Hi guys, i'm having a lot of problems with Onyx when i not have the first turn, so here i'm looking for knowledge from the hive mind! Can i see what lists you are tailoring for Onyx? What you're doing when you don't get the first turn? Are you picking the big guys, like the Xeodrons, Nourkias, Umbras, etc? What are your thoughts on the E-Drone now?
It's rough. I think we're reduced to using hacking and Noctifers for defense in N4. Also the Overdron vs. some of the good MSV attack pieces.
And vs Ariadna or lists with only a few hackable units for example? Hacking is not a big defense here...
Well I mean there's still the "Ikadron around a blind corner" defense, which is a good idea anyway since they're repeaters.
I’m curious, how has Onyx gotten worse in ARO? Between unidrons, noctifers, flash pula bots and good repeater coverage, what’s the problem?
For me, the problem is the lack of midfield and cheap disposable ARO pieces. And how do you play vs agressive 1° turn lists? Like Fidays, Uxia...
Overclock was amazing with Onyx since they have 5 flash pulse bots. Also the loss of Sucker Punch/Maestro means the defensive hacking options aren't as good.
1/ Noctifer ML 2/ drone Flash pulse/ikadron 3/ Fireteamcore /sniper unidron ou rodok LM 4/Hacking (malignos) 5/ grief operator FD 20cm + Strategic use of command token for putting him in suppressive fire 6/ Q drone
None of these will stop a fiday or superior infiltration assassin like an Oniwaban or uxia. And Onyx is still hilariously vulnerable to decapitation strikes. I don't think there's anything one can do against those models other than castle up and weather the attack.
N4 allows multiple Nexus in a 'dron link (iirc N3 was just one). I suppose you could hedge like this if you were anticipating an alpha strike?
Well the thread title was "onyx in reactive turn " not how to handle fiday or some to infiltrator or one of the best camo infiltrator which is a strengh for a faction... Uxia and TO infiltrator are hard to handle for almost every factions. The reactive turn's goal is only to make your opponent loose orders and try not to loose yours. And you sometimes can protect your lieutenant by blocking ways with servants for example. HAving 6th sens in fireteam core may help... HAndling these threats is more a way to play than a specific tool even if a cheap warband is traditionaly a way to block impersonation.
Talking about how to defend against those first-turn alpha strikes is an important conversation, whether it's an Impersonator, Superior Infiltrator, Van Zant, whatever.
Thinking about it, with the new NCO options in Onyx and the constant threat of getting ganked by alpha-strike assassins, I think the Noctifer Lt is worth it even at the SWC tax. He does solve the problem of getting your expensive lt blown off the table in one round, and is generally well defensable. I think pairing him with an unidron link and a couple NCOs might be a good idea for a defensive game
The problem is that you really need SWC to get work done in that faction. There aren't too many solutions to an enemy defensive piece that don't cost SWC.
Can’t actually play games right now to test it (on account of pandemic), but I noticed Nourkias and the Legates have NCO on their base profile, not a particular loadout. Could you make an Umbra your Lt and still have it spend the Lt order with NCO, just to confuse your opponent? Might only work once, but good for a laugh.
Yes, that is a possibility. Nourkias and Legates mostly have it so they can use LT orders while in Fireteams, even if LT, but it might be enough to cause some shell games to happen. Just be advised that IJW has suggested that spending the LT order through NCO is open information, so your opponent should always know when the Umbra uses NCO and when it uses the raw LT order even if they won't necessarily know who generated the LT order if you're using NCO.
If you have a super jump lieutenant you can put him in a hard to reach place and then jump down when you need to do stuff with him.
That’s kind of the idea. Make an Umbra NCO your Lt, then during the game declare ‘that Umbra is using NCO to spend the lieutenant order.’