Multiplayer Builds (EU2012)

Chryssalid/Thin Man build

• 2 Chryssalids
• 2 Thin Men
• 1200 points to spend on whatever you like.

Pros: This build provides a well balanced army, with the scouting/potential zombyfying power of the chryssalids, the mobility/moderate damage of the thin man, and the rest are to cover your personal tastes(you will have 1200 points to spend after the first 4). Can decimate sectoid commanders, and can replenish lost teammates. High powered low squad teams can be ganged up on.

Cons: Must be very careful with your thin men. Try to take a roof asap with your chryssalids, followed by your thin men, and the rest cover the rear. Chryssalids have melee only, so they are VERY vulnerable to snipers. I suggest ganging up on snipers asap. Beware of high upgrade assault class w/ chitin plating, chryssalid attack does 4 damage max, and can't poison in titan armor.

Tips: Go for weak units first. Weaken them first, then zombiefy them to add to your chryssald collection. Keep your thin men safe. If the enemy has a sniper with plasma, best advice is to poison and surpress it, followed by Chryssalid flank. If the enemy has sectoid commanders. gang up on them. their mind attacks don't work, and they turn that 3200 point unit into a 3000 point unit for you. If the enemy has cyber discs, hide and draw them into a trap, preferably inside a building.

3 Sectoid commanders build

• 3 Sectoid commanders
• 1 Sectoid

(total 10000 points)

Pros: You have 3 MC and 3 grenades. Also your mindfray can be deadly since you got 3 of them too. Works best against small squad without mind shield.

Cons: They're kind of slow. If your opponent have cyberdisk or mind shield soldier, you'll have hard time dealing with them.

Tips: If you MC an enemy unit, consider using their abilities, especially grenades. Since you lose control of them if your SC dies!

Archangel sniper build

• 1 Dead eye sniper with Plasma rifle and Archangel armor

• 'filler' units, which will serve as eyes for the sniper.

Pros: Very good at defensive play. your opponent will have hard time reaching your sniper.

Cons: Can be weak against swarming opponents. You will kill one unit per turn reliably, but rest of your squad will be weaker than opponent's. Combat stims soldier can be pain, since they don't get critted and takes half damage.

Tips: Best on Boulevard map. In Grand cemetery and Trainyard it is solid. Weaker in Police station. After your sniper's shot, consider hunkering down your scout, if they can't kill something. Your main damage comes from sniper and he needs spotters to be alive.

"Laser Tank" Squad Build

• 1 Commando class Assault with Titan armour, a Scatter Laser and an optional medkit.
• 3 Rookie Soldiers armed with standard armour and Light Plasma rifles.
• 1 Rookie Soldier armed with a Skeleton Suit, a SCOPE and a light plasma rifle.

(Note: Rookie counts as a class, selected specifically in the Soldier class menu.) Cost: Aproximately 9700, extra 300 points spending money if you are not worried about getting the first turn.

Pros:

• High critting, fast moving monster Assault Soldier with around 20 health and the ability to fire twice. (Rapid fire ability.)
• "First Mate" type unit with good mobility that is hard to hit. (Guy in Skeleton suit.)
• Strong support team with decent accuracy.
• Flexible build. The assault soldier is the only essential unit to this build.

Cons:

• No real defence against psionics. (Though the build's flexibility lets you take a mind shield in exchange for a soldier or some weapons.)
• May be hard to get the assault close to snipers. (When you do they can really get shredded.)
• All humans are extremely suceptible to Chryssalid attacks. Again, swith out the riflemen if you feel unsafe.
• Assault may find it hard to hit Cyberdiscs and other flying units.
• Assault may find itself in a big ambush situation. (Health might save you here, but always be sure to look before you leap.)

Tips:

Agressive scouting and "seek, locate, destroy" tactics are how you should truly be using this squad. Keep your Assault out of the fight until you have a good flanking opportunity, the element of surprise is key to this build's success. Keep scouting for enemies before sending in your Assault over unexplored territory.

Try to keep the Assault hidden as much as possible while advancing towards a hostile. Get the assault as close as possible to enemies, flanking ideally. Use rapid fire when the opportunity presents itself, do not save it! You can use rapid fire every turn. Use your better judgement when the enemy is too far away, one accurate shot might be better than 2 Rapid Fire shots. As for Run and Gun, you might want to save that for assassination attempts against higher tier enemies. Note the assault has Lightning Reflexes too so do not be too scared of reaction fire.

You might want to give your assault a medkit, it has saved my assault numerous times. A mind shield may be useful too but there is no guarantee that your enemy will use psionic units.

If the worst comes to pass, retreat your Assault into a small room if possible and heal. Keep doing overwatch until your opponent gets impatient and attacks the room. They will usually be at your mercy at that point.

Be smart with the support group but do not fret too much if you lose a few. The Assault is really the backbone of the build. Keep in mind that you should not sacrifice the riflemen completely, it is a gross waste of points.

You can change the support team as much as you want. Again, the Laser Assault is the only really essential soldier. The above team is very effective though. A Sectoid or two can suppress enemies, locking them in place for a surprise attack from your Assault.

As for the assault's weapon, a Scatter Laser is the most cost effective. Its high crit chance makes it a good alternative to a rifle and with the health you're packing you can afford to get up close enough to offset its limited range.

Tanky Smokejumpers & Medic build

5 Smokejumpers with LPR and Chitin 1 Medic with LPR, Skeleton suit and Medikit (9750p)

Pros:

• 6 units, which allows to overwhelm super soldiers.
• Units have good aim(SJs have 80 and medic has 92) and nice HP. (all units have 11, cannot be killed with any non-critical attacks.)
• Good chance to get the first turn.
• Many smoke grenades.
• Can revive units if they are critically wounded

Cons:

• If you put units too close, they can be vulnerable to AOE attacks.

Tips: If one of your unit got MC'ed, ignore him and kill the MC'er. MC'ed unit won't be able to oneshot the mates. Although medic have highest aim, keep him in back. reviving critically wounded soldier is key to win, and you don't want medic killed. He have sprinter perk and skeleton suit, which allows move to any unit that critically wounded from back.

"Brain and Braun" build

• Sectoid Commander
• Muton Elite
• Regular Muton

Pros:

• Psionic Capabilities
• Sectoid Commander with Mind Control power
• Two tough bodyguards for the Sectoid Commander
• Three grenades

Cons:

• Small squad might be outnumbered
• Mutons are quite suceptible to Mind Control
• Slow units provide limited scouting abilities

Tips:

Keep the Sectoid far in the back, hidden if possible.

Have your Mutons scouting ahead. When you spot an enemy check if it is worth Mind Controlling.

If a unit you have spotted is Mind Control worthy, try to take it over. If you have chosen wisely, the unit you have under your control will be central to the enemy plans. This might cause a crumble in the enemy forces within the 3 turns you have the unit.

The Mutons are very competent fighters. The Muton Elite is notoriously difficult to hit. Both Mutons pack a heavy load of firepower and are very accurate killers.

Another great advantage is the grenade capabilities of your squad. Altogether the grenades will do 15 damage, though you may be aiming them at different targets. 15 points of assured damage is priceless in a game where no shot is certain and there is also the amazing area of effect potential as well. You may want to save it for tearing up tight knit groups.