I rewrote the first C3I section a bit, so I included it in this post, to put in the first post as well.
C3I LEVEL II
C3I forces have an advantage and a disadvantage compared to C3M forces. While it's fairly obvious to vets, I'll spell both out right now. Advantage: No vulnerable C3 Master, so you don't have to worry about the destruction of a single unit ending your entire network. Disadvantage: Only six units can EVER be in a C3I link, unlike C3M/C3S where you can have a total of 13.
That six units reshapes the entire approach of C3I, and renders the strategy of disposable first-wave/expendable second-wave/damage dealers bad in a way that doesn't involve raw PV, as each unit destroyed is a 1/6th reduction in firepower, making the idea of disposable/expendable difficult.
As it stands, a C3I player can adopt one of three strategies when constructing a force: the wave approach outlined in the C3M/C3S section, the disposable approach, and the powerhouse approach. With the wave approach, you have to minimize your losses to its paradigm so one first-wave unit, two second-wave units, and three damage dealers would probably be the best blend. With the disposable approach, everything in the network is cheap, to wreak as much havoc as possible before being destroyed. The powerhouse approach is the opposite, where everything is a blend of powerful, tough, and fast, with no respect for PV cost. Any units mentioned in the following list will be annotated with W/D/P (or all three) for what type they fit into best.
C3I + ECMEven more than C3M, C3I is vulnerable - after all, it's why the
Savannah Master Interdictor exists. But there's a dearth of good C3I + ECM units.
For fast (over 14"), the
Nightshade ECM VTOL (W/D) wins for both cheapness and speed; at 24" you'll be in short range turn one. Just barely slower is the
HER-4M Hermes (W/D), which also has 3/3 damage and 22" speed, and the
MON-266 Mongoose II (W) at 20" and A/S 4/2. The
OTT-9CS Ostscout (W) has 16"j and A/S 3/2 - low damage, but a TMM of 4 with jumping will help it survive longer. An
Zephyr Hovertank (W/D) clocks in at 18" and A/S 4/2, with a reasonable 2/2 sting. The
CNS-TD9 Cronus (W/D) may be ugly, but it's fairly fast (16"), reasonably tough (A/S 4/3), and has STL to protect it early on and MEL to compensate for its light damage. The
GAL-103 Galleon (W/D/P) has 5/2 A/S, 14" speed, and 2/2 damage - just fight for some roads on the board and you're golden.
For second-wave units (10"-12"), there's a lot fewer good choices. The
GRF-6CS Griffin(W/P) is best in category - 10"j, A/S 5/3, and 3/3/3 damage. The
CRB-30 Crab (W/D) has okay armor (5/2), 3/3/2 damage, but not much else. The
BTL-C-20A Battle Cobra (D) may be a bit flimsy at 4/3 A/S, but it does have 4/4 damage. The
RJN 200-B Raijin II(W/P) has the opposite problem: fast and durable (A/S 6/3, 12"j, STL), but only breaks 3 damage using OV AND it's expensive; the 200-C has TSM and is slightly cheaper.
Top-end damage dealers with ECM, though, are quite common. My personal fave is the
KGC-008 King Crab(W/P): 6"j, A/S 10/8, 4/4/4 OV1 damage.... very nice. The
Archangel Comminus(W/P) does 6/6 damage and has A/S 10/10, definitely among the highest available period, not just with ECM! A
Seraph Comminus (W/P) has TSM, A/S 9/5, and 4/4/2 with OV2 - all respectable stats. The
GOL-5W Goliath(W/P) has 3/3 OV1 damage, A/S 9/6, and STL - fine for sitting at Medium in water and firing away, or moving closer once lighter units have gone down. Between the
Deva Comminus (W/P) or
Infernus, I'd say the Comminus wins out because it has 8"j and the same damage at M, making it more durable. Lastly, the
AV1-OE Avatar(W/D/P) is on the borderline of being bad in armor, damage, and speed, but it isn't OVER the line.
OTHER C3IFor first-wave units, the lack of ECM is usually a deal-breaker, but there are some exceptions that have a nice combination of stats or Specials. The
CLR-03-0 Celerity (T/D) lives up to its name; at 40" it can put your Level II in Short range turn one, and is has DRO so you don't risk an actual pilot. While the Gurkha has a fair variety of units, the
GUR-8G Gurkha (T/D) has TSM, MEL, and a decent 14" with A4/S2, perfect for backstabbing melee hits. With 20"j and 20 PV, the
OTT-10CS Ostscout (W/D) is a cheap alternative to the ECM Ostscout. At the high-end, the
Preta Dominus (W/D/P) has 16"j, A5/S2, and S3/M3 - not bad at all.
For second-wave and powerhouse closing units, there are several good choices. The
FLS-9C Flashman(W/P) has A7, MV 10", and 4/4/3 OV2, which adds up well. IJJs makes the
MAD-9W Marauder (W/P) mobile, with a decent turn of both armor and damage.
The list of budget Snipers is thankfully pretty good. The
BTL-C-2OD Battle Cobra (D), the
CRB-45 Crab (D/P), the
Burke Defense Tank (D), . At a slightly higher price, but being faster and tougher:
LNC25-06 Lancelot (W/D/P.
Beatsticks also have a long list. A
Demon Tank HGR(W/D) is cheap and powerful, with the
PAT-007 Puma (W/D) tougher and a bit stronger. A
P1W Perseus (W/P) falls between the cheap Demon and the more expensive choices and still breaks 5 damage. The
Seraph Eminus (W/P has 3/4/4 damage, with TSM to move faster or smack down enemies in close; for a few more points the
Archangel Eminus(W/P) has better damage and armor, OV1, and ENE. The
VQR-7V Vanquisher(W/P) has already been mentioned by Scotty as pretty brutal.
FNR-5WB (T/P is slow, but tough, has full Structure to use its ENE, and breaks 5 damage. While the King Crab has an ECM variant, the
KGC-005 King Crab has S5/M5/L1 with FLK 3/3 and is cheaper, both of which can be handy. The
MR-6B Cerberus (W/P) has 5/5/3 OV2 and MV 8", slightly faster than others in this category.
Jumping beatsticks are fewer, but very handy for their mobility through treacherous terrain. The
HGN-736 Highlander (T/P) has S4/M5/L4. A
CRK-5004-1 Crocket (W/P) is mobile and tough.
For those waiting for me to mention the Omega, it's listed as Experimental, and for the purposes of this list I don't do Experimental - it usually means one-off or extremely limited runs of a unit, so it isn't commonly available. If you want to do the Fall of Terra, the Omega is surprisingly cheap for the damage and armor it has at only 64 PV.
Lastly, I'm gonna cover the C3BS systems as a new section, because using only Boosted gives the advantage of ignoring anything but AECM. It should be tomorrow.