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Nobody expects the Imperial Service [ ISS Tactica ]

Discussion in 'Yu Jing' started by Yasashii Fuyu, Feb 22, 2018.

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  1. Yasashii Fuyu

    Yasashii Fuyu Well-Known Member

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    Introduction:

    Welcome to my little Imperial Service Tactica!

    If you read this you are either a proud member of the Yu Jing Empire looking to expand your knowledge about the Imperial Service and its fine agents (or to tell me why everything written here is utter nonsense), or a foreign spy trying to infiltrate the knowledge database of the glorious Yu Jing Empire! In the latter case, please continue reading, our Agents are already tracking your location and will be picking you up for your personal up close tour of our facilities soon. In the former case, I hope you’ll continue reading as well and find what I wrote here useful and informative for you.


    Table of Content:

    1. What is the Imperial Service?
    2. What defines the Imperial Service on the table?
    3. Units of the Imperial Service
    4. Fireteams of the Imperial Service
    5. What to buy next after the Starter Box?




    1. What is the Imperial Service?

    If you are new to Yu Jing or Infinity, you might be wondering what the Imperial Service even is, and why you’d want to play as them, so let’s start off with a quick lore summary of what the ISS represents, as this will tie in directly with the strengths and weaknesses of the faction which I’ll be talking about right afterwards.


    The Imperial Service is basically a mixture of the secret police, an anti-terror group, the inquisition, judges and executioners, and the Celestial Emperors personal bodyguard, all in one organization. If you have seen Judge Dredd, you might not be too far off from the authority that some of the Imperial Agents in this sectorial hold, with some of them holding even more than that.


    The Imperial Service consists of “street level” Agents like the Bao Troops, Zhanying or Kanrens, to Agents with almost limitless power like the Hsien Warriors who more or less are an extension of the Celestial Emperors will, to Bounty Hunters and hired guns like Father Lucien Sforza, and even criminals paying for their crimes by serving as Wu Ming…or Kuang Shi…


    To be a commander of the Imperial Service means to command both some of the finest soldiers that the Yu Jing Empire has to offer, as well as some of the lowest scum who’s demise serves the Empire more than their survival would.


    2. What defines the Imperial Service on the table?

    You made it this far so you either liked what you read until now and consider joining up with the Imperial Service, or are already shivering in fear from what the glorious Yu Jing Commander on the other side of your table might field against you in your next battle, in any case, here is a short summary of what makes the Imperial Service great on the table, and in what areas they may be lacking a little.


    Strengths of the Imperial Service:


    Visors

    The Imperial Service Sectorial is stuffed full with all sorts of Visors you could imagine, Multispectral Visors, X-Visors, Biometric Visors, it’s all there, and usually on several different types of units as well.

    If your enemy tries to hide from the watchful eyes of the Imperial State, your Agents have all the tools to track them down even from the darkest hole they might crawl into.


    Sensor / Sniffer

    Again, nothing escapes the watchful eyes of the Imperial Service, and to make extra sure of that, many of your Agents or Remotes come equipped with Sensor or Sniffers to root out each and every enemy of the state, even those cowardly enough to enter the battlefield in hidden deployment.

    Strong Heavy Infantry

    Like most of Yu Jing the Imperial Service also has access to some of the strongest Heavy Infantry choices available in Infinity. Crane Agents, Hsien Warriors and Su-Jians will strike fear into the hearts of your opponents as they butcher their way through the enemy lines, and you’ll rarely find their equal in terms of combat capabilities in any other army out there.


    Great Fireteam Support

    To make our Heavy Infantry even better, they are supported by a whole entourage of relatively cheap Light Infantry that can form Fire Teams with them, improving their combat capabilities even further for relatively low points costs of their own, allowing for your Heavy Infantry to do the heavy lifting, while they take care of the objectives or whatever other minor task isn’t worth the Heavy Infantries attention. The Celestial Guard or Zhanying Agents are good examples of this.

    If you want to you can even make a list fully consisting of different Fireteams (Core/Haris/Duo) and you’ll still have everything you need on the table.


    Kuang Shi

    I originally wanted to call this entry “Cheap Regular Orders”, but this mostly holds true because of the Kuang Shi, yet the Kuang Shi are so much more than simple Order providers. For a more detailed description why the Kuang Shi are such a strength of the Imperial Service, please check out their unit entry below, but for now let’s just say that they allow your Heavy Infantry to work even more effectively, while also fulfilling a lot of other duties, for very little points.


    Mercenaries

    The Imperial Service has a wide assortment of hired personal in the form of Bounty Hunters, Corporate Security Units, and even some named Mercenaries like Miranda Ashcroft or Father Lucien Sforza. They are also the only Sectorial that gets access to versions of those profiles that (the CSU aside) provide regular orders instead of irregular ones, as the Celestial Emperor himself has recently granted these troops official authorization to serve for the Yu Jing State alongside its Agents.

    This also means that you’ll have an opportunity to use some more unusual models as “Counts as Bounty Hunter” if your opponent is ok with it, which just makes your army look even cooler.


    MadTraps

    The Imperial Service is one of the few (currently maybe even the only one?) factions that have access to MadTraps. These little perimeter weapons are meant to glue down whatever enemy of the state dares to get too close to your Agents, ready to be carried away for interrogation later, and are a very effective defensive tool, especially cruel when taking out expensive enemy Heavy Infantry or TAGs that were too careless. Usually your enemy will try to get rid of them with less important units, but even that means he has to spend orders he would rather have spent on something else.



    Weaknesses of the Imperial Service:


    No Warbands

    Unlike many other armies, the Imperial Service has no access to real “Warband” units, meaning cheap melee units meant to rush at the enemy and clobber them in close combat. Keep in mind however that the Imperial Service has the Kuang Shi, which can serve a very similar role, though they do not count as a Warband unit.


    No TAGs

    With ITS Season 8 gone, the Imperial Service once again has not a single TAG in its arsenal. Sadly that means that we won’t get to participate in any awesome “Giant Robot vs. Giant Robot” battles, with the closest thing to a “Giant Robot” we have being the Su-Jian, but that’s to be expected really, the Imperial Service are Agents of the Yu Jing Empire, TAGs belong to the Military.


    Almost no Camo units

    With the exception of Major Lunah and the Ninja, the Imperial Service has not a single Ch: Camouflage or Ch: TO Camo Unit in its arsenal. This means that your enemy will most likely know where most of your army is positioned and what it consists of right from the start of your battle. Holoprojector L2 mitigates this a little, but experienced opponents will usually figure out what you’re packing anyways.


    Almost no Air Deployment units

    The only Air Deployment unit available to the Imperial Service is the Garuda Tacbot, a Aleph unit that we have access to. It is actually quite good, but with it being the only available option, it does little to mitigate the fact that your opponent will know where most of your stuff is right from the get go.


    Almost no way of deploying outside of your deployment Zone

    With the exception of the Kanren, the Garuda Tacbot, and the Ninja, all your units will have to start the game inside of your deployment zone, which means you’ll have to slog your way up to some of those objectives, right through enemy fire lanes most of the time.


    Almost no Doctors/Engineers

    The only real Doctor and Engineer the Imperial Service has is the Sophotects which is another Aleph unit. It is arguably one of the best Doctor/Engineer in the game though, so this mitigates the problem a bit, but it makes fulfilling certain secret objectives a little harder.

    There is a single Paramedic in the Imperial Service as well, but once again it’s a Aleph unit, the Dakini Tacbot.



    Strengths and Weaknesses Summary:

    So as you can see the Imperial Service on the table plays just like you’d expect it to play based on its Background. Lots of strong Agents with the required Backup Units to go along with it, and all the gear needed to find and capture the enemies of the state wherever they might be hiding.

    But with little to none access to units and equipment unrelated to that task, which means that maybe “Nobody expects the Imperial Service”, but when they are here and coming for you, you’ll know it…



    3. Units of the Imperial Service:

    Now that you have a feel for the overall way that the Imperial Service presents itself on the table, it’s time to get a bit more in detail by looking at each individual unit, and talking about their uses and what might make them a great asset to your army list, or not so much.

    Since this detailed look is very long, I put each units analysis in a Spoiler Tag to keep everything clearly arranged. I have listed them based on Unit Type and Alphabetical, just like you’d usually find them in your Army Builder.



    Disclaimer:

    Please keep in mind that, just like the rest of this Tactica, these descriptions are purely based on my personal experience with the units and some feedback I got from other Yu Jing players, so your own view of a unit might be very different from this Tacticas. If that is the case, please don’t hesitate to write a Comment here and tell me about your experience with the unit and why you think it is way better or worse than described here, or I missed some important role, ability or combo that makes this unit even better. Maybe I’ll add it to the Tactica! And if not, at least the readers will know that others have had other experiences with the units as well.



    Light Infantry

    Authorized Bounty Hunter (Irregular):

    Short Summary:

    Pros:
    • Cheap improved base infantry
    • Potential to receive awesome gear from the booty chart without SWC cost
    • Very cost effective basic Sniper profile
    Cons:
    • Only has Irregular Order
    • Booty Chart can be very situational
    • Can’t be linked
    • Squishy if the Booty Chart didn’t provide protection
    Text Summary:

    Bounty Hunters are a nice fluffy unit in ISS, allowing for you to add some deniable responsibility to your table in case your enemies Warcor somehow survives the battle, it’s also a nice way to use some models you normally wouldn’t be able to, as they can look however they want to.

    In terms of usefulness on the table they are an option for ISS to get some semi competent base infantry for not too high of a price on the table, generally used if you have some points left and want a bit more punch than a Celestial Guard would provide.

    Now that CSU are available as well this role has diminished a little as they have the big drawback of providing only an irregular Order, but there is still the hope of pulling something useful from the Booty table that might turn your Bounty Hunter from a Base Line Infantry unit into a killing machine or support unit of some sort, with no additional cost, sometimes giving you more special weapons on the table than your SWC would normally allow for.

    There is however a weapon option which stands out, and that is the Sniper Rifle. For only 19 points and 0,5 SWC this option is a great way to get some long distance ARO fire on your table. It’s nothing fancy, no visors or protection at all, but don’t forget, even this option still gets to pull from the Booty Chart, and for the price you could almost get 2 of them instead of one of the higher end Snipers.

    This profile does however compete with the Total Reaction HMG Remote in its fields of usefulness, which makes it a harder choice to pick.

    Never waste your points on the Spitfire Option in my opinion, for the same points and SWC you can get a Rui Shi instead….and if you already have one, take a second one instead and you’ll still be better off for it. (Fluff and diversity aside of course)

    Bao Troops:

    Short Summary:

    Pros:
    • A Visor for every job
    • Can form Haris or Core Fireteams with Pheasant Agent
    • Multispectral Visor L2 Sniper Profile
    • One of the very few Biometric Visor options in the game
    Cons:
    • Squishy
    • Expensive when compared to other available Multispectral Visor L2 options
    • Haris Fireteam SWC cost can be very high
    Text Summary:

    Aaaaah the Baos….everyone’s most loved and feared local ISS Law enforcement units.

    The Bao Troops seem to be a profile of extremes, people either love the Baos and don’t leave home without them, or they discard them outright, only taking them when they feel it’s time for some change, or like their opponents really deserve a chance this time …

    The Bao Troops are basically slightly better line infantry filled to the brim with all the Visors one can get from the Yu Jing Arsenal, including X Visor, Biometric Visor L2 or Multispectral Visors, or combination of those.

    They also come with V: Courage to make sure they don’t run away when you don’t want them to, and the option to form a Core or Haris Fireteam with a Pheasant Agent and up to 4 Bao Troopers.

    When using only a single Bao Trooper, most people are either taking the Multi Sniper Rifle Bao Trooper with Multispectral Visor L2 for some sniper protection should their enemy use a lot of Camo or Smoke, or the Boarding Shotgun Multispectral Visor L2/Biometric Visor L2 variant should they know they face enemies with lots of Holo Echoes, or Impersonators, though the chances of stopping an Impersonator with a Biometric Visor before he gets to do what he came for are rather low.

    Besides the single Bao Trooper, the Haris Fireteam with a Pheasant Agent is the option of choice for a lot of players. With many obvious or powerful Lieutenants in ISS, picking a Pheasant Agent with CoC to go alongside your Lieutenant is very viable, and once you’ve invested into that, why not cover some more bases with your investment, by creating a Haris Fireteam with some Baos as well?

    The Bao Haris Fireteam can be quite the allrounder, depending on what units you add, with the Multi Sniper Rifle and the Boarding Shotgun options again being the most prominent ones. It allows for some nice enhanced ARO possibilities (and protected hiding place for your Pheasant if needed) , but also is order effective enough to roam around hunting for easy targets for your Visors where available, and maybe grab an objective with your Pheasant Agent on the way as well.

    Keep in mind however that such a Fireteam can quickly eat away most of your SWC as the required Pheasant Agent already comes in at 1,5 SWC, and adding a Sniper Rifle will cost yet another 1,5 SWC to that.

    It is also quite a squishy Fireteam as neither the Bao Troopers nor the Haris Pheasant Agent have any special means of protection, and come with only 1 wound to their names.



    The option of forming a Core Fireteam with the Baos and a Pheasant Agent is a good choice of lowering the SWC costs of the Fireteam as you won’t be needing the SWC expensive Red Fury or Red Fury Haris option of the Pheasant Agent to go alongside with it, which makes the team a bit more viable for some people.

    ISS has some very competitive Core Fireteam options though in the form of Kuang Shi+ Celestial Guard, Crane Agents + Celestial Guard, or Wu Ming + Zhanying, which makes it a tougher choice to pick than one would imagine.

    Picking a full 5 model Bao + Pheasant Core Fireteam seems to be not as popular with players, and I’d loath to face the meta where such drastic Multispectral Visor Measures would be necessary, so even if going with a Core Fireteam, sticking to 3 Models should be the sweet spot in most cases.



    With the positives mentioned, let it be said that the reason why some players “hate” the Bao Troopers is that they consider the Bao to be a rather bad profile, too expensive for what it does, especially when compared to other options in ISS like the Rui Shi or the Hsien, and I can see both sides of the argument, even more so now that I’ve written this Tactica and thought about some of the good sides of the Bao Troopers a bit more.

    I think the Bao is a typical representation of a Yu Jing unit…it’s not as specialized as the Rui Shi might be, and you pay extra points for some things you might not need every time, but in a Fireteam, Bao Troopers can cover many situations at once and give you a chance in situations where other units might have gotten outplayed instead….the question remains however….is that versatility worth the point investment for you?

    Celestial Guard:

    Short Summary:

    Pros:
    • Very versatile
    • Can form Fireteams with Kuang Shi or Crane Agents
    • Above average specialists with WIP 14
    • Kuang Shi Control Device provides smoke grenade coverage and allows the use of Kuang Shi
    Cons:
    • Squishy
    • No skills of note
    • Not very useful on their own
    Text Summary:

    Celestial Guard are the basic line infantry of the ISS. The only thing that sets them apart from most of the other basic line infantry out there is their relatively high WIP 14, but everything else is about as basic as it gets with no special skills at all, which means you won’t see these guys in combat roles most of the times as ISS has very specialized other units for that job, but rather as support for those units, or as specialists or Lieutenant option.

    It’s in those roles where their high WIP and their relatively cheap price comes in useful, and the fact that they can link up with Crane Agents or Kuang Shi (the one with Kuang Shi Control Device) allows for them to tag along with your advance and get close to those objectives along the way when needed.

    Here are some of the profiles that tend to stand out the most:

    Kuang Shi Control Device:

    The Celestial Guard with Kuang Shi Control Device is by far the most used Celestial Guard variant, because not only does it allow you to include the glorious Kuang Shi in your Combat Group, but it also provides you with a Light Smoke Grenade Launcher which can even be linked.

    Smoke Coverage is highly important for such an aggressive army as ISS can be, and with models like the Rui Shi or the Hsien, you’ll never want to leave home without some sort of Smoke Grenades in your arsenal anyways, so most people will happily (and rightfully so) take the Kuang Shi Control Device Celestial Guard with 4-8 Kuang Shi to fuel and support their aggressive Hsien or Rui Shi.



    Hacking Device:

    With WIP 14 Celestial Guards actually make decent enough hackers, and having some support hacking programs like Assisted Fire for your Rui Shi or Fairy Dust for your heavy infantry can be a game changer. Keep in mind that the Celestial Guard has BTS 3, which can give it a slight edge when compared to other cheap hackers out there. This also makes for a viable specialist option in a Crane + Celestial Guard Fireteam.



    Forward Observer:

    The Celestial Guard Forward Observer is mainly used as a cheap specialist either on its own or in a Crane Fireteam, with the Boarding Shotgun it can provide some close quarter protection to a Fireteam or your Deployment Zone as well, and with Flash Pulse and WIP 14 it's actually a very nice ARO profile in a Fireteam hitting on 17s and Burst 2 with the Fireteam Core 5 member Bonus.



    Lieutenant:

    Another time where WIP 14 comes in useful, as your Lieutenant WIP 14 is quite good, and some of your other Lieutenant options will have WIP 14 as well, so you won’t give your Lieutenants identity away quite so easily.

    Some people LOVE the squishy but cheap Lieutenant option, and this is the cheapest and most squishy option you can get in ISS, sadly normal Combi Rifle Celestial Guards aren’t as useful as some other factions basic Line Infantry for their prize, so investing into “diversion” Combi Rifle Celestial Guards might end up being too expensive/not worth it.



    Spitfire / Multi Sniper Rifle / Light Grenade Launcher:

    Since Celestial Guards can form a Core Fireteam giving them a Special Weapon is always an option which might end up working, however ISS has so many very strong attack pieces that like to eat away your SWC pool that usually there just aren’t any left to spend on Celestial Guards.

    CSU:

    Short Summary:

    Pros:
    • Cheap improved Base Infantry
    • Provides regular order
    • Metachemistry can be quite good
    Cons:
    • Squishy
    • Can’t be linked
    Text Summary:

    One of the newest entries into the ISS Arsenal, the CSU seem to be more of a fluff entry for the faction than a really needed addition to their profiles.

    The weapon options of the CSU aren’t too bad, but unless you know what faction your enemy plays (Breaker Rifle might work wonders against Ariadna and some other Low BTS factions) it’s nothing to write home about either. Meta Chemistry helps a little, but in the end we’re talking Basic Line Infantry Level of power here.

    Now don’t get me wrong, in most other factions the CSU would most likely shine a bit more, but ISS has cheap options to provide orders, and when you pay a little more, you usually want to go for some sort of synergy, Fireteam, or special equipment, none of which the CSU provides.

    If you however have some points left, and are seriously considering taking a lonesome Celestial Guard, think about picking the CSU instead, in terms of fighting power it’s definitely better than a lonely Celestial Guard, and arguably better than Bounty Hunters as well.

    Father Lucien Sforza (Irregular)

    Short Summary:

    Pros:
    • Viral Rifle + X Visor can be devastating against some units/armies
    • Holoprojector L2 for some fancy tickery
    • Adhesive Launcher for that occasional anti TAG opportunity
    Cons:
    • Squishy when Holoprojector didn’t work
    • No specialist
    • Only provides irregular order
    • A little on the expensive side for an irregular order provider
    Text Summary:

    Father Lucien Sforza (or Sforza as I’ll be calling him from now on) is an oddball of a Mercenary. He comes with a bunch of equipment and skills that many other ISS units have as well, those being X Visor, Holoprojector L2 and Nanopulser. But he also adds something that ISS has very little access to, and that’s a Viral Rifle (and Adhesive Launcher for that matter).

    This combination of equipment and skills gives him some very interesting combat possibilities, which against some opponents can be quite lethal.

    The Viral Rifle is brutal against anything with low BTS or skills like No Wound Incapacitation or V: Dogged, and the Adhesive Launcher gives Sforza a chance to even deal with a TAG on his lucky day.

    The X Visor allows Sforza to shoot well outside of the Viral Rifles usual Comfort zone, and gives him some nice suppressive fire potential when placed in a good position.

    With his Holoprojector L2 he can serve as a disguise for some of your important units should your opponent have first turn, and otherwise he’s able to get rid of mines or increase his chances to win or survive shootouts.

    Sadly this form of him comes at the cost of only providing an irregular order, and for that he’s kinda expensive at 25 points, competing with some other quite tough choices out there.

    If used properly however and against some armies like for example Ariadna, Sforza can be an almost comical murder machine which will make your enemies tremble at the sight of him, that is if they can see him at all in his Holoprojector L2 disguise :-P

    Father Lucien Sforza (Regular)

    Short Summary:

    Pros:
    • Viral Rifle + X Visor can be devastating against some units/armies
    • Holoprojector L2 for some fancy tickery
    • Adhesive Launcher for that occasional anti TAG opportunity
    Cons:
    • No specialist
    • A little on the expensive side for what he does even with regular order now
    Text Summary:

    Basically Sforza with V:Dogged and a regular order instead of an irregular one. It’s up to you to decide whether that’s worth 5 points (which could be another Kuang Shi which also provides a regular order..) for you or not.

    V: Dogged helps Sforza to be even more of a thorn in your opponents side for sure, and now that 10 order lists are more competitive than before, the extra combat abilities and order provided might be worth the points in some lists for sure.

    Gui Feng Xi Zhuang

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    • Works perfectly in a Crane + Celestial Guard Fireteam
    • Mad Traps!
    • Number 2 helps the Fireteam stay intact
    • Flamethrower to remove Camo
    • Forward Observer
    Cons:
    • Not as useful when on his own
    • Squishy
    Text Summary:

    Xi Zhuang is ISS’s Dire Foes Modell, and damn we got lucky with that one for sure! With Forward Observer, Number 2, Madtraps and a Combi Rifle+Light Flamethrower he was almost custom made to fit perfectly into a Celestial Guard + Crane Agent Link Team, and the extra points compared to a normal Celestial guard are well worth it if you can spare them.

    If you have the points and you want to field an aggressive Crane + Celestial Guard Link Team, use Xi Zhuang.

    Even on his own Xi Zhuang can find a place in some lists, the Mad Traps and his specialist role make him an acceptable choice if you’re in need of another relatively cheap specialist, though it’s definitely not what he was intended to be used as.

    Keep in mind that he also has Shock Immunity, which is very situational at best, but once every full moon it might come in handy.

    Xi Zhuang is also currently at the writing of this Tactica the only way of getting the Mad Traps Models, so if you really really want to use them sweet little…Sheep? Cows? Goats? Whatever…he’s worth getting for that alone, as ISS has quite a few Mad Traps options available.

    Imperial Agents Pheasant Rank

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    • Chain of Command!!
    • Specialist because of Chain of Command
    • Can have access to MadTraps
    • Can form a Fireteam with Bao Troopers
    • Free Agent (can switch between Order Groups for free)
    • Diverse set of skills and equipment
    Cons:
    • Squishy
    • Expensive because most of their tools/equipment are quite situational
    • Can be difficult to use at full potential
    Text Summary:

    The Pheasant Agent is ISS’s option of fielding a Chain of Command unit, which considering that ISS has some very strong yet potentially obvious Lieutenant options like Sun Tze, Hsien or Crane Agents, can be very useful indeed.

    With points ranging anywhere from 29 (for the basic version with just a Boarding Shotgun and Stun Grenades) up to 36 (for either a Red Fury Haris option, or a X Visor and Mad Traps Version) the Pheasant Agent isn’t exactly a cheap backup plan in case you lose your Lieutenant, but it comes with some goodies to compensate for that, and it’s our only choice, so it’s not like you have any cheaper options anyways should you need Chain of Command in your list…

    Martial Arts L2, CC 22, a DA Weapon and Kinematika L1 make the Pheasant quite capable in close combat scenarios, but sadly his laughable PH 10 dampens that potential a bit, making it more of a defensive tool in case something gets too close, or a situational option to destroy an objective with the anti-material DA CC weapon if needed.

    Free Agent allows for your Pheasant Agent to provide his regular Order to whatever Command Group needs it the most for free, and allows for it to switch from an ARO centered maybe irregular order pool to a more action orientated regular order pool mid game should his time to shine arrive at some point.

    Fire Team: Duo won’t see much use at all, unless you are REALLY in love with the Pheasant Agent and want to use more than one, but Fireteam: Core or Fireteam: Haris with some Bao Troopers can be quite a viable option if you want to give your Pheasant Agent something more to do than just sitting in the backfield and waiting for your Lieutenant to die.

    The Profiles of note usually are:

    The Haris Red Fury option, which allows for some aggressive use of your Pheasant Agent and his specialist status, usually mid to end game.

    The cheap and cheerful Boarding Shotgun Variant in case you want to invest as little as possible into your Lieutenant backup strategy.

    The X Visor + Mad Traps Variant for some extended Deployment Zone protection and annoyance potential.


    Keep in mind that if you are using a Core Fireteam with the Pheasant Agent and some Bao Troopers, you are not forced to use the Red Fury version which means less SWC cost and some other potential synergies like the Mad Traps.

    The Hacker and Sniper Profile are considered less useful as there are other more effective choices in the ISS arsenal, so unless you really like the model or have no other option, I’d stay away from those.

    Kuang Shi:

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    • Extremely cheap regular order provider
    • Can be turned into Repeaters on demand
    • Extremely Impetuous allows for them to move up the field “for free”
    • Their Skills/Loadout make them very dangerous to get close to
    • Can form a Core Fireteam with a Celestial Guard with Kuang Shi Control Device
    • Can be used to fulfill “heal a unconscious model” secret objectives easily
    Cons:
    • Forced to walk towards the closest enemy if not linked.
    • Require a Celestial Guard with Kuang Shi Control Device in your combat group to use
    • Might make you addicted (no joke, you might find it hard playing without them after a while)
    Text Summary:

    Kuang Shi are one of the defining units of ISS, so useful and powerful that they can be found in almost all ISS lists, and for a good reason.

    The main reason for this is that Kuang Shi provide regular orders for as low as 5 points apiece, to a sectorial so full of highly powerful but expensive units that it’s hard to choose which one to use at any given time.

    And not only that, in ISS you can get up to 8!! Kuang Shi, which means that together with a Celestial Guard with Kuang Shi Control device (which is needed to use Kuang Shi at all) you can have 9 regular orders in a combat group, for only 0,5 SWC and 53 points. It doesn’t get cheaper than that.

    Kuang Shi can form a Core Fireteam with their Kuang Shi Control Device Celestial Guard, which prevents them from running all over the table on their own (as they are extremely impetuous) , instead running all over the board wherever you want them to, or hide in your deployment zone for some defense.

    If they aren’t in a link team however, the fact that they are extremely impetuous tends to work in their favor, as it allows them to make some ground towards the enemy for free, while you keep all their nice regular orders for the main killing machines.

    Now why would you want to move your cheerleaders towards the enemy you might ask? Because they are worthless criminals on their way to recovery of course, and because they come with some useful tools to make it worth it!

    Kuang Shi usually come equipped with a Chain Rifle, Knife and Pistol (the variant for only 5 points), but there’s also a slightly more expensive version which boasts a Boarding Shotgun, which can be surprisingly useful even with their low BS, especially if you put them in the Fireteam with their Celestial Guard Controller.

    Most of the time however you will be running around with your Chain rifle, shooting at everything that moves within range, laughing as their expensive mid field infiltrators or warbands get exterminated by your 5 points brainwashed criminal.

    But don’t forget the pistol, like I did for a long time! Some enemies might forget that they have something to shoot outside of Chairifle range, and clever opponents will shoot the Kuang Shi while they are out of range of your chain rifle, and more often than not, shooting back with the pistol, is still a better option than trying to dodge, and your opponents will soon learn to fear even such a simple weapon as the pistol, when carried around on cheap expendable platforms like the Kuang Shi are.

    As if that loadout wasn’t good enough to take these guys and girls, they also come with the perfect skills to go along with it:

    Explode L1:

    What makes a cheap as chips cheerleader with a Chainrifle and extremely impetuous movement even more annoying for your opponent? The fact that they explode in his face when he gets too close while trying to get rid of them! Obviously this is also great when you send them on suicide missions to take out whole groups of enemies, as should they fail to outright kill the Kuang Shi, it can take revenge right away with a nice explosion, often finishing what the Chainrifle didn’t.

    V: Dogged:

    V: Dogged allows the Kuang Shi to keep on killing even should they take an ARO shot as a result of their Chain rifle attack, or if your opponent is unlucky with his attack dice. This usually results in your opponent having to spend way more orders to kill a Kuang Shi than he’d like to, usually while risking his own more expensive unit in the process.

    It is also a very good way to keep your Kuang Shi from exploding if you don’t want them to, usually in cases where they would wound some of your other units in the process, or you’d rather have another chain rifle ARO than an explosion…

    Now you think Exploding or the ability to keep on trucking are already insanely good, but there’s even more!

    Biolocator:

    Biolocator allows you to send your Kuang Shi into unconscious state by spending a short order on him, as well as putting him into Targeted state for your own troops and allowing them to target him from then onwards, allowing for Rockets to rain down on his position, or for your Celestial Guard with Kuang Shi Control Device to greatly increase his chances of hitting with its Smoke Grenades even when out of Line of Sight.

    But not only that, it also turns him into a Repeater! Allowing for your hackers to reach whatever juicy target is within ZoC of your Kuang Shi, but too well protected for the Kuang Shi itself to take care of, like a TAG, or nasty piece of Heavy Infantry…or that nasty hacker on that rooftop you just couldn’t get to….

    Biolocator also allows you to instantly create a target to heal with your doctor or paramedic in case you need it for a classified mission.

    Keep in mind that activating Biolocator does not trigger Explode L1, but that activating V:Dogged also instantly deactivates the Biolocator. It is also a one use only piece of equipment, so should you use it to get a quick healing secret objective in, you won’t be able to use it again on this Kuang Shi during this battle.

    Major Lunah

    Short Summary:

    Pros:
    • Viral Sniper Rifle
    • One of the few capable long range ARO pieces of ISS.
    • Limited Camouflage and Mimetism give her a bit more protection
    Cons:
    • No Visor
    • Marksmanship LX is very situational
    • Religious Troop can be both a benefit and a curse depending on situation
    Text Summary:

    Major Lunah is a bit of a mixed bag, with Limited Camouflage, Mimetism and a Viral Sniper rifle she is quite a capable Sniper, but with no Visor and only Marksmanship LX which is very situational in its use at the moment she is also a bit limited when compared to some of the other Sniper options other factions can get for comparable prices, which means she’s not the best choice for Sniper vs Sniper matchups usually.

    The make or break point of Major Lunah is really her Viral Sniper rifle, if you can find a good target for the Viral Ammunition and use your Limited Camouflage wisely (or you are facing a faction like Ariadna who really suffer from Viral Ammunition) she can be easily worth her points, if not you might end up being a bit disappointed with her more often than not however.

    Keep in mind that she has Multiterrain and Stealth, so she can get around the battlefield a bit easier should she ever need to change position, and as a Religious Troop she won’t be running away anytime soon, which can be both a benefit or a curse for a Sniper like her.

    She’s definitely one of the cooler looking Snipers out there however, and some might consider her worth taking just for the looks on the battlefield alone, and I can’t blame them!

    Miranda Ashcroft (Irregular):

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    • Swiss Army Knife Unit with a tool for almost every job
    • Surprisingly resilient with ODD and I-kohl L1.
    • Monofilament CC Weapon
    • Excellent suppressive fire potential with -12 Mod when in cover
    Cons:
    • Lacks “real punch”
    • No specialist
    • Only provides irregular order
    Text Summary:

    Miranda Ashcroft is basically an Authorized Bounty Hunter that got REALLY lucky on the Booty Charts table. For 5 points more you get ODD, I-kohl L1, a Nanopulser and a Monofilament CC Weapon, as well as 4 points higher CC.

    On paper this sounds great, and Miranda definitely has her glorious moments where she rips apart a TAG or important Heavy Infantry, or murders through enemy lines with her Combi Rifle or Boarding Shotgun while protected by her ODD, and she does have a tool for almost every job with her, but somehow more often than not I just can’t find a place for her in my lists as she just doesn’t fill any specific role ISS needs (except maybe her surprisingly good ARO capabilities when in Suppressive fire, where she can get a -12 mod when in cover) and there are so many good options in ISS that picking a “swiss army knife” type of unit almost feels like a waste of points….now if only she was a specialist….

    Miranda Ashcroft (Regular) + Authorized Bounty Hunter (Regular):

    Short Summary:

    Pros:
    • Swiss Army Knife Units with a tool for almost every job, even more so together
    • Miranda is surprisingly resilient with ODD and I-kohl L1.
    • Midanda: Excellent suppressive fire potential with -12 Mod when in cover
    • Miranda: Monofilament CC Weapon
    • Miranda is now a Specialist
    • Bounty Hunter: Potential to receive awesome gear from the booty chart without SWC cost
    • Better Order efficiency because of Fireteam: Duo
    Cons:
    • Lacks “real punch”
    • Taking both units is kind of expensive
    Text Summary:

    Another new addition to ISS is the Miranda Ashcroft Hunting Party, which always consists of the new regular Miranda Ashcroft (now a Specialist!), and a regular Authorized Bounty Hunter.

    At first I wasn’t too happy with those two units only being able to be picked together, but when I thought about the possible ways of using them, I started liking them, as they complement each other quite well.

    I really like the idea of having Miranda Ashcroft as a Regular Order providing specialist swiss army knife unit as this is what has been missing to her profile before, however whenever I thought of picking her on her own, I ended up thinking “Yeah but she’s only one wound and very slow, grinding her up the field towards an objective is a waste of points when I could instead just use a Ninja or Kanren to do the job…if only she could be in a Fireteam”…and Tadaaa, apparently someone at Corvus Belli thought the same, as she comes with her own little tag along buddy to make the order investment of slagging her up the field a bit more effective.

    Now granted, a Authorized Bounty Hunter isn’t exactly a killing machine to bring alongside you, but it allows Miranda Ashcroft to become even more of a Swiss Army Knife toolkit, cause if she picks the Combi Rifle option, the Bounty Hunter could use the Boarding Shotgun option to cover her, or the other way around, and whatever the Bounty Hunter pulls from the Booty Chart only increases the range of tools at their disposal.

    I have used them to great effect before, and most enemies I faced didn’t quite know what to do with them, as they were kind of non-threatening enough for them to be a “must deal with” unit, but also too potentially dangerous to completely ignore.

    I would advise against using either the Sniper Rifle or Spitfire Version of the Bounty Hunter in this setup as you usually want your Miranda roaming the fields to get to an objective, making the Sniper less useful, and the Spitfire option is still way inferior to other available options, and Miranda tends to do an equally good job at shooting than the Spitfire Bounty Hunter would anyways.

    With a Miranda Ashcroft Hunting Party you get a 2 Regular Order Specialist Swiss Army Toolkit which can do almost everything in some sort of way…the question you will have to ask yourself however is, is that worth ~40 points for you?

    Sophotects

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    • Doctor & Engineer in one
    • Maximum Willpower
    • No Wound Incapacitation and above average movement allow for objective grabbing when needed
    Cons:
    • Expensive
    Text Summary:

    One of the Aleph troops ISS has access to, and an extremely useful and much needed one at that.

    Sophotects are the only real Doctor and Engineer choice available in ISS and she fulfills both roles at once, with WIP 15, above average movement, and V: No Wound Incapacitation.

    At 31 points she’s not exactly cheap, but for what you get and considering she’s the only available choice in ISS, she’s considered an auto include for quite a few ISS players out there.

    It’s recommended to use her with some Yudbots if you have the points, so her multi-purpose nature can be spread across the battlefield where needed.

    Warcors:

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    • Extremely cheap filler unit
    • Surprisingly good ARO piece that can render powerful units useless for a turn
    • Forces your opponent to “deal with it” sometimes wasting orders
    Cons:
    • As squishy as squishy can get
    • No lethal weapons at all
    • Only provides an irregular order
    Text Summary:

    In Imperial Service the Warcors aren’t as useful as a points filler as they might be in other armies, as Kuang Shi do it better and provide a regular order instead of the Warcors irregular.

    However that doesn’t mean that you won’t find yourself in situations during your list building where you suddenly end up with 3 points you just can’t fit in anywhere else in a more useful matter, and it’s then that this little hero of the battlefield gets it’s time to shine!

    At first glance the Warcors might seem unimpressive, heck maybe even like a waste of points to some of the uninitiated (or unpunished…), but don’t let his pacifist nature and his irregular status blind (*Badum Tz*) you to the truth, a Warcors is a glorious ARO annoyance piece for such a low price, that dealing with it will seem like (and in fact is) a waste of orders for your opponent. But deal with him/her he will have to, because a Warcors’s Flashpulse or Stun Pistol can easily stop an elite trooper’s advance should it get blinded/stunned, and since the Flash Pulse is a technical weapon, the Warcors shoots on basic 13s!

    And to add to that, most people will use the Aerocam version, which means that the Warcors’s reign of annoyance happens in a 360° Arc all around it, which helps defend your own deployment zone as well as possible advance routes of your enemy.

    Don’t be scared of losing your Warcors, there is no need to hide him/her, place your Warcors right where it can see as many enemies as possible, or on that flank you don’t want your enemy to advance through, don’t expect it to do wonders, and then chuckle as your enemy sometimes wastes 3-4 orders to get rid of it, maybe even getting blinded/stunned in the process, rendering one of his powerful units useless for the remainder of the turn, and should your Warcors fail and die instantly? Well your enemy still wasted an order on him, and he was only 3 points…and you can claim your enemy committed horrible war crimes against a defenseless journalist for the rest of the game as a nice little bonus…

    Zhanying Imperial Agents

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    • Sensor
    • Skills and Equipment allow for good support role
    • Can form a Haris Fireteam with Hsien Warrior or a Core Fireteam with Wu Ming
    • Can be a Specialist
    Cons:
    • Not very useful on their own
    • Expensive
    Text Summary:

    The Zhanying are another one of those oddball units with lots of utility but little clear purpose, one might even consider them a support unit of sorts.

    Every Zhanying comes with Bioimmunity which is very situational and most likely will only benefit you once every few games or so if you even remember it, and Sixth Sense L2 which can actually be quite handy if your enemy likes to sneak around to your back, shoots through smoke or surprise shots a lot.

    All Zhanying profiles also come with Electric Pulse, which is usually quite underestimated by most opponents, so if there is something nasty sneaking up on your lines, or whomever the Zhanying might accompany, consider throwing the Zhanying into close combat with it to maybe immobilize the problem away….

    On their own the Zhanying isn’t too desirable in most cases as most profiles are just too expensive for what they do when compared to other single unit choices you could take, though rule of cool always is an option for them as the new sculpts do look quite nice.

    What makes Zhanyings more useful however is their ability to form a Haris Fireteam with a Hsien or a Core Fireteam with up to 4 Wu Ming Agents, and it’s here where the mixed loadout of the Zhanying can benefit you the most.

    A Sensor/Breaker Combi Rifle/Nimbus Grenades, MadTraps Zhanying can be a nice defensive and utility addition to any Wu Ming or even Hsien team.

    The Missile Launcher Zhanying can lend some additional heavy fire power to your Hsien or Wu Ming Fireteam if you feel like you need it, though that should only come to bear if you have a lot of SWC left and no other area to spend them.

    The Forward Observer Zhanying can bring a relatively cheap specialist on your Hsien Murdertrain when needed.

    The Hacking Device Zhanying is a more expensive specialist to tag along your Fireteams, and he can provide some nice buffs along the way or some hacking defense should someone try to attack your heavy infantry on its way.

    Keep in mind that you’ll have to use at least one of the Haris Variant if you want to form a Haris Fireteam with a Hsien, which isn’t the most desirable loadout for the team, but that’s the price to pay when wanting to field a Burst 5 HMG Hsien, and with a Breaker Rifle and Sensor it’s not like this Variant is really useless either as uncovering those pesky Camo Units (be it within Sensor or Sniffer range of other units) can be very helpful.

    The HMG profile isn’t recommended unless you are in some very odd situations in your meta, those SWC usually work way better in the hands of the Hsien or Wu Ming accompanied by the Zhanying, or some other unit in your list.

    Medium Infantry

    Sun Tze v.2 (Marksman Leader)

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    • Excellent Lieutenant
    • Very good ARO piece
    • WIP 17
    • Flash Pulse (with WIP 17!)
    • Strategos L3 & Advanced Command
    Cons:
    • The most obvious Lieutenant you could have, and a waste if not the Lieutenant
    • Usually not tough enough for such an obvious Lieutenant choice
    • Extremely dangerous to actually use in ARO as failure might mean losing your Lieutenant
    Text Summary:

    Most of the things said about the normal Sun Tze version also apply to his Marksman Leader form. (If you haven’t read normal Sun Tze’s entry yet, please check it out for more detailed information about his Strategos L3 and Advanced Command benefits)

    In addition to his highly supportive tactical function and his ARO capabilities with his Flash Pulse, the Marksman Leader profile is actually a highly capable sniper as well, with BS 14 (high end for Yu Jing), Multispectral Visor L1, Marksmanship L1 , V: No Wound Incapacitation and a Multi Sniper Rifle (or Multi Rifle…if you really want to….) , he brings a lot of desirable things any sniper would like to have to the table.

    Sadly all this is countered a little by the fact that you’ll still want this version of Sun Tze to be your Lieutenant, as otherwise you’d be losing out on a lot of his usability, and since this version of Sun Tze, unlike his normal counterpart, doesn’t come equipped with 2 wounds, heavy armour and Mimetism, his survivability is way lower, which means that using him as an actual ARO piece or even an aggressive sniper could cost you dearly very quickly, which makes a Pheasant Agent almost a must pick choice to go alongside him.

    So yeah….Sun Tze Marksman Leader is a high risk high reward kind of unit, if he doesn’t get killed outright, he can be an extremely effective unit in your army, combining tactical superiority with firepower, but if not, you just lost a lot of points and your Lieutenant….

    Heavy Infantry

    Hsien Warriors

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    • Multispectral Visor L2
    • Elite Stats
    • A murder machine
    • Can form a Haris Fireteam with Zhanying
    Cons:
    • Potentially obvious Lieutenant choice
    • Haris Fireteam with Zhanying can get expensive
    Text Summary:

    The Hsien is another one of those iconic ISS (and Yu Jing for that matter) units that make this faction so fun to play with, and it’s thus no wonder that you’ll get one of this little bad boys in your Red Veil Boxset or Yu Jing Starterbox of coice.

    Heavy Infantry with BS 14, WIP14, Multispectral Visor L2 and Martial Arts is top tier elite status in Infinity, and it almost doesn’t matter which profile you go for as they are all useful in their own rights.

    The normal Multi Rifle profile or the Boarding Shotgun Profile might be the least desirable ones of the profiles as for a little more points you can get a TinBot B (Deflector L2) Version which gives your Hsien some much needed hacking protection, which is quite important for this profile as you’ll have to advance up the field much further than a HMG Hsien would have to most of the time, making it more likely to run into some sort of Hacker along the way.

    The Lieutenant variation of the normal Multi Rifle profile fares a bit better here as it provides you with an extra SWC point which can come in very handy sometimes, although to be frank, in ISS most units you’d want to equip with SWC weapons or Equipment are quite expensive, so being able to afford a Hsien AND enough other units with high SWC costs for this to really matter doesn’t occur as often as one would want to.

    The HMG Version (both Lieutenant and normal) is the classic murder machine profile of Yu Jing which unlike it’s PanO counterpart the Aquila Guard, really gets to shine in ISS and Yu Jing as there is quite a bit of access to smoke grenades available (in ISS mainly in the form of Celestial Guards with Kuang Shi Control Device), which allows for the Hsien to not only effectively deal with enemy Camo troops, but also shoot through smoke to create some easy -9 or even -12 situations for your enemy, which usually results in their quick demise.

    Keep in mind however that when using the Hsien as your Lieutenant that besides his respectable ARM 4 and 2 wounds, he has no other special protection skills or equipment, so placing him too boldly could end in a quick Loss of Lieutenant for yourself as your enemy is very likely to hunt the Hsien quite heavily being as dangerous as he is. If you are comfortable in your dice you could leave your Hsien as a dangerous ARO piece and dash for cover should he ever lose a wound, but I wouldn’t recommend doing so unless you also invested in a Pheasant Agent, and even then the question is…is it really worth the risk to lose such an expensive model for a single ARO?

    Now what makes any awesome murder machine even better than it already is? Fireteams of course! Luckily for us the Hsien can be part of a Haris Fireteam with Zhanying Agents. Since it’s only a Haris Fireteam however the most you can get from this is Burst +1, which is fine, as to be honest, +3 BS on this beast would just be disgustingly brutal and no fun for your enemies at all….or so my enemies told me when I dreamed about this idea out loud….

    Sadly the Zhanying are kinda expensive, so it’s not as easy of an addition to your Hsien as some might think, and quite often you’ll find the points invested in the Zhanying might have been better invested somewhere else instead, after all, the Hsien is extremely capable on its own already, and will be doing most of the fighting, and 50+ points just for +1 Burst in most situations is quite a hefty price…

    Imperial Agents Crane Rank

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    • X-Visor
    • Good in Close Combat and at Range
    • 2 Nanopulsers
    • Elite Stats
    • A murder machine
    • Can be a Specialist
    • Can form Fireteam Core with Celestial Guard and/or even more Crane Agents
    Cons:
    • Potentially obvious Lieutenant choice
    • Since the rest of the potential Fireteam is squishy positioning the team can be difficult
    Text Summary:

    Just like the Hsien, the Crane Agent is one of the most iconic ISS units that make the faction what it is. The Crane agent is a 100% no nonsense kind of unit that is geared towards the destruction of your opponent with brute force rather than fancy trickery.

    With Elite level stats and either your choice of a Multi Rifle, Spitfire or Boarding Shotgun, all backed up by 2 Nanopulsers, a DA CCW (with Martial Arts L3), X Visor, and in case of the Rifle and Shotgun even Sensor, everything about the Crane Agent screams “Assault unit”.

    To back this up the Crane Agent can form a rather cheap Fireteam with Celestial Guards and Gui Feng Xi Zhuang, and if you have some more points to spare, even add up to 2 other Crane Agents to the Fireteam as well, though at that point you’d be talking about a ~200 point Fireteam, which might be a bit too many eggs in one basket.

    This Fireteam option can provide the Crane Agent with a lot of support as he cuts through the enemy lines with Hacking, Smoke Grenades or Specialist Profiles available, and even Mad Traps if you take Xu Zhuang and run out of steam somewhere along the way and need some area protection. This also boosts his damage output to frankly ridiculous levels and there are very little units in this game that could stand up to such firepower.

    Sadly the Celestial Guard are quite squishy, so once your murder train has to make a stop, you might find yourself with some passengers missing before your next turn, reducing its effectivity by quite a bit, so clever positioning is key to fielding this setup.

    But even on its own a Crane Agent is quite the potential killing machine, so if you have the points available and need some more power on the table, the Crane Agent could be the answer you search for.

    Keep in mind that with his X Visor the Crane Agent can comfortably shoot even outside his normal range band, and it also helps to improve his suppressive fire as he won’t suffer the -3 at long range.

    Sun Tze

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    • Excellent Lieutenant
    • Very tough to kill
    • 2 Nanopulsers
    • WIP 17
    • Flash Pulse (with WIP 17!)
    • Strategos L3 & Advanced Command
    Cons:
    • The most obvious Lieutenant you could have, and a waste if not the Lieutenant
    • Quite expensive considering you most likely won’t deal much damage with him personally.
    Text Summary:

    The Art of War has manifested in Yu Jing yet again thanks to Aleph’s blessing, and this time, he comes in Heavy Armor!

    Sun Tze is exactly what you’d expect him to be, a quite expensive unit, with average offensive potential at best, but with an extreme amount of tactical possibilities!

    With Strategos L3 and Advanced Command you can usually (unless your enemy has Strategos L3 as well) that your enemy doesn’t get to hold back any models, giving you a big advantage in the deployment phase which can be extremely useful when you use some dedicated ARO pieces like a Total Reaction HMG Remote, or Major Lunah, or want to make sure that your murder machines face as little visible resistance along their advance route as possible. The fact that you can hold back 2 units thanks to him makes this even more devastating when used correctly.

    Strategos L3 also allows for you to use your Lieutenant order as a regular order, which helps mitigating Sun Tze’s quite high price a little, and makes him a good pick in 10 Order Lists.

    With Advanced Command you also get an additional command token, which allows for more coordinated orders or rerolls of botched revival attempts then you’d normally have, which further improves your order effectivity thanks to Sun Tze’s present on the battlefield.

    Keep in mind that those effects only occur when Sun Tze is your Lieutenant, so not using the Lieutenant profile of Sun Tze is even more of a waste as you wouldn’t even be able to falsely make your opponent believe he’s your lieutenant when he’s actually not, as he’ll find out right away during deployment, as your Strategos L3 wouldn’t apply, which is a dead giveaway…you could obviously be ultra-sneaky by choosing not to use your Strategos L3 in order to make your enemy believe he’s actually not your Lieutenant…..but that’d require some serious level of subterfuge and a very odd meta indeed…

    So make Sun Tze your Lieutenant!

    That being said what you might not expect when thinking about the historical Sun Tze, is the incredible survivability that Infinity’s version of Sun Tze comes equipped with. With 2 wounds, ARM 4, BTS 6, Ch: Mimetism, Total Immunity, and V: No Wound Incapacitation, the guy is almost a walking fortress, and with 2 Nanopulsers and either a Boarding Shotgun or Multi Rifle he’s geared for close quarter defense quite nicely as well. Surprisingly enough those weapons aren’t actually his best choice for defense all the time though, as he also comes equipped with a Flash Pulse, which with WIP 17 can actually end up hitting on 20s…very satisfying!

    Since he’s your obvious Lieutenant choice however, and things like E/M Grenade Launchers and other nasty things like that exist, you might still want to consider using a Pheasant Agent alongside your Sun Tze, just in case…

    Su-Jian

    Short Summary:

    Pros:
    • Extremely fast and mobile
    • Can transform between two forms
    • Heavy Infantry with Structure Points
    • Very tough to kill with high armour, 2 Structure Points and V: No Wound Incapacitation
    • Elite Stats
    • A murder machine
    • Can form a Duo with another Su-Jian if you really want to go nuts
    Cons:
    • Has to declare which Form to use at the beginning of his Move Movement Short Skill
    Text Summary:

    The Su-Jian is one of those units that your opponent will go “Wait what?”for when they first hear about it or see what it’s capable of.

    An extremely fast (8-2) movement combined with Climbing Plus, Kinematica L2, Multiterrain and PH 14 (at least in his Mobility Form) means that the Su-Jian will be up in your enemies face in no time at all, and if you are crazy enough to go for a Fireteam: Duo, he’ll even bring his equally nasty friend along for the ride.

    Now obviously this only applies to his mobility form, and you have to declare which form you use at the beginning of each Move Short Movement Skill you use, but even in his Mobility Form the Su-Jian isn’t exactly a push over, so moving through enemy lines in this form shouldn’t be much of a problem, and once you’re there, it’s time to switch into Combat Form and get on murdering.

    Each Su-Jian comes equipped with a Light Flamethrower, Panzerfaust, Heavy Pistol, Knife, and either a Spitfire or Heavy Shotgun, depending on the amount of SWC and points you are willing to invest.

    If you have the SWC and points to spare, I’d recommend going for the Spitfire version, as the destruction it can cause is truly something to behold, and your opponent will be stunned by the ease with which you’ll get within optimal range bands and usually good cover as well.

    To be honest here, the Su-Jian is one of the best units in Infinity, and if you are having problems with your opponent using extremely powerful units and you getting crushed over and over again, maybe it’s time to release this monster on the table, and teach them a lesson about Yu Jing’s Hyperpower status, and who’s the true king of Heavy Infantry in this game.

    There is a reason why some secondary ISS Combat Groups look like this:

    1x Celestial Guard with Kuang Shi Control Device

    8x Kuang Shi

    1x Su-Jian with Spitfire

    Though I wouldn’t recommend using this setup often, unless you REALLY hate your friends or their enjoyment of the game…

    Now keep in mind that the Su-Jian is just as endangered by enemy hackers as is any other Heavy Infantry out there, so when dashing all over the table on a mad murder spree, keep in mind that there might always be a nasty hacker waiting for you around the next corner….

    Wu Ming

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    • Relatively cheap Heavy Infantry
    • Can form a Fireteam: Core with or without a Zhanying Agent
    • Very versatile weapon options
    • A very powerful murder train when in a Fireteam
    • Can be a Specialist
    • Can form a Fireteam: Duo for some cheap HI backup where needed
    Cons:
    • Can quickly become very SWC expensive
    • A full Fireteam: Core will most likely eat half your points
    Text Summary:

    The Wu Ming are a unit that will most likely only see the spotlight in ISS as Vanilla Yu Jing has other competitively priced HI options that usually get picked instead.

    In ISS however they can form a Fireteam: Core, and combined with their diverse arsenal of weapons and their affordable price they can become a very effective murder train.

    The Fireteam: Duo option also allows for some rather cheap and slightly more order effective Heavy Infantry Support in case you need it, although that usually comes into play when you need a small filler unit to go alongside your other stuff.

    The most outstanding options would most likely be the HMG or Heavy Rocket Launcher loadout, as they give a lot of destructive punch to the Fire team.

    The Panzerfaust provides some additional punch (and satisfies the look of one of the models, without having to use the SWC for a Heavy Rocket Launcher..) for cheap, and the TinBot B Version gives the Fireteam some excellent hacking protection.

    The Forward Observer provides a specialist profile, though it could be argued that this role could also be fulfilled by the more squishy Zhanying while the killing job is left to the sturdy Wu Ming, that is if you want to include a Zhanying at all of course.

    The Light Grenade Launcher variant can cause some funny mayhem at medium range, and might be one of the secret weapons of this Fireteam that your enemy won’t expect.

    The Chain Rifle profile is interesting because it’s quite cheap compared to the other profiles, and brings some short range weaponry to the team, and the Antipersonnel Mines loadout is quite special as it is a Heavy Infantry with Mines, which is rare…

    Basically the Wu Ming is another “no nonsense” entry in the ISS arsenal, stick them in a Fireteam: Core, load them up with a wide arrangement or murder weapons, send them on their way, and laugh manically as they rampage all over the table….


    Remotes

    Chaiyi Yaokong (Messenger Remote)

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    • Cheap
    • Repeater
    • Very fast movement
    • Flash Pulse with WIP 13
    • Sniffer with good Sensor availability in ISS
    Cons:
    • ISS has other cheap gap filling options, making this profile less desirable than it is in other factions
    • No lethal weapons
    Text Summary:

    Basically the same Flash Pulse Remote that most other factions have access to as well.

    It’s role is usually as a cheap regular order provider with some Flash Pulse ARO potential as well.

    In ISS the usability of this profile increases a little as there are quite a few units with Sensor available, which makes the Chaiyi’s Sniffer more useful, but in exchange ISS has good access to cheap regular orders (mostly Kuang Shi of course..) which reduces the need for the Chaiyi’s profile when compared to some other factions out there.

    Dakini Tacbots

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    • Line Infantry with Mimetism that can benefit from Remote Support Hacking Programs
    • Above average Movement
    • Can be a relatively cheap Paramedic!
    Cons:
    • Quite expensive for what is basically line infantry
    • Need Hacking Program support to become useful
    • Can be targeted by enemy hacking programs
    • Squishy
    Text Summary:

    Another Aleph unit that ISS gets access to and it’s a bit of a weird one at that. The Dakini are quicker moving basic line infantry with Mimetism and Remote Status. Normally they wouldn’t really be worth considering in ISS as we have cheaper access to regular orders with better combat potential in the form of CSU or even Celestial Guard when linked, but thanks to their Remote Status, they can benefit from Hacking Programs like “Assisted Fire” or “Overclock” which can make them surprisingly effective, and definitely something your opponent wouldn’t expect to see in your ISS list unless you frequently use them.

    This however also makes them susceptible to certain hacking programs like “Gotcha!” and other Claw Type programs, so keep that in mind as you advance with them.

    Of note is also the fact that the Dakini Tacbot can be a Paramedic, which with WIP 13 isn’t too bad for only 15 points.

    Garuda Tacbots

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    • AD: Combat Jump (Only one in ISS)
    • Above average movement
    • Ch: Mimetism
    • Can be supported with Supportware Hacking Programs if within reach for deadly effect
    Cons:
    • Can be targeted by enemy hacking programs
    • No armour
    Text Summary:

    The Garuda Tacbot is the only option for Air Deployment in ISS, and another Aleph unit that we get access to.

    This one is actually quite the hidden gem within ISS as most opponents won’t expect ISS to hold an air deployment trooper as backup, which can lead to some very brutal flanking maneuvers.

    With above average movement, Ch: Mimetism and BS 12 the Garuda is almost on Tiger Soldier level when it comes to his combat potential, and the fact that he’s a bit cheaper and can benefit from Supportware Hacking programs should a hacker somehow be within his reach when he lands further improve his usefulness.

    Keep in mind however that this access to Supportware buffs due to his Remote status also means that he is susceptible to enemy hacking programs which most other air deployment troops wouldn’t be, so be careful where you advance with it.

    Husong Yaokong (Escort Remote)

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    • Excellent ARO piece
    • 360° Visor + Total Reaction
    • Can benefit from Supportware Hacking programs
    • Above average movement
    Cons:
    • No Visor to deal with Camo or Smoke
    • No armour
    Text Summary:

    The Husong Yaokong Escort Remote is your standard Total Reaction HMG Remote that you’ll see in almost every other faction as well. It is an excellent ARO piece against enemy units that don’t benefit from Camo or Marker Status or shoot through smoke, and can really ruin your opponents day if he doesn’t have the tools necessary to deal with it at hand.

    It can also benefit from Assisted fire to turn his HMG into an even more devastating weapon of destruction.

    Sadly like all its other cousins in other armies, it has no way of dealing with Camo or Smoke, so once your opponent manages to engage in a firefight with the dreaded -12 against your Remote, you won’t even get to shoot back, usually leaving your remote as a pile of slag as it’s not exactly the best at taking a hit with low PH for dodging, and 0 armour.

    Don’t forget that the Husong Yaokong is just as dangerous while attacking as he is while defending, so don’t hesitate to move him from his save position to engage the enemy when needed.

    Another thing to note is that for some reason ISS has access to 3! of these remotes, so you could create some serious crossfire possibilities if you really wanted to.

    Son-Bae Yaokong

    Short Summary:

    Pros:
    • Can rain down death and destruction while out of danger
    • Can be a useful ARO piece as well
    • Can benefit from Supportware Hacking programs
    • Above average movement
    Cons:
    • Getting your enemy into targeted state isn’t as easy as it seems
    • Guided Missiles can be hacked or neutralized by ECM
    Text Summary:

    The Son-Bae is one of those hit or miss units, it can either work perfectly and rain down death and destruction on your clueless enemies, making them cry in despair, or you can waste order upon order on trying to get it to work without achieving anything and cursing your luck while doing so.

    Since the use of guided missiles requires your target to be in the Targeted state you’ll need to spend some orders to prepare for the true use of this remote in advance, and even then your enemy might still try to counter your guided rockets with his ECM or hackers.

    Luckily your Son-Bae isn’t completely reliant on his guided missiles as the Smart Missile Launcher can work just as well as a normal weapon, preferably in ARO as his low Burst 1 won’t matter too much there.

    It is however one of the tougher choices to find room for in most people’s lists nowadays.

    Weibing Yaokong (Guardian Remote)

    Short Summary:

    Pros:
    • Forward Observer
    • Broad spectrum of support equipment and skills
    • Sniffer
    • Above average movement
    • May execute a Sat-Lock attack within Sensor/Sniffer range to both target and discover any potential target
    Cons:
    • No armour or Mods and only 1 Structure Point make it harder to advance where needed
    Text Summary:

    The Weibing Yaokong is a surprisingly good unit which most people tend to overlook when creating their lists. Not only is it a fast moving specialist, but it also comes with Sensor, Repeater and Sniffer for support, as well as the Sat-lock ability which can only be effectively used by remotes like the Weibing to both discover and target enemies in range even if they are in marker states.

    If your opponent uses a lot of marker troops, consider taking this remote to uncover and maybe even get rid of them right away.

    Yudbots

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    • Cheap way to extend your Sophotects multipurpose usefulness to other areas of the table.
    • Ch: Mimetism makes it harder to get rid of
    • Electric Pulse can punish a careless opponent.
    • Above average movement
    Cons:
    • Useless once the Sophotect died
    • No lethal weapons
    Text Summary:

    Your typical G: Servant bot that you’ll find in almost all other factions to accompany the Doctors and Engineers out there.

    In ISS these become even more useful then they’d normally be as the Sophotect is a brilliant specialist that is both an Engineer and a Doctor with extremely high WIP, but who’s quite expensive and has only an AVA of 1, so can’t be used multiple times to cover several important units on the table, that is unless of course you use this little bots to compensate for that weak spot.

    Keep in mind that Electric Pulse can immobilize 2 an opponent in close combat, so if you see an opponent sneaking up to the model your Yudbot tries to support, don’t hesitate to try and engage with it, maybe saving a life while doing so…

    Yaopu Pangguling

    Short Summary:

    Pros:
    • Baggage for refills and missions
    • Minesweeper (1 Variant)
    • EVO Hacking Device (1 Variant)
    • Cheap Total Reaction (1 Variant)
    • Can benefit from Supportware Hacking programs
    Cons:
    • No lethal weapons (2 Variants)
    Text Summary:

    The Pangguling has some interesting profiles. The Minesweeper profile is a relatively cheap support unit that can take care of mines and help out in certain missions where the Baggage rule benefits you. It also allows for your hackers to extend their range due to its repeater, so if you have some points left, already used all the Kuang Shi you want to use, don’t care much for Flash Pulses, and want another support unit, this variant might be for you.

    The EVO Hacking Device Variant can provide crucial buffs to your army and is the only way of getting access to this relatively new kind of hacking device. It isn’t exactly cheap however, so try to find setups that make good use of the EVO Hacking Supportware available. (Team Pro for example could work well with the many Fireteams that ISS can build).

    The Total Reaction Combi Rifle variant is a way to get some defensive ARO pieces into your list without having to spend any SWCs to do so. It’s obviously not as strong as its HMG brother, but with assisted fire and in good range bands it can be just as lethal, and the repeater gives it some additional ARO potential should you have a hacker available.

    Yaoxie Lu Duan

    Short Summary:

    Pros:
    • Holoprojector L2
    • Multispectral Visor L1
    • Repeater
    • Above average movement
    • Can benefit from Supportware Hacking programs
    Cons:
    • Use of Holoprojector L2 diminished by Silhouette 4
    • Placing the Lu Duan and both his Holo Echoes takes up a lot of space on the table, making it hard to find suitable cover for plausible disguise.
    Text Summary:

    The Lu Duan is a Yu Jing exclusive remote that toys with Holoprojector L2, which ISS has a very high amount of when compared to other factions.

    With an MK12, a Heavy Flamethrower, Multispectral Visor L1 and a Repeater, the Lu Duan is quite the powerhouse for only 21 points, but sadly his main gimmick the Holoprojector L2 loses a lot of his usefulness on a Silhouette 4 Remote like the Lu Duan, as the only things it could disguise itself as are the Rui Shi or the Pangguling.

    Disguising itself as an otherwise defenseless Minesweeper Pangguling could naturally be used as a nice little ruse, though the opportunities where your opponent will go for this will be rather few, and you’d either have to forgo your Level 2 of Holoprojector to make it work, or hope your opponent doesn’t get suspicious when he sees that many Baggage Remotes in one location….It would be so much more useful if it could disguise itself as 3 Total Reaction HMG Remotes to mess with your opponents mind, but sadly the Husong Yaokong has only Silhouette 3, so it can’t be done.

    Now of course disguising itself as other units isn’t the only use of Holoprojector, and the Lu Duan can still use his echoes very effectively to stack the odds in a firefight, or clear off nasty mines or peripherals, but with the existence of other profiles like the Kanren in ISS, his usefulness is a bit lower than compared to for example JSA.

    Yaoxie Rui Shi

    Short Summary:

    Pros:
    • Cheap with reduced SWC cost for Spitfire
    • Multispectral Visor L2
    • Repeater
    • Can benefit from Supportware Hacking programs to turn him into a truly frightening murder machine
    • Relatively easy access to Smoke Grenade Coverage in ISS
    • Above average movement
    Cons:
    • No armour or Mods and only 1 Structure Point make it harder to use as a “Rambo Piece”
    • Needs Smoke Grenade Coverage to unfold its full potential
    Text Summary:

    The Rui Shi is one of those units that seem a bit “Meh” at the first glance, especially to new players who prefer the fancier shiny toys out there. It is however one of the hidden gems of ISS and Yu Jing in general, and a remote that only we have access to, with a loadout and profile that’s almost criminally cheap for what it’s capable of doing.

    It is this unit that makes most players discard the Bao Trooper for being “Too expensive” in comparison.

    Throw some Smoke Grenades out there, buff it with “Assisted Fire” Supportware, and watch it murder your shocked opponent with surprising efficiency.

    Just hope you don’t get critted or completely botch your roll as the Rui Shi really doesn’t like getting hit ….


    Skirmishers

    Kanren

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    • Holoprojector L2
    • Forward Deployment L2
    • Monofilament CC Weapon
    • Can be a Specialist
    • Diverse Variants which can disguise themselves as one another
    • Minelayer + Sniffer
    Cons:
    • Squishy if Holoprojector L2 fails
    • Holoprojector disguises don’t synergize well with Forward Deployment L2
    Text Summary:

    Kanren is a unit that fills a role that ISS is otherwise really lacking, a potential specialist or defensive unit that can deploy outside of our deployment zone. The only other option in ISS is the Ninja, and they share some of the same roles, but achieve them in different ways.

    Placing your Kanren with Forward Deployment L2 will render most of his available Holoprojector L2 disguises useless as any opponent who knows Yu Jing units and especially ISS units will know that you simply have nothing that can infiltrate up the field and isn’t placed as a marker, so whatever you disguise yourself as, your enemy will know it’s a Kanren nonetheless.

    This means that most of the time you won’t even have to bother with disguising your Kanren as anything else but a Kanren, but will rather want do disguise it as a different Kanren variant instead! This obviously works less well if you use the MadTraps variant as your opponent will rightfully wonder why there is (or isn’t) a MadTrap where there isn’t (or is) one in the profile he sees on his friendly list, but besides that this tactic can be very effective.

    You can either pretend your Hacker is no hacker at all (at least until your enemy comes within hacking range), pretend that he is a hacker when he actually isn’t (again, at least until your enemy is within hacking range), or pretend to be a different kind of hacker than you actually are, which can help to either keep a TAG or some sort of nasty Hacker away, or specifically attract them within your range instead. Since there will be 3 potential copies of your Kanren this also helps to greatly increase the potential threat range of your hacker (or would be hacker).

    If you don’t use Forward Deployment L2, the options for potential Holoprojector disguises are obviously way more, with some of the juicier choices being Sun Tze doubles, squishy Celestial Guards or their likes, to lure potential enemies within your range, be it for your Boarding Shotgun, Monofilament CC Weapon, or Hacking range.

    Equipped with MadTraps a Kanren can also act as a mid-field defensive unit, forcing your enemy to spend additional orders to get rid of the MadTraps, or risk getting one of his units glued down for good if he doesn’t have an engineer within range.

    With Minelayer and his Sniffer the Kanren can also be used to reveal enemy Camo and hidden deployment troops within range early on, allowing for their swift execution afterwards.

    If you are a little short on points, or don’t want to make yourself vulnerable to enemy hackers, using the Forward Observer variant of the Kanren is just as viable as the other options.

    Ninjas

    Short Summary:

    Pros:
    • Ch: TO Camouflage
    • Infiltration
    • Can be a Specialist
    • Very good Close Combat capabilities
    Cons:
    • Assault Hacker and Sniper variant are very expensive
    • Killer Hacker Variant has only very situational Tactical Bow as ranged weapon
    Text Summary:

    The Ninja is the closest thing to an auto include in ISS Lists next to the Kuang Shi or Su Jian. As one of the only 2 options for ISS to deploy a specialist outside of your deployment zone the ninja greatly benefits from the fact that it can be placed in hidden deployment very close to an objective if the mission allows for it, or even within the enemies table half (outside of his deployment zone of course) if you are brave and succeed in your infiltration role.

    This allows for the ninja to stay out of harm’s way until you really need it, or lay in ambush for unaware victims for either its weapons or hacking devices.

    The Multi Sniper Rifle variant can find a place in some lists due to the fact that it’s the only TO Camouflage Sniper option Yu Jing has, and if your opponent regularly uses a lot of TAGs or Heavy Infantry, investing in the Assault Hacker variant can be a good choice as well.

    The Variant you’ll be seeing the most of however is the relatively cheap Killer Hacker variant, as its right in that sweet spot of points where you can tolerate it not doing anything until turn 3 if unlucky, to save you the game, or risk it in some ambush to take out a critical enemy unit, and not be bothered too much should it fail to do so.

    With its high close combat abilities and the resulting stealth it is also a prime choice for some sneaking action into the enemies backfield should his positioning allow for it, and there is little that can stand up to a ninja in close combat, especially if it’s a surprise attack….
     
    #1 Yasashii Fuyu, Feb 22, 2018
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2018
    SergioSR, Wizzy, Demotron and 9 others like this.
  2. Yasashii Fuyu

    Yasashii Fuyu Well-Known Member

    Joined:
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    4. Fireteams of the Imperial Service:

    Now that we have taken a look at each individual unit type and talked about their Pros and Cons, it is time to take a closer look at the unique Fireteams that the Imperial Service can build, and some good combinations.


    Fireteam Core: Celestial Guard

    Short Summary:

    Pros:
    · Cheap Fireteam: Core compared to the other available options.
    · Good place to hide your Celestial Guard Lieutenant in if you use one
    · Can include Specialists
    · Reasonable ARO potential with Forward Observer Flash Pulses or Multi Sniper Rifles


    Cons:
    · Squishy
    · Lacks punch compared to the other Fireteam: Core options available


    Text Summary:

    A pure Celestial Guard Fireteam: Core is one of the less desirable Fireteam options available to the ISS. It is relatively cheap when compared to the other options, but in exchange the Fireteam loses a lot of punch and has no real way of breaking through the enemy lines, unless you consider a basic line infantry holding a Spitfire a way of doing so…which it can be if you control it well, with the +1 Burst and +3 BS Bonus of the Linkteam, but it’s not really recommended.

    When using a pure Celestial Guard Linkteam I’d recommend adding 1-2 Forward Observer profiles to the mix to allow for Flash Pulse AROs and Boarding Shotgun short range breaching/defense. A Hacker will be very useful as well as it’ll provide buffs for other units in your army and allow you to deal with some of the threats that the rest of the Fireteam might otherwise struggle with.

    The Kuang Shi Control Device Celestial Guard is always an option worth considering, and in this case will allow the Fireteam to advance into areas otherwise too dangerous for them.

    Even the Light Grenade Launcher variant could work well in this setup, and might surprise some of your enemies as death rains down on them from afar.

    Gui Feng Xi Zhuang can give the Celestial Guard Fireteam a lot more defensive power with his MadTraps and Flamethrower providing good cover for the team, and his Number2 allowing for the Fireteam to keep its consistency even when your squishy Fireteam Leader gets taken out. And he’s also a specialist, which makes him an even better choice.


    Example Fireteams:

    The Cheap All-rounder Lieutenant Bunker:

    [​IMG] Imperial Service
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
    [​IMG]5
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD Lieutenant Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD Hacker (Hacking Device) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 21)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD (Kuang Shi Control Device) Combi Rifle + Light Smoke Grenade Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 13)
    1 SWC | 73 Points

    A mix between Lieutenant Bunker and utility this Fireteam can provide a lot to your setup without costing too much. It is however inferior and slightly more expensive than most other factions equivalent options which diminishes its usefulness.


    Swiss Army Knife:
    [​IMG] Imperial Service
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
    [​IMG]5
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD Combi Rifle + Light Grenade Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (1 | 17)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD Hacker (Hacking Device) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 21)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD (Kuang Shi Control Device) Combi Rifle + Light Smoke Grenade Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 13)
    [​IMG] XI ZHUANG Combi Rifle + Light Flamethrower, MadTraps / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 20)
    2 SWC | 84 Points

    Filled to the brim with utility and specialists this Fireteam might not murder through your enemy, but it’ll surely have a tool for every job with it. If you really want to use a pure Celestial Guard Fireteam and don’t feel like hiding your Lieutenant in it, this might be the option to go for.


    The Flash:
    [​IMG] Imperial Service
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
    [​IMG]5
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13)
    0 SWC | 65 Points

    Frankly just a troll idea. With Burst 2 hitting on 17s base this setup could actually make for a funny Blinding barrage defensive ARO Fireteam with brutal short range capabilities and Specialists to boot, but at that points cost it’s a bit too expensive as a “fun” entry in your list usually…should you ever use it however and make a battle report, please send me the link! :-P

    Fireteam Core: Crane Agent + Celestial Guard

    Short Summary:

    Pros:
    · Greatly supports the heavy hitting Crane Agent(s)
    · Very versatile
    · Can include Specialists
    · A murder train


    Cons:

    · Can get very expensive
    · No Medic Option to tag along which means it’ll most likely outrun your Medic support
    · Partially Squishy which makes it easier for your enemy to reduce the Fireteam’s capabilities


    Text Summary:
    The Crane Agent + Celestial Guard Fireteam: Core is the most iconic ISS Fireteam there is. The powerful Crane Agent(s) supported by the Celestial Guard form a murder train whose sole purpose is to brutally brawl their way into the enemy lines and murder each and every enemy of the Imperial State it can find.

    A single Crane Agent is already a force to be reckoned with, but when you create a monster like the BS 16 Burst 5 Spitfire with X-Visor Crane who can also shoot 3 bursts of Nanopulser or gang up on his enemies in close combat when needed, there is little to nothing left in Infinity that can stand up to it.

    The only real problems a Fireteam like that can face are the likes of TO Camo, ODD, or extremely heavily armored TAGs like a Jotum, but the Fireteam can even be equipped to deal with those as well.

    A Crane Agent with Sensor can uncover Camo Units should your opponent play one of those Camo Spam lists, and with Triangulated fire even TO Camo or ODD units won’t stand much of a chance against your Crane + Celestial Guard Fireteam.

    The Assault Hacker Crane Agent can take care of enemy TAGS or more sneaky Heavy Infantry when needed, and also serves as a very tough Specialist option. The only drawback is that this also makes him even more susceptible to enemy hackers than he’d already be as a Heavy Infantry, though Stealth due to his Martial Arts skill can still save you from a good chunk of the hacking ambushes out there.

    However since Crane Agents aren’t exactly cheap in points you usually won’t have the luxury to include all 3 of these very useful profiles in one Fireteam, though doing so can be truly devastating for your opponents if the mission requires brute strength.

    To compensate for the fact that you can’t usually have all the Crane Agents you’d want, the Celestial guard can jump in to cover some of the Fireteams weaknesses.

    With the Smoke Grenade Launcher the Celestial Guard with Kuang Shi Control Device not only allows for you to field some Kuang Shi alongside your Crane + Celestial Guard Fireteam murder train, but also covers the link teams advance through too ARO heavy enemy territory, and enables for easier melee group attacks on unsuspecting enemies foolish enough to get too close to you.

    The Hacking Device Celestial Guard can deal with some pesky Assault Hackers blocking your way, maybe not extremely effective, but at least it’s an option, and otherwise will provide nice buffs to your army or your Crane Agents, and is obviously a specialist which can claim objectives along the murder trains way.

    The Forward Observer can be a cheap nice specialist to tag along in your Fireteam and with his Flashpulse and Boarding Shotgun can give some extra defensive power to your Fireteam.

    But wait! There is more!

    The Crane + Celestial Guard Fireteam can not only include up to 3 Crane Agents and Celestial Guards, but also Gui Feng Xi Zhuang, and he’s the perfect addition to this kind of Fireteam for sure.

    Xi Zhuang’s Number 2 ensures that even if your tough Crane Agent gets taken out you don’t lose your Fireteam’s cohesion right away, and is even more valuable when you actually make one of your Celestial Guards the Fireteam Leader, as they are much more likely to die while doing whatever you made them Fireteam Leader for than the Crane Agent would be.

    And besides that he’s a Forward Observer with WIP 14, which just like the normal Forward observer Celestial Guard makes him quite a nice ARO piece on medium distance, and to truly earn his points, he tags along with MadTraps which gives the Fireteam much needed defensive power, and comes with a Light Flamethrower, allowing you to deal with ODD or Camo units if absolutely necessary, though he’s not very survivable, so this might break your Fireteam. There are however many situations where sacrificing your Xi Zhuang to burn down an enemies TO Camo or ODD can be well worth it, and you’ll always have the chance to outright kill whatever you shoot at as his Light Flamethrower will be Burst 2 while in the Linkteam as well.


    Example Fireteams:

    Crane’s Gon' Give It To Ya (The Cheap All-rounder):
    [​IMG] Imperial Service
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
    [​IMG]5
    [​IMG] CRANE IMPERIAL AGENT (X Visor) Spitfire, 2 Nanopulsers / Pistol, DA CCW. (2 | 54)
    [​IMG] XI ZHUANG Combi Rifle + Light Flamethrower, MadTraps / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 20)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD (Kuang Shi Control Device) Combi Rifle + Light Smoke Grenade Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 13)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD Hacker (Hacking Device) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 21)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13)
    3 SWC | 121 Points

    With the Crane Agent to do most of the murdering, this Fire Team pays a little extra to ensure all round fighting capabilities and a tool for every job. If you have the points, I highly recommend this setup. If you have some more points to spare and want some more punching power you can try replacing the Celestial Guard (Hacking Device) for a Crane Agent (Assault Hacking Device).


    Crane Kick
    [​IMG] Imperial Service
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
    [​IMG]5
    [​IMG] CRANE IMPERIAL AGENT (X Visor) Spitfire, 2 Nanopulsers / Pistol, DA CCW. (2 | 54)
    [​IMG] CRANE IMPERIAL AGENT Hacker (Assault Hacking Device) MULTI Rifle, 2 Nanopulsers / Pistol, DA CCW. (0.5 | 53)
    [​IMG] CRANE IMPERIAL AGENT (Sensor, X Visor) Boarding Shotgun, 2 Nanopulsers / Pistol, DA CCW. (0 | 47)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD (Kuang Shi Control Device) Combi Rifle + Light Smoke Grenade Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 13)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD Hacker (Hacking Device) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 21)
    3.5 SWC | 188 Points

    Just about the most expensive Crane Fireteam you can build, with a lot of utility and brutal combat capabilities as well as 2 specialists. For most this Fireteam is “too many eggs in one basket”, but compared to some of the Military Order Linkteams out there, it’s actually still reasonable and just as powerful if not more so.

    Fireteam Core: Celestial Guard + Kuang Shi

    Short Summary:
    Pros:

    · As cheap as it gets
    · Very powerful anti-group capabilities
    · Easier Smoke Grenade Coverage
    · Very good short range defense capabilities
    · Prevents your Kuang Shi from running into their death


    Cons:
    · No Specialist option
    · No long range weapon options
    · Staying close together in a Fireteam might mean you’ll lose all your Kuang Shi at once
    · Less potential to use Explosion L1 as you are likely to blow up your own Fireteam
    · Can get very Command Token expensive if you keep throwing your linked Kuang Shi into suicide attacks to take care of enemy groups.
    · Only the Kuang Shi Control Device Celestial Guard can be used to form this Fireteam


    Text Summary:
    Another iconic and brutally effective ISS Fireteam option. The Celestial Guard with Kuang Shi Control Device and Kuang Shi is an extremely cheap Fireteam: Core option with a lot of potential for massive damage or backfield defensive support.

    If you ever want to make your enemy regret bringing an expensive Fireteam to the table, bring one of these little monsters and proceed up the field through your smoke cover, throwine one suicide Kuang Shi after another around the corner to blast the enemies Fireteam with its Burst 2 Chain Rifle, forcing him to either dodge, or shoot and take the hits.

    It might be suicide in most cases (though V: Dogged can sometimes keep you alive) but if two or three of your Kuang Shi end up murdering a 200+ point Fireteam which might even include your opponents Lieutenant, that was well worth it.

    If you want to bring some additional punch you can equip one of your Kuang Shis with a Boarding Shotgun, which despite its low BS will make it hit on 20s within 8 inches with Burst 3 if the Fireteam is still at full capacity, and there’s little in this game that wants to take that to the face.

    This Fireteams anti group capabilities can be so devastating that it can even lead to a meta change in your gaming group as you are very likely to have all components needed to form it in your army anyways, and whenever your enemy decides to bring an expensive Fireteam, you’ll have a cheap counter ready for it…which will either force your opponent to invest in some defensive capabilities he’d otherwise might not have cared about, position his Fireteam in odd ways to hopefully not get hit as easily, pray for first turn so he actually gets to do something with his expensive Fireteam, or leave it home altogether going for a different choice instead.

    Besides that it is always an option to form this Fireteam: Core if you have no other Fireteam: Core in your army list, and want to ensure that your cheerleader Kuang Shi’s don’t run to their death needlessly.


    Example Fireteams:

    The Classic:
    [​IMG] Imperial Service
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
    [​IMG]5 [​IMG]4
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD (Kuang Shi Control Device) Combi Rifle + Light Smoke Grenade Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 13)
    [​IMG] KUANG SHI Chain Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 5)
    [​IMG] KUANG SHI Chain Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 5)
    [​IMG] KUANG SHI Chain Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 5)
    [​IMG] KUANG SHI Chain Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 5)
    0.5 SWC | 33 Points

    90% of the time you’ll be fielding your Kuang Shi’s this way. You’ll have this units available in most of your ISS Army Lists to provide you with regular orders and smoke coverage, and should the opportunity/need arise, this is the Fireteam you’ll form with them to counter whatever you need to.

    Hobo with a Shotgun:
    [​IMG] Imperial Service
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
    [​IMG]5 [​IMG]4
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD (Kuang Shi Control Device) Combi Rifle + Light Smoke Grenade Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 13)
    [​IMG] KUANG SHI Chain Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 5)
    [​IMG] KUANG SHI Chain Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 5)
    [​IMG] KUANG SHI Chain Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 5)
    [​IMG] KUANG SHI Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 11)
    0.5 SWC | 39 Points

    This Fireteam will usually be used if you know in advance that you want to use your Kuang Shi in the Fireteam: Core, and you want to add some extra punch to it. For 6 points the Boarding Shotgun itself actually costs more than the criminal wielding it, but the extra damage potential can be absolutely worth it if you find the right targets.

    Fireteam Duo: Ashcroft Hunting Party

    For this entry please check out the Units of the Imperial Service “Ashcroft Hunting Party” entry above as everything is already covered there.

    Example Fireteams:
    A Tool for every job:
    [​IMG] Imperial Service
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
    [​IMG]2
    [​IMG] MIRANDA ASHCROFT Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, Monofilament CCW. (0 | 24)
    [​IMG] BOUNTY HUNTER Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 15)
    0 SWC | 39 Points

    This setup allows the Fireteam to cover most distances while still rushing forward towards an objective or whatever threat they need to take care off.

    Fireteam Haris: Hsien Warrior + Zhanying Agents

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    · The Bane of everything that is Camo or ODD
    · Burst 5 HMG on Hsien is brutal
    · Can include Specialists
    · Versatile Equipment Options
    · TinBot B (Deflector L2) of Hsien Warrior can make the Fireteam very resilient against Hacking


    Cons:
    · Quite Expensive if only used to boost Hsien HMG to Burst 5
    · Zhanying are quite squishy making it easier for opponent to steal Fireteam Bonus
    · Fireteam: Haris Zhanying is far from the most desirable variant


    Text Summary:
    One of the newer Fireteam Options for ISS, the Hsien Warrior + Zhanying Agents Fireteam can give you some interesting options, making some of the otherwise less interesting variants of the Hsien Warrior quite viable indeed.

    The most obvious option is of course to use the Zhanying Agents to give your Hsien Warrior with HMG that sweet much desired Burst 5 which can turn him into an even more devastating killing machine. Since you are always forced to take the Fireteam:Haris Profile of the Zhanying Agent as one of your variants, you’ll most likely want the MadTraps Variant of the Zhanying to go along with this setup to protect your Hsien and Fireteam from enemy counter advances, or with the Hacking Device/Forward Observer variant to have a specialist along your way as you walk across the table murdering everything in sight with your Hsien.

    Surprisingly enough this setup might not be the best use of this Fireteam however, as at this point the Zhanying will most of the time be little more than expensive cheerleaders as your Hsien takes out optimal targets at long range.

    To truly make this Fireteam shine you might want to think about using the Hsien Warrior with either the Multi Rifle and TinBot B (Deflector L2) or Boarding Shotgun alongside your Zhanying Agents. This allows for optimal synergy between Sensor and Multispectral Visor as you walk around the table, revealing each and every Camo marker around, followed up by a close range Multi Rifle or Boarding Shotgun to the face by the Hsien Warrior.

    If you use the Tinbot B (Deflector L2) Variant of the Hsien Warrior you also get extra synergy with the Zhanying Agent Hacking Device Variant as -6 to the enemies WIP during Hacking Attacks will greatly increase his odds when facing enemy hackers. And of course with Fairydust active (which the Zhanying could provide) your Hsien Warrior itself would then impose a -9 to enemy hackers WIP, as well as having BTS 9, which makes him quite hard to hack indeed.


    Example Fireteams:

    King of the Hill:
    [​IMG] Imperial Service
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
    [​IMG]3
    [​IMG] HSIEN HMG, Nanopulser / Pistol, AP CCW. (2 | 61)
    [​IMG] ZHÀNYING (Fireteam: Haris, Sensor) Breaker Combi Rifle, Nimbus Grenades / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0.5 | 27)
    [​IMG] ZHÀNYING (Sensor) Breaker Combi Rifle, Nimbus Grenades, MadTraps / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0 | 28)
    2.5 SWC | 116 Points

    This Fireteam is mostly to support the Hsien on his murder spree and give him some additional defensive capabilities should your enemy get close to him.

    Ghostbusters:
    [​IMG] Imperial Service
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
    [​IMG]3
    [​IMG] HSIEN MULTI Rifle, Nanopulser + 1 TinBot B (Deflector L2) / Pistol, AP CCW. (0.5 | 60)
    [​IMG] ZHÀNYING (Fireteam: Haris, Sensor) Breaker Combi Rifle, Nimbus Grenades / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0.5 | 27)
    [​IMG] ZHÀNYING Hacker (Hacking Device) Breaker Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0.5 | 32)
    1.5 SWC | 119 Points

    Most likely one of the strongest anti Camo options in the whole game, this Fireteam:Haris comes equipped with everything one needs to take care of hidden deployment or other Camo troops out there and will make short work of them.

    Fireteam Core: Wu Ming

    Short Summary:
    Pros:

    · Very powerful aggressive Fireteam
    · Relatively cheap for a HI Fireteam
    · Good synergy between the variants with many different weapon options
    · Can include a Specialist
    · TinBot B (Deflector L2) can make the Fireteam very resilient against Hacking


    Cons:
    · No fancy skills/equipment besides TinBot
    · No Martial Arts/Stealth so moving them across the table will be harder because of Hackers
    · Can get very SWC expensive


    Text Summary:
    Just like the Crane + Celestial Guard Fireteam, the Wu Ming Fireteam: Core is a pure firepower “no nonsense” type of Fireteam, specifically designed to brute force through the enemy lines and murder whatever it comes across.

    With access to “breaching tools” like Heavy Rocket Launchers, HMGs, Panzerfausts, Boarding Shotguns and even Light Grenade Launchers it has every tool it needs to deal with enemy resistance, and it even has options for more “exotic” equipment like the TinBot B (Deflector L2) or a Nimbus Light Grenade Launcher.

    Since the Wu Ming have neither Martial Arts nor any other way of gaining Stealth, the TinBot B (Deflector L2) is very helpful and should be considered whenever you go for a full 5 model Fireteam as the wider spread of models will make it harder to avoid enemy hacking zones.

    The Forward Observer Wu Ming is rather cheap and gives the Fireteam the option to take Objectives along their rampage, so at least one should be included in every Fireteam if possible, unless you know in advance that no specialists will be needed for your mission at all.

    So yeah, there really is not much “finesse” to this Fireteam, stick in whichever offensive or defensive tools you want, and sent them out to murder everything in sight. Some funny options like “All Panzerfausts” or “All Forward Observer” or variations of it can be created with this for some hilarious ARO scenarios as well.


    Example Fireteams:

    The Rocketmen:
    [​IMG] Imperial Service
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
    [​IMG]5
    [​IMG] WÚ MÍNG Panzerfaust, Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 29)
    [​IMG] WÚ MÍNG Panzerfaust, Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 29)
    [​IMG] WÚ MÍNG Panzerfaust, Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 29)
    [​IMG] WÚ MÍNG Panzerfaust, Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 29)
    [​IMG] WÚ MÍNG Panzerfaust, Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 29)
    2.5 SWC | 145 Points

    Not much to say here, for 145 points and 2,5 SWC you get to Panzerfaust everything your heart could desire in the face, until you run out of rockets and either restock on your nearby Baggage Remote of choice, or switch to Shotgun.

    A Wu for every job:
    [​IMG] Imperial Service
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
    [​IMG]5
    [​IMG] WÚ MÍNG Panzerfaust, Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 29)
    [​IMG] WÚ MÍNG Boarding Shotgun + 1 TinBot B (Deflector L2) / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 33)
    [​IMG] WÚ MÍNG (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 31)
    [​IMG] WÚ MÍNG (Fireteam: Duo) Combi Rifle + E/Mitter, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 32)
    [​IMG] WÚ MÍNG HMG / Pistol, Knife. (2 | 39)
    3 SWC | 164 Points

    A Murder train with a weapon for every job, and some tricks up their sleeves with the TinBot and Mines.

    Fireteam Duo: Wu Ming

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    · Relatively cheap for a HI Fireteam
    · Good synergy between the variants with different weapon options
    · Can include a Specialist
    · TinBot B (Deflector L2) can make the Fireteam very resilient against Hacking


    Cons:
    · No fancy skills/equipment besides TinBot
    · No Martial Arts/Stealth so moving them across the table will be harder because of Hackers
    · Way less firepower which means that other options become more appealing
    · Less weapon options as you are forced to pick at least one of the Duo variants


    Text Summary:
    Basically the same as the Fireteam: Core Wu Ming, but since their combat potential is way lower without the Fireteam Bonus and their loadout options are reduced by the fact that you’ll have to pick at least one of the two Fireteam: Duo variants, this Fireteam has way less uses than its Core counterpart, and you’ll most likely have a harder time finding a spot for it in your army list unless you really want two additional HI troopers and are short on points.

    Fireteam Core: Wu Ming + 1 Zhanying Agent

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    · Relatively cheap for a HI Fireteam
    · Even more synergy and flexibility than the normal Wu Ming Fireteam: Core
    · Can include a Specialist
    · TinBot B (Deflector L2) can make the Fireteam very resilient against Hacking
    · Gets anti Camo potential with the Zhanying


    Cons:
    · No Martial Arts/Stealth so moving them across the table will be harder because of Hackers
    · Way less firepower which means that other options become more appealing
    · Can get very SWC expensive
    · Zhanying adds a squishy element to the otherwise rock hard Fireteam


    Text Summary:
    The Zhanying Agent brings some of the more fancy tools to the Wu Ming Fireteam which already had a lot of variations in their weapons, but not so many other tools besides that. With Sensor the Fireteam gets a tool to deal with Hidden Deployment and Camo Markers, the Hacking Device grants the possibility of Fairy Dust to boost their resistance against hacking to ridiculous heights, as well as some anti Hacking capabilities with boosted survivability for the Zhanying thanks to the Wu Mings TinBot. Should you go for the MadTraps variant you can get some additional defense options into the team, which can make an already quite potent defensive loadout even harder to get past.

    I wouldn’t recommend equipping the Zhanying with a HMG as the Wu Ming do better with it, but the Missile Launcher could be an interesting option if you need additional firepower.

    Example Fireteams:

    Can’t touch this:

    [​IMG] Imperial Service
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
    [​IMG]5
    [​IMG] WÚ MÍNG Boarding Shotgun + 1 TinBot B (Deflector L2) / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 33)
    [​IMG] WÚ MÍNG HMG / Pistol, Knife. (2 | 39)
    [​IMG] WÚ MÍNG Panzerfaust, Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 29)
    [​IMG] WÚ MÍNG (Fireteam: Duo) Combi Rifle + E/Mitter, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 32)
    [​IMG] ZHÀNYING Hacker (Hacking Device) Breaker Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0.5 | 32)
    3.5 SWC | 165 Points

    Sacrificing a little bit of offensive potential in exchange for superior hacking protection and anti Camo potential there truly is little on the battlefields of Infinity that this Fireteam won’t be able to deal with.

    Fireteam Duo: Su-Jian

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    · Very fast and order effective
    · If you ever get unlucky and a Su Jian gets taken out, its replacement is right around the corner
    · Extreme offensive potential


    Cons:
    · Can’t include a Specialist
    · Suffers from “more of the same” syndrome, which means you’ll most likely only get your points worth from it if one of your Su-Jian dies and there’s still murdering to be done
    · Can get very SWC expensive


    Text Summary:
    What’s better than one murder machine Su-Jian in your army? Two of them in a Fireteam: Duo of course!

    The sheer damage potential of two Su-Jian roaming around on the table is scary indeed, and by fielding this Fireteam you’ll ensure your opponents attention will be on them, or the cheerleader feeding them should your opponent not have the means to deal with them directly.

    However since the only real benefit of this Fireteam is that you’ll get both of your Su-Jian across the table for only one order, you’ll mostly be using one of the Su-Jians to do all the work, while the other one just tags along as a Backup piece, which means you’ll only get its points worth should your other Su-Jian die during your rampage, or if you split them up.

    From my experience a single Su-Jian is already a brutal murder machine, and unless you get really unlucky you’ll already have dealt a very good chunk of damage to your opponent by the time he has been taken out, which means your replacement Su-Jian might be in a position where he’d have to relocate a lot on the hunt for new targets, or face whatever has taken out the other Su-Jian, which might not be a fight you’d want to repeat.

    There is however something majestic about the view of two Su-Jians prowling over the battlefield together, so there is no wonder that quite a few ISS players like to play this Fireteam, or at least give it a try every now and then for some fun.

    I wouldn’t give both of them a Spitfire as that’d be 2/3rd of your armies SWC in 1/3rd of its points on almost the same spot on the table, which usually isn’t the best of ideas.

    Fireteam Duo: Pheasant Agents

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    · Allows for the use a Pheasant Agent without CoC without endangering your Lieutenant
    · Versatile Equipment and Skills make this a very flexible Fireteam: Duo
    · With two Specialists moving as one you’ll have an easier time grabbing an objective in case of a desperate turn 3 objective grab run


    Cons:
    · You’ll have to use two Pheasant Agents which is a tough sell for most players as even a single Pheasant Agent with CoC can sometimes be hard to fit into a list.
    · CoC aside there are other more effective specialists available


    Text Summary:
    Frankly I have a tough time justifying this Fireteam, until recently I didn’t even notice that the Pheasant Agent has this option as the thought of using two of them never even crossed my mind.

    If you REALLY like to Rambo your Lieutenant, and want some backup to your backup, you could think about bringing two Pheasant Agents, but even then you wouldn’t want them to stick too close together, risking them to get taken out together.

    Maybe one of you readers can mention a good reason to bring this Fireteam in the comments, because the only reason I can come up with would be “Rule of cool” which trumps everything, but other than that I think there are so many much better options out there that you really shouldn’t bother with this.

    Fireteam Core: Bao Troops + Pheasant Agent

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    · All the Visors you could ever want in one team
    · Can include a Specialist
    · Pheasant Agent brings some punch to the team
    · Good ARO potential considering that it is harder to put negative modifiers on them


    Cons:
    · Squishy
    · Can get very expensive in points and SWC


    Text Summary:
    Adding a Pheasant Agent to the Bao Troops solves a few of the Bao's Problems. All of the Pheasants Variants are Specialists, except the Sniper, which I really wouldn’t recommend in this Fireteam: Core as the Bao is cheaper and usually better at it, so right from the get go this Fireteam gets a lot more usability. The Pheasant Agent can also come equipped with a Red Fury, giving the team some serious firepower on short to medium range.

    With MadTraps the Pheasant can even increase the defensive capabilities of the Fireteam, though it stays a fact that this Fireteam is about as squishy as it gets, and any serious attack will most likely take out a few of its members if not all of them, and since the Pheasant is likely to be your Chain of Command Lieutenant replacement, you might be forced to use them extremely careful, which might mean a lot of points bound in defensive duty.

    If you still have no other Fireteam: Core in your List, using this Fireteam: Core instead of the Fireteam: Haris variant is a good way to save some SWC, as it means you could build a 2 Sniper rifle ARO team with a cheap CoC Pheasant taking cover in the back, providing safety for the Pheasant while benefiting from a bonus from it.

    Fireteam Haris: Bao Troops + Pheasant Agent

    Short Summary:
    Pros:
    · All the Visors you could ever want in one team
    · Can include a Specialist
    · Pheasant Agent brings some punch to the team
    · Good ARO potential considering that it is harder to put negative modifiers on them


    Cons:
    · Squishy
    · Expensive in SWC as Haris Pheasant Agent forces you to spend at least 1,5 SWC


    Text Summary:
    If you already have another Fireteam: Core but still want a Fireteam with Bao Troops and Pheasant Agent this is the way to go. Since the Pheasant Agent with Haris option is required to build this Fireteam, you will always have a Red Fury in it, allowing for the Fireteam to put out some serious damage.

    With your Pheasant Agent usually being your Lieutenant backup however, you are much more likely to use it at a late game objective grabber, which means you might want to invest into some ARO potential to get some worth out of it in the early game phase as well. This might mean you’d want to go for the MSR option, but keep in mind that this means that your Fireteam: Haris will cost 3 SWC at least, which is a tough buy indeed. This does however create a very versatile unit which will have something to engage at every range band, and usually with added benefit due to some of the Visors.


    Example Fireteams:

    The mixed bag:
    [​IMG] Imperial Service
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
    [​IMG]3
    [​IMG] PHEASANT IMPERIAL AGENT (Chain of Command, Fireteam: Haris) Red Fury / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (1.5 | 36)
    [​IMG] BÀO TROOP (Multispectral Visor L2) MULTI Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 29)
    [​IMG] BÀO TROOP (X Visor, Multispectral Visor L2) Combi Rifle + Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 27)
    3 SWC | 92 Points

    This Fireteam is quite expensive both in SWC and points, but in exchange you get a Fireteam that can effectively engage at all range bands, serves as your replacement Lieutenant, and is effective against all sorts of Camo.




    5. What to buy next after the Starter Box?

    Many players who start ISS with the ISS Starter Box ask themselves after their first 1-2 games…what do I buy next? In this section I’ll try to give some tips on easy ways to add to your existing units for some powerful combos. Please keep in mind that “rule of cool” trumps everything I might say here, so if you see a ISS Model that you’d seriously LOVE to use, but it’s not listed here, don’t worry, go for it! You can always make things work in different ways than written here, and this is only a starting point anyways.

    The Starter Pack:

    From the units you got in your Starter Pack you could create a list that looks somewhat like this:

    [​IMG] Imperial Service
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
    [​IMG]6
    [​IMG] CRANE IMPERIAL AGENT Lieutenant (X Visor) Spitfire, 2 Nanopulsers / Pistol, DA CCW. (2 | 54)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD (Kuang Shi Control Device) Combi Rifle + Light Smoke Grenade Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 13)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13)
    [​IMG] PHEASANT IMPERIAL AGENT (Chain of Command) Boarding Shotgun, Stun Grenades / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 29)
    [​IMG] ZHÀNYING Missile Launcher, Nanopulser, Nimbus Grenades / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (1.5 | 28)
    4 SWC | 150 Points

    As you can see the ISS Starter Pack has a big problem with SWC as the Crane Spitfire and Zhanying Missile Launcher alone already bring you to 3,5 SWC, which is too much for a 150 points army.

    So in the beginning you’ll either have to live with proxying your Zhanying or Crane Agent as some other variant, or life with playing a not ITS conform list, which is frankly fine if you are just learning the game and playing with friends.

    Since the Zhanying Agent with Missile Launcher is a very situational choice which you’ll rarely be using in your later lists, you might want to think about sitting him on the bench sooner rather than later, but for now lets start with a list that does include him:


    Dire Foes incoming:
    [​IMG] Imperial Service
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
    [​IMG]8
    [​IMG] CRANE IMPERIAL AGENT Lieutenant (X Visor) Spitfire, 2 Nanopulsers / Pistol, DA CCW. (2 | 54)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD (Kuang Shi Control Device) Combi Rifle + Light Smoke Grenade Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 13)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13)
    [​IMG] XI ZHUANG Combi Rifle + Light Flamethrower, MadTraps / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 20)
    [​IMG] PHEASANT IMPERIAL AGENT (Chain of Command) Boarding Shotgun, Stun Grenades / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 29)
    [​IMG] ZHÀNYING Missile Launcher, Nanopulser, Nimbus Grenades / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (1.5 | 28)
    [​IMG] KǍNRÈN Hacker (Killer Hacking Device) Combi Rifle, Chain-colt / Pistol, Monofilament CC Weapon, Knife. (0 | 29)
    4 SWC | 199 Points

    This list isn’t exactly the cheapest way of adding to your army, but it is a very future proof one, as you’ll very likely want to use some sort of Kanren in your 300+ points army lists, and Xi Zhuang is a boon to every Crane + Celestial Fireteam, which will be your preferred choice of murder train especially in the early games, but also in later games. A Crane + Celestial Guard Fireteam: Core is a force to reckon with, and Xi Zhuang adds a lot of benefits to it.

    This also means you’ll have Mad Traps Models available for potential other future models, and the Dire Foes Pack comes with a potentially good looking HVT option for you if you want it. You’ll only have to find a way to get rid of the useless Haqqislam Model….but maybe there’s a Haqq player who started playing with you? If not there’s always E Bay or the likes…

    The only real drawback of this list is that you only have 8 orders, which isn’t optimal, but at 200 points games it should still be fine, and if you want to keep using all your models, you have few other useful options really.

    Now if we take away the Zhanying Agent with Missile Launcher however…



    More power!
    [​IMG] Imperial Service
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
    GROUP 1[​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]10 [​IMG]2
    [​IMG] CRANE IMPERIAL AGENT Lieutenant (X Visor) Spitfire, 2 Nanopulsers / Pistol, DA CCW. (2 | 54)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD (Kuang Shi Control Device) Combi Rifle + Light Smoke Grenade Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 13)
    [​IMG] XI ZHUANG Combi Rifle + Light Flamethrower, MadTraps / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 20)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD Hacker (Hacking Device) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 21)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12)
    [​IMG] PHEASANT IMPERIAL AGENT (Chain of Command) Boarding Shotgun, Stun Grenades / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 29)
    [​IMG] RUI SHI Spitfire / Electric Pulse. (1 | 20)
    [​IMG] LÙ DUĀN Mk12, Heavy Flamethrower / Electric Pulse. (0 | 21)
    [​IMG] KUANG SHI Chain Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 5)
    [​IMG] KUANG SHI Chain Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 5)
    4 SWC | 200 Points

    This is the type of list you could start working towards.

    It still includes the a bit expensive Xi Zhuang, simply because he makes to good use of the ISS Starter Boxes 3 Celestial Guards and Crane Agent to form an awesome Crane + Celestial Guard Fireteam: Core. But it also includes a Box of very useful remotes (The Rui Shi is one of the best Remotes out there and a boon to every list), as well as a Box of Kuang Shi, which you’ll find in almost every ISS list there is, so investing in them early on will be a good idea.

    This list is a very good example of a powerful 200 points list, it includes a powerful Fireteam: Core with lots of specialists, a Backup Lieutenant should your early attempts at attack fail (which is likely if you are still a beginner) who is also a specialist, it allows you to learn about Hacking Programs to support your powerful remotes, makes good use of Smoke Grenades which will also be one of the main tricks of ISS, and adds in some Kuang Shi, which you’ll most likely be using all throughout your ISS life, so some early practice will make you all the better later on.

    From this you could develop into a 300 points List that could look somewhat like this:


    Every tool in the Box:
    [​IMG] Imperial Service
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
    GROUP 1[​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]10 [​IMG]4
    [​IMG] CRANE IMPERIAL AGENT Lieutenant (X Visor) Spitfire, 2 Nanopulsers / Pistol, DA CCW. (2 | 54)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD (Kuang Shi Control Device) Combi Rifle + Light Smoke Grenade Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 13)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD (Kuang Shi Control Device) Combi Rifle + Light Smoke Grenade Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 13)
    [​IMG] XI ZHUANG Combi Rifle + Light Flamethrower, MadTraps / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 20)
    [​IMG] CELESTIAL GUARD Hacker (Hacking Device) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 21)
    [​IMG] KUANG SHI Chain Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 5)
    [​IMG] KUANG SHI Chain Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 5)
    [​IMG] KUANG SHI Chain Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 5)
    [​IMG] KUANG SHI Chain Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 5)
    [​IMG] RUI SHI Spitfire / Electric Pulse. (1 | 20)

    GROUP 2[​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]5
    [​IMG] PHEASANT IMPERIAL AGENT (Chain of Command) Boarding Shotgun, Stun Grenades / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 29)
    [​IMG] KǍNRÈN Forward Observer Boarding Shotgun, Chain-colt / Pistol, Monofilament CC Weapon, Knife. (0 | 26)
    [​IMG] NINJA Hacker (Killer Hacking Device) Tactical Bow / Pistol, DA CCW, Knife. (0 | 29)
    [​IMG] SOPHOTECT Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 31)
    [​IMG] YUDBOT Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)
    [​IMG] LÙ DUĀN Mk12, Heavy Flamethrower / Electric Pulse. (0 | 21)

    4.5 SWC | 300 Points

    While this list doesn’t use the full amount of SWC, which is something you might want to work on later , it does provide you with a fully functional 300 points army that is ready for everything the Infinity world could throw at it, all missions there are as it has a specialist of every type, and shows a lot of the strengths of ISS with a big powerful Fireteam, some Kuang Shi support, some Smoke to cover your advance or Rui Shi attack, some Ninja/Kanren for sneaky objective grabbing, and some support with the Sophotect. And most important of all, it makes the most out of the boxes you buy (Missile Launcher Zhanying aside…)

    To get to this list you need to get a Kuang Shi Box, a Kanren Blister, a Ninja Blister, a Sophotect Box, a Rui Shi/Lu Duan Box, and the Dire Foes Box with Xi Zhuang, all of which are highly recommended early buys when starting your ISS list, no matter what you’ll develop into using later on.

    This isn’t as cheap as some other factions might be able to achieve 300 points, but since ISS doesn’t have a TAG, and benefits from having more than one combat group with cheap orders, that’s to be expected.

    So there you have it…my recommendations for adding to your ISS Starter Pack are:
    · Kuang Shi Box

    · Dire Foes Mission Pack 6: Defiant Truth

    · Rui Shi/Lu Duan Box

    · Sophotect Box

    · Kanren Blister

    · Ninja Blister (or get the Red Veil Box if you have a friend to share, the Hsien in Red Veil is extremely good as well, and the Zhanshi can proxy as additional Celestial Guards if need be..)


    With these purchase you can do nothing wrong, and you’ll benefit from them in most lists you’ll build. And as a little bonus, most of them (except the Sophotect Box and Dire Foes Box) are very useful in Vanilla Yu Jing too, so if you ever decide to expand into that, you’ll have a good base ready as well.



    Debriefing:

    So there you have it fellow ISS Commander if you read this carefully you should now be able to know the strengths and weaknesses of ISS as a whole and of its individual units, you should know about our Fireteams and some effective combinations, and you should know where to start after you enlisted into the ISS...so what are you waiting for? On to your next mission, show the Empire what you learned!

    And as for you filthy foreign spies that read this tactica...you now know what's coming for you, so you better prepare yourself for we do not fool around like some of you decadent loudmouths...Yu Jing Number 1 !!!
     
    #2 Yasashii Fuyu, Feb 22, 2018
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2018
    SergioSR, Wizzy, Demotron and 2 others like this.
  3. Yasashii Fuyu

    Yasashii Fuyu Well-Known Member

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    [Placeholder for future Updates]
     
    #3 Yasashii Fuyu, Feb 22, 2018
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2018
  4. Yasashii Fuyu

    Yasashii Fuyu Well-Known Member

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    Ok, the main body is finally finished! I'll try to make everything look more pretty in the next few days as I hopefully find out how to format my texts nicer and maybe add some icons and pictures.

    I'll also add some example lists or useful unit combinations if I can come up with some, to give new players some basis where to start.

    For now it'd be a great help if you guys could read what is there, and tell me what you think about it, is it halfway acceptably written? Am I grossly wrong with things? Would you like me to add something? Did I miss something important?

    I want this Tactica to be as helpful to new players and maybe even Veterans trying to expand into ISS or see a different view on some of their units , so the more feedback and information I get, the better it will hopefully become!
     
  5. zapp

    zapp Well-Known Member

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  6. Fire@Will

    Fire@Will Well-Known Member

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    Maybe have a section on the different Fireteam options available, because ISS has some unusual combinations (similar to Tohaa tactica, although they have the ultimate in flexibility). Particularly, pointing out some of the combinations of the more esoteric gear ISS has access to could be useful for new players - I remember when I first came to the faction wondering how it fitted together.

    To start, I'd look at the Zhanying-Hsein Haris:

    The Haris Zanying's sensor works well with the Hsein's MSV2, to deal with camo markers in CQB, especially revealing them out of LoF. Makes Boarding Shotgun or Multi rifle more appealing. Also, the Sensor allows triangulated fire through nimbus zones, cover, at maximum range, and against any other camouflage for only -3 MOD: B3 hitting on 9s against a potential -12 MOD for return fire (-3 for Nimbus, -3 cover, and -6 range).

    The multi-rifle Hsein with deflector will add a -6MOD to all hacking attacks, so you can use a Zhanying Hacker aggressively against other hackers (more so through Kuang Shi repeaters or with Fairy Dust up).

    This Haris is an aggressive Fireteam for engaging infiltrating, camouflaged specialists, especially hackers. Stealth comes as standard for the Hsein, so hackers in hidden deployment can't target him unless he is in LoF, and the Zhanying Hacker might seem a tempting target, but comes with a surprise. The sensor can sweep any suspicious hidey-holes, before the MSV'd Hsein blows them away with B4 shock ammo.

    [​IMG] Imperial Service
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────

    [​IMG]3
    [​IMG] HSIEN MULTI Rifle, Nanopulser + 1 TinBot B (Deflector L2) / Pistol, AP CCW. (0.5 | 60)
    [​IMG] ZHÀNYING Hacker (Hacking Device) Breaker Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0.5 | 32)
    [​IMG] ZHÀNYING (Fireteam: Haris, Sensor) Breaker Combi Rifle, Nimbus Grenades / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0.5 | 27)

    1.5 SWC | 119 Points

    Open in Infinity Army
     
  7. Yasashii Fuyu

    Yasashii Fuyu Well-Known Member

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    Before I finished the text I had a note about the newly announced infinitythetactics site, it was announced like 2-3 hours before I finished my writing of the unit reviews.:-P

    The thing is, I checked it out and while I think that their style is very informative and will be a boon to many players, I find it a bit too.....cold? unpersonal? When I think about a unit's potential and uses I usually don't go "Offensive Tool Boarding Shotgun, Rating 1/5*" or so :-P

    When this Tactica is a little more refined I am thinking about porting the information from it over to https://infinitythetactics.com/ , but for now it's style is so different from mine that it would take a LOT of work to port over, and after just having written 40+ pages of Tactica, I need to slow down a little :-P

    If no one else has done it until then however I do fully intend to enter the Infos from this thread there as well ^^


    That sounds like a great idea! And the example you brought is very good and I never even thought about parts of it (especially the Tin Bot to boost the Zhanying!)

    If you have any other more exotic combinations like that, feel free to post them here, I will write a Fire Team section for sure and add them to it! (Just came home from work however, and don't know how much time I'll have this weekend :-) )
     
  8. Greysturm

    Greysturm Invincible Army Drill Sergeant/Military Theorist

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    Wow didn't think you'd get it done so fast. I read a few entries and it seems you covered most of it. The only one where I have found some missing ideas is the celestial guard, I think it's important to note that the forward observer profile makes a decent flash pulse are piece alone and an impressive one in a core Link. 2 rolls at 17 have stopped a lot of incoming threats in their tracks.

    Also bts 3 on the hacker profile gives the celestial guard a slight edge on hacking combat against most opposing cheap hackers.

    Edit: Finished reading it. The tactica is pretty much everything you need to know about iss.

    The only extra nitpicks I have are the default
    design synergy of the kuang shi's bio locator and their controllers smoke launcher that allows you to place smoke reliably even outside of line of sight as long as a kuang shi is nearby.

    The last one would probably be Miranda's suppressive fire lockdown ability. Forcing the enemy to engage her at -12 for starter while in cover.

    Overall excellent job man, you pulled something of really high quality in a short amount of time.
     
    #8 Greysturm, Feb 23, 2018
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2018
  9. Space Ghost

    Space Ghost Well-Known Member

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    I had a chance to read through this last night and think it's an excellent piece of work. IMO the unit descriptions are balanced, succinct and representative of current conventional wisdom. So thanks much for doing this and hopefully the mods will pin it up top, along with the JSA tactica. Hopefully this will then lead to follow on discussion of other issues specific to IS, but not specific to individual units. (Which you could add to your tactica, but doesn't strike me as "mandatory" to get things started.) As was already mentioned, this could include an analysis of our link team options (and how to get the most out of them,) but I've seen and/or can think of others. (I.e. what counter-sniper options are available to us?) Great job and thanks again!
     
  10. Yasashii Fuyu

    Yasashii Fuyu Well-Known Member

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    Thank you very much for your kind words and your feedback so far, especially for the little extra tricks and tactics you mentioned! I added them to the Tactica (hopefully I didn't forget any) and will now be working on the Fireteam Part of the Tactica! Please let me know any other tactics or tricks you know that I didn't represent here, I seriously love to read them as I obviously didn't think about them myself, which means I get to learn something cool as well along the ride :-)
     
  11. Antares

    Antares Well-Known Member

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    Just ordered my first bunch of ISS models and this tactica comes at exactly the right time. Great read, thank you very much! Now I can't wait to play and teach my enemies some good old Yu Jingese justice aka Su Jian spitfire.
     
  12. Madness

    Madness Neverending fiddler

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    While the style is indeed supposed to be generic, it's not supposed to be:
    • Rating: We don't aim to provide a guide of "gud" vs "trash", but an idea of "I picked this model, which I love, what are ALL my options? Where can I see some pre-digested informations regarding this unit?". Even if the unit is otherwise utter garbage, we aim to inform more than imprint decisions.
    • Superficial: Yes, model x has a boarding shotgun, now let's break down how to be profitable with it. Is the model a fast one? Then highlight how the mobility plus the boarding shotgun can pair up to be an exceptionally strong tool that can kill stuff like TAGs if you hit their back-side.
    That's not to say that the current content is there. What I mentioned is an aspiration, for now we're trying to set up as much infrastructure as we can.
     
    Maksimas likes this.
  13. Yasashii Fuyu

    Yasashii Fuyu Well-Known Member

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    Hello Madness,

    I assume you are one of the guys working on the Tactica then? If so, you are awesome!

    Like I said, I really think that this will be a big boon to the community, and I'm glad something like it has finally appeared.

    The "Boarding Shotgin 1/5*" thing was just an example, based on what I assumed might get entered based on the layout I saw. If it's more personal, it'll be even better ^^

    I hope I never said superficial, if I did I didn't mean it, I was thinking more along the lines of too "cold" by which I guess I mean that it'd be hard for me to split apart a unit into "Offensive Tools" "Defensive Tools" "Active Turn Options" "ARO Options" and the likes, as it'd feel too much like....a...List? Checklist? set of cold fact? It's hard to explain, maybe because I haven't found a filled in entry in the Yu Jing section of the tactica yet, so I don't know how it's supposed to be filled in really.

    Like I said, I greatly enjoy the tactica page, and hopefully will get around to contribute to it eventually (once the shell shock of JSA splitting off goes away maybe :-P)

    For now however I want to make this Tactica here as helpful and complete as possible, since like I said, I started doing it before the site got announced, and I'd like to finish my project, hopefully in time before the next Campaign hits, so it can help out new recruits :-)

    Who knows.....if I join the new rebel JSA faction...I might prepare a Tactica for them with the new units, and then I will try to write it in a style that fits your site better and will enter it there :-)
     
  14. Madness

    Madness Neverending fiddler

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    No worries, this is not a me vs you thing, I'm just trying to establish an editorial tone.

    There's also another aspect of note, we're not against linking to external resources. so... maybe?
     
  15. Yasashii Fuyu

    Yasashii Fuyu Well-Known Member

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    That's definitely a quick way of combining our efforts in an easy way. A List of "other useful links" or "Other available Tactica" would certainly be a good idea for this thread as well, and your site will obviously be on it as the hopefully future "main source of Infinity Tactica" that I think it'll shape up to be.

    So sure, I'd love if you'd add a link to this Tactica in some way shape of form to your site, and once I get around to this part of my Tactica (I am currently working on the Linkteams and will then work on a "Tips on what to buy when starting ISS" area) I'll add one to your Site as well :-)

    As I said, I hope to actually contribute to your site as well in the future more directly :-)
     
  16. psychoticstorm

    psychoticstorm Aleph's rogue child
    Moderator

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    And stickied.

    I would not mind if a coordinated effort to unify all tacticas was done, all involved can PM me if they want.
     
  17. Madness

    Madness Neverending fiddler

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    Here's the thing, I don't have to be the person to do it, anyone and everyone is welcome to come and contribute.

    What I *can* do to help, tho, is to try and coordinate the efforts so they work with a uniform structure.

    If you check the Pano page you'll see an example implementation of external links.
     
  18. Lazi

    Lazi Member

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    Hi. Good work on this! There are some tips I have to try in game ;)

    Not to be dismissed is an option of disguising Sfozra for Kanren (and possibly vice versa). I run it once - deployed Sforza as three assault hacker Kanrens and then run him up against the enemy. Dogged Viral ammo shooting trooper was definitely not something my opponent expected to come from this Holo.
    But this is quite situational thing.
     
    Yasashii Fuyu likes this.
  19. Fire@Will

    Fire@Will Well-Known Member

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    With ITS, the shell game inherent with Public/Private information, and the ARO system, Infinity is the premier situational wargame. The trick lies in engineering the situations ;)
     
  20. Yasashii Fuyu

    Yasashii Fuyu Well-Known Member

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    Sooo, I now added the Fire Teams section as well. Some of the Fire Teams (especially the last few) I have very few or even no experience at all with, so if you guys have any more advice or tricks to add, please let me know, this section can seriously benefit from some extra knowledge that I simply might not have thought about! ^^
     
    Fire@Will likes this.
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