Infinity Arachne: The Highlander Format “There Can Be Only One!”

May 13, 2015 by crew

This is the Wartrader, yelling "I am the one the only one, I am the god of kingdom come..."

It's actually a coincidence that I came up with this Infinity idea a few days before the resculpted 45th Galwegian (not to be confused with Glaswegian) Highlanders were shown, but it's a nice coincidence...

Highlanders #1

Highlander Format

Originally a Magic the Gathering format, the basic idea is very simple - you can't take duplicates, because 'There can be only one!'. In MtG terms this means you can take only one of any card other than basic land.

Translating this to Infinity has a couple of options.

No Duplicate Guns/Skills/Equipment

Highlanders #2

One of the obvious options is to limit forces to not having any duplicate gear. This has a couple of drawbacks. If you include all gear then most factions can't make a list because (almost) everyone has a Pistol and Knife as standard. If you exclude standard gear like Pistols, Knives, Combis, Rifles and Rifle+Light Shotgun then you end up with relatively 'normal' lists with a mix of weaponry.

AVA1

The simpler option is to make all units availability one. So for example a Nomad force could take one Moderator, one Alguacile, one Zero, one Bandit etc. This has the added advantage that it's extremely easy to keep track of, although newer players may need to do some proxying.

Further Restrictions

Although these are restrictions they are there to keep it simple.

Highlander Main

I recommend keeping to 150pt or 200pt forces - it's a big enough game that factions like ALEPH and Combined Army aren't penalised for having a limited selection of cheaper troops and small enough that factions like Ariadna aren't forced into taking elite troops.

As far as scenarios are concerned if you're using ITS ones then stick to those that have low Specialist requirements like Quadrant Control, Supremacy, Seize the Antennae or The Armoury. Surprisingly, Annihilation isn't such a good idea because four of the ten possible points are for Classified Objectives and are likely to involve needing Doctors, Engineers, Hackers etc.

Sectorials

Sectorials are a bit of a problem though. In return for the extra oomph of Link Teams they're giving up access to a wider variety of units which is exactly what you need when all units are reduced to AVA1.

Highlanders #3

It will need testing but if Sectorials really struggle then I'd suggest giving them a boost by letting the player nominate a single linkable Light Infantry or Medium Infantry unit to get AVA3.

...and remember; "just gimme the prize!"

Ian Wood aka @wartrader

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"One of the obvious options is to limit forces to not having any duplicate gear..."

"As far as scenarios are concerned if you're using ITS ones then stick to those that have low Specialist requirements..."

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