Picking Out New Battle Armor

First off, the Master Unit List is a glorious thing.

I ask a simple question, like "What Battle Armors were deployed by the Word of Blake in the Jihad era?" and it tells me.

32 results come back, representing all variants introduced between 3069 and 3078.  I can't actually sort the data the way I want on the page, but I can copy and paste into a spreadsheet, and manipulate it there.  First, and most obviously, is that this operation is taking place in 3073, so I can strike from my list all models and variants with an introduction date of 3074 or later.

That eliminates 11 of the options, mostly variants and a Manei Domini prototype that was off the table anyways for plot reasons.  That cuts me down to 21 options, which fall into 8 models: Purifier, Tornado G14, Djinn, Tengu, Phalanx, Nephilim, Asura and Se'irim.  Morgan has previously expressed a preference for the Mimentic-armor equipped Purifier Adaptive, but let's take a quick look at the field here.

The Battle Armor BAR Table on p. 187 of A Time of War tells me that there is a direct linear relationship between the armor value of a Battle Armor suit and its BAR in A Time of War-scale combat, so I'll concern myself with those numbers first.

Model	Armor Value (minus trooper)
Purifier	6
Tornado G14	2
Djinn	5 (standard) 6 (stealth)
Tengu	13 (support) 12 (medium laser)
Phalanx	7
Nephilim	16
Asura	7
Se'irim	6

Yeah.  We ain't in 3025 anymore -- that Nephilim suit has damage resistance on-par with some recon 'Mechs.  But let's look at what we have to work with.

It looks like we have groupings in the 5-7 range and the 12-and-up range.  I'm not interested in the 12-and-up range, so that leaves six models to work with.  Morgan really wants to play with being in a stealth-equipped battle armor unit, which takes the Asura off the table.

The rest of these choices look just fine.  Cross-referencing their numbers, the Tornado is the closest match to the capabilities I want Shin to have -- no real anti-vehicle weapons, and light (comparatively) BAR.  The G14 carries only "Mission Equipment", though, which for an idle suit would be a grand total of nothing.  A quick review of the suit on page 15 of Technical Readout: 3075, though, shows that while the G14 suit isn't really suitable for my needs, the G12 variant is, and has the benefit is being considerably older and more likely to be lying around.  It also has the basic stealth armor and camo system that Morgan wants to play with, and no integral weapons and low armor, which makes me happy.

Thus, a bit of review of the available hardware and cross-checking with the TRO's has solved my Battle Armor issue, and now Shin will find a shiny new gift waiting for him in the Word of Blake bioweapons research facility!  Merry Christmas!