Nexu
Say what you will about the Nexu, no other piece in the game has a plural which is a completely different sci-fi sounding word: "Nexus." This is not a word that refers to a whole bunch of multi-legged bug kitties; it's supposed to be the thing that you have to take a desperate risk and plunge your spaceship into headlong if you're going to thwart the Big Bad Evil Guy, despite the very real risk that something farfetched will happen to you. But I digress.
The Nexu is one of those pieces I can never make up my mind about, even disregarding the pluralization issues. On paper, 15 points for 50 hit points, Speed 8, Stealth, and a Double Attack enhanced by Ambush is fantastic. In practice, Savage characters are really easy for your opponent to manipulate, and Speed 8 just makes it more likely that your poor Nexu is going to run off and get in a bunch of trouble that your other pieces can't catch up to help him with.
There is Empathy, of course. A Savage character who is within six squares of a Varactyl Wrangler or Nightsister Sith Witch becomes a calm, level-headed soul of discretion, eager to do exactly what you tell it and even benefit from Commander Effects. Varactyl Wranglers, however, are really, really fragile, so this sort of duty is best left to the lightsaber-wielding rodeo clown. Given that Ambush is an initiative-dependent ability and the Nightsister comes from the faction with the best initiative control in the game, this isn't such a burden.
The other way to make good use of a Savage is to embrace it. Put it in a squad with the one character in the game who loves Savages for being savage: Exar Kun. With Momentum and Jedi Hunter, a Nexu can possibly move eight squares and ram into a Force-user with a +15 to hit for 30 twice, enough to make anyone take notice. Generally, you'll still want some Empathy available until you're ready to strike, however. In this case, the Varactyl Wrangler is the perfect choice, because you won't care about losing this six-point space cowboy, and you may even choose to kill him yourself with Exar's famous "jump into his friends' skin" trick.
The Nexu has some neat abilities, but without Exar Kun, its damage potential is probably not high enough to warrant the trouble you'll have to go to. With Exar, you'll probably find it a worthwhile member of his army of crazed, rabid monstrosities.
Overall rating in 100: 1.5 (teamed with Exar, this is your whole squad, and there are better companions for Exar in this format)
Overall rating in 200: 2 (3.5 with Exar)
The Nexu is one of those pieces I can never make up my mind about, even disregarding the pluralization issues. On paper, 15 points for 50 hit points, Speed 8, Stealth, and a Double Attack enhanced by Ambush is fantastic. In practice, Savage characters are really easy for your opponent to manipulate, and Speed 8 just makes it more likely that your poor Nexu is going to run off and get in a bunch of trouble that your other pieces can't catch up to help him with.
There is Empathy, of course. A Savage character who is within six squares of a Varactyl Wrangler or Nightsister Sith Witch becomes a calm, level-headed soul of discretion, eager to do exactly what you tell it and even benefit from Commander Effects. Varactyl Wranglers, however, are really, really fragile, so this sort of duty is best left to the lightsaber-wielding rodeo clown. Given that Ambush is an initiative-dependent ability and the Nightsister comes from the faction with the best initiative control in the game, this isn't such a burden.
The other way to make good use of a Savage is to embrace it. Put it in a squad with the one character in the game who loves Savages for being savage: Exar Kun. With Momentum and Jedi Hunter, a Nexu can possibly move eight squares and ram into a Force-user with a +15 to hit for 30 twice, enough to make anyone take notice. Generally, you'll still want some Empathy available until you're ready to strike, however. In this case, the Varactyl Wrangler is the perfect choice, because you won't care about losing this six-point space cowboy, and you may even choose to kill him yourself with Exar's famous "jump into his friends' skin" trick.
The Nexu has some neat abilities, but without Exar Kun, its damage potential is probably not high enough to warrant the trouble you'll have to go to. With Exar, you'll probably find it a worthwhile member of his army of crazed, rabid monstrosities.
Overall rating in 100: 1.5 (teamed with Exar, this is your whole squad, and there are better companions for Exar in this format)
Overall rating in 200: 2 (3.5 with Exar)
Labels: Fringe, SWM review, Universe
posted by Ten-Eyed Man at 4:14 PM
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