Now that I have a JSA army I see that the Shikami has a contender, what is the best way to use it with the Shikami?
Rarely. The Shikami should be leveraging its assault pistol and ODD in firefights, or closing to CC under the cover of smoke or Nimbus, then retreating to a safe position using super jump and climbing+. The Contender is a cheap, last ditch ARO or a hail Mary shot through a Nimbus zone in the Active turn.
For the Shikami I almost always take the combi rifle variant. It adds a lot more utility. The combi can actually oppose the enemy in the 8-16 band versus the contender which is horrible to shoot in your active turn. The combi also lets the Shikami go suppressive fire which combos really well with his ODD. The only thing the contender offers over the combi is an extra save if he hits in ARO. and even then, suppressive is the superior ARO option for the shikami by far. The contender is a budget option I'm only willing to take after I cut pal bots and warcors in order to save on points if I need to. Seriously the combi is superior in almost every way.
I’m trying to get my head around the contender as well. I.e. what is the point of this weapon ever? Seems like it needs to be buffed to be any good. It has DA but what about giving it AP also? It would still be a one hit wonder but at least more capable and in line with the fluff as a dueling/marksman type weapon.
Exactly. It's basically the Multirifle's ARO for cheap. I'd probably dodge if the shot is outside 16" or under 8", but between 8-16" it's a nasty ARO.
Well you could use a Contender to destroy, for example, a window to let someone else to shoot a guy behind it. Theoretically. Assuming you have no better ways to throw Anti-material shots at said window.
Of the limited practical uses for a contender the only one I notice hasn't been mentioned yet is as part of a co-ordinated order. It loses nothing in burst as a support shot and DA ammo is a nice bonus over a combi.
even then, the combi is ultimately better because of suppressive. This isn't a bad idea – especially in a link team I think it's perfectly fine as is. It doesn't need to be more expensive, its a cheap-as-chips weapon and should stay that way
Being cheap. Not when it's paired with Assault pistol for 3pts and Nimbus grenade for another 1 though.
The Contender began its life as a discount weapon for Haramaki. Haramaki lore focused on many of them being Aristos, mastering one-shot weaponry with showmanship-levels of accuracy. This was reflected in their armament with Blitzens, missiles, and... Contenders. All Burst 1 weapons. That lore is long-gone, but the Contender remains. It's been doled out to some JSA units to continue to emphasize that our CC guys are not supposed to be great at active-turn shooting, but at least we're not completely defenseless.
Basically, the Contender isn't a "real" battlefield weapon, it's a dilettante's toy. It was created for duelling and flamboyant showmanship in competition. Most "proper" military arms like an SMG or rifle are superior, but they might be carried as a backup, or people of a particulatly skilled, self assured, or arrogant disposition might bring them along to an actual firefight.
There seems to be a corner case where you can use Nimbus grenades to force heavy modifiers and reduced burst on a fire team while you take a relatively meaty shot with a contender, but that's a pretty tough thing to set up. I kinda feel like that version of the Shikami should have a boarding Shotgun.
I have had success leveraging that Shikami's Assault Pistol through the nimbus zone to take out a TR bot within 16". While the Nimbus reduces your burst and adds a -3 to your shot, it makes it pretty easy to put the enemy at a -9 or -12 to shoot back, and the Visibility Mod also effects their dodge putting them at a -3 for that as well.
