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Most Recommended Clan Mechs:
Light: Arctic Cheetah-Prime
Medium: Huntsman-P, Stormcrow-D, Shadowcat-A
Heavy: Hellbringer-Prime, Mad Dog-A, Timberwolf-Prime
Assault: Marauder IIC-B, Kodiak-1, Dire Wolf-Prime
Clan Mechs you may want to Avoid:
Light: Mist Lynx
Medium: Ice Ferret
Heavy: Summoner
Assault: Gargoyle
To go along with these most/least recommended mechs, here is my breakdown on each Clan mech currently available in game. Note that all "IIC" mechs are Clan variants/upgrades of Inner Sphere mechs and therefore have no omnipods, so choose your variant wisely but over all they tend to very good mechs.
Adder: Of the light mechs, this one has the most armor but is also the slowest. I find it does well if you stick close to the Heavy and Assualt mechs, peek and poke and guard their backs. It can also be loaded up with a decent amount of firepower for a light mech.
Articic Cheetah: There is no substitute. This is the best light Clan mech all around. It has speed, firepower, and ECM. 'nuff said.
Jenner IIC: This is a great light mech with good all around survivability, speed, and firepower.
Kit Fox: Like the Adder, this is s great support mech for the big boys. There is a variant that can be loaded with triple AMS, providing an awesome missile shield.
Mist Lynx: This mech has very little tonnage, so it is difficult to create a good loadout without spending lots of c-bills on omnipods. Consider it the poor man's Arctic Cheetah. Slightly slower and with less firepower, but it tries to make up for that by being made out of tissue paper.
Hunchback IIC: A great all-around medium mech. Definitely a tank in faction scouting matches to be feared. A solid choice for any pilot.
Huntsman: This mech is a great recent addition that takes the place of the Stormcrow as one of the best choices for faction scouting matches. It can bring pretty close to the same damage output that the Stormcrow had and has good speed. This is my top Clan pick for faction scouting battles.
Ice Ferret: This mech lacks enough weapon hard points and tonnage to make it effective in battle. You can make it work and might operate okay as a weak sniper but this mech's design is really limited and usually not worth the trouble.
Nova: The glass cannon. This mech can stack a rediculous amount of firepower (and generated heat) but if you are good at hiding and popping out for a knockout blow, this is the mech for you. Armor is light, so watch out for that glass jaw.
Shadow Cat: This is a great medium mech for sniping. It has great speed, including a MASC (turbo boost). The hard points and tonnage allow for mounting of some serious sniping weapons.
Stormcrow: The medium mech to be most feared. This is the best medium mech all around. Sadly scouting matches are now restricted to under 50 tons and this beast comes in at 55 tons. It is still great for other matches and main faction battles.
Viper: A more recent addition to the Clan lineup but a great all around mech, if a little light on the tonage. It has a great mix of speed and firepower, along with really good jump jets. Treat it like a light mech on the heavy side and you can do wonders with this one.
Ebon Jaguar: This mech is like a Timber Wolf with more tonnage capacity but with fewer weapon hard points. It makes for a decent sniper or brawler. It has good torso twist and armor.
Hellbringer: One of the best heavy mechs for Clan. It has a variant with ECM and can mount a wide array of weapons. It also has decent armor and speed. Highly recommend everyone has one of these in their mech bay.
Linebacker: This is a very fast Heavy mech
Mad Dog: The Clan's heavy missile boat. This mech makes for a good LRM boat or if you really want to ruin peoples day, load it up with six SRM-6 launchers. Drop skill points in mobility and this becomes a very lethal mech.
Night Gyr: This is a decent all around mech; it has a good amount of available tonnage but choose your weapon load-out wisely so you aren't too light on total firepower. Loaded properly it has a lethal punch and this mech has really good armor for a heavy class.
Orion IIC: I really haven't used this one too much but I consider it in between being the Inner Sphere verison of the Hellbringer or an upgraded Summoner.
Summoner: This mech had so much potential but falls short. It lacks the weapon hard points and tonnage to make it really effective in combat. Fighting in this mech always seems like a struggle when compared to other options. I would rank this as the absolute worst Clan mech from any weight class, it is just totally lackluster (although the Ice Ferret is a close second).
Timber Wolf: This is the mainstay heavy mech for Clan. This mech has all around good performance and plenty of weapon hard point options. There is a variant with Jump Jets too. Along with the Hellbringer, this is a mech everyone should have at least one of.
Dire Wolf: This is the Clan's main tank mech, very heavy armor, ridiculously high firepower, but very slow. Don't let a light mech get behind you...but anything you're facing should die quickly.
Executioner: This is a decent assault mech but a little light on the armor for being such a big target. It can be loaded with a decent amount of weaponry but fight like a heavy mech so you don't get picked off. It is one of the few mechs that also have MASC, so you can use that emerge and disappear around cover quickly.
Gargoyle: Probably the weakest in firepower of all the Clan assault mechs. It is still a decent mech if give the proper weapons. The arms hang low, which makes sniping an issue. It is okay if you treat it like a heavy class brawler. It remains probably the last assault mech I would recommend anyone pick up.
Highlander IIC: I haven't spent much time in this mech but it seems to be a decent all around assault brawler but still probably not my first choice.
Kodiak: Although this is a Clan design mech, they don't have Omnipods, so choose your variants wisely. Overall you can't go wrong. These mechs are beasts and pack serious firepower if a bit slow. Drop some points in mobility and use your torso twist since it's high profile and fearsome presence attracts fire. This is a solid choice and one my top recommendations for a Clan assault mech.
Marauder IIC: This assault mech is one of the lighter ones but don't be fooled. This mech is quite deadly and hits all the marks for firewpower, armor, and mobility. Treat like a really big Timer Wolf for brawling and you won't be sorry. I highly recommend having one of these.
Supernova: This is another very heavy assault mech with lots of firepower but also lacking in speed. I really find it similar in every way to the Dire Wolf. So a solid choice for tanking and being the tip of the spear.
Warhawk: This mech had a bad rep early on in it's release but has really shaped up to be a decent assault mech. It makes for a great LRM boat, while still having plenty of capacity for mounting an array of laser weapons. It's a bit lighter than the Dire Wolf but gets a little more speed for it. It can make for a great brawler mech but due to it's large flat top center torso watch out for incoming LRM's as it makes a big target for that. Stay near ECM or AMS buddies if that becomes a problem for you.
Edited by Iron Mercer, 25 June 2017 - 02:42 PM.
