New to Pano and Infinity

In my personal opinion Vanilla is a mistake, I've started with ASA and never looked back, but the option is there if someone wants it ;)

 

Starting with Vanilla is just fine as long as you aren't on a super tight budget.

If you are building up from Icestorm then you have started Vanilla by default!

 

If you're looking to get shock army grab what you can while it's still in stock. It will be out of production next month

 

Well, yes and no. Vanilla is really good to just discover the faction and the troops and have a first eye on how behave PanO troops in general. You discover also why Frenzy gives a discount and how to use it and you can mix Joan with more standard troops. But I think there will be one time when playing a sectorial will be what you want. Because it is the way PanO is for the moment: great sectorials armies that have a strong identity and are all really competitive with great minis. And the funny thing is that in the lore, PanO armies don't tend to mix that much. Except when it involves TAG battles where battalions from different armies are surely mixed because each of them as a role in the Armored Cavalry. And Double TAG lists are really one of the selling points of playing Vanilla.

Personnaly, I'v started with NCA before playing half of a season with ASA. Last season, I began to play Vanilla before starting MO and finishing by returning to my first love. For having played a bit of all what PanO offers, I can tell you that Vanilla will be the only one to give you the maximum of variety. Each sectorial will give you a way to play basically and all you could do is making variations around it. You could find it boring once you'll figure yourself playing the same kind of lists game after game. Or you could, like @Stiopa, find yourself fine in just one sectorial. So, really, go for what your heart calls. We all finish by buying other minis than what we started with.
Personnally, I have 3 sectorial armies which are making my PanO Vanilla army (and a fourth is coming in November) but I think I'm kinda a wierd guy as a lot of the other players prefer to change faction completely.

 

Not that weird. I'm similar in mindset. When I choose a faction it is for the longrun. I'm won't give up when the going gets tough. Just need to learn/get better at using the faction. It would take alot to get me to drop a faction I put time & money into.

 

I still prefer vanilla, but then I like Nisse. Like, way too much. And Joan seems a more natural fit there. And I don't like the hassle of moving link teams about. And I've got models across all the sectorials so why limit myself?

I wouldn't ever claim it to be stronger though.

To be honest at this point I'd advise someone to hold off huge orders just a few weeks until we know what the Varuna options look like and if there are any significant changes in the new book/Army update. The only exception to this would be and ASA stuff you really, really must have, as it might start getting hard to acquire.

For reference, new players, the ASA stuff is usually painted blue & green.

 

Sounds like a smart choice since we are less than a month away from the new book & rule changes dropping.

 

First things forst: Welcome to the Hyperpower!
Just to toss in my 2 eurocents:
I strongly recommend newbies to start with a sectorial instead of vanilla. The drawbacks of a sectorial over vanilla are the advantages for a newbie.
When playing a sectorial, the core choice is which core fireteam to play. More often than not, veteran players are able to recommend one of the fireteam options to play initially and will be able to recommend a proper set-up (a standard composition) for the fireteam and some tweaks (how to modify the fireteam for better results in certain missions).
[Some players claim operating fireteams is complicated and as a result should not be recommended to new players. I believe fireteams add a lot of firepower and other advantages that vanilla armies lack and is rather hard to compensate for, especially for a rookie. I think a couple rules covering the fireteams is not much compared to the complexity of the rule set.]
Now the core of the army is at place, time to start rounding out the army to address special needs. Now in case of sectorials, the range to chose from is limited and again, experienced players will be able to give advice. In vanilla armies the player should check a fairly high amount of alternative profiles to find the proper trooper. In a sectorial army the choice normally boils down to two, maybe three alternatives. It's easier to choose, or feasible to try and playtest all of them.
I started with the Frenchies (Loup Garous caught me) and escalated into vanilla Ariadna (the overpowerhouse of the Infinity universum), branched into all the sectorials (Caledonia first, Murica went secound), and then went for the antithesis of Ariadna in Steel Phalanx (and Qapu Khalki, Neoterra, vanilla Aleph and now Acon). Worked fine for me.
My recommendation: pick the sectorial that appeals for you most. The tactica in the subforum will help a lot.
Don't underestimate aesthetics! Just don't!
My forecast: after staring with one of the sectorials, you will delve into vanilla (sooner than later) and all PanO sectorials (question of time). Your vallet will not like it. You will love it!
Happy hunting!

 

Next step is to get rems. You can proxy most troops but rems are harder.

 

You can easily proxy or use other models for ASA units.
Fusiliers=Regulars.
You can still get a Combi Akali from the Icestorm/Vanilla starter which you already have.
Neoterra Bolts from the NCA starter & SWC box can be used as Bagh-Mari/Rao if you are unable to grab the Mari Box & HMG blister. They have similar loadouts except for the Bolts Missile Launcher & Spitfire.
Guarda Assalto can be done with a Swiss Guard model.
Montesas won't be a problem soon as I feel that CB will gave us a model for the new bike Knights.
Tikibalangs are still in production and they have a Duo Link now.