Genghis Cohen: Corvus Belli have previewed new rules for the next big expansion to the Infinity rules. This includes new profiles alongside a much hyped new game mechanic, Reinforcements. Thematically this accompanies a new background book, Endsong, which sees the alien menace of the Combined Army breaking through the blockade of the Human Sphere powers and devastating human planets like Concilium, home of the O-12 faction (sort of the space UN for those unfamiliar). Being a modern company, CB do not tie any rules into these books. The game rules will be released via online PDF and an update to the Army builder app on 3rd August 2023.
Please note, we here at Goonhammer do not receive any preview info direct from CB, this preview is written based on their publicly released video previews, which you can watch on YouTube, with some additional context from CB’s answers to questions on social media.
Table of Contents
New Game Mode
Reinforcements is an upcoming extra game mode, similar to including mercenaries, or playing with Limited Insertion (only 1 combat group) as some events may choose to do, or you could agree to play with a friend. It remains to be seen to what extent, or at all, it is adopted as a standard by the wider Infinity community.
The basic premise is that if playing with Reinforcements, each player composes a 250pt, 5SWC list as normal, which is limited to 1 combat group. They then pick a separate Combat Group of up to 5 models, 100pts and 2SWC from the Reinforcements roster for their faction (a vanilla faction and its Sectorials all draw from the same roster). The original list must include one trooper with the commlink rule, thematically to ‘call in’ the reinforcements. That appear to be just a list building restriction, much like older editions’ rule that a list had to include a hacker to take REMs. It seems the commlink trooper does not need to activate or interact in any way for Reinforcements to arrive, and they will arrive even if the commlink trooper is killed beforehand. We don’t know what units can fill this role – although we can guess they will be leader types, rather than, say, heavy weapon platforms, camouflage infiltrators, or impetuous warbands – but we do know that some may have a Commlink+X skill where X is additional Reinforcement models you can include over the normal 5. This seems powerful since it would take the total models in your force over 15, but remember your Reinforcement budget is still only 100, so it’s only useful if your Reinforcements roster contains very cheap troops.
How do Reinforcements actually arrive? In the Tactical phase, the active player puts a beacon marker in their own table half. They then immediately deploy all their Reinforcements at once within Zone of Control of that beacon, and entirely in their own table half. This is obviously a powerful way to deploy aggressive models, mitigating shorter range, since they can be placed up to the halfway line of the table, including near objectives. ZoC is a fairly big 17″ diameter circle, so not too restrictive, but bear in mind you wouldn’t be able to place models on opposite flanks. It may be easier to get use out of your Reinforcements if they have a cohesive purpose or act together.
On that note, many Reinforcement models have the ability to deploy as a Fireteam – see their rosters below. Note that we assume these Fireteams follow the normal rules, so you could only deploy 5 Reinforcements models as a Core Fireteam if the rest of your list didn’t have a Core team already on the board! It’s not entirely clear how the Fireteams in Reinforcements interact with vanilla Factions, who haven’t hitherto been able to field any teams beyond Duos.
It appears, but we are not 100% clear, that players deploy their Reinforcements at the start of a turn at which they have lost at least 50 points of models (unconscious or dead, Immobilised or Isolated don’t count) and it is at least their second turn or later (though, Reinforcements always arrive on Turn 3 if they did not trigger on Turn 2). This has slightly worried some of the competitive community, and we share those concerns, because it vastly favours the first player, who many would say already has an advantage in most Missions in the current state of the game. The first player can alpha strike with their 250pt single group against their enemy’s. They can follow up in their turn two with an additional 100pts, before the second player has their own Reinforcements to oppose them. While in a vacuum, being able to keep some points off the table is a good way to protect them from alpha strike, after facing 2 Active Turns, the second player may be crippled before their Reinforcements arrive to try and salvage the situation. We are eagerly awaiting confirmation of the mechanics here, before rushing to judgment. It would seem like a much more interesting prospect to have Reinforcements arrive for the second player before the first, introducing a bit of back-and-forth and possibly reducing the perceived advantage of the first turn.
It has been clarified that Reinforcements deploy before the Order count in the Turn they arrive. So they do generate their own Orders and their small Combat Group can function normally. The player cannot, however, used Command Tokens (or we assume the Strategos Level 2 Lt ability) to transfer models into or out of this Combat Group until the next Tactical Phase – the Reinforcements have to operate on their own on the Turn they arrive.
New Profiles
Of course this expansion also means the arrival of new profiles into the game. Profiles for these units are particularly marked as ‘Reinf’ for Reinforcements, since it presumably affects their point costs and abilities. In at least some cases, they also have normal, non-Reinforcement profiles which should be available to their Factions (exact Sectorials are unconfirmed) when not using this game format. In at least some cases the profiles differ – Reinforcements don’t seem to have certain skills like Camouflage, and in at least one case, the normal version has Combat Jump, which clearly it doesn’t need when Reinforcing.
While some or all of the new units introduced will have separate Reinf and conventional profiles, and those are likely to be the same except for the change of those key skills (some examples are already revealed below) it’s important to keep the wider Reinforcement concept in mind when analysing them. We are all used to sight-reading profiles and judging how effective they are to play with, or easy to fit into a list, in a conventional 300pts ITS game. That mechanic changes dramatically for Reinf profiles:
- They are 1-5 models that must add up to no more than 100pts. So certain combinations are bang out and including one or more powerful units means compromising on their support. A lot of the new profiles, especially, seem to hover around 18-35 points. At a glance we don’t see any Reinforcement units below 14pts – no super cheap filler here.
- They will all start within your table half, so similar to Forward Deployment+12″, and must be relatively near each other.
- Because of their discrete Combat Group – it seems like you cannot use Command Tokens to move Reinforcements into, or take normal troopers out of, the main combat group on the Turn the Reinforcements arrive – the 1-5 models need to be able to fulfill their roles using that small Order pool. 5 melee focussed warbands that aren’t Fireteamed together would be a bad idea.
- While it’s still possible to assess these profiles and see if they look good or would suit your playstyle, bearing in mind their arrival mid game and potentially mid table, we need to be very cautious about comparisons to non-Reinf units. It’s common feedback for new profiles to say that they are fine, but not as good as [top competitive profile with similar role] in their Faction. That logic doesn’t apply here. If you are preparing for a game with Reinforcements, you are only concerned with what the best units are from the Reinforcements roster, you can’t spend those 100pts on any other units in your Faction anyway! We will try to keep this distinction as we examine the profiles below.
Pan Oceanian Reinforcements: Code Capitol
The PanOceanian Reinforcements see the arrival of 3 new units: Blade-Ops, Blockers and the Squalo MK2. The overall tone seems to be NeoTerra-themed as the majority of the units are drawn from that Sectorial, with a few universal options.
Blade-Ops
Genghis Cohen: Only 2 profiles here – as 1W models with Mimetism-3 and BS Attack (Shock), you’d expect these to be gunfighters. In fact they get a plain boarding shotgun profile, which isn’t very interesting – template range being a very difficult space for such units to exist in – and a nifty SMG-toting Engineer with Tactical Awareness. This is a terrific profile for PanO, a faction with Remote Awareness TAGs, to have as support. The only downside is although they can form a Duo, you can’t realistically fit it alongside the Squalo Mk2 in the actual Reinforcements group due to points cost. It doesn’t appear you could even fit in a 3rd model alongside them, so for Orders you’d be leaning heavily on their ability to feed 2 TacAware and 1 NCO Orders into the Duo.
However a Reinf Blade-Ops could also be top notch support for a TAG in your main combat group, and it will likely reach Neoterra, and possibly vanilla PanO, with a non-Reinf profile. That would be terrific, especially if it retains any useful Fireteam options (esp Duo-ing with TAGs) in either. Watch this space.
Blockers
Genghis Cohen: An unusual utility support unit. Sensor is definitely their biggest skill, a great tool to have arrive into the midfield. BS Attack (+1B) and X-Visor would really elevate common weapons, but the Blockers have saved some points costs by only having non-lethal options beyond 8″ effectiveness. A multi-pistol+1B is nice, but even with an X-Visor it’s not really good beyond 8″. Their weapons do make them well suited to outshooting or trading with Camouflage models they’ve flushed out with Sensor however. Biometric Visor is situational at the best of times and nigh useless on a Reinforcement – most Impersonators will have their plays resolved one way or another in Round 1, before they arrive.
Outside of Reinforcements, this unit is unlikely to see much play in vanilla PanO, except for those who really want to shoehorn Sensor into their lists. Its usefulness in Neoterra will be directly tied to its Fireteam options, as it’s a cool utility piece to fold into an aggressive Fireteam without breaking the bank.
Squalos MK2
Genghis Cohen: Now this is a big addition. A lighter-armored TAG with great shooting options out to 24″, this seems like a great pick to be the punchy spearhead of a Reinforcements Combat Group. The standard ‘TAG package’ in Infinity is rarely bad. BS15 and Remote Presence will carry through a lot of work. While you can save 7 points and .5SWC by going for a marksman multi rifle, we think most players would spring for the AP Spitfire – burst is king. This then branches into NCO and grenade launcher versions, which are both excellent things to have, we’d pay for both if we could. The only downside to the Squalo Mk2 is the lack of a direct template weapon. Multi pistol with +1B and +1 damage is great, but a simple flamethrower gives a TAG a lot of protection against Surprise Shot Mimetism shotguns, and other such midfield threats, which can beat it in FtF rolls but will never kill it in one Order. However, with BS15, having a positive modifier weapon for 0-8″ still makes the Squalo Mk2 pretty tough to tackle up close.
This unit seems clear to shine more as a Reinforcement than a baseline unit, provided it can be adequately resourced with Orders. The 24″ range is just helped enormously by starting outside the DZ, although on crowded tables it could still be competitive with HMG-armed TAGs.
Musterkrux: I am in love. The Squalos Mk2 is a beautiful TAG and no-one can convince me otherwise. While I do agree that Burst is King, I think within the very limited bounds of what you can afford in a Reinforcements group may force people into playing the MMR option. If you take the 63-65 point profiles and then an Engineer Blade-Ops (24) you’ve only got 11-13 points left to play with and that doesn’t buy anything at all, so your TAG and Engineer Combo is dropping onto the table with 3 orders total.
PanOceania Summary
Genghis Cohen: Bolts, Blade-Ops and Blockers form the mainstay choices here, with characters providing some utility, melee ability and filler. Orc Troops, Aquila and Swiss Guard add a lot of punch but will also need careful cost management. Pathfinder Dronbots, under the current ITS rules, look extremely useful to add cheap filler and Tactical Awareness, especially in a Fireteam – something we’ll see mirrored across the other factions.
Musterkrux: I like what they’ve done with the PanO options here. You’ve got some interesting capability you can fold into your list and some hard choices to make about what goes in. Pro-tip: Probably not the Swiss Guard (but who knows, maybe a head-start up the table is exactly what the doctor ordered).
Genghis Cohen: Yeah there are a lot of expensive-model options which would require some real compromises on the other models, but there’s potential. I guess the Reinf Swiss Guard is likely to lose Camouflage, and certainly Hidden Deployment? Honestly this seems fairly typical of the design philosophy of Reinforcements rosters.
Yu Jing Reinforcements: Daebak Force
Yu-Jing’s additions are all Korean-themed. This may be something developed in a new Sectorial down the line, for now it seems likely that outside Reinforcements games, they will be added to White Banner (since Jujaks already live there) or kept for vanilla only. Hilariously, Daebak Force translates to something like ‘awesome force’ in Korean, we are told it’s an out of place word, probably researched with an online translator, that seems deeply incongruous to a fluent speaker. They receive a total of 5 new units. One, the Haetae Unit, remains a complete mystery, while the Dokkaebi Cyberteam we only have concept art for, which tells us it’s a totally sweet robot. The others are below:
Naval Operations Group Sulyong
Genghis Cohen: These are classic Medium Infantry. MSV1 NCOs with some light shooting (shock marksman rifle or red fury) and some utility specialists with shorter ranged Weapons. Personally, I am not a fan. They’re cool and usable, but fall into what some call a trap zone of points costs. 23-30pts is not enough to get a punchy attack piece, but too much to be disposable for trades, or a cheap Fireteam filler. They’re just not a key unit type you want. Everyone needs gunfighters, but a shock marksman or red fury at BS12 doesn’t cut it, even with MSV1. I’m more positive about the Forward Observer and Paramedic options, especially in Reinforcements where they can start in the midfield. They could have a use hunting Camouflage or Mimetism skirmishers, but mostly I think their value is folded into Fireteams to support other units – NCO is valuable there.
Outside of Reinforcements, I think their value will be wholly dictated by Fireteam options.
Sulsa Warriors
Genghis Cohen: This is a 1W melee specialist with Mimetism-6. While I am very cautious about primarily melee-focussed models without smoke grenades, I can see why those weren’t handed out to Yu Jing as Reinforcements! Stealth, Dodge+3 and Dodge+2″ will give them some options for getting into melee combat anyway. I think the FO profile is hands down the best – it’s very valuable to be a specialist for missions, but you don’t want a unit that’s hard to shoot and hard to melee to become Hackable if you can avoid it, you’re simply giving the opponent another way to neutralise it, so I’d never recommend the Hacker version. It is a 0SWC Hacking Device, which is very unusual – either a little incentive to take it, which is maybe not quite enough, or a tacit acknowledgement it isn’t a good idea.
Hwarang Corps
Genghis Cohen: Note the errors in the picture above, seemingly caused by a copy/paste error. In fact Hwarang are very solid cheap HI with a Close Combat focus (CC 22, Martial Arts 3 and EXP CCWs). This sort of cheap melee-focussed HI is a design space CB has been exploring recently. Take HI, push their stats down a bit in some areas, give them a super-cheap primary ranged weapon and maybe a disposable long-range weapon, pump up the melee skills. Boom, cheap 2W models, which can be super useful as road blocks or as assault troops. These guys are not quite as optimised as Teutons, Tankos or Cenobites – but none of those guys can start in a Fireteam on the halfway line! A really useful addition to Reinforcements, especially as filler in a team with better gunfighters.
Yu Jing Summary:
Musterkrux: My kneejerk feel here is scooping up a Jujak Haris and calling the job done here. The new releases aren’t terribly compelling for me.
Genghis Cohen: I disagree – first I’d hasten to add we’ve seen 3 of 5 new units, the others might be sublime, CB doesn’t always pick the most interesting to show off. Of what we have seen I’m more optimistic than you. A Jujak team would be completely fine but they don’t particularly benefit from being Reinforcements. Hwarang, as cheap close ranged HI, do, and I see a role for a Sulyong as their camo-hunting NCO Order-provider. A couple Hwarang make a nice bodyguard for Bixie, forming a Haris with a good short-range gunfighter (remember they can start in the centre of the table) with Reactive-turn resilience and melee ability. Competitive Yu Jing always has a Lieutenant Level 2 and here we see Bixie and Sulyong to leverage that, and that can be stacked up with Yaokong Weibing’s Tactical Awareness for a relatively high-Order-count Reinforcement group.
Musterkrux: I want to be wrong. I need to be wrong.
Ariadnan Reinforcements: Equipe Argent
The much-neglected French return to the battlefield with some updated profiles. It remains to be seen how much this is a stepping stone to fully renewed Sectorial rules for them, but we’re sure any diehard fans will take what they can get. Unfortunately it’s only one new unit, the Apaches, but two old favourites, Moblots and Loup-Garous, receive profile updates, so further tweaks could be on the way.
Apaches, Equipe d’Intervention Urbaine
Apaches are amazing. That is all.
Genghis Cohen: These are some excellent higher-budget warband units. Fun fact, the Apaches were a Parisian street gang at the turn of the century – known for a high level of violence and using revolvers and knuckledusters, alluded to in the unit badge. What fun! Berserk, especially, is such a useful tool to have, especially on an effectively 2W model.
Moblots
Genghis Cohen: These old salts have a much reduced list of profiles for Reinforcements specifically, but all have Mimetism-3 (an option on a couple Moblot profiles previously) TacAware, a very welcome addition. Their stats are otherwise unchanged although the AP Spitfire is new and a perfect gun for the role. Mimetism-3 bumps the SWC options into being good gunfighters, the only issue here is the cost, which is pushing the boundaries for 1W models without any truly exceptional capabilities.
Loup-Garous
Genghis Cohen: These guys have been underwhelming for a long time and this update isn’t changing my mind. Hilariously, they stayed exactly the same stats and lost Courage, unless that’s a mistaken omission in the picture. Weapons and costs are similarly unchanged, except the new viral sniper rifle profile. Now viral weapons are great, and if nothing else people could want them as Bearpode-insurance. But there’s no point designing a unit with great weapons, but no gunfighting skills – BS12 and nothing else on 1W models isn’t impressive. X Visors don’t mean anything in this situation. They can elevate a dangerous weapon by extending its threat range – see Hector – but the user needs to have enough stats to make the fights worth taking. Completely underwhelming, was it too much effort for them to add anything here?
The viral sniper rifle is a good weapon for a cheap price – if you can place it in your DZ. As a Reinforcement, there’s no way you could deploy it in a good sniper spot while still getting use from the other models. Perhaps it will have some sort of role in normal MRRF/Ariadna, but I don’t think it has the gunfighting skills to be anything other than dead meat. Rough.
Ariadna Summary
Musterkrux: I think we need to see a Commlink +1/+2 profile in Ariadna. I’ve previously predicted that CB would eventually release some sort of rule that allowed some factions to pay a premium to break the trooper limit (My propsoed example was a Minuteman Lt profile in USARF, if you want an example of how much of a tax you’d have to pay for the privilege) and, man, if Ariadna don’t get an option to run 16-17 troopers via Reinforcements I will be pissed.
That said, Apaches are amazing but I’ve got very limited enthusiasm for Loup Garou or Bricards, the other ‘new’ sculpts in the incoming Reinforcements pack. Tactically Aware Moblots with Mimetism are functionally extremely expensive LI but they’ll do, I guess.
I’m more excited for Air-dropped camo markers like Chasseurs and Beast Hunters, honestly. That said, if Margot and Duroc get a decent points discount for coming in via Reinforcements instead of their usual DZ arrival I think they might be a viable choice. Rating: C+, solid B if Ariadna gets Commlink +1/+2.
Genghis Cohen: I agree that the answers here lie in what we haven’t seen. Para-Commandos and Mirage-5 are already effective, joining Reinforcements doesn’t elevate them much unless there’s a point break. I’m not too hopeful for extensive reworks of Briscards etc, and honestly I expect the Reinf versions of Chasseurs and other Camouflage units to lose that rule, as things like Igao have. The best unit that springs out to me here is actually Wolfgang – he’s a nice close quarters brawler and bullet-sprayer, and starting up the table is great for him. I will reserve overall judgment until we know more about reworks.
Haqqislam Reinforcements: Melek Reaction Force
A definite Qapu Khalki theme for the Haqqislam Reinforcements, which we welcome, since they are by far the Haqqislam Sectorial in need of the most love. The competitive consensus at the moment seems to have Hassassin Bahram far in advance of the other options and on a par with vanilla Haqq, who are a great faction. Let’s see if any of these additions upset that.
Korsan, Corsairs of the Gate
Genghis Cohen: I really like these as an example of a higher-price-point warband. There are a few units which fit that description scattered through this wave of releases. They benefit a lot from Reinforcements’ pseudo-forward deployment and I think they will be taken a lot as filler to the Sekban Fireteam (see below). Some nice mobility and short-range weapons, however I wouldn’t use them to bully anything in melee as a first choice play – PH13 and a Dam14 Heavy Pistol (better than their Shock CCW, oddly) is relatively anaemic.
Outside of Reinforcements, I really hope they get some form of forward deployment skill, without it, or smoke grenades, they would be a tough sell.
Burtuk, Aeronaval Engineering Regiment
Genghis Cohen: A useful toolbox profile, there are a lot of uses for a Shock Immune/NWI Engineer who can gunfight, lay templates or place mines at close quarters. I see this as a natural choice to back up a longer-ranged model in a Fireteam – outside of the larger teams he’d make a nice Duo with an Azrai’il HMG. Also, the Rafiq remote will be an auto-take for Haqq Reinforcements while ITS13 lasts, and this guy is its best friend.
Odalisques
Genghis Cohen: I won’t bother with a picture – they got a slight glow-up, combining Sixth Sense and 360 Visor rather than having to pick one, and adding +1B to their Nanopulsers, for a tiny 1pt cost increase. Only the spitfire and SMG profiles are available as Reinforcements, but honestly those were the best picks anyway. Odalisques are pretty great brawlers for their price and will like being in the midfield – despite low ARM/BTS they have 2 effective Wounds, the price is relatively low, and you can’t surprise or sneak behind them. Not the best troop in the game but a pretty good one. As reinforcements, you could do a lot worse, especially since they can draw on support from more specialised gunfighters in the Djanbazan.
Haqqislam Summary
Musterkrux: CB have indicated that Hafza may be bringing a Commlink +1/+2 profile to allow you to take troopers in excess of the 15 limit and I am keen for this. Hafza is a cute play here. I’m not sure exactly what they can do to contribute to your shell-game but at least they’re a relatively cheap order.
Genghis Cohen: That would be a good model for it, although even Haqqislam, I think, will have to make big sacrifices to get 6-7 models from this list into 100 pts. I suppose you could do it, but are almost locking into 2 Korsan, 2 Hafza, and 1 Rafiq.
I’m no Haqqislam expert, but I’d be a bit worried that all these units (that we know so far) are competent, useful, but not earth-shattering picks. Like Qapu Khalki right now, it could result in a Reinforcement roster that has some tools, but lacks the ‘wow’ factor of some other factions’ equivalents.
Combined Reinforcements
A bit of context and history here: there were a few models in N1-2 Combined Army called the Exrah. Mercantilist aliens who ran elements of the CA fleet, they were portrayed as a physically frail spaceborne species. Because the designers weren’t happy with the models, and/or they didn’t sell well, those units were excised from the rules with the N3 release. This was justified in the background as a CA purge of some rebellious, disloyal or criminal elements. The Exrah rule, which according to previews is basically unchanged, means they don’t have an Unconscious state – if they hit 0W they go straight to Dead. Which is fairly punishing for a sniper or something in your Deployment Zone, where Dr Worm may be hanging out waiting to revive them, but for a 1W model operating aggressively in the enemy’s table half? It’s barely a downside, you’re more likely to give your opponent easy points on a Classified Objective than you are to try and doctor that model. If it means a points cut, it’s worth it!
WCD Base Operators
Genghis Cohen: These seem like the standard CA line trooper – slightly bloated, soon to be nudged out of competitive play entirely by highly effective elites and cheaper warbands or Order batteries. Why yes, I have become jaded and cynical. They have some well-armed options but I can’t see them being useful compared to the options below, or to Nexus Operatives or some other competitors. 6-2 Super-Jump is worth a bit on a more dangerous profile, but I don’t think getting into great positions is going to make these BS11, no-gunfighting-mods, no-SWC-weapon scrubs into heroes.
More relevantly, as Reinforcements, the Engineer has a use case supporting the Caskuda. But comparing them cross-faction to other Reinforcement rosters’ relatively cheap troopers, which can be useful warbands, I don’t see great appeal.
EXOS, Exrah Executive Officers
Musterkrux: Having Chain of Command is a bit of a slap to the face, seeing as you check for LoL before your Reinforcements arrive* but at least they’ve costed it appropriately (note how the CoC profile costs as much as their Specialist Operative, which is usually +1 point). That said, honestly these are great profiles. Super-Jump on a 6-2 chassis with a BS 12 Plasma Carbine/Multi Rifle is very nice for the price you’re paying for it. We’ll have to see the full Exrah rule before I’m willing to comment on its interactions with Remote Presence, though.
Genghis Cohen: Yeah, CoC gives them a clear niche, although as you note it doesn’t play super well with Reinforcements, and if you’re using your Reinforcements aggressively it may not matter the next Turn either! I’m more of a fan of their weapons than the Base Operators’, and at least they’re BS12, but I primarily see these as mission specialists.
WCD Vector Operators
Musterkrux: These fellows can operate on my vectors any day. Wow, wow, wow. Look at those stats, rules and weapon loadouts and all for bargain prices. I’m not even sure which is my favourite weapon loadout.
Genghis Cohen: Were you around in N2? These guys are a direct transplant except for points costs (they were far higher, as was the fashion at the time) and had an HMG not a Spitfire. That was also in the days when Super-Jump let you end moves mid-air, then fall up to your Movement without any consequence. Well I remember turning up to a tournament with my newly painted beginner force, to have this unholy alien pop up like a jack-in-the-box 6″, peek over a tall building, spray me with HMG fire, and drop gracefully to the ground. I was traumatised.
Seriously, this is an update to one of the original glass cannon gunfighters. He’s like a Nisse or an Intruder. Except he’s highly mobile, starts in the midfield and costs 24-26 points (let’s be honest, you’re not taking the shotgun over the other options). Bloody aliens are back again. The only explanation is a hefty points cut for Exrah, but as I’ve said, I hardly consider that a downside when your model is operating in the enemy table half.
Caskuda, WCD Armoured Jump Operator
Genghis Cohen: Note that this is the Reinf Caskuda – the normal one, available to Combined Army and Onyx Contact Force, is a bit more expensive but has Combat Jump and Explosion. Which is an even more terrifying way for a TAG to arrive and roll through your backfield. As a reinforcement, this is probably less scary (although cheaper) than some other factions’ TAGs. The regular, Combat Jump version, really concerns me. Deploying in Infinity, especially first, is already a lot to think about. Now, every game against CA, we have to worry about not just the Avatar, Sphinx, Speculo and every other option, you have to try and deploy in a way that mitigates the impact of all those and this horrible thing, cause you don’t know which it’s going to be. This game is difficult.
Combined Army Summary
Musterkrux: If you don’t like the Caskuda you can’t come to my birthday party. I think I like the original sculpt more but there’s nothing wrong with the new one and by gum am I pleased with the new rules. While there’s been some criticism of the AP-Combi Rifle, I do note that at Damage 15 as well as +3 to shoot at the 0-8 and 8-16 range bands (which is where it will be shooting from most of the time between Drop-Pods and Combat Jump) it’s perfectly serviceable and at 53-64 points being the price you pay for Arm 7 and 3 STR delivered straight down your opponent’s throat, I don’t think anyone is really allowed to complain. The other reinforcement profiles? Oh yeah, they’re fine too. Rating: B+, for Space (B)eetles are here for your dung-piles and other riches.
Genghis Cohen: I think this is one of the best Reinforcement packages, as we’ve come to expect from the aliens – there’s a reason they are doing so well in the fiction! I need to see the Exos, Ko Dali’s reinf profile, and what profiles the Nexus get before rushing to judgment. But as well as the Caskuda, which again I think is better in its normal version, it looks like they can fuel an excellent gunfighter or two in the cheap Vector, or push a Caskuda. Note the 2 Wildcard M Drones, which will be very useful indeed, at least as long as the ITS13 bonuses apply.
Aleph Reinforcements: Ank Program
Aleph get the formidable Maximus, the other truly new TAG, alongside the Caskuda, and a hefty collection of new profiles which, if we had to guess, are heading to the OSS Sectorial, although they could be and indicator of future new projects.
Maximus
How can we possibly start the Aleph section except by highlighting the poster-boy for once PanO but now the entire Human Sphere?
Genghis Cohen: He’s not exactly a light TAG. More a full on medium TAG with his ranges adjusted to 8-24″ and superb melee skills. Honestly I think he’s pretty good, and I think he’s better in Reinforcements, since it gets him into effective range instantly. The non-reinf profile is exactly the same except it has Immunity (Critical) – a nice bonus, possibly omitted from the reinf version by mistake – and can be your Lt, rather than having CoC.
Tacbots Riksha
Genghis Cohen: Pretty cheap gunfighters, these guys have a lot of potential, being mobile and repairable. I could wish for slightly different weapons, but the price is right and it’s clear they are meant to be supported by the other new profiles . . .
Tacbots Dawon
Genghis Cohen: Argh, my eyes! What Aleph trickery is this!? More high-budget warbands, but they’re Remotes!? 6-4 Remotes with extra Burst on both templates and pistols, and access to E/M CCWs!? Oh, and they can Fireteam with the gunfighting Remotes, of course they can. Bloody Aleph.
Artalis & Satrah Units
What are they? No idea, but we’re sure they’re spicy.
Aleph Summary
Musterkrux: I’m going to run the Dawon and Rem-Racer profiles in vanilla Aleph because I am committed to running a Kung Fu robot and no-one will stop me. No-one.
Genghis Cohen: I think this is another strong contender for best reinforcements. Those two types of Remotes will form a great Fireteam even if all the other options stink. They can combine with sensor-bots and Sophotects as well. Alternatively you could take Maximus and Duo him with a sensor-bot, providing a second sensor-bot as a spare in case the first gets killed.
O-12 Reinforcements: Gladius Team
It’s not yet fully known if the newly added units, which are a fairly generous allotment due to O-12 still being fleshed out compared to the older factions, will join Starmada or part of a future new O-12 Sectorial.
Armoured Presence Unit Jackboots
Genghis Cohen: Problematic! I don’t know if Total Immunity is worth the points premium on a 1W model – immunity to AP is a tiny tweak, immunity to shock is only relevant if there’s a doc nearby, immunity to DA/EXP/Continuous is admittedly nice, but it doesn’t insulate you from ARO risks the way it does a 2W model – you still have to plan for the possibility of getting dropped Unconscious, and your Active Turn stalled, by a single shot. Griping aside these are serviceable Fireteam leaders, a bit expensive for support roles.
Polyvalent Security Unit Brigade VIDOCQ
Musterkrux: “Mom, can we get Psi-Cops?” (you can visualise the rest of the meme from here…). To be fair, Psi-Cops are good, so VIDOCQs are also good.
Genghis Cohen: Damn good, in most Fireteam compositions I’d rather have their NCO than Psi-Cops’ BTS6 or Spec Op. Not to nitpick, they are very similar and both great.
Nightshades
Genghis Cohen: Sneaky! I wonder if they will get a Camouflage non-Reinforcement profile. I think that would make them better. Although any Mimetism-6 model has its uses, I’d prefer mine with longer ranged weapons – too many enemies negate your expensive skill with a simple template.
Ment Agents
Musterkrux: These are soft-skill/command pieces, with lots of useful skills but limited direct combat capabilities. I like them, though putting them right into the mid-field feels like a risk.
Genghis Cohen: Yeah, I fully agree. Would be nice in the main faction but wasted as Reinforcements.
O-12 Summary
Musterkrux: OK, let me get my gripe out of the way: “Oh man, come on guys. We’ve done Kempeitai, are we really going to do Jackboots?”
OK, poor naming decisions aside, I like what I see. There’s a good spread of profiles available, lots of tools to leverage and a range of point costs, letting you run a tall or wide Reinforcements team as you see fit. Vidocq is a bit ‘Psicops by another name’ but that’s fine, I guess. They’re all goods profile, Brent. Ment Agents are great, though you have to remember that Chain of Command isn’t going to trigger on the turn they arrival on the table as you check for LoL before the drop-pod hits the dirt*. Still, for the price Ment Agents are perfectly viable. I think Jackboots are only OK. As good as Total Immunity paired with ARM/BTS 3 is, they’re still single wound troopers who cost 23+ pts.
Genghis Cohen: Hmm, I love the Vidocq, and this Reinforcements roster has some nice existing units on it, including another AVA2 Wildcard sensor-bots appearance. I’m not seeing as much jump out at me in the way of big Fireteams as some other factions’ lists though. I’d be keen to see how the characters fit into this, and if their reinf profiles change at all.
Tohaa Reinforcements: Deras Kaar
Genghis Cohen: Absolutely nothing new for Tohaa, the profile example was an Igao, which without Camouflage seems fairly pointless. I’d feel bad for them except they’re Tohaa, who should be expunged from the game without mercy. Get wrecked you filthy artichokes.
Nomad Reinforcements: Vipera Pursuit Force
These units seem to have a split between seeming Tunguska- and Bakunin-themed. No one knows what Sectorials are quite getting what.
Redsky Marspiders
Musterkrux: Marspiders might be from Mars but I’m only ever going to refer to them as Man-Spiders, because I am both hilarious and original (Ed: He’s neither…). The absence of Stealth is about the only real complaint I have regarding these wall-crawling pests. That said, for the cost you’re getting an absolute bargain of a profile. Particularly interesting is the Engineer, who you can drop down anytime you want/need to repair a Nomad TAG or Remote. Noting the points limitations on Reinforcements, I have a strong appreciation for anything that is both useful and less than 20 points. Man Spiders are both and I love them for it.
Genghis Cohen: Now we’re talking! Another excellent Nomads warband. Boo sucks to you, Aleph. I mean they have +1B flamethrowers, assault pistols, and +1B close combat. They appear to justify their price as 18-pt warbands, and a paramedic could be useful – their Reinforcement role will see them as the binding glue in many a Fireteam.
I wonder what the models/background could possibly be?
Kulak Payback Unit
Musterkrux: These poor souls suffer from being revealed at the same time as Rounders and Marspiders. They’re a perfectly serviceable unit sitting in between two amazing ones.
Genghis Cohen: Yeah, typical good but not amazing semi-gunfighting 1W infantry.
Casino Security Rounders
Musterkrux: Rounders are Securitate on cocaine and I’m OK with that. They’re a bit pricey but between BS 12, Marksmanship and even MSV 1 you’ve got some absolutely killer shooting profiles and if you’re feeling cute you can run an optimised Hacker+KHD profile to really ruin someone’s day. Also, they subvert the classic Nomad trope of limited Command/Leadership abilities by just having NCO on the baseline profile. Just because.
Genghis Cohen: Absolutely great stuff, this is how you do a cheap 1W gunfighter! Lack of heavier weaponry is all that’s holding them back from dominance, but it would be churlish to complain.
Nomads Summary
Musterkrux: I quite like everything I see here. I think Nomads got an even better selection than I was expecting and I was praying pretty hard for some sweet new profiles. The new profiles are nice, double Stempler Zonds is nice, giving Lunokhods Drop-pod deployment makes them potentially viable, the fireteam options are great, they even gave us a good named character rather than two trash ones (which appeared to be the trend until now)…Raoul. Raoul is the good character, just in case you were confused. Rating: A this is the good stuff and the Nomad Reinforcements box looks absolutely swish, as well. Also, Lizard resculpt confirmed. What a time to be alive.
Genghis Cohen: Yeah I’m pumped as hell. I think the Marspider-based Fireteam is one of the best prospects of all the factions’ Reinforcement rosters, with great cheap gunfighters to mix in. Curious to see the reinf profiles for Prowlers and Spektrs, two units whose hole use case is being Camouflage and Hidden Deployment. The Nomad remote Wildcards are just the icing on the luxury birthday cake which I have come to expect as my right.
Non-Aligned Armies Reinforcements
Freelance Operator Samsa
So, the closest thing we got to a ‘new unit’ for NA2 was the Freelance Operator – Samsa. Well, they’re certainly a guy. A bug-guy. They’re actually a pretty good profile (but you’d want to be for 30 points), so I’m moderately pleased with this profile. We await confirmation as to whether the Samsa is allowed in every NA2 sectorial as Reinforcements or only JSA/Ikari.
Genghis Cohen: Yeah, I think a BS13 Mimetism Plasma Rifle in the midfield is a pretty swell addition to most NA2 factions.
NA2 Summary
Musterkrux: Overall, the NA2 Reinforcements are probably the worst selection provided to all of the factions in Infinity. It’s just filled with all of the milquetoast, inoffensive and non-optimised profiles available to the various Mercenary companies. Someone even pointed out that you can play everything available in NA2 Reinforcements within StarCo but not even the good profiles in Starco. I don’t often hate on profiles or sectorials for the sake of it but wow, this time? You dun goofed, CB. Rating: E for ‘Effort, you could have put some more in’.
Genghis Cohen: Really? Hard disagree. This is one of the better rosters out there. Yes it lacks uniqueness or variety, but you have 2 Diggers in the midfield. Take Sforza, Miranda and a Brawler doc to tie it up and patch them up, that’s under 100pts right? Seems pretty good to me, if unoriginal. I don’t envy the designers trying to come up with one Reinforcement concept that works for the highly disparate NA2 forces, to be honest. They have massively done this new Samsa chap dirty by not letting him into Fireteams though. I get it, he’s a filthy alien, but come on, he still needs friends.
The Mobility Kill Meta
Musterkrux: So, I think we’re going to see several strata of playstyles emerge as people come to grips with this new ‘pacing’. Some schools of thought will double-down on the Alpha-strike, feeling threatened by the limited resources that both they and their opponent has access to at the start of the game, seeking to try and hit their opponent hard and rip their throat out before their reinforcements arrive. Potentially even looking to do so with as close to 50 points worth of assets as possible to force their opponent into triggering their reinforcements for Round 2 at the lowest possible cost as they clean up the mess that Player One left behind (The Su Jian comes to mind as a perfect attack vector in this regard).
Conversely, you’ll get defensive players who want to deny their opponent as much meat as possible, offering only 50 points of active ARO pieces. Again, to trigger timely reinforcements at the smallest possible cost.
On reflection, I think we’ll see the emergence of a Mobility Kill or Mission Kill meta. The most effective pieces at rushing over the table to cause a huge amount of damage before getting popped themselves will be HI, Remotes and TAGs. These are all pieces that can Hacked, E/M weapon’ed or even Glue-Gooped by Riotstoppers and other such non-lethal weapons. A Mobility-Kill will stop the attacking piece from decimating your lines but also deny your opponent progress towards triggering their own Reinforcements. So, I wonder if we’ll see a continued emphasis on Peacemakers, Moran Massai and other mid-field defence pieces that enable hacking AROs outside of your DZ (which is where the delicious creamy centre of your army lies).
Genghis Cohen: Honestly I don’t know enough about the core mechanic to judge how this will effect the meta. I do really want to get my hands on it and start playing some games.
Complications of Trooper Limits and Reinforcements
Musterkrux: We’ve seen some hints that there will be Commlink +1/+2 models that crack open the 15-Trooper limit and I think the factions that get them wil be very happy to do so. Imagine trying to play out your first turn as Player One with a significant number of your orders sitting up in some Dropship loitering above the table. If you try and min-max your combat groups you might end up with a 10/5 split, with 10 orders starting in play and the other 5 waiting in the wings. That’s a rough trot if your opponent takes 2 of those orders away.
This isn’t even the worst case scenario, imagine having 8 models in Combat Group #1, 2 dedicated-ARO models in Combat Group #2 (adding up to 50 points), and then 3 models in your Reinforcements Combat Group (#3). If you take first turn (or are gifted it by a generous opponent) you could see yourself losing another 2 orders from a Strategic use of Command Tokens. Suddenly, you’re playing out Round 1 with 6 orders (plus whatever you can scrounge from Tactical Awareness and your Lieutenant Order). Your Alpha Strike or attempt to set up a positional/scenario advantage just become a joke.
This is why Commlink +1/+2 will become essential to really leveraging Reinforcements as a viable concept for some factions.
To follow this logic to a natural conclusion, I wonder if we’ll see people start taking Parachutists and Combat Droppers in their initial Combat Groups, as those models have the dual advantage ofs: Getting into attack position with very few orders needed and can circumvent any aggressive mid-field defensive pieces/repeaters.
Genghis Cohen: Looking at the units available, I’m not sure most factions’ Reinforcement would even want to go over 5 models – it’s very difficult to get striking power in there if you do. I feel that using the mechanic to get more models, just to clog the table, and maybe swap a model around to use the Orders in Round 3, is under-utilising them? Will have to experiment.
Final Thoughts
Musterkrux: I’m keen to see how this all shakes up the established schools of thought and understanding of how Infinity is played. The game isn’t stale or solved yet, but this is great timing on a change. I think some Reinforcement options are great, for various reasons (Nomads and PanO) while others are so stinking bad I think they invalidate their faction for making the podium at any events running the Reinforcements rule (NA2…wow, imagine being mandated to spend nearly 30% of your points on terrible, terrible models?). Still, there’s a tonne of theorising, discussions and games to be had to either confirm or disprove my half-baked hypothesis and, honestly, isn’t that why we’re all here?
Genghis Cohen: Couldn’t have put it any better – the game needs a shake-up and I’m here for it. The way this appears to work is not something I’d ever have guessed at, but it’s much easier to carp from the sidelines than design an engaging tabletop game! I trust the designers of Infinity, despite minor issues with faction-internal balance between profiles, they make what I consider the best, tightest sci-fi skirmish game on the market. Keen to incorporate some Reinforcements into my lists and get stuck in to some filthy aliens (respectfully).
*Note: It was observed after the publication of this article that it’s possible that CB are considering re-sequencing the way Reinforcements and Chain of Command interacts with the game-state. If this does happen and CoC is viable on the turn your reinforcements arrive, please disregard all of our hate for those models in this article. We were wrong (maybe).
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