De Natura Shasvastiirum

Original post by Bardelius

Greetings, I’m going to try to unify all my knowledge and thinking about the Shasvastii sectorial after playing with them for a while. For trying to be purely objective, the next reviews you are goint t oread are made through my experience, and shaped up my game style and my metagame, trying to be universal anyways. I hope you enjoy it, and feel free to improve or correct anything you see wrong or insufficient.



Why to play shasvastii as a sectorial?



Because you like camo’d units, regular or TO, because you want to use and abuse infiltration and impersonation. Because you rather go from side, taking advantage of opponent’s weakness, instead going head to head. Because you don’t need the Ur shiny toys to have fun. And because you like slimy and sinister aliens.



Why not top lay shasvastii as a sectorial?



Because you like Heavy Infantries. Because you want HMGs the more the better. Because you feel naked playing without potent fireteams. Because you think MSV are a must. Because you like “swarm” lists. Because you are Humanity, or Tohaanity, fan.



Possible solutions to the lack of MSV



¿How to play a sectorial which can’t field not even one MSV? First solution that you can figure up is to field a fireteam, due to the four men link bonus the miniatures have SS Lv2, but fireteams (as will be explained later) are not the main shasvastii feature. So playing this sectorial you have to learn to play Supression Fire properly. There are not plenty of direct template weapons to fight camo’d and smoked units, but you can field lists which have most of the units geared up with mines what, taking into account ranges and scenery, are a good help against smoke and camouflage



To play a sectorial without fireteams?



Play a sectorial have a nice advantage, you can link troops; but in the shasvastii’s case due the nature of the available fireteams all of this is relative. Seed-Soldiers, Gwailos and Caliban are the three linkable options. Seed-Soldiers are the worst cheerleaders in the game, the most disappointing “basic” trooper. The “putty patrol” suffer the seed-embryo infamous rule and the combi+light shotgun cost tax, so are only playable if you want to sabe points for a more expensive unit, aka the Sphinx. Gwailos are a weird link in the usual shasvastii ways, forcing you to tailor the list around this fireteam and, since the third book, mostly making Cadmus-Naish Sheskiin mandatory. And Caliban are a great input for missions, but have little use outside this kind of games, and even they are arguable in missions without a heavy infiltration penalty.



On the other had, regarding CA generic lists, we have highter AVA in some units, making possible (if the games allows or require it) to field lists full of camo’d and infiltration units.



“Kamofest” doctrine



To lose the initiative roll is seen for many players as a bad omen, but with this sectorial not have to be that way. Due to the large amount, even whole list, of camo’d and hidden deployment units you can field, the opponent may have a bumpy first turn, and not an easy task to take advantage of the initiative roll.



Deploying To units downgrading their camo, stack several miniatures under a single marker, minelayed mines, and embryo seeds, are very useful tools to mislead your opponent, and turning against him or her the iniative.



A Lazarus sectorial



Almost every unit have Auto-medikit (PHI 12), adding the spawn embryo factor, Shasvastii are hard to make retire, specialy if you are playing Batroids Baggage. A miniature coming back to the game is a constant threat for your opponent, you can’t make your strategy around this, but a miniature threatening an important area of the table, an objective or a botteneck, may force to play defensively to your opponent, leaving a unit behind ready to ARO the Auto-Medikit use or even using orders to wipe all the seeds threatening that area. Briefly; you can’t trust in that sixty percent for revival, but you may calculate the seed effect in your opponent’s turn.



Light Infantry



Seed-Soldiers: The most basic Shasvastii. A part from what has been said; you can field a Light Grenade Launcher loadout, but initial BS11 make speculative shots tricky. You can also field Fordward Observer loadout, making a cheap specialist for missions and a handy AROer.

Cadmus: The one and only shasvastii airborne, and exotic troop if there was ever one. Coming into play as a Cadmus-Seed they are not as “inmediate” as other AD units, and can’t field heavy weaponry as other AD units either. Although the Light Grenade Launcher loadout offer some amount of sinergy with the Cadmus feature: Morpho-Scan; duplicating a high BS, the Cadmus could be the better source of speculative shots available. As a shortcoming, this unit is the same points range of the better units in the sectorial, so they don’t see much games.



Haiduks: Another weird unit, without the most common skills. Sapper don’t make them as hard to kill as the rest of the available AROers, but Haiduks can overtake areas which other units couldn’t just because they can create cover in the middle of nothing. Even with their low points cost, their subpar BS and their CAP cost don’t make them profitable. Guided multi sniper loadout is an exercise in futility, and personally I’ve tried to make a slot for them in several lists without any memorable performance



Noctifers: TO non-infiltrator unit, and with the V:Dogged twist. Apart of the basic and Lt loadouts, both with combi, they can be fielded with Spitfire, Missile Launcher or as Hacker.As no infiltrators, and its cost, Spitfire Noctifer is not the most useful unit. Missile Launcher attack from combat camouflage is a big surprise, but most of the times after this blazing glory momento, the noctifer is going to have to do some overtime to rent its cost. The hacker option would be ideal if there were no a higher WIP hacker available, but the V:Dogged skill is pretty useful if the Noctifer have to venture in a hot area to reach an objective.



Asuangs: More camo’d units, and through S:Prothein sharing V:Dogged with Noctifers. Arguably the most playable Spitfire (even not infiltrating), the only ADHL source, and the best cost-effect relation Lieutenant in the sectorial. One of those units which owns its cost range. Ironically the miniature available is the less playable loadout.



Med-Tech Obsidon Mechanoid: Wip 14 engineer and doctor, 6-4 movement, 23 points, an old reliable for missions. The only “buts” you can say about it, are their 40mm base and what is a Medic in a sectorial plenty of Auto-Medikits and V:Dogged



Agent Cadmus-Naish Sheskiin: The only sectorial’s chacacter, linkable with any fireteam. Despite its ARM 1, Agent Sheskiin has a nice survivality due the Nanoscreen, S: Protheion and V:NWI, so its a good Lt option. Multi Rifle and Nanopulser are great weapons to be in a fireteam



Linked with Seed-Soldiers is a cheap source of BS18 (21 in optimal range) Multi Rifle, with Gwailos is their only way to geta a full fireteam, and with the Caliban may be used as a bulwark for the engineers and bringing more firepower to the posible Feuerbach.



Skirmishers



Shroudeds: Auto-Medikit, camouflage and infiltration, the shasvastii sign of autheticity. Another unit which AVA was reduced in Paradiso, from four to three. The masters and landlords of the twentish-thirtish points range in my lists. Most basic loadouts are not very common in the tables on behalf of more specilized shroudeds, not the most useful Lt., and an arguable sniper (since infiltrating snipers are arguable). Both Hacker and FO are useful as cheap infiltrating specialists for missions. And lastly the minelayer loadout, the jewel in the Crown full of sinergy and fun.

Malignos: De-Luxe Shroudeds. Improving regular camo to TO, one more ARM point and one more WIP point. That extra WIP point makes Malignos really useful in missions, as FO loadout in a lesser extent. Another arguable sniper, but harder to kill than the Shrouded one. And in the same way as their little siblings, the Malignos standing out is mine related one, not a minelayer loadout, but a monofilament mine nightmare for the mid table control.



Another unit paying the taxing overcost of the Combi Rifle and Light Shotgun mix, but in this case is less hurting due to the excelent whole.



Speculo Killers: Shasvastii impersonators. The first thing standing out of a mile is the Monofilament CC weapon and its Martial Arts, its a threat for “flamboyant” targets like obvious Lts, Characters, even for TAGs (not entering the CC discussion). But I think Speculo are more useful for psychological warfare, threatening flanks, possible routes and objectives. It’s incredible the amount of orders an opponent may use to neutralize an elusive Speculo Killer, for this task the Smoke Grenades are really useful, once the unit is spotted.



Medium Infantry



Gwailos: Previous to Paradiso’s book the only medium infantry in the sectrial. One weird unit between the shasvastii; no camo, no auto-medikit, and ready to blaze some glory to the opponent’s face. It’s hard to make room for this fireteam in the lists due to their lack of sinergy with the whole sectorial, even with their nanoscreen, a BS only bested by the Sphinx, and the possibility to link spitfire, Multi Rifle and/or HRL.



In the latest book their AVA was reduced from five to four, making mandatory to link Agent Sheskiin to get a full fireteam, equating Gwailos with other fireteams, but reducing even more their playability.



Caliban: In first place I have to say that linkable engineers are the apple of my eye. and I see them as the best choice to play several missions. This unit can be fielded as Seed-Embryo or already hatched and developed.



The Seed-embryo Caliban may use Inferior Infiltration as an alternative loadout. Imho this option is subpar, you only save one point and you are going to lose a whole turn with these miniatures or one order a piece to hatch them before time. The Inferior Infiltration loadouts are even worse because you usualy want top lay Calibans in missions, and even in not infiltration penalyzed missions, you are going to risk your engineers unnecessary.



Developed Calibans are the most standard costwise. They begin the game in your own deployment zone what aggravates their 4-2 movement, but as a fireteam you are saving orders to move them.



The Calibans vantage point is the possibility to link the mighty Feuerbach (on the the few options you have in the game), bringing a lot of firepower to the sectorial.



Remotes



M Drone: Usual Sensor and FO remote, adding Multiterraing to the mix. Too much expensive to be an usual cheerleader, and unfortunately in the same cost range of the very best units in the sectrial. Maybe the most useless drone.



Q Drone: Total Reaction with the only HMG and the only Plasma Rifle availables, and another source of Monofilamente Mines, and on the top C: Mimetism. Total Reaction and Neurocinetics units are often easy killable from combat camouflage, but since you can field two Q Drones they can look for each other. Q Drone is the reason for what Drones Box is a must for Shasvastii players.



T Drone: A regular GML Remte. WIthout HD+ and several Markers in the sectorial, GML tactic is hard to play, relying in FOs only. I’ve played T drones in missions where you already need to field several FO as specialists, but with no remarkable results



R Drone: The cheapest order and the swiftest repeater in the sectorial, For a point more you can field the Ikadron Batroid which is usually more useful.



Slave Drones: Little to say about this little remotes, maybe a little less useful amongst shasvastii with so many Auto-Medikits.



Ikadron Batroid: Paying nine points you can’t ask anything else; Baggage, dual light flamethrower, repeater and Flash Pulse as main features. Ikadron allows you to field really useful cheerleaders for first time in the sectorial



TAG



Sphinx: Light Tag by excellence: 6-6 movement, Multiterrain and Climbing Plus, the Sphinx is one of the most mobile units in the game. This mobilidty, its TO camo, and its weaponry (dual HFT and Spitfire) make this tag a close quarter nightmare, but obviously the Sphinx may suffer against some marksmans, always depending on scenary. Imho, one of the units in the game which is the most fun to use a whole group ten orders on it.



EDIT: English is not my first language and this is a pretty long text, so if anyone spot some grammar unnecessary roughness, please PM to correct it. Thanks a lot.