I have been kicking around the idea of playing NCA for a while and I've had a bit of a read of some articles. Question I have for you: If you were starting NCA and wanted to get a decent varied and competitive pool of models together, what would be your first pics to accomplish that? I get the feeling you wouldn't start with the NCA starter pack. Swiss Guard HMG Hexas CSU Fusilier link Flash pulse bot Total reaction bot How many orders do you usually get in NCA?
Yes, everything you mentioned is great. I'd even get two boxes of Dronbots if you can find them... They may not be spectacular, but 3 Fugazi and a Pathfinder are in practically every list I build. Try to find a second CSU as well. On the whole, great purchases. The Hexa Sniper is a great mini, and if you give her the Combi RIfle arm from the female Fusilier from Icestorm, that mini can become a good Hacker conversion. After you get that list, I'd suggest an Auxilia box, the PanO support box (I Doctor my Hexa Sniper/Fusilier heavy weapons very often) then perhaps the Peacemaker or Bulleteers. All of them are great staples that fit well into NCA lists.
Heh, I actually heard you on White Noise (I'm in the same meta) and I've read your LVO thread. Is NCA interesting to play? I find Onyx too restrictive and I occasionally play Tohaa. I was planning on moving into Combined next, but I'm not feeling it.
@Obeisance: NCA's pretty interesting, though it suffers a bit from scarcity of fireteam choices. But it can do a variety of playstyles, and nicely showcases PanO tech. I second what barakiel said about purchases. I'd also add Devas and Garudas to the mix pretty fast.
Bulleteers are another essential, you will seldom leave home without them. The PanOceania Support Pack is basically a required purchase (for the PalBots if nothing else, 'though I am outspoken in liking the sculpts). I'd say you will want to run the Squalo sooner or later, and it's a damn nice model. Grab the MuleBots when you do (you'll want the EVO for Pathfider Sat-Lock fun when you put that HGL down). I'd also say get at least one (if not two) Deva Spitfire. They are amazing. The Black Friar is, likewise, a solid purchase (though it won't make it into every list). NCA can actually lean pretty order heavy, I had a version I ran for a while with 18 orders. But it sits pretty happily in the 14-16 order range while supporting one really heavy hitter.
Oh right on, I hope you enjoyed that discussion. Ben's a great interviewer, and I had a fantastic time, so much respect to White Noise for giving players a venue for discussion the factions they love. As far as NCA being interested to play, I certainly think so. They operate with some very clear limitations, and trying to overcome those limitations is challenging and rewarding. It's also rewarding to just have a pile of amazing troops with high-tech tools. Well-played NCA looks easy... They remove enemy threats easily, maneuvering strong pieces towards objectives. But badly played NCA looks clunky, static and slow. So finding a way to leverage their talent for piece removal in order to do the mission is the really interesting part.
After playing a lot with NCA I think, that you should buy Pano starter rather than NCA starter pack because of fusiliers. Then you should aquire fusilier SWC box and almost always you will need 2 Auxilia + 2 Mulebots + 3 Fugazi(+FO or TRbot). That's the core of almost every list in NCA as I think.(also try to take a doctor for defencive fusilier link and try to find the second missile or even sniper) After that you should think about your main attacking unit: Squalo or Swiss(Aquila necessity depends on meta, but Swiss is better than Aquila in most cases), than take support for them(engineer or doctor respectively) For the remaining points you can take Peacemaker/Bulleteer/Garuda as second in importance attackers(but sometimes they can win the game by themselves) + HEXAkhd as spec or HEXAmsr as almost the best ARO. Usually in NCA I have ~16 orders. P.S. I haven't played CSU after update. Can't say anything about CSUspecialists, but simple CSU is worthless. Example of list for breaking enemy faces and zone control (Also TAG have 10WIP specialist inside if necessary): Satellite2.1 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── GROUP 1 10 SQUALO (Armored Cav.) MULTI HMG, Heavy Grenade Launcher / AP Heavy Pistol. (2.5 | 95) CRABBOT Flash Pulse / Knife. () FUSILIER Lieutenant Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 10) FUSILIER Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 10) FUSILIER Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 10) FUSILIER Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 10) FUSILIER Missile Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 15) AUXILIA (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle + AUXBOT_1 / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 15) AUXBOT_1 Heavy Flamethrower / Electric Pulse. (- | 4) FUGAZI DRONBOT Flash Pulse, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 8) MULEBOT (Minesweeper, Repeater) Electric Pulse. (0 | 8) FUGAZI DRONBOT Flash Pulse, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 8) GROUP 2 6 1 PEACEMAKER Heavy Shotgun + AUXBOT_3 / Electric Pulse. (0 | 21) AUXBOT_3 Heavy Flamethrower / Electric Pulse. (- | 4) MACHINIST Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 15) PALBOT Electric Pulse. (0 | 3) MULEBOT (Minesweeper, Repeater) Electric Pulse. (0 | 8) TRAUMA-DOC Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 14) AUXILIA (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle + AUXBOT_1 / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 15) AUXBOT_1 Heavy Flamethrower / Electric Pulse. (- | 4) HEXA MULTI Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (1.5 | 32) WARCOR (Aerocam) Flash Pulse / Stun Pistol, Knife. (0 | 3) 5.5 SWC | 300 Points Open in Infinity Army
Oh, wow, I don't know how we've all missed Auxilia! While no longer the Sectorial-defining game-winning machine they once were it's a rare NCA list I run that doesn't have two Auxilia (as backup specialists and for the AuxBot Flamethrower defense against Warbands and other attack pieces). And, when it comes to CSU, I seldom if ever run an NCA list without 2 of those as well. They are likewise essential to defending your deployment zone effectively and thanks to Sixth Sense they are amazing at it. The new Specialist Operative Rifle/Light Shotgun with Nanopulser for 12 points is straight up one of the best units for its points in the entire game.
Without repeating what others have hammered home in posts above me, I’d add the following: Swiss Missile - I know that the starter box has some serious garbage attached, but the Swiss ML is probably worth it. If you can find an old blister or convert the old Swiss HMG (running gal) it’s probably a better call. Having played Onyx you know the value of a Noctifer ML, now add on BS15, ARM5 and 2W. She’s so good that I even use her in the active turn sometimes, if I’m outside 32” and can put some poor sod at -12. B1 is much less cumbersome when it’s F2F with a dodge and not a shot. The Chandra spec-ops blister is great for a Deva conversion - keep the Combi for the Sensor Lt profile or use the alternate helmeted head and included Spitfire for the MSV2 Spitfire profile. Not sure if Locusts have been mentioned, I didn’t see any big paragraph about them. The AHD, while very vulnerable to getting fried by midfield repeaters or infiltrating KHD, is one of NCAs only infiltrating specialist profiles. For that reason alone I think it’s worth owning that blister. Used carefully it can do pretty much anything you need it to - AHD is a great roadblock, Breaker Combi makes a mess of things and ODD helps stack the F2F roll. No marker state is sadtimes, but it’s not the end of the world. The Uhlan is sometimes considered a red-headed stepchild on our very friendly hive mind PanO forums but it’s got a very cool toolkit. Camo state is huge for a TAG- protection from hacking, necessitating a Discover before it can be shot, provides Stealth, allows it to move 10” across a gap without fear of being shot - after playing non-marker TAGs it’s a taste of freedom. That being said it’s sometimes an overpriced Swiss Guard. I like it a lot, some others don’t. If it’s your cup of tea, go nuts.
