Hopefully we will have some news soon. The UKG is at the end of May and they usually announce a few weeks before. O-12 seems to be doing a LOT worse that Aleph this season. Aleph is at 74% win rate (but only 14 total games). O-12 is 33.7% with 89 games. SP is 55.1% and OS is 41.8%. The numbers are weird because they are showing Ikari on top with a win rate of 74.2% with 31 games. I think the percentages go down as the number played goes up. Technically Aleph is under O-12 but has a lot of autonomy. To me, the only thing that matters is the Vet or Elite for the purpose classified cards. Story wise does nothing for me. Each of the Aleph factions have a mandate. Steel Phalanx was made specifically to fight the Combined Army. OS is to hunt down rogue AI as well as assisting other factions. ISS, NCA, etc. “Operating independently or as small swarms, they deal with medical crises, serious accidents or events, or support military units or the other Sub-sections on the battlefield as trauma docs and field surgeons.” Unfortunately, the ISS lost the Sophotech . Now the only doctor is also the Chain of Command.
You know what they say: you don't wanna make mistakes? do nothing... statistically speaking with the higher number of games, along with the relevance of the resulting percentage, the percentage goes towards 50% in a completely balanced game. What worries me is exactly the number of matches played: it is an indication of, primarily the oomph of the army (for example: Next Wave just came out and everybody is playing it) and then it's the re-playability of the army. Steel Phalanx plays 98 matches, Combined Army (the first) 258, Next wave (2nd) is at 239. Then we have 4 out 5 PanO sectorials in page 1 (lowest is Neoterra at 144). OSS is at 67, vAleph is basically NOT PLAYED (17). SP is an ok sectorial OSS not so good vAleph is unplayable... (in the sense that it's not fun to play) vAleph and OSS have differences in the fireteams and other few little bits and that is reflected in the number of games: fireteams always attract more then alleged higher freedom of choice (which was reduced in N5 for a faction that really didn't need that kind of thing). The way I see it the Interplanetario is going to be boring like last year: vCA/Morat/Morat/vCA/PanO/Morat... with NW instead of Morat.
Goonhammer had a take on OP: Mazebreaker https://www.goonhammer.com/goonhammer-reacts-corvus-bellis-adepticon-seminar/ So apparently (I don't know how they have this info, didn't see it in the video) the new Nomad is the Vigilante. Hopefully the new model altogether is on both sides and Aleph one is not the Asura (and hopefully not even the only one considering that, as they say, OSS has less modern models). Also quite likely the Vigilante is a direct competitor to Asura, me thinks. And even this roadmap I don't recall...
Honestly not even a little upset. Hope it looks amazing. Even though I’ve only dabbled in Aleph on occasion, I think I’ve bought more copies of Andromeda than any other model in Infinity. Probably at least 10 different copies at different times. One or two for her actual use. But the rest were to make interesting remotes or something using her doggie. When that model first came out I loved it so much, even though most didn’t like her profile at the time, it’s probably still in my top ten. So more cool unique creature bots are welcome. Part of what I loved about NW is all the unusual designs for the Tekdrakens and Juggernaut and stuff.
From the blurry pic https://forum.corvusbelli.com/threads/april-may-june-news.43910/page-2#post-489192 I would dare to say: Above on top of the hill-like scenario are three Dakinis (could be anything, I know, but I would strongly guess) ... but hey hat least we get a new Asura and a kind of cyberdog.
I think even the "flying one" is not something we have, never seen boot-cut trousers in OSS. Top one on the left seems like stepping on something (Dakini are all feet on the ground or kneeling). 3 figures on the ground we have: top one with a white long coat (or next best thing), the second one (going down in the picture) seems like resting against a piece of scenery and has a whiter head (maybe Dasyu?); the bottom one could be the "Asura"... but then again Asuras don't have pauldrons (see artwork, could be a completely new sculpt of Asura). In front is the Hound (Daleth base?)
Do you expect more than one new troop in the starter? The word out there (read: hearsay value of news) say it is just one new troop per faction. For Corregidor, it is the guy on the right of the cover picture, Vigilante. As a Corregidor player myself, I'm of the opinion even that is more than it is needed, albeit supposedly Corregidor's playstyle is to be very different once the Mazebreaker update lands. For Aleph, we have one definite new thing, the "cyber-doggo" (which aesthetically reminds me a lot of Andromeda's Cetus). I guess it is, functionally, a warband-type unit: fast, inexpensive, good in CC. If there is even one more unit, rather than a reimagining (rescultp and possibly a change to their profile / equipment available) of an existing one, that's aplenty.
Blackwind had two new troops for Aleph (SP) and in the beyond box there was another one. I can not tell for the Haq side, there was the Bukthar? The AD HI and maybe the Nadhir. Crimson Stone brought the Evader and the Sombra for CJC and the Vostok in Beyond. Kaldström offers two in the box for YJ and two more in Beyond. So I would say: At least two new and at least one new in Beyond for the Mazebreaker.
You're absolutely correct on that - Bokhtar & Nadhir. The other 5 were resculpted Lasiq, Barid & 3 Daylami. That being said, it was a C1-era box, which allowed it to fly with the Daylami as core troops. Certainly a possiblity. As I wrote above, the "1 new troop per faction in the box" is the hearsay. So, I'm not putting too much faith in it. Then again, I stand by my opinion that Corregidor is already pretty bloated as it is now, and they need no further new troops. Again, it is just an opinon, and mine on top of that...
Last box had 2 completely new factions with not just 2 new... I'd say again that a rule depends in what CB wants to do. Remember the Coldfront beyond box: Shakti and Apsara. The Hound hopefully is not going to leave the audience wanting. It seems it's not going to be a transformable unit (and to those that say only YJ has transformable: apart from the fact that Tunguska has it too, but if there was a faction that would logically have it would either be JSA or Aleph, the first because Diaclone being the first transformable in human history and the second one because it's composed of androids... and they dream electric sheep ;)) Comparisons have revealed that Aleph units cost in general more and don't have skills to match (see previous posts). I am not exactly sure Asura falls in that category, but some addition at no cost increase is to be expected.
Indeed. But only with resculpts CB will not sell enough miniatures. We can even give up some units and some new ones in Tunguska for example are not neccessary and will not be missed imo. But again then the game will not show something new only the existing once will be renewed in design and rules. Infinity gets more and more bloated, but the snake bites in in its own tail. We want some new stuff, we get some new stuff. Which was also a start into a new edition, an exception.
I feel looking at the new Asura art, she might be getting a radical redesign. Or at least a radical individual profile. The power claw and the football shoulder pad armour point to an entirely different playstyle than before. They might have new option (kinda like the cc swiss guard option) so they could get her down to 40ish point range with frenzy, better cc, and MSV 3 off the base profile. Her and the doggo charging under covering fire is interesting. She should hopefully get 6-4 like a proper Elite Lhost.
Sure, N3 and N4 did not lead to new sectorials, so it is the start of some new company policy? We really don't know. 2 new troopers altogether I'd be content, 3 new troopers I'd be pretty happy, 4 and I think I'd celebrate. Comparing CJC and OSS the gap is visible. OSS is in need of a substantial revamp and the number of games played in S17 shows it: people play SP like it was the only faction in Aleph and not even so much (less than 100 games played to the time of my post that spoke of this). Even when Coldfront came out there wasn't a bump in the games played...
