Secret Clipsos Man
Isaac was game to help me practice for an upcoming league game versus Erik (Zelaponeepus) while I was playing Shane (wzzzzrd).
We were playing on this iteration of the airplane table:
Overview
- Mission: Supply Drop
- Forces: Tohaa versus Neoterran Capitaline Army (200)
- Deploy First: NCA
- First Turn: NCA
We’re working up to 300 points in the league, so we’re at 200 now for Supply Drop, which is basically supplies but Tech Coffins only turn on one per turn. That way one is available at the top of 1, 2 at the top of 2 (assuming the first one wasn’t taken), and 3 at the top of 3. They either go from left to right or right to left, randomly determined at the start of the game. It’s meant to mimic an airplane flying over the table and dropping supplies. It has a slightly more forgiving pacing than Supplies.
My plan is to hide Clipsos near the objectives and use the rest of the list to go get boxes that have been taken.
Supply Drop
KAMAEL (Lieutenant) Combi Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 12)
KOTAIL Spitfire / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 35)
CLIPSOS (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle, Flash Pulse, Shock Mines / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 25)
IGAO Combi Rifle, Nanopulser, Pheroware Tactics: Mirrorball / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (0.5 | 28)
JAAN STAAR Light Shotgun, Shock Mines / Viral Pistol(+1B), CC Weapon. (1 | 31)
GREIF-OP (Surprise Attack [-3], Impersonation [IMP-2]) Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Breaker Pistol(+1B), CC Weapon. (1 | 21)
MOTORIZED BOUNTY HUNTER Submachine Gun, Chain-colt(+1B) / Pistol, PARA CC Weapon(-6). (0 | 9)
DIPLOMATIC (CC Attack [-3], Specialist Operative]) Nanopulser, Flash Pulse, Pheroware Tactics: Eraser / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 5)
LIBERTO Submachine Gun, Chain-colt / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 8)
7
3
1 | 4 SWC | 199 Points | Open in Army | Copy Code
Isaac has Bolts. Bolts are real good. Also Pathfinders and a Peacemaker. Blergh.
Isaac (xammy)
AUXILIA (Lieutenant) Combi Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0.5 | 14)
AUXBOT_1 Heavy Flamethrower / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 4)
PATHFINDER DRONBOT Combi Rifle, Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 15)
FUGAZI DRONBOT Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)
BOLT (Multispectral Visor L1) MULTI Sniper Rifle ( ) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1.5 | 31)
MACHINIST NCA (Bioimmunity, Veteran) Combi Rifle, D-Charges ( | GizmoKit) / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 16)
PEACEMAKER Heavy Shotgun / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 20)
AUXBOT_3 Heavy Flamethrower / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 4)
UMA SØRENSEN (Surprise Attack [-3], Camouflage, Forward Deployment [+8″]) Submachine Gun(+1B), E/M Mines / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 30)
Deployment
I chose deployment to make sure I was on the same side of the table as the game against Shane, so Isaac went first. He set up the Bolt link on the airplane wing to command much of the board, and screened them with the Peacemaker. Most of the rest of his list was in the trees on the left with the Auxilia hidden all the way in the back screened by its Auxbot.
Of import is that his CSU rolled +3 PH, which would make it very hard to kill in the low-vis sat zone hell of the airplane table. I split my troops so the Grief was all the way on the right and Jan Staar on the left. the Libertos hid nearby with the Igao, and the Clipsos were equidistant between the objectives. I hid the Kotail as a Kamael, way in the back, and I think that was a mistake. I need more experience running Tohaa, they’re a pretty big departure from classic Infinity.
My reserve was Jan Staar and I think Isaac’s was the Bolt Sniper.
Turn 1
Top of 1 – NCA
I took two orders from Isaac, and we were off. He committed to the mission by going to the Tech Coffin on my right, which was the first one to show up. The Pathfinder snuck forward and let me take shots on it if I wanted. I declined.
As the other Pathfinder advanced, I dodged the Libertos into view and dropped a mine when the Bolt tried to fight me.
Isaac used his CSU to dodge-clear the mine. Irritating.
After grabbing the objective, Isaac ran away to his deployment zone with the Pathfinder and then it was over to me.
Bottom of 1 – Tohaa
I’m definitely feeling the pain of less orders in the list with all the off-table stuff. We call Isaac’s CSU “Lord Business” because of his silly briefcase pose, so I try to fight his CSU with mine… and he just keeps dodging because I’m on terrible numbers thanks to the low-vis sat zone.
I don’t really have orders to keep prosecuting this, but I try anyway. Doesn’t work.
I decide to try for a lieutenant snipe and go after the objective, that’s the plan for the list. I sneak the Greif past Uma, then discover shoot her successfully.
I manage to drop the Pathfinder without much trouble…
and I trade the Greif for the Auxilia.
I did advance the Kotail along with the Greif, so there’s that.
Turn 2
Top of 2 – NCA
Well, even though Isaac’s in loss, he’s got 4 veterans on the table, so it kinda doesn’t matter. Lord Business makes his way forward, and I try to dodge Jan Staar in the way to be a nuisance. I’m hoping to get Mirrorball off with the nearby Igao too, which will protect Jan Staar from NCA shooting. I succeed the dodge but the Mirrorball failed. Uh oh.
This means the Peacemaker can get a shot on Jan Staar and kill him with some help from its friendly Auxbot. I decide to get some value out of everything by dropping a shotgun template on the Auxbot and the Pathfinder and set up Mirrorball, which fails again.
I at least take out the other Pathfinder, but the Peacemaker is still up. I was hoping to make a run with my MBH but it’s too far out and the Bolt MSR takes it out on the way to the central console.
The Bolts inch towards the central console, and I reveal a Clipsos to lay a mine covering them.
The Peacemaker rounds the corner to deal with this, and I foolishly dodge instead of laying another mine, losing the clipsos.
The Fugazi grabs the downed box in Isaac’s deployment zone, and that’s that.
Bottom of 2 – Tohaa
I’m really feeling the pain now, and just don’t have much in the way of options. Isaac easily has two boxes now, one he still needs to pick up but is deep in his deployment zone, and one with the Bolts. I just gotta do what I can. Lord Business finally goes down to the Kotail, then I try to remove the Peacemaker with the Igao. It goes very poorly and I can’t do anything because the Peacemaker just crit dodges. These are orders that I don’t have!
I try with my Lieutenant order, hit the Peacemaker, and it passes ARM. UGH.
I just give up and send the last Clipsos in and split burst 3 ways against all the Bolts. I’ve conceded the game at this point mentally and just want to do something fun/hilarious, which is something you just do when playing Isaac. It goes very poorly, as expected, but we have a good laugh about it, and in some ways, that’s the point of Infinity.
Isaac takes the win handily, and we call it here at a
6-0 Neoterran Capitaline Army Victory!
Post Game Analysis
Yeah that was a comedy of errors. I think everything about that just went poorly for me, starting with my execution on the core approach to the mission that I had envisioned. Revealing a Clipsos to stop a box being taken just doesn’t work against Bolts and Peacemakers, and with Isaac going first, there just wasn’t much I could do to stop him from running away. I didn’t have the orders to really prosecute boxes that were taken either, and going second meant I had be more conservative with the placement of the Greif and Jan Staar, making it even less effective of a strategy.
In short, I think the list really wants to go first. Set up the Igao in the middle, mirrorball a Tech Coffin, abscond with one of the boxes. Do it again on turn 2 or 3, and the box that gets away can be hunted down by the Igao or one of the impersonators. I think I designed the list with too much redundancy in it and not enough orders, especially with the -2 from the Clipsos.
I just felt constantly starved for orders, and my choice to put the Kotail so far back, hiding it as a lieutenant decoy just exacerbated it all. And really I think that’s sort of the big issue for me this game. I had a good idea to start–put some hidden deployment guys on the boxes, and use impersonators to go hunt down box carriers. I just didn’t support this strategy well with unit choice and orders. Tohaa has a lot of toolbox, but it’s ain’t cheap. I’m going to to have to think carefully about how to approach this mission again versus Erik, who I’m about to play, because as this game wrapped up he walked in the door of the game store! Thanks to Isaac for the sound whuppin’ he gave me, and thanks to you for reading!
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