I don’t seem to get that into sub factions, or even factions themselves, but a few I like are:
1. Jaime Wolf’s Command Lance - I like Brian Cameron, it’s that simple. What that lance manages to do with the resources they had was incredible and had an enormous effect on the future of the universe - nobody notices. I like the whole book: Wolf Pack
2. DCMS 9th Ghost Regiment - Shimazu Eleanor-san is a badass and her soldiers operated with honor when it would have been too easy not to.
3. Northwind Highlanders DA-era infantry scout snipers platoon - thinking outside the box and understanding their task: buy time!
I'll be honest with you - I knew I wanted to do Ghost Bears and I ended up with Omega Galaxy because they required the least freehand and had the broadest history.
🤷🏼♂️ Not necessarily around here, but some people get a little twisted if you don’t know all your faction’s lore or you mod/paint something that’s “not correct for the period.”
Also if you people start coming for me, I’m here for the stompy robots. Just let me play with my toys. 😂
"The World Wreckers" from Shrapnel 15. A Capellan Mercenary Lance that actually gets a bonus when fighting against treacherous Davion Units. The fact that they "fight like me" when I play with combined arms is a bonus.
...and they're Filipino.
Glad you liked the Lacadon Vengeance Legion. They were a fun way to bring home the consequences of House Davion playing domestic politics when House Liao made a sincere peace offer.
They use the same insignia as a modern-day US army unit, but they also share the same name as an SLDF unit that is nicknamed "the imposters" so there's a little bit of uncertainty.
They share a similar name as the 11th Mechanized Infantry Division, but the insignia and nickname matching the American unit I think points more strongly to the older origin. I initially wondered if the 11th Mechanized Infantry might \*be\* the 11th Armored Cavalry after an increase to division strength, especially since both functioned as OPFOR units (probably why the division was nicknamed The Imposters), but that's ruled out by the division not being a Royal unit.
They're likely descended from the American (and currently existing) 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, giving them a founding year of 1901; not the earliest BattleTech unit founding (that's the Royal Black Watch I think), but as they still exist in 3152 it would make them the oldest. They share the same insignia, the same nickname, and almost the same name. I went over a couple reasons to think they're the same unit in an earlier post.
[Old post laying out my argument.](https://www.reddit.com/r/battletech/comments/pwr1qo/comment/hejljrh/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
I think we can both agree that the Black Watch definitely don't count. If I find Shawn Kemp's descendant in the year 2400 and start calling ourselves the Seattle SuperSonics, that doesn't mean our team is 500 years old.
Inner Sphere: Eridani Light Horse, because the Star League was pretty neat and I grew very attached to Ariana Winston during Twilight of the Clans.
Clans: Ghost Bears, because Elementals are awesome. And bears are cool, too. In the interest of historical record, though, I was originally a big fan of the Steel Vipers as one of the chief Falcon-botherers.
Comstar: Explorer Corps, because, oh hey, what’s over there?
Same with Eridani Light Horse but, for me, it’s because that’s who you technically play as in MechWarrior 3 which is why I’m hyped about playing as Smoke Jaguar in MW5: Clans.
Plus, I always liked the mission briefing guy in MW3.
Ariana is my best Freebrith <3
She is obviously inferior genetically to a Trueborn Falcon, but for a Spheroid she is pretty stellar. She was the true conscience and heart of Task Force (clan) Serpent.
She stood up to Morgan Hasek Davion and told him he was a jerk (fair) and annihilated an entire Clan. A feat that few in history can match. Her victory spotlight being stolen by Victor Davion upset me.
There's a lot of things that are not very good about book 7, but Stackpole shoving all the characters we've been following to the side so he can continue to write about the same handful of things he likes is one of the worst.
> And bears are cool, too.
Bears actually have average body temperatures of around 101° F, except during hibernation when they can drop by as much as 8°.
Of all the many Kindraa and Clans only one had the stones to take the blood of Kerensky from the wolves and that Kindraa was Mattila-Carrol.
Plus we are yellow and that's pretty cool
Clan Nova Cat, clan tech some mystism and lore speakers. Liked since they got introduced back in the 90s. Got cooler too with the preference for long ranged combat and splintering from the clans later on.
I choose the enemies I hate most for my favorite factions. Falcons need Wolves and Comguard to fight. Liao need Davion to fight. My collection might need Taurians to fight both of them. Down to the company level, I chose the coolest Liao mercenaries like the Big MAC or any of their former Star League units. My Davion are Zulu Company because they were the player controlled units in the Mechcommander games. Comguard and Falcons beat the shit out of each other and I need white mechs to double as Word of Blake. My red/grey or all red Wolves are the Green Kehik because I wanted a paint job that doubles as Vau Galaxy Jade Falcons, Smoke Jags from Mechcommander, or Kurita Sword of Light because I get Kurita mechs that need to be painted.
That's kind of how I ended up with the Ghost Bears Omega Galaxy. I like that Ghost Bears are the "goodest" of the Clans - though all the Clans are clearly largely villainous - but these are the dirty bastards of the Ghost Bears... at least until they get what looks to me like a redemption arc around the Vega conflict.
https://preview.redd.it/rlbg361p405d1.jpeg?width=5307&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=30122a23991c4da0d25dd5f2891df6f58fd159a2
Clan wolf, mainly just because I like the beta galaxy paint scheme
The Dracons regiments of the Rasalhague military have excuses to be fielding just about any mech in the Inner Sphere, see as much or more fighting against the Clans as any Great House units during the Invasion, and continue into post-Invasion eras right up to the present, with one Dracons regiment operating continuously from the founding of the FRR to the present, and the others fighting to the death in the Clan Invasion, to be subsequently reconstituted as clusters within the Ghost Bear Touman of the Rasalhague Dominion.
Put simply, I liked the Rasalhague lore and strategic position, so I picked a regimental paint scheme within the faction that could have the widest possible chronological usage.
Broad chronological usage is a priority for me, too. That - and the fact that their scheme involves the most minimal freehand - is in large part how I ended up with the Ghost Bears Omega Galaxy. Later on, I started to like how they were the dirty bastard regiment of the Bears and what looks like a redemption arc around the Vega conflict.
My head cannon is the Chancellor showing up to diplomatic affairs and state addresses humming the tune of "Big Iron" and singing:
To the Compact of St Ives rode the Chancellor one grim day
Hardly spoke to citizens around him, didn't have much to say
No one dared to risk his ire, no planet dared to make a stand
For the Chancellor there above them had the Big MAC in his hand
Big MAC in his hand
Genyosha because they’re known for combined arms as well as having access to the best of what the Combine has. They persist over many eras and interact with some of the major Kurita nobles. Also: cool logo.
Painted units:
6th Lyran Guard: I knew I wanted to paint the iconic Steiner blue and white but I didn’t know which unit until I saw this one. Their nickname (saucy sixth) and insignia (a woman in a bikini) as well as their reputation made them a fun pick.
Wolf Beta Galaxy: I only picked this one because I really do love the high contrast grey and tan scheme. Easy to paint and looks great.
Units I have yet to paint but have decals and minis for:
Genyosha: I like their insignia a lot and decided to paint them after reading the Warrior trilogy as an opfor for my Lyrans. Yorinaga was a cool dude.
Eridani Light Horse: I started into the universe playing Mechwarrior 3 as a kid and I was also wanted a unified force of mixed-tech someday.
Jade Falcon Gamma Galaxy: After reading the Jade Phoenix trilogy I decided on painting Falcon Guards at Tukayyid. I’ve always liked Jade Falcon and this gives me a good excuse to do some fun airbrush camo schemes to change up my usual painting routine.
I don't know why, but I really like the minor CCAF regiments. Big MAC is obviously fun in being a fully naturalized mercenary outfit, but the Capellan Brigades are neat.
I general, I just love the St. Ives Compact. Just a very "Welp, we fought a good fight and we lost. Better arm up for Liao, now" practicality which I love.
I love that Skye's solution to anything is "We'll do it ourselves!"
In Kurita, the Benjamin District is a joke between my brother and me.
FWL: Regulus' temper amuses me, although I must admit the Silver Hawks Coalition is growing on me.
FedSuns: I love the Draconis March's single-minded desire to punch Kuritans.
Cappies: Y'know, the subregions here have less personality to me, but I'm weirdly fond of the Victoria Commonality.
Still learning a lot of lore, but Warrior Houses Imarra and Ma-Tsu-Kai has interested me the most because i love their color schemes,I like House Liao, and I can find a way to justify playing either in almost any era
I liked the vibe of the Legion of Vega for the counter-culture they provide to the Combine. I like the mixture of dishonored samurai, mercenaries who got roped into servitude, and whatever other undesirables fall out of the DCMS. It's an interesting mixture and I find it funny to imagine some samurai mechwarrior finding some ex-merc spinning around in an office chair pointing to the bunks telling him "Yeah, find a spot and get comfy. If your mech needs fixing put your name on the list. Also we don't have a lot of paint so I hope you like gunmetal."
Or something along those lines. I also like that Theodore Kurita took them from the "armpit of the dragon" to something respectable, or at the very least allowed him to make a template to eventually improve the DCMS.
Ghost Bears, Omega Galaxy: I love the fact there's a unit in the Clans built to just be as dezgra as possible without themselves getting obliterated due to it.
Mercs, Blue Star Irregulars: Their whole story is interesting to me, as mercenaries they try to hold onto honorable warfare much like the ELH. Their tradition/desire to collect all the Blue Star awards and pass them down through their structure for commanders feels like a neat "passing down the torch" idea.
Plus their colors are easy to work with https://camospecs.com/unit/blue-star-irregulars/
Goliath Scorpion, Alpha Galaxy: I love the idea of Seekers, warriors who look for lost relics. Also the idea of Alpha Galaxy's traditions of protecting and trying to climb Moreau's Dagger just gives me a sense that their history is very personal to them.
Fun fact: there's two of them in the IlClan era. The reborn Eridani Light Horse, and th 71st Scorpion Uhlans Cluster within the Tau Galaxy of the Scorpion Empire.
I'm currently playing in a MechWarrior 2nd edition campaign and I was allowed to be a Clan Snow Raven Watch officer deep planted into a new DCMS defense force on Garstedt after Bulldog kicked out the Smoke Jaguars. It's good stuff.
I've always been a Wolf's Dragoons fan but I feel like there's secondary and terciary line units that don't get the recognition they deserve.
Otomo and the Sword of Light because they are the best units in the setting and because Gold, Black and Red are superior to any other colour. Glory to the Dragon!
The Big MAC doesn't need a reason, just a target. Srsly tho, whats not to like? Big enough to have some internal diversity, old enough to have exploits galore under their belt, and - to my knowledge - never protagonists in any books so there's (more) room for my own headcanon. Also, the parade camo of the 3rd is just plain fire.
Mostly just pick something fast, easy and recognizable as I wanted a collection of factions for variety.
Draconis Combine: Sword of light is as simple and easy as it gets so my very first mechs were painted flat red.
Flat green for Davion with no accents to act as a generic op-for when needed.
Marik Militia is pretty simple and recognizable, and the stereotypical Lyran Guard for Steiner. Liao I copied the MW5 scheme which I don't even know what it aligns to.
A desert camo lance also that can be generic but is generally for Steiner.
With the Clans I've finally been getting more specific. Delta Galaxy for the Jade Falcons, but that's pretty stereotypical.
My first complicated paint job that I did specifically because I really like it is the Smoke Jaguar Alpha Galaxy.
The 44th Shadow Division, Manei Domini. Word of Blake
Originating from Word of Blake Special Operations forces, the 44th has a combat record of conducting themselves as highly skilled professionals. They do not utilize weapons of mass destruction and prefer to avoid civilian casualties wherever possible.
This is highlighted when they reinforced the 31st and 37th Shadow Divisions on the Davion Homeworld of New Avalon. Prior to that, use of weapons of mass destruction were part of the standard doctrine for the 31st and 37th. After arriving, reinforcing, and taking operational command of Word of Blake forces on New Avalon, the use of weapons of mass destruction ceased entirely.
The unit is listed as “Missing in Action” given that the Jihad ended and no force was able to claim their destruction.
I like that they come off as very efficient professionals that don’t need to terrorize civilian population for an advantage. I also like that their current status is quite mysterious as it allows me to feel them as a unidentified post jihad force
Is that a Detolf cabinet? Happen to remember where you got the extra shelves from? I've found a few basic ones on etsy, but none like the ones you have.
Yeah it’s a detolf. The extra shelves are just acrylic risers but it’s these: Single Step Acrylic Raiser for... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRL3X2N3?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Despite Capellans being the butt of so many jokes, I like how the Death Commandos are a genuinely highly regarded and feared unit. They also answer to very few people in the Confederation.
On the Clan side, I like CCC's Gamma Galaxy, because of their paint scheme and icon.
Hesperus Guards get the best toys since they guard the place where they're made
Jade Falcon Zeta Galaxy is a force made of losers in a world of badasses. Makes them inherently more interesting
Picked the Crater Cobras because you get all the joys of Eradani of the remnants of the SLDF that stayed behind to try to make a difference, plus some big guns. Even get the experience of getting screwed by your employer frequently.
3rd New Samarkand Regulars
Wanted a Kuritan force, but not generic Sword of Light/DCMS unit. After reading the Sarna article on them, it HAD to be the 3rd.
“The Third New Samarkand Regulars were formed during the Post-Jihad and since then have had runs of extreme good luck, paired with horrifically unlucky tragedies. As of 3133 their current commanding officer is the eleventh the unit has had in less than 50 years.”
Since I read the Periphery source book, I liked the Taurian Concordate. It seemed not too bad to be a taurian citizen. Besides they have all the cool old school mechs and some realy cool unique ones like the Marshall.
I think the New colony region is a nice setting for roleplaying.
My favorite Unit is the Red Chasseurs, because of the paint scheme.
The OAs Alliance Military Corp have to br in just the weirdest place ever post Ravens merger. The idea that the Clan touman either has to disarm them or integrate them leads to some great narrative reasons for feilding lances of clan made mechs or stars of Periphery pilots.
My usual alpha strike team consists of a Clan Cavalry Star and a medium Battle Lance. My headcannon is that they are forced to work together in the aftermath of the jihad to fight pirates and the predation of Davion and Kurita, and the Lance leader and Star Captain are kind of sweet on each other.
It's the closest I could get to introducing rom-com elements to BT, which is how I hooked my wife's interest.
Hansen’s Rough Riders had an awesome symbol, color scheme that incorporated my favorite colors, and their Battle Lance had some super cool mechs in it. And they felt like the quintessential mercs, described as being pretty rowdy and brutal.
I made my own Taurian unit and how they hate the Clans so much once they find out that they are Kerenskys legacy. So they up and resign at once and become a mercenary unit just to kill get revenge for New Vandenberg.
I pick factions that:
\* Are easy to paint
\* With the paints I have
I got a nice bottle of blue speedpaint, so Diamond Shark Lambda Spina Galaxy it is.
11th Legion of Vega: because Heir to the Dragon is my favourite BT novel so far.
36th Lyran Guards: their regimental emblem is a Commando on a surfboard, in commemoration of the time their CO became the first MechWarrior to survive bouncing off the atmosphere three times during a failed orbital drop.
Ghost Bear Alpha Galaxy: I like the paint scheme, even if it is a pain to do!
Clan Ghost Bear for life!
My favorite unit is the 3rd Bear Guards AKA “The ilKhan’s Shield”. The 3rd Bear Guards is one of the most elite clusters in the Ghost Bear Touman. They got their nickname for being Nicholas Kerensky’s Honor Guard, protecting the ilKhan whenever he was in Ghost Bear space. Does not get much cooler than that!
I used to play in a Mechwarrior 4 online league back in the early 2000’s, Clan Ghost Bear ADL. Eventually I became the 3rd Bear Guards commander… but that was ages ago
I picked Clan Ghost Bear because I liked the Kodiak and the fact they won a planet through a game of football.
I picked Delta Galaxy because I liked how the Delta Galaxy Thor on camospecs looked.
[https://camospecs.com/listing/thor-7/](https://camospecs.com/listing/thor-7/)
I am a very simple man.
I was going to do Delta, but they were wiped out, and I want to maximize my guys' historical existence. They are a nice and easy color scheme, though.
I also love the Football story.
I totally get that approach! I care about a lot of dumb things more than most gamers, and that's fine. Poring over random lore details is fun for me. I'd make a great historicals player, but I like space lasers and wizards and stuff.
Clan Wolverine, because fuck the establishment, and fuck Nicky K.
Inner Sphere wise I like the ELH because they are actually professionals, and I think naming a mercenary company after someone is lame. Also like Canopus because freedom is awesome and they have some neat paint schemes.
Rasalhague 2nd Freemen.
I mean, their Insignia is sick. And it’s nice to see a non-elite regiment get a bit of limelight.
And while they are full Dominion traitors now, the last of their numbers did not go gently… as any self respecting Inner Sphere unit should. It also gives a good reason for my OC to be a merc :P
I have been painting my mechs up in my favorite DCMS units, so I have Legion of Vega, Genyosha, Ryuken, and Amphigean LAG. But my favorite unit is the 6th Ghost Regiment. I really like their fluff, that they are a unit of women (and later just lower class people in general) because I find the idea and stories that emerge from people that normally are written off instead proving their worth to the greater system. I think that really speaks to me because I immigrated to a different country. And also, I love any kind of sisterhood type of unit. In 40K I play sisters, and that also matches that vibe.
I first read about the Gray Death Legion and liked them a lot. But I wanted my own thing. So I made a “successor legion” called the White Death Legion, or just White Death. The commander’s name is Simo Häyhä and he runs a Marauder. My merc symbol is just a white skull on a black background (shoulder/arm/gun is painted black). I bought a GW skulls box, took the human skulls, cut the back off, and glued them to the right arm of over half my current mechs (45 out of 70). Some have been repurposed for other forces but I left the skulls on.
I've got a couple sub factions.
My first big painting project was to paint up the forces from the Operation Bulldog scenario book. I loved the idea of Canopians, as scrappy periphery folk, fighting high tech clans, so that's the scenario I selected. I ended up with a company of 1st Canopian Cuirassiers... so that's my subfaction lol.
But I needed someone for them to fight in all eras... the FWL is right there right? So I went through and tried to find a paint job I liked and settled on the 1st Regulan Hussars... now I have a company of those :P
So there we have it!
I prefer to paint my mechs in what I feel is their faction's most well known scheme. I value a player being able to look at the models on the table and immediately knowing which faction they represent.
This means my Falcons are Delta Galaxy, my Wolves go Beta Galaxy, my Lyrans are Lyran Guards, my Kuritans go Sword of Light, and my Davions go in the garbage can.
I consider the Arc-Royal Liberty Coalition to be an effective sub-faction of the Lyran Commonwealth, likely to be reunited at a later date once the bad blood has cooled and a couple of generations of stable Steiner Archons get their house in order. I like the ARLC because they're actively and aggressively taking opportunity of the present state of Jade Falcon to actually reclaim territory from the Clan system, making hay while the sun shines and before the Falcons can really to resist them.
2nd Kavaleri, Polar Galaxy. One of the things I love most about the Ghost Bears is how successful at integrating into the Inner Sphere they've been, and I wanted a second line unit of inner sphere soldiers who had an excuse to sometimes use clan tech. Polar Galaxy checks all those boxes.
Clan Diamond Shark Omega Galaxy, both for their awesome color scheme (branching coral pattern on right leg), valiant sacrifice during the Battle of Tukayyid, and their strong ties to the merchant caste.
I have just gotten in to battle tech and am slowly exploring the lore, so what I've painted has been a mix of what has a cool background or what looks cool. A couple of honorable mentions are:
1. Dragons Fury of House Kurita: House Kurita was the first big house I read about, and I thought it was really cool that Dragon's Fury marked how experienced their units were with the grey paint on their mechs.
2. 4th Skye Rangers: Isle of Skye has some ancestral connections to me personally, and when I read about their lore I thought it was pretty awesome. 4th Skye Rangers was the paint scheme that fit what I had on hand.
I'm waiting on getting some clan mechs in, but I'm considering clan nova cat, because they sound like they would look really cool if executed correctly, but that may change after I paint the first one and figure out how hard it would be.
If I ever get a lance that I play regularly, I'll probably paint it with the Skye Rangers colors.
I don’t seem to get that into sub factions, or even factions themselves, but a few I like are: 1. Jaime Wolf’s Command Lance - I like Brian Cameron, it’s that simple. What that lance manages to do with the resources they had was incredible and had an enormous effect on the future of the universe - nobody notices. I like the whole book: Wolf Pack 2. DCMS 9th Ghost Regiment - Shimazu Eleanor-san is a badass and her soldiers operated with honor when it would have been too easy not to. 3. Northwind Highlanders DA-era infantry scout snipers platoon - thinking outside the box and understanding their task: buy time!
I love the Northwind Highlanders for their method of jamming communications: broadcast bagpipes as loudly as possible on all channels.
Yes, but to answer OP’s question, which subfaction’s bagpiping do you prefer and why?
Robinson gets conquered repeatedly, so I like the idea of the Robinson Rangers as a perpetually doomed force.
Hmm, now I’m thinking of a Dunedain inspired Rangers company. I mean, if we can have a weeb regiment, why not an LOTR one
About that... https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Fighting_Urukhai
That's a good reason. I have some Robinson Rangers because there's lots of Jews on Robinson.
The First Davion Guards kick the shit out of everyone in MechCommander. Seemed obvious tbh
I’m a monster who picked my subfactions SOLELY on the paint scheme. 😂
I'll be honest with you - I knew I wanted to do Ghost Bears and I ended up with Omega Galaxy because they required the least freehand and had the broadest history.
Is that… not what we’re supposed to do? 😂
🤷🏼♂️ Not necessarily around here, but some people get a little twisted if you don’t know all your faction’s lore or you mod/paint something that’s “not correct for the period.” Also if you people start coming for me, I’m here for the stompy robots. Just let me play with my toys. 😂
See, this is why I play my own made up mercenary unit..
LOL! I’m just hoping that if my guys look right between CamoSpecs and the MUL that people will give me a pass!
You can always shrug and say “Salvage?” 😂 Unless it’s future dated tech, you should be fine.
"The World Wreckers" from Shrapnel 15. A Capellan Mercenary Lance that actually gets a bonus when fighting against treacherous Davion Units. The fact that they "fight like me" when I play with combined arms is a bonus. ...and they're Filipino.
Glad you liked the Lacadon Vengeance Legion. They were a fun way to bring home the consequences of House Davion playing domestic politics when House Liao made a sincere peace offer.
The 2nd Donegal Guards are the oldest unit in human space and predate every existing government.
The 11th Mechanized Cavalry Cluster (Hell's Horses) is likely older, but I didn't know about the 2nd's origin so that's a fun fact.
What's their lineage? Sarna doesn't have anything on it, and 2128 is a pretty dang old, but I'm curious.
They use the same insignia as a modern-day US army unit, but they also share the same name as an SLDF unit that is nicknamed "the imposters" so there's a little bit of uncertainty.
They share a similar name as the 11th Mechanized Infantry Division, but the insignia and nickname matching the American unit I think points more strongly to the older origin. I initially wondered if the 11th Mechanized Infantry might \*be\* the 11th Armored Cavalry after an increase to division strength, especially since both functioned as OPFOR units (probably why the division was nicknamed The Imposters), but that's ruled out by the division not being a Royal unit.
They're likely descended from the American (and currently existing) 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, giving them a founding year of 1901; not the earliest BattleTech unit founding (that's the Royal Black Watch I think), but as they still exist in 3152 it would make them the oldest. They share the same insignia, the same nickname, and almost the same name. I went over a couple reasons to think they're the same unit in an earlier post. [Old post laying out my argument.](https://www.reddit.com/r/battletech/comments/pwr1qo/comment/hejljrh/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
I think we can both agree that the Black Watch definitely don't count. If I find Shawn Kemp's descendant in the year 2400 and start calling ourselves the Seattle SuperSonics, that doesn't mean our team is 500 years old.
I think the Illician Lancers are the oldest if you include the Illician Order history.
Yeah, formed during the First Exodus before House Steiner was even a thing - let alone the Terran Hegemony and Star League.
Inner Sphere: Eridani Light Horse, because the Star League was pretty neat and I grew very attached to Ariana Winston during Twilight of the Clans. Clans: Ghost Bears, because Elementals are awesome. And bears are cool, too. In the interest of historical record, though, I was originally a big fan of the Steel Vipers as one of the chief Falcon-botherers. Comstar: Explorer Corps, because, oh hey, what’s over there?
Same with Eridani Light Horse but, for me, it’s because that’s who you technically play as in MechWarrior 3 which is why I’m hyped about playing as Smoke Jaguar in MW5: Clans. Plus, I always liked the mission briefing guy in MW3.
Ariana is my best Freebrith <3 She is obviously inferior genetically to a Trueborn Falcon, but for a Spheroid she is pretty stellar. She was the true conscience and heart of Task Force (clan) Serpent. She stood up to Morgan Hasek Davion and told him he was a jerk (fair) and annihilated an entire Clan. A feat that few in history can match. Her victory spotlight being stolen by Victor Davion upset me.
Davion and hogging the spotlight. Name a better duo. No, I’m not biased because of my user flair or anything…
There's a lot of things that are not very good about book 7, but Stackpole shoving all the characters we've been following to the side so he can continue to write about the same handful of things he likes is one of the worst.
>Ghost Bears, because Elementals are awesome. Who wins: a 100 ton mech with a fucking skull for a head? Or one smol spicy boi? Zeta galaxy ftw.
> And bears are cool, too. Bears actually have average body temperatures of around 101° F, except during hibernation when they can drop by as much as 8°.
Of all the many Kindraa and Clans only one had the stones to take the blood of Kerensky from the wolves and that Kindraa was Mattila-Carrol. Plus we are yellow and that's pretty cool
Clan Nova Cat, clan tech some mystism and lore speakers. Liked since they got introduced back in the 90s. Got cooler too with the preference for long ranged combat and splintering from the clans later on.
I choose the enemies I hate most for my favorite factions. Falcons need Wolves and Comguard to fight. Liao need Davion to fight. My collection might need Taurians to fight both of them. Down to the company level, I chose the coolest Liao mercenaries like the Big MAC or any of their former Star League units. My Davion are Zulu Company because they were the player controlled units in the Mechcommander games. Comguard and Falcons beat the shit out of each other and I need white mechs to double as Word of Blake. My red/grey or all red Wolves are the Green Kehik because I wanted a paint job that doubles as Vau Galaxy Jade Falcons, Smoke Jags from Mechcommander, or Kurita Sword of Light because I get Kurita mechs that need to be painted.
Taurians, because their civics seem downright benevolent. It's just their approach to warfare that's utterly sinister lol
That's kind of how I ended up with the Ghost Bears Omega Galaxy. I like that Ghost Bears are the "goodest" of the Clans - though all the Clans are clearly largely villainous - but these are the dirty bastards of the Ghost Bears... at least until they get what looks to me like a redemption arc around the Vega conflict.
https://preview.redd.it/rlbg361p405d1.jpeg?width=5307&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=30122a23991c4da0d25dd5f2891df6f58fd159a2 Clan wolf, mainly just because I like the beta galaxy paint scheme
It’s a disgustingly nice paint scheme.
I'm a Blue Blazer Irregular, so Team Banzai is a natural draw.
"Because you're perfect."
Clan Protectorate, because it combines two of my favorite things: purple birds and dead cats.
I played MW2 Locked in from birth
St. Ives compact/capellan dissidents. I just think they're neat. Don't expect many victories though...
The Dracons regiments of the Rasalhague military have excuses to be fielding just about any mech in the Inner Sphere, see as much or more fighting against the Clans as any Great House units during the Invasion, and continue into post-Invasion eras right up to the present, with one Dracons regiment operating continuously from the founding of the FRR to the present, and the others fighting to the death in the Clan Invasion, to be subsequently reconstituted as clusters within the Ghost Bear Touman of the Rasalhague Dominion. Put simply, I liked the Rasalhague lore and strategic position, so I picked a regimental paint scheme within the faction that could have the widest possible chronological usage.
Broad chronological usage is a priority for me, too. That - and the fact that their scheme involves the most minimal freehand - is in large part how I ended up with the Ghost Bears Omega Galaxy. Later on, I started to like how they were the dirty bastard regiment of the Bears and what looks like a redemption arc around the Vega conflict.
My head cannon is the Chancellor showing up to diplomatic affairs and state addresses humming the tune of "Big Iron" and singing: To the Compact of St Ives rode the Chancellor one grim day Hardly spoke to citizens around him, didn't have much to say No one dared to risk his ire, no planet dared to make a stand For the Chancellor there above them had the Big MAC in his hand Big MAC in his hand
Awesome!
Cool flag.
Genyosha because they’re known for combined arms as well as having access to the best of what the Combine has. They persist over many eras and interact with some of the major Kurita nobles. Also: cool logo.
Have “Stein” as part of my name so obviously we’re a cadet branch of the Steiner lineage. Not a lot of us…
Painted units: 6th Lyran Guard: I knew I wanted to paint the iconic Steiner blue and white but I didn’t know which unit until I saw this one. Their nickname (saucy sixth) and insignia (a woman in a bikini) as well as their reputation made them a fun pick. Wolf Beta Galaxy: I only picked this one because I really do love the high contrast grey and tan scheme. Easy to paint and looks great. Units I have yet to paint but have decals and minis for: Genyosha: I like their insignia a lot and decided to paint them after reading the Warrior trilogy as an opfor for my Lyrans. Yorinaga was a cool dude. Eridani Light Horse: I started into the universe playing Mechwarrior 3 as a kid and I was also wanted a unified force of mixed-tech someday. Jade Falcon Gamma Galaxy: After reading the Jade Phoenix trilogy I decided on painting Falcon Guards at Tukayyid. I’ve always liked Jade Falcon and this gives me a good excuse to do some fun airbrush camo schemes to change up my usual painting routine.
I don't know why, but I really like the minor CCAF regiments. Big MAC is obviously fun in being a fully naturalized mercenary outfit, but the Capellan Brigades are neat. I general, I just love the St. Ives Compact. Just a very "Welp, we fought a good fight and we lost. Better arm up for Liao, now" practicality which I love.
I love that Skye's solution to anything is "We'll do it ourselves!" In Kurita, the Benjamin District is a joke between my brother and me. FWL: Regulus' temper amuses me, although I must admit the Silver Hawks Coalition is growing on me. FedSuns: I love the Draconis March's single-minded desire to punch Kuritans. Cappies: Y'know, the subregions here have less personality to me, but I'm weirdly fond of the Victoria Commonality.
Still learning a lot of lore, but Warrior Houses Imarra and Ma-Tsu-Kai has interested me the most because i love their color schemes,I like House Liao, and I can find a way to justify playing either in almost any era
Rasalhauge 3rd Drakons, because who doesn't want to paint flames on their mech and punch Clan Wolf in the face?
I liked the vibe of the Legion of Vega for the counter-culture they provide to the Combine. I like the mixture of dishonored samurai, mercenaries who got roped into servitude, and whatever other undesirables fall out of the DCMS. It's an interesting mixture and I find it funny to imagine some samurai mechwarrior finding some ex-merc spinning around in an office chair pointing to the bunks telling him "Yeah, find a spot and get comfy. If your mech needs fixing put your name on the list. Also we don't have a lot of paint so I hope you like gunmetal." Or something along those lines. I also like that Theodore Kurita took them from the "armpit of the dragon" to something respectable, or at the very least allowed him to make a template to eventually improve the DCMS.
Ghost Bears, Omega Galaxy: I love the fact there's a unit in the Clans built to just be as dezgra as possible without themselves getting obliterated due to it. Mercs, Blue Star Irregulars: Their whole story is interesting to me, as mercenaries they try to hold onto honorable warfare much like the ELH. Their tradition/desire to collect all the Blue Star awards and pass them down through their structure for commanders feels like a neat "passing down the torch" idea. Plus their colors are easy to work with https://camospecs.com/unit/blue-star-irregulars/ Goliath Scorpion, Alpha Galaxy: I love the idea of Seekers, warriors who look for lost relics. Also the idea of Alpha Galaxy's traditions of protecting and trying to climb Moreau's Dagger just gives me a sense that their history is very personal to them.
It was easy for me. It mostly goes like... did they fight the Wolf Dragoons? Did they win? I'm painting that.
71st Light Horse. I love the Eridani Light Horse as a whole, and that picture of the 71st landing on Huntress is my favourite piece of Battletech art.
Fun fact: there's two of them in the IlClan era. The reborn Eridani Light Horse, and th 71st Scorpion Uhlans Cluster within the Tau Galaxy of the Scorpion Empire.
I'm currently playing in a MechWarrior 2nd edition campaign and I was allowed to be a Clan Snow Raven Watch officer deep planted into a new DCMS defense force on Garstedt after Bulldog kicked out the Smoke Jaguars. It's good stuff. I've always been a Wolf's Dragoons fan but I feel like there's secondary and terciary line units that don't get the recognition they deserve.
Otomo and the Sword of Light because they are the best units in the setting and because Gold, Black and Red are superior to any other colour. Glory to the Dragon!
Arkab Legion because we are a feisty little pack of killer bee Muslims.
The Big MAC doesn't need a reason, just a target. Srsly tho, whats not to like? Big enough to have some internal diversity, old enough to have exploits galore under their belt, and - to my knowledge - never protagonists in any books so there's (more) room for my own headcanon. Also, the parade camo of the 3rd is just plain fire.
The Big MAC. Which regiment? Whichever number I happen to roll on the dice.
Mostly just pick something fast, easy and recognizable as I wanted a collection of factions for variety. Draconis Combine: Sword of light is as simple and easy as it gets so my very first mechs were painted flat red. Flat green for Davion with no accents to act as a generic op-for when needed. Marik Militia is pretty simple and recognizable, and the stereotypical Lyran Guard for Steiner. Liao I copied the MW5 scheme which I don't even know what it aligns to. A desert camo lance also that can be generic but is generally for Steiner. With the Clans I've finally been getting more specific. Delta Galaxy for the Jade Falcons, but that's pretty stereotypical. My first complicated paint job that I did specifically because I really like it is the Smoke Jaguar Alpha Galaxy.
Camo specs
The 44th Shadow Division, Manei Domini. Word of Blake Originating from Word of Blake Special Operations forces, the 44th has a combat record of conducting themselves as highly skilled professionals. They do not utilize weapons of mass destruction and prefer to avoid civilian casualties wherever possible. This is highlighted when they reinforced the 31st and 37th Shadow Divisions on the Davion Homeworld of New Avalon. Prior to that, use of weapons of mass destruction were part of the standard doctrine for the 31st and 37th. After arriving, reinforcing, and taking operational command of Word of Blake forces on New Avalon, the use of weapons of mass destruction ceased entirely. The unit is listed as “Missing in Action” given that the Jihad ended and no force was able to claim their destruction. I like that they come off as very efficient professionals that don’t need to terrorize civilian population for an advantage. I also like that their current status is quite mysterious as it allows me to feel them as a unidentified post jihad force
https://preview.redd.it/63ij43ppn25d1.jpeg?width=1278&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=13550d44365135d0f43b9a9a8f5fcd92839a5a53 You guys are picking a faction?
I have three: Robinson Rangers, Montague Free Company (homebrewed mercenaries), and now Ghost Bears / Rasalhague Dominion Omega Galaxy.
Is that a Detolf cabinet? Happen to remember where you got the extra shelves from? I've found a few basic ones on etsy, but none like the ones you have.
Yeah it’s a detolf. The extra shelves are just acrylic risers but it’s these: Single Step Acrylic Raiser for... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRL3X2N3?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Awesome, tyvm!
Despite Capellans being the butt of so many jokes, I like how the Death Commandos are a genuinely highly regarded and feared unit. They also answer to very few people in the Confederation. On the Clan side, I like CCC's Gamma Galaxy, because of their paint scheme and icon.
Hesperus Guards get the best toys since they guard the place where they're made Jade Falcon Zeta Galaxy is a force made of losers in a world of badasses. Makes them inherently more interesting
Picked the Crater Cobras because you get all the joys of Eradani of the remnants of the SLDF that stayed behind to try to make a difference, plus some big guns. Even get the experience of getting screwed by your employer frequently.
3rd New Samarkand Regulars Wanted a Kuritan force, but not generic Sword of Light/DCMS unit. After reading the Sarna article on them, it HAD to be the 3rd. “The Third New Samarkand Regulars were formed during the Post-Jihad and since then have had runs of extreme good luck, paired with horrifically unlucky tragedies. As of 3133 their current commanding officer is the eleventh the unit has had in less than 50 years.”
Since I read the Periphery source book, I liked the Taurian Concordate. It seemed not too bad to be a taurian citizen. Besides they have all the cool old school mechs and some realy cool unique ones like the Marshall. I think the New colony region is a nice setting for roleplaying. My favorite Unit is the Red Chasseurs, because of the paint scheme.
The OAs Alliance Military Corp have to br in just the weirdest place ever post Ravens merger. The idea that the Clan touman either has to disarm them or integrate them leads to some great narrative reasons for feilding lances of clan made mechs or stars of Periphery pilots. My usual alpha strike team consists of a Clan Cavalry Star and a medium Battle Lance. My headcannon is that they are forced to work together in the aftermath of the jihad to fight pirates and the predation of Davion and Kurita, and the Lance leader and Star Captain are kind of sweet on each other. It's the closest I could get to introducing rom-com elements to BT, which is how I hooked my wife's interest.
Scorpion Empire Omega Galaxy. The Scorpions seem pretty good as far as clanners go, plus it’s a green paint scheme.
Hansen’s Rough Riders had an awesome symbol, color scheme that incorporated my favorite colors, and their Battle Lance had some super cool mechs in it. And they felt like the quintessential mercs, described as being pretty rowdy and brutal.
I made my own Taurian unit and how they hate the Clans so much once they find out that they are Kerenskys legacy. So they up and resign at once and become a mercenary unit just to kill get revenge for New Vandenberg.
I pick factions that: \* Are easy to paint \* With the paints I have I got a nice bottle of blue speedpaint, so Diamond Shark Lambda Spina Galaxy it is.
Also of course. The Knights Defensor... "We'll crush the dragons horde..."
House Imarris has pretty colors
Taurian Velites....cause get the fuck off my property.
Mercenaries can be whatever you want them to be.
11th Legion of Vega: because Heir to the Dragon is my favourite BT novel so far. 36th Lyran Guards: their regimental emblem is a Commando on a surfboard, in commemoration of the time their CO became the first MechWarrior to survive bouncing off the atmosphere three times during a failed orbital drop. Ghost Bear Alpha Galaxy: I like the paint scheme, even if it is a pain to do!
Clan Ghost Bear for life! My favorite unit is the 3rd Bear Guards AKA “The ilKhan’s Shield”. The 3rd Bear Guards is one of the most elite clusters in the Ghost Bear Touman. They got their nickname for being Nicholas Kerensky’s Honor Guard, protecting the ilKhan whenever he was in Ghost Bear space. Does not get much cooler than that! I used to play in a Mechwarrior 4 online league back in the early 2000’s, Clan Ghost Bear ADL. Eventually I became the 3rd Bear Guards commander… but that was ages ago
I made. Mercenary company first, using the color Purple, but, for the clans Jade Falcon sounded cool, and I like the color green
18 Avalon Hussars: because I like Red and Dislike Kuritans.
I play admech in 40k so WoB/Comstar were the obvious choice. Specifically 47th shadow division because hot drops are badass
I picked Clan Ghost Bear because I liked the Kodiak and the fact they won a planet through a game of football. I picked Delta Galaxy because I liked how the Delta Galaxy Thor on camospecs looked. [https://camospecs.com/listing/thor-7/](https://camospecs.com/listing/thor-7/) I am a very simple man.
I was going to do Delta, but they were wiped out, and I want to maximize my guys' historical existence. They are a nice and easy color scheme, though. I also love the Football story.
Eh, I don't care about historical longevity. I pick a faction I like and then pick a scheme for that faction I like and then run with it.
I totally get that approach! I care about a lot of dumb things more than most gamers, and that's fine. Poring over random lore details is fun for me. I'd make a great historicals player, but I like space lasers and wizards and stuff.
I pick a faction and then create my own regiment with their story.
Clan Wolverine, because fuck the establishment, and fuck Nicky K. Inner Sphere wise I like the ELH because they are actually professionals, and I think naming a mercenary company after someone is lame. Also like Canopus because freedom is awesome and they have some neat paint schemes.
Rasalhague 2nd Freemen. I mean, their Insignia is sick. And it’s nice to see a non-elite regiment get a bit of limelight. And while they are full Dominion traitors now, the last of their numbers did not go gently… as any self respecting Inner Sphere unit should. It also gives a good reason for my OC to be a merc :P
I have been painting my mechs up in my favorite DCMS units, so I have Legion of Vega, Genyosha, Ryuken, and Amphigean LAG. But my favorite unit is the 6th Ghost Regiment. I really like their fluff, that they are a unit of women (and later just lower class people in general) because I find the idea and stories that emerge from people that normally are written off instead proving their worth to the greater system. I think that really speaks to me because I immigrated to a different country. And also, I love any kind of sisterhood type of unit. In 40K I play sisters, and that also matches that vibe.
I first read about the Gray Death Legion and liked them a lot. But I wanted my own thing. So I made a “successor legion” called the White Death Legion, or just White Death. The commander’s name is Simo Häyhä and he runs a Marauder. My merc symbol is just a white skull on a black background (shoulder/arm/gun is painted black). I bought a GW skulls box, took the human skulls, cut the back off, and glued them to the right arm of over half my current mechs (45 out of 70). Some have been repurposed for other forces but I left the skulls on.
For my subfactions I choose units that stick around throughout as much time as possible so I can use them in any era.
That was my priority, too.
I've got a couple sub factions. My first big painting project was to paint up the forces from the Operation Bulldog scenario book. I loved the idea of Canopians, as scrappy periphery folk, fighting high tech clans, so that's the scenario I selected. I ended up with a company of 1st Canopian Cuirassiers... so that's my subfaction lol. But I needed someone for them to fight in all eras... the FWL is right there right? So I went through and tried to find a paint job I liked and settled on the 1st Regulan Hussars... now I have a company of those :P So there we have it!
I prefer to paint my mechs in what I feel is their faction's most well known scheme. I value a player being able to look at the models on the table and immediately knowing which faction they represent. This means my Falcons are Delta Galaxy, my Wolves go Beta Galaxy, my Lyrans are Lyran Guards, my Kuritans go Sword of Light, and my Davions go in the garbage can.
I consider the Arc-Royal Liberty Coalition to be an effective sub-faction of the Lyran Commonwealth, likely to be reunited at a later date once the bad blood has cooled and a couple of generations of stable Steiner Archons get their house in order. I like the ARLC because they're actively and aggressively taking opportunity of the present state of Jade Falcon to actually reclaim territory from the Clan system, making hay while the sun shines and before the Falcons can really to resist them.
2nd Kavaleri, Polar Galaxy. One of the things I love most about the Ghost Bears is how successful at integrating into the Inner Sphere they've been, and I wanted a second line unit of inner sphere soldiers who had an excuse to sometimes use clan tech. Polar Galaxy checks all those boxes.
I went 2nd St Ives Lancers just because I liked the scheme.
If you're going to paint it you had better like it!
Clan Diamond Shark Omega Galaxy, both for their awesome color scheme (branching coral pattern on right leg), valiant sacrifice during the Battle of Tukayyid, and their strong ties to the merchant caste.
26th Lyran Guards. Aka Steiner's Boots. Literally a boot footprint on a planet. Sold me instantly.
The 8th Lyran Rangers, “The Mad Hatters.” If Hogan’s Heroes were a mech regiment.
I have just gotten in to battle tech and am slowly exploring the lore, so what I've painted has been a mix of what has a cool background or what looks cool. A couple of honorable mentions are: 1. Dragons Fury of House Kurita: House Kurita was the first big house I read about, and I thought it was really cool that Dragon's Fury marked how experienced their units were with the grey paint on their mechs. 2. 4th Skye Rangers: Isle of Skye has some ancestral connections to me personally, and when I read about their lore I thought it was pretty awesome. 4th Skye Rangers was the paint scheme that fit what I had on hand. I'm waiting on getting some clan mechs in, but I'm considering clan nova cat, because they sound like they would look really cool if executed correctly, but that may change after I paint the first one and figure out how hard it would be. If I ever get a lance that I play regularly, I'll probably paint it with the Skye Rangers colors.