Also, JSA is one of 5 "new armies". That means we will be getting also: Varuna Tunguska Vedic Invincible Army Case Closed.
So at least one new profile for JSA apart from the ones in the box, Tanko Zensenbutai. There also seems to be a special JSA version of the Rui Shi which I find interesting.
Some time ago (on the old forum) I wrote about faction flavors drifting away, because everyone with few exceptions is able to build a list around the same archetype... Oh well. This stuff is just too much. An artichoke, haqq guy, ninja, krakot, hardcase and a clipper bot walk into a bar...
So this is the thing that lots of people will love or hate. I love it, all those tears are delicious. Especially after we thought Yu Jing was the only one getting hit, now people are hit independently of the faction they play. Hats off CB, you trolled us masterfully again.
I admit I am a little disapointed. The JSA and Druze stuff is super neat and feels fleshed out! Star Co and Ikari just feel like they grabbed a bunch of units, stuck them in the blender and called them a Non-aligned army. I mean ultimately it doesn't hurt me I was just hoping for some awesome Merc lists, not a jumble of units. (at least my first impression)
Hmmm. But what about Ramah? We already have the starter for it from Red Veil and have been promised it for some time now. Invincible Army is a lock, yes. But I don't that the other three are necessarily more likely that Ramah.
Well, I'm quite in love about what I could face thanks to those NA2. To be incapable of predicting what my opponent will bring even if he says me that he is playing, let's say Ikari, is just the level above of mind games and strategy. And the flexibility in FT is that you'll be able to change your FT in the middle of the battle very fluently. This is something that is good to see and I wonder how regular armies will counter this flexibility with their superior technologies.
Its not a lack of theme. Maybe its the available background on JSA and Druze (at least that I have consumed) just feels a little more complete. Where as Ikari and Star Co just seem like "and here we have a mercenary company with some Nomads, and over here some Yu Jing mercenaries" Like I said, its not a crippling thing... just not what I expected.
Which is one of the purposes of the new book, it seems. It'll give us the "why" for each army, explaining its composition.
I was talking about other factions starting to do what previously only we used to do. More MSVs, more heavies etc. But I'm good with "Hard mode" :) all's ok. Fun fact: Druze HMG has damage 16 HMG, just like the Tikbalang.
So I'm guessing that we won't see any of the other armies in this book unless they want to keep them a secret until it releases. So that would mean that the book next year, assuming they keep to their schedule of releasing a small book every year like they said they want too, would be mostly things from this year? That sort of makes the book releases anti-climatic doesn't it?
The clash of logos and the fact I don't think many of us have ever envisioned them together really does make it look a bit grab-baggy, but there's a lot of interesting interactions there in the mechanics that could be very different without being better. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the background behind the composition of these lists in the book. The Ikari Wu Ming in particular... are those meant to be escaped Wu Ming or mercs using the same model of armour and equipment? Or is the Imperial Service renting out penal troops to pay for all its Bounty Hunters?
And how is that exactly "hits" people and causes tears? It was my comment about GW, but I personally don't care about new armies and they do not hit me by any means. More variety is Ok. GW was just a comment about new business model, not moaning. Please, learn how to distinguish, instead of concluding that every comment against CB's strategy is moaning.
