Infinity Unit Review: The Charontids
The Charontid is an organism engineered for murder. I wanted this to be the first of the aspects which I review, because it is probably one of the most common models you’ll see leading a Combined Army.
Stats and Special Rules
With a profile like that, it’s no wonder the Charontid is one of the most feared units in the Combined Army. BS14 makes it an excellent gun fighter, while ARM 5, BTS 6, W 2, and NWI all combine to make it incredibly resilient. It’s one of the highest WIP units in the game at WIP 16, making it both an incredible Lieutenant, and potential Hacker. There are really no huge shortcomings in it’s profile, obviously not meant for melee, at range it’s a total monster.
G: Mnemonica could almost use it’s own article, it has some really interesting interactions. When the Charontid dies, it can transfer it’s WIP value and G:Mnemonica skill to another model in your army with a Cube or Autotool rule. If the Charontid is your lieutenant, it will transfer that as well. Interestingly, if you transfer G:Mnemonica to a model that is already your lieutenant, should that lieutenant then die, it will be able to transfer it’s lieutenant rule to the new host as well. This means the only way to enter LOL is to run out of models with Cube/Autotool, or to have your lieutenant isolated. Keep that in mind though, getting your Charontid Lieutenant isolated sucks big time.
Profiles
Plasma Rifle, Nanopulser, MSV L3. The “base” profile if you could call it that, able to fire it’s amazing plasma rifle through smoke thanks to MSV L3, auto-discovering enemy camo markers, and backed up with a nanopulser if the enemy gets that close. Not a bad profile by any means, though probably the least popular because the HMG profile exists…
HMG, Nanopulser, MSV L3. Probably the most common profile, this combines the advantages of having a MSV L3 with the brutality of a HMG. Really, you can’t go wrong with a BS 14 HMG shooting through smoke and/or ignoring camo/TO/ODD. This is obviously a piece that lacks subtlety, there aren’t exactly a huge number of tricks to talk about with it. Pick something, shoot it, watch it die.
Plasma Rifle, Sepsitor Plus, Tinbot A. This is a profile I have never seen on the table, but am starting to consider it. Tinbot A, combined with WIP 16 and BTS 6, makes it really resilient to hacking (but not invincible), while a Sepsitor Plus basically forces your opponents to dodge if they’re within 10” of your Charontid, unless they’re cube-less, they won’t want to risk getting nailed by that.
Plasma Rifle, Nano Pulser, Hacking Device Plus. Without a doubt, my favorite profile to run. You do miss out on the MSV3, but access to a Hacking Device Plus means a lot. Not only can this Charontid provide supportware for your remotes (like the Q-Drone), but Cybermask gives it a marker state to protect itself with. A WIP 16 hacker is nothing to contend with, especially when it can surprise attack you with a BS14 plasma rifle. it takes a bit more finesse than the HMG to play with, but the added flexibility gives it a lot of tricks on the table.
On The Table
Combined is an army known for it’s power house rambo units, and the Charontid is no exception. Depending on the profile, you can either have a versatile troop which can attack in a variety of ways and provide support to the rest of your army, or an HMG toting monster. There is no wrong profile by a mile, it’s really going to come down to personal preference. If you are the kind of player that is drawn to the HMG though, I’d suggest giving the other profiles a chance, they take a bit more practice, but can be equally, if not more devastating on the table.