When the SSU was first released, the obvious focus of the force was the helicopters. While cool looking, the promise of an air cavalry force was quite a letdown - little to no anti-tank, very difficult to consistently deliver infantry to a target, and expensive. I tried several times to come up with a good force based around an air cav force, but with little success.
Enter the Hades unit upgrades and the new FAQ update, and it looks like SSU air cav may have a new lease on life. In particular, the FAQ has updated the 'Air Cavalry' special rule to allow infantry units to disembark from high or low altitude. Additionally, the unit may disembark and have another action after the helicopter has activated. So, imagine a unit of Fakeyli in a transport helicopter - first turn move 36" across the table, drop off the unit next to a target, and attack with a bucketload of dice at a target. Nasty, eh? However, that next turn that unit of Fakeyli will be pounded by a lot of return fire. Enter 'Grizzled Veterans' unit upgrade from the Hades book and a hero. 'Grizzled Veterans' says that the unit doesn't take suppression until they remove a model due to casualties. So, if that unit of Fakeyli included, say, Yakov - they would have to take 4 wounds before they would take a suppression. Hopefully, that will be long enough for them to wreak havoc in the opponents lines...
Additionally, with Icarus landing soon -- and both Axis and Allies getting aircraft of their own -- it looks like anti-air is about to be much more important. Another advantage of the SSU helis is that they are good against both infantry and aircraft. Toss in one or two attack helis to assist and make target priority harder, and it looks like air cav might be coming back. :)
Here are a couple lists incorporating these ideas:
One with Yakov, Red Yana, 3 helis and 6 widowmaker rifles for suppression:
Dust Warfare - Force Builder
Faction: SSU ( 300 / 300 )
--- Heroes
Red Yana (22)
--- Political Platoon (197)
Upgrade: Cavalry Platoon (5)
Command Section: "The Drakoni" Commissar Squad (25)
1st Section: "Fakyeli" SSU Close Combat Squad (21)
+ Grizzled Veterans (2)
2nd Section: "Fakyeli" SSU Close Combat Squad (21)
+ Grizzled Veterans (2)
3rd Section: "Ohotniki" SSU Rifle Squad (20)
+ Grizzled Veterans (2)
Support: MIL MI-47D "Death Rain" (45)
Support: "Jnetzi" SSU Sniper Team (14)
Support: MIL MI-45 Airborne Transport (40)
--- Defense Platoon (81)
Command Section: Yakov (21, Hero)
1st Section: "Ohotniki" SSU Rifle Squad (20)
Support: MIL MI-45 Airborne Transport (40)
Another with Yakov, 4 helis, and 2 widowmakers for suppression:
Dust Warfare - Force Builder
Faction: SSU ( 300 / 300 )
--- Political Platoon (214)
Upgrade: Cavalry Platoon (5)
Command Section: "The Drakoni" Commissar Squad (25)
1st Section: "Fakyeli" SSU Close Combat Squad (21)
+ Grizzled Veterans (2)
2nd Section: "Fakyeli" SSU Close Combat Squad (21)
3rd Section: "Chinese Volunteers" SSU Auxiliary Attack Squad (15)
Support: MIL MI-47D "Death Rain" (45)
Support: MIL MI-45 Airborne Transport (40)
Support: MIL MI-45 Airborne Transport (40)
--- Defense Platoon (86)
Command Section: Yakov (21, Hero)
1st Section: "Ohotniki" SSU Rifle Squad (20)
Support: MIL MI-47D "Death Rain" (45)
Overall, I think that the first list is a little better - it's a little worse against vehicles and aircraft, but has much better ability to apply suppression, and both of the Fakyeli units have attached heroes. It's worth noting that Red Yana's 'Fighting Spirit' can't be used on the turn they disembark from the heli - it requires a move action, and disembarking is explicitly listed as not a move action. Both look good, and seem like they could be fun alternatives to some of the existing SSU builds.
Any thoughts?
