![]() ![]() Every tournament player knows the difference between encountering a dominant sniper or missile launcher on a completely open table, against one where a shotgun or rifle user can work its way within 16” before firing. Many have argued that ‘Euro’ style tables common in Spain, which are much more open that those used in the USA, are part of what informs CB’s point costing of ranged-firepower units vs Warbands. Even beyond those factors, which remind us this is a hobby as well as a game, profiles and lists can vary in effectiveness based on the table. Aesthetics, background or style, simply picking different factions to those their playgroup already owns. There are so many factors which influence what profiles people take to games, beyond pure competitive judgment. Infinity is not that widely played a game. We should also warn against drawing too many conclusions from a limited number of games, especially at one event, or within one national/regional meta. The meta lists we’ll discuss below came about partly because excellent players put the reps in playing games to develop their content and strategies for using them. A mediocre player might do a bit better by copying a very well-designed tournament list, but they won’t suddenly be able to compete with top players. One thing we all agree on is that player skill is the dominant factor in winning games of competitive Infinity. That’s something which is up to the game designers. First of all, in a competitive environment, every player should use the profiles available to them – we absolutely reject the idea that it’s up to players to tone down their lists to balance the game. This article is not aimed at an attack on anyone playing Combined Army or other meta lists. Without breaking the game, Factions’ internal balance in Infinity is well on its way to being solved.Ĭredit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones Caveats But to pretend that TAGs like the Overdron or Xeodron are as competitive as the Avatar would be dishonest. There are many other expensive models in Combined Army which perform well, and you can build a well-rounded, capable Combined Army list without any one center-piece model. To go back to the initial example, playing the Avatar is not an automatic ticket to winning a game, let alone a series of them. No Nomads or Corregidor player is going to leave Jazz on the shelf. No Ariadna player is going to take Dog Warriors over Bearpodes. But certain units will be seen again and again on tournament tables. In some cases there may even be more than 15 top-notch profiles in a Faction, so the player still has to make some choices. There still isn’t one competitive list for each Faction or even Sectorial. Every Faction in the game has, to competitive players, a selection of profiles that are considered auto-takes, and within unit roles, like ‘disposable warband’ or ‘elite gunfighter’ there is a clear selection of best-in-class profiles, and a variety that aren’t seen often because another unit can do their job better. Much more of an issue than inter-Faction balance is internal balance. The spread is wider with Sectorial armies, where a clearer tier list emerges, which is again the subject of lively debate. Generally speaking all the vanilla Factions have some top-class tools. While the game is widely agreed to be mostly dependent on player skill (with a hefty dose of luck swinging critical moments in individual games), there are definitely factions which have more tools to win games than others do. There are some wider issues in the Infinity competitive scene. This article isn’t purely about the Avatar and the interacting Combined Army units. Then we’ll break down why that might be and raise some questions about overall balance in Infinity. ![]() So, for new or less competitive players, we aim to explain what’s up with the Avatar and its characteristic role in Combined Army lists, and why they are considered strong. This elicited a follow up article and the debate continues. He subsequently spoke on the Loss of Lieutenant podcast about his experiences at the event and reflections on his lists. An article about the strengths of the roster he selected, with balance suggestions, generated a spirited debate. This follows on from one Lachlan Summers (ITS name Hachiman Taro), a very accomplished player, using such a list to take first place at a large, 5-round tournament in Australia, NovaCore. There has been a fair amount of chatter in the online Infinity community recently about the strength of Combined Army lists using the Avatar TAG. Mission Primacy: stop the opponent achieving Objectives.Thin the Herd: get rid of the chaff models.Scalpel the Scalpers: destroy the other Active models.Cut the Head from the Snake: take the Avatar down.Balancing Expensive and Inexpensive Models.Background: how Infinity mechanics brought us here. ![]()
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