I wonder: Is that ER ammo common or super rare? I'm getting tired of only the Super rares or rares being any good. IF its common I think they'd be good gear for the Jaguars.

Agree completely and am actually quite satisfied with that. As a clan it makes sense for us to be more proficient at range anyways. As long as we also pertain our high attacks and speed I'm all for such a change. I'm also glad that so far nothing in WS has been dissapointing and there's even been a few pleasant surprises (who else had the Raven and Gambit written off to have them turn out good).

As for the ER ammo I was thinking the exact same thing. Minoru and ER Ammo on a PHK sounds great to me for only 152 points. That gives it a respectable 23" assault with a 10 attack on the ballistic weapon for long range sniping and the big 12 attack 5 damage PPC Cap up to 19". Those are some impressive ranges for a Falcon right there. I'm thinking a great tag team could be 2 PHKs one with Minoru and ER and the other a Tamar and IT for a little more accuracy and best of all both can hit out to at least 20". Throw in MDFA faction pride and I think you've got the start of a very versatile force that can threaten a good portion of the board for once.

So, being bored, I'm going to rate what we've seen in CJF colors in Wolf Strike on a 1 to 5 star rating.

5 star: 'You see that World Championship award there?'
4 star: for CJF, a must have, potentially owning at the regional/local level.
3 star: good, you want a couple.
2 star: not so good, you want one or two if you're a completist.
1 star: playing this will lose you the game.

Laser Team: 2 at best, more likely a 1. Not good in the slightest even as a stand-alone piece. Unfortunately, it compares directly with the Fenrir (a known performer) and the T-Bird (much more expensive, but oh so much better). You'll get them, simply because no one will want them and you're the local CJF player.

Carnivore: 3 to 4 star, depending on your play style. It's a baby Kelswa that comes with enough points to drop in a Saxon. Won't last long against a geared up mech, so hit your target and hit it hard. Stands a good chance against most tanks and shouldn't have problems with infantry.

Mantueffel: 2 to 3 stars. I can't spell it reliably, which is fine because it won't get much play. Way too short of a range to be a good dropper (not like that's unusual for us) but not cheap enough to overshadow the Huey (which I really can't spell) or the granddaddy Kelswa.

Raven: 3 stars. Completely reliable cheap light mech. Has Decoy for the infamous Evade/Decoy combo. A baby RHDM for CJF with relatively good range for the weight class.

Gambit: 3 stars. See Raven. A bit shorter range, but starts with the more useful Evade on dial. Can also get to Evade/Decoy, but doesn't have the same stats to work with. Still worthwhile.

Mad Cat IV: 4 stars. Godlike if you can stand off and shoot. Lots of damage, excellent anti-ranged capability. Can't stand up in close combat: hit first and hit often. Extremely mobile; it can get from one side of the board to the other in a turn. With X-Pulse, Hyper Laser or just plain IT, it's the mobile Loki taken to a logical extreme. Worthwhile as a counterpart to the Loki, a rapier to the broadsword of the Loki. Someone who can master this nightmare will be a hard person to beat. Beware (very ware) of anti-Decoy and Evade PCs, gears and SAs. If the MC loses any of them before getting a shot off, your chances drop exponentially.

Unseen:

Purifier: I expect it to be a slightly quicker Raiden, perhaps with slightly better stat degredation. Not expecting much past a 3.

Vixen: Probably an Evade mech. If it somehow packs Evade and Decoy (not inconcievable; we're getting a lot [a lot] of both) and has good damage and speed, it could be a winner. With any luck, it'll have a melee slot; we could use a mech capable of using Agility in the new set.

Vulture IV: Hopefully it's just like the MC IV, except with 6 damage ballistics. I hope (really hope) it's yet another heavy Evader (matches our new paradigm and has been seen on Vultures before) but it might pack armor instead of Decoy. Answer unclear though.

The stats for the Vixen are up on WK. It comes with a 0/12 energy range and a 0/6 ballistic weapon. It has a movement of 12 with evade for 4 clicks, 10 attack and a starting defense of 20. Quite good for 117 points.

And it has stable-ish stats and an acceptable heat dial with a vent of 2. 3 damage primary, 2 secondary. Not quite BR Solitaire level, but surprisingly solid down the line. Probably a three, three and a half star unit right now.

It may not be a BR Solitaire but I'm not complaining about the 20 defense while still not sacrifising either defense or speed compared to the others. I still think the CNC one is the best of the lot but the Vixen is indeed a good wingman for quite a few of our other mechs. Best of all though it is our first mech able to reach a 24 defense at range with the Evade (other than BR that is). It's definitely a workable mech and a pretty good one at that and it does something none of our current mechs can do with the exception of the Raven but this has the on dial evade, higher defense and the ability to still put that Decoy on if you want to. Over all I'm quite pleased.

The only (hah!) thing that brings it down for me is that it doesn't quite fit my playstyle. I still can't get over my PHI infatuation. :)

The Vixen and PHI both have an effective 12 inch range, they both move 12, but the PHI has more damage on both slots (effectively) while the Vixen has better DV. I'm calling Evade vs. JJs a tossup, even though it's not quite the same. JJs give the PHI MDFA ability and more power in blocking, Evade gives a DV bonus and better use in more open terrain.

The Vixen has better defensive capabilities while not surrendering too much firepower. The PHI just hurts you. :)

At this point I'm not minding what I'm seeing. I do think the Gambit is a bit redundant compared to the Vixen. As far as the Vixen goes, it looks excellent. Love its speed, Defense, Evade, and decent range.
The Mad Cat seems to be a fun heavy flanker too.
The Raven should be ok to play.
Mech wise, we've got some decent stuff.

The Vixen, for me, seems like the Triple-Pulse boat wingman that would do the PXK proud - Keep IT with the PXK, while the Vixen cruises in and annihilates what ever is left. Possible 14 clicks of damage from two order? Not bad.

Wow, the Vixen has the potential to one of the best offensive defensive weapons for the Falcons ever. Vixen+Mila Mazur+Decoy=Beautiful. It costs a total of 159 points for a unit with 13 move and evade, decent range and damage for a light, a standard AV of 11 and a 24 decoy vs ranged attacks with decoy, and 22 vs close combat. It has movement, offensive capabilities, and for once it actually has defense. It blows my mind to know I can make a Falcon mech have a 24 DV without using terrain or AO bonuses. All in all I think this is probably the most solid mech I've seen so far. The vent still ticks me off (somebody go check our heat sink factories, I think their malfuntioning.) but the heat dial is remarkably deep, with little risk at all. Sure we still have our standard disadvantages but I am actually overall pleased with this mech, since the set so far has fallen woefully short of my expectations. Only the Mad Dog left to go, come on wizkids suprise me again!

Well I used this combo for the past 3 events I went to and I was impressed with its effectivness.


PHK - 117
SC - 18
RISC Pulse Mod - 10

19 in AO for a possible 9 clicks of damage 12 AV. I only lost the gear once and that was last night. I successfully scraped our Loki in the storyline match on sunday and scraped Alpha I last night in the first round. Granted the PHK died after scrapping Alpha I but 145 lost against 200+ is a fair trade in my book. :devious: Anyway it is a sweet combo with the ability to dish out some hurt. Now all I need to do is perfect the Gyrfalcon Continuous-fire mode and I'll be in business.:devious:

Later

The Vulture is up on WK... not to bad in my opinion.

Let's count the ways:

10 AV, 20 DV, 8 Evade, Heavy Armor, 5 damage ballistic, 4 PPC Cap primary, 12 inch on the energy, good heat (not great, but good) and 3 vent.

Uh, I'll take six, thanks.

Almost impossible to pin down, just like the MCIV. Better DV, but no Decoy. Instead, the Vulture can take a pounding better. Deals a fair whack of damage with the PPC cap, does more ballistic than anything else in the CJF touman. Vent and Evade and the heat dial means you're facing a nightmarishly quick mech.

Ryohara/Decoy makes the thing a 22 DV, Decoy, Heavy Armor, Evade with 5 ballistic damage and potentially 6 with energy. Stark gives it a 10 move, 12 AV, 21 DV (Evade) with either Decoy or IT.

Where do I sign up?

Let's sum up:

Wolf Strike Infantry:
Laser Team: ####, as predicted.
Purifiers: surprisingly good, though bland. They fit right in as CJF infantry.

Carnivore: lightweight Kelswa. Uber drop.
Manteuffel: wannabe Kelswa.

Gambit: worst of the WS mechs. Only has Evade and 10 range and 3 damage.
Raven: Ballistic with Decoy on dial.
Vixen: Evade, 3 damage, 10 AV, 20 DV. Rivals the immortal PHI.
MCIV: Evade and Decoy and.... and... OY VEY!
VIV: Evade and Heavy Armor and 5 ballistic, OY VEY!

Way back when I said if we got one good heavy and one good 'other', it'd be a good set. Frankly, we got two GOOD heavies (uh, count the number of heavy mechs with Evade). The MCIV has Decoy, the VIV has Heavy Armor. They both pack good damage and good heat and, cripes, if you can't make an army out of them, you aren't trying. Oh, yeah, and the Gambit, the worst of our mechs, is a nasty little Evade wingman, which is irrelevant, since the Vixen is a nastier Evade wingman. And the Raven has Decoy, so it can go Evade/Decoy with ballistic damage.

End verdict: one bad piece, five good pieces, three potentially uber units.

Gimme a case.

Well said Warbanner. After my day that "non christ believing" line was going to make me get quite harsh on the keyboard.

Yup, that Mad Dog ( :devious: ) is a thing of beauty! Getting two good Heavies in a set? Why couldn't the Summoner have been this good? Just about the only thing that irks me is that I can't DFA with either of these two new beauties... but I'm not THAT gutted!

The Heavy Armour on the VIV (hehe!) is an extra little bonus, too - and it even manages to have decent Heat stats!

Wait for it, wait for it... "Oh, that Evade gear on all the CJF heavies? That was meant to be SU....." <<Cue sounds of loading Shotguns>>

Nice set, Mrs Bonilla!