Tuesday 24 January 2012

Yes it's Infinity January release time again!

 


It's rapidly becoming my favourite time of the month... not that I have anything else which happens on a cycle every month you understand. But yet again it's time for Corvus Belli's servers to go into complete and utter meltdown and fall over as the weight of expectant fans crushes their puny none-Maya compliant servers! If Aleph was involved you just know this sort of shenanigans wouldn't happen. Any way as with last month I'll discuss the various releases from a aesthetic point of view as well as a gaming and tactical point of view. However, you might want to ignore my tactical advice because the only reason I seem to win is because the dice faeries still love me.

Die Morlock Gruppen

I don't really like the original sculpts I have to be brutally honest. Well I didn't like one of the original sculpts, the female one was OK. But when I saw these bad boys on Angel Giraldez's Blog a few days ago now I have to say I thought they looked absolutely brilliant. My favourite has to be the X-Men Beast inspired miniature. He's all sorts of awesome if you ask me. Mr Green and scaly isn't too bad either so he too gets my thumbs up. No doubt though many people will like little Ms Knife ears, the elf wannabe, or perhaps the blue skinned vixen with the dreadlocks and a weird looking boomerang! Lets be honest here, even if you're not an Infinity fan you have to admit these look pretty damn cool. So what are they like on the table? Well they're cheap as chips close combat troopers for the Nomads, with Martial Arts Level 2 and CC18, they're not bad. They are sadly impetuous though, which means they'll go tearing after the nearest enemy, which can be a pain in the proverbial. They do come with smoke grenades, which you know, is nice and you can actually get some of these for 0swc and 7 points if you take the chain rifle variant. They're in the Bakunin Sectorial Force, but sadly you can't make them into a link team to get rid of that irksome impetuous. They do however have one of Infinity's more 'fun' rules... MetaChemistry. Before battle you roll a D20 to determine what extra ability each Morlock has from +1 ARM to Total Immunity and many cool skills in between. They might not be the best troopers in the game, but they are lots of fun. These bad boys and girls will definitely find their way into my collection.

2nd Irregular Camorean Regiment

Well we have another wolf boy for the Ariadnans. I have to be brutally honest and say I've not been a big fan of the 'werewolves' in space. Now while this isn't too bad a sculpt, indeed in many respects it's quite good, I have to be honest. I don't like him! I don't like his pose and I don't like the way the kilt or clothes look. The Chain Rifles look a bit silly in his hands, and to me his head seems too small for his body. So yeah I think we can say I'm not a fan. What's he like on the table then? Well he's tooled up with grenades and smoke grenades. Those piddly little guns as I said are chain rifles. He also comes with an Armour Penetrating Close Combat Weapon. He's a quick bugger though, with MOV 6-4, but like the Morlocks before him he's also Impetuous. However, he does come with V.Courage, total Immunity and Super-Jump. So for 0 SWC and 22 points he's not all that bad really. He's also got a brilliant PIH of 16 so he can dodge duck and dive with the best of them and with CC18 he's no slouch when he get's in close. I suppose though the question for many will be is that 22 points better spent elsewhere? I think he's not a bad option. Sadly like the Morlocks though the Caledonia Sectorial can't turn them into a link team to remove the pesky Impetuous rule. Bugger!

Janissaries

Well at least it's a more dynamic pose for a Haqqislam miniature! Let me be blunt. I was starting to think the entire Haqqislam military were ex-catalogue
models with their poses! At least this chap looks like he's trying to kill somebody. Sadly though we've all seen him before, he is in the Haqqislam starter set. So this is just a single miniature release. However, he was a stupendous resculpt of the original Janissaires who for my money looked a bit awkward. So again it's not a release to get the pulse racing, even if it is a welcome release as you can now start building a good looking link team of these. So again what's he like? Well he's Heavy Infantry for a start off, with BTS -3 he'll be a bit susceptible in that department. He does though have a pretty good PH 14, CC 15 and BS 13, considering the points of around 45 with 0 SWC or 1 SWC if you take him as your Lieutenant. He's a Religious Trooper as well, so he's not running away when things get a little tough. But he's the real kicker if you're playing a Qapu Khalqi sectorial force you can use these in a Link Team. True it'll be an expensive link team but there are lots of cheap troopers in the Haqqislam force! I always thought Janissaires were a good option any way and with 2 Wounds and ARM 4 they're that little bit of heavy armour that many Haqq lists need.

Teutonic Knight

Ah yes, another miniature we've sort of seen before. While I'm pretty certain that this IS a totally new sculpt we've seen plenty of Teutonic Knights before. Now I happen to be a big fan of Pan-O's knightly orders and I happen to think this miniature looks equally as awesome as all the rest. I am ever so slightly jealous of Pan-O players and their knights. So what's he like on the table then? Well like the Janissaire he's Heavy Infantry but he has the much better BTS of -5.  He has 2 Wounds and ARM 3. So he's a tough cookie alright. He's also MOV 4-4, which isn't too bad for HI trooper. CC18, BS14, PH14 WIP 13, Linkable in a Link team in the Military Orders sectorial list. Frenzy, Berserk, Jungle Terrain, Religous Trooper with V. Courage... honestly for 42 points and SWC 0... I'm tempted to say these bad boys are some of the closest things in the game to being broken. Compare that statline to the Janissaires above. What's not to love about them? Seriosuly. Combi-Rifles and Panzerfaust's aren't bad weapons either. Pan-O have it so easy!!!

Noctifer

The Noctifer with spitfire is one of my favourite miniatures in the entire Infinity range. But this? This is not one of my favourite miniatures in the Infinity range. Not because of the detail or the awesome looking Missile Launcher, no. It's the pose. He looks like he's falling down those steps in a comedy pose. Not a fan. There's no weight in his movement 'if' he's moving down the stairs, and I don't like how he's holding the Missile Launcher at all. Ah well, he's a damn fine option on the table though. He makes an excellent defensive choice just like his spitfire variant, except he can stop TAGs. True his BS isn't the best at 12, but coming out of Combat Camo with his TO Camo he should be unopposed for his first strike against most things. He's also V. Dogged, which is nice. At 42 points and 1.5 SWC though he doesn't come cheap at all. A good option though for Shasvastii lists.

So that's this month sreleases done. Honestly? You can colour me disappointed this month with what they've released. Hands down the best release this month by far has to be the Die Morlock Gruppe for my money. But what do you guys think? Peace out!

39 comments:

  1. So happy to have Morlocks that don't look awful. It's a shame the two females are so similar, but I'll still take it.

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    1. Agreed Die Morlock Gruppe, look all kinds of awesome!!! As for the females, aren't all females similar? *Puts helmet on and hides in bomb shelter*

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    2. Ouch!

      Though I'll need to find something to replace that assault pistol. Never seen anything look so wimpy with the word "assault" in the title.

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    3. well perhaps you should wait to see what it looks like in the flesh. I often think, hmm, that gun needs to be bigger etc. Then when I get them in my hand I'm like 'oh I wander why I thought that?'

      Perhaps it's the green blade that makes it an 'assault' pistol. lol.

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  2. To be honest, the Dogwolfmanthing is a really high quality sculpt, but I think the general design concept of them are a bit stupid to be honest.

    That said, for me? This month is taken by the Teuton, at first I was a bit disappointed, we already have one after all! but god damn does he look awesome. Not to mention I can now run a three man link team of them all with different sculpts!

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    1. Heh- dogwolfmanthing.
      iz funnie.

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    2. @Flipswitch, I actually agree, I think he's possibly the best they've done so far. But it still just doesn't look 'right' to me. I don't have a problem with the idea of the werewolves, just their execution I guess. Personally I'd like them to look more savage and feral.

      @SinSynn, yep he is. Not too sure that's the look I'd have gone for with them tbh. But hey the range has a lot of varied stuff in it and it will all of it appeal to someone.

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    3. To be honest, I think it hurts them that there doesn't appear to be (from what I can tell!) a consistent design theme with them. As you said though, they do seem to be literally just a case (from appearances alone) of being people, but dogs. As opposed to some crazed half mutant bastard that is on a short leash.

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    4. Yeah that's the angle I'd like to see them take with them, but hey others seem to love them.

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  3. What do I think?
    I think the Haqq starter kit I'm ordering this week might need an addition....
    and I might as well throw the damn cellphone outta a window, cuz that bill ain't getting paid.
    -_-

    Stupid...hobby addiction.
    Y U encourage this?

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    1. I encourage it because I'm a bad, bad man SinSyn. I thought we'd already established I was an evil genius... just without the genius part. Glad I can do my bit to get the global economy moving again. Collectors of toy soldiers will get us out of this global economic crisis yet!!!

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    2. I was thinking of getting into infinity myself. What's the learning curve like? Are any armies particularly easier to start with?

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    3. Oh it's not so bad. You just have to add rules and functionality as you go. There was a chap on the official forums, goes by the name of IJW who wrote an excellent article on introducing people to Infinity and how to 'ease' yourself into it.

      It's an odd game really. Because I think most people read the rules and go WTF this is insane! But genuinely all the individual rules are quite simple. It's just you have a lot of rules and options available to you as a player.

      If you take your time to learn them though slowly it sticks in your head eventually and you'll wander why you were so apprehensive in the first place. I don't think there's an easy faction as it were to learn with either. Most of the rules are universal, so there are 'special rules heavy' factions or 'standard' factions. You can choose both paths or somewhere in between with all factions.

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    4. Awesome! Thanks for the breakdown. Maybe I'll proxy up some figs and try to puzzle it out with my friends, haha

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  4. I really love the werewolf, for me it is the miniature of the month and probably of the year. That is what I really love about this, the different subjectivities.
    Thanks for the post!
    B.

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    1. And there you go, the dressed up werewolf has a fan! lol. I knew there'd be someone who'd stick up for him. And I'm glad you have, because you've just proved the point that in the Infinity range there is something for everyone.

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  5. Sigh, stop making so many awesome models Corvus! I need to save money to spend it!

    These guys always have top notch stuff.

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    1. That is pretty much my response every chuffing month now. I'm all out of spare organs to sell and yet they keep foisting more and more stuff on us. Argghh.

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  6. I'm with you on the dog soldiers. No problem with the execution, rather it's the concept that gets me. A bit too cheesy for my taste if you know what I mean. I guess we have the Nomad furries too so there is a bit of humour in the midst of a mostly intelligent setting.

    I kinda like the Noctifier - at least from the lefthand perspective. I'm not sure the other two views are too flattering.

    My impression on the other releases is neither here nor there. Not a huge fan of the order side of Pan-O (cheese factor?).

    On another note, is love to see some fiction written for the infinity setting, perhaps by Dan Abnett. I always found his 40k novels to add depth and consistency to the world. My 2c! Or should I say 2p? Cheers FL!

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    1. I would be so keen to have a go at writing an Infinity novel, before someone established gets in there!

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    2. @Micky yep, yep, yep and yep! As for fiction, I'm currently writing an Infinity novel and I hope to get an early draft finish by the end of Feb to send over to the guys at CB to see what they think.

      @James S, that was my thoughts a year ago now and I've been plugging away at a story. Never tried anything this long before but it has been fun to try. Even if it never see's the light of day as a book I might just whack it up a chapter at a time on my blog.

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  7. Am with you on the new Nomads.. love them.. just got the older ones from a friend for my bday, and now will have to fork over some more cash for these beauties. Have been running Morlock heavy lists for a while now due to them being so cheap, yet effective. Will be good to be able to field more than 2 and have different models for each.

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    1. The Die Morlocks are the stars of this months releases by a huge margin for me. Reality is 3 of the other miniatures we've pretty much seen before, and they're either slight variations or the exact same sculpt. lol. And the Dog Soldiers don't appeal to me that much.

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  8. I like the Noctifier, especially if he was placed flat instead of in his "let's see how far I can lean forwards before I fall over" pose on those stairs. It's a bit of base frippery too far for my taste.

    My release of the month is definitely the Morlocks, I like the originals and these make a great addition to them :-)

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    1. I was wondering whether the base on the Noctifier was all Angel's work rather than part of the mini - it does look really unbalanced...

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    2. @Rich_B, it's the base that I don't like. Last month I said I didn't like miniatures that carried the battlefield around with them. The ML Noctifer fits into that category too for me. I let the previous Noctifer on stairs slide because I thought it just looked awesome, this chap looks awkward. I'm looking forward to seeing other people base him flat and see what that looks like.

      @Avicenna, I hadn't thought of that possibility truth be told. Perhaps it is Angel's work, and perhaps he has taken the base from the other Noctifer and gone, I have this really good idea. But I doubt it because it looks like the feet of the ML Noctifer are designed to be in motion down stairs, or actually moving up them now I look at it again... hmm, would he look better moving up them?

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    3. Aye. I think he'll look ok if positioned differently on the same stairs. Maybe... Going *up* them...?

      Isn't it the same stairs as on the other Noctifier model? That's a little lazy if it is...

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    4. Fiendil, having had a look at them last night I'm pretty certain they are indeed the same stairs. I have no problems with companies re-using bits and bobs, but seriously I'm not overly convinced by the re-use of those stairs. Could be just me though.

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    5. Nah, it's not just you. I'm just trying to look at it and see how it could be used. I'd rather see a different piece of scenery or not include a piece of scenery and drop the price a little.

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  9. Incidentally, why the hatred for Impetuous? I find my Morlocks and Shaolin some of my favourite troops :-)

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    1. The hatred for Impetuous comes from the fact that I'm a control freak. I love actually having control of my army and with things like the Die Morlock Gruppe or my aragoto's my enemy has a degree of control over them. If you've ever had a group of Morlocks tempted out into the open by a cunning Asura with spitfire and MSV LVL 3 I'm pretty darn sure you'd understand my 'concerns' over Impetuous! lol.

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    2. No Asuras to worry about around here fortunately ;-) I guess you could stall them until you've dealt with it but I can see how that would be a pain in the arse :-)

      We have no Aleph or Haqqislam players, plenty of PanO and Ariadnans though, one Combined Army player and just a couple of Nomad and Yu Jing players - I play both so I'm 50% of our Nomad & Yu Jing players by myself X-D

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    3. One day, I'll put models on table, then I'll be the second CA player.

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    4. I thought you were going with the Templars? :-p

      I'm still toying with the idea of picking up a Shasvastii force so we'll have quite the alien incursion if you do :-)

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    5. Teutonics. Yeah, I picked up a posse of Teutonics and a smaller Shasvastii force. Former are glued and undercoated (and waiting on the Seraph and the Father mechanic), latter are still in bits. Knights in space did it for me, as did the tentacles on the drones...

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  10. The Camorean is really nice, awesome!!
    I am very happy to see english people talking about infinity! ^^
    Greetings from spain!

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    1. Heya Alviro. Finally after much pimping from some diehard English speaking Infinity fans like myself, I think the game is starting to take off in the English speaking world. I know from Google Analytics that many of the readers of my Infinity articles have been from the USA and Canada and a fairly sizeable chunk from Australia too. It's starting to grow at a fair old pace now I think.

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  11. EEEEEEE Noctifer with ML ! *claps hands like toddler*

    Now all I need is a Gwailo with a spitfire.

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