How to fight the ISC

[Berf]

Okay, following Kenton's request on the ISC subject, I'm going to help the Jokers deal with the ISC. As I'm not a regular Jokers player, my advices will mostly cover what I fear most when facing the clowns with my drones.
Good fighters :
1. Nicolaï : this little guy is the worst for the ISC. His explosive shot - with a range of 20 cm to match - is very powerfull and will attract most of the ISC attention. Be sure that it is to your advantage ! In short, two situations can arise. Either the Drones don't bother with him, and you can give free rein to a storm of bombs, or the ISC try their best to kill him as soon as possible (trust me, they will eventually) and you will not be able to make it rain. As the second situation is most likely to happen (unless your opponent doesn't know Nicolaï yet ), your best option is to make the ISC pay dearly for their prey. Set 'traps', make them come out in the open and trash them. If you lose Nicolaï and they lose a 30-something Drone, you're the winner
2. Yorg : a very strong asset. Hard to kill (VIG 5 and not 'incapacitated' in this stat) but a little slow (SPD 4), he can be your main fighter, his 'Disproportionate power' ability being a huge advantage as much for him as for everybody who joins the fight ! His barrel can come in handy, but choose your target wisely. His 'Mutant' type is also a very good thing, as he can lurk in a 'Contaminated zone', or benefit from such TC as 'Adrenalin' or 'Inhuman force' (a good card if you also have Mishka and/or Fifi in your team). The 'Sinister laugh' is always good with him too, but that stands for most of the Jokers. Just don't forget it, as Drones don't have less than 4 in SPD.
3. Bogdana : a good shooter, even if she can hardly hurt Drones herself. No, her contribution lies in her abilities. Poisoning Drones is very effective to help your fighters get pass those plasteel armor (add Yorg in the equation, and BAM ! -2 in VIG), the Tear bomb can buy you time to fullfil your mission or escape a dangerous situation and the Smoke bomb is quite handy in a lot of situation. Her SPD of 5 is excellent and allows her to be in the right place at the right time.
4. Grigory : the bunny guy can help a lot. He is quite strong (same stats as Yorg), but his best assets are his abilities. The little rabbit-bombs wandering the Field can make the Drones make huge detour in order to avoid an unwelcome explosion (even if they are not as reliable as Molotovs or Nicolaï's shots). They act as psychological weapons, but it's always good His ability to nullify another ability for the round is more difficult to use well, but it can be help you a lot, for example if you're thinking of taking down the Blue Kami
'not so usefull' fighters
1. Elenia : let me be clear, the afro chick is utterly useless for fighting and her shooting abilities are only a shade less worthless. If you plan on fighting head on, skip her. Her only use when facing the Drones lies in Mission fullfilment or sacrifice.
2. Sergueï : an average fighter, Sergueï lacks a little something to be really usefull against the ISC. Burn markers are not very effective and with only 4 in CBT, he cannot pack a serious punch. His Treachery ability is good, but 15 points just for that is not a good investment.
3. Olya : Ievgueni's sister is only good for boosting her brother when facing the ISC and unfortunately, as he stays too slow (SPD3), Drones can easily avoid him. He can scare them off, but you can do that for less than 40 points, so skip her (Iev' stays a good choice for Mission fullfilment, though).
Leaders :
1. Yuri : always a good choice. Fast, hard to catch due to his 'Dodge' ability and a decent shooter, Yuri is usefull in a lot of situation. Team up with Bogdana and her poisoning and he can be a serious threat with his throwing knives.
2. Vassiliev : SPD 5 and a movement of 15 cm tanks to his unicycle make Vassiliev an excellent asset, but only for Mission fullfilment. Don't send him to fight unless it is to finish off a foe with a 'Double strike'.
3. Kirril : another none-fighter leader, but his value lies in his abilities. Use him well and you can make it very painfull for the Drones to keep up with the SP and the bidding. Very subtle to use but definitely a good recruit. Try transfering your Rage marker from one shooter from the other (Mishka or Fifi are good providers of such markers ) and let me know how the Drones reacted.
Missions :
It all depends on your team, I'll always say it. If your dedicated to pummeling them to the ground, it can be done. But you will need to be extra carefull when moving into place and select your TC accordingly. Note that a good brawl team will not be very numerous, between 4 and 5.
If you aim at objective missions, number will be your friend, along with good SPD.
Note : The best Mission against Drones is the DGIN Gun Turrets. It's incredibly hard for them to counter it, so it gives you a good psychological advantage (just don't abuse it ).

[Kenton]

Wow! That's a good lot of information. I'm not entirely sure I asked for a run down but I'm happy that you posted this. ISC are a difficult opponent for Jokers, but that's all peer of the fun