Yeah, I think it's still good. Sixth Sense and +1BS for any Fireteam you want is a pretty sweet deal for 0.5 SWC
Nu tricore is legit. The girl can join any fireteam in your list. That's a really big deal, eg no smoke tricks vs your anaconda. But yes, the age of the draal/kriigel tricore hegemony may be drawing to a close.
Not a fan of the Tri-core device working better on mercenary humans than on actual Tohaa. Both a competitive loss and a fluff loss. Not sure why all the old profiles with "Fireteam: Triad" didn't gain "(Triad)"... unless I'm reading the chart wrong and the parentheses not grant same type unit buffs anyway?
The Tricore is not technically any better on the Brawlers since it doesn't grant anyone the 5-man composition bonus. Everyone just gets the same 5-man size bonus. Perhaps it could be seen as odd that the Taagma counts as a Brawler for composition bonuses, but another way of looking at it is that you can only get a Core at all with a Taagma in a Brawler Fireteam because Spiral Corps is a mercenary front for the Triumvirate... So you can't get the most powerful fireteam without one of their agents present to pull the strings. That seems pretty fluffy! The Triad units don't get the composition bonuses, no. (Unless you made one of three Kosuil or Draal). It's been mentioned in a few other discussion threads that the important thing is that this is a framework within the game and the app now, and as such it will be very easy for CB to change things like that in the future. But losing the +3 discover bonus isn't exactly the end of the world.
While losing the +3 discover* isn't the end of the world, from a fluff perspective the mercenary team posing as specializing in anti shasvastii security is a great place to see it implemented. In general I think these changes to the game are quite elegant while adding only a very small bit of complexity in the form of some new mental arithmetic. I think that Spiral in general seems to be coming out on top (in so much as they've held their power where most others have come down a peg or two). Though I do think the lack of special [triad] haris teams on the models that used to have the fireteam type is a miss. Give the pure tohaa fireteams that basic composition bonus. * considering a triad wouldn't have had it before anyway, unless they took the one tricore in a list...
Triads didn't lose much, but Spiral only kinda-sorta relied on Triads. Our two main Triads were the Tri-Core (which ate the same nerfs as mixed Cores) and the Taagma Sniper Triad (which is now significantly more expensive). There's going to have to be a shift in how Spiral operates; potentially moving the Sniper to the Tri-Core Triad w/ an extra Kriigel (or the Kaeltar) waiting nearby to reform the link once the Sniper bites it. The good news is that with Mixed Cores getting knocked down, Solo Pieces get that much better, and Spiral has a *lot* of great solo pieces: Clipsos, Jaan, Greif Operators, Igao, Armand... I agree that Spiral did come out better than it went in, but only slightly.
The more list-building I try the more I miss the Taagma Sniper + 2 Chaksa Triad. It's actually causing quite a few more problems than I anticipated; the Longarm Triad is similar, but without MSV2 it can't really fulfill the same roles. EDIT: Diggers count as brawlers now; Taagma Sniper is going to be very happy in a Brawler Core
Eh, this might be odd but I kind of liked the undercosted/overpowered shiny new toy not being part of a full core. That Brawler Core pretty much blows everything else we could possibly field out of the water and stifles list building.
IMO it competes with the new Longarm Triad; the Longarms Triad is cheaper, tankier and hits *much* harder, but lacks MSV2 and is only a Haris. You can also split the difference and go Brawler/Digger/Taagma Sniper. Personally I'm just happy that I'm going to *actually* be using Human models for once.
To be clear, my beef is specifically with Diggers: I feel they are good enough that they didn't need the boost of granting full core bonuses to one of our best shooters, whilst also having their own weakness mitigated. Yeah, I'm looking forward to using the new options. Chaksa Longarms are such beautiful models, I'm glad they have something going for them now. I've never even glanced at the Brawlers or the Anaconda before this, so I'm certainly a fan. Having a wider range of beefy shooting options is also great. There are still a couple of fireteam things I can't get my head around. I can't see the angle for the Monstrucker in a fireteam given that you don't get to use his order and Brawlers already have an Engineer. And which Brawler are we supposed to be adding to the Chaksa fireteam? The slightly more expensive Sniper? The Doctor for the non-Cube, shockable models? If I was inclined to take the Brawler-Digger-Sniper setup as a Haris, I think it has strong competition from the cheapest Chaksa-Sniper Haris. Brawler rocks in at three points cheaper, has better melee, and is more resilient. Chaksa is pretty much a straight upgrade in the shooting department and brings some utility from Sensor and Baggage. The other Sniper options that caught my eye were things like Wildcarding them into the Kriigel-Reex triad which I'm usually taking. Or if I'm taking a Kiel-Saan, chucking in a Sniper and a Paramedic feels good.
Cheapest Chaksa Sniper Triad is now a Taagma Sniper + Chaksa FTO + 22 point Longarm. 56 points. Brawler/Digger/Sniper Triad is 53 points and gets +3 to Discover. Longarm ML + 2 Chaksa FTO is 45 points, or 50 points if you want the Autocannon instead. Gets the +3 to Discover Kriigel SGL + Reex BSG + Sniper is 57 points. Brawler + Doctor + 2 Diggers + Sniper Core is 86 points and gets full bonuses. The old Chaksa Sniper Triad was 44. For me, it's cool to see that there are now a bunch of different options that are all relatively close in cost. It's cool that we have so many extra options now, but losing ~10 points from the old staple stings. It works out kinda similar points-wise though if you were already bringing a Taagma Sniper Triad + Reex Triad; you just move the Sniper into the Reex Triad. Lets you put the 2 Chaksa wherever you want for DZ guarding, and you can either change the Reex into a Kaauri/Helot/Chaksa or keep it near the Triad to replace the Sniper when he inevitably bites it.
Longarm, auxiliar and tricore is a really solid haris to run alongside the brawler link. 6th sense and bs13 is a welcome buff to the longarm...
i love the idea of rex BSG, kriigel with smoke and tagma sniper! totally selfsufficient for only 57 points, the only problem is the lack of a specialist in that triad oh guys, can we make some tricks with the holomask? any idea?
The old strategy of Kriigel Triad + Taagma Triad was that they were both cheap defensive triads with extra utility. The Chaksa FTO's bring Sensor/Baggage/HFTs, while the Kriigel has smoke and Pheroware; they even worked well together as the Kriigel could launch smoke onto/in front of the Taagma, who could then stand up and shoot anyone who didn't have MSV/Sixth Sense. The lack of specialists wasn't a huge issue, because ideally neither of these fireteams is going to leave your DZ, and Spiral in general has good Specialist options in Clipsos/Draal/Kaeltar/Diplomat. With the Chaksa Triad gone, you can effectively simulate the old strategy by sliding the Sniper into the Kriigel Triad; the only challenge is that you can't spread them out, but on the flipside you get to put the Chaksa wherever is best. Or you could take away the Chaksa + the (now) extra Reex and spend those 3 slots/43 points on whatever you want.
Another Sniper triad that I like is: Sniper Taagma Regular Taagma Kaeltar Specialist 55pts It opens up all sorts of shenanigans like: Sniper Taagma holomasks as a marksman Draal and regular Taagma holomasks as another Kaeltar. The opponent will know there is a Taagma in the triad (Kaeltar Ava is 1) and think it must be the sniper version disguised as one of the two Kaeltars This reinforces the belief that the AP marksman Draal must be the real deal and thus send the wrong units against it. Sniper Taagma holomasks as Neema, regular Taagma holomasks as Kosuil This triad appears to be a very aggressive link. Combine it with a Kiel Saan, Draal & Paramedic triad and the enemy won't know which triad to counter. What would you disguise this triad as?
I've been thinking about my next purchase with an eye to getting more non-Tohaa models into my Spiral Corps. I'm not too fussed about the Brawler Core, but the more I think about the TriCore Anaconda with an Engineer for 94pts the more I like it. The HMG gives me a B5 shooting option in a range band that Spiral don't usually get to play in, BS14 and SS really help the Anaconda. If it gets in a hacking-related pickle the Engineer is right there. If it blows up the Operator joins the Fireteam (I think?) giving me a TriCore Spitfire. If it gets completely nuked the TriCore can fill in any Triad and the Brawler might be able to shore up a Chaksa triad when someone shoots out the Viral Sniper. My issues are that I've never used a TAG, or even a single Hackable model, until now so I've got no idea how to use them or protect them. And also that I'm not overly impressed with the model itself; tempted to convert a Guijia. Has anyone tried the Anaconda under the new Fireteam options? How was it? And how would you best advise to use it?
I could be wrong, but I do not believe tri-core works on anacondas. Tri-core only works on triad fireteams and the anaconda is a normal harris not a triad. I have found myself not taking tri-core at all anymore since the fireteam changes. As written you do not get composition bonuses so I do not feel it is worth .5 swc. Lately I have been enjoying Tagmaa sniper msv2+ kriigel breaker combi w/smoke grenade launcher+ something else, Kiel-san Red Fury+ Dazer Draal+ Kauri Sentinel Fto, and Anaconda+ brawler engineer+ digger chain rifle fireteams .
