Infinity Tactics: 5 Most Powerful Unit Types and How To Fight Them

[@saviorgold]

Would you consider puppetbots strong enough to fit on the list?

[@R0bertShepherd]

So, realistically, the entire 'main battle warband' section should probably have a different and more boring name. Probably something like Rapid Offensive Units as an homage to Banks. Any piece that can move efficiently from their deployment zone to yours and have enough gas and resilience left to mess you up when they get there. ROUs as a category would include pieces like; - Bearpodes and various Dog-Warriors - Su-Jian and Roadbots - Puppetbots - Morat, Phalanx or Invincible assault links with thirteen orders to yeet them across the field - Free-running Ajax - The Knights Montessa and Jojimbo Etc

[@soapy5365]

Thanks for the video :D I've been listening to a bunch of your stuff lately while painting up the last of my Ariadna stuff and it's been really cool learning how I can get the most out of my units/list. Quick question though, is there a chance we'll still be getting the defence episode of the 101 series? I can imagine they're quite tricky to put together but the first two were probably the most educational pieces of content I've seen on infinity ever Either way, thanks for all the content you've been putting out, it's really good stuff !

[@R0bertShepherd]

The 101 series turned out to be very time consuming to make, yeah. I'll get to episode 3 if I can, but I don't know when that will be (if ever, unfortunately).

[@skreppeknekker]

Thank you so much for you contribution to our gaming hobby! I really like listening to your input. If it’s hard to make these videos because of the length, I’d suggest splitting them up in several shorter videos instead. Again, thank you for making these!

[@joametz]

I'm coming back to the game after a couple of years, and your content has been really helpful for me in this journey. Thank you 😊

[@R0bertShepherd]

Glad it was helpful, mate :)

[@philgee486]

Awesome resource, so informative to a starting player

[@AraigumaTV]

I'm getting back into Infinity after a few years hiatus, and this is really helpful for getting myself in the right headspace for list building.

[@RashidiNaemm]

An hour-long video right when I have to take care of things that will take me roughly an hour? I'll take that! Great vid, while I sorta knew most of the things you talked about, it was great to listen to a well-structured argument and proper examples that confirmed and solidified my knowledge. What I think could be interesting is to have case studies - pics from your games or games you saw that dissect why an attack failed/was succesfull, what went wrong and why or what could have been done better. What definitely makes talking about tactics way more tangible is having examples of successes and failures

[@R0bertShepherd]

Generally that's something I'll try to put in battle reports when they arise, for sure. It's tougher to pick out specific examples for videos like this because it would add a lot to the prep, and I don't actually have a lot of time for video making. But I can call things out in future battle reports for sure.

[@janofe2232]

There is so much valuable information in this. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your wisdom with the community!

[@timh3259]

Hey, I can see your efford and love it. Your sklill in talking is very good. For future topics I can see some talk about Deployment and positioning in General.

[@BigCatPiranha]

These are some of my favorite videos due to how immediately applicable they (although I love all of your infinity stuff). Also I love Main Battle Warband (I play Kosmo) and am now using it.

[@R0bertShepherd]

There's probably a better, more boring way to describe the category when I expended it to include stuff like the Su Jian but I coined Main Battle Warband to describe dog warriors years ago and dammit I love it so it stays. Steal it with my blessing :)

[@Zac-Hansen]

Rob, I have been listening to and enjoying your generous understanding of Infinity since tye white noise podcast. I love hearing your thought on the game and current meta. Thanks for your dedication to community.

[@LilGamerMan]

You have a great insight into infinity and I really look forward to your videos. Keep up the great work!

[@Onloverslips]

Thank you for videos like these!! It’s such an invaluable asset to a new Infinity player like me :)

[@LARPBeard]

Awesome rundown of unite roles, thanks for the listen.

[@dennisstark9764]

I kind of know this stuff, but its super usefull to hear it that well explained by you👍 Also explains why my last Tournament list performed so well! Having a good awnser for TAGs and low cost traiding, even without the usual AP high burst weapon🤔 gonna link that for my fellow Players, hoping its making them not to tough to beat in the future😅😂😉

[@FairieSword]

Good listen here. I definitely still struggle to deal with TAGs at times, and Ive definitely experience the difference between a cutter vs a sphinx. slowly learning but it can definitely be a little frustrating when youre just starting out. Im just branching beyond my first army which was White Banner and its definitely different with different armies. Impersonators scared me more with WB but with my trying Starmada now im more concerned with infiltrators since i have easy access to bio visors. Also yes i lost many of my first games to a well placed template lesson learned lol

[@corver2597]

Man I super struggle against a cutter with white banner in particular. Usually there is a linked Kamau sniper overlapping it so it’s just super dug in.

[@R0bertShepherd]

So this is somewhat more of a 'how to fight varuna' question than how to deal with either of those two specifically. Asymmetric attacks are good here (guided missiles and spec fire aren't a tool for every list but they are serviceable solution to the kamau) but very often it can be worth identifying what your opponent's attacking options. It's quite common for a list that has a linked Kamau and a Cutter and helots to not have too much teeth to attack with in the rest of their list. This can make much more passive strategies (deploying/going second, playing for scenario, not engaging the defensive hardpoints of the varuna list) very strong. Yes the cutter is an 'offensive' piece, but it's a long-ranged offensive piece - it has no short-range gun and if you have a dug in hacking network and are otherwise null deployed it just cannot punish that.

[@Crabsy92]

This is perfect. I will be playing my first game against Hassasins with my Ramah and I am really terrified of two fidays and concerned that I lack answers to warbands so this material is really helpful! Thanks!

[@riccardosartirana1155]

Thanks, this video has given me more insight in how to use my yuan-yuans (I have to kamikaze them more)

[@Jumara743]

great breakdown, love your other vids as well, keep it going!

[@RatWithaTool]

Awesome video, very insightful. As an extremely new player, I appreciate seeing all the different perspectives and the general mindset of someone who is a veteran. One question I have is regarding breaking TAGs, would you consider the Igao a good piece for this in Spiral? Or in general, what would you bring to the table as SC if you expected a TAG?

[@R0bertShepherd]

I'll say 'maybe', because I do like the igao and I think if a player gets some practice with one it could be a very strong piece. But on the topic of Spiral vs TAGs generally, there isn't an easy answer. It's something one of my local players has workshopped several times since the fireteam nerf to Spiral, and he's never found a clean answer. That said, the three best answers he's had in the anti TAG roll have been: 1. linked Taagma viral sniper, shooting through smoke. This will do the job against basically any TAG without BTS9 or an MSV1, and there aren't a lot of those. The Marut is the worst-case scenario here obviously, but he's aced things like Cutters with this model before. 2. the Kosiul Assault Pioneer with K1 combi rifle. It needs to manoeuvre for effect, but if you can get inside 16" you'll have the HMG in a weak range band and are firing B4 K1 rounds. 3. just play around the TAG. TAGs can't be everywhere and don't usually do the mission that well themselves. You can bog them down, stall them out with things like helots, just not engage and play other parts of the table. TAGs are especially mediocre at discovering helots, for example, but no TAG wants to walk through LOF of a potential Helot LRL out of cover.

[@wellipaparazzi]

Thanks a lot! Really enjoyed it!

[@stevanmeisoll6627]

Thank you for the awesome content. I just got into the game and am going to my first tournament in a few weeks. This was very informative and gave me a lot to think about. Unrelated but I'd like your thoughts. It's Tohaa/Spiral Core worth collecting at this point? Do you think they are going to disappear from the rules (like squats) or do you think they will continue to get rules support (like sister or battle)?

[@R0bertShepherd]

I don't think they're going to disappear from the rules, but it is likely to be a long time before they get new model releases. If you collect them, do so because you like the look of the army. Infinity has very permissive proxy rules, so even if CB eventually removes Tohaa from the game (unlikely) you'll have an army of models you could still use as something else. For example, my Tohaa are all modelled to be part of my Combined Army forces - and I use them that way pretty often (in addition to playing them as Tohaa).

[@entrynumberfiveband8488]

Great video, thank you!

[@krobiekong4326]

Thank you for these videos!

[@AlitarS]

Great video! As a newbie vanilla player, I have to say my main issue is just how to deal with fireteams. Most people around here play sectorials with a 5-link and a haris, and I just can't seem to break them. In defensive I need to just prone everything to avoid getting massacred, and in offensive with their BS and burst bonus the firefight ends being a lottery :S

[@R0bertShepherd]

What kind of five trooper links are you fighting, and what vanilla faction are you using? :)

[@AlitarS]

@@R0bertShepherd Vanilla PanO is my faction. I wish I was better at names of the opposing units. One plays YJ, and usually brings a link with a sniper rifle, an AP HMG, doctor, hacker and spare as the main link. Usually the sniper is out in reactive, and the AP HMG is the attacker in active. When he brings that, is just that link. Another time it was a haris with an AP HMG HI, and then a 5 link of regular line troops. I usually just bash my head against this one. Another recent example was a Bakunin 5 link on one of the last games, I don't remember the troops sadly :( It had an HMG and a doctor for sure, and they all had -6 mim (or most of them did), so I had to suicide Shona to take out one of the link members in melee and then repeat with a Crocman with a shotgun to finish the link. Shona got some very lucky dodges to make it to the link.

[@R0bertShepherd]

@Vicente ahh I see. Glad I asked. For many factions the solution to a big overwatch link would be to throw some smoke or some white noise and bypass it, but in PanO that isn't an option. It sounds like you have some success with close assault which is excellent, but really as PanO you need to make sure you have absolutely the biggest gun and a plan to make sure it stays that way. Relatively few PanO lists should leave home without a TAG and an engineer, for example. You just have to put bullets into those links until they sit down and you can close in with other elements.

[@AlitarS]

@@R0bertShepherd Thank you! I haven't fielded any TAGs so far because everyone keeps talking about total controlling them, so I have tried instead using things like a Nisse/Bolt sniper, or a Swiss Guard in HD. I'll try bringing TAGs to the field next game!

[@R0bertShepherd]

@Vicente don't stress total control too much. Make sure you have command tokens to take your TAG back and pieces that can destroy enemy repeaters they throw at you and you're fine. A possessed TAG is scary but does have much lower stats while possessed, and provided you don't shoot it you know you'll have it back next turn (since your opponent can't shoot a TAG they've possessed).

[@erchicheck244]

I am curious, why Jammers would work on Total Immunity. They share Non-lethal, and techical weapon with flash pulses, which they get to ignore, because of the non-lethal trait. Would it be, because of the ammotype of jammers being normal, where as flash pulses are stun? It is still non-lethal, and the immunity line should kick in? "The Trooper is completely immune to Weapons or Ammunitions with the Non-Lethal Trait, not suffering their effects, and not requiring a Saving Roll or Guts Roll."

[@trentfletcher7126]

Jammers are Comms Attacks. TI doesn’t work against Comms Attacks.

[@AndrewKnudtson]

Jammers have the "Comms Attack" label, which Total Immunity does not apply against. Other Comms Attacks include hacking. Flash Pulses do not have the Comms Attack label even though they are Technical Weapons, so the state they apply (Stunned) is ignored.

[@erchicheck244]

​@@AndrewKnudtson Thank you for the explanation! After posting, I went through the weapon profiles, and noticed the comms attack label, but was not sure it alone was enough to do it. Good to know - we do not have a bearpode problem in our local small group, but I would imagine, when I eventually go out to bigger waters, there will be some :P Should teach me to read all the bullet points and understanding, before asking stupid questions XD Clearly stated in the last bullet "This Special Skill does not apply against Comms Attacks, with the sole exception of Immunity (game state)."

[@R0bertShepherd]

Not a stupid question at all mate - you asked, got the answer you needed, and now there's a new tool in your toolbox. :)

[@zephyrrrr4813]

Would you consider something like bixie liang kai or nourkias a main battle warband

[@R0bertShepherd]

Not quite. They fall just below the speed threshold to really hit the deployment zone top of one like the fist of god and are just a little below the durability to cost threshold. The roadbot really only snuck in to the category because it's 26pts and can stay standing through three wounds. They're very good pieces - I used Kai in a list today and he absolutely bailed me out of the game - but not quite in the archetype as it fit in my head.

[@zephyrrrr4813]

@@R0bertShepherd I mean I think those three can really hit a dz in the same way not as a bearpode but i'd say in the same way a bearpode or siu jian can like 8-4 vs 6-4ish nco or fd impet 4-4 is close

[@R0bertShepherd]

@@zephyrrrr4813 maybe a personal use difference then. I would never use any of the three in the same circumstances I'd use a Bearpode in, unless my opponent had rooted their deployment so badly that any model in the right position could exploit it (well, maybe Kai, except in the factions I play him he's a problem solver piece - I have other things I'll go ham with). And when you're talking about things like Norks, Bixie and e.g. Sheshkiin, they're just not pieces you assign a warband role. They don't take one-way trips. They're a piece you want to shepherd and conserve and maximise over three turns. There's plenty of things like that in the game, which might fall into a general category of Just Good Hit Pieces.

[@zephyrrrr4813]

@@R0bertShepherd I get that but personally I think you have to have made a deployment mistake for the non ti warband to be useful aswell. like roadbots and siu jian need the hackers to be cleared so in my experience and observing games with them they also seem to get the most out of turn 2-3 use. I also think that bears often could be more valuable if saved cause preservation of threat is big. But the gap a bear needs to make that commitment worthwhile is so much smaller

[@Nick-dc6ix]

I think dodging the bear also makes sense when they're low on orders

[@R0bertShepherd]

It can be, yeah. The video was mostly a general principles approach, but there will definitely be cases where your actual defensive goal is to waste just one or two more orders from the Bear to keep them from getting to something further back that's more important. It's more situational but recognising when your defensive method needs to change is a super valuable skill.

[@altk1ll3r]

you just won a like on the intro, plp should stop crying about broken units and just start thinking what can i do Vs that, is is sooo overpower, you can pretty much build your list to try to counter

[@vicioushellsing]

Hour long video thats basically just audio? Careful your whitenoise is showing.