Bright Thorn mispriced?

1. I've chosen Bright Thorns for an upcoming game. I don't understand their role. All they seem to bring to the table is being the only gamma with an ink dispenser. Without the redundant beam mounts of some other gammas, this seems to lend them to a fast support role?

As the highest pointed gamma, (besides a Mutant Hull that I'm not even sure is purchasable at start or if it changes mid-game - I've forgotten all the beta rules threads from the old page) I'm also curious as to what is causing Bright Thorn's points to be a bit inflated- (unless it's the larva in this comparison that is undervalued).

      Bright Thorn                                                                   Larva

                -2                       Defensive Value                              +2
                -4                       Damage Reduction                         +4
               +3                       Drive                                                -3
                -2                       Type 1 Drones                               +2
                -2                       Hit Boxes                                        +2
              Same                    Regen Value                                  Same
                -2                       X-Beam ammo                               +2
                Ink                      Equipment                               Drone Mover

I also compared the critical tables of these two, and results 7 and up are identical for both designs. Result 6 (10%) is a markedly better result for the Larva, result 1 (10%) brings the Larva's DV to par with the Thorn's. Crits don't seem to be a contributing factor. Not wanting to make this a min/max issue, just wondering if the situations in which BT shine are those forces where the Betas don't have ink coverage? How are they earning their points back?

2. Any additional guidance as to which Terran ships to test against these grubs? Are Drydock I & II Ships okay? NW? Any to avoid? Any specific rules to focus on? Worm Pods/Blood Worms/Boarding?

3. Dumping the latest Brood playtest file on Independence Day with a coinciding "Russell Casse" memorial summer sale just might be the best thing to come out of this site all year...  (hint-hint nudge-nudge)

1. I've chosen Bright Thorns for an upcoming game. I don't understand their role. All they seem to bring to the table is being the only gamma with an ink dispenser. Without the redundant beam mounts of some other gammas, this seems to lend them to a fast support role?

As the highest pointed gamma, (besides a Mutant Hull that I'm not even sure is purchasable at start or if it changes mid-game - I've forgotten all the beta rules threads from the old page) I'm also curious as to what is causing Bright Thorn's points to be a bit inflated- (unless it's the larva in this comparison that is undervalued).

      Bright Thorn                                                                   Larva

                -2                       Defensive Value                              +2
                -4                       Damage Reduction                         +4
               +3                       Drive                                                -3
                -2                       Type 1 Drones                               +2
                -2                       Hit Boxes                                        +2
              Same                    Regen Value                                  Same
                -2                       X-Beam ammo                               +2
                Ink                      Equipment                               Drone Mover

I also compared the critical tables of these two, and results 7 and up are identical for both designs. Result 6 (10%) is a markedly better result for the Larva, result 1 (10%) brings the Larva's DV to par with the Thorn's. Crits don't seem to be a contributing factor. Not wanting to make this a min/max issue, just wondering if the situations in which BT shine are those forces where the Betas don't have ink coverage? How are they earning their points back?

2. Any additional guidance as to which Terran ships to test against these grubs? Are Drydock I & II Ships okay? NW? Any to avoid? Any specific rules to focus on? Worm Pods/Blood Worms/Boarding?

3. Dumping the latest Brood playtest file on Independence Day with a coinciding "Russell Casse" memorial summer sale just might be the best thing to come out of this site all year...  (hint-hint nudge-nudge)

We used the regen like PD regen 4 gives you 4 regens:

Either repair 4 hit points up to x times
and or fix a weapon, grow 1 ammo, grow a jump pod etc.

This does mean the larger regen 8 is truly scary (it can regen lots of hit points)
Therefore we ruled that each crit reduces the regen by one (which cannot be regen - like PD).

We used the regen like PD regen 4 gives you 4 regens:

Either repair 4 hit points up to x times
and or fix a weapon, grow 1 ammo, grow a jump pod etc.

This does mean the larger regen 8 is truly scary (it can regen lots of hit points)
Therefore we ruled that each crit reduces the regen by one (which cannot be regen - like PD).

*slaps face* Doh! It sounds as if that's the way it's meant to work.    Eh. I should know better. In my defense, it's not spelled out in the packet at all, but it seems obvious it's a reskinned Damage Control. I forgot 95% of the night brood content threads that was up on the old page, and I can't find any archives that have it saved either, so that stuff is officially lost to the memory hole.

I need more games in, but rarely do I get the chance to use Damage Control in a two-player match: -by the time a ship gets to the "exit & make repairs" state, we've been at it for 4 hours, so taking all factors into consideration combined make it relatively easy to call the game at that point- or my opponent pursues any breakaways making it moot anyway. I've found it to be more helpful in a multiplayer bash where the two players going at each other's throats (out-of-game rivalry) are too focused on each other to mind my sneaking off for a couple turns of repairs. So, for me anyway, it's been more of a theoretical crew action.

I remember reading someone's group ruled that you could use PD/Regeneration each turn regardless of whether or not you fired, and this makes the most sense to me by far. Does the pilot really have to flip a bunch of switches ala Anakin Skywalker in his sputtering pod racer to engage the repair system? Get the nanobots to automate that @$#% already!

"Computer- if I forget to tell you when I'm under 6G's, go ahead and inject line sealant in any leaking systems, reroute all circuitry around non-functional sectors, and tell the nav-droid to use his little arm-thingy to apply the hull paste to the laser burn hole diggery-do --stat!"

(can't figure out why the font tags are showing)

We used the regen like PD regen 4 gives you 4 regens:

Either repair 4 hit points up to x times
and or fix a weapon, grow 1 ammo, grow a jump pod etc.

This does mean the larger regen 8 is truly scary (it can regen lots of hit points)
Therefore we ruled that each crit reduces the regen by one (which cannot be regen - like PD).

...

I remember reading someone's group ruled that you could use PD/Regeneration each turn regardless of whether or not you fired, and this makes the most sense to me by far. Does the pilot really have to flip a bunch of switches ala Anakin Skywalker in his sputtering pod racer to engage the repair system? Get the nanobots to automate that @$#% already!

"Computer- if I forget to tell you when I'm under 6G's, go ahead and inject line sealant in any leaking systems, reroute all circuitry around non-functional sectors, and tell the nav-droid to use his little arm-thingy to apply the hull paste to the laser burn hole diggery-do --stat!"

(can't figure out why the font tags are showing)

That was me again... on the DC rule

That was me again... on the DC rule

I seriously suspected as much when I was typing it, but don't trust my grey matter filing cabinet past what I ate for breakfast  

3. Dumping the latest Brood playtest file on Independence Day with a coinciding "Russell Casse" memorial summer sale just might be the best thing to come out of this site all year...  

Edit 5/26: outdone so soon, now just waiting on those rules which I'm sure if there were more contributors to the site posting playtest results it'd help move that document along (hint-hint nudge-nudge)