That is a spicy surprise! It is expensive, but it will hopefully make people respect our camo midfield markers. EDIT: Whoa, with the minelayer option, you deploy three (3)! camo markers!
Very interesting. The Minelayer, Decoy, B4 Dam 14 Viral Rifle, FD 8" - Liberto on steroids. A _lot_ of expensive steroids. The neurocinetics profiles are interesting too. B4 Viral Rifle or B2 Chain Rifle AROs in the midfield, or a B2 Feuerbach Long Ya. Really expensive for ARO pieces, though. I think I'm liking the big Liberto more than the Neurocinetics, since it's useful in both active and reactive turns. Too bad the bot and decoy don't have Mimetism, so the mine will still be obvious.
Just note it is relatively fragile for its points as it cannot be repaired due to Explode. It will be interesting how it will impact usage.
Does Neurocinetics allow you to use the surprise attack (-3) and Viral rifle (+1B) mods in the reactive turn?
Off the top of my head I think Surpise Attack no, +1B yes. I think the +1B question was answered previously re the Yan Huo, if memory serves.
ARM 4 and STR 2, though. Could leave out the neuro Feuerbach on a roof behind a parapet next to a servant bot, and when the opponent does a wound to it, go prone then repair it on your turn. Whereas the decoy guy I assume is going to want to run up to his targets and take them with him when he explodes anyway, rather than staying back where an engineer might have been able to reach him.
I like how wonderful they pair with a Daylami. I think people sleep on how dangerous a viral rifle is in the game.
Yup, ARM 4 plus cover, and STR 2... and a bucketload of dice if in Neurokinetics mode (or actually Suppressive Fire. Doesn't use Burst bonus, but still is nasty - and with forward deployment, can take quite a nice spot!). This is going to be a nasty surprise...
This is an amazing unit, and the neurocinetics version could double the defensive capacity of most lists, especially in vanilla. The offensive version can hit hard, then become a roadblock. With decoy it will take a couple orders to even Discover it if you’re trying to go right through it. That makes -any- set of 2 S2 camo markers a serious deterrent, as everyone will worry it’s one of these, waiting until attackers are in optimal range. Then it can survive a good number of hits from small arms, and probably an unlucky round against anything else. Glad this thing is AVA 1. It’s waaaay better than a Long Ya per unit (though Long Ya are amazing for the points).
I feel like I might be playing a different game than other people. 53 points Neurocinetic looks pretty close to unplayable to me. Especially with no vis mods and no MSV. It's marginally better than Suppressive Fire, but you completely lose out the ability to be used as a backup attack piece. That's fine for stuff like Helots, which are dirt cheap. But at that price tag, it's not very appealing. I'd love to see how a list can afford to fit that many points for that profile without losing more value than they're getting.
I'm afraid I have to second @Diphoration in my very, very premilinary assessment, though it pains me greatly to speak badly of something that'll probably be part of RTF! A 50ish point model that gets hard countered my Mimetism, Smoke and Hacking (WIP12 and BTS3 - yikes!) seems at a first glance like a novelty my supersoldier strike team just can't afford! I have a sneaking suspicion that (atleast in RTF) the Beasthunter can cover some of the defensive aspects of the new REM for a fraction of the price, and the Shakush offers more offensive punch and durability at it's price point - heck, a Suppressive Firing Mukhtar Viral Rifle seems like a more sure bet in many cases! I really, really hope I'm wrong about all this though! :(
The price is prohibitive, yeah. It's hard to see that it'll be worth fitting into a list. But. The Neurocinetics Feuerbach to me looks worth its points. What does an ARO sniper want: - Camo or HD - this is all but necessary to make a ranged ARO worthwhile currently. - B2 - usually only achievable in a fireteam, which precludes camo. Having both is pretty unique. - ARM and 2 W/STR - so that you can hold out for a bit and then go Prone - Combat MODs - this is the only thing it lacks. No Mim, no MSV. It's just a tank. But it seems like a pretty good tank, thanks to the camo. Pin down the opponent's units specialists and CQB fighters - make them Discover you and shoot at you with a long-range attacker, then fall Prone. There's room to eat a lot of their orders, especially since there's good odds they fail their Discover. Is it countered by Smoke? Sure. But it costs them orders to put down enough smoke to advance, and then you're still in camo state and they have the same problem next turn. Is it countered by hacking? Sure, but they have to get you out of camo state first. So it's probably a really good ARO piece. Problem is, do you have room in your list for a 52-point ARO piece? Even one that's genuinely worth 52 points? Doesn't leave a lot for attacking or doing the mission.
I feel like I'm more likely to use the minelayer, as a combo defense and midfield clearer. Probably in lieu of an Asawira Spitfire since there won't be room for both. Starting in the midfield, having 8" of free movement from camo and being able to spray B4 Dam14 viral out to 16" looks pretty good. The hackability is a problem, but mitigated somewhat by the camo. Still need something non-hackable to remove midfield repeaters. Lot of points, though. Lot of points.
The sheer cost of neurocinetics is a problem, but I can see using it as an active piece. It's priced comparatively to the Al Fasid and a bit more expensive than the Azzie, while having Camo to close in/swing a surprise attack. A damage 14 Viral Rifle that will eventually explode is a pretty nasty threat.
Like AD, the value of this piece is not just straight offensive capability: it’s the headgames that happen when you field it every 3rd or 4th game. Especially with Camo and Decoy. The prospect of a fairly stubborn ARO piece that can just wait for you to come j to optimal range (or suck down Discover orders in cover) will make opponents treat camo markers differently. Although the Mimetism differences are kind of a giveaway.
If compared to classic camo infiltrators (with Mimetism -3) - yes. But I have a feeling it was made to work with a bunch of Daylami infiltrators. They share the same Camo parameters.
D’oh, missed that, and also was coveting them for an NA2 setup and imagining the possibilities… but how cool would this thing alongside camo Metros… could be the kind of kit the Merovingians could get ahold of.
Well, I'll have to check it in a test list together with some Daylami Camo infiltrators, and perhaps Fanous (Flashpulse Bots) as a defensive secondary group. The Fanous being there to provide the group with some Regular Orders apart from the Sunduqbut's. Nb. Sunduqbut's Decoy allows for some interesting mind-games: having a secondary combat groupof Sunduqbut, say, three Daylami (in camo) and a Fanous looks like a 6-model secondary group, with five camo markers and a drone. Deploy 9 models in your primary group, it would be pretty likely for your opponent to not expect a Ragik coming down in the primary group as 10th model (not a Bokhtar though, I guess. 54/57pts missing is going to feel odd as son as the game takes off). Nb. Flashpulse bots do very well in my meta as long-range ARO pieces: high attack value (due to WIP 13) long-range weapon, and while it won't kill you, it may put a Stun on you, pretty much screwing your prospects for achieving much in a given turn with that model. And with Mimetism & Cover, they are often PITA to remove. My last game one survived 4 or 5 orders of fire form an Iguana's HMG, 1-2 from Scarface's Spitfire, and finally fell to a lucky shot from a linked Hafza's HRL...
