The Totally Crit 3rd Open - A 400 Point Infinity Tournament

Following on from meeting my old friend Chris P. at the gaming convention in Birmingham I arranged to attend the Totally Crit (https://www.facebook.com/TotallyCrit) Infinity tournament at their club, High Brooms Working Men's Club in Royal Tunbridge Wells on 1st August. John B. was running the ITS event, who I had the pleasure of playing in Birmingham. The three games will be my first experience of playing 400 point Infinity games. Daunting stuff!

Preparations before game one.

14 players were taking part, at least five of which were playing Yu Jing. My Ariadna army was the only one taking part. In a typical Ariadna approach I decided to take two ten man groups. And taking John's advice from our Birmingham game, I took a low cost lieutenant whose sole role was to sit at the back of the board and stay out of trouble. Brief details of my list were as follows:

Group One:

- Line Kazak, Forward Observer

- Line Kazak, Forward Observer

- Dog Warrior

- Dog Warrior

- Veteran Kazak, AP Rifle

- Kazak Doctor

- Line Kazak, Forward Observer

- Line Kazak, Lieutenant 

- Tank Hunter, Adhesive Launcher

- Chasseur, Mine Layer

Group Two:

- Caledonian Volunteer, Chain Gun

- Dozer, Traktor Mul Control Device

- Line Kazak, Missile Launcher

- Para-Commando, HMG

- Scout, Ojotnik

- Tracktor Mul, Uragan MRL

- 112

- Chasseur, Forward Observer

- Tank Hunter, Portable Auto-Cannon

- Scout, Ojotnik

My simple plan for the games was to send the Dog Warriors forward to cause mayhem. They would be supported in their advance by the Chasseurs and their mines. Further support would be given by the camouflaged troops (Scouts and Tankhunters). And the camouflaged troops and the total reaction Traktor Mul would do their best to hamper the enemy in their turns.

Game One - Supplies vs Rob and his Imperial Service Sectorial Yu Jing

Rob decided to take the choice of deployment and I took the first turn. The Dog Warriors ran forwards and secured the area around one of the crates and the Forward Observer Chasseur went to open it. A TO Camouflaged Ninja appeared from the shadows to assassinate the Chasseur but fluffed his lines and was dispatched by a flurry of Chain gun shots. After the Chasseur secured his prize he went off to hide for the rest of the game. Rob struggled to approach the other two crates due to my camouflaged troops, but the application of smoke soon got him around the problem, and despite a last turn charge by my now transformed doggies, using Command Tokens to treat both dogs as a team, the Yu Jing held onto their gains. Using the scoring system Rob had won 7 points to 2.

First battlefield using some very nice Sparten Scenics

Dog vs machine

Game Two - Annihilation vs Eddy and his 'vanilla Haqqislam list.  Eddy employed two disguised troops and one with holo echoes in his force which my figures found very difficult to recognise as their foe (smoke and mirrors). However, those Haqqislam troops not pretending to be something else, didn't cause my guys as many problems, and my sheer numbers, overcame the enemy to get me my first win 5 point to 2.

'Do I Know you?'

Game Three - Frontline vs Ben and his Imperial Service Sectorial Yu Jing

Now that I had gained a victory I probably entered the last game a little too relaxed, didn't push as hard as I could, and failed to make more of a game of it. A point in fact, I rolled at least five criticals (including two consecutive with the Adhesive Launcher) in the game without making the most of it. Certainly Ben's link team was terribly effective and scary. However, I did manage to kill my second Ninja of the day, this time to the Para-Commando's HMG. Other Things learnt from the day; make the most of Command Tokens, remember that the application of smoke can cover sight lines, and mines can cut off a route of approach from your enemy. 

Despite the third game loss, 9 points to 1, I managed to come eleventh on the day. My friend Chris won the tourney and he is due to run their next tournament at the beginning of November (this time a two day event). I would like to thank all of my opponents for being good sports and for John and the others from the club who made it an enjoyable event.

Happy wargaming.