I mean, it's likely going to be the line troops plus HI that's pretty standard at very least. I dont know if they would make them a wildcard or something like that. DeFerson wildcard would be interesting though.
I would love to see Fusi + Hospitallers, but would hate to see Fusi + Nisse. (From a game balance perspective) Though, I think a distant from super strong link teams would be an interesting design take on Sval. Maybe more of a focus on loner units with mobility skills. I would imagine it's tough to keep up with a team if you're traversing snowy mountains and frozen lakes.
I mostly agree, but Svalarheima will be an N4 only sectorial, so this assumes Fireteams, Visors, etc, are unchanged with the new edition.
I'll be interested to see if that line gets crossed. We have BS13 + Mimetism in a link. We have BS12 + Mimetism + MSV1 in a link. But I agree that MSV2 seems like a step too far. Before the VIRD drop, I assumed that Kamau would be full Core with a cheap filler profile (SMG or boarding shotgun.) Wildcard and mixed links with line troops didn't seem possible for PanO. But now... Who knows. I'd be happy to see CB make Sval strong in a different way. I think that the meta has adapted to mixed links now. I'm much, much more aware of VIRD's tactical limitations, now that players have a good handle on how to remove or play around the Kamau MSV2. So I'd love it if Svalarheima was competitive in a different way.
I don't mind a linked MSV2 HMG in a list. I don't mind a linked MSV2 Sniper in a list. But when you combine them both, and have both in the same list, you get both active and ARO firepower that ignores a lot of game mechanics that other armies rely on. Strong players can certainly overcome it, but it feels like a very tired mechanic to rely on. It's one more negative experience for the rest of the community to latch on to, and as someone who competed with PanO before VIRD was hot, I get tired of it. I think that, creatively, Svalarheima can offer more than "super high BS + Mimetism + Visor". I agree with @MikeTheScrivener Burst 3 MSR vs Burst 5 HMG is pretty different as an active turn threat.
While a fun idea, Aquila are distinctly neoterran, recruited from a cream-of-the-crop group of students from prestigious military academies located on Neoterra. I do hope we get more cool looking greatcoat troopers though.* *EDIT: that aren't just nazis.
All you'll hear is the muffled sound of your fusilliers's bodies dropping in the snow, as you realize way too late that 2 daofeis are rampaging in your backline. Svalarheima will potentially host the most powerful active turn firepower in the game with the nisse HMG in a 5-man team, but make no mistake, white banner also has the potential to be the most brutal skirmishing faction to date. I don't want to sound too negative, but I hope those 2 sectorials will be released to showcase N4 rule changes, and that those changes will be quite drastic, because there's a lot of potential for power creep here and I don't like it.
Daofei + Guilang + Shaolin + (maybe) Hac Tao does make linkable MSV2 HMGs very useful... It also make me wonder what kind of zone defense/area denial will be available to Winter Force. VIRD gave us an extreme example of multiple defensive tools, so I'm curious to see where Svalarheima falls in relation to VIRD. It would be nice to get some mines/minelayer on the table.
That would be powerful and easy but we already have a BS12(15) B5 MSV2 Spitfire that can be buffed with MMS2 in a cheap 5-link. Yes that is not BS 13 HMG but very close. And we have Sheeskin in a five-link. Maybe Nisses are Haris only.
