Blakist to the core, here. I have loved them since well before they were the Word, back as the old school villian-behind-the-scenes Comstar. While I do recognize a lot of hate from folks about that whole "Jihad" thing, it really is not much different from the early Succession wars, and much of the pre-Star League era of fighting. (I also agree, the death of the Dragoons was a much needed and deserved thing)
It also took the Word of Blake to accomplish the one thing the entire rest of the Inner Sphere failed to do - make Victor and the Super Friends cease to be a factor. While admittedly some of the outward "logic" may have appeared corny or ridiculous, reading deeper into it, and much of the later Jihad era fluff, one can see that even the most overwhelming of reactions can have some kind of method to the madness, not to mention many (intentional) misinterpretations. After all, how long did it take for the truth to get out that Tharkad was NOT nuked on Day 1, but was the fault of a bunch of reactor techs who failed to properly maintain their power plant? And just how much of the escalation was centered around that event being taken as the Word dropping tac-nukes directly on the capital?
Besides, every house has to thank the Word for helping create a new generation of heroes and overall strengthening the Inner Sphere in the aftermath of the Jihad. Without the Word of Blake, we wouldn't have the One True Cult of Thomas Hogarth - He Who Bringeth The Tonnage Forth.
Edited by HandofBane, 15 August 2012 - 05:58 PM.