Aristeia! - The Rivals - hEXx3r

The defining "Controller" style Support Aristo, hEXx3r has quite the reputation. In a game which typically comes down to the ability of a team to hold key spaces on the board, a unit which allows the movement of her own and opposition pieces is always going to be strong.

We don't know much about the woman they call the "Nomad Witch" other than that she is a hacker and hails from the Nomad Mothership of Tunguska. Beyond that she is a cypher. One thing is true, she has taken what was intended to be an insult and turned into one of the most valuable personal brands in all of Aristeia!

In terms of her raw attributes hEXx3r isn't outstanding, with only slightly above average Initiative. Her low Defense and HP make her less than stalwart. Agility is almost irrelevant (despite being low), given her Actions, but that above average Brawn can be useful.

The universal Switch is good, in that it uses the Block and Special results which aren't useful on her Actions, but given the dice pools she is using can be slightly difficult to trigger. She certainly appreciates bonus blue dice.

Vade Retro isn't the most reliable action, but makes up for this with it's low cost. It isn't great in terms of range 'though, which can make for difficult moments in combination with her average Speed, you can miss turns to hEXx3r being out of position. Other than repositioning your opponents Aristos, Vade Retro also synergizes very well with melee Aristos and those with limited movement of their own.

Gotcha is even more restricted in range, but any range on Immobilised is amazing. The Switch is
fantastic, 'though it directly competes with the universal Switch, with movement penalties often being nearly as useful as Immobilisation. The key issue is how unreliable it is, only two Yellow being less than ideal when chasing Successes, which makes it a rare Action which you might want to drop a "Take Aim" on.

In terms of Tactics hEXx3r is the original "Selfish" Aristo. All of hers are only for her Activation, 'though most remain control focused. 

- "Unlimited Power" can turn a game, AND offers a good way for hEXx3r to contribute after returning from the Bench despite limited Energy and range. Timing is everything, keep in mind that you'll have a full Round to clear the -2 Energy state.

- "Untouchable" is a substantial defensive buff, all the better for running from activation on an opponents Attack 'through to the end of the Round. It mostly suffers from competition, otherwise offering a strong option.

- "Access Denied" benefits from hitting multiple targets and working without Line of Fire. In many turns this will be nearly as effective as mass-Immobilisation.

- "R@gd0ll" offers a direct upgrade buff for Vade Retro. Ranged Dazzled is just as useful as Ranged Immobilised, and is the basis for whole other Aristos, 'though only for one Activation this is still a very effective upgrade.

You can drop hEXx3r into just about any Team and she'll be fairly effective. Her brand of Support and Control is hard to argue with. But she has the most to offer Aristos who can really use an additional boost in terms of movement in order to perform, so longer range likely means less need for her help. And a team with other Displacement effects is less likely to require her degree of focus.

In terms of Scenario match, it's tough to find any where she isn't going to be useful. The combination of Displacing opponents out of Zones AND Displacing her allies for extra movement, as well as ranged Immobilization, is tough to argue with. Only strictly Frag based scenarios don't favor her, and even in those she can harrass opposing Melee Strikers and support her own.

On the whole, there are few who can rival hEXx3r for the title of "Queen of the Hexadome". In her case the one real contender is Gaia, the PanOceanian tentacular terror. Gaia has an even stronger positioning game than hEXx3r brings, but is less spammable, being able to shift multiple opponents (or allies) only infrequently (through Tactics). Her Gorgoneions do allow for more effective blocking plays, but hEXx3r matches that with her ability to Immobilize (flipping the movement comparison by being stronger against individual Aristos while weaker against more than one).

The balance of power between these two rivals is a delicate one, with both having their arguments in favor. If nothing else hEXx3r may have the edge slightly thanks to higher Initiative, 'though that's a thin measure.

Gaia likely spikes higher in Scenarios where there are several Deployment Zones which she can take advantage of, while hEXx3r is not quite so strong in specific scenarios but likely provides a more consistent performance.

So that's the first of our "Rivals" series.

For more on hEXx3r check out the official Corvus Belli writeup here.

You might also want to check out our Aristo Analysis on Gaia here.

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