STARCO lists

Another article I forgot to publish. I guess I was waiting to do some playtesting and never got around to it. Not so dated because haven't changed much since debut. 

Love this sectorial. Mostly because I love mercenaries: I love the idea of putting units together from different factions, and I like the idea of Private Military Contractors in the sci-fi future in general. Starco also has some interesting design principles. I think they're a somewhat limited faction, but there will be some mission mixes where they are just absolutely savage. Let's get on to an initial analysis and some lists.


Strengths

• Good HI link teams with some discounts built in. Brigada are bare bones but complemented very nicely by Massacre (linked eclipse is always power) and the daktari doctor, who may just be the best specialist in any HI link team. It's also neat that brigada bring your best weapons - HMG, ML and BS, with the BS having the bonus of being the lieutenant so you're not taxed for a brawler. Riot Grrls are one of the best link teams in the game thanks to the frenzy discount making them dirt cheap. They are immune to everything: MSV1, high dodge, tinbot, high BS and B2 in ARO - they are very hard to take apart. Their weakness is that they are very defensive. Best run with 2 MLs and then you don't really have an offensive weapon. I don't think the spitfire is worth spending all your SWC on the team, especially when that means you don't have 0.5 SWC for Emily, but maybe I'm wrong. 
• Amazing skirmisher game with cheap shotguns, ambush camo, and specialists. This is everything you want in skirmishers. The shell game is doubly awesome because you have a Bandit in there, which is actually an amazing attack piece against a lot of factions. 
• Fantastic cheerleaders in CSU. These guys are basically auto-include with the specialist profile.
• Lot's of interesting (but I think ultimately not worth it) utility units like Uhahu and Spector. Uhahu is the cheapest HD+ in the game on good WIP, and she's packing good other stuff too, namely NWI and an assault pistol for when some schmuck tries to come into your DZ. Hellcats are solid AD pieces but I generally wouldn't run them unless the mission was firefight or power pack. Spector I think is too expensive, but he packs a hell of a punch and is very easily hidden with 0SWC and irregular. He strikes me as a better Ko Dali. Same objective - walk on or land in the DZ and start pasting people with a good close range weapon, but he's got mimetism and NWI to make him a lot more durable in that role. Ko Dali tends to bite it too early to earn her points back. 
• Great defence in HI MLs and Cateran. Even the Alguacile link is okay on this front. 
• Specialists everywhere, and good ones to boot - in link teams, as cheap DZ guards, cheap hackers, cheap skirmishers, one of which even has d-charges. 
• Eclipse in a link team!
• Good veterans (Brigada) and elites (Hellcats) for hunting party

Weaknesses

• Less than obvious offence if you avoid the Brigada link.: you rely a lot on shotgun skirmishers and shotgun AD to kill stuff. All your SWC goes on defensive pieces for the most part. 
• No sweepers. The Lunokhod is bad. The Bandit and Hawwa can do this job a bit but again, you're relying on skirmishers for pretty heavy lifting. 
• Lieutenant tax - unless you take the brigada link team with the shotgun, you're looking at either 1SWC for an alguacile or 6 points extra for a brawler out of a link team. In the latter case you'll also want Emily as a chain of command unit, which then basically necessitates a Grrls team. 
• Lots of your best stuff is irregular, and expensive to boot: Caterans, Bandits, Spector, hardcase.
• Terrible TAGs for Show of Force - avoid non-aligned armies in Show of Force. 

Initial Lists

Some I'm basically seeing two obvious lists, and then I think there's a third in there somewhere that emphasises AD but that I certainly haven't figured out yet. The most obvious list, which I think is a very good one, uses the brigada team surrounded by cheerleaders and skirmishers:


 Brigada TAC
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GROUP 1
 MOBILE BRIGADA Lieutenant Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 33)
 MOBILE BRIGADA HMG / Pistol, Knife. (2 | 42)
 MOBILE BRIGADA Missile Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (2 | 40)
 DAKTARI Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 14)
 SEÑOR MASSACRE Boarding Shotgun, E/M Grenades, Eclipse Grenades / Pistol, AP CCW, E/M CCW. (0 | 26)
 BANDIT Hacker (Killer Hacking Device) Light Shotgun, Adhesive Launcher / Pistol, DA CCW. (0 | 25)
 CSU Boarding Shotgun, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 11)
 CSU (Specialist Operative) Rifle + Light Shotgun, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12)
 CSU (Specialist Operative) Rifle + Light Shotgun, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12)
 ALGUACIL Paramedic (MediKit) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12)

GROUP 2
 HAWWA' (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 21)
 CATERAN T2 Sniper Rifle / Pistol, AP CCW. (1 | 24)
 HARDCASE FRONTIERSMAN Tactical Bow, Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12)
 TRANSDUCTOR ZOND Flash Pulse, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 8)
 SALYUT (Minesweeper, Repeater) Electric Pulse. (0 | 8)

 5 SWC | 300 Points

[url=http://army.infinitythegame.com/index.html?l=JwBgrAPgzCIQQgJwJYHMCGATdACAKgIIDCEAbAKQCMIpI5UoAHOQIQXW32iWvs10MarAEzAqIRhQakKLSgBZxpZgwatF1MCsaMxLKOLAB2ejrr7DJqDp4XNVm6x6aD10mHIABaksUNRrGIcrsDCspTONB6q5sIe1IzCXJwswiYJfsCkSZ6eQA===]Open in Infinity Army
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I think this would be my default list a lot of the time (maybe not against Nomads or some other thick-with-hackers list) because it has deeper offence. The Brigada team is all-purpose. You can do defence with the ML, open up a vector with the HMG, go for the template alpha strike with the shotgun and Massacre's eclipse, or focus on beeping boops with the cheap and cheerful Daktari. Massacre also makes it very effective against HI and TAGs because of B2 E/M grenades on a very high PH. Doctors are the best specialists to have in link teams, especially HI links. The nice thing about Brigada in STARCO is that they make the lieutenant tax not so bad because the shotgun is actually very useful.

The rest of the list is pretty standard/straightforward. Grab a Cateran for defence and to surprise shot TR bots. A paramedic cheerleader who might just heal that Cateran (that Ariadnan PH13 means it's 50/50 - pretty good odds). The midfield skirmishers including the bandit with KHD for the potential alpha strike against LI factions like Haqq where you can't be hacked and your light shotgun does work. And some CSU cheerleaders (best drop zone guards in the game now) who can do specialist duty on the final turn real easy. The idea with this list is that you have a big hammer in the link team and while it is drawing firepower the skirmishers press buttons and sweep. The drop zone is well defended by the CSU who prevent any rude surprises, like Ikari Yuan Yuans. You've got plenty of orders even with the irregulars. You're a bit lite on MSV but Massacre can always chop the target or isolate it with E/M grenades.

I also like this list because it can play most missions (exclusion zone missions would really hurt - go for Ikari there instead, they give zero fucks about exclusion zones). It is a remarkable take-all-comers option. You can kill TAGs with massacre and the ML. You've got heaps of specialists. You can control ground with the link, the baggage bot and the skirmishers. You can defend an Alpha strike with the ML and cateran or do one yourself. You've got veterans for hunting party.


 Grrls vs. Links (Tohaa, SP)
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GROUP 1 
 EMILY (Chain of Command) Combi Rifle + Light Grenade Launcher (Normal and E/M), Nanopulser / Assault Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 35)
 RIOT GRRL Missile Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (2 | 33)
 RIOT GRRL Missile Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (2 | 33)
 RIOT GRRL Boarding Shotgun, Stun Grenades + TinBot B (Deflector L2) / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 30)
 RIOT GRRL Boarding Shotgun, Stun Grenades / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 27)
 BANDIT Hacker (Killer Hacking Device) Light Shotgun, Adhesive Launcher / Pistol, DA CCW. (0 | 25)
 CSU Boarding Shotgun, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 11)
 BRAWLER Lieutenant Rifle + Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 16)
 TRANSDUCTOR ZOND Flash Pulse, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 8)
 SALYUT (Minesweeper, Repeater) Electric Pulse. (0 | 8)

GROUP 2
 CSU (Specialist Operative) Rifle + Light Shotgun, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12)
 CSU (Specialist Operative) Rifle + Light Shotgun, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12)
 DAKTARI Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 14)
 ZONDBOT Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)
 HAWWA' (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 21)
 HARDCASE FRONTIERSMAN Tactical Bow, Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12)

 4.5 SWC | 300 Points

[url=http://army.infinitythegame.com/index.html?l=JwBgrAPgzCIQ4gJ0QGwM4AIBuaB0GAZASwDsBrTACgBUB7ACwENGAaDAZQAUBKCARgAcAUj4gA7ACYhUYABYwQgIRiRIAGx9pwPrKUrRGrTr2rDMvlBMHN5kEuCnLMiWqWXRYFVAEC7iqR6u3mIq/gqiAlIyan4S+iACutFSAALu4F4+morpntJZShIOEUHAaq7+rhFOZdmipknARUp8mgYKMjBCKSlAA===]Open in Infinity Army
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I'll be taking grrls in two cases; factions that rely on link teams (Tohaa and Phalanx) and if I think I'm going to be up against a lot of camouflage (Ariadna). The list is very similar to the Brigada one, but the link team is much more static. You get Emily though, which makes your lieutenant tougher and gives you the capacity to E/M any annoying link teams from the midfield or from the backline once they reach the midfield. Tohaa die horrifically to E/M. Where this list is weak is offence. Emily's combi isn't much chop, which leaves you reliant on skirmisher shotguns and melee for a lot of work. This is sufficient for Ariadna and Haqq, and Phalanx and Tohaa once their links are broken. Otherwise I think you'll struggle.

The last list is a very experimental thing with the utility units like Uhahu and Spector:


AD Garbage
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GROUP 1
 UHAHU Hacker (Hacking Device Plus. UPGRADE: Icebreaker) Pitcher, D-Charges / Assault Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 25)
 HAWWA' (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 21)
 BANDIT Hacker (Killer Hacking Device) Light Shotgun, Adhesive Launcher / Pistol, DA CCW. (0 | 25)
 TRANSDUCTOR ZOND Flash Pulse, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 8)
 ALGUACIL Missile Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 15)
 ALGUACIL MULTI Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 18)
 ALGUACIL Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 10)
 ALGUACIL Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 10)
 ALGUACIL Paramedic (MediKit) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12)
 CLOCKMAKER Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 18)

GROUP 2
 SPECTOR (AD: Combat Jump) Boarding Shotgun, Nanopulser, Drop Bears / Pistol, E/M2 CC Weapon. (0 | 33)
 HARDCASE FRONTIERSMAN Tactical Bow, Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12)
 REAKTION ZOND HMG / Electric Pulse. (1 | 26)
 BRAWLER Lieutenant Rifle + Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 16)
 CSU (Specialist Operative) Rifle + Light Shotgun, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12)
 CSU Boarding Shotgun, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 11)
 HELLCAT Spitfire / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 28)

 6 SWC | 300 Points

[url=http://army.infinitythegame.com/index.html?l=JwBgrAPgzCIQ4gJ0QGwM4AIBuaB0GAZASwDsBrTACgBUB7ACwENGAaDAZQAUBKCARgDsAUj4gBfIVGAAWKEICEokSABs0ycABMwBTtEq5UzSoWawygByaNKkAomiwhiyuuLlTyS4nvHzsBb2Hv6BvuDOKubymoGiFuZSkUIAAnzm+jpS0naKDqoJwDCmcnF2UgGmHiZQFgLC8iXgwjUWPo1gzRYWOengmRbA5snJQA==]Open in Infinity Army
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I went for an alguacile hacker to make room for Uhahu and Spector, who go well together with the controlled jump program. If I'm going to use that I figure I might as well also have a hellcat with a spitfire in there, because they can sometimes in a game on their own. This could easily be cut for a Cateran, but I figure you've got enough defence in the Alguacile team and TR bot. The bot is mostly there to do some early offensive duty with marksmanship from Uhahu, and then hold the fort late game. You've still got a good skirmisher game, now complemented by the AD, and plenty of orders. Uhahu can throw white noise for the snipers and TR bot. I wish STARCO was using something other than Nomad REMs because they are just so sucky. It makes taking a hacker feel like a waste. Feels like it might be worth taking a stempler in this list. Maybe if you dropped the wildcat for the Cateran you'd have the points leftover to upgrade the BS CSU to the sensor bot. Anyways, I'll keep this as a fun list and see how it goes. AD is usually not a great strategy in my experience, at least compared to just beating your opponent with an undercosted HI link team.