Would a Scorpion with three shots instead of two be over the top?

Would a Scorpion with three shots instead of two be over the top?

Compared to a fire prism troupe, I'd say that a scorpion with three shots is too good, but comparing it to a falcon troupe, I'd say that 3 shots sounds about right.

Things only get more complicated since we have a stand alone Fire Prism troupe in the Beil-tan list that isn't in the other lists.

Would a Scorpion with three shots instead of two be over the top?

If Warp Spiders are still a problem, then what about dropping their armour down to 5+?

They aren't really any more armoured than Dark Reapers, and those guys have 5+ armour.

Please, for pity's sake, don't even think about it.

The Scorpion didn't lose 1/3 of its fire.  I understand that comes from the perception that it was highly likely to get three shots and now gets only 2, but that's just not how the math works.  It actually went from ~2.1 average hits to 1.67.  That's about a 20% decrease, not 33%.

The Scorpion was far and away a better deal for fire support at 250 points than Falcons.  Even with fewer hits the MW would kill as many enemy and the Scorpion is a lot tougher against everything except multi-TK.  Now, after a boost to the Falcons and a drop to the Scorpion, the Scorpion works like most other WEs - less firepower with more durability as compared to comparable points of AVs.  It is now a reasonable alternative to Falcons for armor support, with a different battlefield role, instead of being an "no brainer" choice over them that as good or better in all roles.

Firepower:
1 Scorpion - 1.66 MW hits, 1.33 at -1 (double or cover), 1 at -2, 1.66 at +1
5 Falcons - 5 normal hits, 3.33 at -1, 1.66 at -2, 6.7 at +1

Hits to kill:
Scorpion - 5.8 (counting crits)
Falcons - 7.5

Hits to break, single volley:
Scorpion - 4.5
Falcons - 3

Hits to break, 2 volley:
Scorpion - 2.25
Falcons - 3

That might look like the Scorpion is less tough and has less firepower, but note that it never loses firepower while the Falcons will lose units.  Also, it is never suppressed, while the Falcons suffer suppression.  Add in the additional range that synergizes with pop-up ability and the fact that they can fire/retreat without losing nearly the same percentage of firepower as the Falcons and Scorpions will virtually always outlast them and will put the same total damage on-target over the course of a game.

Obviously, there are a host of other considerations as well - Scorpions are more vulnerable to Disrupt, Falcons to barrage weapons, and so on.  However, those seem to just about average out.

If you want close-in support where the Falcons can maximize their fire (with secondary weapons) and directly support assaults, they are better.  If you want long range firepower to pick off hard targets and prep for assaults, the Scorpions are better.