While she does seem unique on paper, in DBS she is overshadowed by other profiles of roughly the same value. – You want a forward-deploying alpha-striker? Why not take the Peacemaker then? – You want a solo Rambo unit that can dish out damage both in range and in CC? Wolfgang got you covered if you can afford him for 12pts. more. – You want to deploy mines in the midfield chokepoints? Hunzakut already does that while being cheaper and also having a specialist profile. – Even Taowu, while being an even less useful fighter, can at least provide you Counterintelligence if you decide to go first, plus he can tear to shreds nearly anything in CC while Aida's close combat skills are kind of mediocre and way too reliant on Martial Arts. The only time when I can imagine her being useful is putting her into Suppression Fire which stacks with her Mimetism (-3) very well. But even then, for a 3-point discount and 1 SWC you can bring in Bulleteer Spitfire who's even better at that job while also being a great gunfighter in mid-range. This leads me to the idea that Aida is a wildcard-type of character in the more urban-dictionary sense of the word. The reason for that is her Booty skill. Rolling up an HMG on her profile can change her from "what the hell are you" to an actually decent Mimetism BS 12 solo killer. But it's unpredictable, it's literally a matter of a dice roll. So my question to you is this: do you think Aida Swanson is worth the inclusion in DBS?
I don't think she's worth the inclusion in any faction she is available in, but I would like to hear someone's opinion who believes otherwise. Great mini, meh profile. Booty may make her useful it in 1 of 3 games. Too much competition for her role and price point in DBS.
BS12 with Mimetism and a Burst 4 weapon and viral mines feels like it should be useful, especially at only 23 points, but with only FD4" and no marker state or smoke it feels like she's just short of being effective, getting in to range is going to be either order intensive or potentially dangerous. I don't think she's actively bad. Just overlaps with a bunch of other stuff, she's a better gunfighter than a Hunzakut, less vulnerable to hacking than the Peacemaker or Bulleteer, starts closer than Taowu.
Well, I can't claim I'm speaking from any meaningful experience - having played two or three games with DBS since N4 dropped, and only one with Aida - but I found I like her. She's a jack of many trades, and she isn't all that expensive. As @AssaultUnicorn listed - you can find a model better in any single field you could use her in - but at the same time, she's useful in multiple fields at the same time. I do like her, while I found I'm not a fan of Taowu. She's a decent gunfighter, at least up close, she can hold her own in close combat, she can lay mines, she has a bit of Forward Deployment to help her start it off the right foot - and all of those in the same profile. I believe it is a case of having various specialized tools vs having a Swiss Army Knife.
Like too many things in DBS she's subpar. I would rather take a Peacemaker or Bulleteer over her. The only thing I could see doing with her is starting her in SF on a short lane. For now though, like Arslan, the Kunai, most Druze profiles, most Brawler profiles, Pathfinders, etc. she can be safely ignored. Outside of Guided I feel like DBS actually got worse in comparison to the factions that got actual reworks.
I was happy she got into DBS, because it's nice to have yet another midfield trooper, but I'm not sure if she'll fit in my armylists. I tried her in Haqq, took her in one tournament, and she literally did nothing. Not that she needed to do anything - she gave her order to other units that did the job perfectly (as I won all the games), yet I was a bit dissapointed I didn't trully tried her out. Her stats and skills seems nice, yet she's really one of the units that just lack some more punch. Still I think she's better in N4, with Booty for example, so I'll maybe try her again (I really like her mini - all of them, maybe except the new, weird-faced one). PozdRawiam / Greetings
Even if she's subpar, it's another profile for a somewhat limited lineup. Plus I'm a fan of da booty.
I struggle with the same mentality, but then I change the thought process... instead, I just decide to take her and play with the hand I got...I find having fun more and getting surprised more often.
If you were building your list specifically to go second and are fairly sure the opponent has Counterintelligence, she's a good pick for your Suppressive Fire unit. The Bulleteer does do it well with a better weapon too, but Aida can drop a mine if she gets hit with a suicide template. She'd be way better with just the addition of Minelayer, and would see table time in a lot more armies.
I'd totally use her if she had minelayer. Though I think Special Operative would help too. Actually she seems like she'd be great in missions like Quadrant Control and such because of both the FD and the Shasvastii rule. She's seems good for holding an area. Putting her in an area with cover, put down a mine, and go into suppression. So to me she just seems mission specific. She also makes a good SMG Bounty Hunter.
Ooooh, didn't think about subbing her model in for an SMG bounty hunter. Good call, thanks @Space Ranger
Prelude; I like aida's model, and twin smg gunfighters have a special place in my heart. I was one of the people trying to make the hulang work last editon. So this is my objective statement that I am objectively biased. That said I still take Aida. 23 points isn't a heavy investment. If she kills 2 line troopers she's almost paid for herself. If they're packing anything bigger than a combi rifle she paid for herself. Get in close and there's a lot of special weapons you can mow down. This edition it got a lot harder to get her into an enemy order farm. So she needs a good lane of approach. But if she does get in position on sup fire she's an right terror that needs to be delt with. Keep note, my meta is also filled with Ariadna, Varina, haqqislam and corregor. Lots of soft gunfighters where throwing 4 shock dice can solve problems. And Viral mines are something you rarely want to run through willy nilly. Hanzakuts are the utility while she's my assault peice. Would I rather give her a bigger fd? Yes. Would I rather take a panzerfaust over booty for some ranged threat? yes. Should I probably remember to actually roll booty? Yes. But I like the model and 23 points isn't the end if the world in druze. So yeah, she's my budget Rambo. Especially because my druze exiled Arslan. That model is straight up cursed for me and hasn't won a single ftf in it's career.
I've had a ton of fun using Aida. I'm also biased towards anything that has Booty, because I love rolling on random tables. She's laid waste to entire fireteams on her own, so she's definitely earned her place on my tables. (I also face a ton of Ariadna in my meta, so Viral mines and her pistol are worth their weight in gold)
Booty is such an underrated skill, if not for its effectiveness, but for the sheer excitement it brings :P
I agree about that! I miss the times I would take a bunch of Yuan Yuan and ABH in Ikari and get some crazy stuff like ODD and a Bike.
