Well, if Santiagos are only AVA 2, they wouldn't in be in competition with ORCs but more a complement (see ORC Haris and Duo Santiago or ORC Duo and Santiago Duo).
Me and my four fireteam buddies, you mean. AVA 2 Santiagos would be interesting, but ORC Core and Haris (especially if they'll get new loadouts) would have plenty of its own strengths, me thinks :)
Interesting about MO. I feel like their presence contrasts heavily with the "tacti-cool" feel of Varuna, but I also look at Montessas in Acon and they fit very nicely into the Sectorial. The Friar is also a nice addition to NCA, pairing nicely with Swiss Guard to identify NCA as a force that includes the authority of the NeoVatican. Pretty cool. Thinking of which Knightly Orders would be effective on Varuna, I agree that there's no fluff justification yet for any of them but that doesn't mean it can't change. The MSV2 Kamau profile partially indicates to me that CB doesn't want MO unit in Varuna, because that would have been the perfect opportunity to include the Friar. The KotHS would be a cool addition as a lone operative. Holo would have a lot of application, letting the Knight double something like a Kamau Sniper to project a false threat, or hide as 3 Fusiliers in a Sectorial where Fusiliers may be AVA Total. I'd prefer to leave major linkable Knights out of the mix... I think it would feel too much like a band-aid.
That's why you change your lists. Sometimes those three are really Fusiliers. Sometimes it's a Sepulchre. Sometimes only two of them are Fusiliers, and you let enemy find out about one of them quickly, so they don't expect surprises. Ever heard of a trick called Kansas City Shuffle? ;) On topic: I don't think Knights have much place in Varuna, but then again we don't know what the overall theme of the sectorial will be.
I should have been more clear--my example was meant to be in NCA, where they're limited to Haris. A 5-man Core of ORCs would bring the pain, no doubt. If you want to talk about band-aids, how about we have a chat about the inclusion of Aleph units in 2 of our 3 sectorials? I know you're not the biggest fan of space knights in general from past discussions, but when push comes to shove I'd rather have them make an appearance than another AI patch. ;-)
Thematically it would be nice to have our Sectorials be all PanO units, but I'd rather have those ALEPH units than not have them. My issue with knights is partially thematic, true, but also I don't think that the Hospitallers/Santiagos bring anything that belongs in the Sectorial. I like the Montessa in Acon because they're tactically flexible (huge piles of tools and profiles) and includes in-built Order efficiency, which fits Acon's playstyle as the swiss army knife of PanO. Similarly, I like the Sepulchre as a possible Varuna unit because it has Holo, which is an interesting tool, and fits the role of solo powerpiece that Varuna seems to lack right now outside of the Cutter. Their focus on Guardianship, serving as the custodians of sacred places, works well in the whole "things are going to hell" theme for this year. But something like Hospitallers or Santiagos running around doesn't feel like it belongs in a force that focuses on counter-terror and counter-insurgency. I doubt you'll like this answer, but I actually wanted Agema/Atalanta in Varuna because we know Atalanta gets used for dirty black bag missions by ALEPH, and the idea of ALEPH sniping people in paradise is not only wonderfully sinister, but also filled the valuable role of MSV2 (this was back before we got the Kamau profile.) That would have been an ALEPH inclusion that made both thematic and strategic sense for the design of the Sectorial. If it helps though, nothing seems to indicate an ALEPH presence in Varuna. I suspect CB won't feel the need to push the inclusion of ALEPH units in Sphere Sectorials for a while, because Vedic will be happening eventually, and we won't need to borrow ALEPH units to help boost SKU sales.
Like I said above, I think the Santiagos could fit depending on how they fluff out the sectorial. I agree that Hospitallers (or Teutons) would be weird. I'd thought of Atalanta as well, but $5 says she shows up in Vedic instead. :-)
Well the Varuna Sectorial could profit from a nice "Hyperspecialized Acquatic Lhost" crafted by A.L.E.P.H. precisely for the "Waterworld" of Pan-Oceania. . . While a "Stealth Operative Lieutenant" that just appear to resemble Kevin Costner with Gills and Webbed-Toes could be some kind of lightly-equipped kind of Loadout, some kind of "Big Brother Computer" version of Maui, the Trickster Hero / God of Polynesian Culture could be a suitable "Seaside Achilles Commander" for the Blue Sea counter-terrorism Units (that based on description of Kamaus and the Cutter T.A.G. to Me resemble the Infinity Version of U.S.Navy Seals, or at least Elite Marine Rangers). . .!!
Well, to be fair it depends on how (and how often) you play and what's the "meta" looks like. During events it may fail simply because it's not vidiya with its FT3/FT5 being tournament standard. A requirement to set your holos during list creation and being limited to 2 lists with no way to stop info from spreading during the game day can really mess stuff up if that's your environment.
I actually thoroughly disagree with arguments against ALEPH units appearing in our Sectorials. ALEPH is ours, and we ARE ALEPH to a very large degree. PanOceania is the most natural place for ALEPH units to be, as we're the society which views the AI as simply part of who we are. Of course we bring her along to help us in combat as well. That being said, on reflection I don't really have an objection to a MO unit in Varuna, I just don't see that it's obvious that there WILL be one. A duo of Santiagos would work well and easily be justified by some small addition to the setting and background without contradicting what has come before. At the same time I do really want to see ORCs flourish, as well as Kamau and Fusiliers. A REALLY discounted profile (SMG would be ideal) as well as some utility options (Sensor would be a good one) would help bring some much needed flavour and flexibility. But I still want to see a "door kicker" unit. If it's not going to be Kamau (and I guess I need to let that dream die) then I would love to see a Medium Infantry unit in this role. Give them Boarding Shotguns, SMGs, Spitfire and Marksman Rifles and REALLY tool up for CQB. In fact I'd go so far as to say this should be our Full Auto unit, don't bother with vision mods, do with superior firepower! And to make up for the mobility issues (MI + CQB isn't going to play well) then make them Mech Deploy. But now I really AM just wishlisting!
@barakiel personally I don't expect anything from Varuna so I'll just stay optimistic. Haven't seen anyone bring up PanO's number one underused Faction trait - Auxbots. I actually have high hopes for the EB to become Varuna's centerpiece utility troop. He'll most likely have one defining Skill or piece of equipment, which is pretty standard let's just say Albedo. Apart from that I want them to be as loaded with high tech as the Black Friar MR, just on every Profile. Able to do literally everything to make up for them being a MI without Markerstate. Heck lets make Varuna the Faction that values mobility over defense, so they only get elite LI, no MI. Echo Bravos, Varuna Deescalation Taskforce Move 4-4 CC15 BS13 PH11 WIP13 W1 ARM2 BTS6 AVA3 Pistol, Knife Veteran L1, Hyperdynamics L1, Aquatic Terrain Can join a Special Fireteam Core with Orcs, Fusiliers and Kamau Albedo, SMG, AHD(Upgrade: Trinity), D-Charges, TinbotA (28 | 0.5) Albedo, BSG, KHD(Upgrade: Lightning) TinbotA (28 | 0.5) Albedo, Nanopulser, Breaker Combirifle (30 | 0) Albedo, Nanopulser, Breaker Combirifle - Haris (Orcs, Kamau) (31 | 0.5) Lieutenant (Strategos L1) Albedo, Nanopulser, Breaker Combirifle (32 | 0.5) - Haris (Orcs, Kamau) Unlinkable: Albedo, 2xBreaker Pistols, Shock MMR, Specialist Operative, Auxbot_1 (35 | 0.5) Albedo, Nanopulser, Shock MMR, Specialist Operative, Auxbot_2 (35 | 0.5) Lieutenant (Strategos L1) Albedo, 2xBreaker Pistols, Shock MMR, Specialist Operative, Auxbot_1 (36 | 0.5) Lieutenant (Strategos L1) Albedo, Nanopulser, Shock MMR, Specialist Operative, Auxbot_2 (36 | 0.5) Points are a rough roundabout. Basic Profile is bloated by 6 points over Kamau ( - Mimetism + Albedo they end up 5 points more expensive). Great utility and resilient to Hacking and DTWs but very susceptible to normal bullets. On top of all that they feel like true Spec Op troops. Everyone has Shock/Breaker, Veteran and Albedo for the Counterterrorism feeling. Hyperdynamics as bloat and because Nanosuits with Albedo and Hyperdynamics should make for a badass miniature. Synergetic Lt Profile, Strategos L1 on a Haris Profile to emphazise shellgames without the need of CoC. Finally a second troop to get acces to the Auxbot_2 as well as a solo LT worth running for once.
Oh yeah. Auxbots. There's an asset. I've started using my Auxilia more this season, returning to the fold (I own 4 of of them, painted.) Man, that's a solid little unit. Same with Peacemakers. I find the GdA distinctly ho-hum though, I miss the flamethrower on the bot. A Kamau solo profile with Auxbot and SMG would have been the dream, though CB doesn't seem to want to give g:synch to any unit with mimetism. Maybe the Echo Bravo could do that (I like your use of the Auxbot profiles above, @Teslarod )
Great Tunguska profile you have here, it would be a shame if... ..... when Tunguska not PanO will get it.
Was so tempted to add an Executive Order TO Camo Profile.... (that's why Albedo is still on the troops instead of next to the common Equipment) but managed to get a grip on reality. Funny that you want an Auxbot SMG troop, always thought they're better on troops with Spitfire Rangebands after playing a lot of Auxilia and Seraph. 0-8 you have a 0 Rangeband + HFT which makes most things Dodge anyway. 8-16 you're in +3 and again, usually force a Dodge or win FTF anyway. 16-24 is very useful to reliably beat Rifles and Shotguns from outside effective range, the Auxbot can also easily cover up to 20" while staying in ZOC of his Controller. It's a shame I never get to run the GdA, 6 dice up to 24" has to be better than people give it credit for, it's almost FAT1.5 Btw any chance you're gonna write Rumble batreps? Not even sure which army you ran, but I'm very curious about that game against JSA.
And good PH for Dodging, and a pistol for Burst 2 BS attack, and a flamethrower, and isn't Hackable, and can go prone, and has the higher silhouette for navigating terrain/other units, all while keeping 6-4 MOV... Yeah trust me, I'm aware. I was thinking more of the parent handler unit.
That does make perfect sense in terms of fluff, but I'd argue that Aleph units are pretty different in terms of aesthetics and overall theme except maybe vague similarities brought by the fact they are both high-tech factions and there are so many rules in Infinity to represent that. Still, them being together is like... For the lack of better analogy, like 40k Marines and IG in the same list. It makes perfect sense, they aren't that different in terms of tech level and everything associated with that, yet still there are significant, almost radical differences in how some people view them thanks to differences in premises and visuals. So, from wargamer / hobbyist PoW mixing them every time it's convenient is not always a good idea, and chances are CB share this general outlook.
Or maybe we take that cqb idea and rework teutons with it, and flop em in varuna. Make em the tacticool urban knight. Yes their homebase is paradiso , but someone had to defend the cities from the combined advance. Fighting street to street in a time of hope and desperation. Selling their lives dearly so that civilians may evaquate , each one a true death for their lack of cubes.
