More Infinity

Another cracking game of Infinity this evening. This time the Armoury Scenario and Aleph vs. Yu Jing. I took Achilles and an Asura as I knew there would be a lot of action in the objective room and points would be scored for high value models inside. I got off to a good start combining my orders well to safely get Achilles into the objective room supported by a few other models.

The Yu Jing retaliated getting a model into the room too and a rather nasty sniper popped up in a great position threatening my models in the room and outside.

   
       

Hacking was an area we were both keen to explore further and this was certainly a major factor in this game. I had not realised that my two hackers would not have access to Fairy Dust (they were carrying Assault devices) which I had assumed would be available to help me defend Achilles and my Asura. The Yu Jing hackers were able to isolate and immobilise Achilles limiting his effectiveness and I had no way to reliably defend him. It is interesting how hackers can easily close down very expensive models and I feel in N3 hackers are a much more versatile and indeed essential addition to a force. I’ve also learnt the need to pay attention to the type of hacking device as it profoundly affects what your hacker is able to offer.

Anyway, going back the game, we managed two tense rounds before wrapping up. It was a close game but a series of shocking armour rolls knocked out Achilles and my Asura meaning a win for Yu Jing looked inevitable. I had played my best game under N3 so far and felt I had a grip on a strategy that was working. On balance I think I prefer the more varied Combined Army to Aleph, so I think I will put the Aleph into reserve and go back to the Evolved Intelligence next time.

Infinity – a first game with Aleph

I’ve got the bug for Infinity again at the moment. This week I thought I would have a go with Aleph. Across the table 300 points of Nomads. I took a fairly basic force comprising of Tactbots, Naga Hackers, Myrmidons, a Deva and finally an Asura. My initial impression was that the models were very much comparable to equivalent Combined Army models including the Asura that felt similar to the Charontid. 

During set up my Nomad opponent put a Reaction Zond in a high position and a Sniper in a similar position with a special rule that allowed full burst in ARO. This didn’t bode well and I new I would have to take these out to stand any chance of a win.

Most of my first turn was spent doing exactly this and I was successful in getting the Zond. The Sniper proved more problematic and I wasn’t able to desk with this threat. However, one of my Naga Hackers hacked a console (we were playing mission 3 again) and the Asura looked threatening down one of the flanks. 

     

In the Nomad turn there was some interesting retaliation that were good leaning points for me. A hacker put down an area of ‘white noise’ blinding my visor wearing Asura and then an Emauler attack immobilised the same model disabling most of its equipment. Nasty. In addition the Nomad sniper gunned down a few of my models and it was not looking good.

In my next turn I decided to ‘Rambo’ my remaining Naga Hacker in an attempt to hack another console and scan an enemy model to complete my secret objective. Unfortunately I moved into the Zone of Control of a repeater and the poor Naga was brain bursted in ARO. Another important learning point!

In the final turn the Nomad player just needed to mop up and visit a couple of undefended objectives to win 3 – 1. 

It was a good game with some cool new tricks to think about.

Combined Army shambles (again!)

Another outing for the Combined Army this evening. Across the table 300 points of Yu Jing. This time we decided to play scenario 3 from the book and use hackers. Unfortunately neither of these factors really mattered as a terrible turn 1 saw heavy casualties amongst the Combined Army leaving the remaining action as just a rehearsal of using a few key models. Now, I must say I am disappointed about this as in my previous post I had said disastrous turn 1s should be much rarer, but the gods really were not with me this time. The Yu Jing choose sides and we had deliberately made one side better than the other – no prizes for guessing they took the better side. I then realised that there was a fairly wide open-strip along most of the front edge of my deployment zone. I didn’t fancy crossing this in turn 1 and losing a load of models to ARO so, perhaps foolishly, took the second player slot. I used a command token to bring down the order pool of the Yu Jing and set up defensively hoping to take a few models with my own ARO. Key to this was my Malignos who had a great position high up mid-table. I had chosen to give him a combi-rifle not sniper rifle as I found in the last game he was not in the sweet spot of his range band and could not use suppressive fire. I had also taken a Yaogat sniper with MSV2 and sniper rifle who I intended to keep deeper in my half of the board. The Yu Jing impetuous guys ran forward and although the Malignos was able to hit, his combi rifle just did not have the punch needed to knock his targets out. What followed was a couple of nasty double criticals from the Yu Jing that tookout both the Malignos and Yaogat. A Tiger soldier sneaking in on a flank was not a surprise in this but a sniper with a multisniper rifle and MSV2 did the real damage. Not good. I took a couple of other casaulties as well so the game was pretty much over before it had begun.

In the remainder of the game I had a go at using my Rasyat to do a Rambo job in the enemy back lines but he used far too many orders taking out the Yu Jung sniper previously mentioned. I did walk him in from the side this time, rather than jumping in, and this seemed to give a safer entry to the battlefield so worth trying this method in future I think. I also had a chance to use the Skiavaors and apart from his Strategos L2 which was very nice, his Plasma and Nanopulser looked dangerous. I liked this chap was the Lieutenant choice and will certainly try this again in the future.

So, not the best game, but some important learning points: The edge of the deployment zone needs some cover during set-up; protect the flanks and backfield against sneak attacks; the multisniper rifle hits hard and an MSV2 is the icing on the cake. Despite the frustrating start to the game I enjoyed it and I am feeling enthused by N3 🙂 

         

First game of N3

First game of N3 this evening. I managed to read through most of the rules, but much like 2nd edition there are simply too many skills and bits of equipment to be completely on top of the game. We are also agreed to leave out hackers and play out a 200 point re-familiarisation exercise. I went with the Combined Army and across the table Yu Jing. 

The first turn was very slow as the book, weapons charts and stat lines were checked carefully to make sure habits from N2 were not being carried into N3. I was caught out by an infiltrating heavy infantry with HMG forcing me to unveil my Camo snipers and drop my Rasyat. The two forces exchanged fire and after a couple of turns the game was close.

By about turn 3 we were flowing along pretty well. The better armoured Yu Jing were weathering the fire fight better than the Combined Army so it was only a matter of time before I threw in the towel.

So, how is N3? In a nutshell I would say a tidier version of N2. It is reassuringly familiar in style but with the ropey bits tidied up. There are some nice tweaks which either balance the game or add further depth and realism. For me it’s a winner and I’ll be back for more for sure.