Military Orders are the armed branch of the Church, an army of the old days, equipped with the best technology. Created by the NeoVatican to support the Panoceanic army. They have devoted professional soldiers and some religious knights who are the spearhead of this unstoppable force.
Holstered in their high-tech armor, covered in robes, and with the emblem of the cross constantly visible - the knights of the Military Orders have always been one of the great icons of both PanOceania and the Infinity Universe. These religious knights, as Joan of Arc would refer to them, had a visual potential that could not be wasted and that deserved its own Sectorial Army. This army, given the particular character of its troops and its own background, would be understood eminently as an assault force rather than as a multipurpose force with a very characteristic and determined style of play, differing from the usual style of PanOceania.
The arrival of N4 gave us the opportunity to review the composition and the miniatures of this army. An opportunity that was twofold, since N4 is not only a change in rules but also in the background - with a three-year flash forward into the Infinity timeline. We could use this chance to reflect on how various events in the Infinity Universe had left their mark on the Military Orders.
We established a series of big changes that affected various profiles and that allowed us to renew some existing miniatures. At the same time, it allowed us to add new miniatures and profiles. The level of change was high enough to think about a brand-new Military Order Action Pack, complementary to the 300-point Military Order Pack we already had in our catalog.
Unfortunately, the releasing dates of N4 and this Action Pack did not match, with six months difference between the two. This situation would cause the release of the box to lose power, being only a new product but not a new edition. Similarly, Fireteams' profile and composition review of Military Orders would be lost amid the maelstrom that is a new edition with the complete review of all Sectorials.
For this reason, we organized the revision of Military Orders in two parts. The first phase would be with the onset of N4, with a basic revision, adapting the list to the existing to N4 format, with both profiles and Fireteams. While the second phase would involve a deeper review, adding new profiles and larger modifications to existing units, as well as the disappearance of certain old profiles.
Following this structure, in the first phase, the infiltration entries for the Order Sergeants were removed and a new profile was added - the Trinitarian Tertiaries - who would become the infiltrators and invisible snipers of the Military Orders. The Knights of Justice, who had already been introduced with operation Kaldstrom's Battle Pack, would also appear, but now with their full profile as an evolution of the Father-Knights, who they replaced. Note that the appearance of the Knights of Justice does not invalidate the miniatures of the former Father-Knights, which can be used as proxies more these models - use more than justified not only by our own rule for proxies but even by their background. Similarly, the Infirmarers of San Lázaro, also presented in Kaldstrom, became a wildcard troop in this Sectorial.
It is clear that Military Orders was one of the armies most benefited by the new edition of the game as the cost of Heavy Infantry was reduced - a type of troop very common in this Sectorial army and a type of troop that forms both its core and its spearhead. The lowering of their cost, in addition to the modifications in its Fireteams types, allowed in the N4 release to create Knights Fireteams more easily than in the previous edition.
One who definitely benefited from these was the Motorized Knight of Montesa who joined the heavy infantry upgrades in which they received the Motorcycles in N4, resulting in a more flexible and cheaper profile.
The change in the TAGs of Military Orders was also remarkable. TAGs benefited greatly from the modifications that were made to these heavy Armored troops. Changes to TAGs tested with the ITS, such as the Extra Order or additional point of Damage, together with an improved Dodge value and a better performance with the new GizmoKits allows them to be repaired remotely. Cost and SWC reduction made it easier to take these combat machines, as well as a version of Seraph himself, which is now fearsome in closed combat, with greater strength, albeit in exchange for sacrificing your Auxbot.
But we saved the most substantial changes for the launch of the Action Pack, which can be considered the true reboot of this Sectorial Army.
In the early editions of Infinity, the Military Orders had the Fusiliers as a base troop, with the Order Sergeants as specialized light infantry. This choice was a catalog economy solution. However, it generated a style of play that moved away from the desired outcome for this Thematic Sectorial Army. It didn’t make any sense that in their specific army, the Military Orders reinforced their ranks with the base troop of the generic PanOceanían army, who depend on panoceanic High Command and not on the whims of the NeoVatican. It also did not make sense that the lieutenant of this force was a Fusilier, which would force a player to hide their lieutenant. For this reason, the Fusiliers were removed from this army list, making the Order Sergeants the basic troop of reference, with no Lieutenant option, as it wouldn’t make sense for these troops to give orders to others already defined as officers of greater ecclesiastical hierarchy in their background. This thematic army was supposed to look for iconic leaders who lead from the front. However, this functional and fun option generated problems in the competitive realm, accustomed to more pragmatic styles of play. This requirement was paled with the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, who thanks to their HoloMask could become that lieutenant hidden among the others - but they were an expensive option and difficult to fit into some Army Lists.
Therefore, in this reboot we chose to go back to the scheme of the first iterations of this army, fulfilling the desire of the community for a base troop, where the Lieutenant could hide in plain sight sifted by the filter of the Military Order so that it was not compromised in spirit or in background. Thus, they are now the Coadjutor Crosiers, a new base troop created by the NeoVaticano, cheaper than the Order Sergeants but functioning in a similar fashion - becoming once again specialized light infantry. As with the Father-Knights, players will be able to use their former Basic Order Sergeants as proxies of these new Crosiers.
However, as a line trooper, the Crosiers don’t have a Lieutenant option, as was the case with the Order Sergeants - a very basic troop that would not fit in the background leading the mighty panocean knights. So, to cover this profile of Lieutenant in the shadow with charisma and an aspect and presence to fit in and lead the other knights, we created the Knight Commander profile. These are hardened officers, equipped with a Holomask that allows them to imitate the appearance of other allied troops so that they can hide in plain sight with a lower cost in points than that Knight of the Holy Sepulchre, and thus satisfying that need for the most competitive players. In addition, to facilitate the creation of army lists with a greater presence of Heavy Infantry, we added an option of Lieutenant with +1 Special Order for the Lieutenant, which will be able to take advantage of those troops that have the Special NCO Skill.
It is precisely around Knights that some of the most relevant changes occur. In the case of the Knight of the Holy Sepulchre, a troop whose profile has been dramatically revised includes a change of Silhouette that has allowed us to make a truly spectacular miniature. The new silhouette value made the HoloMask not so useful, as the number of allied troops to imitate was very small, so we removed it. This allowed us to focus the profile towards an attack troop with more strength both in distance and close combat - becoming one of the spearheads of this army.
The other great feature is the revision of the profile of the Teutonic Knights, which merge with the ones that replace the Master Knights, to become the main assault Fireteam in the Sectorial Army. Although there is a box of Teutonic Knights scheduled to come out, players will still be able to use their former Master Knights as proxies as the new Teutones as it is justified by their updated background after the fall of their monastery-fortress. This gives the Teutons that assault trooper role that players always asked for, without generating redundancy and without missing the role of the former Magisterial in their Army Lists.
Within these new features of this reboot, some troops gained profile options. The Knights of Justice complete their profile with an entry with forwarding Deployment that allows them to become an advanced offensive element. Black Friars receive two new weapon options to join Fireteams, and the Machinist can now join the Fireteam of the new base troop - the Crosiers.
Of course, the other great novelty is the appearance of Padre-Inquisidor Mendoza, a character in Aristeia! who joins Infinity - although the one we deploy to the gaming table may not be the same person who jumps into the HexaDome. However, despite the questions that his identity raises, what is certain is the power of this character's profile that will surely become the favorite of many and a nightmare to most.
The set of changes of the Military Orders reboot is designed to emphasize that assault force side that has always been asked for and that allows to vary the usual panoceanic style of play with greater flexibility. These changes set up a Sectorial Army more suitable for competitive play without losing the essence of overwhelming strength that the most casual players appreciate. The NeoVatican gathers the wisdom of the Church and reinvents himself to adapt to the new times, with an army capable of defeating any adversary of God or PanOceania, for that is the will of the Lord, of whom these knights are the true instrument!
