Infinity Sectorial: Ariadna

Greetings war gamers and I hope you are having a fine day/night wherever you are.  Continuing the series of Sectorial options I've wanted to go over this one for a little bit now.  Today let's look over the humble low-tech crew of the Infinity line, the Ariadna.

The faction as a whole features a lot of thematic elements from the 4 main descendants that originally landed on their homeworld: Russians, French, American, Scots.  Currently there are 3 Sectorial options representing a focus on each of the nationalities: the Caledonian Highlanders, the Force de Reponse Rapide Merovingienne, and finally we have ourselves most recently added the USAriadna Ranger force.  Sadly there is not Sectorial for the Russian section of the Ariadna, despite their awesome Spetsnazs models of late, but here's to hoping there is one.

So which Sectorial to choose from I wonder? Hmmmm.....

AMERICA F*** YEAH

That's right baby! U S A, U S A, U S A!  All jokes aside I don't know much about Ariadna to make an informed decision about the other Sectorials.  I am familiar with the USAriadna due to my growing interest in Infinity coinciding with their development and subsequent starter release.  So my knowledge is limited and biased.  I suppose that is the perfect mindset for the USAriadna (ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh)!

Typical USAriadna wedding

So here's the deal on fireteams with this Sectorial, my options are pretty much limited.  Only three Core options and 1 Haris, which the Haris can also be a Core if need be.  So I can make a fireteam out of the Grunts, the Marauders, and/or the Minutemen.  Each option appear to operate along the same premise: a Core team for about 125 pts give or take, each can take a couple specialists (Paramedic/FO), and they each have a solid heavy weapon that can be taken for the bonuses.

Core teams let you go pew pew pew pew pew a lot!

Let's be honest with each other though.  Why would I go for USAriadna?  Why that's a great question!  It's because this force has all of the freedom you could ever ask for in one neat little package.  Each soldier a bastion of independence and democracy!  If anyone stands in our way they are just no good commie scum and violate our very principle of the Constitution.  America.

The 4 pillars of democracy

In truth I just don't know enough about Ariadna to know if anything else is better or how the faction plays vanilla.  I know a lot of cheap troops with camoflague and that's about it.  I don't know how the Caledonians play or the French, though I've heard in the wind that they can both be nasty in the right hands.  I just know that these boys and girls in red, white, and blue have some good ARM, solid infantry selections, and have some great looking infantry models.  I am a sucker for the armor style.  Though I have to admit I don't use the Foxtrot models as is, I prefer using the gas-mask equipped Spetsnazs models for my Foxtrot.  Honestly if they re-sculpted the Russians and gave them their own Sectorial I would definitely be interested.

That's right.  'Murica.

It also gives me a great excuse to make a lot of 'Murica jokes and say things like "pew pew pew freedom" and "here's a taste of democracy!"

There you go fellow war-gamers, a quick synopsis of why I would choose the USAriadna Sectorial, granted for no real reason than I own some models and I don't know any better.  That is the 'Murican way.  Have a good one out there gamers and I'll see you around.  Freedom out.

Infinity Sectorial: Combined Army

Good day to you my fellow wargamer and welcome to another set of ramblings!  I'm your host today as we continue our recent Sectorial overview and selection based on arbitrary qualifications!  In today's episode I wanted to go over the Combined Army's selections and what my gut feelings are.  As always keep in mind the disclaimer from previous posts about my knowledge related to this game.

So the Combined have 3 different Sectorial options available to players.  You have the Shasvastii Expeditionary Force which primarily compose of the various Shasvastii options.  Then you have the Morat Aggression Force which surprise surprise, is made up of the various Morat options.  New to Human Sphere N3 however is the Onyx Contact Force which composes of a hodge podge mix of the different alien species that are found in the CA.  Each of the Sectorial forces share certain unit options so you can take at least 1 Drone and Doc Worm across the board.

He has a MD in Dirtology

I'll be honest here, I'm a bit torn between the Morat Aggression and the Onyx Contact Forces.  A general rule of thumb I've been developing over the past few years as I've gotten older is to go with whatever models I think look great.  So if I were to base it off of models I like then...I still have a hard time deciding between the two.  The Morat models in recent updates have become the epitome of badass military outfitting that I gravitate to in other games.  With each new release Corvus brings out for the CA the more I am impressed with their look.  I mean have you seen the Rodoks?!  Ohmahgoodness those things with Super-Jump!

Good lawdy so badass

For the Onyx Contact force they are not lacking in awesome looking models either.  The Unidron Batroids remind me a lot of the alien species you fight off in Crysis 2 and they combine the organic alien component with the mechanical robot.  Corvus also recently releasing pictures of the Xeodron Batroids, the newest light TAG for the CA, does not help my decision making process.  Also have you seen the stats for those Umbra models?  The Samaritan has Protheion lv 4 and can be taken in a Core team with 4 Rodoks, oh and it also has Super Jump too!

It's like fielding the Reaper

While I may end up being able to field either Sectorial, I think I want to start off with the Morat Aggression Force.  I believe that between the two this one might be easier on the new guy mechanic wise than the Onyx.  The Morat fireteam options are no joke either.  Unlike my previous selection of PanO's Military Orders, there are plenty of opportunities for Haris and Duo teams to fill out my forces.  For example if I need some Engineers up in the field I can take a Haris team of the Kurgats.  Say I need a little extra punch up in the field, why I can take a Duo or Haris of the Suryats.

Even my Core options are not just limited to Rodoks or the line infantry.  I could take a Core of Daturazi Witch Soliders and with their smoke grenades and decent PH I stand a good chance of being able to keep them alive long enough to actually reach the enemy.  Another Core option but one I am not too inclined to take is the Oznat with some of the Hungries.  Sure they might end up hitting hard but I'd rather use my precious Core option for something with more "oomph" or has specialist options.  I am a little sad that one of my favorite Morat models, the Sogarats, didn't even get a Duo team option!  Then again those behemoths are nasty in general so I figured it's a fair trade.

ARM 6, 2 wounds, and an Automedkit? With a feuerbach? Oh my!

Overall I think it lives up to its name in that it's an aggressive Sectorial and does not play well with being defensive.  It can do well to secure those good positions first before the other person can and then rain death upon the enemies of the EI.  That about wraps up my thoughts on this Sectorial, next time we'll talk about another force and see what ramblings I can come up with.  Until then take care gamers!

Infinity Sectorial: Yu-Jing

Good morning fellow wargamers, I hope it is a beautiful day for you all!  Ready for another ramblings about some Infinity Sectorical crap? Why I hope you are because I am!  Let's get started shall we?

Today I want to focus on a faction I don't have a lot of experience with. That faction is the Yu-Jing, the great super power of the East.  In a vanilla list the Yu Jing have a wide range of options (don't they all?). A majority of them being slanted towards heavy infantry in order to bring law and the will of their leaders.  When we look at the different Sectorials we have two options to choose from: the Imperial Service, and the Japanese Sectorial Army (JSA).

Updated JSA Domaru Butai.  Nice!

Personally after looking over the JSA options I was more inclined to choose the Imperial Service and once I noticed I can take Su-Jian transformers I was sold.  I give credit to the JSA for the Domoru Butai and their recent sculpts, but out of the two options I am going to hit up that Imperial Service.  Besides have you seen the new started box?  Well if you haven't yet then here's a helping hand and check them out yourself.

Bruh.

So let's talk about what I like about this Sectorial.  The vibe I'm getting from them is that they are not playing around at all, no chill game.  This Sectorial is all about Yu-Jings Imperial agents and the secret police force so the vibe is that they are brutal, uncompromising, and clandestine.  They have no qualms about using prisoners to achieve their goals, evidenced by the Wu-Ming and Kuang-Shi, and could care less about the means as long as the outcome is what was desired.  It's a pretty hard core theme going on and I like it.

Kuang-Shi 40k edition!

In terms of fireteam options the Imperial Service have plenty of Core, a few Haris, and some Duo selections.  For the Core options there are, as any Sectorial force goes, better options that I would consider taking over others.  For example I would not take my 1 Core team and fill it with Kuang-Shi neither would I fill it with Imperial Crane Agents.  I feel that those would either be a complete waste of points or be such a point sink it wouldn't be worth it.  I do have some thoughts of possible Core options though.  I've noticed that I can even take 2 of the transformer bots as a Duo team if I wanted to (granted that's a hefty price tag)!  So with the Imperial Service, you got options for sure.

How could I NOT love this model?

One option for a Core team I do like are 4 Bao Troops with a Imperial Pheasant rank agent armed with a Red Fury.  I feel like this team would be a nice mid field unit to get trenched in and let the Pheasant throw out BS 15 B5 Damage 13 with shock ammo.  Nasty!  Another choice I've considered is the 4 Wu-Ming and a Zhanying with Nimbus grenades.  The Wu-Ming, being the heavy infantry of prisoners, can take a couple heavier weapon options such as the HMG and benefit from the fireteam bonus.  Meanwhile the Zhanying can help mitigate incoming fire in the opponent's active turn with the benefits of Nimbus grenades.  Not a bad option either if you ask me.

Now for what I am not too happy about and that is my distinct lack of doctor options.  As stated before the Imperial Service is brutal and that is extended to its own troops.  From what I can tell the only doctor isn't even a Yu Jing native but a ALEPH operative, the Sophotect.  It's not a bad option considering WIP 15, it's a doctor and engineer, and has NWI.  Take a couple of Yudbots and it's a good option.  It is unfortunately the only option I see in the Sectorial which makes the Sophotect an auto-include in most tournament lists as I imagine.

Overall the Sectorial has a nice selection of models that were recently updated and look phenomenal and the overall playstyle appears to favor being aggressive and unforgiving.  As before I am no expert in this game so take what I say as opinionated pieces, though if you have any questions/tips/advice feel free to leave some!  Until then happy gaming fellow gamers!

P.S.: Have you seen the new Wu-Ming models?! CB why you make me buy in to more factions?!

Infinity Human Sphere Sectorial Series: PanO

Good afternoon fellow wargamers and welcome to the start of a small series where I plan to talk a bit about the recent release of Human Sphere for N3 Infinity.  It's been a welcome release thus far and with the updates/clarifications on rules and some tweaked profiles I believe the game to be in a pretty sweet spot right now.  So with that I wanted to go over the official Sectorial lists for each faction and give my 2 cents to them.

Disclaimer: For those who know me personally you'll know that my hands-on experience with Infinity is growing.  So for those who don't know that part, well now you do.  My thoughts are based on what I am primarily toying around in my head and my actual board experience is still growing.  So feel free to add in your thoughts on these posts and correct me, add some insight, etc!

My disclaimer reasoning

I'll be mentioning the new rules about fireteams and presume you know what the rules are/terms mean/etc.  If not here is a link to the Human Sphere N3 rules from Corvus Belli!

Instead of going over each Sectorial for each faction I am going to focus on the ones that I think I would be most likely to play or most interested.  So to start off let's begin with the big ole's boys in blue: Panoceania!  PanO currently has 3 Sectorial selections: Shock Army of Acontecimento, the Military Orders, and the Neoterran Capitaline army.  I'll be honest I have no idea what each one's playstyle is supposed to be but I do know that I most interested in the Military Orders.

How I want thee to be updated so badly, yea verily

So the Military Order Sectorial represents the PanO's Catholic Church's organized military power and boy do I like it!  A big downfall I feel the Sectorial has, which is not unique to the MO, is the prevalence of older sculpts that when redone will look simply amazing, especially given the quality of CB's releases these days.  They've updated and released some new models that just blow away the older sculpts so it's a bit more difficult to just ignore.  I mean, have you seen the Seraph? Like omg!  So let's take a look at the Sectorial list itself.  For those who want to follow along here is the most recently updated unit profile list with Sectorials, fully HSN3 compatible right here.

Like omg! Like so good!  Like so pretty!

Unfortunately one of the flaws I see with this list is that you pretty much are limited in your fireteam choices since the Sectorial lacks Haris options, but it does have quite a few Duo teams and several options for a Core fireteam.  One thing to keep in mind is that you choose a "primary" order of knights (Montessa/Hospitaller/Santiago/Teutonic/Sepulchre) which then become AVA 4 and then you can have 2 other knights of a different order at AVA 2.  That means, for example, 4 Hospitaller Knights and 2 of whatever else. It does not mean 2 of each other order, but 2 total alternative knights.  One thing to also note is that this Sectorial has a lot of rules/options for its fireteams and it is quite useful to be familiar with those requirements and restrictions before buying anything.  With that in mind I'm probably going to roll in with Hospitaller or Santiago for reason I can explain in a bit.

Color scheme examples of the different orders

The other thing that I will need to keep in mind is that a large chunk of my options lack specialist profiles.  Most of the knightly orders lack specialist options, save for Santiago and Hospitaller, and some of the choices in the Sectorial show that specialist profiles are in short supply.  That's not to say that I am completely without specialists, but it does mean that certain models are going to almost be auto-includes to make up for the lack of options found elsewhere.  What the orders do have though in abundance is durability and a certain level of elite playstyle that I do enjoy from time to time (almost like an Eldar force in a way, but not so fragile save in numbers).

One of the things that has drawn me to MO, aside from lore and aesthetics, are some of the model choices that can form a fireteam.  For one: Magister knights.  I love these guys and I'm a bit sad that they ended up getting a nerf with their CCW's but it's something I can understand as well.  Having EXP CCW's is not something that would be too kind to receive, especially with the updated rules on close combat for fireteams.  Personally I would be fine sticking them in a fireteam with a couple of Teutonic knights for that hard hitting close combat team with some pretty decent resilience.  Another example of a interesting fireteam I would be inclined is the Father Knight bro duo team.  Either take both as hackers or use one as a hacker and the other with a spitfire then combine them with their stats?  Hoo boy those bros are going to be a nice little nut to be cracked.

Bro team of two of these? Yes please!

I think that's a primary draw for the MO is their resilience.  A good portion of the models, Order Sgts and Fusiliers aside, have elite stats with pretty decent ARM and BTS.  This tends to make the MO Sectorial able to take a hit or two and stay standing for the next round.  On average in cover you're getting an ARM of 6 which against your standard combi-rifle shot gives you a pretty solid chance of not taking a wound.  Oh and most of the knights have 2 wounds to start with, also bypassing shock ammo.  Not bad at all PanO, not bad at all.  If I choose my main order as Hospitallers then I can go ahead and take Joan in a fireteam with them, which she appears to be a badass on paper for sure (also +1 to SWC if she is my Lieutenant whoooo!).

What my PanO might end up looking like

So that's my blurb on what Sectorial I'd choose for PanO, next up I will take a look at another Sectorial I am interested in and will probably be looking up Ariadna or maybe the Combined Army.  If you have any comments, suggestions, tips, feedback, please feel free to let me know!  Until then fellow gamers happy gaming!

Generic update post ftw!

Goooooooooood morning fellow wargamers and today is a beautiful outside so that means I'm staying inside! Good old Irish genetics at work here.  Anyways it's been awhile since my last post so here's a generic update for what's been going on.

"And I say hey...what's going ooooon?"

Well for starters life has come in and made sure I was busy enough to not really do anything wargame related aside from looking up stuff and keeping up with recent releases.  I took a holiday and went to the beach with my wife and despite my desire to bring models with me to paint (which in hindsight I should have) I did not and spent most of the time not doing anything at all.  Then the brother came down to visit and despite having some good times with board games, I did not get anything done wargame related.

Getting our game of Relic on

So now that I am back from holiday surely I should have had the time to get something done!  A layer of paint?  A game in?  Well....truth be told I've been playing the new expansion for the Witcher 3 and most of my time has been spent being Geralt of Rivia and not doing anything else.  It's not often these days that a video game will get my attention like the Witcher 3 did, and the expansion Blood and Wine is just as great as the base game was.  So there's where my attention has been lately.

What has taken my life's interest for now

Where does that leave future plans though?  Well for one I have some plans to get more Infinity gaming in with the local community.  My last post being the bat-rep with Scott made me hunger for more Infinity and I know I've got to get a game in with Chris and his Nomads as well.  In general I want to get more games in.  It's great and all to paint up the models but if you're not going to enjoy the game then why bother right?  Speaking of painting I will have a post up soon about what I need to get painted up left (at this time) as I've got a backlog of minis to get painted up.

If I'm not painting then I'm...cooking?

As far as getting into any new games I've still got my eye on Guildball and I've been toying with the idea of getting into Frostgrave (thanks Mike) but the latter will need some more research before contemplating any commitment.  I have another article planned out for Firestorm Planetfall as it's a game that I keep an active interest in but have some reservations about committing to just yet.  Then of course Mark 3 is coming up soon, as well as my eventual purchase of the new Human Sphere book.

"Pew pew pew pew!"

All in all things have been quietly going on as normal with not a lot of new events to really talk about, but in the near future I do believe there will be more to discuss.  Until then I hope your adventures are more game filled than mine, and have some happy gaming out there.  Cheers.