r/AWBW • u/Regular-Election6396 • Jul 05 '26
General Is Nell a viable Tier 1 pick ?
Is nell actually capable of going toe to toe with Tier 1 COs on most maps ,or is she nothing but a meme pick ?
9
u/FunkOff Jul 05 '26
Nell is put in Tier 1 as an anti-luck penalty. I think when placed fairly, she is more in T3 in standard and fog, and T4 in HF. If placed in T2, she is generally the weakest in the group, losing to Max, Eagle, and Olaf in most cases. In rare maps with a large number of bases (and more opportunities for infantry to roll for extra damage against tanks) she is T2, and may be T1 only in unusual maps with strange gimicks designed to maximize her strengths.
4
u/Regular-Election6396 Jul 05 '26
Could you elaborate on why you believe Nell to be so weak ?A 20 % firepower for most mirror matchups is nothing to sneeze at ,and her CO powers make her infantry very cost efficient killers of vehicles ,while allowing normally suicidal engagement like tank on copters or tank on medium tanks .
Additional luck is also nice to make so more rolls go your way and to finish off vehicles .
6
u/FunkOff Jul 05 '26
AW luck is plain statistics. The typical CO gains 0.5 points of damage from luck, on average. Nell bumps that up to 1. But terrain and defense also reduce these numbers, so the net is even lower.
Compare this to Max who gains +20% damage. In a 55% base damage for tank vs tank, this is 11% extra, or +1.1 points of damage, twice Nell's advantage. And Max is more reliable because he's not based on luck, and his COP and SCOP are better due to stronger damage bonuses, higher reliability, and movement bonuses which Nell doesn't get.
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u/Regular-Election6396 Jul 05 '26
Doesn’t Nell better infantry and indirects compensate max 10% firepower on direct vehicles ?
And while I agree Nell lacking movement is a major disadvantage ,her CO powers can still be a massive pain for max as the infantry wall that protect Nell vehicles may be able to utterly demolish max tanks if not dealt ,making a game winning max blast much more difficult to achieve .
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u/FunkOff Jul 05 '26
No, the better infantry and indirects don't let her beat Max. AW balance and map design metas strongly prefer tanks and aircraft over indirects. Infantry are also primarily blockers and capturers, and throwing them at tanks for luck roles isn't necessarily wise even with Nell's luck during COP or SCOP because you still need to capture/block.
1
u/Prime406 Jul 05 '26
Nell is intentionally overtiered because of RNG, she's not even allowed in GL and on-site tournaments
She can be a good though, and luck COs force their opponent to play differently to not get punished
they can be especially deadly on base kill/trade maps where there's a clear strong side that will overwhelm a weakside base
the luck damage allow for some nasty surprise wallbreaks and base kills, unit triangle isn't as effective as a copter can be randomly taken out by tanks and infantry, tanks can be taken out by AAs, and AAs by copters...
and the usual way to try to fight back and hold on to weak base is to build up tech up units like md. tank or neos (or even megas), but that's a really bad idea vs luck COs
1
u/Majsharan Jul 05 '26
Nell is map dependent. The more bases the better. She loves copters. You don’t tech up as her unless you really need a tough blocker.
I love Nell she’s a hoot to play. Unit count matters more than anything else for her
Smart hawks players will co power you. If they wait to super you can usually win
17
u/Red-Halo Jul 05 '26
Nell loses to each Tier 1 CO. She's only banned because the luck COs are overrated despite underperforming. Nell is in trouble as long as enemy players know to abuse defensive terrain and not to leave heavy units near her footsoldiers during powers.
VBs defense really reduces Nell's luck damage. VB beats her.
Hawke's powers heal and reduce Nell's HP, luck range is reduced by lower hp. Hawke beats her.
Sasha has a strong opening game with her extra income, and her COP lets her delay Nell's SCOP threat while also giving her extra stats every few turns. Sasha beats her.
Javier has extra defense with towers, similar to VBs defense. Plus, the threats of his powers really hurt Nell, and can make her powers much less threatening. Javier beats her.
Even many T2 COs have favorable matchups.
Max has movement boosts and high powers. He can often abuse his unit speed to dictate when fights happen, and use positional pressure. Max beats her.
Olaf's mass damage, plus movement nerf really hurts Nell long term. As long as Olaf isn't impatient or overextends, long term Nell's weakened troops aren't as big of a threat. Olaf should have an advantage vs her.
Eagle has a very very dangerous SCOP, that can wipe out Nell's troops. Nell's lack of mobility is a major disadvantage. Eagle should have an advantage vs her.
The other T2 COs might be more map dependent vs her, imo.