That would be nice but I have this sneaky suspicion we might get a mixture of 3 Ye Mao and a Tine Gou or Jujak instead.
I think it's an interesting choice. Maybe a couple more points than I would like to spend but interesting with getting burst 5 AP in the rangeband that it does. Is it that much less compelling than other TAGs in general?
In YJ it might be more interesting than the Guijia, but across factions it's probably one of the worse TAGs on paper. Medium range weapons, manned, no visual mods/marker state, no interesting attack vectors aka. climbing plus/super jump etc. This guy will have to traverse very predictable routes and march straight through long range AROs/jammers/hackers/perimeter weapons without much counterplay. I think the Mongol theme should have been emphasized by making it AD. In the space age, cavalry strikes from above. The pros are the B5 AP Spitfire, a one-time B2 Akrylat-Kanone and the ability to dodge somewhat more reliably than other TAGs. In CQC it will shred things, but it needs to get there first. N4 might bring about some changes to TAGs in general, so I'm hoping for the best.
It doesn't impress me at all for many of the things @Knauf said. Bust 5 on AP Spitfire is ok. Not great. I don't want to go into it too much in this thread. I've re-painted my old Guijia to be a BW because its' the right size and I want to event eventually get new Guijia. But as of now I don't see actually using it. Where's the leak of the Ye Mao? I haven't seen this at all!?
@Space Ranger I believe it wasn't posted on forums, so I'm not sure if it's ok to post it but there you go:
I look at it from the Corregidor point of view, and compared to Gecko or Iguana, it is actually pretty good. I mean, I'd field it, if I had access to in in any of my forces. Sure, it is 30pts more expensive than a Gecko, and 14 more than an Iguana, but these points are, IMO, well-spent. In fact, the only thing it needs is an interesting partner to form a Duo Fireteam with. Another blue wolf is hardly a solution (due to cost) IMO. And Shang Ji - with their Wildcard ability - somehow fail to persuade me here. Your mileage may vary, of course :)
I think the one you need to compare it to is the Szalamandra, not the TAG whose main benefit is their low cost nor a (currently arguably) disadvantaged Ejection TAG. I'd take the Szally over Guijia and Blue Wolf, both, as it fills both the Yu Jing TAGs role sufficiently well considering there is very little advantage to the Yu Jing TAGs' melee abilities since the CC is so low for such expensive units - not to mention that the pilot is actually better than a Pan-O REM Pilot on the Szally. That said, I do consider the Blue Wolf to be the better of the two (edit: of the two Yu Jing TAGs). It should be sufficiently possible to suppress long range ARO using infantry HMGs that a Blue Wolf can go dig stuff out using the Spitfire rangebands. Just... pray you kill the dangerous stuff before you run out of orders because the AROs on this thing leaves a bit to be desired...
Yeah, that make sense. I don't know if they would consider bringing back AD TAGs, but I could definitely see Forward Deployment on it with that kit if you are going first... ARO game on it leaves things to be desired though as Maht mentions.
Imo not every unit needs tools to operate fully self-contained. Granted the Wulf is not exactly cheap for a "small" TAG but B5 AP DMG 15 will be devastating once in good range. One should not see single units in a vacuum, it shouldn't be hard to lay a smoke screen for its advance with 5 Pts Shaolins.
You're absolutely correct, however, I'd say the Wolf is kitted to operate in all roles with weapons that cover all range bands. It's also funny how it's basically the poster-boy for Skornergy.
That's actually a Panzerfaust, not a ML. Which is actually better, because it can represent multiple profiles
Those are very nicely painted. The design fits Tunguska too. The new 0-12 ones would probably be decent, or any of the resculpted remotes for that matter. But I'd absolutely buy nomad ones!!! I waited 5 years to finally buy yu jing remotes lol.
I do disagree strongly here. I can't compare Blue Wolf to a Szalamandra in Corregidor, just as I can't compare it to a Jotum, Cutter or Sphinx in Corregidor. I have no access to these. Between the 6 sectorials I have, I do have access to Geckos, Iguanas, Anacondas, Scarface and the odd Maghariba Guard. Compared to any of these, Blue Wolf does, in my eyes, have advantages. Please note - I'm not saying it is the end-all, be-all TAG. I do agree with you that it isn't. But saying it is the worst TAG in the game - that is a claim I can not support.
One of the nice things about the forum is that it allows input from different perspectives. Like @Errhile implied, when one looks at it from a different POV, the Blue Wolf looks wonderful. It adds to Yu Jing another B5 model that doesn't require to be linked, BS 14, has 3 structure, an AP weapon, an emergency glue gun, Multiterrain, and doesn't fear CC. It seems solid and differs greatly from the Guijia. The funny thing is, that people have been complaining that the Guijia has been too basic for years. CB made a really unique TAG in the Blue Wolf. I am looking forward to the concept art and seeing it on the table. N4 is looking like TAGs will have a major role, which IMO will be good for the game. Based on the limited information we have, it looks like CB listened to some major player base concerns (MI too slow, ARM overpriced, TAGs too risky, AD too finicky, etc.) and addressed them in N4. I am so pumped for N4.
Okay, but looking at it from that limited perspective you really are comparing apples and oranges. Neither of those TAGs share much in the way of qualities with the Blue Wolf. Sure, it's not the worst TAG, but that's accepting that a TAG fully describes a role, which it doesn't. Both Corregidor TAGs perform in a role that Yu Jing sectorials use HI for, so you'll find closer analogies in the Shang-Ji than the Blue Wolf to those IMO. I will however not argue against that over the course of N3 the Escape Device TAGs have probably been the worst TAGs if TAGs is all we look at, and Blue Wolf is a good shade better. @Brokenwolf from playing with the Blue Wolf in TTS, it performs remarkably similar to the Guijia once you apply it practically. It doesn't actually have any of the true game-changer skills or weapons (f.ex. Mine Dispenser or Stealth)
My good sir, if you ask me to compare in a perspective that encompasses all the TAGs in Infinity, then: Geckos are crappy, but at least they're cheap. For a TAG, that is. Iguana is crappy. Anaconda is double crappy. Scarface is crappy (yea, it is cheap, and it comes with an Engineer in tow. A mixed blessing, actually). Maghariba would be mediocre, apart form being inexpensive. But it is huge. Sure, we can post the Uhlan, Jotum, Cutter, Sphinx, Avatar and Marut on the other side, to have all our apples on a single bench. Blue Wolf still makes for a solid average choice in that company for me...
The only TAG the BW should be compared to is the Guijia. It's the only other TAG available to YJ. Vanilla and WB. I can't take any of those other TAGs. So comparing is pretty useless. There's plenty that's better or worse outside of YJ. All I know is that in especially WB, I need to pay a lot of points for him in a force that's already expensive. At this moment, I hope N4 changes things, I feel the figure had better look good or else it's not going to sell well. I hate saying that too because I never want something to sell or not based on how it does in the game. Trying to get back to the topic there