That only happens when overwhelming force becomes your go to answer, I've been moving away from them lately in favour of more flexible builds. Usually ones that use some skirmishers multiple hellcats and some other asymmetrical options.
Part of the StarCo problem is that StarCo is basically a Sectoral where there are some very obviously good things (Emily + Alguaciles, Raoul, Hardcase, Irmandihno, MSV2 Brawler Sniper in Haris with a CSU...), which is fine, except all of those obviously good things are quite cheap and therefore you can take all of them. You don't need to go "hmmm an inexpensive core backing a strong character, a good shooter Haris and a few camo markers means no drop troops or hacker plus REMs due to order starvation and lack of points" because you can take all that and more. You don't need to skimp on anything that's obviously great because everything that's obviously great basically fits into a 300pt list. And then the other obviously great list (Riots plus Emily) is your second list for an ITS tournament and you're almost exploring the limit of the lists you really want to take. For me part of it is the list of troops. If I'd have done StarCo it'd have been Alguaciles Jaguars Daktari Clockmakers Mobile Brigada Hellcats CSUs Brawlers Moblots (Merovingian mercenary company, Merovingia actually fits the most as the Ariadnan provider of troops to StarCo due to their great interest in commercial enterprise and off-world connections) Chasseurs (same) KTS (outsourced special tactical operations) Anacondas All the Nomad REMs except the Meteor as per usual -Characters -Maybe something else from Haqq that represents a recon/skirmish element, Hunzakuts maybe And then you'd actually have a few choices and options rather than spamming basically the same list sub-chunks repeatedly
I see a lot of people asking for hunzakuts. I get it, because they’re awesome. However, I don’t think every faction should get access to them. I lists like Haqqislam and Druze, fill a function that few, or no other model can. In Starco and many other factions, it would be a redundant powerhouse.
Honestly I wouldn't want to really give them Hunzakuts, I'd want them to have a professional camo infiltrator that they use for recon and observation, but I can't really think of one that'd then be appropriate as a mercenary operator. Which is why I think it's kind of silly they got Bandits.
Don't like the Bandits in Starco too. But I would prefer ava 2 Strelok without the K9 profile but with the minelayer. Don't know if this would be correct fluff wise.
I don't have an issue with their "Irregular" midfield. It's basically where the independent minded people get put. The only reason I want a Hunzakut is for a reasonably priced Deployable Repeater skirmisher: Infil Marker state KHD, AHD + Dep Rep is pretty much the best 'hacking-lite' midfield you can do. But I'll freely admit that simply because it's a shinye toy. The MRRF aspect is interesting, but would have directly undermined CB's plan to French their models. And Chasseurs would be stupid. Briscards would be the most interesting unit to get from them, both from a gameplay and fluff POV. I think a mixed Grrl / MB core would have been more interesting than what we got. AVA3 for each, up to 3 Grrls/up to 3 MB in the core. Haris with up to 2 Grrls / up to 2 MB. Massacre counts as a MB, Avicenna counts as a Grrl. Brawlers Core as the main link. CSU as Wildcard: up to one in any link. Raoul FTO is a Wildcard. 1 Alguicils can join a Brawler link. Emily counts as an Alguicil. Remove Clockmakers and Daktari. What's missing is a MI Fireteam. But you can get away with it because both links are glorious messes that will end up pricier than the optimised Alg core with Emily. For the standard "all the toys" list. What happens is t
A hunzakut is more than reasonably priced and extremely flexible. Starco doesn’t need it. I get why you want it. Everyone wants great things for their faction. But in terms of pure gameplay, and from the fluff lense, Starco shouldn’t have it.
Hmm... weird. I'm having issues editing that post. For the standard "all the toys" list what happens is that you lose the Brawler Haris (which is consolidated into the Core). So you still get all the toys but they start cannibalizing orders from each other. Starco. Free Company of the Star ────────────────────────────────────────────────── GROUP 1 8 2 BRAWLER Lieutenant Rifle + Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 16) BRAWLER (Multispectral Visor L2) MULTI Sniper / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 28) BRAWLER Doctor (MediKit) Rifle + Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 20) CSU (Specialist Operative) Rifle + Light Shotgun, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12) EMILY (Chain of Command) Combi Rifle + Light Grenade Launcher (Normal and E/M), Nanopulser / Assault Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 35) SPECTOR (AD: Combat Jump) Boarding Shotgun, Nanopulser, Drop Bears / Pistol, E/M2 CC Weapon. (0 | 33) BANDIT Hacker (Killer Hacking Device) Light Shotgun, Adhesive Launcher / Pistol, DA CCW. (0 | 25) JAGUAR Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, DA CCW. (0 | 10) CSU (Specialist Operative) Breaker Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 15) CSU Boarding Shotgun, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 11) GROUP 2 4 3 1 JAGUAR Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, DA CCW. (0 | 10) JAGUAR Adhesive Launcher, Panzerfaust / Pistol, DA CCW. (0.5 | 13) HARDCASE FRONTIERSMAN Tactical Bow, Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12) HELLCAT Spitfire / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 28) HAWWA' (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 21) IRMANDINHO Chain Rifle, D-Charges, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, AP CCW. (0 | 8) WARCOR (Aerocam) Flash Pulse / Stun Pistol, Knife. (0 | 3) 4 SWC | 300 Points Open in Infinity Army Still recognisable, but not actually as scary. There's a lot less pain it can inflict T1 then the Alg Core + Brawler Haris version.
You're right they don't. More interesting would be Merc Cateran and Hardcase profiles. Drop the T2 Sniper and get an MSR on the Cateran. Add a Combi + Dep Rep profile to the Hardcase which loses the Tac Bow. Still recognisable as 'Caterans and Hardcases' but also showing the fact they've picked things up offworld.
On the subject of the MB link; I'm not saying its GOOD, but I've had a lot of fun running this in missions without a lot of button pushing to do: Starco. Free Company of the Star ────────────────────────────────────────────────── 10 AVICENNA Combi Rifle, Flash Pulse / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 27) RIOT GRRL Spitfire / Pistol, Knife. (2 | 34) RIOT GRRL (Fireteam: Haris) Combi Rifle, Blitzen, Stun Grenades / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 30) DAKTARI Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 14) MOBILE BRIGADA Lieutenant MULTI Rifle + Light Flamethrower / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 39) MOBILE BRIGADA Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 33) MOBILE BRIGADA HMG / Pistol, Knife. (2 | 42) SEÑOR MASSACRE Breaker Combi Rifle, E/M Grenades, Eclipse Grenades / Pistol, AP CCW, E/M CCW. (0 | 29) HAWWA' Hacker (Assault Hacking Device) Boarding Shotgun, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 26) REAKTION ZOND HMG / Electric Pulse. (1 | 26) 6 SWC | 300 Points Open in Infinity Army
Well, I had some success with StarCo at a practice tourney on the weekend, winning the event with 3 majors - which sure was great for my ELO ranking since I beat two of the top 10 players in Aus. Pretty happy with my Firefight & Decapitation list. Firefight/Decap ────────────────────────────────────────────────── GROUP 1 8 2 EMILY (Chain of Command) Combi Rifle + Light Grenade Launcher (Normal and E/M), Nanopulser / Assault Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 35) RIOT GRRL Missile Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (2 | 33) RIOT GRRL Spitfire / Pistol, Knife. (2 | 34) RIOT GRRL Combi Rifle, Blitzen, Stun Grenades / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 29) RIOT GRRL Boarding Shotgun, Stun Grenades / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 27) BRAWLER Lieutenant Rifle + Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 16) SPECTOR (AD: Combat Jump) Boarding Shotgun, Nanopulser, Drop Bears / Pistol, E/M2 CC Weapon. (0 | 33) HARDCASE FRONTIERSMAN Tactical Bow, Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12) JAGUAR Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, DA CCW. (0 | 10) JAGUAR Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, DA CCW. (0 | 10) GROUP 2 4 BRAWLER (Multispectral Visor L2) MULTI Sniper / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 28) JAGUAR Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, DA CCW. (0 | 10) CSU Breaker Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12) CSU Boarding Shotgun, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 11) 6 SWC | 300 Points Open in Infinity Army My Supremacy/Supplies list is the one that still needs some tweaking. I won with it but didn't really maximise on objectives. Supremacy/Supplies ────────────────────────────────────────────────── GROUP 1 8 2 EMILY (Chain of Command) Combi Rifle + Light Grenade Launcher (Normal and E/M), Nanopulser / Assault Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 35) ALGUACIL Missile Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 15) ALGUACIL HMG / Pistol, Knife. (1 | 18) ALGUACIL Lieutenant Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (1 | 10) ALGUACIL Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 10) ALGUACIL Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 10) HAWWA' (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 21) JAGUAR Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, DA CCW. (0 | 10) BANDIT Hacker (Killer Hacking Device) Light Shotgun, Adhesive Launcher / Pistol, DA CCW. (0 | 25) SPECTOR (AD: Combat Jump) Boarding Shotgun, Nanopulser, Drop Bears / Pistol, E/M2 CC Weapon. (0 | 33) GROUP 2 5 1 1 BRAWLER (Multispectral Visor L2) MULTI Sniper / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 28) IRMANDINHO Chain Rifle, D-Charges, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, AP CCW. (0 | 8) HELLCAT Paramedic (MediKit) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 24) UHAHU Hacker (Hacking Device Plus. UPGRADE: Icebreaker) Pitcher, D-Charges / Assault Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 25) CSU (Specialist Operative) Rifle + Light Shotgun, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12) CSU (Specialist Operative) Breaker Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 15) 6 SWC | 299 Points Open in Infinity Army Not sure what I can really tweak that much, it would be nice to squeeze Avicenna and a zondbot in there for minding the alguiciles but not sure what i'd drop for it. Any ideas?
The only thing you can drop for Avi in your second list is Uahu. But I think you get more value from Uahu. You could probably drop the CSU duo for a Daktari and Zondbot + Jaguar. But that'd be it. I'm not at all shocked that you ended up with a Grrls list and a Emily/Raoul/MSV2 Brawler list. :)
Main surprise has been how useful the Jags have been. They've contributed in every game, and not just via smoke.
