Just in time for the Battle of Tukayyid, Clan Diamond Shark introduced a new OmniMech known as the Mongrel. It served well in both the Clan Diamond Shark and Clan Smoke Jaguar forces during the battle, despite the losses suffered by those Clans. A year later in 3053, Clan Diamond Shark reintroduced the design and adopted Grendel, the Com Guards designation of the design, as its new name.
The Grendel Prime propagated to many of the Clans after its reintroduction and even during the Dark Ages it is still in use amongst four of the Clans in the Inner Sphere and the Scorpion Empire in the Periphery.
Read This First
- You have great mobility even in rough terrain
- Manage heat by holding fire with some medium lasers at ranges of 6 or more hexes and with the large laser at shorter ranges
- You are a great delivery system for a point of battle armor
Grendel Prime
- Role: Striker
- Tech Base: Clan (3052)
- Chassis: 45 tons (Endo Steel)
- Movement: 7 / 11, XL
- Jumping: 7
- Armor: 144 (Ferro Fibrous)
- Heat Sinks: 12 (24)
- Weapons:
- ER Large Laser
- Streak SRM 6 (ammo: 15)
- ER Medium Laser × 3
- ER Small Laser
- Equipment:
- CASE
- Design Quirks:
- Rugged (1)
- Cost: 12,445,713 C-Bills
- Battle Value: 2,290
Mobility
The Grendel is very mobile for a medium ’Mech. It has 7 walking MP, 11 running MP, and 7 jumping MP. That puts it above the average mobility for a light ’Mech despite its 45-ton weight. It can hit a +4 target movement modifier when running or jumping.
Durability
The Grendel is well-protected. It carries 94% of the maximum armor for a 45-ton chassis. Its XL engine makes it more vulnerable to engine hits than if it had a standard fusion engine. The Prime configuration carries only a single ton of ammo so it has a relatively low risk of suffering an explosive critical. If it does suffer a critical hit to the right torso, then there is only about a 13% chance of the explosion and the location is protected by CASE to allow the Grendel to survive the blast.
Weaponry
The Prime configuration for the Grendel carries an ER large laser that is supported by a mixed set of shorter-range lasers and missiles. The large laser gives the Grendel Prime the ability to deal 10 damage out to 25 hexes. The other weapons then start to come into play at 15 hexes with expected damage hitting its maximum at 1-2 hexes.
The high speed of the Grendel allows its MechWarrior to dictate the range of the battle against almost any opponent. They can decide whether it is better to stay at longer ranges in order to focus on using its large laser or move to shorter ranges to use the missiles and medium lasers.
The weapon layout of the prime configuration is a good mix between the wider arcs of arm-mounted weapons and improved durability of those in the torso and head. The large laser and small laser are in the right arm. Two medium lasers in the left arm cover the opposite side arc. Then the SRMs and remaining medium laser are available in the front arc.
A MechWarrior with a Grendel Prime should not need to worry about ammo conservation. The Streak SRM system has 15 shots which thanks to only firing when a lock is acquired should be enough to last through all but the longest battles.
Heat Management
The Prime configuration does not carry enough heat sinks to consistently fire all of its weapons. Its 12 double heat sinks can dissipate 24 points of heat, but the weapons can generate 33. That heat becomes even more problematic if the Grendel is jumping because that can add another 7 heat.
In order to avoid heat buildup, a MechWarrior should hold fire with one or more of the medium lasers at longer ranges. Inside of 5 hexes, the medium lasers become more efficient than the large laser, so a MechWarrior should switch to using all three and not firing the large laser.
Brawling
The Grendel Prime is better off avoiding point-blank fighting. Its right arm lacks lower arm actuators, so it can only punch for 3 damage. The left arm has all of its actuators to be able to punch more accurately and deal 5 damage, but that is well below what its two medium lasers can deliver. When a Grendel kicks, it can deal 9 damage.
OmniMech Chassis
The Grendel is an OmniMech so it can be reconfigured between engagements. It has 13.5 tons available for equipment with at least one slot available in most of its locations. Two of the Prime configuration’s heat sinks are pod-mounted, but all seven jump jets are fixed equipment.
| Capacity | 13.5 tons |
| Head | 1 slot |
| Center Torso | 1 slot |
| Right Torso | 6 slots |
| Left Torso | 6 slots |
| Right Arm | 4-6 slots |
| Left Arm | 4-6 slots |
| Right Leg | none |
| Left Leg | none |
As an OmniMech, the Grendel is also able to transport mechanized battle armor. Its high mobility makes it a good choice to carry a point of battle armor towards an objective, and its own weapon payload also benefits from being at relatively short ranges. The only weapon that the Grendel Prime is not able to fire when carrying battle armor is its Streak SRM launcher.
Cost & Upkeep
The Grendel has a high cost, particularly for Inner Sphere forces that manage to acquire one. It does require some ammunition between engagements, but the Streak launcher is efficient and should generally only need a reload every other engagement.
When using the Warchest Point system, these are the expected costs for the Grendel Prime:
| Action | Clan Cost | Inner Sphere Cost |
| Purchase | 900 SP | 1,800 SP |
| Armor Repair | 45 SP | 90 SP |
| Structure Repair | 90 SP | 180 SP |
| Reload | 0-10 SP | 0-20 SP |
| Reconfigure | 11 SP | 23 SP |
Miniature
A plastic miniature for the Grendel Prime is included in the Clan Invasion box set.
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