Infinity's New Two Player Starter Set Operation: Icestorm Models Reveled

We've know about the Infinity two player starter set for about over 2 months now but we've have yet to see the contents of the box until now.

Let's start with the Nomads shall we:

 This it the new Mobile Brigada who has defiantly benefited from a resculpt. The armor is more detailed than the older models and it just seems more imposing. I do wonder though if the Ectros and Mobile Brigada are cousins.

 Next we have the brand new unit called the Reverend Healer. She matches us nicely with the rest of her comrades. I'll give an educated guess that she's a new doctor unit for the Nomads. Also she's an exclusive to Operation: Icestorm.

Another new unit for the Nomads! This one is called a Grenzer. I like the look of him save his foot on a futuristic rock (come on CB we're tired of natural/futuristic rocks). There has only been rumors on what this unit can do on the tabletop. One rumor is that he comes with a MSV1 which has gotten a boost in N3. As for everything else I don't have a clue.

Here we have a resculpted Spektr. He a lot better than the original but he doesn't really catch my eye. He just seems sort of plain (which is not a bad thing for a TO Infiltrator).

To finish off the Nomads we have the resculpted Alguaciles who are leaps and bounds better than their predecessors! The one detail on every model that sticks out to me the most are the faces. It might just be Angels paint job but damn are they awesome!

Group shot!

Now moving on to the Hyperpower aka PanOceania:

Kicking things off we have a resculpted ORC Trooper who just like the Mobile Brigada is just superior in every way compared to the previous models.

Now I introduce to you PanO's new unit the Father-Knight! We've heard about Father-Knights before because they are the ones who pilot the Military Orders Sereph TAGs. Now we actually get to see one in the flesh and is he scary. His bulk makes him look like he's going to rock ARM 5 and I can't wait to see the rest of his stats when we get a look at the QSR. Like the Reverend Healer he's an exclusive to Operation: Icestorm.

Here we have a updated Akal Commando. His gear now matches up nicely with that of Kirpal Singh. My only grip with his model is the jump pack which looks nothing like Kirpal's or the Crusader Brethrens which are the new style of packs for PanO's drop troops.

Another updated look for another PanO unit being the Nisse. CB seems to have been unifying a lot of units as of late to make them match closer together and you can see that here with the Nisse. He now shares the same MI armor that the Akal do. The Nisse however maintain their iconic cloaks  making them easy to pick out from the crowd. Also foot on futuristic rock again (more or less a jerry can)!

Now for my favorite new resculpted unit to come out of Icestorm. The Fusiliers! Just take a look at them compared to their old models. They look nothing a like except for the visual look. Just like the Alguaciles their faces are what stand out to me the most.

 Group shot!

Lastly we have our pre-order exclusive model the CSU Corporate Security Unit. Nothing to brag about with the model but she does look solid. Also the briefcase gun is a nice little nod to GiTS.

Feast Of Blades

If some of you remember back to the beginning of this year I made I post about how I was trying to compete for a podium spot at Feast Of Blades. However with my distaste for the ITS system that is however not going to happen.

What is going to happen though is I will be there and bringing you some exclusive news (that's what Carlos says) from Carlos aka Bostria who is flying out to Colorado and giving us a seminar. I'll bring back some pics and info (I'll write that shit down if I need to). So expect to see some pictures and some text coming up around October 10-12.

I'll also be taking pics of the headline tourney and I'll be hoping in and playing some Hunger Games while I'm there as well.

Sorry for a small update but it's better then nothing, right?

June Infinity Releases

I don't usually do the release news stuff but I need to at least write about something this week, right? I kid, I kid, I plan on covering more the releases then I did before so I can give my opinion on the figures and show you how awesome some of them are.

Ghazi Muttawi'ah

Commonly known as the Mutts among Infinity players. These guys are little pests on the battlefield which cause more pain then their point costs let on. They are an irregular warband unit but with gadgets only others dream of like the Jammer and E/Marat. They are designed to cause absolute havoc and panic among your opponents force.

 As far as the models go I find the two Jammer models to be the weakest of the group. The poses just seem odd or off to me. The chain rifle Mutt has a good static and let loose with his chain rifle pose. The boarding shotgun Mutt is probably my favorite. Good dynamic with the running pose with the BS leveled at whoever is in her sight.

Ariadna Scout

The Ariadna Scouts are one of Ariadna many skirmisher/camo units. They are specifically the skirmisher for the Kazaks. These guys suffer a bit as a unit selection when compared to the likes of the Chassuer or Foxtrot. They are more expensive than the cheap Foxtrots nor do they have the cool equipment like the Chassuers. We'll see if anything new will be added to the Scouts to make them a contender among the other skirmish units in Ariadna when the 3rd Edition comes around.

The first thing that sticks out to me with the model is how much he looks like the Lasiq Sniper from Haqqislam. The pose is almost exactly the same just the Lasiq's sniper is angled lower then that of the Scout. The foot on rock though and the little whip of the cloak is just like the Lasiq's. Now I haven't said anything bad about this because the model is really well done. I will point out though (and thanks to someone on the official forum for pointing this out) that the sculptor put the magazine of the rifle way to far forward to make room for the Scout's supporting arm.  In reality this would actually decrease the range of the sniper rifle do to the shorter barrel length the bullet has to travel.

Agema Marksmen

The Agema Marksmen are the primary support unit for the Steel Phalanx. They are equiped with most of the long range weaponry like the Mulit Sniper Rifle, Missile Launcher, and MK12. They also come equipped with an MSV2 which helps them combat camo troops and perform smoke tricks. These guys are also a competitive bunch having competitions between each other to see who can bag the most targets in an engagement. So don't let them see you as you might end up on their scorecards.

This Agema Marksmen in my opinion is a lot better then the "Oh yeah I just killed a TAG" Agema from the Steel Phalanx starter box. With the Sniper Agema I like the slow looking movement as if he was slowly making his way across a catwalk or street looking for targets as he moves. Also I like he looks bulky without looking fat like the Missile Launcher Agema does. I have no big grips with the model as he's just a well rounded one. Nothing great but nothing bad either. Oh, and how many of you noticed he was a lefty?

Nikoul Ambush Unit

The Nikoul Ambush Unit is a brand new unit for the Tohaa. As of right now we don't have official stats for him but we'll probably see them soon just like we did with the Spetsnaz. For the moment it is said the Nikoul comes with the Sapper skill, Minelayer, Symbiot Armor, and an MSV1 (which is said to be better in N3). That's a pretty nifty package for the Tohaa.

It's probably also safe to assume this unit doesn't come with the ability to link with other Tohaa units.

I really like this model. The amount of detail that you see in all Tohaa units is present here. The unique mask, cloak, and the rest of the armor just make me go "wow". Also the pose for this sapper sniper is just perfect with his legs curled behind him and using his elbow as a bi-pod to prop up his Viral Sniper Rifle. Also you can see his mines resting next to him and I thought that was a cool little detail.

Suryat

The Suryat Heavy Infantry Regiment of the Morats are the guys you find at the front of every charge, every defensive action, and every ship boarding. These guys are what all Morats dream of becoming (next to Sogarats) and held to high esteem among Morats. These guys are what I classify as light Heavy Infantry do to having ARM 3 and a MOV of 4-4. This unit actually used to be ARM 4 and MOV 4-4 but they got a profile update that dropped their ARM down and upped the BTS and made them jungle fighters in Campaign: Paradiso. They did this because they showed up with armor and equipment for close quarters firefights and ship boarding actions. However none of it was needed in the jungles of Paradiso and the Morats changed up there gear and armor to reflect their current environment and old enemy showing up (Tohaa).

This Suyat is leaps and bounds better than the old Suyat HMG. The armor has the same look as the Sogarat and some have complained about it but for me it makes sense on a standardization factor for the Morat military. Also some have complained he doesn't look like an ARM 3 HI or one equipped for jungle warfare. I agree he doesn't look like ARM 3 but Morat armor might have different designs than that of humans. Also on the jungle warfare front who knows how Morats conduct that kind of warfare. The joy of being an alien species is that you don't go by the same rules as humans. Back to the model. I absolutely love him (in a bro love kind of way of course). He defiantly looks like a Morat HI. Also those hanging pipes going down to his chest give me a Predator dreadlocks kind of vibe. Kind of fitting for jungle fighters, huh?

Me and the new season of ITS just don't get along.

So confession time. Since the new season of ITS began I've never won a game. Not a single one.

I can probably chuck it up to two things why. One, taking units I have to use who I have no experience with. Two, my mind set for ITS scenarios is totally wrong.

Lets start with having to take units (specialists for taking objectives) that I never really used before. So chalk it up to inexperience with some units I guess. So something like the Sophotects who I rarely used before but see myself taking them because of there speed and durability in objective games. However, I have learned they are not combat units and can't keep an objective without a true combat unit for support. That's just one example.

I originally got into Infinity because I could put anything in a list and have a fighting chance. With ITS though I'm forced to take units to accomplish objectives so I can win the game session at hand.

That leads me to my second point is that I'm just used to a YAMs, custom scenarios, or basic kill 'em alls, compared to the new ITS scenarios. I've tried to force myself to get better at ITS scenarios but when you already hate something for one thing it's kind of hard to change to it.

I guess I can roll with a SP force who based of talking to other players is "too damn" good at ITS scenarios. However the SP sect doesn't interest me. I like my vedic and posthuman units to much to drop them for a Greek fest.

I could change to regular CA from MAF but it's the same as going from vanilla Aleph to SP. I have no real interest in vanilla CA. However in MAFs current form its and up hill battle during any ITS games do to expensive specialists and a lack of them.

Maybe the current ITS scene is not for me. I don't mind that but that means I'm not going to compete in official tournaments because those are all use ITS. I like playing in tournaments and I used to play in them a lot before we had official ITS scenarios. To my surprise as well I actual got a podium spot at a tournament early last year. Sometime after I've tried the new ITS and its scenarios. There I am dead last in those tournaments and not just for one tournament. I don't mind losing but you can find yourself kind of getting tired of it when it keeps happening over and over.

I guess I'm like the Dodo bird almost. Something that has failed to evolve to something new and is bound to die out. For me I'm not dropping Infinity but the tourney scene might be over for me unless something drastic happens to the current system.

The Future Of Infinity

Well hello there blog world. This is Solodice signing back in after too long of a break. We also have a crap ton (and I mean a lot) of things to talk about.

Let's start with some old but very important news.

Infinity is getting a 3rd edition. Now saying this was a surprise for me would be a lie... I was kind of expecting it. Others on the other hand kind of got blind sided by this. Not that's a bad thing as it's a very good thing!

Moving along now with the gritty details or at least the details CB has teased us with. Here's a nice interview done by BoW early this year at Ficzone giving us some details on 3rd edition and some concept art of some resculpts and new units (which will be shown later in the post). WARNING: Video is 45 minutes long.

Some details about 3rd editions gained from the video:

• 3rd edition will have better translations, set, and order.
• Only units from PanO, Yu Jing, Nomads, CA, and Haqq will be in the book. Tohaa and Aleph units will be found on PDFs on Infinity's main website. 
• The book WILL NOT advance the fluff. It's a redone version of the original rule book and that's why the Tohaa and Aleph are not in it. Aleph was introduced in Human Sphere and Tohaa in Campaign: Paradiso.
• News units doesn't mean new Sectorials either. We'll have to wait till the next book (rumored to be Acheron Falls). 
• New Silhouette mechanic will be introduced to help will LoS.

Now for some other cool info. We have some concepts, and renders, of some new units and some old units getting resculpts (similar to the Morats from last years GenCon). Here they all are in all there glory.

The concept art from the resculpted Nomad Interventors. They even get a new piece of equipment the fast-pandas which are G:Sync repeaters. You can also see how the concepts translated to the models which just put up for pre-order last week. 

A new Ariadna unit called the Spetsnaz.They seem to have two flavors just like that of the Scots Guard. Ambush unit (new unit description) and a AD troop. The ambush model also came out just last week.

Concept of a new Yu Jing HI called the Terra-Cotta Soldiers. These guys are most defiantly part of Yu Jings future Invincible Army Sectorial. 

The concept art of the rescuplted Kum Riders from Haqqislam. These guys were actually released before we even saw their concept art. We however only have the two male riders in miniature form.

Concept art for the Muttawh'Ah resculpts.

Concept art and render for a brand new Tohaa unit called the Nikoul Ambush unit.

Concept art for the Neo-Terran Bolts whose models we saw before seeing their concept art.

The O-12 Commissioner concept art.This model was released last week under the bootleg line.

Concept art for the Squalo resculpt.

The concept art for the resculpted Sun Tze whose model has already been released.

The concept art for the Steel Phalanx's last named character Thamyris.

Concept art for the Tankhunters rescuplt.

Concepts and renders for the rescuplted Antipod Assault Pack for Arianda.

Concept art for the Warcors mini.

Concept art of a brand new unit for the CA.

Concept art for the Tarik Mansuri rescuplt who's model we've already seen.

Sorry For My Absence

Sorry for the lack of posts (or any for that matter) these past couple of months. This is just the time of year where my life gets busy with sports and school and time dedicated to table top gaming takes a back seat. That means I don't have a lot of content to share or can't find the time (I know... lame excuse). Expect this blog to be booming when Summer comes around.

In the mean time here's a picture of some kittens.

MAF Starter Is Here!

It's been a long time but we finally have the MAF starter pack!

Every single mini is a winner in this pack. We got ourselves the Vanguard re-sculpts which are a vast improvement over the old ones (to be fair they were some of CBs first Infinity models). Then check out that Raktorak (the Light Flame Thrower is also a typo by the way as it's really a Heavy Flame Thrower),  the Oznat who will probably make any Morat's jaw hit the floor (plus the paint job is awesome on her, nice work Angel), then big and IMO the best model of the group, the Sogarat! Big, mean, and ready to blast you to chunky pieces with his Feuerbach.

We also had some other releases this week but who cares because the MAF starter is here ;)

Nah here's the whole line for those interested: