Howdy everyone and welcome back to Mech Overview. This week we are taking a look at the Black Knight, a 75 ton energy boat with more lasers than sense and a general reputation for being very dangerous. The Black Knight is a very old mech both in and out of universe, filling a similar spot to the Highlander as a symbol of the Star League. It also looks incredibly cool, which has gained it a lot of fans over the years. Looking cool is a massive advantage that a mech can have in terms of getting a lot of variants, and the Black Knight is no exception.
The CGL redesign of this mech is the best it has ever looked, and there is some stiff competition in that department from the MW4 design. Probably the best looking of the “Dude in a robot suit” mech designs from early BattleTech.
Table of Contents
Chassis
The Black Knight is a 75 ton heavy and has a general identity as a mid-speed energy boat. All variants are loaded down with energy weapons and nothing else. Probably too many energy weapons, the Black Knight has a pretty notorious reputation in some circles for overheating and cooking pilots, similar to the Nova Prime. As it isn’t an Omni-Mech (mostly), variants can make pretty sizable changes to the internals. 75 tons is a really fantastic weight range for an energy boat, as it gives you enough room to actually mount enough heat sinks to keep things under control while also letting you get some mobility in a way you can’t with an assault mech.
Variants
These mechs have all been reviewed based on a standard F through S scale, which you can find described on our landing page here (along with all of our other ‘mech reviews, the name of the box you can buy to get any of the mechs we have covered, and our general methodology).
BL-6-KNT
We have some weird variant names this time so I have to write the whole designation. At 1551 BV the 6-KNT is a 4/6/0 energy boat that makes a lot of deeply terrible decisions. We have a PPC, two large lasers, four medium lasers, a small laser for some fucking reason, and an active probe. Considering this mech has Endo-Steel and is otherwise full of advanced tech, you would think we would have double heat sinks, but for some reason the 6-KNT mounts 20 single heat sinks, which isn’t nearly enough for this energy-heavy of a weapon load. The armor is good but you are spending a lot on something that will pretty reliably overheat unless you want to drop your DPS down quite a lot. Pretty poorly designed base variant for the Black Knight unfortunately.
RATING: D
BL-6b-KNT
The Royal variant, as usual, is a lot better. It is a hair more expensive at 1627 BV but every part of this mech is insanely better than the 6. We upgrade to 16 double heat sinks, keep the same good armor and standard engine, and trade the guns out for an ER PPC, two large pulse lasers, four medium lasers, and a small laser because fuck it, why not. It also still has the active probe, which is cool and all. This is a genuinely threatening close range weapon set with a decently threatening ranged option in the PPC. 4/6/0 is a bit too slow for a close range mech like this, but the LPLs are perfectly capable of landing hits at 10 hexes due to their accuracy bonus, so in practice as long as you aren’t past that you will have decent output.
Fun bit of trivia: The 6b is on the MUL availability list for ComStar in the Late Succession Wars: Lostech era, and it is probably the single best unit on any IS availability list at that time, along with the base Nightstar and base Highlander that ComStar also gets in that period. If you are ever playing at a tournament that has a 3025 era restriction but no tech restrictions, take a couple of these and run their fade. No other heavy mech in 3025 can win a fair fight with this thing, it isn’t even close. Plus, it looks great painted white.
RATING: B, A+ or low S- in 3025
BL-6-RR
A weird experimental variant, the 6-RR is a deeply strange mixed-technology variant that I kinda love even though it is deeply terrible. For 1927 BV it is, defensively, the same as a 6-KNT, and seems to have been built off of one of them. The weapons are the cool part, carrying a Clan ER PPC, two Inner Sphere large lasers, four Clan ER medium lasers, an IS small laser, and an active probe. It does only have 21 single heat sinks so heat can very rapidly become a massive problem, and it is ludicrously expensive for a mech with only SHS. I just love it because I adore all of these weird mixed tech variants and wish we would get more of them. It isn’t a great use of the mixed tech base the way a Thunderbolt C is, but it is a pretty fun mech to surprise your friends with. I’d either fire the ER PPC or the ER medium lasers, pitching the large lasers in if you have a great shot and aren’t worried about losing your 1900 BV investment next turn, or if it is already dead. Generally I expect this mech would spend most games alternating between the two sets of clan weapons though. Would be a lot better if it just dropped the large lasers for 2 extra mediums and a boatload more heat sinks.
RATING: D+
BL-7-KNT
The Succ Wars downgrade of the 6-KNT, the 7-KNT is 1443 BV and loses some armor and the active probe, otherwise making literally no changes. I rate this higher than the 6-KNT by a little bit just because it is 100 BV cheaper while really only being marginally worse defensively. Mech fine but there are better 3025 intro-tech trashwagons.
RATING: D+
BL-7-KNT-L
Fuck these variant names are unwieldy. At 1409 BV the L is the same as the 7, other than trading out the PPC for a third large laser and two extra heat sinks. This is a fantastic decision and lets it shoot all three large lasers while only building 2 heat, or 4 if you are running. At 1409 BV this is genuinely cheap enough to be worth it, comparable to other 3025 heavies while having good uptime, great close range DPS, and a pretty menacing level of durability due to the complete lack of explosive components. This is a fantastic mech for the Wall of Steel strategy, as it will usually fight until it has taken truly heinous damage, not really caring if it loses a side torso at all. Big fan of this.
RATING: B-
BL-9-KNT
The “Clanbuster” Black Knight, the 9 is a deeply weird one. At 1678 BV it is around what you would expect for an advanced tech heavy, and it has a pretty great mix of weapons. You get an ER PPC, large pulse laser, two large lasers, and four medium pulse lasers, giving the 9 decent long ranged output and incredibly frightening short ranged damage. That short ranged damage is further helped by the Hatchet mounted in the left arm, which looks like a sword because they hadn’t invented the mech sized sword yet so trust me bro its just a weirdly shaped axe. This thing looks rad as hell, has fantastic short range damage, has ok long range damage, and even thicker armor than the 6b. The one downside is that it uses an XL engine to fit all of these weapons in, which does suck and hurts the durability quite a bit, but XL engines give a pretty decent BV rebate and it keeps the mech cheap and capable. If you use it more carefully, hanging back and only joining the engagement later on when it can make the best use of its close combat capabilities, it’ll clean up a fight better than most 1600 BV mechs.
RATING: B-
BL-12-KNT
The 12 comes in at 1840 BV and sure does feel like it. It has the same armor as a 6, but upgrades the weapons to an ER PPC, two large lasers, and four ER medium lasers. It then ties all of these weapons to a targeting computer, which is obviously awesome for accuracy. 16 double heat sinks are just about enough. You will need to do some heat math up close and it is still very easy to cook yourself alive with all of these lasers. Just don’t shoot everything and you should be fine. I don’t have a ton to say here, the mech is solid but not incredible and is about right for the price.
RATING: C+
BL-18-KNT
The 18 is the last of the “normal” Black Knights. Everything past here starts getting really weird really fast. The BV spikes up to 2585, good assault mech territory. For that price you are getting a hell of a lot though. It has the same 4/6/0 movement and armor as the 6, but uses a light engine to free up space for a horrifying mix of weapons. It carries a full suite of Clan energy weapons, with an ER PPC, two ER large lasers, four ER medium lasers, and a small pulse laser. It also still has the active probe. This is a hell of a lot of gun, and the 18 has 20 double heat sinks, more than enough to manage its heat without cooking itself as long as you don’t shoot the ER large lasers and ER mediums at the same time. It also has a targeting computer. This targeting computer is where all the price is coming from, and frankly all of this laser coming out at a hit bonus is pretty awesome. The mech is pretty expensive, but you are going to get your BV’s worth out of it. Being 4/6/0 still sucks but it isn’t crippling on something that can put out this kind of damage at a to-hit bonus.
RATING: B+
BLK-NT-2Y
The first of the weird ass Dark Ages variants with the alternative designation, this whole series of mechs makes me unhappy because I have to explain how shields work now. It comes in at 1847 BV and moves 3/5/0, or like, technically 4/6/0 but we will get to that. For equipment we have thicker than normal armor, a targeting computer, a PPC, two large lasers, four medium lasers, a C3 slave, and a medium shield. So shields are basically big plates of armor bolted onto one arm of your mech, and they reduce damage taken by a given value, and have a maximum amount of times that they can absorb damage. So for a medium shield, they reduce damage taken by 5, and can absorb 18 hits before becoming useless. While still intact, even if they are useless from absorbing their maximum amount of hits, they reduce MP by 1, hence the 3/5/0 (sorta) movement speed.
Shields have 3 modes: arm, passive, and active. In arm mode, they only soak damage to the arm they are mounted to, and give a +1 penalty to hit for weapons in that arm. In passive mode, they cover the arm and the side torso on that side, giving +2 to attacks made from those hit locations. In active mode, they cover the arm, side torso next to it, center torso, leg on the same side as the arm, and the head.
Shields aren’t very good because most mechs that mount them are not designed to use them very well, and the 2Y is no exception. It is slow, has crappy guns, and the shield is basically wasted here. They are also hard to wrap your head around at first and just feel so deeply weird. Also you can hit people with them, which is funny.
RATING: D
BLK-NT-3A
Another shieldy boy, the 3A costs 1707 BV and feels more normal. It moves 4/6/0 (technically 5/8/0 but shield), and carries two ER large lasers, four ER medium lasers, two ER small lasers for some fucking reason, and a flamer for fun. It still has a medium shield, but it is a bit better designed with more weapons in the arm that doesn’t have a shield in it. It has more than enough heat sinks for once and is generally fine. The XL engine kinda sucks but in theory the Shield should be helping with the durability. I really need to play with shields more to get a better feel for them but in my limited experience the end result is just that you do less damage than you should and eventually just lose the side that doesn’t have the shield. That is a bit of a bummer when you have an XL engine.
It is a bit better than the 2Y, at least. I just would honestly rather ditch the shield and have a 5/8/0 Black Knight.
RATING: D+
BLK-NT-3B
Similar but different, the 3B costs 1911 BV and moves 4/6/0 or 5/8/0 or 6/9/0 or 5/8/0 again because holy fuck there is some complicated shit going on. It trades the guns out for two ER PPCs, two ER small lasers, two small pulse lasers, and two small lasers. This is because it has TSM, and the interactions between TSM and the shield is just a fucking lot. Basically, you are 4/6/0 with the shield attached and TSM inactive, 5/8/0 with the TSM on and shield on or with the shield blown off, and 6/9/0 if you have lost the shield arm and also have TSM active. The Small Lasers are for micromanaging your heat for TSM, and normally this is just a TSM mech that has some accuracy issues as it runs around shooting a pair of ER PPCs. I hate this mech and it makes my head hurt, I don’t want to deal with shields anymore, I want to go back to the normal world.
RATING: D+
BLK-NT-4D
I hate these mechs so much. At 2280 BV the 4D is mostly Clan grade, but with an IS XL engine. For guns we have a Clan ER PPC, two IS Plasma Rifles, two Clan ER medium lasers, two Clan ER small lasers, and two Clan small pulse lasers. The armor is fine, it has Angel ECM which is cool, it has enough heat sinks to fire its guns and be fine, the shield is there to hurt my brain, and we are back to 3/5/0 (4/6/0). I think it is fine but I really do not know how to feel about these shield variants. My gut generally thinks they are going to be bad, but this mech does have its big guns in the non-shield arm to avoid the to-hit penalty, which is fun.
RATING: D+
If anyone has significant experience using these Dark Ages Black Knights, let me know. I don’t have a ton of experience with shields and would love to get more insight on them.
Jack: Having run into this exact variant in a recent game, it works exactly as explained in the BLK-NT-3A: they slow down both the mech and gameplay, potentially absorb a decent bit of damage (unless your opponent is more mobile than you and can shoot the opposite side arc), and eventually the side without the shield gets destroyed and the mech dies.
BLK-NT-5H
Another Clan Tech one, the 5H costs 2423 BV and moves the 3/5/0 (4/6/0) speed thing, has good armor, and hurts my brain. It uses a Light Engine to free up weight for a lot of Clan guns, with an ER PPC, two ER large lasers, two ER medium lasers, two ER small lasers, and two small pulse lasers. It also has a targeting computer. That is a lot of Clan energy gun but 3/5/0 speed fucking sucks for a heavy mech that costs this much BV. The Shield isn’t going to make this thing assault mech tough, so I can’t in good faith recommend something with assault mech speed and assault mech price that lacks assault mech durability.
RATING: D+
BLK-6-KNT “Ian”
An odd one, the Ian is a strange experimental variant for 1861 BV. It carries two large lasers, a PPC, four medium lasers, and a hatchet. It also mounts TSM, which is fucking awesome and means that it can slam a 30 damage hatchet swing into someone, which is a lot of fucking damage. It moves 4/6/0, or 5/8/0 once TSM is active. We have some weirdness going on with heat sinks though, with 12 single heat sinks and three experimental double heat sinks, because yes, the experimental DHS could be mounted alongside standard heat sinks. 18 heat sinking capacity is bad, and means that the heat issues that plague this whole chassis are particularly bad here. The price isn’t right, no matter how cool hitting people with a TSM hatchet is. Take a Berserker if you want to do that.
RATING: D
BLK-10-KNT (Ross)
Weird that this mech has the 10-KNT designation specifically set aside for it seeing as it is as far as I can tell one of a kind. An improved version of the “Ian,” the Ross costs 2103 BV and upgrades the heat sinks to 15 regular ass double heat sinks, as well as improving the weaponry. It retains the TSM and Hatchet, which rocks, and swaps the guns out for an ER PPC, two ER medium lasers, three medium pulse lasers, and one ER small laser. It also has a targeting computer to offset the to-hit penalty from being at the correct heat for TSM. Heat management is fine but, horror of horrors, I would have liked to see a regular small laser added to let you fine-tune your heat build up just a little bit better for TSM purposes. This is a massive improvement on the Ian and will do the same things much better. If you want to TSM hatchet people with a Black Knight, this is the one to pick.
RATING: B-
BL-X-KNT “Red Reaper”
First off, cool ass name. Second, for 1858 BV we have a mech that has a lot of complex shit on it and I want to cry. It moves 3/5/0 (4/6/0) because yes, we have another shield mech on our hands. It trades the medium shield out for a large shield, which reduces damage by 7 and can take 25 hits before breaking. For guns we have a heavy PPC, five medium X-Pulse lasers, a PPC capacitor, and a large Vibroblade. Vibroblades are basically mech swords that have a flat damage value, no matter how heavy the mech carrying one is. For the large one, that is 14 damage, slightly lower than a 75 tonner’s hatchet but more than a sword would be at this weight. This is a weird mix of guns, I kind of like it though, particularly the X-pulse lasers. X-pulse lasers are fantastic and I love anything that mounts a significant amount of them. The Vibroblade is a complete meme on a mech that can only move 3/5/0 though. This mech will meander and plod towards something, and if your opponent ever lets you get close enough to hit them with the Vibroblade they are either an assault mech that probably killed you on the way in, or are bad at the game.
Looks cool as hell in the art though.
RATING: D+? These shield variants are so hard to judge.
Conclusion
I don’t really have much to say as a conclusion here. There are good Black Knights, bad Black Knights, weird Black Knights, and boring Black Knights. It has a huge range of options available but most of them are 4/6/0 piles of energy weapons, with the few exceptions either being 3/5/0 pules of energy weapons and confusion or 5/8/0 TSM mechs. Very clear identity on this mech, most variants really do not stray too far from the basic Black Knight pattern. I think the 6b is probably the best in its era, and a good choice overall, but the 9 can be a lot of fun and the 12 and 18 are fantastic if you have the BV to spare for them. You could also take an L and use it as cheap list filler, and it is kinda cool that the same miniature could either represent a piece of mediocre list filling armor or a tier one centerpiece of your force.
Please god someone take a 6b to a 3025 tournament and kill people with it, I have been trying to talk someone in to doing this for months now but people always back out of doing it. Show them what happens when you use unclear language and ambiguous tech rulings.
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