So CB just published the stats from ITS season 9 here. Lots of interesting data, I strongly suggest everybody give a look. One thing I found interesting was the list of top 3 units for a faction. For Caledonia it looks like this: Caledonian Higlander Army: 1º Caledonian Volunteers (79.12 per cent) 2º 3rd Highlander Grey Rifles (74.55 per cent) 3º William Wallace (74.26 per cent) Now these are all fine units, I use them quite a bit myself, but I am shocked to not see the 45th Galegians in the list, and Wallace listed at #3. Further, there seems to be a respectable turn out for Caledonia, with 36 people bring the best sectorial in Infinity. I personally find it very hard to make a list without him and at least a 4-10 45thers. What do some of these lists without Wallace and the 45thers look like? Why would you NOT take Wallace in a Caledonia list?
Gals are probably 4th and the reason Vols are higher is that 25% of lists that arent running Wallace and therefore less likely to take gals
I think part of the reason I'm surprised is that my other army is PanO, so Ariadna, and 45ther spam with Wallace is pretty much everything that a typical PanO list is not: 20 orders, warbands, smoke, and irregular orders.
yeah, my other army is PanO as well. I kinda actually just really play 2 factions if you think about it. I go in for the idea that if im going to invest in an army i want the gameplay to be different.
That top 3 is fairly unsurprising cos just about everyone will start with the Grey+Volunteer core fireteam. Wallace is such a great Lt, as long as you're willing to commit to using & protecting him, so I guess not as many people want to take the risk, and hence his 3rd place. The bit that surprised me was the percentages; "only" 79% seems really low, unless there's quite a few people running Limited Insertion lists?
So, with the release of TAK, maybe we'll see a shift away from that? The Vet Kazak + Line Kazaks seems like a stronger version of this, and TAK has a more elite units, IMHO. What TAK lacks is a good way to generate cheap Regular orders. Their best bet is going to be Line Kazak w/ Rifle spam, which doesn't come close to Volunteers or 45thers, IMHO.
its not in my opinion. 1) Line Kazaks lack chainrifles and shotguns 2) The Vet Kazak is baller but the grey is very points efficient 3) It gets more orders to spend on it
I'm finding the fireteams in TAK as so much more flexible, and with a much wider range of tools; at least compared to CHA. I'd guess that the Kazak link might overtake the CHA one for missions and order efficiency, (most people will fuel it with 10 orders just like in CHA - it'll just cost more points to achieve), as it can also be much more aggressive. E.g.: (due to wanting to stick to LI), currently my go-to link is a Frontovik core of; Frontie LRL Engineer, 112, 3 Vet Kazaks with T2 Rifle+X-Visor, AP:HMG & FO; which gives me 2/3 ranged guns, a doctor, an engineer & an observer. Plus a range of ammo types as well & different back-up weapon types, (flamethrowers, a shotgun). On the other hand, CHA only gets HMGs for range, a Paramedic & Hacker for specialists, (at lower WIP too), and are noticeably squishy.
I've been playing Infinity since day one and late last year I decided to see if I had the models to play Caledonians. My lists are based on available figures Grey Isobel Volunteer CORE link Wulver Harris McMurrough Cameronian, sometimes 2 SAS or Uxia Cateran, sometimes 112 I don't have Wallace or the 45th highlanders.
The newer Sectorials are universally light on direct template weapons, light-ish on smoke, and tend to cost more points per order. As a result, CHA is going to remain appealing because the new releases don't poach on its strengths. Swamping the table with Chain Rifles is a specialty that's mostly been reserved for older Sectorials. I think @daboarder 's logic on the Top 3 makes perfect sense by the way. Virtually every list is going to be include Volunteers... Even Limited Insertion, for a couple of bodies standing around in the DZ. Virtually every list is including Greys, even limited Insertion, because that HMG is a staple tool. It's nice to see CHA in a pretty good place, by the way. Healthy older Sectorials are a good thing.