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Thanks for the good OP. I ended up getting a decent bunch of models for this game on steep discount awhile ago from a store that had them on clearance, but I haven't gotten around to actual building any of them yet and had some questions. I ended up with two of the plastic Southern army starters, and a pair of the metal silverscales. If you could answer any of these questions I'd appreciate it: The models in the box come with mixed round and hex bases, can you instead mount all of them on appropriately sized round bases? Do you happen to know what scale the infantry models are? What are some good weapons/equipment to be on the lookout for? The variously sized autocannons and rocket packs seem to be the ubiquitous "free" baseline for most gears, but what about the other common equipment? I'm not really expecting an exhaustive list here, but even something like "bazookas tend to be good/bad" or "gunner upgrades tend to be worth it/not worth it" would be helpful. In Battletech for example, PPCs, large lasers, AC/10s, braces of medium lasers, srms, and lrms all tend to be solid weapon systems. In infinity on the other hand HMGs and Spitfires are considered the gold standard of weapons you pay extra for. A unit with good equipment might be paying for it in other ways, whereas a unit with bad equipment might make up for it in other ways. Is there any standard list building advice you might have? Related to the previous two questions, are there any standout unit variants you would recommend building from the South starter box? The army builder lists some units as "extended content". Are these units legal to use in standard balanced play, or are they more for funsies units for casual games that you need to talk with your opponent about beforehand? Sorry for dumping so many questions on you at once.
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Jun 13, 2023 16:40
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Slyphic posted:A very good post Ok, that answered my questions better than I had hoped for. Thanks a ton! For the mambas specifically you mention airdrop as an advantage for them, however it looks like they would be without any kind of e-war coverage if you airdropped them on their own. Is there a decent unit to airdrop in alongside them to help with that, is it just a vulnerability you have to deal with, or is it not as big of a deal as it seems?
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Jun 13, 2023 21:18
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Slyphic posted:Both. Mambas are Piloting:3+ and Agile, so they're already hard to hit targets. ECM on top of it makes them extremely hard to hit, but their baseline is more than adequate. Airdropping without ECM is worth it for the extra range onto the board. That said, I also have a couple metal Chameleons with Airdrop and ECM, though that gets to be an expensive group. I've got like one and a half Para-Iguanas in my bits box I should piece together that could do the same. Looking at the sprues in the box again, and it looks like making a para iguana would be pretty easy just by stealing a lac/lgl combo weapon off of the Jaeger sprue, however it doesn't look like there are any parts on the sprues to make the black box iguanas that you recommended earlier, just a little radar dish for the chatterbox/recon variant. Are there any easy conversions you would recommend to represent a black box iguana? The only Ideas I have at the moment are modifying the LRP on the sprue to look sensorish, or maybe just attaching the radar dish and painting it pure black on the finished model. Also, since I have 4 Iguanas total, how many of them should I make black box variants?
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Jun 14, 2023 05:29
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Slyphic posted:Forgot to link the plastic assembly guide, that might be a help. Oh so that's what those pieces were for, they didn't look like bits that were on any of the iguana illustrations on gear grinder, so I was a little confused. Thanks for the clarification. I suppose those illustrations are just for the older metal models instead? What's the reasoning on the 2 hunting iguanas? Thanks again for answering all of these questions by the way. I'm hoping to learn enough so that I can start making judgement calls of my own without going in completely ignorant.
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Jun 14, 2023 06:20
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Slyphic posted:Gear Grinder uses a lot of lineart from older books, which doesn't always match up perfectly with current models. But they look cool, and they give you a good guide for kitbashing. I think I might do 2 black boxes, 1 recon, one para, and then load up on some of that bigger longer ranged ordnance. Having the extra longer range weapons certainly sounds like a good idea, but having at least the option to drop an E-war unit alongside the mambas is compelling.The chameleons do look better at that job overall, but I don't have any and probably won't for a long while. I also have the 2 silverscales to help get TD locks from assumed relative safety thanks to their sensor booms, so I imagine I should be able to do indirect fire at longer range pretty well. If it comes down to it I can always get an additional plastic iguana sprue at a later date as well. I think I will attach the weapons on the para iguana with super glue instead of plastic cement though, that way I can rebuild it as a different variant down the road if I want to. I also think that for the recon Iguana I'll try pinning the rifle and the rocket pod, that way by just swapping the rifle for a pinned lsmg and removing the LRP it can also become a chatterbox should I ever desire one.
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Jun 14, 2023 22:19
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That's a heck of a lot of nasty looking tanks.
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Jun 17, 2023 09:14
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Those are some very nice looking bandit gears, I like that purpley brown color you used on some of the armor. Also, did you use the alternate/metal style 3d printed heads from game mini garage on these? They look a bit different from the ones that come in the starter boxes.
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Jun 18, 2023 00:46
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Comrade Merf posted:Thank you, the purple is moody mauve from the army painter speed paints range and yeah I replaced all the heads except for the grizzly and iguana with 3D printed heads from GMG along with the hips, lots of the hands are from him as well and scaled depending on the chassis. It's just a really nice color for the theme you went with, it keeps them looking earthy/deserty without becoming a homogeneous mass of brown/tan that I see on a lot of desert and badlands environment vehicle models. Did you print the 3d printed parts yourself or is there somewhere you can get them printed for you?
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Jun 19, 2023 07:22
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Making slow, but measurable progress assembling the South army box, it will still probably be awhile yet before I post any pictures though. I want to wait until I've either gotten around to painting a few of them, or at least finished with some of my planned conversion work first. I did decide to go ahead and order a few more models though because fortress games was holding a sale, I ended up picking up a chameleon 2 pack, a biker squad, and an infantry + teams pack. I did decide to pick up the NuCoal sculpts for the infantry however, because the actual Southern infantry sculpts just kind of look bad in my opinion and the NuCoal sculpts have a more rounded appearance like the actual Southern gears do. The NuCoal, Peace River, and Black Talon infantry also all seem to have either similar or identical appearances, so I'm assuming they are all using some kind of readily available, multi faction equipment. While working on assembly I've also been trying my hand on list building, and I was wondering if this list seemed reasonable, if I'm going about this all wrong, or accidentally constructed an illegal list. Military Intervention and Counter Insurgency Army Roster 148TV (V3.1) MILICIA -- SK -- Razor Fang Long Fang Mamba 15TV - Combat Group Leader (CGL), Veteran Leaders Blazing Mamba 12TV - Conscription (A:1) Brawler Mamba 11TV - Conscription (A:1) Para Striking Jager 5TV - Conscription (A:1) -- RCsec -- Chameleon 13TV - Second in Command (2iC) -- FS -- Slashing Cobra 14TV - Combat Group Leader (CGL) Flame Cobra 13TV - Conscription (A:1) Slashing Cobra 13TV - Conscription (A:1) Chatterbox Iguana 14TV - Political Officer, Veteran Leaders Silverscale 8TV - Conscription (A:1) -- SO -- Hunting Chameleon 15TV - Independent Duelist (for Vet), Advanced Control Systems -- GP -- Stripped-Down Striking Jager 5TV - Combat Group Leader (CGL) Stripped-Down Jager 4TV - Conscription (A:1) Jackrabbit Recon 3TV - Conscription (A:1) Jackrabbit Recon 3TV - Conscription (A:1) The overall idea is that this force has a heck of a lot of TD's, and a ton of ways to get FO's off on enemy models, and anything that does get tagged is going to get it's day ruined by indirect fire from the Cobras. It also generates a whole bunch of CPs to help with consistency. The SK group can either push or hold depending on what makes more sense in a given matchup. The Para striking Jaeger is in there because I needed an additional AP in the main group to make the group legal, and it was the cheapest thing that could still keep up with the rest of the group. Everything else was either a lot more expensive or too slow. The FS group is all indirect fire all the time, and has a bunch of EWar and command and control built into it. As far as I can tell that Political Officer in the Chatterbox Iguana should generate 3 CP a turn and can use them to give orders to any CG, while having both ECCM and SatUp to help ensure those orders actually go through. The Hunting Chameleon Duelist I gave two actions so that it could potentially Hide + FO, Hide + Shoot, or Shoot + FO every turn. The GP CG is just there to provide some very light screening and deterrence towards enemies jumping on top of the FS CG. I don't really expect it to accomplish a whole lot in any given game, but it's very cheap and offers some expendable bodies to use for a variety of tasks like FOing or running for objectives. It also seems like a reasonable CG to activate early in a round so the more important CGs can be kept in reserve. I also have an additional 2 points I can spend on upgrades or rejiggering the list depending on whoever my expected opponent is. AA, AMS, Resistance Haywire for the Chameleon 2iC, Field armor for the Chameleons, or smoke all seem like potentially good upgrades.
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Jul 2, 2023 21:20
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Slyphic posted:I think that list will work about exactly as described. The PO Chatterbox will indeed have 3 commands. I'm a fan of the Slashing Cobra, its an excellent fire support gear. With two points left over, I think I'd flip the second Slashing to a 2iC. Be cautious with the cav, they're extremely fragile. It's nice to hear that the list should work as I envisioned it, the real test will be if it's actually a good plan in the grand scheme of things. Having an extra commander and thus a CP does sound nice, but I figured spending those points on something defensive in nature would be a better idea. Enemy Airstrikes and Indirect fire seemed like the biggest vulnerabilities to both of the big CGs. The other big one seeming to be the Chameleon in the SK CG getting haywired and thus losing the protection of the ECM and ECCM bubble. Maybe I'm overthinking/overestimating those threats though? One other thing I'm considering is switching the conscript Brawler Mamba to a conscript Brawler Mamba MP which is a variant I glossed over initially. The MGL is downgraded to a LGL and it loses 1 EW, but it picks up a MAC, a shield, and saves an additional point which can be used for upgrades elsewhere. I figure that would make for a better point man gear for the SK CG while still maintaining a lot of the selling points of having a GL in the unit. It also adds a little bit of melee prowess to the unit in case that is relevant. It would mean I need to convert or scratch build a shield to attach to one of the plastic mambas, and convert a MAC/LGL combo weapon, but I can't imagine either of those things being terribly difficult. As for for the Cav, I'll definitely keep that in mind, but I did kind of expect them to die if literally anything connected a hit on them to begin with. I'm hoping their 3+ piloting, agile trait, and not being hampered by using top speed every turn will cause them to dodge at least a few shots. If not, then I figure anything spending one of it's precious few actions blowing up a 3 point conscript motorbike is one action not being spent shooting at one of my actually important units. I definitely need to make sure they aren't getting killed for free though, like letting them get shot by something that otherwise wouldn't be able to shoot that turn, or getting them caught as collateral against an AOE attack.
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Jul 6, 2023 10:14
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Slyphic posted:Airstrikes are all boom or bust. If your opponent has no AA, they are punishing when they land and the more you have the harder you win. If your opponent has a single AA weapon, they're less than half as effective, and if they brought more than one, you've mostly wasted your TV on the airstrikes. I usually give one of my Caiman APCs the AA upgrade, but my regular opponent also brings VTOLs so they never go to waste. So yeah, AA is a good upgrade as well. Probably stick it on the Cobras. I figure it's one of those upgrades I'll either bring or leave at home depending on whatever my play group ends up being like. Definitely noted to put it on one of the Cobras then. Slyphic posted:Southern MPs are awesome, I just wish I liked the models more. The shoulder lights just don't work for me. They're in my future-kitbash scratchpad of projects. Yeah I'm not very fond of the actual models for them either, except for the Cobra MP but it's variants aren't really wowing me rules-wise. I figure giving a regular plastic Mamba a shield and the proper weapons should get the point across well enough, maybe also paint "M.P." on the shoulder/shield in freehand as well. This may end up looking less like military police gears and more like re-militarized police gears, but that's fine. Slyphic posted:Specifically with cav, they need to stick to cover at all times. Going fast out in the open will see them wiped out off handedly. Noted! They may be cheap, but I would definitely prefer if they weren't exploded needlessly.
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Jul 6, 2023 19:00
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Slyphic posted:
Those tanks look like they just came in from a particularly lengthy extra long patrol. Nice job on all that weathering!
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Jul 19, 2023 06:18
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That's quite the thrashing from the looks of it. Sounds like you have a good idea of how to tweak the scenario for the future though. Also looks like that Jerboa got super lucky, that seems to be quite the results for 5+ GU and a bazooka. Was it loaded up with veteran and duelist upgrades or something, or was that just raw positioning/luck/orders? The pic of that charguer versus the tank is just perfect by the way.
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Aug 16, 2023 21:01
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Slyphic posted:The Jerb got off Let Them Have It, so was swinging with three dice, and iirc rolled a 5,5,6. The Hovertank meanwhile only had 2 dice, though PI:3 Agile, because the Jerboa had an unobstructed shot from above thanks to its jetpack, and rolled something like 3,2. So MoS 5 on a DAM 7 weapon vs ARM 8, and it was an insta-crippling hit. Yeah that sounds like it would do it alright, ouch! Slyphic posted:I was delighted that the tank barrel fit in its claw. It walked around the rest of the match swinging the turret like a cudgel. That's amazing 
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Aug 16, 2023 22:34
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Slyphic posted:4th ed RPG book just came out. There's some fantastic new art in it. Those are some suicidally brave infantry for running into melee with GRELs, doesn't seem to be working too well for them either. Slyphic posted:And with the release of the RPG, the embargo on info about the next Blitz faction, New Jerusalem, appears to be lifting. What's the deal with this faction? Either lore or mechanical identity, If anything has been revealed yet that is.
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Oct 24, 2023 03:23
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Thanks for the link, I looked at the first two and will probably check out the rest later. I will say based off the first two I am a bit worried about how the rest will go, the topics this faction seems to be covering is full to bursting with potential pitfalls.
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Oct 24, 2023 05:42
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PeterWeller posted:It's all so very broad stroke that I don't think you have anything to worry about. I've read most of the entries, and Fivemarks looks to have hit the nail on the head. It's about as engaged with the specifics of the faiths involved as Gundam 00 got. Well, that's probably better than them going very in depth and specific but making it inadvertently offensive. I guess I'll find out more when I get around to reading the rest of it, but right now I'm probably more interested in what they might bring to the table mechanics-wise. Speaking of getting around to things, I've been able to start up working on my South starter boxes again. Progress got halted for a good while due to medical issues, and it will still be worked on at a glacial pace because of that, but it's nice to be back on track.
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Oct 25, 2023 10:12
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Slyphic posted:Best Group Lots of cool minis in that Golden Gear contest! I really like that turquoise black color on that Dark Cobra Julius duelist, and that Gilgamesh tank is definitely impressive though simultaneously a bit much I suppose. From the other entries in that thread I also like that samurai sidewinder diorama, and the really brightly colored jaeger custom that has the mural like painting on it's shield.
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Dec 12, 2023 01:19
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Oh no, did that Chargeur claim another high profile kill on that Vulture of yours, or was that one of the casualties of the Fusilier?
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Jan 15, 2024 05:05
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Slyphic posted:Chargeur crippled the Vulture, the Fusilier finished the job. One of these days I'm going to sufficiently mindfull of NuCoal's speed and effective reach. Yeah I imagine most things lighter than a fire support gear are going to be very unhappy about being target by a linked MRL. Was that Jerboa that got disintegrated the one that wrecked all those hovertanks with a bazooka last time?
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Jan 16, 2024 04:16
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Slyphic posted:Eden melee is super nasty. I had 10TV models taking out 30+ tanks in one hit from half the board away with nothing whatsoever I could do about it. They badly need their jetpack rating reduced (by half, imho) That NC bastard in the yellow construction gear continues to dunk on me as well, but at least there I always feel like it's because I was goaded into over extending. I was initially a little puzzled by this, since I hadn't really seen anyone bring up melee as being that great in the game before. Then I went and actually looked at the rules again and realized that a 6 point constable with 3-4 points of upgrades can be swinging against a vehicle for something like 7d6 with a damage 8 AP5 HSG within a true 18 inch threat radius, and the vehicle likely only gets 1d6 for defense. Then I went and looked further and realized almost none of the defensive skills and equipment actually work against melee attacks either. Overall, that constable is quite the guided missile! I wonder what you are supposed to do about units like that? E-War seems ok if you have extended sensor range and can get a lock, seeing as haywire disables both top speed and auxiliary equipment like the jetpack. 9 inch threat radius that has to actually respect terrain seems like it would be a lot more manageable to deal with.
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Mar 25, 2024 02:11
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 03:07 |
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Slyphic posted:e-War and 'just shoot it first to cripple it' are the answers I've mostly found, but neither one has actually worked for me. The Warlock golem is only 2pts more than a Constable, and on top of ECM+ for both the defense bubble and a chance to counter any hacking attempt, it gets airdrop to start even close to targets and it has a better piloting skill which you can use instead of gunnery in melee attacks. I didn't actually notice the Warlock earlier, that definitely seems like a bit much. Slyphic posted:Eden's current faction rules are a legit problem they need to address, but the jousting rule was added 2019, it didn't see much play because the faction was barely extant even at that point and then the quarantine and then the chief rules dude got dragged into the launch of the 4e RPG. I expect the rules will hit 3.2 around the time the New Jerusalem faction shows up in the rules which iirc is this summer. I had already gotten the impression that Eden was a relatively newer and more divergent faction with limited model support/availability, so I'm not terribly surprised by their rules being kind of untuned, though that timeline is kind of weird since that means they've both been here awhile but also don't seem to have been played much. I do hope 3.2 reshuffles things a bit in general, the various parent faction rules seem pretty lopsided in places, and some of the sublists look like they could use some re tuning. With just the Terra Novan factions alone you can just look at South's main faction rules versus all the other ones and it's weirdly barren by comparison.
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Mar 25, 2024 05:59
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