Hello I am new to the game, and to Aleph. I hope this is a good place to come to when I have questions! I am at the moment learning the rules of the game. I have a pre-order done of Operation: Coldfront, in addition to the Coldfront Advanced Pack. I am splitting this with a friend who will play Ariadna. I am a huge fan of Iain Banks and the idea of running Aleph really appealed to me. A force run by a Mind seems pretty interesting. My friend is both Russian and loves werewolves, so each force has definite appeal to each of us. I am at this time uninterested in starting Steel Phalanx... it is my understanding that the Vedic lists are coming out soon, and that is really where I would prefer to go with my collection. That said, never say never! The Coldfront packs will let me have 3 dakini tacbots, 1 shukra, 1 yadu, 1 deva functionary, 1 naga sniper, and an asura hacker. Can you offer recommendations on how to beef this up? What would be the three most essential models I could buy to add to this force? My friend will be my primary opponent, but I intend on going to a local club once things are all painted up, so who knows what I will face there?
3 most essential models is tricky as Vedic won't be out in full until Novemberish. However Beyond Coldfront will be out in November too and includes 3 extra models for both Vedic Aleph and Russian Ariadna! On top of that, the Dakini special weapons box is out soon and will be a Core part of most Vedic lists, Posthumans are amazingly good, one of the few units that's arguably too good in the game, and Dasyu &/or Garuda give you options to surprise your opponent with troopers held off the board. The new resculpted Rebots box will also be very useful to a lot of lists, the support box with Sophotect, yudbots, and netrods is also a solid purchase. Don't be afraid to proxy units and play around with different profiles before you buy though. Especially at the 100-200 points level most people play to learn the game model counts are so low that it's pretty easy to keep track of proxies.
My friend and I have agreed to do NO proxies. We both used to play another sci fi miniatures game, and we both enjoy the challenge of using what we have. That is a challenge for any commander... not every commander in a battle gets the choices of troops they prefer. I will definitely be getting other models in November when the Vedic lists become available, but truth be told right now I have no miniatures, and would like to get started painting. So... you suggest post humans and rebots?
If you want to get a jump ahead before Coldfront arrives you can just get any of the Vedic units that are available now. Garudas Nagas Dasyus Posthumans Asuras Devas Danavas Marut Rebots Sophotects Yudbots Netrods You can build some good lists from the units above. You will be missing out on the Dakinis though if your waiting for the new ones.
As has been said, when it releases the Dakini special weapons pack will likely be a staple for Vedic players. Which is probably why it's one of the first new Vedic things being released in this wave. Posthumans, particularly the box with Proxies 1, 2, and 3 are very good purchases. Sophotects are also considered one of the best specialists in the game and make their way into many ALEPH lists. Danavas are very useful for high tier hacking. You'll already have a Naga with Coldfront but many people prefer the minelayer and assault hacker variants.
We wont be playing until it arrives. So I shant miss out on the Dakinis. Solodice, TY for the list! Which of that list would you suggest are the most important three to fill out what I will be getting with the packs?
Posthumans if you want your opponent to hate you Rebots and Sophotect for all-round utility. Garuda and Davanas for interesting tricks.
It really just depends on what you want. All the units have a job to do and they do it well. At the end of the day you can pick what you think are the three coolest looking units and go with that.
That is three suggestions for post-humans. I think we have a winner! And I will keep an eye out for the Dakini weapons pack.
This would have been my suggestion... with rebots out at the end of the month and dakini swc/cold front out in nov/Dec it should keep you busy for a while. Also, you could grab the high functionary for a hvt (high value target.. needed for most missions)
Posthumans are always a safe choice, and that's exactly why I'd suggest learning how to play without them, lest they become a crutch. Another safe route would be to focus on support structure; Support Pack gives you Sophos, Netrods and Yudbots, Rebot pack - access to basic Remotes. You'll probably want to include those in most lists. Deva box + Deva Spitfire is another good early building block.
Eh. I agree, for a different reason. I think they're not the best choice for someone new to the game, but simply because they break so many basic Infinity rules and can create problem when learning. Yup, yup, and yup. Deva Spitfire would normally be a good choice, sure. Deva box - avoid it. 1 Deva with Devabot could perhaps be useful as "cheap" Lt, but 2 is just for collecting dust. Anyway, you get a Deva in Coldfront box (i know it says Hacker, lets not pretend you will ever use that profile). So I'd say skip the Deva box. However, you have a bigger problem, and that is, your opponent will be playing Ariadna. They are our worst matchup. More Nagas is a great early pick in my opinion.
@OP When facing Ariadna - while it may be intimidating facing like 12-15 camo markers, just remember than underneath each camo marker is generally either a 0 armor 1 wound dude, a mine or nothing (ambush camo). Wait for the Ariadna player to get impatient and reveal his markers on his turn - letting you pick them off in your turn without having to waste your valuable orders on discover.
I use them (ok only one of them at the same time) as Scylla or Drakios. Granted, it's not the first thing one need to buy ^^
I was looking at the Ariadna list yesterday. They have a Spetznaz with camo, marksmanship, and an HMG. Seems like a pretty worthwhile target to deal with... surprise attacks with burst 4 and ignores cover modifiers. I think I will be investigating how best to discover camo markers.
Rebots or Deva with Sensor are your best at discovering. +6 WIP to all discover rolls and you can reveal all Camo/TO makers in your ZoC with a single WIP+6 roll.
In Infinity you willhave a hard time without proxys. For some troopprofiles there is no miniature. I play for 1+1/2 year know. Startet with Starter + Support + deva and deva bot pack. Then I ordered Zayin/Lamed Pack. You should learn both to deal with total reaction drones... since they are a pain to face at beginning. Then I got ALL other miniatures xD
Rebots on order (store is waiting for the new resculpts to arrive), and just because hot fembot on a bike, and absolutely no other reason, I got Penthesilia. That said, aesthetics aside, how viable is she?
