Infinity CodeOne TAGs Preview

Infinity by Corus Belli is well known for its Cyberpunk/Anime feel, and there’s nothing more Cyberpunk/Anime than giant weaponized armored suits. TAGs, which stands for Tactical Armored Gear, have always been a part of Infinity, but CB has just released 4 brand new TAGs that can be used in Infinity CodeOne and Infinity N4. In this article, we'll take a look at each of the 4 new TAGs and talk to our resident Infinity Pro-Payer Andy Riker Roo about how to best use them in Infinity CodeOne forces along with some Army Lists to get you going.

TAGs can be a blessing and a curse in Infinity CodeOne. There's no questioning their impact on the battlefield. They're usually heavily armored, fast, and pack a punch with their armaments. But they stand taller than most other parts of your force, and that impact makes them a target for your opponent. They can cost a lot, between 25 to 33% of your total force cost, so losing them early can have a detrimental impact on your battle plan. As well as being large targets, TAGs (except for the Sphinx) are also susceptible to hacking.

Luckily, we've got our resident Infinity pro-player Andy 'Riker' Roo to break down each of the new TAG's. He talks about each TAGs strengths and their weaknesses that you will want to mitigate or exploit and also provides a 30 point Infinity CodeOne army list for each along with a breakdown of how to use it. Each of the lists is just to get you going, as Infinity CodeOne forces are very objective and mission dependent, so you may want to consider the game you're playing and adjust the lists accordingly.

Cutter

The Cutter is the Remote Presence tactical armored gear model used by the Varuna Chasseurs Regiment of the Rapid Intervention Division. It was conceived for undercover operations and amphibious or underwater operations. Its design includes sound-suppressing equipment and an environment-adaptive skin capable of changing its reflective, radiative, and electrical properties at will, effectively canceling its optical and thermal output.

• Strengths: Being able to hidden deploy, and then getting a -6 modifier to shots against it. The cutter is an exceptional attack piece. Being able to re-camouflage and get the surprise attack bonus makes it even more devastating.
• Weaknesses: Not having a short-range or direct template weapon means the Cutter will struggle up close. CC specialists or anything with a Boarding Shotgun will give it cause for concern.

Andy Roo's TAG Focused Pan Oceania Infinity CodeOne Army List

Pan Oceania are renowned for their high ballistic skill and big guns, and this list leans into that reputation heavily. The Cutter should act as your main strike piece, using it’s camo state to get into position, and the Mimetism(-6), and BS15 to take targets out reliably, either one at a time in the case of stronger targets, or multiple units if you’re looking at Line Infantry. Being the Lieutenant, you also have an extra order which you can either use to keep hammering the foe or to re-camo yourself to make it harder to deal with you.

The rest of the force is there to support the TAG, the Nokken should position itself to deter enemy hackers and skirmishers from assaulting the Cutter, whilst the Varg should go out to hunt anything which has MSV or an armor-piercing weapon. The Knight of Justice and Infirmarer should go out on button-pushing duty, using their superior CC to deal with things up close and personal, whilst the Locust covers them with its Marksman rifle, but careful of exposing these 3 to long-range weapons. Finally, your backline is made up of 2 Fusiliers, who should be on the lookout for drop troops, a Fusilier Paramedic who is there to keep your ARO piece, the Bøyg, upright and on overwatch. 

Sphinx

The Sphinx specializes in covert operations, where stealth becomes their most powerful weapon. They are largely invisible war machines, moving in silent sync with the environment until they deploy to the maximum all their armored power already in the middle of enemy lines, where they can do more damage.

• Strengths: Super mobile with a 6-6 move and climbing plus, the Sphinx can use this in combination with its camouflage state (and hidden deployment and -6 mimetism) to get into the perfect position to leverage its Spitfire or burst 2 heavy flamers.
• Weaknesses: With only ARM6, if the Sphinx gets hit then it will really notice it. MSV2 units, particularly those with HMGs or packing AP ammo will be a worry for Combined Army players.

Andy Roo's TAG Focused Combined Army Infinity CodeOne Army List

The idea here is that you first use the Gwailos to deal with anything that has MSV and is watching over the battlefield. Its Nanoscreen means you can be quite aggressive with it, as you always have it in cover. Doing that removes anything that has an advantage against your camouflage units. When those threats are dealt with, your Sphinx can push up and start taking things out at short to mid-range, whilst the Malignos hacker gives it cover from enemy hackers and activates consoles in missions requiring it, and the Shrouded acts as a decoy or fake threat.

The Caliban Engineer is there to support the Sphinx, repairing it if needed, and is also an exceptional close-range fighter in its own right, and a specialist so can also grab objectives. Similarly, the Caliban Spitfire should be used to deal with any camouflage threats, or act as a close combat shock and awe unit. The Nox and Mentor units are there predominantly as order generators, but positioning them to cover your rear as your other units advance will help prevent you from getting outflanked.

Blue Wolf

The Blue Wolf Regiment is a nomadic unit, always changing its location, always on the move, so as not to be an easy target. And this is only possible thanks to their lightweight TAGs, which allow for greater mobility and require less equipment and support personnel than a conventional mechanized regiment.

• Strengths: Fast, with Terrain (total) means the Blue Wolf will be able to get up close quickly, and with a high CC and a DA CCW, it will do damage when it gets there, it can also use Beserk to move 10" before making an attack, and forces an unopposed roll. Which is great for mincing light infantry. It also has a range of guns to help protect its advance.
• Weaknesses: Its comparatively low ARM, and BS14 means that it will be outgunned by bigger TAGs, and it will struggle with long-range combat when its Panzefausts run out.

Andy Roo's TAG Focused Yu Jing Infinity CodeOne Army List

This list requires a small proxy, and the use of a silhouette1 model, though a token or marker would work fine too. 

The idea is that the force pushes up together, using its short-mid range weapons to deal with threats as they come into your positive range bands, dousing them with flamethrowers, or taking them out in CC. The Dàofěi lieutenant should act as your main gunfighter, and use its high BS, Camouflage, and Surprise shot to take out any ARO pieces that are going to hold up your advance, and then go back into camouflage before the end of your turn. The Gŭiláng is there to act as a deterrent to enemy units getting too close to objectives or you flank, whilst the Jujak can support the skirmisher by dumping out large template Flamers or using its Breaker Rifle to threaten high armor units. The Shàng Ji hacker, and Jing Qo should focus on taking objectives by using their high BS and MULTI Rifles to deal with anything in their way. Jing Qo is also vicious in CC, so don’t be afraid to get stuck in with her.

The Blue Wolf should keep watch over your specialists and use its guns (both of which are +1 damage and +1 burst) to clear a path to the objective or keep aggressors at bay. The Hùndùn is your long-range support, covering fire lanes, or paths of advance, staying in marker state for as long as possible to make it hard to deal with. The Zanshi paramedic should be on hand to get it back up if it drops, whilst the other Zhanshi watches your backfilled for drop troops. Your final Zhanshi should be used as a Mech-Engineer, a simple proxy which I’ve done for years, accompanied by a Yȧo Zăo Peripheral. This allows the Mech-Engineer to repair your TAG, as well as remove any status effects from hacking your units might have succumbed to.

Zeta Unit

Both in open combat and in low-intensity conflicts, the Zeta Units are Bureau Aegis’s sledgehammer, the ultimate deterrent, the final solution. Zeta Units’ pilots are implant warriors, wired to the Zetas to become killing machines, 3 times faster and more efficient than a common soldier.

• Strengths: The Zeta is a straight-up gunfighter, with high BS, good armor, and a big gun. It also has climbing plus, to get itself up high and watch over the battlefield.
• Weaknesses: It really doesn't have many, so cracking this nut will be tricky. Breaker or E/M ammo, especially when shooting through smoke, is likely your best, or getting a CC specialist in there, again under the cover of smoke, to lock it down.

Andy Roo's TAG Focused O-12 Infinity CodeOne Army List

This force is designed to be hyper-aggressive, either leveraging superior firepower to win the game or forcing the enemy to keep their head down whilst you grab objectives. The Zeta should be used to deal with the biggest threat on the board, using Climbing Plus to get up high and rain fire down with its HRMC. A warning though; the TAG will be a priority target, so keep it in cover with a total of ARM11, you should be able to shrug off all but the biggest of hits. The Omega is there to draw fire away from the Zeta, acting as something your opponent can’t ignore. Be wary of putting it near MSV units though, as it will lose its main advantage. Similarly, the Gangbuster should go Camo hunting, and clear up any enemy units that are tucked out of the way of the Zeta.

The Delta should drop in on turn 2, and come down near the enemy deployment zone, from there you can wreak havoc on any backline troops, and force your opponent to split their attention further. The Epsilon and Gamma units are on ARO duty and should look to cover the Zeta from enemy gunners. You might want to use the Epsilon in your active turn to snipe enemy camo units, but avoid provoking AROs if possible. Keeping your Kappa paramedic near one or both of these units will help prolong their usefulness, whilst the other Kappas should protect your rear. Finally, the Beta unit should use its fast speed and climbing plus to get to any objectives, its not weak in a gunfight, but avoid long-range exchanges where possible. 

A huge thank you to Andy 'Riker' Roo once again for his Infinity insight. Andy runs his own Infinity blog where he posts further details on units and tactics as well as including tournament reports.

The Infinity CodeOne TAGs used to produce this guide were provided by Corvus Belli.