So I want to play vanilla rather than Onyx, not being too fond of link teams. I have everything for Onyx except the Sphinx, Suryats and Kerr-Nau. How do I go about starting to play vanilla, if I don't want to make a huge purchase immediately, but just a few units? What vanilla units would complement what I already have in Onyx the best? A smoke thrower is an obvious answer, to make the Maakrep more useful and generally make life easier. I guess the Daturazi would be best for that, though I adore the Oznat model. Is the chain rifle Daturazi the only worthwile profile though? The speculo killer feels like a no-brainer too, but I can proxy my Shaavasti spec-ops for that. What else is there?
Charontid, maybe Anathematic depending on play style. A Malignos and/or Shrouded wouldn't be a bad idea either.
If you are playing vanilla then 1 or more Aspects is the obvious place to start as that is really what vanilla is all about. The Charontid has a new model, has useful MSV3 profiles, a HD+ profile. All on a sturdy platform. The Anathematic is my personal favourite because I think it's a kickass model. An S6 TO HI murder machine. Comes with a Lt hacker option so can really get shit done. I haven't played around with Skiavoros too much but seems more of a support option with Strategos. If you really want to bust some balls then look no further than the Avatar! A bit restrictive though so not an every day pick. Outside of Aspects I find Daturazi really useful. Cheap smoke throwers and they can be a real nuisance. Quite often my MVP. You'll only realky want the Chain rifle option though. Shrouded are also super useful. Same principle as the Malignos in Onyx but on a budget. I usually field 2. Speculo is sweet. Can be a real problem solver. Takes some practice to get the hang of infiltrators though. Ko Dali can be fun but she is pricey and I find AD very board dependant. Other than that your Onyx collection should cover most of the bases.
An Avatar is forever. Like a diamond... And Kerr-Nau is its BFF! Then you have Speculo vs Ko Dali. Never field both if you don't build the list around them. TOTALLY around them. Daturazi and Krakots cover the same slot. Daturazi have Smoke and MA4 where Krakots have higher mobility (Metachemistry) and Berserker. Chose your poison... Dr. Worm + 2 servant are your minesweeper commando, if you don't field Hungries. Why no one uses them anymore?
This is exaaaactly what I did a few months ago. I played a lot of Onyx and didn't enjoy it due to how restrictive it was. I disliked how bad the list was at dodging, problems with datatracker selection, suffered playing into Transmission Matrix, etc etc etc. I moved into vanilla. And I'm really, really enjoyed the freedom that vanilla provides. Remember that you don't *have* to play limited insertion with vanilla, which is weirdly what people seem to do. From Onyx, you'll use.. Ikadrons, Drones, Imetrons, Dr Worm, Bit/Kiss, Fraacta, Noctifer, Malignos. I'd also buy Charontid, Daturazi box, Speculo and Ko Dali. Also Anathematic if you want. Charontid - It's BS14, really hard to kill, you're rarely if ever in loss of LT and omfg MSV3. You ignore surprise shot and you auto pass checks to discover. I recently wrecked an Ariadna player with a thousand camo dudes by tossing smoke for my Charontid and sitting in the cloud. Auto spot and shoot. Auto spot and shoot. ARM 5 and cover is just fine. Daturazi - I just use them for cheap smoke, really. They can punch a face. Chain Rifles are also good. Speculo - Yes, it's one of two reasons to play vanilla. Just take it and have fun. It's a really interesting piece. Ko Dali - Huge burst, huge BS, has a MSV and stealth from Prothieon. She's a murder machine. Anathematic - I typically take the hacker so you can walk around ignoring being hacked, shoot well and explode brains with surprise hacking. ... I've played about 15-20 games with this as my "all comers" list and I'm pretty happy with it. I'd be happy to play it into any "general" ITS mission, except those that need specific builds like TM, L+S Charontid Lt MSV3 HMG (you'd be amazed how useful MSV3 is) Morat Hacker (cheapest hacker) Dr Worm (he's really just there for classifieds and is a 6/4 specialist) 2 Ikadrons (flank guards, repeaters, link burners) R Drone (8pt order) 2 Imetrons (4pt orders) Q Drone HMG (secondary Rambo) Speculo BS (pure disruption, just the threat messes with people) / 2 Daturazi (chain/smoke, cheap orders and smoke for Charontid) Zerat FO BS (BS, mimetism and infintration puts her in good bands all the time. Originally couldn't fit Shrouded but am super happy with her.) Noctifer ML (sneaky link breaker) 6swc/300pts/10+4
It does seem weird that most Vanilla lists are a single combat group. I guess people have too much Avatar mentality on the brain and feel that they most limit themselves to 10 models. Combined Army ────────────────────────────────────────────────── GROUP 1 10 2 SKIÁVORO Lieutenant Plasma Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, CCW. (0 | 52) MAAKREP TRACKER HMG / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 33) Bit Hacker (UPGRADE: Expel) Submachine Gun + Pitcher, Deployable Repeater + KISS! / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 19) KISS! Adhesive Launcher / Electric Pulse. (- | 4) MED-TECH OBSIDON MEDCHANOID Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 23) SLAVE DRONE Electric Pulse. (0 | 3) SLAVE DRONE Electric Pulse. (0 | 3) DĀTURAZI Chain Rifle, Grenades, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, AP CCW. (0 | 14) DĀTURAZI Chain Rifle, Grenades, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, AP CCW. (0 | 14) SHROUDED (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 25) SHROUDED (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 25) KERR-NAU (UPGRADE: White Noise) Plasma Rifle + Pitcher, D-Charges / Breaker Pistol, Knife. (0 | 27) ÍMETRON . (0 | 4) GROUP 2 5 1 1 IKADRON (Baggage, Repeater) 2 Light Flamethrowers, Flash Pulse / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0 | 9) IKADRON (Baggage, Repeater) 2 Light Flamethrowers, Flash Pulse / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0 | 9) M-DRONE Combi Rifle, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 17) R-DRONE Flash Pulse, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 8) R-DRONE Flash Pulse, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 8) PRETA Chain Rifle / AP CCW. (0 | 7) 2 SWC | 300 Points Open in Infinity Army Combined Army ────────────────────────────────────────────────── GROUP 1 10 2 CHARONTID Lieutenant (Multispectral Visor L3) HMG, Nanopulser / Heavy Pistol, Knife. (2 | 79) MAAKREP TRACKER MULTI Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 33) DĀTURAZI Chain Rifle, Grenades, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, AP CCW. (0 | 14) DĀTURAZI Chain Rifle, Grenades, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, AP CCW. (0 | 14) MED-TECH OBSIDON MEDCHANOID Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 23) SLAVE DRONE Electric Pulse. (0 | 3) SLAVE DRONE Electric Pulse. (0 | 3) Bit Hacker (UPGRADE: Expel) Submachine Gun + Pitcher, Deployable Repeater + KISS! / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 19) KISS! Adhesive Launcher / Electric Pulse. (- | 4) SHROUDED (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 25) SHROUDED (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 25) IKADRON (Baggage, Repeater) 2 Light Flamethrowers, Flash Pulse / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0 | 9) IKADRON (Baggage, Repeater) 2 Light Flamethrowers, Flash Pulse / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0 | 9) GROUP 2 4 1 1 R-DRONE Flash Pulse, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 8) R-DRONE Flash Pulse, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 8) M-DRONE Combi Rifle, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 17) ÍMETRON . (0 | 4) PRETA Chain Rifle / AP CCW. (0 | 7) 4 SWC | 300 Points Open in Infinity Army Don't forget the Maakrep. Vanilla is where she really shines thanks to smoke throwing units like the Daturazi & Oznat. Having a MSV-2, AutoMedKit, Sixth Sense L1, Courage camo hunter is nothing to sniff at especially with smoke on the table. She can be a great addition to many lists by cover a couple of bases in a single loadout.
Charontid + Daturazi box, then convert 2 daturazis into Krakots. Then the Speculo Killer, and finish with Kerr Nau (model or a Nexus proxying him). The Fraacta and the Speculo are your friends! XD
Yeah, I find it really strange that people tend to think vanilla is limited insertion only. I think it's because the EI Aspects cost a decent amount of points so they feel they have to. With Imetrons at 4pts, Ikadrons at 9 and R-Drones at 8, we can easily pad out lists. 6 regular orders for 42pts. Also Mnemonica. So good. One of the issues I had with Onyx was having very limited Lt options. It was always telegraphed and no Chain of Command. With an EI Aspect, so long as they're not isolated (or you choose not to die) you're never in LoL.
In a way. All Lt options but the Skiavoros cost SWC on vanilla CA (since the Avatar costs 3.5 always, and the Charontid is always picked with an SWC cost, usually HMG), so the aspects tend to go autoinclude. The skiavoros is my choice for a "spammy" Lt, in the same group as the Speculo for a fast scare to the enemy (11 orders for the lady!). As you say, 2 Ikadron and 2 R-Drones are a fast and cheap way to get orders, while the 2 Imetrons add cheaper (if unreliable) ones... that is about 94 points per 7 orders, that also count as your flanking protectors (Ikadrons with dual flamethrowers), but we must remember that the [X]-Drones demand a hacker, so we get Bit & Kiss (cheapest useful hacker) and a basic Krakot (for bodyguarding the Skiavoros, if needed be... remember, Isolated => LoL regardless of the Mnemonica, so look out for those pesky Morlocks!!). 161 points and 1.5 SWC for a 10 regular order group. I'd say the top is 15-16 regular orders in vanilla, though, unless we get Soldiers of Fortune (CSU, Yuan Yuan, Authorized Bounty Hunter, Warcors...)
Support team orders: - Dr.worm, x2 ikadrons, x1 or x2 r-drones, x1 Q-drone, Bit&Kiss. Rather times: x1 or x2 imetrons + 1 preta or gaki. Just only as a cheap orders and 2 strong espec. profiles. E-drone EVO with AD troop or playing a hard hacking game (Ass. hacker, Bit&Kiss and Anathematic). Sinergie profiles: - x2 Daturazis chain rifles. - MSV2 Makreep as a complete skilled profile than a Yaogat. If you want a good mvs, take the MVS3 from charontid. - Speculo as a nice disrruptor to start. Specials: - Noctifer ML near Q-drone for ARO turn. - Q-drone multirole active/reactive cheap piece. - Unidron FO as a link to get Mnemonica. - Shoroudeds FO + Minelayer. (As a cheap and solid specs and button pushers and camo markers.) - Zerat FO. (cheap midfield FO with hand grenades, to playing with speculative fire). - Morat vanguard Hacker (cheap hacker to put assited fire on Q-drone, over Nexus hacker and EVO). - Kurgat engineer, nice and cheap specialist runing with Avatar list than a dr.worm. Cheap and ligth attack: - Krakots, always, SMG prfile or Red Fury. (maybe as a datatrackers, to forcing datatrackers presence on midfield missions to secure with datatracker) - Zerat combi-flamethrower. (as a cheap mimetism light attack piece infiltration). Cheap LT options out of Mnemonica: - Nexus. Cheap but obvious LT profile, but in a list with 18 orders surround on him, wounderous and strong sinergie to defend him. - Asuang. LT with cammo state all time. Solid and cheap strategos1-2 (2/3): -Skiavoros than Kornak. Special profiles for attack pieces: - Ko Dali, Fraacta & Rasyat. - Sheeskin as a best datatracker for now, on missions to killing other datatrackers or designated targets. (Fast and hillarious attack piece). - Charontid HMG. - Anathematic (Hacker version, also hillarious multirole profile). TAGS: - Avatar. Hard encounter and disrruptor piece. - Sphinx. Awesome attack piece... - Raicho shootgun version. Now, as a solid attack/perimetal piece platform. - Overdron. MSV hunter and very cheap profile with x2 HRL, and strong hacking defense with tinbot.
