Infinity/N3 Tactics/invincible army

The unit overview and tactica for Yu Jing's Invincible Army

Why play the Invincible Army

The Invincible army it's basically what you expect: a lot of Chinese space-soldiers in power armour. The IA is a hard-bitten army with tough troops that can take a lot of punishment and just won't quit on you. They also have a wild array of fireteam options and several wildcard troopers to add force-multipliers to a team. If these things appeal to you, then strap in and praise the Jade Emperor!

Play IA if you have a weird space-armour fetish.

Faction features

• Suit Up: If you like Heavy Infantry, you're in the right place. This is basically a dedicated HI-exclusive ranged army, as opposed to PanO's more CC-focused HI army.

• Come Together: Really oddball fireteam options in this army, which seems to be a new thing for Infinity sectorials these days. You have four different Wildcard troopers, ranging from 13 to 45 pts. It may seem like you don't have a lot of troopers to choose from compared to some of the other armies in the game, but each one of your guys and gals have plenty of loadouts to choose from (Zuyongs alone have 14!).

Special Skills

• NCO: You can choose between Mowang and Tai Sheng here, allowing them to use the Lieutenant order(s). Great for trolling your opponent as to where your lieutenant might be and taking advantage of the Daoying Lt L2.

• Tactical Awareness: Both Shang Ji and Zuyong have a couple of loadouts with this fun rule, granting them an extra irregular order that they can even spend on their fireteam if they are the Team Leader.

• Valor: No Wound Incapacitation: Plenty of models have this special rule, largely to keep points cost down. Note most of those models are also inmune to Shock special ammo, which makes it kinda ok (Zhencha are not lucky enough though). Keep in mind that NWI grants Courage, so many of your units do not have to make Guts rolls.

Weapons and Equipment

• Breaker Pistol: Haidao, Daoying and Zuyong pack them. A very decent weapon for hitting either low-tech plebs or even heavily armoured thickies.

• Akrylat-Kanone: Nomad technology manufactured by Yu Jing hands, this love-child between a Panzerfaust and an Adhesive Launcher can give opponents a headache or two in the reactive turn. A great addition to the Mowang's inventory (you can actually make a Duo with the big guy and a Pangguling to get more uses out of it).

Units

Light Infantry

• Zhanshi: Zhanshi are pretty mediocre because they are expensive for what they bring to the table. Do yourself a favor and don't invest in any SWC option, these guys are basically here to get a really cheap Fireteam with Wildcard spearheads.
  • Core: Since you only get AVA 4 of these bastards, you are going to get a Wildcard trooper to round up your 5-man Fireteam. You can insert a Haidao, Shang Ji, Son Bae and/or Pangguling FTO here and suddenly give one of the worst LIs in the game a reason to exist! Defensive Cores with a Haidao MSV2 (and maybe a Son Bae SML/ML) are really efficient.

• Zhanshi Yisheng: Your only doctor. Very standard and not always necessary since a lot or your guys have NWI. She's mainly there to keep Zuyong teams up and running. Don't skimp on expenses and give her a Yaozao.

• Mech-Engineers (Zhanshi Gongcheng): One of two possible engineers, this is the cheap one. Having mainly a HI force makes E/M ammo really scary which makes this dude's shares skyrocket. Give him a Yaozao as well.

• Warcors, War Correspondents: WIP 13 irregular flash pulse for 3 pts. You know how these work.

Medium Infantry

• Daoying Operative Control Unit: Your only (and amazing) MI in this sectorial. Daoying are labeled as the "grey matter of the Invincible Army" and with good reason. Lieutenant L2 is a great skill to pair up with the NCOs in the sectorial and you get it with three different loadouts (you can also get these in non-Lt. L2 form, but why would you?): BSG, MSR + Minelayer (AP mines) or BSG + HD. Makes a great Hacker with WIP 14, and Bioimmunity + Camo makes it really resilient.

Heavy Infantry

This is what you came here for, this is why you play IA.

• Haidao Special Support Group: A veritable Swiss Chinese army knife. Whatever you need, the Haidao can do. Enemy is far away and has visual mods? Let me bring my MSV2 and MSR to your link. Are you in need of mid-range firepower? My Red Fury BS13 and ARM 3 can help. Hacker issues? KHD. Afraid of losing your Lt.? CoC. Do you want a linkable engineer? Ok, you filthy animal. Shock Immunity + NWI is a good combo that gives him effectively 2W but keeps the costs down as well.
  • Wildcard Trooper: The strongest aspect of these guys is they can join any fireteam in the army - that means any Duo, Haris or Core team. This makes the SWC options more appealing and the specialists more mobile.

• Liu Xing Jump Infantry: Hilarious one-man bomber, flying Zuyong. Explode LX allows you to drop with a damage 12 template, really useful against LI and REMs. BSG Liu Xing is really good at dropping next to fireteams and applying pressure with the template, while the Spec Op with a MULTI-rifle can both score and shoot. Spitfire is good for flanking as well, but not taking advantage of Explode LX feels bad. Always use it with Controlled Jump (Daoying Lt. Hacker is amazing for this, since you can use one of your Lt. orders to apply the supportware and the other one to re-Camo). AVA 4 makes it even more funny.

• Zuyong Invincibles, Terra-cotta Soldiers: Basic, no-frills HI. Zuyongs are the baseline of the Invincible Army: they are reliable, resilient and efficient (characteristics that they share with the sectorial as a whole). You can choose between 14 possible loadouts that cover everything from heavy weapons to specialists and fillers. Honestly, the Tactical Awareness HMG profile is amazing for its cost and will be your Core team spearhead most of the time.
  • Tai Sheng, Zuyong Invincibles NCO: Forward observer NCO character with BS and WIP 14 + CoC options. Although her guns ain't so hot (Breaker Combi Rifle or Mk12), the ability to use your Lt. orders on a Fireteam makes her an awesome addition to any Zuyong team.
  • Krit Kokram, Zuyong Invincibles Specialist: Engineer Zuyong character with WIP 14 who raided the armory before the mission. He packs a bunch of exotic tools, like dual heavy pistols, E/maulers or the only Yu-jing Feuerbach, but those toys come at a price. Note that using him as your linkable engineer for your Zuyong team means your Haidao can take up other duties, like MSV2 multi-sniper or KHD, which is nice.
  • Core: The Pain Train. You'll want an HMG for sure (either the TA or AutoMedKit), but after that you have plenty of options. Adding Tai Sheng gives you either a mid-range BS 14 gunner or a "free" TinBot Deflector 2, plus extra Lt. orders for the team. Using the REM wildcards help you keep costs down (usually you'd want the Pangguling FTO), and the Haidao is just icing on the pain cake: KHD, Engineer, Red Fury or MSR options are all valid. If you are feeling rich enough you can go with a Shang Ji as well, but it's usually too expensive.
  • Haris: You need the Zuyong Haris option for this, obviously, but getting a TinBot B and TA on top is a sweet deal. Sprinkle your choices of heavy guns and/or specialists on the side.
  • Special Haris: 2 Yan Huo FTOs (2 Missile Launcher and/or Multi HMG) + Zuyong Haris. No HRMC for this one. Really expensive team but hey, 3 ML shots in the active turn (?)
  • Duo: Bring along order efficiency!

• Shang Ji Invincibles: Shang Ji and Zuyong have similar loadouts but very different prices. Shang Ji are more expensive and their weapon options aren't as sexy but they're also tougher and come with a LFT (mostly). They can form (expensive) fireteams.
  • Core: Generally not advised. A Shang Ji core is expensive as hell compared to a Zuyong core and lacks the raw firepower (AKA an HMG). You get better defense with a template weapon, 4 ARM, 6 BTS and 14 PH though...
  • Haris: The Haris guy comes with TA and a TinBot B. You get B2 template weapon and can round it up with Wildcards like the Haidao KHD/Red Fury and a Pangguling FTO. Viable option.
  • Duo: Shang Ji have had the Duo option baked into their special rules long before the IA became available. Basically this one is made for the Spitfire/TA and HRL profiles.
  • Wildcard Trooper: Maybe the real saving grace of the Shang Ji. Take the Spitfire/TA and put him into any fireteam to boost it's raw firepower and mobility.

• Yan Huo Invincibles, Fire Support Heavy Regiment: The thin red line just got thick as hell. Yan Huo are noisy and don't ask for permission. Work better as solo attack/ARO pieces. The HRMC will kill anything dead in the active turn while the Double ML with Neurocinetics strikes fear into the enemy in the reactive turn. Take into account that although they are bigger than most horses and weight more than a LI Core fireteam, these guys don't have any form of Courage, visual modifiers or special equipment. They are tough and they shoot a lot of rounds, but that's it. Asking a Yan Huo to move is a monumental task as well.
  • Duo: Rumour has it that Fireteam Duo was created specifically with Yan Huo in mind. Regardless, these two can form a formidable fire support platform that will absolutely devour your SWC and drown your opponent in projectiles if you can draw LoS to them.
  • Special Haris: (see Zuyong).

• Hac Tao Special Unit: The Hac Tao can do whatever they put their minds to, be it pressing buttons or killing stuff really really dead. Expensive and seriously dangerous, this absolute unit comes equipped with a vast array of toys: HMG, Multi Rifle, KHD, Nanopulser, Executive Order, TO Camo... For a long time, Yu Jing players watched NCA players field Swiss Guards backed up with defensive Fusilier Core Fireteams and wept, but no more! Now you get the more intelligent Asian cousin of the Swiss Guard and a better defensive team fueled by worse-Fusiliers (AKA Zhanshi) but amazing ARO spearheads like the Haidao MSR MSV2 and the Son Bae SML/ML. Keep in mind that if you take the EO profile and a Lt. L2 Daoying, the Hac Tao gets to use those 2 orders when he becomes the Lt. (only that one turn, though) does NOT get to use any LT orders per the recent FAQ.

• Mowang Troops: Big dudes with Mimetism and a superiority complex: they are either the Lieutenant or NCO. They have mid-range weapons (Red Fury profile is really nice) with long-range disposable one-shots and are REALLY tough. 2W + NWI, 5 ARM and 6 BTS + Mimetism makes for a very good DataTracker and an amazing Suppressive Fire platform.
  • Duo: Resist the urge to take a duo of Mowang; instead, take a wildcard trooper to supplement this guy. Good options are the Panggu FTO to replenish the Mowang's disposable weapon, Tactical Awareness Shang Ji to help him move across the table or Engineer/KHD Haidao.

• Hulang Shocktroopers: This Oniwaban/Shikami lovechild packs some exotic weaponry including a Monofilament CC weapon, E/M grenades and LFT; use them aggressively and they will go down swinging. They do a lot but they are also expensive, so you need to make it count. Not having marker state makes their close range weapons worse, but having Forward Deployment L2 helps overcome that deficit (plus, they can touch buttons as well). Remember your Engage range is larger with Kinematika L2. Mimetism and NWI + Shock Immunity makes them resilient as well. They shine in missions that require a datatracker to go do something.
  • Duo: Pretty scary with their loadout, like Tanko in the JSA but with more special rules and no Frenzy. Unfortunately, we don't get any Wildcard FD L2 trooper.

• Zhencha, Armored Reconnaissance Regiment: Sorry, Daofei didn't make it into this one. Instead, you get another Camo infiltrator with 2W... Oh wait, they have NWI but get blown up by Shock ammo. Anyway, they are button pushers with Climbing Plus, which is a nice combo. The SMG, FO and Antipersonnel Mines profile is probably the best (and the cheapest).

TAGs

• Guijia Squadrons: We got a TAG in a sectorial, yay! (?). They are competent at what they do, packing the now familiar MULTI HMG/HFT combo. The fact that they are manned is a slight detriment, but their pilot is a specialist with a LFT. They can also be your lieutenant if you're feeling ballsy. You'll take it if you face a mission that values TAGs... Probably... Maybe.

As of Season 11, they look much better. Tactical Awareness + Fatality L1 means they hit harder and get an extra free order to themselves to either run up the board or get into suppressive fire for basically free. The sword also got upgraded to DA. The Guija can do a little bit of everything and running a pair isn't actually a bad idea this time around.

REM

YJ remotes are very useful in plugging up some badly leaking holes.

• Yaokong Remotes:
  • Weibing: Sensor/Forward Observer Remote. Has deactivator, sat-lock, and repeater all for a reasonable price. Fast no-frills specialist.
  • Husong: HMG Total Reaction Remote. ARO piece that can be buffed with Assisted Fire. Don't forget that with supportware it's a pretty solid active turn piece as well.
  • Son-Bae: (Smart) Missile Launcher. When you put this guy into a Fireteam and give it Assisted Fire, it gets scary. You are suddenly shooting B2, BS 15 (before mods), AP/DA or Exp ammo shots. Scary.
  • Chaiyi: Cheap regular order bot with mimetism, WIP13 flash pulse and sniffer. Our cheapest regular order. Unlike vanilla, IA gets AVA 2, so keep that in mind.

• Yaoxie:
  • Rui Shi: 6-4, MSV2, Spitfire REM for 20 points and 1 SWC. One of the best pieces in any Yu Jing army. Combined with Assisted Fire it becomes a cover/camo-ignoring shock spitfire monster. Carries a repeater as an added bonus.
  • Lu Duan: S4 Holoprojector L2, MSV1, Mk12, heavy flamethrower. These offer a big punch for a relatively modest price. Really good to clear up mines and skirmishers.

• Yaopu Pangguling: Baggage and Repeater Remote. FTO LSG, Minesweeper, EVO Hacker and TR Combi profiles. EVO hacker useful mostly for Liu Xing bombing runs. The FTO profile is amazing to round up Fireteams for only 13 points. Be careful though because its fat base makes it a tempting target and makes the Fireteam harder to maneuver.
  • Wildcard Trooper: Dope.

• Yaozao: Lovable G: Servants.

Skirmishers

None

Warbands

None

Hints and Tactics

• Alpha strike for days: The Invincible Army is composed of highly trained offensive troops that make every single order count. You can squeeze 14-15 orders into a single combat group like it's nothing thanks to Tactical Awareness and Lt. L2 + NCO, which makes you immune to Strategic Use of Command Tokens. This means you can take your HI heavy Pain Train, NCO fuelled Mowang, Controlled Jumping Liu Xings, infiltrated-climbing plus Zhenchas and invisible-murder machine Hac Taos for a spin during the first turn of the game and severely damage your opponents order pools. After that, your specialists can push as many buttons as they want unopposed.
• Aggressive Lieutenant, Executive Class: Requires a Hac Tao with Executive Order. Build a fireteam loaded to bear with a heavily armed lieutenant OR take a Guijia lieutenant and drive them into the ground. Try to get them close enough to where the Hac Tao is hiding and once your original lieutenant is juuuuust about to bite the dust, reveal the Hac Tao with an attack, who then assumes command of the army.
• Human Air Strike: EVO Hacker Panguling and max out your Liu Xing allotment. Drop some precision guided ordnance without spending an order on the controlled jump hacking program. You can also take advantage of the Daoying Hacker Lt. to do this: spend one of your Lt. orders in Controlled Jump and the other in re-camoing it.