Data Sphere

Hi all,

new member and brand new player as well

I just bought the rulebook and read it in the weekend, I really impressed by the rules, a detailed sci-fi tactical game with lot of options (hacker section is very nice).

I have a couple of question for you veteran players out there:

a) Human Sphere and Campaign Paradiso: I have no rush to buy them because for me all is new but I'm wondering if is the case anyway, I mean it will be better to wait a new edition (if any) or buy now before will be out of print?

b) Operaton Icestorm: given that I'd like to play PanOceania, Nomads and Combined Army (only for aesthetics purposes) I think is an obvious choice, but are these miniatures only available in this box? Because I don't see where to buy separately (i.e. fuciliers).
Also is the rulebook inside totally compatible with the N3 one or the latter is different in some way?

Finally, do you have any recommend purchase for a new player?

Thanks in advance

Ale

Hi and welcome.

a) I'd recommend to not by any of the N2 books. You'll find the rules online as soon as the wiki is online. And you should be able to get the PDFs from the archives.

b) O:I is a great start. The two starter for Nomads and PanO will be released individually in February. The Fussiliers and Alguacils are only available in those two starters, but both have/get a box with special weapons.
The rules from O:I are simplified N3 rules, lacking some of the depth and details; introduction rules for N3. So, start with the mini (tutorial) campaign from O:I and you should be able to jump directly into the action.

In your case: get O:I and run through the campaign. You'll know what you want to get next after doing so, anyways.

Happy gaming!

To add to Harlekin's great advice is that Operation:Icestorm also comes with two (or three, if you can find one of the pre-order copies) miniatures that are exclusive to the box:
-Father Knight
-Reverend Healer
-CSU (pre-order exclusive)

As a Nomad/PanO/CA initiate, there are a few things you'd want to get. Though, I'd recommend starting with only one faction. From your intro post, it made it sound as if you were new to the whole wargaming aspect of tabletop, is that right?

If so, I'd recommend starting with PanO. Not as many tricks of your own to learn, they're a rather straight forward heavy hitter with good defensive options. Assuming you've gotten Op:Ice, you can expand using the options presented in the Op:Ice book, itself:

-Jotum
-Auxilia

Both are great units that provide a couple extra rules that help you better understand the game while still being very competitive. From there, I'd recommend:

-Swiss Guard
-Aquila Guard
-Hexa

These are all great units that expand on Op:Ice further and give you more flexibility in your list building. Both the Swiss Guard and the Hexa provide TO Camouflage for that extra little bit of trickery. The Aquila Guard brings MSV3, which goes a long way to prevent the same TO Camouflage tricks from biting you back. Other than that...

-Fusilier SWC box
-Bulleteer remotes
-Sierra Dronbot remotes

All of those are on the lower end of the points cost spectrum to provide even more flexibility in list building as well as the remotes having their own fun specialties. From here, though, you'll want to proxy models and try out the other models.


... Or you could take my path and just buy the models that look prettier than the others.

Glad you found the advice useful! As for painting... Once you get your models, we're currently doing a bit of a painting campaign here on Data-Sphere. The theme for this first season (through the end of February) is about "cheerleader" models, which the fusiliers in Op:Ice as well as the alguaciles count as.

Here's a link to the campaign: http://www.data-sphere.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=2630

The goal of the campaign to to motivate painting and give critique/advice.

EDIT: Here's some more info from the official forum that you might find useful. I've only read a little bit of it, but it seems a good thread to go through. http://infinitytheforums.com/forum/index.php?/topic/27240-tactica-unit-roles/#entry592280

Blind Sniper wrote:Harlekin, I checked Official site archives but no expansions rules available, am I missing something?

Nope, looks like CB hasn't decided to post the old rules (which need a wee bit of modifications) on the new site. That's OK, you can get them off the old site: http://www.infinitythegame.com/infinity/en/downloads/
You will need the Human Sphere Rules and the New Rules (Updated 06/04/2014) from the old site (assuming English rules), and the N3 Rulebook ENG, Markers (A4 or Letter), N3 Unit Profiles ENG, N3 Weapons ENG, and N3 FAQ ENG from the Official Site Archives.

Moreover I don't know how to paint a miniature

We can fix that.

I will follow your advice to start with only one Army and I think it will be PanO, surely at the beginning my choices will be:

... Or you could take my path and just buy the models that look prettier than the others.

This!

It's the ONLY way to go!

The goal of the campaign to to motivate painting and give critique/advice.

I will join the campaign after my first purchase

I've only read a little bit of it, but it seems a good thread to go through.

I'm a bit puzzled about cheerleaders, it seems the game is around few strong units and all the rest is for order merkers, I don't have play this game yet therefore is only an impression and I'd like to know your thoughts about the topic.

@Section9 thanks for the links.

We can fix that.

Perfect, but how?

Surely I will buy Masterclass Vol.1 by Angel Giraldez!

Blind Sniper wrote:I'm a bit puzzled about cheerleaders, it seems the game is around few strong units and all the rest is for order merkers, I don't have play this game yet therefore is only an impression and I'd like to know your thoughts about the topic.

In a way, you are right.
In a way, though, you are wrong.

You are right, because Orders are crucial - and you can never have too many of these. Merely "enough", and even that is rare. Since you spend Orders in your Active turn to move your models, attack and do a number of different things, and there's basically no more Orders than models, it means you will be spending several orders on some models, and there won't be many (or none at all) left to be spend on some other models.

Which tends to lead to constructing your list with a handful of powerful, expensive models you're going to pump your Orders into, and cheap ones whose main purpose is to generate Orders (that's why Infinity veterans tend to refer to these ar "cheerleaders" or "Order monkeys").


And yet, in a way, you are wrong, because no matter what you do, your expensive, powerful models can't be everywhere at once. Sometimes you can count only for those who are in the area - the cheap, overlooked cheerleaders. Remember though that a rifle bullet kills just the same way, regardless of who pulls the trigger: a vet or a noob. Sure, a powerful model is more likely to score hits or to withstand the enemy attack, but bullets themselves are just as powerful.

Cheerleader units often have access to broad choice of equipment the more expensive and powerful troops do not carry (or pay premium for) - and which can be very useful. In specialized armies (Sectorial Armies) many of these basic, inexpensive "cheerleader" units can form "Link Teams", small squads of soldiers that support each other, gaining serious benefits. Sure, powerful models can, in some cases, Link too, but the improvement is less striking for them.
And more than once a squad of cheerleaders proved to be a powerful unit on a battlefield.

Then there's the ARO, Automatic Reaction Order - while AROing model is usually at a disadvantage, it often can make the enemy avoid a beaten zone or look for a different, less risky (and more Order-consuming) way of approach (especially true with well-positioned snipers).


Well, yes - playing Infinity is quite a complex affair. What is why we love it

I've got nothing to add to Errhile's great summation.

Blind Sniper wrote:I'm a bit puzzled about cheerleaders, it seems the game is around few strong units and all the rest is for order merkers, I don't have play this game yet therefore is only an impression and I'd like to know your thoughts about the topic.

Not really.

What really matters is how many orders you need to spend to accomplish your goal. You want to spend the least amount of orders possible to accomplish that goal, so having models with different weapons and abilities all over the table is better than having one model running on a killing spree and then getting splattered when the AROs (unfailingly) cause damage.

Also, proper deployment (NONE of your models are safe, they need to be watching each other's backs!) will minimize the ability of a single model to rambo by having more AROs against the rambo.

We can fix that.

Perfect, but how?

mostly by you posting pictures of your first model and we give you ideas on how to make it better!

Thanks Errhile for the very detailed answer.
Yesterday night I made my first game and I totally agree with your (all) analisys.

Quick report:
150 points to start, we made our list in about 10 mins , I played PanOceania and my opponent Haqqislam.

My list:
2 Fusiliers (one of them was the Lieutenant) with Combi Rifle;
1 Nisses with Multi Sniper Rifle;
1 Neoterra with Spitfire;
1 Father Nights with Boarding Shotgun;
1 Croc Men with Boarding Shotgun

and if I correctly remember the Haqqislam list:
3 Ghulam with Rifle and Light Shotgun ((one of them was the Lieutenant);
1 Naffatun with Rifle and Light Flamethrower;
1 Hassassin Govads with Sniper Rifle;
2 Janissaries (1 with AP Rifle + Light Shotgun and 1 with HMG)

Scenario: pretty simple, kill 'em all

Of course I made a lot of mistakes but I have learned as well, lost my Sniper in the first turn for poor placement (he was in cover but is not enough, better start prone if is the opponent to move first), tryed to infiltrate my Croc Men in the enemy deploy zone but I failed my WIP roll, anyhow it was far better hide him in the middle of the table waiting juice targets).
Worst moment: three hit against an enemy but I suffered a critical hit and lost my guy!
Best moment: my Lieutenant killed the Naffatun, a Janissaries and wound the other one, alone
Great game!

mostly by you posting pictures of your first model and we give you ideas on how to make it better!

I just bought my first model.

Just a quick note - you can attempt to Infiltrate into the opposing table half, but you canno Infiltrate into the enemy Deployment zone.

So far, only Impersonation allows to begin game with a model inside of an enemy Deployment Zone... and that is, if you're lucky!

My mistake, I was in the enemy half table but not in his deployment zone, thanks!