I mean if Helo is a cylon what better way to keep under cover than not being able to really help in the first turn. If he is not then its still very early and how much real damage can they do that you would have actually been able to prevent.

To me Helo is one a character to consider taking over either of the other pilots as he has lots of play options for both sides.

aammondd said:

Helo is definitely one of the better characters imo. His reroll ability is especially good. It is nice that he can pilot, but he also can't do near the damage that Starbuck or even Apollo can do as pilots, so they are very good still as well.

Helo's drawback can be bad if you are late in the turn order. Not being on the board means not having the ability to be given executive orders, which can make a difference in the game. It is not a huge drawback, but then again neither is Saul's (either make sure you always have two cards in hand, or play the last card if you can). Heck, even Baltar's isn't that big a drawback.

I like to play Helo, and often pick him over the other Military Leaders (though that can mean I don't get the Admiral Card). His lack of Political cards is a drawback, but may not matter based on the chosen characters. However, I also like to try different characters everytime I play, so I don't always abuse him. But if Helo is a cylon, he is almost better than Boomer when it comes to his once/game ability.

Helo is an exceptionally solid character. His real drawback is that he draws piloting cards, which are some of the worst cards to have, unless you're in a viper, which he rarely is. Things are going pretty poorly if Helo needs to launch in a viper, generally, it's better to EO a better pilot.

He's very good in small games, where you are much more sensitive to pilots becoming Cylons. His powers are pretty awesome, but his versatility could be less useful in larger games. His piloting cards are handy for when Cylons are trying to get out of the brig though.

Dunno, I'd have to say that Helo is one of the best characters in the game. His drawback is honestly nothing at all - he just loses a single action. He still draws cards and a crisis. If he's a Cylon, he can hide better. He's great for scouting due to his reroll, which I find to be highly helpful for both Cylon and Human players early game. He's great for hitting FTL early, and for rolling on those crises that allow you to roll for no effect instead of doing the crisis. His reroll can even be used for a free evasive maneuver if the Cylons attack during his Crisis Phase, or let a pilot he's EOed reroll a miss.

The piloting cards are great for when you need them - they let him be a backup pilot if the pilots turn out to be Cylons, and he can help good pilots dodge with the maneuvers anyways. The firepower cards can be just used as red 3-5s when they're needed. It's nice to have a military leader with something that isn't leadership and tactics, in my opinion (Saul and Adama are rather limited in what crises they can help with).

His once-per-game is a great way to reveal as a Cylon, as it often hurts more than a Cylon reveal power when used at the right time. Especially when it is followed by a Cylon reveal power (force the humans to lose a fuel and food when one of them is already low, then reveal the damage Galactica card. Or, force a loss of morale when morale is geting low, and then reveal the -1 Morale power).

So, yeah. Helo is almost too good. It may be prudent to give him some slightly greater disadvantage to balance him better, like no drawing on his first turn (the one he cannot act or move during). That would actually be a disadvantage.