Another training game for Akial, this time against an MO player. Really nice game, even though the missions' objectives are hard on my brain. Gave the lovely Viral MMR Odalisque a test drive. Still lost in a relatively close 7-9 defeat. A couple of things I've learned: About QK: - Odalisques (specifically the Viral MMR profile) are really good, reliably dropping most of the stuff with Marksmanship and viral rounds. Very good midfield ARO piece as well when in a Duo; - Burkuts are competent combat engineers that sadly outshine the Kaplans in QK. D-Charges, Heavy Infantry, Veteran Troop, Engineer - he can actually do a LOT of classifieds. Sadly the LRL profile is rather vulnerable when in the midfield due to not having template weapons, so I might reconsider this profile and try going for an HFT profile instead; - Janissaries are amazing. Even an ML in a Duo (yes, they can duo now) is a great active-turn piece for removing some close/mid range armored threats that Military Orders are known for; - Hafza shell game feels great. Hiding an FO specialist as a Janissary Doctor is a good way to make your opponent think that you cannot achieve classifieds, only for you to come up and make them; - Laxmee has a really great toolkit with White Noise and benefits well from having a decently spread out repeater network. - Bashi Bazook is a great scalpel-type of unit that has enough guns with both T2 ammo and normal ammo to hurt people just enough to leave them Unconscious; - Don't bring your Yuan Yuans to cover as many people with a Chain Rifle template as possible, especially if they have two wounds. If you have a specific 1W target that they can kill on their own and then live to annoy the enemy troops on their next turn -- do exactly that. Don't throw them away so hastily; - Hawwa FO didn't do much on this game, but he was a great "fake" hacker, since I reserve-deployed him in the way of De Fersen's fireteam. Doing so actually cleared my left flank for the entirety of the game; - Sekbans are rather squishy when you take them to the midfield, and losing your only NCO for the entire list HURTS like crazy. There probably should be at least two of them. About MO: - Not a lot of high-burst guns that can reliably move people outside of the DZ. Placing a Mimetism sniper somewhere approximately outside 32" can impede knights' progression very effectively, as long as they don't bring the Sepulchre Knight; - De Fersen can be used as an Lt. I went for the Knight Commander in the enemy DZ, but he ended up being a CoC, while De Fersen lived to see the endgame. He tanked a lot of Odalisque's Viral MMR saves, and it's now my headcanon that they fell in love with each other post-mission; - Konstantinos is a great, if squishy, specialist with plenty of toolkits at his disposal. He was one of the MVPs pushing buttons on the Antenna; - Trinitarians are annoying to fight against, especially when you make a point of playing without MSV; - Black Friars paired up with Trinitarians and some other Mimetism models impose on you a lose-lose scenario where you can be screwed by having or not having MSV in equal measure; About Akial Interference: - I wanna see it burn in hell; - On second thought, it trains your infinity-brain really well with how many rules there are, and you also learn what the classifieds are all about, making sure to bring the right units for the job. This, in turn, makes you better at the list building. You're much more likely to include a well-rounded roster of units on every mission; - I used to think that the Antenna is not important on that mission. This game showed me just how wrong I was. Trinitarian and Konstantinos were dominating that area, pushing buttons and depriving me of my accomplished Classifieds. I elected to move my Odalisque Haris around the Antenna without engaging the enemy specialists, and that was a mistake. Odalisques are made for clearing out one-wound specialists with Pulzars, eating mines, going NWI, etc. If I did that and dominated the Antenna with the Burkut, it would be pretty difficult to dislodge me, especially with how Antenna was positioned on the table. It could have been a victory for me. I'll try and squeeze in one more game, before this tournament starts proper.
We got some nice updates with October 15 balance pass. They really, really want you to use Odalisques. We got 6-2 movement, Better CC, heals from a medikit on a 15, and some spicy profiles. We have a cheapish Disco Baller, a lore appropriate specialist with a Paramedic, a burst +1 Boarding shotgun or Rifle/Light Shotgun, and a MARKSMANSHIP Viral Marksman Rifle!!! Laxmee has some great bodyguards. Hazfas LT with +1 LT order. Works great with Sekbans. Bekçileri Fireteams! It allows Duos, Haris, and Cores of Jannisaries or Kaplans. Odalisques count as either. That provides some much flexibility and new options. What do you guys think?
Amazing things IMO, also gonna try out Zaybek some time in the future. Want the same love for my Kaplans though. Gonna be fielding pure Odalisque link teams, maybe even 4-men link with a Sekban as the fifth guy.
