Maps are CQC and pulse rifles are problematic. If you take Thorn/TLW out, pulse rifles are the biggest problem for scouts. They aren't balanced -- Hopscotch can easily 2-shot -- and they're more offensively-oriented than their scout counterparts. Red Death hits harder than MIDA and regens health and Bad Juju is basically an autorifle. Personally, I love my Scholar, but it's not competitive. Plus, if you're at the range where a scout is good, you'll get shredded by a sniper.