and love to make use of them. I will admit that my point numbers may be off, but they don't seem off when I compare them to other units in their weight class.

All in all, it's more fun 'Mechs to play with and fold, spindle, and mutilate.

So, without further ado:

ARC-3K Archer

The ARC-3K Archer was designed as basically a SLEP for older Combine Archers in militia units, it's got a pair of MRM-30s and some lasers for backup. I didn't think of this thing as much more of a spew a few missiles, then wade in and beat the snot out of whatever got hurt badly enough by said missile spam.

In Alpha Strike, the MRMs cost it a long-range capability, but with 4 damage at close and medium range, it's a contender in it's weight class. It's got an Overheat of 2 if it needs it, which means potentially, in close, it could be really nasty, though with a Speed of only 8, it's going to have quite the time getting there. Armor and Structure are, meh, but what do you expect? And it has some rear protection, so it won't be totally helpless if outflanked, but best it stays close to it's lancemates with it's speed and TMM.

BNC-3E Banshee Pirate

Ok, this thing was in response to a contest on Scrapyard Armory, design the meanest Banshee refit you can for a bandit king who had been a Merc on the Clan Front..or at least that's how I remember the RFP. Well, ok, so I managed to put a hatchet, a pair of LRM-10s and a Large Laser, along with some medium pulses in the thing...and downgraded the engine, while adding some jump jets, and the armor is pretty scary. And yeah, I did win that contest...

So how did I do? With a 2 damage at Long Range, and 5 at Medium and Close? Yikes. It's got CASE, so the ammo explosions aren't a factor. Not to mention the Hatchet means a longer melee range. It's move, even with the jump, is still only 6, but hey, you can at least get over a ton of obstacles.  And the armor..what is not to like about the armor, right? Considering this was in the hands of a 2 pilot in the scenario pack? Yeah, bad news.

CRB-29/30 Crab

This version of the venerable Crab was in my mind, the Combine's early response to the Clan Ryoken. The original Crab was in many cases, undergunned, and too slow to deal with the favored medium OmniMech of the Smoke Jaguars. So, while the Crab is in many ways, a tight design, it's not one that doesn't have SOME room for improvement.

I made the engine XL, and then replaced the Large Lasers with ER PPCs. I then added a few heat sinks and made the 'Mech a 6/9. It's probably more vulnerable than a stock Crab, but it can move as fast as a Ryoken, and it may not have her firepower, but it's able to choose the time and place of the engagement at least.

So, for Alpha Strike,  my thoughts bore out, her firepower is 3 in close and at medium range, with a 2 at long, respectable for her weight class, but it probably won't bring down a Ryoken. She can move respectably at 12, but there are faster in her weight class. She is an energy boat, so no ammo worries, and she doesn't have overheat, which has good and bad points. But, she does have some possibilities, just so long as you realize the armor is meh, and the structure is flimsy. Don't get her into any trouble you cannot get out of just as fast.

The 30K was a slight improvement, I added TSM, which improved the speed, and somehow found room for jump jets. That kind of mobility could potentially cause even some Clan Light 'Mech designs some real trouble, and the 30K has real potential as a Striker, as well as a Skirmisher.  But, she loses a little of her firepower to make room for all this. There are better armed Light 'Mech designs in my opinion.

EPR-22/23 Epee

The Epee was in the vein of the Draconis 'March's creation of the Sentry and the Watchman. Both designs were meant to be a SLEP (Service Life Extention Program) for captured Combine Panthers in DMM and planetary militia units. Robinson Battleworks took some 200 captured Panthers in hand, replaced the engine with an XL, replaced the PPC with an ER Large Laser, and improved the armor coverage.

So, how did it all play out? Well, she is faster than the average Panther. Probably equal in the armor and firepower department,  but the speed will matter in an engagement with any model of Panther. She still has the SRMs, and all in all, she is a decent Panther upgrade. She even has some sting at long range and decent firepower up close. The armor and structure is a bit fragile, but for a light mech, it's not too bad.

The 23 is meant as an upgrade for frontline units in the Draconis March that have captured Panthers, like the Robinson Rangers, and the New Ivaarsen Chasseurs. The 23 has a little less firepower, but an all energy loadout, and with ECM, can do her share to disrupt those Combine C3 networks.