Tohaa and balance is a wierd combination xD. I looks like they expected to buff IPs and at the end they made the strongest ILs from all factions
I do personally feel like Tohaa's mates are too strong, yes. I feel the same way about Posthumans and Ghazi spam. Is it possible to beat them? Absolutely, and I've done it. But it is harder than I think it should be. Although it doesn't help what you can stack them on. Sukaels or whatever they're called would be fine if they didn't have "immunity; your guns" for an ARO. EDIT: But, a more on topic discussion... I actually feel like Vanilla is more powerful than Sectorals in most cases. There are some exceptions, where a Sectoral brings sufficient power and maybe other options that Vanilla is matched, but the most powerful troops in the game... aren't linkable, typically. And besides, they are often cheaper. You know what kills link teams? A Hac Tao HMG with a bunch of orders from 10pt Keisotsus fuelling it. And even if you could take a Sectoral with those options, you wouldn't need to, you could just take Vanilla and do the same. Infinity massively rewards tactical flexibility and Sectorals lose a lot of that for raw power, which is arguably less useful IMO. I almost entirely play Sectorals myself, but for fluff reasons mostly, and because there's a certain mindset of list building which is just ingrained now, so it's probably easier for me to make a Sectoral list than a Vanilla one.
I feel like I enjoy the more limited nature and theming of sectorials more than I do vanilla, regardless of power level. Like just cuddling in and getting really intimate with a select number of units, getting to know them, caressing them, holding them, kissing them, feeling the coldness of their lead and steel against your bare flesh. When I play vanilla, it's largely to proxy a sectorial that doesn't exist yet lol. Vanilla to me is kind of overwhelming and really just grinds down to the base elements of the faction. PanOceania largely has +1 BS, Haqqislam generally has +1WIP, Yu Jing generally has pretty much everything and Ariadna generally has +1 flamethrowers.
I tend to think that Ariadna has a higher PH, really. In fact, is there any Ariadnan troop with PH 10? I think they are all 11+
Yeah, when recently Bostria explained the "PanO was a mistake" thing, it all comes from the First Edition, when profiles from different Factions got different bonus: +1 BS for PanO, +1 CC for Yu-Jing, +1 WILL for Haqq, +1 PH for Ariadna... I don't know what did Nomads get.
Nomads got +1 at being the coolest and sexiest and best faction, which they still have over everyone else Other than that they don't really have a set thing. Variation and flexibility is more their deal.
They got guided the guided missile combo of dooom. Back when it was the guided missile combo of doom and they had the only Hacker+ that was affordable.
As primarily a Sectorial player, we're obviously discussing three things when we pick a Sectorial: Link Teams, increased AVA on certain troop types, and unique options (profiles or entire units that aren't available to the Vanilla faction, but are available in a Sectorial.) These choices can be competitively very strong, but they need to be fully utilized. If I pick Acontecimento, I'm giving up a lot from the standpoint of Vanilla PanOceania. However, choices that have minor roles in Vanilla move to the fore: -Bagh Mari or Regular link teams become supreme offensive/defensive choices. Choices like Snipers move from being subpar Vanilla choices to becoming highly competitive. We all know the value of link teams, but they're especially strong at creating redundant options for heavy firepower that support big troops. Referencing an example above... Yes, a Hac Tao fueled by nine Keisotsu is strong. However, a Tikbalang fueled by nine BS15, +1 Burst, MULTI Sniping, Spitfiring Acon Regulars is even better. And if your centerpiece heavy hitter dies, you still have BS15 troops to fall back on. That threat level redundancy is my favorite thing about Sectorials. We don't even have to go into detail on Impetuous/Frenzy troops. A Vanilla Myrmidon and a linked Myrmidon are not the same thing. Same with Riot Grrrrls, or Haramaki. -Increased AVA on troops like Fugazi, whose Repeaters, Sniffers, Flash Pulse work very well with other troops within the Sectorial. This is very apparently with Hexas in NeoTerra, where you no longer have to choose between that Hexa KHD or that Hexa Sniper. -Gaining units you wouldn't ordinarily have. Using the Acon example, Nagas allow the Sectorial to work, and there's nothing like them in Vanilla PanO (Crocmen don't have a KHD, don't have Monomines, can't take risks thanks to Dogged.) If you've ever been hit by McMurrough and a Massacre Haris, you'll know what I mean. Ever had Yojimbo smoke the field before pinning you in your own DZ with Koalas, you'll know what I mean. So I think the balance between Vanilla and Sectorials is surprisingly stable. When I'm playing a Sectorial, it's on me as a player to try and make the game more about gunfighting, and less about flexibility, because gunfighting inherently favors me with my link bonuses, redundant AVA, etc. If I get into a game of "who has the more complete toolbox" or "who is more flexible at solving this problem" then I'm not playing to my strengths. No Sectorial will ever outdo Vanilla Ariadna in the category of button pushing. But if you apply the strengths of your Sectorial to the game and force your opponent to deal with them, you can assert the Sectorial's strengths and challenge your opponent to find a way to address them.
I'm sure balance is an issue, but for everything you gain, you need to free points. I'm a vanilla Nomad player first and foremost, but I also play Aleph, and all those faction's sectorials. I was and still am very excited for the Kriza, it's a powerful firefighter. But I find when list building I am still limited by points, typically the Krizas main competition is an intruder. With the Kirza I gain mobility, a wound to protect against crits, and a more generally applicable shooting skill, but I lose hacking invulnerability, the benefits of camo state, and the synergies with smoke that allow me to zero out return fire which is more powerful than full auto, but not always relevant. I can take both, but then I'm hamstringing something else. Taking models costs points. Lately I've been taking the Kriza, but it's still new and shiney, I've been using Intruders and my work horses for 4 or so years, I'm enjoying the change of pace. Generally I feel corrigedor and steel are excellent. I'm a little more hesitant about Bakunin, but I also think it just doesn't quite suit my play style.
I’m not a fan of the sectorials - mostly because they’re balanced by pilning bonuses on link teams, and I came to Infinity, because I wanted to play a game, where every model mattered. Then again.. I like how link teams can give purpose to models, that otherwise serve as order monkeys.
It's interesting you think of it that way. I'm not a Nomad player, but wouldn't Kriza Boracs main competitor be a Taskmaster? Similar wounds, similar BS, similar loudouts, etc.
@meikyoushisui not to go too off topic, but the units DO different things. Yes they have the same stats and similar point costs, but their skills and load outs are very different. The only compitition the Kriza has for best gunfighter in Nomads is a smoke assisted intruder. He's even in raw face to face winning ability superior to our tags. But that is about the only thing he is good for, no direct templates, no CC skills, no stealth, no handy toys like Koalas. I like him, but he's a very focused unit, almost like a Pano unit was picked up and dropped into Nomads. Sorry Pano peeps. In a shoot out, a Swast is no better than a mobile brigada, which also fares poorly when compared to smoke intruder for winning FtF rolls. I use Swast all the time, but they are a tool box between area denial with koalas and pulsars/shotguns. They are competent in CC with antimaterial CC weapons, which is good against things like anteannas and AC2s, and stealth is the most amazing skill, which comes with the Swast's MA. The only swast profile I dislike is the HMG, purely because it lack all the utility the other load outs bring. I think the HMG swast is primarly a load out for bakunin who can only get HMGs on Swast/Moria/TR bots. In vanilla there are better budget HMG options, and better elite HMG options, either of which I would take before a swast. For what its worth I think generally the SWAST red fury is the best data tracker option in Nomads, and probably one of the better LT options as well.
