Start Collecting Infinity - Tunguska Jurisdictional Command Starter Pack

Published: July 5, 2018 12:00 PM /

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As part of our Start Collecting Infinity Series, we were kindly sent the brand new Nomad Sectorial Army Starter Pack for the Tunguska Jurisdictional Command, which, unless you've played Infinity for a while, might not make much sense to you, so we'll break it down. Infinity has nine different available factions, which includes the non-aligned armies of mercenary companies and smaller factions that have broken away from the main forces. The different Sectorial Army lists are specific forces within the main factions. In the case of the Nomads, rather than living on a world, their forces live and travel on three enormous ships so that they can operate away from the A.I. control of the Human Sphere. If you pick Nomads as your faction of choice, you can chose your army from the standard Nomad list or one of the three sectorial army lists that represent each of their ships: the Corregidor, Bakunin or Tunguska.

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The Nomads and different Sectorial Army List options.

When selecting a force, Sectorial Army Lists are more specific than the standard faction army lists. For example, in the Tunguska Jurisdictional Command's case, they are exceptional hackers and so have greater access to those troop types and equipment at the expense of the greater unit access of a main faction list.

Hacking in Infinity for a beginner can seem incredibly complicated, and while it is an extra set of rules and options, with some practice and use it's all pretty straight-forward, so don't let the Tunguska's high hacking abilities put you off them as a faction. If anything, their high hacking ability mean that you will have less to worry about when it comes to hacking as a threat from your opponent. There are a lot of resources out there for Infinity players and the community is refreshingly helpful, but two resources I've found great are The Dice Abide's 'Hacking for Dummies' and the N3 Hacking Helper.

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Image courtesy of Corvus Belli.

Tunguska Jurisdictional Command Starter Pack

The TJC Starter Pack contains 6 miniatures for the Nomads Sectorial Army:
  • 3x Securitate's with Combi Rifles
  • 1x Heckler with a Combi Rifle and Hacking Device
  • 1x Hollow Man with Multi Rifle and Pitcher
  • 1x Kriza Borac with HMG
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Image courtesy of Corvus Belli.

The 3 Securitate's in the starter box are a solid core to the force and have some great options. One Securitate can be made a Lieutenant for the extra order, the others can be made paramedics or equipped with a hacking device, all in a Fireteam: Core, which allows all members of the Fireteam to be moved on one order and gives bonus' to the Burst of the Team Leader, even during reaction orders in your opponents turn, which can be deadly if positioned correctly with the right weapon. By adding some extra members, the Securitate's can also go up to a Five-Member Fireteam which adds in some other great bonus' including improving the BS skill, which is used for attacks. By adding a couple of heavier weapons to the 3 starter pack Securitate's your force will have a very solid core, but in smaller games, simply putting the 3 starter pack Securitate's into a Fireteam is extremely effective.

I've been using a Five-Member Fireteam very effectively in my JSA army which I will cover in an upcoming article, but it is well worth noting that the Three-Member Fireteam is a very solid start, especially while learning how to use Fireteams.

The other units include the Heckler unit, which has some interesting options and can be used as a very effective anti-hacking unit. The Kriza Borac is a hard heavy-hitting well armoured unit that has some great Fireteam options, especially when combined with a Hollow Man, who is an incredibly mobile and very adaptable unit.

We've put together a quick start 154 point TJC Starter Pack list that can be found on Infinity Army by using the following link. The list is 154 points and can be reduced to 150 or below with some changes, but its what we felt was a solid base to add to.

tunguska jc starter pack 001The TJC Starter Pack models looks great and are crying out for some incredible paint schemes. They capture the Cyberpunk feel of Infinity fantastically. They are also the easiest Infinity miniatures we've put together so far, with all the parts fitting and gluing together very well, so for a beginner looking to start working with metal miniatures, these are a perfect entry.

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Image courtesy of Corvus Belli.

Start Collecting Tunguska Jurisdictional Command Pro Tips

Because we enjoyed Andy 'Riker' Roo's beginners tips so much in our Beginners Advice Infinity Interviews, we decided to chat with him again about the new Tunguska profiles.

TechRaptor: Hi Andy and welcome back to Start Collecting Infinity. What do you think of the new TJC?

Andy Roo: Thank you for having me back! I think the Tunguska provide a nice elite take on the Nomad army, comfortably able to fill a Limited Insertion list using their high Willpower (WIP), comparatively high Ballistic Skills (BS) and wide range of toys to provide a reasonably rounded off force.

Their obvious hacking dominance is actually very scary, mainly because of the Willpower (WIP) values, high Bio-Technological Shields (BTS) and decent repeater networks, but this is rounded off with a low Physique (PH) 10 almost across the board. Because of this, they will need to be wary of letting the enemy get too close and template weapons will be a real pain for them to handle. The other major hole in their list is their lack of MSV level 2, so they will be very susceptible to smoke tricks. This is somewhat balanced out by mixed links, allowing them to get Sixth Sense Level 2 on a range of models at once, but it does mean that only 1 model will be ARO-ing at a time.

Overall though, they look to have a very unique playstyle and will be a lot of fun. They also have some really cool new units and some rules which we haven’t seen before, so it will be exciting to see how they fair on the table.

TR: What are your stand-out units on the profiles so far?

AR Just glancing over the new profiles, my initial thoughts are:
  • Heckler: Particularly the Jammer and Killer Hack profiles, their access to Forward Deployment L1 (can deploy an extra 4” forward) and Limited Camo, means they are great for rear-mid field control. The Jammer profile can drop a FastPanda (anywhere up to 8” away) to extend your hacking net, then bunker up and use the Jammer to be a deterrent for anyone you want to stop from moving around that area of the board! The Killer Hacker profile I see useful as more of a hunter, the cybermines allow you to play some nasty tricks on hackable units, forcing awkward ARO situations on your opponent, like a normal mine would on regular troops. With BS12, Mimetism, and an Assault Pistol, he’s no shmuck in a gunfight, either!
  • Mary Problems: Possibly my favourite of the new profiles, Mary Problems brings a lot of answers for a very modest price. Her hyperdynamics offsets the PH10 (a running theme in Tunguska), whilst the combination of Forward Deployment, ODD and Climbing Plus means she’ll be able to get up somewhere high, maybe firing off a pitcher en route, then set up shop to lock down anything hackable your opponent may bring.
  • Securitate: The backbone of Tunguska have definitely had an upgrade since their last incarnation. WIP14 and BS12 (Hi, PanO!) means that they can grab buttons, whilst keeping themselves safe with the nifty range of weapons. The addition of a repeater profiles means you can use them as mobile hacking networks, positioning them to threaten enemy hackables, whilst remaining safe (as they’re not hackable themselves - aside from the hacker). With access to some good heavy weapons, they can be pretty solid defensive platforms, especially as they can be joined by a Grenzer!
  • Grenzer: With BS13, MSV1 and a suite of tasty weapons, the Grenzer will definitely get work done, especially when they’re in a Securitate link. I’d go for either the Spitfire or Missile Launcher, depending on whether the link is going to be active and button-pushy, or defensive.
  • Hollow Men: These guys are gross! 6-2 Move and Super-Jump means they are outrageously mobile, and the whole wealth of options means they really are suited to filling most battlefield roles. All of them have breaker pistols and template weapons, so up close they can hold their own, whilst the high Armour (ARM), decent BS, and access to a Spitfire means they’ll be solid in a shoot-out. Having a Haris profile, means you can have a cheaper, more aggressive link, whilst saving the Core for your Securitate defense.
  • Kriza Boracs: Possibly the hardest hitting infantry in the list, the Kriza can deal with most threats, whilst only really being susceptible to hacking. The Fireteam: Duo means you can take 2 (or 1 and a Hollow Man) for swift advancement up the table, or you can go all in and take a Haris, to act as a mobile fire platform, which members can drop out of once they’re in position. Also, they look awesome!
  • Szalamandra: The new sculpt is stunning, and the profile is excellent. It does exactly what you need it to, sit there, shoot things, and take fire! With a killer hacker inside, they can also jump out (remember, when you Dismount, your opponent doesn’t get to ARO the TAG, only the pilot) and hit a button, or even fry the brain of any Assault Hackers trying to lock you down. Just remember to keep the pilot in the shadow of the TAG, so you don’t get shot when climbing out. Also, in Tunguska, you can take 2!

TR: If you were to take the Tunguska Jurisdictional Command Starter Pack forward to 200 or 300 points, what would you add to give options for beginner Infinity players?

AR: I'd never suggest a fixed list, but for advice on what to buy after the starter pack with some ideas for 200 and 300 point lists, I've created the following. (Note: You can see Andy's advice for creating lists in our Start Collecting Beginners Advice Interview)

[gallery columns="2" size="large" ids="244260,244261"]

For the 200 point list, all that needs adding to the starter box is a Spektr, and a Daktari. This adds some specialists, including a hidden unit mid-field and means there is a medic to get the Kriza back up. The Hollow Man and Kriza are deployed as a Fireteam, with the Kriza as the team-leader adding the benefits to the HMG. The Hollow Man can fire the pitcher to a suitable location for him and the Kriza, which they make their way forward to and hold out in a prime firing position. The pitcher acts as a range amplifier for hacking devices which allows the Fireteam to operate under the Heckler's hacking protective bubble, even if the Heckler is operating away from the rest of the units .The Spektr can be used to run off and grab buttons if required.

The 300 point list is a solid list to build towards with a great variety of options while you add more units to flex out your choices later on. It's not a set list for all missions, but it's a good starting point to build up from.

TR: Thank you for your input Andy, a pleasure to have you back.

 

The Tunguska Jurisdictional Command Starter Pack used in the feature was provided by Corvus Belli.

 

What do you think of the new Tunguska Jurisdictional Command profiles?  Are you a Nomads player already looking to play the third force or are you another faction player interested in the hacking emphasis? What do you think of the miniatures? Are there any Infinity rules or factions you would like us to cover in the future? Do you have any questions for Andy or tactics you'd like him to discuss? Let us know in the comments below?

Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net


A Potts TechRaptor
| Senior Tabletop Writer

Adam is a Tabletop Specialist for TechRaptor. He started writing for TechRaptor in 2017 and took over as Tabletop Editor in 2019 and has since stood down… More about Adam

More Info About This Game
Learn more about Doctor Who Infinity
Developer
Tiny Rebel Games
Publisher
Tiny Rebel Games
Platforms
Android, IOS, PC
Release Date
August 8, 2018 (Calendar)
Genre
Puzzle
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