Well, here we are. To be honest, I didn’t expect the Mistel at all, mostly because I didn’t think it was even a viable addition to the game. But now that we see that it is viable, I’m not surprised it’s a DCT reward, and I’m not at all disappointed to see it. This will be a LOT of fun in GRB, and I look forward to using it.
This also marks the first repeated nation for DCT, rendering the assumption of no repeated nations invalid. The nation of next year’s DCT reward can, therefore, not be accurately predicted (except that Germany is impossible and USA is unlikely), and there is no guarantee that nations like Japan, Italy, and France will ever get DCT rewards (which is honestly disappointing).
I am curious, however, about the viable choices for DCT. Above, Smin said, concerning DCT vehicles:
This certainly applies to the Sturmtiger, XF5U-1, and now the Mistel 2. These vehicles have highly unusual characteristics that force a highly unique playstyle not shared by any other vehicles in the game. However, this does not seem to apply to the TOG II or the KV-7. Are they unique and unusual? Sure. But they are by no means “highly niche”, and they fit into standard gameplay with only minor alterations, not unlike other vehicles already in game. These vehicles have unique characteristics, but they don’t necessitate a highly unique playstyle unique to them, unlike the other three. Therefore, as I see it, the standards for DCT candidacy are, apart from a few common threads (highly requested and a unique design, as discussed in the predictions thread), inconsistent and unpredictable, and determining whether a vehicle is a viable candidate remains just as difficult as before.
(Regardless of the suitability of the Mistel, I am still disappointed to not see the Ki-64. At this point, I fear we may never see it in game, which is a great tragedy.)