After last week's repetitiveness in the light mechs, our medium mechs have quite a bit more variety. As weight goes up mechs are able to carry more armor and weapons, so there's a much wider variety of potential roles to be filled that don't start with "go fast and don't get hit."

Hammerhead. Credit: Rockfish

Liberty

Hammerhead. It hurts me to say it as I largely don’t like Hammerheads because I find it incredibly… uninteresting? It’s good, don’t get me wrong, but it's that predictable kind of good that just kinda makes it boring to use and boring to play against. It’s going to take more damage than it should be able to and keep on kicking far longer than you think it could manage before it gutters out and goes down. It’s got enough damage in it to pop a PSR if it lands the LPL and the Streak, it’s got alright long range damage and acceptable close in damage that can’t really be beaten when combined with its longevity and mobility for what you’re paying.
Phantom E. My ideal Battle Armor delivery device is simultaneously also my favorite Fire Moth P replacement and a damn sight tougher while backing those myriad lil’ pulses with an ATM 3. Great machine that’s cheap as dirt. Love him.
Marshal MHL-6FR. No this isn’t a meme because I am Fronc’s Greatest Marshal. I hardline love this thing for the Kirkland Vapor Eagle it truly is and run them at any given chance. If someone would let me go to an actual tournament with a lance of them and some other shit to fill the space I fucking would; and I’d be willing to bet I’d podium because they’re just that nasty for what you pay for them. It is here to bounce all around the map, ignoring anyone who thinks they can meaningfully annoy it, while it beats down any other medium in its price range, or really over it. I’ve used this thing to hunt Stormcrows. I’ve used it to hunt Vipers, Marauders, Novas, Ice Ferrets, Mad Dogs, Black Knights and Timber Wolves. It will hunt most of the things it can catch and many of the things it can’t. Sometimes it’ll lose that fight but it will rip whatever you sicked it on the fuck up on the way out. The scrappiest periphery underdog to ever underdog. Peri has put a ban on me bringing more than one of them at any given time without proper and prior notice because they are that much of a god damned pain in the ass to deal with alone god forbid in considerable numbers.
Stormcrow K. This is an incredibly consistent machine that, if played right, can either appear next to something before ripping most of its armor off or it can play the range game and keep hucking slugs at things’ heads until one finds the mark. Great use of the chassis that I really do have to, begrudgingly, say beats the config I usually use for the frame in the D… god I love the baby Kodiak.
Dasher II. The Fireball XF is back and I hate it. Look if it goes fast as hell and can just truck you to the floor off of a busted as shit charge then it's good. The only thing keeping this damnable machine down is the fact that you can kill it quite quickly as it will usually ‘only’ have 4 TMM rather than the XF’s quite achievable 6 god damned TMM.
Trebuchet TBT-9N. This thing is a rocket and a real pain in the ass because of how versatile it really can manage to be. It has a constant capacity to just beat on shit at any range and not really give much of a shit that it’s doing it.
Nova T. Good god this thing is an epitome of ‘Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap’ design philosophy. It costs nothing and it will happily rip whatever you point it at in half until the weird chemical slurry in the bins runs out.
Cicada CDA-4A. Fast, hard hitting, cheap as shit, able to hunt, help chop up weird armor and do general striker actions this thing’s great. Also it has the fun trait of having packed on an actual amount of armor, for a 40 tonner at least, which makes it a bit of an annoyance to deal with.
Men Shen OF. This is one of my favorite Omni-Configs in the game. A pair of T-Comped Snubnose PPCs on a chassis that can move well while having enough armor to take hits and keep going? Sign me the fuck up. I am always happy to run this thing, it can bully big ‘Mechs with accurate 10 pointers, it can hunt lights with the combination of the to hit bonus, good enough movement to pair with the snub’s massive short ranges, and the ability to take just about anything they throw back at it. Men, perhaps even… Shen?
Wraith TR-1. One of the most cost effective Medium Light Hunters in the game, it’s cheap, it’s fast, it’s got good guns. Its only real problem is heat when you jump and alpha which it doesn’t always need to if you play your cards right with it.

Black Lanner A, Fire Falcon Prime, Corona Battle Armor, and Salamander Battle Armor. Credit: Valk.

Scotty

Hammerhead. If this isn't our unanimous number 1 pick for Mediums I'll be shocked. Nothing, literally nothing, brings the same combination of maneuverability, durability, and firepower at the cost it does. Extra marks for being genuinely innovative - this is the first (and as of this writing only) ‘Mech in the game to use both Hardened Armor and AES in the legs. The number one way to slow a ‘Mech down is to knock it over, and the Hammerhead tells you to die mad about it with extra resistance to taking a PSR from damage and turning its stability from a weakness into a strength.
Black Lanner D. Much like the Fire Falcon C, this thing is my ride or die, one of the best budget buzzsaws that will show up screaming across the map and cut something in half. It is almost literally just two Fire Falcon Cs in a trench coat, and I love that about it. Just like the Fire Falcon, expect another config later on this same list. I don't have a Jade Falcon problem, I have a Jade Falcon solution. Caw.
Stormcrow K. When you need to bring an extra truck to hit like. Brute force (55 damage) for absurdly cheap (2001) on a Stormcrow chassis. If it has one weakness it's that the arms like exploding, but it'll just kill you before that happens, no big.
Cicada CDA-4A. Cost is a big part of this thing being so high up my list. For the speed and firepower and armor it has, under 1100 is a sin. A deeply satisfying sin.
Ice Ferret D. Fast bundle of Clan MPLs with decent armor. Wow, where have I heard that one before?
Carrion Crow C. Kind of like the Hammerhead, this is here for durability and firepower on a budget. Ferro-Lamellar is slightly good, the speed on this is pretty good, the firepower is pretty good, the cost is acceptable. It is a nexus of capability on rate.
Black Lanner F. The more expensive version of this mech, due to cramming five Clan MPLs onto a flip arm asshole that runs 14. This is about as expensive as I'm willing to call ‘good’ for a Medium, but it will absolutely tear anything it can catch apart, and it can catch a lot.
Trebuchet TBT-9N. Medium VSPLs remain undercosted, and now they have Clan LRMs to cover their one weakness. It's mobile, it hits hard, it's accurate as hell. The days of pulse hell on this list of excellent ‘Mechs is certainly reaching a middle.
Dasher II. Fireball Syndrome, I'm afraid. Cheap and fast and uses charging to break the game over its knee. Only this low on the list because it has less ability to just teleport into your rear arc from across the map at mach 2.
Hierofalcon A. This ‘Mech narrowly bumped the Nova T off my list, and it's on here for the same reason the Ostscout 12R showed up in Peri’s list of Lights. Jump 10 is just… it's not okay. The game you play with this ‘Mech will end when one of you gets bored and gives up, not when the game is over. Please don't.

Davion Heavy Guard NIghtsky. Credit: Jack Hunter

Jack

Hammerhead. While it doesn’t have the most firepower of the mechs on this list, it brings more than enough to force a PSR and not be ignored, enough mobility to get around the map, and far more durability than anything in its weight class should have. AES in the legs more than counters the PSR penalty from hardened armor, and makes it even more accurate when kicking.
Cicada CDA-4A. Just under 1,100BV for something moving 8/12[16] with a pair of medium VSPs and a medium re-engineered laser is terrific. It’s a lot like the spider, trading jump for increased ground movement, a lot more armor, and the ability to force a PSR on its own. Well worth the extra cost unless you’re playing on particularly rough terrain.
Hierofalcon A. Things that can jump 10 just shouldn’t exist, particularly if they have a clan large pulse. The mobility gives it absurd durability and makes it able to get around the map basically freely for objectives, while it still has 94% armor and can withstand the rare hit. Running this isn’t going to give you a game that’s over quick, but it’s going to win games based on just not taking hits.
Clint IIC 2L ‘Leia’. Unlike the normal clint, this is reasonably well armored (with ballistic reinforced) and is a mixtech nightmare, running a large VSP, pair of clan ER mediums, and a medium re-engineered laser with a targeting computer. It’s only moving 6/9, so is at a bit of risk from pulses, but the tarcomped large VSP on a reasonably mobile mech is horrifying for anything light trying to exist near it.
‘Wing’ Wraith TR-6. I like this a little bit more than the Phoenix Hawk 3PL or Wraith TR-1 because it bumps up to 8 jump, still has 12 run as needed from the supercharger, and runs x-pulses for better range. All three are very similarly good mechs that are going to be useful in every game.
Stormcrow K. Starting from a near-perfect chassis in the stormcrow, the K packs on a ton of damage for relatively low BV. Can engage at long range, can engage at short range, so it’s always contributing to the game in a meaningful fashion.
Nightsky NGS-6T. Basically perfect heat generation for TSM and a 20 damage kick or hatchet is scary. It’s not always a mech that ends up doing a ton of damage, but it always dictates the flow of a game as my opponent moves to stay away from it.
Hellspawn HSN-10G. A pair of MML 7s with 3 tons of ammo on a cheap fast medium is a great harasser. It’s got plenty of room to carry a ton of infernos, and it’s never going to be overheating to the point they’re a problem. Can function either at range as a harasser with the light PPC and LRMs, hunting lights with the pulses, or crit fishing with SRMs.
Shadow Cat TC. A fast moving LB 10-X is almost always useful, and while 6/9[12]/6 isn’t my favorite move profile it isn’t a terrible one. One of my favorite ways to bring an active probe to a game if I’m in a situation that I might need one.
Carrion Crow C. Relatively inexpensive for a clan mech, a full load of ferrolam makes this surprisingly durable. It’s not the fastest, but is fast enough, and it does decent damage. While it doesn’t do anything particularly outstanding, it does everything well.

Hastati Sentinels Ice Ferret. Credit: Jack Hunter

Peri

Hammerhead, as I am sure everyone is going to agree with. It is the perfect medium mech. Decently fast, upsettingly tough, near impossible to knock over, and well armed enough that you can’t ignore it for a price that is perfectly reasonable to pay. This is one of the game’s best record sheets and will win fights with the majority of the heavy and assault sheets in this game. It is important to note that I am personally of the opinion that Medium Mechs are, at the very highest level of play, probably the worst weight class on overall quality. This isn’t good by medium mech standards, its good by mech standards.
Trebuchet 9N. We have talked about this one recently and honestly its just extremely, extremely goofy. Good long range damage, fantastic close range damage, good speed and decent durability combine into a very strong record sheet at its price.
Phantom E. This is basically just a big, fat, slower Fire Moth P. It is still fantastic, 9/14 is usually going to be fast enough for most purposes, it is obnoxiously tough and will absolutely devour most light mech hunters you send after it. This is a much easier mech to use than the Fire Moth P, but the ceiling of bullshit it can get up to is way lower.
Ice Ferret D. High speed, clan pulse lasers, decent armor, and some restraint combine to make an extremely good light mech hunting medium mech that can brawl if it needs to and backstab perfectly well.
Dasher II. This is good for the exact same reasons as the Fireball XF, but is heavier and more durable at the cost of costing more and not being able to teleport across the map quite the same way. Still disgusting and incredibly nasty and unpleasant to play against, but far, far more manageable than a Fireball XF. Seriously, do not let people take piloting skills better than 4 at your event I am begging you.
Stormcrow TC/K. I am cheating a bit and letting these two share a slot, but they are just 2 different takes on the same idea with a gauss hand and a laser hand. Both will do about the same thing, so it really just depends on your preference in laser hand and how much BV you have. I give the edge to the TC personally, but the K is also incredibly good and I could go either way depending on the day.
Cicada 4A. I am infamous in the Goonhammer Discord for preferring the Spider 9M as a double MVSP caddy to the Cicada 4A, but both are good. The Cicada trades the jumping movement out for more armor, a backup RE medium laser, and generally just being bigger. This is a game dependent trade, but personally the higher cost of the 4A leads to me generally preferring to bring a 9M when I want a double MVSP mech. It’s still insane but quite as good.
Phoenix Hawk 3PL. This will rapidly increase the quality of light mech you play against, because bad light mechs are not allowed to exist within 9-ish hexes of a 3PL. This is a solid playable mech that will basically always get good use in a game and acts as a great babysitter to various heavy and assault mechs.
Nova T. Great price for a fuckton of damage. Just a reliable value piece that will make its points back in most games and won’t normally let you down, while also feeling like a Nova in a way that is profoundly satisfying.
Marshal 6FR. Similar to the 3PL and Nova T, the 6FR is a fucking nightmare to deal with and is only really held back by its crappy ground speed. High armor, low price, decent range and pulse lasers, its just a complete package of a medium mech and it really just is the austerity version of a Vapor Eagle, the recession indicator Vapor Eagle. The price on this thing is just way too low for the amount of annoyance this can cause.

Trebuchet. Credit: porble

Lynn

Hammerhead, sure. My favorite thing about the Hammerhead is that it walks six: You can really get up to some moonwalking shenanigans with those MP, and you’ll want to: Its rear side torsos only have a mortal medium mech’s level of armor, and rear-aspect shots are the quickest way to bring one of these hard MFers down.
Phantom H. I’ll admit I’m rating the H here over the Phantom E in part because the H is the one that traumatized me personally, but I also feel like it earns the extra 203 BV it costs over the E, with a significantly higher damage ceiling, bigger chunks of damage, and longer effective range, all on the Phantom’s delectable “chunky Light” chassis.
Cicada CDA-4A. Speaking of chunky light mechs, the Cicada 4A is the other infamous beneficiary of VSP BV being busted, and it suits my tastes better than the Spider 9M with its ability to take a punch, ability to get further without jumping (albeit at the risk of a Supercharger roll), and the bonus Re-Engineered Laser to make fancy-armored mechs sad.
Stormcrow K. I will be honest and admit that as I write this I haven’t fielded one of these yet, but I recently acquired a Stormcrow mini, and this is absolutely the first variant I’m fielding. The damage, the speed, the armor, the heat management, the BV, it’s beautiful. Are all of its weapons explosive? Yes. But what kind of Clanner wouldn’t take that risk in the name of glory?
Battle Cobra BTL-C-2OE. Did You Know that ComStar built their own Battle Cobra based off of captured Steel Viper Battle Cobras after Tukayyid, as an experiment in reverse-engineering OmniMechs? The ComStar Battle Cobra is slower, but that means that it’s cheaper, and a cheap medium OmniMech with enough pod space for a small number of good guns is a godsend in a C3i network (oh, yes, ComStar also shoved a fixed C3i unit in there). Of all their configurations, the E is my favorite, packing two MML-9s and three tons of ammo for just 840 BV, an absolute steal. Load Infernos, bring your C3i friends (Or don’t! This thing’s good even outside a network!), have a great time.
Trebuchet TBT-9N. I love the Trebuchet, I love this Trebuchet, I hate that my love for this Trebuchet is alloyed by the knowledge that its VSPs are too damn cheap.
Nova T. Its range, and the fact that chemical laser ammo does explode, are the only things holding this mech back from godhood, but those are also the same elements that keep it so cheap. Intensely funny shitbot.
Men Shen MS1-OF. Another mech that earned its way onto these lists by beating me up, Liberty more than proved to me the power of two fast, accurate snubbies on a chassis this hard to kill.
Wraith TR1. I do not respect the Phoenix Hawk 3PL, its TMMs and armor are insufficient for the priority target that it is. I do not respect the Uziel 8S, for it never wishes to stop jumping, and that’s a recipe for it to miss as many shots as its opponent does. I must, however, respect the Wraith TR1. You need to know what you’re getting with it, and what you want it to do… Walk/Run when you can, target squishies rather than trying to backstab hard targets, etc… but it is very good value for your BV, especially in any kind of objective-control scenario.
Viper (Dragonfly) Prime. This one is a “context is key” pick. In a vacuum, standing by itself, this is a more-expensive, less-armored Wraith with explosive components and some weapons that don't get a pulse benefit. In context, however, the Clans have very little access to Jump 7+ prior to the proliferation of Improved Jump Jets (and for the Falcons, Partial Wings) in the Jihad, and the Dragonfly Prime is a Jump 8 OmniMech platform that's cheap enough, durable enough, and shooty enough to deliver BA, play objectives, and do just a bit of backstabbing as a treat. It's not one of the 10 best mediums in a white room scenario, but it's one of the very best tools in the toolbox for an important role (BA delivery) in an important stretch of the timeline (Invasion through Civil War) for Clan factions.

Hierofalcon. Credit: Valk

Valk

Hierofalcon A. I’m gonna buck the trend on the Hammerhead as top pick, but the fact that I have to talk about the Hammerhead in my top pick for my favorite weight class should really leave zero room for doubt about that one’s value. Anyway, Jump 10 is bullshit. Jump 10 with Clan ER mediums and a large pulse laser is Super Bullshit 64. It’s just not fun. I’ve used it once in tandem with a Jade Phoenix A (and a Hammerhead, admittedly) and they just hopped up field, dispensed some Elementals, and did a Night at the Roxbury impression with every ‘Mech they came across until the field was clear. Take the Prime or B unless you want to apologize after every game.
Hammerhead. I hate this thing because it violates the Hal Emmerich Doctrine of ‘Mech design and has no character flaws, but it’s very, very good. Take your spot on the list and go.
Uziel UZL-8S. Hey kids, you like the Wraith? Okay, well what if we stuffed a Streak 6 on it and swapped the large pulse for more mediums? Despite being just a bit over 100 BV more than the Wraith TR1, this thing has more armor, jumps further, and now it’s got its own crit-seeker strapped to its face. The Wraith was a common sight at my old scene and it never really felt like a problem, but once I started breaking this thing out every weekend, I found myself having trouble finding opponents until it went back in the box.
Kontio. To some degree, I’m glad this thing doesn’t have an official model yet, because the moment it does, these things are going to proliferate out of control. Stealth armor, TSM with a weapons package designed to be easily tunable to heat-neutrality, and claws on each hand that become instant headcappers when said TSM is active. It’s expensive like most Clan machines are, but it can effectively circle on the outskirts of a battle being nearly unhittable due to its combination of stealth armor and an 8/12 move profile with TSM active. The moment you win initiative, you kick the supercharger on, sweep in on whatever you want, and just start throwing hands until a punch location comes up 6. The proposed changes to claw hit modifiers will only make it better. I keep pointing out that the Kontio shares visual design language with the OG X-COM Chryssalids, and their ability to one-shot eviscerate enemies who can’t kill them before they close the gap only further solidifies that analogy in my head. Not Enough Time Units/10.
Agrotera AGT-1A. The Phoenix Hawk -3PL made an appearance on other lists, but this thing might have it beat. In one hand, you’ve got an ER PPC with AES for extra precision, while in the other, you’re packing a medium VSPL and a bog-standard MPL, with a pair of SPLs hidden just beneath the titties, as is befitting of a Canopian-designed ‘Mech. The partial wing then carries it a full 8 hexes when it jumps, which means that it too gets folded into the “we are going to play grabass with +4 TMM and pulse lasers until one of us gets lucky” bucket in which most good mediums live. At least this one looks rad.
Stormcrow H. Yeah, the H. As with my choice for Fire Moth variants, this is largely dictated by the simple factor of “I miss a lot and pulse doesn’t seem to help,” but the heavy larges this model packs have a shocking amount of synergy to them. The Stormcrow Prime has only one real issue and that’s that it’s oversinked for its payload. The H fixes this by swapping the ER larges for heavy larges and leaves the ER mediums intact. The result is a durable, nimble line ‘Mech with uniform range bands that’s got a modest heat curve and can spike up a little extra if need be. On top of that, the malus to shooting with the heavy lasers keeps the BV down despite the ‘Mech now packing twin headcappers. Rock solid ‘Mech, probably my favorite variant of my favorite chassis.
Nightsky NGS-6T. This is probably my favorite IS medium overall. At face value, it’s a modestly efficient take on the jumpy pulse boat role, but for once, the Emotional Support Small Laser is there for a reason. Kick this bad boy up to 9 heat (not hard) and suddenly you’re throwing 20 point hatchet and kick attacks out while still maintaining a reasonable ranged weapon output. The grab bag of lasers allows you to fine tune your heat generation to perfection, so once the TSM is on, it’s not coming off until you’re taking crits or decide you don’t feel like doing math every turn.
Dasher II. I hated this thing in ClickyTech, and I hate it in BattleTech for the exact same reasons. Stop running into me, asshole.
Men Shen OF. Liberty already sang the praises of the Men Shen OnlyFans, but I’ll do it here too. The Xin Sheng designs are some of the most frequently overlooked ‘Mechs in the game because people buy into anti-Capellan memes too much, and the Men Shen is the runner up for my favorite (Lao Hu gang rise up). In addition to being a damn good skirmisher with the twin snubs and TC, it’s also capable of carting around a squad of battle armor, being one of the few OmniMechs available to the Capellans. You can MASC in, toss out some Ying Long to be camouflaged annoyances or Fa Shih so they can start shitting up the board with mines, then skedaddle away while tossing out 10 point hits at whatever you please. If the local Davion player is going to give you a hard time about playing dirty for playing Capellans, you may as well own it.
Trebuchet TBT-9N. It’s a bootleg Stormcrow I that’s shaped wrong. I can’t not like it.

We've still got a fair bit of similarity between our lists, but nowhere near as much as we did on lights - I think everyone here has at least one or two unique choices. Check back next week as we bump up another 20 tons to look at the heavy mechs.

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Tags: Battletech | mechwarrior | Mech | Top 10 | Mech Championship