I've always thought that Novas get shortchanged in discussion of clan mechs, and with recent structure/armor quirks, these guys have a bit more HP to fill out the admittedly large for a 50 tonner hitboxes. For pugs, I love running 5x5. The Mediums have the range to chip in before the fight circles in and gets close, and the smalls are such sweet DPS up your sleeve once things get in range. The Smalls are actually equal damage per heat with the mediums out to 300-320 m anyways. Full armor is nice, as the jump jets will shred your legs if you aren't careful, plus jumping to be a hard target will spray some more damage than usual there. Random tanky nova screenshot:
Yeah I use this combo sometimes, or 4x4 it... it's ok. I tend to think it's more versatile than 10 SPL, but truth is it's nowhere near as deadly.
See what I mean. Failin for years tryin to establish; that's bold. Motherfucker's not a vet, just old.