I was working on making lists, Vanilla and Sectoral, for Decap and looking at the list of Lt. I was having a hard time making a choice for some of them. Vanilla and IA seem like a no brainer with the Daoying but it's not so easy for ISS and WB. But then maybe it's not a no brainer to use the Daoying. Since it's public information who is your Lt., Decap is a mission that's going to have things like Speculo/Fiday, Jump troops, to get to your Lt. fast. For me, some of the best protections for a Lt. are Camo, high ARM and multiple wounds. There can also be one that's good as Second Lt. You might want to pick a back up when o make a list instead of on the fly. Or just be sure to know who you want. Assuming they are still available. Vanilla I automatically think of the Daoying for vanilla. Camouflage, ok armor. Others with Camouflage is the Daofei and Guilang. The Guilang interests me for both Vanilla and WB. Not just camo but also has MSV to fight other camo troops, and due to infiltration, he can get into spots that are hard to get to even if it's outside your DZ. Unfortunately also costs 1 SWC. I would take Daofei in any other mission than this. For a tough heavy there's obviously the Gujia Lt. You can be a bit aggressive with him and be defensive. Another one is the Mowang. Great armor with mim-3, 2.5 wounds, cheaper SWC for Red Fury and Spitfire. But the one that somewhat interests me is the Zuyong HMG with Regeneration. It's a bit of a gamble though. But pts for killed Lt. isn't until the end of the game. There's a chance the Regen roll works. But you must do it. Otherwise he counts as killed even if he comes back later on. You need to start your turn with a Lt. ISS This one I have a hard time with. There's no camo Lt. but some ok HI Lt. I've thought of Sun Tze since the enemy knows he's the Lt. anyway, might as well use him. He's also tough. But he's so expensive for me! Putting a lot of points into defense instead of offense. Also other than good armor Immunity Total, he doesn't have much else. The Crane Lt. at least has things like Sensor if they get the chance to use it, good CC to fight back and good weapons. The Hsien has of course MSV to fight camo troops coming at him and ok CC but not great. Devas are not bad since they have NWI and cheap-ish. I especially like the one with the Devabot as a guard. The thing the Crane, Hsien and Deva have in common is that they can be part of a fireteam. So bodyguards. Both the Crane and Hsien can have a Bao to ward of Impersonators, and Zhanying madtraps. Deva are not as good with Dakini, CG, and Taowu. Though TW can be a bit of a surprise. IA I've already mentioned some in Vanilla. Daoying, Zuyong Regeneration, Guijia, etc. The options are somewhat limited. White Banner I'v already mentioned the Guilang Lt. but the one that draws me in a bit is the Jujak Lt. because he's a cheap HI with ok weapons. He's also cheap enough I don't mind not putting him in a fireteam and having him on his own. I'm not sure upgrading to a Shang Ji Lt. is worth the cost. So what do you guys use and why?
I would nearly always choose the camo option. Daoying and Guilang. Daofei lt is not for this mission - you block too much points. Guijia lt when you plan to max out your TAG, but not here. To much vulnerabilitys. Could be hacked, could be shooted (with heavy calibre) and is always #1 target. In other missions you will include a CoC but not here. Leaves ISS where I would go with the Deva with bot, which can block access to the lt itself (on a rooftop or in building) and even then you have a decent survivability.
Daoying always whenever it's available. Marker state is the best defense in the game, on top of the other benefits the Daoying provides. For White Banner and ISS, things get a bit more nuanced. Adil Crane is pretty bulky, can't be isolated, and is good enough in the ranges where most assassination runs will strike from (and sensor means that most won't get a second chance). Wildcard status also makes him reasonably easy to fit into a list. In most contexts, MI Adil is wildly better, but for Decapitation, it might be worth paying those 8 points for what would otherwise be a worse profile before the point hike. For White Banner specifically, the Guilang becomes the next obvious decision. Marker state, and more freedom to deploy it in a difficult position if necessary. MSV1 means it eats other skirmishers, which is useful if you need to shoot down your assailants (although the burst advantage of the active turn should make this an absolute last resort). For ISS, Sunny 1.0 is still a massive tax. I'd still pass hard on him. Sunny 2.0 is a lot better, but still has trouble fitting into ISS teams (good fun and packs some niche viability in vanilla though). It should go without saying, but Adil Crane outclasses a regular Crane for this mission in every conceivable way (in general, Cranes suck). The Hsien (MMR or HMG) could work in a pinch, but suffers from wanting to be really aggressive in a mission that discourages that. Overall, Adil Crane would be my top pick for ISS.
It's seems like it's Daoying winner for Vanilla and IA. Runner up for me is Guijia especially in a Duo with Kokram (can be both vanilla and IA). It's still hard for ISS. I like Adil too. Last ngiht I had a game and used a Crane with Bao BSG, Zhanying Madtraps. Unfortunately I went up against a new guy, and had no problem with him. He never got anything close.
I actually like the Guijia as a Lt for White Banner, but I would never take it as one for decapitated, let alone when you would ever have the Daoying available. You really don't want to bank on its survival.
