Mech Every Day Force Saturday #2: Red Duke's Personal Guard Lance

The Draconis Combine, ruled by House Kurita, is widely regarded as the most militaristic empire in the Inner Sphere. This isn't really accurate; all of the Great Houses are expansionist and field the largest armies they can produce and support. The Combine just doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is.

Most of the "modern" Combine's societal and military traditions stem from a deliberate cultural shift during the Star League period. The then-Coordinator believed that his Japanese heritage had saved him from an assassination attempt. He issued a series of edicts that transformed the state to one that resembled an idealized version of Imperial Japan...though exactly which Imperial Japan is up for debate. For example, it has a strong federal military and mandatory conscription like in the 1930s, but true feudal samurai also exist.

While most nobles in the Combine are therefore based on ancient Japanese positions and titles, some families exist from before the reforms. Tai-shos and Warlords rub shoulders with Viscounts and Dukes. Hassan Ricol's title comes from one of those ancient lines. The "Red Duke" was respected and feared in equal measure on both sides of the Draconis Combine/Lyran Commonwealth border. He was an accomplished fighter, but also skilled in subterfuge. His exploits took him all over the Inner Sphere and eventually to join a deep conspiracy within the Combine government after his ancestral lands were lost in the Clan Invasion, but that's a story for another day...

The Red Duke's bodyguard, pictured here, is pretty typical of a late Succession Wars/early Clan Invasion Battle Lance. Ricol's Marauder is obviously the heavy-hitter of the unit. Supporting him are two common Medium-class 'Mechs, a Griffin and a Wolverine. Normally a Charger is a joke of a BattleMech, only deployed when nothing else is available. In this case, it's a cutting-edge (for the 3050s) CGR-3K variant, which mounts a far lighter XL power plant and double heat sinks to greatly increase its firepower and add jump jets - a suitable companion for a powerful, but minor, noble.

Red-over-black is not only a striking scheme on the tabletop, it's also very easy to do with Army Painter Speedpaints. Moreover, it can stand in for a number of other schemes. It's not very different from Davion's Robinson Rangers, Liao's Red Lancers, or even the mercenary Kell Hounds, among others.