Achilles Joins the Combined Army: A Deep Dive into N5 Lore

[@sdahl468]

I rather like that CB is not afraid to make dramatic events happen in their universe.

[@the_infinitygamer]

Same, much better than ‘we’re all near death…still’

[@Nos2113]

Do whatever you want with the lore, just don't change the rules in a way that bones players.

[@benjaminwalker5750]

"Achilles? No, I am rather Achilles as he should have been; I am Herakles."

[@the_infinitygamer]

🫨

[@sirderik]

Perseus was right

[@ericgriffin8343]

On the idea that CB looked at the list stats and decided that Achilles being removed wouldn’t be that impactful. I think this could be true but also really states the importance of every tournament organizer needing to require submitted lists into OTM.

[@the_infinitygamer]

I agree, fully submitted lists do provide important data so are worth making mandatory.

[@thug4lyfe]

My questions is do human sphere members who joins the combined army also pick up Jamaican accents since they all end up getting dreads and braids.

[@the_infinitygamer]

There definitely seems to be only one barber in the Combined Army.

[@obyiscushobbyandgaming]

Pandora is actually a core part of a lot of competitive SP lists. Also in her lore there was an original Laodice (Pandora is a codename) that was set for personality refresh and i believe was later lost on a mission. The new Laodice was made without those issues, but returned from a mission seeming slightly different. There are insinuaiuons that the one that returned was the original corrupted

[@the_infinitygamer]

That’s such a cool piece of lore. Do you know where I can find those references to stay abreast of Pandora’s past?

[@obyiscushobbyandgaming]

@@the_infinitygamer I know it's on human sphere, not sure where they pulled it from

[@the_infinitygamer]

@obyiscushobbyandgaming I’ll go take a look thank you!

[@d.esanchez3351]

I'm still getting myelf into Infinity lore but as a humanities guy I just want to say that Achilles was a deeply emotional and... unstable, guy. So, sure, this clon Achilles is bound to the Aleph but still if its meant to resemble poetic Achilles its absolutley no suprise something like this can happen. Achilles isnt a smart or faithful hero like Odyseeus, its a spitefult, vengeful, arrogant demigod. And if greek drama do something that is manipulation and... well... drama. Lots of drama. And as a JuYing guy with 0 personal stakes on this I think its a pretty bold move, wich is nice, its not something lorebreaking but it does shake personal feelings. And Im 100% sure Aleph guys will get something else from this hit.

[@the_infinitygamer]

Fully agree that this plays so well into the original Achille’s thinking that it’s no surprise this happened. The EI had a playbook on how to manipulate this guy.

[@Blaze_Raven]

I am a petty person, so i will forever refer to this squad as Pandora's Simp Squad.

[@the_infinitygamer]

Not far off the truth!

[@crisismethodactor]

There’s so much salt over this, absolutely delicious. Heard some guy take this personally because he’s a “slow painter”.

[@the_infinitygamer]

There is so much salt. Which surprises me as I think it does a lot for the lore.

[@ChampionofTerra]

I like the change, progresses the story and gives us more cool looking miniatures.

[@the_infinitygamer]

It’s a big storyline shift and does progress things well you’re right.

[@krobiekong4326]

There is also the fluff in EndSong on Pandora that makes it clear that she prioritizes the end goal: She will also do what she believes is best for humanity (Regardless of Aleph) and could also be compromised. Also, being convert to the Combined Army is not always the same as Sepsitorization: Some go willingly. Thank you for putting this video out! I love your enthusiasm for Infinity!

[@the_infinitygamer]

You’re so welcome thank you for sharing your knowledge on the lore, I found it really interesting. Pffft who would go over to CA willingly?!?

[@AquilaGuard]

@@the_infinitygamer Bit, the hacker from Bit and Kiss already did just that.

[@SirRengeti]

@@the_infinitygamer Ko Dali might've gone over willingly.

[@the_infinitygamer]

@SirRengeti if only Betrayal had told us definitively

[@yoanlessard1493]

I'am both disappointed and trilled. I just finish painting my Achilles for my Aleph army... Nevermind, i really like the lore. Dramatic lore is very nice AND also it can make a lot of sense. Achilles is a prety emotional and sometimes delusional character. In Liliad Achilles avenge Patroculus death and join de war against Hector. Looks like Patroculus is also in the CA list! Looking foward for more of all of this.

[@the_infinitygamer]

I’m also excited to see where the lore heads with this one!

[@BigCatPiranha]

Patrocles (and diomedes) were in SP but were removed with the blackwind update!

[@the_infinitygamer]

Ooooh I missed that completely.

[@jameschauvaux3645]

I will miss the blond titan in phalanx and aleph. If he is truly gone the parting is bittersweet. Excited for n5 and the inevitable change. But as always hope springs eternal.

[@the_infinitygamer]

Corvus Belli are really living the Asian curse of ‘may you live in interesting times’.

[@Alhok]

Thank you for time and effort digging in lore.

[@the_infinitygamer]

Thank YOU for taking the time to comment and your positivity.

[@andrewbeeching1240]

SP losing Teucer? No-one cares. Losing Drakios? Mmm... Not great. Losing Pandora and Achilles? OUCH! (If they are indeed lost). But now is the edition of AJAX!!! That dude is insane and awesome and overshadowed. Bring him ON!!

[@the_infinitygamer]

I think with Ajax, Agamemnon and Maximus there’s no shortage of heavy hitters.

[@ditiseentrooper]

Achilles would be the one to go in on his own if his friend were in danger and would go to great lengths to get him back or find out what happened. Perhaps he somehow managed to infiltrate the EI with a team of his most trusted warriors and will one day re-appear.

[@the_infinitygamer]

We can but hope!

[@AquilaGuard]

Your forgetting another possibility. That Achilles wasnt Sepsitorized but willingly joined the combine army. Much like how Bit from Bit and Kiss is a human that willingly joined the CA. Assuming that Pandora is honest about doing whatever it takes to get the best outcome for humanity, joining forces with the combine army to get on the EI's good side might well be preferable to fighting a never ending and hopeless war against the vast armies of the CA. While the current invasion of the human sphere by the CA is over, there always the looming threat of a future war.

[@the_infinitygamer]

This is a cool theory. Hopefully we get closer to finding out in N5.

[@MadMax-el2el]

As someone with both combined army and aleph. I don't love it, but i am not angry. The models were out of print i had been waiting patiently for their re-release, i will just end up painting them in my combined colors... Now what I see as the possible double Achilles possibility solution is the v1 vs v2 and retaining a earlier version of Achilles in steel phalanx. But I suspect that is the end game out. I think we will only see Achilles in CA for n5. I would have much rather seen out right corrupted clones brought into CA via a pandora security breach... rather than remove a tools from the box of steel phalanx. I personally loved running Achilles in sp and losing him really chaps my arse, but he shouldbe interesting in combined. Personally I would have rather seen a retooling of combined army units than removing things from an alreadylimited faction.

[@the_infinitygamer]

What might you run in SP with his removal?

[@Blue_Maxxx]

Ok I'm new to Infinity's lore so I'm not sure what ancient heros ALEPH has recreated but it sounds like it's time for Paris.

[@the_infinitygamer]

Do they need a character that floats around causing wars by stealing brides?

[@quietprofessional4557]

Corvus Belli allows players to participate in narrative campaigns which gives players a chance to change the lore. Then, the results are used to update the lore. Obviously with Corvus Belli holding the I.P., they do have control over which direction, yet I do think they did use the game results from Durgama (unconfirmed). So, should we be upset? We had the opportunity to be involved with the lore, and yet some people outrage agaonst it. Obviously, everyone who participated wants their version of the lore, but Corvus Belli hold the I.P., so they cannot cater to a few hundred players desires at once. There has to be direction. Aside from this, i am more interested in the rules for N5 and the Faction & Sectorial changes. I think the rules will be polished and refined a bit better, but the noticeable changes will come from the restructure of Factions and Sectorials. Factions no longer having access to all trooper profiles will be a game changer. Which many wanted, but some people will still complain. Lore is nice to read and give depth to a simple tabletop hobby. There will aways be people who play because they prioritise lore over the game, and others who prioritise game mechanics over lore. But we all joined Infinity because of the game, not lore.

[@the_infinitygamer]

I do think the game will just get better. Obviously changes to supply drops and vanilla getting Haris formations is also a major shift to the meta. It’s going to be interesting!

[@RayisX]

Well at least SP still has Hector, but it looks like I'm headed back to USA now

[@the_infinitygamer]

O12 gets Hector too. Just goes to show that in SP you either die a hero (in O12) or live long enough to become the villain.

[@JamesSerapio]

Narrative advancing is one of the best aspects of Infinity

[@the_infinitygamer]

I’m a big fan of it!!

[@Kitaki89]

Advancing plot is fine but I can’t say I have much faith when the same writers that think jsa can upset both superpowers and claim a planet no problem. The same writers also tried to forget Bakunin’s mad science aspect to push battle nuns to be the main part of the faction. They promised they would never remove factions but they are doing just that and taking main parts from armies so unless they have an archive section in the army builder for friendly games this is pretty lame of them. I kind of miss the days when it was skirmish game of corporate and political espionage between human factions with a lingering alien threat. Now it may as well just be 40K with big armies. I remember back in early editions hoping for updated tiger soldier ko Dali before paradiso campaign how disappointed I was then too 😂

[@KurtzeTube]

Achilles and his myrmidons are what brought me into the game. His old mini is the first mini I ever bought. Wherever he is going and whoever he is going with, Im following.

[@cuteboy51]

I will say, I now feel far more vindicated with my multiple Achilles purchases as a Combined Army leaning collector (I collect pretty much units from every faction but Combined Army and O-12 are my favorites, with Steel Phalanx being a close third favorite). I hope to make and paint up models to eventually play, so I had an idea (upon hearing this story development) of painting up my few Achilles miniatures as shifting from purely Aleph to an Aleph/Combined Army combo and then Combined Army proper. I look forward to his newest corrupted model!!

[@the_infinitygamer]

That sounds like an efficient at to have options!

[@cuteboy51]

@@the_infinitygamer Hahaha yeah, also I love Corvus Belli's sculpts!! So many cool models!

[@the_infinitygamer]

@cuteboy51 too many!

[@cuteboy51]

@@the_infinitygamer 😁😁😅😅

[@vitsajfrt6108]

New player here. So were the tooha just backstabbing bastards? Still geting into thr lore. So a bit confused with that book lore

[@the_infinitygamer]

Basically yes. My understanding is that they came to the human sphere to take refuge but we’re actually guiding the CA to a bigger prey to save their home planet.

[@vitsajfrt6108]

@the_infinitygamer ah I see. So that's why they are going out of print since there leaving rhe lore?

[@the_infinitygamer]

@vitsajfrt6108 that seems to be what’s happening although it’s just as likely they’ll have some massive lore update and come back. Who knows?

[@HeyitsMartyn]

With changes like this im excited to see what comes to Tunguska

[@the_infinitygamer]

I’d be surprised if any Nomads gets a major shake up. The ships are important in the lore so it will be interesting to find out.

[@HeyitsMartyn]

@@the_infinitygamer I dunno, see at how Bakunin were functionally ready for N5 and have made the other sectorials look like piss water, I'm hoping Tunguska and corregidor get something nice to even the field 🤞

[@the_infinitygamer]

@HeyitsMartyn I’m sure they’ll get an upgrade to align them to the new level of power creep 😃

[@mrmaster9801]

Interesting video, the seeds had definitely been planted all along and you have done a good job pointing them out. Moreover, given his name, we shouldn't be too surprised about Achilles' fate. On a side note, I am not too enthusiast about rapid/drastic changes in the lore, because they usually come along with changes in the game, most notably new expenses or leaving behind minis I like. Anyway, luckily I don't play SP so I'm safe this time. But I should definitely take inspiration from my rpg experience and start thinking about how to play older editions ^^".

[@the_infinitygamer]

You’re safe for now…this was the first faction they shared. Who knows what all the others are in for!

[@mrmaster9801]

@@the_infinitygamer all the more reason to seriously consider my idea of playing older editions ^^". I just hope they won't do like they did when AoS came out and poor Bretonnians where basically phased out. Or, on a minor note, like they did with the Tohaa, who have become the main meme of the community. In fact, someone wrote an article (focused on Haqqislam but its ideas could be applied to other factions as well) about how the whole Reinforcements rule, despite looking as the solution to revamp old units, may actually be the first step towards oblivion of a sectorial. According to the article, CB doesn't seem to enjoy players buying whole old sectorials they don't produce anymore and thus the Reinforcements rule would be their solution to give players something ("you can play these specific units"), while heading towards don't supporting said sectorials anymore. Up to now, it's only speculation, since OOP sectorials have still their profiles in the app, but the more I think about it, the more it looks plausible that CB may be heading in that direction. Usually these drastic changes, when they come, arrive one small step at a time, to make their impact less traumatic, and a change of edition is just the right moment to do them. I really hope you are wrong and the SP big lore/game change will be the only one ^^" 🤞🏻.

[@the_infinitygamer]

Someone was telling me the other week that CB have only discontinued 2 models ever. I don’t know how true that is but they don’t seem to completely wipe whinge from being playable. Who knows, Tohaa might be the first.

[@mrmaster9801]

@@the_infinitygamer I hope it doesn't come to this. One of the most sad and infuriating things (at least for me) in a miniature game as some players being excluded just because, despite their passion, they picked the "wrong" army.

[@the_infinitygamer]

It would be very uncharacteristic of CB but who knows?

[@FeuerfalkeGER]

I started with Black Wind to build a Steel Phalanx army. Basically I loved Pandora as a hacker and paramedic in my lists. She was just brand new in Steel Phalanx. And now I feel a bit angry about, why she needed to leave them so quickly again. It feels like the paint had even no time to dry. From law perspective this turn is a big show, but already nothing what brings something new in. It would be a more interesting game changer, when the EI would get in diplomatic exchanges. There would be de a lot of more plots open and maybe it shows out, that the Tohaa all the time showed a wrong view of its targets.

[@the_infinitygamer]

With the CA and human sphere forging an alliance against the QA zones I must admit I find it hard to believe that the ceasefire can continue if the EI is stealing key recreations.

[@FeuerfalkeGER]

@@the_infinitygamer Now this Train is off, so the chance will not come back soon, except a bigger threat will show up. But this must be really terrifying, that the EI will prefer to work together with the human sphere.

[@the_infinitygamer]

I wonder if the quantum anomalies will chill out as they were a big feature in season 15. We’ll know more when season 16 part two drops I think.

[@FeuerfalkeGER]

@@the_infinitygamer I‘m absolutely sure, they will stay. Just for tournament level it will be out of the game. Because the QAZ are optional and the most players are already struggling on the time limit.

[@the_infinitygamer]

2 hours can be tricky if you’re not playing a straightforward mission.

[@jamesmaybrick2001]

i was doubfull that the would get rid of him from Aleph, but i realised that the model is quite a bit older than i thought it was and is out of stock in my usual stockists, indicating either he is gone or it's just that version of the model. It wouldnt surprise me to see a new version of Achilles. Judging by the crying i have seen there are a fair amount of Aleph players upset. I sort of understand, but they now have a nice inroad into CA, or they already play CA and wont need to buy the new CA Achilles. Im mainly irritated as Brad Pit has been on my to-buy list for years, now i can't get it i want it all the more, lol.

[@andrewbeeching1240]

It's still available on the Corvus Belli online store. The heavily armoured hoplite Achilles. That being the case, maybe your FLGS can order it in for you?

[@the_infinitygamer]

Whether that’s worth doing or not remains to be seen!

[@jamesmaybrick2001]

@@the_infinitygamer A thousand Aleph players just cried out in despair... lol.

[@jamesmaybrick2001]

@@andrewbeeching1240 Sadly way to expensive with shipping. The shipping is as expensive as him. And i dont have a FLGS. Waylands all the way.

[@andrewbeeching1240]

@@jamesmaybrick2001 Waylands is in the UK, so if you are too, try Firestorm Games. They have 1 in stock for GBP 14. Totally reputable company, and I've ordered from them numerous times to send to me in NZ. And both Goblin Gaming and Element Games have stock on the way, and they're also trustworthy.

[@Rgoid]

Okay, I’ll bite . . . What would be the Warhammer 40,000 equivalent of THIS?

[@the_infinitygamer]

Probably…Guilliman suddenly turning into a chaos space marine dude.

[@christopherbeers8095]

As a CA player I am happy to buy any of you SP players Achilles models….since you clearly won’t be needing them anymore….😢

[@the_infinitygamer]

You never know, they might get rescued in the future.

[@christopherbeers8095]

@@the_infinitygamer you are right! New plan. All the SP players loan me your Achilles models for free and I’ll give them back once ya boy get de-brainwashed 🤘

[@the_infinitygamer]

😂😂😂

[@clo8076]

It would be great to have the CA Achilles with his Team, and then a “remade” Achilles in Aleph. Great lore could be made about their interactions. (Edit: Also, please let CA Achilles be a Frenzied Protheion Berserker. Lol! Let him go crazy!) I too am mostly a CA and JSA collector, but as an Achilles fan in general, I couldn’t turn down Infinity’s version too.

[@the_infinitygamer]

Love the idea of Achilles going on a killing rampage and eating the life force of his enemies!

[@chronic6428]

Glad people aren't angry, but I sure am, you take the god damn poster boy of a faction and swap it to the enemy faction. Thanks but no thanks.

[@the_infinitygamer]

Aleph’s new poster boys are pretty good. I’ve faced a Maximus, Agamemnon and I think a Hector all in one list. That was tricky.

[@chronic6428]

@@the_infinitygamerIt as nothing to do with power, achilles have been a questionnable pick since the launch of n4, it's THE most iconic character of the faction by a mile. And we won't get odysseus because the lore said no, and perseus, one of the coolest greek heroes went to nomads because of....who knows. I play the greeks to have actually cool greeks in it, so i'm quite cranky when they take away what i love because "change are importants". Between questionnable lore and the questionnable taste of the new aleph figs, i think i'm gonna put down the faction (and probably the game i suppose) for a while. Honestly i like the direction of the game less and less those last 2 years.

[@the_infinitygamer]

Always a shame when a game heads in a direction that makes it less fun for some players. I guess it’s tricky to balance making big lore moves to keep things progressing but doing it in a way that doesn’t annoy existing players.

[@DuctusCysticus]

Might as well join the winning team.

[@the_infinitygamer]

Hahaha exactly!

[@vladimirpalik6697]

Can we call him A-killies now?

[@the_infinitygamer]

Love it!

[@waardlafrance110]

0:02 same guys.