Which Infinity Army is for You? Part 9: NA2
The Non-aligned armies represent various mercenary companies and minor factions in the Human Sphere. From Japanese secessionists to criminal cartels, they represent some of the most unique and diverse armies found in Infinity.
Before I get too deep into this article, I want to preface this by saying, I don’t really recommend any NA2 army for a new player. All NA2 armies are sectorials, often with significant unit/equipment restrictions, which limits how you can play from the get go. This will necessitate much more practice than typical Infinity armies to get started with, and could be very discouraging (especially JSA). Furthermore, many of the armies require individual miniatures which are generally only found in other faction kits, which will come with many more miniatures you cannot use in that army. This can make NA2 armies surprisingly expensive to play, or you will need to find ways to get the models individually.
That said, mercenaries are really cool…
Rating System
Instead of comparing one army to another, I’m going to rate armies based on how good of a match they are for new players interested in that particular category. For example, just about any army can make a hacking heavy list, but it may take more effort for some than others. An army which effortlessly competes in hacking would be given a 5, armies take considerable effort (if at all possible) would be a 1 or 2, while armies which could be tailored either way would be a 3.
Army Metrics
Firepower. This is probably the easiest to understand, which is why it comes first! This is the sheer ability for this army to win ranged firefights. While it is a good metric for offensive power, it doesn’t mean they’re going to punch everyone off the table every time.
Resilience. Like firepower, this is a fairly straight forward metric which expresses how much punishment an army could take. If a typical list for this army has access to a lot of high armor or multi-wound troops, they’ll have a higher Resilience score.
Control. Tempo is incredibly important in Infinity, the ability to control the ebb and flow of the game, which engagements happen and so on. Armies with high control tend to have better access to infiltration, camouflage, and other deployment skills, as well as troops which can rapidly change position on the table.
E War. A huge draw of Infinity is Hacking, E War represents any particular army’s ability to compete in the hacking arena. Do they have enough to get by, or can they build out a punishing hacking network to shut down the enemy?
Accessibility. This represents the difficulty for new players to pick up the army, learn the basics, and play effectively on the table. Some armies are easy to figure out at the beginning, while others have a lot of unique rules or require more advanced techniques to win.
X-Factor. Every army has a little something special about them, and if you’re debating between two armies, this could be the deciding factor.
What’s missing? If you’re coming from other game systems, you might expect to see how good an army is in close combat. Infinity is not most games, this is a game where bullets are lethal, and you don’t want to bring a knife to a gun fight. Some armies however are exceptionally good in combat, which will be called out when discussing that particular army.
Druze Bayram Security
Armed to the Teeth. The first NA2 army introduced, the Druze Bayram Security forces have an extremely low selection of units to pick from. Their most famous troops, the Druze Shock Teams, bring an incredible toolbox to lay low any opponent, regardless of range-band. With fewer specialized units, Druze plays an army of tool boxes; to win with them, you’ll need to learn to get the most out of every unit you take. Druze has no room for filler, and you’ll often find yourself using your specialists for combat, or your combat troops doing classifieds. They can’t really settle in and just let the troops perform specialized jobs. The nearly total lack of multi-wound models means there is little room for error. Druze poses an interesting tactical puzzle if you’re up for it. Definitely an advanced army, but can be rewarding to play if you’re up for a real challenge.
Japanese Secessionist Army (JSA)
Bushido Blade. Everyone wants to play JSA, and they want to do so while recreating a 90’s Japanese dueling combat game in the process. Unfortunately, if you bring a knife (or Katana) to a gun fight in Infinity, you’re going to get shot. This doesn’t mean that close combat is bad, but like anything else you have to know the appropriate time to use it. Despite rating a 1 for firepower, their primary means of inflicting damage with a JSA army will still be shooting, they do have some competent gunfighters, but they are few and often expensive. What JSA’s incredible melee access means is that you have melee as an option to leverage, while many other armies do not. JSA is easily one of the most difficult armies in the game to learn Infinity with, despite being incredibly attractive to new players. To win a game as JSA, you’ll almost be playing an entirely different game than your opponent, which gives you a nuanced advantage. As a JSA player, your goal is to control your opponents movement and the tempo of the game. Once you can wrap your head around JSA, they can be an extremely effective fighting force, but it will take a lot of practice to master.
Ikari Company
No Mercy. No anime inspired setting would be complete without the ronin. Ikari Company are the fun-house mirror to JSA, one which sacrifices their board control in exchange for some raw firepower and brutally aggressive unit options. If you like playing directly in the face of the opponent, Ikari is a fantastic choice. Unfortunately though, you will want some models that are trapped inside large expensive boxes that you cannot make use of everything in (namely the JSA Army Pack). Ikari has pitiful board control, and anemic hacking. Instead of relying on subtlety, Ikari players really need to put the enemy on their back foot and don’t stop swinging until the enemy is smashed off the table. You’ll need to make hard decisions about when to sacrifice your own troops to deal deadly blows to the enemy, it’s all about offense.
StarCo., Free Company of the Star
Bakuggidor. StarCo is often joked to be the 4th Nomad Sectorial, picking a fair number of units from either Bakunin or Corregidor, though with their own splash of unique characters and mercenaries. Their hacking game is incredible, as you should expect from a Nomad based army, though with slightly fewer hacking tools than you might find in a dedicated Nomad force. Thanks to a handful of mercenaries however, they maintain a high degree of board control with some very nasty surprises. This is basically a Nomad army, for people who want a few non-Nomad tools to spice things up, or loved the Outrage comic. If you do play StarCo, you’ll also be well on your way to playing Nomads as well, so also worth considering if you want to get into Vanilla Nomads down the line.
Spiral Corps
Alien Tech. If you want to play Tohaa, but don’t have access to their range of OOP minis, then Spiral Corps is here for you! If you didn’t understand that last sentence, that’s fine too. Spiral Corps are what is left behind after the Tohaa abandoned the Human Sphere (or planted by the Tohaa tri-lluminati). The survivors have formed their own mercenary company to fight for profit, or because they still have a score to settle with the Combined. Of any (current) army in the game, Spiral Corps is going to run the most unusual and esoteric equipment out there. Despite not having typical sources of long range firepower, their equipment helps them close the gap where they can dissect the enemy defenses and accomplish objectives. As the army is primarily Tohaa, you’ll have unusual combinations for link teams, and the potential to run nearly as many of them as you wish. Due to their unique gear and playing style, they can be more difficult than average to get into, but definitely not impossible.
Foreign Company (ForCo)
Heroes for Hire. An army led by television celebrities on daring and impossible mission for fame and glory. Their characters are all very interesting personalities, and each is capable of kicking plenty of butt on the table. As the army is constructed though, you unfortunately won’t get to use more than a couple most of the time. Nothing in the army is dead weight, on the contrary, they have so many well equipped, armed, and trained units at their disposal, that if you pump all your points into celebrity appearances, you won’t have much left for the tools you need to win. The tools in ForCo tend to be quirky, lack synergy, or really need a lot of practice leveraging. When writing lists, you won’t be able to get everything you want (specifically named characters), or you’ll wish you had a few more inexpensive tools at your disposal. Making it even more challenging to get started with, some of their core units (like Bolts) are out of production, and others are tied up in starter packs. But hey, if Dawg the Bounty Hunter is your jam, then ForCo has your name on it.
Dahshat Company
Link Flexibility. Apparently, when you work for a massive cartel which operates in every black market imaginable, you learn to work well together as a team! Able to add a bevy of named characters and authorized bounty hunters to any link in the army lets you expand the capabilities of your fireteams, while simultaneously keeping their point costs under control. With a backbone of high willpower specialists from Haqqislam, and power armored fighters with Yu Jing, they come together to really work together to a high degree of efficiency. On the table, as their units suffer attrition, they can often find replacements to bolster their fireteams, maintaining their bonuses throughout the game. The army doesn’t really want for much, but if you go this route, you’re again going to run into the problem of buying some packs (like the Invincible Army starter) for just a couple models out of the kit.
White Company
Service with a Smile. If there is a good guy, professional mercenary company (that isn’t just a Nomad deniable asset), then it’s going to be White Company. They do it by the book and they pay their taxes. If you really are totally new to Infinity, and torn between PanO, Yu Jing, and maybe a NA2 army, then definitely take a look at White Company. The current Code One Kaldstrom box comes with a fair number of models usable by White Company (though also a bunch you cannot), so you can try playing PanOceania, Yu Jing, and White Company out of the box without investing into a full army of either. White Company has access to some of the newest units available to either army, and generally can support a diverse enough collection to play in a variety of ways. Combining the midfield presence of Yu Jing, with Aleph hacking, and PanOceania firepower makes for a very diverse, and effective army. This is a fantastic army for beginners, with a great selection of units to work with, and diverse enough equipment to engage just about any threat on the table… It looks like I’m talking myself into another army.
Late Night Wargames
If you’re looking for some more discussion on NA2, be sure to check out our episode of Late Night Wargames where Jon and I go over all the NA2 armies, and why we play just about all of them!