What's Your Scariest/ Most Annoying Game Imaginable?

[Toranth]

Reservist / Artillerist is surprisingly painful.  Thousands of extremely long range ships popping into existence the second you enter most systems on the map...

Overreactive / Mime is another combination I almost regret playing.

But overall, I think Kahuna has it right - One-way Doormaster / Raid Engine is the worst non-Technologist combo I can think of.  You can't go anywhere, and when you try you get constant AI fleets attacking, and the AIP is always through the roof, and it all just keeps building up and up and up...

Of course, for unwinnable, just try a Technologist with alt-Champ Nemesis on 10/10.

[Bognor]

I found Particularly Harsh AI Type and Option Combinations, but I'm sure there's been another thread like this as well.

My contribution: Bouncer/Turtle on a cross-hatch map.  The defensive AIs get an absurd number of Wormhole Guard Posts on crosshatch, especially at high difficulties.  The cool thing about this one is they're both "easier" AIs.

[keith.lamothe]

That would be an awful lot of guard posts.

[Draco18s]

Stealth Master Shadow Master/Scorched Earth

Ah yes, quite right.
I never bothered finishing that particular game once I realized what I was up against.  Any plant I could see I would never want, and any planet that was invisible was of dubious value.  Not to mention a pain in the arse to fight on.

[Mal]

Hahaha! Bouncer/Turtle at Diff 10 should be called Onion AI, so many layers of defense...but it did look like a cool challenge to take on, definitely a lot of quick raiding to be done...funny enough, it appears that specialized fleet seems to be the way to take on this AI, especially with arachnid guard posts in the way. Starship raiding might be in order for the nuclear eyes I saw...

Vicious Exotic/Vanguard had 180 guardians on its Mk IV planets at the start of the game...holy shit.

[Kahuna]

Hahaha! Bouncer/Turtle at Diff 10 should be called Onion AI, so many layers of defense

Yeah and it also makes your cry.

[Alex Heartnet]

Warp Jumper/Cowardly?

How does a Cowardly fleet behave deep within human territory, anyway?   

----------------------

Or!

Make AI 1 a Warp Jumper and AI 2 a Vorpal.  I am sure there is a suitable defense layout to be had for this sort of thing - I would dearly love to see exactly what it is, as well as what strategy would be used when gate-raiding and building warp jammers.

[Kahuna]

Make AI 1 a Warp Jumper and AI 2 a Vorpal.  I am sure there is a suitable defense layout to be had for this sort of thing

Mark III Military Command Stations in middle of the system and Spider Turrets come to mind. In middle because if I remember correctly Warp Jumper's wave spawn on the edge of the system. Of course if AI 2 isn't a Warp Jumper then you have to take that into account. Also you will have at least 2000 more Knowledge since Area Minefields are useless against Warp Jumper (Area Minefields are a must vs normal waves).

I would dearly love to see exactly what it is, as well as what strategy would be used when gate-raiding

You don't gate raid vs Warp Jumper.

[Alex Heartnet]

I would dearly love to see exactly what it is, as well as what strategy would be used when gate-raiding

You don't gate raid vs Warp Jumper.

You can against the Vorpal, and if only one of the AI's is a Warp Jumper then the other will still have warp gates.

So you get to think about how to defend against conventional waves on top of the Warp Jumper.  Additionally, not every system will be connected by Warp Gates, limiting where you can set up a fortified position.

Oh wait Vorpal, no such thing as a fortified position...

[Kahuna]

Oohh yes you're right. I forgot the game takes only the positive characteristics of both AIs and none of the negative ones.

[Kahuna]

Some interesting AI combos. These will surely make the game more interesting:
AI x: Primary AI type/Secondary AI type
My top 5 favorite combot are highlighted. (The ones that sound the most interesting. I haven't tried all of these)
AI 1: Artillerist/Speed Racer or Artillerist/Tag Teamer or Artillerist/Grav Driller - Blazingly fast Snipers and Zombards. Choose Tag Teamer for stronger defenses. Choose Grav Driller for excruciating defenses and stronger waves (In numbers Zombards wreck Turrets).
AI 1: Mine Enthusiast/Bouncer - Heavy losses every time you enter a system.
AI 1: Retaliatory/Vengeful - Every time you destroy a Counter Attack Guard Post you get the Coutner Attack and Vengeful's exo.
AI 1: Neinzul Nester/Raid Engine - Double the waves double the fun? Not to mention the extra AIP.
AI 1: Mad Bomber/Quadratic - Absolutely brutal waves. The "Guillotine" AI type?
AI 1: Grav Driller/Peacemaker - Strong offense and defense. Gravity Drills synergize well with Ion Cannons and OMDs.
AI 1: Fortress King/Overreactive or Fortress King/Mime - You will take losses and you will get huge reprisal waves. Choose Mime for funny.
AI 1: Feeding Parasite/Support Corps - Reclaimers synergize well with Support Corps' Munitions Boosters and other support ships.
AI 1: Warp Jumper/Raid Engine - Attacks everywhere all the time. Chaos!
AI 1: The Tank/Tag Teamer - Strong offense and defense. Strong defenses and fast Armor Ships and Space Tanks.
AI 1: Vanguard/Speed Racer or Vanguard/Tag Teamer - A lot of blazingly fast Guardians. Choose Tag Teamer for stronger Defenses.
AI 1: Grav Driller/One-way Doormaster - You aint going nowhere!
AI 1: Fortress Baron/Peacemaker - Very strong defenses. OMDs kill Raid Starships, Ion Cannons kill Bombers and Fortresses kill everything.
AI 1: The Tank/Shield Ninny - A very solid AI. Strong offense and defense. Armor Boosters boost Armor Ships trough the roof.
AI 1:Experimentalist/Support Corps - Bring out the toys!
AI 1: Artillerist/Reservist - Hundreds of Core level long range ships. Brutal alpha strike is guaranteed every time the reserve is deployed.
AI 1: Vengeful/Raid Engine - Would destroying a Raid Engine trigger Vengeful's exo attack?
AI 1: Quadratic/Neinzul Youngster - Massive waves twice as frequently.
AI 1: Stealth Master/Kite Flier - Kiting Space Planes, Raptors and EtherJets.
AI 1: Artillerist/Vorpal - Massive and powerful CPAs. Melee ships and raiding ships ignore Force Fields and long range ships wreak havoc from afar.
AI 1: Cowardly/Artillerist - Let those Zombards pile up... In addition to the massive CPAs this means huge threat fleets which are largely made of long range ships.

[Alex Heartnet]

Oohh yes you're right. I forgot the game takes only the positive characteristics of both AIs and none of the negative ones.

I thought I specified that AI 1 and only AI 1 was a warp jumper.  AI 2 is something-not-a-warp-jumper.

So yes, warp gates.  Gates that only exist in AI 2's systems, so you might not even be able to funnel the vorpal's waves into where you want them due to a lack of warp gate connecting to that spot.

[Kahuna]

Aaaaa derp..
..for some reason I thought you meant Primary AI type/Secondary AI type

[Arc-3N-4B]

I once did Random All/Random All on both AIs on a Fallen Spire mission.

AI 1 was something like Mad Bomber/Vengeful.

AI 2 was Vicious Exotic/Warp Jumper...

[Valorian_Nova]

You want an annoying game do you?  I had a snake game with the AI shield generators.  I ended up with an AI between me and the shield generators to destroy it.  To top it off they had one of those lance guard posts next to the wormhole.  No FS to fall back on either.  I blew up both tachyon posts, using cloakers to get close to the far one, and then snuck some transports by with cloakers.  Established a base on the other side and made a beeline for the rest of those AI shield generators.  Admittedly a beeline is all you can do on a snake map.     At any rate I think there is a lesson to be learned here I just have no idea what it is.   

There was also the game I had where it was like pulling teeth getting to the last AI homeworld.  I think I did well all things considered I did rather well for having 111 systems.  Started using a plethora of warheads just to advance my fleet.   >D  At any rate I brought that one upon myself by capturing too many systems.  Needless to say my AI progress was through the roof by the end of that one.