NOTE: in the video I refer to Hataomotos as not having visual mods. They have MIM-3! In my defence, they have a kitchen sink of abilities, but take anything I say about them being a Fireteam in a Can as extra true. :) Today we're kicking off the N5 faction focus series with JSA Shindenbutai. A highly technical faction with a huge amount of potential for interesting lines of play, Shindenbutai are a great faction if you're looking for lateral approaches to problems and small, highly capable fireteams.
Im new to Infinity in general but played JSA and CA in N4 for a bit as I dabbled in this game. I look at JSA with great interest and would love to see how Oban and Vanilla shake out for a breakdown when you get the time to do so. Thank you again for the faction focus!
Awesome video! Have been building my Shindenbutai list last few days and this has helped shape it well. I like your breakdown of the Teishin, hadn't really though about starting it deployed as opposed to parachutist.
I am down with the plague, and suddenly, lo! Behold! A Robert Sheperd video. I appreciate you, your timing, your hard work, and your expertise on Infinity. I'm over here in Infinity which has a *lethally* competitive meta, where multiple players have gone to the huge Corvus Belli events and been podium placers. I have a mountain to climb before I get there with my Yu Jing. You rock, Rob! Love from Canada!
Have you ever considered doing commentary videos on the specific limitations of factions and how(if at all) they are shaped by them? I mean more specific things like "Zhanshi Yisheng is best doctor in Yu Jing because Zhanshi Yisheng is only doctor in Yu Jing." Rather than "Ariadna has no hacking" one is obvious on the tin of the faction, the other is more of a footnote. Regardless, great video from you as always. Keep up the good work even if it is a labor of love.
One more word for Yojimbo: with Contenders being now B=2, he has 3 shots (+1B Contender) that when unsaved put 2 wounds each into things. If you catch your opponent in good bands, he has a potential to one-shot a TAG! Small one to be fair due to ARM values, but it's there. The main danger of having Yojimbo in a list is the same as it was in N4 - it's ooooh sooo easy to lost track of how many orders you put into him and then be short on the actual workhorses in your list. And the on-foot version has no cover compared to limited cover on the biker. So it's actually less survivable on top of being easier to hit and slower :D
Amazing video as always! Really suprised you didn't touch on Raiden! After having played them a few times they seem like an amazing tool for shindenbutai's defensive mix. Arm 3, mim-3, and minelayer for 25 pts feel like a menace to fight through that can super easily buy a first turn.
Ultimately they were last on the list of interesting independent elements that didn't get discussed as I rolled in on the hour mark. The issue I find with Raiden is that they're simultaneously telegraphed (by the mine, which admittedly is nice to have) without actually being terribly threatening at just B1 BS13 Mimetism -3. They really need to be paired with something to throw multiple burst of ARO, but Shindenbutai's hard ARO pieces are a touch limited. This puts Raiden in the 'tricky to use' category (which is not at all the same as bad!) and so while I'd have covered them if I could, I didn't quite have the confidence to mention them outside of maybe at the end of the video if I had time.
"si jamais ils sortent une boîte de troupes de senku SWC" CB ne sort plus de boites SWC, ils en gardent encore en catalogue pour des raisons inexpliquées mais on peut déjà noter que depuis plus d'une édition qu'ils ne sortent plus ces types de boites et qu'elles ont tendance à disparaitre au fil des repacks.
I've got a weird request. I'm most interested in a Kestrel faction focus, but I'd love for you to wait awhile, let the dust settle a bit on N5 and get more practice in with them before making it. So I'm requesting Kestrel, but eventually rather than anytime soon. Love the content, glad to finally be a channel member. If I could be so indulgent, a second request would be a Kestrel battle report featuring the hmg squalo in one group and the redeye in the other. I think those pieces will end up working really well together, but I don't know what the other 13 pieces look like or how you'd want to play them.
Requests added to the list :) In the short term, if you're looking for Kestrel battle reports, keep an eye on Daboarder. I know he's been experimenting with Redeyes. youtube.com/@daboarderttg
To do that I would have needed to have played at CanCon! I took the year off this year - I had actually intended to play, but then Canberra Games Society had one of their all two frequent fuckups and ticket sales got cancelled a couple of days before I was going to be able to organise a ticket. So I made other plans. A very good weekend but not, alas, one that can produce an event report. :)
Tanuki are good for secret objectives. Vet, MI, MSV, Medic, Hacker, CoC, D-Charges, They just can’t do the ENG cards. The Yamabushi can be the one to get the CC objectives.
I think if you can ignore parachutist/combat jump you can ignore Hidden deployment, no?😅 But if you're planning to khd assassinate anyway can't you still do that with their reserved HD order? Where Combat jump/parachutist uses the whole order to get them on the table. Seems like an option if you have the points.
Newer player here. I started collecting some JSA just before N5. I've heard Tanuki's mentioned a few times but I can't seem to find them anywhere. Not on CB's site or from my distributor (I own a game store).
There's no model for them yet - so it's a matter of finding a worthwhile proxy. Converting Senku Troops would probably be my go-to, if you think you're up to it.
@R0bertShepherd Well, those I've got lol, and tuns out they are as boring as can be! Thanks for the video though, it definitely helps. This game is awesome but the list building (even just figuring out which model is which sometimes) is very complex.
Someone telling me that Saito Togan counts as a source of smoke is one of the most "What year is it?!" moments possible in Infinity. The Shurayuki are an extremely busy profile that doesn't ultimately do anything. They don't contribute to fireteam composition bonuses, aren't notably better at close combat than anything Shindenbutai has access to elsewhere, and they seem to be working on the idea that they can pull a sneaky on someone with Holomask, but they can't really BS attack worth a damn and nobody is going to run in to close assault CC JSA if they have an alternative. Overall, 30pts generally better turned into an actual good heavy infantry.
Came out just in time as my friend just finished buimding up a bunch of Shindenbutai as his first Infinity army. Would love to hear your thoughts on Correigidor btw. I just started them because I like the models but my brain is still PanO coded and I cant make lists.
I don't know if I have a specific list for them, but the key strengths seem to be the Correctional teams and maybe the TAGs. I don't actually know if the Gecko duo/haris is good but it might be, and the diablos and jaguars in numbers give you the core of your fireteams and nasty close assault. Ideally I think you want to build a well-rounded overall list with a mix of hacking, gunfighting and close assault subsidised by those cheaper units. Or alternatively: while I don't *actually* recommend this as a list, doesn't it look hilarious? gfYKY29ycmVnaWRvcgEggSwCAQEACQCBsAECAACBsAEBAACBlAEBAACBlAEDAACHPQEBAACGDwABAACBnAEBAACBnAEBAACBqgEBAAIBAAUAhiwBAQAAgSgBCgAAgSgBAQAAgZQBAQAAgZQBAwA%3D
as a long time JSA (and now occasional Shinden) player, I think you're really undervaluing the Hatamoto and it price. It is ridiculously cheap for what it brings. It probably has to do with you not noticing before uploading that he has mimetism, it happens. Another thing you forgot to notice/mention is Natural Born Warrior. On a piece like that, with MA4, it makes the hatamoto able to engage favorably in CC just about anything in the game except like, 3 characters. All that, with mimetism and nanoscreen, it means the high burst weapons aren't meant to be scary gunfighting options. They are meant to be bundles of dice that the hatamoto uses to win F2Fs while it moves 6 inches closer every turn without worry about cover or anything. Once it gets into silhouette contact, it has BOTH an E/M CCW and a monofilament, to pick whichever is better in the situation, and to top it all off, it is a specialist. The LT option, at 38 points for the basic red fury (you only need the B4, PS value is irrelevant here, also better -3 bands for the x-visor) is a piece that is an existential threat to everything on the opponent's table, moves fast, is pretty tanky, is S2, is a specialist, and has 3 orders for himself on its own as a solo piece, as well as a fourth conditional order once frenzy triggers. Granted, that version requires a Tanuki CoC... but the Tanuki CoC is a perfect base for a Sayo haris, so it's honestly an outstanding profile that you shouldn't underestimate. It does everything and it does it really well. You covered his link options pretty well already. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
Seriously, i got the sandtrap box for me and my fiancee for christmas and as the resident JSA fan i was a little taken aback by how fucked up the Hatamoto profiles are, its really strong, being one of the two(?) lieutenants in the game that give a bonus SWC is a nice Cherry on top, too
@@korrag4 Oh yeah, I also forgot the SWC. The LT version of the spitfire has an SWC weapon and add SWC, so it effectively gives 2.5 free swc. It's just less relevant because it's kinda hard to fill up 6 swc in shinden, let alone 7, unless you spam raidens, which you probably shouldn't. Like, even if you get a Shizoku (1.5), two hackers (1), a missile bot (1,5), and a TR bot (1), you're still only at 5, and covered pretty much all bases.
I did forget mimetism on the Hatomoto! It was only the list of things to talk about because it's good, but when I got to the profile, I missed that important skill in the kitchen sink of abilities they have. Something to note, though, is that while I very much like them as a 'fireteam in a can' style profile (they do almost all the things a fireteam might do, in a single model), there's a strict upper bound to what can be accomplished with a red fury or spitfire. The Hatamoto bridge this gap with murderous CC prowess, but it means they want to operate with support. (Happily, that support is ably provided by the rest of the faction!)
@@R0bertShepherd I know you missed mimetism, but with mim-3, nanoscreen and a BS13 spitfire for 41 points I think it's on curve for high end shooting threats. Compare it to a Knight of Justice, Mowang, Crane Rank Agent or Betatroopers and it compares pretty favorably as a pure shooting unit. Obviously the lack of AP on the spitfire holds it back against the heaviest targets but that's true of other spitfire shooters as well. The rest of the profile with the melee and specop just rounds it out to make it a true apex unit.
NOTE: in the video I refer to Hataomotos as not having visual mods. They have MIM-3! In my defence, they have a kitchen sink of abilities, but take anything I say about them being a Fireteam in a Can as extra true. :)
Today we're kicking off the N5 faction focus series with JSA Shindenbutai. A highly technical faction with a huge amount of potential for interesting lines of play, Shindenbutai are a great faction if you're looking for lateral approaches to problems and small, highly capable fireteams.
Please do oban next... tqtq hehehehe.. shinobuuuuu
omg. the kerning on those letters is killing the designer in me
Right?! Same here! it's like nails on a chalkboard!
This comment made me feel so much less crazy! Couldn’t stop staring at that until army builder popped up!
NDENBUT AI!? They’re a puppet of ALEPH! I’ve cracked the code!!!
@ 😅
also, the fact the characters say "Shin Den Tai" (震電隊) ot "Shinden Butai" (震電部隊) makes me weeb cry.
Im new to Infinity in general but played JSA and CA in N4 for a bit as I dabbled in this game. I look at JSA with great interest and would love to see how Oban and Vanilla shake out for a breakdown when you get the time to do so. Thank you again for the faction focus!
Awesome video! Have been building my Shindenbutai list last few days and this has helped shape it well. I like your breakdown of the Teishin, hadn't really though about starting it deployed as opposed to parachutist.
I am down with the plague, and suddenly, lo! Behold! A Robert Sheperd video. I appreciate you, your timing, your hard work, and your expertise on Infinity. I'm over here in Infinity which has a *lethally* competitive meta, where multiple players have gone to the huge Corvus Belli events and been podium placers. I have a mountain to climb before I get there with my Yu Jing. You rock, Rob! Love from Canada!
YAY CANADA!!!!! woo!
Have you ever considered doing commentary videos on the specific limitations of factions and how(if at all) they are shaped by them? I mean more specific things like "Zhanshi Yisheng is best doctor in Yu Jing because Zhanshi Yisheng is only doctor in Yu Jing." Rather than "Ariadna has no hacking" one is obvious on the tin of the faction, the other is more of a footnote.
Regardless, great video from you as always. Keep up the good work even if it is a labor of love.
I’ve been curious about Shindenbutai. I have them but I haven’t really figured out what their real differentiation is. Looking forward to watching.
One more word for Yojimbo: with Contenders being now B=2, he has 3 shots (+1B Contender) that when unsaved put 2 wounds each into things. If you catch your opponent in good bands, he has a potential to one-shot a TAG! Small one to be fair due to ARM values, but it's there. The main danger of having Yojimbo in a list is the same as it was in N4 - it's ooooh sooo easy to lost track of how many orders you put into him and then be short on the actual workhorses in your list.
And the on-foot version has no cover compared to limited cover on the biker. So it's actually less survivable on top of being easier to hit and slower :D
Amazing video as always!
Really suprised you didn't touch on Raiden!
After having played them a few times they seem like an amazing tool for shindenbutai's defensive mix.
Arm 3, mim-3, and minelayer for 25 pts feel like a menace to fight through that can super easily buy a first turn.
Ultimately they were last on the list of interesting independent elements that didn't get discussed as I rolled in on the hour mark. The issue I find with Raiden is that they're simultaneously telegraphed (by the mine, which admittedly is nice to have) without actually being terribly threatening at just B1 BS13 Mimetism -3. They really need to be paired with something to throw multiple burst of ARO, but Shindenbutai's hard ARO pieces are a touch limited. This puts Raiden in the 'tricky to use' category (which is not at all the same as bad!) and so while I'd have covered them if I could, I didn't quite have the confidence to mention them outside of maybe at the end of the video if I had time.
"si jamais ils sortent une boîte de troupes de senku SWC"
CB ne sort plus de boites SWC, ils en gardent encore en catalogue pour des raisons inexpliquées mais on peut déjà noter que depuis plus d'une édition qu'ils ne sortent plus ces types de boites et qu'elles ont tendance à disparaitre au fil des repacks.
Perfect, im playing against shindenbutai for the first time tomorrow.
I've got a weird request. I'm most interested in a Kestrel faction focus, but I'd love for you to wait awhile, let the dust settle a bit on N5 and get more practice in with them before making it. So I'm requesting Kestrel, but eventually rather than anytime soon.
Love the content, glad to finally be a channel member.
If I could be so indulgent, a second request would be a Kestrel battle report featuring the hmg squalo in one group and the redeye in the other. I think those pieces will end up working really well together, but I don't know what the other 13 pieces look like or how you'd want to play them.
Requests added to the list :)
In the short term, if you're looking for Kestrel battle reports, keep an eye on Daboarder. I know he's been experimenting with Redeyes.
youtube.com/@daboarderttg
@R0bertShepherd just subbed to him. Thanks for the suggestion.
I would love if you would be willing to provide a tournament report on Cancon. It is always good to hear your thoughts and processes.
To do that I would have needed to have played at CanCon! I took the year off this year - I had actually intended to play, but then Canberra Games Society had one of their all two frequent fuckups and ticket sales got cancelled a couple of days before I was going to be able to organise a ticket. So I made other plans. A very good weekend but not, alas, one that can produce an event report. :)
thank you so much, great work. Maybe there is hope for an Ariadna Deep Dive
Tanuki are good for secret objectives. Vet, MI, MSV, Medic, Hacker, CoC, D-Charges, They just can’t do the ENG cards. The Yamabushi can be the one to get the CC objectives.
I think if you can ignore parachutist/combat jump you can ignore Hidden deployment, no?😅
But if you're planning to khd assassinate anyway can't you still do that with their reserved HD order? Where Combat jump/parachutist uses the whole order to get them on the table. Seems like an option if you have the points.
Newer player here. I started collecting some JSA just before N5. I've heard Tanuki's mentioned a few times but I can't seem to find them anywhere. Not on CB's site or from my distributor (I own a game store).
I don't believe their minis have been released yet.
There's no model for them yet - so it's a matter of finding a worthwhile proxy. Converting Senku Troops would probably be my go-to, if you think you're up to it.
@R0bertShepherd Well, those I've got lol, and tuns out they are as boring as can be! Thanks for the video though, it definitely helps. This game is awesome but the list building (even just figuring out which model is which sometimes) is very complex.
You said Shinden's only access to smoke is Yojimbo, but don't forget Saito Togan! Also I'd like to hear your thoughts on Shurayuki if possible.
Someone telling me that Saito Togan counts as a source of smoke is one of the most "What year is it?!" moments possible in Infinity.
The Shurayuki are an extremely busy profile that doesn't ultimately do anything. They don't contribute to fireteam composition bonuses, aren't notably better at close combat than anything Shindenbutai has access to elsewhere, and they seem to be working on the idea that they can pull a sneaky on someone with Holomask, but they can't really BS attack worth a damn and nobody is going to run in to close assault CC JSA if they have an alternative. Overall, 30pts generally better turned into an actual good heavy infantry.
Came out just in time as my friend just finished buimding up a bunch of Shindenbutai as his first Infinity army.
Would love to hear your thoughts on Correigidor btw. I just started them because I like the models but my brain is still PanO coded and I cant make lists.
I don't know if I have a specific list for them, but the key strengths seem to be the Correctional teams and maybe the TAGs. I don't actually know if the Gecko duo/haris is good but it might be, and the diablos and jaguars in numbers give you the core of your fireteams and nasty close assault. Ideally I think you want to build a well-rounded overall list with a mix of hacking, gunfighting and close assault subsidised by those cheaper units.
Or alternatively: while I don't *actually* recommend this as a list, doesn't it look hilarious?
gfYKY29ycmVnaWRvcgEggSwCAQEACQCBsAECAACBsAEBAACBlAEBAACBlAEDAACHPQEBAACGDwABAACBnAEBAACBnAEBAACBqgEBAAIBAAUAhiwBAQAAgSgBCgAAgSgBAQAAgZQBAQAAgZQBAwA%3D
Looks like a great list, but that is… 6 s4 bases to fit
In your dz
It is, but you can yolo some of the Lu Duans.
What models would you recommend to proxy the Tanuki while we wait for the official models to come out?
Converted Senku Troops, I reckon. Give them some gubbins and you've got a good use of the starter set models.
More important question: why is the kerning broken in that logo?
It's fucking atrocious isn't it?
Shi
Ndenbut
Ai
I feel dsylexic everytime i see it
It's not even that, it's like
S
Hi
Nde
Nb
Ut
Ai
Every time I look it gets worse.
Hey rob hatamoto have mimetism ;p
I'll read the profile properly when you read the pinned comment. :P
I reserve the right to not read
as a long time JSA (and now occasional Shinden) player, I think you're really undervaluing the Hatamoto and it price. It is ridiculously cheap for what it brings. It probably has to do with you not noticing before uploading that he has mimetism, it happens. Another thing you forgot to notice/mention is Natural Born Warrior. On a piece like that, with MA4, it makes the hatamoto able to engage favorably in CC just about anything in the game except like, 3 characters. All that, with mimetism and nanoscreen, it means the high burst weapons aren't meant to be scary gunfighting options. They are meant to be bundles of dice that the hatamoto uses to win F2Fs while it moves 6 inches closer every turn without worry about cover or anything. Once it gets into silhouette contact, it has BOTH an E/M CCW and a monofilament, to pick whichever is better in the situation, and to top it all off, it is a specialist. The LT option, at 38 points for the basic red fury (you only need the B4, PS value is irrelevant here, also better -3 bands for the x-visor) is a piece that is an existential threat to everything on the opponent's table, moves fast, is pretty tanky, is S2, is a specialist, and has 3 orders for himself on its own as a solo piece, as well as a fourth conditional order once frenzy triggers. Granted, that version requires a Tanuki CoC... but the Tanuki CoC is a perfect base for a Sayo haris, so it's honestly an outstanding profile that you shouldn't underestimate. It does everything and it does it really well. You covered his link options pretty well already. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
Seriously, i got the sandtrap box for me and my fiancee for christmas and as the resident JSA fan i was a little taken aback by how fucked up the Hatamoto profiles are, its really strong, being one of the two(?) lieutenants in the game that give a bonus SWC is a nice Cherry on top, too
@@korrag4 Oh yeah, I also forgot the SWC. The LT version of the spitfire has an SWC weapon and add SWC, so it effectively gives 2.5 free swc. It's just less relevant because it's kinda hard to fill up 6 swc in shinden, let alone 7, unless you spam raidens, which you probably shouldn't. Like, even if you get a Shizoku (1.5), two hackers (1), a missile bot (1,5), and a TR bot (1), you're still only at 5, and covered pretty much all bases.
I did forget mimetism on the Hatomoto! It was only the list of things to talk about because it's good, but when I got to the profile, I missed that important skill in the kitchen sink of abilities they have.
Something to note, though, is that while I very much like them as a 'fireteam in a can' style profile (they do almost all the things a fireteam might do, in a single model), there's a strict upper bound to what can be accomplished with a red fury or spitfire. The Hatamoto bridge this gap with murderous CC prowess, but it means they want to operate with support.
(Happily, that support is ably provided by the rest of the faction!)
@@R0bertShepherd I know you missed mimetism, but with mim-3, nanoscreen and a BS13 spitfire for 41 points I think it's on curve for high end shooting threats. Compare it to a Knight of Justice, Mowang, Crane Rank Agent or Betatroopers and it compares pretty favorably as a pure shooting unit. Obviously the lack of AP on the spitfire holds it back against the heaviest targets but that's true of other spitfire shooters as well. The rest of the profile with the melee and specop just rounds it out to make it a true apex unit.