Gitelman’s next move was to split his forces, peeling his lighter Kintaro and Jenner off to the west and leaving his heavier elements to pin Weisman down. “Mitch has a saying around the office: ‘hope is not an effective management strategy’.” Mike McCain, BattleTech’s Game Director, added a useful tidbit straight from Harebrained’s corporate office. “I was hoping to core his cockpit on the first try,” Gitelman explained, as now his Quickdraw was exposed to return fire from both Weisman’s Quickdraw as well as his Shadow Hawk. Gitelman fired all of his Quickdraw ’s weaponry with all of it striking Weisman’s heavy ‘Mech, but as it was braced it only took half the damage it normally would. Perhaps prepared for Gitelman’s initial push, Weisman braced his Quickdraw before the opposing Quickdraw could close for the fight’s first exchange.

The battle began with both sides already very close to each other (likely having moved their units closer during the fight’s preamble). Weisman, in contrast, preferred a more traditional approach to combat, grinding his opponent away with focused fire from his tightly grouped unit. As would become apparent in the battle to come, Gitelman preferred designs built for close-range, hyper-aggressive brawling, using jump jets not only to close the distance with his opponent but also frequently as a weapon. For Weisman a Firestarter, Victor, Quickdraw and a Shadow Hawk. For Gitelman a Kintaro, Jenner, Quickdraw, and Victor. “Will you kneel to me, Weisman?” Gitelman asked.īoth sides chose a mixed lance of ‘Mechs as their forces.

At Weisman’s suggestion, the pair agreed that whoever won the duel would take their opponent as his bondsman for a period of one week. The stakes had never been higher for these two giants of industry. Mitch Gitelman, co-founder of Harebrained Schemes, and Jordan Weisman, the other co-founder of Harebrained but also of FASA and all things BattleTech, fought to the death in their highly anticipated turn-based strategy game, BattleTech. If you missed Mech_Con, then you missed one of the greatest duels of all time.

Quickdraw or death from above