She needs more testing but to me she's an excellent alternative to solo Hector. Field with Saladin or Cho, a full defensive security core with enough decent firepower, and with Andromeda along and you'll get a solid core of a list already.
She actually has a little better synergy with Beta troops than in White Banner troops. They all have climb+ for great movement synergy. Then a doctor, hacker, and good weapons. In WB the only ones that have movement synergy is the Ye Mao and Super Jump. Ye Mao cost almost the same as Beta too but only MI. She can also jong Shang Ji and Jujak but neither of them have the movement abilities. To be fair though she does count as a Shang Ji and Shang Ji can Super Jump in a few missions this season. But a whole team of Shang Ji is very expensive. A 5-member team of Beta with Bixie is pretty good. Then you can also add in an Epsilon or a Bronze who also has Climb+! Also in certain missions Tian Gou can be added due to their Terrain (Zero G).
Bixie, 2 tacaware Shangji and 2 jujaks have been amazing for me in WB. WB are in a much better place to field her imo - the pain train really benefits from her, and they have Longyas and monks to make that train a 15-unit list. Starmada not so much. The fact that she swims against Hector is also an issue.
Bixie with a Spitfire & Firewall Betatrooper plus either: - Parvati (has Doctor 2W -and- Engineer, but mismatch on Superjump/Climb Plus with the Beta) - Betatrooper doctor (matches for movement but cannot fix self or other Betatrooper, only Bixie). Either way it’s an -amazing- link. I have no idea why you would take anything else for objective missions, or even just for straight-up face-stomping. That Firewall is super valuable for Bixie, and is basically free on top of a range-extending Spitfire. They all Dodge really well too, making mines and templates way less of a threat. And they’ll cross the battlefield super fast while still attacking. It’s like everything I love about Riotgrrls, but even more mobile and concentrated (can do missions that require Riots to field Avicenna -and- Fiddler).
I see the value in the type of link you propose @Savnock. Although I would myself choose not to field the Spitfire & Firewall Betatrooper and instead use an Multi Sniper Rifle Epsilon, Bixie and a Doctor Betatrooper as an all-around offensive Haris. Although the Epsilon doesn’t fully match Bixie and the Betatrooper MOV values, it doesn’t really matter as they in practice move the same anytime you declare Move+Move. Full link can climb+ without any clumsiness. Bixie and the MSR Epsilon cover every single distance range of the whole table available. A linked MSR Epsilon is in practice a (much) better Knauf offensively speaking in the active turn. And the Haris carry on a doctor who not only can patch up either Bixie or the Epsilon if thing go awry, or take them out of Stun State if a pesky Flash Pulse is able to crit on you in the FtF roll, but who it is himself sturdy, dodges well, and who can trade the occasional B1 Direct Template of your Opponent with his own Boarding Shotgun one without fear of falling unconscious himself (never do it if is an enemy B2 Direct Template unless you feel lucky that day!). Yes, you’re missing an engineer in the link I am suggesting, and you’re also missing a firewall. But the raw power the MSR Epsilon brings in the active turn it is too much to not consider it. A final note for consideration: A bronze works more or less the same as Bixie in the kind of link I am proposing. Although he would be more expensive, and lacking MSV1, he would be instead more resilient in case things go into the wrong side (Total Inmunity and higher ARM/BTS), and at the same time a better deterrence against enemy Close Combat Specialists in the reactive turn (a -9 to enemy CC and at the same time being Total Inmune). Additionally the only think he would need to worry that usually make HI troops to be worry would just any kind of Comms Attack such as hacking, which he is naturally more resilient than Bixie thanks to his higher BTS. I agree that the combination of bringing a MSV1, a zapper and being cheaper makes Bixie more attractive in paper.
Sounds like a difference in playing style. Once you start playing 6-2 links a lot, you really do see the speed advantage, IMO. I do Move-Attack/Short skill about 2x as often as I do Move-Move. That’s a decent number of inches over 5-7 orders. Having the distance/speed to strike deep and then retreat to a defensible position is just as important as raw to-hit numbers IMO. So for my style maxxing that speed is most important. And since Bixie already has MSV1, and a Spitfire Beta moves far enough to largely obviate the difference in range from an HMG (but HMG hits harder), the differences are a wash there. (Gotta say I really don’t understand you taking a Multisniper over an HMG, but you must have a reason? I’m adressing HMG here though as it seems like a more likely weapon for an assault team. B5 N > B3 AP/shock for most purposes, and ARO duty isn’t really great for an assault Haris.) But most importantly IMO, protecting Bixie more from Oblivion is important. This is true for other HI and even moreso with a keystone piece like Bixie i’d assume. Repeater networks are so easy to establish now that being able to wade through them without getting Isolated is critical to keeping your expensive piece useful. Protecting that with a Tinbot is helpful, but having an engineer along if possible is crucial IMO. Also a playstyle thing, as maybe you just use an EVO for Firewall, but I want those orders into movement or fire support instead. That’s a set of total guess based on the other 6-2 HI that I play a lot, so YMMV. I’m definitely going to ask my Starmada opponent if we can switch armies here and there for fun, mainly so I can play this Bixie Haris. Nothing like a fast, lethal toolkit that’s hard to destroy!!
Definitely, I agree that 6-2 MOV is much better once you’re in the hot spot zone and you have a target rich environment. But until you reach that area of the game table, or you want to move from one area to another a 4-4 and a 6-2 MOV are roughly (if not mathematically) equal. The main reason for a MSR instead of an HMG is to take advantage of the 40 and 48 inches range that the MSR bring in comparison against the 32 inches range of the HMG. Of course this would not be as relevant in a meta that favors super dense table with almost no lane of fire longer than 24 / 32 inches. And that you have the better option of B3 AP for cracking particular tough opponents, mainly tags, with the linked MSR, or B3 DA for the others. It is not that I don’t like the HMG Epsilon, is just that I prefer to run him solo. And I like to run the MSR Epsilon in a Haris.
