I don't think saying that Samuri/Ninjas > Myrmidons et al in CC really negates the @TheDiceAbide 's point that Steel is good or can F a lot of stuff up in CC. Steel has a lot going for it that JSA doesn't.
I'd say that greeks as a sectorial have a good design, with clearly defined strengths and weaknesses (and I'm talking about real weaknesses, not that "oh noes, I don't have good LT options or CoC for my Corregidor" *proceeds to deploy Carlota inside your fridge*). No markers, no deployables, no +3 from 5 man links, no white noise, no really big guns, and their long range firepower is nothing to write home about. No biggie. I find it fun to work within those constrains and use the tools at my disposal to solve the scenario. The game is not the same as when Phoenix first showed his handsome rugged mug to the general public and could suppressive fire with a rocket launcher like a boss. Back then a BS 13 ODD trooper with +1 B could win most firefights with ease and people had to find ways to deal with this new thing. Now you can't just push forward and your way to victory. You need more finesse. The turgid Phalanx of Aleph has some good stuff: Plenty of Eclipse, the power of a 5-man sniper team in a lithe blonde package, Machaon Murder MD, beefy guy with a big hammer, thorakitai (they are cool now), and the humble chainmidon that can be way too difficult to kill sometimes. Top tier? Nah, but fun to play. Also, if you're not sold on Enomotarchos you can just play generic and give some myrmidon boytoy to the Marut and watch your backside with thorakitai as usual.
Hi, you might need to have a look at the following pages of the wiki: https://infinitythewiki.com/Assisted_Fire https://infinitythewiki.com/Marksmanship As you can see, Marksmanship only removes cover, it no longer adds Shock to the damage. Now, it seems the only way to do so is to either have a weapon with such type of damage (SMG's are quite the threat, I agree, and the MULTI weapons are more common now due to the presence of more HI and TAG units on the table) , or having the "BS Attack (shock)" bonus (like Atalanta has, for example). Well, to be fair, Myrmidons still need the heroes, and given the loadouts and the prices, the myrm link still is Heroes (1 to even 4) + chain rifle Myrm fillers. It's worth notice, however, that several heroes have gone down in price a few points. Thorakitai now have their own, non-character enomotarcos, but with AVA 6 you need Alke or a wildcard enomotarchos hero to make two 4-man fireteams of Thoras (nothing prevents you from making a 4-2 or a 3-3, however). I'd say that precisely Tohaa and the Greeks are the least affected by this, because they can field more than two fireteams (5 & 3). Counterintelligence is also not as needed, because of Hector (2 Lt orders & Strategos to make 'em regular), and the three NCO units (Alke, Patroclus and Diomedes). Also Acmon has Tactical Sense and is and Enomotarchos Wildcard. That being why Acmon will most likely be in a Fireteam with Hector & Ajax XD Mmmm... nope, NBW now only counters Martial Arts, nothing else. The most likely scenario is Ajax outright kills the domaru and gets IMM if Berseker is used, if not I think it's mostly a coin toss.
There is this other thread in the JSA subforum where a guy is saying that Ajax is too good and well rounded and can beat Shinobu or Mushashi when those are supposed to be the best CQC people in the Sphere. Guess grass is always greener on the other side. To be fair though, everything that is on the wrong end of a charging E/M weapon Domaru is gonna have a bad time. It is their shtick, the thing they are really, really good at. Japanese are so crazy that they fit a trooper with very expensive power armor, give them a premium microwave sword and their primary weapon is... the cheapest militia weapon available (and they complain about lack of resources). Well, when I say everything I'm not counting the Chimera, because when you play rock, paper furry you always pick furry and win, apparently.
Solo units like atalanta,diomedes,ajax even shelf holder penthesilia can be a thing in phalanx now i agree. i am ok to use such troopers in vanilla. i am just not sold on link options. Hector link is fine thats ok, but +3 bonus is very big thing. In starmada for instance hector is awesome. Maybe we dont need any enamotarcos and 1 5man link with a haris could be fine.
I'm very much of the opposite opinion, the five man links he can join in starmada are insanely expensive, and his rifle is best up close. Steel has smoke and up close firepower which compliments him nicely. A beta trooper with a spitfire renders him redundant for most of his effective range.
Honestly, I've always had somewhat of a hard time fitting Hector into SP. A plasma rifle is a great gun, but he's still just a BS13 dude with no visual modifiers. I rarely feel like I want him as a link point over a regular spitfire myrm, Thora HMG, or the like.
Generally I would agree, if you are unloading on a single target with average arm/bts etc a spitfire myrmidon is usually more likely to win the FTF roll and score a wound. Hector's rifle really shines in situations where the template makes a difference being able to hit multiple models at once/shoot around corners/through barricades. His extra damage can also make it more efficent to kill multi wound/higharm/bts models, especially if you catch them unaware thanks to stealh. Finally a plasma rifle in supression (with an xvisor) can be a pretty risky proposition to engage, visual mods or no. In either situation (steel or starmada) I almost feel like Hector is a vanity piece, he's such a cool and expensive toy, that you use to show off, not that you need him. That said, Hector is one of my favorite profiles out of all three factions I play...
These small things could make steel phalanx really interesting. SCYCLA. making her forward deployment level 2 with minelayer option of cybermines. EKDROMOI. Giving hacker and chainriflex2 profiles multipistolx2 Giving Eudoros strategic deployment Giving a thorakitai 4Core ability. Something like tricore in spiral. Giving Thasymedes minelayer option. Linkable Thamrys wildcards. Andromeda FD version having minelayer.
