Infinity Starting Nomads – Part I – A New Force

Ever since Operation Icestorm and N3 hit in late 2014, I wanted to write an article that would break down how to start collecting a Nomads force.  Every time I talk to a new Nomad player they ask me the same questions, “How should I expand my force?”  and “What units are good?”  Nomads possess such a wide breadth of units that can easily make selecting a cohesive force problematic.  Today I’ll break down the strengths of the Nomads, give some basic list building pointers, and break down the starting force and the first few add-ons.

When experienced players think of the Nomad force a few strengths come to mind:

Hacking.  Nomads are the premier infowar faction.  Many of the best hackers in the game are found in the ranks of the Nomads.  Nomads possess an unparalleled access to Hacking Device Plus, plentiful repeaters and markers to extend hacking ranges, and some unique gear combinations such as Fast Pandas and ODD with HD+.  Indeed, the only hackers that can reliably out-hack Nomads come from the Combined Army and cost almost double the price of Nomad hackers.

Board Control.  Most factions sport some access to board control such as mines, e/maulers, crazy koalas, and repeaters.  Nomads excel at board control.  Several profiles have access to mines and other offensive deployable repeaters which can be used to funnel opponents into proper fire alleys.  All of this means that Nomads can usually pick and choose the terms of when and where on the board they will deal with the enemy.

Camouflage.  Nomads don’t possess the most camo but what they do possess is either dirt cheap(zeros) or extremely effective (Intruders) for camouflage troops. 

Remotes.  I never really considered Nomads “The Remote Faction” until I started playing other factions.  Nomad remotes offer flexibility, mobility, and excellent firepower.  Many of them can fulfill multiple roles, most of them come with climbing plus making for some amusing possibilities, and the combat remotes have truly punishing firepower compared to that of other factions.

Flexible Deployment.  More than any other faction, the Nomads offer more flexibility with deployment.  Many of the camouflage profiles can infiltrate.  The Hellcat is a cheap and effective AD3 troop, and Tomcats are some of the best AD specialists in the game.

Specialists.  After playing around with a few other factions (Morats in particular) I can state the one thing I miss most when I am not playing with my Nomads is the great diversity in specialists.  Nomads are not lacking any specialists and most units offer some specialist profiles meaning you can usually double up when purchasing a base trooper.

That may seem like a lot of strengths but Nomads have some large weaknesses as well:

Durability.  The overwhelming majority of Nomads are 1 wound models with mediocre armor (1-2).  If they cannot dictate the flow of battle, they will likely fold like a house of cards.  If firepower can be concentrated on any particular Nomad threat, they will go down.

Close Combat.  While some notable exceptions do exist, Nomads are one of the weaker CC factions.  Even the exceptions that are out there are weak compared to the CC experts of other factions.  They lack widespread Martial Arts, and most CC weapons are just dull AP weapons.

Synergy.  With the exception of Tohaa and some sectorials, Nomads rely on synergy of units working together.   This covers a reliance of Smoke+MSV2, Forward Observer + Smart Missiles, etc.  Take out one and the other becomes less than optimal OR the nomad player must invest more points for redundancy.

Players new to Infinity may feel overwhelmed when first trying to build lists on their own.  How many heavy weapons is enough?  Do I need a doctor?  What units work best together? 

Here are a few basic tips before we break down starting up a Nomad force:

K.I.S.S. – “Keep it Simple, Stupid”.  Don’t over-complicate matters.  When starting you’ll likely play simple missions that require you to kill enemies and claim board control.  If venturing into ITS, you may need some specialists such as doctors, engineers, hackers, etc.  Whatever the case, take what you need for the mission and then take units that you want to take.

Experiment.  The key to Infinity is really teasing out how your personal play-style works with each unit.  So don’t pigeonhole yourself into just a handful of units because they seem to work for you.  Try all your options even if they don’t seem desirable to you at first.

To SWC or Not SWC.  Most veterans will tell you to fill up your SWC.  My suggestion is to try to use as much SWC as possible, but, if you just can’t spend that last 1 or .5 SWC, don’t worry about it.  Some of the top players out there play without maxing out SWC.

Avoid Crutches.  Remember just above when I talked about getting comfortable with units?  Yeah, avoid common crutches like Total Reaction bots, TO Assassins, etc.  All units have a time and place to be used but if you keep playing with these crutches your locals will adapt and your tactical options will be limited.

Orders.  Infinity is as much a game about effective managing of orders as it is taking models out of action and claiming objectives.  You can’t stay effective or flexible if you lack orders so make certain you keep a plentiful pool of REGULAR orders.  For 300 point games this means a minimum of 10 and, for Nomads, likely 14-15.  For 200 points or less the goal should be 7-8 at a minimum.

Have Fun.  Don’t limit yourself to units the internet tells you are the most effective.  Take the units you think you look cool and get you excited about the game.  If they are listed as subpar, that’s just one person’s opinion and you can always prove them wrong.  I’ve been playing since 2009 (off and on) and I’ve never found a truly useless unit.  Some just require more finesse or specific situations to function at their peak.

Now that we have the basics out of the way we can address starting a Nomad force proper.  The best place to start?  If you have a friend interested in Infinity, split a box of Operation Icestorm.  This is preferred as, for pretty much the same cost as the starter, you’ll get an extra figure and the two of you will have some terrain to play with too.  If no one can split the Icestorm box with you, I suggest the Nomad starter.  Either way, this will run you roughly $50 including tax (a little more for O:IS).

So you’ve picked up the starter.  What does this mean?  What’s inside?  How do I use what’s in the box effectively?  Let’s take a look at the starter:

The basic starter (not including the Reverend Healer from O:IS) consists of 6 miniatures that cost 1.5 SWC and 132 points.  In this post we’ll talk about spending roughly $100 dollars to take the starter to an effective 150 points and filling out the SWC a little as we go.

Alguaciles with Combi-Rifle x3.  These are your grunts and form the basis of your order pool.  Make no mistake though, they are capable fighters and always remember that even a combi-rifle can cause considerable damage with a little luck or planning.  Later when we address listbuilding for ITS, these models will likely become specialists as Alguaciles have many capable specialist profiles.

Spektr with Combi-Rifle.  Tunguska Spektrs are advanced infiltrators designated to infiltrate behind enemy lines and sabotage and ambush vulnerable bases and troops.  With TO camo and infiltration this troops can deploy in marker state or in hidden deployment anywhere up to the halfway mark and even attempt to deploy on the opponents half of the table with a risky PH roll.  TO camo means the Spektr can be a bear to hit and he really excels at forcing into face-to-face rolls where the numbers are in his favor.  The Spektr also has mines which allow him to close off access to flanking routes or objectives barring triggering the mine(s). 

Mobile Brigada with Combi-Rifle.  These guys are pretty generic heavy infantry for any faction but, for Nomads, that’s the best they’ve got.  At 2W and 4 ARM though they offer some durability when first starting Nomads and make a great choice for a lieutenant as long as you don’t mind proxying the Combi-Rifle model for a MULTI Rifle (most people don’t care).

Grenzer with MULTI Sniper Rifle.  The Grenzer is a ranged support unit capable of doing considerable damage to camouflage troops and armor alike.  The MULTI Sniper Rifle is a low burst high damage weapon that can easily cut down even the sturdiest of models in a single order.  The Grenzer also has MSV1 which removes the benefits of basic camouflage and reduces TO camo to just a -3 modifier.  With his respectable BS13 he can be quite effective.  Also note his ARM3, BTS6 and V:Courage which means he is quite durable when placed in cover.

The next purchase beyond the starter should be the same for every Nomad player.  That said, if a new player wants to skip directly to the Bakunin Sectorial they should invest in different models.  I’ll cover Bakunin in another post.  So what is every Nomad player’s second purchase?

As stated above Alguaciles give the Nomad player a pretty cheap way to add orders to their force.  The models in this box, all heavy weapons, allow for the Nomads to fill out their SWC without breaking the bank in terms of points.  This box includes four Alguacil models:  Heavy Machine Gun (HMG), MULTI Sniper Rifle (MSR), Light Grenade Launcher (LGL), and Missile Launcher (ML).  Of these the HMG will see the most use but all of them have their uses. 

HMG.  The Burst 4 and DAM15 are what make the HMG a rightfully feared weapon.  In the hands of an Alguacil it isn’t as reliable as some heavier options due to the mediocre BS of 11, but at 1 SWC and 18 points, she’s a steal.

LGL.  Useful for laying down some speculative fire action on worrisome troops out of line of sight.  Works well with hackers and forward observers to put the enemy model in the targeted state.  That plus range modifiers could mean speculative fire is at base BS.

ML.  Missile Launchers are great for forcing an opponent to not clump up their models.  Every had an opponent hide 4 models behind a car and keep popping up one model for potshots?  The ML will make short work of that.  The downside is the B1 though, which makes it a risky proposition during the active turn.

MSR.  Similar to the Grenzer, the Alguacil MSR is a no-frills version but dirt cheap.  Useful for out-ranging other heavy weapons or taking out high armor threats he's a bargain for his points but the SWC cost can be hefty for what you get.  The MSR is a serious threat during ARO too with the DA ammo it can use.

With the two boxes above one could reasonably build a good 150 point list.  However, it would lack some of the things that make Nomads fun such as cheap camo, Airborne Deployment, and other neat tricks.  So I always encourage players to pick a model in the 15-25 point range that can be bought as a single blister and go from there.

I’m going to recommend picking up either a Zero or a Hellcat.  I personally like the Hellcat with boarding shotgun and the Zero with deployable repeater models the best.  But, that could just be me.  Why do I recommend one of these models?  Let’s take a quick look.

Zero.  I love Zeros both aesthetically and on the table.  They are one of the reasons I started Nomads.  The main draw is the camouflage and infiltration.  Usually camo infiltrators will run in the mid-20s for points.  Zeros get all of that and can be as cheap as 17 points, which nets you a boarding shotgun.  Since they infiltrate the range band of the shotgun is minimal and a shotgun attack with the surprise shot modifiers can really swing the dice in favor of the zero.

Hellcat.  Hellcats are great AD troops and AD itself is an awesome rule.  Essentially it gives you an additional attack vector to get rid of threats that might be too costly to face off against with traditionally deployed troops.  Hellcats have superior AD which means if you choose to drop them via template and you botch the roll, they can start anywhere in your deployment zone instead of along the board edges.  AD troops with shotguns are especially dangerous as they can easily drop down outside of 8” and then, with the next order, move into their weapon’s +6 range band and annihilate enemies.

Now if you purchase everything I mentioned above it will run roughly $108 dollars not including tax or potential shipping.  It should be noted that if online retailers are used that the cost is considerably lower.  For example, the cost from Miniature Market will run roughly $87 before tax and shipping but I understand the desire and necessity of supporting local brick and mortar stores.

With the miniatures above you can assemble some pretty good 150 point lists for learning the game.  Use the Alguaciles for order support and cheap heavy weapons.  The Spektr or Zero should be used to swing dice rolls in their favor with surprise shot or for board control since they both have mines.  The Hellcat can be used for some asymmetrical warfare fun by giving additional avenues of attack.  While the Grenzer offers some effective  long-range anti-camo support.  Lastly, the Mobile Brigada makes a durable lieutenant or a convenient damage sponge for breaking enemy hard points.

Below are a few sample lists:

This list relies on the the spektr and zero to eliminate difficult threats and limiting the movements of enemies with mines.  Coordinate minelaying with the two for efficiency and then use the Alguaciles offensively.  Take a little risk with the Brigada but if he takes a wound, start to hunker down a little and be more cautious.

The Grenzer and Alguacile bring the firepower to the table.  With this list, I’d hide most things out of LOS leaving the Grenzer with a line of fire to a major fire lane but not to the whole board.  When the enemy moves up the field, bring the hellcat on to create some crossfires and cause some confusion in the ranks, then move up the Alguaciles and Brigada to take advantage of the confusion.  Use coordinated orders if you have to.

This list combines some aspects of both lists above but also includes two paramedics.  Why?  Specialists, like paramedics, form an intrinsic part of Infinity, so you might as well become familiar with how certain specialists function.  The biggest change is the addition of Grenade Launcher which, when used in concert with the forward observer can be truly devastating to play against.

The fake-out is a classic Nomad tactic to make your opponent think they are outnumbered or make it seem unlikely that an AD troop is waiting to drop down.  How is this performed?  Well in this list the Zero is a minelayer which lets him deploy a mine as a camo token during deployment.  This gives your opponent the impression that 8 troops are on the board when really, it is only 7 troops and a mine.  This causes your opponent to relax their rearguard and opens the Hellcat up for some true mayhem.  Not to mention the mine that they will expend effort on to discover/deal with.