300pt Steel Phalanx Box

Grab machaon, and you are mostly reay to go. If you want more flexibility, then the Thorakitai box and Thrasimedes (Dire foes Aleph Vs Nomads) is somewhat requited, as well as the dual Ekdromoi blister (one Ekdromoi is enough, however), plus the remotes and antennas, then add Achilles and you have 90% of what the greek sectorial fields (and some stuff that it does not).

 

Regarding Machaon @xagroth is absolutely right: you just can't go wrong with him. Same with the antennas and the Thoras: must have. (If you run Machaon solo, the servants are very handy!) I also had great success with Alke, too. Regarding the Ekdromoi with all due respect I disagree. I personally never fielded any of them and I strongly recommend playing a couple games with proxies (and the troopers you have) to find out what fits your playstyle. Of course buying a mini will not break the bank...
If you buy Achilles you should take a look at Patroclus. The duo fireteam worked wonders for me. (Most players agree that Achilles works best in vanilla Aleph. Fortunately you will not need too many troopers if you want to delve into vanilla Aleph.)
And I also recommend proxying Atalanta. She is an unparalelled huntter-killer...

 

@geo67 I can’t offer any authoritative remarks, but I also picked up the box unexpectedly when away from my usual locale, and as a change from my usual Pan O and Morats, so I can at least share my experience.

I also picked up Achilles v2, Machaon (Doctor) and Drakios, Scylla and the Fabulous Dronbot Duo and played 5 or 10 games over 2 weeks, including an ITS event. Briefly, I think the box is great; I enjoyed playing them and thought the money well spent.

I'm sure someone has written a guide to playing all the units properly, but reading about a unit's profile and playing it are different things, and every single game I played Myrmidons had me saying under my breath "This is f---ing BONKERS!".

Abilities don't say much to me on paper, but in-game Optical Disruption Device means always-on -6 BS MOD; Valor: No Wound Incapacitation effectively means an extra wound; Chain of Command and Smoke or Eclipse Grenades (Officer) means an extra ITS Specialist - risk your Lieutenant elsewhere, and sneak up on opponents to explain Traditional Greek Man Love in person.
Or just kill them.

Myrmidons are a great way to romp around and ruin someone else's day in a gang, and Ajax is a one-man version of the same thing. He probably never actually won me anything, but I was grinning way more than my opponents, and winning is overrated (they tell me).

Phoenix is more Greek elitism; likewise the Agêma Marksman who seems reasonably costed (what, no ODD?), though I came to think I wanted to go a different way with my sniper strategy, but I hadn't worked out what it was - presumably some kind of Fireteam abuse.

On the downside, I presume that Penthisilia is supposed to be a troubleshooter like Ajax but with the extra mobility, but personally, I couldn't find a way to make her work and had cut her from the lineup by the time I played ITS. Dunno about her.

As regards the non-box models, I put Machaon behind Achilles - also totally bonkers. Scylla & co was recommended but I couldn't work out what to do with Drakios, and actively disliked Scylla. I'm sure better players would be able to utilise her massive Hacking zone.

Finally, I presume Netrods were CB's design hack to help get 10 Orders into a Steel Phalanx army when you've spent 292 points on just 8 other units, and have next to nothing left over! That's certainly how I played them, and I expect you'll want that box too.

So again, whether the SP box is any good for serious games I couldn't say, but as a second faction giving a change of pace, they're highly recommended; and as a second faction to play for enormous fun, they're highly recommended. Fun is badly underrated, I feel.

Proper Aleph players will be able to give more concrete advice, no doubt.

 

All good remarks, @Wolf !
FYI Penny is a divisive trooper. Some player (like myself) has no idea how to get mileage out of her, other players claim she had won them games a-plenty. I believe the different playstyles make a huge difference.
I personally believe Drakios and especially Scylla performs way better in vanilla Aleph. The primary use of Scylla is not infowar (in SP she almost totally lacks the repeater network) but abusing Cybermask and marching two flamethrower wielding disposable hero into the heart of the enemy army in marker state.
I use Netrods to build a 15-order army consisting of 4 fireteams and Atalanta. Yes, it is possible.
So, you like Myrms. That's cute. Ever put a Thora with SMG and 360 visor in suppressive fire?
PS I started playing Infinity with Ariadna and SP was my secound faction. Man, I just loved smashing opposing armies!

 

Pentesilea has a mixed bag of tricks and a conditioning problem (big base, like all bikes... we shall see if the AI ones in Tunguska will change that or make it worse). She carries a monofilament blade, the only one in Aleph, but she is geared to kill enemy troops with Wounds (I-Khol won't work against troops with STRucture). Her best targets are HI, in that regard, but she has to get there anyway, and that requires expertise at moving her and finding the workable route.

Ekdromoi have a role in the Phalanx, but it's a mixed one: Diomedes is a beast, if you can plant him right, and clean enemy cheerleaders with ease. The Ekdromoi are the only specialist troop the Phalanx can deploy outside of its deployment zone, aside Andromeda, and in fact are the only AD troop specialist in the whole Aleph. But you rarely want to snipe objectives with the Phalanx, it's better to charge and kill anything (you will try to have at least 1 specialist on each link... and remember the Chain of Command officer IS a specialist!), so it's easy to overlook the Ekdromoi as a useful troop, an park them with the Dactils.

However, remember there are several missions this ITS tha benefit greatly Veteran or Elite troops (the Ekdromoi is an Elite troop), or you want to break a scenery item with a melee DA weapon (20 points and it's yours! Diomedes has one too, but he costs double), or you want to capture the enemy HVT. They have their uses.

Anyway, the priority buys are Machaon (paired with Phoenix always in the same fireteam with 1-2 chain rifle Myrms), then the Thorakitai box and Thrasimedes, and then Achilles.

As for the box, you want to make 2 Enomotarchos Fireteams: Phoenix (never Lt, he will be at risk all the time) + Machaon (has Eclipse grenades, Lt) + 2 chain rifle Myrm, then Officer (Chain of Command boarding shotgun profile, for the Eclipse grenades) + Ayax (Eudoros is better, but he is only available with the ASS Starter) + 2 chain rifle Myrms; this amounts to 216 pts and 3.5 SWC, so you have nearly 84 pts to fill those 2 slots, only you can't use remotes because there's no hacker in the list. After you have decided what do you want, the leftover points can be used to improve the chain rifle myrms to something better if possible.

 

Gratulation for choosing the sexiest sectorial in the game!

• The Aleph remotes box is very flexible a must in the long term. You can proxy a lot of different support troops with the models. This might be your first additional purchase. You can play them as DALETH Rebots – this fast specialist will offer you a lot of options for just 17 points (and it won me ITS games!).
  
• Also the Aleph support box is recommended for Netrods.
  
• Hector is in Steel Phalanx better than Achilles (in my experience). And yes, he´s the only human (OK, more a über-human) with a plasma rifle in the game.
• Thorakitai box is handy, but in Steel Phalanx there is no problem runnung a 10 Order list with 2 Myrmidon links.
• I think Penthesilea (she is sexy AF) is really hard to play (I never had luck with her). Instead I like to run Ajax as a speed bump: Use his impetuous and lieutenant order (CoC required!) to move him up the field. There he can tank mines like a champ. And if he dodges (PH 16!) in ARO you can even move him 4" up the board. Your opponent will spend a lot of resources to stop him, because nobody wants to face him in CC (He´ll even kick Achilles ass).

 

I often run Penthesilea since i like the mini. I always played her in vanilla, i think SP's fireteams brings more than a lone killer. She is great versus small troops: cheerleaders, specialists ... Just remember that she can always dismount. Use the motorcycle for mobility, then dismount if you need the smaller silhouette. She could really do with a smoke LGL through.

As for Ajax, I like to compare him to a brick: there is nothing much you can do with a brick as a weapon, except throwing it at your opponent. It's hard and it will hurt. Ajax won't do much more than that, your opponent will kill him at the end, but it will hurt. And he is only 39 pts/0 SWC, a steal for someone this sturdy.
Alternatively, you can use him in a fireteam, it will negate his impetuous trait. Enjoy ARM8 on cover :)

 

Unless you go for missions that require specialists... the cheapest myrmidon specialist is the hacker, and it's 31pts (same as spitfire!) vs the 14pts FO thorakitai (and they also are great turrets to guard flanks, thanks to sup fire and 360º visor).

Killy missions: Death Star (all-character myrm link) with something, or 2 myrm links.
Button missions: 1 Myrm link and 1 Thora link.

Sure dactyls, but... meh. They end needing Hector as protection, so they suddenly bump to the most expensive Haris in the sectorial.

 

There really is nothing like a myrmidon ‘death star’, as the effort needed to take a myrmidon link out isn’t much different from taking out a single myrmidon. Its a question of diminishing returns, and paying 40 or so points for +1B or SSL2 is just throwing points down a drain, when the same effect could be achieved with 16pt. Myrmidons. Fireteam bonuses work to make cheerleader troops ‘good’, but for elite troops like HI or myrmidons, the effect is only that you put all your eggs in one basket, but they’re still just ‘eggs’.

When it comes to offensive power, the basic myrmidon spitfire is more than adequate, while a myrmidon CoC officer or Machaon is capable of pushing most buttons. Combine the two, and you’ve got all you’ll ever need to win this game, adding any more is just icing on the cake. This approach caters to the strength of Steel Phalanx, not piling bonuses on a single model, but being able to open multiple attack vectors, while being order efficient in bringing your specialists forward via the ability to create multiple fireteams.

 

Flexibility: you have Eclipse Grenades on Machaon and Eudoros (and for ARO purposes the consensus is that shooting is the same ARO order as Special Dodge Smoke), Phoenix and Eudoros for pointman (Burst 3-4, range, etc...), the Myrmidon Officer CoC as BSG (another Eclipse!) for the short range, and Eudoros can clean in melee if needed be (and he, like Machaon and Phoenix, has DA weapon, son he can blow up scenery if needed). This also goes in hand with a Thorakitai link (and it's 2.5SWC, so Feuerbach ARO wall is possible, points permitting), and it's quite good at sweeping MSV enemies thanks to the amounts of eclipse.

However, I agree that it is quite situational, and I prefer to have a link of Machaon a Phoenix with 1-2 chain rifle mymrs, with the officer in another link (or even alone, but I don't really like that). The Death Star is, I think, more about "cool" than "practical".

 

I'm a big fanboi of 3-man fireteams consisting of a heavy hitter and two escort ladies. I regularly field 4 (four) fireteams, two with big guns (Eudoros and Alke) and a decent amount of specialists (Machaon and FO/Paramedic Thoras). My take: Do your job!
My main reason is points efficiency, because I find the most useful bonus of a fireteam is the burst bonus (throwing smoke with B2 is golden), and SSL2 is situational. But once one of the weaker link-team member is down, I can wave bye-bye to the burst bonus.
I can clearly see the advantage of larger fireteams. If you take out one of the guys in a 3-man fireteam the bonus is gone. With two escort ladies you still get the burst bonus after one of the members bite the bullet. Having a specialist and a gunner in one fireteam contributes to order efficiency. (You move-and-shoot with the gun-fighter and drag the button-pusher along to the button to push is not bad.)
The question is if the additional benefits worth the cost and I undertand the jury is still out regarding this question, but I believe personal taste and playstyle plays a huge role in deciding in this question.
I hope this helps.

 

Well, the "use teams of 3" is so big of a tohaa shtick... And the smoke can be a double edge blade, plus SS2 allows to advance without having to secure the flanks.

 

Given how flexible enomotarkos myrmidons teams are, you can always fuse two fireteams into one if you lost some troops. It's a bit more problematic with thorakitai since there are not many enomotarkos leaders.

 

Hey @geo67 , I got to SP exactly as you - purchasing brand new SP box on ebay for 30eur ;) Mostly because of awesome Ajax model and with vision to give him a try at least once in a live ;) Other then that I hate concept of all these other super pricy guys!

Well I couldn't be more wrong! After few games I absolutely love SP sectorial! I found concept which perfectly suits to my game style, almost a no brainer for me ;) To explain a bit: I played Nomads and both its sectorials for many many years, then expanded to Hassasins later, which somehow does then same job for my playstyle as nomads but were cheeper (both swc and avg pts/unit). But my strategy every time was to have something to long range to keep enemy away, something fast for close range to do damage in enemy DZ. and some button pushers to do a mission. Most of the time I was scary from enemy coming too close to my long range guys, or that my hitter unit is not powerful enough. Or where I get orders to get to objectives and press buttons... with SP I have all these in one box, or better say in every fire team ;) First I don't need defensive link team with two ML to stop my enemy getting closer anymore, I am completely fine i he gets closer ;) (every single guy in my list is CC 20+, good in dodge or with smokes). If I have to start walk across table then myrmidon with spitfire is the man, mostly I have one in every team, or Achiles as a full fireteam alternative. there is a doctor or CoC in every team to press a buttons on the way thru the field. And any of them is capable to do heavy CC damage under smoke when they reach enemies lines, and some of them like Ajax more then love it ;)

Some of my favorite units:
Ajax - the CC beast! (Lt. if there is CoC in another fireteam)
Machron - never played without him! (doctor WIP 15, NWI, DA CC, eclipse smokes)
Myrmidon w. Spitfire - burst 5 ODD ...
Ekmodroj boarding shotgun - AD with MA2 (= he came silently), super jump (= no roof to hide Lt.)
Atalanta - playing her just sometimes when expecting some nasty flamethrowers shenanigans, of if there is some really tall roof with nice view across whole table.
Peny - mostly I love bootleg model, but still good with MonoCCW or in suppression.
Achilles - nothing better then give a hard time to your enemy with Ajax in myrmidon link team, and when he manage to get rid of them, mostly the hard way, then here Achilles come for second round ;) (Ideally Lt.) (but the decision typically is he and 1 myrmidons team or 2 teams without him?)

To be aware:
- flame templates, especially a lot of them
- missions which requires a lot of specialists work (always do buttons pressing first)

Personally I would like to see some new addition into SP, only one in long time was Andromeda and she somehow doesn't work for me :/
But anyhow SP is like super swiss knife army for me ;)

 

Yes, it's possible.
The troopers you mentioned (Achilles, Ajax, Atalanta and Machaon) cost 191 points and 4.5 SWC; that means you can spend 18 points per trooper. In case you take two CR Myrmidon for 16 points per head, you can take 4 more troopers for 19 points per head. Taking two FO Thoras (ARO duty and cheap specialists) you have 51 points and 1.5 SWC to spend on just two troopers.
Ekdromos hacker, Thamyris, Alke, Spitfire Myrmidon are but a few choices that can easily fit this pricetag.
But if you want to build a list to ecxploit Achilles the best way possible, these choices are not optimal.
Is it possible?
Yes!
Is it playable?
Yes!
Is it efficient?
Nope.
I hope, this helps.

 

Or if you run vanilla instead of SP (essentially meaning Ajax will be impetuous, but he makes a good bait anyway), you can rely on the danava and some lamedh to cover Achilles or Ajax with white noise. Gives Machaon some yudbots (one near Atalanta for example), give Atalanta a myrmidon for smoke duty, and you're fine. Something like this

ALEPH
──────────────────────────────────────────────────

10 1
ACHILLES Lieutenant Spitfire, Nanopulser / Pistol, EXP CCW. (2.5 | 75)
AJAX 2 Combi Rifles, Nanopulser / AP Heavy Pistol, EXP CCW. (0 | 39)
ATALANTA MULTI Sniper Rifle + TinBot E (Spotter) / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 39)
MACHAON Combi Rifle, Nanopulser, Eclipse Grenades / Pistol, DA CCW. (0.5 | 38)
YUDBOT Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)
YUDBOT Electric Pulse. (0 | 3)
MYRMIDON OFFICER (Chain of Command) Combi Rifle, Nanopulser, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, AP CCW. (1 | 36)
DANAVAS Hacker (Hacking Device Plus. UPGRADE: Maestro) Combi Rifle + Pitcher / Breaker Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 25)
LAMEDH Rebot Flash Pulse, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 8)
LAMEDH Rebot Flash Pulse, Sniffer / Electric Pulse. (0 | 8)
THORAKITES (Forward Observer, 360º Visor) Submachine gun, Chain Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13)
THORAKITES (Forward Observer, 360º Visor) Submachine gun, Chain Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 13)

6 SWC | 300 Points

Open in Infinity Army

I upgraded the CR myrmidon into a CoC officer - Chain of command may help if Big A goes down, he's a backup specialist and a tough one. But his main duty will be to throw smoke for Atalanta.