Sigh...
I think we agree on a lot. I don't want to let the animosity generated by your (probably unwitting) rhetorical tricks and my rather brusque response thereto getting us talking past each other.
The problem: It's too hard to maintain midlevel Blockers. Incidentally, and related, POMB is a little too good vs AV7. It doesn't cripple low-AV teams, but it does really fall hard (pun intended) on Ghouls, and it shoehorns low-AV teams into a limited-but-effective number of builds.
The root of the problem: The combination of the buffed Cas table, ClawPOMB, and the nerfed Apothecary, intended to replace Ageing and good fouling, fell differently than the mechanics they replaced.
The solutions: Nerf ClawPOMB somewhat by nerfing POMB vs AV7 while keeping POMB viable. Improve fouling somewhat. Make the Cas table a bit more palatable with a minimum of added complexity.
We agree on the second one. The third one, we'll get back to. The first one, we seem to agree only in principle, not in particular.
Take a look at my math again, on the last page, and tell me how my PO doesn't do exactly what you claim to want.
1) My PO is not nearly as good with MB vs AV7, whether the AV7 is due to Claw or just low AV. It's still pretty good, just not as good. This is because squaring your failure odds gets better and better as your chance of success gets higher and higher, until you reach the point of diminishing returns around AV5 or 6.
2) My PO is almost as good vs AV9 without Claw, where you probably wouldn't reroll the injury roll anyway.
You can't say, "often people only go prone on injury, so losing the ability to go prone on AV doesn't hurt." the incentive is AV-driven.
on the last page, I wrote:Vs AV7, or with Claw
Rookie: 27,216 fails, 11,340 stuns, 4,860 KOs, 3,240 Cas
MB only: 19,440 fails, 12,636 stuns, 7,884 KOs, 6,696 Cas
PO only: 27, 216 fails, 6,615 stuns, 7,695 KOs, 5,130 Cas (11,340 PO uses)
POMB: 19,440 fails, 6,021 stuns, 11,493 KOs, 9,702 Cas (8,100 PO uses)
Vs AV9
Rookie: 38,800 fails, 4,536 stuns, 1,944 KOs, 1,296 Cas
MB only: 33,696 fails, 6,264 stuns, 3,672 KOs, 3,024 Cas
PO only: 38,800 fails, 2,646 stuns, 3,078 KOs, 2,052 Cas (4,536 PO uses)
POMB: 33,696 fails, 3,114 stuns, 5,418 KOs, 4,428 Cas (6,264 PO uses)
POMB vs stuns or fails, AV7 or with Claw. 25/144 to PO AV and fail, or about the same odds as a 2+ roll.
Fails: 11,640
Stuns: 8,286
KOs: 14,454
Cas: 12,276 (that's twice the difference from MB vs PO stuns alone)
POMB vs stuns or fails, AV9 or with Claw. 155/324 (47.8%) to PO AV and fail, about the same odds as a 4+ roll.
Fails: 24,336
Stuns: 8,478
KOs: 7,854
Cas: 6,972 (again twice the difference from stun only vs MB only, but a smaller absolute difference than with AV7, with 3x as many PO fails on AV rolls)
So my PO would hurt POMBers on blocks vs low AV much more than vs high AV. How is this exactly not what we're talking about?
What is Nuffle's view? Through a window, two-by-three. He peers through snake eyes.
What is Nuffle's lawn? Inches, squares, and tackle zones: Reddened blades of grass.
What is Nuffle's tree? Risk its trunk, space the branches. Touchdowns are its fruit.