Ah, the fickleness of youth.
Being one of the newest mechs out there, according to Junior Pilot, they are the 'Best Mech Ever'. When Cherry Blossom Mechworks started production and put them on sale as an introductory offer, Junior Pilot decided that a 20 ton specialisation was the way to go and purchased a full squadron.
Now, I'm all for specialists, but even on sale it seemed... excessive. Ah well, wisdom comes with age, and Junior Pilot has a long way to go.
Now this is not the first mech that has been declared the 'Best Mech Ever'.
I recall when Junior Pilot had yet to earn their licence. We watched archaic vid-slugs of primitive fighting mechs in action. When they recognised the Axebot as being available on the open market, it was declared 'Best Mech Ever'. I was even derided for not having any and pestered to the point of insanity until I gave in and bought one. I never did actually, Junior Pilot just got bored eventually and wandered off. It was a close run thing though.
Then came graduation from pilot school and a few jaunts around the Pirate Moon, hauling in a Nerio and Trooper. These mecha were capable of conquering the Galaxy, and were therefore the 'Best Mechs Ever'.
I must admit, those mechs have served well. With the advent on Squad wars and the need for brevet promotions, way down at the bottom end of the divisions, Junior Pilot is leading a group. As such, and leading from the front, those mechs helped bring in two solid KotM bronzes.
But in the quest for the bounty from a third, they were not up to the task. They were replaced by Luisons, which even though they are crystal, they are, of course, the 'Best Mech Ever'. A solid and hard won silver was the prize.
And all the while, under their dust covers at the back of the hanger , unused, untested, all but forgotten by the fickleness of youth, sat a reserve formation.
And the War Gods smiled upon Junior Pilot, and for the fourth and final medal needed for the big bounty, they called forth the 20 tonners.
There were some sharks down there. Dragons, newly minted alumni from the Mech Point Academy. Highlanders are always a handful. They fielded Shocklites and Axebots. A few brave souls took to the field in Red Ants.
And yes, there was the odd captured Commissar.
I had never seen them in action before, and it felt strange to not be in the driving seat. However as a spectator, I had the chance to weigh the odds first.Here's what the book says. 35 Niodes, 500 Bioptics and 550 Ferrite gets you a 20 ton mech with all the advantages inherited from the Red Ant plus more besides. That means it's a heck of a laser mech, but it also starts picking up speed boosts very quickly while being able to slow an opponent down on any successful shot. The Axebot favours engine modules and rightly needs it in a match up as the Commissar gets so much speed just built in. The Comissar can devote that other internal space to other things and seems to favour chassis enhancements making it a far more slippery target.
Add in its 4 weapon slots with another every 4 levels compared to the 3 and 7 of the Shocklite and the 3 and 5 of the Axebot, it starts with a higher throw weight and just gets better.
Now we already know that a Shocklite is vastly outmatched by the Axebot, but how will the Commisar stack up?
Yes, it has better damage potential with its chosen weapon type and can fire faster, but the Axebot is rightly feared with its built in ability to Crit Kill and its damage multipliers. The Axebot has the track record. It was going to be interesting to see how the newcomer fared against it.
It was a very thrilling contest, if a little short, which was perhaps disappointing. Junior Pilot was attacked by higher level opponents with both well tricked Shocklites and heavily armed Axebots.
But at the end of the day, direct observation can attest to the fact that the Commissar is up to the task.
A fourth medal in a row and a 100 niode bounty declared that, according to the fickleness of youth, the bright shiny new Nephilax in the hanger was indeed the 'Best Mech Ever'.
But from what I saw, just for a few moments at the top of the mountain the Commissar has very rightly earned a title.
It was the 'Best Mech Ever'.
Submitted by David McCallum : #701548