Kaauri Reviewi

About time we got a Structure unit.

The “Sudiel” 77th Engineers created the Kaauri bioconstruct, a nasty parasite grafted onto a synthetic body.  It was created to catch impersonators and spies from the Combined Army.  And it was created to give us Tohaa players another cheapo defender.  I like this troop and I am always surprised to meet players who don’t have affection for it.  And this review is more red in honor of Kaauri.

FUCK ALL YOUR MODIFIERS

When I play against someone who has never fought a Kaauri before and wants a concise explanation, I tell him that’s what the Kaauri is–the fuck-all-your-modifiers troop.  A smoke-shooting Intruder, for example, a normally and rightly feared mod stacker, imparts a grand total of 0 modifiers against a Kaauri, not including range and cover.

Presuming you’re not a noob about placement, the Kaauri gives a guaranteed 55% chance to hit the enemy, regardless of their tricks.  The only special skill a Kaauri can suffer is just a -3 from ODD or TO Camouflage.

It’s a unit designed to block the pricks that come to poke your triad in the ass.  The Kaauri Sniper can guard from afar, and the other 3 guard up close.  Of particular note is the SMG + Nanopulsers + Nullifier, since that gives you broadly applicable tools against Hacking, Jammers, Close Combat, Dogged and No Wound Incapacitation.  Because the Kaauri is also S1, you can terrace the two troops to hard stop opponents from “slicing the pie”.

META NEED

I hate recommending anything tailored to a specific opponent, but if your opponents keep smothering you with blankets of Camouflage, Impersonation, and Holoprojectors, the Kaauri definitely is the right response.

In general, a diverse and balanced list is best, but if you want to punish spam players, bring a foundation like this, and they won’t try that crap on you again.  I usually spare points to toss in a Kaauri or two, in any case.

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HOBBERY

I wrote some extensive hobbery how-to on the Kaauri back in autumn of last year.  It’s a nice enough and distinct enough model in appearance, but way too damn tall for S1.  It’s fairly painfree to cut him down to size, though.

Like the Nexus and Rodok in Combined Army, the Kanren in Yu Jing, or the revised Ahl Fasid in Haqqislam, the Kaauri strikes me as a model made from mature designers who can adroitly create “great” and “balanced” in the same profile.

I rate the Kaauri 3 out of 5 artichokes.

TL;DR The Kaauri rely on your gamble and guile to use effectively, but they’re a real cockblocker when you use the critters right.