The Third Offensive: Morat Aggression Force Updates

Instead of reviewing a unit, this week I thought I’d talk about the big changes to the Combined Army brought in the Third Offensive. With all these updates to Morats and Military Orders, as well as the all new Varuna and Invincible Army lists. I’ve been recruiting friends who are experienced generals of these factions to write their thoughts on the updates and new lists. Since I’m the resident Combined player, naturally it’s to me to write about the Morats.

A Few Upgrades

Sogarat. While most of the Sogarat profiles have not changed, they were given the additional choice of upgrading their Feuerbach to Full Auto L2. BAM! This skill is rare in the game, but now you’re up to B3 without having to buy the expensive Kornak Haris (which is gone anyhow), and furthermore, inflict an additional -3 penalty on your opponents. This is not cheap, but holy cow is it well worth it. The biggest downside is that the Lieutenant cannot take this upgrade, so if you do run it, you’ll have to find a different model to lead your force.

Suryat. A new profile was added giving the HMG + TinBotA profile the new rule of Tactical Sense, effectively giving it an extra order, which it can use while leading a link (which it will often do anyhow thanks to it’s HMG). Furthermore, you can add a Suryat to a core link of Morat Vanguard, making it a lot less points to get up to BS16 and the extra burst.

Raktorak. First up, I think this is the single most significant change to the army. The Raktorak has gained the ability to join ANY fireteam in the army. They can Duo with Sogarats, fill spots in expensive Suryat links, and add both a Specialist and a Red Fury to Hungry and Daturazi links. This minor rules change to one unit greatly increases the versatility of the entire MAF army. Furthermore, there is a Vulcan Shotgun profile with NCO, but I kinda feel like the skill is a waste in Morats, who often run Lieutenants who want to use their order anyhow.

Rodoks. Another huge change, Rodoks received two new profiles. The first is the addition of a Haris link team, which is AMAZING, it’s all I’ve ever wanted for Rodoks. Furthermore, they now have both an Assault Hacker and Killer Hacker profile. The Killer Hacker may well see its way into many of my lists, for a mere 22 points you get a KHD with forward deployment, super-jump, mimetism, mines, and a boarding shotgun.

Oznat. An entirely new version of the shotgun-toting Oznat was added, called the Stalker Unit. For 29 points (+9 points over the base version), the Oznat gains Sensor, and a G:Synced Preta. This doubles the amount of Sensor in the Combined Army, and really offers a very unique unit to play with in the game. It may seem expensive at first when compared to an Auxbot, but it’s faster at MOV 6-6, has Climbing Plus, and Dogged, so really opens up a lot of interesting play. I’m really looking forward to practicing maximizing the effect of this unit.

Kurgat. Finally, the restriction on Autocannons joining the Haris was removed, so if you really want, you can crank it up to B3. Overall, not a massive change, but it does make the Autocannon a bit more enticing.

Building A New Core

First off, this title is misleading Morats did not receive a new core link, but what they did get are a couple more additions to the cores which they can already take. The Raktorak has received a Red Fury profile, as well as the Wildcard rule, allowing it to join any Fireteam in the army. To me, this alone is the single most important change in the entire update for Morats. By adding a Raktorak to links like Daturazi and Hungries, you get to add both a specialist, and a solid ranged weapon, for not a lot of points. Consider both of these links:

Each of these links brings a BS15 B5 Red Fury for blasting enemies away, a handful of chain rifles, smoke, and a shotgun for when things get up close and personal. The Hungry link moves much faster, covering up to a foot a turn with the Pretas, and the resilience of the Pretas helps keep the link intact. The Daturazi are great at providing smoke cover, and have the added bonus of pitching regular grenades, and are even more deadly than the Pretas in melee. Both are really excellent core choices, and dirt cheap, 67/1 for the Hungries, and only 88/1 for the Daturazi.

Another great new core option is adding a Suryat into Vanguard. Morat Vanguard are definitely the most easily overlooked part of the army, because they really don’t do a whole lot that is exciting. Now that you can add a Suryat (like the new Tactical Sense HMG option), you can actually make a Vanguard link, with only minimal Vanguard:

More expensive than just a Vanguard Core, but a hell of a lot cheaper than a full Suryat link. You get the 5-man link bonus to rock that Suryat’s HMG with (BS16 B5), Anyat covers smoke, and both Anyat and Raktorak are specialists. The other two vanguard are really whatever you want them to be, maybe a Hacker (who will benefit from the TinBot), or Forward Observers for extra ARO power with their Flash Pulses.

Breaking Eggs

Not everything is roses, Despite being liberated by the MAF, the army did lose access to their beloved Bit and Kiss. At first, I was pretty annoyed, but really, with the addition of the Rodok KHD, it’s unlikely that I’d take Bit and Kiss anyhow. If you’re upset about losing Bit and Kiss, I totally understand, but I also think for 3 points more and 0.5 SWC less, the Rodok KHD is miles ahead of this duo.

Furthermore, we lost the Sogarat + Kornak Haris, but frankly, it was a ton of points and not terribly competitive. Now that the Sogarat Feuerbach can purchase Full Auto L2, if you want that lovely B3 Feuerbach, you can do it a ton cheaper than taking the Haris.

I really do enjoy Morats, and will be playing them exclusively at least until after Adepticon. Morats are meant to be the army which requires the tightest tactical play, relying heavily on player mastery of the basics of the game, which is exactly why I like them. These new changes breathe a bit of life into the faction, without drastically changing how they play. Overall, I think it’s a fantastic update to the faction, which will really take some time and practice to really feel the impact of it all.