Experimentation With Photos - Penemue's Yu Jing

I photographed some of Penemue's Yu Jing/ISS minis recently, as part of my learning process in photography. These photos were all taken in the basement of the LGS, with the only lighting being the lights on the ceiling, and using mostly automatic camera settings. Penemue brought in a funky little tripod, which was great since my own tripod is way too bulky to bring downtown.

Given the conditions I was photographing in, and the fact that I took very few pictures (meaning I had a very small pool to choose good shots from), I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had a decent shot of almost all the models I photographed. The glaring exception was the Sophotect, which for some reason just wasn't capturing any light. Also note that all of these models are completely gloss varnished, which tends to obscure paint jobs.

Ninja with Banana Sword

Dakini a.k.a. Bumblebee

Wu Ming with Boarding Shotgun

Guijia

Sophotect hiding in shadows

Magister Knight, Plus Musings on Photography

"Where's his Rifle?"  "He doesn't have one."  "Oookay..."

I managed to paint up two Magister Knights (only one of them shown) for my small Military Orders collection. The only real idea I had for the colour scheme was to make green and white the main colours, and I kind of went on the fly from there. It's pretty apparent that I don't have enough colour on this model, but I was trying to get them done in time for our recent tournament, so I'm just taking it as a lesson learned. The Magisters are the poverty knights anyway, so my Teutonics can have more colour, and hopefully cleaner whites.

My limited experience thus far playing with Magisters tells me that outside of a Link Team, they're quite bad. This is ok, given that they only cost 27 points for a Heavy Infantry, but it's entirely possible that a Magister won't kill a single enemy model during a game. What they are nice for, is collecting points in a scenario. They're very durable for their cost, so put them wherever the scenario needs them, and don't worry about whether they will be fighting or not. I don't know if I would ever field a Magister in vanilla PanO, though.

I didn't photograph the other Magister because I dropped both of them while moving stuff around, and there's a pretty noticeable crack now on the base of the other one. This one also had a bit of paint chip on his sword, but since I just painted it silver anyway, it's no big deal. I was a lot less angry about the cracked Magister than I thought I would be, and I chalk that up to me not being that satisfied with how I painted it anyway, as well as there being 4 more Magisters.

Anyway, the photo is obviously overexposed in some areas, and some colours have been washed out. The model is also gloss varnished right now (there isn't a matte varnish I trust 100% at the moment) which I'm sure isn't helping matters.

I sometimes I get a nice, clear photo that is not only sharp and in focus, but that also captures the proper colours. The other 99% of the time though, I get a photo that is messed up in some way. And while I'm sure that my lighting, backgrounds, and maybe even camera aren't conducive to photography, the fact that I'm able to get that good photo once per hundred tries tells me that it is possible without a specific rig.

The other issue is, even if I wanted to fix my set up, I'm not exactly sure how. I have read up on how to make a lightbox and such, but since I'd need to go buy a bunch of stuff, that's a secondary concern for me. I've tried a bunch of things, including a white background (actually my worst photos, I'm guessing that only works in a lightbox), but haven't found something that works. I'll be trying some more photography soon, and will be posting up results.

Ottawa Newbie Friendly Tournament - Part 2

I faced JAD, the Ariadna player, in round 1. We were assigned to the wilderness board.

I won the Initiative and decided to go first. I spent my first two turns moving all my models up and onto objective plates, scoring me 2-3 VP on both turns. JAD only moved a couple models, and instead did a lot more lateral movement to get into LoF of my guys. We scored a few wounds on each other during this, but I got much more VP. Also, Joan scored a wound on the ARO during JAD's first turn, so Inspiring Leadership made all my units Impetuous. This is exactly what I wanted, to get my knights moving. All the Impetuous movement meant that I was frequently out of Cover, but it also meant that I could take shots while also having enough Orders to get onto the plates.

By the third turn, models on both sides had suffered plenty of wounds, but I was so far ahead on VP that he couldn't make a comeback with his limited amount of models and turns. We played out the rest of the game to see which units would survive, and to see if either of us could pick up more VP. I feel that he could've done better if he had focused more on the scenario, but it's possible that he didn't think he could win without killing my guys first, and made that a priority. His VIP was definitely his AP HMG Vet Kazak, which terrorized my army and survived through the whole game.

Round 2 had me up against swsCHEN, one of the Haqqislam players. We headed over to the cargo yard.

I again won the Initiative, but decided to go second to give me the best chance of scoring the endgame VP. I started off the game with a Magister getting knocked unconscious, and it didn't get any better from there. A combination of me making poor choices, being outranged, and of course bad dice rolls had me getting massacred. In fact, until my final turn, I barely even got out of my Deployment Zone, I was pinned in so badly. The only bright spot was that Joan scored a wound fairly early on against his Azra'il (who then moved out of LoF), so at least I wasn't totally screwed on Orders.

I entered my last turn with only Joan and my Spitfire Teutonic still standing, and almost all of swsCHEN's guys still up. He was also ahead on VP, 3 to 1, and was qualifying for the 2 endgame VP. This was where Joan went crazy, running up the middle of the board in the open, to kill his VP possessing models. She got one of them, and then with my last order, got another one, his Spitfire Muyib, which was also qualifying him for the endgame VP. Since Joan was now qualifying, I went from essentially being down 5-1, to being up 1-6. I'd have to say that swsCHEN's VIP that round was his Spitfire Muyib, who almost survived the whole game, despite being shot at by nearly my whole army.

In round 3 I faced endalyon, the JSA player. We moved onto the forest board.

I lost Initiative this time, and endalyon didn't hesitate to go first. He seemed unsure if he wanted to go for the scenario or just kill my guys, although I think he eventually settled on the scenario. This indecision unfortunately meant that his Lt, Shinobu, was left hanging just outside of my Deployment Zone and in range of multiple models. While her loss didn't put him into LoL due to his Kempeitai, she was still a valuable resource lost. In general, his units were dying much faster than mine, and I wasn't far behind him in terms of the scenario.

Then Joan found the Data in a Terminal, and I was ahead on VP. I couldn't have her die while carrying the Data, so I hid her behind terrain while my other units interfered. I lost a Teutonic to endalyon's Karakuri during this, but he had so few models left that he wasn't able to get by my knights to reach Joan, and when the final turn finished I had won. I think the game would have turned out very differently if he hadn't been so aggressive with his units at first, only to leave them hanging. I'm not sure who his VIP was, since there wasn't any single model that did much of the work, but I'll say it was his Haramaki, who knew exactly what it needed to do and went and did it.

Final standings:
1st - MuRm (Military Orders)
2nd - Tevesh (Haqqislam)
3rd - endalyon (JSA)
4th - JAD (Ariadna)
5th - swsCHEN (Haqqislam) and Century (Aleph)

Thank you Penemue for running a great event, and I'm looking forward to our next tournament, which will likely be run by Tevesh.

Here's a bunch more photos from the tournament day.

Seems safe, but danger lurks around every corner

Shinobu's in ur base, killin ur mans

Haqqislam as far as the eye can see

Keeping that Deployment Zone safe

Kazaks waiting for something to happen

Zayin Rebot in front, squishies behind

Ottawa Newbie Friendly Tournament - Part 1

Showdown in the desert valley

We recently had an Infinity tournament here in Ottawa, held at Fandom II and run by Penemue. It was designed to be newbie friendly, meaning that there were rules in place to make things easier for the newer players, which would be at least half of the participants.

200 points
No TAGs
No Link Teams
Announce if you have AD or TO

I also decided to challenge myself and run a list with 5 models, at which point the other veteran players also decided to challenge themselves and run something similar. The tournament was 3 rounds, with the scenario changing each round. The scenarios themselves are posted up at Penemue's blog. The idea was that we would be tracking down a rogue AI across various battlefields, until we finally confront her in the final round.

Sadly, several people could not make it to the tournament for various reasons, but we still had six players and decent diversity between factions. Here are the lists, as best as I can remember them:

Military Orders

JOAN OF ARC Lieutenant Spitfire, Nanopulser / Pistol, AP CCW (57 | 1)

TEUTONIC KNIGHT Combi Rifle, Panzerfaust / Pistol, AP CCW (42)

TEUTONIC KNIGHT Spitfire / Pistol, AP CCW (46 | 2)

2x MAGISTER KNIGHT Panzerfaust / Pistol, DA CCW (27)

199 Points | SWC: 3

Japanese Sectorial Army

SHINOBU Lieutenant Combi Rifle, Nanopulser, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, Monofilament CCW (50 | 1)

KEMPEI (Chain of Command) Combi Rifle / Pistol, CCW, Electric Pulse (24)

ARAGOTO Spitfire / Pistol, Knife (29 | 1.5)

KARAKURI (Forward Observer) Mk12, Chain Rifle, D.E.P. / Pistol, Knife (43)

HARAMAKI Blitzen, Contender / Pistol, DA CCW (28)

MIYAMOTO MUSHASHI Chain Rifle / AP CCW, EXP CCW (26)

200 Points | SWC: 2.5

Ariadna

VETERAN KAZAKS Lieutenant (CH: Mimetism) AP HMG, Light Flamethrower / Pistol, CCW (61 | 1)

3x LINE KAZAK Rifle / Pistol, Knife (9)

VETERAN KAZAKS Doctor AP Rifle, Light Flamethrower / Pistol, CCW (48)

MOBLOT Panzerfaust, Rifle, Light Shotgun / Pistol, CCW (31 | 1)

MOBLOT (Multispectral Visor L1) Rifle, Light Shotgun / Pistol, CCW (31)

198 Points | SWC: 2

Haqqislam

ASAWIRA Lieutenant AP Rifle + Light Shotgun, Nanopulser / Pistol, Shock CCW (59)

NAFFATÛN Rifle + Heavy Flamethrower / Pistol, Knife (12)

MUYIB Rifle + Light Shotgun, Panzerfaust, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife (25 | 0.5)

JANISSARY HMG / Pistol, CCW (47 | 2)

HUNZAKUT (Deployable Repeater) Rifle + Light Grenade Launcher, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife (21 | 0.5)

TUAREG Sniper Rifle, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife (35 | 0.5)

199 Points | SWC: 3.5

Haqqislam

JANISSARY Lieutenant AP Rifle + Light Shotgun / Pistol, CCW (45 | 1)

NAFFATÛN Rifle + Light Flamethrower / Pistol, Knife (10)

2x GHULAM Rifle + Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife (13)

MUYIB (X Visor) Spitfire, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife (31 | 1)

MUYIB Doctor Rifle + Light Shotgun, D.E.P. / Pistol, Knife (27)

AZRA'IL AP Rifle + Light Flamethrower, Panzerfaust / Pistol, Knife (36 | 0.5)

HUNZAKUT (Deployable Repeater) Sniper Rifle, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife (25 | 0.5)

200 Points | SWC: 3

Aleph

ASURA Lieutenant MULTI Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, AP CCW (73)

2x DAKINI Tacbot Combi Rifle / Electric Pulse (13)

DEVA Hacker (Hacking Device) Combi Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, Knife (35 | 0.5)

NAGA MULTI Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Knife (39 | 1.5)

ZAYIN Rebot HMG / Electric Pulse (27 | 1)

200 Points | SWC: 3

I played Military Orders and faced Ariadna, Haqqislam, and JSA. I'll update later with a short report of how it went for me personally, but for now have some photos from the day.

The calm before the storm at the industrial complex

Asura creeping around Haqqislam's Deployment Zone

Asawira looking for some JSA blood

Your Handbook to the Nomad Nation

I know that everyone that might see this blog probably already goes to Corvus Belli's Infinity forums, but just in case, I'm tossing a link to my Handbook to the Nomad Nation, which I recently posted there.

Both here and on the forums, I don't really talk about Nomads, but they're actually my first and main faction, as well as the one I like the most. It's just that Nomads have become such a normal thing for me, that I subconsciously assume that other players know the Nomads well too. I also don't really get that excited these days about Nomad models, not only because we've gotten almost every unit, but also because the new shinies for me are my other factions.

Tactical Profiles - Dasyu Multi Sniper Rifle

Infiltrating Multi Sniper Rifles, or MSR, are generally a mixed bag. On the one hand, their Camouflage and powerful weapon make them a deadly threat. On the other, their relative squishiness and high cost can turn them into a liability. Fortunately for the Dasyu, its unique traits can minimize the drawbacks and emphasize the advantages.

When using the Dasyu the first thing you need to do is protect your investment. In a faction strapped for points like Aleph, dropping 48 points on a single model that (initially) won’t even be contributing to your Orders Reserve is a big deal, and you need to keep it safe. Too many new players make the mistake of setting up their sniper for a juicy kill only to have their Sniper die right after getting the initial shots. How did that happen? It got hit. While that sounds stupid, the Dasyu is perfectly capable of stacking negative BS modifiers to create a situation where your opponent would rather Dodge. -6 for TO Camo, -3 for Partial Cover, and -3 for Long Range add up to a quick -12. The MSR is especially suited for staying at a distance, and TO lets you dictate the terms of engagement.

What separates the Dasyu from every other Infiltrating Sniper in the game is its V: No Wound Incapacitation. Until you take that first wound, you are essentially invulnerable against any enemy ARO that cannot deal multiple wounds. This is every bit as powerful as it sounds. On the reactive turn you are considerably more vulnerable, but you should still be extremely difficult to hit with more than one shot. Mainly, you’ll need to watch out for units with Flamethrowers, and units equipped with MSV: 2 plus HMG. The former burns off your TO and has decent odds of outright killing you. The latter will likely negate all your defensive benefits, including the range advantage, and Burst 4 stands a good chance of putting you down.

These are all bad people.

Stay conscious of what enemies you go after if you want to get the most out of your Dasyu. Unless you have no other choice, play it safe and destroy targets that can’t properly fight back. Don’t be overly aggressive and don’t give them a fair fight. Just because Infiltration lets you deploy on top of that building at the center of the board doesn’t mean you should. Having such clear LOF with an MSR seems like it allows you to control the board, but what actually happens is that your opponent’s TO counter-unit has easy access to your Dasyu. Even if they don’t have such a unit, being that far up the board makes it much easier for them to get within their Medium Range, turning that -12 BS modifier into a mere -6. Leave that kind of play to your other units and instead use Infiltration to find the best defensive position.

Camping there isn't going to work out like you think.

Sometimes, however, you don’t have the luxury of choice. The MSR is not a very good weapon when forced outside of its comfort zones due to its low Burst and wide range bands. If this happens, remember that the Dasyu still has amazing stats for a Skirmisher and that Double Action rounds at Damage 15 are still very damaging. If your opponent forces the fight into close quarters, the Dasyu is equipped with a Nanopulser which is very deadly against most units and is more flexible than the Mines that most other Infiltrating Snipers have.

Among Infiltrating Snipers the Dasyu is clearly one of the best, even taking its high cost into consideration. Its drawbacks have less to do with the unit itself and more to do with its overall function both within the game and within its faction. As long as you remember the role of a Sniper, the Dasyu will never disappoint.

Big thanks to Penemue for proofreading.

Operation Teutonic Knight - Part 2

I've started a bunch of hobby related stuff in the last few weeks, but until now I didn't get even one to any level of completion. I mostly blame the Canadian winter for this; the many complications it brings have been sapping the little energy I have. I've scheduled things in now, so I should be making pretty solid progress on my hobby activities during the next few weeks.

To start things off, I've done my conversion on the Teutonic Knights. By "done", I mean that the physical conversion is completed. They aren't painted, but that's sort of on my list of things to do, so I do plan on painting them up and posting pictures sooner or later. Also, apologies for the blurry photos. I'm still trying to figure this stuff out.

PanO Teutonic Knight armed with Spitfire

It's essentially arm swaps/repositioning, which is pretty basic stuff, but it took me a good solid chunk of time anyway because none of the arms would attach the way I've put them without cutting, drilling, and very careful Green Stuff work. I also got a sore back because the desk I was working on is too low. I definitely need to fix that.

PanO Teutonic Knight armed with Combi Rifle and Panzerfaust

The first one, with Spitfire, was relatively easy to do because all I needed to do with GS was fill in gaps and smooth it out so it blended in.

The second, with Combi, was even more trouble than I was afraid it would be. I initially just filled the holes in the chest, only to realize it looked really bad. After examining it to figure out why, I found that the Teutonic chestplate simply doesn't work that way and I would need to match the shape and patterns. I only partially succeeded, but it'll have to do. I had to sculpt on part of the right shoulder as well, where it attaches to the body, because that part simply doesn't exist on the model the way it's normally posed.

Overall, I think they look passable and I'm happy to now have my unique little snowflakes. It'll be a long time before I do something like this again though, because I can't stand using Green Stuff for anything other than gap filling.