Major Points Changes - N4 NeoTerra

 

Now that the Out Of Production Sectorials and Factions have been added to the N4 Army Builder and their Sectorial and Special Fireteam charts are available we can see how things have changed.

Today we'll look at NeoTerra, here are their Sectorial and Special Fireteam charts:

There's a lot here which we've already seen. Obviously Fusiliers, with the Hacker change being the biggest factor, the Support crew, Hexas, the awesome new Bolts, Black Friars, ORCs, Aquila, Swiss Guard, Squalo, Locusts, CSUs, all the Remotes and Characters.

Of course, there are a few surprises in what we do get, Shona is good to see for certain and ORCs going into Fusilier Core is great (if familiar).

Our first actual change is to the Auxilia, who finally have something for the extra point which they paid for no reason!, but only on the Forward Observer. Oh well, it's not like we were often taking the other profile anyway. If you wanted to run the Lt, then it's slightly cheaper in terms of SWC, but that seems unlikely to be significant with how uncommon the choice is.

Although the profiles were already there in ALEPH, there's a good chance that a lot of PanOceanian players haven't checked out the Deva yet. Arriving for us in NeoTerra the Deva has remained an interesting option. Some small points changes don't really shift the unit in terms of overall balance within the Sectorial, we aren't getting use out of their Haris or #2 unfortunately, but both the Sensor or MSV Spitfire remain solid staple options. The previously amazing Assault Hacker with Lightning is no more, but the Hacker is still a high quality specialist option to consider. Hopefully the Lt Sensor option missing out on Sensor is an error and we can actually get use out of that profile again, but generally the Deva is one of our better leadership candidates.

Shona was an addition which I (for one) had hoped for, but did not really expect. She brings something to NCA which it has not previously had at all, a premier Close Combat unit. This is an interesting option to add to some of our units, especially aggressive fireteams. Of course, lacking Smoke we don't have the best ways in the world to get her to a target, so unless your opponent is really dug in and you've swept away AROs (not that NCA isn't excellent at that) you aren't likely to have a lot of luck in getting her to her target.

Not much has changed for ORC troopers, beyond their linkability (going into Fusiliers is grand) and the flexibility which some of the Wildcards offer (maybe Uma isn't terrible in a Haris with a Climbing + ORC?). We have all the usual suspects, plus the Varuna Feuerbach and Shotgun + TinBot, as well as the Svalarheima MULTI and MULTI + TinBot. Both are interesting, especially for Haris use, and especially with Wildcards.

The much anticipated return of the Clausewitz Uhlans has produced a somewhat mixed outcome. For almost anything else and 11pt drop would be huge, but here it's one of the smallest discounts on a TAG for N4. +1 Burst on the Feuerbach is good, but only makes the combo of HMG and Feuerbach feel even more like bloat. Still, a Camo TAG with a top tier TAG hunting tool is going to be useful in the N4 environment and I think we'll see an Uhlan from time to time at least.

The Garuda remains a very useful choice for NCA, not only offering our only drop trooper, but also a great one. While the loss of the cheap Combi and the HMG will be mourned by some, the addition of a Combi FO is so excellent that it's hard to overstate how good it is for NCA in general.  Not much has changed here, and yet the game has changed for NCA drop options entirely. If only Availability was higher!

Now, it may not have actually changed much it'self, but it's been pointed out that we would be remiss if we didn't discuss the huge change which Wildcard on the Bulleteer represents! Although the scaling back of supportware slightly pings the solo Bulleteer ('though they are still good, especially if you were already running a Machinist and EVO MuleBot anyway) pulling them into a Core or Haris is a huge boon. Obviously they have the speed to keep up with ORCs, which is very nice, and give both them or Bolts some (much needed) visual modification as an option. But adding the Shotgun armed Bulleteer to a defensive Core is useful too, as a Heavy Shotgun double-shot ARO with Mimetism -6 is going to hold a corner VERY well against most things coming around it in N4. 

When you can pull it off, you can get this thing up to 18's (full Core and Marksmanship, in your good band from 8-24" on the Spitfire) or 21's (ditto, but on the 0-8" band on the Heavy Shotgun) with extra burst. That's pretty nuts, and a 55mm base is a small price to pay.

Fusilier fireteams are going to remain a staple, with ORCs and CSUs as base additions, but slotting in an Aquila is an interesting option (BS 18 on MSV 3 with good bands out to 24" on an AP or Shock weapon seems hilariously strong). The Bolts are somewhat expensive, probably too expensive for an ARO base ('though including the Sniper as a Round One ARO on an otherwise active team seems like a solid option) but they will be a strong active offensive choice. Haris teams are going to be fun between the ORC or Bolt base, with Aquila, Black Friar, Bulleteer, Machinist and Shona to slot in.

Overall, things are looking pretty good for NCA in N4!

What do you think about the update?

Anything you hoped to see and don't?

Anything you'd rather hadn't changed?

What were the surprises?

Let me know below, on Facebook, or on the Infinity Forum.