With army 7 we now know for sure what the Nyokas out and we see some other interesting things. I do not know about you but I love combat jump though each of our options for it in starmada takes away from AVA for other things. Crushers are ava 3 and very robust in it rules and profiles. The combat jump profile also get parachutist, FO, boarding shotgun and panzerfaust. Crushers are resilient and mostly seem to be a drop rambo to me that has the added bonus of being of pushing buttons. The problem is ever Crusher jump trooper you take is 1 less mid field model you have at the start. A Crusher in multi rifle, SMG or LRL in the right place may eat up a good number of orders as your enemy tries to remove them. Nyokas can come in from the table edge or be a fire team. I feel that you want at least 2-3 out of the 5 ava reserved incase you want to make a fire team with others added in. This is not much of a strain on the ava allotment. If you take a Nyoka parachutist, which one would you take? I like the red furry at damage 14. The Knight of Santiago (KoS) are ava 1 and they can have a 360 visor, KHD, boarding shotgun and combat jump. I would tend to pass these guys over because of points and but they can be good. A 360 visor boarding shotgun can be difficult to remove in a bottle neck or close range area in someone DZ. This is also the only way I would probably run a KoS as I do not feel the other profiles for it gives enough. For my two cents I would recommend going with a Nyoka parachutist if your looking to bring in a surprise gun vs HI or lighter. The specialist with multi rifle can work if you know there is an object near the edge but there are better options for that. For "problem solving" and objectives I like the Curshers, they are a little cheaper then the KoS and the panzerfaust adds versatility, want to hurt a TAG drop a Crusher then depending on where you are choose your gun. I am off to rebuild my Operation Meteor list. What is everyone else thoughts?
Stricly speaking about Airborne Deployement in Starmada: Crushers are surprisingly tough for beeing a MI. The jump/para profile is well armed and can effectively cover all range bands. I will give them a try: a couple of them and a EVO HD will be a reasonable loadout. I like the FD version too, the LGL/SMG in particular. Nyokas are much cheaper and have access to Red Fury. The RF version is a MI/HI hunter, while the FO one is a button-presser or can chase poorly-deployed cheerleaders with their Chain Colt. I'm not a fan of dropping squishy troops towards enemy. Nyokas are worth testing, but I think Crushers deserve every single point they cost more. I find them more suitable for beeing a good weapon platform in link team (HRL, HMG). Knight of Santiago has a very good loadout and can sustain some damage before dying horribly. KHD is both a blessing and a curse, since their can be a nuisance for enemy hackers, but can be interferred by hackers too. For beeing fully functional they have to drop regularly (EVO HD might help), survive the drop (they are tough enough) and use Cybermask. A lot of effort (and orders)... Long story short: Nyokas: cheap FO and surprise Red Fury (dmg 14!), doesn't need support (EVO). Crushers: way to go. A little costly, maybe, but cover all roles. Knight of Santiago: a real nuisance, but requires a good setup.
I really like the Crushers. I've always been a fan of out-manoeuvring opponents and creating favourable match ups. Airborne Deployment and Hidden Deployment troops have always been such a good way of doing that because of their order efficiency and being able to have the knowledge of where you need to be to take out the threat you're looking at. The Crushers for me do such a good job. Not only are they specialists (and the best kind when coupled with a Millicent bot, as I'll come to in a minute). A simple glance at their profile and they already stand out as one of the best AD troops in the game; BS13, Mimetism -3 and V:NWI. The Tiger Soldiers, who are also BS13 & mimetism -3 range from 28 to 34 points, but lack V:NWI. Yes, they have more profile options and you can't entirely compare across faction but it shows that the Crushers are at least priced in the right ballpark. At first, I was a bit uncertain about the loadout. I'm still uncertain as to how good boarding shotguns will prove to be compared to their previous design. Yes, being able to force a hit using direct template can be useful, but I liked the face to face template, knowing if I win, I survive. Having spent a little time thinking about this guy's use though, I think it is a great selection. The panzerfaust let's you come on and deal with something a little distance away in the back. With the proliferation of TAGs and HI we will no doubt see, that is very valuable and could earn more than his points back in a single shot. He can then set up for what I think will be one of my staple plays: Forward observing to target some juicy, hidden (by cover, not deployment) target. Guided looks exceptionally good now. It was good before, but difficult to find the order efficiency with targeted being removed at the end of the turn in which it was caused. Now, there is no such hardship. Targeted will remain until the models succeeds at a WIP-3 roll, either normal or face to face. Forward Observe can now also be used in ARO. Once you light up a target, you can then use your Millicent bot to throw an AP+EXP impact template into your unsuspecting target. Their options are, dodge, FtF against a BS18 attack, or take a normal roll missile to the face, and hope for a WIP-3 reset. The usefulness for tying up a link, having some free shots at a TAG or Guided sniping a LT shouldn't be under-estimated. It allows the Crusher to be a threat with his shotgun at 0-8" with +6 BS or Forward Observe with burst 2 but flat WIP all the way to 24". For guided, sure, they might dodge successfully against all five guided attacks you can make in a turn, and then first order decide to reset out of targeted. Well, if your Crusher is in the right spot, suddenly you can ARO Forward Observe, or shoot, or whatever favourable option gets you a good result. I'm not entirely sure whether the tactic will result in mass-destruction of enemy forces. What I do think it will do, is eat up a huge amount of orders, maybe take a model or two out here or there and as a result of holding back the enemy advance, let me grab the objectives I need to grab to win the game. I have a list with two AD crushers, the millicent remotes and still space for a five man link. Anybody have any thoughts? ED
Absolutely. It all fits. The kappa link had two missiles in it for defensive purposes... ED Sent from my SM-N986B using Tapatalk
