I've been playing a lot of TAK currently and am having a good time with it. As I'm building out my army, though and starting to get into the more niche options for the sectorial, I'm frequently tempted by some of the fun character units in other Ariadna factions, such as Uxia, Unknown Ranger, and Equipe Mirage, so I'd like an excuse to dabble in Vanilla Ariadna. With that in mind, I'd be interested in hearing from Vanilla Ariadna players out there... What are some good units that are NOT already available in TAK? Also, are there some bread and butter units associated with TAK (e.g. Line Kazaks, Frontoviks, etc.) for which strictly better options exist when you have access to all Ariadna units? Also feel free to link me to other threads if this has specifically been discussed elsewhere as well.
As someone who just picked up Crimson Stone for my Nomads and been excited by the Kosmoflot models I'm also curious about what are the cool things in Vanilla.
So first off: your Scouts, Streloks, and Spetsnaz are all still the best at what they do, but you now get to supplement them with other flavors of camouflage like Chasseurs, Foxtrots, SAS and Caterans. Veteran Kazaks, Voronin, and Vassily are also all great. Secondly, you hit most of the big ones in your first post: The non-TAK characters are all worth at least a look or two. Equipe Mirage 5, Unknown Ranger, Uxia, Wallace, Cadin... all great and worth consideration in lists. Every model with Camouflage, Parachutist, or a Motorcycle is also worth looking at. Also, HEAVILY consider the Polaris Team. The bear is insane. Third, as for "strictly better" TAK units, the only one that super-comes to mind is Line Kazaks. Generally, Volunteers or Rokots make for better straight-up cheerleaders now that you don't have to worry about Fireteams. Lastly, I'm just going to point out a few of my favorites that haven't been explicitly mentioned yet: Desperadoes, 3rd Highlander Greys, Knauf, Marauders, Para-Commandos, Metros/Grunts with Infiltration TLDR: If it has Camouflage, Parachutist, Motorcycle, Total Immunity, or Character, it's worth looking at.
Vanilla also get VarGuards as a Regular source of Smoke, they don't get the super cheap 'flot version but they're still good as a smoke yeeter and DZ guard that doesn't dilute your order pool.
For me, it'd mainly be: Mormaers, Wulvers, Desperadoes, Chasseurs, Volkolaks. Plus most of the characters!
