Hello all, I am a relatively new player to infinity, and for now only collect Varuna forces. However, I did buy the Red Veil set to learn the game, and really liked the aesthetic of IA. While there were many community tactica threads on the PanO forums, I do not see any here, and as such I am asking for advice. Other than the IA Starter pack, are there any units I should be looking out for? Are there any "dud" units in the IA starter pack? Some googling seemed to dig up comments about how some people dislike the LiuXing. How does IA play like, and what would a, say, 150~200 point list have? Are there any "must-haves" in IA, much like the Kamau HMG in Varuna? I intend to collect some models and play low-point games... and also try out this new orange-brown terracotta paint scheme I've been thinking of recently. Advice and commentary appreciated, thank you very much.
If you have Red Veil and IA starter, I would definitely buy Zuyong HMG as it would get you 5 man link of Zuyongs and the model with TA rule. We have not Zhencha minies yet so you can proxy them with whatever mini you like and Liu Xing hacker from my POV is just meh, but again, that's the only model of the unit we have now. I wish to buy Daoying hacker myself as it will cover all their profiles. Rui Shi and the Support Pack look almost must-buy. Further you can either wait for new IA releases or spread to vanilla.
Duds (as in mostly objectively duds) are Shang-ji and Guijia. Shang-ji hasn't received new models yet and there have been no indication they will. Guijia is probably the best looking TAG in game so you may want to buy it to paint it. Neither of these are in the starter, but the starter does contain some rather disappointing weapon choices (you're unlikely to use the Zuyong BSG much) which makes the double-buy value of the box.... problematic. Must-haves are support pack, at least one Yaokong box (the small remotes), one Yaoxie box (big remotes), the upcoming solo Haidao, the upcoming solo Daoying, and one or two solo Zuyong HMG. And something, anything, to use as Zhencha proxies (preferably two of them). Regarding Yaokong you'll probably want more than one box. (Below are personal preferences) If assembling for IA you want in order: Son-Bae, Weibing, Chaiyi, Husong, Chaiyi, Weibing, Husong, Husong. For vanilla you want in order: Weibing, Chaiyi, Husong, Weibing, Husong, a toilet seat entirely in gold, Son-Bae. If you don't like their aesthetic, shop around among other factions' REMs and simply paint them the correct colours for your army.
The liu Xing is pretty spectacular, the last game I used him he managed to singlehandedly take out Jean d'arc and wound a hospitalier between explosion and shotgun, rewards a very agressive playstyle. Really wants to be paired up with a pangolin EVO while your other pangolin gets dropped in a link team Shang-ji are one to skip at this moment in time (I assume they'll get some models at some stage) and are pretty situational. Personally I like the Guijia, it's not the best optimised TAG but it is still a TAG and does things that only TAGs can do, I'm yet to try one in IA I'm a bit to excited by the new shiny things and power armour link teams but i've definately put it in a couple of lists I want to use, offsetting the order drain of a TAG with the efficiency of links is a valid build IMO. As for drones, rather than the Yaokong box I'm using the Aleph Rebot models, I think they're a bit nicer and you can potentially switch the weapons in and out due to their design (I certainly do). I Almost bought a second starter for doing some weapon swaps but didn't due to the way the models have been split (specifically I wanted to swap the weapons on the hai dao and liu xing and give the BSG from the Zhuyong to the Daoying)
I would also add a Hac Tao to your list. Not only it is one of the most gorgeous models in Infinity, it is also a very useful unit. But yeah, no need to prioritize it. Your first priorities should be getting enough S2, S3 and S4 profiles that are both useful on themselves AND useful as proxies for changing your lists a little bit.
I disagree on the BSG Zuyong. There are alot of reasons to run it over a Pango in the link as the cheapest filler model. Terrain is a big deal and the Pango can't travel or vault where a Zuyong can. You will find the link's movement slowed to a crawl if the Pango can't vault a bunch of walls that the Zuyongs can. My personal terrain set features a number of garbage dumpsters that when stacked against building walls allow models to vault from the top of the dumpster onto the roof providing a pseudo staircase, but remotes are too short to make use of this. Many bridges for example are not wide enough for a 55mm base to traverse it and the same for ladders, if you're carrying a Pango in the link it prevents the link from accessing these areas without breaking off from it. BSG Zuyong on the other hand gives far greater flexibility to a link team's movement. Lastly if you face a decent amount of spec fire meta, which I happen to thanks to StarCo and Druze both being a thing in the local meta (even the Aleph players have a habit of bringing the LGL Dakini) it's a big advantage to not have the link team bringing a REM as part of it.
Which is, pretty annoying when it is aimed to your REM; and FFS, I can't find out breaking open that Dakini+Apsaras link with IA - since IA got only two Grenades.
I didn't understand the sentence in the first place, I still don't quite get what was trying to be conveyed.
K, TBH I never head-on'd Zuyong HMG force train into Dakini MSR turrets. Since Varuna and OSS (Which is, rising as a major pick in our meta) tend to fetch Mimetism MSR 5-men turrets for their defense, one thing I often use is Hsien+Nimbus; If you had any good experiences breaking them with IA, I could learn some.
If you're having trouble with a Dakini link your best option is to hit them with a Hac Tao HMG. It's like 55-15ish your favour on the odds.
@Triumph Personally i'd go for the KHD haidao before considering the zuyong BSG. This gal only makes the cut if I already have an haidao in the team (either KHD or sniper) and if i don't have 2 more points to get a forward obs combi zuyong instead. As for how to handle dakini/kamau MSR with IA, I feel like this could use a thread on its own instead of highjacking this one. Back on topic. @Ariwch spoke well, If you already have red veil and the IA starter, then the zuyong HMG is your only must buy. Support pack, Hac taos and Yan huos are neat, and so are REM boxes (all of them). Zhanshi SWC box and Guijia aren't necessary.
This is the base link I tend to build off Invincible Army ────────────────────────────────────────────────── 3 ZÚYŎNG (Fireteam: Duo, Tactical Awareness) HMG / 2 Breaker Pistols, Knife. (1.5 | 38) ZÚYŎNG (Fireteam: Haris, Tactical Awareness) Combi Rifle + 1 TinBot B (Deflector L2) / 2 Breaker Pistols, Knife. (0.5 | 34) TAI SHENG Mk12, Chain-colt, Stun Grenades / Heavy Pistol, Knife. (0 | 45) 2 SWC | 117 Points Doesn't need another FO, Tai Sheng already handles that. I also much prefer shotguns for point defense. This link doesn't really want to hang models out when it pushes up the table to get picked off. Having more BS22 shotguns to blast people who try to come around corners to fight it is something I prefer. Normally I'd add one BSG Zuyong and a KHD Haidao to fill the link out when it moves up the table, assuming it starts off with stuff like the Son Bae to ARO with.
Tried it the other day and he actually sucked! However it was bad dice for me too. Normally he should be great. This is one of the very few times I'd recommend the Liu Xing. Dakinis dodge at -3 and only have PH10. Even better if they no longer have sixth sense. However, you need to either have EVO remote or have a hacker to assist jump because his own PH12 sucks. Next the Zhencha Assault hacker. Especially if they don't have a Deva hacker, they are very vulnerable to hacking. They don't get tin bots also. The Zhencha FO with mines. Again, Dakinis dodge at -3.
That's actually not great odds. Giving the Aleph player the benefit of the doubt that they're not a complete retard and space their Dakinis out so you can't get multiple hits in, including the need to roll for the drop on 15s or less, you come up at 29% chance to stick a wound. It gets even lower if you're getting counter hacked by Aleph's actual considerable hackers too. It's an expensive and unreliable gimmick to attempt to say the least. You have better odds just trying to brute force the situation with a HMG Zuyong. We're not even going into the territory that Aleph are one of the worst opponents to try and drop into for the Liu Xing because they have a high propensity to pack a TO Sniper/AHD which makes aggressive drops for the Liu Xing even more dangerous.
Yes I know . I did it the other day and didn't do the assist jump. Deviated off table too. I shouldn't say I recommend it but it is an option. I'd rather go the other options.
