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rai12
October 19th, 2007, 12:21 AM
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Unit Strategy Review
Unit: Nakita Agents
Author: Rai12 (With thanks to the Unit strategy Review writers)

The elusive Nakita Agents have a number of skills that would appear to make them a formidable unit on the board. They can hide themselves, and any adjacent figure you control, from normal ranged attacks. They provide movement bonding to the tough Gorillinators. And, they posses potentially one of the most dangerous passive defensive abilities around – Engagement Strike 15. So what causes the Nakita Agents to see more time on the store shelves then on the battlefield? Three simple words – Krav Maga Agents! The Krav Maga Agents have a more versatile defensive ability, a longer threat range and are twenty points less. The guide below will attempt to provide some sound strategies that will make Chrissy, Kimberly, and Angela a valuable part of your army.
Let’s begin with their base stats:.

Analyzed Statistics:
Cost – 120 - Knight Class
Size – Medium - Vulnerable/ Semi-Concealable
Squad - 3 - Average
Move – 5 - Average
Range – 6 – Medium Range
Attack – 3 - Average
Defense – 3 - Vulnerable
Smoke Powder 13: 40% chance to make Nakita Agent and adjacent unit untargetable. - Semi-reliable
Engagement Strike 15: 30% chance to inflict a wound to any small or medium figure that moves into engagement with a Nakita Agent.- Subreliant
Gorillinator Movement Bonding: Allow 3 Gorillinators to move seven spaces prior to taking a turn with the Nakita Agents. - Medium Tactical Advantage

In-depth Analysis:
We shall now look carefully at the Nakita Agent’s statistics, and draw strategies from our conclusions. Let us start with their classification. Below is an explanation of Agatagary's cost classification:

Pawn class (expendable, units that can be useful, but are not worth enormous trouble to protect)
Bishop class (more useful than a pawn, but still somewhat expendable)
Knight class (units that are interestingly powerful and can have a significant impact on the game in of themselves. It is advisable that they be kept alive, but if absolutely necessary they may be sacrificed)
Rook class (units that almost inevitably have a significant impact on the game, and whose death should be avoided as much as possible)
Queen class (devastatingly powerful or important units that should be protected at all costs)

Class:
The Nakita Agents are Knight Class units. They can provide a variety strategic support that is needed during the critical phases of the battle. Not only are they are a decent ranged squad they can also help protect any figure in your army from normal ranged attacks, and they can fend off advances of small and medium units. They could be classified higher except their abilities have tactical restrictions and are not reliable enough to guarantee benefit.

Offense:
The Nakita Agents are a decent offensive threat. They have three Attacks of 3 and a threat range of 11 spaces. They are designed to harass average to slow moving, small and medium melee figures.

Survivability:
Despite their below average defense (typical of ranged squads) the Nakita Agents are fairly durable. Thanks to their Smoke Powder 13 ability they have a 40% chance to ignore any normal ranged attacks. Their Engagement Strike 15 ability can be a deterrent to small and medium melee squads. Combined, this makes the Nakita Agents a resilient squad, although they are still vulnerable to a host of automatic destruction abilities due to their own Medium size.

Strategy:
The Nakita Agents typically have three primary duties on the battlefield; support character, range squad, and shepherd. We will look at these roles separately below and cover the strategies in which they can best be utilized, but first lets look in depth at Smoke Powder 13.

The Nakita Agents’ Smoke Powder ability can be a devastatingly tactical tool to shut down your opponent’s army. It grants a 40% chance to completely ignore normal ranged attacks from your opponent’s units. The key to achieving this is to make sure that every figure within the threat range of your opponent’s ranged units is cover by the Nakita’s Smoke Powder. You only have one chance per attack to stop it. If successful you should have eliminated all possible targets from the opposing unit’s sight.

To successfully utilize Smoke Powder you must choose your opponent – and allies – wisely. Smoke Powder does not work against special attacks. If your opponent has Major Q9, Major Q10 or Kaemon Awa in their army the Nakita Agents may not be the best counter. Conversely, Smoke Powder works against units like the Krav Maga Agents, Syvarris, Nakita Agents, and the Omnicron Snipers to name a few. The next strategic point to consider is which units will receive the greatest benefit from The Nakita’s Smoke Powder. The simple answer is all units that could be targeted with a normal ranged attack make good recipients. The only unit that it does not help is Sgt. Drake, who can avoid normal ranged attacks with his Thorian Speed.The only units it would hinder are Gurei-Oni, the Deathreavers, and figures that get stronger as they take damage like Krug, and the Hulk, though the Nakita Agents can help protect these units after they have taken a substantial amount of damage.

The key to getting the most out of Smoke Powder is to select the best units when your are building your army. You want units that present a better target than the Nakita Agent herself. You want to put a target out there that appears to be more dangerous than the Nakitas; one that your opponent will want to eliminate quickly. The unit cannot appear to be too sturdy; otherwise your opponent will more than likely choose to eliminate the Nakita Agent first and then focus on the remaining units. Deathwalker 8000, Deathwalker 9000, the Omnicron Snipers, and Cyprien Esenwein all present an immediate and significant threat to enemy units. They all lack the perceived staying power that would make them the secondary target. Another way to prevent your opponent from targeting the Nakita Agents is to not put any order markers on them. Most enemies will go after units that present an immediate threat. Unfortunately, once you successfully use Smoke Powder once or twice the Nakita Agents will become a primary target. It is also beneficial to place the Nakita Agents alongside units that do not move often. This way you do not have to waste a marker just to move the Nakitas into place. The 4th Massachusetts Line and the Ashigaru Harquebus fit into this category. Another strategy is to throw a Nakita Agent on the back of Brunak as he rushes down the field. Please see the Unit Strategy Review Guide for Brunak (http://www.heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=11715) for more information.

In the role of a support squad, there are a few ways to utilize the Nakita Agents. They can be sent out in front of your advancing melee units to set up a progressive line of “safe zones” from which you can safely convey your slow-moving melee units. They can be strategically positioned alongside other ranged units to offer protection from return fire. They can also be held back to protect your other support units or your sleeping reserves. Since there are three Nakita Agents you can easily alternate their roles as the battle progresses.

As a ranged squad the Nakita Agents have definite advantages over most melee units. Even though the Nakita Agents are outclassed by other ranged units like the Krav Maga Agents and powerhouses like Major Q9, they can still perform the ranged unit role that is essential to all successful armies. They can easily outmaneuver most of the melee units for a turn or two, while unleashing a barrage of three attacks each turn. As with all ranged units achieving a height advantage is essential to their success. We will now move on to another ability that makes them a great ranged squad, Engagement Strike.

To use the Nakita Agents as shepherds, remember that Engagement Strike can be one of the most intimidating abilities a small or medium squad unit can face on the battlefield. Obviously there are more devastating abilities out there (Braxas’ Poison Acid Breath comes to mind) but the difference is that Engagement Strike is brought on by your opponent’s own choice. The opposing small or medium figure must choose to engage the Nakita Agent. When it does there is a 30% chance that that unit’s turn will be wasted. This intimidation factor obviously affects squad units more than heroes but a hero with low life will hesitate before moving into engagement too. With this in mind you can utilize the Nakita Agents as a deterrent or shepherd for small and medium melee squads. If you have a single-base unit that you want to protect from an onslaught of melee squads you can place the Nakita Agents in a triangular pattern around the chosen figure. This will force any unit that wants to engage the protected unit to take two Engagement Strike attempts. Likewise you can position the Nakita Agents around choke points or thoroughfares to make your opponent think twice about taking that route. If they approach with a small or medium melee hero you can have the Nakita Agents unload into the hero as he draws closer, causing enough damage that he will hesitate risking engagement.

The last aspect of the Nakita Agents we will address is Gorillinator Movement Bonding. When placing a marker on the Nakita Agents you get to move three Gorillinators up to seven spaces. Bonding is always a great benefit, but what do you get out of Movement Bonding?

The seemingly obvious benefit is that you get to move two squads into position at once. Unfortunately, used this way only the slower squad gets to attack. One way to utilize the Gorillinator Movement Bonding is to send the Gorillinators and Nakita Agents in two separate directions. The Nakita Agents should remain near the bulk of your army so that you can take advantage of their other abilities. The Gorillinators will act as decoys so that the enemy will have to split his forces to deal with two fronts, or let a highly mobile ranged unit penetrate deep behind his front line. An experienced player will not want these sturdy Primadons causing havoc and threatening their late game reserves. For this strategy to work you will need to place markers on the Gorillinators each round, and every once in a while use them to attack. On the approach make sure that the Gorillinators either gain height advantage or find a place to hide. If your opponent decides to deal with the Gorillinators you can use the Nakita Agents to make the Gorillinators withdraw while you encircle the opposing advancing units.

You can also coordinate a two-prong attack with the Gorillinators and the Nakita Agents. Due to their mobility the Gorillinators will be sent out as the flanking unit. The Nakita Agents should apply pressure from the middle. Initially you will advance both squads utilizing the Nakita Agents’ Gorillinator Movement Bonding. Once the Gorillinators get close or there is a clear opportunity place all of your markers on the Gorillinators and advance them deep into the enemy line. Preferably attacking from the rear or far flank. If the action gets too sticky place your markers on the Nakita Agents. Have the Gorillinators regroup and apply more pressure with the Nakita Agents. Target any vulnerable support units or squad units. If you draft more than one squad of the Gorillinators you can continue the pressure as you lose units or coordinate a three-prong attack. The point is to cause as much disruption to your opponent’s strategy as possible.

Another strategy would be to keep the Gorillinators adjacent to the Nakita Agents to take advantage of their Smoke Powder. Utilize the Gorillinators as the Nakita Agents’ guard dogs. When the enemy approaches with ranged units use the Gorillinator Movement Bonding to rush forward and engage the opposing ranged units. The Gorillinators can shrug off any single skulls that the opponent rolls while preventing a unit without a special ranged attack from targeting you more expensive units. The Nakita Agents can then shoot the enemy figures from a safe distance. If the opponent approaches with melee squads have the Gorillinators withdraw and let your opponent take his chances with Engagement Strike.

The Nakita Agents are a highly versatile squad. To take full advantage of all of their assets you need to choose your opponent wisely, utilize them as a second string ranged unit, select units that benefit the most from Smoke Powder, and be ready to change your tactics as the situation dictates.

Units to Avoid:
Units with Special Ranged Attacks: Units like Kaemon Awa, Q9, and Deathwalker 8000 have abilities that negate the Nakita Agents primary ability, Smoke Powder. If your opponent has two units with special ranged attacks in his army you may want to reconsider taking the Nakita Agents onto the field. They will have a difficult time earning their keep.

Units with Auto-destruct Abilities: As medium squad characters the Nakita Agents are susceptible to a wide range of auto-destruct/ injury abilities. Poison Acid Breath, Chilling Touch, and Dragon Swoop are but a few. These types of units should be handle at a safe distance or by a sturdy hero.

Morsbane Morsbane’s Rod of Negation can turn the Nakita Agents into an average ranged squad. It is the Nakita Agent’s special abilities that can make them an integral part of your army. Avoid this mischievous Elf.

For additional information see the Book of the Nakita Agents. (http://www.heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=8600)

Metaknight
October 19th, 2007, 02:07 AM
This is pretty nice! These ladies are good on paper but usually not very good not the field, not any moree!

eric.dunfee
October 19th, 2007, 03:29 AM
Excellent write up! I really enjoy reading these strategies keep up the good work writers!

These guys can definately be a pain when fighting with smaller armies. I've seen the do some decent damage.

Also had a situation a while back where a buddy was running a squad of these and a squad of ninjas toward a castle assault. AE drop and grenades wiped them all out in 1 turn :(

IAmBatman
October 19th, 2007, 11:55 AM
Small nitpick. Krug and Hulk get stronger when they take damage - Abomination does not.

Taeblewalker
October 19th, 2007, 02:02 PM
Thanks. We all try to find those points when we help a writer proofread, and we all missed it.

rai12
October 19th, 2007, 06:28 PM
Small nitpick. Krug and Hulk get stronger when they take damage - Abomination does not.


corrected

War Solves Everything
October 26th, 2007, 12:57 PM
These are great units! But there not a common squad. That's the only flaw.

R˙chean
October 26th, 2007, 01:43 PM
This is decent article; there is no mention of Laglor, though.

I think Laglor really helps the girls shine; having them pumped to range 8 causes problems for opposing forces as they can stay further away from harm and still attack. With the head primadon giving the boosts and the common primadons running amuck, the Laglor, gorilla, Nakita army can be very formidable and very fun to play.

Taeblewalker
October 26th, 2007, 02:23 PM
:brickwall:

There are too many units to keep track of.

Oh, well. Thanks for mentioning Laglor!

Roufus
November 7th, 2007, 02:12 AM
I really like the versatility of these girls. They have proven their worth on a number of occasions.
Though people typically end up using Krav Maga almost exclusively, which is a shame.
Mix it up a little, have some fun!

DeadZa
November 7th, 2007, 03:27 PM
I really like the versatility of these girls. They have proven their worth on a number of occasions.
Though people typically end up using Krav Maga almost exclusively, which is a shame.
Mix it up a little, have some fun!

Plus the Krav don't protect friends. I really like the Nikita but sometimes you just feel the 120pts was wasted when you face too many specials or just have terrible luck. The Nikita should only get stronger as point sizes of the average game increase too.

I wonder how much they paid for G'nator move bonding sometimes so I could cut it out...probably nothing honestly.

goodhueq
November 7th, 2007, 05:29 PM
Krav do protect their friends by drawing fire and having a big red target on their backs. Nakita are great and all, but I don't own any gorillas, so they don't meet 120 points in my eyes. I will always like Krav more, simply because Krav is MS and we have used them from the start. For 120 points, I would rather use Krav and Marcu. Laglor is great with Nakita Agents and any other ranged Vydar pieces, and Theracus can also carry Nakita, to height, for some differing scenarios besides Brunak. Play them in games with big points for more fun, include Jotun and throw inbetween the Nakitas for 3 engagement strikes.

Browncoat
November 8th, 2007, 09:48 PM
If you have a single-base unit that you want to protect from an onslaught of melee squads you can place the Nakita Agents in a triangular pattern around the chosen figure.
This one sentence pretty much ruined this guide in my opinion.

The Nakita Agents are protectors. To put all your eggs in one basket so to speak is poor strategy with these figures. It seems that most players will keep similar units together. If you have a squad of 4th Mass Line, odds are, they will be positioned next to each other, or at least in close proximity. The Nakitas, strategically, should not be next to each other on the battlefield. It nullifies their best ability.

Taeblewalker
November 8th, 2007, 10:20 PM
If you have a single-base unit that you want to protect from an onslaught of melee squads you can place the Nakita Agents in a triangular pattern around the chosen figure.
This one sentence pretty much ruined this guide in my opinion.

The Nakita Agents are protectors. To put all your eggs in one basket so to speak is poor strategy with these figures. It seems that most players will keep similar units together. If you have a squad of 4th Mass Line, odds are, they will be positioned next to each other, or at least in close proximity. The Nakitas, strategically, should not be next to each other on the battlefield. It nullifies their best ability.

The idea here is to set up an impenetrable Engagement Strike perimeter around Taelord or Spartacus. I think it's sound, in the right circumstances.

kenjib
March 5th, 2008, 08:56 PM
The movement bonding is also useful for glyph grabbing. Have the speedy gorillas grab glyphs while you attack with the now-boosted Nakitas. This will also possibly draw fire away from the Nakitas and toward the gorillinators, and if you have more than one squad, as they go down you can bring more in due to their fast movement.

In theory if you can get height and the gorillas can get an attack glyph you've got 3 attacks of 5.

soberman
March 8th, 2008, 08:46 PM
Just to be perfectly clear, when you say that "you only get one chance per attack" to use smoke powder, you mean per Nakita per attack, right? As in, 3 Nakitas spaced apart can each roll seperately to defend themselves or three different adjacent buddies? I think there was a debate about this issue sometime ago, so it may not be clear to everyone, especially newbies.
_________________________________
now playing: the miscellaneous moth and rust

R˙chean
March 9th, 2008, 11:44 AM
Just to be perfectly clear, when you say that "you only get one chance per attack" to use smoke powder, you mean per Nakita per attack, right?

No, that isn't what he means. He said what he means and he said it correctly and he is right in what he said. Smoke powder is rolled one time per attack, not one time per attack per Nakita.

The one roll affects all three Nakitas and all figures you control adjacent to those Nakitas. It is all or nothing and it is one time per attack.

Chimpy
March 9th, 2008, 05:12 PM
As someone who loves to play the G'nator/Nakita combo, I found your post quite interesting. Here are my thoughts on the three main styles of play you suggested:



The seemingly obvious benefit is that you get to move two squads into position at once. Unfortunately, used this way only the slower squad gets to attack. One way to utilize the Gorillinator Movement Bonding is to send the Gorillinators and Nakita Agents in two separate directions. The Nakita Agents should remain near the bulk of your army so that you can take advantage of their other abilities. The Gorillinators will act as decoys so that the enemy will have to split his forces to deal with two fronts, or let a highly mobile ranged unit penetrate deep behind his front line. An experienced player will not want these sturdy Primadons causing havoc and threatening their late game reserves. For this strategy to work you will need to place markers on the Gorillinators each round, and every once in a while use them to attack. On the approach make sure that the Gorillinators either gain height advantage or find a place to hide. If your opponent decides to deal with the Gorillinators you can use the Nakita Agents to make the Gorillinators withdraw while you encircle the opposing advancing units.

I think this would only work if the area you are sending your G'nators up onto the high ground. Lets face it- the G'nators are anything but 'sturdy.' Yes, they can become sturdy once they get extra defense dice, but on their own they get torn apart like tissue paper. (To see a bit more on my views of G'nator defense, go here (http://www.heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?p=256686#279358).) Personally, I wouldn't worry much at all about the G'nators 'penetrating behind my lines', as once they are at equal footing with their opponent (IE: no height bonus) they are quite easy to kill. Even if you send two squads of the apes, one round of Q9- or even Mimring -would mow the Primadons down. This would be a particularly disastrous scenario if you were facing a swarm army; as both the Nakita and G'nators are fairly expensive units, the enemy would probably have enough troops to attack both the 'decoys' and the main force at the same time.



You can also coordinate a two-prong attack with the Gorillinators and the Nakita Agents. Due to their mobility the Gorillinators will be sent out as the flanking unit. The Nakita Agents should apply pressure from the middle. Initially you will advance both squads utilizing the Nakita Agents’ Gorillinator Movement Bonding. Once the Gorillinators get close or there is a clear opportunity place all of your markers on the Gorillinators and advance them deep into the enemy line. Preferably attacking from the rear or far flank. If the action gets too sticky place your markers on the Nakita Agents. Have the Gorillinators regroup and apply more pressure with the Nakita Agents. Target any vulnerable support units or squad units. If you draft more than one squad of the Gorillinators you can continue the pressure as you lose units or coordinate a three-prong attack. The point is to cause as much disruption to your opponent’s strategy as possible.

Of the three strategies here, I like this one the best. The G'nators best advantage is mobility, and if you can use that mobility sucessfully to place the primadons in a favorable position to kill their support units, you have a job well done. However, I see this scenario near impossible without having two or more G'nators- one squad is simply not durable enough to survive being in such close proximity with the enemy's army. (The concern about swarms also applies here.)



Another strategy would be to keep the Gorillinators adjacent to the Nakita Agents to take advantage of their Smoke Powder. Utilize the Gorillinators as the Nakita Agents’ guard dogs. When the enemy approaches with ranged units use the Gorillinator Movement Bonding to rush forward and engage the opposing ranged units. The Gorillinators can shrug off any single skulls that the opponent rolls while preventing a unit without a special ranged attack from targeting you more expensive units. The Nakita Agents can then shoot the enemy figures from a safe distance. If the opponent approaches with melee squads have the Gorillinators withdraw and let your opponent take his chances with Engagement Strike.


Again, I can only see this working if you have the high ground. If the enemy has the high ground or if you’re playing on flatland your G'nators will get torn to pieces in the two turns it takes you to engage the enemy ranged units. Furthermore, attaching your G’nators to the Nakitas destroys the G’nators best advantage: mobility. If you get rid of this flexibility, you remove the G’nators greatest strength.

miniandmee7
March 23rd, 2008, 01:26 PM
I normally use nakita's because i have three squads
of gorillas.

Nice article it helped a lot

Tai-Pan
June 11th, 2009, 07:23 AM
If you have a single-base unit that you want to protect from an onslaught of melee squads you can place the Nakita Agents in a triangular pattern around the chosen figure.
This one sentence pretty much ruined this guide in my opinion.

The Nakita Agents are protectors. To put all your eggs in one basket so to speak is poor strategy with these figures. It seems that most players will keep similar units together. If you have a squad of 4th Mass Line, odds are, they will be positioned next to each other, or at least in close proximity. The Nakitas, strategically, should not be next to each other on the battlefield. It nullifies their best ability.

The idea here is to set up an impenetrable Engagement Strike perimeter around Taelord or Spartacus. I think it's sound, in the right circumstances.

Except that's just begging for an explosion attack, which are all ranged special attacks, rendering both smoke powder and engagement strike useless. If there're only melee units left, go for it, but watch out if there's a shotgun, grenades, or other explosion attack waiting in your enemy's ranks.

MegaSilver
July 28th, 2009, 02:39 PM
BAN! BAN! BAN Toot60! (Warning Sirens!)

MegaSilver

EDIT: Good job, Aldin.

donjake
August 5th, 2009, 01:13 PM
i normally take kma and these because they both lay coving fire and i use smoke powder to keep the other shooters alive

kpotassiumk19
August 5th, 2009, 11:04 PM
Usually the KMA don't need smoke powder. Using the Nakitas for engagement strike is a better idea. I see what your getting at, but I think the Warriors of Ashra do it better. Hide your KMA behind your WoA and fire down. The only flaw to this is when your opponent out-ranges your KMA forcing you to move them out of protection. This strategy should be effective and it makes your opponent waste a lot of turns, giving you time to move to position or to engage the range killing your WoA.

Okay, enough of the KMA talk, this is the Nakita thread.

Now that is making me think about Nakitas, WoA and Gorrillanators, and possibly Laglor depending on the points.

EDIT: Here is the army:
Nakitas 120
x1 Gorillanators 90
Laglor 110
x2 WoA 100
Raelin 1.0 80
500/14

Devastatingly weak against special attacks, but Raelin helps. Imagine trying to break through a sheild wall of 5 defense, defensive agility, and smoke powder 13. Then, after that there is engagement strike and more figures of 5 def and smoke powder. I wanted more Nators, but I ran out of points so they go get height or grab glyphs. 15 threat range can be deadly though.

donjake
August 7th, 2009, 07:06 AM
what i also do is use them as acover unit instead of offensive as the guide says and it works getting your melee units up to take out enemy shooters

rommel1369
March 23rd, 2010, 02:13 PM
This would be an annoying army to play against

NA-120p
KMA-100p
Venom-150p
Spiderman-160p

530p ...maybe throw in Isamu to increase your irritation. Would be a hard army to kill... unless Braxas was there. But in our games I have always punished Braxas so he is rarely brought by my friends anymore :P Cyprien could be a prob as well but it is hit or miss if he shows up (we bring pre made armies and keep it secret until gametime). I would just focus on Cyprien if he came... as I'm sure everyone would.