Kestril's N4 Aleph Adventures

Introduction: Hello there! I'm happy to be coming back to infinity after a while. Back in the days of N3, I played the MRRF and even took some ITS tourneys at the local store. A month or so ago, I foolishly thought I could play a game of infinity to just get it out of my system. I, foolishly was wrong. Now I'm sitting here painting a box of yadus as I start getting into infinity again with a faction I've always been curious about: Aleph.

I figure it would be fun to both write about my experiences here and explore both the new edition and a new faction with fresh eyes. Think of it as a mini-blog. This little thread gives me a place to collect my thoughts when my brain goes into tactical mode. I'll go over the units one by one as any neat thought or insight strikes me. I'm limiting this to Vanilla Aleph for now until I get to experiment with the other sectorials more, so be aware that my thoughts are grounded in building a vanilla list.

I'll say it again because people on the internet can get touchy sometimes: this isn't a hyperbolic "how to fix infinity" thread, and it's not a definitive tactica thread either. I'm not trying to start arguments, and I'm sure there are plenty of players better than me that have crunched more numbers and come to solid conclusions. Instead, I tend to focus more on the how this unit feels to play or play against. When I do go into comparisons, I'll try to keep it to stuff I've played as or against before.

So enough with the introduction: On to the content!

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ASURA

So, before I use a model, I always brush through the stats and try to get a sense of what the model "wants" to do. Or, put in other words, what the rules encourage you to do with the model. I won't do this with every profile I cover, but I do so now to give insight to my thought process. So, what does the Asura want to do? Lets take a look:

ASURA
MOV 6 - 2 | CC 20 | BS 14 | PH 14 | WIP 15 | ARM 5 | BTS 6 | W 2 |
Equipment: Multispectral Visor L3
Special Skills: Courage • Fireteam: Duo • Fireteam: Haris • Immunity (Shock) • No Wound Incapacitation ​

What stands out to me, unique to other HI, is the MSV 3, WIP 15, and an effective 3 Wounds. In general other stats, such as BS and even ARM can be increased when positioning on the table through rangebands. At first glance to me, the MSV says "smoke shenanigans and better gunfights" the WIP says "objectives" and the 2-wounds + no wound incapacitation says "I can save orders by tanking damage." So far the asura's stats say it's an aggressive objective taker. Now to take a look at the rest.

CC, BS, ARM, PH, and BTS are all on the high end, so these stats tell me the Asura is looking to destroy in the active turn. Of these stats, BS and ARM can be effected by the board and rangebands. After all, BS 14 isn't as impressive because a sectorial BS13 joe-moblot can get above that with four metro buddies, and ARM 6 can be obtained by a arm 3 grunt in cover.

But, when combined with the effective three wounds, ARM 5 and MSV can allow the Asura to on an even playing field stat-wise when out of cover. This means the Asura can take risks to move faster and save more orders when faced with ARM 3 or less troops that rely on mimetism. But the lack of defensive skills like mimetism means that she relies on winning the face to face rolls for her durability, and must be fortified or covered in the reactive turn if she wants to survive into later rounds.

And hey, this matches the times back in N3. Back then, The Asura championed this role of a LI-camo sweeper. She was an unparalleled gunfighter that cut down light infantry and just straight up shoot at camo tokens. She even got a points cut! I remember those cat-and-mouse games, where my camo tokens suddenly had to be aware of the geometry to avoid sightlines, place mines in hard-to-reach corners and bait the asura into overextending. Then, I could swoop in with an active-turn gunfighter. Or maybe I could play the range-bands, keep out of 24 with a sniper and reveal a surprise shot to cripple the god of destruction on their turn, or maybe. . .

Point is, the Asura (and other units with MSV3) had that rare quality of flipping the game on its head for my baguette-munching, skirmisher-heavy MRRF, and forcing me to approach problems in a different way. I enjoyed those sorts of puzzles, and figuring out whether I had the orders to attack the asura head-on or skirmish and avoid was a really fun puzzle to come across every few games.

I couldn't wait to be the cat in that sort of scenario. I wanted to roll my Asura down a flank, making camo tokens disappear like a visor-equipped roomba. Let me just deploy her there, move six inches, and use an order to to shoot at the camo token.

Then my opponent informed me they changed MSV3 in N4. It requires a short order to auto-discover camo tokens. As suddenly as my excitement manifested, it was gone. The asura had lost her identity, or at least, the reason to pick her in vanilla. Let me explain:

While listbuilding and listening to the stats in Vanilla Aleph for an elite spearhead model, I find there is a sort of triangle with three points. Achilles, The Marut, and an Asura. The two former outclass the Asura, and with the changes to MSV3, the Asura has little to offer in return.

For starters, both the Marut and Achilles get similar or better weapon options, have a true 3 wounds and are faster with a 6-4 MOV. Achilles starts a little more forward or gets Mimetism -6 (That I still want to refer to as ODD), the Marut gets the MSV + Smoke trick, but with a better, more versatile gun and the ability to tank a with ARM 8 and BTS 9. The Marut also outclasses the Asura's LT 2 skill by getting Tac aware with the LT order.

With MSV3 being redundant, and no defensive equipment like ODD, The Asura doesn't have anything stat-wise or equipment-wise to challenge the gunfighting superiority brought by the other two in Vanilla Aleph's elite model "choice triangle". While the Asura does have some hacking profiles, other units like the Deva can do hacking for the same WIP and cheaper. In vanilla, it is really hard to justify leaving that extra LT order on the table.


I do think I have an idea to make the Asura a viable option in the "choice triangle." Aside from restoring MSV3, which is a conversation for another thread, I think there is a way to lean into the "peerless efficiency " identity that the Asura has in the fluff: Give a profile marksmanship and bump her points cost up. This skill wounldn't step on either Achilles's or the Marut's role. I presume that having to choose between ODD, MSV3+MULTI-hmg, or a MSV3+Marksman is more interesting choice to make between the three corners of the triangle. Do I take the firepower and armor of the TAG, the flexibility and durability of Achilles, or gamble on the raw face-to-face dominance of the Asura?

It's just a thought to get that fluffy identity the asura had back. Until that happens or until a change comes to MSV3, I'll continue to field the Asura and lament that I'll never experience the other side of that cat-and mouse game. Still, I'll enjoy infinity all the same.

 

Sure, and so can a plethora of MSV2 models for less cost. The asura wasn't unique because of low-vis mod stacking, she was unique because of MSV3 token-shooting. Manipulating mods is a core gameplay element of infinity. I remember working around ODD with my Briscards by using MSV+low vis+good rangeband to take out otherwise superior infantry. It's a good tactic, sure, but it says more about unit positioning than the relative offensive or defensive strengths of the unit.

I think that's a nice perk, certainly, but it takes the same amount of orders as an MSV1-2 troop 60-70% of the time. I don't know if the opportunity cost of Achilles or perhaps a Marut is worth the 30% assurance. Have you had a game where the auto-discover made a real impact late in the round?

But my thought process is this: With the MSV3 change, the most order-effective check on camo is to ignore them and dare them to take an ARO or dodge the mine. Achilles and the Marut do this better because they got the armor or ODD to live if they somehow whiff with their attack.

But I think I'm splitting hairs at this point. The best check on camo is having at least two wounds so it's safe-ish to do this once without losing a model.

That's what her stats really want her to be. I have a bit of trouble passing up that extra LT order for it in vanilla though where there are no link teams and you're limited to 4 coordinated orders. For scenarios that have an exclusion zone that don't let specialist infiltrators in, I would take this profile and be ok with losing that order I think. Being able to use cybermask would make it a lot safer to approach, too!

Thank you!

I will get to the yadus. They look like a real puzzle to figure out as well as beautiful models to field. As far as my tentative first impressions go, I think they have a really unique kit and fill an overlooked space in Aleph. I have a hunch that they are a bit of an overlooked dark horse. But, I'll have to field them more to to grips with them and figure out their Yado's and Yadon'ts.

Next post is probably gonna be about the myrmidons. Have I mentioned how much I love the myrmidons? The next post will be about how much I love myrmidons.

Oh yeah, If I could have the hacker LT in vanilla I would. When I try some OSS, (which may be a while), I'm already thinking of a Yadu NCO, Asura LT, and Pravati as the all-rangebands all-objectives coverage haris link.

Thanks for the replies! I'm glad people shared their thoughts, too. I'll be back in a few days with another wall of text!

 

A loveletter to myrmidons

The myrmidons have a special place in my heart. They were the first unit that made me think about infinity in an entierly different way.

It all started when a humble metro made a rifle attack against an encroaching myrmidon.

"She's got ODD." He said.

Being a low-tech Ariadna player, I had no idea what that was. I asked, "What's that?"

"Minus 6 to hit."

I quickly did the math. It left my metro hitting on 4's. On three dice, that's about a 70-ish% chance for *a* hit, but it gave him plenty of room to win the FTF. I lost the face-to-face roll and picked up my model.

From there, I started to play infinity a little differently. No longer was I simply banking on high-burst weapons and pumping orders into a rambo, I started working out specific plans to answer the myrmidons on table.
At first this was simply putting a chasseur in the way. Fire burned away ODD at the time, so I was happy sacrificing a chasseur to remove that -6 and let my other pieces do the rest. As long as they had that -6, I could not win a straight gunfight.

So I started looking for things other than straight gunfights. My plans started to get more intricate. A linked LGL (or Margot) could take out myrmidons risk-free with a few spec-fires. Briscards could reliably take out myrms outside of 16 with a their marksman rifle and msv1 while not costing me a unit, and trade even better in a link. Shotguns could even up the playing field within 8". Duroc could throw two auto-hit chain templates down and have the wounds to soak a nanopulser. Instead of sacrificing the chasseur, I could go do objectives while laying mines down behind me we every move. In my mind, the potential of infinity as a game started to unlock, and I started to view the game in a different light.

Plans for ODD paved the way for other, more intricate schemes to better my list. I occasionally picked that AP sniper chasseur to clear the drop-zone of TR remotes, letting my AD troops get to their cheerleaders. I started taking stick ADHL to surprise those TAGs and HI. I leaned into the Briscard's assault pistol late game to dominate objectives.

(As an aside: it's a shame they got rid of that profile. the AP sniper was like a pocket autocannon with surprise shot and SSL2 that could be deployed anywhere up to midfield. Criminally underrated, and it covered the extreme-range AP niche that the MRRF otherwise lacked and all but insured Duroc & Margot had a safe landing. I was always puzzled why others dismissed that profile so readily.)

Stopping myrms became a little meme in my head at this point. My opponents would rush them forward with tons of order-intensive smoke and waste that premium 20+ point troop for very little gain. I had the strats now. ODD wasn't scary anymore, so I stopped respecting the myrmidon on the table. That was a mistake.

"I use a command token for a coordinated order to put these myrmidons in suppressive fire." Another opponent said.

That order ruined my plans to breakthrough to an objective. In response, I picked off what models I could before setting up defensively, with overlapping AROs to try and contain him with some suppressive fire to hold my thin lead. On his next turn he smoked the corner, gained LOF with an Asura, and split his burst for an uncontested (as it was back then) single dice against for of my models. I picked up three. My defenses shattered, I lost the game. Through that game, Myrmidon's opened my eyes to the potential of Aleph if one could leverage all their tools.

Flash-forward to now, and the myrmidons are no less effective. This time I got to coordinate them into suppressive fire to secure the VIP on decapitation. It took my opponent eight orders and a hail-mary armor save to tie on objectives, leaving me the victor as I had lost two models, while he had lost nine.

Lets see what makes the myrmidon such a cornerstone unit for Aleph, shall we?

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MYRMIDON
MOV 4 - 4 | CC 21 | BS 12 | PH 13 | WIP 13 | ARM 2 | BTS 0 | W 1 |
Special Skills: Frenzy • Martial Arts L3 • Courage • Dodge (+2") • Mimetism (-6) • Stealth

I could go over the numbers and individual stats, but that misses the point of the myrmidon. Myrmidons depend on their kit, skills, and positioning to survive. The first tool is Mimetism -6.

I'll give you an example of how valuable the Mimetism (-6) is: While playing MRRF, i order to fire at an model with a safe -9 modifier, I would have to position a troop where they were in cover, firing through a low-viz zone, and within the target's -3 range band. That is a lot of conditions to meet on the board, and I think only really achievable by the humble briscard regularly with a marksman rifle. Myrmidons can nearly guarantee giving their opponent a -9 by simply using a long order for suppressive fire. (And -12 if in cover while doing so!) I found the simple ease and ability to choose where and when to bunker up powerful.

When I played the MRRF, I quickly learned that the face-to-face rolls and staying out of sight was how units survived. The MRRF had very few ARM 3 units, and the ones they did have were only one wound. I learned positioning the hard way, as when I made a mistake my opponent would simply blow me off the board! I became a bit disappointed with some of my Aleph opponents when they failed to use Mimetism (-6) to the fullest. Here was a massive advantage they were just throwing away! That's when the seed of Aleph started to grow within my mind. If I only had the tools they had, I could really push the game to it's limits.

Speaking of tools, the second tool is smoke. All myrmidons carry smoke grenades. Not only can a PH 16 face-to-face roll challenge a lot of units that attack from outside of rifle range, but the smoke can obscure line of sight and deny follow-up attacks. If your myrmidon is paired with their MSV2 buddy, their buddy can ARO safely for the rest of your opponent's turn.

Myrmidons do take finesse. Unlike Briscards or Loup-Garous, their toolkit isn't obvious at first glance, but they nevertheless fall into that category of LI+/ MI specialist tactical units. However, unlike the two Merovingian units, they concentrate their abilities within 0-16", it just takes some finesse to know how to use them.

If myrmidons weren't great already (they are), they frenzy once they deal a wound, getting an extra impetuous order to adapt on the battlefield. With Stealth, this order could be used to knife into a weak flank. With their CC weapons and dodge, it could be used to tie up a particularly tough target. They get better as the game goes on, as they retain the orders and have the tools to adapt to a changing midfield.

The end result is myrmidons play like their namesake. Both the spear and the shield, they deflect the opponent's strikes and counterattack with unparalleled effectiveness, opening up lanes to give all the heroes of Aleph an opening to deal the final blow. And, more than that, they were the unit that introduced me to the deeper levels of the game.

 

On Yadus

I got the chance to play a couple of games yesterday with the controversial Yadu. In the first game I took shakti as a lieutenant, and in the second game I took a pair of multi-rifle+dropbear ones for a "guess the lieutenant" shell game. Reading around the forums and online, they are quite the controversial unit. I was excited to make them work on the tabletop. Way back when, I had made overlooked units like the sniper chassuer, the moblot, or the anaconda work in the local ITS tourneys.

You see, it's all fine and good to read about what is good and bad to get a baseline of how the units work. But, taking that advice as truth can harm a person's understanding of the game.

Take the AP (now defunct) sniper chasseur. The internet would usually say, "the sniper chasseur its trash and the AVA of 4 is better spent on another minelayer or specialist. If you need a sniper, take knauf." In most cases, probably solid advise. But, my meta relied heavily on link teams, total-reaction bots and the occasional heavy armor infantry or TAG to secure the sides of the board from parachutists. I had very few things that could outshoot a TR bot, and I didn't want to commit a link team to have to maneuver around total reaction. Back then, where paracommandos entered the field had to be written down before hand, so it was very important to clear the DZ of enemy AROs. There was a gap I needed for my AD-heavy lists to function, and I'd dismissed the sniper chasseur out-of-hand, not willing to learn how valuable a token-state AP sniper with mimetism was in context. Once I started including it in my lists, I began to eye my opponent's DZ defense eagerly, knowing that at deployment their overconfidence in a single remote would be their downfall. It only took one surprise shot from downtown to disable their defense. Then mirage-5 could swoop in. . .

If I doggedly stuck to internet advice. I would have never discovered the sniper, and never won those tourneys, and never gotten any better as a player. Since then, I've changed my mindset from "what unit is the best." to "what does this unit offer and how can I make it work?" Even if that unit isn't the most optimal choice, you can learn skills that can improve every move and broaden your understanding of infinity as a whole.


The moblots were the same. They were overcosted (30+ points) for one wound infantry. Oof. They were a little harder to make work, but some of their profiles had forward deployment, some had mimetism, and often they would act as a unit that I like to classify as a "bully." Bully units have a great kit or gun for their price, and can easily take out anything anything "smaller" than it efficiently. However, when "bully" units meet elite units, they can often crumple from being squishier. The moblots were midfield bullies with mimitism, AP rifle, and a light shotgun. Some even carried mines (and I think a few e/m mines or e/mitters, too? I don't know. It's been a while. Maybe those were zouaves). So to getting use out of a moblot took learning all the tools it had, and bullying enemy units with those tools. Light shotguns around corners to blap the myrmidons. AP rifles to dakka into the geckos, ect. . . In order to make the moblot shine, I had to deepen my understanding of the game. I improved both the moblot and myself as a player. Now it's time to do that with Yadus.


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YADU MULTI Rifle, E/Marat, Drop Bears / Heavy Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 34)


Now, I realize I just went on a tangent about "take suboptimal units! Do a learning!", but I want to quickly point out one of the two "problems" with yadus.

Character myrmidons in Aleph.

A lot of the profiles are made redundant, as taking a yadu over the named myrmidon feels wrong. Do you want a 2-wound, heavy rocket launcher ARO piece for 32 points? The yadu would be a decent-to-good choice in any other faction, but here in Aleph we have phoenix that has the same heavy rocket launcher, but also brings Mimetism(-6), smoke, and a direct template weapon. Oh, and he gets a free impetuous order after he deals a wound to something.

Do you want a specialist with a boarding shotgun? The Yadu hacker could be cool. . .but the myrmidon CoC officer is one point cheaper, carries eclipse smoke, has mimetism (-6) and gets a free order once he deals a wound.

It's not all doom-and-gloom for Yadus. Yadus are "faster" with 6-2, and allow for greater movement across gaps with move + shoot. Plus, they can move anywhere within a hacking net. They have veteran and are unhackable. Just be careful if they have a guided missile launcher. I hear those are nasty this edition.

The problem is, at least in vanilla, that most of the profiles are beat-out by their myrmidon equivalents. The Assault Subsection's options for a shotgun specialist and an ARO piece are much more attractive. It looks like we are down to three profiles to choose from to have a role in vanilla:

MULTI Rifle, E/Marat, Drop Bears
MULTI Rifle, E/Marat, Flash Pulse (Forward Observer)
HMG (NCO)

The first one is a "bully" profile. It wants to use an order to throw the drop bear around a corner on a gaggle of infantry. Then, use the next order to peak the corner. If they dodge, shoot with the multi, if they shoot back at you, isolate a group with an E/Marat. If it gets there, this Yadu can bully the rank and file with the multi-rifle and the hackable HI with the E/Marat.

The second loadout is less of a bully and honestly I think one of the most attractive. You have amazing range band coverage with the Flash Pulse and a kingly WIP 14 to use it. In addition to contesting range bands out to 32 inches, this Yadu is a veteran unhackable specialist, perfect for patching up those plans after you lose some models. The 6-2 move really helps here, and this lad can move from the backfield and flash pulse to quickly move up the board if needed. If not, he's good D/Z defense with the E/Marat.

The HMG profile is very attractive. 40 points for a BS 13, two-wound HMG that can use the Lieutenant's order? Yes, please! It's a very solid pick, a budget vet kazak.

So, these are three okay-to-good profiles, but, when fielding both the bully and the flash pulse, I ran into trouble. You see, unlike all the "bully" units I mentioned in the MRRF (chassuer, Mobolot, Anaconda), and some I didn't (Duroc), The yadus lack the tools to get in position. Their unhackable veteran status promises you will be able to use their order and speed to move quickly around the board, but their poor range bands say otherwise. Ironically, while yadus can pass through hacking ARO's, their lack of mimetism, smoke, or other modifiers make Yadus one of the least mobile units on the tabletop. Any mook that has a marksman rifle or x-visor just has to stare at a yadu from outside of 16", and the yadu can't approach without another unit to help.

This is a problem. Yadus rely on tricks like drop bears to bully their opponent. They need to be close to use those tricks to make up for their lack of mimetism and rangebands. Currently, Yadus have no tools to get close. The only two that can kinda do it are the FO and the HMG. The FO has to rely on a chancy B1 flash pulse while the HMG yadu gets b4 at range. But, with no MSV or Mimetism modifiers, may struggle against anything that has mimetism and cover, doubly so if it gets surprise shot or that has more than one burst in the reactive turn. Overall, yadus just feel less like elite veteran strike teams and more like fast USAriadna E/M grunts.

In short: their kit doesn't line up with their fluff and it bugs me (but I'll get to how to fix that when I put my armchair designer hat on).

(As an aside: Hector+HMG yadu gives you 2 units with 2 LT orders attached to burst 4 guns that have great range bands. It's an idea. Please burst responsibly.)

But first, let's talk Shakti. The Yadu that did work for me was Shakti. After my other specialist died, She murdered Uxia with the MK12, evacuated two civilians to the DZ, and gave me the win. Unlike the multi-rifle yadus, She had the tools to play with modifiers a little bit. The extra range on the MK12 let her pick fights against rifle infantry, and the marker state helped her avoid the fights she couldn't win. She's a solid, flexible hacker LT for vanilla that totes a DMG 15 gun. I'd recommend giving her a try if you want a specialist LT that can do objectives, but don't want to sink 50+ points into other options.

How to fix the yadu?
Okay, so how to fix the yadu? How to make it feel a bit more precise, match the fluff as elite squad that counters the high-tech, black-ops threats Aleph has to face? How does one do this that keeps the weapons already there and doesn't lean on marksman rifles or spitfires? How does one do it without simply adding mimetism and making yadus feel like most other HI in the game? How does one make this special MI feel distinct?

Well, I think I could fix the unit with one profile:

Yadu
MULTI Rifle, E/Marat, Drop Bears, Eclipse Grenades

Eclipse Grenades are what this unit needs. The Yadus already promise that you will not generate hackcing AROs with Veteran and unhackabe. If one profile had eclipse grenades, a Yadu would have the power to say "no normal ARO's" with a successful throw as well. Shutting down two types of AROs: Hacking (Veteran and Unhackable), Line of Sight (Eclipse grenades) IS a powerful ability that I would pay for, and makes up for their lack of modifiers.

This would allow the Yadus to be the elite scalpel they are in the fluff, and have a powerful tool to approach the midfield. Unlike the rest of Aleph, Yadu's don't use the high-tech, they counter the high-tech, and an Eclipse grenade that counters MSV is both fitting and gives the Yadu an identity outside of a budget HMG rambo.

Moreover, It doesn't give OSS access to the smoke+MSV trick, as Eclipse grenades block MSV as well. However, it does make this yadu more enticing to take in a link. B2 Eclipse grenades. Yumm.

But, humor me, lets go one further. You've read this far, lets try this profile:

Yadu (Lieutenant)
MULTI Rifle, E/Marat, Drop Bears, White-Noise Grenades

Yes, yes, white noise is only a hacking skill, but, bear with me. Having the ability to flip the script on MSV units could be worth revealing your LT for. Again, This is less of a serious proposition, and more of taking the Yadu's unit identity and taking it to the logical extreme. I bring it up to show what the Yadu *could* be--A distinct unit with an identity fully distinct from myrmidon line-holders--an identity of not winning the straight fight like metaphorical the roundhouse kick from the myrmidons, but an identity of using an opponent's strengths against them, like an expert master of Judo.

(The same effect could be given to Shakti by giving her a hacking device plus. She could white-noise, peak out with the MK12 and counter-snipe. This might be more of a trade-off, as you are making Shakti vulnerable to hacking programs like trinity, which takes away from the "unhackable" angle, but, you do get a weapon with a longer range to take a shot at those MSV snipers. . .it's a thought experiment. I'd be interested in hearing people's thoughts.)

Also, has CB ever added anything substantial to a unit's kit? I know they removed stuff, but have they changed the way a unit plays to the extent I'm suggesting here? I'm asking for a friend.

In closing
I hope I gave you a lot to think about with my thoughts on the yadus. If you're looking for advice on how to use them in vanilla, well, I'd say stick to the Forward Observer and HMG NCO options unless the map is packed with terrain or the mission lets you deploy closer to your opponent. Then the Drop bear loadout does have the opportunity to get in range to bully some opponent's units. Shakti is a good LT. Give her a shot.

If you're looking for my impressions, I'll leave you with words from my father: "I'm not angry; I'm just disappointed." Yadus have some uses, but their identity as a unit seems only half-finished, and Aleph could have had an amazingly thematic and interesting-to-play MI. Instead, we get a troop that helps you not loose more than actually win. But what are ya gonna yadu about it?

 

The Dakini is compelling with the mimetism, and gets better with a Rem pilot to match the Yadu's stats.
Better options doesn't mean yadu is bad. A BS 13 HMG is a BS 13 HMG. The yadu looses out at the top end of duels, but that's like most stuff that's not boosted by link teams. But yes, I do wish the yadu had something specials. The best I can figure, the Yadu's points go into stuff that makes you not lose (Veteran, Number 2, ect. . ) when you take loses rather than actually giving a better advantage on table.

Welcome! Good to have you here!

I'm not disagreeing, I just want to illuminate that the competing mid-range option that I neglected to mention earlier is Hector. Hector loses out on the MSV, but gets better rangebands with the x-visor spitfire or amazing plasma ammo with the plasma rifle. He gets stratigos lvl 1 and he matches the Asura's second LT order while being harder to hack with his firewall tinbot.

I like the MSV + Smoke and I play against camo heavy ariadna a lot, so I usually lean into the Asura over hector as well, but he is really good and does provide ranged answers in the form of plasma to the Total immunity stuff.

I haven't done OSS links yet, but I can't wait to try Asura + K1Rudra + Pravati haris. That will be a fun link to try that can attack any target (Asura vs camo, Rudra vs Armor), make full use of the 2+ wounds on all models with Pravati, and have a S-tier doctor, engineer, and hacker to do any objective with a mobile repeater/minelauncher.