Stars, Stripes and Profit: Winning with Capitol’s Elite Forces

Continuing with our Faction analysis series, next, we will talk about Capitol, which has some very interesting choices in its roster.

Free Marines

Let’s start with the Free Marines. After examining their profile we are greeted with the standard 4-0 Troop, holding a good MW/CC combo of 13 and above-average LD of 12. What makes them distinct is their Guerilla (5) Special ability, giving them a 25% chance to not receive an Activation Counter when performing an Ambush Reaction. This is huge as it encourages reactive play more than other factions (with the exception of Cybertronic). You need to be careful though, as you might run out of Activations if you overdo it.

Their Camouflage(2) means that even in Light Obstruction, your Marines are relatively safe. Don’t get too cocky, though, as their AR is about average (21).

Free Marines are quite all-around troopers, holding an excellent weapon in the form of the M50 Assault Rifle while being lethal in melee, punishing anyone who gets too close with their short sword.

A Trooper enables the option of buying a Medic Specialist, which can further boost survivability either via their 6″ bubble of critical failure protection on AR saves, or by removing wounds on a TN of 11. Of course, they keep the same profile and armaments, so you can use them offensively also!

Leaders are equipped with the same M50 while enjoying the standard Leader perks. Make sure to capitalize (pun intended) on their better profile to make more aggressive Actions or Reactions.

Free Marine Supports are an excellent option with their DPAT-9 RPG. Don’t forget you can Aim for extra damage on the primary target or make more accurate long shots. RPGs have the Suppressive keyword, which is their primary function. Keep the enemy with Pinned Counters in order to halt their advance, or prevent Reactions.

If you are up against Free Marines, you must take advantage of any time they are not in Obstruction, since it will make them much more vulnerable. Try and bait Ambushes to drain their Activations and stop their Primary Objective progression. Also, while they are potent melee units, they are not specialized for it. Try and lock them down in melee to minimize their effectiveness.

Sunset Strikers

Speaking of melee specialists, the next unit – the Sunset Strikers – is Capitol’s vanguard.

Their basic Trooper choice has an excellent CC of 15, an average MW12 and a welcome DEF -1 to keep them safe. Duelist(-2) allows them to survive in melee, but where it gets very interesting is their Fierce Charge. This Special Ability gives them a +2 DAM on their Melee strike as part of a Charge Action!

They are armed with the standard issue Assault Rifle of Capitol, the M50 and imported Mishiman Ceremonial Blades. With their ST 5, this bumps their melee damage to 13, or even 15 on a charge due to the aforementioned Fierce Charge! Not too shabby for 4 DP! A viable strategy is to “double charge”, First action charge but not base-up (use the Reach Special Weapon Ability) and should your target survive (and you don’t miss of course) use the second action of the activation to charge a second time! Of course that is a risky maneuver since the model is exposed to Ambushes as well as risking dying to counter-attack. But what’s life without a bit of a gamble?

An Operator Specialist can also be be fielded. These come with the same equipment, enjoy extra Reactions from Tactical and also get the sweet, sweet Smoke Grenades that the unit needs to reach melee. Of course, standard Grenades are also issued to Operators. Use them with Indirect Fire to cancel out any pesky Camouflage you find, or attack from unexpected vectors.

Leaders are true CC specialists with their CC16 and an M516 Shotgun can be deadly even if they can’t quite reach melee. I think their primary function, though, is to keep other Sunset Strikers moving by removing their Pinned Counters or giving orders via Command to hasten their advance.

Sunset Striker Supports are very interesting. They come cheap for only 1 SP and come armed with the deadly Gehenna Puker. In theory you could bring 3 with only one Leader. 10″ might sound like a bit of a short range, but you can do some amazing work with these things. First off, it’s projected, which means you can hit multiple enemies. It also ignores Obstruction bonuses, making them a threat to high-DEF or Camouflage models. You can also use these while engaged, so if the opportunity arises, you can make sure to surprise anyone foolish enough to make a convenient line between your Support, its engaged target and a third model. Don’t forget Continuous!

Facing Sunset Strikers is quite straightforward, don’t let them reach you, or gang up on them. They don’t have many tools to remove Pinned Counters from themselves so keep them down with Suppressive weapons, or standard Shoot actions.

Martian Banshees

Their third option is one of my personal favorite models, both aesthetically and in function – the Martian Banshees! Oh boy, these guys are amazing.

Straight off the bat, we are greeted with an about average stat-line. CC/MW12 is meh, nothing too special, especially for their premium 5DP cost. But they are heavily armored and they have an excellent LD score, which allows them to touch Objectives very effectively. Hmm, what’s that in their Special Ability entry? Nerves of Steel, yeah that’s good but look closely, it says “Flight”. Oh yeah now we’re cooking with fire! These guys have jetpacks and can fly around! 8″ + Reposition, ignoring intervening terrain? That’s what you pay 5DP a head for.

“But Motodachi,” I hear you say. “You can Ambush flying units at -4 penalty from anywhere on the table”. Which is a fair argument, but my retort here is “Activation order”. Activate them last and no one can Ambush these amazing shock troops. Oh and if you Fly (Move or Charge) near an enemy model using Flight, you can use Impact which imposes a Reaction Counter on anyone within 2″ on a failed TN(LD) test. This means friendlies too, so be careful!

Clearly their entire profile is worth considering, especially paired with some Assets too – more on that later.

Basic Banshee Troopers come equipped with the M13 Handgun which has a maximum 18″ range but allows for some limited CC in case you are feeling adventurous. They also come equipped with Frag Grenades – a rarity for Troop models – and their ST6 means they can lob them to a maximum of 10″ away. Their main weapon platform, however, is the CAR-24 SMG. This Burst(2) SMG is a great weapon for targeting models within 6″, but you can use it somewhat effectively at 18″ as well. Don’t forget, you can Brace to add the Suppressive ability! The CAR-24 comes with a Crit Fail Rating of 19, which translates to a 10% chance of Critical Failure on each die. If you jam at a very inconvenient time, though, don’t fret! Just use the M13 Hangun, which has one shot instead of two, but at a higher DAM.

Martian Banshees don’t have any Specialists – nobody is perfect I know – but their Leaders are, as usual, a buffed-up version of the standard Trooper. Better CC and MW, even better LD and the same awesome loadout! The Leader also gives you 2 SP so that you can use the…

Martian Banshee Support! Do you like mobility? Do you want a Gehenna Puker that can potentially reach the enemy in the first round of the game? Look no further than the Martian Banshee Support. In fact, a Leader gives you enough SP for 2! These guys are great at assaulting Objectives and creating zones where the enemy will have a hard time reaching them without taking a Puker to the face.

If you want to counter Banshees, you need to keep your distance. Bait them to over-extend, and keep them far from their Support units. Use CC to lock them down and Pinned counters to rob them of Dive for Cover Reactions.

Assets

Air Strike: An excellent one-use option for any of your Leaders. Yes, the damage is low, but you roll on Leadership which is a good thing most of the time (especially on Banshees). Plus it’s an Explosive (3) Suppressive weapon – excellent for first-turn shenanigans!

Helicopter Deployment: In the Deployment Phase, set aside a unit (say, a Martian Banshee Support) so they can deploy right on your enemy’s flank, with maximum effect on Corner Deployment! Use this and stare at your opponent as you declare a Gehenna Puker shoot action on Turn 1 where your enemy has quite a few models bundled up.

Supply Drop: This is quite good, especially if you field a lot of Pukers, SMGs or RPGs and have them close to each other. Also, it removes all Reload Counters, improving your action economy. Not my first choice as you can see how much I fanboy on Heli-Deploy but you can make some great plays with this.

Overall Capitol is a strong force, with strong weapons and one of the most maneuverable units in the game currently. What are some of your own favorite tricks with the boys and girls of the mightiest Megacorp? Sound off below!