Yes. Absolutely. For Triads, but I think the drawbacks of a Tri-Core are so small that the profile is a must-have. I really dislike must-have units, I've come to expect much better from CB and in most factions they deliver much better.
When is the last time you saw one of the staple Sectorials without their signature Core? Varuna, JSA, OSS, White Banner, Corregidor, ISS.... It's easier to list the few Sectorials that don't revolve around one. Tricore is no different from that conceptually speaking.
You need to explain what units those are for JSA, ISS*, White Banner or Corregidor. OSS and Varuna both belong among the more poorly designed factions, IMO. * No, it's not Kuang Shi. I didn't believe in them now and with N4 you probably need to update your tactics a bit.
You misunderstood that. All of these run a core, always, no second thought required. You might have several choices, but you run one. That's the same as running a Taagma to get identical benefits. Most Cores I can think of don't have to go out of their way or pay points to get there either. Varuna's Fusiliers are as efficient at being Order Monkeys as it gets there after you max Flashpulse Bot AVA. Spiral having to pay 4 points for the Tricore Skill is pretty high on the utility cost, especially after the Draal changes.
Then we have a fundamental disagreement. Those two others run Triads which have been proven to be very effective (ignoring that Spiral can run a legit Core). Not that my argument ever was that specifically a Core was a great problem - I find *defensive* cores to be boring and *sixth sense* to be disruptive, that's not the same as finding Cores to be specifically bad, more that the bonuses are out of tune. No, it really isn't the same (unless you're talking about using a Taagma as Wildcard to flesh out the Brawler legitimate Core). As I wrote earlier in the thread, the Tri-Core avoids the biggest issue that a Core faces which is its huge footprint. Not that the Varuna Fusilier comparison is all that great considering that several posters have mentioned that type of Core in general and that specific Fireteam in particular as being one of the less good design decisions they've taken when it comes to Fireteams.
Responding to this from the Corregidor side. Why would I play Corregidor if not to run a Core? McMurrough? Unlike some other factions, we do not get ALEPH units in our sectorials. Vanilla Nomads have such high AVA that the AVA increases in Corregidor are irrelevant (eg going from AVA 4 Hellcats to AVA 5... when would I run more than 3?). The only reason to play Corregidor is for Fireteams. That is the entire point of its existence. Corregidor running a Core is not the same as Spiral Corps running Tri-Core; it is the equivalent of Spiral Corps/Tohaa running Triads. Sure, you could theoretically not do it, but it is the entire point of the sectorial. That said, not everyone runs the same Fireteam. N4 is too new, so I will stick with N3 for examples. I generally ran Alguaciles. They are pretty much junk, but it provided a cheap hacker, a good place to hide my Lt, and a respectable ARO piece (I mostly used the MULTI Sniper Rifle in early-N3 and mostly transitioned towards the Missile Launcher in late-N3). Some people preferred to run their Alguaciles as an active-turn unit with HMGs, but that never worked for me. I know other people who swore by Wildcats. They also never worked for me. These other options worked consistently for other people, however, so that means there was a good, meaningful choice there. Mahtamori was talking about auto-picks, and Corregidor did not have an auto-pick Fireteam.
While nomads dont get aleph units we often get access to mercs that we dont get in vanilla that are often interesting enough profiles to at times warrant picking the sectorial. There have been times where I have chosen to play TJC purely because I felt the inclusion of Raoul was worth the pick, or mcmurder, masacre and gromoz in CJC with everything else (fireteams) being a secondary concern. All of this is before we start going into unique profiles for entries (such the KHD Spektr, superjump stempler, or FD sputniks). If sectorial design went further in that direction as well as tweaking of AVA when compared to vanilla, it could lead to more differentiation and unique design as opposed everyone plugs a HI HMG or visor sniper into an LI core, or a character super friends soup team.
Things like Morans and Bandits being the same AVA in Vanilla and CJC doesn't help. You could do things like AVA2 Puppets in TJC now without breaking things.
You do get increased sombra AVA in CJC over vanilla, same with zeros in BJC. But i'll take ava 3 Morans in CJC.
Uberfalls, Prowlers and Sin Eaters all go from AVA1 to 3 in BJC. So you go from "just a taste" to "all the AVA you need". It's a good shift. Whereas Zondnautica go from 2-3. Which is hardly noticeable. So you can still run a "bike" list in Vanilla (albeit it is only 2 bikes not 3... But given how rare a viable triple bike list is in TJC, that's not a big difference). Zeroes going from 2-3 still means that BJC has FAR lower AVA of ~20pt SK than Vanilla. So sure, you have more Zeroes but you still have half the AVA in the role (including Hecklers). Which means - practically - you don't notice the lower Zero AVA. Because, as good as Zeroes are, they're replaceable with other Nomad SK.
@inane.imp Those are good examples of what I was referring to. Sometimes the increase in AVA is meaningful; other times it is not. Continuing to use Corregidor as the example: Alguaciles, Bandits, Iguana, Lunokhod Sputniks, Moran, Tsyklon Sputniks, Transductor Zonds, Vertigo Zonds, and Vostok Sputniks are the same in vanilla and Corregidor. Stempler and Reaktion Zonds drop from 2 in vanilla to 1 in Corregidor. Clockmakers and Daktari go from 1 to 2, but I cannot see myself ever fielding a second. Evaders go from 2 to 5. It is too early to tell in N4, but this one may just be relevant (I could see myself fielding three!). Geckos go from 2 to 4. I cannot imagine even buying four, let alone attempting to run a viable four TAG list! Hellcats go from 4 to 5. Even as obsessed with AD as I am, I have never run more than three. Intruders go from 2 to 5. I find them a 0-1 situation, so the excessive AVA is irrelevant. Jaguars go from 4 to 5. I think three is the most I have ever run; four would have been relevant for the N3 Fireteam: Core option. Mobile Brigada go from 2 to 6. I think two is about the most I would ever imagine fielding, though five would have been relevant for the N3 Fireteam: Core option. Sombra go from 1 to 2. Again, it is too early in N4 to tell, but I suspect it is unlikely I would ever want to run two of these (too expensive). Tomcats go from 2 to 4. Similar to Hellcats, I love these guys and still have never run more than two. Wildcats go from 3 to 5. In N3 this was relevant, if you wanted a Wildcat Fireteam: Core, but in N4 I suspect three could be enough for any Corregidor list. While Tunguska gets some unique profiles, as @Tourniquet illustrated, Corregidor does not. We get some Mercernaries, but I have never felt they were important features of the sectorial. In fact, I very rarely ran any of them in N3. On the other hand, Corregidor has five Fireteam: Core options, three Haris, and one Duo, along with eight Wildcards. I think it is a fair statement that Corregidor's sectorial identity is largely wrapped-up in its Fireteams. Whether or not that is a good thing is a different discussion (personally, I would say it is not).
Daktari are the cheapest Wildcard in CJC. Grabbing 2 is not unreasonable (but only due links). So they're worth taking, but that doesn't invalidate your point. And I absolutely agree. There is no AVA in CJC that meaningfully increases over Vanilla except in-so-far as it pertains for Fireteams (things like the 4-5 increase in Jags is noticeable for certain archetypes). What's actually surprising to me is how much CJC profiles and Fireteam composition changed but AVA did not.
