How to play Onyx

When you've got a mission mix that needs a take-all-comers all-rounder list, look no further than the Onyx Contact Force. Straightforward to play, full of nasty tricks, robust to most of other peoples' tricks and capable of winning any mission against any opponent. Here's how I play them, with particular attention to deployment.

First up, the list(s).
I typically have a single list that I use for 95% of missions and opponents, and then an extra TAG-harris list for certain opponents and certain missions (notably deadly dance and ISS). I'm not going to bother discussing the TAG list here. This is the Rodok-link list I use for just about everything:

 TACtical Ro-dicks
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GROUP 1 6
 NOCTIFER Missile Launcher / Assault Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 32)
 Q-DRONE HMG / Electric Pulse. (1 | 26)
 IKADRON (Baggage, Repeater) 2 Light Flamethrowers, Flash Pulse / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0 | 9)
 IKADRON (Baggage, Repeater) 2 Light Flamethrowers, Flash Pulse / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0 | 9)
 NEXUS Lieutenant Hacker (EI Hacking Device) Combi Rifle, Nullifier / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 24)
 UNIDRON Plasma Carbine / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0 | 14)

GROUP 2 9
 RODOK HMG / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 27)
 RODOK Missile Launcher, Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 28)
 RODOK Paramedic (MediKit) Boarding Shotgun, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 21)
 RODOK Paramedic (MediKit) Boarding Shotgun, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 21)
 RODOK Boarding Shotgun, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 19)
 UNIDRON (Forward Observer) Plasma Carbine / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0 | 15)
 UNIDRON (Forward Observer) Plasma Carbine / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0 | 15)
 UNIDRON Plasma Carbine / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0 | 14)
 MED-TECH OBSIDON MEDCHANOID Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 23)
 SLAVE DRONE Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)

 6 SWC | 300 Points

[url=http://army.infinitythegame.com/index.html?l=GwBgLAPgzCIRYCkAOEBWRUCMNEEItgUsB2TLZLfAJiuWuvOTL1pQaZcdSnI4JQhG2LFQACGVEWxQkeSSGk4i8wUqgsF6zWvJQMA1MNEs6Q8qXxnjoq0koZsJAJw0Q7KtmRExYoA=]Open in Infinity Army
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The basics are that you have an excellent link team with both a strong defensive piece - the missile launcher with BS15, SSlvl2 and mimetism - and a strong attack piece: the HMG, with BS15, B5 and mimetism; a nasty defensive set up with the rodok ML and Q-drone ready to spring a noctifer trap; loads of missiles for the defensive turn; 2 specialists in a link team, 1 fast specialist with doctor and engineer, and some filler specialist for late game dashes; excellent deployment zone defence with the unidrons, ikadrons and Q-drone; the capacity to hold quadrants with the Ikadrons; and a back-up attack piece in the Q-drone. You also have lots of orders. The only thing I am sad about in this list is that the MI rodoks don't have enough speed and orders to make a turn 1 rush to the enemy DZ to drop boarding shotgun template death on clumped units, and you don't have an MSV2. The latter leads to this list's major poor matchup: heavy camo hide-and-sneak lists. These tend to be rare in our meta, however (and in general).

The game plan is simple. Turn 1, pour orders into the Rodoks and Q-drone (with marksmanship thanks to the Nexus' lieutenant order) to take out ARO pieces and, using super jump on high terrain, units that think they are well hidden but actually aren't, then pass the turn or spend the remaining few orders to get the ikadrons and unidrons into scoring positions for supremacy and objective button runs. Do not expose yourself by leaving the Rodoks in the midfield. If you have first turn and can knock off orders and some major pieces, you've set yourself up really well for the win. Your opponent's first turn is almost always consumed with taking out your defensive pieces, especially if you have already depleted their order pool. Once their primary attack pieces are exposed, you can knock them off with the Rodok HMG or boarding shotgun. Your specialists then do clean up. I tend to make turn 3 button-push rushes more than usual with this list, but it really depends on what your opponent is doing. If they are camping, head out earlier with the Malignos and get some work done. This forces your opponent to come out, and thanks to camo status, doesn't really expose you to any casualties.

Be wary of shock ammo, which is horrific for your Rodoks. In general, use the Q-drone to knock over ARO pieces rather than the Rodoks, as the Q-drone can be easily repaired.

Perhaps the most important thing with this list is to establish an effective castle during deployment. This involves 2 main things:

1. The Rodok ML and Q-drone set up such that when your opponent comes to shoot one of them, your noctifer can pop out and get a missile off in the good range band. This is the best sniper trap in the game, because your main defensive pieces hit really hard but if you ignore the missile it will gib you. Your opponent is caught between a rock and a hard place. It is much more important that you get this trap set up than it is to get sniper positions from which you can cover the whole board. Don't get too greedy - focus on getting the range bands right: you need 16-32 for the Q-drone and >24" for the missiles. It is ideal if you can get the noctifer set up such that when it reveals itself, your opponent's HMG is >36" away, because this means they can't move once to get into their good range band, but you are still in yours.

2. Protecting your flanks. The biggest weakness of this list is, IMO, the Nexus - a lieutenant made of paper (nothing fears the Montessa LGL more). He is the main reason why I don't like to venture my Rodoks into the midfield early. Loss of lieutenant is basically auto-lose against good players, though you do have the 5-man rodok link team acting normally thanks to the Morat rule, which is a life saver. It is fairly easy to assassinate the Nexus if you are not careful, so you must defend the access channels to him. Consider the following in deployment:

a. Your unidrons and Ikadrons are the primary flank guards.

b. You should set the Ikadrons up so that they can get flamers off on any airborne infiltration units if they land near your DZ, forcing them to tango with the Q-drone instead.

c. The Unidrons need that 0-16" range band to be reliable, so try to scatter them across the back-line as corner guards such that when your opponent comes around a corner with someone like Uxia they get shot from >8" - good range band for you, bad range band for their boarding shotgun.

d. You need to be confident you can get at least 3 shots off on an AD troop before they reach your Nexus. He should be prone in a bunker or on a roof somewhere surrounded by bodyguards. The Q-drone is often part of this. He should be set up near the front of your DZ so that snipers have a hard time getting range band advantages against him, and from where he can cover the flanks just in front of your DZ to deter any airborne infiltration units.

Random point: fear the Montessa LGL (and squalo HGL, but that is much rarer). He can kill your nexus and your bots can't dodge him for shit. When this unit is a possibility, always take first turn and use it to super jump up and kill that fool.

I finish this analysis with a very quick discussion of how to play certain mission types. Remember, as a general rule, play conservatively with this list, but go first. Thin the order pool, establish sniper dominance, and then grab the buttons at your leisure.

Ground Control (e.g. Supremacy, Safe Area): Elect to set up second and you'll often get turn 2 as well. When you've got a spare order, spring combined orders to move the unidrons and Ikadrons into the quadrants just in front of your DZ, then move out with your Rodoks. You're always trying to win 2-1 on quadrants. Be wary of ruining your castle as a result of moving forward. Try to plan a second castle set-up during deployment that you can move your guys forward into.

Kill Missions (decapitate; Show of force): Play conservatively and focus on getting good economy. Be very careful of your Ikadrons, as they can cost you a lot of points.

Middle of the road (supplies, cold sleep etc.): The default game plan should be fine here. One thing to keep an eye on is to make sure your unidrons can access buttons close to your DZ with just a few orders. I have previously made the mistake of putting them on roofs for good castling, only to realise that they then have a lot of trouble scoring for you late game.

Specialist Spam (tic-tac-toe; highly classified): Play conservative. All missions can be won on the last turn at the moment. Focus on crippling your opponent in highly classified while steadily scoring your own classifieds (especially your secondary), and setting up a swing in tic-tac-toe, engineering deck and seize the antennas. In Seize, use your Malignos to win on the final turn. If you have bottom this is straightforward. If you have top, seize the antenna and then lay mines all over it after that. Make sure you surround the button with your own guys to prevent any To camo ne'er-do-well from stealing the game from you at the death.

We turn now to the TAG list:

 Ground control TAGs
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10
 UMBRA SAMARITAN Lieutenant Breaker Combi Rifle, Flash Pulse / Pistol, Vorpal CC Weapon. (0 | 40)
 XEODRON Red Fury, Blitzen / Heavy Pistol. (1 | 59)
  STALDRON Flash Pulse / Knife. (0 | 0)
 XEODRON K1 Combi Rifle, Blitzen / Heavy Pistol. (0.5 | 59)
  STALDRON Flash Pulse / Knife. (0 | 0)
 NOCTIFER Missile Launcher / Assault Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 32)
 Q-DRONE HMG / Electric Pulse. (1 | 26)
 SLAVE DRONE Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)
 SLAVE DRONE Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)
 MED-TECH OBSIDON MEDCHANOID Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 23)
 IKADRON (Baggage, Repeater) 2 Light Flamethrowers, Flash Pulse / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0 | 9)
 IKADRON (Baggage, Repeater) 2 Light Flamethrowers, Flash Pulse / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0 | 9)
 MAAKREP TRACKER HMG / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 33)
 ÍMETRON . (0 | 4)

 5.5 SWC | 300 Points

[url=http://army.infinitythegame.com/index.html?l=GwBgLAPgzCIQ4gJwPYFcB2ATABAY2egC4oA22AKgILwDOEAHAKT0gCcjUAjAKxiMCEnEM06cOnYNwFCRYrsGAC+LKVxjTF9TgHZxWgQCZh9A3M71F/I81N7LnZT3Hb2VsSYN7dbm5671vTRBdLjAxK08TKD0mAAF4oA=]Open in Infinity Army
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So I typically only use this list in some missions, notably the ones that involve controlling territory or killing things economically, and even then only against certain opponents, specifically those that struggle against TAGs, like non-Marut Aleph, most Yu Jing and all ISS lists, and Merovingia (though watch out for those Panzerfausts and D.E.Ps).  I will also sometimes bust it out against beginners, because if you haven't faced a TAG before you will usually make a bunch of errors and not be packing enough stuff to take down 2 of them.

The game plan is pretty straight forward. Use the Q-drone and red-fury to kill defensive pieces. If TO camo reveals, take the hit, repair, and then use the Makrep to blow it away with the HMG. As soon as possible, rush the TAG's forward, preferably on the high ground, and use super jump to make a mess of anything trying to hide. Turn 1 is ideal. Leave behind your Q-drone, Makrep and Noctifer to do sniper duty, and the game should pretty much be over. You have 160 points in the of the table capable of easily holding 2 quadrants if not 3, and you have sniper dominance. If your opponent can't unseat the TAGs, you go on a massive rampage turn 2 and seal the win. The aim is to win ground control objectives on turn 1 and 2 with the TAGs. if you are ahead there, the baggage bots make it very difficult for your opponent to bring back even a small victory on turn 3.