The Khan had chosen to honor me, to assign me the Touman’s newest machine. A frame built to surpass and replace the Wolves’ cherished Timber Wolf in her seat of honor. A frame meant to give unparalleled mobility to the most deserving of Warriors. A machine the scientist caste had dubbed the Linebacker.

It was beautiful. Built for speed, firepower, and deeds well beyond measure. Sleek and powerful with crooked legs, slabbed sides, and vast, waiting pod bays. As one of her first Warriors I had been given free rein to lend my experience and knowledge of the rigors of the field to the scientists as they worked to make the first of her omni-packages.

What we had created was little short of perfection.

It was protected from all sides, ready to handle any threat that could come its way from the lowliest Solhama infantryman to the heaviest of bruisers the Surat Spheroids could muster against us. Searing lasers and roaring cannons would spell doom for any who dared to stand against it. My configuration would shine bright on the field of battle in the Inner Sphere, driving them beneath the Clan’s boot so that they may see the folly of their ways…

...and soon, on Tukayidd, we would show them.

—

Howling missiles and shrieking slugs screamed past my cockpit as the teeming masses of the ComGuards hounded at my Trinary’s back like snapping wolves. My cannon was dry, its barking shells spent in the morass of fire and brimstone we had been embroiled in for the last several hours. Razor-Beak’s left side hung from knotted and ruined myomer strands, all but dragging along behind us in the dust as we fled towards Robyn’s Crossing.

My configuration had failed me. Had lacked the power I had needed to keep Razor-Beak in one piece amidst the savage fighting the Comguards had laid down upon us. The cannon was too small to threaten the vast slabs of iron the 394th had pushed forward. The lasers too few to catch the streaking strikers of the 11th. The Machine guns not near numerous enough to cut down the hordes the 1st had attempted to drown us beneath.

It had simply not been enough.

But I had plans. New ideas now brewing in my head for improvements to direct the Scientist Caste to implement in the next round of configs. I need only ret-

Razor-Beak groaned beneath me, her engine letting out a last dying gasp as a font of slag and ruined myomer burst from her chest along with the Gauss slug that had cut us down.

Star Commander Frederick, Linebacker Pilot, C Config, Jade Falcon Touman, Turkina Keshik. Tukayyid, May 5th 3052. CAPTURED

—

Howdy Mechwarriors and welcome back to Mech Review! Look I’ll be honest right here and now before my Clan Advisor even enters the room:

The Linebacker does little to inspire me. There are good configs, there are bad configs, and there are meh configs but none of them scream to me for a fun story so this is what you get this week.

Suffer.

This week we take a look at another serving pulled from deep within the Omni-mines: The Linebacker! Clan Wolf’s attempt at replacing their beloved Timberwolf when they decided she was getting out run in the heat of the fight by her starmates…

Ya know instead of just pairing it with things that wouldn’t outrun her as much. My opinions on the Linebacker are largely unfortunate because, if I’m honest, the Linebacker fucks. I love how this thing looks and at the basic omni-chassis level it’s honestly pretty fucking sick.

That said let’s take a look at what makes the Center Forward tick!

No, wait, wrong position… wrong sport too… football, right? American or European? American! Oh yeah, Linebacker, that’s right!

Clan Wolf Linebacker. Credit: Jack Hunter

—

Chassis

The Linebacker is, of course, an Omni-Mech and as such is unchanging in many ways throughout its many configs. So, what does the Linebacker actually look like?

65 Tons
6/9 Movement Profile provided by a whopping 390 Clan XL
Endo Structure
192 Pips, or 91% of basic bog-standard armor.
20 armor on the arms, 24 on the legs, 22 on the side torsos, 25 on the CT and an 8/10/8 profile across the aft-quarter
14 hard mounted Double Heat Sinks
17.5 Tons of Pod Space
A Base unloaded price of 916 BV

Ok, so this actually looks pretty sick. I like the sound of something like this, almost feels like a Clan Lancelot trimmed up with all the fixings! So much so that an unladen Lancelot C is only .5 more tons of podspace! I can see a lot of potential for something like this meant to scream in, slam something apart, and then scream right back out! So, what did the Clans get up to with their various configs?

I already know and I’ll just say this: Most of them are a fucking waste.

Variants

These mechs have all been reviewed based on a standard F through S scale, which you can find described on our landing page here (along with all of our other ‘mech reviews, the name of the box you can buy to get any of the mechs we have covered, and our general methodology).

Prime

The most basic bitch config you could dream of.

This is 2,390 BV of bog standard ‘What Clan weapons do I use’ stuffed into a basic config. 2 ERPPCs, an LRM 5 with one ton of ammo, a Streak SRM 4 with one ton of ammo, and a singular backwards facing ER Small laser.

Without any extra sinks, by the way.

So 28 sinking with the means to generate 37 heat total, 35 forward facing. Now, that requires the Streak to lock up which would leave you at 32 heat gen so 4+ movement. In reality any range that the ERPPCs are firing the LRM wants to be firing at the same target. That said you could slap some smoke or incendiaries in the bin just to get some occasional utility out of them? Sounds dishonorable… or whatever a Clanner would say.

For this price this isn’t worth it, not even close.

Liberty’s Rating: C-. Usable enough but too expensive for an annoying heat curve when for 4 BV more you could get a Sun Cobra 2 that has about the same armor, the same speed, and a TC.

A

Okay, now we’re a bit better… Why is there still a little guy though?

The A is a generally better idea of what to do for this kind of a platform, replacing all but the LRM-5 from the Prime with a pair of ERLLs, an LRM-15 with two tons of ammo, and a pair of ERMLs. Note that it still has no extra heat sinks. That said, this is largely fine.

With 28 sinking we’ve got a few firing patterns we can regularly use to try and get our 2,264 BV out of this thing. Firing off both ERLLs and the LRM-5 on the run is heat neutral. Dropping one ERLL lets you fire off everything else on the run while only building 1+ movement and a full alpha strike is a balmy 13+ movement.

Liberty’s Rating: C+. I like this a fair bit more than the Prime, on one hand because I quite like cERLLs but also just because this feels a lot more functional than the Prime does to begin with.

B

Bigger guns are better guns and I’ve got the- second -biggest gun in town.

Now this is some Real Liberty Bullshit right here. 2,048 BV gets you 3 ERMLs, an ERSL, and a Gauss Rifle with 2 tons of ammo. At that price and this speed with the hardmounted heatsinks we run into a real fun thing: Being down -8 heat on a running alpha.

The B can just run around and fire until it is put down for its many, possibly head shot related, crimes and I love things like that. Honestly I might start running this thing for my Lyrans, shit’s cash.

Liberty’s Rating: B+. As the leader of a fast heavy/medium cavalry force this thing would absolutely fuck. Love it, I’ll take 12.

C

Okay but why though?

The Linebacker C is a machine made by, presumably, a strange man who lacked focus, conviction, and the belief that any one primary weapons system was actually worth having enough of. Armed with an ERLL in the left arm, a UAC/5 in the right arm, a trio of forward facing ERMLs, one backwards facing ERML, a backwards flamer, a machine gun pointing forward and a machine gun pointing backwards.

But fucking why?

I think this warrior was scared of infantry but not like Infantry Guy scared of infantry just ‘I don’t want a MANPSRM up my ass’ scared. This is a discordant and scattered armament where the primary fire pattern you should be trying to employ at any given time is entirely debatable and very strange. Your most efficient use of heat is likely the ERLL, the UAC on double tap, and 2 of the forward medium lasers. This leaves you heat neutral but does feel like you’re leaving a little on the table with that other forward facing ERML. Tossing the other on for the extra 5 heat is probably worth dropping your second UAC shell so you only go to 4 rather than 5.

For 2,075 BV I’d probably grab a different Linebacker but I suppose it’s workable enough.

Liberty’s Rating: D+. Man just… just pick a lane?

D

Folks ‘round these parts call me the beehive. Why do they call me that? Well obviously it’s because I really like Hexagons. No other reason.

The D config, unlike the C, has understood that purity of purpose is good, and cool, and that you should do that so that you can maximize your ‘being an idiot’ quotient. To achieve this aim the D has brought along a pair of ERMLs, one in each torso, and an ERSL pointing backwards in the left torso. So, what’s only 2.5 tons out of 17.5 leave room for?

Simple: 4 Streak SRM6s and 3 tons of ammunition.

This is a total of 28 heat if all the boxes lock and go off but only 26 without the rear facing ERSL. This is a very funny idiot box and at only 2,039 BV I quite like the idea of absolutely hosing someone with this pile of bees before jetting off again to set up another pass after the next big hit. Honestly I think the B and the D would make great friends.

Have to keep that in mind…

Liberty’s Rating: B-. cERMLs are cool and so are Streak 6s. Bring more of them, they kill people and at this speed they will quite rapidly find people to try and murder.

E

Now these are advanced wars… no, wait, Advanced Tactics. That’s better.

The E is, as usual, the ATM Variant. So how are we doing ATM variants today, dear reader? Incredibly simple: 2 ATM-6s, one in each arm, with 3 tons of ammo each, a Light Active Probe, and an ERLL.

That’s it, that’s the loadout. This is 1,846 BV and, if I’m honest, it’s fucking worth it.

ATMs that move like this, have enough ammo to be a flexible pain at any range, and have a real gun in the form of the ERLL have a chance to do some good work! With a total of 20 heat from weapons and the standard 28 cooling this is, once again, a Linebacker config that’s well in the negative even on a running alpha.

Liberty’s Rating: B. Fast ATMs are cool, this thing managing into someone’s back arc is something that we in the business refer to as ‘a fucking problem’.

F

D 2 missile boogaloo.

The F is simple:

One(1) ERPPC.
One(1) Improved One Shot NARC.
One(1) added heat sink.
4 SRM 6s with 3 tons of ammo to share between them.

31 heat from weapons makes 33 total on the run with a machine that can sink out 30. If the worst you can build is +3 on a running Alpha then I can honestly say that I am far from upset on the matter. Once you get in range to be rippling off the SRMs every turn occasionally dropping the PPC, or a launcher or two, will be more than enough to properly manage the F’s heat.

At 1,928 BV I must be honest… I fuck with it.

Liberty’s Rating: B. I dig it, much like the D I think I’ll be running the F here a fair bit.

Linebacker. Credit: Rockfish

G

I can feel it deep within me. That Feral craving. The need to sear rivers of armor from all who would dare to stand against me. THE HEAVY LASER CALLS TO ME AND I SHALL HEED ITS CALLLLL.

The G is a simple machine, in reality. A pair of Improved One Shot Streak 2s and a Supercharger are all this warrior has chosen to take as a supporting asset to the real party wagon of this show: A pair of TC augmented Improved Heavy Large Lasers and 4 extra heat sinks.

This thing builds movement heat on a pair of accurate iHLLs while having an extra little bit of ‘smoke ‘em when you got ‘em’ SSRMs to toss on when you get the chance. This calls to me, this calls to me in terrible ways that not even the 2,433 BV price tag might save me from.

I love him, even if he is dumb as shit.

Liberty’s Rating: C+. God I fucking love iHLLs. Shame about that Supercharger though. I suppose you could make it work if you wanted.

H

But what if I just made the G worse?

Ok, now what if I took a G and pulled all the cool shit out of it so that it could go 6/9/6 while carrying 30 total heat sinking for a pair of non improved or TCd HLLs, a pair of ERMLs, and an ERSL. What was that, dear reader? Why would I do this?

Dude I don’t fucking know, but this Warrior sure did decide that they should.

This thing goes up 20 heat on a running alpha strike. You can drop the second HLL and the ERSL to make it heat neutral on the run but do you really want to be paying 2,097 BV for about half of the usable part of a ‘Mech?

I sure don’t.

Liberty’s rating: D. Get away from me you steaming disappointment.

I

I CAN SEE THEM! THE BUGS THAT POPULATE THIS LAND. THEY CRAWL AND WRITHE AND SKITTER ACROSS MY BEAUTIFUL BATTLEFIELD. THEIR PROVISIONS AND TRANSPORTS LITTERING MY SIGHT WITH DISGUSTING REFUSE AND THE INHERENT KNOWLEDGE THAT SOON THEY WILL BE UPON ME. I CAN FEEL THEM, STAR COLONEL, I CAN FEEL THEM CRAWLING UPON MY SKIN. THEY HUNGER, AND SOON SO TOO SHALL MY MACHINE GUNS!!!

Every other Infantry Guy Variant or Config is nothing in the face of the LInebacker I. This thing carries exactly two things that aren’t machine guns or machine gun related equipment:

An ERLPL to poke at Infantry men that are obviously pretending to be that ‘mech
An Active Probe to find the infantry men. I know they’re out there… hiding.

So, just how many machine guns are in this thing?

Twenty.

Fucking. Twenty.

Twenty Machine guns split between 6 seperate arrays and fed by 1.5 tons of ammo. This is honestly one of the few ‘Mechs I’ve looked at with more than one ton of ammo for its MGs and gone ‘oh… that actually might not be enough.’

I don’t know how many infantry men this Warrior was expecting to run into but good god are they prepared. In all honesty at 1,853 BV it wouldn’t be ill suited to go after damn near anything on the fucking field. Got a pesky assault to go through? Well this many MG rounds at least one of them is bound to find a hole. Got infantry? Well now you don’t. Vehicles? Simply pop their tracks off with all of your lil’ guns. VTOLs? Fill the sky with lead and surely the weight will bring them down.

A list with one of these things damn near ran my fade at the Atomic Empire tournament because it managed to shoot my Thunder in the head 3 times. Something that can make this many hits at rate with no heat problem is, itself, a fucking problem.

Liberty’s Rating: B. I hate this fucking thing more than you can even know.

T

A bridge to sell.

The T, being a rec guide variant, packs a loadout that at least looks like the Prime. A pair of plasma cannons in the arms, a streak LRM 5 in the left torso, a Streak SRM 4 in the right torso, a backwards facing flamer, and an active probe…

Cool?

It’s 1,851 BV I suppose? It’s also -4 heat on a running alpha strike where both streaks lock and the back flamer is also, for some reason, firing.

It’s a guy I guess.

Liberty’s Rating: C-. It does stuff and about none of it is damage. If you want a weirdo to sling heat influence with it’ll do it but I think there’s a few more… efficient options to play with on the matter.

Final Thoughts

So… Linebackers. Some are good, some are bad, some are just strange and dumb. I like a lot of these and dislike plenty of others but overall the frame itself is good.

I suppose if there was anything I was surprised not to see it’d be a good old UAC/20 or UAC/10 variant of some variety. I really expected to see some big Clan jack hammer config that is unfortunately not present. Interestingly there also aren’t any picket line weirdos packing a good clip of pulse lasers… actually the only pulse laser across the entire field is the I’s ERLPL.

Which… kinda odd if I’m honest.

Like them or not unfortunately the Linebacker still just... doesn't inspire me. It's cool, it looks slick but I just... Can't drudge up a love for them, ya know?

Until next time! Fair weather, good seas and happy line-driving-up-the-middle-ing!

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Tags: Battletech | mechwarrior | battlemech | Mech Overview | Linebacker