To the land of the Dragon I go!

Well I've made the next step into playing a second faction in Infinity. Today I bought 8 models to kick off my Yu Jing collection. Now you might be asking what happened to MAF? Well I just got started with collecting them and was looking forward to expanding them but then the resculpts hit. I like the resculpts but I wasn't looking forward to getting a new Sogarat who didn't match mine which meant I would have to get the resculpted HMG. Basically all the models I have for MAF have all been resculpted expect for the Rasyat. With that my enthusiasm for them wained as did my time commit for the game. I started college last year which meant I wasn't able to participate all that much in the Denver gaming meta.

Then when N3 came out I got to see the the new Yu Jing HI like the Yan Huo and the Zuyong. These guys were the first solid look of what the Invincible Army sectorial of Yu Jing was going to look like. Oh boy does it have me excited about fielding an almost HI exclusive army. Also it helps I like vanilla, JSA, and IS for Yu Jing. With Aleph I've stayed clear of SP and sticked to a Vedic heavy vanilla with some SP units sprinkled in. Not with YJ though these guys I could go full tilt with but that's jumping the gun to soon.

One other reasons I've joined the ranks of the Emperor's great army is the fact Yu Jing is underrepresented in the Denver metro meta. I used to have a gaming buddy who played YJ and he was the only YJ player I saw or played at a tourney. He doesn't play anymore. I've seen two other YJ players since then and one only played once in a tourney as selected by his friends. I started Aleph for almost the same reason four years ago. No one really played them and now everyone and their mother plays Aleph (I blame SP). I don't dislike that fact but it was also time to move on.

So I'm here to try and inject some Yu Jing goodness into those other players and show them what real HI looks like. PanO has the TAGs and tried to gloat about there HI but YJ doesn't even need to tell them otherwise they just show them. HI isn't the only thing that drew me to Yu Jing either. I like all their units for the screaming glory of the Aragoto to the well rounded Celestial Guard.

Enough blabbering though and lets show you what I got.

Yan Huo

I'm a sucker for the big guns and the Yan Huo is like my dream unit. He's the only non-TAG unit in the game to have the option to take a Muti HMG and a HRMC. Also he's the first unit with dual missile launchers. I got the one with dual missile launchers as the HRMC wasn't available for purchase from the retailer.

This guy doesn't disappoint having BS 14 and ARM 5 with two missile launchers for 52 points and 2 SWC! Now the downside is he's slow being MOV 4-2 and his his BTS is only 3 which leaves him susceptible to hacking and weapons that cause BTS rolls. He's still a very good firing platform though for how much your paying for him. I plan on adding the HRMC very soon to my collection.

Hac Tao

Another HI (this is going to be the theme with this list of purchases). This is the Hac Tao who is the only HI after the Swiss Guard to have TO camo. These guys in N2 just used to be a worse Swiss Guard but N3 they've given them some options to differentiate them. First the Hac Tao has better options for close range firefights like a boarding shotgun or a nanopulsar which comes standard on all profiles. Also the new skill introduced in N3 known as Executive Order can be found on two of the Hac Tao's profiles. This skill means when the model in question with the ability enters the table he becomes the Lt. You don't have to tell your opponent this happened. Also it's good to remember this does not work in LoL. You need a unit for CoC for that.

I also got the Hac Tao because he would make for a great Daofei proxy. I hope to see a Daofei resculpt in the future but the Hac Tao can serve as a great stand in for now.

Zuyong aka Terracota Soldier

The Zuyong are the backbone of the Invincible Army and the largest heavy infantry corp in the human sphere. They are basically the line infantry of the Invincible Army and they are impressive. The cheapest HI in the game without some effect like impetuous or frenzy. The lowest cost is the 26 point boarding shotgun and the highest is the 39 point HMG with automedikit. If the future is to be believed this guys will be able to link in the Invincible Army and become the bread and butter team of that sectorial.

I got the HMG Zuyong for that exact future but the Zuyong do good work just by themselves. They are really effective troops for their price and I can't complain about a BS of 13. They only have ARM 3, BTS 3, and no other cool skills, but for the price you shouldn't expect more.

Imperial Agent Crane Rank

The red headed step-child of YJs HI in N2 and now an absolute baller in N3. The Crane was to say the least one of those units in Infinity that was sub-par which is a rare occurrence. That was fixed though when N3 came around and they gave the Crane some uniqueness to him. He has become the bane of camo with most of his profiles come with a sensor. Also all his profiles come with 2 nanopulsars which is nasty against the likes of Ariadna as they lack BTS on the majority of their units. CB did the right thing as well as dropping the mono CCW and making it a DA CCW which has dropped him in points. They also bumped his ARM from 3 to 4 as well as his CC skill. He has the best CC stats and Martial Arts out of all the Imperial Agents. Getting into a fist fight with the Crane is ill advised.

I've always been a big fan of the Crane model like many others have. In N2 you would grab up the model as an awesome proxy just like the Pheasant. Now thanks to N3 you gets to represent himself like the badass he always was. I have hope that N3HS will give the Pheasant a similar makeover so he's a viable option on the table instead of a waste of points.

Oniwaban

Moving on from the HI we have one of the most feared CC units in the game with the Oniwaban! Packing the dreaded monofilament CCW, a CC of 24, and MA4, he'll kill mostly anything you send him up against. He's not just a close combat machine either. With the changes to the boarding shotgun in N3 he'll hit you like a ton of bricks as you try to shot back at nothing. Depending on the target you can stack the modifiers in your favor with surprise shot, TO camo, and cover you'll be looking at a -12 the highest you can go in Infinity. In the meanwhile if you are 8" or closer you'll be looking at a +6 BS before any other modifiers take place. Got an opponent like a Myrmidon around a corner and that +6 BS might not do much for you thanks to the ODD and possibly cover (if they're in a link team or not frenzied) then light them up with a nanopulsar. He's a nightmare in close quarters firefight situations.

The Oniwaban also packs superior infiltration which means he can make a PH roll with no penalty when going past the center line. He just can't go in the enemy DZ but he can start literally on the doorstep. Makes him a potent alpha strike unit and possible headache if you keep him in HD for later use.

Raiden Seibutai

 The Raiden Seibutai are the long range support specialists of the JSA. The Raiden comes equipped with limited camouflage which means he'll start as a camo marker and get surprise shot but only once and he'll never be able to re-camo again. This makes him a unit where you need to pick your target as he'll only get one shot at 'em. Now you might say why would you want that. I say because units with limited camo don't cause nearly as much as their regular camo brethren. All the Raidens profiles are long to medium range weapon and they're cheap point wise. Those medium range weapons get enhanced by an X-Visor attached to those profiles effectively making them long range weapons.

I went with the HRL option which costs a whopping 19 points and 1.5 SWC. He's a steal really and if you pick the right target and time to attack he can end up killing more then double his points. Add on that the HRL is a very potent weapon platform with B2, fire ammunition, and can cause template damage. The Raiden is set and ready to ruin someone's day.

Rui Shi & Lu Duan

The last of my purchases.

The Yaoxie attack remotes known as the Rui Shi and Lu Duan are very unique among large sized remotes. Most factions have support remotes like one with total reaction and a HMG or one with a GML. There are remotes that fall outside these typical support remotes. PanO has the Bulleteer and Peacemaker, Nomads have the Lunokhood and Tysklon, Aleph with the Dakini and Garuda. Well Yu Jing has these two little beauts.  They are fast and mean with the Rui Shi coming packed with a MSV2 and Spitfire for a measly 21 points and 1 SWC. The Lu Duan comes with a MSV1 instead but packs a HFT and Mk12 with the added equipment of a holo projector L2 for 22 points and 0 SWC. They also help boost your hackers area of control thanks to their repeaters. Which also means you can give them supportware anywhere on the table. Both of them with assisted fire which grants Marksmen L2 can effectively ignore all modifiers (if you're the Rui Shi) or help out (in the Lu Duans case against TO or ODD). Also putting these guys in suppressive fire is a good way to lock down a section of the table.

When the fluff says these guys are attack remotes they mean it. They get in your face and ruin it. You got camo, TO, ODD, or mimetism? Well they don't care about that. Hackers help boost there abilities and wreck even more face.

I faced off against these guys a lot back in N2 when my regular gaming buddy brought them in his lists. They kicked ass back then and  I expect them to do the same and even more in N3.

I'll should be receiving this lot next week and get my modeling game on. Might even have to give pinning a try with the the Yan Huo and the Yaoxie remotes. If anyone has any tips on pinning please leave a comment below.

USAriadna!

Happy 4th of July to my American readers. Seems CB also wanted to get in on the celebration and drop this beauty of a bomb.

Freedom boner!

What we have here is the USAriadna Army Pack. Going from left to right we have a Foxtrot, Marauder (new unit), G: Sync Antipode with the Devil Dog, Minuteman, Devil Dog (the werewolf if anyone was confused. Also a new unit), Maverick (new unit), 3 Grunts, Pre-order dismounted Maverick (chicky without a gun).

I really like this set. All the model are fantastic. We'll have to see what the rules for the new units are (don't ask how I know the antipode is G: Synced to the Devil Dog though...). I can't wait to see some these guys lined up across from me so I can kill them.

Back From Hiatus

Hello my readers or anyone new. This is Solodice and I'm back with posting on this blog as I actually have stuff to talk about! I've been getting a good dose of N3 in for the past month. I've played around 3 kill 'em alls to get my feet wet and then about 2 ITS scenarios. Then it wrapped up with a tourney down in New Mexico.

A quick review of N3 (I'll being doing a more in depth one later) is that I'm a fan. I have no big gripes and for the most part it's basically N2 with a few new wrinkles.

Let's talk about the New Mexico tourney for a minute. I would like to thank Dan, the TO, for putting it together and running it. I also came in with the fact it being my first N3 tourney was that I'm not going to claim first. That doesn't mean I didn't play competitively and made it a challenge for my opponents. I went 1-2 with a point spread being 12-16 at the end of the tourney claiming 7th out of a total of 12. I had fun even in the game were I lost 10-0 against Steel Phalanx. I came to have fun and all the opponents were all good sports so I had no reason to be mad at anything even when getting stomped.

The tourney was 300 points, two lists, 3 scenarios (Frontline, Cold Sleep, Antenna Field).

My lists:

Group 1
DEVA Lieutenant (G: Synchronized) Combi Rifle, Nanopulser+Devabot / Pistol, Knife.
- DEVABOT Heavy Flamethrower / Electric Pulse
DEVA (Multispectral Visor L2) Spitfire, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife
DEVA (Sensor) Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife.
DEVA Hacker (Hacking Device) Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife.
NAGA (Minelayer) Boarding Shotgun, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife.
NAGA (Minelayer) Boarding Shotgun, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife.
DASYU (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle, Nanopulser, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife.
DASYU MULTI Sniper Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife.
DAKINI Tacbot MULTI Sniper Rifle / Electric Pulse.
MYRMIDON Chain Rifle, Nanopulser, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, AP CCW.

Group 2
MYRMIDON Chain Rifle, Nanopulser, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, AP CCW.

5.5 SWC | 300 Points

Group 1
DEVA Lieutenant (G: Synchronized) Combi Rifle, Nanopulser+Devabot / Pistol, Knife.
- DEVABOT Heavy Flamethrower / Electric Pulse.
DEVA (Multispectral Visor L2) Spitfire, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife.
DEVA Hacker (Hacking Device) Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife.
NAGA (Minelayer) Boarding Shotgun, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife.
NAGA (Minelayer) Boarding Shotgun, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife.
DASYU (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle, Nanopulser, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife.
DAKINI Tacbot Paramedic (MediKit) Combi Rifle / Electric Pulse.
PROXY Mk.1 Doctor Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife
YUDBOT
PROXY Mk.2 Hacker (Assault Hacking Device) Boarding Shotgun, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. DAKINI Tacbot MULTI Sniper Rifle / Electric Pulse.

Group 2
DAKINI Tacbot MULTI Sniper Rifle / Electric Pulse.
MYRMIDON Chain Rifle, Nanopulser, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, AP CCW
NETROD
NETROD

 6 SWC | 300 Points[/b]

The first list was built specifically for frontline while the other was for the objective centered scenarios.

The games went like this.

1st opponent: Nomads
Scenario: Frontline
Point Spread: 6-3 (Nomads)

This game was a tug-o-war or getting ground and losing ground. My opponent had a nicely placed Intruder sniper on his side which made me prioritize him and kill him at all costs since he could see the whole board. I first tried a coordinated order with the Spitfire, Dasyu sniper, and the Dakini sniper. In the end the Dasyu got wounded while the Intruder stood tall. In the end it was the Dakini sniper with the help of the Deva hackers supportware that brought the intruder down on my last order at the bottom of the first round. After that it was a jockey for the middle which I lost do to not moving my units up closer.

In retrospect I should of moved my two Myrmidons, Deva hacker and sensor, the last Naga minelayer to be alive, towards the middle and that would of been enough points in the middle for me. Instead I tried to go for the secretive objectives like a mad man for some reason. I only got one of them... note to self play the damn scenario first. Can't do that then go for secret objectives.

2nd Opponent: Aleph
Scenario: Cold Sleep
Point Spread: 9-0 (Me)

This game was all mine do to nice lock down of the objectives by my Naga minelayers and the Deva MSV2 and Myrmidon smoke combo. My opponent had no MSV2 on his side which let me do the dirty work with my Deva Spitfire and knock out almost half his forces with him alone. Also this time around the scenario I actually played before going after his units. I only went after his units which were mostly specialists because they got to close to the objectives or were already there. I only killed when I needed to.

Looking back on the game now going second was a really good option for me as being able to move and collect objectives at the end of the game with no counter attack coming next turn is great. I should always keep that in mind and I don't know why I didn't do it in my next game.

3rd Opponent: Steel Phalanx
Scenario: Antenna Field
Point Spread: 10-0 (Steel Phalanx)

This game was on those where if I moved towards the objectives it was get shot or get discovered and get shot. My opponent at the end of the game why I didn't play the scenario and I told him I was but he had them on total lock down so I decided to be general pain in the ass and my dice decided I was going to be one. I probably made around 20 or more ARM rolls to my opponents displeasure. I tried hard the first go to get rid of Phoenix who the long range pain in the ass for me with a Dakini Sniper. I would of probably had him if not for Ajax rolling two ones on my Dakini killing him. I got my revenge on the dumb brute later though.

As I said above I don't know why I decided to go first this game. Maybe it was to do a little alpha strike on some of the key Phalanx units like Phoenix (which didn't work anyways). Also this scenario gives infiltrators the finger do to exclusion zones so my minelayers were useless with there mines save for one guarding the closest antenna to me. I really don't know what I could of done better save for waiting to go second and see how that would of played out.