New wave of Varuna rumors (OMG)

Seriously?

Tomcats have Doctors and Engineers coming in from the side of the table.

You can't ignore those and then go "look, the other crap nobody ever takes is less good!".

Yeah, it's crap.

I should bloody hope our new AD unit is better than that.

Our old AD units suck, and they are better than that!

 

Of those only DEP is absolute trash, the rest are useful, though still overshadowed by Eng/Doc. Corregidor has a limited access to Mines and any Repeater outside of DZ (and possibly close o yours) is bad news for non-Ariadna going against Nomads.

 

Holy Bleep. I wake up and the first thing I check is this site of course and what do I see?

ITS HAPPENING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pano is getting nice things! A whole bunch of nice things that will even buff Generic Pano. OMG.

OH
MY
GOD

Edit: Some first impressions:

Zulu Cobra - Likely the best addition to Pano from VIRD. KHD gives Generic Pano an extra KHD option which frees up the AVA 1 Hexa to be used as a sniper. More options for Generic Pano. The Sensor + Jammer profile is expensive but the first real toolbox unit for Pano. Just imagine triangulated fire on BS 10. Jammer is a great defensive tool. I imagine the spitfire will be the least useful option and its not a bad shooter. But if you want a ranged attacked just save your SWC and take the X-Visor + Shock marksmanship rifle. Of note: the SWC 0 LT for VIRD, a great option for a well protected LT. Even for generic Pano, 1 SWC for a LT with Sensor and Jammer is somewhat appealing but not likely taken. Oh, almost missed it. The KHD and FO both have combi breaker rifles. Man, Aradina is going to hate these guys.

Echo Bravo - an AD2 unit! Not bad. The best option is probably the Red Fury, only SWC 1 and more move than the Akalis. I really like it. I'm iffy about the other options because of their SWC cost and its low WIP 12. Otherwise a pretty darn good unit. I will say its nice to have a variety of options. It is somewhat comparable to tomcats. I think the tomcats are superior but our boys get Red Furys which is nice. I'm pretty sure I'll be using the Echo Bravo over the Akalis in generic Pano just for the extra move and cheaper SWC special weapon.

Helots - only ava 1 in generic Pano but I can see it as a nice cheap unit to throw into the second combat group, especially if playing with Joan. But they are AVA 3 in VIRD. Wow. A nice defensive unit. 3 of the shock marksmen rifles = only 39 points and 2 = 26 points. I can see taking 2 of the marksmen rifles just for a strong defense of your DZ. The big advantage over a TR REM is the 0 SWC option and forcing your opponent to make discover rolls. Overall, I think Helots have a bigger impact in VIRD where you can take more than 1 but still I can see them being taken even in generic Pano because of how dirt cheap they are.

Funny how VIRD has Fusilier total AVA and not NCA. I guess Fusiliers aren't high tech enough for NCA. lol I'll make another post for MO because OMG the rework has HAPPENED! THE DREAM IS REAL!

 

Genuinely love the love going PanO Way, new Santiago's are brutal, new profiles for Varuna are delicious. It's really nice.

Looks like I'm coming back to PanO. Hype indeed.

 

Plenty of people take the other profiles, in particular the E/Mitter and Mines one. As Smagg theSmug says, only the DEP one is considered sub-par.

 

(ok, I had to)

Well, there's a use for the Montessa Spitfire at least, modern proxy for the new Santiago!

 

And YJ is minig more salt for some reason (despite the two IA units being pretty decent). Just as some flavoring.

 

#thereisnothingwrongwitholdSantiago!

 

Dune had Spice, Haqqislam have Silk, YuJing have Salt. IT MUST FLOW.

(Nomads have Bath Salts btw)

 

Says a man who's supressed the memory of gluing on those damn antennas.

 

Believe it or not but anthennas were not an issue.

Fusilier HMG on the other hand......

 

And PanO has W(h)ine?

(though this year appears to be a fine vintage, sweeter without the bitter aftertaste)

 

and Pano has nice things. I can't believe I can say this but #PANOHASNICETHINGS

 

The more things change the more they stay the same

 

AVA2 on Cutters. Yaknow, just in case.

Ooh, special clipper fireteam? Patsy Garnett special fireteam? Hmm, do we know what these are yet?

 

Excellent for those 400 pts LI "no Ariadna allowed" events ;P

 

So, we have the starter clocking in at 183 points and 6.5 SWC
Not quite NCA levels of excess, but close.


KAMAU Heavy Rocket Launcher, Submachine Gun / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 23)
KAMAU Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 20)
KAMAU (Multispectral Visor L2) MULTI Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 32)
ORC Lieutenant Feuerbach / Pistol, Knife. (2 | 44)
CROC MAN Hacker (Assault Hacking Device) Combi Rifle, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 36)
Zulu Cobra Spitfire / Pistol, Knife. (1 | 28)

6.5 SWC | 183 Points

 

ORC has Feubarach not HMG.

 

I'm thinking Clipper will join a core team (like in Druze and OSS), probably with some restrictions like core only

 

amended