Spectrar Ghost wrote:
A note: due to insufficient playtesting I have not included this rule in the documents sent out for the compendium. I still want to continue using it for any playtest games you may get in, but I do not feel it is ready for inclusion in a tournament environment as yet.
A reasonable decision under the circumstances, though minimal playtesting has plagued their development for many, many years. However, I also think the lack of progress is down to several factors, not least that the niche role that we are trying to emulate makes the HB (Howling Banshees) highly specialised and thus by definition far less usefull in general (and in that sense not unlike the Cobra).
Whilst we have concentrated on resolving the problem of making HBs 'infantry killers' within the framework of the E:A rules, the diversity of the various proposals also suggests that we are still unclear on exactly how the unit and its formation should operate both in the 'fluff' and actually on the E:A battlefield. And the various suggestions put forward often tended to have undesirable side-effects.
Perhaps we should follow Neal Hunt’s suggestion
in the earlier thread and “just dump” the attempt to make HBs ‘Heavy infantry killers’ in favour of defining a niche that distinguishes them from other Aspects. To that end I have always felt that they could / should be character killers and added to an Aspect formation with this particular aim in mind, which in turn then guides the stats required :-
- First Strike (obviously)
- "Assassin".
Required in order to ensure the hits are applied to the correct infantry targets. - Speed 20cm
To give them an edge over fellow Aspects and a better chance of getting into contact. - CC2+ or CC3+ to give a good chance of scoring a hit, per the extensive discussions
Note, "Assassin" is actually superior to Inf-MW, because it also prevents the opponent from nullifying the attack through canny distribution of hits, which in turn means they can be mixed with other Aspects. Also in this context, "Infiltrate" is actually less usefull because Aspects usually need to be in transport for best results which prevents the use of this special ability, even though it feels characterfull.
If I can, I shall try to get some games in with this style of HB stat and post the results - along with other Cobra games . . .