I think an update on where I am at in trying to prepare for the NOVA ITS Tournament (Hunger games and the Team Tournament too!) Myself and another player in my local gaming group (The Dread Gamer Todd, if your on the infinity forum you know what I am talking about) have been playing with some of the theorized lists that would seem to be rather hard to deal with (First Turn TAG Lieutenant alpha-stirkes and Preta Spam so far.)

I'll explain the Preta Spam first with a little bit of history (from 2 months ago I believe) about how Pretas (of the Combine army) came to lose their biomines and gain just regular mines... well I really have no idea, it just happened.

Now there is a 5 point model that is impetuous and has mines running around. We theorized a list that ran 8-10 of the could be a real pain to deal in regards to the ITS (any of the token scenarios and front-line especially.)

We both made lists (I used a list for supply run that I have been working on getting comfortable with to play at NOVA and Todd made a Preta Spam list.) We played two games (ah yes super small sample size) with the same lists both knowing exactly what the other had from the get to. First game the Preta list got first turn, then it basically flooded the board with mines using coordinated orders to limit the ARO exposure and take 2 of the 3 supply boxes. I was a complete loss as how to get through the 2 dozen or so mines that made it onto the board IN ONE TURN (mine sweeper/Engineers). I lost that game before I even got to go. Keep in mind there was still 260 points worth of army still pointing HMGs, etc at me. Now we just flip-flopped who went first in the same scenario. Basically, a Spitfire equipped Prowler mowed down the Pretas and all of the Major ARO threats. I grabbed all 3 boxes and got ready to weather the counter attack that never came. During the course of the Prowlers shooting spree I had taken out Todd's Lieutenant buying me time to secure the boxes in hard to reach areas going for the win. This game was a result of the terrain density and the quanitity of models to get into cover not working out.

Our conclusion is that 1st turn is super important and that leads into the next thing we started messing around with: 1st Turn Lieutenant Tag Alpha-Strike. We took turns (I choose the Avatar; Todd the Marut.) In both cases we "assumed" that the TAG Lieutenant side won initiative. Not a far stretch for the Avatar with WIP 17 and the Marut's WIP of 15. Todd played an army he was looking to use for the NOVA ITS and I went after him with the Avatar. I could only get one supply box, but managed during the process to take out his Lieutenant, 2 Kaplans, a HMG total reaction remote and put two wounds on Scarface. So he was hurting on his first turn right from the get go and we called it to switch. He did managed to ARO hack the Avatar and immobilize it during my last order.

Now with Todd in control of an Aleph group with a Marut in the lead, I choose a list similar to one I usually play a variation of for most objective type scenarios with the twist of having as many Total Reaction or Neuroscientics models as I could to see if an offensice reactive turn could stop the alpha-strike. First turn saw common use of smoke covered movement and smoke/shooting that left all but one defensive model out of the game. Todd had secured two boxes and the Marut had taken to wounds (from criticals from a TR combi-rifle at 32"..) I then tried to counter but the boards we played on (very similar density from what we've seen posted at other ITS events) did not allow me to move without getting into a TR firelane of some sort and my attempt the hack the Marut failed. After that the Marut was in a position to be repaired and most of Todd's Aleph force was still intact (I think I took out a yudbot and a thorikite) and mine was missing a good chunk of my heavy weapons due to being shot apart as part of my attempt to stop the Marut.

The conclusion we came to was you can not build a defensive list that will be strong enough to stop an alpha-strike reliably and will leave you weak in the offensive capability side of things. My preparation has turned my lists over a little bit, adding more active turn bite, and reducing the amount of reactive turn offensive threats. My thought process is being prepared on your active turn if you go 2nd to take out the 110+ alpha strike model with the use of hacking or concentrated fire to remove the threat. Now if your opponent is playing convservatively enough that they are happy with 1-2 boxes and they secure the alpha-strike model back into Total Cover you are going to have a tough time digging that model out with taking heavy losses.

Token Scenario Break-Down: Part 1

This is the beginning of my thoughts on the ITS 4 scenarios leading up to my first entry into a Infinity and ITS 4 event a the NOVA open.

Supply Run:

 

 

Simply three boxes that need to be picked up by specialists and retained (in possession of a living model) by your side until the end of the game. Players receive 2 OP per box in their possession at the end of the game (Main Objective), Secondary are the standard Kill more points than you opponent for 1 and kill 150 more points that your opponent for 1, and 1 Classified Objective . A good note is that the specialists are only required to extract the boxes, after that any model can hold/transfer by the use of short skill.

Models with Baggage can hold up to 3 boxes, while all other miniatures can hold one.

Supply run is in the middle of the difficulty level for the Token scenarios, if you go second you have opportunity to take or re-take the boxes from your opponent. In saying that once a player has the boxes and can squirrel them into a defensive position you are going to be hard pressed to dig them out. In other words a player can grab the boxes, transfer them to nasty model (HI/TAG/Baggage) and then encircle them. This will force much more direct confrontation on the opponent’s terms.

After playing supply run a few times a trend has started to crop up with the players that get 1^st turn. Being able to protect your specialists with smoke or if terrain is dense it is really difficult to stop someone from grabbing 1-2 boxes and getting them buried in a good position. Getting all 3 is more than possible but you will be a bit more pressed to then bring them all back into Total Cover or a Total Reaction umbrella that can protect them.

 

My suggestion is to really secure 1-2 boxes on your first turn (whether you go 1^st or 2^nd) and then make the other box location really difficult to take/secure with the use of suppression fire zones, mines, and Total Reaction/Neuroscientics. If your opponent has the advantage and you have to drive deep into their side of the board to grab a box it is going to be difficult to take a box back without the use of infiltrators, AD, or fast specialists. Set yours lists up accordingly to be able to strike back and quickly take a box back to your side of the board or protect it with as many high threat reactive models are possible.

 

Seize the Beacon:

 

Goal of this scenario is simple, be in control of the beacons at the end of the game. You get 1 OP for the closet beacon (closest to your deployment zone), 2 OP for the beacon at the centerline and 3 at the far side near your opponent’s deployment zone. Secondary Objective is 1 OP for killing more points than you opponent, and  1 OP for killing 150 more points than your opponents. Finally there is one classified objective that garners 2 OP.

This Scenario is one that can be approached from a few angles. You can bring a list to break stuff and grab the beacons before your opponent runs or turtle and prepare for a turn 3 blitz on the points. You can also end up against some crazy specialized lists (Order Sergeants) that will work for all the token scenarios and be really damn hard to counter, especially if that player gets first turn. The use of late game AD: Airborne Infiltration and Combat Jump will be common, late reveals of Hidden Deployment models, or just pure break stuff Alpha-Strike to reduce the possibility of you even grabbing the points to start with.

With terrain set up so that you can see two or more of the beacon locations having models with TO/Camo/Smoke to make it to the beacons and survive will be important early. Layering of mines, deployables, Total Reaction/Neuroscientics around the beacons can be a decent counter to someone grabbing the points early. Making your opponent fight through a meat grinder to complete the objectives, will hopefully wear down the model count in their army and allow a turn 2 or turn 3 push that will have less opposition.

A few games into this scenario leaves me the most confident about being able to do something about not getting first turn and having enough ways to get back into the game by the end. Having the last turn to hit those beacons even if the model doesn't survive afterwards will get you the objective points.

That is the end of Part 1. Part 2 will be dedicated to the emergency transmission scenario and how to attempt to deal with going 2nd.

 

 

Token Scenarios

Token Scenarios:

Let’s look at first turn mindset for Token scenarios; going first then going second:

To protect your token grabbers/button pushers you have a few options; Shoot/Hack your opponents ARO capable models to remove that threat or Smoke (Zero V.) I always lean on the fool proof break stuff method over the more finesse use of smoke to claim objectives. Multi-Spectral Visors (MSV) can ruin your day unless you have Zero-V smoke to negate them. Not that I would advise against finesse, I try to create lists that has as many tactics in the list toolbox as possible.

Going first in these scenarios is going to give your opponent a glimpse of your deployment so they can react to what you are doing. The use of infiltrators right next to the markers (all of .0000000001” away so you are not in BTB at the start of the game) with decent to high WIP or the use of Hidden Deployment. The other option is shoot/hack/smoke the fire lanes away and then move in with fast/big specialists to grab the boxes with your remaining orders.

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          Going second is not fun in a Token scenario. You must put enough of your models in a place to be able to ARO the Token grabbers which leaves them exposed, but at the same time have enough threats present that the player on the active turn has a tough time solving the puzzle of your reactive turn. Its a hard thing to balance.

If you present this as your reactive turn:

Your opponent’s going to push you out of the way and complete the objectives.

I want this to be my reactive turn:

The goal is generating multiple high-threat (tons-o-dice) AROs. Total Reaction/Neuroscentics are your friend in this case along with MSV (3 is best, but few have it) to be able to check the CAMO threats. Mines in difficult to impossible places to see that still threaten the Objective (which is hard to do as they exist as a 28-30mm tall "thing" until they are discovered then they are the height of a base, but that is a rant for another day), Krazy Koalas if you have them and Forward Deployable Repeaters/Repeaters as well. Just adding layer upon layer of things to deal with is where I see the best results. Forcing your opponent to burn orders to deal with all the deployables and fire lanes reduces the chances of buttons being pushed or boxes being moved away.

Now I have one threat that I really have limited solutions for on the Reactive turn, Alpha-Strike super HI or Lieutenant TAGS. Pan-O With the Cutter Lieutenant, Combined have a few, Yu Jing, the list goes on. Shooting them may work, Hacking them may work, it’s all on the dice at that point. The D20 is a fickle jerk-face that won’t generate any sort of average in a game of Infinity, play the percentages, and you’ll still roll a 18 on a 16 or less roll. I am not bitter, nope, the dice just do not like me.This scenario is where luck is paramount above all other things (in my mind.) I realize it goes both ways with the dice, but an armor 6-8 TAG rampaging with -6 to -9 BTS is going to be a tough nut to crack in the open, then throw in Cover/TO/ODD/Enemy Hackers and you’ve got a wild set of circumstances to overcome for some of the Alpha-Strike models. I keep things like this in mind and be prepared to remove that threat if it all possible in your active turn.

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Now to go back to general overview the last thing you need to take into account is going to be the availability of Cover/High Terrain. Terrain density is a big deal. Playing on very dense terrain initially in our group lead our meta-game in one direct, then Paradiso was released and our thinking changed as boards became much more open. Looking at various Battle Report/Blogs/Tournaments terrain varies a good deal.

I am looking/hoping for medium density volumetric terrain meaning 8-10 big blocks with no/little internal use during the game with an additional 10-15 piece of scatter terrain between those blocks. The shipping container boards seem to be the most common.

The road to NOVA: Scenarios and List building

The NOVA Open is approaching quickly (less than two months out now) and its time to get cracking at list building along with scenario break down. I will playing with vanilla Nomads, that is what I know best and feel like the sectorials hamper Nomads in the ITS 4 format (just my opinion though.)

NOVA initially was set up to use YAMs but the community asked for a switch to ITS 4. ITS 4 is made up of 5 scenarios; Supply Run, Emergency Transmission, Seize the Beacon, Front-line and Annihilation. Each of these have three type of objectives; Main, Secondary, and Classified. I think it’s best to first understand what one would need to complete the objectives in these scenarios before moving on to list building. All of the scenarios in one form or another require the use of specialists.  Specialists, with regard to ITS 4, are models with the hacker, engineer (no G: Servant though), forward observer, chain of command, and lieutenant skills. All of the Scenarios have a 3 turn limit which leads to more aggressive play and leaves little time to flounder or wait the opponent out.

I look at these scenarios and split them into two types: Token and Durability (just coined those terms arbitrarily.)

Token type scenarios involve interaction with spots on the table, markers, etc. - Supply Run, Emergency Transmission, and Seize the Beacon. Token type scenarios all need infiltrators in my opinion or fast moving specialists, whichever your faction/army has. This scenario type invariably (for me) always generates 14-16 model lists over the more standard 10 model combat group. Nomads have ample model choice to run in these scenarios with different means of deploying them (Standard, Infiltrators, and AD of various flavors.) Supply Run and Emergency Transmission suffer from being lopsided towards the player that goes first. Seize the Beacon is mainly king of the hill on the center beacon on the last turn, so much more forgiving for certain play styles and maybe it’s even better to go 2^nd.

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Durability type scenarios involve just being able to break stuff and survive while doing it. - Front-line and Annihilation. Durability scenarios seem to make you lean towards a single combat group with fighting specialists. Nomads are mediocre in this department compared to some of the other factions. What I mean is that there are not many specialist  models that also bring an offensive punch with them.

Just to touch on list building briefly before I dive into the scenarios, I plan on building a Token List and a Durability List that can deal with most any threat presented from TAG to Horde (who is bringing 20 Pretas?!? )

 After going through the first two scenarios I am going to break the rest up into separate posts (Token and Durability.)