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Steel Phalanx: HSN3 Unit breakdown

Discussion in 'ALEPH' started by csjarrat, Jan 22, 2018.

  1. csjarrat

    csjarrat Well-Known Member

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    So I thought i'd take it upon myself to make a dedicated Steel Phalanx break-down and update it for HSN3 as most of the other factions/sectorals have their own threads. I've had success with the Phalanx in regional tournaments here in England and feel competent enough to talk about their strengths and weaknesses (I am however, no expert!) but I'm more than welcoming of the communities' view/tips/tricks etc and I'd like to make this thread a hub for discussion and sharing of best practice etc.

    I think out of all of the human factions, Phalanx are one of the most unique in terms of list building and tend to contain 2-3 modules + supporting cast, similar to tohaa. Prior to HSN3, their multi-link approach was fairly unique outside of a haqq haris team and tohaa's triads.

    So, what does the phalanx do well/not so well overall?

    Strengths:

    • Building around Enomatarchos link teams gives great defensive ARO potential, everyone linked getting B2
    • Links confer SSL2 at four men strong, making you resilient to smoke-n-shoot and TO camo shenanigans
    • Links are incredibly order efficient, which offsets the higher cost of our elite troopers
    • Links flatten impetuousity but we still get the points discounts for it on our profiles
    • Good CC and faction-wide access to template weapons gives great close quarters abilities
    • Access to cheap linkable specialists with big gun support.
    • Great REM support
    • Ability to easily do all classified objectives
    • Excellent Aerial deployment troopers
    • Strong LT choices at multiple price brackets
    • Chain of command to deal with obvious lieutenant issues
    • Multiple MSV2 options and plentiful smoke coverage
    • Plentiful ODD
    • Good access to eclipse smoke
    Weaknesses:

    • Massive lack of infiltrating troops
    • No Deployables like Mines/E-maulers
    • Reliance on unique officer profiles for Enomatarchos links can makes lists predictable
    • Lower than average access to heavy weapons
    • Impetuous can make force management tricky in the late game
    • Moderate access to repeaters for hacking
    • MSV2 cancels much of our gunfighting ability
    • Expensive and elite
    So, on to the more specific unit strengths. Because of the internal make-ups of the force, I've decided to split this down into the Four main core groups of the Phalanx and then its support crew.

    1. Agema
    2. Dactyls
    3. Myrmidons
    4. Thorakitai
    5. Support crew
    Agema

    The marksmen of the phalanx, these are the only non-linkable section of the core four. Our current selection starts with the Basic agema:

    Medium infantry 4-2MOV doesn't hinder them too much, given their primary role is to hunker down on/near a good firelane and pop up from prone/peak round corners and take potshots with ranged weaponry. MSV2 and a strong BS13 gives them great ability in this role and perfect synergy with myrmidons, able to lay smoke for the agema to shoot through and impose heavy modifiers on enemies. Though they make for excellent active-turn hunters, their resilience is pretty lackluster with only ARM2+cover to keep them alive. The mk12 is capable of supression fire however, so on shorter firelanes, use of that tactic can make them much more deadly in ARO. The sniper and Missile launcher however need to keep their heads down in the reactive turn, as they're very vulnerable to enemy HMG and Spitfires (especially when linked). I'd recommend the mk12 for a SWC light option and the sniper for longer range engagements, but the missile launcher is difficult to recommend with its B1 unless you're playing a mission against a known TAG lover and can provide it plentiful smoke to shoot with.

    Atalanta

    A massively up-gunned Agema sniper, she's a named character and is therefore unique. She features courage, BS14 and a spotbot that gives her +3 to shoot and +3 to discover which is now merely a token and doesn't need careful management of sight lines. She's still dependent on smoke coverage to get the best bang-for-buck out of the profile, but will be hitting on 17's against most targets which is extremely potent, though at 39pts/1.5swc, you'll need to keep her head down in the reactive turn lest she get outbursted by HMG fire or countersniped.

    Teucer

    Teucer got a massive boost in HSN3, His primary weapon getting a huge overhaul, good up to 32" and gaining a new B1 EXP mode for AROs/co-ordinated orders or unopposed shots. His resilience is the main selling point here though, No wound incapacitation meaning he can take a stray crit or risk leaving his head above cover for ARO duty. Marksmanship LV:X sits on his profile and is gimmicky for the most part. In 9/10 scenarios, firing at burst two is better. With free agent he can effectively conceal Ekdromoi in a second group, switching out for free to make a space for them to join group 1 and begin their backfield rambo.

    MSV2 and feuerbach is the pick of the bunch of profiles, at 44points/2SWC he's not cheap but gains significant resilience over his competitors, especially when smoke provision is added on too. The nanopulser also gives good ARO options in his -3 weak band as well as a pistol, so flanking troops will have a much harder time of taking him out than atalanta or agema.

    He has the best ability of all agema to take ARO duty on turn 1 as he can take a wound and then elect to go prone by failing his guts, bleeding the opponent orders in the process.

    Dactlys

    Dactlys are some of the newest additions to the Phalanx and bring reasonably priced specialists that bring moderate WIP and V:dogged to the party. The base troops profile is split three ways;

    1. Engineer; Combi, D-charges, ADHL, twin breaker pistols, knife 23pts
    2. Engineer; Combi, Flammenspeer, D-charges, twin breaker pistols, knife 24pts/0.5swc
    3. Doctor; Combi, ADHL, Nimbus grenades, twin breaker pistols, knife 23pts
    All of these have their uses and can pal up with a yudbot to do their thing at range if they go solo, or form an Enomatarchos link with hector or acmon to get real order efficiency and boosts to Burst (particularly handy on the flammenspeer profile for long range AROs or crossing awkward fire lanes. You're likely using the 0.5swc on a hacker like Thamrys though, and in a Hector-led Eno link, its largely uneccessary. Non of the profiles are outstanding or amazing, but what you do get are moderately priced, moderately resilient specialists toting useful weapons at a moderate price. Their main issue is ranged combat (and shock ammo!), but not many engineers/doctors bring stuff with >16" range in any faction. B4 combi rifles are nothing to sniff at in the midfield and the ADHL makes for a cracking bit of utility kit when linked for extra burst (especially in neutering heavies like TAGs)

    Wise play with eclipse/smoke/cautious move can get them where they need to be or simply just link them with Hector and spitfire/plasma anything that's too problematic.

    Acmon

    The officer of the Dactlys that enables Eno links, he also brings a special rule that allows the formation of DUO links with the basic Dactyl troopers. Though it grants no other bonuses than order efficiency, it does allow a nice tow of another specialist up the board for free, especially useful in missions like biotechvore.

    If you were only going to take one dactly engineer to look after your remotes, he's only 3 points more expensive than the similarly equipped Flammenspeer profile, but gains +1WIP, +1BS and a panzerfaust upgrade over the flammenspeer (for 0swc too) which makes him a strong contender, especially as the increased statlines make him more fighty and better at his main role of repairing stuff. When paired up with a yudbot, he can competently defend drop zones/grab nearby objectives whilst providing repair coverage for backfield REMs like Zayin HMG. For me though, you'd need to use him more aggressively (or utilise enomatarchos/DUO) to make use of the investment, a basic thorakitai engineer is 18pts and at WIP13 can still competently perform repairs and defend a DZ/objective with suppressive fire/nanopulser.

    Myrmidons

    The bulk of our fighting forces, This is the section where the big hitting officers of fame reside, alongside their more utilitarian smoke chucking Warband comrades. Packing Martial Arts L3 or better across the board, they're damn handy in CC and near-blanket coverage of ODD + some form of smoke across their profiles, they're more than capable of getting there and winning gunfights along the way. Specialists and big guns do not come cheap for the myrmidons however; even their rifle profiles set you back 25pts. Factoring this in, you'll need to budget carefully if you want to play x2 myrmidon links. Often I find a strong myrmidon link backed by a cheaper Thorakitai link leaves enough points in the list for luxuries. Key stats include BS12, PH13 and WIP13, making them great at delivering smoke and ranged firepower and perfectly competent at capping objectives (especially with the +3 hacker bonus). Watch out for frenzy however. Get a kill and you become impetuous, losing your cover bonus and being compelled to move towards the nearest enemy. This often triggers in the late-game, where links have been broken.

    A team of myrmidons varies in role depending on Officer class constituents, but are strong in CQB as well as at range. They're a nightmare to approach thanks to ODD, template weapons and great CC skills, but fairly vulnerable to opposing warbands like shaolin and morlocks, who can smoke and intuitive shot with chain rifles, or simply just suicide chain rifle and play an unequal-trades game. Make sure to screen your team with MSV2 overwatchers like the Agema + their officers if you suspect your opponent will run such tactics, as gunning the impetuous fools down early will save you a lot of heartache.

    The core troopers' profiles shake down as so;

    1. Combi rifle/Nanopulser/smoke grenades/pistol/AP CCW 25pts
    2. Combi rifle/Nanopulser/smoke grenades/pistol/DA CCW 26pts
    3. Boarding shotgun/Nanopulser/smoke grenades/pistol/AP CCW 24pts
    4. Chain rifle/Nanopulser/Smoke grenades/pistol/AP CCW 16pts
    5. Spitfire/Nanopulser/smoke grenades/pistol/AP CCW 31pts/1swc
    6. Hacker; Assault hacking device/Combi rifle/Nanopulser/smoke grenades/pistol/AP CCW 31pts 0.5swc
    For a lone smoke provider (for Agema/officers), you can't go wrong with the chain rifle profile. Its cheap as chips and brings potent DZ defense with the Chain rifle. For a lone gunner, you really can't go wrong with a BS12 ODD spitfire that brings its own smoke.

    I'm a big fan of the assault hacker here too, especially if Ajaxx or Hector join the link, given it nets you resilience against enemy hackers (its not the best cybercombat device but it is functional in that role) and also gives defense against heavy enemy rambo units like TAGs and HI that want to torch your team with templates. Given your team will be advancing anyway, towing a specialist along for free is smart play in ITS, given she's able to complete Data-scan/HVT:Espionage/Telemetry/HVT:Designation as well as primary objectives (sometimes getting a +3 bonus too!).

    Given the bevvy of excellent officer class Myrmidons with rifles, their is often little reason to splurge on a further rifle armed basic trooper, so I tend not to see them outside of multiple-myrm-link lists.

    Myrmidon Officers

    The first of the Enomotarchos link options, these premium priced myrmidons bring some unique utility to the army as a whole. Coming with a slight upgrade on the statline (+1WIP, +3BTS, +1CC), they keep Martial arts L3 + ODD but pick up No wound incapacitation to give them excellent resilience!

    Able to be your armies' liuetenant or bring the ever useful "Chain of Command" special skill along with smoke or eclipse smoke, they're hugely useful leaders or specialists (CoC counts as a specialist trooper in ITS missions, where smoke is also highly excellent!). All of this utility comes at a cost however, and you're not getting them without spending SWC, which is often at a premium in the Phalanx. 4 profiles round out their options;

    1. Chain of command; Boarding shotgun/Eclipse grenades/Pistol/AP CCW 35pts/1swc
    2. Chain of command; Combi rifle/Smoke grenades/Pistol/AP CCW 36pts/1swc
    3. Lieutenant; Boarding shotgun/Eclipse grenades/Pistol/AP CCW 30pts/0.5swc
    4. Lieutenant; Combi rifle/Smoke grenades/Pistol/AP CCW 31pts/0.5swc
    Eclipse is fairly limited across the human factions, being most prevalent in Tohaa. It completely blocks LOS, even to MSV equipped troopers, which grants huge utility to myrmidon links who would otherwise be very vulnerable against MSV (it negates their -6 ODD modifiers). As a specialist with CoC, it means she can dash onto objectives and take them with impunity, you're not getting shot in ARO by your enemy. For that reason, I tend to take profile 1 in a myrmidon link as the shotgun also brings great CQB punch to a link, though the 1SWC is often hard to swallow.

    Eudoros

    A cracking choice for adding some SWC free ranged punch to a link, he packs a vertiable toolbox of skills and kit into his 40pt package; bringing MA L4, Kinematika L1, Number 2, Enomatarchos:Myrmidons and the ever useful ODD + NWI to give him excellent gunfighting abilities as well as resilience with that pseudo-2W. As with all NWI troopers, you need to make sure viral and shock ammo is dealt with or countered before you're on the receiving end of it, given how it negates the value of NWI.

    His main draw is the combination of the Nanopulser, Mk12 and eclipse grenades plus his excellent close combat prowess hits home with a DA CCW. He's also a good candidate for your lieutenant given he's well protected, fairly resilient and capable across a variety of range bands. Number 2 means he'll automatically take over as the link leader should the original leader go down, saving you precious command tokens for use on things other than reforming links. All in all, he's an excellent attacking piece, combining BS13 with a great gun and ODD, CC21 with MA L4 + DA CCW and packing the incredibly useful eclipse grenades for allowing you to advance upfield without those pasky MSV models picking you off and countering your ODD modifiers.

    It goes without saying that 40pts isn't cheap, but the package as a whole is well worth the investment, giving you a great point man for a myrm team. Just watch out for his impetuousness, as in the late game when teams get broken, it can pull him out of position and trigger nasty stuff like mines without orders spent to hold him back from his blood lust. It can also work in his favour however, especially with the impetuous order + Lieutenant order giving him two "free" orders in the late game for mopping up the remnants of the enemy.



    Machaon

    Machaon is one of the best lieutenants in infinity, hands down. Whilst its true that HSN3 brought in a number of specialist lieutenants, this guy still brings home the bacon for phalanx. Being an enomatarchos leader, he can form myrmidon teams and comes stock standard with all the beautiful stuff that myrmidons have, MA L3, High CC, ODD etc, but he totes the doctor skill, medikit and a massive WIP15 combined with eclipse grenades. He's incredibly useful in ITS missions because he can stop enemy LOF to objectives with the grenades and then claim them with impunity from AROs or heal downed team mates in total safety. 38pts and 0.5swc is a bit of a steal for such a great all-rounder and he makes a totally viable soloist as well, given he can take yudbots to spread out his healing goodness and really make use of the lieutenant order by keeping your boys up and in the battle. He's a viable gunfighter, armed with combi rifle, BS13 and ODD, plus NWI to give him the extra pseudo-wound to take a stray crit and keep on going.

    I really can't recommend him enough, he's an absolute star for the phalanx; either as a lieutenant or as a capable specialist in his own right. My personal pick is to bury him in a myrmidon link and make sure there's a spitfire/HRL/mk12 in there for winning ranged FTFs en-route to the objectives.

    Phoenix

    The big hitter. For a long time, he was a strong contender for the "worst balanced unit in infinity award", being as near to an underpriced auto-take as you could get. In HSN3 however, that has been somewhat rectified with a points hike and equipment tweaks. He now sits at 40pts/2SWC and brings some long range to the Myrmidons with a heavy rocket launcher and covering his short range band with both a nanopulser and a heavy pistol. Like the above officers, he packs the ODD + NWI combination for durability and gunfighting plus brings standard smoke grenades for advancing upfield and playing lovely games with our Agema class troopers. His CC21, MA L3 and DA CCW give him huge potency in close combat, should the requirement arise.

    Phoenix is a brilliant bit of utility for a myrmidon link, bringing B3 templates at BS13 in a good band between 16-32", longer than any of the other myrmidon troopers or officers can bring and combining beautifully with rifle and shotgun toting myrmidons to cover all common range bands in one team. He makes a great enomotarchos leader for a mrym squad, even if the 2SWC can be a bit of a squeeze! He's a fantastic hunter of enemy link teams, given that the -6 to hit with the ODD he wears effectively counters their +3BS for range and +3BS link team bonuses, leaving them probably at -3 to hit for your cover. The template denies ARM bonuses for cover and fire ammo is very dangerous, especially on clumped up models like link teams where you can easily get two or more models under the template.

    Ajax the great

    About as subtle as the sledge hammer he wields, this guy is built for combat. He is true heavy infantry, bringing 2 proper wounds in addition to NWI for an effective 3rd wound. This is excellent because it nullifies the special effects of shock/viral ammo so makes a very good unit for dealing with those instead of the squishier 1W + NWI officers. He does unfortunately lose the protection of the ODD field that otherwise is standard equipment across the Myrmidons, but does pick up a suit of heavy armour, giving him ARM5 and BTS6 for weathering enemy fire and CC attacks. Speaking of which, he's an absolute beast, equipped with both the beserk and natural born warrior skills, he makes a brilliant answer to dedicated close combat units like shaolin and morlocks that generally get sent to deal with myrmidon squads as he's able to weather chain rifles/shock CCWs and then nullifies their martial arts skills before smacking them about with a DAM16 EXP CCW. One of the other major benefits of his skillset is that beserk confers the ability to the use the assault skill, allowing you to MOV-MOV-CC legally with one order (for a slight penalty to CC) which is situationally brutal for closing distances and saving orders. The other mode of beserk turns the CC roll into a normal, unopposed roll which with CC22 means he can choose to automatically hit in CC, accepting the fact that many opponents will also return the favour on an average roll. This makes him an excellent guided missile for dealing with TAGs and other big nasties, as you know every order spent on him will do damage in CC. Its also worth noting that he's no slouch in the midfield either, gaining B4 from his dual combi rifles and then a boost to B5 in a link team. Stacking that onto a BS13 HI platform gives you an excellent gunfighter, though he is S5 and impetuous so tends to rely a lot on his myrmidon buddies to cool his temper and smoke him up to his hunting range band. 39points is the asking price and I feel its fair. He's a great officer for a myrm team, especially in Direct action style missions, but tends to be best used as a guided missile for dealing with problematic models and often will not survive the game, making him a poorer choice of Lt than other options available (unless you also take a myrmidon officer with CoC to cover it off)

    Thorakitai

    The other half of the bulk of our forces, the thorakitai were often viewed as clunky, slow and unappealing compared to the glamorous ODD + martial art toting myrmidons. To an extent, that is all true, but what myrmidons now do, is bring a source of cheap orders, cheap specialists and heavy weaponry as well as making good DZ defenders with their 360visor + SMG + chain rifle options. Given a suppressive fire order, they can't be snook up on without smoke and pack chain rifles for covering flanks off against parachutists.

    HSN3 has rounded them out brilliantly with a variety of big guns and specialised them somewhat, stripping their automatic access to 360 visors down to the SMG toting profiles but introducing long range weapons like the HMG + Feuerbach which were incredibly scarce in the Phalanx previously. It is worth noting that unlike the Myrmidons, thorakitai require either a chunk of SWC spent to link them as an enomotarchos team or a heavy investment of points into hector, as both of their natural link leaders are armed with SWC weapons. This will also influence your choice of heavy weapons, as the spitfire on Nessie makes the HMG a tough call and the marksman rifle is somewhat redundant given that both Enomotarchos choices pack decent 24" range weapons. The LRL is a nice weapon in a link team, but largely redundant as Thras brings his own at a 50% SWC discount and Nessie's B5 spitfire is going to form the mainstay of the MOV-SHOOT orders you'll be doing.

    [​IMG] Steel Phalanx
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    [​IMG]9
    [​IMG]THORAKITES (360º Visor) Submachine gun, Chain Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12)
    [​IMG]THORAKITES Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 14)
    [​IMG]THORAKITES Submachine gun, Light Rocket Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (1 | 15)
    [​IMG]THORAKITES HMG, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 22)
    [​IMG]THORAKITES Engineer Combi Rifle, Nanopulser, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 18)
    [​IMG]THORAKITES (Forward Observer, 360º Visor) Submachine gun, Chain Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13)
    [​IMG]THORAKITES Paramedic (Medikit, 360º Visor) Submachine gun, Chain Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 14)
    [​IMG]THORAKITES Marksman Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 15)
    [​IMG]THORAKITES Feuerbach, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 22)

    4 SWC | 145 Points

    Open in Infinity Army

    MOV 4-2 is the standard MI stat and it does slow these guys down somewhat for agressive push on objectives, so you're going to be better declaring MOV-SHOOT orders and making use of the SWC weaponry where possible for the best efficiency out of these guys. That said, the paramedic/FO/Engy profiles are all costed way less than other Phalanx units, so they make for a good option in low points games and an excellent specialist-heavy supplement to a more cost intensive Myrmidon team in higher points games.

    The engineer is a lower cost alternative to the Dactyl, so running one solo with a yudbot is a perfectly admirable way of keeping your Zayins running on the cheap, given that they have the same WIP as the Dactyls.

    I find that the HMG works best with a Thrasymedes led team and that the Feuerbach works best with a Nessie led team as the range and burst of the weapons doesn't step on the Enomotarchos' officer's weaponry as much. The Feuerbach makes for a seriously deadly link team weapon, being B2 EXP in ARO at a lovely long range band

    Lastly, these guys are religious, which brings situational benefits in retreat scenarios.



    Nesaei Alke

    [​IMG] Steel Phalanx
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    [​IMG]2
    [​IMG]ALKÊ Spitfire, Nanopulser / Pistol, CCW. (1.5 | 25)
    [​IMG]ALKÊ Lieutenant Spitfire, Nanopulser / Pistol, CCW. (1.5 | 25)

    3 SWC | 50 Points

    Open in Infinity Army


    Cheap as chips and toting both a spitfire + nanopulser and a 360 visor, she's impossible to sneak up on without smoke being involved. She's BS13 too, and when leading a team, she picks up B5 on that gun, being able to utilise it very effectively in mid range bands. She's also a reasonably quirky lt option for when you've used machaon too many times and your regular opponents go hunting for him!
    The lack of a second wound or NWI is what brings the asking price down here, so she will need looking after if she is your LT, as she just can't take a stray crit and keep going like the Myrmidon officers can.

    Thrasymedes

    [​IMG] Steel Phalanx
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    [​IMG]2
    [​IMG]THRASYMEDES Infiltrator (Infiltration) Submachine gun, Nanopulser, Flash Grenades / Pistol, Shock CCW . (0 | 27)
    [​IMG]THRASYMEDES (Fireteam: Enomotarchos) Submachine gun, Light Rocket Launcher, Nanopulser, Flash Grenades / Pistol, Shock CCW. (0.5 | 30)

    0.5 SWC | 57 Points

    Open in Infinity Army


    An interesting Dire Foe, he brings quite a bit of utility to the Phalanx under whichever guise you bring him. He's as near to a camo infiltrator of other forces as we can get, coming with infilitration, "specialist operative" and ODD for grabbing midfield objectives without burning many orders, but the lack of any marker state means he'll need to skulk somewhere inaccessible to prevent an easy T1 takeout if you're going second. His SMG is a good bit of utility, but its short effective range (+3 is 0-8") means you'll have to get in close and personal to maximise his range bands and rely on suppressive fire in the reactive turn which combos brilliantly with cover and ODD to get to the magic -12 modifier (before range of course).

    His second profile enables him to Enomotarchos a squad of Thorakitai and he also packs a Light rocket launcher in this role, giving him B3 fire templates out to an effective range 24" which makes him very potent at dealing with opposing link teams, especially as his ODD counters the positive range and link team bonus to BS they'd otherwise be getting. Relying entirely on the LRL for a thorakitai team isn't too great though, and I'd always recommend dropping a HMG or Feuerbach into the team to ensure you've got an answer to snipers given there's no thorakitai smoke options as yet.



    Drakios



    [​IMG] Steel Phalanx
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    [​IMG]2
    [​IMG]DRAKIOS Red Fury + Light Flamethrower + 2 Devabots Kydoimos / Pistol,Shock CC Weapon. (1 | 45)
    [​IMG][​IMG]DEVABOT KYDOIMOS Heavy Flamethrower / Electric Pulse. (6)
    [​IMG]DRAKIOS Combi Rifle + Heavy Flamethrower, Blitzen + 2 Devabots Kydomios / Pistol,Shock CC Weapon. (0 | 42)
    [​IMG][​IMG]DEVABOT KYDOIMOS Heavy Flamethrower / Electric Pulse. (6)

    1 SWC | 87 Points

    Open in Infinity Army

    Ok, this guy is the single biggest gain that steel phalanx have received with HSN3. There. I said it.

    The biggest SP weakness that existed was that of MSV2 countering myrmidon's ubiquitous ODD and smoke and this guy waltzes in with Albedo and pisses all over it. He single-handedly defeats Yaogat haris links, overwatching djanbazan snipers and such by waltzing up turn one and unloading flamethrowers and red fury into them, with them having a -6 to return fire at him before range and cover modifiers are added. At BS12 out to 24" and B4, that's excellent odds of defeating your foes, and with his NWI he can tank a stray crit and keep going (though not if it were a shock round!) I'm much less sold on the rifle variant myself but I guess needs must if swc is sparse. Bringing a pair of bots is also extremely handy, not only because the also have albedo, but because they can hose an extremely large area with flame providing excellent board cover to deny good AD sites to your opponent and provide a disincentive to jump for central objectives without bleeding orders on drakios/bots first. He's also very capable in CC with the Assault skill (making mov-mov-CC a legal order declaration if he started with LOF (and gets burst bonuses if his bots make the engagement as well!) plus martial arts L2 (giving him stealth also) and a shock CC weapon for dealing with light enemies. The bots will go down which makes getting "Test Run" much easier with acmon/dactyl/thorakitai and if all that weren't enough, his team aren't slowed by wooded terrain and can also utilise "free agent" for masking ekdromoi drops and forcing your opponent to deploy cautiously to cover off an aerial attack that never arrives.

    If i had to nitpick (and I guess I do) the only negative point I find with him is that G;Sync prevents co-ordinated orders including him. Truly a wonder piece if you're taking myrmidons. Well worth placing centrally or holding as a reserve to counter-deploy overwatching MSV troopers like nikoul/briscard/yaogat/djanbazan etc.



    Scylla

    [​IMG] Steel Phalanx
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    [​IMG]3
    [​IMG]SCYLLA Hacker (Hacking Device) Boarding Shotgun, Nanopulser + 2 Devabots Charybdis / Pistol, E/M CC Weapon. (0.5 | 39)
    [​IMG][​IMG]DEVABOT CHARYBDIS Heavy Flamethrower / Electric Pulse. (7)
    [​IMG]SCYLLA Hacker (Assault Hacking Device. UPGRADE: Icebreaker) Boarding Shotgun, Nanopulser + 2 Devabots Charybdis / Pistol, E/M CC Weapon. (0.5 | 37)
    [​IMG][​IMG]DEVABOT CHARYBDIS Heavy Flamethrower / Electric Pulse. (7)
    [​IMG]SCYLLA Hacker (Killer Hacking Device UPGRADE: Maestro) Boarding Shotgun, Nanopulser + 2 Devabots Charybdis / Pistol, E/M CC Weapon. (0.5 | 34)
    [​IMG][​IMG]DEVABOT CHARYBDIS Heavy Flamethrower / Electric Pulse. (7)

    1.5 SWC | 110 Points

    Open in Infinity Army


    Another excellent utility piece; Scylla expands the repeater coverage SP can bring ten-fold by attaching repeaters onto 1-2 devabot chassis as a G;Sync team. Against hackable targets, this creates a wonderful ARO conundrum for your opponent when the team waltz around a corner, "Do I dodge the flamethrowers? {in which case i get hacked..} or do I reset? {in which case i get shot/burnt..}". As with Drakios, it is worth remembering that this does prevent her from joining co-ordinated orders.

    Scylla brings a selection of hacking devices with some upgrade programs. She benefits from additional infowar support from Myrm hackers/Thamrys/Ekdromoi and also unlocks hiring of REMs into your force regardless of choice of device. Its usually wise to bring hackers with other devices to cover off what she doesn't have to provide a breadth of AROs and options through her repeater net. Each hacking device has its own benefits; the standard device bringing upgrade supportware to boost Zayin/Daleth REMs and Ekdromoi jumps and provides a wide variety of classified coverage (She can do Datascan + Telemetry and both HVT variants) and is your standard all-rounder. The assault device retains Spotlight so covers the same range of classifieds for ITS games and gains higher burst hacking programs and better anti-tag capabilities but has no AHP programs, being a bit pillow-fisted in cybercombat. The KHD is truly deadly in cybercombat, but the biggest trade off is the loss of hacking utility vs REM/TAG/HI for the gaining of a true marker-state specialist with impersonation from the Cybermask supportware. Her bots get the cybermask benefits too, so they can safely MOV-MOV over firelanes as a team to claim objectives and impose suprise attack modifiers on their shotgun and flamethrower attacks. As above, her bots *will* go down in-game so bringing an engineer is a good idea to cover off the "test run" classified (you can easily get them deliberately killed at a corner of a building against overwatch units and a prone engineer can repair them easily risk-free).

    Between her shotgun, nanopulser and supporting flame/repeater devabots, she can also provide a lot of board coverage with flamethrowers and repeaters (especially if you bring multiple hackers) and makes an excellent centre-board piece, though a lack of defensive tech like mimetism/NWI etc makes her quite vulnerable for her point cost.

    REMs

    Armed with a solid variety of REMs, the Phalanx can easily fall back on these for fulfilling a spectrum of roles, from fast objective grabbers, cheap orders, board control, artillery and infowar amongst others. They fall into two categories, the Rebots and the Probots.

    Rebots

    [​IMG] Steel Phalanx
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    [​IMG]4
    [​IMG]DALETH Rebot Combi Rifle, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 17)
    [​IMG]LAMEDH Rebot Flash Pulse, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 8)
    [​IMG]SAMEKH Rebot Smart Missile Launcher / Electric Pulse. (1.5 | 18)
    [​IMG]ZAYIN Rebot HMG / Electric Pulse. (1 | 26)

    2.5 SWC | 69 Points

    Open in Infinity Army


    The broader spectrum of roles falls here, though they are all underpinned by a similar statline. All fast, they all have at least a 6-4MOV stat, with a smattering of Multi-terrain and Climbing plus scattered about between the profiles for extra mobility.

    -Daleth. Basically a mobile encylopedia of rules, this REM is a whole toolbox of kit in one fast, fairly cheap package. Its most common functions are its status as a forward observer, granting it the ability to capture objectives and classifieds as well as its combi rifle and repeater to take advantage of supportware. With marksmanship L2, this becomes a very capable assault specialist as BS14 shock Combi-rifle on a 6-4 climbing plus platform can kill effectively, grab objectives and then park on suppressive fire somewhere very awkward with very deadly AROs. It also packs the sensor rule, sniffers (deployable repeater equivalents that sync with the sensor skill instead of hacking) and sat-lock, all extremely useful for flushing out TO and Camo units and hard-countering camo heavy armies like ariadna and nomads. Sensor also grants the ability to utilise the "Triangulated fire" skill, which is situationally awesome for taking on TO snipers and the like at long range along with other tricky bits that don't come up often (low/poor vis + TO camo + bad range mods etc). The deactivator is a fairly pointless bit of kit, often better off just doing a discover-shoot with the rifle instead, so don't be overawed with it. All in all, its pretty damn hard not to recommend this profile, especially as it also gives you something to grab "Test run" from repairing.

    Although Phalanx do not struggle for linkable specialists, this REM is vastly quicker than Thorakitai and syncs very well with Scylla/Thamrys/Assault hackers as well as Samekh missile bots when utilising sat-lock/spotlight for targetting and smart missile firing. It does however open up serious problems for your own hackers, especially if KHD's are around the board, as they can attack your hackers through the Daleth's repeater and ignore its firewall modifiers, so always make sure you prepare for that eventuality as it is also hackable itself. The last point to be made is that it cannot deal with narrow access gates, so cannot grab objectives on the other side of them. Prepare for this in the list building stage and don't be surprised by it on the day!

    -Lamedh. the epitome of an annoyance and cheap order combined, this can be viewed as a massive upgrade to the warcor. Just as capable of flashpulse ARO (If not more so given the B2 available through supportware!), it also brings mimetism, a regular order, a repeater and sniffers to the party. This makes it an excellent backfield piece, covering an objective with a B2 flashpulse and repeater coverage for supportware for a Zayin on overwatch duty. Its regular order is better than the warcor's irregular order and the visual modifier it brings is much more useful in FTF rolls. 6-6MOV and multiterrain also equip it well for upfield mobility for more aggressive use of its repeater and sniffer, though it will often require smoke assistance to cross firelanes given it has no access to cautious movement as an REM. at 8pts, the asking price is extremely fair, though in hacker-lite lists, it will face competition from double-netrods as an alternative choice.

    -Samekh. A relic of a bygone era, the old N2 staple of designating targets and immolating them with guided missiles is now pretty near to dead. Heavy nerfs to order efficiency, reliability of designation through hacking, dodge AROs to attacks from out of LOS and downgrade of EXP to DA all mean there is very little role for this piece, especially in phalanx where you've simply got more reliable ways of dealing with troublesome enemies. Its playable with the right build if you're super-keen, but its not one I'd recommend investing in for routine/ITS play.

    -Zayin. Given how lite Phalanx are on board control options and HMGs, this REM single handedly fills that niche. Unfortunately limited to AVA1, when well supported, this total reaction bot with 360 visor can really lock down approaches to objectives and hose down routes of advance with B4 Shock HMG on BS14 (with supportware). at 26pts and 1swc, its often not hard to find a slot for it and it will definitely bleed enemy orders to remove it from play. A thorakitai/dactyl engineer or their yudbot nearby makes for a handy "revive" tool, though keep them far enough back that they can't be caught in template blasts. With 6-4MOV and climbing plus, its just as potent in the active turn as an aggressive piece as well, able to scale buildings and attack from awkward angles, it can negate a lot of very nasty AROs and attack models from behind without fear of reprisal when used appropriately to available terrain. It shines most when supported with a hacker, so thamrys and scylla combo very well here.

    Your main counters to total reaction bots are attacks from camo outside of its good range as they stack modifiers to the extent where you're often hitting on 2's or unable to shoot in return. Smoke grenades and MSV2 snipers/HMG are a prime example of this kind of play, as are TO/camo snipers and TO/ODD/Camo infiltrators attacking in the REM's 0 or -3 range bands. Screening your Zayin is therefore important and it makes for a good choice of reserve trooper in the deployment phase, able to deploy stuck to the rear vertical wall of a building and then move over the lip and onto the roof in your turn, rather than being obliterated by an intruder sniper in order 1 of turn1 if it deployed to maximise AROs. This also syncs well with supportware, as you'll likely have none running if you're going second.

    IMHO the best use of these pieces is to accept it will go down, but you need to make sure it goes down to the maximum number of orders of your enemy possible.



    Probots

    Our lesser loved cousins historically, baggage has become much more useful in recent ITS seasons and rule editions and they've rightly become a nice utility piece in the Phalanx, however AVA1 will force your hand on which profile you take. Baggage also allows reloading of disposable weapons, so DEP/Flammenspeer/Panzerfaust toting units can all make use of this ability to top up their ammo during the game; obviously especially useful for Dactyl links if you can spare the orders. All the extra weight of carrying ARM2 + baggage over their ARM0 Rebot counterparts means they drop to 4-4MOV and have no mobility skills like climbing plus or multiterrain either. This suits all profiles more for a defensive or backfield role, though smart use of co-ordinated orders can get them up the field more efficiently.

    [​IMG] Steel Phalanx
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    [​IMG]3
    [​IMG]PROBOT (Minesweeper, Repeater) Electric Pulse. (0 | 8)
    [​IMG]PROBOT Hacker (EVO Hacking Device) Electric Pulse. (0.5 | 25)
    [​IMG]PROBOT (Total Reaction, Repeater) Combi Rifle / Electric Pulse. (0 | 21)

    0.5 SWC | 54 Points

    Open in Infinity Army


    The three profiles break down as so;

    Minesweeper, repeater 8pts. For when you'd rather score zones in frontline/supremacy etc than ARO flashpulse with a Lamedh. The minesweeper rarely comes in handy, but its a nice utility piece if your regular opponents feature a particular fan of upfield minelayers. at 8pts, it counts as 28pts for the purposes of scoring zones and calculating retreat and brings a repeater for sharing the supportware love with your fellow remotes.

    EVO hacking device 25pts/0.5swc. Retaining its Baggage rule, this version dumps its repeater and gains an EVO hacking device, granting it its own specialist status and unlocking REMs as an army choice in the meantime. It features a variety of lovely programs, most of which require their own in-depth analysis which falls outside of the scope of this. Needless to say, the benefits to the Phalanx are numerous; given it boosts AD, improves the resilience of Fireteams (of which we run multiple!), can attack enemy hackers with AHP programs, allows coordinated hacking, boosts REMs with force-wide GADGET programs, boosts HI hacking resilience and so on. Not to mention that it is a specialist in its own right and can capture objectives! It is however unarmed, so will need defence and support if it is to be used more aggressively.

    Total reaction, repeater, combi rifle 21pts. Not as potent a defensive model as the Zayin, it is however much more useful on dense boards and missions where the DZ is a designated landing zone (an unopposed B3 rifle shot is enough to deter hellcats/tomcats/van zant etc trying their luck on a DZ rampage). Its ARM 2 and built in repeater make it more durable and easier to buff with supportware than the Zayin and the rifle range bands make it much more useful for defense of skulking lieutenants in missions like decapitation where the zayin would be in its 0/-3 range band.

    The Great Heroes

    Hector

    [​IMG] Steel Phalanx
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    [​IMG]2
    [​IMG]HECTOR Lieutenant Plasma Rifle, Nanopulser, Stun Grenades + 1 TinBot A / Heavy Pistol, EXP CC Weapon. (0 | 71)
    [​IMG]HECTOR Lieutenant Spitfire, Nanopulser, Stun Grenades + 1 TinBot A / Heavy Pistol, EXP CC Weapon. (2 | 70)

    2 SWC | 141 Points

    Open in Infinity Army

    One of the newer characters available for Steel Phalanx, he makes both an excellent and obvious lieutenant thanks to his strategos L1. In a faction that has access to chain of command, how much of a liability you feel an obvious Lt is depends on list building/opponents/meta, but of all our LT options, he's essentially one of the most survivable given his excellent statlines, stun grenades, armour, BTS, template weapon and CC prowess plus access to SSL2 in a four man enomotarchos.

    One of the main benefits he brings is that he is ultimately linkable with any of Dactyls/Thorakitai/Myrmidons and he's a capable and worthy addition to all of them dependent on role required. My personal fave is to have him leading a Dactyl team consisting of a Doctor and an Engineer(or acmon) as his X-Visor and spitfire lend them excellent range and burst and the Doctor and Engineer give him resilience against both wounds and IMM states or isolation etc. His benefits are wide however and though neither myrmidons or thorakitai "need" him as much as Dactyls do (given their otherwise short range/limited ranged ammo), a thorakitai link feel the benefit of his close combat prowess and a myrmidon link including a hacker or Ajax feel the love from his tinbot and their smoke grenades can help deliver him to the thick of the fight or shield him from harm.

    Achilles

    Available in two versions, they both amount to the same thing with subtle variations; an S2 light TAG that forces your opponent to deal with him or feel his wrath.

    [​IMG] Steel Phalanx
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    [​IMG]2
    [​IMG]HECTOR Lieutenant Plasma Rifle, Nanopulser, Stun Grenades + 1 TinBot A / Heavy Pistol, EXP CC Weapon. (0 | 71)
    [​IMG]HECTOR Lieutenant Spitfire, Nanopulser, Stun Grenades + 1 TinBot A / Heavy Pistol, EXP CC Weapon. (2 | 70)

    2 SWC | 141 Points

    Open in Infinity Army


    His original profile (some would say best) includes the devilishly awesome ODD for protection ontop of an incredible statline, the only '1' being his AVA! He can also form a duo team with patroclus to perform holo-projector shenanigans, though in practice, its application is niche since both models are easily capable of winning FTF rolls. Either variant is worthy of your lieutenant slot given that he's obvious anyway and the extra order can be well put to use on a model statted and equipped for wrecking face, even if all you use it for is suppressive fire at the end of the turn to help keep him safe or retain ground gained.

    [​IMG] Steel Phalanx
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    [​IMG]2
    [​IMG]ACHILLES Lieutenant MULTI Rifle, Nanopulser, D.E.P. / Pistol, EXP CC Weapon. (0 | 74)
    [​IMG]ACHILLES Lieutenant Spitfire, Nanopulser / Pistol, EXP CC Weapon. (2.5 | 75)

    2.5 SWC | 149 Points

    Open in Infinity Army


    The second variant gains heavier armour, forward deployment L1 and a DEP at the cost of a downgrade from ODD to mimetism and Kinematika L2->L1. If your opponent was bringing lots of MSV, then the trade off is likely worth it but against most opponents, the extra negative modifiers from ODD is likely more beneficial. That said, both options are rock solid gold, so don't feel bad for making the choice in either direction!

    Patroclus

    Oft mocked in earlier editions for his high cost and questionable utility, recent changes to holoprojector give him considerable durability and extra negative modifiers to consider for your opponent. He can link with both versions of Achilles dependent on profile, creating a potential sea of Achilles look-a-likes if you so wish with his Holoprojector. In reality though, Patroclus hits hard enough with similar enough weapons to Achilles that I'm not sure it's particularly worth the cost and effort, though Achilles does appreciate Patroclus' being nearby for his order-efficient smoke launching abilities.

    [​IMG] Steel Phalanx
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    [​IMG]4
    [​IMG]PATROCLUS (ODD: Optical Disruptor) MULTI Rifle, Nanopulser, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, EXP CCW. (0 | 55)
    [​IMG]PATROCLUS (ODD: Optical Disruptor) Spitfire, Nanopulser, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, EXP CCW. (1.5 | 57)
    [​IMG]PATROCLUS (CH: Mimetism) Fireteam: Duo (Achilles v2)) MULTI Rifle, Nanopulser, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, EXP CCW. (0 | 51)
    [​IMG]PATROCLUS (CH: Mimetism) Fireteam: Duo (Achilles v2) Spitfire, Nanopulser, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, EXP CCW. (1.5 | 53)

    3 SWC | 216 Points

    Open in Infinity Army

    As a solo piece he's fast and well statted though falls in an awkward middle ground of cost and kit between capable linkable myrmidon fighters and much more capable premium characters like Achilles. His holoprojector L3 is interesting and can gain them resilience when crossing firelanes, either forcing the opponent to "hold" and give you a free MOV-MOV or take -ve mods for surprise, or take a chance and potentially end up shooting at a holo-echo as you fire upon him unopposed.

    The Supporting cast:

    Netrods

    [​IMG]1
    [​IMG]NETROD Electric Pulse. (0 | 4)

    0 SWC | 4 Points

    Open in Infinity Army

    In steel phalanx they serve no other purpose than generation of a regular order for 4points. They are susceptible to minesweeping and are easy targets, so don't over rely on them


    Ekdromoi

    Our AD specialists; these guys come kitted with a wide variety of kit and skills to assist in offensive ops or CQB.

    [​IMG] Steel Phalanx
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    [​IMG]6
    [​IMG]EKDROMOS Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, AP CCW. (0 | 28)
    [​IMG]EKDROMOS Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, DA CCW. (0 | 29)
    [​IMG]EKDROMOS HMG, Nanopulser / Pistol, DA CCW. (1.5 | 37)
    [​IMG]EKDROMOS Chain Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, DA CCW. (0 | 20)
    [​IMG]EKDROMOS Boarding Shotgun, Nanopulser / Pistol, DA CCW. (0 | 28)
    [​IMG]EKDROMOS Hacker (Assault Hacking Device) Chain Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, DA CCW. (0.5 | 26)

    2 SWC | 168 Points

    Open in Infinity Army


    None of these options are "cheap", but BS12, MA L3(inc stealth), templates on all profiles and superjump mean these guys are excellent rambo pieces, even having a specialist hacker profile for dealing with backfield REMs like TR bots and outflanking heavy hitters like TAGs to break defensive suppressive fire by forcing them to reset etc. They're excellent for appearing in the backfield, popping up with superjump and templating a line of prone troopers on a rooftop and can play nasty tricks with stealth and CC too. The hacker and budget chain rifle do end up being a bit pillow fisted with a pair of templates, only having a pistol for ranged FTF rolls though they do benefit from being able to choose ARM or BTS to target depending on the opponent's weaker stat.

    The HMG is a tougher call since the N3 range band change but on more open boards can still cause carnage though i'd prefer the linked thorakitai HMG if i had to choose. Other than the budget option, there isn't a "bad" profile here. For real use of the full benefit of Aerial Deployment: Combat jump, its well worth bringing an evo hacker or standard hacking device somewhere else in the list for the assisted jump supportware/bonus.

    Diomedes

    [​IMG] Steel Phalanx
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    [​IMG]2
    [​IMG]DIOMEDES Mk12, Nanopulser / Assault Pistol, DA CCW. (0 | 43)
    [​IMG]DIOMEDES MULTI Rifle, Nanopulser / Assault Pistol, DA CCW. (0 | 42)

    0 SWC | 85 Points

    Open in Infinity Army

    I've omitted the lt profile becuase no-one wants to start in LOL. Otherwise, Diomedes is a cracking assault piece. The multirifle and MK12 profiles both offer exceptional damage potential on an AD3 model, able to outflank enemies and unload DAM15 rounds into their rear arcs or pick off cheerleaders with shock rounds. He retains the excellent CC loadout of the "grunt" Ekdromoi and also picks up BTS3 for basic resilience against breaker/flashpulse/viral etc but it isn't high enough to count on to keep him safe. His main benefit over the "grunt" ekdromoi is his NWI and uprated weaponry, so he shines as a backfield rambo piece. With that in mind, build your list to support him and keep other viable threats on baord to encourage your opponent to move up and create gaps for him to get into. Combat Jump can also plop him into riskier drop zones when supported by EVO or other hackers and NWI means he can eat a chain rifle ARO on deployment and keep trucking if you need to really get risky.

    Andromeda

    [​IMG] Steel Phalanx
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────

    [​IMG]3
    [​IMG]ANDROMEDA Submachine Gun, Nanopulser, Flash Pulse / Breaker Pistol, DA CC Weapon, Knife. (0 | 28)
    [​IMG]ANDROMEDA Boarding Shotgun, Flash Pulse / Breaker Pistol, DA CC Weapon, Knife. (0 | 32)
    [​IMG]ANDROMEDA Combi Rifle, Flash Pulse / Breaker Pistol, DA CC Weapon, Knife. (0 | 33)

    0 SWC | 93 Points

    Open in Infinity Army

    She's a bit of an all rounder that i'm not overly sold on. What little fluff we have for her pits her as an infiltrator, but she only starts one short MOV skill further up the board than her compadres (and less than solo thrasymedes by a long shot), only has the specialist operative skill (so never gets mission specific bonuses and can't contribute to classifieds). As an ITS piece, she's not fantastic as she's on a huge base so will struggle to avoid AROs and becomes inefficient in getting into buildings and the like due to having to be prone to get through doors.

    As a combatant, she's reasonably reasonable; packing mimetism and NWI gives her an edge against most light troops in close quarters and her CC of 20, DA CCW and guard L3 mean she'll outmatch troopers that aren't geared toward CC. Against specialist troopers geared for ranged or CC combat though, she's well eclipsed and the larger base size means she's more easily caught out of cover and is much more difficult to hide.

    She's a whole bundle of average in my books, Penny does combat better and thras does objectives better. She might be ok as an adjunct to either given their AVA1 however. I'll be getting some table time with her soon and will update once she's had a few games.

    Journalists

    [​IMG] Steel Phalanx
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────

    [​IMG]1 [​IMG]2
    [​IMG]WARCOR (Sixth Sense L1) Flash Pulse / Stun Pistol, Knife. (0 | 3)
    [​IMG]WARCOR (Aerocam) Flash Pulse / Stun Pistol, Knife. (0 | 3)
    [​IMG]THAMYRIS Hacker (Hacking Device) Pitcher, Nanopulser / Assault Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 24)

    0.5 SWC | 30 Points

    The Warcor is one of those, "ive got 3 pts left over and my doctor already has a yudbot" kind of model. Often, it will achieve nothing, stood on a rooftop valiantly declaring "flashpulse ARO" before disappearing in a red mist to a burst of sniper or HMG fire, but there will be times when it causes your opponent a real headache when your dice are hot. If nothing else, it bleeds a MOV-SHOOT order of the enemy that he could otherwise be doing something else with. The irregular order can also be used as a regular order with the spending of a command token which can come in nifty in the late game. Now the aerocam has been FAQ'd to be a 360 visor, you might as well go with that, as in many situations, the 360 visor grants similar benefits as SSL1 does as well as being largely more relevant.

    Thamryis is however, the one we're here for. Packing an assault pistol and nanopulser, he's no long ranged marksman, but thats not what he's there for. Packing WIP14, a standard hacking device and a pitcher, he's able to land repeaters in the midfield and then ARO any TAGs/HI/Hackers that stray too close which makes him great against heavy tech factions like Pano/Yu Jing etc. He can also do Datascan/Telemetry and the HVT equivalents, which makes him a great utility piece as well as a good close quarters combatant with his B4 assault pistol. His natural enemies are Killer hackers though, as the shock ammo on "Trinity" ignores his NWI and puts him straight to dead. Cautious use of pitchers/repeaters against armies toting KHD's is advised!

    Penthiselea

    [​IMG] Steel Phalanx
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────

    [​IMG]1 [​IMG]1
    [​IMG]PENTHESILEA Combi Rifle, Contender, Nanopulser / Pistol, Monofilament CCW. (0 | 41)

    0 SWC | 41 Points

    Open in Infinity Army


    Oft mocked in N2 for being over priced, undergunned and fair-to-crap in combat, she did receive some neat tweaks in HSN3 with the changes to the i-Kohl rules and their effects on FTF rolls when entering CC. The core of the profile is its speed; 8-6MOV coupled with normal impetuous (can choose not to use it) and ODD makes her a good bully of similarly armed enemies. Her main bane are MSV2 equipped overwatch units, so these must either be screened with Eclipse smoke from Myrmidon officer characters, or otherwise eliminated or counter-deployed by holding penny as a reserve drop. She's no slouch in CC either, wielding a monofil CCW, CC22 and i-Kohl L2 but her prime targets are often better shot at range than stabbed, though having the ability is no real harm. 41 points does buy you ODD and NWI, so she is relatively durable, but with no way to claim cover (being both impetuous and a biker), she needs to pick her fights well and avoid minelayers/DTWs at all costs given how poorly bikers dodge. Bikes take a lot of getting used to in N3, and I have to unfortunately say, I've never consistently got good results out of penny which is a damn shame given how ace the models of her are. What she requires is space, as in space without overbearing AROs. Most overwatch units will be hitting her on a net of -3 for the odd after positive range mods are accounted for. My best success with her has been to use her in "Limited Insertion" as there are vastly fewer enemy models deployed which often opens up routes of advance. Caution is usually advised, especially if your opponent has less than 10 models deployed and a smug smile on his face. A hidden sniper/ML etc can make short work of her so its often a good idea to forgo the impetuous order and screen long lines gratuitously with myrmidon smoke prior to her advance.

    Used well, against the right enemy though, she can advance very quickly using her impetuous order and then outshoot cheerleaders from flanking positions whilst benefiting from her ODD and NWI to keep her safe. Definitely a model to build around however, and be prepared to lose her fairly early in the game. Her speed can make her extremely difficult for your opponent to defend against and with good terrain, good planning and good support, she can wreak havoc in your opponents backfield very quickly.
     
    #1 csjarrat, Jan 22, 2018
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2018
    Wizzy, Golem2God, Deltervees and 8 others like this.
  2. yoink101

    yoink101 Chandra SpecOps Complaint Department

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    Thanks for writing this up! After spend a long time with Pano, and a little time with Nomads and ISS, I'm really excited to get back into Steel Phalanx. This was a great way to start thinking about units again and decide which ones I want to use.
     
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  3. Elessar

    Elessar 80stalgic console cowboy

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    Quite an interesting take on the ASS, thank you very much indeed.

    I think the SP is an almost wrapped up sectorial by now in light of the upcoming stress on the Vedic, so we can easily stand by your analysis for the foreseeable future. I agree on most of your points and unfortunately Andromeda strikes me too for her incosistence, rule wise is pretty crap ...

    Then, due to ITS10 'patches' I will give Thorakites fireteams a new shot and maybe some lonely Ekdromoi AHD too.
     
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  4. Kir

    Kir Well-Known Member

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    Very important point to fielding penny- if you move-CC and the guy you engaged does a BS attack, ikhol and odd stack for a whopping -12 to hit. So even against hmg hi/tags you can fuck them up with you mono ccw if you can engage them from around a corner. She's been a great asset in killing HIs for me so far, and racing her into the enemy backline lets her use her DA contender in ARO to be a royal pain to remove. While shes there she can also clean up the enemy cheerleaders well. Only problem is mines, but you have enough options in the rest of your army to deal with those.
     
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  5. Nenyx

    Nenyx Well-Known Member

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    Note that iKhol only works on Wound type troops, not Structure type, so you'll only have -6 from ODD versus TAGs and some others like Su Jian.
     
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  6. RecklessPrudence

    RecklessPrudence Well-Known Member

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    I know that no-one's responded to this thread in almost a year, but do you have any plans to adjust Teucer's entry in light of the massive buff MMLX received? His K1 option is now worth taking, and his Feuerbach becomes terrifying with MMLX, ignoring both aspects of partial cover and granting a +6 to hit, meaning that it often makes more sense by the numbers to MMLX the AP+DA mode than to fire it at B2! BS23 in the good range, MSV2 to ignore visual mods, ignores both the -3 to hit and +3 ARM of partial cover... he's a beast.
     
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  7. xagroth

    xagroth Mournful Echo

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    To be fair, also more costly and hard to fit because of those extra points "thanks" to his another, oh-so-usefull skill, Climbing plus (the first one would be Free Agent)
     
  8. Nenyx

    Nenyx Well-Known Member

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    I'm not sure how the K1 would be worth taking. The problem with his K1 sniper profile was always that this weapon is underperforming compared to feuerbach or MSR (read: Atalanta) and that hadn't changed.

    And while MMLX received a buff, i'm still thinking Atalanta is overall better than Teucer. I mean, Teucer will shoot with B1, BS+6, ignoring cover, doing 14 AP DA vs B2 BS+3 doing 15 DA. The +1 burst is often more valuable, and the extra range from the MSR vs Feuerbach can be useful. Teucer is only truly better than Atalanta when dealing with TAGs or if you really need climbing+, but you pay it with +9 pts / +0,5 SWC.
     
  9. Zewrath

    Zewrath Elitist Jerk

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    Untrue. A modestly deployed Warcor will never make the 360°-visor relevant. Meanwhile the SSL1 gives you the ability to delay your ARO when inside ZoC and immunity to surprise attacks against close range infiltrators. Does any of this happen often? No, very rarely but rare is still much more than 'never'.

    The exception to this (for me at least) is the mission Firefight, where everything can basically do a Van Zant and you have a 16" deployment zone to boot.
     
  10. RecklessPrudence

    RecklessPrudence Well-Known Member

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    While the Feurbach is still usually better, being able to ignore partial cover armour mods makes the K1 ammo vastly more valuable. It's similar to why MML2 is so useful for the K1 Rudra. It's kind of a 'more than the sum of their parts' deal.

    Fair point. You're probably better off with the cheaper Atalanta a lot of the time - although quadrupling your crit rate has its own value, as anyone who's got a unit with Fatality L2 could tell you (ignoring that Teucer will crit on high numbers where he likely would have hit anyway, while FL2 lets you crit on what is otherwise near-guaranteed failure in a FtF.
     
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  11. Nenyx

    Nenyx Well-Known Member

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    I think you're comparing two vastly different things. MML2 gives Rudra shock on its B3 weapon, but it does not ignore the ARM bonus. And it's still a burst 3 weapon, it's the main point.
    For Teucer, think about it. If Teucer user MMLX with K1 sniper, he will simply be unable to kill a trooper. He can put it unconscious, provided said trooper does not have dogged/NWI, but he can't do more than 1 wound for each order, which is quite inefficient if the opponent has doctor/engineer to revive some of his ARO pieces (TR bots ...). Plus, i would say that having a lot of crit makes K1 irrelevant. What's the point of having an ammo that can wound no matter the ARM if you have good chances of bypassing said wound roll ?
    With feuerbach you deal two dam 14 AP wounds instead of a single dam 12 K1 wound. Unless the opponent has ARM 5+, you will not only deal 2 hits instead of 1, but with at least as much damage. That's why i said that K1 sniper is underperforming.

    As you said, the big point with Fat L2 is that you have great chances of success on bad matchups (ex outranged, shooting on ODD targets ...). When using Teucer, you should not have such penalties to begin with.
     
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  12. RecklessPrudence

    RecklessPrudence Well-Known Member

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    Dammit, fingers got away from me. Didn't mean the MML2 on the Rudra, meant the Climing Plus combined with high mobility - means the Rudra can often get angles that don't allow Partial Cover bonuses, making the K1 ammo worth a lot more. Sorry for the confusion.

    And yeah, fair point. Really, the K1 ammo works so much better when the ammo it's replacing is not already high dam. Did you know there's a K1 combi in the RPG? As well as a HRMC that is so often used by Aleph that it's known as 'Aleph's own choice', or something like that? I really want a Heavy Weapons Guy version of Ajax (same/similar body, different character) that has the choice between a HRMC or a MULTI HMG. Maybe an Agema Ajax-like, that gives up a point of PHY or something for an Agema-standard BS? Wouldn't say no to it on a Rudra over in OSS-town, either...

    Anyway, I think you're right. K1 Sniper Teucer is still subpar, but I still think Feuerbach Teucer is amazing. Could stand to be a little cheaper, though - would be willing to give up C+ and Free Agent to be able to fit him in a list more often!
     
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  13. Nenyx

    Nenyx Well-Known Member

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    Np, i understand better now. Indeed, climbing+ is very valuable, especially on rudra and zayin and their 15/10 moves.

    As for K1 combi or HRMC, it has probably more to do with game balance. K1 combi is powerful and i was glad to have a K1 marksman rifle on rudras. I would like a HRMC on a S5 HI platform, it would be a cheap alternative to Marut, but it would be totally unfair and unbalance for Yu Jin.
     
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