Infinity/N4 Tactics/Shasvastii Expeditionary Force

An overview for faction units and tactics in N4. WIP

Why Play Shasvastii?

The Shasvastii Expeditionary Force specialize in keeping your opponent on edge, impeded, misdirected and controlled. They are easily capable of fielding all or mostly camo lists, and have amazing midfield control with multiple Forward Deploy and Infiltration units, Minelayers, the extremely efficient Taighas, and arguably the deadliest Impersonator in the game, the Speculo Killer. With all the Marker states and Hidden Deploy options, Shasvastii are able to play mind games with the opponent and force uneven trades through asymmetric warfare. They are also one of the best factions for actually scoring on objectives. Their special Shasvastii rule is amazing for Zone of Operation missions, and all of these Infiltrators and Forward Deployers save you orders on actually walking up to the buttons you need to press.

That being said, Shasvastii can be unforgiving to pick up. Most of their troops rely on not being hit as their only defense, with some combination of Stealth, Mimetism, and marker states. There is also a notable lack of high burst AP ranged options, so you may have trouble cracking into your opponent's HI or TAGs without getting danger close with melee troopers.

Definitely consider playing Shasvastii if you enjoy the feeling of handing your opponent a blank sheet of paper for a courtesy list, watching them squirm knowing that a Noctifer could be watching any corner, burning their precious orders discovering mines and double tapping unconscious troops, or if you just can't get enough of those sneaky lizardmen.

Faction Features

• Superior Deployment: Arguably the biggest draw of the Sectorial is the amount of powerful deployment skills available. Shasvastii can take up so much board space with Forward Deploy and Infiltrators. Why walk up to push a button or grab supplies when you can start the game already there? Throw in some Minelayers and watch your opponents struggle to figure out how to even engage you. Be aware of Exclusion Zone missions, as you can lose a lot of value from units that are paying a premium to start outside your DZ.
• Sneaky-Beaky like: With few exceptions, the majority of Shasvastii have Stealth and/or Camo. You are able to play towards objectives like few others. Master indirect combat so your glaring lack of defense and firepower don't matter. Avoid AROs entirely. Become unseen.
• Taighas: These puppies deserve special mention here for their uniqueness and utility. They're extremely cheap, and flexible as both offense and defense, and unique as the only Impetuous option available. You'll usually see at least 1-2, but often 4 and a Noctifer make up Group 2.
• The Noctifer Missile Launcher and the Speculo Minelayer: Generally always consider running at least one of these guys, if not both or multiple. These are your Faction-defining units, and you should have a good reason for their absence. Shasvastii thrive on causing disruption, and these are possibly he most disruptive Troops in the game

Special Skills

• Shasvastii: The Sectorial's Eponymous ability. With the exceptions of Taighas, REMs and the Sphinx, everyone gets this. This Skill lets troopers enter the special Shasvastii-Embryo state instead of the normal Unconscious. In Embryo State, they count as their FULL VP even though they are in a Null-State. This is HUGE for controlling zones- If you're elevated or behind cover, your opponent might lose LOF when they become S0, so be mindful when deploying. Worst case scenario, your opponent burns another order to fully kill the model, but you weren't going to get an order anyway so not a huge deal.
• Stealth, Camouflage, Mimetism: Lumping these all together since so much of the Sectorial has at least one, if not all three of these. Your units have very little beef so these are your core defenses. Cautious moves and/or stacking Mods to dissuade BS Attack AROs/ encourage enemy Dodges help you get in the perfect position on your active turns. Keep your opponent's template weapons and MSVs in mind, because they really level the playing field, and Shasvastii never want to fight fair.
• Protheion: Vampire Karate. Only on the Caliban and Sheskiin, for every Wound (doesn't work on Structure) inflicted, the user can heal one of their wounds, and can overheal up to 2 wounds beyond their normal profile. 4 Wound Sheskiin? Please and thank you. Lets you pinball between models, and you can tank fire from 1-2 enemies if you're confident you'll win the melee and deal damage. Stacks with D-Charges for up to 3 (4 on crit) potential wounds recovered, but still capping at Base+2.
• Seed Embryo: Only on the Cadmus and Seed Soldier, allows the user to deploy as a S0 Marker instead of their model. The seeds only have access to Chest Mines, and turn into their actual models as soon as they start an Order with a Short Movement Skill, or if they successfully ARO Dodge. Once they grow limbs, they lose the Chest Mines but gain access to their guns and now use their second, 'Developed' profile
  • Morpho-Scan: Even more exclusive, only on the Cadmus. It's a Comms attack that allows the user to copy the MOV, CC, BS, and PH Attributes of a target in ZoC, so long as they fail a Reset with a -9. Usually only worth doing if the target has significant stats improvements, and only works against enemies with Wounds, so no copying TAGs.

Weapons and Equipment

Shasvastii does not really bring any unique weapon/ equipment options, but here are a few basics that they make good use of:

• Mines/ Deployables: Tons of Mines and some good Minelayer options in the Sectorial with Shrouded and Speculos. Though the Minelayers only get Shock Mines, you also have a wide range of options in the Sectorial with E/M, Cyber-, Viral, and Monofilament mines also available. Coordinate those orders! Place those Deployables!
  • Dazer: A bit fallen from grace in N4, the Dazer is still quite good. Disrupting the opponent's movement really helps out with the Shasvastii plan to delay your opponent as much as possible. Also worth noting there are a good number of units with Terrain Total that get the speed boost here.

• Suppressive Submachine Gun: The Combi Rifle should also be mentioned, but the SMG doesn't lose any Mods past 8". There's a lot of Mim-3/6 guys that have SMG's and Combi, and you're easily capable of stacking up -9 or -12 to be hit. Sure, there's many ways for your opponent to get around it, but a Caliban locking down a firelane or watching a console can be a serious bone in their throat.

Units Overview

• Sneaky: Mentioned a few times, but you have a lot of options for Stealth, Mimetism, and Marker states. It's easier to name the units that don't have any of these.
• Squishy: Evidenced by being mostly Light Infantry and Skirmishers, there's not a lot of armor to be found here, and a ton of PH 10-11 (Barring a few melee specialists). Stack your mods, or you won't last long
• "Low Firepower": There are obvious exceptions, but the ranged firepower in this Sectorial is a bit lacking. There is very little AP, DA, or EXP, outside of a couple Multi Snipers or Missile Launcher. You will likely have difficulty directly removing entrenched HI or TAGs with your guns.
• Melee Powerhouses: ONLY A FEW, but still worth noting. If you can close the distance with them, you will find some of the most potent Melee Rambos in the game in this Sectorial, usually thanks to Protheion.

Unit Identifier Shasvastii

Light Infantry

• Nox Troops: The Shasvastii basic Line Troops. They have fairly basic stats but also Immunity(Shock), Stealth and your only option for Fireteam: Core. Notably most profiles carry a Zapper. Also feature a BS Attack (Guided) Multi Sniper if that's your thing.
  • Tensho Expert: This man counts as a Nox for Fireteams. He gets Veteran, and PH11 with Regeneration. He's also a WIP14 Specialist, so slightly better at button pushing than the normal guys. Currently Journalist has no function in game, so it's just your preference between BSG and SMG options.
  • Special Fireteam T Drone FTO: Unique option to have the Guided Missile Drone available. His BS is better than a Nox, and he picks up a Flash Pulse. Shasvastii aren't usually about slogging a whole Core team around, though.

• Seed Soldiers: The OTHER, less basic Line Troops. They Forward Deploy with Camo, but start the game as S0 Seed-Embryos that only have Chest Mines. They can turn into a model as soon as they start an Order with a Movement Skill, or if they ARO Dodge successfully. Once They've grown their legs, they lose their Mim-3 and Chest mines, but gain access to their guns. The FO and Paramedic make for great, cheap specialists that also happen to have Panzerfausts. They can also take a Grenade Launcher, and only cost 2 points more than the Nox version if you want more options for vantage points and weren't going to take the Fireteam: Core. Notably, their Developed Form is one of the few models without any form of Stealth, Mimetism, or Camo.

• Jayth Cutthroats, Shasvastii Independent Assault Group: Often maligned, the Jayth Cutthroats can be strong against certain lists, but they are usually extremely clunky, and often trade down. They have a janky grab bag of skills driving up their points costs, which wasn't helped by losing their previous Frenzy discount. Natural Born Warrior and Martial Arts 3 means they pack a punch with their DA CC weapon, but at ARM0 and 1 Wound (But with a Chunky BTS 6 for some reason), they have no business being near enemies' template weapons. A Suppressive, Mim-6, MSV1 SMG can be very difficult to deal with. E/M Grenades (And one with E/M Mines!) can give your opponent's TAGs, HI, and REMs pause. The Red Fury is likely a bit overcosted, as is the Specialist Operative. They do have the option to Haris, so your wildcards can help ferry them around, but the Pit Patrol can't join in on the fun. Hilariously, the Sync Taigha does carry Shock Mines. They can do serious work, just keep the fragility in mind. Also consider them in exclusion zone missions, where other units lose out on some of the value of their Forward Deployment options.

• Caliban, Sabotage and Destruction Unit: Absolute Unit. A heavy lifter with 4 good profiles. FD+8" and Camo on a CC23 MA3 Melee Monster with D-Charges and PROTHEION. All 3 Specialist options (Chain of Command, Engineer, Forward Observer) are great, and the MSV1 Spitfire, though a tad expensive, still shreds. Usually a good idea to have at least one. Never underestimate this man's ability to Rambo.

• Cadmus, Airborne Infiltration Group: Seed Embryo lets the Cadmus Combat jump in at S0 which can make for interesting plays, based on the terrain setup. Also deploys with a Decoy that can trigger mines on arrival. Morpho-scan lets you copy one of your opponent's stats so you can build your own Sheskiin, so long as the opponent fails the WIP-9 Reset. Every loadout is serviceable here- Can take a KHD for Trinity and Marker State, or a Red fury if you want a bigger gun.

• Haiduk, Light Support Unit: A Sapper with MSV2 and BS Attack (Shock). This effectively gives him AP+Shock for both the Marksman Rifle and the Burst mode of the Multi Sniper, and DA+Shock for the Anti-Materiel shot. Both are solid options on him- the Marksman can go suppressive giving him a massive -9 to be shot, and the (Shasvastii exclusive option) Multi Sniper gives you coverage for long fire lanes. He is one of our few units that does not have Stealth or Mimetism innately, so he becomes really vulnerable while out of Foxhole state.

• Noctifer, Tactical Dominance Special Wing: Mr Clean's Magic Core Team Eraser©. The notorious surprise Missile Launcher himself, The Noctifer. This guy has quite the reputation, and for good reason. Hidden Deployment, Mim-6 and DOGGED mean that with proper setup and timing, your opponent might get caught completely pantsless having to deal with multiple AROs. The Spitfire option is also a consideration if you're looking for 8-24" coverage, or for active turn coverage, or you can take him as a surprise Hacker. Finally he has a Lt option if you want to start the game in LoL. Don't forget that the Missile launcher also gets an Assault pistol. He also is AVA 3 here. The second Noctifer might catch your opponent off guard, but no one ever expects the THIRD Noctifer.

• Mentor, Tactical Monitoring Company The Ol' Reliable of Lieutenant options, and he doesn't even cost SWC in Shasvastii! (Barring the Hacker, anyway) Camo, Decoy, Mim-3, WIP14 and Counterintelligence. Typically go for the Boarding Shotgun- It'll protect him better if he somehow gets attacked, since he should be sitting in a well-nested spot anyway. Counterintelligence doesn't need to be on your LT to work, so feel free to run him with your Sheskiin, Dukash or a Gwailo LTs.

• Med-Tech Obsidon Medchanoid: Dr Worm! As the Combined Army's Resident Physician, Mechanic, Button Pusher, and Classified Objective Scorer, Dr Worm can always find a reason to be on the table. Although he is arguably outclassed purely as an Engineer by the Caliban, despite having the superior WIP, he didn't spend 12 Years in EI Medical School to be called 'Mr Worm'. The Doctor's WIP 14 is very valuable in Shasvastii, as it can be risky hurling Medikits at their delicate PH10 bones.

LI Characters

• Cadmus-Naish Agent Sheskiin: Sheskiin is the resident Powerhouse Character of the Sectorial. Literally Achilles as a Light Infantry, Sheskiin does it all with style. She's BS 15(!!!) with a Damage 15 Red Fury (or Multi Rifle) and Pulzar, and also an absolute melee monster with CC24, MA4, and PROTHEION on top of that. Get her to 4 Wounds then go slap some TAGs with D Charges. She's a Wildcard, but her MOV 6-4 means she either has to slow down or break away, either way she's got a Nanoscreen so she'll be fine. Also, Sheskiin DOES NOT HAVE STEALTH- KNOW MY NAME, DIRTY HUMAN!!

• Victor Messer, Autonomous Agent of Chaos: No amount of protection will save your Backd00r from this guy. Don't worry, he's packing a Nanoscreen. Victor is arguably your best choice for a Hacker, and notably the only HD+ (and source of White Noise) available. Your choice between the cheaper BSG loadout, or a Multi Rifle with +1B Nanopulser. Both options have access to Cybermines, and he's ready to give the D (Charges) to anyone immobilized by them. Same goes to anyone who has the audacity to enter Silhouette contact. The CC14 doesn't matter; it's how you use it.

• Agent Dukash, Vashar Special Corps: Hey guys look, it's Definitely Not Hellboy©! In many ways, Dukash fills the role of being a budget version of Sheskiin. He is 12 points less than her Multi Rifle option, but there are some things he has going for him. He is a Specialist, has both Stealth AND Mim-3, and while not having Protheion or D-Charges means he can't engage the same targets in CC as Sheskiin, he Dodges on 16s with ARM2/BTS3 Bioimmunity so he is a bit beefier. He is overshadowed only because Sheskiin is really good, not because he is bad. Other pluses- Has a Viral pistol, also has BS Attack (+2 Damage), and is a Wildcard. Technically the MOV 4-4 can be a positive, since it means he doesn't have to slow down for the rest of the Fireteam to keep up.

• Sargosh, Tunnel Crumbler of the Jayth Cutthroats: Slow down, it's THE CLAW!! Sargosh is in a weird spot, but since he's basically a Jayth with extra bells and whistles, this isn't surprising. He gets ARM1 and Shock Immunity, but that doesn't solve the weakness to template weapons. Still, a Mim-6 Multi Rifle with a MSV can be frustrating to take out. The other big change is losing E/M Grenades, but he picks up D Charges instead. He is NOT a Wildcard, but does have Fireteam Haris (and Number 2), and also counts as a Jayth, so he can legally be with 2 Wildcards.

• Aida Swanson, Submondo Smuggler: Fireteam update made Aida a strong inclusion for Shas lists. Wildcarding in as the third or fourth member of a Nox Core that Sheskiin herds into the midfield is the usual idea. Though only FD+4, a 0SWC Minelayer is nice, and Viral can help deter 'Podes. Pray she rolls up a shiny new HMG or Multi Sniper and go to town.

• Oktavia Grimsdóttir, Icebreaker's Harpooner: A mercenary character with BS (+1B), Sixth Sense and Dogged. With a Missile Launcher and a Contender her role is as an ARO piece, but since she's expensive and barely filling any holes anywhere the main reason to bring her is the cool sculpts she got.

Medium Infantry

• Corax Hasht: The only MI in the Sectorial, and he's a Unique Character. He's a Wildcard with a BS13 Spitfire, and Nanoscreen. Functionally 1.5 Wounds thanks to NWI. Stealth, Shock Immune, and Specialist Operative, are neat but otherwise not a lot of excitement here. Check out the unofficial resculpt Spec Ops in the Nox Trooper Box if you don't want to use the Dire Foes version. Or use the other new Dire Foes.

Heavy Infantry

• Gwailos: Unique to SEF, not available to Vanilla with good reason. The Gwailo is a 2W HI with Stealth, a Nanoscreen, Albedo, ARM 3, and a whopping BTS 9?! With AVA 1 he needs to take FTO M-Drones or wildcards if he wants to be in a Haris. The Gwailo can serve a couple of interesting roles in your list. The AP Spitfire can hunt MSV units that the rest of your list might struggle with, as well as being the highest possible burst with AP and respectable range bands available to the faction, making him an active turn powerhouse. On the other hand, the Heavy Rocket Launcher not only has the added utility of MSV2, but it can also combo with a Speculo's Smoke to become completely invisible to everything in the game. Fearlessly take on anything that doesn't have Sixth Sense. Like a 4-5 Man Fireteam Core... :/
• Boarding Action Sheskiin: Everything you loved about Sheskiin, but now without the Nanoscreen, or the budget Multi Rifle option, all for an additional +9 pts and +0.5 SWC over the LI Version. She does pick up Terrain Total, for what it's worth, and she has the ability to be tankier if she sticks to cover with her improved ARM4/BTS6. She was recently updated to also be a Wildcard. More expensive and vulnerable to Hacking.

Tactical Armor Gear

• Shasvastii Special Armoured Corp SPHINX: Everyone's favorite giant invisible robot. While he is often considered better in Vanilla or Onyx due to cheaper cheerleaders, the Sphinx is, nevertheless, still the Sphinx. With the Hidden Deployment, Mim-6 and Camouflage, when the Sphinx shows up, he becomes a huge threat. That coupled with a blisteringly fast MOV 6-6 with Terrain Total and Climbing Plus means that if there exists any weakness in your opponent's deployment, the Sphinx CAN get there, and he WILL exploit it with either Spitfire or +1B Heavy Flamethrower. A relatively low ARM/BTS 6 means the Sphinx can be fragile for his cost, so look out for MSV and Hackers. The real weakness of the Sphinx, however, is tunnel vision. Save your orders to retreat and re-camo.
  • Scindron Ancillary Remote Unit: Special mention here for the Pilot(Remote) ability. He may not be a great Specialist at WIP 11, but with a small S1, he can still dismount and hide behind the giant S6 Soda Can profile of the sphinx to push buttons. Needs clarification on whether or not the Reset removing the Scindron automatically generates another, but maybe there are more productive orders than trying to generate infinite crab?

Remotes

• Ikadron Batroids: 9pts for MOV 6-2, Baggage, Repeaters with +1B Flamethrowers and Flash Pulse. These guys are super efficient, just like in Vanilla.
• Alphabet Soup Remotes: There's not a lot to be said about the standard CA remotes but Shasvastii has a couple unique options:
  • M Drone:Triangulated Fire/Sensor bot. Pays a hefty sum to upgrade to the Nanoscreen FTO option to Haris with your Gwailo.
  • Q Drone:The Combined army Total Reaction bot. Mim-3 makes them a bit stronger than most other faction's TR bots. Shasvastii also gives them AVA 2, so you can be Burst 8 on a fire lane, or mix and match plasma and HMG if you couldn't decide on just one.
  • T Drone:Can take a 1pt upgrade for a Flash pulse that lets him join a Core of Nox. Otherwise a standard Guided Missile Drone

Warband

• Taigha Creatures: Very nearly an auto-include, extremely cheap and efficient Warband. A Bastardized hybrid of the best parts of both Gakis and Pretas with extra abilities on top. Fast (Mov 6-6!) and Impetuous, they Dodge 4", always on 16s thanks to Sixth Sense. They also have a Chain Colt for some reason (Don't ask about the lack of apparent projectile weapons on the model). Did I mention they have Berserk? and CC 21? Optional DA CC Weapon? Only 5-6 pts??. Very uniquely also S1, so they can hide behind a lot of short cover and windows. These guys are great at Deployment Zone Babysitting, Grabbing space in the Midfield, Turning off enemy mines with their face, and Trading way up in value with thanks to Berserk.

Skirmishers

All these guys have Terrain Total and Regeneration. Abuse those Decompression Zones, and remember that you can try to stand them back up if your opponent didn't bother to double tap them

• The Shrouded: Really point-efficient loadouts on a Mim-3 Camo Infiltrator. Two Minelayer options: The first gets you 2 Camo markers in the midfield for ultra cheap, while the other has a BSG and a Dazer, which both impedes your opponent's movement, and speeds up himself up with his Terrain Total. Has HD/KHD and FO options for some great specialist choices.
• Malignos: In many ways, a Luxury version of the Shrouded. You pay between 6-12 points more for Hidden Deployment, WIP14, Mim-6 and ARM1/BTS3 on mostly identical loadouts. No Minelayer option, but can take Monofilament Mines. The KHD has both Shock Mines AND a Dazer so you get to choose your own adventure when it comes to board control.
• Speculo Killer: Impersonator with a Mono CC Weapon and Smoke Grenades, but since that apparently isn't enough, she gets a Minelayer option as well. Very easily capable of starting outside your opponents deployment zone and Rambo-ing multiple enemies before re-Impersonating. She is a problem that your opponent absolutely cannot ignore so make sure she's frustrating to deal with.
  • Ironic that the lore and gameplay diverge so much here. Speculos are supposed to be so good at blending in, that they are able to get away with posing as members of the enemy team, but in practice, when you put down an Imp-1 Marker AND a Camo Marker it becomes painfully obvious what is actually on the board. Don't let that dissuade you, she still has to be Discovered twice before they can do anything

Building Your Army

One to two short paragraphs on list building.

Tactics

• Shoot Enemy, Don't Die:
• Don't Die:
• Play the Objective: