That's funny, considering what you have listed as your location....

Well, I refer to "Liao" pieces as Capellan pieces, which is technically more correct.

Look, the BT universe has been around for 20 years....it only makes sense that some of us have "an obsession with this game's fiction."


I like the Capellan Targe as a distraction unit. It distracts and is rarely hit by anyone :)

Yeah. Lots of people bandy about the phrases "KitFox", "Timberwolf" and (occasionally) "Mad Dog" when referring to the appropriate units.

Why? I blame MechWarrior 2, definitely the finest Giant Robot game of its time. With cinematics by Digital Domain and something like 5 years of development time, it was an instant classic and the reason many BattleTech fans got into the game in the first place.

Calling a Koshi a Mist Lynx might confuse some people who played MechWarrior since there are no Koshis in it. But if people are into the fiction enough to call Swordsworn "Davion", Dragon's Fury "Kurita" and Stormhammers "Steiner", why not be obtuse when it comes to 'Mech designations too?

Sorry, not "obtuse", I meant "traditional". Sort of.

Distraction is basing a mech or a costly tank or something with a Peasant Company to prevent a shot. Distraction tactics are one of the primary reasons that you should try to field as close as possible to 12 units in a 300 point match, or 18+ in a 450 point game.

When the players are even roughly equal, but one player has this reserve to draw upon, while the other is fielding only his indispensible maneuver elements and some relatively vulnerable support units, the result is predicted quite well by Sun-Tzu's writings on "Emptiness and Fullness" in The Art of War.

Stones thrown upon eggshells.

The HL Peasant Company and the DF Trike Squad are my two all-time favorite distraction units.

for me my best distraction unit

1. arnis
2. SC hover bikes

arnis is awesome if they don't take the bait then i pumel their main force with arnis if they do take the bait arnis will run around and try to destroy something or if he dammage to much run back for quick repair :)

he just awesom i can't wait for 450 pts

Kinra... touche.

I love to take in any infantry with Bypass. Ask my fellow players, and they will tell you that I have once Bypassed anything, even if captured with one of my Bypass units.

I find that people will see a unit with Bypass, and they get completely paranoid about it until it is dead. It's great fun to watch.

It's either that, or the formation of SW Shandra's I used to use.

Back in the old days of DA, I still remember the fear that the SW Standard Foot caused with that bypass SE.

Oh, and obviously, Highlanders don't call their Koshis "Mist Lynxes". Once they stole^H^H^H^H^H acquired them from the Clans, they just called them what they had nicknamed them. But that's neither here nor there.

Distraction units must be worth targeting. So a humble HL Koshi will seldom fool people into wasting ammo (thus freeing me for a deadly JUMP KICK!). A low-point-cost unique, though, is a HUGE draw. Especially one with agility. So I like to use Joel Brane or Tara Bishop to keep people from killing my SRM teams.

Also, people seem to like trying to blow up my Donars. I'm not gonna stop 'em. Keeps them away from the Regulators.

SC hoverbike, SC saxon.

I've had saxon's sat next to heavy tanks (elite po, elite glory) an entire match and never get hit even with those attack stats, saxon's are sweet for basing tanks.

i've always used the towed field arty from the highlanders...
it's cheap, can do 2 damage...and arty is always a thorn in the eye of an enemy

I still love my :^: Hoverbikes.

You'd not believe the usefullness of a formation of 3 or 5 (better).
You'd not believe the amount of point they soak up in order to destroy them.

But for baiting - I still love my Janis or Mikel - Go ahead, charge me! I'll just break, let you get shot to pieces by that tank over there, and then repair... :)

If I didnt hate Bannsons so much, I'd play them, as they are adept at this tactic...

I too used to field the SC "Myst Lynx". It is a great unit and one of my fave 'Mechs.

As a DF player, I tend to bring the LE Tamerlane as a harasser, and/or a formation of 3-4 DF trikes.

The Tamerlane has evade which gives it a 21 defense against ranged. It's also just 26 pts, so most times an opponent will ignore it. It's also fast @ 14"-so I like to bring it around the rear arcs of units or send it out to base something and hold it down for my artillery.

The Trikes are usually my main vtol hunters.
Most people won't realize what I am doing with them infiltrated out until they forget about them(or make the assumption that a 6" max weapon's range isn't something to be concerned about)until they move their vtol and I see a token on it.

Then I move the formation up within range. The Trikes hold 10-9" speed till dead. Then they see it's energy weapons with a 7 attack with IT and they freak. I will always push them to blast a vtol. Most vtols are susceptible to energy weapons.

I also like to use the DF's fast 'Mechs as a distraction. I'll sometimes run the 'Mech to one side of the battlefield, while taking my army towards the other. Then when my opponent goes for my 'Mech, I'll run it back behind my support on the other side. DF 'Mechs are very fast. The Blade runs 24". usually my opponent has left a part of his army vulnerable by this time and that's when my DF Donars go hunting down their vehicles/arty or Mechs. Especially arty, AA's and RV's.

My two favorite distraction units are hoverbikes & the Fox Armored Car.

It's not cheap but hte Merc and SC locuts make some nice distractions in higher point games like 450. They can hit arty fast and keep it from fireing for at least a few turns to get the rest of the army in positon

All the trike squads (except Highlanders) are great distractions if you are willing to risk losing them. Any transport with a SS Towed AC or an AnP unit qualifies as well.