I decided try to repeat the same scenario under the same conditions, using the same strategy, using the same rolls, with both rules sets. I'm playing these simultaneously with two types of counters. Yes, it's confusing, but I'm curious to see how the same tactics work on both versions.
Set up: most of the corpses are in the main room, vanguard have 3 samaritans and Vade; Strain have 6 Revenants and 2 Stalkers.
Vanguard turn 1-e1: The samaritans make it to the east door of the first room, Vade is behind the lines
Vanguard turn 1-e2: exactly the same thing
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Strain 1-e1: the Strain take the fastest passage towards the Vanguard. The first needs to hold the door for the others. Revenants block the shorter south passage.
Two revenants and a Stalker form a reserve at the door to the south room (Vanguard objective). One Stalker is in the main room alone.
Strain 1-e2: same tactics. The Strain move at effectively about the same speed because the Revenants move slower but don't need to open doors.
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Samaritan 3 moves to join the others and hits a Revenant without staging. The Revenant is able to move to engage, and positions to isolate Vade from his allies in a choke point
Vade shoots the blocking Revenant and kills it with 1 staging, moving to join his allies.
Vanguard 2-e2: same tactics, Samaritan 2 fails to kill, leaving it able to Lurch in and Infect Samaritan 3 at staging 1.
Samaritan 3 moves to the same spot above and deals weak damage again. This revenant lurches at Vade, failing to do damage but also blocking his path to his allies along with the other surviving Revenant.
Vade kills one of the 2 blocking revenants, again joining in the same spot.
Differences: At this point, the Revenants survived 1 more hit than in 1st edition, and have been able to make 2 more attacks, infecting 1 model.
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Strain 2-e1: the Strain use Nano to raise a corpse.
The nearest Revenant focus attacks and misses.
The next Revenant moves up and attacks Vade and infects him at 1 staging.
One reserve Revenant moves up and misses Vade.
One reserve Revenant circles through the main room.
Strain 2-e2: the Strain use Nano to infect Samaritan 2
One of the Revenants in the hallway moves up, takes a shot (staging 1), lurches, and misses.
The wounded Revenant focus lurches up and attacks Vade and infects him at 1 staging.
One reserve Revenant moves up and lurches, and misses Vade.
One reserve Revenant circles through the main room.
Differences: One revenant was able to focus as a result of Lurch, and one Revenant couldn't move as far. Another Samaritan got infected because of aggressive nano.
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Vanguard 3-e1: 3 target marks and 3 on Vade
Samaritan 1 moves into the window, fails to kill with 1 staging, it moves up.
Vade passes his Infection check, disinfects himself, and shoots the engaging Revenant with 1 staging, killing it.
Samaritan 3 focus attacks in melee and does 3 staging of damage, killing the Revenant.
Samaritan 2 moves to occupy a corpse location and fires at the window Revenant with 1 staging, killing it.
Vanguard 3-e2: 3 target marks and 3 on Vade
Samaritan 1 moves into the window, fails to kill with 1 staging, it lurches up and does 1 staging of infection.
Vade passes his Infection check, disinfects Samaritan 2, and shoots the engaging Revenant with 1 staging, killing it.
Samaritan 3 focus attacks in melee and does 3 staging of damage, killing the Revenant.
Samaritan 2 moves to occupy a corpse location and fires at the window Revenant with 1 staging, killing it, and raises to level 2 infection.
Differences: Vade was only able to heal one model, so 2nd edition left 2 models infected (one at level 2), plus the one from the Lurch reflex.
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Strain 3-e1: the 3 nano raise 3 corpses.
One Revenant moves up and takes a Staging 3 shot to the face.
The next one moves up and attacks Vade, hitting him and making him bleeding.
The 2 distant risen Revenants move up but not in vector.
One risen Revenant is close enough and attacks Vade with 1 Staging, killing him.
Strain 3-e2: the 3 nano infect the remaining samaritans to level 2.
Differences: aggressive nano gets more infection around the board: all 4 Vanguard are infected.
One Revenant moves up and takes a Staging 3 shot to the face.
The next one lurches up and focus attacks Vade, hitting him and making him bleeding.
One reserve Revenant moves up and lurches, attacking Vade with 1 Staging, bringing him down to 1 health.
Differences: the aggressive nano has made the objective less interesting, so there's much higher infection but fewer models. Vade is still alive but can't actually do anything except generate tactics, because he's about to die.
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Vanguard 4-e1: Samaritan 2 opens the door to reveal a revenant then shoots the one attacking her buddy, doing no staging, it moves to a better position.
Samaritan 1 opens fire on a Revenant, focusing for no staging. The Revenant engages.
Samaritan 3 circles and fires, killing a wounded Revenant.
Vanguard 4-e2: Samaritan 2 passes infection and hits a Stalker for no staging.
Vade dies to blood loss.
Samaritan 1 advances into the main room, opens fire, and kills the wounded Stalker, and reaches the dreaded Infection level 3.
Samaritan 3 circles and fires, killing a wounded Revenant, and passes infection.
Differences: more results from the previous turn.
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Strain 4-e1: 2 nano clouds raise corpses 5 & 6
A series of spectacular damage rolls result in all Samaritan deaths
Strain 4-e2: the level 3 samaritan is popped for 2 nano clouds, the 4 clouds infect both remaining samaritans to level 3/4.
The strain retreat, and the Vanguard can't get to the objective before getting popped.
Conclusions
Both scenarios resulted in Strain wins. This was probably in part because I know how to play them better than Vanguard, and didn't have a Vanguard player opposite me.
1st edition involved respawning hordes. 2nd edition involved me recycling my forces for infection (I never spawned a model).
I didn't see a lot of times when the added health came up (rolled 0-1 staging or 3 all but once), nor did the decreased defense see a ton (again, rolling extremes, though).
Lurch is a very strong ability, and actually makes positioning difficult for Vanguard now, because 4 squares of threat is pretty large.
I'm not as worried about the power shift from the huge stat overhaul as I am about the very different way of playing Strain resulting from how aggressive you can be with nano. They now feel like a tough virus delivery vehicle instead of a horde that you just can't keep down.
I'm still a bit concerned, but I was expecting a wider swing in power than I saw here.
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