IS Dropship Ladder

Last Updated: 9-May-2016

Hello and welcome to the IS Dropship ladder! For a list of the main mechs I consider to be CW-meta and why, you can check out the Tonnage Efficiency page. I’m not strictly limiting myself to those, but I might end up doing so as there’s a lot of mechs on that page and it covers the options pretty well.

 

Drop Deck 1: Full Meta

Battlemaster BLR-2C

Battlemaster BLR-1G

Blackjack BJ-1X

Oxide

This is my favorite drop deck for the IS side, as it keeps you relevant throughout the game on pretty much every map and has a few roles in it to take care of various situations. The Battlemasters give you the beefiness you need early on in the engagement, with the Blackjack and Oxide there to fill needs as they arise. I always recommend starting with a BLR-2C, as it has the most poking power of the bunch and can do the most in the earlier stages of the game without much waiting around. After that, you can take the other Battlemaster if your team died in a wave and you have time to get back to the fight, or the Blackjack or Oxide if you feel the need to get there faster. I usually save the Oxide for last, though, as it can exploit other mechs being damaged like no other.

Alternative Mechs & Builds:

 

Drop Deck 2: Large Lasers

Grasshopper GHR-5P (x2)

Quickdraw QKD-5K

Enforcer ENF-4R

Compared to the last one, this has a more steady performance throughout the game. These are all very solid laser boats that can do great work at long range, avoiding a lot of pressure and constantly dishing out damage. It can get hot on some of the maps, with Vitric Forge causing the most issues, but most of the time you can reposition out of the way of pushes so you’re not forced to get too hot. I’ll pretty much always open with a Grasshopper for early trading as the first couple mechs, but if I need to reinforce the fight or just want something a bit more nimble, I’ll switch to the Enforcer or Quickdraw.

Alternative Mechs & Builds:

 

Drop Deck 3: Push

Atlas AS7-S

Griffin GRF-3M (x2)

Oxide

This deck is made to be used as a group on attack, with waves of beefy beefy brawlers just pushing in en masse, slaughtering the defenders, and taking out O-Gens quickly. As such, I’d recommend only using it as part of a large CW premade when you know you’ll be on attack (though if the premade is coordinated enough, it’ll do fine on counterattack or even defense). You can take a few approaches to the wave-based action – the most obvious one is to have everyone go Atlases, then Griffins, then Griffins, then Oxides, but really everyone could just take whatever mech they wanted for each drop and you might do even better. This is not for the faint of heart though, and if your team is going to attempt something like this, make sure everyone brings their balls with them.

Alternative Mechs & Builds:

 

Bonus Drop Deck: LP Farming

Battlemaster BLR-1G(P)

Shadowhawk SHD-2H(P)

Griffin GRF-1N(P)

Wolverine WVR-6R(P)

This is the drop deck I’ve been using lately for IS, almost exclusively – unfortunately the only reason to do it is if you bought the top-level Phoenix mech pack, (with the add-on for best results). To date, the Phoenix special mechs are the only ones I know of with a boost to LP earned, and running these 4 is your best bet to optimize your LP farming – they also have C-Bill bonuses and the tonnage even adds up to 250! When playing, I like to open with the BLR-1G so that I can start wreaking havoc right off the bat, and in subsequent drops I’d take a GRF-1N if you die early and need to get back into position (or if you’re defending against a gen rush), or the SHD-2H if I’m not sure what I’ll be running into or if there’s a nice hill-humpy area you want to grab. In its current state, I’d just leave the WVR-6R for last if you have to take it. Remember to use loyalty medallions if you have them (I put mine in the BLR-1G, of course).

Alternative Mechs & Builds:

  • TDR-5S(P) & LCT-1V(P) (swapped in for Griffin and Wolverine if you got the top-level Phoenix but no Saber package)
  • TDR-5S(P) & BJ-1X (swapped in for the Griffin and Wolverine if you’re confident you can beat the enemy with 3 mechs most of the time, and will need a clutch last mech if that’s not the case)
  • Large Laser BLR-1G