INTEL: Beyond Icestorm Nomads
By guest writer Grantt “The Art of War Studios” Ennis
Corvus Belli would lead is to believe that you can build a 300 point army for Nomad using the units found in the Operation: Icestorm and Beyond Icestorm boxes. This isn’t strictly true, but it’s definitely worth exploring.
Firstly, if you use all 10 available Nomad models, you actually end up with 303 (or 305) points spent – not ideal. A little bit of messing about and changing of unit profiles can get you to 300, but is it a viable list?
Beyond Nomads
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10
KRIZA BORAC Lieutenant (360º Visor) Mk12, Submachine Gun / Heavy Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 64)
SPEKTR (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle, Antipersonnel Mines / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 32)
ALGUACIL Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 10)
ALGUACIL Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 10)
ALGUACIL Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 10)
HELLCAT Spitfire / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 28)
INTRUDER (X-Visor) MULTI Sniper Rifle / Pistol, CCW. (1.5 | 43)
GRENZER MULTI Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Breaker Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 32)
REVEREND HEALER MULTI Rifle, Nanopulser / Pistol, EXP CCW. (0 | 37)
MOBILE BRIGADA Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 34)
4.5 SWC | 300 Points
Inside the storm!
As you can see, I’ve opted to swap out the Mobile Brigada with the Multi-Rifle for one with a basic Combi – this frees us up enough points to make an ITS legal list. I’ve made the Kriza Borac the Lieutenant, as I suspect that this model will wreck face in the active turn, and having that extra LT order to go Rambo the board with may well prove the difference between defeat and success. Because, in honesty, the only way this list will work is if it beats things to death.
Notice the lack of specialists – you could potentially turn those alguacile or the spectre into forward observers, but then you’d tip over your 300 points. But if we’re keeping things ITS legal, then we need to stick to our one and only specialist – the Reverend Healer. If any buttons need pushing, or doors need opening, she’s your only real hope in this list, and in truth, her 4-2 move is going tomato that very, very difficult indeed.
So your best chance of winning games is to murder your foe. Not the Nomad’s biggest strength, but one this list can accomplish.
Firstly, let’s take a look at the Kriza Borac – a solid BS, Full Auto L2 and a Mk12 rifle alongside a solid 4-4 move and good ARM and BTS makes him a valuable bully-piece. He should be able to move to the mid field and either lock down a portion of the table, or go hunting for good targets. Once he’s in a strong range band, that extra burst and -3 penalty to enemy BS makes him great at dislodging hunkered down enemy models in the active turn, while placing him in suppressing fire in the reactive turn makes him a nightmare to shift. As the Lt, he’ll get an extra order each turn to spend hunting enemy units, though at the risk of betraying your lieutenant and getting him killed.
The Reverend Healer is another solid hunting unit. Her strong BS, multi-rifle and mimetism allows her to stack modifiers in her active turn and prove a strong threat against close to medium units. Again, she’ll need to move up to the mid-field to get those ideal range bands, but this may work in your favour, as if she’s there with the Borac, or the Alguacile, she’ll be able to attempt to heal them if they take a few hits. Don’t rely on it, though – WIP 14 still fails with alarming regularity.
The Mobile Brigada is another mid-field unit, as that combi-rifle works best within 16 inches. He’s a bit more survivable than the Reverend Healer, but lacking the mimetism, he finds it hard to stack modifiers to improve his chances, while the combi-rifle itself pales in comparison with the multi-rifle. Still, a mid-field Mobile Brigada in suppressing fire locking down a fireman is a great support piece, and will force your opponent to waste orders removing it, or avoiding it.
The last close range hunter is the Spectre – and he may well be the most dangerous of the lot. In hidden deployment, this unit can wait for exactly the right time to strike, taking an ideal shot against an unprotected and unsuspecting enemy – a devastating blow that should kill a vulnerable unit. After this initial attack, the unit loses some of it’s edge, but judiciously placing antipersonnel mines will force your opponent to manoeuvre on your terms, and provides a fantastic defence against close combat specialists.
Another “surprise” unit is the Hellcat – if he manages a successful combat drop, he can unload that spitfire into numerous vulnerable units and really sway the fight. Personally, I prefer walking these guys onto a table edge – I always seem to fail their combat jump and they usually end up either too far away from anything to make a difference, or right out in front of the enemy guns. However, if he walks onto an unprotected flank, with all the enemy forces facing forward, he might get a few choice shots against unsuspecting targets. Don’t expect him to survive any concentrated assault made against him, though; he’s often too close to the enemy and nowhere near tough enough to weather that.
The last two units add more board control and more potential savagery to the army – both being snipers, they can cover the board very effectively, allowing you to dictate the flow of the fight. Both units have multi-spectral visors, which allows them to ignore camouflage and smoke, and both carry multi-sniper rifles, which are just plain deadly. If you choose a strong deployment for these units, they can cover entire chunks of the table and provide a deadly deterrent to your enemy.
The Intruder is the more deadly of the two – she can be deployed camouflaged, which gives her both a 360 degree line of fire and a surprise shot in your active turn against an enemy unit. This makes her an unbelievable first-strike unit that can usually remove an enemy if used effectively. Just don’t fall for the sniper trap – avoid placing them on rooftops, as not only can they see the entire board, the entire board can see (and shoot at) them.
Lastly, we can throw in some Alguacile for orders – though don’t go ignoring their BS11 and ARM1. Many a battle have I been pleasantly surprised by their capability in picking off a carelessly placed unit, or surviving a wild shot. These guys might be your cheerleaders, but like all units in Infinity, they can be equally deadly.
Would I play this list? No, not really. I prefer the trickier styles that Nomads are famed for; using hackers, remotes and sneaky tricks to keep your enemy guessing and unable to effectively plan against your tactics! As such, I would recommend any Nomad commander get himself some old hacking units, such as Interventors or Reverend Custodiers, and then treat themselves to some of the fantastic Remotes that the Nomads are famed for – the Meteor is phenomenal for getting specialists and repeaters close to the enemy, while the Tsyklons pack a surprisingly powerful punch in ranged combat – when supported by a hacker!
But the Icestorm sets are a great starting point for new players who are keen to play the Nomads faction, but still need to pick up the basics – they can go toe-to-toe with other dedicated fighting forces and still hold their own, especially the Borac and the Intruder; your enemies will soon learn to fear those units on the table!