I have been deliberating over whether to start with miniatures again, and I realised I like quite a few sculpts from Yu Jing, having gone cold on Nomads and their crazy crazy Bakunin Sectorial. After agonising over how Imperial Service couldn't take some of the cooler Japanese Sectorial models, and the latter not being able to take Su-Jians or Kanren for their holoprojector and hacking ability, I settled on losing out on the core fireteam options, and built what I feel to be a stable 150 vanilla list for an as-of-yet undetermined set of missions later this month at my local gaming centre. But the thought struck me: The JSA can take Asuka as a Lt. and I like Aragoto. So I then mushed her and 4 Aragoto into one list. At what point does taking 'all' the bikers, become 'too many' bikers?
There is no such thing as too many bikers. I have found, however, that this style of list tends to either win big, or lose big. There's almost no in-between.
Fabulous! Winning or losing hard is the way I like it. Removes any nagging doubt and paranoia over whether a situation is salvageable or not; it is what it is, then I can move onto the next big unnecessary gamble
There is no such thing as too many Aragotos! Just look how nicely this bike-gang fit into 150 points: Japanese Sectorial Army ────────────────────────────────────────────────── 5 1 6 ASUKA KISARAGI Lieutenant Combi Rifle + Light Flamethrower / Assault Pistol, Knife. (0 | 27) ARAGOTO Hacker (Assault Hacking Device) Combi Rifle + Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 30) ARAGOTO Spitfire / Pistol, Knife. (1 | 26) ARAGOTO Spitfire / Pistol, Knife. (1 | 26) ARAGOTO Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 19) YOJIMBO Contender, Nanopulser, Smoke Grenades, CrazyKoalas (2) / Pistol, DA CCW. (0 | 21) 2.5 SWC | 149 Points Open in Infinity Army fully agree... it is fun to play, but such list wins big or loose badly (and the game most probably will be quite quick)
If I want a balanced list I'd usually stray away from more than 2 bikes (Yojimbo not included...he always gets a spot in my JSA...he earned it!) However we're talking bikes here...so rule of cool > everything, and thus there can never be enough bikes. I recently played a max Bike Vanilla list and it did quite well...just give it a try until you found your sweet spot! ^^
Hah yeah, I like to think the vanilla list that I put together is a safe bet with only modest risk (linked below). But It's the gulf between holding the scissors safely and walking in a controlled manner, VS running at full pelt through a bouncy castle with them, making bike noises. Wibble ────────────────────────────────────────────────── 6 ZHANSHI Lieutenant Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 11) ZHANSHI Paramedic (MediKit) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13) TIGER SOLDIER Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 25) KEISOTSU (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 10) KǍNRÈN Hacker (Assault Hacking Device) Combi Rifle, Chain-colt / Pistol, Monofilament CC Weapon, Knife. (0.5 | 32) SÙ-JIÀN Spitfire, Light Flamethrower, Panzerfaust / Heavy Pistol, Knife. (2 | 59) 2.5 SWC | 150 Points Open in Infinity Army
So you want to Aragoto, yes? Then you shouls read this from the Aragoto Master, Claudius Sol http://www.data-sphere.net/aragoto-training-wheels/ I wonder what happened to him, he was quite awesome.
I have been summoned. I've been less active on forums, of late due to a very busy life. That said, the answer is: beyond what AVA permits. I win regularity with the full compliment of Aragoto and characters. It's fun. As Aldo mentioned, I recommend you read my primer on Aragoto over at Data-Sphere.
I agree with Claudius but you can also get screwed by the terrain set-up. If its a dense table with narrow passages your effectiveness will be severely hampered. I suggest making an alternative list as a backup in case of an unfavorable table if you want to go all in on bikes. Anyway, I never leave home without Yojimbo and an Aragoto Spitfire
My biggest concern with this list is that it takes 33cm of space in your deployment zone, with deployment in buildings being either a terrible option, or outright impossible. I'm more conservative than @Claudius Sol. If I'm running Asuka, a Hacker, and Yojimbo, I'm considering it a bike heavy list.
My concern there is that buying all the bikes is immediately expensive money-wise, more expensive than my vanilla list theory or even my Imperial Service list theory; buying models to accommodate a 2nd 150 point list is out of the question (nor a worry really as my fellow staff only have a smattering of their respective factions, spread across Vanilla Ariadna, Aleph, Morat Aggression Force and Haqqislam Qapu Khalqi). I can either go big or go home, and I'm more concerned about maximising my fun per square inch, using models that I also happen to like, but couldn't find a place for in a generic 150 point vanilla list.
I would advise to take wysiwyg bikes, from the 3 boxes. (original, asuka, yojimbo). Totaling at 5. It borders on viability, while still maintaining a strong bosozoku theme. Amazing models and fun gameplay. ZOOM ZOOM.