Flamia Files: Part 2

The Sword of Haqqislam is back once more with the second installment of the Flamia Files, a re-publishing of my old battle reports from Operation Flamestrike. I am only publishing two this time because my reports from here on out get a lot longer and reflect the detail that I continue to this day. They tell a more complete story.

You will really get to see how my reports evolved over time as I found the style that I liked and how I wanted to voice the stories that my friend and I were producing. I started to really getting into shaping the story around the game taking place and Corvus Belli did a great job in helping with this by having mechanics reflect how the story would be shaped. You can tell the heart of roleplay in Infinity.

With Wotan soon to wind down, I will continue to do these but that should mean that I will be getting back to actual blogging than taking this lazy way out but without further delay, onto the Flamia Files!

If you missed part one you can find it here: Flamia Files: Part 1

In Defense Against the Dragon
**Haqqislam Intelligence Communications. Participants: Unknown, labeled as Participant 1 and Participant 2**

Participant 1 (P1): We have a contingent of Yu Jing forces moving towards Tianxian Astroport city. It seems that it is a retaliation force in response to the Nomads taking Zhurong. It seems that the Nomads have awoken the dragon. They are being lead by a high profile Imperial Agent.

Participant 2 (P2): So why do we care? Yu Jing going after the Nomads is beneficial to us taking back the city.

P1: It gets more complicated than that. This particular Imperial Agent is wanted by Qapu Khalqi and Hassassin Bahram. It seems that he has committed several crimes against Haqqislam including the destruction of several Haqqislamite merchant ships, silk theft and the slaughter of innocents that get in his way. Yu Jing has given him the mission of sabotaging a key area of the Nomads to force a retreat back to Tianxian from Zhurong. With the amount of explosives the Imperial Agent, it would certainly work but many civilians will die in the attack, civilians that are still loyal to Haqqislam.

P2: You would think that if Yu Jing wanted the city back, they would refrain from killing the civilians they want to eventually govern.

P1: Do you really think that they would make it look like Yu Jing was responsible?

P2: That is true, okay, I can see why we are interested but from the information you just sent, we don’t have any assets that could engage them in time. The are headed into pure Nomad territory.

P1: We have one, the Guardian Falcons of Qapu Khalqi. They are returning from an escort mission in Antela.

P2: Isn’t that Envihon’s forces? Well, he has been successful in destroying PanOceania, Yu Jing shouldn’t be a problem. Send him in, make sure he has an Azra’il on hand, let’s see the dragon bleed for their crimes.
**End of Intelligence Briefing**

–Heavy opposition detected. Deploying Azra’il protocols. Eliminate with extreme prejudice–

+++Incoming Transmission from Envihon Location: Tianxian+++

Mission Report:
We were on our way back from Antela when we got the order to divert ourselves to head off a Yu Jing attack. At first, I questioned the decision to head off a Yu Jing attack on the Nomads but then I read the profile of the target we were suppose to eliminate. I wonder if command knew I wouldn’t mind taking an assignment like this. A man like this makes my blood boil to the point I made a decision that most in high command won’t like but I personally see to the ends of men like this. I gave Lt Braxa full command over the mission while I would be taking my place in the suit of Azra’il armor to be the spearhead of the mission.

We had enough time to set up fire points before the Yu Jing forces arrived. I set a Shihab Remote armed with a heavy machine gun and total reaction capabilities in a tower to lock down the field. He had a little Nasmat friend connected to a Kaplan Engineer to make sure he didn’t go down for very long. Across from the remote, we had a Sekban Fireteam and a Djanbazan sniper. These units were the safety to make sure that if the spearhead failed, the Yu Jing forces wouldn’t get any further.

Myself and 4 Hafzas along with the Kaplan set up point for offensive maneuvers. I actually leant one of the Hafzas my viral sniper rifle, I like to make sure that the enemies of Haqqislam knows what it means to cross us. I was packing an AP HMG, there is nothing better than filling scum with Teseum.

We barely had enough to get in place before Yu Jing started their attack. If there is one thing I have respect when it comes to Yu Jing, it’s their intelligence apparatus. They knew we were coming and wanted to get the jump on us.

The first thing I heard was the Shihab’s HMG ringing out. The Yu Jing had brought Shaolin Monks in after us first but they were cut down as they tried to deploy smoke. Unfortunately, they had brought more than just one who eventually got a smoke grenade off with the lightening quick reflexes. Not all were so lucky as another met its end to the Shihab. This did not sit well with the Yu Jing as they sent their Raiden to destroy it but the reaction time of the Shihab was a little too quick as it also died to the Remotes heavy machine gun.

These were nothing but distractions unfortunately as a Tiger Soldier descended on Lt Braxa, Yu Jing’s intelligence was more complete than we ever could have thought. Something that we only realized as the Tiger Soldier gunned down Lt Braxa.

We scrambled to re-group. The Sekban leader took point as command but in the confusion a Bao Sniper had got into poisition to destroy both remotes and gun down the Djanbazan sniper. It was finally our turn to retaliate. A Yuan yuan defended on the Tiger Soldier that descended and gunned him down in a similar fashion that he killed Lt Braxa.

First order of buiness was the Sekban Doctor who moved in on the Djanbazan sniper. We had a new healing serum the Haqqislamite biotechnology companies wanted field tests for it and this was the perfect time to use it. The Sekban dispensed the syrum into the soldier and he was back to fighting shape. It would seem the serum synergized with the Djanbazan regeneration to get him back on his feet quickly so please forward those results to our research division.

We then moved in. I was the first to move into position when I gunned down the rest of the Shaolin monks. They never stood a chance. I then turned my attention to the Bao sniper that was giving us so much trouble putting the HMG on full blast. The sniper got a lucky shot and wounded me but different survive long to the continuous volleys of Teseum bullets.

All another distraction as yet another Tiger Soldier desceded down. Luckily, a Yuan yuan was in place to kill him with a chain rifle but the Tiger Soldier was able to get off two shotgun blasts that took out her and one of the Hafzas from my team.

The Yu Jing offensive was in shambles at this point as we tried to advance forward to bring the Imperial Agent to justice but they still had one more trick up their sleeve. A Su Jian came sprinting forward in its beast mode to stall our our advance. It was quickly in place and transformed into its heavy infantry challenging us. My Husam Spec Ops partner was quick with hacking skills to shut the robot heavy infantry down but it exposed him to an enemy hacker’s repeater. He immobilized the Su Jian but took a brain blast that knocked him unconscious. I ordered to the last Yuan yuan to take that last hacker out which he did gleefully as he was knocked out himself from the hacker’s gunfire.

It was enough time for the Su Jian to reset and move into suppressive mode locking down the spearhead from advancing forward. The Sekban Fireteam took iniative and advanced forward quickly to outflank the robot. They heavily damaged the Su Jian but never put it down. It was only after it deactivated did we realize that the forces of Yu Jing had fled, abadoning their attack on the city.

We failed to apprehend or kill the Imperial Agent but the more important thing is we stopped the needless destruction of the city at Yu Jing hands. The lengths we now have been going to secure victory on Flamia Island is starting to disturb me. Yu Jing thought the deaths of innocents was the right cost to deal a blow against the Nomads. We can not abide by this. It is our humanity to which we must preserve in such times and I will happily take it in my hands to ensure this, even if it means strapping into a suit of Azra’il armor and taking a bullet for them.

We are the Guardian Falcons. Our justice is swift. Our honor is eternal. We are the protectors of the innocent.

+++End Transmission+++

Securing the Future

***Intelligence Communications Between Envihon and Hassassin Bahram***
Hassassin Bahram (HB): Commander, we have an intelligence report that may be of some interest to you and your medical supply drops

Envihon (E): Let me guess, another PanOceania raid?

HB: Actually, that’s exactly what it is. This time they aren’t acting for disruption though. They have a more nefarious plan at work.

E: What do you mean? PanOceania may be a bully but they have never outright sabotaged things. They aren’t Yu Jing or Nomads.

HB: Well, it seems that they are angry at the fact you keep dropping medical supplies to the enemy. They are wanting O-12 to step in to stop it but they made it clear that we are not to stop bringing medical supplies to those civilians affected by the war, whether they are ally or enemy.

E: So how are they going to appeal to O-12 that we should stop sending medical supplies to those that need when they just try to blow up those medical supplies?

HB: They aren’t coming to destroy anything. They are coming to place weapons in the medical supplies to make it look like we are smuggling weapons to the enemy. Once in route, they plan to intercept the the shipments with an O-12 representative and then show them that there are weapons in the medical shipments thus giving them the leverage they need to have O-12 stop the shipments entirely which means all the innocent civilians caught in the middle of this stupid war will go without medical help.

E: So we have to intercept the shipments before PanOceania can get to them. I will personally see that it’s done.

HB: Envihon, do not take the field. We need you alive. We have intelligence about who has been behind these attacks the entire time but we need more time before we can intercept. Send your troops in, get the supplies and move out. Command them from the Haqqislam base in Tianxian. We need you for that mission.

E: I never ask the Guardian Falcons to do what I wouldn’t do myself. I am personally leading this mission. Envihon out.
***End of Intelligence Communications***

—Beginning Cube download. Cube download successful. Extracting Cube…extraction successful. Storing Cube in safe location. Good luck Commander—

+++Incoming Transmission From Envihon Location: Tianxian+++

Mission Report:
After receiving vital intelligence from HQ, I moved the Guardian Falcons to intercept PanOceania attempting to plant weapons in our medical shipments as a way of convincing O-12 that we were up to more than just providing medical relief to civilians in the ongoing Flamia conflict. I have grown tired of these many raids by PanOceania as they try to stop us from protecting those who never asked for this conflict. To this, I took the field in my old Janissary armor, the armor that helped me rise in the ranks of Qapu Khalqi. I extracted my cube and placed it in safe keeping for the mission. I wasn’t going to do this half asked but as a proper Janissary does, without a cube.

I placed myself in a fireteam with an upcoming Janissary, Janissary Asli with 3 Hafzas and we took forward point to get to the left most supply box. I positioned an Al’Hawwa and Doctor to secure the right most supply box with a Yuan Yuan to provide smoke in order to guarantee their safe passage to the supply box. Then I established a defensive line of fire support with a Sekban, Djanbazan and Shihab remote placed on elevated positions. The Shihab even had an engineer to make sure that the Shihab locked it’s fire lane down with HMG fire. The intelligence let us prepare a lot better for this battle, the PanOceania forces never knew what hit them.

The first move they tried was they had a Hospitaler pop out from the corner of a building to try and take Asli down. They managed to wound her but the fire from her missile launcher proved too much so they fell back. They then tried to remove the Djanbazan sniper from his nest but his pin point precision was able to bring the remote down. What was unexpected was the Indigo Spec Ops that repaired the remote to bring it back to full functioning. The fireteam of Hospitalers advanced little as they continued to creep their way forward towards the middle supply box.

Our lone Yuan Yuan decided to go to work throwing down smoke that the Djanbazan decided to use to put the remote down for good. After a clear path was established, the Al’Hawwa ran forward to secure the medical supplies and ran back to position while my fireteam ran up for the second. We quickly recovered the medical supplies and ran back for cover as we heard our vigilant Sekban fire his rocket launcher as a palbot on a roof top. The palbot survived but you could here the screams of a burning Fusilier. The Yuan Yuan eager to see PanOceania blood to be spilled ran towards the advancing Hositalers.

When they moved into the open, the Shihab opened fired at full blast, the Yuan Yuan saw fit to lay down smoke and a Djabazan sniper round found it’s place in PanOceania flesh. The smoke prevented the Shihab from taking anymore action but the Djanbazan continued to harass the team forcing them to dodge or take wounds as the advanced on their target. Realizing that we had already taken one of the crates, a hacker of theirs with a spitfire ran at the team and opened fire killing the Hafza spec ops, and Hafza with a spitfire as well as taking down Janissary Asli but our Sekban guardian proved to be our savior as he launched a rocket launcher that met it’s target with a burned another PanOceania figure alive. They also managed to take down the Shihab that was quickly repaired by the KTS engineer that was sent to make sure the Shihab stayed in good working order. During this fire confrontation a would-be Fusilier with a missile launcher tried to fire at my forces but my Djanbazan showed him no quarter with a head shot before the Fusilier could get his shot off. The Yuan Yuan’s eagerness eventually got herself killed as she ran into the open and was gunned down by the Hospitalers. The space pirates rarely survive encounters it seems but they are too useful for me to stop having them from signing up with the Guardian Falcons. They don’t like the restrictions I put them on when they serve with my team but it would seem they never survive long to complain.

I took the iniative to grab the dropped supply box and revive the fallen Asli but she was beyond saving, she bled out of her wounds as I got up to her. She sacrificed herself so that others may live. I will honor her memory for taking the path of the Janissary just as I had. Without a cube, she made the greatest sacrifice. Something every Janissary faces in their time of service. After watching her pass, I ran for cover with the package in tow. As I took cover behind a building, I received this transmission from enemy Lieutenant:

Garret: “Hold fire! Hold fire! I am Fusilier-Lieutenant Garret, and I urge you to hold and listen to my petition!”

Envihon: “And why, Fusilier-Lieutenant Garret, should I ever do that? I know why you are here and what you are trying to do which is why I am disinclined to do so. You stand here in direct opposition trying to make it look like Haqqislam is smuggling weapons to the enemy when we are trying help innocent civilians affected by this war. You don’t show them mercy, why should I show you any?”

G: “Haqqislam is renowned for their value on life, their acceptance. I implore you to show us these traits. I promise my forces will leave empty handed, just let us gather our Cubes and leave. Let us stop the bloodshed.”

E: “Haven’t you heard? We lose our sense of humor when you threaten civilians. You have shown no quarter in our mission to provide medical support to those innocents that need it but now, after failing in your attempt yet again to stop those shipments, you want mercy”

G: “Please, what can I offer to have you relent if the lives of your soldiers aren’t enough?”

E: “The lives of my soldiers? I do believe I have you pinned down and you have no footing to make such demands.”

G: “What about the identity of the one hunting you?”

E: “So now I am being hunted? That bit of information would be valuable. How about who and why this is happening? I have had too many clashed against PanOceania is this conflict to think it’s all just coincidence.”

G: “His name is Xandis, now you must get out of here! He’s going to unleash a plague, you mu-”

With his warning my forces were extracted in time…but the forces else where in the city did not receive the retreat signal in time…

Personal Note: This Xandis is of interest to me. These attacks have gotten more frequent and savage as time has gone on. I will have to scour our intelligent reports for information on him. It is quite clear that he is a danger to not just Haqqislam but possibly the Human Sphere as a whole. I have been blaming PanOceania for much of this but perhaps, I was wrong. These attacks and strife might just be the work of a lone wolf in their ranks that has been given too much power that he can’t handle. A preliminary look up shows that Xandis is in the Military Orders. His zealotry is almost on par with someone that I used to know…

The Flamia Files: Part 1

So I wanted to apologize to my faithful readers for being absent for so long. This is my busiest time of the year because of Celtic Festival season so I don't get much time to anything else during my summers as I squeeze in Infinity games when I can. Add onto this the fact that we have the Wotan campaign going on from Beasts of War and all my writing time is taken up writing battle reports and diplomatic talks since I was elected to Haqqislam High Command instead of getting articles out for you fine people. 

Which gave me a good idea. I want to give my readers something to read as well preserve the battle reports that I have written because I do put a good amount of effort into them so I came up with this idea: publish my battle reports here so that my writing can be preserved. To start this off, I will be publishing my old battle reports from the Operation Flamestrike campaign that preceded Wotan. I am calling these the Flamia Files. I am going to publish a couple or so every week so everyone can find out where I, Commander Envihon, was up to during Flamestrike and then what I did during Wotan. I won't publish the Wotan ones until after Wotan has concluded so that the spirit of the campaign can be preserved, also, I want people to read my reports there and rate them while the campaign is still going on. 

As far as getting back to actually writing once again, I have an article that is about 2/3 of the way done about the Azra'il and Al Fasid, I just have to sit down and finish it but I want to make sure I get my reports out for Wotan because they have an actual time limit for when they are suppose to be done. I hope to have it out soon but with everything going on, I don't want to give an expectation that I can't deliver on. Once Wotan is done, I can give my full attention back to the blog and get you guys regular content. Thank you for your patience and support! Anyway, here is Part 1 of the Flamia Files: 

The Narooma Incident

+++Incoming Transmission from Narooma+++

An unfortunate incident occurred today at the Narooma Advanced Hospital Complex after a Haqqislam convoy dropped off medical supplies to the Tohaa facility. Soon after the convoy had unloaded, PanOceania forces were detected in the vacinity. The Kaplan Tactical Services under the leadership of a Husam Spec Ops with a detachment of Qapu Khalqi forces went to investigate the intentions of these unexpected guests.

It was a Military Orders strike group determined on raiding the facility of valuable medical supplies. After assessing the situation quickly, the Qapu Khalqi forces took it upon themselves to not let the Military Orders get away with such a heinous act and formed a plan to secure the medical supplies in order to deny the PanOceania forces such a boon.

The Yuan Yuan Mercenaries were first into the fray laying down clouds of smoke that allowed the Kaplan Tactical Services with the Husam to move into the complex to secure the medical data. This was achieved efficiently and swiftly with the team able to leave the complex and secure all the medical data before the Military Orders even knew what happened. They secured all of the medical data and then began to take defensive positions in order to keep the Military Orders from accessing the consoles.

They were successful in doing so but not without a few casualties. A couple of the Kaplans were taken down in a fire fight as well as a Ghulam solider and a Sekban. The Djanbazan sniper was well placed, sniping several military orders including one of their valuable hackers. The Djanbazan was also kept alive by one of our great Ghulam Doctors to continue to provide harassment to the Military Orders forces.

The Qapu Khalqi forces provided enough interference that the Military Order were unsuccessful in retrieving what they wanted. They received far less than what they wanted but I have a feeling they weren’t expecting a full armed contingent of Haqqislam to be standing in their way when they got there. The men were proud to have helped keep PanO from throwing their weight around.

Personal Note: I can’t believe that PanO, let alone the Military Orders would commit such an act against such a target. They went after a hospital! How does this serve God at all? Taking precious medical supplies and data from the innocent…it disgusts me and reminds me why I serve Allah. We can not allow PanOceania to behave in such a manner. They may be a hyperpower but that does not justify such actions. Stealing from the sick and the injured…I still can’t believe it but we kept them from getting the medical data which is all that matters. This war on this island is getting out of hand. I fear that Haqqislam might be caught in a crossfire we did not wish for. No matter, we will fight the enemies of Allah and bring honor to Haqqislam. The Silk must flow after all.

+++End Transmission+++

In the Defense of a City

+++Incoming Transmission from Tianxian+++

***Large force of Military Orders headed straight for Tianxian. Deploy the Azra’il protocols. Eliminate with extreme prejudice. Defend the city at all costs!***

The forces of Qapu Khalqi were tested again in the city of Tianxian. The city has become nothing short of a war zone with Haqqislam loosing territory quickly. When a large contingent of Military Orders was next to try and take control of the city, Haqqislam was there to answer.

Command did not play around this time and deployed an Azra’il with full fire support of a Husam and Hafza Fire Team. The Husam even thought it well to bring his viral rifle with him. He had a vendetta to settle with the Military Orders.

The Military Orders advanced quickly but the forces of Qapu Khalqi gave them no quarter. Quickly the well place Djanbazan sniper made quick work of several Magisters and Order Sergeants with a Shihab Remote laying plenty of cover fire with its HMG. The forces of PanOceania was ripped apart by the superior positioning of Haqqislam forces.

Sadly, when it was time for the Azra’il to answer back, a lucky shot from a Magister Panzerfaust brought the walking tank down. The Hafzas and Husam quickly re-grouped to return the favor with the Husam showing the Order Sergeant and Indigo Spec Ops the potency of Haqqislam viral ammunition.

The Sekban Haris team moved forward to secure the advancement of the Military Orders but the valiantly gave their lives as they faced a surprise attack from a female Military Order unit. She was possibly Joan of Arc.

Even though we sustained great casualties, we far killed more of them than they did us and in this bloody battle we won the day completely denying PanOceania anymore territory within this city. Another victory for Haqqislam and glory to Allah!

Personal Note: PanOceania…they feel themselves entitled to everything. They do need not this city which we have ruled peacefully for quite some time and yet they show up on our door step wanting it. Their insatiable appetite for resources and land will be their undoing. They use this outbreak of conflict to do as they please and now they know that their actions will not go unpunished. The hubris that they have succumb to the same folly that lead to their rise in the first place. We will show them what it means to meet the Sword of Allah and the Men of the Gate!

+++End Transmission+++

Ambushed at Antela

+++Incoming Transmission from Camp Antela+++

The war PanOceania has been waging against Ariadna in Antela finally has affected Haqqislam. Our medical transports dropping off much needed medical supplies to the Ariadnan forces was ambushed by PanOceania forces, it seems they are worried what our medtech could do for Ariadna at this hotly contested for them. Thankfully, we have put heavy security in the form of Qapu Khalqi Defense teams to escort these medical transports. In this case, it has paid off to put such measures in place despite the constraints Haqqislam has been under.

The attack from PanOceania came swift and sudden but the discipline and training of our Haqqislamite soldiers won through as they quickly deployed in defensive positions to weather the tide of PanO forces. Despite the long arduous fights PanO has been fighting here recently, they were slowed down by Paradiso’s jungle landscape giving enough time for the Djanbazan Tactical Group, Shihab Remote and a Janissary packing a missile launcher to set up while the small team of Odalisques took point.

It was just in time a Seraph came storming through the jungle intent on the destruction of our Haqqislamite forces. The Seraph misjudged its accuracy within the dense jungle as it fired on separate targets, missing everyone as the munitions hit all the dense jungle growths. All the Djanbazans could do was smirk as they returned fire, their multi spectrum visors giving them an accuracy the PanO TAG couldn’t hope for. In a hail of gunfire from sniper rifles and HMGs, the TAG was brought down in a blaze of glory. Seeing the crown jewel of the PanOceania force brought down in such a manner, a team of Magisters sprung from the backfield surging forward but they too were stopped by Paradiso’s jungle and became sitting ducks for the Djanbazan Fire team and the Shihab. As the Magisters were trying to leap from the barriers, the Shihab brought down one of them with a hail of heavy machine gun fire. Another was taken down by the Husam Spec Ops armed with a viral sniper rifle in command of the Djanbazans, he forced the Magisters to watch as their fellow brother in arms convulsed in fits of spams caused by a well place sniper shot with viral ammunition. The Magisters eventually use the jungle to their advantage and take cover in the dense undergrowth.

Two units of Yuan Yuans advanced forward laying down smoke to cover the approach of the Bashi Bazouks. Both units advanced forward to bring the fight to PanO in their backfield. They engaged them but the Teutonic Knight took out them with ease providing some of the only casualties during the battle but that was not before they took out a PanO remote with a Total Reaction HMG.

The only other casualty was a Djanbazan that was taken out by the advancing Magisters who fired a well placed shot from a Panzerfaust. They had also wounded a Djanbazan but he was swiftly revived by the Djanbazan Doctor on hand which almost resulted in another casualty as the Djanbazan flat lined but the doctor was able to reboot the soldier’s cube to bring him back to fighting capacity.

An extra boon was acquired as an especially sneaky Rafiq remote snuck around to spotlight the enemy’s high value target for extraction after drawing two markers on the target, our transports were able to locate and detain the target to be questioned for further intelligence on PanO movements.

From there, it was a blood bath as the Odalisques advanced forward to gun down the rest of the Magisters and a Father Knight that had popped out to say hello. Other PanO forces attempted to fire on the Haqqislam defensive line but it was too little, too late as the Djanbazan snipers and Janissary missile launcher further wrecked havoc on the PanO forces. Not one active unit survived this foolish ambush.

Personal Note: The PanOceania forces were overconfident in their abilities and underestimated the power of the Paradiso jungle to work against a force. It was clear that our forces were better disciplined and better prepared for the fight on Paradiso. I wonder if PanO will ever realize that they are fighting in a jungle and not the tech urban sprawl they are used to.

There was a reason why I took an assignment that took me away from this hellish planet we call Paradiso and this infernal conflict. Not even one day back and I was dealing with the scum of PanOceania again! But Allah and Haqqislam needs me here so I will continue to fight and my division of Qapu Khalqi will be ever in your service. There are more medical supply runs to guard, Envihon out.

+++End Transmission+++

The Struggle Between Vanilla and Sectorials

One of the biggest decisions that anyone makes when beginning any war game is what army to play. Infinity is unique because Corvus Belli has not only created the major factions in the game, but has further divided those factions into smaller, more focused armies known as Sectorials; each with their own benefits and tactics. This has sparked a debate about which is better: playing the generic faction lovingly called “vanilla” by the fan base, or Sectorials. Well, I am here to tell you that neither is better than the other and it depends on what your play style is, as well as what you are trying to get out of the army that would determine whether you should play vanilla or a Sectorial. This is the next subject we are going to dive into here on the Sword of Haqqislam -  determining if you are a vanilla player, Sectorial player, or a Hybrid player. 

Determining which is best for you will take some self reflection, and evaluation of past performances to find out what works for you and what doesn't. People approach this game from different angles all the time, and how they utilize a faction or army might differ greatly compared to how you approach the same faction. What I want to do here, though, is go through the pros and cons of playing vanilla armies and the pros and cons of playing Sectorials to help you make this decision. I will say right off the bat, if I get asked by a new player whether they should go vanilla or Sectorial, I usually tell them to go with vanilla to learn the game even if they have an interest in a Sectorial. I usually tell them to buy that Sectorial starter and then play like you are playing vanilla until you get the basics down. Once you have the basics down and feel comfortable playing is when I would start evaluating where you stand whether to stick to vanilla or go to a Sectorial. 

I am a hybrid player and I suspect many people are as well, but there is nothing wrong with being just a vanilla player or just a Sectorial player. The greatest thing about Infinity is the amount that you can customize and format your army to how you play. Sure, the factions have their strengths and weaknesses, but other than that, you can pretty much tackle any faction in the way you want, which might be completely different with how someone else approaches the same exact faction. Use this article to help you determine how you want to approach a faction. With that being said let's get into the meat of the article. 

The Differences in List Building. 

The first difference you have probably already noticed is the availability of units that in vanilla and Sectorials. Vanilla gets access to a much wider range and diverse unit selection than Sectorials do. Sectorials have access to a smaller variety of units, but can often take more of those units that belong to that Sectorial. This leads to different list building strategies and challenges for each. This alone can be a deciding factor for many people without even getting into the other differences between vanilla play and Sectorial play. 

The main advantage of playing vanilla is the wide access to units of the entire faction. This might not be as immediate or flashy an advantage as fireteams are in Sectorials, but it is a huge advantage, one that I think people sometimes underestimate. I didn't fully appreciate this advantage until I had played Qapu Khalqi for over a year and then switched to vanilla. What the diversity in unit selection allows is the ability to easily capitalize on a factions advantages while being able to mitigate the weaknesses to a greater degree than Sectorials can. What I mean by this is that you can establish a synergy between units that you wouldn't otherwise be able to in a Sectorial since Sectorials restrict the diversity of a faction. 

One of these synergies in Haqqislam is being able to take a better camouflage infiltration list. Al Hawwa are AVA 3 in QK and only AVA 1 in vanilla, but in vanilla, the Al Hawwa joins its fellow camouflage infiltrators like the Tuareg and Hunzakut, allowing for a greater diversity in list construction and allowing for these other infiltrators to cover the weaknesses of the Al Hawwa (Like the fact that Tuareg and Hunzakut specialists have mines and the Hawwa does not). It also lets you be more unpredictable to your opponent since, if you are playing QK, anyone who knows the army, knows that the only camouflage unit in QK is the Hawwa so they can start to make countermeasures. When you have a Hunzakut joining the Hawwa, then your opponent doesn't know which is which and needs to be more cautious when approaching those camo markers. 

For most unit profiles, AVA is higher in a Sectorial than in vanilla, allowing you to take more of a unit that you like. If you have a simple preference for a unit that you really like and you want an excuse to field more of them, the Sectorial gives you this option. This also ties into theme as well. Some armies like Caledonian Highlander Army or the Japanese Sectorial Army, have a theme around a certain culture that may interest you. These units may be available in vanilla but the theme gets diluted among the other units available in vanilla. I have even noticed that some players play better when they’re more excited about, and thus invested in, the army they have down on the table.

There is one place that Sectorials do have an edge on vanilla when it comes to a diverse unit selection and that is in having access to what I have called Sectorial Mercenaries. These are Mercenaries that are only available by playing a certain Sectorials. These include Mercenaries like McMurrough in Caledonia and Corregidor, Avicenna in Hassassin Bahram and Bakunin, and even the new Major Lunah for Imperial Secret Service. Generally, there are lore reasons for why these Mercenaries are so restricted. There are vanilla Mercenaries as well to consider, though, these are the Mercenaries that every faction has access to, units like the Krakot Renegade or Miranda Ashcroft but you will see these units pop up in certain Sectorials like the Krakot in the Morat Aggression Force or Miranda in Imperial Secret Service so they aren't exactly exclusive to vanilla like the Sectorial Mercenaries are.

This leads into the other point is that Sectorials have more obvious weaknesses than vanilla does due to their limited unit selection. When you cut down on the diversity of the list, you highlight the strengths of an army, but at the same time, you also accentuate the weaknesses. Every faction has its weaknesses, they need to in order to have balanced game play, but in vanilla, it's a little easier to mitigate these weaknesses by varying up the lists you take every time. Now, I am not saying that Sectorials can't cover their weaknesses, but the weaknesses of Sectorials can be more obvious and easier to exploit by a knowledgeable opponent since there is only so much variety you can take within a Sectorial. Sectorials only have a few ways to cover their weaknesses which may become predictable even from player to player.

Overshadowing

I hate to do this but it is a problem that has to be talked about because there is a downside to vanilla's diverse unit selection. This problem is overshadowing which occurs in two ways, one minor, and one major. 

Minor overshadowing is when a unit only has a few useful profiles in vanilla and the only time you would use the other profiles is in the Sectorial when you have a restricted unit selection. A good example of this is the Djanbazan and its role within Haqqislam. The Djanbazan is a medium infantry with 4-2 movement, ARM 3, BTS 0 and most importantly comes with a Multi-Spectral Visor (MSV) Level 2 allowing it never have negative mods for Mimetism, ODD or Camo of any kind. It also can shoot through smoke which Haqqislam has in spades to help do that wonderful smoke trick. Djanbazan also have Multiterrain and Regeneration making them a great boon to both Haqqislam and Qapu Khalqi (QK), the two armies in which they are found. All this makes them the perfect hunters of any enemy troop which imposes negative mods towards BS. That preferred usage means their heavy machine gun (HMG), sniper rifle and shock marksman rifle are all put to use in both vanilla and QK, but the Djanbazan also has access to two specialists: a Doctor and a Hacker. They are good, survivable units, but vanilla has access to units that are suited better in those roles for a variety of reasons. There are just more efficient ways to use your points than putting them into a Djanbazan Doctor or Hacker when playing vanilla. Playing QK, on the other hand, you are way more likely to take a Djanbazan Doctor or Hacker because the Djanbazan have Fireteam: Core in that Sectorial. Using the Core Link, you now have a way to deliver your specialists to press buttons because they have the HMG and Sniper Rifle clearing the path, so you’re much more likely to use those specialist profiles.

More significantly than individual profiles being less useful in vanilla, is you may find entire units less desirable while playing vanilla. For this example, I am actually going to venture out of Haqqislam and use my newly found allies of Caledonia and Ariadna. Caledonia is a great Sectorial filled with some awesome units that I absolutely love (Hence why it's the first army to take me away from Haqqislam...that and Tunguska isn't released yet as well as my love for Celtic stuff, yes I wear a kilt!) but many of its units are overshadowed in vanilla Ariadna, mostly by their Kazak comrades which just delights our friend over in Pride of Rodina. Many of the Kazak units fill the same role as the Caledonian units but do so better for the same, or a comparable amount, of points. The only reason to take a Scots Guard is for their heavy weapons in camouflage but why take them when you can take a Tank Hunter which does the same job but can cover a Classified Objective as well. The same goes for taking a SAS in vanilla when you have access to the Ariadna Scout who not only gets Markmanship level 1 but has D-charges with Mines and a better weapon for just 6 points over the SAS. The king of all overshadows though, is how much the Veteran Kazak overshadows all the heavy infantry except maybe for the Blackjack, especially one of my favored units because they look awesome, the Mormaer. All Ariadna HI are shock immune with one wound and this is where the Veteran Kazak outshines all them because the Kazak has No Wound Incapacitation thanks Veteran L2 along with things like Mimetism. The best my Caledonian HI can do is Dogged (And they are expensive to deal a guaranteed death sentence to, these aren't 5 point Mutts who you can just lose but 29+ point powerhouses that hurt to lose) but Kazaks have virtually the same load out and role in Ariadna and they simply outclass all the other HIs.  If I would want a Heavy Infantry bad ass dealing death in vanilla Ariadna, it's either a Blackjack or Veteran Kazak. I wouldn't even give the others a second glance. To really enjoy Caledonia and what makes it awesome, I have to play the Sectorial. It isn't that Caledonia is full of bad units, they really aren't. They kick a lot of ass and I enjoy playing them a lot but there are just better choices in the Kazaks when playing vanilla Ariadna. Volunteers, for cheap orders and the Cateran are pretty much the only things that see much vanilla play time. 

Is overshadowing a problem? Yes and no. There is certainly an argument that could be made for every unit, but it can be hard to choose the model you think looks cool over the one that’s probably better to do the same task. On the flip side, this is one of the reasons to take a Sectorial if you love certain aspects of a faction. I love all the units in Caledonia, so taking the Sectorial is an ideal choice for me. Another plus is my purchases are limited to Caledonian units, which is a concern for some players. 

That being said, if you are a vanilla player who doesn't much care for Sectorials, play the units that you like. As I have said, the units that are overshadowed aren't bad units, there are just more efficient units to take in their stead if you are trying to best optimize your list. Taking those units means you might have to change something else in your list to help compensate for taking that unit that you like, and there is nothing wrong with that. The beauty of Infinity is adapting your army to your play style, and, as we have discussed this entire article, playing vanilla allows you to do this easily. Evaluating the concern about overshadowing in vanilla isn't meant to discourage people from using the units they like, but merely making people aware of the existence of overshadowing for those whose main focus is getting the most efficient point use within their armies. There is no net listing in Infinity and there is no one way to play a faction, so if you want to use Scots Guard instead of Tank Hunters, do it. Your list won't be bad because of it. Just make sure to cover all your bases when making the rest of your list.

Fireteams: The Main Advantage of Sectorials

The obvious reason to take Sectorials is the ability to form Fireteams. The fireteam bonuses are what gives Sectorials an edge over vanilla that is hard to ignore, especially for some new players. I preached about diversity, because there is a certain subtlety to that advantage that everyone might not realize at first. Fireteam bonuses, on the other hand, is something people immediately understand. Understandably, there are players that gravitate towards them once they find out about them. 

Looking over the bonuses, you can definitely see why some become strict Sectorial players. For a three man fireteam, you get an extra burst to BS weapons even in ARO. Four man fireteam gets you access to Sixth Sense Level 2 and the five man fireteam you get +3 to BS Attack Rolls. This improves the ability of the units in a fireteam considerably to help them deal with challenges that would be overwhelming outside of a link. For example, +3 to BS rolls effectively cancels the camo without paying for a model with MSV1+. The added burst helps because extra dice to help defeat opposing rolls is never a bad thing, you can bury your opponent in dice during the active turn with high burst weapons, more effectively split fire or turn low burst weapons into formidable active turn weapons (Burst 2 Missile Launcher can be downright terrifying). Having 2 burst in ARO is also a powerful thing, especially if you have multiple fireteam members in line of sight to ARO. That can easily turn the tables in your favor in your inactive turn and will likely make your opponent think twice about taking the fireteam head on. Sixth Sense Level 2 also allows the members of the fireteam to never be caught off guard and be able to respond at their fullest capability, no getting shot in the back or -3 to dodge because you don't have line of sight. This makes it so that both offensive and defensive fireteams are really hard to deal with. If you don’t have any immediate way to match those bonuses, you have to have more creative solutions in order to deal with an entrenched fireteam.

That's just the bonuses too, the other thing you get with Fireteams is order efficiency since you can move multiple units with one order, something that a vanilla player has to expend their precious command tokens in order to achieve. This also frees up the usage of command tokens some for Sectorial players, allowing them to move even more models up, faster. Since the fireteam moves with one order, it also means they only generate one ARO for everyone in the team, allowing for clever positioning and making your opponent think more about how they will respond with their ARO towards your Fireteam. This means delivering specialists to objectives as well as establishing a midfield presence to shut down enemy advances is easier for a Sectorial army than it is for a vanilla army since Sectorial armies can move multiple models with fewer orders and generate less ARO threats. With all the bonuses gained through Fireteams, a Sectorial really can make up for the lack of diverse units that vanilla has.

The Downfalls of Fireteams

Even with all these benefits, though, there are some downsides to taking fireteams. For one, the bonuses granted of fireteams can be taken away by an opponent breaking up the link by either killing or isolating members of the fireteam. If the member that has been taken out of the link for whatever reason is the link leader, the link is broken and you will have to spend a command token to reform the link with the remaining members. The bonuses will also begin to dwindle as the available team members are taken down. This means you have to take measures to keep your link team survivable or keep a pool of available members to replace their fallen comrades (which is possible especially if you are a person who favors line troops fireteams instead of the beefy more survivable fireteams). This does mean, though, that the Sectorial fireteam bonuses are finite during a mission and a skilled vanilla player can use their own tool box to level the playing field. 

Another problem is that everyone in a fireteam has to do the same ARO. If you are facing off against an impact template, for example, and choose to shoot, any link members affected by the template, but not involved in the face-to-face, just have to eat the template. This is why many choose to have everyone dodge instead of firing back at the enemy to better keep their fireteam intact. This can be prevented by learning to keep your fireteam spread out so your opponent can't lay down a template over multiple units. It is something to keep in mind when you are moving your fireteam around the field of battle. 

Finally, taking fireteams also gives your opponent a place to focus their efforts on in order to help cripple your advance. Fireteams certainly come with all those wonderful bonuses, but at the same time that is a beacon to your opponent to destroy that fireteam to take away the advantages given by them. I know when I switched back to vanilla after playing QK for so long, one of the comments that my friend gave to me is that he had a hard time deciding what to go after since I didn't have a link team for him to focus his efforts on. This can be mitigated through proper deployment and movement to punish your opponent for coming after your fireteam, but nothing is ever foolproof, especially if you are facing an opponent that love their tricks or a relentless opponent who doesn't have to care so much about casualties and can constantly send threats to break your fireteam. Losing your fireteam early game can be crippling depending on how crucial that fireteam was to your overall strategy which is why you will hear that some players don't like investing a lot of points into their fireteams. It's too much of hanging a sign on those units saying "Come kill me and you win!". It all depends on your play style, and the capabilities of the fireteam you have taken, but losing your fireteam is an important thing to think about when taking a Sectorial and the strategies you plan. 

In the End, It's Up to You

This was only a broad overview of the large compare and contrasts of playing vanilla vs. Sectorials. I know I didn't cover everything here because there are a lot of nuances between factions and their Sectorials that might not always fit in the broad strokes I just took in going over this. I am sure there are things I forgot, or could go into more detail about, but this is meant to be an introduction to serve as a beginning of whether you may want to play either vanilla or a Sectorial, or both. It was not meant to be comprehensive in anyway.

I wanted to show that there are advantages and disadvantages to both, but neither is the right, or the wrong way to play. It really depends on you and who you are as a player. Finding out what works for you is what I love about Infinity; no one can tell you how to play. They can give you tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your army, but in the end, they can't tell you how to play your army and players interpret the same armies in different ways that may surprise you. There is no net listing in Infinity, because even if you look at someone else's list, the way they use that list and the way you may use the same list might be totally different. So get out there and explore your army, find out what works for you. Go forth and find out if you are a vanilla, Sectorial or Hybrid player. Make sure you have fun with that journey as well. As always, my friend, until next time, continue to seek knowledge!