I'm starting a new thread here because we have a lot of commentary on new releases that's getting folded into the rumor and speculation discussions. I think a fresh start to specifically discuss the new profiles will help things stay targeted, and will also be helpful for those forum goers who haven't been keeping up with the various other discussions. Touching on the new units and their profiles: Helot: Wow, okay. Lots to parse here. Limited Camouflage OR Decoy. We don't have the full picture here, but we certainly know that Varuna will have a Camo game available if you go the Limited Camo route. Whatever the case, Neurocinetics means the Helot is a defensive Specialist. Ultra cheap, you pick your armament of choice and use him to cover a lane or anchor a corner. The cheap price is the real selling point here. In many cases, there's no reason not to have at least one. If you have .5 SWC to spend on that shocking cheap 9 point SMG + light rocket, it's a no-brainer purchase. The Red Fury and Sniper start to climb into costlier point range, but they're valid options for players who want that kind of defense. They probably won't be anticipated nearly as much as the cheaper Helot options, so there's always the posibility of surprising an enemy and catching them with a more powerful/longer range weapon than they expected to confront. There's opportunity for mind games here with Helot Neuro ARO, Jammer and Crocman Minelayer. Conclusion: Probably taking at least one, if not more. They're at a price point that's easily affordable, they fulfill a great role, and they're thematically perfect. Lists with leftover SWC are probably going to be paying it into Helots to fill out their lists with some defense. Zulu Cobra: This unit hs a lot of different applications, so we'll go profile-by-profile. Sensor/Jammer/Combi/Assault Pistol: Wow. So this is going to be our area denial tool. If you're familiar with the Heckler Jammer, you get the idea. If you're a competitive player, you know how valuable Sensor is. There have been some comments that Jammer and Sensor overlap a bit (sure, you can reveal Camo with an Intuitive Jammer attack.) But Jammer doesn't work with Sniffers, can't reveal TO, and can't triangulated fire. Triangulated Fire is big here... Camo is the tool necessary to make it work, since you can move into place to use it without dying horribly. Great tool. Having an LT profile that can take this loadout is the Varuna equivalent of a Hacking LT... We can Sensor through Sniffer with that LT Order if we want, and suddenly we now have a 0 SWC Camo LT (what what!?) The Spitfire is a nice choice, will compete for precious SWC but will punch holes in targets and be fearsome. The Shock Marksman Rifle offers a nice alternative, with those great rangebands. The X-Visor makes it friendlier to use at both very close range, and now you can hit targets in cover out to 40 inches away on 10s. This is a very good flexible piece. Both the Killer Hacker and Forward Observer provide some useful midfield Specialist presence. We don't know if/where other KHDs will appear, so we have to pay close attention to the Zulu Cobra for authorizing REMs for 0 SWC and blasting those enemy HDs. The Breaker Combi is a nice punchy weapon, leting this profile punch hard. Conclusion: At least one is probably going to show up often in an VIRD list, if not more. AVA Total Fusiliers and Sensor on something that isn't a Pathfinder even means we can play without REMs and still function fine. Multiple Jammers are going to be our go-to choice for area defense, in junction with links and Helots. Loads of Minelayers and templates is unlikely, so these will be a cornerstone of our defense and area denial. The KHD is also a cheap and easy choice for authorizing REMs, and given how valuable .5 SWC is in this Sectorial, players are probably going to be unwilling to pay for non-KHD devices just to get REMs in their list. For sheer combat purposes, hard to argue with Spitfire and Marksman Rifles on Camo BS13. Echo Bravo Oh, I love this unit. Airborne Infiltration only? Who cares. I'm actually glad I can build a plan around walking onto the table, rather than risking that roll to jump in. I'm not comfortable with that at all, and as we know there are lots of game-winning AD units that are also restricted to "walking on" (Tomcats? Mirage-5? These are units PanO would love to have.) The thing that really impresses me is that CB managed to keep the cost in the mid 20s, despite the 4-4 MOV and BS13. BSG, LRL: We got both weapons on the same profile? Template death. .5 SWC price tag for that LRL is great. when your enemy crowds behind terrain to avoid fighting your mixed link, this unit will finish the job. Really dangerous profile. Red Fury: Great cost, 1 SWC and 25 points. It beats the hell out of the 2 SWC Spitfires we're used to seeing. Straight fire superiority, and 4-4 MOV is great here for running and gunning. The Red Fury can do close quarters work, but also has the great long-range bands for sneaky cross-table shots into someone's back. Combi + LSG,Paramedic: Here's our specialist for the EBs, and it's a good one. You know how Combi + LSG isn't a good thing on many profiles? It's a great thing on a drop trooper, who has to bring all their tools with them, and can't rely on another guy in a link to carry a different weapon. Run on, 4-4 MOV to maneuver and push buttons, and you have the range/suppressive fire of the Combi or the backline-busting capability of the shotgun. And that doesn't even describe the Wildparrot yet... Use it to lay traps in the active turn, coming around the corner with shotgun or combi to force the enemy into a no-win ARO situation, either isolated or riddled full of holes. Or send the parrot off after other targets, pinning them in place while the EB hunts and gets work done elsewhere. No fear of trying to get close enough to drop a mine around a corner... This is a high-tech toy with amazing applications. Assault Hacker: If you like Assault Hacking, here's the option. It's surprisingly cheap (compare what you get to an Akalis) and you even get a DEP for funsies. If you want to step up your infowar, you can hide this off-table, and bring it on once the enemy KHDs are dead or identified. Conclusion: This is an AD unit unlike any other. There's a lot of profiles here that present multi-pronged, highly lethal backfield threats. The parrot is a very, very strong piece of gear, and the ability to put shotgun templates in the enemy backline is always going to be strong.
You bet, "TO in Hidden Deployment" was the phrase my mind ran to. So the Jammer's decent as a poor man's Sensor, but Sensor still has a lot of Discover application that Jammer doesn't cover. Bottom line being that I don't think both Jammer and Sensor are redundant at all!
I think he meant HD, yeah. There's not really much overlap tbh, Jammer is an excellent area denial ARO, but rarely worth using in the Active turn as it's a flat WIP roll-off. Sensor is much better and faster for discovering camo troopers with the WIP19 ZoC Sweep or +6 to ranged discover rolls, both of which are short skills unlike Intuitive attacks. Then it brings Triangulated Fire and preventing enemies from re-camoimg. So yeah, Sensor mostly obsoletes Jammer's ability to Intuitive Attack, but both bring a lot to the table and having both on the same Trooper is awesome especially for PanO.
ZCs seem like what PanO Hecklers should be, higher BS, more gucci toys, less support of the infowar network but less stripped down in terms of what they do too. At the same time, more expensive across the board. I'd take either, and couldn't call one or the other better (Red Fury for 1 SWC and 24pts is ace, Spitfire for 1.5 SWC and 28pts at BS 13 is also ace for example). They'll combo excellently with the Helots, camo shell game, is that your ZC Sensor LT, a KHD, a Spitfire... or is it a Neurocinetics Marksman Rifle? Echo Bravos are really nice, another excellent competitor in the "mid-20pts ADL2 LI troop" along with Tomcats and Hakims. All of them cool and characterful troops, the Echo Bravos are fast, great shooters, interesting specialists and selection of weapons too. Very PanO-y and very useful. With these guys, Wildcard Kamau in Fusilier links, Croc Men and the selection of PanO REMs on offer, you've got a really sexy Sectoral to play with.
Overalll thoughts: Helots: Probably not healthy for the game to have a 9pt Camo/Decoy Neurocinetics LRL/SMG. Think of it as a Warcor, but actually deadly and about 3x as annoying to get rid of. That being said, I’ll be fielding them because you would be a fool not to. Zulus: boy oh boy did we win the lottery here. The “worst” profile on the list is still an FD1 Camo BS13 Spitfire for 28/1.5. And I’ll be fielding that profile a LOT. As previously mentioned the KHD unlocks Remotes and with the list of other strong profiles people may not know you have one until they try to hack through your repeater and get fried. The Jammer profile is incredible in both VIRD and Vanilla, and the SMR/XVisor is going to be a great 0SWC gunner. I’m fairly certain that at least 2 if not the full 3AVA is going to make it into my first couple lists. Echo Bravo: my first reactions this morning were quite different from how I feel after a closer examination. I’m in love with the BSG/LRL profile, and the WildParrot is going to be making quite a few appearances on my tables. It’s kind of sad that the Red Fury is the profile I’m least excited about, because if you asked me yesterday what EB profile I was most excited to learn about it would have been the Red Fury. If this is the kind of creativity we can expect going forward I am excited to be a PanO player. #PanoCANhavenicethings
Have the rules for the Wild Parrot been spoiled? They didn't mention what it did in the video, and with a name like that, it could be literally anything. I'm guessing a Killler Koala variant, but who knows?
@RogueJello Iirc in the first overview video Bostria mentioned that they were like fast pandas, but instead of being repeaters they were e/maulers.
Which actually makes them awesome, since you can basically place them at 8" without exposing yourself at all, no roll.
I just re-watched the video. It's the 3rd Offensive review video. 9:50 is when he starts talking about it. He says "It's a device you can deploy up to 8 inches away. It's like a fast panda. They're like a mine with a small teardrop template that uses em/2 ammo." If he's not mixing up ammo types, that's better than a e/mauler cause those are only e/m, not e/m2.
The new stuff is really good, it feels PanO and is genuinely interesting, I'm quite excited to get these on the table.
The Zulu sensor has to be my pick for favorite new profile. It's just such an absolute headache with camo and triangulated fire and then ice the cake with a jammer? I'm taking one everytime.
Yep, this is pretty much where my head is at. I'm pretty excited about what this is all going to mean for Vanilla, as well as how great Varuna is going to be on the table.
