INTEL: Beyond Icestorm Panoceania
By Guest Writer Stuart “PanO” Pollitt
Building a list from the Operation Icestorm and Beyond Icestorm Panoceania units required a little thinking. In order to use the 300pts and 10 units to their fullest we had to consider who would do what role. Panoceania is the baseline faction, the one most others are compared to. It lacks some of the tricks and finesse of other factions and most notoriously lacks smoke. It’s units seem to cost more and it suffers with limited specialists compared to other factions. However Infinity is a shooting game and Panoceania do shooting very well. We pack multi weapons and multivisors more than just about anyone, we have good armour and lots of mimetism, ODD and TO camo. Our defining trait though is that +1BS on most units. We hit hard, bulldoze our way through and then are hard to shift.
Subtle? Maybe not, but everything needs to have a reference point and in the Infinity universe Panoceania are it. So let’s use our strengths and find where we can put up a challenge to everyone else.
PanOceania
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10
FUSILIER Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 10)
FUSILIER Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 10)
FUSILIER Paramedic (MediKit) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 12)
AKAL COMMANDO Spitfire / Pistol, E/M CCW. (1.5 | 28)
NISSE MULTI Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 34)
ORC Lieutenant MULTI Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 40)
FATHER-KNIGHT Hacker (Assault Hacking Device) Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Breaker Pistol, DA CCW. (0.5 | 50)
SWISS GUARD Missile Launcher, Light Shotgun / Pistol, AP CCW. (2 | 69)
KAMAU (Forward Observer) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 21)
BOLT Combi Rifle + Light Shotgun, Drop Bears / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 25)
5.5 SWC | 299 Points
Fusiliers
We get 3 in Icestorm and we shouldn’t complain. BS12 is the lowest BS we will have in the list but that’s better than everyone else’s grunts. Packing combi rifles they can be put on suppressive fire to lock down areas and if they’re not doing that they’re providing orders for our heavier hitters. I’m including a paramedic as one of the 3 as a backup specialist if the need arises and for the chance to possibly revive someone later on. Don’t consider them a main specialist though, WIP 12 limits their effectiveness.
Akalis Commando
This is our drop troop for the list. Airborne deployment is a bit of a hit or miss affair and with PH11 we are certainly running a risk there. We can still use it if we need it, but better to consider bring him on from the side. I’ve chosen the spitfire load out for this list. While it eats in to our precious SWC cost his BS13 lets him use it to great effect when he comes on half way or more up the table. Used well he’s a shock troop who can do some damage.
Svarlarheima Nisse
This unit is well known and very respected, especially with it’s multisniper rifle. We could consider the HMG version but with his Multispectral visor L2 seeing through any camo or smoke from the other side, his mimetism giving him extra cover of his own, and slightly higher ARM of 3, he’s a great ARO piece and causes headaches for enemies. BS13 doesn’t hurt and double armour saves thanks to the ammo his multisniper can use means you’ll be happy to have him on your side. 1 wound means he can go down suddenly so maybe consider keeping that paramedic fusilier near by.
ORC
ORCs get a lot of stick in Panoceania for being dull and unimpressive. BS14 and ARM4 helps here but with other more unique HI he’s often one of the first units to be swapped out for other toys in lists. However as we are using him let’s make him our Lt. We could give this duty to a fusilier and play hide the Lt between the 3 of them, but a 2 wound ARM 4 unit will find it easier to survive longer, and that multi rifle means we can get a little use out of that Lt order, even if it’s just to put him on suppression.
Father Knight
This guy is nice, he’s only a couple points more than the ORC but comes in with ARM 5 and being religious means we don’t have to worry about guts checks. The other skills are situational but can be useful. He’s only WIP13 which unfortunately is pretty much as good as we get so lets make him our chief specialist and use his amazing BTS of 9 to our advantage. He’s our hacker. Capable of fending off enemy hacking attacks, capping objectives and if needs be blowing stuff up with his D-charges. He would probably be the thing our opponent fears most if it wasn’t for what was coming next….
Swiss Guard
Yes yes yes yes. One of our finest units and arguable one of the best in the game. High armour? Check. High BS? Check. High BTS? Check. Anything else? How about TO camo! The missile launcher is great here, it does what it says on the tin, sends a lovely explosive package to blow stuff up, the fact he also gets a light shotgun to take care of people who get to close means than he could be hitting on 21’s!!! Being in marker state thanks to his TO camo protects him from enemies, including hackers but it gives us the chance to deploy him in hidden deployment. At the start of the game your opponent won’t even know where he is! He is one of the biggest reasons I love to play the NeoTerra sectorial. Clearly we don’t get all this stuff for free and he’s a VERY pricey unit, but I’ve found him worth it so many times. Enjoy.
Kamau Amphibious Intervention Team
This unit is perhaps the least known having received a completely new profile with the release of the Beyond Icestorm set in the run up to a new Panoceania sectorial believed to be coming in 2018. They actually overlap quite a bit with the Nisses and even have a MSV L2 multisniper with the same BS, Mimetism, extra movement but 2 armour less for 2 points less. The high BTS of 6 and good (for PanO) WIP of 13 also makes the hacker an option. However with our earlier use of points and SWC we should look at other options. We could really use a decent second specialist for capturing objectives in support of the Father Knight. The forward observer profile with the 4-4 move that the Nisses and bolts lack plus the WIP 13 and Mimetism to help him survive against the enemy is the way to go here I think.
Bolts
Bolts, the Marmite of Panoceania, especially NeoTerra. Some people love them, a lot hate them. Their 4-2 movement, and high cost thanks to some skills that are rarely needed / used means that they often get ignored in place of other options. However they do have one thing going for them – Drop Bears. Mines that can be thrown up to 8” with a +3 to your PH value gives you a lot of flexibility in protecting and locking down areas. Just enjoy the look of your opponents face when you throw a mine around a corner at their feet without giving them an ARO.