Only a few hours remain until the end of Infinity Defiance’s Kickstarter. Without a doubt, it has been an exciting adventure full of surprises, as will be your story aboard the Defiance.
We’ve been talking about the synergy between Infinity and Defiance during the entire campaign, giving our miniatures a second life in the dungeon crawler. As a player of Infinity, I absolutely love this concept.
I don’t want to spend too much time talking about this though, but rather I would like to analyze what Infinity Defiance brings me as a player or a future player of Infinity.
It’s cool that I can go from the wargame to the dungeon crawler, but can I do it the other way around? Certainly, the miniatures are fully compatible with Infinity, but will I have enough miniatures to start playing Infinity with a playable list?
If you’ve wondered about that, let me assure you that it is totally possible. Infinity Defiance is not only a great way to enter Infinity, but also to complement your army thanks to the Reinforcement Packs.
Let’s focus on entering Infinity first. Just with the Shasvastii from Infinity Defiance, we’ll be able to make lists upon lists of the sneakiest army in the Human Sphere.
Here’s a couple for you.
OPTION 1 - SHESKIIN DEATH LINK
If you look closely, the list has 233 points and lacks a Lieutenant. In reality, It actually has 300 points and our Lieutenant will be the new Heavily Armored Sheskiin. To assemble a Fireteam with her, we will use Victor Messer, and 3 Nox.
Messer will provide Sheskiin with protection, since being HI may result in her being more vulnerable to enemy Hackers. The Nox bring a second specialist to the Combat Group, thanks to their Paramedic option that can also recover Unconscious troops. The Nox HMG option, added to get some firepower at mid-long range and advance and fight with relative ease until Sheskiin is in optimal range. Coupled with Sheskiin and Messer, the third Nox will complete the 5 member Fireteam, thus obtaining all possible bonuses.
Aside from being specialists, the two caliban may cover our backs in case of Loss of Lieutenant, thanks to Chain of Command, were Sheskiin to fall.
A Seed-Soldier Forward Observer is also a specialist and may be used to target and help you shoot straight.
A Speculo Killer is a key to eliminating enemy elements with almost surgical precision, making use of her impersonation skills. Elements like that enemy shooter that’s been blocking our Fireteam’s advance, or a threatening TAG. As you can see, this list lacks a powerful shooter, but why would you need one? Just vaporize the enemy and carry on!
Remember, the Shasvastii do not face their enemies head on - they like to strike when their enemies least expect it.
To complete this list, I’d add a Jayth Cutthroat and 3 Taiga. Troops that’ll be used as harassers, going in, obstructing, and wreaking havoc at a short distance.
OPTION 2 - HIT AND RUN
The idea behind this list is hitting first without being seen.
Almost all troops in this list “aren’t” (wink, wink) present as a miniature on the table. Either because they’re under a Camouflage or Impersonation marker, or because they enter later with Airborne Deployment.
Taking advantage of the Airborne Deployment of Seed-Soldiers and the two Speculo Killers (one of them being a Sapper), we’ll attempt to hinder enemy deployment, and a poor deployment can spell a resounding defeat.
With our Speculo Killers, we’ll hit them where it hurts - obviously. Taking down shooters or key troops for the enemy’s strategy.
Our spearheads will be the the Jayth Cutthroat and the Gwailo.
The Jayth Cutthroat with a Red Fury will make the best out of his ODD when facing enemy shots until he can get close and personal, ripping them to shreds.
Another heavyweight is the Gwailo with a Heavy Machine Gun, that’ll also be our Lieutenant - so we’ll benefit from his Special Lieutenant Order. Thanks to his Albedo, he’s “not visible” for troops with Multispectral Visors, turning him into an apex predator of this kind of enemy.
The third Ace in our hand will be the Cadmus - death from the skies! With his Morpho-scan, we can copy the Attributes of the most powerful enemy troops and empower our soldier, or we can just jump behind the enemy and mow them down with our shotgun.
We’ll include two Calibans that’ll add specialist value to the list in case of Loss of Lieutenant, should our Gwailo be taken down.
To complete the list, we spice things up with 4 Taighas for that extra bit of chaos and mayhem in the enemy lines.
I could present many lists, but I don’t want to forget to talk about Reinforcement Packs.
Reinforcement Packs allow us to substitute enemy Markers for miniatures in Infinity Defiance or its expansions.
As an Infinity player, these Reinforcement Packs are a unique chance to increase our army for an amazing price as one does not live by Shasvastii alone.
For example, if we’ve started to play with Operation: Coldfront, the ALEPH Reinforcement Pack is a perfect way to increase and diversify our miniature options for matches and making our army lists more versatile. The Rebots alone cost 30.95€, yet the 8 miniature pack costs 45€! A true bargain! No further comments, your honor.
Same goes for Ariadna, ALEPH’s rival in Operation: Coldfront. Besides boosting our Ariadnan army numbers, this Reinforcement Pack is a chance to get a third Dog-Warrior to complete the Availability of the Tartary Army Corps sectorial.
I won’t talk about every Reinforcement Pack, or this article would never end, so I’ll begin its closure by highlighting the JSA one - for not only do I love it, but it’s also visually perfect. It’s the ideal amplification for the JSA Sectorial Army Pack.
It’s also a great opportunity to get the spectacular Ninja with a Tactical Bow, the second Oniwaban, and the hero Yuriko Oda outside Dire Foes.
I won’t close the article without first talking about the Outcast expansion as a complement to our forces from O-12.
Though in Infinity Defiance they’re our enemies, they’re reinforcements for Operation: Wildfire. With this expansion we’ll have every Delta weaponry option available while strengthening our surprise attacks with the Lynx, and obtaining a second Gamma with other weapon options. Additionally, Katherine Cho, one of the heroes of Outcast, belongs to O-12 as well - and will grant us the option of Chain of Command or Lieutenant in our army list.
Not only will Infinity players embarking on a new adventure with Defiance have the chance to use their miniatures as fierce enemies, but it’s also a unique second chance to complete or reinforce our Infinity armies, whether you’re a veteran or a new player.
