After the success of the first Tournament, it was only natural that I would attend Lvl Up's second, this time with a few new models and my eye on the painting prize. Looking over the tournament pack, the scenarios looked slightly more intense than the beginner-friendly missions from before, and this time we could also run two lists, giving the players the opportunity to tailor their lists to suit the missions.
I only had time to practise one of the scenarios in the lead up the tournament - Beacon Race - against a local player named Joe. He ran a powerful ALEPH force, and managed to get into the Objective Room before me to secure one of the Beacons before my first turn. After that, my own force needed to destroy his team to get into the Objective Room, and this is what I spent the rest of the game doing. It seems that getting into the Room early is the best plan, and then defending it as hard as you can! Some Smoke and fast moving troops to ferry the Objective out of there would help with scoring more points.
Not having a huge amount of experience with Infinity nor owning a massive range of painted models to choose from, I resolved to use the list I had run last time, and for my second team, the list from the finale of the Escalation League. This would only need three extra models painted, which was a relief given the pressures of Real Life at the moment.
Here are the two lists...
NOMADS - JURISDICTIONAL COMMAND OF
CORREGIDOR
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GROUP 1
WILDCAT Lieutenant Combi
Rifle + Light Flamethrower, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife (19)
WILDCAT (Number 2) Combi
Rifle + Light Flamethrower, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife (20)
WILDCAT Hacker (Hacking Device)
Combi Rifle + Light Flamethrower, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife (0.5 |
31)
WILDCAT Spitfire / Pistol,
Knife (1.5 | 25)
WILDCAT Combi Rifle + Light
Flamethrower, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife (19)
TOMCAT Engineer Combi Rifle +
Light Flamethrower, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife (22)
HELLCAT HMG / Pistol,
Knife (1.5 | 29)
MORAN (Forward Observer)
Combi Rifle, CrazyKoalas (2) / Pistol, Knife (0.5 | 24)
GECKO 2 Combi Rifles,
Chain-colt, Panzerfaust (1 | 54)
LUNOKHOD Boarding Shotgun,
Heavy Flamethrower, CrazyKoalas (2) / Electric Pulse (29)
GROUP 2
REAKTION ZOND HMG,
Antipersonnel Mines / Electric Pulse (1 | 28)
6 SWC | 300 Points
This list would work for the Beacon Race, as the Lunokhod and the Moran would be able to cover the Objective Room with their Crazy Koalas. The Link Team and the Tomcat would hav to do as Specialists should the Moran fall, while the Hellcat, Reaktion Zond and Gecko would cover the board. I knew this was not the best list for the mission, but wanted to see how it would fare.
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| Team One - the same force as used in the previous Tournament and featuring an old favourite - the Gecko |
GROUP 1 (Regular: 10/Irregular: 0):
WILDCAT Lieutenant Combi Rifle + Light Flamethrower, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife (19)
WILDCAT (Number 2) Combi Rifle + Light Flamethrower, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife (20)
WILDCAT Engineer Combi Rifle + Light Flamethrower, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife (23)
WILDCAT Hacker (Hacking Device) Combi Rifle + Light Flamethrower, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife (0.5 | 31)
WILDCAT Spitfire / Pistol, Knife (1.5 | 25)
HELLCAT HMG / Pistol, Knife (1.5 | 29)
TOMCAT Engineer Combi Rifle + Light Flamethrower, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife (22)
INTRUDER HMG / Pistol, Knife (1.5 | 44)
STEMPLER ZOND (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle, Sensor / Electric Pulse (22)
LUNOKHOD Boarding Shotgun, Heavy Flamethrower, CrazyKoalas (2) / Electric Pulse (29)
GROUP 2 (Regular: 2/Irregular: 0):
REAKTION ZOND HMG, Antipersonnel Mines / Electric Pulse (1 | 28)
SALYUT ZOND Minesweeper (8)
6 SWC | 300 Points
This team would work in the second two missions, where the added firepower of three HMGs would be crucial in taking out opposition models before moving in and claiming Objectives. The Stempler Zond and the Wildcat Link Team would act as the Specialists for the Objectives, with the Tomcat Engineer as a wildcard. This team included the new Intruder and two Remotes painted up in the past week.
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| Team Two - unfortunately missing the Hellcat with HMG who is out for repairs |
Nine tables with solid density of terrain awaited us in the Bunker, featuring terrain from a good number of companies and a wide variety of Factions and Sectorials present. Some of the tables have been featured in this report, and can be seen below, but in my mind the Warmill table was a clear favourite, and the Plast Craft Games pictured below was also incredibly striking. Game One began well on schedule, on Table One of all places...
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| The Plast Craft Games table |
"Any group is weaker than a man alone unless they are perfectly trained to work together."
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| Treating the fences as Low-Visibility made the table more open, but the board suffered for anything that truly blocked line of sight, making real movement difficult with Reaction Remotes and Heavy Infantry with HMGs all over the place |
I realised I had made some mistakes with my set-up as soon as his Monks started throwing Smoke Grenades all over the place, and his Rui Shi Remote with Multi-Spectral Visor moved into shoot the Wildcats out in the open. Lack of experience against Yu Jing meant I had no idea how many tricks and toys they could play with! Luckily, with Sixth Sense Level 2 the Wildcats succeeded in taking out that particular Remote before it could cause too much trouble, but the Reaction Remote on the other side of his deployment zone kept me from advancing as far as I would have liked and stalled my plans on the Beacons.
Opening moves on the Objective Room saw his Guilang Scout break through the doors, only to be set upon by two Crazy Koalas and obliterated. More troops poured into the room, a Celestial Guard Hacker snatching (eventually) an Objective and handing it off to an Aragoto biker, who sped towards the Antenna. He was stopped as the Hellcat entered the fray and took out the bike, who then barely survived a counter-attack from the Shaolin Monks and Kuang Shi. The death of the Kuang Shi led to a mighty explosion, taking down another Shaolin Monk, and the Hellcat promptly finished the Celestial Guard Hacker. The Hellcat was finally brought down by the last Chain Rifle attack, and the Beacon picked up by a Baggage Remote - score one Beacon for Rob!
Though I had succeeded in bringing down many of the troopers around the Objective Room and stalled the Yu Jing force from scoring any further Objective points, my own attempts to get into the room were stifled as his Invincible covered the entrance with his powerful HMG and the Husong Total Reaction Remote covered the other entrances. The Gecko lost two Structure Points bringing down the Husong Remote, but by then it was too late, and I did not have enough Orders to claim a Beacon and bring it home. With the final moves of the game, I detonated a planted Demolition Charge and scored my Sabotage Classified Objective, and then used the Moran to Mark an Unconscious Shaolin Monk, scoring my Telemetry Classified Objective.
Final Result 5-2 to Yu Jing. Overall a tense and exciting game. Rob was a brilliant opponent who I knew was far more experienced than myself but he was gracious and sporting, allowing me to talk through some moves before committing myself so we were both aware of cover, Line of Fire etc. I am sure he was rather peeved to only score 5 points in this opening game, and was fully aware of his mistakes around the Objective Room that left so many important Yu Jing models out of action, but hope he doesn't hold it against me!
MVP - Hellcat with HMG - appearing on the flank and taking down the Aragato, Celestial Guard Hacker, both Shaolin Monks and Kuang Shi really put Rob's strategy on ice, and he had to spend a lot of effort removing the threat. Without Smoke Grenades, a fast getaway driver or a Specialist, he had very little chance to claim a second Beacon.
GAME TWO - Frontline versus ALEPH
"We are going in with First Wave... just means more bots for us to kill! You smash the entire area! You kill anything not wearing red and black! You get me?"
"We get you sir!"
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| A striking table by Warmill, a locally based terrain company. I have a few of their buildings and find them perfect for Infinity. The board was fun to play on, especially with no obvious high towers or big open areas |
The game opened with his deadly Asura popping her head up to take down my Reaktion Zond, and promptly suffering three wounds - dead! Nice start for the Nomad Nation. His Zayin Remotes advanced to cover more of the field, and a lucky shot discovered and picked off the Intruder. Both of us had lost our favourite and best models in the opening move - ouch.
My first turn was difficult, as I felt I could not move without taking down the Remotes first. Losing my Reaktion Zond, I was forced to risk the Link Team, who luckily brought down both with a string of lucky shots. The hunt was now on, and a series of violent rounds of shooting saw Joe's team get picked apart - Dakini Tacbots, Yudbots, anything I could isolate was brutally gunned down. Unfortunately, this led to the ALEPH team entering Retreat by the end of my second turn, and the game ended! With not enough of my troopers having moved forward, I only scored ONE Objective Point, while Joe's battered and scattered survivors were spread out enough they held FOUR Points worth of territory.
Final result 4-1 to Joe and his ALEPH monstrosities, despite me murdering almost his entire team and only losing two models. Seems I need to focus on the Objective! A good fun game, nonetheless. Joe might not have enjoyed it quite so much, but he still won overall so should be well pleased.
MVP - Wildcat with Spitfire, for removing both Zayin Remotes and a number of other troops allowing me to move forward - though not far enough obviously! The Reaktion Zond gets a mention for taking down the Asura on the first turn, but this contributed to game ending so early so it loses out!
GAME THREE - Supplies versus Nomads (Jurisdictional Command of Corregidor)
"This is a Live Fire Exercise! Perfect score is three hundred - B Company came through last week with two-eight-five. I expect you to do better!"
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| This board was more my style, with lots of blocking terrain. We treated the forests in the same manner as the buildings, which used a Tournament House Rule to block LOS and count as Low-Visibility terrain when within them |
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| The Wildcat Link Team got to use their Multiterrain in this mission! Very exciting, and very helpful, it turned out |
The scenario involved jumping on the three Supply boxes running through the centre of the board, and using Specialists to open them and retrieve the Objectives. Ryan opened proceedings using his Iguana to blow my Reaktion Zond away, before the rest of his team advanced toward the Boxes and found cover. In my turn, the Intruder brought down one of the Alguaciles before being taken out himself, while the Wildcats moved forward and took down his Hacker in the forest, then moved around and killed the enemy Intruder. My Hellcat then entered the scene and cut down the second Alguacil. This was a brutal series of Orders, as my team used the cover available to move forward and pick on his team one at a time. Lastly, the Lunokhod moved into range of the Iguana, so when it moved two Crazy Koalas would jump on it.
Ryan's second turn saw him bring on his own Hellcat behind my forces, blowing away the Engineer from the Link Team before being killed rather quickly. The Tomcats hid in cover behind a forest, while the Iguana suffered a wound from the Lunokhod and his Crazy Koalas before mowing them down. Having lost four models in the opening turn, Ryan was severely short on Orders, and could only hope his wall of covering fire would stop my team achieving the Objectives.
For my second turn, the Wildcat Link Team were hesitant to move forward with the threat of the Iguana and his Heavy Flamethrower, but moved forward as close as they could to the Objective without exposing themselves. On the far side of the board, my Tomcat Engineer came on and ambushed a Wildcat hidden behind some crates - Ryan's Lieutenant, it turned out. With this model out of action, his last turn would be difficult. As there would no Turn Four, Ryan spent his Turn Three positioning his Tomcats and the Iguana where they could cover the Objective in the forest - the Objective my Link Team were intent upon.
In the last turn, the Wildcats advanced on the Objective in the forest, getting into a fire fight with the Tomcats that left the Wildcat Hacker dead. With no Specialists left on that side of the board, the forest Objective seemed to be out of the picture, but I did manage to set off a Demolition Charge that earned me my Sabotage Classified Objective. The Stempler Zond then advanced and scored a lucky hit with its Forward Observer roll, completing my second Classified Objective. With the last Orders of the game, the Tomcat advanced across the board, ran up the steps to the top of a building and opened one of the Supply Boxes, securing the Objective in the last second!
Overall a good fun game, made difficult for Ryan with my murderous gunning down of four of his models in the first turn and the multiple angles my team attacked from - big models like the Iguana cannot cover the entire board, and I used this to my advantage when the Tomcat came in from behind to win the Objective. Final result 8 - 0 to me, with Victory Points roughly equal.
MVP - Tomcat Engineer - taking down the enemy Lieutenant, bagging the Objective and scoring one of the Classified Objectives... well done sir.
THE RESULTS
Somehow, with a grand total of ELEVEN points for the three games (plus a pretty impressive amount of Victory Points, to be fair) I had managed to come SIXTH! That last game against Ryan had really thrown me up the rankings, and no doubt my incredibly violent playstyle contributed to climbing a few places on Victory Point difference.
More importantly, I won the Best Painted Award! More than pleased with this, as the painting award was my main aim for the Tournament (and indeed all Tournaments I attend). Landing a respectable placing is just icing on the cake.
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| Interesting to note the high placing of the Combined Army, and the two guys who beat me finished 4th and 5th! |
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| A worthy foe for the Best Painted award - the beautiful Combined Army by i0003 |
Overall, a highly enjoyable day and good set of games! With such a simple force (Corregidor don't have the big bag of tricks) I can't say I learned a huge amount about how to run my own team, but watching other, more experienced players and how they built teams to achieve Objectives has given me some ideas. I did learn the value of achieving the Objectives over shooting down opposition models, and am still trying to work out how to do this certain missions, or against certain opponents (especially those with multiple Total Reaction models). Glue guns and Hackers will help with this, but when I take down an enemy model I want it down permanently.
Tournament-wise, it was an well organised and professional as ever, with name badges and full tournament packs available for all the players and great tables. Free drinks were very welcome later in the day when the Bunker began to heat up! I am already looking forward to the third tournament, which promises to be an even bigger event.
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| Another great table - I may have to pick up some of these buildings. I believe they are from Underground Lasers but please correct me if I'm wrong |
- Attend another tournament and achieve both my aims again! Best Painted and placing somewhere in the top third would be something special to achieve twice, especially as the competition promises to be even fiercer next time. As much as painting another Faction would help towards a painting award, I am really happy with running the Nomads for a while yet. To make them fresh I think I will just have to add a load more models! Operation: Icestorm will help with this, obviously, but I also have my eye on a few more Specialist troops, and a mighty Iguana.
- Plans have already formed (in the middle of the night while trying to sleep... when I get all my thinking done) for at least four more Remotes (so I can run all the different types), a second Moran Maasai Manhunter (specifically for Beacon Race), and a Vortex with Sniper Rifle... or at least a Grenzer painted in Corregidor Red. This is in addition to finishing all the other Infinity models sitting on the painting table - a pile which has not reduced in size for a long time!
- In the future I will be planning to run Lupe Balboa and her Smoke Grenades. The original model is nice but a bit flashy for my stripped-down, professional mercenary team so I will have to think about a conversion.
- I would love to flesh out my personal terrain collection a bit more and be able to contribute a table or two, especially if the Tournament Organisers get their wish for a larger tournament. I had a good chat with the guys from Warmill and am looking to buy some more of their stuff, to start with, plus I have my eye on a few pieces from some other companies. The thought of assembling more MDF scenery is scaring me though.
- Get Winner Dave to attend - unfortunately he was distracted by real life and could not make it this time, which was a big shame. I hope in the future he will be able to come along and improve his game.
- Improve my own game - I have the killing side of Infinity down pat, but would love to improve on scoring Objectives and getting that tournament score a bit higher. As it is, I think I place high because of the Victory Point difference more than Objective points!
Till the next tournament...
George
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