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Ikari N4 Overview

Discussion in 'Ikari Company' started by csjarrat, Aug 27, 2021.

  1. csjarrat

    csjarrat Well-Known Member

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    Ikari were one of the first wave of NA2, appearing with the advent of the Seccession of JSA from Yu-Jing and all the salt that that brought.
    N4 has arrived and with it, some changes to the core game rules, meta and list-specific need to be discussed.
    I am not professing to be all-knowing here, just on old-timer who's played since N2 and played most of the factions and played the ones I didn't own in good depth over many years.
    This is just an overview and discussion of the faction on a unit by unit basis, primarily as a resource for new players and newcomers to NA2 in general. I'd invite all of the community to join in, share experience etc once finished.

    Faction overview:
    The good:
    • Good access to wide variety of units
    • Linked MSV
    • Access to smoke
    • Plentiful HI choices
    • Good CC choices
    • Very good access to warbands
    • Access to repeater net and hackers
    • Excellent selection of REMs
    • Excellent AVA on combat REMs
    • Good AD selection
    • Mobile with 3 motorbike choices
    The bad:
    • Poor access to skirmishers
    • Poor access to marker state
    • No "wildcards" for links
    • General changes to core ITS rules lower the utility of cheap irregulars we have in abundance
    • Below average TAG
    • Poor access to forward operating specialists
    • Very poor midfield control if going 2nd
    • Reliance on advancing from DZ
    • Best native BS only 13
    • Average or below average WIP faction-wide
    The ugly:
    • Atrocious liuetenant choices
    • Obvious liuetenant choices
    • One trick to mitigate the above
    The overview:

    Light Infantry:

    Keisotsu

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    [​IMG]7
    KEISOTSU Combi Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 9)
    KEISOTSU Heavy Machine Gun / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1 | 17)
    KEISOTSU Missile Launcher / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 14)
    KEISOTSU (Hacker, Hacking Device) Combi Rifle ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 14)
    KEISOTSU (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle, Flash Pulse / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 10)
    KEISOTSU (Paramedic) Combi Rifle ( | MediKit) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 11)
    KEISOTSU (Lieutenant) Combi Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 9)

    3.5 SWC | 84 Points

    Open in Infinity Army


    These guys are some of the most basic LI in the entire game. Cheap as they are, WIP12, BS10 are the two primary stats you'll use on a statline and these are pretty horrible. Even core linked, they only get up to BS13 before mods so do not make good gunfighters.
    What they do bring to the faction however, is a set of cheap linkable specialists that you can tow up the board with an embedded gunner, or a cheap order farm you can stick in cover and place a turret like an MSV2 brawler sniper or tanko ML on overwatch duty within. Certain ITS and campaign missions give bonuses to paramedics and hackers so you can at least get respectable odds with a keisotsu team if you can get them onto an objective in the first place!
    The Lt profile is one of the only two available to the faction and yes, you have to pay SWC for it!!!
    Its a really horrible profile, but the N4 change to declaring WIP on the Lt roll doesn't hurt as the other option is WIP12 too.
    With no real way to defend itself, you can either link it to gain access to sixth sense and a team's worth of ARO and pray, or take multiple unlinked basic keisotsu, hide them and pray.
    Either way, loss of Lt is a major factor you need to consider as an Ikari player.

    Tokusetsu Butai

    Again, borrowing troops from JSA, these guys are the generic engineers and doctors of the faction. they're based on the general template of a keisotsu but their respective training in medicine and engineering bumps them up to the average WIP13.
    As with most techy-factions, they can also take a servant bot to increase their board coverage. Given the spread of HI available, keeping troops healed up, removing states and such may well come in useful at times, but these are not linkable which greatly reduces their utility for missions like highly classified and countermeasures as they're distinctly ill-equipped for a fight upfield.
    14 points is the asking price and you've got enough AVA to field one of each if the mood takes you!

    Wardrivers

    A generic mercenary hacker, most factions can safely skip over this guy and just take their own native hackers. He is worth a mention here for the simple reason that ikari can field a reasonable repeater net and the wardriver has sixth sense natively without falling back on link teams. The asking price is low on points but high on SWC (1SWC for a full device!) but might be worth it for oblivion and spotlight AROs. Native sixth sense means that HIs with stealth can't just walk through your repeaters and not trigger AROs. If you're playing against MO or YJ, that might be game defining.
    with only BTS3 and WIP13 however, a dedicated cyberwar team like Nomads, CA or Aleph will easily overwhelm him, so back him up or don't bother.

    Bounty Hunters

    As generic a merc as you can get, these guys are pretty cheap for a fairly bland BS12 gunner. They have booty with a re-roll on the chart as well as the duo ability. They also have a motorised profile which can give a cheap flanking option. Whilst they are cheap and have access to some ok guns, a lack of good linking options and no specialist profiles hurt the cheaper options for most ITS play and a lack of gunfighting abilities like link bonuses, visual mods or specialist gear/skills mean they're a hard pick for a fire platform, especially given the low durability. They're forgettable here, the booty might give you some nice kit every couple of games but is just as likely to dump you with a variant CCW you're never gonna use.

    Warcor

    Flash pulses took a nerf with the changes to total immunity and the cap at 15 orders in ITS play hurt these guys quite a bit. if you find yourself with a free slot and 3 points, go for it, but they're not quite as usueful as they used to be.

    Krakot Renegade

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    [​IMG]4 [​IMG]4
    KRAKOT RENEGADE Chain Rifle(+1B), Grenades / DA CC Weapon, Heavy Pistol. (0 | 14)
    KRAKOT RENEGADE Boarding Shotgun, Chest Mines / Heavy Pistol, Shock CC Weapon. (0 | 19)
    KRAKOT RENEGADE Submachine Gun(+1B), Chest Mines / Heavy Pistol, Shock CC Weapon. (0 | 18)
    KRAKOT RENEGADE Red Fury, Chest Mines / Shock CC Weapon, Heavy Pistol. (1 | 24)

    1 SWC | 75 Points

    Open in Infinity Army


    These guys class as light infantry but play as a warband in all reality. They get a nice bonus through metachemistry (with a re-roll if you don't like the first result) which can open up some nice options depending on your rolled result. They're the first trooper discussed so far that starts their profile with a fistful of skills. Beserk has obvious advantages in getting the guy into a fight, especially if you were lucky and rolled 8-4 or 6-4 movement on the metachemistry chart, getting a 12" charge into CC is possible and will raise eyebrows should you manage to pull it off! Krakots are impetuous, as such they can't claim cover but do have the duo option with the special named krakot character discussed later if you wanted to. Most profiles show are distinctly close ranged, but a red fury profile is available, but doesn't make a great gunfughter unlinked due to loss of cover bonus and a measly BS11. All profiles are festooned with at least one template weapon and this is wehre these guys shine, get up close to something and make it eat templates. Being veteran and regular is also a help to LoL-prone Ikari however, so keeping them as a reserve for later turns can be useful rather than a T1 missile.

    Cube Jager

    A fairly modern addition to infinity, the Cube Jager is an odd profile. It is a fairly bland irregular paramedic with poor to average combat capabilities with BS11, CC16 (and no skills) and WIP13. It's paying 0.5SWC for a monofilament weapon it is ill equipped to utilise yet for Ikari, it represents one of the few forward operating specialists for ITS missions that require them. Its stealth skill and its Parachutist skill combine nicely to be able to get up into a favourable attack position and the SMG and boarding shotgun both are good weapons for its role. My personal pick would be the shotgun for the BS boost and template mode in N4, but unless the mission really needed a paramedic for the bonus type, i'd rather take another bashi for the marker state, less points and SWC.

    Bashi Bazouks

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    BASHI BAZOUK Rifle, Light Shotgun / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 14)
    BASHI BAZOUK Boarding Shotgun / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 15)
    BASHI BAZOUK AP Rifle / CC Weapon, Breaker Pistol(+1B). (0 | 14)
    BASHI BAZOUK Combi Rifle, E/M Mines / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 16)
    BASHI BAZOUK Submachine Gun, Chain-colt / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 12)
    BASHI BAZOUK (Specialist Operative) Rifle, Light Shotgun / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 15)

    0 SWC | 86 Points

    Open in Infinity Army

    The Bashi Bazouks are a really excelelnt attack vector for Ikari. They are cheap, they are irregular and they have a good spread of weapons, holoprojector for a marker state and the surprise attack -3 rules to help leverage them. They also bring deployables, E/M and breaker as well as AP ammo and template weapons. Their holoprojector can be utilised to clear enemy deployables and force holding of AROs to help move across gaps. As the final icing on the cake, there is also a specialist operative option wedded to a rifle/shotgun combination which at 15 points is a freaking steal. If you can't tell, I love these guys and would recommend taking them heartily.
    Perhaps their greatest use is to actually forego their AD rules and deploy them on the table, utilising the interaction with holomask and holoechoes to place 3 keisotsu or 3 brawlers down on the table per bashi to help hide the real lieutenant. Given you'll have a stray irregular order and a bunch more keisotsu on the board than would be expected, a savvy opponent will know you're playing a shell game but it could cause enough of a headache as to deter active LT hunting. It also combines nicely with other minelayer skills, crazy koalas and repeater nets to create a potential "bog" that enemy hunters have to enter. On the whole, a faction defining piece right here in this profile, bringing both objective coverage, list synergy and aggressive attack piece.

    Medium Infantry
    Druze Shock teams

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    [​IMG]7
    DRUZE Combi Rifle, Chain-colt / Viral Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 24)
    DRUZE Heavy Machine Gun, Chain-colt / Viral Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 31)
    DRUZE Combi Rifle, Chain-colt, Panzerfaust / Viral Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 25)
    DRUZE Combi Rifle, Chain-colt, Grenade Launcher, E/M Grenade Launcher / Viral Pistol, CC Weapon. (1 | 28)
    DRUZE Shock Marksman Rifle, Chain-colt / Viral Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 27)
    DRUZE (Hacker, Hacking Device) Combi Rifle, Pitcher, D-Charges ( ) / Viral Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 30)
    DRUZE (Hacker, Killer Hacking Device) Combi Rifle, Pitcher, D-Charges ( ) / Viral Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 28)

    3 SWC | 193 Points

    Open in Infinity Army

    The Druze are restricted to AVA4 and do not have the ability to core link in Ikari, duo and haris is the best you can get. If you wanted a B2 missile launcher, you also have the ability to sub in a clipper, but the Tanko are native BS13 and can core link in Keisotsu and Wu Ming which is just plain better.
    The Druze in Ikari represent one really good way of getting good specialists upfield and the best access to a repeater net we have thanks to their pitcher profiles and their inbuilt X-Visors.
    WIP13 with BTS3 is as good as it gets for our hackers, but we do have KHDs as well as standard devices here so that means the druze KHD can access cybermask should it need to. Veteran also keeps them safe from Oblivion attacks and helps the LoL-prone Ikari when the enemy goes Lt hunting and succeeds! Its worth noting that the druze also have access to specialist kit that can help deal with ITS oddities and heavy hitters doing the rounds in the meta: E/M grenade launchers combined with new persistant targetted state can help put the hurt on HI/TAGs/REMs whilst the viral pistols and X-Visors can help with big nasties like bearpode, duroc and dog-warrior attacks. Panzerfausts have always been a solid ARO weapon and D-Charges also help for ITS missions that require them or are likely to (highly classified, countermeasures etc). Chain colts round out several of the profiles for close-up work or dealing with pesky mimetism -6 wielders.
    Although I am singing their praises, the lack of core linkability means they're not getting sixth sense and +3BS. They only have one wound and are in the 20-30 point band. They still die to chain rifles with a fairly decent probability despite armour 3. Don't overestimate their durability!

    Brawlers

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    [​IMG]7
    BRAWLER Rifle, Light Shotgun / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 15)
    BRAWLER Heavy Rocket Launcher / Assault Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 16)
    BRAWLER (Multispectral Visor L2) MULTI Sniper Rifle ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 27)
    BRAWLER (Hacker, Hacking Device) Submachine Gun ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 17)
    BRAWLER (Engineer, Deactivator) Rifle, Light Shotgun, D-Charges ( | GizmoKit) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 19)
    BRAWLER (Doctor) Rifle, Light Shotgun ( | MediKit) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 19)
    BRAWLER (Lieutenant) Rifle, Light Shotgun / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 15)

    3.5 SWC | 128 Points

    Open in Infinity Army

    These guys are as near to a "wildcard" link option as you get in Ikari. they can join Wu Ming, Tanko and Keisotsu links at a limit of 1 mini per link. Aside from these linkable options, they're AVA4 and only have the duo optionnatively. BS12 is countered by WIP12, which unfortunately takes the shine off the linkability of the 3 specialist options. It is nice to have linkable engineers, doctors and hackers (linked doctors or engineers in HI teams is certainly useful for removal of states) but the low probability of success and general hodge-podge availability of Cubes in the faction means that healing is a low-probability action. It does make classifieds and ITS easier where you get specific type bonuses on objectives however as a WIP12(15) doctor is good for pushing buttons where they get the +3.
    The other big shout-out they get is for the MSV2 equipped sniper. Sat in a core team, it gains sixth sense and can see through smoke, making it a good "turret" in a defensive link and for keeping mimetic units honest at range. We also have good access to smoke in Ikari, meaning we can leverage the old smoke'n'shoot strategy well.
    The Brawler represents our other Lt option. we don't pay SWC on this one and it has the same WIP as the Keisotsu, but the template on the shotgun alone won't be enough to deter an attacker and core-linking it for sixth sense precludes other, more useful profiles like specialists or big guns from that slot.
    Again, prepare for LoL if you're gonna play Ikari!!!

    Armand 'Le Muet'

    Armand has been around a while. He hasn't really changed much over the years but in Ikari, he's the best non-linked gunfighter by some stretch. Mimetism -6 combined with MSV1 and his ability to outrange opponents is awesome and his symbiont armour gives him the effect of 2 wounds through the transmutation mechanism. Forward deployment helps get him into those sniper turrets the TO placed deliberately just outside of the DZ too and he's good enough in CC to deter all but the best fighters from taking him on. His pair of breaker pistols, nanopluser and his high cost mean that he's a good late game option for pushing up the board for zone scoring missions too, in many ways he's a Knauf on steroids and is all the better for it. Highly recommended!!

    Heavy Infantry

    Tanko Zensenbutai

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    [​IMG]4 [​IMG]4
    TANKŌ Blitzen, Light Shotgun / Pistol, Monofilament CC Weapon, Shock CC Weapon. (0 | 18)
    TANKŌ Blitzen, Submachine Gun / Pistol, Monofilament CC Weapon, Shock CC Weapon. (0 | 19)
    TANKŌ Flammenspeer, Contender / Pistol, Monofilament CC Weapon, Shock CC Weapon. (0 | 17)
    TANKŌ Missile Launcher / Pistol, Monofilament CC Weapon, Shock CC Weapon. (1.5 | 27)

    1.5 SWC | 81 Points

    Open in Infinity Army

    Bargain basement CC-focussed HI, the Tanko are another unit "borrowed" from the JSA. Devoid of all meaningful high burst ranged weaponry, the Missile launcher is most notable for its ability to core-link in with Keisotsu for an effective BS16 and B2 with sixth sense or remain in its own haris for BS13 at B2. The other profiles do have ranged ARO weapons; blitzen and flammenspeers are ok in a pinch but obviously have the drawbacks of being limited ammunition weapons.
    That said, there's enough smoke coverage to get these guys up the table and they make good door-kickers for missions where you have to hold a central point (The armoury and such) thanks to their CC weapons, 2 wounds and CQB loadouts. A haris of these guys can be as cheap as 51 points for 6 wounds and the CC ability of MAL2, CC23, monofilament weapons and 6-2 movement is fearsome if you can get it to stick! Stealth helps them circumvent hacking defenses that would otherwise take down a Wu Ming team.
    They really need to be covered off against long range fire however as they're very easy to outrange and outgun.

    Wu Ming

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    WÚ MÍNG Combi Rifle, E/Mitter, Shock Mines / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 32)
    WÚ MÍNG MULTI Rifle, Grenade Launcher, E/M Grenade Launcher / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 35)
    WÚ MÍNG Boarding Shotgun ( | TinBot: Firewall [-6]) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 31)
    WÚ MÍNG Heavy Machine Gun / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 37)
    WÚ MÍNG Chain Rifle, Submachine Gun / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 24)
    WÚ MÍNG Heavy Rocket Launcher, Light Shotgun / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 30)
    WÚ MÍNG Panzerfaust, Light Shotgun / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 25)
    WÚ MÍNG (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun, Flash Pulse / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 30)

    3 SWC | 244 Points

    Open in Infinity Army



    Looking a bit old fashioned here with the lack of wildcards and general link shenanigans are teh Wu Ming. Fairly generic and bland HI by all acounts in the modern game but fairly solid all-rounders given their middling price brakcet, BS13 varied weapon loadouts and native specialist options. They can also link in a clipper or a brawler, as described up-post, a linked doctor or engineer can (in theory) give the team some more durabiltiy to E/M, targetted etc and reduce the overall price of the team. Noteably, they have access to a HMG on a core linked BS13(16) HI, this represent the "best" high burst option in the faction, they also get access to grenade launchers and E/M grenade launchers like the druze but trade the X-Visor for wounds and core bonuses. The tinbot -6 and an entrenched brawler hacker could make an interesting pairing, especially given the Wu Ming have no native stealth. E/Mitters, mines, millions of template weapons and the native Wu Ming Forward observer means you can field a fairly decent all-round team. They are not equipped for CC however, so be prepared to screen them from dedicated CC threats.

    Daiyokai

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    [​IMG]2
    DAIYŌKAI MULTI Marksman Rifle, Panzerfaust / Pistol, AP + DA CC Weapon. (0 | 48)
    DAIYŌKAI Red Fury, Panzerfaust / Pistol, AP + DA CC Weapon. (1 | 49)

    1 SWC | 97 Points

    Open in Infinity Army

    Yet another "borrowed" JSA unit, the Daiyokai is a BS13, S5 all rounder. It retains much of the CC threat of the Tanko, yet picks up some of the ranged threat of the Wu Ming with its access to reasonable burst weapons with reasonable range and stopping power. ARM5, 2W and NWI make is a fairly solid beast, especially with the changes to crits, it'll take some dedicated units to readily take it down. It can also embedd in a tanko team, where its NCO skill can be very handy as the skulking brawler/keisotsu won't be using the Lt order!
    Although the daiyokai is a solid profile, it will start to come unstuck against opponents using visual mods or shooting through smoke. It is not invincible , despite it being durable and its S5 makes it hard to hide. Plan for the reactive turn and don't leave it hanging, especially if the opponent has blast weapons that can hit accompanying Tanko too.
    I feel the daiyokai is a cracking unit, towing a tanko and a specialist brawler upfield is a good play for ITS missions and they're worth a few points which helps for zone scoring missions too.

    Karakuri

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    [​IMG]4
    KARAKURI Heavy Shotgun, Chain Rifle, Panzerfaust, Flash Pulse / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 41)
    KARAKURI Combi Rifle, Chain Rifle, Panzerfaust, Flash Pulse / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 40)
    KARAKURI MULTI Rifle, Chain Rifle, Panzerfaust, Flash Pulse / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 42)
    KARAKURI Mk12, Chain Rifle, Panzerfaust, Flash Pulse / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 45)

    0 SWC | 168 Points

    Open in Infinity Army



    A quirky anime-bot, its the pinnacle of JSA robotics tech. It benefits most from being haris-linkable in its host sectoral, so here, with no linkability and AVA2, it looks a bit limp.
    The profile itself is another all-rounder HI profile. It has standard HI BS13 and ARM3, BTS6 but where it really does shine nicely is its total immunity and 3STR combined with its native forward observer skill.
    The Mk12 is the clear winner of the profiles here, it packs a capable mid range gun with a specialist skill on a durable platform. At 45 points its also a good pick for zone scoring missions.
    However, it will rapidly come unstuck against dedicated gunfighting platforms. Whilst the mk12 is nice, proliferation of armour means that many units in cover aren't overly scared of DAM15 anymore and mimetism of any level will rapidly decrease your chances of winning FTF rolls.

    Al Fasid

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    [​IMG]2
    FASID Heavy Machine Gun, Grenade Launcher, Smoke Grenade Launcher, Shock Mines / Heavy Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 53)
    FASID Heavy Rocket Launcher(+1B), Submachine Gun, Shock Mines / Heavy Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 45)

    3 SWC | 98 Points

    Open in Infinity Army

    This time we're borrowing all rounders from Haqqislam! Big 'Al is geared for mid-long combat with some CQB options and board control for later in the game. The grenades and smoke grenades sync lovely with the repeater nets we can put down and can create options for movment and leveraging Le Muet and Brawler firepower.
    The minelayer skill, sixth sense and veteran skills also round him out to be a good ground-holder, not easily dealt with by surprise attacks, smoke'n'shoot etc. That said, the cap of BS13 will mean he can lose FTF's easily when duelling with visual modifier utilisers, so be aware of his limitations. Lack of AP ammo hurt his ability to hunt big game too.

    REMs

    Ikari has a good spread of REMs, mainly bought in from PanO and JSA.
    The clipper, fugazi, pathfinder, panguling and sierra are all bog standard generic REMs that all mid tech or higher factions have access too.
    Total reaction HMG, FO/Sensor bot, flash pulse/repeater bot etc.
    There's nothing particularly special to note about their offering in Ikari, they work similar here to anywhere else to be honest. The lack of forward operating specialists in the faction does give the pathfinder more of a role here, it is only AVA 1, but it is fast, its a specialist, it has a repeater and it has a gun. Those are all desirable traits in a faction that doesn't have a mass of chasseur/SAS/Zero equivalents to push buttons.
    The baggage bot available via the panguling has gained extra utility with the core changes to the game rules and the meta in general. Cheap rearward facing shotguns with repeaters are nifty for defending against AD troopers, more of which can reliably arrive to terrorise your backline. the total reaction rifle profile is a good DZ guard for this reason and can also score zones near to DZ reliably should it survive late into the game. If going for multiple combat REMs, a panguling EVO should be an an auto-include for the supportware you'll need to leverage your firepower.

    Combat REMs

    Rui Shi

    Terror incarnate for several editions, the Rui Shi packs a spitfire on a fast MSV2 chassis that's relatively easy to repair thanks to command tokens. With supportware it becomes a real terror, but you're really committing to the strategy at that point. The spitfire is a decent enough weapon, but the general drift to higher quality units means that the average armour value in the game has risen and now you'll find less easy targets to mop up than in n2 and n3. That said, its fast enough to find a flank and you can take 2 of them. BTS6 is also handy for defense vs hacking.

    Lu Duan

    An excellent all-rounder of a combat REM, the Lu duan brings a Mk12 and a twin heavy flamethrower to the party along with MSV1, holoprojector and surprise attack -3 to best leverage it! It is a minelaying REM with deployable repeaters so can also build you a solid repeater net whilst its out doing its thing. There are also several motorbikes and the Rui Shi if you wanted to play the shell game with holomask instead for whatever reason. Again, its relatively cheap and AVA2
    but has the added bonus of not using any SWC up.

    Skirmisher

    Ninja

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    [​IMG]6
    NINJA Tactical Bow / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 26)
    NINJA Submachine Gun / Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0 | 30)
    NINJA Submachine Gun / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 31)
    NINJA (Hacker, Hacking Device) Submachine Gun ( ) / Pistol, AP CC Weapon. (0.5 | 35)
    NINJA (Hacker, Killer Hacking Device) Tactical Bow ( ) / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 29)
    NINJA (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle, Flash Pulse / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 35)

    0.5 SWC | 186 Points

    Open in Infinity Army


    A rather short list of units here! This is one of the main shortcomings of the Ikari faction. AVA1 means you're really hamstrung and other than marker state, there's not much durability on this platform at all for the asking price. The old favourite was the Ninja KHD for the specialist option, surprise attack and CC. It is hwoever, absolutely awful in a firefight and the refreshed profiles including SMGs and combi rifles on the full hacker and forward observer are welcome additions to the unit. It starts getting very pricey however thanks to the CC skills and equipment, especially compared cross faction at other hidden deployment specialists. TBH, they're worth the investment as its the only option you've got for a skirmisher in the faction and what you get isn't terrible, even if you're paying a massive premium for CC you're not likely to use whilst pushing buttons.
    Surpressive fire, mimetism -6 and cover means you're going to take some shifting, but will still die like a bitch to a 5 point warband with a chain rifle, so watch out for that!!

    TAG

    Scarface and Cordelia
    These guys have had some tweaks over the years and have been in the game a veeery long time.
    The old model still holds up imho and you get a fairly capable engineer thrown into the mix too in cordelia. It does however, block out two slots of your combat group as there's no way to take one of them on their own.
    Scarface the tag has an absolute fistful of rules on the profile. Its a fairly all-round TAG, capabilities in CC round out with some added defense against hacking and guided but are limted significantly as a ranged piece by a fairly dismal BS13 on what is a 68point attack piece loaded with ranged weaponry. The AP available on the HMG and Spitfire is nice but the TAG is primarily kitted for CC with Beserk +3 and a -3 to the enemy CC attack. In a faction with Tanko, Daiyokai, Yo-Jimbo etc, its just not a necessary role. The mandatory engineer adds further points as a tax and you're just better off taking a linked gunner instead unless the mission requires or rewards using a TAG.

    Warbands


    Yuan Yuan

    Once the defining "thing" Ikari did, max AVA4 yuans dropping into the enemy as sacrificial lambs are a relic of times gone by.
    Changes to 15 order limit mean you're sacrificing four slots (nearly a 3rd of all available) and only 32 points to the tactic. When they inevitably die, you're down a lot of orders out of a restricted pool and they're not generating anything you can reliably use whilst they're off board too.
    Changes to Parachutist rules mean they're far more reliable than the old days of inferior combat jump, and I can still see a use for an 8point chain rifler with DACCW for threatening an exposed hole in the line or for damaging an AC2, even if the days of x4 divers bombing in on turn 1 are gone. Booty might situationally get you somthing nice to play with but largely the awful BS10 means you're unlikely to get much use out of anything helping you fight at range.
    Don't feel you have to use the parachutist rule either, at 8 points, they're just as happy standing near a msv2 unit and dousing them in smoke grenades using their irregular order and using their chain rifle as a DZ guard.

    Yo Jimbo
    This guy is an absolute dude.
    As a motorcyclist, he brings tons of speed yet he also packs tons of CC power, board control with his crazykoalas and minelayer ability. He also has stealth, martial arts, smoke and decent enough PH to reliably use it. As a named character he also qualifies for several classified objectives, which combined with speed and smoke coverage makes him very handy in ITS. The discounts he gets for impetuous and irregular also make him extremely affordable, though tends to incentivise him into a first turn rush. don't be tempted if there's no good route of approach. he makes a good reserve drop because of this. The opponent can't reliably lay an ARO nest down nowadays. Place him as the reserve and exploit weak flanks or hold him back for later use when the enemy line is thinner.

    Desperadoes


    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────

    [​IMG]4 [​IMG]4
    DESPERADO Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Heavy Pistol(+1B), AP CC Weapon. (0 | 6)
    DESPERADO Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Assault Pistol(+1B), Shock CC Weapon. (0 | 6)
    DESPERADO Boarding Shotgun, Smoke Grenades / Heavy Pistol(+1B), AP CC Weapon. (0 | 11)
    DESPERADO Submachine Gun, Smoke Grenades / Heavy Pistol(+1B), AP CC Weapon. (0 | 9)

    0 SWC | 32 Points

    Open in Infinity Army
    Riffing heavily off Yo-jimbo above, they're a much lighter version in all respects but still cover off some elements. board control is gained by large template weapons and sixth sense. smoke is still present and high burst weaponry like twin assault pistols can make them very handy cheap flankers when combined with their speed and smoke coverage. 6 points is insanely low asking price and I highly rate these guys. Just beware of the changes to 15orders, these sacrificial warbands cannot dominate your list building like in N3.

    Kendrat

    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────

    [​IMG]2 [​IMG]2
    KENDRAT Vulkan Shotgun, Chest Mines / DA CC Weapon, Heavy Pistol. (0 | 22)
    KENDRAT (Fireteam: Duo) Vulkan Shotgun, Chest Mines / DA CC Weapon, Heavy Pistol. (0 | 22)

    0 SWC | 44 Points

    Open in Infinity Army

    Kendrat is a bit of a weird one, a named character who's a sacrificial krakot renegade at heart, she's very very good in CC but is always stuck with her vulkan shotgun, heavy pistol and chest mines for advancing up the board with. The main value-add she has over the generic Krakot is the option for a fireteam duo. Linking her with the red fury Krakot removes the impetuosity, gains them cover bonuses and improves their ability to stick around as well as making a fairly horrendous CC missile for your enemy to deal with. Being a named character she also gains the ability to complete several ITS classified objectives too which is a nice, if situational, benefit. The duo option would be dependent on friendly smoke providers to get them up the board however, and in a faction where you have plenty of CC capable troopers with smoke already, I feel she's maybe more of a fluff pick.

    Themes:
    Wilst you can make millions of different styles of list; this type of thing would be an intersting start to a REM focussed list


    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────

    GROUP 1[​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]8 [​IMG]2 [​IMG]3
    YUAN YUAN Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 8)
    YOJIMBO Contender(+1B), Nanopulser, Smoke Grenades, Crazykoala / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 18)
    RUI SHI Spitfire / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (1 | 23)
    LÙ DUĀN Mk12, Heavy Flamethrower(+1B) ( | Deployable Repeater) / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 24)
    LÙ DUĀN Mk12, Heavy Flamethrower(+1B) ( | Deployable Repeater) / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 24)
    TOKUSETSU KOHEI (Engineer, Deactivator) Combi Rifle, D-Charges ( | GizmoKit) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 14)
    YÁOZĂO PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 3)
    YÁOZĂO PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 3)
    PANGGULING (Hacker, EVO Hacking Device) ( ) / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0.5 | 15)
    TANKŌ Blitzen, Light Shotgun / Pistol, Monofilament CC Weapon, Shock CC Weapon. (0 | 18)
    BRAWLER (Hacker, Hacking Device) Submachine Gun ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 17)
    DAIYŌKAI MULTI Marksman Rifle, Panzerfaust / Pistol, AP + DA CC Weapon. (0 | 48)

    GROUP 2[​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]5 [​IMG]1
    KEISOTSU (Lieutenant) Combi Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 9)
    KEISOTSU Combi Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 9)
    BRAWLER (Multispectral Visor L2) MULTI Sniper Rifle ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 27)
    TANKŌ Missile Launcher / Pistol, Monofilament CC Weapon, Shock CC Weapon. (1.5 | 27)
    KEISOTSU (Paramedic) Combi Rifle ( | MediKit) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 11)

    5.5 SWC | 298 Points

    Open in Infinity Army

    This type of list has plenty of attacking pieces for trading up. some smoke and warband cover but not so much that you lose your order pool when they die. Defensive turret core link, aggressive Haris with linked specialist. Every classified objective possible (even if its unlikely!!). Would suit an aggresive mission. The YaoZao and holoechos are particularly good at clearing away mines and you've got a really good spread of MSV with smoke support. Bringing a Yuan Yuan on a flank and dumping some nearby can allow the Lu Duan to advance and dump its templates through them or set up the assisted-fire Rui Shi to wreak havoc on lighter troops.
    Yo'll need to leverage the smoke and MSV2 multi sniper to deal with bigger game or the tanko ML to deal with Albedo-equipped ARO pieces. Having the big guns in a seperate combat group fom the mobile pieces means there's less competition for orders and that one group can cover the other.

    Option 2- HI links


    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────

    GROUP 1[​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]9 [​IMG]1 [​IMG]1
    WÚ MÍNG (Forward Observer) Boarding Shotgun, Flash Pulse / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 30)
    WÚ MÍNG Boarding Shotgun ( | TinBot: Firewall [-6]) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 31)
    WÚ MÍNG Heavy Machine Gun / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 37)
    WÚ MÍNG MULTI Rifle, Grenade Launcher, E/M Grenade Launcher / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 35)
    BRAWLER (Hacker, Hacking Device) Submachine Gun ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 17)
    RUI SHI Spitfire / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (1 | 23)
    PATHFINDER DRONBOT Combi Rifle, Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 15)
    TOKUSETSU KOHEI (Engineer, Deactivator) Combi Rifle, D-Charges ( | GizmoKit) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 14)
    YÁOZĂO PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 3)
    KEISOTSU (Lieutenant) Combi Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 9)
    YUAN YUAN Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 8)

    GROUP 2[​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]4 [​IMG]1 [​IMG]3
    KEISOTSU Combi Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 9)
    TANKŌ Missile Launcher / Pistol, Monofilament CC Weapon, Shock CC Weapon. (1.5 | 27)
    TANKŌ Flammenspeer, Contender / Pistol, Monofilament CC Weapon, Shock CC Weapon. (0 | 17)
    BRAWLER (Doctor) Rifle, Light Shotgun ( | MediKit) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 19)
    DESPERADO Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Assault Pistol(+1B), Shock CC Weapon. (0 | 6)

    5 SWC | 300 Points

    Open in Infinity Army

    This list has lots of wounds and a reasonable amount of attacking power spread across all range bands. Two HI links with embedded specialists gives abilities for objectives and that many wounds means you've got resilience for holding ZO's like "the armoury". Smoke, Sensor and MSV2 helps clear the midfield, there's a missile launcher and hacker for threats that need them and a monofilament-armed HI CC threat with smoke coverage to deal with stuff you can't outshoot. Forward observers and the hacker with the REM repeaters combine with the Grenade launcher in the Wu Ming team as an option (not necessarily the best one) for dealing with clumped up targets or those more difficult to dislodge the "old fashioned" way. E/M grenades also ask questions of opponents if they're fielding stuff that's particularly vulnerable to that ammo type.

    Problems and solutions:
    Problem:

    Large Bearpode/Cameronian/equivalent -> Druze have viral weaponry, linked HMG to force saves, smoke and shoot with marksmanship RuiShi to force saves and stack mods.

    Minefield clogging the mid table -> holoechoes from Bashi + Lu duan, YaoZao sacrifice, sacrifical yan huo/desperado.

    Heavy TAG-> smoke'n'shoot with MSV2 sniper, hack it with dep reps/druze ptichers, tanko ML. Slice and dice with Yo-Jimbo/Tanko/Daiyokai/Ninja or hunt order pool. EM grenades from Druze/WuMing.

    Albedo overwatch AROs-> AD attack from flank (bashi/yuan), linked Tanko ML, Smoke and shoot (if no MSV), surprise attack from holoecho user or ninja

    MSV2 overwatch links like grenzer/kamau-> AD attack from flank/rear. Lu Duan template attacks. sacrificial desperado/yuan/bashi. Speculative fire from Wu Ming/Druze grenades.

    Loss of Liuetenant and Lt hunters: take veteran troops like Druze, Al-Fasid, Krakot renegades to mitigate order loss. Take multiple decoy Lts and seperate them where possible, cover approaches with AROs. Utilise Bashi Bazouk's holoechoes and holomask to deploy 3 "keisotsu" or "brawlers" to reduce the chance of a hunter killing the right one.

    For everything else, there's mastercard....
     
    #1 csjarrat, Aug 27, 2021
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2021
  2. Goorie

    Goorie Well-Known Member

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    What a great job! Thank you for your work!
     
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  3. Mcgreag

    Mcgreag Well-Known Member

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    Kendrat is a she actually.
     
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  4. csjarrat

    csjarrat Well-Known Member

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    edited, cheers!
     
  5. BlackCadian

    BlackCadian Well-Known Member

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    This is amazing - thanks so much!
     
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  6. ETEA

    ETEA New Member

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    This must have taken a lot of time and thought to put together and I appreciate you sharing your depth of experience with the sectorial. Lots of great information and tips to refer to when list-building, which is especially useful for new players like me. Your effort is much appreciated!
     
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  7. Space Ranger

    Space Ranger Well-Known Member

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    I thought I'd add a little to the Bashi. he's great as a decoy for a Lt. or intimidation. He can holo as three or just a single. Most of the ones he'd disguise as would need to not be in a fireteam though. If you go the three route, you need to actually have the one he's disguised as in the army. Otherwise it's obvious. But think of 4 Aarmand the enemy needs to target or 4 Brawlers.

    BASHI BAZOUK Submachine Gun, Chain-colt / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 12)


    ARMAND (Multispectral Visor L1) MULTI Sniper Rifle, Nanopulser ( ) / Breaker Pistol(+1B), Shock CC Weapon. (1.5 | 39)
    BOUNTY HUNTER Sniper Rifle / Breaker Pistol(+1B), PARA CC Weapon(-6). (0.5 | 19)
    KEISOTSU (Lieutenant) Combi Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 9)
    BRAWLER (Lieutenant) Rifle, Light Shotgun / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 15)
    BRAWLER (Multispectral Visor L2) MULTI Sniper Rifle ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 27)
    WÚ MÍNG Heavy Machine Gun / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 37)
     
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  8. csjarrat

    csjarrat Well-Known Member

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    That's a great idea, especially if you find out you're playing vs a faction with impersonator assassins like speculo/Friday!
     
  9. Space Ranger

    Space Ranger Well-Known Member

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    I thought of trying similar with a Lu Duan and Yojimbo but it's harder to do with moving things.

    Speaking of big Jim, the way Crazy Koalas work now, you can leave a CK near Lt. And fire teams when deployed for a bit of protection too. If you fell like you really need to, Decapitation, you can put another down too. Maybe even use baggage to get more.
     
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  10. csjarrat

    csjarrat Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, Big Al's mines and Le Muets mines are good for covering approaches too. It won't stop a speculo or fiday however, they'll still just engage and shank the Lt, be damned the consequences lol.
     
  11. Delta57Dash

    Delta57Dash Well-Known Member

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    Keep in mind that your opponent will have an idea of which Armand is the real one; due to deployment rules, it'll either be the first or last Armand placed, as you cannot place 1-2 holoechoes, then Armand, then the other holoechoes.

    Also, if you use Minelayer Armand, you give up the goose immediately, in two different ways; First, you must place the mine from minelayer immediately after the model itself; whichever Armand is immediately followed by a Camo Token is the real one. Second, the real Armand will only have 2 uses of his mines available, while the holoechoes will all have 3/3; your opponent can simply ask how many charges are left on each Armand and you will have to reveal the real one.

    This also means that non-camo models with Minelayer do not significantly contribute to the Camo shellgame; your opponent can simply ask how many mines the minelayer has available, and if the answer is "2/3" then they know the Camo token placed immediately after the minelayer must be a mine; if the answer is "3/3" then they know it's something else.
     
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  12. csjarrat

    csjarrat Well-Known Member

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    Ah, yeah I meant using the minelayer skill or armand le muet or Al fasid to cover a holo cluster of keisotsu "lieutenants". It'll discourage or slow down normal Hunters but speculo and Friday are expecting to lose the mini in a trade of putting you in LOL for a turn anyway so don't care too much about mines etc
     
  13. psychoticstorm

    psychoticstorm Aleph's rogue child
    Moderator

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    It is nice to see the NA2 armies get some attention by the community.
     
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  14. Space Ranger

    Space Ranger Well-Known Member

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    Yeah it's been pretty dead.

    Just saw that the rules for holoechoes says "up to three". So you can put down Armand, one echo and one Bash. Not great but not bad either.

    One time I had to face 9 mutts due to two Ayyar. It certainly made it hard to deploy against them.
     
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