Like the Avatar, the Sunder was an attempt to re-engineer captured Clan equipment to make it compatible with Inner Sphere technology. The Sunder used captured Loki and Thor chassis as its basis. Unfortunately, this 'Mech's development process was plagued with false starts and technological failures. The first problem to crop up involved the chassis design and weight allocation - the Sunder was intended to carry twenty more tons of equipment than the Clan Loki and Thor OmniMechs on which it was based. The engineers at Luthien Armor Works believed they could easily add this extra weight, and it is true that the additional stress did not cause catastrophic failures in the skeleton. However, the Sunder's actuators wore out at an alarming rate and had to be replaced with larger and more robust versions.
         The upper torso was redesigned to accept a bulkier Inner Sphere engine. This change meant rearranging the 'Mech's internal spaces, and so the designers moved the torso weapons bay above the cockpit. This reconfiguration posed no problems when the weapon pods were loaded with energy weapons, but firing missiles sprayed caustic gasses all over the cockpit canopy and sensor arrays. The engineers eventually fixed the problem, but the delays made the Sunder one of the last DCMS OmniMechs to be authorized for full-scale production.

         When compared to other Inner Sphere assault 'Mechs, the Sunder is an extremely capable machine. However, the inferior quality of its Inner Sphere weapons technology makes it no real match for the Clan Masakari and Gladiator assault 'Mechs. The Sunder's bay can accept an equivalent weapon load, but Inner Sphere weapons tend to be bulkier and less efficient than their Clan equivalents.

         The Sunder is built and fielded by the Filtvelt Coalition and the Taurian Concordat's Panpour Sector which also sells them to mercenaries in need of a good OmniMech. The Proserpina Syndicate also builds the design and most likely acquired the base chassis during the Jihad.