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PanOceania: State of the Faction, and what's next?

Discussion in 'PanOceania' started by barakiel, May 30, 2019.

  1. barakiel

    barakiel Echo Bravo Master Sergeant

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    It's clear that PanOceanis is in a better place than it's ever been. Our four Sectorials have received design attention, and our Vanilla offerings are more diverse and interesting than they've ever been. While there are still concerns and discussion about Military Orders, and there are still a few older units that haven't gotten much love, it's clear that the overall health of the faction is strong.

    My questions are:
    From a PanO perspective, what are you most excited for in the future?

    What's fun and interesting to you right now?


    • Are there particular miniature releases that you want?
    • Are you excited for Svalarheima, our next (albeit distant) Sectorial release?
    • Is there enthusiasm to play PanOceania, or do you feel yourself gravitating towards other factions and other releases?
    • Does PanOceania draw you as a competitive faction? Why are you picking PanO over other factions?
    To get some ideas going:
    I'm still hoping Varuna will get a few more releases. I'm thrilled that we received a starter, Zulu Cobra Jammer, Echo Bravo, Kamau Hacker (great VIRD Machinist proxy,) Patsy and ORC box. The Fusilier FO is a nice little ninja release, one that has plenty of players excited from a collection standpoint.

    My big hope is for a Helot Militia box and another Echo Bravo. Pie-in-the-sky is a Cutter resculpt.

    VIRD's still interesting from a competitive standpoint, and I feel like I'm still learning and gaining competitive momentum with them. Doing well at Rumble was really encouraging, but I haven't gotten to innovate too deeply with lists. A lot of my events this year have had similar scenario lineups. As a result, I've been depending on similar setups and unit selection. Many of my local events, which tend to be more dynamic or experimental in format, have fallen on weekends where I've had to travel. I've still attended a fair amount, but missing 3-4 local ITS events in a season is painful. Most of my results this year have come from travel events. I'm still hoping to finish out the season with VIRD, but Shock Army and Acon have caught my attention too.

    I've been getting some suggestions to try and play something new. I've filled a few shopping carts with IA and TAK stuff, but haven't really gone for it yet. I still have quite a few painted/half-painted/unpainted minis that need attention too.

    Svalarheima might be interesting from a competitive standpoint, but I'm waiting for CB to give us some units, images, lore, etc. that generates excitement in the same way that the VIRD dossiers did when they were dropped last year.

    MO is the one area of the faction where I feel like a complete stranger. I've only done one ITS event with MO ever, and less than 20 games, so I don't feel like I'm much of an MO player. I see some players who are quite satisfied, and certainly plenty of players who are dissatisfied.

    NCA and Acon have very strong rule sets, pretty good internal balance. NCA is a really good example of internal balance in a Sectorial right now, full of viable choices and a healthy amount of list variety. Acon's competitively strong, but has been funneled into mixed link syndrome... Namely, the power of their mixed link format tends to dominate all listbuilding. Not a bad thing, it's a departure from Acon pre-update.

    How's it going for everyone else? What's on your mind with PanO? What's gotten you excited?
     
    #1 barakiel, May 30, 2019
    Last edited: May 30, 2019
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  2. ThananRollice

    ThananRollice Your Friendly Neighborhood Locust
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    I really want Helots, preferably in a box pack of 4 different options, or maybe a pack of 3 with an extra Zulu Cobra Marksman Rifle tagalong.
    The Montesa Biker has performed so well for me that I'd love to have an official model for him. At the moment, he's just been riding on my Bulleteer model.
    I'm also really hoping for a Cutter resculpt. I know people are incredibly nostalgic for the old sculpt, but I just feel a digital sculpt would do it much better justice.
    Other than Varuna, I'd really like to see a non-hacker Bolt with Boarding Shotgun that includes drop bears. It really is about time we got drop bears in an accessible release.

    I'm definitely excited for Svalarheima, but I'm especially interested to see what they will do to let it stand out. The Nisse sniper has been done a little dirty since the shiny Kamau came and took its place. I imagine the Nisse HMG will be in almost every list. This is really far-fetched, but I would really like to see a double TAG box similar to the Uhlan/Tikbalang box that features two new light TAGs. One for Sval and the other for Varuna or MO. We are the TAG faction after all haha.

    I'm still enthusiastic to play PanO, but I have found myself interested in branching out to new releases of other factions. I think it will be challenging to think of new strategies when using other factions.

    I think that PanO can be competitive. We have more tools than ever to get the job done, and I always enjoy playing them in tournaments.
     
    #2 ThananRollice, May 30, 2019
    Last edited: May 30, 2019
  3. A Mão Esquerda

    A Mão Esquerda Deputy Hexahedron Officer

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    I'd like to see a good selection in the eventual Helots box/blisters, something like the Kaauri. ZC SMMR I've not too fussed over, since (personally) I never run a ZC Spit and just use them in that role. Everyone wants a new Machinist, but I think it's a long shot, as is a new Cutter. If/when that happens, it'll likely be totally out of left field.

    I'm interested to see what kind of interesting/different Fusi options SWF gets. With Wildcards and mixed links, I think the Nisse MSR/HMG as a locked down bunker will see a lot of use, especially if there are ways to get them to 5 man Fireteams. The places I'm most interested in seeing in SWF are the AD and Infiltrator roles. Echo Bravos have finally made me want to use AD, and having the infiltration options opened up by Locusts and Croc Men, coupled with perhaps some FD options should be fun.

    I always come back to PanO, even after/with dabbling in other forces. They will always be my #1 faction.
     
  4. xammy

    xammy Keeper of Random Facts and Strong Opinions

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    I'm loving VIRD. I feel like there is still a lot to explore in list building and our local meta pushes unique list options through terrain rules and challenging mission combinations for tournaments.

    I would LOVE a new cutter. I think the current design motifs for VIRD would make for a sweet cutter. I would also love a helot box! Lastly I want a montessa, because it looks like a fun wildcard piece. I'm also looking at playin more NCA again, so a AHD Swiss Guard model would be nice.

    I love Nisse, so I'm excited to see what Svalarheima would bring, but I'm also ok with playing VIRD & NCA for now.

    I don't play any other factions and I don't see myself picking up anything new anytime soon. I just love the play style of PanO.

    I think PanO is more competitive now than it ever was. I really enjoy their "technology is the solution" paired with excellent shooting style. It means I've got a plethora of interesting options to field.
     
  5. sirsagrell

    sirsagrell Varuna Diving Instructor

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    Sorry in advance for this one. I'm a hobbyist more than a gamer...

    I feel like I should just quote @ThananRollice here, as my list is about the same. Helots, Montesa Biker... and deep down a new Cutter... are near the top of my list of wants. The Helots are inevitable, and have the potential to be amazing sculpts that have stark, complementary visuals to the rest of the PanO line. The Montesa Biker would be a lot of fun - I know some people still are not happy with the profile swap (which is fine, to each their own) - the more I look at this profile, the more I want to fit them in to certain lists. Also, I'd really like to see what feel a Pano themed bike would look like. We'll leave my Cutter ideas out of this discussion. Auxilia... the models make me sad, and with AVA2 in vanilla I really want them redone. I'd also like a new doc, machinist and palbot box to keep up with the new, cool specialists coming out.

    Other profiles would also be cool that have no representation, but I understand that SKU-wise they aren't really needed: I would love a new Hexa or two. Though I plan on turning Knauf (Nocturne) into a Hexa sniper with a head swap, a KHD would be a fun profile to get a model for. Though I promise I'm not pandering to @barakiel here, I'd love to see an Echo Bravo RF model - however, once again, a conversion for this would be super easy based on the model we already have.

    Joan??? She's due for another model, isn't she?


    Always enthusiasm to play the Hyperpower (should always be capitalized) - though usually when I get excited about another factions it's because there is a cool model I want to paint or build around... but that doesn't take away my want to play and paint PanO

    Being Canadian, I'd love any army that is happy to fight in a blizzard.
     
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  6. barakiel

    barakiel Echo Bravo Master Sergeant

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    @sirsagrell
    I hear you on the Echo Bravo. Finally PanO has an AD unit that I want to get the sculpt-for-every-profile treatment, and I'm not sure we're going to see that happen!

    Granted, I'm totally biased, but I'd still love to see it...

    Getting any PanO Red Fury sculpt would open the door for some conversion opportunities too. I'm glad we finally have Patsy for a lot of reasons, but primarily because it's nice to see the PanO SMG fully depicted. I think the lack of PanO special weapon renders may have actually been a roadblock for getting Helot Militia minis released.
     
    #6 barakiel, May 30, 2019
    Last edited: Jun 4, 2019
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  7. sirsagrell

    sirsagrell Varuna Diving Instructor

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    I had already bought a second blister to do a conversion, but when I was parts-hunting, I thought to myself "where does one get a Red Fury"... then the model went into my hobby box.

    @barakiel if we only got 1 more sculpt for the EB, would you prefer the hacker, RF or BSG+LRL?
     
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  8. barakiel

    barakiel Echo Bravo Master Sergeant

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    Good question. I like that BSG + LRL a lot, but that's a pretty easy conversion using existing parts. The Hacker's also an easy conversion, and is also the profile I'm least likely to use on the table. So that definitely puts the Red Fury at the top of my list.
     
  9. ThananRollice

    ThananRollice Your Friendly Neighborhood Locust
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    On the topic of conversions, it's actually pretty tough to find a new-style PanO BSG outside of a box set. I don't think we actually have a single one.
     
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  10. eciu

    eciu Easter worshiper

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    Sadly my MO got a one way ticket to attic. Even more sadly I have a box of new Hospitaller which I've won on tournament sitting in the drawer since a year (real shame as the sculpts are really solid and nice) together with a new Joan 2.0. I can't imagine CB touching MO in a year or two so probably I will have to wait untill Shvalerheima untill I paint my Hospitallers and play some MO units (everyone should keep in mind which MO models got actual resculp (hint only models which could be reusable in Shval)).

    So far MO is really dead to me untill I really get bored with easy level of OSS and have a enough patience to play again with a handicap.

    I must say that NCA changes (hey I've finally painted my first 3 Bolts out of 8 I have!) are quite interesting. Luckily they are "limited" in terms of no visible crazy powercreep, but some options for alternative lists ( for example Aquila in Haris or Black Friar in Haris).

    Vanilla PanO with all new additions is something I really have to try out and check how it plays. With new powercreep and "super efficiency" of active turn it seems that going "fireteamless" is less of a drawback and it is actually better to hide all your models so that the cost of the movememnt is a better chaff against your opponent than an actual chaff.

    As much as VIRD seems fun&bonkers I have literally no paint/play time to start them atm. ;/ OSS and beardies are taking all of it atm. (luckily I'm at the end of OSS backlog and actually mostly waiting for a Arjuna release and some bots)
     
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  11. barakiel

    barakiel Echo Bravo Master Sergeant

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    Yeah, it's still a challenge to get that BSG. I had a few Bagh Mari boxes, and the BSG from that kit was a really hot item for converting. I'm almost tempted to salvage a couple of the BSGs from those Bagh Mari now, since the Bagh Mari Core link is basically a thing of the past. Hmm.

    Getting a blister with a PanO boarding shotgun would be really nice from a hobby perspective.
     
  12. Rocker

    Rocker Well-Known Member

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    I've been enjoying VIRD, but find I mostly take the same kind of list. I am interested in Vanilla PanO with Joan and the new irregulars (Monstrucker, Helot). I think Joan with those cheap orders fueling a Tik or Swiss guard (or both ) would be fun to run. I might miss the defensive playstyle of VIRD though...

    Am also painting up Tohaa/Spiral corps at the moment. Would like to try to get some cc ing done with the makauls....and... Smoke!
     
  13. taxites

    taxites Well-Known Member

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    Started with NCA, full VIRD now. I took VIRD to LVO, and Rumble. Love the play style of Varuna, but I am anxious to get back to NCA after the updates. After too many years of empire in WHFB, i may never get over the fun of an army that shoots well.

    I could be wrong here, but doesn't the bounty hunter chica on the bike have new style pano BS? It sure looks like it to me. I used that gun In a bolt conversion. Lopped the ML off lady's arm, and the BS fits real sweet. Super wanted that extra wysiwyg boading shottie for the bolts.
     
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  14. taxites

    taxites Well-Known Member

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    Double post
     
  15. barakiel

    barakiel Echo Bravo Master Sergeant

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    That's right! Nice one.
     
  16. daboarder

    daboarder Force One Commander
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    I love where PanO is at the moment.

    I think if the faction had this much depth I might never have moved on to ariadna when I did. the difference between where we were a little over a year ago and where we are now is night and day and while Im still exploring all the new options and finding new things (I have yet to truly try the new NCA options) Im excited and everything is new and shiny.

    On to Specifics
    ASA while Im still salty at the way that CB handled this product line and Ive already seen rumblings of discontent from new players unable to get their hands on the miniatures in question, the core of the list is strong and versatile, sitting I feel somewhere between VIRD and the "Big gun" focus of PanO of old. That gives the sectorial an interesting mix and its still the best place in the game to run dual TAGs. If you like AD this is the sectorial for you in PanO with Akals still being unmatched. and Dart means that midfield dominance is never a worry. couple that with on of the the best Kamau MSR killer's in the game in the form of the linked Bagh-Mari HMG and an ability to deploy a truly terrifying number of mines and this list is well placed to weather the changes in the Meta to come despite its status.

    VIRD What more can I write? a PanO secotrial that plays infinity ;) . CB found a way to create a PanO list that has a lot of depth but still relies on the PanO staple of "shoot it in da face" Helots opperating as a warband esque screen along is fantastic design. I love this list and theres lots more to explore, while it can comfortable fight any mission line up, I do feel its more at home when the opponent is not encouraged to bring their biggest guns, and as such there are thing other sectorials do better than VIRD. But this is a good thing as ultimately it means PanO as a faction has a wider and deeper range of playstyles available to it.

    MO HAHA, HAHA
    Probably the most underrated sectorial in PanO. a truly terrifying and amazing list, the re-work has done wonders for the sectorial in terms of giving you options and the potential for different list building. No longer do you "pick the best order" and just add 5 HI dudes+support and call it done. Now you can tailor links to specific large scale requirements by drawing a mix of HI and LI from a range of different profiles depending on how you want to fit it together.
    This mixed link results in a list that is able to achieve multiple objectives without costing additionally pts in the form of purchasing other HI units outside the link and this gives the list what it needs to add its support and tricks.
    It did take me first 2-3 games to work out the list and how to build an army using it, but after my first tournie with MO, I have truly come to consider this list comparable with VIRD for the title of powerhouse list in PanO. unlike VIRD, MO focuses on HI and tough, hard to remove pieces, but it punches harder in active and reactive than any other sectorial in a generic fight.
    definitely a sectorial that is worth considering and Im enjoying a lot at the moment.
     
    #16 daboarder, May 31, 2019
    Last edited: May 31, 2019
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  17. herod1204

    herod1204 Knight of Santiago

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    I kinda agree on MO. I just can't work out how to make it work! It still has flaws, and oh boy does it punish mistakes, but if you are methodical and careful, it will rip apart anything put in front of you.

    I keep toying with diving into NCA, but I kinda want to play something radically different, like return to my.bakunin.

    Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk
     
  18. AdmiralJCJF

    AdmiralJCJF Heart of the Hyperpower

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    Yeah, I'm still pretty dubious about MO generally. I'd agree that it improved overall but that the narrow band of competitively effective lists which were "viable" before were deleted for no good reason. So it's solidly average now with little to no ability to spike high the way our other forces can.

    But overall?

    Yeah, we're in a MUCH better place than we were.

    Heck, I've not once been compelled recently to remind people that we don't get nice things.

    Well, for me, Varuna is still "in the future". That'll be my project for Season 11 and I'm looking forward to it. But, at the same time, I don't really want to start 'till we actually have a Helot release so I am considering focusing on MO 'till they drop. I REALLY don't want to run Varuna with Helot proxies.

    It's all about Acon. They are my project for the season and the thing I'm "loving" right now. I've been playing with the "old Acon" models and I'm working on building and panting "new Acon" for INZO in July. The mixed ORC/Bagh Mari/Regular Core Fireteams are a source of constant joy.

    Yeah, Helots!

    Other than that?

    Something, ANYTHING, in a blister with a PanOceanian Marksman Rifle (so I can remove and replace weapons and swap them in for the several profiles with that loadout I want to convert).

    Oh, hell yeah.

    I do wonder if that's where Hospitaller Knights are going to really shine? Perhaps they got the nerf-hammer in MO in order to help Svalarheima stand out later.

    I'm also 50/50 on thinking that they might be the "4th Edition" release, with a Svalarheima/White Banner "VS" box as the "Icestorm" of the next edition of the game.

    To be fair, I'm going to run OSS at some stage. But I see them as a natural branching out from PanOceania. The same is true of Foreign Company (and, heck, one of them may become my project for Season 11).

    Not much else has really caught my heart, but I don't think anyone really expects it to.

    Because I'm a PanOceania player.

    For me, that's it.

    But I do love our raw firepower and the ability to get on top of any shootout with brute force.

    Well... as long as you didn't lose that tool to crits...

    Yeah, I'm of a like mind with you here. The key difference is in my stance on the Helots. They are so important to how I see Varuna that I don't even want to start the project 'till that inevitable box exists.

    I'm of the opinion that this is still at least another year off.

    But that ties into my expectation linking Svalarheima with impending 4th edition news.

    I've been playing with them a bit (they were the first thing I had online after losing all my models) and I haven't been impressed. But I do wonder if I could make them sing with a season of dedicated play.

    Again, we are of a like mind here.

    I'm still of the opinion that including 2+ ORCs in the NCA Fusilier Core would have been a good design choice, but that's just me wanting ORCs to be better everywhere.
     
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  19. Ayadan

    Ayadan Knight of the TAG Order

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    Bastion Army! SWF might be enjoyable but as the Saint Sepulchre is the Order I prefer (they have the greatest number of Seraphs), I'm just waiting to see Sol system's armies enter in action and see what they could look like.

    Everything! MO is just so enjoyable, requiring you to always be sharp and brutal but giving you nearly all you need for this. NCA is nearly as rigid as it was but the little changes added up gave the required amount of flexibility it needed to be on par with the other armies and come back as a frightening sectorial. I played too few games with ASA but for what I've tried, they are astonishingly powerful too. VIRD might be the sectorial in PanO I'm the less interested in but I love them too. Just that I don't have the same adrenaline amount when I play them as I get from NCA and MO. I'll have fun with Vanilla for the rest of the season just in order to train to play our units in solo in order to be free from the need to play in FT. I have the feeling that just getting the most of our AVA in sectorial is a big part of the point of playing them and FT might be sometime a trap more than a help. I've already done it last year with NCA for Interplanetario and the lists behaved very well.

    MO update for minis. I can't stomach the old ones but the new ones are so promising. I wish they resculpt the old MO range at some point.

    Not that much as I need to test too much things at the moment to be excited to get again new toys. Christmas everyday isn't a good idea if you want to appreciate it the next time.

    I'm a PanO player and I really never have been interesting in other factions. I happened to play them once from time to time in order to demonstrate some asumptions to friends of mine or to see how others would play my lists but excepted those exceptions, I really can't see myself playing anything that isn't PanO. Even Foreign Compagny doesn't hype me that much.

    It always had and will probably forever. Even when I started the game in 2016, I have felt that we weren't the worst even if it was way harder to win for us than today.

    Well, I think VIRD is something, even if I have some trouble to really jump in with the others and maybe it is just because of my meta but the lack of sheer number of troopers with MSVs is something I have difficulties with. The lack of an independant HI at the 50-60 pts spot is another reason as I really like to play powerful solo tools and Varuna is all about fireteam instead of it. I will love VIRD once I'll put my hands deep in but for the moment, it is not entirely my cup of tea.

    ASA: I need to play them more but the sectorial nearly just got more powerful. My midfield bunker list will miss me but except this one, everything has been powered up so it just requires to me to play them more.

    NCA: Same as ASA, I need to play them more. But for what I've tested, the sectorial is just what I just always would have had since the beginning. HSN3 did some good but DF definitely finished the job.

    MO: the best update to my point of view as the sectorial needed it so much. I heard a lot of complaints about obvious HI Lts and the loss of the Magister + Hospitaller link and the change of the Crusade link but I can't agree about the fact that it's even harder now to leave the DZ. At the exception of playing on a flat table with too few cover, we have now all the tools to leave it. Good reactive turn, excellent active one, a shitload of specialists (never have had less than 6 in my lists for the satellite while not feeling to be forced to take some: they came by themselves). And for the first time, there is no fight for slots, each order has its role and don't compete with another for it. Yes, even Teutonic Knights have their niche and I really don't think that it is about Berserk but more about the rest of the kit and their price. They are PanO HIs so CC isn't something you'll search with them anyway. But it can be handy sometime, as all CC skills on our HIs.
    Like @daboarder, I think this sectorial is underrated because they are very different from our secular sectorials in their gameplay while still being PanO in their approach. They request some dedication at first to find out how to play them and how to build your lists as the role of each HI, Order and loadout is something you really feel on the terrain and not that much when building your list. And everyone should really throw the old gameplay to the dustbin. I can understand that everyone isn't happy with those changes and it makes me a bit sad that some of you felt pranked by CB because of it but that doesn't mean they haven't done a good job. This sectorial is now so diverse that I wonder if I will be tired one day to play them while the old MO made me sick after 4 months.
     
    #19 Ayadan, May 31, 2019
    Last edited: May 31, 2019
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  20. SilverSpoon

    SilverSpoon New Member

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    I started play Varuna 1-2 month ago. I think Varuna needs some hero like patsy, but with marksman rifle and different ability) maybe LI with big CC)
    I wont release Helots model, Echo with LRL or Red Fury and resculpt support pack!!! But even more i want its new unit profile in the varuna)
     
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