Former USAriadnan Atek player here. I've already needled PanO for their opinion on starting Neoterra, now I'd like yours for starting OperationS, eventually expanding to the Steel Phalanx as well, but for sure starting with OSS. I hemmed and hawed between Imperial Service and Vanilla!Vedic/OSS (after it eventually came out) for a while but eventually came to decide on OperationS. Aleph is love, Aleph is life.
Welcome to Aleph! Notice that OSS and Greeks has not much in common. Different models and very different playstyle. If you want to expand into SP you will pretty much have to build from scratch... We are here to help.
Well, OSS sure is nice. I was waiting for it for a long time and I'm not surprised it's drawing people in. Is there anything in particular you'd like to know?
Comparison to both Neoterra and USAriadna in terms of what I’m going to do differently, OSS seems more able to push buttons than either, on the surface at least. Starting at 150, or jumping in straight to 300? Using and buffing REMs. Dealing with the ‘Obvious Lt’ problem. Justifying their use fluffwise on Paradiso (where I’m pretty sure the next campaign is going to take place, either around Strelsau or the Orbital Elevator).
Baby's First Remote Link Team ────────────────────────────────────────────────── 7 DEVA Lieutenant Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 23) DAKINI Tacbot Paramedic (MediKit) Combi Rifle / Electric Pulse. (0 | 15) DAKINI Tacbot Combi Rifle / Electric Pulse. (0 | 13) DAKINI Tacbot HMG / Electric Pulse. (1 | 21) DAKINI Tacbot MULTI Sniper Rifle / Electric Pulse. (1.5 | 21) DANAVAS Hacker (Hacking Device Plus. UPGRADE: Maestro) Combi Rifle + Pitcher / Breaker Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 25) SOPHOTECT Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 31) 3 SWC | 149 Points Open in Infinity Army I get the feeling I'm always gonna be outnumbered. Interesting change from Ariadna.
Baby's Second Remote Link Team ────────────────────────────────────────────────── 9 DEVA Lieutenant Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 23) DAKINI Tacbot Paramedic (MediKit) Combi Rifle / Electric Pulse. (0 | 15) DAKINI Tacbot Combi Rifle / Electric Pulse. (0 | 13) DAKINI Tacbot HMG / Electric Pulse. (1 | 21) DAKINI Tacbot MULTI Sniper Rifle / Electric Pulse. (1.5 | 21) APSARA (G: Jumper Level Z) Submachine Gun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 22) PROXY Mk.1 Hacker (Hacking Device) Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 14) PROXY Mk.5 (Forward Observer) 2 Submachine Guns, Nanopulser, E/M Grenades / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 10) NETROD . (0 | 4) NETROD . (0 | 4) 3 SWC | 147 Points Open in Infinity Army This also looked interesting, though without the Sophotect-y goodness.
Very, very similar to Neoterra. Except you don't have cheap Auxbots, but access to excellent infiltrators. Also, heavy infantry is more like Aquila Guard than Swiss Guard. Whatever you like. Posthumans are too strong at 150. Same as anywhere. Apsara looks interesting, but after you play a few games you'll realise it's really not. Biggest bonus is you get to start the game with BS13 on the Dakini if you're going second. Otherwise... Posthuman Hacker and EVO Hacker. Meh. Most Lts are quite decent so it's not as big a problem as you think. The weak ones... Well, same as elsewhere, except your opponent knows who the Lt is. Just get use the Lt order. Well, heres a few easy ones: Defending/evacuating local Aleph node, Collecting information on Combined Army, Defending/evacuating civilians. Easily falls within the purview of OperationS. ASS fights, they do the work.
Number 2. That's her greatest benefit by far. Just my opinion here, but OSS is rather brute force for a button pushing army. They know how to kill and they have some pretty brutal units.
Only if you're running an assaulty team, in which case, it'd be better to put Assisted Fire than relying on BS13. On the other hand, for ARO team, Number 2 does nothing as the team leader should be well hidden. So, eh, meh? Eh, unfortunately they don't have much choice unless you play a camo-heavy list. No Smoke means fighting through the enemy. Camo'd troops are excellent, but there is strictly limited number of them so you don't get to play shell games. Against hackable force we have some of the rare good Assault Hackers (Posthuman Mk.II and Deva AHD+Lightning) and pretty good hackers otherwise, but it's rare they will be of any use since we don't have any decent way of deploying repeaters at distance and anyway there's limited targets against which Assault Hackers are actually useful. In the end, this means you need to take the Dakinis and ram them into the enemy until one of them breaks. If it's Dakini, fix and repeat.
So you only let one dakini in sight and the 4 others hide ? Remember that the BS13 apply to the one you want, so you can use your team to cover several ways (including your standard combi dakinis to cover the rear in case an AD would want to come) and still benefit from BS13 where you need it. And your hidden dakini leader can still be victim of an AD, or a lucky speculative fire, or a pitcher + oblivion, or whatever ... number2 is always good. And you didn't even had to use an order for that. And you had it from the very beginning, even if you went second. And you have it even against impetuous, while your assisted fire would trade at BS11 vs the smoke dodge of any impetuous warband. Please don't look just at one side of the aspara :'( That's what i call brute force ... And they have pretty good tools for that. Plus mine dispensers/drop bears to play the "you dodge, you die, you shoot back, you die too" game. OSS plays very different than Aleph. No smoke, but hard hitting troops. It's more like Onyx.
No, you'll have 4 to do AROs and 1 to hide. Usually it's the Deva or CSU, so they can be prone somewhere. But if they can engage that one team leader, it usually means there is very little left of the link. Or, if it's a Pitcher, your Dakini link is in trouble anyways. They won't isolate your link leader, but whatever Dakini is doing the AROs they care about. Or even better, Immobilise then shoot down. I'm not looking at one side of the Apsaras, but that Number 2 is quite minor bonus. As for the Warbands, you ignore Shock that comes with assisted fire, and yeah, I'll be fine with BS11 thankyouverymuch. BS13 is not much of an upgrade. Better argument is that Apsara also has a BS13 Submachine Gun that can defend DZ, or go to take care of any close-in threats. ??? I don't know which vanilla Aleph have you been playing. It's more limited, like Onyx, but many of the other playstyles are very similar to us that have been using ASS troops in limited amounts. Frankly, it plays like gutted vanilla. Especially if you try and use Asuras.
The one with Machaon Lt, CR myrmidons for spitfire deva/Atalanta/Agemas, FO thorakitai cheerleaders on suppressive fire ...
Sure, I used Machaon Lt and CR Myrmidons for Smoke, but that besides Smoke, that's almost no different than OSS. Gameplay certainly didn't change much. And, you can still use Mine Dispenser in vanilla Aleph - Rudra is available there too. But it's better to just drop Mines via Naga or Dasyu, even if you follow up with shooting from Rudra. More reliable.
It's pretty similar to USARF and NCA, actually. (Sorry, dude, I can resist anything except temptation…)
