One year MechStrategen.de – My logbook entry for the anniversary

Reactor start. System check. One year online.

It seems almost surreal when I look at the calendar. It’s December 2025, and that means I’ve been blogging on MechStrategen.de for exactly one year now.

What began in December 2024 (10.12.2024 to be exact) as a small project of the heart – driven by my passion for tabletop strategy and the desire to write down my thoughts on BattleTech: Alpha Strike somewhere – has become an integral part of my everyday life.

Today I want to raise my visor, recalibrate the sensors and look back on my last 12 months with you.

Why I started all this

When I started MechStrategen, I had a very specific vision. I didn’t want to just post pictures of my painted miniatures (although I love that!). My goal was to create a resource that went deeper.

I wanted to understand – and explain – why we win or lose on the battlefield. I wanted to talk about tactics. About probabilities. About the right terrain.

When I scroll through my article archive today, I see exactly this development:

• I’ve done a lot of research on the role of light mechs and why speed is often the best armor.
• I have analyzed the hammer-and-anvil strategy so that even newcomers can understand how to pincer the opponent.
• And with the launch of Halo: Flashpoint, I’ve entered a new world that poses completely different tactical challenges for me (and you).

A look at the sensor data: Figures, data, facts

As a strategist, I love evaluations, so I took a deep dive into the analyses. At the beginning, in December 2024, everything was still running in “stealth mode” without visitor counters. But the development since then has been amazing:

While we still had a manageable 287 visitors with around 700 page views in February 2025, the curve has risen steeply since then. November 2025 was our strongest month to date: around 1,600 visitors stopped by and generated around 2,700 page views!

The fact that so many of you come here regularly to read tactics or get hobby tips makes me incredibly proud.

The archive has also grown massively. You can now access it here:

• approx. 90 blog articles (tactics, reviews, hobby)
• approx. 40 pages of information (rules, background, lists)
• Plus numerous eBooks and PDFs to download.

That’s a lot of reading material, and I’m delighted that the database continues to grow.

Networking & Support: Newsletter & Patreon

But it’s not just the content that has grown, the infrastructure around it has also evolved.

Two big steps for me this year were the introduction of the newsletter and the launch of my Patreon account. The newsletter was important to me in order to have a direct line to you – independent of social media algorithms. The fact that so many of you have signed up shows me how much interest there is in regular updates.

And Patreon? That was a leap in the dark. The fact that there are people who are prepared to support this project financially on a monthly basis in order to finance server costs and new equipment is the ultimate vote of confidence for me. It helps me enormously to keep the quality of the site high.

My experiment: Kimara & Kyros

One project that I particularly enjoyed last year was the launch of my YouTube channel and the introduction of my AI co-hosts.

I wanted MechStrategen to be more than just text. But I also wanted to create something unique. That’s how I developed Kimara and Kyros. It was an experiment and I was incredibly nervous about how you would react to it. I’m really pleased that Kyros, with his cool, tactical nature, and Kimara, with her enthusiasm for Lore, have been so well received by you. It motivates me to try out new formats next year too.

What I have learned this year

This year as a blogger has not only brought me further in terms of my game:

1. Community is everything: the feedback I get from you – whether in comments, emails or directly at the gaming table – is the fuel for this blog.
2. Discipline is more important than inspiration: There were days when I was tired and didn’t feel like writing an article about sightlines or movement modifiers. But I’ve learned that sticking with it pays off.
3. The hobby brings us together: Whether BattleTech veteran or Halo newcomer – in the end we all want to experience exciting stories on the table.

A huge thank you to YOU

This article would not be complete without a big thank you. I may be writing these lines alone, but without you readers, MechStrategen would just be an empty echo in the digital space.

• Thanks to everyone who played my scenarios and campaigns (special thanks to TheBattleTechChannel for the great videos).
• Thanks to my supporters who help me cover the server costs and purchase new material.
• Thanks to everyone who has shared or recommended an article – the visitor numbers show that it works!

Sensors for the future: What I am planning

I am not resting on my laurels on this anniversary. My head is full of ideas for the second year:

• More narrative campaigns and scenarios: I’m already working on new scenario packs that weave story and gameplay even more closely together.
• eBooks and guides: My eBook project is very close to my heart and I plan to provide even more compact knowledge in the form of eBooks.
• Events: I hope to meet more of you in person at conventions or tournaments in the coming year.

Closing words

One year of MechStrategen. It’s been a wild ride, and I’ve only just shifted into first gear. I hope you’ll continue to stay on board my landing ship.

May your dice always hit critically and your reactors never overheat.

Here’s to next year!

Sören