Infinity – Tohaa First Impressions
The Tohaa was first revealed in Campaign:Paradiso as a new playable faction. How is their play style and what things should you be aware of if you play as or against them?
I have been buying up every Tohaa model I can get my hands on. My reasons are two fold. First, a lot of my YouTube subscribers have asked me how well the army plays. Secondly, I’m undertaking a huge series of videos that will go through the entire Campaign:Paradiso in it’s narrative form. And what army is featured in the first two prologue missions…. Tohaa. This article may necessitate some basic knowledge regarding how to play Infinity.
Caveats
So with my 300 points of Tohaa models, I’m going to give you a brief overview of what I’ve learned in my first five games of playing Tohaa. Will this be my “final analysis”? No. But a player has to start somewhere, and hopefully this will aid the casual player in deciding whether or not Tohaa will fit their play style.
The models I have at my disposal:
– The Tohaa Trident Start Pack:
– 3 Kamael Light Infantry
– 1 Clipsos Infiltrator
– 1 Extros Regiment
– 1 Sakiel Regiment
– 2 Gao-Rael Snipers
– The Makaul Box (4 Makaul)
– 1 Hatail Spec-Ops
Overview
The Tohaa, introduced as a playable faction in Campaign:Paradiso, is the first faction that does not have to take a sectorial army to have fire teams. Unlike linked teams, the Tohaa can start the game with as many fire teams as they want (as long as they have enough models with the Tohaa:Fireteam descriptor). Each Tohaa fire team must contain three models. Being able to move three models at the low, low price of 1 order has amazing advantages, and it can mean that even in low point games that you would have the ability to move the majority of your army list into a serious threat range of your opponent. In the more successful Tohaa games that I’ve seen played, the Tohaa player moved the models in a way similar to current military tactics. In this strategy, one fire team bounds over another so that they don’t outrun their fire support and cover each other’s flanks.
Add TO Camouflaged units and some new weapons like swarm grenades to your army list, and the Tohaa seem like a vicious strike force. Players who have never encountered the Tohaa before will likely have to come up with new strategies.
Tactical Advantages
Tohaa:Fireteam – Without a doubt the conservation of orders by the construction of multiple fire teams is an amazing advantage over other factions. Be aware that in the starter pack you will only be able to create 1 fire team since one of your six models (the Clipsos) does not have the Tohaa:Fireteam attribute and cannot join. Beyond order conservation, being able to fire back during your reactive turn with two shots instead of one can be incredibly effective. Because the fire teams are not restricted to one type of unit, I have found interesting combinations of creating close combat/long range/balanced three model teams to deal with a multitude of situations.
Symbiant Armor – Some of the Tohaa models have Symbiant Armor and while they come with their own set of weaknesses, this armor allows players to take models with multiple wounds and elevated stats at a lower point cost. The reason they are cheaper will become more evident in the “Tactical Disadvantages” section. If your opponent has no fire weapons, your high wound count Symbiant Armor units are going to be difficult to take down.
Access to New Weapons – While the Tohaa still have access to more common lower tech powerhouse weapons like the HMG (Heavy Machine Gun), they also have options that allow them to take a great deal of viral weaponry and new weapons and gear such as swarm grenades, nullifiers, and my personal favorite the light rocket launcher.
Tactical Disadvantages
Tohaa:Fireteam – Wait, didn’t I just include this as an advantage? Yes, but it’s also a disadvantage. The more you group your models together, the more they are susceptible to template weapons. Especially template weapons with the Fire descriptor. Multiple fire teams are great, but since you’re limited to a fireteam size of 3, there is no free access to Six Sense Level 2. For the Infinity uninitiated, it means that the fireteam is more vulnerable to being flanked. A crafty Ariadna Chasseur with light flame thrower and camouflage is now the type of unit you want to be wary of.
Symbiant Armor – Okay, is every advantage going to be a disadvantage as well? No, the new weapon access is still just an advantage. But Tohaa models with symbiant armor die if they fail to save against a weapon that deals fire damage, regardless of the number of wounds remaining on the model. Your Ectros Regiment model, with its symbiant armor and high point cost, is an early target to dispose of if your opponent included models with fire weapons.
Rebuilding the Fireteam – According to Campaign:Paradiso, Tohaa:Fireteams can only be recreated with the use of your lieutenant order (which you get one per turn). One trick I’ve used against a Tohaa opponent was to kill off one model in three different fireteams. On the Tohaa player’s next turn, he was able to only have one fireteam on the board instead of three.
If you play as Tohaa
You will likely want to go first so you can target and remove enemy units with fire weapons. Coordinate fire teams so that they provide each other cover without making two fireteams vulnerable to one template weapon. Create more fireteams by adding two inexpensive Kamael models with more potent units that are likely to be the fire team leader in your active phase.
If you play against the Tohaa
Be sure to keep your fire weapons safe during your reactive phase and always try to target their fireteams by flanking or in one vs one scenarios to destroy the fireteam. Use models with advanced deployment to create flanking opportunities. Also, be aware of a sneaky trick I’ve seen some players do with when they field Makauls. They will allow the Makauls to use their “free” impetuous order to rush forward, then use the lieutenant order to create them as a linked team that’s just slightly closer to their objective.
Conclusion
The Tohaa faction, at least with the models at my disposal, creates a new play style that adds variety while remaining in balance with the existing setting and factions. Their selection of miniatures (being a new faction) is not as extensive as the other factions, but this is partially compensated by the abundance of small fireteams that can be created. As more models are released, we will revisit this topic.
Let me know about your experience “as” or “against” the Tohaa. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or contact me on my YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/doremicom
