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 . . .

If there's too much reluctance to add a new rule, would giving them sniper be an acceptable compromise? They're nimble troops, enough to jump away from the unit they're in base-to-base contact with and find their target among the formation being engaged.

I don't think that you're likely to get very far with the compromise suggestion of sniper. It has been discussed before, and there isn't much in the way of consensus over it being a good idea. I'm not even certain that it has been play tested that thoroughly in its own right either.

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carlisimo109, the current definition for "Sniper" only affects shooting, not assault. Using "Sniper" in the assault has been discussed over the years, but suffers problems because the rule mechanics would make infantry 'snipers' too effective against vehicles. And even then, it should only apply to FF, not CC.

I have opened a separate thread for this very purpose to propose changes to "Sniper" as well as introducing "Assassin".