The Black Dragon Society in the Draconis Combine picked up steam with the grevious blows to the Dragons' honor due to the events of the past few years.
Attracting more and more disaffected citizens into their ranks, their coffers were similarly filled to the brim with donations and monies gathered from illegal means.
In order to carry out Operation Metamorph, they poured some of these funds into constructing a new Battlemech factory on Albiero, rehabilitating the disused mining technology in the huge mountains of the world to provide materials for their new production lines.
For thier first Battlemech, they chose a relatively cheap and deadly mech, meant to be the flagship of their movement, the Black Dragon, which was rejected by Cosby Mech Research Firm when it was submitted.

The Black Dragon was designed to be a close in fighter with a sword. Quite naturally, the Black Dragons played on the samurai image so prevalent and popular with the ordinary Combine citizen and included that piece of equipment on the mech, made possible by their many contacts within the yakuza and the Legions of Vega.
It was also these same sources that made available to them triple strength myomer, without which the sword would be relatively useless. With the new myomer, it became possible for the Black Dragon to decapitate any mech with a well placed blow when it is running hot.
For ranged firepower, the Black Dragon has a MRM 10 rack, bought from Shigunga via various dummy corporations and mercenary fronts. Inexpensive and easy to obtain, this was chosen over the more difficult to procure streak launchers.
Two ER medium lasers imported from the Free Worlds League via Word of Blake assistance and locally produced Kajuka Stilleto and some more Bright Blossom small lasers round out the mech.
Armed with substantial amor, good speed, and excellent maneuverability, the Black Dragon has been well received by clandestine Black Dragon units.

During the start of the Black Dragon Rebellion on Luthien, various Black Dragon mechs were tasked to rapidly destroy and harass loyalist units moving to defend the Imperial Palace.
They proved their worth in the crowded confines of Imperial City, slashing with their lasers and swords into mchs trying to break through. One light Legion of Vega company came up against two lance of Black Dragons just as they were entering the city.
By the end of the fight, only two of the Vega mechs were able to stagger into the Palace, the rest of their comrades destroyed by the Black Dragons and their ruthless physical attacks.
A less successful outing for the mech came during the Escape, where important Combine officials tried to make their way offworld through the Kado-Guchi Valley to reach their dropships.
At least 8 Black Dragons were destroyed by the marksmanship of the escorting mech units as they closed in to use their swords and MRMs, starkly revealing the Black Dragon's weaknesses in ranged combat. According to some reports, the four escorting mechs destroyed over a battalion's worth of rebel mechs during that one convoy mission.

One variant based on the original proposal carries an all energy loadout of ER lasers and standard small lasers. It also carries ferro fibrous armor and maximum protection for its weight, removing the arm actuators for the large laser, which gives the mech some long range punch. This variant is seen mostly in rebel Sword of Light units.

Black Dragon mechs have been sighted since the start of the Black Dragon Rebellion on many of the worlds currently in the grip of the conflict, always in the service of Black Dragon Society affiliated units.
Some of these mechs had even been seen in Sword of Light units that had defected to the Black Dragons.
Albeiro continues to churn out dozens of these mechs for the rebels, at a rate of 24 per month. The ISF has since discovered the mech factory's location, but the Coordinator is yet unable to amass enough strength to conquer the world.