"THERE'S NO SPEED LIMIT ON THE WAY TO THE TOP!"
The newest addition to the star-studded halls of Aristeia! is so fast she seems to be everywhere at once, and every camera lens works double to keep up with her, both inside and outside the HexaDome. Gata's upbeat, vibrant personality makes her merchandise fly off the shelves as quickly as she flies over her opponent's heads.
The latest teenage idol to grace our screens is a little orphan who made a dizzying journey from destitution to superstardom.
Cátia was born in the Belagua favela on planet Acontecimento, where hunger pushed her to a childhood of larceny. Her self-preservation instincts taught her to pick a pocket or lift a piece of fruit, and then make a dash for it. Run for it, and keep running. She grew up fleeing every danger, but danger was always half a step behind. Even as she dodged the prostitution rings that swallow so many lives like hers, she found herself taking courier jobs for the kind of people one can’t afford to disappoint. That kept her head above water for a few days, but money never lasted long.At sixteen, her luck finally turned. Desperate to leave Acontecimento, she stole a briefcase from a businesswoman who was clearly guarding something valuable. She thought fencing it would pay for her ticket into space and a clean start somewhere else, but the woman’s bodyguards had other plans. These weren’t the apathetic cops she was used to, they were well-trained mercenaries who tracked her like hounds.
In the free-running chase that ensued, Cátia unknowingly broke into the set of a film being shot. Even though the security agents were in peak physical shape, the girl humiliated them with her acrobatics on her way to the exit. Among the many witnesses was a renowned talent scout named Sophia Kreuziger, who requested a copy of the footage so she could examine the young thief’s pirouettes.Cátia was ultimately captured, but Sophia and her lawyers interceded and managed to convince the owner of the briefcase to drop all charges. In return for Sophia’s legal and professional representation, Cátia fulfilled her dream to move off-planet, and Sophia got a new star—one which would shine brightly indeed—at a steal.
Will Gata outrun her competitors to the top of the charts?
Gata is one of the original "Core 8" Aristos from the starter. As such she has both a basic plastic and a limited edition metal standard model. The plastic standard model suffers, as do most of the original starter plastics, from a lack of crisp detail. This issue is resolved on the metal model however, and if you love the original Gata and want to use her a lot I highly encourage you to seek out a copy of this limited edition version of the model.
Like the "Wild Bill" miniature from the "Core 8" Gata suffers from being quite two-dimensional, which undermines the energy of what is a very interesting design.
Gata also has a Skin which has been released and is available for purchase. This is the "Pirate" Gata and is up to the usual high standard of Corvus Belli metal miniatures. If you like the
Pirate/Steampunk flavour of the sculpt then you will likely be very happy with this skin as it's a high quality miniature.
While a good painter will be able to make great work of any of the options, I would suggest the metal sculpts for less experienced miniature painters as they will give better results without the need for more advanced techniques and good free hand work.
Gata is one of the ultimate Scorers in the game. Basically everything on her profile comes together to ensure that she moves when she wants, how she wants and where she wants.
With Initiative of 7 there is not currently any Aristo who can choose the order of activation if they come up against her in the Running Order, and most do not beat her automatically even with a boost from Tactics.
The heart of Gata as an Aristo is her mobility. There are four key components feeding into this:
1: 5 Speed - Simple but good.
2: Red + Orange Agility - Very hard to pin down.
3: Native Switch for 2 Special to Displace.
4: Action "Freerun" exchanges Movement Points to Place adjacent to any Aristo or Obstacle.
A key thing to keep in mind when playing with Gata is that you can pause and use Actions part way through your Movement. This is especially important with her Misdirection, because it costs one Energy which you were going to have left over at he end of your Activation anyway. Dazzling an opponent with "Misdirection" on your way past them (often using "Freerun" to jump over them and move further) also has a good chance of triggering Gata's first native Switch to add a Displace in the middle of her Movement and send her one hex further, as well as dodging the need to Disengage (always risky even with her great roll).
With only 2 Hit Points, Blue and a Blue and Black Dice for Defense Gata is not particularly tough. However this is improved by her Automatic Skill "Feline Reflexes", as long as the Target is adjacent. Her Defense also benefits from her second native Switch, which exchanges two Special results to Nullify a Success. In combination, especially with the right positioning and support, Gata can be tougher than the first glance suggests.
Gata really LOVES extra Yellow dice to generate additional Special results on her rolls. This makes her best friends with any Aristo who can add more with Tactics or Focus Status'. Any Aristo who can move other Characters or Obstacles, or place new Obstacles (like, for example, Minions), will be VERY useful to our cutie cat.
She also wants protection, especially at range, so a Tank who can draw fire or take hits for her is excellent, as is Smoke or Hidden to prevent her being targeted at all. Keep in mind that Gata needs only one Obstacle or Aristo between two Zones to make it from one to the other with only a single Move 'though so it's not so bad if she gets knocked out, comparatively. She can often do "her job" even straight off the Bench.
Speaking of being Generous, Gata is a bit of a mixed bag, with two "Generous" Tactics and two "Selfish" Tactics. And that's part of the challenge in selection, because the two "Generous" Tactics are VERY good for others and her two are literal game winners.
"Swerve" is where we start. It's a deceptively simple Tactic, allowing any Character to Displace themselves during their own activation. Thanks to that generous timing you don't have to make any early commitments and it can even be used effectively as a reactive tool to manage an emerging situation which your opponent creates during your Activation by pulling off their own Switches or with Tactics.
This is obviously useful to get away from a character who you will otherwise need to Disengage, especially if there is more than one giving bonus Black dice. But it's also an extra movement (which can all too often be all the difference) AND can be used during a turn in order to move past another Aristo part way through movement (maybe for Gata if she doesn't get her Switch when rolling for "Misdirection" or maybe for another member of her Team to similarly bypass an opponent).
Next we've got Gata's second "Generous" Tactic, "Go All-Out". Once again, deceptively simple, allowing any Character to Gain an additional Action Point during their Activation.
Keep that timing in mind, because there will be a lot of situations where you might want to drop this IF you pull something off earlier in the activation of the same Aristo, but don't want to use it if you haven't achieved what you hoped.
Quite apart from the obvious (especially for Gata to use herself) triple Move Activation, keep in mind also the potential for a second 3 Energy Attack or a third 2 Energy Attack. There are any number of moments where one more Action Point can literally turn a match for one reason or another.
The first of the "Selfish" Tactics for us to consider is "Quicksilver". This has two effects, first buffing Agility with an ADDITIONAL Critical Success. This alone can be key in getting in a winning "run" where Gata uses several members of the Opposing team as targets for "Freerun".
But it's the other side of this, which prevents opponents from Displacing, Moving or Placing Gata which makes this into a real match winner. This means that any Zone Gata gets into she's not being pulled back out of it, unless it's to go to the Infirmary.
And for THAT contingency Gata has her final Tactic, also "Selfish", which is "Pain Suppresants". Not the timing on both of these 'though, because it's important. Only on her Activation can these go up. No pulling during your opponents go and throwing them down after the fact, they are preemptive only.
"Pain Suppresants" deals Gata a Poisoned State Token for every Point of Damage she would have otherwise taken. This means that she can't be killed, except by an effect which substitutes the Poisoned for Damage (substituting is not receiving).
With both "Quicksilver" and "Pain Suppresants" up there are precious few options for eliminating Gata, making the combo an amazing last turn play for a match win.
Just don't be surprised when the NO! drops.
Although the movement distances are shorter, Gata still brings plenty to the Ziggurat Scenarios as well, with other mobility missions like Capture the Flag and Human Target likewise making for strong picks.
There's not a lot which Gata adds to Scenarios with a single fixed Scoring Zone, like King of the Hill, or mainly Frag based scoring, like Carnage. These are probably occasions when you're better off leaving the Queen of Speed on the Bench.
So that's our pretty speed demon, the pride of Acontecimento. What a wild ride it's been, not just for the girl on the rise, but for all us viewers at home as well!
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And, as always, we'd appreciate your thoughts. Not just on this article but on the series as a whole as well. Are these articles suiting what you want from Aristeia! content? Is there something more you'd like to see from them?
But also, do you use Gata? What kind of team do you like to run her in? Has she been effective for you? What limitations have you run into?
Your thoughts and feedback are always appreciated.
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