I don't see a reason to pick vickers upgrade for UC now that they both are tech locked.
Wasp is superior one here and only reason vickers was picked was because it could arrive early.
It will not get soft-removed if it'll stay locked behind T1 as frankly, there is not a single reason to get it over WASP now.
I agree that locking the Vickers upgrade behind T1 was not a needed change. IMO, it's the timing of Bolster that should've been looked at, instead of the UC. There are however still good reasons to choose the Vickers:
- 15 munitions cheaper than WASP.
- Soft counter to light vehicles like the Kubel, 221/223, 250.
- Turns it into a mobile suppression platform for 10 muni, great for kiting squads that want to faust.
- Far longer range (allow UC to stay more safe).
- Better against moving squads.
- Similar performance against squads in the open at vet 0, better once it gets vet 2 (accuracy bonus).
Ofcourse the trade-off is worse performance against cover.