January February March and beyond?

Overall, I am alright with it being Corregidor versus Aleph. Nomads are always popular and OSS could use some love. The Mazebreaker terrain also looks unique and quite different than other CB terrain.

Rumor has it that the new pictured Nomad is called a Vigilante. It would be great if it provides another Lt. Option.

Hopefully we hear more information soon.

 

@Keith So Example 2, Next Wave. Compared to Kestrel, in my opinion they have a serious internal balance issue. Some of their choices are very powerful or cost-effective, but the limited order pool combined with high general unit cost makes it hard to include any of the cool stuff that isn't very powerful or cost-effective. Listbuilding feels a bit railroaded; if you're keeping to the high points, you're ending with something very hard to beat. If you try to venture off that track, you're hitting a wall. The result is a toolbox with a few tools being used always, few others being used sometimes, and about half of the tools gathering dust. What I'd do is to remove some of the broken/almost broken options, while tweaking the rest so that everything is a viable choice without being OP. Some of the highlights:

• Removing the Hidden Deployment Puzzler. Its simply too much of a no-brainer to take two of these with one of Cyberplug options, most likely cheapest Gearhead. Best scenario would be merging both Sartroids altogether into one unit with different options, one of them having Infiltration and 1-use Camo. On the flipside I'd make them all tougher, because it's just silly for this hunky a models to be STR 1. They could use either NWI or STR2, skills and then cost adjustment.
• Toning down Pandora a bit. Maybe starting by replacing Zero Pain upgrade with Firewall (-3) or a single Supportware, and by making her addition, not requirement for Research fireteam? Right now she's an obvious pick because she's a very tough hacker that allows to link Stingers. Changing this would make some space for other hackers, while allowing Stingers to play without her.
• I'd give more fireteam keywords to the Nexus, making it kind of a command and control alien supervising new human EI subject. In particular I'd give them (Ironside) or (Heavies) keyword - and give it to Juggernauts and Ironsides - to make it easier to field NW heavy units. This would allow to field overshadowed units, while still maintaining a workable order pool. For the same reason I'd allow M-Drone into more fireteams.
• Giving Raindancers a reason to be used. Right now they're warbands paying non-warband costs and having no visibility control tools. I'd give them Disco Balls and give Nexus an FT Master option to open up listbuilding options a bit.
• Toning down Tekdrakens. In particular I'd split their Combined Army Knife of weapon options so that there are two weapons on each of them max. This should allow them to be slightly cheaper, and together with FT Nexus it'd make them a decent fireteam/order generation source, without having to add more R-Drones or Imetrons to army roster.
• I'd also tone down Skyhound just so, maybe by making the BS Attack (+1B) skill restricted to AP Thunderbolt, Burst 2 Plasma is enough for such a unit.
• I'm sure there are also good things to be done with fireteam composition to make the internal balance more, well, balanced, but I don't have enough knowledge about the faction yet to think this through properly.

 

@Stiopa I really like your take on NW. that makes a lot of sense overall. I really like the idea of giving the Nexus more presence as a kind of supervisor. Love the FT master thought too because yeah, the ways you can realistically build lists with Raindancers/Tekdrakens is limited points wise. On a side note, it really bugs me that you can’t take black hearts in Drakios’ dragon fireteams… I think I understand why. They would outshine him and Ironsides as gun platforms in pure links with them. So they’re the hardest to fit in fireteams in general and have no keywords except with steeljaws. But still. Would’ve been cool.
I have a hard time with the puzzlers/ranters. I agree that they should be a bit sturdier. I find that even though they’re cheap the overall cost of one or two of them plus a gearhead is still decent chunk of points that can affect the direction my list goes. I usually get the engineer if I’m already investing points so they can also be used as servants especially if I’m making a tag list or something like that.

I actually think with the Skyhound a good way to go would be like the firebat. Give it a+1SD instead. Just on the thunderbolt/plasma though. That would lower the overall damage potential, but would make it a better shot in aro so it could be a bit more survivable in that situation since it can’t go into suppressive with those weapons.

Overall I really appreciate your thoughts. Thank you for sharing. :)

 

Full stop, when the heck did that buff happen…? Lmao??? My buddy played KCF nonstop for months and I somehow missed this… and the Redeye was a go to for him… XD I will say… that was a bit unnecessary. That thing was already a beast.

 

Oh dang. I’m sorry. :(