Motto: Under the Sea And if you seek vengeance All you need are instruments of pain You need your Combi + LSG? check. AssPistol? check. +1 BS? check. Mimetism? check. No Smoke? check. Low WIP? check. Murmaider Murmaider Murmaider!!!
Imagine a Combi+Light Shotgun with an Assault Pistol! Think of all the flexibility! It'd be worth the points just for the range of engagement options. We'd be the envy of all other factions. ... There's only one way it could be better. If you also paid for a Heavy Pistol sidearm to go with it. Then you can sculpt the model with a badass pistol out pose, with the Combi+LSG across their back and the Assault Pistol on their hip. Just add a CCW on a CC<17 trooper and it'd be the perfect new PanOceanian unit.
Uncertain if it's been noted or not, but the Echo Bravo has the same kind of faceplate as the Cutter.
Im really "triggered" by this consistent pattern of bad melee units getting ccw in sculpt and good ones getting guns instead. Why does the new rasyat being cc 21 + nbw not have his sword out ?
Yeah bud, thanks for asking. Was replying on my phone and my auto correct started acting strangely. For ALEPH participation in Varuna, we've been kicked the idea of Atalanta around just because she fits the theme nicely. Clandestine assassinations in Paradise is a good trope. Now that we have the Kamau MSV2 though, I have my doubts, and Atalanta suffers a bit without smoke anyway. Shukra would be quite good... As mentioned by Stiopa, there's a whole range of capability (Counter Intel, Chain of Command) which would transform Cutter lists from good to incredible. I'll have to think on the Santiago idea. I'm not crazy on MO, but Knightly Orders having a presence in Varuna would help PanO's sectorials to feel a bit more interconnected. And since Helots sure don't look like a Close Quarter warband unit, and since we have not yet seen any comparable close range shooters yet (not much in the way of boarding shotguns/SMGs yet) it might be nice to have something durable with some close range capability. The reason that we see a Paradiso connection to Varuna is (I believe) because Varuna's an effective training environment for combat on Paradiso. Using that as justification, there's room for a lot of jungle/multi-terrain specialists to potentially cross over to the Varuna roster. A rumor was kicking around a while back that Varuna will be "the Special Forces" Sectorial. We see that already, since "Snake Eaters" is a nickname used in the American Special Forces community. It does raise some questions, since it could be justifiable that Varuna does not include Fusiliers as we all expected. We know Fusiliers were once "Varuna Fusiliers", but we haven't seen that acknowledged in any recent fluff/lore, so that may be entirely retconned. If Fusiliers are gone, we may see Helots with high AVA, very cheap, and perhaps a Frenzy or Limited Camo discount that would allow them to function like elite cheerleaders (similar to Securitates, but better as individual combatants rather than functioning as a link team.) If we saw Regular Helots with basic loadouts in the 13-16 point range, plus high AVA Fugazi, it could theoretically allow Varuna to function without a light infantry Core linkable choice. That's all speculation though. I do hope we'll see Fusiliers in Varuna, but the more I think on it, the more I feel like there's going to be some kind of caveat on our ability to take them.
I could see Father Knights in SE, rather than Santiagos. The whole "massive boarding party" knights doesn't seem too apt for a special operations/anti-terrorism force. That leaves either FKs or Teutons, and considering that Teutons are always at the front lines, FK seems more likely. And there will likely (as much as folks dislike it) be Fusiliers in Varuna. Now, they might be modified, limited AVA or given a slightly different title like the Regulares were or is rumored for SWF, but as the backbone of the PMC, they'll almost certainly be there.
I thought about an alternative today; Fusilers making a normal appearance, but Kamau being more restricted (say, AVA 4-5)... and able to flexibly link with other units. So you can have a Fusilier link with standard, 18 pts MSR, or get a better equipped Kamau sniper in there for 32 pts. This would also explain why most of Kamau SWC troops are ending up in the starter (CB likes to do unusual things with PanO starter sets, though). I don't think it's likely, but I wonder how such composition would play out.
I'd take a couple of cheap Limited Camo MSR/LRL Helots as ARO pieces any day of the week and twice on Sunday. We don't need no Fusilier firebase where we are going, pals! At this point I'm starting to think that SWC in Varuna might be even worse than in Acon. Here's hoping for an Lt option with +1 SWC, and also hoping that our Red Fury choices have the same SWC discount as other factions. I mean there's 5.5-6.5 SWC in the starter alone, depending of course on SWC pricing for the Zulu Spitfire and the Orc Feuerbach (I'm hoping for 1.5SWC). And oh man Shukra in Varuna would make me very happy. Here's hoping that the blister releases before too long or we will all be searching for conversion fodder.
So we have the following for Kamau: PanOceania ────────────────────────────────────────────────── 6 KAMAU Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 20) KAMAU Hacker (Hacking Device) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 28) KAMAU Paramedic (MediKit) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 22) KAMAU (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 21) KAMAU (Multispectral Visor L2) MULTI Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 32) KAMAU Heavy Rocket Launcher, Submachine Gun / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 23) HMG is "only" in Beyond Icestorm. Combi Rifle, HRL, and MSR are in the Varuna box. That still leaves us potential for a Kamau box with a repack or alternate sculpt of the HMG and a Hacker and 2 Combi Rifles that can be Forward Observers/Paramedics. Just a thought. Also, wasn't there confirmed-ish talk of Kamau with SMGs but no HRL?
This would be extremely unusual, but as I've said, CB enjoys doing unusual things with PanO starters...
That would be more Acon then Varuna (Varuna is more tropical paradise compared to the tropical hell of Paradiso). Varuna has a slight Paradiso connection do to the Croc-men. Beyond that Varuna's forces are more based around being PanO's special operators to help combat terrorist groups and probably serve at the behest of the Hexahaedron and the PanO military.
