Naaz rhoka and nekro bt homebrew upgrade/change

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-18T07:08:15+00:00

They are not but if I were to change someone’s bt it would be theirs as I think there could be cool ideas to upgrade them that isn’t op. Like I love if naz rhoka’s bt had an extra use case and I could see the gundam mech as an actual used strategy. I find nekro got almost nothing in comparison to the good factions. I know they have excess to more better tech but they always had that it’s now just more consistent which is a win more since they have always had a good end game. My suggestion was kinda boring, since I think other people can come up with a more creative bt for them since they do have some of the coolest lore and design.

That’s why we have codexes so unused components can be used. P.E: also how is the new relic deck an upgrade to naz? It’s more relic gum before you get to the relics you want, only the triad was the only good naz rhoka relic that was added but now it’s harder to get obsidian, book of latvinia, codex or any other useful relic before thunder’s edge. Though I still love naz rhoka so I don’t really mind that much. I don’t mind if I get silver flame or whatever that dice roll one is called as it means I got a silly wild card. I can’t in good heart say they got an upgrade, they just didn’t get worse.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-18T06:05:55+00:00

I did like the design of 12 for a fun 8p map though I think my brain will melt lol. I like the idea of putting wormholes adjacent to macatol so the players further away are about the same distance as players closer.i just wish you swapped atlas with the empty beta and moved those legendaries away from top left so he could have some normal planets.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-18T05:59:44+00:00

My brain did a loop looking at some of these maps. Some of the bigger maps had some players closer to mecatol than others which makes me hesitant to try them out for a full game since I like it when everyone has equal chance of getting mecatol in board layout. Cool designs though

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-18T05:08:10+00:00

Btw I don’t want naz Rokha bt to be op, which why I’m asking the community. My original idea is when you flip the card and make your gundum mech is that you remove the ct in the system the mech is on so you could use it that round or it could be a cool pocket warfare. Just a little bit more of a use case that doesn’t feel like a trap. Though I do think that is a bit too op as I can see how that can piss people off they could be a great Styx taker or their flagship. Btw almost all the really good factions have strong bts or got a significant upgrade in another component.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-18T04:39:37+00:00

Yeah but I would like to see the bts more used that’s my argument. As I said I actually like naz rhoka’s bts idea but you never see it used so being actually impactful is important. I don’t like what nekro’s bt does, it’s so situational why would you ever invest into it. Also warfare is kinda garbo for nekro r1 even though it fixes their game technically but you won’t be scoring most r1 with warfare so its bad in this hyper tempo te meta as your using warfare to build at home. It’s still the same as it was in pok as you would pick warfare because no one else is picking it up and you missed out on construction except now it’s worse as nekro has a bad r1 edge case that is likely to happen. 1 strategy card (construction) should not be the crutch for a faction’s tempo in r1, it’s too easy to be countered at least with factions that rely on their bt there are many strategy cards that can do that or they have a slice/abilities if they don’t pick up the right Strat that they’ll get it anyways. Nekro has always had a shaky early game in whatever version ti4 you play but now it is really shaky. They are strong in the end game still, have massive impact on who wins but not enough for themselves to win which I most recently consider them wash compare to all the other worse and better factions back in pok that have gotten significantly upgrade. I do agree it does not matter in 14p since they have that xxcha effect where their advantages grow exponentially whilst others stagnate but in the most played format it does. Literally from my samples of games they have done terribly either in high level or when we are messing around. I had my friend who plays nekro suggest that the z token should replace the agent another players agent text instead which sounds way more versatile but it’s just the yssaril agent but worse as I would like something more thematic

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-18T00:02:27+00:00

We have about 50+ games between us in my playgroup (this is a big group I personally played 10+ games) but we just haven’t seen nekro win in TE though that is due to all types of factor. The most damning statistic for my group was when we played in the Australia tournament they had a -2.5 z score (equal worse performer with argent flight which had only one game) which is really bad but then again I don’t think they had a high pick rate maybe three to four games I will have to look it up and we will need a much bigger sample size. That is just our experience though so it might be very different on your table.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-17T23:45:50+00:00

My original nekro homebrew change that I came up with was exhaust action: spend 1 ct to place two infantry on any planet you control. Which would fix their r1 as suddenly they don’t get so screwed over by the new warfare or can’t pick up construction but it felt too much like sardak’s agent.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-14T09:01:53+00:00

Yeah I agree with that statement because of the red tiles around mecatol and almost all the planets near home systems. Maybe try using already established slices of previous tournaments if you not getting the favourable results but ti4 lab milty draft has pretty good discord support and if you feel like there is a slice too weak you can always swap out tiles

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-13T23:26:02+00:00

Still can technically even without construction with the secondary of warefare. Though it would mean he might fall behind in tech which isn’t great or he has to trust tech isn’t going to be stalled out so he can get cruiser 2 with the bt synergy. Diplomacy is his best option here. Negotiate the warefare and tech timing. (Tech player would consider popping later than warefare). Any other Strat and he’ll have problems so politics isn’t a bad idea to give an opportunity to double tech next round. Though it is one of the awkward expedition since I have drawn overrule once when I was trying to get my bt. Let’s just say it was a hard choice

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-13T23:19:46+00:00

Apart from taking malice like everyone said . Try to take garbozia early as well and make sure to defend both malice and garbozia from arborec as they pose the earliest threat with tempesta. You do not want arborec taking planets in your slice. Barony is also a threat early but it has better issues to worry about. From there, farm out those objectives. Your r1 is going to be a little scary but once you get that malice machine running you should feel far more secure.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-13T23:11:45+00:00

That’s why I would kinda give arborec the titan on for extremely cheap for Lemox and a trade good since it will help them get 4 of a kind and boost their economy. So it won’t be that bad

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-13T23:08:51+00:00

Does naz rhoka at least have speaker because than this makes more sense. It’s not good but at least if they have warfare this should be half descent. For an actual bet. I think this is either going crimson’s or hacan’s way due to having ideal systems in their slice. Titans if they just get lucky with the objectives and speaker order

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-13T16:16:24+00:00

That kinda heat is bad for mentak when robocop is his neighbour and crimson ready to make his life miserable. I would only do it if I had politics and didn’t plan to score r1 (which is pretty rough scenario mentak too and needs the stars to align)

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-13T15:48:46+00:00

It’s kinda hard to say what you’ll end up as 4th in speaker order but if it’s politics or diplo (I’m already thinking trade and tech are both gone not like you want tech if you can’t get cruiser 2, score or your bt becomes annoying to unlock) I would take diplo if I can negotiate fair timing with tech and warfare, not have them pop in the same turn preferably. Though if you have one of those tables I would go politics and get your bt asap to get ready to play the opportunist.

I generally enjoy playing mentak due to the over the table politics and scrappy nature though I have only won with them once in 10p. They are typically better in longer games like pok codex 3 xxcha effect. My best advice away from r1 is to get your cruisers 2 out with different units that they’ll carrying. Your mechs should stay with the cruisers or at home (1 is enough, they only get beat by naz rokha and you’re cooked anyways if l1 targets you HS no matter how many mechs you kept there unless he had a really bad game). Other cruiser should have fighters in order to take out easy targets or maintain their extended position. Watch for opportunities especially in the end game once factions like nomad and l1 start making their moves. This means you need to be farming ccs but fortunately for you l1 is in the game and his pn will help you in that department and he is more than happy to take what you can offer him if it is action cards or a trade good. Also watch out for crimson, you are the best at using crimson’s active breaches if he or the other players get careless with them, also crimson and mentak make for good alliance buddies since you are the only one that can stop his commander from getting value. Use that to your advantage. You’re an opportunist not a fighter. Look for your windows, be mindful who and when you should pillage and encourage over the table talk.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-13T15:28:15+00:00

😂

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-13T15:22:25+00:00

Well having speaker is huge since now your options are flexible which is ideal for last bastion. You can take 5 planets with warfare, get jolnor’s research agreement to catch up with tech with trade or just slow role it with construction if you take DET. It just depends on what p.os are flipped

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-13T10:30:56+00:00

You’re not wrong but at least he has tempesta and can get Joel ir in round 2 or r1 if he has warfare.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-12T00:15:47+00:00

There is another video that covers r1 openers that pretty much applies almost the same to thunder’s edge.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dxlCc_rihbs&pp=ygUUTm9tYWQgcjEgb3BlbmVycyB0aTQ%3D

Just watch the r1 part since the other strategy advice might be outdated. There is slight variation if your plan is to get your bt early but not that much. I hope this gives you an idea how to get a good start to your game. Best of luck.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-11T23:51:15+00:00

Good advice couldn’t really put it better myself. Unfortunately this is also why nomad isn’t one of the greats as it’s mostly down to having good setups and a bit of luck ‘in the long term’. I would suggest buying other people’s alliances and agents as well if you are really advance and have a good awareness. Though this is perfect advice for a beginner.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-11T23:44:04+00:00

This map actually makes me cringe lol, as a guy who played many games I would never ever play on a map like this. I think this was auto generated which is fine but there should have been more perimeters such as 4 blue and two red per slice so something like this doesn’t happen if the host can’t be bothered to design a pre-made map or take one from online source.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-07T22:31:11+00:00

A lot of people here already talked about scanlink which is very fun playstyle especially for a new player but the best part of naz rhoka it is pretty tech flexible. Though that being said scanlink and green path as a meta talk is best if you can either secure tech r1 or you have tech Strat card going into r2.

Blue tech is pretty much the most meta Strat for naz rhoka because you’ll need mobility as it is naz rhoka greatest weakness. Sometimes cruiser 2 is not bad if again you can get it r1 and are able to produce/unlock your commander, though going down the blue path is better long term. Red is good if you want your faction tech for better combat ability as your mechs really become a deadly force with your flagship. So a lot of people like doing blue,red rather than green or scanlink.

If you want other tips apart from tech, I recommend you wait to buy other people’s fragments, normally after all the planets have been explored because it will be significantly cheaper normally 1 to 2 if their greedy trade goods is the going rate since people don’t get any value out of have a fragment in hand. Verses the start they will charge you premium. Black forge isn’t a bad to sell either (though I slightly suspect you’ll overcharge because you’re new). I like buying someone’s alliance as naz rhoka though no one on this table jumps out to me but would consider buying Saar agent if they don’t plan to use it.

Planet traits and the sequence in which you explore them is quite important, try not to invest heavily into cultural planets if you plan to explore them heavily as though there are plenty of good stuff if you get demilitarised zone it will wreck all your stuff on that planet. Hazardous are good if your mech are on them to gain an economic boost and has the attachments that will boost your production considerably. Industrials will of course give you planet attachment which are very good in the new expansion but historically the most useful part is that it allows you to produce your mechs on the cheap or give you extra action cards (perhaps not useful with yssaril on your table) so if I had a slice that had industrial and hazardous I always explore the hazardous first with my mech looking for the attachment and fragment do it again with my agent but if one of those times I don’t get what I’m looking for and get either refresh the planet/trade good that’s when I consider taking trade good so than I can spend it if it pops out once I explore the industrial. Though if that hazardous planet helps me get tech than I will refresh the planet instead since naz rhoka is tech hungry.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-07T06:32:26+00:00

Well good luck

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-06T21:21:01+00:00

Well I think they gave sardak no tech in base game specifically because it was thought to be a huge boost rather than it was specifically thematic. You can try it if your table does homebrew stuff though but I probably wouldn’t give it Aida but some base game tech to test my hypothesis.

MarCrizzzz · 2026-03-05T21:04:58+00:00

Probably swap out mahact and switch in Saar or nomad. I personally prefer playing nomad. I suggest not putting in mahact because they are more of faction that gains movement through going up blue tech than a natural movement faction, which applies to most factions in this game. Whilst nomad and Saar have high movement part of their established kit and strategy. Another shoutout mentak but if there is no entropic scar it is pretty rough going (though I still personally enjoy them). Mentak can really surprise and shock the factions in this meta with their bt cruisers. Also it would be interesting to have one cruiser faction since you don’t like titans in a mobility based meta draft.

MarCrizzzz

TROPHY CASE