Yea I mean it's super situational I know, I just felt totally helpless as the TAG just 'Doink - Dead' All my squishy hidden dudes without any come back. I mean it could have gone A LOT worse than it did, I just wondered if we had some sort of counter to it as it was the first time I'd seen it.
I switched to vanilla last year. I am still trying out options, but these are some things I never seem to find a niche for. It is likely they are just outclassed by other options in vanilla and would work better in their sectorial, but I was curious if there is something I am missing with them. Cassandra Kusanagi - I feel like she is way too expensive for what she brings, especially with the enormous target she has tattooed on her forehead. Cheerkillers - They have some interesting profiles, but I feel like they need Fireteam rules to function. I never seem to find a space for one in vanilla. Fiddler - I not a big fan of this option, but on paper I can see she could be a good Engineer. I am on the fence if I would ever use her. Grenzers - A little pricey. Maybe the Sniper; the Forward Observer could potentially be interesting in certain situations. Even those profiles never seem to find a place in my lists, and the rest seem incredibly dubious. Hollow Men - I sometimes feel like I would run one of these, but I always end up going something cheaper instead (usually an Evader). Iguana - N4 was bad to these guys. I never ended up running mine in N3 and cannot see it ever being an option in N4. Intruders - I flip-flop on these all the time. I love the idea, but they have never performed in my games and are too expensive for a one-hit wonder. Perhaps it is a local meta thing, or perhaps the Intruder is no longer a viable profile in the modern game. Puppetactica - I am intrigued, but I need to try these out still. They add-up quickly, but two bots in the right list could be interesting. I never seem to pull the trigger and keep these in a list. Kriza Bourac - I sometimes include one early in my list, but always drop it for a cheaper HMG to make points for something more important. I just cannot justify the cost, despite how strong it would be. Jelena Kovac - Maybe an outside chance in Tunguska, but I do not think she brings anything for vanilla. Lunokhod Sputnik - I used to run these all the time in N3, but they never make my N4 lists. They just do not seem to offer anything valuable now, despite their huge cost. Lupe Balboa - I used to sometimes run her in N3, but I feel N4 has left her far, far behind, and she brings nothing for vanilla. Mobile Brigada - I often run one, as they are some of my favourite minis, but they have never performed for me. These days I find myself drop it for something else. Reverend Custodiers - There are too many good Hackers in vanilla, so I cannot see these ever making the cut. Reverend Healers - They are trying to do everything and just end-up too expensive to be viable, IMO. Reverend Moiras - I feel they are outclassed by too many other units in vanilla to ever be an option. Riot Grrls - I feel like they need Fireteam rules. Frenzy makes them seem too risky of an investment, IMO. Salyut Zond - I often ran these post-HSN3, but have not made my lists yet in N4. I just cannot seem to find the room for one. Sin-Eaters - A more expensive, less-useful Reaktion Zond; I could not see myself ever using one of these. Sombras - I flip-flop on these too. I like the idea, but the price tag makes me gag and I feel like other options are better value. Spektrs - I want to like them, but I always end up taking other options instead. I just find them too expensive for what they do. Taskmasters - I think they could make an interesting Lt choice in something like Decapitation, but I have not tried it yet. I could not see myself ever using the non-Lt profiles. Tsyklon Sputnik - I almost always ran these in N3, but have struggled to find room in N4. Evaders seem to keep muscling them out. Vostok Sputnik - I have not tried proxying one of these yet. I like the idea of it, but the points cost keeps putting me off and I pick something cheaper instead. Wildcats - A Grenzer-lite. They are overshadowed by Grenzers and Evaders, in my eyes, so never seem like an option. Zondnautica - I want to like this, but I feel like there are multiple better options for most of what they do. I'll probably eventually buy and use one anyway, purely because I love the idea of the unit, but I feel like it is dubious. Is there anything I am overlooking with these options in N4 vanilla? Yes, there are plenty of other options I have not run (eg Lizard, Szalamandra), but I can see a niche where I may use them in the future. The options I listed here I am less certain about.
Puppets are really cool as you can lose them without hurting your order pool. They're good for engaging enemy to waste their orders, sitting somewhere annoying that forces an enemy to deal with them or just using them to hunt targets and not worry about casualties is fine too. Otherwise, yeah there's a lot in vanilla that doesn't make sense because it was designed for a sectoral. Bakunin in particular is in a weird place and hasn't transitioned well to n4. Internal balance in vanilla is wonky for most factions as there's always stuff that is outcompeted by mechanically "better" choices
Mkay, looks like the previous one was a botched translation or something and there will be no corregidor nurses. TBH, I really hope they won't bloat amount of profiles even more
Today i realized the supportware ban on Marionette was dropped out in N4. We can now give Marksmenship to a Puppetbot.
