Beginning Ikari

After faithfully serving the ISS and more recently TAK to some moderate success, I am branching out to Ikari, my first NA2!

First off, I think Ikari has some of the best ensemble of sculpts. Holy crap!

Now, having studied the faction briefly, I have some questionable ideas.

Generally speaking my list building philosophy is to go against the grain and look for units that make the faction unique.

here is my first list.

It won’t make sense on first glance, but the main objectives of the list are to test the following:

Hiding Lt (Bashi deployed as 2 kaisotsu)

Hide the yuan Yuan (Bashi will be 2 model, suggesting 15 models on the board)

Hide the Lu Duan (deployed as desperado, this also masks the Bashi Irregular)

Try hacking net (use Druze pitchers to lay down hacking net, combined with brawlers in Wuming link with tinbot and 6th sense in ARO)

Hacking net is designed to enable gunfighters through spotlight (spotlight + supportware should make the TR bot overkill)

Test Daiyokai

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Thank you for the feedback!

I think you’re bang on with the possible limitations but I think it’s worth testing to see how it goes all the same.

The Bashi thing is not intended to work 100%. It’s just meant to put doubt and I think it does that enough, I’d wonder if maybe it’s obvious to you as you have an Ikari understanding?

I think you’re 100% on the smoke issue. The YuanYuan can be deployed as a warband rather than drop troop in a pinch, if you read the table/faction line up I guess. However, it seems a waste.

Getting out of DZ, this is always a risk in all my lists, regardless of faction, but I feel confident enough in the pitcher/guided or pitcher + spotlight on TR bot with supportware. I feel I can bring down most things if need be. The only problem is that it is not order efficient to do, it’s a lot of set up. This is exasperated by the lack of smoke. So I think this will need to change in the follow up list variations.

Lastly, that link is a mess on paper and likely in game, but the GML is actually the ARO piece. So if it goes down I can break the link off and move the 4 man into midfield with Digger and WiMing and tight quarter point guards.

Alternatively if I am going first I can still break out the GML and push into midfield in a similar vain, as the GML doesn’t need the link to perform guided.

I’ll post some more variations of this list I’ve come up with using the Al Fasid instead of the Daiyokai later today.

The main thing I wanted to try is shellgames and protecting the LT as this seems to be a very obvious handicap in Ikari

 

Exactly, only practice will give us data!

I think you’re both ultimately right on the Bashi not offering enough. However, in this list it allows me to deploy 2 kaisotsu, which then generates me an irregular order. Which the allows me to disguise the Lu Duan. As well as put me on 15 models on the table, masking that I have a YuanYuan.

There is a slight cascade effect within the list. How would all this work and is it worth it? That can only be known from testing.

The Daiyokai link is nice and Tanko are very good, but I am not up to testing them yet.

what do you guys use for ARO duty? Because I notice the HRL(Wuming,brawler) don’t have courage or cube, that makes them unreliable. Tanko ML is obviously good, the 5/4 kaisotsu man link is great and I’ll explore it later, curious to know if there is anything else obvious that I’m missing?

I feel there is value in the BSG YY and Desperado, thoughts?

 

Got a game and some data last night.

Played some frontline, going first, ending in a close loss. Losing the middle zone by a base width

Things we were trying to test:

Disguise the Lt - this worked well enough that my opponent wasn’t certain. However, as I went first it’s hard to say because my opponent didn’t really focus on Lt kill

The flow on effect of the shellgames also surprised my opponent, he didn’t see the YuanYuan or the LuDuan.

I used the pitchers as part of my desire to boardcontrol/impede my opponents assault.

it became quickly apparent that hacking in active turn with wip 12 hackers is not effective. However, the threat of walking into a repeater net with two regular hackers and a KHD lying in wait under the guise of Bob from accounting(cybermask) is not something my opponent was keen to do. Which gave me a lot of boardcontrol

The balance of the list felt good, there are a lot of niche tools and synergies that can be made more effective with regular play

One thing though is that the brawler is exposed as soon as you reveal the LuDuan/YuanYuan

I was certainly missing smoke, but I expected that

Overall, fun start to the Ikari

 

Working on my next list:

The general aim of the list is to continue my exploration into the faction, as well as build on a couple of ideas from the previous iteration.

Links:
Harris: Druze hacker + Diggers
Core: WuMing, brawler x 2, Clipper

Spoiler: Ikari 2.0

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New ideas:
-Test the Al Fasid, Multiwould HMG platform, that should be able to shoot out AROs to enable Desperados.

- Testing Desperado, trying obvious B5 Assault pistol, but also the 12 pt double template profile. Additionally, adding more smoke to the mix

- Playing obvious Lt, with no contingency, aside two veteran orders. Curious to see if we can defend him/see how we fare in LoL

- RuiShi, I’ve played this thing several times, but in conjunction with desperados

Building on previous data/experience:

- Double Brawler hacker with tinbot6 was genuinely a solid hacking presence.

- in conjunction with Druze Pitchers, I want to continue testing idea of taking boardcontrol with repeater presence, forcing my opponents to spend orders respecting repeaters and destroying them, or ignoring them and facing my hackers

- Druze KHD wants to cybermask. Also my best specialist, so likely wanting to move into midfield. Therefore wanted to put him in a Harris with models that desire to move up the board. Diggers are great models to take board control. Initially I wanted both diggers to be Combi+shotgun, as the idea was once the KhD cybermasks, I can coordinate an order to suppression fire them +/ Fasid +/RuiShi. However I didn’t have the points.

- Last game I noticed i wanted the ability to reload pitchers, but also needed my KhD to move forward. Therefore I opted to try the most maligned profile in all of infinity the Baggage TR bot. The idea is that this is another ARO unit with likelihood of revival, as well as further repeater presence and baggage presence for Pitcher reloads.

-GML is a genuine threat with the repeater presence this list will be setting up, as well a good 4th member of the link as it allows for an ARO presence which has courage and sustainability (high likelihood of repair / as Ikari seems to be better suited to repairing than healing as not everything has cubes)

 

We're back! Finally got some games in after an enforced hiatus!

I was lucky enough to get 3 games in against a good array of opponents to test out some ideas!

Spoiler: Ikari 6.2

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GROUP 1 9 2
FASID Heavy Machine Gun, Grenade Launcher, Smoke Grenade Launcher, Shock Mines / Heavy Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 53)
KEISOTSU (Lieutenant) Combi Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 9)
WARDRIVER (Hacker, EVO Hacking Device) Combi Rifle, E/Mitter ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1 | 17)
DIGGER Rifle, Light Shotgun / Pistol, AP CC Weapon(+1B). (0 | 18)
DIGGER Rifle, Light Shotgun / Pistol, AP CC Weapon(+1B). (0 | 18)
DRUZE (Hacker, Killer Hacking Device) Combi Rifle, Pitcher, D-Charges ( ) / Viral Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 28)
LÙ DUĀN Mk12, Heavy Flamethrower(+1B) ( | Deployable Repeater) / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 24)
PANGGULING (Total Reaction, Repeater) Combi Rifle ( ) / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 19)
TOKUSETSU KOHEI (Engineer, Deactivator) Combi Rifle, D-Charges ( | GizmoKit) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 14)
YÁOZĂO PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 3)

GROUP 2 4 2 2
DESPERADO Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Assault Pistol(+1B), Shock CC Weapon. (0 | 7)
DESPERADO Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Assault Pistol(+1B), Shock CC Weapon. (0 | 7)
BRAWLER (Hacker, Hacking Device) Submachine Gun ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 17)
BRAWLER (Hacker, Hacking Device) Submachine Gun ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 17)
WÚ MÍNG Boarding Shotgun ( | TinBot: Firewall [-6]) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 31)
CLIPPER DRONBOT Missile Launcher / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (1.5 | 16)

5.5 SWC | 298 Points

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This was the list I was most excited to try.

A refreshers on what the list is trying to do, building on previous ideas and adding a couple of test profiles.

Links:
Harris - Digger x 2, Druze KHD
Core - Brawlers x 2, Clipper, Wu-Ming.

Had 2 games with it. One against Vanilla Nomads and one against JSA. Firefight and Acquisition, respectively.

Insights from the game

• Diggers can kill Tags in CC if you get them there.
• Active turn hacking is not really worth it in this list
• List is reliant on Druze KHD harris and pitchers. EVO TR needs to be deployed with harris in mind to reload pitchers and set up repeater presence.
• Al Fasid's minelaying ability came in handy against JSA, made the assassination of Kaisotsu much trickier.
• Lu'Duan is the right choice for this list, the ability to drop a repeater is a nice touch.
• Still unsure of how to use Desperados. I think they are good counter punch option for the list or early alphastrike. To Impetuous or not, that is the question
• Having 2 veteran troops helped a fair bit when I inevitably went into LoL.
  
  Overall, I think the list performed better in game two. This was largely down to a much more thoughtful deployment of my harris + Pangallang. This is a crucial aspect of the list, as the list is very defensive and seeks control. Placing pitchers in the right parts of the battlefield requires you to visualise where you want the pitchers prior to the game beginning, as well as where you forsee where you want your diggers to advance to when the KHD eventually goes into cybermask. The list is incredibly defensive, though somewhat redundant, large presence of remotes and engineers gives you ability to repair some of the damage.
  
  Really enjoyed this list and would definitely use it in a tournament

 

I also got a game in with this list, which was loads of fun. However, I'll break this down a little further next time.

Spoiler: Ikari 7.1 - YuanYuan

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GROUP 1 8 1 1
WÚ MÍNG Heavy Machine Gun / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 37)
BRAWLER (Lieutenant) Rifle, Light Shotgun / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 15)
BRAWLER (Engineer, Deactivator) Rifle, Light Shotgun, D-Charges ( | GizmoKit) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 19)
CLIPPER DRONBOT Missile Launcher / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (1.5 | 16)
LÙ DUĀN Mk12, Heavy Flamethrower(+1B) ( | Deployable Repeater) / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 24)
YOJIMBO Contender(+1B), Nanopulser, Smoke Grenades, Crazykoala / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 20)
TÁOWÙ (Counterintelligence) Nanopulser(+2B), Flash Pulse(+1B) / Viral Pistol(+1B), Monofilament CC Weapon. (0 | 25)
DAIYŌKAI Red Fury, Panzerfaust / Pistol, AP + DA CC Weapon. (1 | 49)
FUGAZI DRONBOT Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)

GROUP 2 2 4 4
PANGGULING (Hacker, EVO Hacking Device) ( ) / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0.5 | 15)
NINJA (Hacker, Hacking Device) Submachine Gun ( ) / Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0.5 | 35)
YUAN YUAN Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 8)
YUAN YUAN Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 8)
YUAN YUAN Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 8)
YUAN YUAN Boarding Shotgun, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, Shock CC Weapon. (0 | 14)

5 SWC | 300 Points

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I threw this list together to get an idea of YuanYuans and how they play. I figured I may as well go all out and throw 4 in, just to make sure they have every opportunity to thrive.

In the game, I had one deploy on the side, throw smoke and had the rest land inside the smoke (which is illegal - I have since learnt) and then chase down a Blue Wolf.

I had the idea to land several YuanYuan next to it and coordinate order Mov+CC with multi burst. This did not pan out, as my opponent was clever enough to dodge bluewolf in reponse to each YY landing.

Nonetheless, this did give me a sense of how they could be used. They can be used to tie up threats and help the likes of Daiyokai and Tankos engage with bonus burst.

The list itself is not great, so I will reserve my commentary to the list it spawned, which will be my next post.

 

I had a game with Ikari against some IA last night in Supremacy.

The list I used:

Spoiler: Ikari 7.4 Karakuri

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GROUP 1 9 1
WÚ MÍNG Heavy Machine Gun / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 37)
BRAWLER Heavy Rocket Launcher / Assault Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 16)
DIGGER Chain Rifle(+1B), Grenades / Pistol, AP CC Weapon(+1B). (0 | 14)
CLIPPER DRONBOT Missile Launcher / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (1.5 | 16)
KARAKURI MULTI Rifle, Chain Rifle, Panzerfaust, Flash Pulse / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 42)
KARAKURI MULTI Rifle, Chain Rifle, Panzerfaust, Flash Pulse / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 42)
LÙ DUĀN Mk12, Heavy Flamethrower(+1B) ( | Deployable Repeater) / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 24)
KEISOTSU (Lieutenant) Combi Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 9)
TOKUSETSU KOHEI (Engineer, Deactivator) Combi Rifle, D-Charges ( | GizmoKit) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 14)
YÁOZĂO PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 3)

GROUP 2 3 3 3
NINJA (Hacker, Hacking Device) Submachine Gun ( ) / Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0.5 | 35)
FUGAZI DRONBOT Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)
PANGGULING (Hacker, EVO Hacking Device) ( ) / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0.5 | 15)
YUAN YUAN Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 8)
YUAN YUAN Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 8)
YUAN YUAN Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 8)

6 SWC | 298 Points

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This list (7.4) was evolution on the previous list, as you can see the bones of 7.1

What I found in the initial list, 7.1, was the need to have an ability to feed orders into YY(YuanYuan) if they land into a good position. Hence the importance for a 9/6 split.

With so many troops off the table it is important to have the ability to withstand an alpha strike as you have less bodies. This is why I've included the Ninja HD, a profile I've used extensively in ISS. Having it in group two means that in turn 1, it is mostly a defensive lever should I need, whilst still having the ability to move it into group 1 and go for a run to spotlight + GML if need be.

The remainder of the list kept familiar units that I've already tested, with Taiowu as Lt insurance.

In my desire to evolve the list, I looked for units I had not tried, which could also assist with the lists glaring weakness, ARO/redundancy. This naturally took me to consider Karakuri, along with the Ninja and multitude of drop troops, the list naturally felt well suited for zone of control missions such as Quadrant Control, Supremacy, Frontline - etc.

New ideas/units:

Karakuri - These ladies are hard to shift, they have every range band covered and if you give them any of the rifle style guns, they are absolutely rock solid on suppression. Added to my conclusion that Ikari do not have reliable or redundant AROs unless they are remotes, these ladies were a natural fit.

Ninja HD - This profile is phenomenal, don't let the YJ forums tell you otherwise. It can do so much for a list. Worst case scenario, you are revealing it to stop an alpha striking HI/TAG. Best case scenario is you are spotlighting/isolating a Marut. Anyone seeking to try the profile out, consider deploying it rather centrally so it can respond to either side of the battlefield, I found too often I was trying to be cute an predict my opponents deployment/attack run deploying it on a flank, only to find it out of position. Also, do not use it in ARO for the first couple of run outs, because often this leads to it dying and you not really getting a feel for it.

WuMing HMG - The list has plenty of units that want to push into midfield, to do this I need to be able to clear AROs. Seeing a the Wuming core gives me the ARO presence of the clipper, I figure I'd take the HMG as when the Clipper goes down, I can shift onto the front foot with the remaining harris.

Brawler HRL - Gives the harris a close in assault pistol and HRL for splash damage, also an alternative ARO to the clipper should i determine that the opponent has ability to knock it to dead in one order or I decide I will really need guided.

Lu'Duan - The ability to drop repeaters synergises well with the Ninja HD as well as the fact that the Evo will be looking to put up a supportware for combat drop or enhanced reaction on the Clipper as priorities.

The game against IA went well, I didn't play the mission well, as I was more focused on the list, so I lost 8 - 2. However, the Karakuri showed a glimpse of what they were capable of, really proving impossible to shift, they are the main component I wanted to understand. The LuDuan performed, I threw the ninja away and failed to use YuanYuan well, the harris team of Wuming/Brawler and Digger got work done. The engineer failed 3 repairs on a karakuri and killed it, but that's fine, very unlucky and unlikely to be a recurring event.

The takeaway was that it would of been nice to have another quick attack piece and some smoke to start the game. I could of course deploy one of the YuanYuan on the table in future , but instead I've made a slight adjustment to the list by adding a desperado to the list. This also allows for two YaoZao for the engineer, dedicating one to each Karakuri effectively. Overall, I genuinely think this list is good for missions involving requiring zonal presence and is the closest to a list I'd consider taking to a tournament that I've come up with.

Spoiler: Ikari 7.5 - Karakuri

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GROUP 1 9 1
WÚ MÍNG Heavy Machine Gun / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 37)
BRAWLER Heavy Rocket Launcher / Assault Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 16)
DIGGER Chain Rifle(+1B), Grenades / Pistol, AP CC Weapon(+1B). (0 | 14)
CLIPPER DRONBOT Missile Launcher / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (1.5 | 16)
KARAKURI MULTI Rifle, Chain Rifle, Panzerfaust, Flash Pulse / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 42)
KARAKURI MULTI Rifle, Chain Rifle, Panzerfaust, Flash Pulse / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 42)
LÙ DUĀN Mk12, Heavy Flamethrower(+1B) ( | Deployable Repeater) / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 24)
KEISOTSU (Lieutenant) Combi Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 9)
TOKUSETSU KOHEI (Engineer, Deactivator) Combi Rifle, D-Charges ( | GizmoKit) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 14)
YÁOZĂO PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 3)
YÁOZĂO PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 3)

GROUP 2 3 3 3
NINJA (Hacker, Hacking Device) Submachine Gun ( ) / Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0.5 | 35)
FUGAZI DRONBOT Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)
PANGGULING (Hacker, EVO Hacking Device) ( ) / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0.5 | 15)
YUAN YUAN Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 8)
YUAN YUAN Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 8)
DESPERADO Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Assault Pistol(+1B), Shock CC Weapon. (0 | 7)

6 SWC | 300 Points

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