Nice to see HB get a new unit that'll shake up list-building. Hey Haqq, you like shotguns? Here, have two exploding fire shotguns. Fiddler will fit pretty nicely in here I think: Fiddler ────────────────────────────────────────────────── GROUP 1 9 1 GHULAM (NCO) Rifle, Grenade Launcher, Smoke Grenade Launcher / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1 | 15) BARID (Hacker, Hacking Device) Rifle, Pitcher ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 17) BARID (Hacker, Killer Hacking Device [UPGRADE: Trinity (-3)]) Rifle, Pitcher ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 15) ASAWIRA (Lieutenant) AP Spitfire, Nanopulser / Pistol, Shock CC Weapon. (1.5 | 39) MUYIB (Tactical Awareness, X Visor) Heavy Rocket Launcher, D-Charges ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 25) FIDAY Rifle, Light Shotgun, Shock Mines, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 27) SHAYTANIYAH REMOTE Missile Launcher / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (1.5 | 16) FARZAN (Minelayer) Boarding Shotgun, Shock Mines / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 24) FARZAN (Chain of Command) Boarding Shotgun, Shock Mines / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 28) GROUP 2 1 4 1 DAYLAMI (Camouflage [1 Use], Infiltration) Light Shotgun, Panzerfaust / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 8) DAYLAMI (Camouflage [1 Use], Infiltration) Light Shotgun, Panzerfaust / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 8) DAYLAMI (Camouflage [1 Use], Infiltration) Light Shotgun, Panzerfaust / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 8) MUTTAWI'AH Boarding Shotgun, E/Marat, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 9) GHULAM (Doctor [+3]) Rifle, Light Shotgun ( | MediKit) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 15) NASMAT PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 3) 6 SWC | 257 Points Open in Infinity Army
I'm going to run her in Dashat at the first available opportunity where I think she especially shines but Haqq and Hassassins are next on the list. She's my favourite Aristo my a wide margin and I was hoping they'd add her to Infinity. :)
Yup, Fiddler seems interesting. And actually the sole interesting Haqq-available entry from yesterday's upadate (I find the new Saladin concept art to be rather uninspiring. But I don't have to bother with him, I have the N2 one already, so there's that). But Fiddler... a pity she's locked behind the ITS box for the time.
Technically she’s not available to Corregidor either. Which is probably fine since they’re super strong right now. At any rate, Fiddler was one of my favorite characters to use in Aristeia, and I love how they translated her abilities and playstyle to N4.
Fiddler's in an odd place in terms of having several CC buffs, but only CC18. I decided to run some numbers: Against a mook Fiddler using d-charges is 81% to wound a Fusilier and 8% to suffer a wound. That's comparable to a CC expert like a Fiday. Add in the fact that Fiddler can survive one bad luck role with NWI, and I'd say she eclipses most CC experts when it comes to murdering helpless victims. Of course the numbers get even better if she adds a bot to get more burst, but it isn't even necessary. Against a CC expert A Fiday will mangle Fiddler in CC, even if she uses her para CCW to impose a -3. Even if she gets both bots in there for a giant B4, she's still rolling 15s against a 23 and the Fiday is odds-favoured to win. If she must try it, her best option is probably to CC with one of the bots, immobilizing the Fiday in exchange for a free hit on Fiddler. If she survives, she can then place d-charges for free. But there's a 26% chance the Fiday will take her out in one hit, so even that is a bad option. Against a TAG D-charges against an Avatar are 54% to do at least one wound, but the Avatar is 34% to do at least one wound. Not great odds, especially when it will take multiple orders to full take down the Avatar. A probably better option is to start with the para CCW, but that's only 40% to freeze the Avatar while the Avatar is 22% to wound Fiddler. Not great. Add a bot for extra burst, and it's 52% to freeze vs. 15% to suffer a wound, which is better. With two bots, it's 61% to 11%, which is quite reasonable. Conclusion: Fiddler is as good as a CC expert at killing mooks, which is the main role of CC experts. She should avoid fights with other CC experts (but that's also true of most CC experts). As a TAG-killer, she's good, but she's only reliable if she gets at least one bot into the fight, preferably two. And it will still be order-intensive since she has to spend an average of two orders to freeze the TAG before spending further orders on D-Charges.
I feel she is much better as a control model throwing drop bears or making your enemy make bad choices when to bots turn the corner. She also works for a fast specialist if you need that.
Yeah, shooting with the bots while throwing a drop bear from out of LoF, all in one order, seems pretty great.
Problem is that she is limited in Burst to the amount of D-Charges she uses. And yeah, B5 is a default, I think, because you will send the synchros first, then recover as needed with the servitor, so 45 pts. So she should be theorycrafted with a B3 D-Charges, and with a B5 Para (3). Mind you, B5 Vs 1 or 2 tends to be better, unless the monster at the other side also adds extra to the roll (for example, Achilles would be B2 d20+4, Vs B5 at CC12. On the other hand, a Zeta would be a 17 Vs 3 at 12, then 5 at 15).
Yeah, my numbers were B2 on the D-charges (just Fiddler), and B2-4 on the Para CCW (0-2 bots). She could get B3 D-charges with a bot, but I didn't run the numbers on that since it still seems better to start with the Para CCW. Good point that with a servant bot she can get up to B5 as well. I wonder whether the servant will turn out to be worth bringing, or whether it will generally be preferable to let the shotgun bots explode.
I think whether or not the shotgun bots explode will be dictated solely by whether or not they managed to kill whatever killed them. Did they trade? No explosion, try and Engineer them back up. Is the enemy still alive? Explode and try to take them with you. In any case, Fiddler herself should be close enough to either walk up to them herself or shoot her Gizmokit, so If she DOES take a Servant Bot, I'd expect it to be off on the other side of the board, extending her reach. ... Also I think one might have considerable difficulty actually getting Fiddler + 2 Jackbots + a Servant bot all into CC with an enemy within the same order.
Problem is, you don't know in advance what will happen, so you have to decide at the outset. Want the bots to explode? Position them outside explosion range of each other. They'll explode automatically if they go unconscious. Want them to not explode? Position them in range of each other so that each one prevents the other from exploding.
Oh right, duh. Forgot it's obligatory because the only troops that have it (Kuang Shi) can prevent themselves exploding by going Dogged instead.
To Jackbots round a corner what do you do? Shoot one and it will shoot you whale its companion templets you. If you do knock one out it may be close enough to explode on you. Dodge and they both shoot you. Cry and Fiddler will laugh while they templet you. All the while she is within 8 throwing a drop bear and complaining that baggage is not keeping up. On a board with narrow and shorter sight lines she will be queen of zoning. Otherwise I think she is good enough at shooting and melee to hold her own but not be killer.
I also like that she can safely hide on a roof in the reactive turn, and still be useful in the active thanks to 6-4 mov and climb+. Plus every time you go over your deployment you get to tell your opponent that you have a fiddler on the roof, until eventually they stab you.
At first I was very confused by this post, thinking something along the lines of "That's very Tunguskan name, and not Haqq-sounding at all". But then I've realised it's yet another "everyone can buy this model, and theme is overrated anyway" release by CB. Oh well.
