Tatsu Nullifier

 is an offensive unit  with the ability to constantly provide damage and Chill blockers for a high amount.

Strategy
 is a strong attacker thanks to the constant Chill and damage it provides. It can freeze almost all the blockers of the game by itself, making it a particularly brutal counter to blockers with Lifespan. Even against standard blockers, having s forces a lot of additional defense from your opponent (Constant effectively nulls  off an unit), and can let you create holes in their defensive granularity by freezing small blockers.

One of the best ways to counter the high Chill of is to not give it any interesting target. If you only defend using low-absorb blockers (a combination of Rhinos and Engineers for instance) against s, they lose a lot of their value, as most of it comes from the chill; buying only for its attack is a bad deal even compared to the base set Tarsier. Even if it chills an Engineer (Adding real pressure), that's 1 defense taken away after the opponent pays a 2 cost, being thus about 10 4 for 2 attackers. The worse downside is the heavy Tech cost, hard to divert efficiently otherwise.

You should almost never go for units against Tatsu Nullifiers, as blue generally relies on large absorb which Nullifiers can simply freeze. Since the only way to beat s is usually to pressure them and make them stop buying Nullifiers, you should instead go for attackers that are good at amassing pressure quickly such as Fission Turrets or Electrovores and forgo large absorb. Some blue units can fare well against Tatsu if their names are Apollo, Grenade Mech or Drake (in the case of Grenade Mech or Drake, remember to use their click abilities as often as you can). A single Polywall may also be strong against it, since it nullifies the first Chill threat and the early Attack value.

's power comes at the price of a heavy commitment to red tech. Unless the random set includes low-cost red sinks such as Perforators or Nitrocybes, it may be difficult to use it all once you have to start defending too, unless you have a rather high economy at your disposal. This is why rushes are considered not very threatening, as the 's high cost will force you to stop their production and waste  as soon as your opponent counterattacks. Building s once you have a decent economy and the technology to build efficient defense is often a better option.

Combos
Like any other double Animus unit, Tatsu Nullifier naturally combos with various red sinks:
 * Nitrocybe
 * Ossified Drone
 * Perforator
 * Husk
 * Blood Pact (especially effective because the Grimbotches you give to your opponent have limited lifespan and are thus vulnerable to chill) Can also play against it by skipping deniable Absorb in favor of Husk and Engineer only defense.
 * Tyranno Smorcus
 * Blood Phage

Centrifuge can also be a combo. It allows you to get a single Tatsu Nullifier without committing to two entire Animuses for the rest of the game. A single Tatsu Nullifier is all you need to prevent your opponent from building units such as Doomed Mech, for example.

Turn 4 Rush

 * DD
 * DD
 * 1) DAA

This Player 2 rush can take opponents unaware and net wins if they don't answer it correctly. The best way to counter this openings is to go for red units yourself, as their low absorb renders the chill from ineffective. Simply giving up defense and building Gauss Cannons will lead to a loss as red defense with base set units is enough to win against that, and going for blue will give better targets for the freeze.

Replays
Srslysirius vs. Medar: http://play.prismata.net/?r=fXn1E-m0LB+

iminaBearSuit demonstrates the Tatsu rush: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWkW-AuJIS4

Delayed

 * DD
 * 1) DDE
 * 2) DDD
 * 3) DDDB
 * 4) DAA
 * 5)  + Wall
 * 6)  + Wall

This opening, available to Player 1, grants the player enough resources to get a and a Wall each turn. It is a few turns slower however. If high-cost blue units such as Omega Splitter are also in the set, this may catch opponents off-guard, as the build initially resembles a standard blue high economy opening.

Player 2 can use a similar build order, resulting in additional drones.

Replays
Kulenych vs. zzz: http://play.prismata.net/?r=FQZaA-ird99

Delayed by player 1 beating a rush by player 2: http://play.prismata.net/?r=YD1Dr-1j@3G

Random Set Openings
Player 1 Turn 4 rush with Galvani Drone (1) and a red sink such as Perforator:
 * 1) EE11
 * 2) E11
 * 3) AA1

Player 2 Galvani Drone (1) opening, needs Red sink


 * 1) EE11
 * 2) AE11
 * 3) TA1

Player 2 Xaetron opening: This needs some Green sink to be efficient
 * DD
 * 1) DDC
 * 2) DDC
 * 3) DDA
 * 4) Xaetron +A
 * 5) Tatsu Nullifier +D

Player 1 Xaetron opening: Requires some way to spend the Green
 * DD
 * DC
 * 1) DDC
 * DD
 * 1) Xaetron +DD
 * 2) DAA
 * 3) Tatsu Nullifier

Player 1 Rush with Thorium Dynamo (1)
 * DD
 * D1
 * DD
 * AA
 * 1) Tatsu Nullifier
 * 2) Tatsu Nullifier

Delayed timing: Bad without a Red support.
 * DD
 * D1
 * A
 * 1) TTD
 * RA
 * 1) Tatsu Nullifier

Player 1 Doomed Drone rush:

Adds sufficient Econ for a fast Rush very quickly. Requires some red sink.
 * DD
 * DD
 * 1) A11
 * 2) TTA
 * 3) Tatsu Nullifier

Player 2 Doomed Drone rush:

Adds sufficient Econ for a full Attack very quickly.
 * 1) DE1
 * 2) DD1
 * 3) A111
 * 4) TTA1
 * 5) Tatsu Nullifier +11

Player 1 Perforator (1) Has 6 defense early, opponent should rush first.
 * DD
 * DD
 * 1) DDA
 * 2) A11
 * 3) Tatsu Nullifier

Player 2 version: Slower than Player 1, gets pressure and 1 extra Attack.
 * DD
 * DA
 * 1) TD1
 * 2) DA1
 * 3) Tatsu Nullifier

Player 1 pressure rush. Comes 1 turn slower, opponent is rushed first.
 * DD
 * A
 * 1) TD1
 * 2) D11 (May attack instead)
 * DA
 * 1) Tatsu Nullifier

Player 2 Trinity Drone (1). The line can play Red with advantage against enemy's Turn 5 rush.
 * DD
 * 1) DDC
 * 2) DA1
 * 3) TTA (click 1)
 * 4) Tatsu Nullifier +E
 * 5) Tatsu Nullifier +E

Player 2 Auric Impulse (1). Requires Red support.
 * D1
 * 1) A11
 * 2) TTA1 (RA11, 2 Nullifier)
 * 3) Tatsu Nullifier

Player 1 Auric Impulse (1) rush. Requires a constant sink, Perforator or Nitrocybe.
 * 11
 * 1) A11
 * 2) A11 (+T waste R or better)
 * 3) Tatsu Nullifier (2 left)

Player 2 Auric Impulse (1) and Perforator (2) rush. Extreme efficiency, threat and Defense.
 * D1
 * 1) A11
 * 2) TA12
 * 3) Tatsu Nullifier
 * 4) 222

Player 1 Auric Impulse (1) and Doomed Drone (0) rush. Better efficiency and Defense.
 * 01
 * 1) A11
 * 2) TA01
 * 3) Tatsu Nullifier

Player 2 Perforator (1) and Doomed Drone (0) rush. Good efficiency and Defense.
 * DD
 * 1) A11
 * 2) A01
 * 3) Tatsu Nullifier

Player 1 Flame Animus (1) and Steelforge (2) rush. Requires a constant Red sink, Perforator or Nitrocybe.
 * DD
 * DB
 * D1
 * 1) DD1
 * 2) A2 (Floats 2BR, can spend 1)
 * 3) Tatsu Nullifier +click 2

Player 1 Thorium Dynamo (1) and Trinity Drone (0) rush.
 * DD
 * D1
 * A
 * 1) TT0
 * 2) TTA
 * 3) Tatsu Nullifier

Player 1 Wild Drone (0) rush.
 * 1) E00
 * 2) 000
 * 3) DD0
 * 4) DA00
 * 5) TTA
 * 6) Tatsu Nullifier +E

Change log

 * August 8th, 2015
 * Cost increased from 11 to 12.
 * November 1st, 2014
 * Health decreased from 3 to 2.