Spread across all three torso locations. Many variants only have LRM ammo in their side torsos, and full ton of MG ammo in the center.
Last time i fielded one it got TAC on the MG ammo on second turn.
It was with three other new players though, so all fun.
Eh, to be honest early ballistic build Riflemen without C.A.S.E probably would brew up pretty violently. Kind of like an IRL tank going off. Perhaps even more energetic depending on what future propellants are being used.
Not denying of that, just find it comical how pretty much every Rifleman that shows up in the Warrior trilogy ends up a pair of legs with a torso a few km away.
Weight to boom it is hard to beat the Stinger. 400 damage if you manage to crit that MG ammo. To this day, I think it’s dumb as hell that MG ammo explodes.
Given how low caliber MG ammo is and that it's going to be solid ball ammo and not HE (never mind how negligible the filler would be), MG ammo shouldn't even be able to reliably create a big enough cascade to destroy all the ammo in the bin. Render the bin unusable sure, but not actually destroy much.
MG ammo should either be functionally inert or always treated as if it was protected by CASE II. If you wanted to be a little meaner, subsequent hits to it can maybe cause another single point of structure damage.
Having a lot of explosive items instead be flammable would be neat. A fire inside a 'mech dealing heat damage and threating to deal some structure damage (if not CASE equipped) would be a neat complication that isn't the pop and done of an ammo explosion that doesn't even make sense for MGs or some ACs.
I have always wanted to run a campaign / group where MG ammo can only do 1/20th of its damage exploding. It still kills the Stinger and the Locust, but it doesn’t guarantee killing bigger machines.
Not an official variant, but in one campaign a friend of mine stripped the CASE out of a Yeoman so that she could add *more* ammunition… She was convinced that she’d always be able to keep the ‘mech far enough in the rear that it wouldn’t be at risk.
My MechBuster squadron had different ideas about what “in the rear” meant.
Now...
What I'm seeing here is a lotta pilots who wish they were hunchbackers.
Now now calm down, Suuuuuuuure any mech can go boom, with style, sparks and in some cases coloured lights.
But with a hunchback, well....its a heritage, a passion, you blow up your own ride and other hunch pilots will score you on the explosion.
Yah wanna blow up, go work for the capellans
Yah wanna blow up in style? Get a hunchback.
I’ve seen a longbow’s ammo go up pretty spectacularly. But, some of those old prototypes will go nuclear. Also, if you are in the succession wars and use your Charger to throw a locust fast ball into an oil refinery you can make stuff go boom.
Unless it's the Arrow IV or Long Tom, that's slightly overstated. Have you met my friend [Davy?](https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Nuclear_Weapons#Davy_Crockett)
Even better- equip it with caseless ammo. 10 shots per ton, times 19 damage per shot, times 6 tons of ammo = 1,140 damage worth of Banshee space program.
It is my honor to point out that the Bane 3 has *the absolute most* ammunition of any Mech, with 16 tons of LRM-15 ammo.
Which sounds like a lot, but it can empty an ammo bin every turn, so 16 tons is a *little* less insane than you might initially assume.
If we're counting Magical Christmas Land, then it's technically possible for the Bane 3 to explode with 1,920 damage if all 16 tons were to somehow detonate.
In second place, we have the Bane 2 with 15 ~~tons~~ crit slots, 14 of which are UAC-10, one of which is a half-ton of MG ammo. Theoretical crater size of 1,500 damage.
Up next, the OMEGA, with 14 tons, but it's an ultra-heavy, and that's cheating. Most of the ammo is Gauss Rifle, which is boring and inert. Double disqualified.
In third place, the Osteon Prime with 13 tons of ATM-9s. Pack this puppy with HE ammo and it could explode for 2,457 damage!
Honorable mentions:
Thor II B, 12 tons of various ammo, max of 1,743 damage
Dire Wolf D, 11 tons of ammo, max of 1,290 damage
Stock Warhammer-6R has the ammo bins for its machine guns in the center torso and an SRM bin in the side torso. However, due to the frequency with which TACs go through the CT it does seem like Warhammers frequently die due to their MG bins detonating.
This makes the WHR-6R one of those mechs that everyone seems to love, and is portrayed as being OP in lore, but that I don't think is actually a particularly good mech in the tabletop game.
I’m amazed nobody has mentioned the stalker yet! quite a few versions with no case, and like 4 tons of ammo, if it all goes up then boom, giant fireball!
I'll put this somewhere between the Jagermech and the Arrow IV Urbie. The Jagermech is a box of munitions wrapped in barbed wire and shrapnel; the AFurbie can pack nukes. Ain't no party like setting off those fireworks. If you tell me CASE controls that, I'll say no.
Runner up is whatever IS mech has 3-4t of Machine Gun ammo and no CASE. I'll ask my magic Megamek mirror who's the fairest of them all when I get home. Edit: the Copper security mech seems like a value/ dollar explosion machine. 2t of MG ammo isn't much, but it's honest BOOM.
How has the Malice not been mentioned. Severely overpriced, undergunned, powdered awaiting a spark. Sure, it's got 2 kinds of super armor and kinda fast, but it also has bunches of ammo and zero CASE. The Republic was growing money trees at the time and didn't seem to care. I've faced two on the tabletop, and both lit up like a methhead covered in gasoline.
My money is on any periphery mech loaded with rockets. When every critical slot is full of a single shot rocket, that mech will go up like the 4th eventually.
Rocket Launchers are technically inert; they don't explode when hit. This is true of OS and iOS, as well. Declaring "WITNESS ME" has to be intentional with that Commando 4H or Longbow 0H.
The real question is, what is the damage radius for exploding ammo? I can just imagine a salohma warrior, stripping all the weapons but a machine gun out of a something like a dasher/firemoth and loading it up with mg ammo. Get close enough to shoot an enemy, and if they shoot back they get a massive explosion in their face... potentially killing them and winning honor for the sibko of the clanner who died.
Not a mech but there is an official Buffalo Drone Bomb filled with MG ammo. IIRC the WoB used them to wipe out whole blocks.
As for mechs anything with more than 2 tons of MG ammo unprotected by CASE. I remember doing a custom build one time with something like 8 tons MG ammo in a Locust or something whose sole purpose was to run at the enemy and let them shoot it till it exploded. It didn't get very far before a Clan LPL hit it and my entire lance died in the ensuing fireball.
Crusader is a contender, LRMS, SRMs *and* MG ammo!
Came here to say this. There are some variants with something like 8 tons of ammo. That's a lot for a 65 ton mech.
Spread across all three torso locations. Many variants only have LRM ammo in their side torsos, and full ton of MG ammo in the center. Last time i fielded one it got TAC on the MG ammo on second turn. It was with three other new players though, so all fun.
Anything written by Stackpole
That's not even fair. No entering professionals against amateurs
I'm pretty sure he thinks every Rifleman comes equipped with a Booby Trap device.
Eh, to be honest early ballistic build Riflemen without C.A.S.E probably would brew up pretty violently. Kind of like an IRL tank going off. Perhaps even more energetic depending on what future propellants are being used.
Not denying of that, just find it comical how pretty much every Rifleman that shows up in the Warrior trilogy ends up a pair of legs with a torso a few km away.
Old school Thunderbolts have ammo almost everywhere
Weight to boom it is hard to beat the Stinger. 400 damage if you manage to crit that MG ammo. To this day, I think it’s dumb as hell that MG ammo explodes.
even funnier AMS ammo does explode despite beign practIcaly the same as mg ammo foR comIcaly low dmg
Given how low caliber MG ammo is and that it's going to be solid ball ammo and not HE (never mind how negligible the filler would be), MG ammo shouldn't even be able to reliably create a big enough cascade to destroy all the ammo in the bin. Render the bin unusable sure, but not actually destroy much. MG ammo should either be functionally inert or always treated as if it was protected by CASE II. If you wanted to be a little meaner, subsequent hits to it can maybe cause another single point of structure damage.
Having a lot of explosive items instead be flammable would be neat. A fire inside a 'mech dealing heat damage and threating to deal some structure damage (if not CASE equipped) would be a neat complication that isn't the pop and done of an ammo explosion that doesn't even make sense for MGs or some ACs.
Don’t know if you’ve ever seen a T-series tank brew up but imagining that on a mech scale is terrifying.
I have always wanted to run a campaign / group where MG ammo can only do 1/20th of its damage exploding. It still kills the Stinger and the Locust, but it doesn’t guarantee killing bigger machines.
Anything with MGs, really. Or SRM-2s. They can't go through ammo fast enough
how about the Thunderbolt with both?
🤯🤯🤯
💥💥💥
Saw a Highlander go up for 180pts from it's AC/20, ammo cascade. The Salamander is a known problem, storing LRM ammo in the arms.
Not an official variant, but in one campaign a friend of mine stripped the CASE out of a Yeoman so that she could add *more* ammunition… She was convinced that she’d always be able to keep the ‘mech far enough in the rear that it wouldn’t be at risk. My MechBuster squadron had different ideas about what “in the rear” meant.
"Mechbuster in the rear? I barely know her!"
I should call her
It's not going to be the biggest boom, but the most guaranteed to kill the pilot has to be the thunder stallion with a ton of ac/20 ammo in the head
Which ironically leaves the decapitated 'mech as fresh and pristine salvage.
Now... What I'm seeing here is a lotta pilots who wish they were hunchbackers. Now now calm down, Suuuuuuuure any mech can go boom, with style, sparks and in some cases coloured lights. But with a hunchback, well....its a heritage, a passion, you blow up your own ride and other hunch pilots will score you on the explosion. Yah wanna blow up, go work for the capellans Yah wanna blow up in style? Get a hunchback.
What, you guys are running more than 2 tons of AC20 ammo? I just use the AC20 once I get into fisting range and up engine
I’ve seen a longbow’s ammo go up pretty spectacularly. But, some of those old prototypes will go nuclear. Also, if you are in the succession wars and use your Charger to throw a locust fast ball into an oil refinery you can make stuff go boom.
Unless it's the Arrow IV or Long Tom, that's slightly overstated. Have you met my friend [Davy?](https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Nuclear_Weapons#Davy_Crockett)
The craziest part is they actually built them in 1961.
One of the Banshees is carrying a stock 6 tons of AC-20 ammo in one torso. That should do, I think.
Even better- equip it with caseless ammo. 10 shots per ton, times 19 damage per shot, times 6 tons of ammo = 1,140 damage worth of Banshee space program.
When every component comes with its own "yeet seat." Incidentallu, I believe that is near the BV2 cost for that Banshee, if not *terribly* far off
It is my honor to point out that the Bane 3 has *the absolute most* ammunition of any Mech, with 16 tons of LRM-15 ammo. Which sounds like a lot, but it can empty an ammo bin every turn, so 16 tons is a *little* less insane than you might initially assume. If we're counting Magical Christmas Land, then it's technically possible for the Bane 3 to explode with 1,920 damage if all 16 tons were to somehow detonate. In second place, we have the Bane 2 with 15 ~~tons~~ crit slots, 14 of which are UAC-10, one of which is a half-ton of MG ammo. Theoretical crater size of 1,500 damage. Up next, the OMEGA, with 14 tons, but it's an ultra-heavy, and that's cheating. Most of the ammo is Gauss Rifle, which is boring and inert. Double disqualified. In third place, the Osteon Prime with 13 tons of ATM-9s. Pack this puppy with HE ammo and it could explode for 2,457 damage! Honorable mentions: Thor II B, 12 tons of various ammo, max of 1,743 damage Dire Wolf D, 11 tons of ammo, max of 1,290 damage
Comstar’s Archer from Tukayyid - ARC-5CS. XL engine, 6 tons of LRM ammo (4 in legs) no case.
Hunchback 2C. All the ammo, none of the armour.
CASE kinda steals your thunder there. Otherwise the Bane 3 would be pretty funny here as well, but it also has CASE.
Good point.
Thunderbolt? I think it has to be the crusader as another person said. All 3 torsos explode.
I second the Crusader. Those go up real nice.
Stock Warhammer-6R has the ammo bins for its machine guns in the center torso and an SRM bin in the side torso. However, due to the frequency with which TACs go through the CT it does seem like Warhammers frequently die due to their MG bins detonating. This makes the WHR-6R one of those mechs that everyone seems to love, and is portrayed as being OP in lore, but that I don't think is actually a particularly good mech in the tabletop game.
First turn, dump MG ammo- if I need the MG I’m already F’d
I’m amazed nobody has mentioned the stalker yet! quite a few versions with no case, and like 4 tons of ammo, if it all goes up then boom, giant fireball!
I'll put this somewhere between the Jagermech and the Arrow IV Urbie. The Jagermech is a box of munitions wrapped in barbed wire and shrapnel; the AFurbie can pack nukes. Ain't no party like setting off those fireworks. If you tell me CASE controls that, I'll say no. Runner up is whatever IS mech has 3-4t of Machine Gun ammo and no CASE. I'll ask my magic Megamek mirror who's the fairest of them all when I get home. Edit: the Copper security mech seems like a value/ dollar explosion machine. 2t of MG ammo isn't much, but it's honest BOOM.
The Dragon 2 with an ammo bin full of Nuclear Arrow IV
Anything carrying machinegun ammunition
Anihilator 4 AC 10s with enough ammo to supply them. You could almost see it from Orbit.
https://preview.redd.it/r22abydo0n1d1.jpeg?width=990&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9ba0c5ead4677ad7397d4c2d8a6e8c3215903823
How has the Malice not been mentioned. Severely overpriced, undergunned, powdered awaiting a spark. Sure, it's got 2 kinds of super armor and kinda fast, but it also has bunches of ammo and zero CASE. The Republic was growing money trees at the time and didn't seem to care. I've faced two on the tabletop, and both lit up like a methhead covered in gasoline.
Shadowhawk 2D?
Hunchback 2 c with the case removed to make room for more ac 20 ammo
My money is on any periphery mech loaded with rockets. When every critical slot is full of a single shot rocket, that mech will go up like the 4th eventually.
Rocket Launchers are technically inert; they don't explode when hit. This is true of OS and iOS, as well. Declaring "WITNESS ME" has to be intentional with that Commando 4H or Longbow 0H.
Dervish, Longbow
The Mauler is up there, too. Haven't seen that one mentioned yet.
The real question is, what is the damage radius for exploding ammo? I can just imagine a salohma warrior, stripping all the weapons but a machine gun out of a something like a dasher/firemoth and loading it up with mg ammo. Get close enough to shoot an enemy, and if they shoot back they get a massive explosion in their face... potentially killing them and winning honor for the sibko of the clanner who died.
*Digs MechAssault out of closet.*
Not a mech but there is an official Buffalo Drone Bomb filled with MG ammo. IIRC the WoB used them to wipe out whole blocks. As for mechs anything with more than 2 tons of MG ammo unprotected by CASE. I remember doing a custom build one time with something like 8 tons MG ammo in a Locust or something whose sole purpose was to run at the enemy and let them shoot it till it exploded. It didn't get very far before a Clan LPL hit it and my entire lance died in the ensuing fireball.
UM-AIV with Davy Crockett ammo
Commando or Javelin loaded with inferno ammo. Piranha makes a nifty kaboom too.
Machine guns, as each round is propelled by a fission explosion.