4x4

My newest creation.

No, today I really couldn't think of a title, so that's all you get.

I ran out to the fabric store today. I have come to the decision that if I'm going to bring terrain to play Infinity on to the store, I really ought to bring something to put it on. To that end I found this 100% recycled plastic felt. Feeling eco-friendly, I approached the counter at which they cut up said fabric for you, and I asked for a price check. Turns out the material was on sale for $2.99 per yard! Joy!!! This was a sign. reaching into my pocket I produced the stack of one dollar bills I had scrounged. Ten of them. The material, which was also the closest match to the color I paint my terrain, was affordable and just seemed to beckon to me. The right color, the right price, the right material. It was meant to be.

Since fabric is sold by the yard, I would have to do some chopping. I went ahead and got two yards of the stuff. After handing over the correct amount to the cashier, I practically skipped out to my car. I had a gaming mat.

Nothing quite like when a plan comes together.

When I arrived home I grabbed the nearest at hand tape measure, as well as a Sharpie, and set about measuring and marking. Next, the scissors. Unfortunately my scissors are... quite dull, and had a bit of an issue slicing through the felt, but perseverance paid off and I got through the trim down.

I laid my terrain down on the square and came to a horrifying realization. The terrain didn't match! The drybrushing just made the hills look too different. Now I needed a new plan.

I marched off to my room and grabbed the paint can from which I got all my drybrushing paint, and walked outside carrying it, the felt, and a paintbrush. after laying down my newly cut felt square on the porch, I set down my can of paint, took off the lid, and dipped in the brush. Wiping most of the excess off, I began dabbing the tip of the brush against the felt. This produced little spots all over the place, though at a glacial rate. I resolved that, no matter the time investment I would accomplish this mission. On hands and knees I dabbed and dabbed, for half an hour, and then finally stood up.

I don't mind telling you, I was pleased with the result as well as myself. This looked good.

I'm not sure when I'll be able to employ the mat, today is unlikely (I know, I'm already flaking out on Infinity after only one showing), but I have bigger concerns tonight. You see, we're having a wedding party (not so much a shower, as it's too close to the big day) and things are not quite ready to go despite it being in only three days! It's time for a pow-wow with the maid of honor to get things set for the upcoming festivities.

LOS blocking goodness.

I've also set about trying to rectify the (lacking) terrain situation. I have a bunch of junk laying around, so I gathered it up and started gluing it together. Looks like I'll have more chemical tanks in the near future. They're cheap to produce and they look good enough on the table. They also help break up line of sight nicely, especially the one on the left there.

I also have plans to raid Michaels in the near-ish future in order to grab some random bits and bobs. The wood I use as a base for my terrain is from that store, and it's cheap, so I may as well grab some more. Plus I can grab some things like little boxes and maybe even some palm trees or something along those lines. I'll be able to slap all that stuff together in an assortment of interesting ways and hopefully produce some quality terrain to help further obscure minis as they move up the board.

Oh, by the way, for those of you counting:
Exactly one month from today I'll be getting hitched. More and more weird, but not in a bad way.

Training Wheels

Demitra and I got in another "let's see how this game works" round of Infinity today. It was once again informative, and we learned a few new things. The more I read about this game and learn new strategies the more I'm coming to enjoy it. But then, I've sung this game's praises here before.

I've learned a few things about terrain in Infinity. The primary being that you should empty your terrain stores onto the board. Seriously, plunk it all down. As you can see in my illustration to the left, it is very hard to have too much terrain. I basically upended my terrain box onto the table, and it made for a more interesting and tactical game. Of course, as I have mentioned before, my terrain collection tends to leave some fire lanes open. That is to say my buildings are not terribly good at blocking up lines of fire, as they're, as Demitra put it, "Swiss cheese".

I have managed to find hope for my terrain woes on the interwebz though. At least potentially. It turns out that O-gauge shipping crates like the ones carried on ships are a great size for Infinity. I'm pretty sure they'll be kind of... huge, but if they work they work. One thing is for sure, AT-43 containers like the ones I've painted silver above are right out. They are ungodly expensive no matter where you find them, and as long as gamers with more cash than sense continue to snatch them up they'll remain that way. Curse you law of supply and demand!!!

Terrain woes aside, today's matchup was interesting. I seem to have constructed, at low point values at least, a very defense-oriented group. This irks Demitra to no end, as I have a tendancy to grab some cover and blaze away. I'll admit that this can be a frustrating tactic, but when the alternative is to jump out and get your face shot off, the turtling option really begins to shine. Having a Sin-Eater watching over me may have encouraged me to venture out of my safety zone a bit, but crafty ol' Demitra brought in a Tiger Soldier with HMG in behind my lines and opened up on my poor little Sin-Eater. He kind of died. that meant that this would be my first game without him. My HMG equipped Alguacil spun around to gun down the offender, but he simply slunk behind a statue and hid. My poor Alguacil was promptly gunned down by an enemy sniper, leaving me with no special weapons! Truly an uphill game.

I did manage to off the Tiger Soldier with my first ever use of a coordinated order, catching him in a pincer movement between an Alguacil and my Reverend Moira. Unfortunately, despite my love of the minis, the poor Reverend just doesn't look like she'll make the final cut in anything short of a jurisdictional army. Her stats really aren't up to snuff despite her ODD and Shock close combat weapon. The points dumped into the Reverends I planned to run in that army most likely would do better dumped into another Sin-Eater HMG. I'm going to have to reassess my Bakunin army. Sin-Eaters are in, Pupniks & Chimerae are in, and I will of course have to drop in a couple of Moderators in to give me some Orders...

I'll hit up Infinity Army when I'm done here.

All in all today's game went pretty well, as despite some setbacks I was able to eek out a victory. We'll see what, if anything, tomorrow holds. I'll be grabbing some felt to make a game mat tomorrow at the craft store, and I'll try to get another little skirmish in.

Nomads & That Come Hither Look

Come here big boy.

Another Alguacil painted, and some revelations.

First off, I've finished another Alguacil. I decided to go with the over the top yellow hair, since I imagine Nomads as very individualized people, who declare their independence in any way possible- including dying their hair outrageous colors. I say this because I know how to paint "realistic" blonde hair, and wanted to make it clear that yes, this is intentional.

Now to the revelations. I am rusty on the rules to Infinity (if not downright ignorant), and I need to play a lot more small games in order to get my feet under me. I thought (from watching other people play at Huzzah Hobbies) that Zeros wouldn't reveal their presence if they laid mines or deployed repeaters and E/Maulers. I was rather wrong on that front. I am vindicated on one thing though- BTS is applied as a positive modifier on rolls, and a negative modifier to WIP rolls when being hacked. Why BTS isn't written as a positive number is a mystery- it must be a Spanish thing.

I have learned thet Viral weapons are ungodly powerful- two BTS rolls, and if a one wound miniature fails a single one it just plain falls to the ground dead. This makes Daktaris rather useless against the Tohaa, as pretty much everything they use is Viral.

I learned that yes, smoke is as much of a problem to my squad as I was told and as I feared. Demitra (yes, Demitra- the one who swore up and down he hated the art style of the game) pulled some serious smoke shenanigans on me, and I lost a miniature in close combat because of it. My answer to that issue is simple- suppressing fire. So what if I'm at -6 to hit when a mini moves through the corridor? They take the full Burst value of the weapon as an ARO, which will cause anybody to keep their head down. Who says "spray and pray" doesn't work?

A very bad man.

 I learned that I LOVE Sin Eaters. They dominate any section of the table they can see, and just need to be moved into position before they ARO their little metal hearts out at their weapon's full Burst value. This weapon should be an HMG- the volume of fire and the fact that it hits like a train (Damage 15) will bring the hurt to any enemy mini be it a single wound throw away mini, or a big stompy TAG. Since they're using an ARO they blaze away without orders, so they will be a great way to assign orders to the minis that need them. You have to approach them from behind or preferably in a simultaneous pincer movement to keep the mini from simply spinning around as its first ARO, and then (assuming it survives) gunning you down each time you order the sad little dude. He's not too great in melee either, so if you can sneak up on him and stab his face you should be able to end his reign of terror rather quickly. I have leaned rather heavily on this guy so far, so I'm pretty scared to find out what will happen when (not if) I lose him.

I learned that I still enjoy this game, despite all the "learning experiences" (read getting stuff just plain wrong) I've been through. The mechanics, while rewarding defensive play, are fun and different than just about anything else on the market. The reaction system is very different than Dust Warfare. Weather this is a good or bad thing to the new found gaming group (for me anyway) is going to be a mystery for a while, but I'm holding out hope for a decent run.

I need a table more like this.

Finally, I learned that I need more LOS (LOF in Infinity- Line Of Fire) blocking terrain. My ruined city just doesn't provide enough places to hide. I need to create some sort of industrial complex with things like machinery, chemical tanks, barrels, shipping containers, and all other manner of things to hide behind. I should also save up for some intact buildings from Armorcast (and quickly since their lines of resin scenery are rapidly dwindling and I don't want to buy GW's overpriced stuff) so that my cityscape is more hospitable to close combat miniatures. Right now melee stuff just gets shot dead while attempting to close the gap. I think I'll try having some forests as dense growth Zero Visibility Zones next time, as well as bringing all my scenery (or at least a more thought out box). I should probably look at getting a piece of felt that I can lay down as a gaming mat. They seem to be sparse at the store I went to on Wednesday, so I should at least help remedy that.

Now I'm awaiting a few miniatures I ordered through Demitra. More Alguaciles, a couple of Moderators, and a Mobile Brigada with HMG. They'll let me play some more varied configurations.

My last thought for today, I swear. I've been poking around and pondering a pure Bakunin force. That gives me four Reverend Moiras and a whole lot of Religious Troops. The list has also turned me on to the idea of Zonds. They look super nifty, at least on paper. A Repeater equipped Total Reaction HMG equipped model that can climb walls like they were normal horizontal terrain! Yummy.

Right now however I'll keep pondering wedding stuff. Thirty two days left until I'm officially a married man. Kind of surreal...

A More Modest List For More Modest Games

So Demitra informed me that the local Infinity scene is pretty much all starter box games, which is cool. To that end I slapped together a list half the size of the last one. No TAG, no bells and whistles, just basic stuff.

We all have humble beginnings.

 NOMADS

 GROUP 1 (Regular: 7/Irregular: 0):

 ALGUACIL Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (10)
 ALGUACIL Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (10)
 ALGUACIL Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (10)
 SECURITATE Combi Rifle + Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (23)
 SIN-EATER HMG / Pistol, CCW. (2 | 34)
 MOBILE BRIGADA MULTI Rifle + Light Flamethrower / Pistol, Knife. (43)
 ZERO Combi Rifle, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (18)

 2 SWC | 148 Points

It's a 150 point list, so basically a starter box plus one mini. If a starter box game is desired, I'm all set. If a slightly bigger game is the order of the day, that's cool too.

Demitra has been sniffing around the rules recently, and while I don't expect him to pick up the game (especially with all the WHFB Empire stuff he has laying around waiting for paint) it's kind of nice that he's at least interested in how the game plays. As far as I'm concerned, he's got HordesMachine to play when he's not at my place, and I've got Infinity. It's a symmetry I can deal with.

All that being said, with both the comic book shop and Huzzah Hobbies potentially starting up Infinity, I'll have to consider where I game carefully, as while it's a game likely to be a flash in the pan like Dust was, I want to get as much out of this game as I can, since I'm planning on putting away $10 or so per paycheck in order to attend the NOVA Open Infinity tournament next year- price be damned. I will need practice, I will need opponents with fair sized forces, and I will need a decent number of games. While I don't want to belittle my usual Infinity gaming buddy, Playing all my games against Haqqislam is not the best way to feel out all the factions, how they play, and how various opponents think.

Plus I really ought to get my hands on the Paradiso book...

More Nomad Painting and Army Revision

Alguacil, Securitate, & Reverend Moira

I finished painting a few minis on Wednesday, but I had no time to post them since I had a movie to attend. I went ahead and posted them today, so I guess better late than never, eh?

I've been painting eyes on my minis this time around, but since my brushes are.. sub par. NEVER buy the current Citadel brushes. They do not hold their shape and the tip splays out every couple of strokes. I thought the first one I bought was defective, but it turns out the quality of the brushes is just plain awful. Because if this I've been using an old (like several years old) detail brush. The tip is a bit wonky, but nothing like the Citadel brush I purchased. This made the pupils come out all huge and googly, and the minis are sort of staring, but hey, they have eyes, which is a massive improvement over past efforts.

Zero w/ E/Mauler, Mobile Brigada, & Alguacil w/ Sniper Rifle

My revisions of the paint scheme from before have all of the armor painting in purple, while all the rest of the clothing is in black. I kind of thought that a solid purple TAG might look a bit off, so I left most of the armor plating black. On the Mobile Brigada I decided to just go for it and see what painting every last armor plate purple. On a Power Armored mini this means quite a bit of purple. In fact, there's only a bit of black on the back of the mini and on the MULTI Rifle.

I also made another decision. All the armor plating on my minis will be glossy. I like the idea of having the armor on my minis being made of an advanced plastic or something along those lines. This, while a nifty addition on the other minis, makes the Mobile Brigada have a whole lotta glossy goin' on. That's okay with me though.

Now on to the actual army list. After reading this post I came to the decision that the two groups I had with only a few Orders each were quite possibly a big liability. I guess it can partially be your list rather than you. With that in mind I figured the "swarm/TAG" idea I had was just a little off. It was a great toolbox list, but would have kind of jerky turns- I'd be forced to move some of my minis from each group rather than having the option of having the Szalamandra "go Rambo" or withdraw a mini to the rear to keep it alive.

There was another problem. My original Lieutenant had the highest WIP in my force, which would broadcast who they were. Now the LT has an average WIP, which while a bit of a gamble as far as gaining the Initiative for deployment or first turn, keeps the identity of my leader a secret. For those who don't know, "Loss of Lieutenant" is often a game losing state- you drop from your normal Order pool to two Orders, and it costs both of those Orders if you want to nominate a new Lieutenant. In other words you're in deep, deep trouble.

Here we go:

 NOMADS

 ALGUACIL Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (10)
 ALGUACIL Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (10)
 ALGUACIL HMG / Pistol, Knife. (1 | 19)
 INTERVENTOR Hacker (Hacking Device Plus) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 26)
 CLOCKMAKER Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (18)
 SIN-EATER HMG / Pistol, CCW. (2 | 34)
 MOBILE BRIGADA MULTI Rifle + Light Flamethrower / Pistol, Knife. (43)
 ZERO Combi Rifle, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (18)
 ZERO (Deployable Repeater) E/Mauler, Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 24)
 SZALAMANDRA Hyper-rapid Magnetic Cannon, Heavy Flamethrower / . (2 | 90)
 SZALAMANDRA PILOT Pistol, Knife.
 ZONDBOT Electric Pulse. (3)
 ZONDBOT Electric Pulse. (3)

 6 SWC | 298 Points

This army has exactly 10 Orders, which is the maximum allowed in a single group. This will make the group fluid, and allow me to dump Orders exactly where needed. It has the tools to take on any enemy force, with Camouflage Markers roaming around the board causing problems by plunking down mines and E/Maulers in order to deny areas of terrain. Big Burst values allow the army to deal with swarms. Are there weaknesses? Sure, but they can be gotten around. I like the look of this army, but I'll have to try it out on the table to find out for sure. Hopefully on Wednesday I'll be able to play a game. Hopefully on Wednesday there will be someone with a big enough army to take me on...

Three Hundred Points of Nomads: The Next Revision

Yep, I'm still pondering my Nomads. This time I listened to my brain and swapped the Reverend Moira for a Securitate and an Alguacil with a Heavy Machinegun. More orders, better defensive capability, and an HMG that can advance and cover the rear of my Szalamandra team (Szally, Clockmaker & Zondbot) as they advance, and not care too terribly much if they die. People bemoan the Alguacil HMG as not being accurate, but it has a Burst of 4 and can tear through armor. All it needs is a decent roll and the target is in trouble. Here's what I'm thinking for my team now:

 GROUP 1 (Regular: 7/Irregular: 0):

 ALGUACIL Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (10)
 ALGUACIL HMG / Pistol, Knife. (1 | 19)
 SECURITATE Combi Rifle + Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (23)
 INTERVENTOR (Hacking Device Plus) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 26)
 CLOCKMAKER Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (18)
 SZALAMANDRA Hyper-rapid Magnetic Cannon, Heavy Flamethrower / . (2 | 90)
 SZALAMANDRA PILOT Pistol, Knife.
 DAKTARI Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (14)
 ZONDBOT Electric Pulse. (3)

 GROUP 2 (Regular: 5/Irregular: 0):

 ALGUACIL Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (10)
 ALGUACIL Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (10)
 SIN-EATER HMG / Pistol, CCW. (2 | 34)
 ZERO Combi Rifle, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (18)
 ZERO (Deployable Repeater) E/Mauler, Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 24)

 6 SWC | 299 Points

This one manages to keep the TAG, while still covering the table with enough infantry to generate sufficient Orders to go around. The number of minis does force me to divide my force into two groups, which also splits up my Order pool, but that just means I'll have to use them as a coherent force rather than having a couple of minis running around going nuts with Orders. I feel that this will force me to rely on my force as a whole, rather than simply leaning on my TAG and asking it to do all of the heavy lifting. With that mentality it's a sure way to have me lose games as soon as the Szalamandra goes down, rather than being able to regroup and start my push again. Granted, my TAG basically dominated the board with its HMC last time I used it, but there are ways around it, and opponents will figure out how to tackle the challenge it provides soon enough. Once that happens, the Szalamandra may even become a liability, but who knows? I'll just have to practice, practice, practice. As much as possible, because I'm really thinking that if I do ever go to the NOVA Open, I'd do it to play Infinity.

The tournament is cheaper, and the rules just make sense to me. The geometry and shenanigans involved in HordesMachine have escaped me. If I'm going to harp on a system and try to get really good at it, it really ought to be one that clicks in my mind, no? Besides, I like the unofficial slogan of the Infinity; "It's not your list, it's you."

In other words, this game is less about what minis you bring, it's about how you employ them on the table.

Of course, while I was writing this I came across a beginner's primer on list building for Infinity...

I'll have to think about some of the points the author brought up and see about integrating a few of them into my build.

Back to the list building site...

Nomad Nation Paint Redo Results

Well, a lot on Nomads have been painted, in smallish batches. Three at a time unless it's a really big mini like the Szalamandra. Here are the fruits of my labors:

Clockmaker, Sin-Eater & Zero

Daktari & Zondbots

Szalamandra & Pilot

Alguaciles & Interventor

Next up is another Alcuacile, a Securitate, and a Reverend Moira. I also just finished priming the Zero with the E/Mauler, so she may be added to the batch. All I need to do now is see if Huzzah Hobbies has that Alguacile HMG mini I've been considering. I found some unexpected cash, and it would be well employed getting her.

I'll need to try to secure some time here (wedding permitting) to get a game in. I'd really like to start playing this game for real, and in order to do that I must strike whilst the iron remains hot. I wish to turn murmurs of interest into shouts of unbridled joy at discovering a new, excellent game system!

But first I must finish assembling my troops...

Nomad Knowledge- Tournament Point Values

I made a discovery today. The NOVA Open runs its Infinity tournament at 300 points (at least this year). My last list was 250 points. That means I had to expand my army a bit. With those extra points I had do make a decision- do I just expand on the concept of my current army, or do I trash it and start from the ground up and re-tweak the entire concept?

This posed a problem; my gaming budget is shot until my wedding, and so I can't get any more minis. Even adding the Zero was a stretch. I had to work with what I had available.

So, I was limited to:
3 Alguaciles w/ Combi Rifles
1 Securitate w/ Combi Rifle+Light Shotgun
1 Interventor
1 Clockmaker
1 Daktari
1 Reverend Moira w/ Shock CCW & MULTI Rifle
1 Sin-Eater Observant w/ HMG
1 Mobile Brigada w/ MULTI Rifle+Light Shotgun
2 Zeroes- 1 w/ Anti-Personnel Mines, 1 w/ E-Maulers
1 Szalamandra & Pilot
2 Zondbots

That's my Nomads collection. It was from this I would have to draw my force. First out was the Mobile Brigada. He's just a weird mini, and I really don't like the look of him. Sure he's pretty cool on the tabletop, but I just can't bring myself to like him (unlike the Yu-Jing power armor- which looks fantastic).

The Szalamandra was an auto-include for its sheer firepower and durability. Ninety points isn't such a hard pill to swallow when you have 300 to work with. The inclusion of the Szally meant the addition of a Clockmaker, his Zondbot assistant, and an Interventor to protect this valuable asset. Of course, not all this is purely to support the TAG, the hacker can also go on the offensive and shut down enemy minis.

Of course, Alguciles are a must-have both as cheap, expendable troops and a way to generate orders for the rest of the gang. If somebody needs to draw out a sniper, who better than an Alguacile? Somebody need to form a meat-shield for your Lieutenant? Alguacile. Gotta clear out that minefield? Well, you get it.

Then defense came to mind. How best to cover my advance or just dominate an area of the board? Sin-Eater. Although he only fires once while I'm active, while I'm reactive he fires four shots when he gets an ARO. He's a beast. Plus he's camouflaged so it's hard to get rid of him once he settles into position. He's just an amazing mini in all respects (I even love the sculpt).

How about getting behind enemy lines? A sniper in the right position (or worse, a Missile Launcher sporting Hac-Tao) could really ruin my day. That's where my Zeroes come in. Got a sniper problem? just set a mine under him, step back, and BOOM! Problem solved. You'll be coming in as a Camouflage Marker, so he won't be able to do squat about it. I went into E-Maulers in my last entry, so if you want my opinion on them check that out.

Now, I've got a fair few infantry minis here, and a lot of them are pretty tough to kill, so how about a little backup? The Daktari is in. She'll nurse my troops back to health (those that don't get instantly splattered) and help recover anybody who falls unconscious from their wounds. Again she gets a Zondbot to run around with her and help out where she can't/shouldn't go.

Now, I've got all these minis I should take, but what about the one I want to take. Reverend Moira. She's a great mini, although she's a close combat mini (where I'm pretty much running a shooting force) but hold on! she's a Religious Trooper with an Optical Disruptor. This means she'll never back down or run away, and she'll inflict at least a -6 modifier to hit her. Tactically I'm torn between her and a Securitate (she's a Repeater and she's always expecting you). I just don't like the Securitate mini as much. She's a better bodyguard for a mini an enemy is trying to assassinate, and in a pinch she can let me try to hack any power armor or TAG that ventures too close to my line. The Securitate would also let me upgrade an Alguacile to an HMG, and you can never have too many HMGs.

I really ought to go with the Securitate. I really ought to go with the HMG. Unfortunately I can't get the HMG until a friend places an order from a mail order company, or I special order one from Huzzah Hobbies. The HMG Alguacile is pretty cool too...

I may, MAY have talked myself into a new mini once finances allow. Either that or someone out there could grab me one as a birthday present... (^_~)*

All that rambling aside, I just plain like the Reverend. she's dynamic, she's melee capable, she's wearing a thong...

Well, here's how the force stands right now:

GROUP 1 (Regular: 7/Irregular: 0):
 ALGUACIL Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (10)
 ALGUACIL Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (10)
 INTERVENTOR (Hacking Device Plus) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 26)
 CLOCKMAKER Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (18)
 ZONDBOT Electric Pulse. (3)
 DAKTARI Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (14)
 ZONDBOT Electric Pulse. (3)
 REVEREND MOIRA MULTI Rifle / Pistol, Shock CCW. (38)
 SZALAMANDRA Hyper-rapid Magnetic Cannon, Heavy Flamethrower / . (2 | 90)
 SZALAMANDRA PILOT Pistol, Knife.

 GROUP 2 (Regular: 4/Irregular: 0):
 ALGUACIL Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (10)
 SIN-EATER HMG / Pistol, CCW. (2 | 34)
 ZERO Combi Rifle, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (18)
 ZERO (Deployable Repeater) E/Mauler, Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 24)

 5 SWC | 298 Points
I may also want to work on my group distribution, but that's a thought avalanche for another time.

Breaking Up Black, Green and Purple With... Black, Orange and Purple

I came to a conclusion yesterday. I hate my Nomads' color scheme. As a reminder since I hav not gone into Infinity in a while, here's what they look like:

The paintjob is rather abysmal, even by my own standards. With only about eleven miniatures in the force, I want to be 100% satisfied with the color scheme. It is for this reason that I've decided that a repaint is in order. Why now? Well, two reasons;

-Firstly, I'm approaching "goblin burnout". This is not good, as the end of the army is I sight. I'm almost there, and I don't want to end up saying "forget it" and have them sit on the shelf for another half decade.

-Secondly, there have been Infinity rumblings. Well, there always seem to be rumblings, but there never seems to be any action, as I've maybe played half a dozen games of Infinity since I started collecting my minis, and only once with my Nomads.

So, what will the repaint look like? I'm going with my original color scheme, black and purple. I've already run some test minis through the process, and they came out looking pretty darn good. Well, better than the above paintjob any way. They have more of a night time Spec-Ops look to them. Of course, being Nomads they have obnoxiously colored hair, which kind of breaks down the subtlety, but brightens up the minis. Of course the Zero and the Sin-Eater have no hair which makes the end result remain quite dark, but they have the Camouflage special rule, so they probably ought to be.

Since I'm out of Simple Green I'm doing something unheard of. I'm painting over the existing paint. It's actually come out rather well. Pictures in a few hours to a few days, time permitting.

Of course, it wouldn't be a return to a game system without the addition of a new mini to the force, so I went ahead and grabbed a Zero with an E/Mauler. These beauties are just what the doctor ordered, if the doctor is a Interventor Hacker that wants to stay well away from the action. The E/Maulers are pretty sweet since they both act as Deployable Repeaters for hacking attempts, and have the ability to defend themselves with an EMP pulse if an enemy gets too close. Of course since they're so big that they can't be hidden they have the weakness that they can just be shot off the board, but that just means I'll have to learn to deploy them correctly. Perhaps they should be protected by a land mine? I'll have to fiddle around with the idea, but having Sin-Eater covering fire for them, or perhaps just having the Zeros watch over them from a safe distance will work. It'll be pretty situational, and will require some practice, but this game is slick enough that I won't mind.

Of course, why do an Infinity order at all without a touch of cheesecake? I went ahead and grabbed the "Bootleg Lizard Squadron Pilot". I'm not sure if she's limited edition or not, but I decided not to risk it and go ahead and grab her while I'm at it. Even if I never decide to run a Lizard TAG, she'll be a nice piece to have, and I'll just show her in my display case.

The reason for the purchase of the new Zero is that I've (again, as usual) rewritten my army list. Before I had a Mobile Brigada mini in my force, but after a bit of reconsidering I decided to drop him. For his cost and the addition of an Alguaciles trooper I could add two Zeros and a Daktari. The Zeros are great for area denial with their mines and E/Maulers, and the Daktari is a quite competent field medic. The addition of the Zeros would also mean that I would have the ability to hunt down things that toss out smoke (my force's glaring weakness) which would disrupt my advance since the Szalamandra TAG I run is rather obsolete and can get blinded by such things. The last thing I want is for my Hyper-Rapid Magnetic Cannon to be rendered useless, as it takes up 90 of my 250 points. With a Burst of 5, an effective range of 36" (maximum 104"), and a Damage of 15 with Armor Piercing ammo, it is death to everything- even other TAGs.

The TAG itself may be considered obsolete, but HMCs never go out of style.

Well, al that's left is to toss out my list, which will of course have my Lieutenant's identity concealed. Here we go:

 GROUP 1 (Regular: 9/Irregular: 0):

 ALGUACIL Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (10)
 ALGUACIL Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (10)
 INTERVENTOR (Hacking Device Plus) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 26)
 CLOCKMAKER Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (18)
 ZONDBOT Electric Pulse. (3)
 DAKTARI Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (14)
 ZONDBOT Electric Pulse. (3)
 SIN-EATER HMG / Pistol, CCW. (2 | 34)
 ZERO Combi Rifle, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (18)
 ZERO (Deployable Repeater) E/Mauler, Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 24)
 SZALAMANDRA Hyper-rapid Magnetic Cannon, Heavy Flamethrower / . (2 | 90)
 SZALAMANDRA PILOT Pistol, Knife.

 5 SWC | 250 Points

It's a bit more fluid than before, and is less vulnerable to EMP, hacking, and the like. I still have the Sin-Eater's brutal AROs. I won't have to commit my Interventor, Clockmaker, or Daktari to the front line, and I get to paint and use those adorable little Zondbots! What's not to like?

I'll see how it performs on the table later, but on paper it looks killer.

*** After doing some reading it turns out that the Lizard TAG is the out of date chassis. Oh, well. My comment about the HMC still stands.