Infinity/N3 Tactics/Military Orders

The unit overview and tactica for Military Orders sectoral.

IMPORTANT This tactica is not valid for the Third Offensive update yet.

Do it for her.

Why Play Military Orders

Because DEUS VULT, that's why.

Military Orders contain some of the best PanOceanian Heavy Infantry and is the most CC focused part of this overall shooty faction. It is still PanOceania though, so BS 14 all around. While they're not as adept in CC as some other factions are, they can at least put up a fight. Still, you should be shooting first, cutting later.

Unlike most sectorals, MO did not gain any Haris units; you are limited to Core and Duo.

In General a Military Orders list will be centered around strong, straightforward HI units. And they give you an excuse to blast Saxon at your opponent.

Faction features

Unlike most PanO, this army is generally very good in CC as well as shooting. CC should still be used defensively by PanO, but a group of knights ganging up on a TAG or

Special Skills

Religious Troop: As expected, nearly all of MO units are Religious. Considering low PanO WIP, not having to roll Guts after being hit is a boon, This is a bit moot however because of the next one.

Martial Arts: Usually limited to 2, aside from Joan and De Fersen, and not every Order has them. While CC benefits are obvious, the more important ones are Courage (overriding Religious Troop) and Stealth that come packaged with it.

Frenzy: Quite a few knights get a price reduction through Frenzy; however this is not as important as it would seem, since you'll probably want to link your knights anyway, nullifying Impetuous state.

Weapons and Equipment

It's a Heavy Infantry-focused sectoral, so naturally most important units have at least ARM 3 and 2 Wounds. What this also means is that the knights are susceptible to hacking and E/M ammo, but can usually shrug off Shock and Viral. Their high BS lets them win quite a few FtF rolls, adding to their survivability. Watch out for knights with Frenzy.

Knights have a preference for medium ranged guns, namely MULTI Rifles and Spitfires. Their access to Missile Launchers, MULTI Sniper Rifles and HMGs is somewhat limited, but they also have a few linkable Panzerfausts in the mix. Being PanO you should not feel outgunned. Being knights, your units will likely have interesting CCWs and Pistols.

PanO's hi-tech nature grants them a selection of MSV troops and TO Camo capabilities, but no Camo and no smoke. The Hyperpower does not use tricks as much as it shuts them down, and this is still true for Military Orders.

Units

Light Infantry

Those guys will be your Cheerleaders and cheap, backup specialist. Unfortunately PanOceania does not have them in flavor cheaper than 10 pts, but at least they can fight on their own.

• Order Sergeants: The basic MO Line Infantry. Higher CC, WIP and Religious Troop over Fusiliers, for 3 pts more. ML and HMG swapped for an HRL and Spitfire. Can't be your Lieutenant and have only one specialist profile (Paramedic), but as a back bone Core link for a Seraph or a Duo list they're workable. Keep them cheap and long ranged, as with BS12 and MULTI Sniper rifles their link gives MO much needed long-range abilities. But the most important part is that a lone OS can join a few knight links (specifically Teuton and Hospitaller ones) and it will always be the HRL guy. Alternatively they also give Father-Knight a much needed cheap Core, especially for the ML profile that was dead until now.
  • Specialist Sergeants: These guys lose Linkable ability for a bunch of different toys and abilities. Understandable for Auxbot and TO Camo profiles. Less understandable for Hacker and MSv2 Spitfire (there's two other MSV2 units able to link with them, but they can't use their own?). TO FO Specialist Sergeant (TOFOOS for short) is a tried and true friend. Auxbot guys can provide some corner defense, but their use is limited due to lack of linkability.
  • Indigo Brother Konstantinos: OK in vanilla, good in MO. Linkable with Order Sergeants, which was useless before they could take Father-Knights with them, but Infiltrations is till great. Specialist Operative, D-Charges, Assault Pistol, MSV2 and Mimetism make him a great Camo Hunter as well as objective grabber. Don't be fooled by his pose though, you should keep him out of melee.

• Machinist (Father-Engineer): Basically a non-linkable Fusilier with Engineer and higher BTS. Not very good, but it's the only Engineer in entire PanOceania, so if you're heavy on Remotes, you'll be taking him anyway.

• Tech-Bees, Maintenance Battalions: An odd Irregular trooper, the Tech-Bee is a 5pts specialist (WIP12, but for that cost it's still a bargain) armed with a pistol and a Flash Pulse. But the more interesting part is Remote Assistant Level 1: Tech-Bee gives a +1 WIP bonus to all your Engineers and Remote Pilots, a.k.a Machinist and Crabbot (and in TAGline, Cordelia). Can be very strong with Engineer Spec-Ops. Pretty much auto-include in TAG lists and a strong option in Joan ones (if you have 2 points left over a Warcor).

• Trauma-Doc (Father-Doctor): The cheap Doctor option. Much like Machinist she's not very good, but she's also dirt-cheap. If you are not playing Hospitallers you may consider her.

• WarCor: He's a 3pts Regular Order if you play Joan. Sure, Flash Pulse and Aerocam are nice, but that's not why you're taking him.

• Indigo Spec-Ops: If your meta allows for one, you have a choice of a Fusilier, an Order Sergeant or an Acontecimento Regular. Fusilier is not really good for anything here. Both Regular and Sergeant have base WIP 13, making them better base for a specialist, but obviously Regular will not be linkable with anything. You'll probably want an Order Sergeant with MULTI Sniper Rifle, Mimetism and upped BS for a defensive role or an Engineer/Hacker for Specialist purposes, since your selection of those in PanO is limited.

Medium Infantry

Not too much of it. Military Orders MI are very niche.

• Crusader Brethren: Strike from the sky, brothers! MO's AD troop has one purpose: to deliver pain from an unexpected angle. They have good ARM and BTS, but average Phys, so supportware their jumps. A MULTI Rifle + Light Flamethrower is going to be a pain for anything mid-board.
  • Note that these guys are not Space Marines and that Steel Rain does not work in Infinity; or rather, it works about as well as it did for Boreale. Having half your army start off the table is never a good idea.

• Black Friars: You may not be expecting the Inquisition, but it certainly expects you. The Black Friar has two distinct profiles: an MSV2 MULTI Sniper, making him a Nisse substitute and an anti-shenanigan MULTI Rifle profile. MSV2, Biometric Visor and Albedo should cut short any fancy movements from Camouflaged, Holoprojector and Impersonation units, without fear of retribution from MSV ARO pieces, while Drop Bears let him mine the minelayers. The downsides are his squishiness and slow movement, but he shouldn't be moving too far; he's a bit of a scare unit.
  • Albedo profile is linkable with Order Sergeants. Why not Sniper Rifle? In a world with Kamau and Brawler I cannot give you a straight answer.

Heavy Infantry

This is where the fun starts: the knightly orders. Nearly all of them linkable, most with AVA 4 (although not all of them worth taking 4 of). This is the meat of the sectoral. Knights are all pretty straightforward.

• Joan of Arc/2.0: Let's start with the poster-girl and obvious Lieutenant. Joan comes in two flavors, a heavier, more support one, with +1 SWC, and a lighter, faster Spitfire option (which also has +1 SWC, albeit eats 2, so it becomes 1 SWC spent). Both profiles linkable with Hospitallers and Santiago, allowing a full Core link, and most of the time you will want the 1.0 version: Hospitallers have their own HMG (or De Fernsen with a Spitfire) and Santiagos have surprisingly cheap Spitfires, but no Multi Rifles. Inspiring Leadership gives you an option to run her solo, activating a pseudo-link with her Lieutenant Order. NWI and MA3 go a long way too. The only "downside" is that you don't have that many Irregular troops to take advantage of Inspiring Leadership, as well as Frenzy.

• Equestrian Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre: The Holoprojector 2 knight. Martial Arts 2, DA CCW and a Spitfire (or a Combi + DEP option if you're strapped for SWC), Holy Sepulchre makes for a decent solo rambo. Now with Surprise Shot on Holoprojector and the ability to disguise Holoechoes, Sepulchre saw a rise in points, but he is still a pretty decent solo knight. Which makes him a less attractive choice in a sectorial where knights can link.

• Holy Order of Hospitaller Knights of St. John of Skovorodino: The biggest Military Order and the most versatile linkable HI in the sectoral, Hospitallers are better, cheaper ORCs when linkable. HMG, MA2 and a Doctor profile make Hospitallers a common choice of main Order.
  • Father-Officer Gabriele De Fersen: The last Templar, linkable with Hospitallers, De Fersen is a very valid multiple-purpose HI character. Armed with a Spitfire and an Assault Hacking Device, this guy is ready to inflict pain and grab objectives. He's also one of the few knights with MA3 and no Frenzy. And, obviously, has a Templar CCW. Changing his regular HD to AHD in Human Sphere N3 limited his functionality and made "A Knight and His Remotes" list less viable, but he is still one of the best PanO hackers.
    • Note: De Fersen "counts as a Hospitaller" for linking purposes, so you can put him in a Magister link.

• Magister Knights: The go-to Heavy Infantry Core link. Cheap as chips, armed with Panzerfausts and Light Shotguns, and can take a Missile Launcher, making them dominate both long and short range. Now that they can mix in Hospitaller or Santiagos, they can also escort a Specialist or just be a cheap source of Fireteam bonuses for your HMG/Spitfire troops. They should not run unlinked.
  • Note that since HSN3 they need a Hospitaller or Santiago to be able to link.

• Military Order of Father-Kinghts: Not actually a knightly Order, Father-Knights are extremely hardy general purpose HI. BTS 9 and WIP 13 make them a pain to hack, Assault and Kinematica lets them close distance to non-CC focused troops quite well. They can also be armed with an ML or take a specialist profile. Lastly, there's a Duo profile, so you can take two Father-Knights riding together. What's not to like?
  • Here's what: can't link with Magisters and the Duo profile is useless. Father-Knights are usually taken in vanilla rather than MO.

• Montesa Order Motorized Knights: The first biker HI, making Yu Jing forever salty. Montesa are fast, durable and killy, though they have "low" BS 13 and only pack Multi Rifles or BSG, making them feel a little undergunned. Mimetism outsets their inability to take Cover. They're cool, but personally I would use a Bulleteer instead.
  • Sectorial gives them an extra profile: Paramedic! Now you have a fast, hard hitting and durable Specialist all in one package.

• Sacred Military Order of Knights of Santiago: The 360 visor knights and the second Order that can take Joan. With both Fireteam Core and Duo, Santiago are a purely aggressive option, with no blind spots. Their only downside is no long-range weaponry, but since you can just add one or two to a Magister link, that should not be a problem. They want to push forward anyway.

• Sacred Military Order of Teutonic Knights: Sadly, they're kinda shit. Non-linkable, Frenzy, buffed up Magisters with none of their perks. They provide a cheap BS 14 Spitfire/Panzerfaust platform and can be use with Joan of Arc's Coordinated Inspiring Leadership. Also it may be worth considering for a low-points game or as filler; nothing more. Even then many other knights can fill those roles better than the Teuton Knight.

Tactical Armoured Gear

• Seraph Armoured Cavalry: From the wide selection of PanO TAGs, knights have access to the fastest one with the smallest gun. Seraph is a jumping, mid-range TAG with great BS and ARM, a dedicated Active Turn killer. Don't worry about keeping the Auxbot in range too much, it's more of a bonus which you are bound to lose when jumping around. CC 20 and an EXP CCW makes it also one of the few TAGs able to stand on their own in melee, although much like with knights, you should consider it plan B or even C. Just remember to hide it or put it in Suppressive Fire at the end of your turn.
  • Crabbot Ancillary Remote Unit: Not a TAG, but a TAG brain that acts as a Pilot equivalent if your fancy mech gets fried. In true PanO fashion it has high BS and low WIP... Making it pretty useless, as it has no actual ballistic weapons.

Remotes

• Dronbots: Standard issue S3 Remotes, PanOceanian ones are not special in any way.
  • Clipper: The Smart Missile Launcher Remote. Unfortunately PanO does not have good FOs or Hackers, so it's usually a waste to take one.
  • Fugazi: The Repeater/Flash Pulse Remote. Cheap Regular Order and a mobile Repeater, always good to have.
  • Pathfinder: The Forward Observer Remote. Mobile Repeater, armed, specialist, for 16 pts. Good, cheap, fast.
  • Sierra: The HMG Total Reaction Remote. Always good to have, especially in a sectoral with limited access to HMGs and Snipers. Can give your forward-pushing knights much needed long-range support.

• Mulebots: Standard issue S4 Baggage Remotes. Come with Minesweeper, EVO Hacker and TR Combi profiles. EVO Hacker is the one to take if you plan on using Crusader Brethren or Armbots. Minesweeper is a standard cheap Order and a way to dominate a quadrant. You may want to park one near Magisters and shoot Panzerfaust everywhere, but that tactic is order-intensive.

• Armbots: PanO-specific combat Remotes, come in two flavors:
  • Bulleteer: ODD, BS 12, Spitfire, Repeater, 23 pts. Bulleteers are known cheap killers. With Marksmanship supportware a Bulleteer is a sure way to clear out enemy TR Remote and other ARO pieces in a straight up gunfight. When the knight link is on one side of the table, a Bulleteer is a sure way to cover the other one.
  • Peacemaker: Just like Bulleteer, comes with a Repeater and a Heavy Shotgun and Spitfire options. Loses ODD in favour of an Auxbot, making it a less straight-up aggressive bot, fit more for clearing out infiltrators. Much like Bulleteer, can be used to fill a blind spot, arguably better due to it's two-in-one nature.

• Palbots: PanOceanian G: Servants. If you take Machinist or any of the Doctors (aside form a linked Hospitaller), it's good to have one.

Skirmishers/Warbands

None. Your Warband are the Magister Knights.

Building Your Army

Since Military Orders are a rather straightforward, low model count sectoral, it mostly comes down to what do you want to be your main Order and Core link. There's three main immediately apparent styles:

• LI core + Rambo: A Core link of Order Sergeants or Fusiliers acting as defence and order pool while a Duo, solo knights or Seraph take the field. For this you'll need either the MO Starter or Fusilier SWC box, as well as your chosen heavies.
• Magister link: Probably the most common style, a link of hardy yet cheap Magister Knights as the main combat force, clearing the field for Specialists to take the objectives in Turn 2 and 3. Start with Magister Knights box, possibly get the two Hospitallers or Santiagos for a mixed link.
• Full Heavy: Hospitallers or Santiago + Joan. Just a Knightly steamroller. A bit of a risk of putting all your eggs in one basket, but on the other hand a HI link is hard to remove. Santiagos and Hospitallers both have a nice box of four models.

Once you've selected your style and played around with Army Builder, you should be able to clarify a concrete shopping list.

The most common starting setup:

• box of Hospitallers or Santiagos
• box of Magister Knights
• box of Order Sergeants
• De Fernsen
• Black Friar

Things to consider:

• PanOceanian Support Pack: I know Trauma-Doc is ugly, but the units inside are useful. No word of an MO-specific Support Box so far.
• Dronbot Remotes and Mulebots: As cheap filler for your top-heavy army.
• Indigo Brother Konstantinos: Find a Haqq player to split the box with or a good proxy model, because Konstantinos is almost auto-include. The MO starter pack Teuton could work as one.
• Crusader Brethren

Note that the MO starter box is not usually recommended.

Hints and Strategies

Military Orders have a reputation of being hard to play due to their low model count and reliance on specialized heavy infantry, as well as few infiltrating specialist options and killer-only AD. Like all of PanOceania, they are geared towards a strong attack (preferably an Alpha Strike), don't have too many infiltration, Camo or AD options and have only average WIP. In the latter part Military Orders are better than secular PanO forces by 1 point and Religious Troop.

Your battle plan should be geared towards destroying as many enemy specialists as early as possible or at least making it very difficult for them to move around. Remember that part about shutting down shenanigans rather than utilizing them? Put an MSV troop or a Multi-Rifle in Suppressive Fire, snipe ARO pieces with an ML Magister or Father-Knight, dare your opponent to face multiple Panzerfaust AROs, and put a TR Remote up high to cover as much of the table as possible. With your superior BS, a high-burst weapon and good PH you should be able to face more than one enemy trooper at a time. A well-placed Crusader Brother can effectively whittle down enemy order pool in DZ.

Only after securing the area should you move Konstantinos and an infiltrated Specialist Sergeant towards objectives. If your specialists are in the link, they will be already halfway there, but don't rely solely on them; after all this is a high lethality game and even toughest knights can fall.