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| I have played against this Tohaa army and it is staggeringly beautiful (by Tom Schadle miniatures) |
What do you want in these missions?
Transmission Matrix
This is a ground control mission, which means it's great for link teams and infiltrators under markers, and not so great for TAGs. The transmission radius of each antenna is 4" and two of them are placed adjacent to each player's deployment zone. This means that a sniper or sniper link team can dominate these antennas. This is huge for Tohaa. Supremacy is so much harder because you actually have to leave your DZ.
Each antenna is a repeater. in the old ITS, this was pretty handy for Switch, who can be disguised very effectively as the diplomatic delegate and then pop out to KHD someone through a transmission matrix from across the table. We can't do that anymore because as of yesterday, Tohaa no longer have access to the Alive group. Not to worry - I kind of like the idea of just fielding 0 hackable units and making all my opponent's hacking stuff a waste of points.
Last two things. First, there is one classified, so it's worth having some specialists but not necessary, and you get one point for killing the HVT and +2 if you do it with your datatracker. Tohaa have some pretty good datatracker contenders in the Sakiel and Sukuel, so I think this is pretty good for us.
Hunting Party
Played this mission a fair bit in Wotan and I'm not a fan. That's not because it isn't fun - it is. It also requires quite a lot of difficult decision making, which is ideal. However, some factions just really can't compete in it. I'm thinking particularly of Hassassins, who happened to be my faction in Wotan. Besides a lone Asawira, they just don't have veteran, elite or HQ options that you want to take.
Tohaa are decent at hunting party. One the one hand, you've got heaps of viral and shock that prevents you from immobilising unconscious models. On the other hand, you've got a bunch of elite and veteran troops that you would take regardless, like Gao Rael's, Sakiel's and Sukuels. I usually like to take a lot of specialists in all my lists, which is bad for hunting party, but in this tournament I should be able to have a list with a minimal number of specialists to be hunted down. My lt. is a 2 wound bad-ass buried in a link of death. Good luck.
Besides having plenty of people with ADHL, there are a few other things that go a long way in Hunting Party. The first is veterans with multi-rifles. These guys can fire B3 stun and then follow it up with an ADHL shot on the imm1 target. Smoke shooting through the midfield is also very handy, because it makes the single B on the ADHL not so bad. Finally, you want to have an engineer around to remove IMM2 from your guys.
Comms centre
I hate exclusion zone missions, but in Tohaa it's not so hard to drop your clipsos and then have a huge edge thanks to your multiple link teams. After that we've got killing power and some reasonably resilient specialists (Kosuil, Sukuel FO etc.) with which to beep the boops without exposing ourselves to the "kill more specialists" mission.
So based on that analysis, here is what I'm thinking. List 1:
Comms centre and vs. smoke & spam
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GROUP 1
SAKIEL Lieutenant Viral Combi Rifle, Nimbus Plus Grenades / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 24)
KOSUIL Engineer K1 Combi Rifle, D-Charges, Nullifier / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 29)
MAKAUL Heavy Flamethrower, Eclipse Grenades / Pistol, Viral CCW. (0 | 13)
SUKEUL HMG, D-Charges / Pistol, Breaker Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 35)
KAELTAR (Chain of Command) Light Shotgun, Flash Pulse + 2 SymbioMates / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0.5 | 21)
KAMAEL Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12)
GAO-RAEL Spitfire / Pistol, CCW. (1.5 | 33)
MAKAUL Heavy Flamethrower, Eclipse Grenades / Pistol, Viral CCW. (0 | 13)
KAMAEL (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13)
CHAKSA AUXILIAR (Baggage, Sensor) Heavy Flamethrower / Pistol, CCW. (0 | 10)
GROUP 2
GAO-RAEL Sniper Rifle / Pistol, CCW. (1 | 31)
GAO-RAEL Sniper Rifle / Pistol, CCW. (1 | 31)
KAELTAR (Chain of Command) Light Shotgun, Flash Pulse + 2 SymbioMates / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0.5 | 21)
KAMAEL Paramedic (Medikit) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 14)
6 SWC | 300 Points
[url=http://army.infinitythegame.com/index.html?l=BwBgjAPgzCIQ6gewC7wAQFo0HECGi0AlXAUwBsIAmAUgDYAWAdmssvvuoEJKxrH7aLAKxRenYHREtKtCdw6MAnCGowocyisZhFLelChdeDQaxhdDDCa3pyJtKa1lG6A6VCFGVDz60aGAAUtbaSYLV2s2Zm4tHT0DFxN3QQCAoA==]Open in Infinity Army
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Pretty basic set up here with one defensive link team of 2 gao rael snipers in group 2 and then 3 link teams in group 1 each with an attack piece and a specialist. The attack pieces cover your bases. You've got 1 tough, mimetic HMG to get you out of your DZ, an MSV2 spitfire with eclipse cover to get forward and knock off TO snipers and hunt skirmishers, and a viral/K1 combination with eclipse cover to do sweeps through the midfield. I would ideally like the kamel FO to be a sakiel paramedic, but I think the extra order with the Chaksa is more important. The Chaksa also brings a sensor if needed and baggage, which can be quite handy in transmission matrix. If I had just 1 more point the Kamael in the second link team would definitely be a Makaul, but this team is probably going to hang back with the HMG, so it's no big deal. The Sakiel/Kosuil team will do most of the forward button pressing because the specialist is a tough bastard. This list can easily play transmission matrix in a pinch if I'm up against a faction that uses a lot of smoke or generally spams, like USARF, Yu Jing, Corrigidor and Caledonia. It could even play hunting party, but there I think I've got a few too many specialists.
That means list 2 really needs to be solid at hunting party and killing heavy targets; ergo:
WotW - Sukuel
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GROUP 1
SUKEUL Lieutenant (Forward Observer) K1 Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Breaker Pistol, Knife. (0 | 32)
MAKAUL Heavy Flamethrower, Eclipse Grenades / Pistol, Viral CCW. (0 | 13)
MAKAUL Heavy Flamethrower, Eclipse Grenades / Pistol, Viral CCW. (0 | 13)
GAO-RAEL Spitfire / Pistol, CCW. (1.5 | 33)
MAKAUL Heavy Flamethrower, Eclipse Grenades / Pistol, Viral CCW. (0 | 13)
MAKAUL Heavy Flamethrower, Eclipse Grenades / Pistol, Viral CCW. (0 | 13)
SAKIEL Combi Rifle, Light Rocket Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (1 | 23)
MAKAUL Heavy Flamethrower, Eclipse Grenades / Pistol, Viral CCW. (0 | 13)
MAKAUL Heavy Flamethrower, Eclipse Grenades / Pistol, Viral CCW. (0 | 13)
CLIPSOS (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 25)
GROUP 2
SUKEUL Missile Launcher, Light Shotgun / Pistol, Breaker Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 36)
SUKEUL Missile Launcher, Light Shotgun / Pistol, Breaker Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 36)
KAMAEL Paramedic (Medikit) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 14)
KAELTAR (Chain of Command) Light Shotgun, Flash Pulse + 2 SymbioMates / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0.5 | 21)
6 SWC | 298 Points
[url=http://army.infinitythegame.com/index.html?l=BwBgjAPgzCIQ6gewC7wAQFo0GUCuBrXAUwBsIAmAFgFIB2AThGpkrGoEJhqA2AVimrly3Lpx79Bw0QO6UuQuRy58BQkUvGqpHcj0q1JlJmJWT1JiWtEG+utQYACVOo2YgjOmgyYtjbWdySUIHs5Ey0YPSClFACDg5AA=]Open in Infinity Army
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Similar set up to the first list with one defensive link team in group 2 and 3 link teams in group 1. The clipsos arrives here because there are no exclusion zones in transmission matrix and hunting party and the clipsos is very useful in both to press/hold buttons, score classifieds and be a massive nuisance in suppression fire. Each link team is led by a unit that comes equipped with an adhesive launcher: the sukuel, sakiel and gao rael. Each of these is defended by two makauls, which helps get the short range guns forward and makes it difficult to isolate my specialists enough to immobilize them. The Makauls are also excellent anti-armour units with their melee skill and heavy flamers, which complements the Sukuel MLs and the K1 nicely. I've got solid attack weapons in the K1, LRL and spitfire, though I will rely on eclipse to get into range. I intend to go second, soak my opponent's assault on my symbiomates and armour, and then get stuck into close assault on the buttons with my link teams. If I am forced to go first, I will make my opponent pay dearly to assault my positions by throwing heavy flamer templates at them. Note that this list only has 2 forward specialists, so there isn't much to hunt down, and it can easily hold all 5 transmission zones with 4 link teams and the clipsos.
A quick word on my defensive link teams. I see a lot of people discussing Kaeltar + Kaeltar + sniper link teams. This to me is insufficient. I would ideally like to have the sniper team and a lone Nikoul, otherwise really aggressive factions like TAG lists or steel phallus are just going to walk all over you. Spamming snipers is important to ensure that one lives into the late game where they can be a huge nuisance and give you excellent board control and order economy. The reason why I have them in group 2 is because they tend to die on turn 1, and I want to ensure I have 10 orders for group 1 to spend on my first active turn. I leave a fourth in there in case I need to reform the link. I generally have the Kaeltar as the third member, which allows the other Kaeltar to be a specialist in a different team, because he then gets 2B on the flashpulse and shotgun in ARO, which is great to stopping AD in its tracks, and it means the Kamael paramedic can heal the snipers without needing to activate the link team.
Now, I don't actually have 6 Makauls, spam is really lame, and I think it's often useful to have an engineer in Hunting Party, so I am also going to playtest the following:
Hunting Party
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GROUP 1
GAO-RAEL Spitfire / Pistol, CCW. (1.5 | 33)
KAELTAR (Chain of Command) Light Shotgun, Flash Pulse + 2 SymbioMates / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0.5 | 21)
MAKAUL Heavy Flamethrower, Eclipse Grenades / Pistol, Viral CCW. (0 | 13)
SAKIEL Lieutenant Viral Combi Rifle, Nimbus Plus Grenades / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 24)
KAMAEL Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12)
MAKAUL Heavy Flamethrower, Eclipse Grenades / Pistol, Viral CCW. (0 | 13)
SAKIEL Combi Rifle, Light Rocket Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (1 | 23)
KAELTAR (Chain of Command) Light Shotgun, Flash Pulse + 2 SymbioMates / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0.5 | 21)
MAKAUL Heavy Flamethrower, Eclipse Grenades / Pistol, Viral CCW. (0 | 13)
KERAIL PRECEPTOR Submachine Gun, Smoke Grenades + 1 Surda SymbioBeast / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0 | 20)
SURDA SYMBIOBEAST Pulzar / Viral CCW. (0 | 8)
GROUP 2
CHAKSA SERVANT Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)
CHAKSA SERVANT Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)
KUMOTAIL Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 22)
SUKEUL Missile Launcher, Light Shotgun / Pistol, Breaker Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 36)
GAO-RAEL Sniper Rifle / Pistol, CCW. (1 | 31)
KAMAEL Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12)
6 SWC | 300 Points
[url=http://army.infinitythegame.com/index.html?l=BwBgjAPgzCIQEgVwHYBcCWyDmACACgIYBOqAntAKQBsALMBQEwN0UCEDIFA7GAJyM0oUNvSoBWYUyr121Gl0bMabMHKqKYI6hMXS2DOQqY1O7Tj37MhW8ZIZ72BrmNUMxY/gAEwq8eqZc6qw+2v4MgWz84soBBuzKXLycMCZswrT0xgrBahqcnp5AA==]Open in Infinity Army
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Similar basic concepts. You've got four link teams, so you can comfortably play transmission matrix and even comms centre if you think you need a bit more stopping power or the table is dense and ripe for heavy flamethrower action. You've got the defensive link team - the gao rael is there because I wanted the extra 0.5 SWC to pay for the Sakiel LRL, which I've found to be a rather delightful attack piece. Each of the attacking link teams has an ADHL and a specialist - they go up the flanks and press the buttons, then go hunting. The lieutenants link team hangs back and guards the DZ, but is also capable of going forward and hunting people down. The Bioengineer hangs around with snipers to avoid being hunted down and has her two servants run around mobilizing people who are covered in glue. This is more feasible in tohaa than for a lot of factions because one immobilized person is probably still surrounded by 2 other link members you can cover the chaksa servant on approach. Finally, you've got the Surda there to give you a little bit more melee oomf and provide smoke for your Gao Rael, which can set up really simple ADHL hits thanks to MSV2 or just allow you to mow down people with the B5 spitfire.
I'm curious what exactly makes the Samuel LRL so useful as an attack piece? Granted it's a burst 3 template, but it's only BS 12 damage 13 fire ammo,so not exactly a guaranteed wound.
ReplyDeleteIt's not that great, hence why I ended up dropping it pretty fast in playtesting. If it was 0 SWC I would run it ALOT though (provided the mission mix didn't involve a lot of saturation zone). Templates are savage when your opponent deploys without expecting them. The ftf roll with B3, BS12 and no MOD stacks might seem bad, but anyone struck by the template is probably rolling dodge at -3, they get no cover bonus to armour because it is a template, and fire means you frequently get multiple wounds (in this case on multiple models in a single volley because you are firing a template). I would actually class it quite high on the 'guaranteed wound' rankings.
DeleteI have played Pheonix in Steel Phalanx and templates are definitely savage. They're not for duking it out with hardcore pieces, they're for mincing cheerleaders. Note also that as soon as you have a mobile template piece your opponent has to start thinking a lot about unit placement, especially with link teams, which increases their likelihood of making an error.
Final point - the Sakiel with viral is more of a death dealer, even against cheerleaders, than the LRL, especially in sat zone missions, and he can be the lieutenant and it is 0 SWC. I swapped to using that Sakiel almost exclusively about a third of the way through my playtesting for CanCon.
Thanks for the response. I've frequently been using a proxy mk4 HRL as an ARO piece and haven't had a lot of luck with it blowing up multiple units, though I'll admit I don't traditionally use a lot of template weapons so I'm far from clever with them.
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