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Is there much flavour between the sectorials.

Discussion in 'Ariadna' started by OCEE78, Feb 19, 2020.

  1. OCEE78

    OCEE78 Well-Known Member

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    Hi guys, I have been eyeing up starting out a TAK force for a while. I only have merc armies currently, and want an army I can run Vanilla with eventually etc. I was curious if there was much difference in the playstyles across the Sectorials within Ariadna. USAriadna and TAK are the most appealing visually, so would be interested to know if there is much difference between them.
     
  2. Nuada Airgetlam

    Nuada Airgetlam Nazis sod off ///

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    There definitely is a lot of difference. USARF is more straightforward, resilient troops, lots of aggression, not much of the camo shell game. TAK on the other hand is all about that camo shell / forward deployment game. I can deploy 20+ camo markers and not one revealed model, all across my half of the table, in a legal and even quite playable ~15 Order TAK list.

    USARF is more of a "'Murica, fuck yeah" proper military style, with arguably the best AD troop in the game (Van Zant), bikes, very resilient basic troopers, but not much of very fancy links and some underperforming Core link choices.

    TAK on the other hand is the Russian army acting as a guerilla force, just with even more vodka, Ratniks and Dog Warriors. Lots of great links, lots of insane camo shenanigans, very cheap and decent Kazak troops, some of the best link leaders in the game (AP HMG Vet Kazak) and soloists (Spetsnaz).

    If I were asked "which one should I choose?", I'd definitely say TAK, as it was my choice as well. It's more versatile, more interesting in models to me and definitely gives you way more options on the table IMO. USARF was introduced somewhat recently as a sectorial and it still seems undercooked.

    This all might just as well change in late August once we get N4 and see what was changed / adjusted, whether any profiles were added / dropped, etc.
     
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  3. Stiopa

    Stiopa Trust The Fuckhead

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    They're very different. USARF is based on relatively cheap, barebones troops - Grunts, Mavericks, Foxtrots or Desperadoes aren't expensive and don't get much toys, but you can bring a lot of them to the table. They have Ok-ish long range firepower, good flankers in form of 6th Airborne under Van Zant, but there's little in terms of staying power and tricks you can pull. For the most part it's a very straightforward army, with option to gamble a bit, like using a lot of Inferior Infiltration Grunts and deploying Marauders far in the midfield.

    TAK has more elite feeling, and it definitely pays for it. There's a lot of Camo and Mimetism around, more - and more deadly - warbands, you get proper light HI in form of Veteran Kazaks, and there's more variety to your fireteams, too. TAK can comfortably engage targets across all range bands. It's one of my armies, and it's very pleasant to play, with many things to fall back on and the constant feeling of control.

    I'd say that they're mislabled; TAK feels more like Ranger/Marines operation, with the ability to quickly get in your opponent's face and following up with some more powerful units. You feel more in control with them. USARF feels like the Army - you're more entrenched, reacting to enemy actions while planning your own strike, instead of forcing the other side to react to you. While the game is well balanced for the most part there are few places where it's not, and USARF is one of them; it's an older sectorial than TAK, created before more modern design kicked in, and it shows.
     
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  4. Nuada Airgetlam

    Nuada Airgetlam Nazis sod off ///

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    People keep saying that and yet I have trouble staying out of 15+ order "kurwaspam" :D
     
  5. Stiopa

    Stiopa Trust The Fuckhead

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    That's an accurate description you've got there :D

    What I mean by "elite" is that every unit has something interesting, some skill that increases utility, weird option to surprise opponent, secondary weapon, etc. Even Line Kazaks are a far cry from being a PBI when they can get a Frontovik and/or Vet Kazaks in the link.
     
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  6. Nuada Airgetlam

    Nuada Airgetlam Nazis sod off ///

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    Oh, this kinda elite. Sure, I thought more like "everything's expensive, so 10 Order lists are the way to go" kinda elite.
     
  7. Stiopa

    Stiopa Trust The Fuckhead

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    Nah, that's OSS
     
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  8. Knauf

    Knauf Transhumanist

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    USARF might be weaker overall, but does have some nice tools to play with that are fairly unique:


    GRUNT (Marksmanship LX) Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 18)
    GRUNT (Marksmanship LX) Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 18)
    GRUNT (Marksmanship LX) Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 18)
    1.5 SWC | 54 Points

    Three snipers with Marksmanship LX that can use a coordinated order and shoot a single target with +6 (+9 in good range) is a brutal tool to contest critical AROs. Maybe a bit of a gimmick, but it does work. You could even add a 4th sniper.


    GRUNT (Inferior Infiltration) Heavy Flamethrower, Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 11)
    0.5 SWC | 11 Points

    This man is also pretty cool. Either he passes his Infiltration roll and now you have a Heavy Flamethrower somewhere next to your enemy's deployment zone or he whiffs it and still makes for a nice defending cheerleader.


    VAN ZANT AP Rifle / Heavy Pistol, AP CCW. (0 | 38)
    0 SWC | 38 Points

    The man, the legend, fighter of Dragons. The only unit with AD:Tactical Jump in the game. Will land in your opponents deployment zone and they better be ready for him.
     
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  9. OCEE78

    OCEE78 Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for all the info. It was certainly the models that drew me in initially. Streloks particularly, but everything in TAK looks good IMHO. A big thing for me is that there are multiple ways in which you can play the force, it sounds like TAK are versatile in that respect which is good news. I like the idea of Camo Spam, but I play against fairly regular opponents and I like them to enjoy playing against me to, I fear camo spam may stop that! Varuna and therefore PanO is the other area I have been looking at, but I must say TAK has the most aesthetically pleasing models in infinity for me, apart from the odd model from different factions.

    Cheers guys.

    Edit: @Knauf I had no idea they could run snipers for that cheap, pretty impressive. I played a USARF recently, and on the table they look really nice, very simple profiles, but the amount of bodies on the table is really difficult and fun to deal with.
     
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  10. colbrook

    colbrook Grenade Delivery Specialist

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    USARF can also be surprisingly beefy with ARM 3 seemingly everywhere, not to mention the rediculous numbers of flamethrowers they can bring.

    They don't lack for speedy options either, Mavericks and Desperados are both fantastic flankers. Hardcases are also a steal at 12 points for two camo markers, one of which hides a shotgun!
     
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  11. barakiel

    barakiel Echo Bravo Master Sergeant

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    TAK benefit a lot from the new design space. It's simply a statement of fact that you can take a unit, add Mimetism to it, and it goes from being "okay" to being "oustanding". TAK has that ethos locked in.

    In general, TAK checks the boxes for having some of the game's best unit types. Mimetic HMG to lead your link? Check. Solo Camo HMG that ignores BS modifiers? Check. Cheap Camo units that start up the field with mines and/or Specialist? Check. Impetuous smoke-tossing warbands? Check. And some of their more unique units are exceptionally good: Antipode packs can do things that no other unit in Infinity can do, whether it's Sensor, melee missile, or even more hilarious things like breaking certain ITS Scenarios with their speed. Dog Warriors are great too... Start out as a small Silhouette 2 that's easy to hide, get a 3rd wound for even more abuse of Total Immunity, then accelerate into the attack. There's a lot of good stuff there.

    That being said, it doesn't play itself. You need to manage those Camo tokens, and have a really solid understanding of game mechanics in order to actually fool anyone into thinking one Camo token is actually something else. You need to be comfortable managing the Impetuous of 3-4 Irmandinhos, so they don't just die in the opening moves of any game. You need to recognize how to make an opponent make poor decisions by balancing minelayer, Ambush Camo, and the restricted range of Strelok shotguns/low Burst of an Ojotnik.

    USAriadna, by contrast, does what it says on the tin. Its units are straightforward. You apply them in a straightforward way. Their subtlety typically centers around "how badly can I wreck my opponent's deployment zone" or "can I coordinate these 4 Grunt Snipers to kill my opponent's best ARO piece." Like all Infinity armies, they need to be played with finesse, but USAriadna doesn't require much subtlety.
     
  12. OCEE78

    OCEE78 Well-Known Member

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    Thankyou for that, outlined some of the nuances I will need to finesse which is nice. I have read some of your tacticas, the Varuna one particularly. It was very informative, and very nearly drew me in!

    Thanks again for the advice, very helpful.
     
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  13. TheDiceAbide

    TheDiceAbide Thank you for your compliance.
    Warcor

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    They are truly the Morats of the Human Sphere.
     
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  14. holycannoli

    holycannoli Dancing to Kazak Kalinka

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    Actually one of the the reason why I love Ariadna.

    TAK is the military powerhouse of ariadna and it feels like it. The have expensive miniatures that can hit like a freight train. Even if we're a bit squishy. You're a guerilla/spec ops force. Spetznaz and vets can ve absolute terrors on the table and are extremely powerful. But point per point, your killing power tends to be soft compared to what other factions (not ariadna) can field.

    CHA blasts Scotland the brave as you go screaming across the table. You have sort cheap troops many of which can hit well above these weight class. A very cheap model can do a lot of damage. Also the more melee focused if that's your bag. We'll see what melee is like in N4. I've often seem them compared to orks from 40k.

    US is an interesting beast. We get very fresh fancy Rambo miniatures, and then the few we do don't quite compare to the camo monsters of TAK. But you have incredibly resilient troops for your price, many special options like flamers or snipers are cheap, and while they man not be flashy you have replacements, your opponent's Rambo doesn't. We have irregular guys with chain rifles, SMG's and ssl1. Playing US ariadna let's you dig in like a tick and dare your opponent to come and take it from you, every inch of that midfield is going to cost blood.

    French are probably the most vague design wise. They were made in a different time and their parting update was light on rules. In general, they have a very no nonsense design. If you can win games with just a gun and some rules here or there, you can get a lot of work done with FRRM. Why some tournent players still terrorize the table with them .

    Overall our 3 mainline secotrials play very different. And that's why I've loved collecting Ariadna.
     
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  15. TheDiceAbide

    TheDiceAbide Thank you for your compliance.
    Warcor

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    Overall, I like your conclusions, but I disagree a bit with your assessment of FRRM. They're a powerful mid-field army, with some incredibly potent weaponry. They have links of MOV4-4, Medium Infantry (so Forward Deployment), MSV1 troops with marksman rifles and assault pistols. Mechanized Deployment sapper HMGs, Snipers, and specialists. MRRF has a ton of e/mauler access (on infiltrators no less), and a deceptive amount of infiltration, and when combined with chasseurs, make the mid-field an absolute nightmare. Their Airborne Deployment game is easily overlooked as well, but the Para-commando has respectable BS12, ARM2, and mimetism, making him fairly comparable to a Tiger Soldier, then you've got Mirage-5, which is monstrous. Their design space really is about dominating the mid-field, and arguably better than TAK for the job.
     
  16. holycannoli

    holycannoli Dancing to Kazak Kalinka

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    I kindly defer my judgement to a player more familiar with FRRM. I just know that at a glance some of their profiles may look less flashy than their contemporaries from newer armies.
     
  17. TheDiceAbide

    TheDiceAbide Thank you for your compliance.
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    Yeah, they're definitely one of the armies that don't look flashy on paper, but on the table when you put it all together, really shine. Kinda similar to USARF in that regard, it's hard to get a feel for their play style without seeing them on the table first.
     
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  18. McKaptain

    McKaptain Well-Known Member

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    I’ve been running MRRF for the year and have run through two tournaments with them so far, placing 5/20 and 1/4.

    I would absolutely agree with their strong midfield presence. Taking max AVA chasseurs and a five mad Loup G. link has been absolutely brutal. They can completely bog down the midfield and have fast counterattack options. A burst 4 viral rifle hitting on 18’s is something to recon with.

    Also, I never thought I’d be a fan of Mirage 5 after looking at it on paper. But I’ve been putting the Duroc on the board and flanking with Margot. Her AP rifle hitting on 17’s in the rear arc is absolutely devastating.
     
    #18 McKaptain, Mar 13, 2020
    Last edited: Mar 14, 2020
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  19. colbrook

    colbrook Grenade Delivery Specialist

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    17s, but I know Ariadna players forget that BS over 13 exists.

    Spec Firing on an 11 after dropping is also pretty great.
     
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  20. dhellfox

    dhellfox The keeper of the Forgotten

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    cant forget USAriadna you have a handful of msv1s choices with heavy hitting weapons and equipment to back up your armor and the T2 sniper blackjack.
     
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