Montesa give MO a very fast specialist option which is interesting. Also, being ARM 4 is pretty tough for an impetuous unit. 35 to 40 points is a lot though. The lack of smoke sucks but no surprise. Pano will forever be denied smoke. CB even discontinued our only eclipse smoke equipped unit. lol Ironically the Montesa knight will probably work better in Shock army and Varuna who both have better long range options to clear a path for the bikes to advance.
and it's like 10 points cheaper but..... This is a pretty cool change for them tbh. All they need is a spitfire and im 100 percent on board. For me, these guys are total flankers. they hit the side of the board really hard and punishes opponents for not taking ARO pieces. They can also make really short work of LI lists if played correctly.
They might be actually good against some TAK after the Frontovick HRL has been killed. Ride into DZ and use that BSG to down most people.
As someone who played a lot of Acon, I never felt much pull towards the old Montessa. CC stats that didn't mean anything, major Hacker bait during deployment, a Duo that was nice but costs ~100 points to make use of... This version is much more interesting, and doesn't require the huge support network that the old Montessas required in order to be effective. This is a totally different type of threat vector than PanO has ever had. I'm actually pleasantly surprised that it's received so much. I could have see NO Mimetism, NO direct template weapon, NO Martial Arts, and instead it's received all of those things. That's really big.
Oh, best part of all, we now have a Specialist and a very fast anti-materiel melee user. This really opens up some of those more frustrating missions like Looting & Sabotage or Capture & Protect. Also gives us another way to play Frostbyte, going for the Heater kill in the enemy DZ. This is a bigger change for PanO's overall capabilities than the previous Montessa provided.
I think that we need to test before stating. Is the new knight bad? Surely not. Where we expecting such changes? Neither we do. So? We get something in line with a Mobile Brigada in term of firepower and price but way more useful provided we are able to clear the ARO pieces. A thing we have to be able to do as we are playing PanO. So, I think the new Montesa is awesome. The old one will miss me but I think the new one will be more played than the older. Streamlined, straightforward but nonetheless unique. Cheers up guys, we don't have to take a GdA to perform effectively Looting and Sabotaging anymore. EDIT: @barakiel is really to fast for me. Already have purchased the bike?
It’s starting to dawn on me just how good of a unit the Montesas are. Mimetism helps make up for not being able to take cover, and man these guys are going to be able to cover some ground. I’m very undecided if I like the Multi or BSG better - both are excellent for flanking and cracking armor, the Multi rifle gains burst, longer effective range and Shock ammo at the expense of a template and the +6 range. I’ll have to try them out and see! CC22 MA2 DACCW is the perfect point of “scary cc but not overbloated”. I used a lot of Magister CC at the Michigan GT this past weekend and 22/MA2/DA gets work done! Options of MA1 against middling cc threats or MA2 for insane PHY to crack armor. Access to a template weapon (even a small one!) on such a fast unit is great. There’s not a good ARO to pick against a close up Montesa Biker - they can shoot at +6, template you or drive into B2B. In short, color me excited!
Multi rifle for me! Anything that a BSG threatens CC22 with MA2 can threaten just as well. or maybe the template.
While the new Montesa seems good, I will miss the old loadouts. We now have one less LGL in PanO as a faction, taking us to two light granade launchers, both on LI units. Al least Echo Bravos and Helots will bring two light rocket launchers in vanilla and Varuna. I wonder how the changes to the Montesas will impact on MO as a whole.
On a side note, it seems CB isn't afraid to lower PanO BS when it fits them. BS 13 is still perfectly fine for such unit (especially given access to shotguns and DTWs), and it helps to keep the cost down. This means we should expect more creative approach when it comes to PanO design. Me likes.
Well said. I think that might be an emerging trend. We see it with Montessa, and Helots could be something similar (BS11 instead of the usual PanO 12, justified as being militia in the same way that Auxilia are.) I love that. Trading "the PanO tax" for versatility and capability has basically been the #1 request from PanO players. This is a really big deal from a community perspective.
I'm also now noticing no Kinematica on the bike, which is a big departure from current bikes. Maybe they are special...
OK. I'm totally disappointed by the new Montesa. Mech Deployment was their signature, like Sepulchre's Holo or Santiago's 360-visor. They had a great armory with Spitfire, LRL, LGL (I don't get lgls, but a lot of people find them useful). Now... 2 profiles, no heavy or high-burst weapons, large S, restricting their maneuvers even further... Mimetism.. argh, again? Don't forget the leg knife, ok, CB? I mean, why even do this? Were Montesas overpowered? From Acon point of view, a mimetic bike with a multi-rifle adds nothing to the sectorial. A BS 14 non-impetuous mech-deploying knight with a spitfire or LRL was something... Supported by Nagas and Peacemakers, boi that was sweet. But everything cool has to go the way of the linkable Teutons. Now's the time of my favorite knightly order. Rest in peace, old Monty.
So, with Nagas, zee bestest infiltrating specialists in PanO (and arguably half of the game) - what does a mounted paramedic with BSG do? With Bagh Maris, zee bestest MI core (or solo HMG) - what does a mimetic multi-rifle on a bike do?
If the Sepulchre lost Holo for something better... Or the Santiago lost 360 visor for something better... I'd perceive no problem. The collective community complaint has been that knights are far too similar in look and role. Now we have a knight that's going to look and act completely differently from the entire faction, let alone anything else in MO. It brings entire capabilities that let PanO do missions we could barely achieve unopposed, let alone with an opponent trying to fight us. This is a huge coup for PanO versatility. Seriously, does noone bother to read the ITS missions? I honestly see the Mech Deploy Montessa as a band-aid. It was part of the toolbox unit release that came in N3 to help bolster underplayed sectorials. I never really saw it as a fully realized concept, but rather a stopgap to work a few more tools into Vanilla/Acon. The bike may not be 1:1 better than the Mech Deploy unit if you're just looking at gunfighting v gunfighting, but it sure is better at running objectives, fighting in CC, sweeping through a backline, putting anti-materiel on target... These are really big changes for how PanO plays. We're getting what we asked for! Versatile unit options.
Go chase this fricking Tuareg Doctor plus that is hidden in the opponent DZ with a supplie box during the turn 3? Or take a run Turn 3 to destroy the heating units your opponent thought will be enough to keep his guys alive?
Allows us to make quick alpha strike with a durable piece turn 1 to punish an opponents low ARO game. Allows us top crack open an Armory or engineering deck with ease on an impetuous order. or maybe swiftly attack an AC2 unit under cover of eclipse Allows us to set up an amazing suppressive fire piece with ease. ARM 4, 2 wounds and mimetism. Allows us to clear out any camo units or suppressive fire with CC Which is a lot more than the old montessa can say for himself.....
