White Banner

[dataentity]

At a certain @Raindog 's request, I'm giving my initial thoughts on White Banner. Disclaimer: I don't really know Yu Jing and my evaluations will be colored by playing lots of Tohaa, Spiral, and Shas. So feel free to yell at me as to how I'm wrong. 🙂
 

• LI:
  • Zhanshi - Standard line infantry. Core. Everyone knows them.
    • Mech-Engineer - Standard Engineer. Why do they not have a name in Chinese like the...
    • Zhanshi Yisheng - Standard Doctor.
  • Tian-Gou - Elite LI. Pricey, but comes with tricks.
    • 1st section - Linkable wild card, up to 1. Special weapons. Big take away here is official, non-spec-ops rules linkable Jammer. You also won't see it coming due to Holoprojector 1. Good for protecting close range things from your lieutenant / link.
    • 2st Section - Holoprojector 2 but not linkable. Gain madtraps. Deployment zone guards. Also 😆 '2st'
  • Warcors - Warcors are warcors
• MI:
  • Hundun - Feels like an awkward spot due to lack of hidden deployment that it should get in N4. The HRL + X visor is probably the winner here given price, which will certainly be a lot scarier once it does have hidden deployment.
  • Adil Mehmut - 1.5 wound pseudo HI Wildcard character. No shock immunity is sad. Specialist Op or CoC, with sensor in a link is good. Combo of Monofilament CCW and then an electric pulse is interesting. He's kind of a bit of everything but you're paying for it.
  • Jing Qo - Another 1.5 wound pseudo HI character with Frenzy. Can duo with a shaolin. Another close-mid range specialist that is kind of an all arounder like Adil Mehmut. Climbing plus is nice and being able to link the monk is really nice to bring the cost per order down.
  • Lei Gong - No changes as far as I can see from what you can get in vanilla and Invincibles. Solid alpha-strike albedo piece or can be a specialist with CoC. 
  • Tiger Soldiers - Mimetism, BS13, AD is nice. Why would you ever bring the lieutenant version?
  • Ye Mao - Yu Jing wanted their own copy of the Rhodoks but with an extra something on top. MI with super-jump, MSV-1, mimetism across the board. Built-in Haris but no core. Should be interesting, but it is kind of pricey because you're putting that MSV onto everyone.
• HI:
  • Qing Gao - Fatality L1 HMG HI character. Can be Lieutenant L2. Wildcard without being called wildcard. Nothing super fancy but does his job as a HI beatstick.
  • Daofei - Camo infiltrating HI for murdering people. Do you need to say more?
  • Jujak - 6-2 HI with lots and lots of fire that can join the Shang Ji fireteam. Could certainly be hard to dig out of the midfield once he's hunkered down.
  • Shang Ji - Standard HI with extra light flamethrowers. Core, Haris, Duo, Wildcard with a couple of profiles with tactical awareness. Very similar to a Mobile Brigada.
• TAG:
  • Blue Wolf - Sweet Jesus I need this TAG in my life. S5 TAG with Full Auto L1, AP Spitfire, Heavy Flamethrower, and Glue cannon. You can't even lock it up in close combat because it's CC23. Again, S5. I need it. I can't think of a profile I've more wanted to try.
  • Guija - Your baseline TAG. Special in that it isn't special compared to literally every other TAG.
• REMs:
  • Yaofang Long Ya - The only remote worth talking about because everything else is extremely familiar Yu Jing. Camo, Forward Deploying remote with mines, double panzerfaust, and SMG or Heavy Shotgun. Seems really good for protecting your deployment zone and mid-field. Even if it's only BS11, no one REALLY wants to face two panzerfaust shots. The most obvious camo marker in the world though but I don't think that matters.
• SK:
  • Guilang - Take a standard camo infiltrator and add MSV 1 and WIP 14. Solid.
  • Kunai Solutions Mercenary Ninja - Uh... basically a ninja but only long range profiles and no specialist? Gives up Infiltration for Climbing Plus but otherwise still BS11, TO, and good close combat (22 instead of 23 that the regular ninja has). It kind of feels bad that they have the merc ninja and not the actual ninja.
• WB:
  • Liang Kai - Reminds me of Musashi in that he's a close combat monster that has to walk across the board. But, he actually has the tools to get there with mimetism, super jump, assault, forward deployment and linkability. Counts as a Shaolin so can be linked with Jing Qo. He might not link with smoke, but he's in a faction / sectorial with super cheap smoke.
  • Shaolin Monks - Your super cheap, irregular, extreme impetuous close combat guys with smoke. Too lazy to check but I think they're the cheapest smoke? Classically combos with the Rui Shi

[Raindog]

When I have a chance, I will add my thoughts, too!

[Raindog]

Tian-Gou - Wow and Wow. Tian fill a Sekban roll with decent armor and 360 visors, but their ability to be Wildcards and have Holoprojectors, make them like Hafzas as well. The Killer Hacker is a nice option, but a jammer is just win. It all depends on what fire team you are putting  your 1st section Tian with.

[Raindog]

Hundun:  MI Camo units without Infiltrate and spendy too. The 13 BS makes them a gunfighter, so the Sniper and rocket launcher options are actually useful. There are no specialist options. I like Guilang better for a similar role. 

[Raindog]

The Blue Wolf is a S6 Tag. It is priced cheap like a Tikbalang with the same SWC cost. It is a light TAG with good guns and skills. Other than the SWC cost, i see little down side taking this TAG.

[Raindog]

Adil Hehmut: Somewhere  priced between a Pheasant and a Crane, Adil has at least a Chain of Command. He is a WIldcard, but he is just so expansive,  I don't think I would take him. Am I wrong?

[Raindog]

Jing Qo: Another high pointed troop that has everything and is priced for his kit. He is a button pusher and a decent gunslinger, but he is subject to frenzy and shock. I would skip this guy, too.  

[Raindog]

Lei Gong. Another character, this one has some possibilities. As a Wildcard with Chain of Command, he can hide in units. His is Shock immune, so NWI is really two wounds. Albedo and MSV1 with his high BS can help him hunt Camo troops. 

[dataentity]

Aawww, they got rid of the S5 on the Blue Wolf. That's unfortunate but makes the most sense.

The two medium infantry characters are probably too expensive. The all-arounders they make that try to do everything almost always end up overcosted. Jing Qo might end up okay because she duos with the Shaolin monk which brings the price per order down to 22 points. Suddenly not too bad.

For Mehmut, having the high CC + Monofilament is probably what brings his cost on the higher end. He might be worth it but it's tough when Tian Gou are wildcard and can bring a jammer to a link.

[Raindog]

Ye Mao: They are the MI version of the Pan-O's Kahru. Super-jumping Haris to deliver a specialist is nice and for what you get skills-wise, they are cheap. They look to me a nice functional unit. 

[Raindog]

Yaofang Long Ya: What a great remote. Even if it had just minelayer and Camo, it would be worth the points. 6-4 move? Gravy. Forward Deployment L1. Gravy with Bacon bits! Double Panzerfausts? Yes,  please! Heavy Shotgun seems awesome, but Suppresive Fire with the submachine gun for a camo model is amazing! No repeater? Who cares?