The reason I would go for SAA is just because I think it's rather underrepresented by troops unique to the Sectoral, is all, and is a bit skinny. Powerful! But arguably lacking some flavour, where new SAA troops wouldn flesh that out. New NCA troops or REMs would work fine too mind :)
Something interesting to think about is Varunas HD and KHD situation, we maybe get the cheap Fusilier with the expensive Kamau the only confirmed option and no KHD or program a la DeFersen. Im expecting the guantlets in the Zulu and the Echo to be AHD or even one of them KHD, but we are still short in the regular HD department. ACON has SCYLLA and KHD Nagas NCA has HD DEVA so, we can safely expect a loan from Aleph in this area The ones still aviable are: Dasyus: in a sectorial with Crocman, camo fish and Zulu Cobra this is a pipe dream Thamyris: somewhat bloated, but a possibility strange but who knows: Danvas: to have a HD+ is kind of a wet dream ASURA: now is regular HD...... i dont like it, but it can be a funny way to shut us up about the lack of MSV and HI in the sectorial
Croc KHD is pretty likely, and hopefully will be an easy unit to represent since we get a Croc HD of some kind in the starter box. Acon and NCA have pretty decent hacking games, mostly because their devices all come on great platforms (Naga, Hexa, Swiss Guard) and AVA3 Fugazi means you can play that game incidentally, rather than dedicating a lot of points to it. But it's hard to know if Varuna will follow the same trend. Give the emphasis on both firepower and possible Camo/midfield presence, i can see it going either way. But something like White Noise would be a big change up to how PanO participates in hacking. As for the Red Eye, targeted strikes, etc... I suspect the combat of the age would demand weaponry geared for the role. If 40mm grenades throw shrapnel, or hellfire missiles are too dangerous for friendly fire, I suspect both the advances in both targeting and payload would be upgraded accordingly.
I'd actually hope for the opportunity to run completely unhackable Varuna lists (with token Hacker, Order Monkey REMs and the occasional Bulleteers). Works like a charm for JSA, Tohaa and Ariadna. A Cutter isn't a default pick, Orcs are still a tough sell, none of the new troops are HI so far, Varuna lacks Knights or Guard units. So unhackable Varuna seems very potent, that alone might be worth some hype. Croc Hacker (even a KHD) is very risky for his immense pricetag without BTS NWI etc. Although i'd welcome a secondary PanO KHD (or several) I'd like to see an extra weapon loadout for them. That X-Visor is pricey but really does a lot with just a Combi already. X-Visor+SMG for a subpar Profile like the AHD would be the dream. While I'm diving into wishful thinking anyway, I'm calling Upgrade White Noise or a HD+ for Varuna. Since HI treat Shock as Normal Ammunition again (see 1.4 FAQ) Joan is back on my watchlist. Which means I want that Varuna PanO (not Aleph) troop with CoC more than ever.
Actually it's pretty cheap. Around 1 or 2 pts. 360° visor is the expensive one. I'll get some proof later :)
I can save you the time, X-Visor is 2 for Crocs, I know that much. 360 Visor scales very weird, probably with several stats and maybe even Silhouette - Odalisques get to trade it for Sixth Sense L1 (so pretty much 1 point, maybe 2),Thorakitai get it for cheap as well, Santiagos pay like 4 points for it, Kriza Borak pays a whooping 9 points and Maggy astonishing 20. It's one of the easiest pieces to take apart, and one that raises a lot of questions about scaling.
I'd say running unhackable Varuna lists is pretty likely. You and I have talked over this subject quite a bit, @Teslarod , but unhackable JSA is a nice tool to have. Having a PanO sectorial that can basically abstain from Hacking participation is a good concept. Playing JSA and all those cubeless Keisotsu heavy weapons has given me a deeper appreciation for Doctor support in PanO lists. I was already a fan of Doctoring heavy weapons, but PanO's accuracy and Cube re-rolls mean it's more likely that troops can come back to life. I look forward to this in Varuna. Regarding your White Noise idea: White Noise is a really nice concept for Varuna. Albedo is a decent corner case rule too (especially if it's on something that's packing more than just MULTI rifle rangebands.) Any speculation on who would get HD+?
If I get to pick - Orc chick. HD+ and a Tinbot would go a long way to give Orc Links something they are the best at. Being able to bring their own Fairy Dust, fight reasonably well against other Hackers, White Noise to make them do the opposite than our plenty MSVs, access to Impersonation (as access to Markerstate is the about the only way to salvage a HI Hacker). It also is an opportunity to hand her a cheap weapon loadout to make up for the 8 points HD+, higher stats (BTS6, WIP13) and keep Orcs affordable.
I dont think that making superb character is a way to fix a whole unit. Especially we are talking about PanO character (who bar Joan have all some problems). Also: guys what if Echo Bravo visor is a dreaded AHD ?
The big challenge I see with the ORC character being a super-hacker is that it replicates the design space for De Fersen. Making her very good on her own is helpful in Vanilla, where ORCs will remain a separate unit and noone will benefit from Linkability. I'm extremely jealous of the Vassili character in TAK, who is possibly the most universally useful and well optimized character in the game, joining the ranks of Emily, Spector and the Inspiring Leadership LTs.
Obviously T2 MMR being one of the best weapons in game. Srsly is sometimes dishearthing (I today compared Bipandra to Lupe ;/ ).
