Brothers! Andromeda is back and if declared datatracker, will get an extra irregular order that only she can use. https://www.infinitythegame.com/blog/news/item/517-its-challenge-traitors-breaking-news Time to include her in armies? Does it make her an autoinclude? Still not wort it? What is your take? Discuss!
Time to try her i would say. She still have her worst weakpoint, that is being S4. That may prevent her to move easily toward the objective, as it makes harder to hide / take cover / simply move (especially cautious move). For example stairs and ladders are often S2-wide. So that would be really dependent on the board. That is, she is definitely more viable in limited insertion with that sweet new order.
She still is S4, it has already mentioned that she suffers tons of movility problems Still is the near only Mimetic trooper on the whole Steel Phalanx... the other are Achilles and possibly Patroclus. No smoke Own "martial arts" table Apprentice of 2-3 thingies (FO, MA, et...), master of none at all. Forward deployment in a "mostly active turn" faction, that is also harder to kill... she is a target of opportunity too often. I would say that I prefer to bring 2 cheerleaders rather than her. Or another character.
She is still crap. S4 is too large. She pays a lot for CC ability that doesn't turn make her good in CC and she has no means to be delivered in CC by herself. At BS12 + mimetism she is outshinned in shooting by any shooty myrmidon. She is just too expensive for what she brings, extra order or not. Machaon does everything she does better, including eclipse for 5 points more. MK1 proxies do everything she does cheaper ( well, proxy broken cheaper) A *lot* of other troops are very similar in capacity, but tend to be cheaper, better or both. She is still not good.
Here is a list of specialists that: 1. are specialists (ok, that was the prerequisite) 2. either deploy closer to the front or are fast enough to compensate for it 3. can hold their own in a gunfight or go in suppressive (sorry AHD ekdromos you only have a chain rifle) ALEPH ────────────────────────────────────────────────── 7 ANDROMEDA Submachine Gun, Nanopulser, Flash Pulse / Breaker Pistol, DA CC Weapon, Knife. (0 | 28) THRASYMEDES Infiltrator (Infiltration) Submachine gun, Nanopulser, Stun Grenades / Pistol, Shock CCW . (0 | 27) PROXY Mk.5 (Forward Observer) 2 Submachine Guns, Nanopulser, E/M Grenades / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 10) DAKINI Tacbot Paramedic (MediKit) Combi Rifle / Electric Pulse. (0 | 15) DALETH Rebot Combi Rifle, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 17) DASYU (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle, Nanopulser, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 36) NAGA (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 28) PROXY Mk.2 Hacker (Assault Hacking Device) Boarding Shotgun, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 21) 0.5 SWC | 182 Points Open in Infinity Army Thrasy is plain better (well except for NWI). And a bit cheaper. Mk.5 is overall better and cheaper (ok, posthuman rules), but can't handle CC. Dakini and Daleth are both very fast and far cheaper through they may suffer from REM limitations. Naga and Dasyu have true infiltration, marker state (surprise shot) and mines, the dasyu being a little more expensive than combi Andromeda. Need to speak about Mk.2 ? The only advantage of Andromeda vs them, except for Thrasymedes, is that she is ok in CC. Not good, but ok. Problem is, melee is rare, she is not proficient enough to deal with true CC killers and not mobile enough to reach CC by herself. But she has a fine mini
Problem with Andromeda is firstly she's not a durable datatracker nor a very killy one. Secondly, she pays a lot of points for special rules but doesn't get the important parts of the slightly larger special rules. She's nearly a FO due to Specialist Operative and having a Flash Pulse, but she can't get people Targetted which would have cost at most one extra point and given her a lot of contextual value. She's nearly normal camo, except for the good bits of normal camo, namely marker state plus the ability to suprise shot/attack (vital to get in melee with her stats!). She's a close combat troop (or at least her profile is trying to be) but she has guard and stealth instead of Martial Arts or I-Kohl Her weapon loadout also suffers from having a lot of guns which you all pay for but barely every will use. BSG and breaker pistol step on each others toes. She's also better in melee so the pistol also competes with melee. The combi rifle is probably the most useful allrounder and the SMG the short range all options profile, but you pay so much for that that she's going to be dead before she's in a good range band. At least camo can roll willpower to start in the enemy table quarter. I see no reason to get her over a Dasyu, Myrmidon (officer) or anything else, really.
Think I'm going to take her to the Gateway Gauntlet, I've enjoyed using her so far but definitely takes some time getting used to moving around the table with that larger base. Thinking of the data-tracker order as free suppression fire each turn.
I agree with almost everything above. She just has too many limitations and is in a faction with a ton of highly effective 30-40 point models. If she had infiltration, maybe. If she had shock immunity to deal with mines, maybe. If she had impersonation and a sweet tentacle monster briefcase like her fluff suggests, even if she costed a little more, definitely.
I’d counter peoples attacks her against her ‘disappointing’ CC skill. In my experience CC is very binary, a model is either kitted out for CC or have a CC of 10-14 with no particular weapons to speak of. Only rarely do CC capable troops duke it out with katanas on moonlit beaches, as CC specialists are usually too expensive to risk in a ‘fair’ fight - just as how you don’t set up your HMG trooper in a shoot-out vs a TR bot, as the outcome is just too unpredictable. Next, consider that Andromeda can choose between breaker and DA ammunition in CC with a damage of 13/14, making her versatile in choosing her targets. Granted she is no Achilles or Ajax - few models are - but in most cases, less will do. Compare to a myrmidon - which is the perfect CC trooper with MA3 - the difference is negligible with a final CC of 21 vs 17, the outcome is very much reliant on the die, and so the chance of that encounter happening is slim, as it wouldn’t be a reliable strategy. However were Andromeda to meet a fearsome avatar, she’d stand a better chance engaging it with CC23 vs 19, rather than duking it out with guns. - Her size is odd, but also come with positive aspects, like how other models are able to shoot over her base, not bothering about LOS issues.
Minor nitpick: Breaker Pistols are always going to be DAM12 as CC Special Skills only add to the damage of PH based weapons.
She'd rather shoot people than slash at them, like all of the Steel Phalanx (yes, even Ajax). Plus as a melee, she lacks many things. She is not as mobile as Achilles or Patroclus, she is nowhere as durable as Ajax or Hector, she does not have smoke like all the myrmidons, and she is overall weaker than any of them in CC. Since she has a SMG, one of the best weapons in the game, a rather good BS and mimetism ... no need to spend order closing the distance to melee to begin with.
Brothers, thank you all for the aswers it is well appreciated. The bottomline is the sole reason I should take her the mini looks just gorgeous. :-(
Do you think Andromeda (just the humanoid figure) would make a good proxy for Vedic? I like her sculpt, but cannot really see her in Vedic.
I hear that she might (with a 60-70% probability) be in Vedic, since she is an INTELLIGENCE officer. Also, to use her as a proxy of something... her hand is part of the dog's head, so conversion time with a file!
I’m clearly of your opinion, that she has to be put to good use. The model is as gorgeous as the profile is... not. Luckily the REM κῆτος is a really nice Daleth Proxy and the hand on the head is easily filed away. Andromeda makes for a nice hacker. Just glue a tiny bit of wire into the Arm. It helps modelling a Hand with Green Stuff. Naga KHD fits that nicely.