Its still low end armor but I like Kobold much more, it offers cold protection that adds Feffoids to your hunting list.
And consider Shogun its real good low end allround armor you could use vs drones.
Kobold works adequately against Drones, add a choice of 2B, 3B, 5C or even 6As for cheap Drone hunting.
However, Pixie vs Gnome:
Gnome has 11 Impact, better than Shogun (only just) vs Impact mobs, and as ~75% of all mobs do some or all Impact damage that's the priority to defend against.
Where Gnome really scores over Pixie IMHO is the tt value, roughly 2x the tt value of Pixie, which means it keeps protecting for longer. 5A plates are what I usually use giving 18 Impact 8 Cut. Due to
how armour works it's quite effective vs small Atrox/Atrax. It also has only 1 less point of protection vs Impact than Ghost for a fraction of the cost.
Having had my set for over 2 years now it's the set that lives in my inventory, not in my storage. Again, because of how the armour+plate works it also gives 18 vs Feffs as well. It's also great for Sabas because it doesn't protect at all and therefore doesn't decay. If you need armour for Sabas then you're doing it wrong
And in Gnome + 1A/2A/3A/4A/5A plates is good for killing all the mobs needed to loot a full set of Shogun anyway. Go and see the Sabas for gloves
As was said earlier, 5B plates and trox Provs are no bother. Guardians hit a little too much tho
In conclusion;
Gnome is just that little bit better all round. And it has that one quality that sets it apart as not being Pixie.
It isn't Pixie