Infinity/N4 Tactics/Combined Army

An overview for faction units and tactics in N4. WIP

Why Play Combined Army?

Text Blurb.

Faction Features

• Features 1:
• Features 2:
• Features 3:

Special Skills

• Skills 1:
• Skills 2:
• Skills 3:

Weapons and Equipment

• Equipment 1:
• Equipment 2:
• Equipment 3:

Units Overview

• Overview 1:
• Overview 2:
• Overview 3:

Remember to keep Unit blurbs short and succinct. This is 'what they do and why they're good' not 'here's how you use them'.

Light Infantry

• Agent Dukash, Vashar Special Corps: Hey guys look, it's Definitely Not Hellboy©! In many ways, Dukash fills the role of being a budget version of Sheskiin. He is 12 points less than her Multi Rifle option, but there are some things he has going for him. He is a Specialist, has both Stealth AND Mim-3, and while not having Protheion or D-Charges means he can't engage the same targets in CC as Sheskiin, he Dodges on 16s with ARM2/BTS3 Bioimmunity so he is a bit beefier. He is overshadowed only because Sheskiin is really good, not because he is bad. Other pluses- Has a Viral pistol, also has BS Attack (+2 Damage).

• Bit& KISS!: The Combined Army Xzibit but with Repeaters. Deployable repeater, Minelayer, Pitcher, and a Peripheral that either IS a repeater, or has a +1B Pitcher and Deployables as well. Otherwise a fairly standard Hacker with a fairly nonstandard adhesive launching Peripheral. Either gets no HD, only Oblivion and Trinity, or a full KHD plus Oblivion, but then Kiss! loses repeater. Turns out Impersonating Repeaters were a Code Violation.

• Cadmus-Naish Agent Sheskiin: Sheskiin is the resident Powerhouse Character of the Shasvastii. Literally Achilles as a Light Infantry, Sheskiin does it all with style. She's BS 15(!!!) with a Damage 15 Red Fury (or Multi Rifle) and Pulzar, and also an absolute melee monster with CC24, MA4, and PROTHEION on top of that. Get her to 4 Wounds and slap some TAGs with D Charges. She's a Wildcard, but her MOV 6-4 means she either has to slow down or break away, either way she's got a Nanoscreen so she's safe and happy. Also, Sheskiin DOES NOT HAVE STEALTH- KNOW MY NAME, DIRTY HUMAN!!

• Fraacta Drop Unit: 2 Wound Combat Jump/Parachutists. Unlike normal Tohaa Symbiont armor, she doubles her ARM and BTS from (1/3 to 2/6) when she takes a wound.

• Jayth Cutthroats, Shasvastii Independent Assault Corps: Often maligned, the Jayth Cutthroats can be strong against certain lists, but they are usually extremely clunky, and often trade down. They have a janky grab bag of skills driving up their points costs, which wasn't helped by losing their previous Frenzy discount. Natural Born Warrior and Martial Arts 3 means they pack a punch with their DA CC weapon, but at ARM0 and 1 Wound (But with a Chunky BTS 6 for some reason), they have no business being near enemies' template weapons. A Suppressive, Mim-6, MSV1 SMG can be very difficult to deal with. E/M Grenades (And one with E/M Mines!) can give your opponent's TAGs, HI, and REMs pause. The Red Fury is likely a bit overcosted, as is the Specialist Operative. Hilariously, the Sync Taigha does carry Shock Mines. They can do serious work, just keep the fragility in mind. Also consider them in exclusion zone missions, where other units lose out on some of the value of their Forward Deployment options.
  • Sargosh, Tunnel-crumbler of the Jayth Cutthroats: Slow down, it's THE CLAW!! Sargosh is in a weird spot, but since he's basically a Jayth with extra bells and whistles, this isn't surprising. He gets ARM1 and Shock Immunity, but that doesn't solve the weakness to template weapons. Still, a Mim-6 Multi Rifle with a MSV can be frustrating to take out. The other big change is losing E/M Grenades, but he picks up D Charges instead.

• Kurgat Reg. of Assault Engineers: Surprisingly 'eh' but they hit hard. They're useful, BS12 engineers. Two profiles pack AP (armor-piercing, NOT antipersonnel) mines for demolishing armor. The third has the Portable Autocannon. They're a bit hamstrung by the lack of link options. If you need an engineer, they're more aggressive than Dr. Worm, but not necessarily better.

• Med-Tech Obsidon Medchanoid: AKA 'Doctor Worm', but don't let the name fool you: they're also your second engineer option. They're your only doctor model, and their price point makes them a pretty efficient specialist through a peripheral. Honestly a good choice if you want a dedicated engineer and doctor that has no reason to expose themselves. They won't be breaking any faces in, but they will be fixing them.

• Morat Vanguard Infantry: Basic AF. Incredibly expensive for what you get, but they still generate orders when in Loss of Lieutenant. Strongly consider dodging in ARO, as you're rarely going to do worse than shooting. Their weapon options are fine - the K1 Sniper is Damage 13. The paramedic makes the check on their patient's PH-0 in the best PH-having army in the game (thanks N4!), the missile launcher is a missile launcher.
  • Treitak Anyat: The Vanguard named-character SpecOps dire foe. Specialist operative, climbing plus, shock immunity. The K1 Combi Rifle is a bane of everything armored, E/M grenades terrify HI and TAGs, chain colt keeps skirmishers at bay, and the smoke grenades let you move you up-field to threaten with all three weapons.

• Nexus Operatives:
  • Nexus-7 Operative Kerr-Nau:

• Shasvastii Cadmus: Seed Embryo lets the Cadmus Combat jump in at S0 which can make for interesting plays, based on the terrain setup. Also deploys with a Decoy that can trigger mines on arrival. Morpho-scan lets you copy one of your opponent's stats so you can build your own Sheskiin, so long as the opponent fails the WIP-9 Reset. Every loadout is serviceable here- Can take a KHD for Trinity and Marker State, or a Red fury if you want a bigger gun.

• Shasvastii Haiduks: A Sapper with MSV2 and effective carrying an AP+Shock Marksman Rifle. Vulnerable while outside of Foxhole state but can hold down lanes with -9 to be hit when stacking Foxhole and Suppressive.

• Shasvastii Noctifers: Mr Clean's Magic Core Team Eraser©. The notorious surprise Missile Launcher himself, The Noctifer. This guy has quite the reputation, and for good reason. Hidden Deployment, Mim-6 and DOGGED mean that with proper setup and timing, your opponent might get caught completely pantsless having to deal with multiple AROs. The Spitfire option is also a consideration if you're looking for 8-24" coverage, or for active turn coverage, or you can take him as a surprise Hacker. Finally he has a Lt option if you want to start the game in LoL-But is worth a serious consideration for Decapitation if deployed in camo-state. Don't forget that the Missile launcher also gets an Assault pistol.

• Shasvastii Nox Troops: The Shasvastii basic Line Troops. They have fairly basic stats but also Immunity(Shock) and Stealth. Notably most profiles carry a Zapper.

• Shasvastii Sabotage and Destruction Unit Caliban: Absolute Unit. A heavy lifter with 4 good profiles. FD+8" and Camo on a CC23 MA3 Melee Monster with D-Charges and PROTHEION. All 3 Specialist options (Chain of Command, Engineer, Forward Observer) are great, and the MSV1 Spitfire, though a tad expensive, still shreds. Usually a good idea to have at least one. Never underestimate this man's ability to Rambo.

• Shasvastii Seed-Soldiers:The OTHER, less basic Line Troops of Shasvastii. They Forward Deploy with Camo, but start the game as S0 Seed-Embryos that only have Chest Mines. They can turn into a model as soon as they start an Order with a Movement Skill, or if they ARO Dodge successfully. Once They've grown their legs, they lose their Mim-3 and Chest mines, but gain access to their guns. The FO and Paramedic make for great, cheap specialists that also happen to have Panzerfausts. They can also take a Grenade Launcher, and only cost 2 points more than the Nox version if you want more options for vantage points.

• Shasvastii Tactical Monitoring Company Mentor: Solid and safe potential Lt. option featuring Camo, Decoy, Mim-3, WIP14 and Counterintelligence. Typically seen with the Boarding Shotgun- It'll protect him better if he somehow gets attacked, since he should be sitting in a well-nested spot anyway.

• Umbra Legates:

• Umbra Samaritans:
  • Umbra Samaritan Nourikias, Kai'l Rank:

• Victor Messer, Autonomous Agent of Chaos: No amount of protection will save your Backd00r from this guy. Don't worry, he's packing a Nanoscreen. Victor is a solid choice choice for a Hacker, but vanilla has some even stronger (though expensive) options for that purpose. Your choice between the cheaper BSG loadout, or a Multi Rifle with +1B Nanopulser. Both options have access to Cybermines, and he's ready to give the D (Charges) to anyone immobilized by them. Same goes to anyone who has the audacity to enter Silhouette contact. The CC14 doesn't matter; it's how you use it.

• Ímetron: These things are 4pts regular orders! They're basically just order generating S1 units that can't do shit (but got the Veteran Trait). They deploy by combat jump.

Mercenaries

• Aida Swanson, Submondo Smuggler: As a smuggler Booty is an obvious flavor thing, but still very nice from time to time. Forward deployment, MA L2 and Viral Mines, aswell as her SMG make her role of defending/taking the midfield obvious- she's not the cheapest choice for this role, but a competent one, especially if going first.

• Cube Jäger: Irregular parachutists, both profiles bring Paramedic, which seems to be their whole schtick. With WIP 13 they can do the button pressing quite well though and having a SMG and an e/mitter can be very useful to scare away the opponents units after a button is pushed.

• Krakot Renegades, Morat Fugitives: It’s weird that Krakot is typed as LI, as they are a straight up Warband unit. His purpose is to get up into the opponents face, kill as much as it can and die heroically, in a true Morat fashion. Worth considering for an Alpha Strike, if you can get one.

• Libertos Freedom Fighters: Are the highly popular irregular roadbump unit, coming with either a SMG or a light shotgun plus shock mines. They also get Camouflage and Forward Deployment (8"), dodge on a 16 and have Dogged!

• Oktavia Grimsdóttir, Icebreake's Harpooner: A mercenary character with BS (+1B), Sixth Sense and Dogged. Whith a Missile Launcher and a Contender her role is as an ARO piece, but since she's expensive and barely filling any holes anywhere the main reason to bring her is the cool sculpts she got.

Medium Infantry

• Kornak Gazarot: Decent melee fighter, BS14 MK12. Much more valuable in MAF since he isn't a Strategos Lt option in Vanilla.

• Maakrep Trackers Unit:

• Raktorak, Morat Sergeant Major: Morat specialist that packs a Vulkan shotgun on an NCO profile, but otherwise a Combi Rifle or Red Fury. Expensive for what you get and honestly not a real option in vanilla CA.

• Rasyat Diplomatic Division: Decent melee options, okay weapons, eclipse grenades. They have enough board presence and pressure to be a real threat. Did I mention they can walk in from the enemy's deployment zone in N4? Overall an expensive but useful option - play a few games with them just to remind your meta that they exist, then watch with amusement as players start treating you like you always have one. Not actually auto-take though.

• Rodok, Morat Armed Imposition Detachment: A classic staple in Morats, they have a decent statline, great mobility, and 4-4 movement owing to the N4 Medium Infantry buff. Slightly more vulnerable at Arm 2 and still a little bit fragile, they nonetheless get good use out of their mobility and visibility modifiers. No longer as 'must-take' in N4, but pretty strong.

• Shasvastii Corax Hasht: He's wielding a BS13 Spitfire, and Nanoscreen. Functionally 1.5 Wounds thanks to NWI. Stealth, Shock Immune, and Specialist Operative, are neat but otherwise not a lot of excitement here. Check out the unofficial resculpt Spec Ops in the Nox Trooper Box if you don't want to use the Dire Foes version.

• Skiávoros:

• Specialist Operative Ko Dali:

• Yaogat Strike Infantry: They have some interesting profiles but might be a little bit lackluster in terms of profile. The most interesting part about them is the Multisniper, or the fact that their 'budget' options all pack panzerfausts. If you need to kill mimetism troops or lean on smoke+MSV2, they hit hard. If you don't plan to do either, skip them entirely. Keep in mind that you can discover markers through Smoke without providing LOF for an ARO (or even provoking at all, if you're out of LOF).

Mercenaries

• Armand 'Le Muet,' Freelance Killer: Dude is a relentlessly aggressive trooper that beats down any enemy at any range and even has an extra wound to do. While poor old Armand cannot remember which side he's truly on; he still is an irritating ARO piece because of his -6 Mimetism. He also comes with the option of either a shock minelayer to protect himself, or a MSV1. But that aside, if you're not planning on having a core-linkes sniper for that sweet +3BS Armand is great for an aggressive area-denying troop who does well in both active turn and ARO.

Heavy Infantry

• Boarding Action Cadmus-Naish Agent Sheskiin: Everything you loved about Sheskiin, but now without the Nanoscreen, or the budget Multi Rifle option, all for an additional +9 pts and +0.5 SWC over the LI Version. She does pick up Terrain Total, for what it's worth, and she has the ability to be tankier if she sticks to cover with her improved ARM4/BTS6. More expensive and vulnerable to Hacking.

• Sogarat Tempest Regiment: Iconic S5 Heavy Weapons platform. 2W+NWI. They received a pretty big facelift from N3, having lost Bioimmunity (but gained BTS6). They lost Automedkit (aka Regeneration in N4) but gained +1 Damage on BS and CC attacks. NCO and Lieutenant options are both great, don't forget that Pulzars have huge templates. +1B Feuerbach will explode just about anything if it connects in active turn (and most things in reactive), and the AP HMG shreds armor like no tomorrow.

• Suryats: AP-immune Armor 4. They're somewhat standard heavy infantry, with some decent weapon profiles. There isn't a lot to say here. Notably resilient, only BS13, a decent price range. Consider the MSV1 for some overwatch or cheeky through-smoke shots.

• The Anathematics:

• The Charontids:

Tactical Armor Gear

• The Avatar:

• Overdron Batroids:

• Raicho Armored Brigade: Your choice of heavy rocket launcher, heavy shotgun + mine dispenser, or heavy flamethrower+NCO. There's a lot to pick apart here. Do note that your NCO is a full two SWC over the other two options, and that you have no Lieutenant option here. Immunity to crits, cannot be isolated, ECM versus Hacker and Guided. ARM 8, pretty beefy, and dangerous, everything a Morat loves.
  • Raicho Pilot: As an extra consideration, your Raicho pilot has a B5 assault pistol and is a specialist operative. This isn't amazing value, but do remember if you need to pop him out and press a button.

• Shasvastii Special Armoured Corp SPHINX: Everyone's favorite giant invisible robot (yeah that's right, suck it up Cutter!). With the Hidden Deployment, Mim-6 and Camouflage, when the Sphinx shows up, he becomes a huge threat. That coupled with a blisteringly fast MOV 6-6 with Terrain Total and Climbing Plus means that if there exists any weakness in your opponent's deployment, the Sphinx CAN get there, and he WILL exploit it with either Spitfire or +1B Heavy Flamethrower. A relatively low ARM/BTS 6 means the Sphinx can be fragile for his cost, so look out for MSV and Hackers. The real weakness of the Sphinx, however, is tunnel vision. Save your orders to retreat and re-camo.
  • Scindron Ancillary Remote Unit: Special mention here for the Pilot(Remote) ability. He may not be a great Specialist at WIP 11, but with a small S1, he can still dismount and hide behind the giant S6 Soda Can profile of the sphinx to push buttons.

• Xeodron Batroids:

Remotes

• Dropsuit Taryot:

• Ikadron Batroids: 9pts for MOV 6-2, Baggage, Repeaters with +1B Flamethrowers and Flash Pulse. These guys are just super points efficient.

• Unidron Batroids:

• Alphabet Soup Remotes: There's not a lot to be said about the standard CA options:
  • E-Drone: E stands for EVO-HD.
  • M-Drone: Triangulated Fire/Sensor bot.
  • Q-Drone: The Combined army Total Reaction bot. Mim-3 makes them a bit stronger than most other faction's TR bots.
  • R-Drone: Is the Flashpulse remote.
  • T-Drone: Standard Guided Missile Drone

Warband

• Daturazi Witch-Soldiers: An excellent choice for warband. High damage, throws smoke, comes with mimetism, and is even regular! Their value cannot be overstated. Don't get carried away with them though.

• Hungries: Your basic 'cheap warband CC specialist'. Climbing Plus means they are barely hindered by walls. Forever overshadowed by Taighas, they're nonetheless important as warband screen. You won't be capping them out, given how you're limited to 15 orders in ITS12, but they're still worth consideration.
  • Ghakis: They run, (maybe) bite things, and explode. Cheap filler to swamp the board with angry, exploding impetuous troops. At 4pts a pop, use them to counteract midfield pushes, mines, possibly camouflage, and hope they trade up. Don't forget Berserk for guaranteed trades.
  • Pretas: The chain rifle option. At 7pts, they fill the traditional 'cheap chain rifle glued to a melee specialist'. They trade the Ghaki's berserk and explode skills for Dogged, proving tenacious jerks capable of trading with line infantry and skirmishers. They don't feel great in N4 when compared to other warbands, but they're still okay.

• Kendrat, Krakot Renegade: Named character krakot. Weirdly labeled as 'warband' when krakots aren't. Hits much harder, is a bit more tenacious. She plays even more aggressive than Krakots and loves breaking into CC. She might be useful as a monkey missile you send racing up the board to explode a target.

• Taigha Creatures: Extremely cheap and efficient Warband. A Bastardized hybrid of the best parts of both Gakis and Pretas with extra abilities on top. Fast (Mov 6-6!) and Impetuous, they Dodge 4", always on 16s thanks to Sixth Sense. They also have a Chain Colt for some reason (Don't ask about the lack of apparent projectile weapons on the model). Did I mention they have Berserk? and CC 21? Optional DA CC Weapon? Only 5-6 pts??. Very uniquely also S1, so they can hide behind a lot of short cover and windows. These guys are great at Deployment Zone Babysitting, Grabbing space in the Midfield, Turning off enemy mines with their face, and Trading way up in value with thanks to Berserk.

• Oznat: Either smoke grenades or a smoke launcher. Combi-rifle for a budget option or need to maximize the distance you can lob smoke. Sensor got more rare in N4, and having a smoke-throwing shotgun+chain rifle means you can force unfavorable trades and remove Hidden Deployment troops from objectives. Oznats have teeth.

Skirmishers

• Greif Operators: These MSV1 wielding guys have Impersonation on one of their profiles- and Forward Deployment (8") MIM (-3) on the other two. Pretty useful to take out specific targets with Mimetism.

• The Shrouded: Really point-efficient loadouts on a Mim-3 Camo Infiltrator. Two Minelayer options: The first gets you 2 Camo markers in the midfield for ultra cheap, while the other has a BSG and a Dazer, which both impedes your opponent's movement, and speeds up himself up with his Terrain Total. Has HD/KHD and FO options for some great specialist choices.

• Malignos: In many ways, a Luxury version of the Shrouded. You pay between 6-12 points more for Hidden Deployment, WIP14, Mim-6 and ARM1/BTS3 on mostly identical loadouts. No Minelayer option, but can take Monofilament Mines. The KHD has both Shock Mines AND a Dazer so you get to choose your own adventure when it comes to board control.

• Speculo Killer: Impersonator with a Mono CC Weapon and Smoke Grenades, but since that apparently isn't enough, she gets a Minelayer option as well. Very easily capable of starting outside your opponents deployment zone and Rambo-ing multiple enemies before re-Impersonating. She is a problem that your opponent absolutely cannot ignore so make sure she's frustrating to deal with.
  • Ironic that the lore and gameplay diverge so much here. Speculos are supposed to be so good at blending in, that they are able to get away with posing as members of the enemy team, but in practice, when you put down an Imp-1 Marker AND a Camo Marker it becomes painfully obvious what is actually on the board. Don't let that dissuade you, she still has to be Discovered twice before they can do anything

• Zerat Special Missions Regiment: Zerats received an upgrade in N4. They're Mim-6 troopers for sub-30pts, with infiltration and a few decent specialist profiles. Alongside mines, d-charges, and templates, they're a decent multi-role skirmisher, but lack the staying power that camouflage would provide. They're good for Turn 1 button pushers, board control, assassination runs, and just forcing unfavorable fights at -9. They get their best value when going first by pressing buttons, going into suppressive fire, and/or picking off an overextended chump. Honestly hit or miss, and you should expect them to die in turns 1 or 2. If you do take them, know what you want to use them for.

Building Your Army

One to two short paragraphs on list building.

Tactics

• Shoot Enemy, Don't Die:
• Don't Die:
• Play the Objective: