Disclaimer: I am not
Picken. This is not my work. I have asked Picken for his permission to repost this Tactica over on Dakka from the Official Forums from his thread here and he has agreed.
Picken has especially asked for comments/questions/other ideas to be posted so as to help the thread grow through other people's experiences, so please feel free to agree or disagree or just post your own thoughts here and i can facilitate getting them posted on the Official thread (to help both threads grow).
If you notice anything wrong or anything which has been updated in this Tactica thread (especially points/loadout changes) since posting please let me know and i will edit it when i can. Especially formatting....this is going to be a MASSIVE post and i cant link in the middle of the post to make the table of contents as helpful as it is when each unit has its own post...if you have an idea of how to better do this please let me know.
--
Introduction
As I enjoy reading unit summaries such as MuRm's for vanilla Nomads and Penemues for generic Ariadna, i think we could enjoy reading a Thread full of experiences about my until now mostly played Nomads Sectorial
.
As others also think, i am the opinion that there is not the one style to play, and articles like this are best served with discussion to illustrate our opinions, i think you should see this thread as my personal opinions and experiences with this Nomads sectorial. I have other experiences than you, Meta will differ, and we play on diofferent terrain. So some options i take more often than others may be because of that, and as Infinity is such a variable game, feel free to suggest things i missed, and to state your opinion about mine. We all will have some insights, i think
.
As already said, i think i will never have all insights, as noone of us ever will know; there will be things to discover anew each game. So i do not state that this Thread has the complete information about Bakunin, and i am happy if anyone suggests some other thoughts
. Also MuRm [ and Duelist] have done a great job of displaying hte units in vanilla Nomads, and i think i will agree on much what they said already
.
So, without further ado, i will present my thoughts on the first parts.
--
Bakunin in General
I think playing a sectorial is verya interesting, and Bakunin has some of the strangest and most interesting units in Infinity, i think. As the nature of Bakunin are the differences between the different people and how strange it is that they live together, controlled by the moderator police corps, you have many different models, from the very aggressive Überfallkommando to the slow and steady, yet highly reactive Sin Eaters. So Bakunin offers a lot of options, and i try to list some of them.
I struggle with my thoughts about general strenghts and weaknesses in Bakunin, because the models have so variable and different abilities and equipments that i am glad if anyone can flesh this out a bit. In my personal opinion Bakunin has got the tools and the possibilities to cover everything you can do, some things are harder to achieve, but all in all you have got plenty of options.
--
So, what
does Bakunin have ?
-
ODDs en masse
- Some very strong
Religious Troops
- Very effective
Camo Infiltrators
- Strong Hacking coverage because of
Markers
- Two very strange and strong
CC/CloseQuarters units
- Some of the best
Doctors and
Engineers
What does Bakunin
not have ?
- We have no
TO Camo
- Only one, but very special
AD unit
- Really heavy armed models. Even our
TAG is just the "normal" ARM8 [yes, i know, that should be enogh
]
- No
MSV2+
- any cheap
SWC - free Lt.
---
Units that are
linkable:
- Moderators [5]
- Reverend Moiras [4; 5 with Kassandra Kusanagi]
- Reverend Custodiers [3]
- Riot Grrls [5]
--
Which
Lt. should i take ?
Yeah. The Lt. question is interesting, because Bakunin has got only one
SWC free Lt., which can be obvious, and you usually want to spend the
SWC on heavy weapons and not on Lt.s
. Which options does Bakunin have ? As i recently got asked to answer this question my way, here i write
.
Moderators are the cheapest Lt. option point-wise. That a Moderator is Lt. is pretty obvious because of his
WIP of 12, but on the other hand side you can hid eyour Lt. in a 3 to 5 Moderators Link Team, ans even wothout proxying you have 3 Moderators from which one can be the Lt. That is mostly too much possinbility to kill the wrong guy for the opponent, if he wants to assassinate your Lt. If i am in tourneys, i usually try to leave half an
SWC spare to have a possivle Moderator Lt., even when i am playing two Link Team options like a Custodier Link and a Moderator Link. That is my own way of being flexible in my options
. The Moderator Lt. also has Shock Immunits, is [if he is in a Link Team] easy to defend with probalby SS2, and Moderators have Shock Immunity. In addition to that Moderaor Lts. have an Electric Pulse, so noone except Berserks wants to be in
CC with them.That leads to a promising Lt. Choice, and i take him very often.
Moiras on the other hand side are rather expensive points- and
SWC wise. But: They have an
ODD, so they are really durable in shooting fights, and with their MULTI Rifle they are able to defend them in shootings well. Also in
CC with their Shick
CCW they are better tan a Moderator; i know that this does not shy away Ninjas with MA3 and such, but normal targets do not want to come into close range to them. I did not use her very often until now, but being able to hide your Lts under 2 Moiras or even a Custodier is great, and also since this is a shooting game,
ODDs are very powerful. The Mora Lt. also can use ther Lt. order really well by fighting.
Custodiers are my favourite Bakunin unit, so i personally use her very often. You do not waste your Lt. order with them. Protectet by an
ODD they can easily advance midfileds against most targets, and if you do not want to risk your Lt.s life, you can let her hack
AD or some other juicy targets, and with her you also have the Marker which lets you expand your Hacking Range
. If playing a Custodier Link Team, you can also hide her in the Link Team.
Zeros are rather pricey; i think almost all Camo Lts are 2
SWC in most factions. But that has also its advantages. Because so many
SWC are not obvious on the table, yxour opponent might fear a Prowler with Spirfire under one of your Camo Markers. And a Lt. which is Camoed is invulnerable to most surprizing attacks since his Camo protects him from being shot at. His Lt. order is easily used by shooting some targets from Combat Camo and he can protect his and the other miniatures lifes with his
AP Mines. Also he can infiltrate, so you can choose from various locations where to deploy him. You can choose a rather safe place if you do not have the first turn, or you go full risk and start being a huge threat for your opponent pretty early in the game with him. Your decision. His weaknesses are the steep
SWC cost which leads to less good and effectiev weapons/loadouts in the rest of your army, and his weakness if he is discovered; when he gets hit, he almost everytime dies because of his
ARM 0. I almost never use him, but when i use him, he is performing great.
Morlocks are Bakunins Irreglar Lt. option whcih leads to be never used, since i never used an all-Irregular army until now. Playing an all Warband army could be fun, especially in smaller games, but it also has great downsides. If you use thiy Lt. you have no regular model in your army which could be Lt. so you are very limited in your options of how to play. You only have 2 orders fpr everyone, but the Lt. has three. So make great use of this vast flexibility compared to your other troops
. If someone has experience with him, please drop me some info
.
Last but not least
Rev. Superior Kusanagi is a very interesting Lt. choice. She has all advantages of a Moira Lt., has got better weapons and also V:No Wound Incap. So she is much more durable than a normal Lt. bakunin can offer. She does not cost
SWC and also gives you an additional
SWC to spend, so you finally can put allt he shiny toys into your list easily. But be aware, and protect her well, since then she will be an obvious Lt. and
NWI does not protect ehr from being shot down in many salvos of
HMG fire.
--
Moderators from Bakunin
I have to admint that moderators have not the great stats, but they have some very interestng things they carry. fiorst of all, they have no good
BS, but 10 is worth a shot if you ave no other unit around. they move fast enough, like any other linetrooper, have a low
WIP of 12, no
ARM.
But they have a
BTS of -3, and
Shock Immunity. That makes them very interesting in Bakunin, because you only pay 0,5
SWC and 9 points for a Lt. that is immune to shock ammunition, can get cover against normal threats and has got armour against E/M and Viral weaponry. Yeah, i have to admit that a 3
ARM against two viral saves is not the best protection and he is likely to die, but he is one of the best protected infantrymen in the game when it comes against these ammunition types. In addition to that they are the only Infantry unit which has got an electric pulse, i think. And everyone who has lost some good
CC units such as a Ninja or a Daturazi against a simple drone with electric pulse will not be happy about engaging the noderators in Close Combat
.
And they are
cheap.
Also, they are
linkable, which buffs their stats up. then, the
spitfire and the
grenade launcher come in; a B 5
BS 16 [when enemy is without cover] spitfire is nothing to complain about. The grenade launcher especially is good against crowded enemies.
I did not use the
MULTI Sniper Rifle loadout til now, but i think with the link bonusses this is one of Balunins best long range options, since the increased Burst in the Active and Reactive turn should really boost her ability to lock down firelanes and to be aggressive at long range, while Bakunin in general lacks long range weapons. According to IJW this loadout is definitely worth every single point you spend, but the
SWC cost
od MULTI Snipers always are high, which is in Bakunin sort of a problem since some very effective troops also cost many
SWC.
Then the moderators have a somewhat unique-to-nomads- weapon: the
Marker. This is in fact a grenade Launcher which shoots a limited ammutition of two deployable repeaters. this cheap moderator model with a lollipop in her mouth can be a real nuisance if your enemy tries to get to you with
HIs/
REMs or even a
TAG and you have also a Hacker in your force [or more than one, since we are Nomads
]. Sadly this option replaces the Forward Observer which many other units in Infniity have.
Then, Moderators have the option of a
Hacker, and allthough i did not use this option, i have to say that he should be a cheap but defensive hacker for his price. Sadly you do not really need defensive Hackers in
ths Sectorial army, but if you want a cheap hacker to field remotes, then he could be good.
The
Paramedic, at last, is also interesting, Yes, i know, many of the Infinity players do not field doctors, because they want to put out as much damage as they can, but a paramedic in a linkable unit is always worth their points. In the link team this paramedic is able to advance, he is protected by some great weapons for ther price [spitfire for example]; the other members can guard him, the link team is fast and already in the middle of the action. when i had to use a doc/paramedic for some tournament missions i learned to love my moderator paramedic babe, because she was able to heal up my heavy damage dealers up out of retreat
.
--
Reverend Morias
Here we go, the Reverend MoreAss as they are called by some people
.
What stats do they have ? They are moving a bit slow, 4-2. since they are
ARM 3
MI, have a decent
CC, good
BS [12 is very good for nomads], good PHY, WIP14, one wound. They are
religious, carry an
ODD and have
Multiterrain.
Their weapon loadout always includes a form of
CCW, be it a Shock
CCW, an
AP CCW or a normal
CCW, but going into
CC should not be the option you want to choose with moiras, because if you are in
CC the enemy troops dont give a feth about your
ODD. But since they are not bad in Close Combat, this loadout can prevent that your enemy wants to go into
CC with you, as it is with many Yu Jing units which are also decent in
CC but far better at shooting.
Moiras are clearly a shooting unit, as most Infinity troops, and with the
ODD they are clearly superior to most units that do not carry an MSV2+. Imagine, your Moira is standing in cover at up to 16'' away form the enemy, and he gets a -9 on his
BS. OK, he also mosty gets +3 for short distance with hir (combi) rifle, but as you have got strong weaponry the enemy wont want to try this out. Even better, when you are a bit more far away; with -3 from the distance and the -9 from
ODD and cover you can not be shot anymore, but you yourself hit [at best] on 9s. So Moiras in general are very good at defending firelanes, even against other Mimetism/
ODD troops. OK, if you are getting attacked per Combat Camo, this can get worse, but with Kusanagi you can form a linked team of 4 members which gives you Sixth Sense Level 2
.
OK, up to the
BS weapon loadouts, Moiras can have very interesting weapon options.
- First, the so consodered "standard" loadout is a
MULTI Rifle with either a
Shock or an
AP CCW. Which one you use is optional, but i normally prefer the shock
CCW since heavy armoured targets are normally not as common as the squishy ones in my meta. But in case you will face Military Orders or heavy TAGs, an
AP CCW could be very useful.
- Secondly Moiras can have
HMGs and
MULTI Sniper Rifles. This is very effective when you consider that they have an
ODD and will win most shootouts, and if they are linked, they are far more effective than for example Line Troops with such long range weapons. Moiras are also the only source of
HMGs on aggressive non-remote units in the Bakunin Sectorial, so if you want to field
HMGs, Moiras are your choice
. Both variants come with the costs of 1,5
SWC which is worth it.
- The next loadout is somewhat special to Bakunin. I do not remember any other faction which lets you have an
E/M LGL on an infantry unit, and this Moira also has her normal
MULTI Rifle. So if you want to go E/M warfare, this Moira should be very interesting. Being able to destroy Monofilament Mines [even if they already exploded and covered the board with their Monofilaments] and to possibly disable
REMs/TAGs in addition to destroy your enemies weapon loadouts can be very powerful. Especially when fighting against high tech targets the E/M
LGL should be very interesting. I did not use it until now, but i think having the option to fight the battle your own way and disabling the enemies equipment [remember, also
MSVs get diasbled] by speculative shooting can save the game for you.
- Then the Moiras have another very intereting loadout. This one switches he trusty MUTLI Rifle for a normal
Combi Rifle, but also has an
E/Mitter, and this Moira costs only 30 points which can be considered very cheap in comparison to the other moiras which can cost up to 50 points. I think if you want to go the electronical warfare way, this is also an important option, and also with this moira you can fill your Link Team of Moiras up to your 4 Woman Team with Kusanagi proportionally cheap. Keeping in mind that Moira Link Teams alwas cost a huge chunk of points, and if you want a bit of support for them, by using this loadout you can prevent yourself from paying too much for a
MSV vulnerable Link Team if you want to.
- The
Hacker Moira - it is also somewhat unique, since I do not remember any other faction which has an
ODD equipped, MULTI Rifle wielding Hacker. These Moiras can hack aggressivley very well, while they can fight very well with their MULTI Rifle and also can run with this Link Team around the board very fast. But i can not judge how they perform, because the Reverend Custodiers are my favourite unit, and if i want to use Hackers, i normally use the Custodier which is far better in Hacking and also has got a
BTS. And the cost of the Moira Hacker is vers steep, comparing her 50 points to the 38 points of a Custodier. But that is a matter of which emphasis you want to have in your army list.
- Lastly the Moiras have a
Lt. option. It costs one
SWC but can fight better than every other Lt. option Bakunin has got. also you can protect your Lt, in a Link Team if you want to. The downside is, your Lt. is in the middle of the battle and if the opponent comes with Direct Template weapons such as cheap warbands and these come through to your Moiras, your Lt. can be pretty fethed up. But against normal shooting targets your Lt. Moira should be save enough.
The biggest strength of the Moiras, their
ODD, makes them also vulnerable against enemy
MSVs, and your have sunk a huge sum of points in these vulnerable troops. If your opponent uses DTW troops as mentioned above or some strong
MSVs, be sure that you support them well and have troops that can kill the
MSV bearing troops you other wise have to face woth the Moiras. I would recommend using the Überfallkommando [thanks, Magno], since they have Zero-V-Smoke and at least 2 orders you can use without unsing some from your Order pool. Also Moderators and your
REMs can get handy while supporting your Moiras.
And, if you want to have a very string Link Team, be sure to use Reverend Suprior Kassandra Kusanagi
.
--
Reverend Custodiers
Reverend Custodiers. The Nomad's designated combat hackers. As said above, this is my favourie unit in Infinity, so i field them often. Also the models are looking gorgeous, but that is only my personal opinion.
What do they have ? As the Moiras, they have decent stats;
MOV 4-2, same
CC of
14,
BS 12, WIP 14, ARM 3. They have a bit lower PHY of only 11, but a
BTS of -3.
Where they really shine is there equipment. They carry, as the Moiras do, an
ODD. This makes them an aggressive unit which can risk some serious shootouts, especially if the opponent models are not in their optimal range band.
And the carry a
Hacking Device plus. This
HD+ grants then the ability of a
Forward Observer, and it includes the
Flash Pulse weapon. And
IMHO here lays the greatest strength the custodiers possess. Allthough they have no heavy weapons like the Moiras, they can flash almost every opponent very easy because of their
ODD. Also they flash with their
WIP of 14 instead of
BS 12, which makes the flash pulse almost everytime a considerable weapon which is able to put a 2- or 3 wound model out of the game for the current active players turn. I think the
FP is one of the most underrated weapons in this game. Considering that most heavy targets have a lower
ARM than
BTS and often have multiple
STR/W, you could not kill them with your normal weapons in an
ARO anyway. But with the flash pulse you are a long range threat even against TAGs.
When used in a Link Team the Custodiers get far better, even if they are only able to form 3-woman Link Teams. The bonus of +1 B to the flash pulso is downright evil; who without an MSV2 wants to face 2 shots rolling on 11 while you yourself are rolling on 6 at best [if both models have cover]?
And that is the moment where the custodiers, even since they are hackers, shine not only against hackable targets but especially against the not hackable faction Ariadna, since they do not have access to MSV2s to counter that thread
.
Also with their ability to fire their repeaters across the board and then not needing
LoS to mark their targets they are perfect for
Guided
Missile
Launcher tactics if you go that way. Also if you want to bombard your enemy with a
LGL or even E/M Light GRenade Launcher, marking the target first could be the easier route, especially to disable enemy
TO/
ODD equipment, since the speculative shot route is the better one there.
Weapon loadouts:
- First, the Custodiers can carry either a
Boarding Shotgun or a
Combi Rifle. There are far more effective weapons in this game, i know, but if you ask for example a Haqqislam player who simply does not have access to MULTI weaponry, they will say you that even rifles can kill good enough. Especially considering your
ODD the umpteenth time
. The Boarding Shotgun is especially good at short range bands, which are the ranges ou want to get your custodiers at, since they are most effective against hackable targets in their Zone of Control. The Combi Rifle then has one shot more which can come in handy in some situations.
- But the most important loadout of the Custodiers is the
Combi Rifle + Marker. The Marker, as i said above at the Moderators, is a tool which let you expand your hacking range and your hacking board control by yourself. Also the
CR/Marker variant is the one that can get use as a Lt., which makes them also a good unit if the custodiers just sits around in the back while hacking some juicy targets or
AD troops. Allthough then her potential with her
ODD as being a good front unit is somewhat wasted.
Some people may prefer the Reverend Moiras over the Custodiers because you have some stronger weaon options such as MULWI weaponry and high rate of fire with the
HMG, but having all tools in a 4-woman Rev. Moira team is costing either many points and
SWC while you do nothing for your hacking strength. Also a 3 Custodiers team is a bit cheaper than a 3 Moira team, even with the standard Moras [if you did not include the Combi Rifle Moira]. You can pack these points and spend them on good support units to protect your
ODD units from
CC and from enemy
ODDs. Both tactics have their strenght and weaknesses, like everything in Infinity
.
--
Sin-Eater Observants
The SinEaters are Bakunins greatest Defense against normal enemies, and they are a unique unit in the whole Human Sphere. If somebody tells you that Total Reactions are good at defense, they probably did not face a SinEater until now
. While losing much of their potential in the active turn, they are real beasts in the reactive turn, since they have a good,
BS 13,
ARM 3 and
Mimetism. While being
Religious which causes them being unaffaected by Loss of Lieutenant and Retreat Situations. They simply do not move away unless they get shot or you want them to move
. And in Bakunin you have an increased
AVA of 3.
Their Mimetism in combination with the neurocineticts let them be a great threat in the active turn; the opponent has to face against strong weapoins while he will not be able to aim properly [-3 on
BS]. The downside is, you have to position him well and if you have to change your position or you want to secure a perimeter outside your deployment zone, he has only B1 in the active turn, so you have to either clear his spot from enemy units before you advance with the SinEater or you have to advance in smoke. I prefer the second way, since in Bakunin you have easy access to smoke woth Moderators and the Chimera of the Überfallkommando, and these units are always Impetuous, so the order in which you throw the smoke is free
.
You can equip them with weapons from very long range to very short range, whatever you need to.
- First, the
HMG. it has got a very high burst and a long range band so many people prfer this loadout over the others. The downside is that
HMGs can be outgunned under 8'' pretty easily, so if you are protecting mission objectives or your own units like a Vertige Zond, you have to be cautious where you place your SinEater that you force the enemy to walk through your
HMG sweet spot, otherwise he will shoot you down with [relativy] ease.
- Secondly, there is the
MULTI Sniper Rifle. While having only two shots in the reactive turn, these shots have great potential. Nobody from the infantrymen wants to be hit with
DA ammunition, and no
TAG, especially the tick armoured ones, wants to be hit by a
AP round. Yes, you only have two shots, but with Mimetism and Cover, which also boosts your
ARM to 6, you can survive shootouts against heavy weapons. Especially against the
HMG which has two more shots against you, you have the sweep spot from 32'' to 36'' where a
HMG gets -3 on
BS while you are still in your +3 range. While i thought a long time that these range spots do not occur on most tables in the last few games i had my
HMG outclassed by a sniper a few times and also won a few firefights because my Sniper Rifle was better than a
HMG at this range. So, place your SinEater carefully and you can outclass every long range weapon.
Also the
MSR SinEater is the one who is best of the loadouts in the active turn, since, when your burst is limited to 1 anyways, why dont you use Integrted Ammunition [
AP+
DA] for your round ? If you hit with it, which is even against TAGs not too hard and worth the risk, then one or two wounds on the target are almost guaranteed.
But as this is the SinEater with the longest range, he also has the most problems in short range; if somebody gets to you in under 12'' distance, prepare for the worst.
- Then the
Mk12 loadout, which has the strength of a
HMG but the range of a Rifle. He is not as good as the other SinEaters, but he is the cheapest of the 4 and also he costs no
SWC, which makes him a considerable force if you already used your
SWC for hard hitting aggressive units or your Lt. , which unfortunately costs
SWC in Bakunin :(. But, as the
HMG, his Mk12 does not get affected by E/M ammunition, which makes him more resilient against, for example, Plasma Rifle wielding troops
.
- Last but not Least, the SinEater with
Spitfire. he is my personal favourite, but that should be a matter of taste since i think Spitfire have style. He is not very effective in areas over 24'', but noone wants to face him from 0 to 24''. Especially in Close Quarters, in Indoor environments, when protecting some of your models or mission objectives, he is your best choice.
So, you see, it all depends on how you want to use your SinEater. Each one has got situations he can shine in, and each one has his weak point(s); some range in which he is outgunned fairly easily. If you are facing a SinEater, try to do not get
FtF rolls of him. So Your opponents will try to ignore him, which could be what you intended to do. if a SinEater Sniper covers a huge, long firelane and nobody dares to step into that firelane, maybe the sineater has done his job well enough even if he does not fire a single shot. His points then often are not wasted.
But be afraid of Total Reaction/Neurocintetics yourself if you move your SinEater
.
Also a weak point are Combat Camo Attacks, since there the chance to succeed and kill the SinEater is high because of the nature of a Normal Roll. You have some decent
ARM and SinEaters are tough, but prepare for loosing your SinEater after a few shootouts with Camoed/
TO troops ...
--
Prowlers
As i said in the first post, Bakunin has got some really good Infiltrators to use
. The Prowlers are my favourite of them, because tehy are very powerful if used properly. Prowlers are Bakunins Assault unit, but as Nomads do not have masses of soldiers, they need surgical strikes on key targets to avoid too heavy losses in their war. Nomads always try to keep a low profile, and thats what Prowlers [and Zeros] are for
.
Prowlers are, as usual in the Nomads faction,
4-2 MOV MI, have a decent
BS 12,
PHY 12. With
ARM 2 they are not as heavily armed, but they are resistant against
AP Mines due to their
Shock Immunity, move with their
Multiterrain quick through different types of terrain, and they have, as already said,
Camouflage and
Infiltration.
Their slow movement first seems to be a great disadvantage but as they already start in the middle of the board or even further near their prey, they do not need to move far away to hunt down their enemies. So the key in using them should be, whenever possible, to have a goal for them already at the start of the game, somewhat a plan of how you want to use them, and to try to fulfill that plan as straightfoward as possible. They are capable of surprising the enemy with their combat camo and every Prowler carries a big toolbox of weapons and equipment which makes the different weapon loadouts be whatever any infiltrating warrior can wish
.
And you can take 3 of them .
But look at them yourself
.
- There is no loadout i would consider as general/common loadout; all of the threedifferent Prowlers have completely different loadouts, but they synergize well with each other. Always remember - moving to your enemy is no problem; even with 4-2 movement it is no problem, as the only
ARO you can get is discover as long as you do not reveal yourself. So getting behind enemies without a MSV3 should be no problem, and then you can Combat Camo them without getting too much
AROs from the rest of the enemy force. Just try to avoid models with Sixth Sense, especially you should not attack Link Teams as long as you can be seen by at least one other member of the team than your target. But that should be fair enough.
- First, a Prowler can carry
Combi Rifle,
Adhesive Launcher (ADHL) and a
Light Flamethrower. This Prowler is perfact for hunting down Camoed targets with his Flamethrower, has got a medium range Cobi Rifle and also an
ADHL for dealing with very heavy targets like TAGs/
HIs. It is one of the two models with a flamethrower Bakunin can field, and the best one to surgically remove enemies with (
TO) Camo or
ODD, and also against not so heavily armoured models with more than one wound. Remember what Fire ammunition does ? First it disables all (
TO) Camo,
ODD, Impersonation and Holoprojectors, and then, if the enemy received a wound, it burns and has to make
ARM rolls until it is completely dead or it finally succeeds an
ARM roll. So Fire ammunition is always worth a try if you have to face models with more than one wound. Also i would try to use this Prowler if you are facing Shasvastii which also can burned completely to ashes by shooting at them with just one shot of the flamethrower :pacman_by_bad_blood:.
- Then, my mostly used Prowler carries a
Spitfire and
D-Charges. Mostly the Spitfire is used as a very nasty surprise from combat camo; since you also can use some Zeros in your army your opponent is never entirely sure whether there is a Zero, an
AP mine or a nasty Prowler who can possibly shoot every single model in the game into the ground with his B4 S14 Spitfire. Also he can risk firefights when he did not have the time to recamo without bothering too much. So he is the Prowler you can somewhat use the most aggressive way. And his D-Charges are also a very interesting weapon. D-Charges can, i repeat can, give you certain advantages against your enemy, and can be, depending on your opponents army and the terrain, very powerful. If any enemy is immobilised, via Hacking or via ADHLing it [Yup, Prowlers with
ADHL 
], you can plunk a D-Charge on it and then use another order to make it BOOOM. So much fun when your enemy had a
TAG, you then hit it once with a blob of
ADHL, and then after two or three more orders the enemy Jotum or Avatar has to make 6
ARM rolls at only
ARM 5
. If your opponent did not expect that it is a very nasty surprise.
Also D-Charges can be used by destroying certain terrain elements. Depending on your terrain, if you can walk into rooms and all the buildings are accessible, there are rules for
ARM and
STR of walls in the core book. By bombing himself through walls the Prowler really is able to hunt for his certain enemies, avoiding
LoS to the models he does not want to face, and to take unexpected paths on the battlefield. Just this
WTF?! moment your opponent has in his mind when you do something he did not expect is worth it, as Infinity is more than just throwing some dice; you can play mind games and alienate your opponent so that he plays the way you want him to. But, as already mentioned stressed enough, is highly dependent on the terrain you have. It works only if the terrain is set up in a very realistic way and if both players agree tu use this ruling. So be sure to play fair and not to surprise your taker, as this is a friendly game
. his
SWC cost is a bit steep, and many players complain about him being too pricy. I think you have to judge that yourself
. My opinion on that: i use him very often
and my opponents fear them, thats fair enough.
- The last of the three possible Prowler carries a
Boarding Shotgun,
Grenades and also
D-Charges. he is somewhat the most Close Quarters oriented Prowler, because his weapons all have a very short range. But with his Infiltration he should be able to reach his enemy soon, and his Boarding Shotgun is either capable of hitting clustered enemies such as G:Synchronized models and Link Teams, and he also hits heavily armoured targets like
HIs and TAGs very hard with his
AP rounds out of Combat Camo. He also can use his grenades speculatively, toss some Grenades over e.g. a wall to hit the revealed Ninja which stands behind that wall, without getting an
ARO. This maybe has not the best chances of success, but you can hit models with modifiers like
TO Camo or Impersonation in cover better when you throw a grenade the speculative way than you would hit him while doing it the normal way. Also i wrote above some interesting things of how you could use the D-Charges
.
You see, Prowlers are best used in synergy with each other and some other units like the Lunokhod Sputnik which also carries glue ammunition if you want to.
Just try to surprise the enemy with every step you make.
What is also interesting about them: They are the Nomad's only Infiltrating Unit
without a Cube, so in the Campaign it will be harder to ressurrect them if you need to, but in the battle they are not vulnerable to
CA's Sepsitor attacks which can be quite brutal.
Prowlers of course have some disadvantages. Setting them up properly is really important, and if your movement is slowed down too much or you have to use too mcih orders to get your prowler to the targets, they quickly get ineffective. Also do not try too hard against
MSVs, since Camo Models always have some problem with MSV2/3. Then you should try to avoid them, maybe let them alone by moving arounf the terrain; sometimes you can bomb yourself through terrain and gun down your hardest enemies from behind. But be careful.
--
Riot Grrls
Now to the Riot Grrls. They are the newest Nomad unit so far, because [when I write this passage] they are in the new campaign book and the first Riot Grrl model is available since half a month at my store.
Riot Grrls are one of the many very special models Bakunin has available. First thing to mention is that they are
Heavy Infantry, the only
HI Nomads have apart from the rather basic
HI from Corregidor, the Mobile Brigada. As much the Mobile Brigada is a basic Infantry with just one skill to improve her durability, the Riot Grrl is a really light armoured highly mobile
HI, just like Magister Knights from PanOceania, but not skilled for
CC. They have a
MOV 4-4, which is really fast for
HIs and outclasses even the in the Nomads faction really common
MIs. To fit this theme of mobility the Riot Grrl has got
Hyper-Dynamics Level 1, which, combined with he rather high
PHY 13 normally lets the Grrl
dodge on 16. This makes them for example great in clearing your path from mines, as the Grrls dodge a Direct Template weapon at 10, which is rather good, and they are not outright killed by Shock Damage thanks to their two wounds, and koalas, for example. Also the Grrls have got a
Multispectral Visor Level 1; the only Visor Bakunin has access to and apart from the Intruder's MSV2 the only visor the Nomads have access to. With her
WIP 13 and
BS12 she is really good at discovering enemies and shooting at them. You see, Bakunin Riot Grrls are really special. They are the long awaited answer to Camo and Mimetism, and as Bostria said in the last Beasts of War Infinity Week 2012, Mimetism and Camo will be more common soon, so the Riot Grrls could become a very important unit. Also, as she has got not level of Camouflage but
two Wounds she is really good at hunting
MSVs of your opponent because she is not really vulnerable to these, in opposition to most other units of Bakunin, because Mimetism/Camo/
ODD is really common in the Bakunin Sectorial.
The high mobility of the Grrls however has his downsides.
They only have
ARM 3 and
BTS -3 which is rather weak for
HIs, so they should hug cover as long as they do not want to risk getting hit, This is somewhat cancelled by her high PHY regarding dodge rolls, but dodging always is a Face to Face Roll, so it is a risky thing
. So do not expect too much from your Grrls if they are shot at with
HMGs/Spitfires. Especially when they get Impetuous after the first kill they cause thanks to their
Frenzy characteristic. But being Frenzy can be used as either a loss or an advantage; if you already want your Riot Grrl to go after the enemy, advance and hunt them down you can use her Impetuous Movement to move and shoot at you enemy, and you get this order for free.
And Riot Grrls are really
not expensive for
HIs; they range from 29 to 37 points which is not too much
IMHO.
Now on to her very interesting weapon options. First of all to mention: all loadouts expect the Spitfire one have got
Flash Grenades. They are very interesting because you need short range for them, but with the PHY of 13 and maybe Link bonuses you can throw 2 Flash Grenades at your enemies with a roll on 19 (!). Also you can blind your enemies from behind walls and you can throw these grenades through windows into rooms in which enemies are hiding in total cover from you. So the Grrls really shine in advancing to the enemy at shorter range. When an enemy blocks a huge Line of Fire with a Sniper Rifle or a comparable weapon, you have at least your two wounds and a high dodge stat, but you should not risk too much. Then you better should advance through the other terrain pieces, which should be easy thanks to their fast movement. And climbing should also not be too much of a problem
.
- The first weapon loadout comes with the aforementioned
Flash Grenades, a Combi Rifle and Blitzen. As i already said something about the Flash Grenades and knowing how to use a Combi Rifle properly is common, I think, Blitzens are really powerful. They are like a Panzerfaust, having only two shots with B1 at
HMG range, but they do not load
AP+
EXP ammo but they do have
E/M2 Ammunition. This is great for combating E/M vulnerable targets, such as
HIs/
REMs/TAGs and even some line troopers with a spitfire or a combi rifle if they are a threat to you. With the Link Team Bonuses you can force a
TAG to make 4
BTS rolls at Dam 14 in only one
ARO by shooting both your Blitzen shots in this one
FtF roll. That is really effective for scaring away these heavy hitters from the Grrls, because noone wants his
TAG be effected by a Blitzen. The Haramaki Zensenbutai of the
JSA have already proven that fact.
- The next loadout also has got
Flash Grenades and a Boarding Shotgun. As already said , this option provides some great punch against crowded enemies and high armoured targets and also is the Grrl which shines best in close quarters. Using this Grrl alone could strengthen your problem that you first have to come into these close quarters to be very effective.
- Then, the Grrls have the option ti have said
Flash Grenades and a MULTI Rifle which is the priciest Grrl pointwise but also the one which is effective to almost any target because of her MULTI ammunition, being able to choose from
AP and
DA shots. Also she is the best Grrl you can have in the reactive turn.
- The last Grrl, that one which is [when I write this] already released just packs a
Spitfire. That is a great weapon to try to advance forward, because with two wounds and a high movement you can sometimes risk a shootout over a longer distance if you need to. And then, when she is near the enemy, she is at best when hunting enemy Camo Snipers or other Mimetism troops. As the Prowler she is a beast in the active turn, but as already stated above she does not share his vulnerability against
MSVs herself, but has not Combat Camo Attack to benefit from. When you already like to use
ODD packed models, especially in linked teams, and you also need a unit to mow down enemy
MSVs, she is a promising option to do that
.
All the danger and damage Riot Grrls can cause is reinforced by the fact that you can set up
Link Teams of 5 Grrls, which makes them the most numerous Link Team Bakunin has until now and with that they are one of the most powerful linked options. Just try them out
. But also try to avoid Close Combat with these Close Quarters oriented
HIs, since they only have a knife and no
CC abilities or high
ARM ... which is one of their biggest weaknesses :(.
--
Lizard Squadron
On to the Lizard. The Lizard is the only
TAG Bakunin has access to. So if we want to pack a unit that is really heavy armoured and armed to the teeth, its time to let out the Lizard. First of all, he is a
TAG and therefore he is more vulnerable to E/M and Hacking [the electronic warfare Nomads are so good in] than any other unit you can take. To prevent him from being hacked too fast, he has got a
BTS -6 which is pretty decent, but not the best you can have. Anyways, this high
BTS makes defensive Hacking useless in Bakunin, so if you pack the Lizard you do not need to support him with a Hacker. Allthough you are a Nomad and therefor you want to take that sweet Rev. Custodier since she looks so badass
. OK, what if the opponent wants to take out that
TAG with guided missiles and Forward Observers, the weapon the
TAG has the lowest chance against because you normally do not get an
ARO against a
GML ? Yup, he has, as every
TAG,
ECM which kicks avery fourth missile out of the air, and that is pretty decent. But if you opponent likes to take a
GML in his army, be sure to have a Hacker to hack that missiles, since when a missile hits your beloved Lizard, it is very likely to get destroyed by one or two shots.
Against the usual hits the Lizard has a decent
ARM 8, which can be buffed up by cover to
ARM 11. So if you are in cover, you do not really have to fear normal weaponry; also
EXP and
DA are not so hard against you. But fear
AP ammunition, since it decreases your
ARM by a massive value of 4. Also try to always have cover; yes, your
ARM is high, but rolling dice is rolling dice, and in these situations in which you need the survival of your
TAG it gets destroyed by a singel Flame ammunition hit
. That being said; Fire ammunition is really vicious, since it has the potential of hitting you without cover [especially the new Heavy Rocket Launcher] and to destroy you with a single shot. It is not very likely, but as the usual Flame weapons hit you without any roll needed, you should be careful about them and not get into Flame Templates.
With
PHY 17 you are great in climbing obstacles, and with
MOV 6-4 and this high PHY you are very fast on the battlefield. You can reach almost any position to unleash the strength of your weapns upon your targets. Hitting targets is very likely thanks to your
BS 14 and your strong weaponry, to which i will write something later on.
CC 17 is alone a great defense that no model thats not a dedicated Martial Arts
CC specialist wants to get in Base to Base contact with you and with you being a
TAG you hit the enemy in
CC with a strength of 15. Thats really hard. As you have
3 STR you can take 2 hits without bothering at all, so you are very mighty on the battlefield. But, as already said, also in
CC AP weapons are really strong against TAGs.
A weak point of the Lizard is his not so strong
WIP 13, but a
TAG is no model that has to fear Camo attacks so hard.
What does he carry with him ? Both loadouts do have a
MULTI HMG, which is one of the strongest weapons in the whole game, especially in the reactive turn. In the active turn, you have 4 shots of strength 15 which you can divide among any targets. But be sure that you are in your favourite range band; especially if you split up your shots from 32'' to 36'' against a sniper, you can have really bad luck. Remember that splitting up your burst is never what you really want as you should try to eliminate your targets in almost surgical strikes. Example: I rarely use TAGs, and the third [and til today the last] time i used my Lizard, i activated him with my first order, he got seen by a Lasiq Viral Sniper and a
HI with Panzerfaust [
AP+
EXP ARO], and my
TAG was blown to pieces, loosing both
FtF rolls and also loosing 4
STR points in my very first order. So be aware of strong
ARO models, they can ruin your game
. But as i speak of strong
ARO targets: putting out a
EXP or an
AP ARO, depending on the target, is really dangerous for your opponent. Please bear that in mind when using a
TAG.
- The first loadout has got a
Heavy Grenade Launcher, a weapon i honestly never used
. It is really powerful, but the power of this weapon really depends on terrain. Its power lays in being able to lovb grenades with speculative fire over the terrain into a great distance and being able to dominate the board because if the enemy dares to come out of the terrain's shadow zones he gets blown to pieces with grenades which are shot on a
BS 14+3-6=11, which is quite good for firing speculatively. But this way also has its downsides. If your opponent hugs cover you can not shoot him and the weapon mostly just does one hit to one target, if the opponent does not groups his juicy targets. Also shooting on such a "low"
BS with a only 1B weapon mostly is not the most effective way. On the other hand side, firing grenades at skirmishers with mimetism/camo/
TO camo/
ODD models is great because you get them out of cover and can lob a grenade with better modifiers than when you shoot them directly
. So this loadout can be very good.
- The other one has instead of the
HGL a
Heavy Flamethrower. Remember what i said above about flame ammunition ? Yeah, nasty. And you have one yourself. That is great for defence, and since the template covers the whole 8'' in which your
HMG is no good, you have some effective personal defense carried with you.
Bt be aware and do not use the Flamethrower when an enemy wants to shoot you with a high damage and
AP weapon, like a DEP. Then you maybe want a face to face roll instead of being hit with a high probability
.
I think
playing TAGs is a completely other way of playing infinity than when you do not play a
TAG. TAGs are very robust when it comes to take normal damage, but this leads to ramboing with them deeply into the enemy territory which is always a bad thing if unsupported. Bakunin has its skirmishers and warband which can hel you to preotect the
TAG. If you take the
HGL Lizard, for example, try to cover his approach with Zeros, Mines and Morlocks, that your enemies can be hit with direct templates. If you already have the DWT, the HEavy Flamethrower on your
TAG, then SinEaters running with your
TAG and securing the zone around him to protect him from high burst weapons on low range could be very useful, allthough that costs a lot of orders. here for example the Spitfir SinEater somes in really handdy, and the one with Mk12, with its No-
SWC-cost also can be good. The art in playing a
TAG is supporting him well and knowing the right time when to advance, Do not shy away from bowing out of the battle with your
TAG and moving him back into your deployment zone if you can secure him from being hit from behind with a
HMG for example. Also you should look at your opponents army; if
AD troops or
TO hidden troops are likely, you have to fear them. You can not always prepare for them appearing, but try to do it. Being szurprised is always nasty in Infinity.
As a
TAG is highly vulnerable to
ADHL ammunition, E/M ammunition and hacking,
supporting him with an
engineer [in our case the Clockmaker] is a very good idea. Always try to fit an engineer in a
TAG list if possible, since an
ADHL hit can immobilise your big toy with one hit, and without an engineer you have no chance in repairing him. Also if a
TAG suffers damage an engineer can repair him up to hsi original 3
STR, if i recall correctly. This is a great advantage above normal troops
.
Lastly, i want to remember you that the Lizard is a piloted
TAG, so he has got a pilot inside [well, he is the only
TAG model in which the pilot really fits
], who can deboard and get inside locations in whcih the
TAG does not get, even not with damaging walls with his
EXP ammunition. So for fulfilling mission objectives the Lizard has a great advantage over those PanO TAGs who can not get inside small buildings and can not get out of their
TAG because they are just remotely controlled
. But if your
TAG goes down, you lost the order it provides, even when the pilot still is alive.
--
Zeros
When Prowlers are your most brutal and aggressive Skirmisher, then Zeros are the most gentle and careful Skirmisher Nomads (and Bakunin) can have.
They are not designed to attack their opponent face to face; they are used to get as careful as possible to their victims, sneaking up behind, attacking as fast as possible and then either withdrawing from the battle or securing their position and remerging with their environment.
To be able to do that, they are
Camouflaged Infiltrators with a
MOV 4-4, which is the somewhat standard of Camo Infiltrators, so not bad at all. They are not very good in Close Combat, shoot relatively normal at
BS11, but have, sonce they are used to infiltrate deep into enemy territory, a
PHY 12 as their bigger brothers, the Prowlers, also have. With their
WIP 13 they are able to discover enemy Camo Markers quite well whle they are protected themselves vera well through their Camo. Their downside is that they have to rely heavily on that Camo, since they do have
ARM 0 and BTS 0. You can field
AVA 3 of them.
As most Zeros have
Antipersonnel Mines, i think i should say some words about Mines.
IMHO area denial and board control is relatively important in this game, since all this game is about doing order effective and puctual damage against certain key targets, espacially for Nomads. So your troops which are capable of dealing damage should be able to concentrate on their objectives, be it an enemy model or a misson objective. So you have to focus yourself, and focussing on one aim always opens holes in your defensive on other spots. Here come the Mines into play. A good defense of
AP Mines can secure most deployments and can cost your opponent lots of orders while he tries to remove these Mines. Mines can block paths fpr you opponent, especially for the troops with low PHY value, as they are unlikely to dodge the direct tenplate. Also Mines are very effective against models with camouflage and V:dogges/
NWI, since they go off against camo markers [but not against impersonators], and models without shock immunity and/or two wounds/structure directly die after being wounded by an
AP mine. that makes
AP mines especially good against
LIs, and also against ALEPH models, since there are many models with NW//dogged but without shock immunity. The great weakness of
AP mines is when the opponent manages to dodge the mines [for example with magsi´ter knights or pupniks] or when you leave an easy path around the mines on the battlefiels, that the opponent does not have to burn many orders to get around that minefield.
So lets start with the basic loadout.
- The somewhat normal Zero possesses
AP Mines, a Combi RIfle, and no other weapons except
Pistol and Knife.
That makes him a dedicated Close Quarter/midfield shooting model. Try to use Combat Camo at best, that you surprise your enemy. Secure the position you already have with your Mines, that your enemy does not have an easy target in his active turn. Then use his high mobility to sneak around another time. A Zero has great potential because he is a model that is capable of very effective Combat Camo attacks, but Zeros in general are really, really cheap. I try to put at least one Zero in most of my Bakunin lists, because a Zero is so versatile.
- Then, a Zero can be equipped with a
MULTI Sniper Rifle and the AP Mines. This is a special loadout for Bakunin, because it is one of the only 3 possibilities to get a MULTI Sniper Rifel in this sectorial, and it it the only long ranged weapon loadout which is capable of Combat Camo attacks. I rarely use him because i prefer to not proxy models, but some day i will convert myself a Zero
MSR, because he can put to great use in this sectorial. I think, he is perfectly capable of sneaking around an killing various targets, and then securing his position with his mines. I try to not position my sniper models on elevated positions where the enemy has a hard time to get there, because you have an equal hard time to get away from that position. I f the enemy ignores your sniper and hides his models away from
LoF of your sniper nest, your sniper is in fact useless. At least i think so about a Combat Camo, so aggressive orientated sniper. The Zero is the perfect opposite if a SinEater; The SinEater packs punch but only in reactive turn, so he is great for area denial and guarding some sweet spot. The Zero Sniper, on the otehr hand side, is perfectly capable of moving around fast and killing targets which are otherwise a dangerous enemy for the rest of your tropps. I hoghly recommend to put at least one long ranged weapon in each list, and the Zero is one of the most stylish options to get liong ranged weaponry
.
- Instead of a Combi Rifle, the Zero also can have a
Boarding Shotgun. As said above, in other unit entries, Boarding Shotguns are great for encountering either hardened and heavily armoured targets or groups of light squishy targets. This makes this Zero perfect for hunting down various targets, and he is one of the few sources of
AP weaponry for you. Combined with the fact that he is capable of starting the game in perfect range for his weapon and that he is a lot faster than the prowlers, he can save the game for you
. Also a Boarding Shotgun is not vulnerable against E/M ammunition, making this loadout a good choice if your opponent for example uses Ghazi'Muttawiah, which can position themselves on the other side of a wall, blasting their E/Marat through the wall and you lose your Camo. The other Zero versions also lose their weaponry, but this Zero at least has his Boarding Shotgun remained.
- Then, we come to abilities. A Zero
Hacker just adds the hacker skill to the normal Zero loadout of Mines and Combi Rifle. With his non-existent
BTS he is not a good defensive hacker, but as Bakunin has not so mcuh juicy hacking targets, that is not problem. Use him very aggressive. He is also a Repeater, so if you have trouble with him hacking a
TAG or similar, just position him near a wall behind which the target is, then hack the target through the Zero's Repeater with your Custodier and secure the Zero's position with
AP Mines if you want. Or move on to the next target
. He is in many situations better than a moving repeater drone, since he is camoed and highly mobile yet he can not be shoot at if camouflaged. Also he is the only Hacker you can have in Bakunin which carries
AP Mines with him. You see, i really like the Zero's Mines
.
- Zeros also can be
Forward Observer. Do not bother taking him instead of the normal Zero if you have the spare points ! I think the
FO skill itself has not as much use if you do not use
GMLs, but you can truly spread fear amongst you opponents if marking your targets with the Zero and them bombing them away with guided missiles, although getting a Zero
FO to the target and marking him, is very order intensive in most cases. Also remember that a
FO marking from Combat Camo gets your enemy a free shot at your Zero, and that is no good. So if you want your zero to survive, lets do it in a face to face roll; you are always allowed to give your Camo Marker status up and give the enemy his
FtF roll. You can use FOing targets also to use the grenade launchers Moderators, Moiras and Reaktion Zonds, and also the mighty Lizard, can take, with various ammunition and range band types of which i already have spoken here. But the reason why i really like FOs are their Flash Pulse. A
FO attack is capable of hitting almost any enemy from Combat Camo or with cover and Camo/Mimetism, and you can put the enemy's hardest damage dealers outta play for a round. Thats really mighty
.
- The Zero
Deployable Repeater does not carry the otherwise all-present
AP Mines, but he has said repeaters and 3 E/Maulers. While the role of a deployable repeater should be clear; laying out repeaters fast and shooting down the enemies which could shoot your repeaters while not being vulnerable for hacking, he also has these E/Maulers. I think, E/Maulers are mostly underrated. They work linke Mines with E/M damage, but they are only allowed to use the round template and they have, once set up, as many shots as the e/mauler lives. Also they can unload through full cover, hitting enemies behind walls. I think here lies the great strenght of E/Maulers. If your terrain has narrow paths between accessible buildings, or your enemy sets up
HIs near houses, for example a knight of montesa in mechanizes deployment, try to set up an E/Mauler near the E/M vuilnerable enemy targets. And almost every unit in the game is vulnerable to E/M; Camo units lose their camo [
IIRC], and most models loose their main weapon or advanced weapons like spitfire or MULTI sniper rifles. you can block sweet annoying sniper spots, and you can block paths the enemy would have to take to get to mission objectives. Nomads are the kings of electronic warfare, and while the E/Mauler is rarely used, since it depends heavily on terrain, ry to use him often enough that you get use ou of is
. I really like that weapon and sometimes managed to block my enemy's hard hitters for almost a whole game.
- But my favourite Zero option is the
Minelayer. He is capable of having laid down a mine in his
ZoC while you deploy him on the battlefield, so he is able to secure mission objectives or your own vulnerable troops at the start of the game. Especially when your enemy has the first turn, having laid down a mine in your deployment zone which secures the most juicy targets is GREAT. I can not recommend it enough, and i know that some people sometimes even use three minelayers just to be able to concentrate with the rest of their force on hitting the enemy hard enough in the face
.
- The last Zero option is the
Lt. Zero. He is very special, since he is the only camoed Lt. you can get in Bakunin and he also costs the most
SWC. But he is clearly worth it. A camoed Lt. is not vulnerable to first strikes with impersonators because the impersonator has to reveal himself to discover sour Lt. Also you can hunt down enemy targets without too much risk, since your zero Lt. can start anywhere on the board and has the advantage of Combat Camo. Use it, and then he can be really scary for your enemy. His weak points are that he can be a line on the enemy's side of the board really fast if you do not secure him, but he also has AO mines, and a minelaying Lt. is really worth it, trust me
.
So, to put it in a nutshell, Zeros are your fast Camo assault skirmishers, causing great trouble amongst your enemies, But do not risk a direct face to face confrontation in which Zeros almost every time just will lose
.
--
Der Morlock Gruppe
Apart from the Überfallkommando, Morlocks are the most crazy gak i have ever seen in Infinity
. They are
Irregular and
Impetuous what makes them somewhat difficult to control, but it also has its benefits, since you have two orders that you can spend on your Morlock without losing one from your order pool. They have very low armour and no
BTS, but otherwise fairly decent stats.
WIP 14 is really good if you want to discover Camo Markers or Impersonators, and with
BS 11 those Morlocks who have a normal
BS Weapon can shoot like a nomral Line Trooper of yours. Also they have
PHY 13 which is good for climbing and throwing Grenades, to which i will come later. With
No Cube they are not vulnerable to Sepsitor Attacks of the Combined Army, but in the upcoming Campaign they might be not able to get resurrected. Which is no problem if you mind that Morlocks are criminals who a re supposed to die in battle
. Their outstanding statline however is their
CC 18.
Also they have
Martial Arts 2, so if they hit in a
CC FtF roll, the opponent does not his +3
ARM bonus if he also succeeded in his roll but rolled his dice lower than you. Which comes in handy, since Morlocks have a relatively high
CC. Also they have
V:Courage, so they are not fleeing from the enemy if they do not really want to. They are able to advance as brutal and as consequent as you want them, but be aware that they only have one wound, so they die also relatively fast.
But what makes them different from other warbands ? Yes, their crazy gakload of pills and drugs they throw in before each battle, reulting in the ability
Meta Chemistry. They can have various interesting abilities, of which i will talk later more intense. You should not miss that roll, since the abilities a Morlock can have are all good and can shift their roles on the battlefield dramatically, since they can get the most interesting abilities Nomads can have access to.following
- First, every Morlock is is equipped with
Smoke Grenades; i wont list them on every single Morlock. These smoke grenades are what makes the Morlock an assault unit, dedicated for
CC. Allthough he does not have fance skille like MA3+ which would grant him forst strike in
CC, he has a farily decent
CC, and what is really important, with his smoke he finally is able to get into
CC or Close Quarters ! We all know, Infinity is a shootng game and
CC is normally the most dangerous way for your own troops, since you only have one dice to roll and not a great chance at beating xour opponent. But the hardest part in
CC is already getting into
BtB contact with your enemy since he can normally shoot you down in his
ARO. You can avoid the shots of your opponent's non-MSV2 models by tossing a smoke grenade in front of you. This is possible in the Impetuous Order, and mostly throwing the smoke grenade directly in front of you is the best way to avoid the enemie's
AROs, since you then get the +3 modifier for short range and throw the grenade on a 16. Also Smoke Grenades are really interesting to cover the approach of your other troops, such as a Moderaotr Link team without ling ranged weaponry or a SinEater who yet has to reach his best firing position. Simply put a morlock next to a corner, toss smoke around and the enemy's
AROs are blocked. When you do this, avoid
FtF rolls; yes, the Morlock has a great chance of success, but you do not want to loose your little bastard
. Also, as i already said, throwing smoke in your Impetuous Order is free and also limits your movement towards the enemy if you want to avoid approaching too fast.
- Then, a Morlock can have a
Combi Rifle and either a
Shock or an
AP CCW. The Combi Rifle lets him shoot like a normal Line Trooper, which lets him survive
FtF rolls really easily, and that is great, since a Morlock can inflict heavy damage on your oppoents. Also, with his
CCW, he is a threat to high armed targets or low armed 1W targets, so you can choose on which role you want to concentrate on
. Since he survives
FtF rolls more easily than each otehr Morlock, i think he is the safest option. But that has got its price; the Combi Rifle armed Morlocks are the most pricey of all Morlocks with 16 points.
- A Morlock can have a
Chain Rifle and a Shock CCW, which is great for harassing your opponent's order generators
. This Morlock is the cheapest one available, also the cheapest model Bakunin can offer. Allthough he is so cheap, he can inflict A LOT of damage, since he has got a Chain Rifle which uses the big template ... and really nobody wants to get a Chain Rifle shot in da face. This Morlock is great for having exactly this cheap direct template; if he dies, it is not a big problem, but if he reaches the enemy - then he should be prepared for a mess in his troops. This Morlock does not get the option of an
AP CCW; so he is only great at fighting infantry, but at 7 pts this is not a problem.
- My favourite Morlock option is the
CRAP - Chain Rifle, Assault Pistol one, He has got all what the other Chain Rifle Morlock has got, except that he has got an
AP CCW, which makes him also great against armoured targets, even TAGs, and he has the most effective close quarters ballistic weapon - the Assault Pistol. This weapon lets him unleash a burst of 4 shots in up to 8'' on a +3 modifier. With this weapon at close range you can easily defeat even e Total Reacton Remote. I love this Morlock; for example in some of my games he shot down my opponent's heavy hitters like Aquila Guards and Swiss Guard just because of that massive amount of shots
. So, use him ! He has also his Smoke Grenades which let him get into his favourite range bands quite easily, just as every other Morlock. Also, if your opponent has grouped targets or wants to hit you with a direct template, do not bother and shoot your Chain Rifle too, if that is the better option.
- Also Morlocks can have a
Boarding Shotgun with Shock CCW against heavy armoured targets. Just as the Combi Rifle variant, he has a greater survivability,into but he pays his price for that. This variant does not get an
AP CCW, so be sure you shoot that
HIs and other heavy armoured targets with your
AP rounds the boarding shotgun offers and try to not get into
CC with these opponents, since
HIs and other heavy targets use to have high
ARM and more than one wound, so they are likely to smash you if you do not have an
AP CCW in your hand ...
- A very interesting option Morlocks offer is the one with
Combi Rifle, Light Smoke Grenade Launcher and a Shock CCW. He does not have normal Smoke grenades, but he can shoot them with his
LGL even further. So, if you want to use tactic which include building up smoke screens to advance and avoid enemy
AROs, this is the man for you. I can highly recommend him, allthough Bakunin unfortunaltely does not have access to a MSV2, so you cant pull of the old Smoke+Visor trick if which even the Japanes Sectorial Army is capable of.
- Lastly, the
Morlock Lt. has got just like the first loadout, a
Combi Rifle and Shock CCW. He is rarely used, since you need an all-irregular army to have him as a Lt. and this keeps your flexibility really down tper model.o a maximum of two orders [one irregular and possible one impetuous order] per model. But, if you plan to pull off an all MOrlock force or to use only Irregulars, such as Morlocks, Überfallkommandos and possibly irregular mercenaries such as Yuan Yuans and Bashi Bazouks, he should be your choice. He is capable of surviving due to his Combi Rifle, and he is possibly the most effective model of your force, since he has got 3 orders [one irregular, one impetuous and the lt. one
]. so use him well. I did not try this all-irregular thing until now, but if anyone has got experiences, please tell me and i will include some tips about that later on
.
But we have to discuss one last thing about Morlocks - their
Meta Chemistry. This toolbox can contain:
-
Extra Armour, which is sometimes these 5% of which you survive or not. But nothing that changes your playstyle with this Morlock really.
-
V: Dogged lets the Morlock ignore the forst wound, but if you do that, you have to spend orders on him until he is dead. If you do not continue spending orders on him then he dies automatically, not going unconscious. This is interesting, and lets you spend orders from your reserve allthough not all impetuous orders are spent, when this Morlock gets a wound. So you can use him very aggressive and he can unleash pure rage under your opponent's miniatures
. But be careful about Shock ammuntion such as
AP Mines and SMGs, since he does not have Shock Immunity and dies directly by being hit from such weapons ...
-
Superior Movement adds 4 inches to the Morlock's movement. this can be great and lets him be aömost as fast as a motorbike, but it can has its downsides if you have to move 8'' in the first short skill because of the impetuous order. Be careful using his superior movement, but it can save you a lot of orders you would otherwise spend in moving him through the battlefield.
- An
X Visor is very interesting, since he lets you throw smoke grenades without a -3 penalty up to 12''. So if you get a Visor, you should consider using this morlock to toss smoke around the map and securing the other model's movement and actions.
-
+3 PHY let you dodge and throw Smoke Grenades more easily. Also the Morlock inflicts more damage in
CC, allthough
CC is a hard thing for each model, since Morlocks do not have
MA and do not get first strike in
CC. Great use of Superior Physique is when you can inflict wounds on a
TAG with an
AP CCW Morlock with this gimmick
.
-
Valour: No Wound Incapacitation is the better version of V
ogged. This Morlock can ignore the first wound completely, although he technically is wounded. If he gets another wound, he will die directly, but as long as this is not the case, he can do whatever he wants normally. As with Dogged, this allows you to use the Morlock even more agressive, but be aware of Shock ammunition.
-
Sixth Sense Lvl 2 is interesting against Camoed targets, since this morlock is not vulnerable from Combat Camo attacks. He can secure Mission Objectives more easily and such things, since he has not to fear these Skirmishers which otherwise would him shoot from out of the shadows ...
-
Regeneration has to be used a bit more careful. You have a second chance to revive this Morlock if you let him roll on his PHY. But the cance of success is not too great. But, if your enemy uses an order to kill this morlock completely, this skill maybe already has done its job, since your opponent did not use this order for other, maybe more important thing
.
-
Super Jump and
Climbing Plus make your Morlock really agile, so he can reach the enemy from literally everywhere and the enemy is nowhere really safe. Both abilities are a bit tricky to use, since with his Impoetuous Order he has to use this gained extra agility to get to his enemy.
- lastly,
Total Immunity can be really scary for your opponent. If he shrugs off an
AP+
EXP round just like a normal bullet, and cinunues to run in the direction of the Ghulam that fored his Panzerfaust, then you like this pretty little bastard
. Also
AP Mines do not kill him really anymore, and with a doctor yo should be able to heal him most of the time if the enemy does not get to him faster than you.
So use your morlocks fast amd agressive or, the chain rifle ones, as area denial since nobody wants to come in via
AD3 and get a chain rifle in his ass
. And never forget rolling on that MetaChemistry
. Also you should cancel his Impetuous order every time he would die in deadly crossfire otherwise. But, as you can use Impetuous orders in coordinated orders, also tossing smoke coordinated is always an option against non-
MSV enemies.
--
Bakunin Uberfallkommando
The Überfallkommando is [even with the Morlock Gruppe as an option for that] the craziest and most disturbing unit existing in Infinity, i would say. They are a heavily altered human, often female, controlling combat furries, which are also in use as sex toys. Moving over the battlefield with great mobility, more non-human than human, they are horrible if you are on their receiving end ...
Game-wise, they are one of the most aggressive Warbands in Infinity, naturally being
Irregular and
Impetuous, and having a
6-4 MOV and, on top of that,
Climbing Plus. So they are fast and agile, and they will reach literally every position they want. Nobody can hide from them. Also all models of the Kommando have
Total Immunity, so they will shrug off an
AP+
EXP missile as easily as a normal bullet.
Now, lets look at the different parts of the Kommando.
The
Chimera is the most important part of the group, since she is
G:Synchronized with her furries, and when she is unconscious/dead/immobilised, the Pupniks are useless as well. So she is worth a full of
24 Points, which is much considered the fact that she is a Irregular Warband. She has a great
CC of 18, which, combined with her
i-Khol Lvl 1 and
Natural Born Warrior could be enough to inflict some serious fear in
CC orientated enemies, since she ignores all Martial Arts skills her opponents posess, also she is not afraid of encountering Berserk, ignoring that also. With her disturbing appearance she puts a Modifier of -3 on the
CC of all combatants she fights against, but only those who have got the Wounds attribute. On top of that she has got a deadly
Viral CCW, killing every model with only one wound outright if he/she fails his/her
ARM roll. She also has got a
Combi Rifle, shooting as well as a standard trooper [
BS 11], a
Nanopulser, and
Zero V Smoke Grenades. Have i mentioned that she is not human after all ? She is that much altered with genetically modifications, bioware and cyberware, top notch technology; the most experimental wetware which is even in Bakunin the most rare technology when considering human alterations. This results in her having not the Wound but the
STR attribute, making it impossible for a doctor to heal her. She has to get repaired by an Engineer.
The
Pupniks, on the other side, are cheap as chips [
1 Point per Pupnik], since they are synchronized to the Chimera and can only do what she does. They have also a good
CC 17, no ARM and can be taken in a bunch of 3 in addition to the chimera. They have a
PHY of 13, which is just normal, but in combination with their
Hyper-Dynamics Lvl 3 they dodge at incoming projectiles and
CC attacks on a roll on 22. And that is outright brutal. They are equipped only with a
DA CCW.
OK, how should i use them ? I have to admit, i have not mastered them yet, allthough i had the chance to make some experience with them. Some people use them as a fast and aggressive rocket like unit, which consumes all orders in one of the first turns and then eats up one or two enemy models, often key targets. This works particularly well if you have some weak points in your army list which are encountered or balanced out well with the Überfallkommando. For example, the Chimera's ZeroVSmoke can block
LoS also for enemy hardcounter models against your
ODDs and Camo models, such as MSV2 and 3. So the Überfallkommando can engage these targets early in the game if you play many Reverend Custodiers or Reverend Moiras in your list, eating up these enemy models and leaving your enemy without the mightiest tool against the rest of your army. Also an evident Lt. is sometimes an easy target for your Überfallkommando, for example when your opponent uses Saladin and did not protect him well.
If you want the Überfallkommando to reach the target, in most situations you reach it with about 4 or 5 orders running through the whole battlefield, maybe with throwing some smoke inbetween to keep yourself out of
LoS of AROing models. Then you try to get as much pupniks into
CC with the single model to maximise the chances to take down the target in one
CC order, while keeping the Chimera out of sight, protected by full cover at best. The Pupniks are good enough against most targets,; 3 Pupniks together boost their
CC stat up to 23, critting the enemy with rolls of 17 or higher. I ate some TAGs with my Überfallkommando this way in the last months, and even a Jotum [at 200 points where you potentially do not pack other weapons against such well armoured targets] at a tournament. If you want the Pupniks to reach
CC safe and undamaged, then you will try to dodge the incoming shots. Even against direct templates that is not such a problem, since you dodge a template on a roll of 16, which is really good. Also using the Pupniks as a meatshield while the Chimera advances behind them, while they block
LoS from particular enemy models to the Chimera is an effective way of using the Kommandos opportunities to reach a target. But be aware of loosing many orders this way. Engaging the enemy works best if enganging the enemy in full cover of a smoke grenade.
I there are targets that possess Martial Arts skills, such as Ninjas, or maybe a Domaru which has got Berserk and two wounds, it might be a good idea to engage the enemy also with the Chimera. But do this only when you wont be able to succeed properly in
CC with only the pupniks, since a dead Chimera means a defeated Überfallkommando. Anyhow, when you are in
CC with some more skilled enemies with your Chimera, she will be as elegant as she is deadly. Reducing the opposing
CC stat by 3 and getting the bonus of having her Pupniks also in
CC makes her devastating, with a maximum
CC of 27, rolling critical successes on a 13+. Who wants to fight against such a monster ?
The Überfallkommando also is good in clearing your path from mines and camouflaged models. Since the Pupniks dodge every DTW with ease, you opponent wont want to expose his camouflaged models or to let his mines go off against them. Also, one Pupnik has no great chance of discovering a camo marker. But, because they are G:Synchronised, you can make 3 rolls and with a
WIP of 10, a Camo modifier of -3 and the range modifier of supposely +3, you can make three discover rolls on 10 or less. And that is quite good. Also, the Chimera can toss smoke out onto an area in whcih a Camo marker sits, and then going near the marker and firing off an Intuitive Attack on this Camo marker, without giving him a chance to react against the Kommando.
But, be careful ! Under these Camo Markers can be mines, flamethrowers [Chasseurs], Nanopulsers [oniwaban], just to name a few units that can be really powerful against the Überfallkommando, since as soon as the Chimera gets gut by a direct template, she will be in big danger, since she does not have Hyperdynamics and therefor dodges a DTW only at 7 or less. Also be careful about Camo Markers or models in hidden deployment/
TO camo markers, since an attack out of combat camo will kill the Chimera quickly, and immobilising the Pupniks as well.
Also try to avoid giving your opponent to aim at the Chimera and the Pupniks at the same time. If one enemy models is able to see the Pupniks, he will shoot at them and that is no problem, since you can dodge easily. If, however, the Chimera is target of a shooting
ARO, she can throw smoke to block
LoF at her feet on a roll of 16, which also is not too bad. But, if there are two enemy models shooting at the Chimera and the Pupniks at the same time, you want to save the Chimera which will lead to the Pupniks being shot at normal rolls, being unable to dodge. This is a really effective way of encountering the Überfallkommando.
As the Überfallkommando is, as it is with all Warbands, fast and capable of inflicting a great amount of destruction onto the opponent, and therefor is feared by most opponents who have had the opportunity to being eaten by them in a game, the Kommando is
IMHO best used as a support for the rest of your army. As mentioned earlier, you can deter your enemy
LoS even against MSV2+, which is a real strengght considering the mass of
MSV vulnerable equipment Bakunin offers you. Also the Überfallkommando is good at keeping it near your
CC vulnerable tropps like Custodiers/Moiras o0r even SinEaters and such, being always near them and deny the opponent the possibility to get into
CC with your ranged combat units. It is easy for them to be in touch woth other units and move with them along on the battlefiled, since with their high MOV value and Climbing Plus,in two orders they are as fast as many otehr units in 4 or 5 orders of pure movement. And when an enemy who is dangerous for the rest of your force shows up, spend some orders to rip him apart with your Kommando. But, if you are clever, you make the enemy to run to you with his
CC units, you do not have to go to him when you have nasty ranged combat units near the Kommando which the opponent wants to encounter with short ranged/
CC oriented units.
This is probably the most unorganized one in this series of articles, since the Überfallkommando is so hard to play. You will make many mistakes and they will die to some simple
AROs just because you did not think of this particular model having a Direct Template Weapon, or just being attacked in the first turn by a Chain Rifle Assault Pistol
Sas from Combat Camo killing the Chimera outright, for example. Just do not let this put you down; try to practice with his unit more and more. And the look of an opponent's eyes when he rambos his
TAG or Lt. or something similar mportant into your force just to see the Pupniks catch his model up in
CC in your
ARO and then eating it up with unbearable ease, this look is just priceless
.
--
Reverend Superior Cassandra Kusanagi
Cassandra Kusanagi, Reverend Superior of the Moiren [yeah, the plural of Moira is Moiren in ancient Greek]. Preist of the Hoy
St. Mary of the Knife. She is a real beauty, but also a professional at killing. Preferable killing ALEPH, as the war against the evil AI is her final aim in her life.
She is a member of the Reverend Moiras, having almost the same abilities as the Reverend Moiras themselves. Moving a slow
4-2, but being able to form a
Link Team of up to 5 Members with her fellow Reverend sisters, she can unleash a devastating force on the battlefield. But what makes her different from her sisters ? She has the same PH and
WIP as the Reverend Moiras, but a far better
BS 12 and a
CC 15. Also she has got a superior physical training, resulting in a
PHY 13. Her will is so string when fighting against enemies that she almost ignores death, giving her
V:No Wound Incapacitation, which gives her
V: Courage as well.
Cassandra Kusanagi carries a
Light Flamethrower attached to her
MULTI Rifle, and
E/M Grenades in addition to her
Shock CCW.
So, we should use her in a really similar way as the Moiras. The Combination of Multi Rifle and
ODD is a tough combination, since the opponent gets far worse in shooting than you are. Especially if you have Cassandra's high
BS, you will hit the enemy even in
ARO pretty well. If any opponent might hit you with a direct template, you are able to shoot back also with a flamethrower, being able to kill many units outright, burning off the [
TO] Camouflage and/or
ODD off units and even capable of killing a
TAG in one burst of fire. I do not think that this happens often, but often enough that ypur enemy should have a great respect from a flamethrower, especially if he has got troops/equipment that is vulnerable to DTWs, or especially to flamethrowers, For example, the new race, the Tohaa from Campaign
aradiso, if the wear their Symbiont Armour, they get killed outright if one point of fire damage gets through their armour.
You have also another weapons which is really handy when fighting against opponents who might want to fight against you with your oen tools, that it Camo/
ODD and such equipment. Just throw a E/M Grenade in thri direction, then kill them with your MULTI Rifle or flamethrower. Also, if your MULTI Rifle gets disable by an E/M hit you still have your flamethrower, which can come really handy in those situations.,
Speaking of such a different kind of weaponry: Cassandra Kusanagi is really versatile with her weaponry. She can fight against normal enemies with the MULTI Rifle and will win almost every firefight. Having V:Courage and V:
NWI, she will absorb ine wound just like a Heavy Infantry while firm holding ground, despite not being hackable like any
HI would be. If your opponent is a Camo Marker or somewhat invisible because of terrain and/or Smoke, you are able to do an Intuitive Attacl with the flamethrower, which is a pain in the ass for almost every unit that has to hide, because these units seldom have more than one wound. Also, you can toss some E/M grenades over walls and fences and such, ignoring
TO/
ODD/Mimetism modifiers and not needing
LoS, therefor not getting any reaction. So, Cassandra is capable of many tricks and approaches against the enemy. And, being able to do many things against your enemy, not being tunneled in just one version of playstyle, being unpredictable sometimes is the key to winning a match.
She is also, thanks to
NWI and her
CC of 15 and a bit better PHY than the normal Moiren, not so easy to be killed in Close Combat, clearing one more weakness of her origin unit, the Reverend Moiren. Nobody who isnt able to kill you outright, will want to go into
CC with her, so for example you have a lower chance of being killed by a Ninja with
EXP CCW than from one with a Shock
CCW, and who takes Ninjas with Shock
CCW ? In most cases an
EXP CCW is far superior than a Shock
CCW, but in this case you have to fail two
ARM rolls against the attack, which is not as probably as your opponents might wish.
[i did not calculate the mathematics behind this statement, but i think, my thoughts are understandable. if the enemy has got a A
CCW, i think a shock would clearly better for him]
But this leads to a major weakness of Cassandra Kusanagi: You normally rely heavily on her ability to ignore a wound, letting her be the Link Leader of a Link Team consisting of Reverenf Moiras, or to be the spearhead of your assault. But be aware of Shock ammunition, such as Antipersonnel Mines ! Theese will kill you aoutright, without a chance of reviving Cassandra, so stay away from too dangerous zones where an opponent might have laid a Mine or might have a model which can lay a Mine in his
ARO. This problems should be solved by other units, such as Riot Grrls, Zeros or the Überfallkommando, or even let a Morlock run into the Mine, since he wont be half as expensive as a Reverend Moira.
Kusanagi can be your
Lt., giving you +1 SWC for your army, but this might make her an apparent Lt., since she is the only model in Bakunin, even in the whole Nomad Nation, who has the ressources to give you such an amount of Support Weapons and such. But, if you have a tactic, reliying heavily on SinEaters and/or Prowler, for example, you might have to use this extra
SWC, and then she should be worth it. But be warned; she might attract a LOT of attention, and probable will be killed in actions. Then, if you took a Reverend Moira Link, you might have three Moiren left who are Religious like herself, being able to act against the target who killed your Lt. while the other army members are electing a new Lt., but if she falls, it is a great loss, considering the different types of damage she can throw out.
I also like to use her
not as Lt., since in this case her Religios Special Skill kicks in as soon as your normal Lt. dies, and in combination with maybe a SinEater and/or some Reverend Moiren/Custodiers who are on the table, you can continue to put hard pressure on your opponent while electing a new Lt. Also, when she is apparently not the Lt. your opponent might not want to concentrate all of his aggression against your Moiren/Cassandra Kusanagi, so you will have more than one spot on the Battlefield where you cause problems to your opponent. And, this can give your opponent some serious headaches, when his valuable troops fear the MULTI Rifle of Kassandra, but also do not want to retreat too far from her, since their back is laid out with
AP mines from a Zero and if they want to go too near to her, they might get into the fire lane of a SinEater.
This is how Nomads fight. We do not like equal matchups, we throw all force on one target, creating as unequal matchups as we can, killing it quickly and then moving on, while we put much thought on controlling the board and predicting where out opponents will move along with mines and Koalas and such.
--
Bran Do Castro, Triple Zero
The monkey King.Bran do Castro is one of my favourite models with such a unique role on the battlefield. He is our Ninja and our Oniwaban, but with the style of a Nomads Zero.
Bran is a Skirmisher with
CH: Camouflage. He has got a
MOV of 4-4, combined with his
Meta Agility, which is
Climbing Plus and Superjump both at the same time. He is in his own way the most agile model in Infinity. In addition to this he has got
Superior Infiltration, so he does not deviate even if deployed an the edge of your opponent's deployment zone. He deviates not as often as the rest of your skirmishers with his
PH 13. In regards to having
WIP 13, ARM 1, BTS 0 and 1 W, he is rather normal for a skirmisher.
He has got a normal
BS 11 of a Zero, whilst carrying a
Combi Rifle + E/Mitter. Notice that this is a rather unusual weapon for a skirmisher; he is somewhat the only infiltrating model in the game with an E/Mitter. Having
Martial Arts L3, a
CC stat of
17 and a
DA CCW, he is better than Yu Jings "standard" Ninja, who only carries a Shock
CCW.
So how do you use him well ? He is clearly one of the most aggressive units Bakunin has to offer, since he is capable of reaching literally any place on the battlefield, even the places your opponent won't reach at any time, since he has got his meta agility and has got Camouflage. So going after cheerleaders or key targets and hunting them down should be his role on the battlefield. With his agility and his 4-4 movement he can climb on walls, jump up and down and can apper right behind the enemy models or can attack from unexpected angles. Especially you will often be able to attack one model from combat camo while having jumped right over this model, so that no other model can see Bran while he is not camouflaged, given that the model he attacked has a great chance to die from his combi rifle. Bein able to outmaneuvre the enemy is his greatest strenth. You can do whatever your opponent does NOT exüect and you can challenge him in a new way with every action you take with the monkey king. Disturbing your opponent's plans is a great way of fighting in Infinity, especially because you play Nomads and you really dont want equal matchups
.
Use his Superior Infiltration. My favourite way of deploying him is right near my opponent's deployment zone, on top of a building that he wont be seen even if he misses his infiltration roll. Thanks to Superior Infiltration he wont deviate from his initial position, so you can recamo him at the start of your next turn and then begin to put pressur onto your opponent.
But be aware of units that can disturb this plan.
MSV models are a pain for him, since they can easily discover and then shoot him. Also you should fear models with climbing plus or superjump, especially if they have direct templates, since thay can reach his position, try to discover him and if that doesnt work they still have their DTW to try an intuitive attack. Also models with Antipersonnel Mines can try to lay down mines in front of him even when he still is a Camo Marker, so try to avoid these models or to mow them down in your active turn as long as they cant be that big a danger to Bran. For example i often take that i dictate my opponent to deploy first and then hold Bran Do Castro back as my last model in my deployment [even putting the Überfallkommando onto the table before him], just to be sure that i do not dissipate him by deploying him in a dangerous way. I think you have to play really wary with him, since he is not supported well by the rest of your troops.Try not to attack a target with him if you could not drop him back into a safe position, unless you really NEED to kill an enemy model, such as a MSV2 model if you play a Reverend Custodier or a Reverend Moira Link Team.
However, you can protect him with the usual tools, such as a link team advancig early, deploying mines [expecially at the start of the game with your Zero Minelayers] and having CrazyKoalas around him. Also SinEaters work well as a defensive rearguard to protect the pathways your opponent has to go in order to get to Bran's position he retreated into. Remember that you can combine these ways protecting him and the rest of your troops well while having Bran as an ace in the sleeve to get to your opponent's most important models for sure if you need to
.
On a side note:
Bran does not have a Cube, so he wont get sepsitorized ever. So he also can engage key targets
pf the Combined Army even is a sepsitor is in 8'' radius of your target.
Which models should you attack and how will you engage them ?
Bran has got a Combi Rifle, and this normally is clearly a shooting game. If your enemy model does not stack any modifiers like visibility, mimetism or an ODDevice, then you should try to kill your targets with your rifle. You have 3 shots, and this should clearly be enough fpr most targets, since you WILL get them without them having cover. If you have to attack models stacking modifiers like a model with an
ODD or a Bagh Mari [Memetism and MSV1] in a low visibility zone, then you should consider attacking this model in Close Combat, since with your Martial Arts and
CC 17 you will strike first and mostly score a hit, and with one hit and your PHY 13 most enemies will get at least one wound. And thats all you need. Do not try to attack models which have
MA 3+ on their own, since these models will even their chances and you do not want an equal fight. kill these models with ranged combat, if possible.
Models with more than one wound are a problem for your combi rifle and your
DA CCW, since you might score just one wound with these weapons. So, try to avoid these models and do not attack the
TAG but kill his cheerleaders to make him weaker. However, if you do not see another chance since you do not have any other models left that can harm a heavily armoured model [
HI/
REM/
TAG] or when Bran Do Castro is the only model that can reach this target in an acceptable timeframe - then do not hesitate. He has got an E/Mitter and is able to swith off every E/M vulnerable model/equipment/weaponry with a single shot. OK, the odds are not all time your favourite ones, but Bran is capable of hitting every model in the game possily hard enough. He is versatile enough to solve every problem if you do not fear your enemy too much. So, try to think calm and then engage your key targets with Bran - or not if you think Bran is too squishy for this duty. Because a
HI/
TAG that remains stable enough to put a returning attack on the uncamoed Bran who had his surprise shot will put him out of order very fast. You should still have great respect for models with more than one wound with him.
Bran is an assassin. A stealthy one, but a squishy one. Use him gently and with great care, and try to support him with a bit more thought than your other models, and he will serve you really well.
--
From
RR: Well there we have it, a lengthy (and fairly comprehensive) Bakunin Tactica from the esteemed Picken.
Please, as i said above, if you have any thoughts or ideas of your own use of these models, or things that have been used well against you then please post them! Picken is very excited to get other peoples experiences integrated with his own.
I really hope you will all enjoy this...
