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.