The marksman profile is a trap. The Combi profile is where it's at. Doesn't give up mines, doesn't cost SWC, and it's B4 with +1 Damage. She's basically toting a spitfire that costs 0SWC and is built to sweep tighter areas. Great in a vacuum just unfortunately has the same issue all the zerat profiles have and it's meta related. They're mimetic-6 1W ARM1 models in a game over abundant in DTWs. If that ever gets addressed they'll have some really good options. Otherwise it'll just be mostly business as usual with the minelayer profile.
for me the Hacker (dartok) is the thing Morats needed, their hacking has been pillow fisted since N4 got rid of sucker punch, to the extent that the last game with morats I played the fully linked hacker in a team with a suryat tinbot was a liability rather than a strength (the BTS 6 immunity AP with a -3 firewall for BTS 9 was enough by itself when all you can do is spotlight or carbonite it). the pitcher to take the attack to your opponent is a really big win, it won't come out much in vanilla but MAF really needed it. I see far more potential in zerats now, there is some mid field presence and starting the multi marksman rifle in suppression in cover half way up the board and high enough to avoid DTWs feels like a serious option for the CT when going 2nd. the combi profiles likewise have promise if you can't stretch to the SWC. Seen a lot of lack luster reponse to the kyosot which I don't really understand, BS13 mimetism automatically makes it the best gunfighter in MAF, the T2 is then a hilarious extra and that's just the marksman rifle, the SMG chaincolt(of DEATH) MSV is obviously a different kettle of fish, costs a lot but looks to be able to do a lot and armour 3 means it may actually be able to take a hit if it fails. If this thing can get link bonuses... The big lad, I'm skeptical of the SWC cost options but the triple Dam 14 chain rifle with a flamenspeer for 22 points is a tasty option, the breaker E marat also adds other potential options which I very much like, quite like it as a frenzy unit that's then not actually great in CC (beyond the +1B from the pistols). Slaver seems OK, it's an optional replacement for a vanguard I guess, has a lot of value as counter warband or back line defense but it's really going to depend on the sectorial charts as to how it slots in, lots of glue and a para CC -9 is nice, certainly fluffy.
Interesting that outside of the Vanguards, every other unit showed is AVA 1. They really want you to field a diverse force in this new Morats...
They could already do this? What’s different? The Combi saves SWC but gets a shorter range and loses shock? The Marksman loses burst. SF hasn’t changed anything at all?
Specifically for me it's the AP on the multi marksman suppression at dam 14 that seems good, the higher damage and AP makes it a threat that you can't just ignore in the age of armour actually being good, and the vis mods stack to a point that it's something that can be situationally costly to dig out. The combi was already able to suppress as a poor mans option. You could potentially get better results with a bunkered Q-Drone. With the more recent addition of the Tyrok it makes the entire strategy more appealing and feel more viable. I always disliked Zerats as they were just up there alone without marker state waiting for death so I never particularly considered it a decent option. It's all subjective like so much else in the game but I like that the addition of a profile has made me feel morats can have a bit more board control and an alternative to what I feel are their existing playstyles: 1. 12" deploy pitched battle meat grinder 2. as 1 but put in a rasyat and maybe a formation breaking Drop taryot 3. as 1 but Panzer Krieg with Raicho.
Could it be? Could vanguards finally get a 0 SWC Lt in MAF? Do I dare to hope? But yeah that's a great point, SWC breaks do come on key profiles in sectorials, that 1swc on the Zerat may not exist in MAF.
In terms of Lt options for MAF I'd like a generic Warrior-Officer profile, basically a budget Kornak. Have it decent at shooting and CC, perhaps BS13, CC20 and lose the Berserk. Arm it with a combi or SMG and maybe an AP CCW. Or something along those lines.
I've always found it odd that they don't given their supposed role. That said I end up taking Kornak as Lt a lot of the time so NCO ends up irrelevant.
Ok, so now we know the Kyosot not only can link, but can tow a few specialists and smoke with it too. So... I can safely say that dude is severely busted now. Put him in a core with anyat, a dartok, a suryat for long range shooting and a kaitok for tanking short range stuff and these monkeys are gonna go far. Me gusta.
Also, the new slicy slicy TAG seems to be called "Bultrak" (Bulltruck). Love the concept art and name already, now please don't mess up the sculpt.
He's not a "Morat" or wildcard per the fireteam/sectorial chart, so you're at minimum losing part of the bonus. But my god, those guys with Anyat for smoke, and Dartok for hacking, and Kaitok for checking corners... I don't think anything else in Morats even needs to change at this point, that flexibility probably solves most of it's problems right there
Pretty much, including a Yaogat instead of the Kyosot gets you the extra +2BS and +3 Discover, so they might still both have reasons to be taken.
Hype around super-flexible mixed teams aside, we're also seeing Hungries fireteams return to their former glory. Since Morats can take 2 Haris teams, losing the Fire Team: Core benefits to non-shooting models might be a worthwhile exchange for the efficiency of cheap Regular orders. Heck, the Hungries can even BE one of your two Haris teams, if you decide you still want the full Core bonus elsewhere
