- "GPS satellites? Unmanned drones? Fucking laser sights? The more crutches you have, the more it hurts when they're kicked out from under ya. If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that a six inch blade never loses reception."
— Thatcher
Warrant Officer Class 1 Mike Baker, codenamed Thatcher, is an Attacking Operator featured in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege.
Biography
Baker comes from a long line of dockworkers and soldiers. Despite family pressure to join the family trade as a stevedore, he enlisted for active duty at age eighteen. Though his younger brother Paulie Baker would eventually become one. Immediately thrown into politically-charged conflicts, Baker's performance was exemplary. Further training and another conflict gave him a Distinguished Flying Cross and Conspicuous Gallantry Cross. His keen sense of observation and decisive manner, combined with his close-quarter combat techniques, made him invaluable on VIP protection detail. A veteran of three wars, Baker was the oldest SAS operative on active duty until he was recruited by Rainbow
With extensive field experience and proficiency in SAS tactics, Baker is a critical asset to any Rainbow operation. He has honed his expertise with protective measures and electronic counter-measures and frequently works with engineers to advance the equipment. As a Warrant Officer Class 1 (Regimental Sergeant Major) Baker serves as a respected and effective mentor to new recruits. Baker maintains his agility training, continuing abseiling, and has broke numerous mountain climbing records.[3]
Psychological Profile
Knowing that Specialist Mike "Thatcher" Baker is cynical toward bureaucracy, I wasn't surprised that he was reluctant to meet me. I needed a different approach. Baker lives aboard the Iron Maggie, a boat in drydock that he repairs in his spare time. It's his "retirement plan." I suspect he moved there temporarily when his wife divorced him, be now he knows no other civilian home. […]
Baker has a distinguished record of military service. He's respected and in some cases idolized by those he mentors. When he welcomed me to his home, I could see why people describe him as down-to-earth. There's more to Baker's gruff, no-nonsense exterior - it just required some effort for him to trust me. […]
Raised in a coastal town, Baker has a strong connection with the water. We spent our entire meeting on the deck of his ship, overlooking the cold sea. Being someone who isn't handy - mastering a paper airplane as a kid was the peak of my craft - I wanted to know what Baker likes about boat building and working with his hands. He told me that besides appreciating the precision of it, he liked shaping the wood into something that has purpose. I suggested it was similar to how he mentors recruits. He replied that he doesn't care about the "why" of things the us "Uni types" do. […]
Specialist Seamus "Sledge" Cowden is one of his few close friends. Baker's tolerance of Specialist Mark "Mute" Chandar surprised me, since Baker is impatient with youthful bluster. When asked, Baker would only say, "Mute's a clever kid." He sounded almost envious. I wonder if Mute reflects someone Baker wishes he had been. […]
While by no means a Luddite, Baker does have an aversion to technology. To him, it's a tool - like a hammer or screwdriver - nothing more. The idea that people come to rely on it as a crutch is what annoys him. I suggested that he spend time in the engineering lab with Specialists Masaru "Echo" Enatsu and Emmanuella "Twitch" Pichon. They have a lot to teach one another.
- Dr. Harishva "Harry" Pandey, Director of Rainbow[4]
Gameplay Description
A Medium Armored Operator, Thatcher is equipped with three EG MKO-EMP Grenades. These grenades disable all electronics that are within its area of effect.
- The EG MKO-EMP Grenade gives Thatcher a means to destroy or disable any Defender's electronic gadgets from afar. When tossed, they will let out an electromagnetic pulse after a few seconds, either destroying or disabling defender gadgets caught within its 5-meter radius.
- The following gadgets will be destroyed if they are caught within the EMP radius:
- Smoke's Remote Gas Grenades
- Mute's Signal Disruptors.
- Kapkan's Entry Denial Devices.
- Jäger's Active Defense Systems.
- Bandit's Shock Wire.
- Valkyrie's Black Eyes.
- Lesion's Gu mines.
- Ela's Grzmot mines.
- Kaid's Electroclaws.
- Mozzie's Pests.
- Nitro Cells.
- A White Mask Bomber's Bomb Suit in Terrorist Hunt.
- The following gadgets will be temporarily disabled if they are caught within the EMP radius:
- Pulse's Heartbeat Sensor. It freezes the screen; although scan lines are made, it will not report any new heartbeat.
- If there were heartbeats when affected by the EMP blast, the heartbeat icon will stay in place for the disabled duration.
- Echo's Yokai drone. It will drop to the ground if it was attached to the ceiling when it was hit by the EMP. Vision on the drone will be similar being affected by Mute's Jammers.
- Vigil's ERC-7.
- Maestro's Evil Eyes. The EMP will force an Evil Eye to lock halfway open, allowing for an Attacker to destroy it.
- Alibi's Prismas.
- Clash's CCE Shield's Taser.
- Attacker Drones hacked by Mozzie's Pests.
- Warden's Smart Glasses.
- Wamai's Mag-NETs.
- Surveillance Cameras.
- Thatcher gets points for destroying and disabling gadgets, allowing an EMP grenade to function as a proximity sensor against Pulse and Vigil.
- Defender Electronic Sights (i.e. Red Dot Sight, Reflex Sight, Holographic Sight) caught within the EMP radius will be disabled for 10 seconds, during which their reticule will disappear, with only slight fragments remaining.
- ACOG Sights will also be disabled, but only when the Defender is not aiming down sights.[5]
- Defender Laser Sights will be disabled for the same duration, with a corresponding decrease in hipfire accuracy.
- The EMP Grenade will not affect any electronics from the Attackers.
- The electromagnetic pulse passes through surfaces, allowing Thatcher to destroy devices on the other side of a wall.
- The EMP Grenades still have the throwing profile of regular grenades. However, the EMP Grenade cannot be cooked and will always detonate after a few seconds when being thrown.
- While non-lethal, hitting an Operator directly with the Grenade will still deal minor damage as other throwable objects can.
Synergies
- Thermite and Hibana benefit the most from pairing with Thatcher, as their biggest obstacle tends to be Mute's Signal Disruptors and Bandit's Shock Wires when it comes to destroying Reinforced Walls.
- The benefits also extend to other Operators whose gadget can be disrupted by the Signal Disruptors, such as Blitz's Flash Shield.
- Thatcher pairs well with Attacking operators tasked with dealing with electronics:
- IQ can help Thatcher to see through walls electronics. With her Electronics Detector, she can ping to where the electronics are most clustered to get the best out of Thatcher's EMP Grenades.
- Twitch can help aid in destroying individual electronic gadgets to help Thatcher reserve his EMP grenades for large clusters of electronics.
Counters
- The EMP Grenade does not affect mechanical devices such as Frost's Welcome Mat.
- Because they are still grenades, Jäger's Active Defense Systems will eliminate chucked EMP Grenades out of the air, preventing defending gadgets from being destroyed or disabled. However, this only applies to when the Magpies have a line of sight of the Grenade, and can still be destroyed through walls and other surfaces.
- While his Yokai Drone can be disabled temporarily, some ceilings Echo's Drone can attach to are high enough to avoid being affected by Thatcher's Grenades.
Loadout
| Loadout | |
|---|---|
| Primary | |
| Secondary |
|
| Gadget |
|
|
EMP Grenade x 3 |
- "Uses EMP Grenades to disable any electronics in range."
— EG MKO-EMP Grenade Description
The EMP's efficiency in anti-electronic warfare has been known and studied since the early 1960s and features prominently in media depictions, but practical battlefield applications have eluded CTU squads until very recently. Team Rainbow's engineers recently made a breakthrough in solving the problem of creating a localized fission reaction, while keeping gamma radiation to tolerable levels, resulting in the EG MKO-EMP Grenade, a personal handheld device. No one is more suited to wield this novel device than Thatcher, known for his warnings against over-reliance on technology.
Device Evaluation
Device: EG MKO-EMP Grenade
Operator: Specialist Mike "Thatcher" Baker
Evaluation Lead: Specialist Jack "Pulse" Estrada
One of the biggest challenges for a team is Specialist Mike "Thatcher" Baker's EG MKO-EMP grenade since the electromagnetic surge can disable electronic gadgets within its radius. The EG MKO-EMP disrupts - in some cases it can destroy - quite a few of our devices. It locks up my Cardiac Sensor as it can't detect another pulse!
The EMP is deceptively simple. It's the grenade's impact that charges the electron particles. That concentrated energy cascades across an area - even through walls - and spike nearby electronics. Short of wrapping ourselves in a Faraday shield to protect our devices, there isn't much that we can do against that.
Despite how... exhausting Thatcher's "I told ya so" can be, I appreciate how the EG MKO-EMP is an extension of his personality. The same could be said about each of use, but Thatcher really owns it, man. It's as straightforward and direct as he is and keeps us on our toes... and he loves every damn minute of it.
- - Pulse
Quotes
| Thatcher's Quotes |
|---|
|
Trivia
- Thatcher's EMP Grenades have the Union Flag painted on top of it, the flag of the United Kingdom.
- The EMP Grenades will also interact with the surroundings realistically, turning off lights temporarily.
- Thatcher's mask is that of an SF10, a Special Forces variant of the S10 NBC Respirator that was used by the SAS in the 1980s. His body armor is that of a modified SAS pigskin vest.
- Thatcher has a stiletto blade attached to his left sleeve, which he can be seen using in his Operator video.
- The ribbon on Thatcher's vest is that of a Military Medal, which were discontinued in 1993.
- Thatcher has taken part of three different conflicts: The Battle of Goose Green during the Falklands War, the Iranian Embassy siege on Team Blue of Operation Nimrod and the Gulf War in the unit Bravo Two Zero.[6]
- Thatcher's codename likely comes from former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who was in office during those three conflicts that Baker participated in.
- Thatcher and Smoke teamed up and joined forces with SDU Operator Liu "Lesion" Tze Long on the latter's first operation, Operation Green Viper. Upon completion of the mission, the two helped celebrate Lesion's first successful mission with an extra day in Macau, filing the event as an off-duty bonus.[7]
- Though the exact details of the event are unknown, Thatcher punched GIGN Operator and CBRN specialist Olivier "Lion" Flament after the latter said the wrong thing during a training exercise, almost bringing their respective CTUs to blows.[8]
Gallery
Concept Art
.jpg "Thatcher Concept - Trailer (Shot 1).jpg (778 KB)")
.jpg "Thatcher Concept - Trailer (Shot 2).jpg (169 KB)")
Models
.png "Thatcher - AR33 (Velvet Shell).png (494 KB)")
.png "Thatcher - L85A2 (Velvet Shell).png (505 KB)")
.png "Thatcher - M590A1 (Velvet Shell).png (488 KB)")
.png "Thatcher - AR33 (Blood Orchid).png (498 KB)")
.png "Thatcher - L85A2 (Blood Orchid).png (496 KB)")
.png "Thatcher - M590A1 (Blood Orchid).png (499 KB)")
.png "Thatcher - AR33 (Chimera).png (1.81 MB)")
.png "Thatcher - L85A2 (Chimera).png (1.81 MB)")
.png "Thatcher - M590A1 (Chimera).png (1.81 MB)")
The Elite
Stills
Icons
Video
Patch Changes
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References
- ↑ Thatcher's In-game BIO (Pre-Patch 3.1.2)
- ↑ Thatcher's In-game BIO
- ↑ Thatcher's In-game BIO > BACKGROUND section
- ↑ Thatcher's In-game BIO > PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE section
- ↑ Reddit: Thatcher EMP and ACOG Interactions
- ↑ Thatcher's In-game BIO > NOTES section
- ↑ Operation Blood Orchid - Operator: Lesion (雷)
- ↑ Lion's In-game BIO > PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE section
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