New nomads player here, looking through various threads, it seems like the interventor HD+ is a go to Lt for most vanilla lists. I would like to ask if this is still valid especially with various impersonators back on the field post Daedalus Fall especially with a lack of CoC in nomads. Or is it better to fall back on cheerleader Lt shell games. The 1 SWC on the alguacil or extra points on the securitate do hurt list building imo.
Intruder Lt. is pretty safe starting in camo and is a strong answer if you fear Impersonator lists. That said, Nomads don't usually rely on their Lt. to win games, they just don't want them to get removed.
While the koalas from the lunokhod or mines from the puppet master may stop oniwabans or other TO assassins, I find impersonators harder to deal with, especially when my opponent plays multiple of them and can afford to risk deploying in my deployment zone. I want to drop thee interventor, but white noise is so important right now
Obvious LTs isnt as huge an issue as people make it out to be, and even less so now that securitate exist. it depends on what youre trying to accomplish on a turn by turn basis.
The Interventor doesn't have to be your Lt. though. You can still field an Interventor and run an Intruder as your Lt. Option.
also going first with an Interventor will allow you to cyber mask meaning they have to put more work in before they can kill it
In vanilla you can also deploy the Puppeteer minelayer (or in Tunguska, too). Aside from that, there is the old "find my real Lt" game, if you have 1 SWC extra (for 2-3 10 pts alguaciles of which one can be the Lt), and the Securitates (13 pts each, 0SWC for the Lt). In my last game, I hid the Securitates and when I had the chance, dropped them in Suppresive Fire covering the only access points to get to them (with 2 oher dudes in the board, I was going to do so anyway...).
One of the advantages of the Interventor Lt. is, that you have a Wip 15 for the ini roll. The other two are cybermask and that you can use your Lt. order to buff a REM or lay White Noise.
It's a tactic you can't really defend against. If someone's got impersonators there's nothing to stop them rolling to place in your dz and standing next to your Lt .all the mines in the world won't help at that point because they're just gonna suicide trade to put you in LOL for a turn. In which case, having veteran units, good impetuous units etc and a plan to get the most out of a turn in LOL is necessary. If you're against a faction with impersonators, it's a good idea to get first turn if able as it reduces the ability to alpha strike and you can get your defenses up or go dig them out in your active turn
Problem is that they can deploy, with no roll, in the edge of your deploymeny zone and get in, they have 1-2 levels of Impersonation to avoid being discovered, and need only a covered position to throw smoke safely or recamo... A Veteran-toting fireteam Core in Limited Insertion, funnily enough, means you can negate one whole turn of LoL: 5 regular orders (veteran) from the Core, plus 4 units of which up to 3 you will turn into regular orders with the Command Tokens... sadly, few factions can pull this off.
Of course they can but even if you stick your interventor prone in a 3rd storey building in your dz with mines and koalas covering the entrance and a field of chain rifles covering the door, they can just chance it on decent odds to just stand next to said interventor. If you're investing in the pieces to alpha strike, it's often worth a go and there's very little you can do. Now the speculo has minelayer it's even more ruinous because you aro against her and it can take out several key pieces at once as a consequence
Generally speaking the Interventor is still an awesome Lt choise as he 1. Is on a profile you often want to have in your list anyway 2. Has high WIP to win Lt rolls 3. Normally sits save somewhere in the DZ and never moves 4. Can use the Lt order efficiently (Support Programs) 5. Can put himself into a Marker state (Cybermask) 6. Is a specialist to do objectives in the last turn or do secondaries While he has downsides 1. Enemy Hacker (esp. Killerhacker) can attack him through the normaly extencive Nomads repeater network 2. No gunfighting/survival skills or equipment 3. Obvious in most lists (either because he is the only possible Lt model or SWC count would not work with Alg/Moderator Lt decoy) as player you can compensate these pretty good as long as you keep them in mind. 1. If you got first turn Cybermask him (He already is obvious so wy not use the LT order for that) 2. Take out enemy (Killer)hackers before they can strike 3. Use the good Boardcontrol options (Moran, Lunokhod, Zero Minelayer, etc.) to block the enemy If you do not get the first turn (So normaly you deploy second) and you suspect a strong Assassin piece (IMP, AD, Supririor Infiltration etc.) hold the Interventor in reserve and drop him last far away from the threat. Else try hide him somewhere safe (Top of a building) secured by defencive pieces (Jaguars/Flashpulse dronesrones/etc.) while reducing repeater coverage (Placing the Moran close to the deployment zone so hacker have to walk to get there). If you have second turn and cant hold back your Interventor (Because the enemy has Strategos etc.) place him in a corner with a Camo Minelayer and Mine touching him so the enemy Impersonator cannot go into B2B with you (Still no great odds but at least you removed an option for him). If you suspect something like this happening during listbuilding (because you know the army the enemy will be playing) packing a decoy or making the Interventor the decoy is the safest bet. One small thing I like to do when I suspect an Impersonator and going second is holding back my Zero Minelayer. When the Impersonator is deployed and stands in a corner/on a wall I use the Zero and Mine to cage him in so he cannot move away unless either of those two is removed.
Well you can wall your Lt off with Camo markers. I did that once, it was... unusual XD But it did the trick - impersonator went to look for easier prey. With Securitates being Veteran L1, you can somewhat alleviate the LoL issue, if you have a bunch of them. Having 3-4 regular orders in your active turn is a crutch, but it's still better than having none at all.
Your LT is only obvious when there are no other lt options. Generally I have at least 2 of the following 3 profiles in a given vanilla nomad list 1. Interventor HD+ 2. Kriza HMG 3. Swast Red Fury Any one of those makes good use of the lt order if needed. And at least the swast and Kriza are durable enough a Fiday isn't likely to 1 shot it, so nearby mines, morlocks, and koalas can help defend. (Yes oni/speculo are big threats). Swast make excellent data trackers. In missions that involve LT hunting intruders make excellent choices too. Also LoL isn't that bad anymore. It steals some tempo and can put you behind... But it can be countered with command tokens, veteran, smart use of coordinated orders etc. Learning to play through LoL will make you a much better player.
Wouldn't your opponent just shoot your Lt. in this case? Taking out an obvious Interventor Lt. is usually worth the loss of the Impersonator.
Suppression is the best friend to obvious LTs. Even if they know who it is, it will be less tempting knowing they will face a bunch of shots when they go after it.
Can't shoot what you can't see. Well, he could try Discover+Shoot one of the markers with a shotgun to try and get the Lt too, but the opponent felt that the chance of success was not high enough.