Hey guys!

[PostHuman]

Long time gamer, been playing infinity for a little while here.
But I'm having difficulties with locals (no gaming scene within an hour or more) and what factions to choose.

My initial thought is to just make an ITS list for each faction, I'm unlikely to play with more than my kids or at a tournament once or twice a year. So I figure would I really be that limited?

[kidterminal]

Hi and welcome. Nearly all major conventions like GenCon have Infinity events these days. You can also list your city on your profile that could help.

[Hero of Man]

Howdy! Yeah, my closest drive is a little over an hour to the nearest gamestore, and its a MTG/Warmahordes one. I'd be patient zero, and I'm not sure I have the time to spread the infinity virus.

[Pierzasty]

Do you like painting? If so, that's reason enough to jump in, Infinity minis are top class.
How old are your kids? Any chance they'll want to continue their hobby on their own?
What kind of look/theme/tactics do you/they like? Pick a different faction for each, so you can switch around and have a spare force for demos, and start with a balanced 200pt force (we'll help). You'll likely start to learn the game at 150pt, but this'll give you a few variant lists for that. And by the time you'll want to expand, you'll know what you want.

[PostHuman]

Sorry for looooong late reply. Life has certainly gotten in my way for a while lately.

I've been proxying for a while, decent understanding in the rules in my opinion, but finally ready to jump in.

I know I want two factions, mostly for demos and loaning to a buddy that wants to play but very limited funds. However I'm really liking most of the factions and cannot decide what might make for a fun and balanced set. Each combo seems to have nice match ups, perhaps with the exception of 3 as CA has far more options than Tohaa... Any suggestions? From a painting/owning/playing perspective, they all look good.

1. Aleph and Combined Army
2. Nomads and Aleph
3. Combined Army and Tohaa
4. Yu-Jing and Ariadna
5. Yu-Jing and PanO (Seems too obvious)
6. PanO and Haqqislam

[Arachas]

Every faction is balanced against any other. And you can have them match up anyway you like, per the fluff.

In other words: it really doesn't matter. Pick the two factions whose fluff and models you like best!

So where are you at that there's no gaming scene? States?

[PostHuman]

Thanks Arachas, I've narrowed it down to those 6 options as I like all the models/fluff in some way or the other.

[Scorch]

Thanks Arachas, I've narrowed it down to those 6 options as I like all the models/fluff in some way or the other.

In that case, be patient and get them all. That's how I roll

[PostHuman]

Haha. Unlikely Scorch. I could just get all the factions, but I'd rather spread out and have a pair of factions for a couple different games. Variety and all.

I think at this point I can narrow it further down to the following.
-Aleph and CA
-Tohaa and CA

But heavily leaning towards the Tohaa/CA.

[Arachas]

Not the easiest faction to start with, I suppose. Have you considered PanO?

[PostHuman]

Not the easiest faction to start with, I suppose. Have you considered PanO?

Which isn't the easiest to start with? I did consider PanO, but they seem popular, so if I'm able to convince people to play they seem like a likely first candidate for many people.

[Scorch]

Not the easiest faction to start with, I suppose. Have you considered PanO?

Na, Tohaa are alright. They just have lots of characterful rules. :p they don't play like any other faction, though. So keep that in mind.

[PostHuman]

In that case, be patient and get them all. That's how I roll

LOL Well that does make for an interesting question.
Assuming YAMs or just straight up action fights, is there anything "wrong" with just making some 150, 200pt, or even 300pt lists for each faction and just playing those?

Basically make up some fun and balanced lists so if I need to demo or just have a pick up game then we just grab a list and go.
Obviously LTs could get predictable, but sticking to things like shell games of three LI, one being the LT, could help.

[Arachas]

In theory, each faction each balanced against any other. Also, in theory, you can bring any models you like and if you're good enough, you can still win. All this is true for Infinity.

And yet, I think some factions are easier to learn than others. Infinity is a tactical shooting game. Hence I'd focus on a faction that emphasizes those traits, first. PanO is the obvious choice. Tohaa play different from "normal" Infinity and as such I would not recommend them.

I started with Nomads/Corregidor and was frustrated soon after. Then I picked up PanO NeoTerra, which was a breath of fresh air: much more straightforward to play, which is great if you still need to grasp basic rules concepts (which I do, even after quite some games).

Getting some successes under my belt with NeoTerra subsequently helped with me playing Corregidor.

And no there's nothing "wrong" with making lists like you proposed. YAMS can be played with pretty straightforward lists, so have a go at that!