I've been growing my nomad collection month on month, and striving to try different lists out every game. As vanilla Nomads have so many options I just want to explore them! When I was last playing the game we only had one heavy infantry, whereas now there are so many in Nomads! My question though, is which tag to buy first? They are less impulse-purchaseable than the odd blister here and there, and I'd like a little advice on: A) which nomad tag have you had most fun using? B) which nomad tag does something unique within the list? I've got access to at least one of each HI now, and so I'd like a tag that brings something different than them as multiple wound hackable troops. Lizard is the only one out of the running as I'm not keen on the model, but I'm curious where to begin my adventure into tags, Geckos or Szalamander or Iguana, what are your thoughts?
Geckos are more HI then real Tags. Iguana is more a hybridization between TAG and then a HI. If you want to have a real TAG experience in Vanilla Nomads, take the Lizard or Szalamandra.
If you're not a what-you-see-is-what-you-get player then any S7 TAG can be run as an Iguana, Lizard, or Szalamandra. So you could pick your favorite looking S7 from any faction, paint it as you like, and simply apply the Nomad stat block when you play. This is explicitly allowed by Corvus Belli, even in tournaments! Hell, when I run a Gecko it's actually just an S5 on a small wooden base that boosts it to the correct height. If you're okay with proxying then the Iguana is a solid choice because it comes with the HI pilot. Otherwise the Szalamandra is the proper main battle TAG of the faction and it has the newest sculpt.
A) I think I had most fun with Geckos and Iguana, mainly because I not played any other TAG with Nomads. My Sally is primed but was never in use, I have to wait unitl its painted. B) Every Nomad TAG brings something unique: Geckos more acting like HI, Iggy with its repeater and the surprise inside, Sally with its beauty and the Big Burst 5 Gun, Lizard with HGL.
Thanks for the responses, great advice and we are not too stressed about which mini is what. I'm already using a bootleg pentithilesa for my zondnautica. So I'll get the iguana, and then until I get a Szalamander I can use the iguana as that if I feel like it and I'll already have a pilot mini once the worst happens!
Needs more palm guns! I'm legit making a torches and pitchforks thread if we get a new Lizard without palm guns.
The new Szalamandra is absolutely beautiful and menacing and I would probably use that for proxy duty. But I really enjoy the current Lizard with its odd, alien and slightly disturbing looks, too! I hope that any remake would keep the unique alien design concept.
I wish there was more line art from the lizard. The bootleg pilot shows that it has a mechanical neck somehow. Anyway I feel like the design is unique and awesome it just needs to be rescaled and in a more dynamic pose.