Played – Infinity N5 “Black Box”

Here is the third part of “The Monday Signal” campaign for Infinity N5. In the “Black Box” scenario, my Haqqislamites and my opponent’s Druze Bayram Security (DBS) must infiltrate a secure research lab and find a cure for the Megabeast guarding Ruby Monday’s treasure.

This mission was designed by Metachemistry, one of the longest-running Infinity podcasts.

Of course, the story of Ilya and Kleio continues as well, because we want to find out how young Sāchā survived the last battle.

---

Mission and Table Layout

After learning more about Ruby Monday’s treasure in Mission 2, we know it is guarded by a Megabeast. To deal with it, we need certain classified research data from Bureau Lakshmi (a department of O-12).

The data we need is located in one of the two Objective Rooms (the research lab). However, this room is secured by a defense system. If we want to bypass it, we first have to enter the security center (the other Objective Room) and hack the security access at one of the Consoles. Additionally, we can use the other Console there to delete all evidence of our presence to avoid getting into trouble with O-12.

To complicate matters, we can only deploy in the two corners of our respective table sides (in a 12″ x 16″ area) – and with exactly one Combat Group per area.

Furthermore, the entire table outside of the Deployment Zones is an Exclusion Zone. This means: No Infiltrators, no Airborne Deployment (AD), no Forward Deployment, and no Impersonators (like Fidays) will work here. I have to massively adapt my playstyle.

Objective Points (OP) are awarded for Controlling the research data at the end of the game (4 OP), having it in your own Deployment Zone (2 OP), destroying the evidence of your own presence (2 OP), and preventing the opponent from doing the same (2 OP).

Mainly due to being split into two Combat Groups, we decided to play at 300 points this time.

---

The Armies – Druze Bayram Security

The Druze are hitting the field again with Scarface & Cordelia, two Fireteams made up of Druze and Brawlers (plus Tao Wu disguised as Arslan), and as their second muscle man: Wolfgang Amadeus Wolff. Naturally, two Diggers are joining them, along with two Yuan Yuans, who will be on foot this time around.

The list is rounded out by Fiddler as a highly mobile Specialist and a motorized Bounty Hunter. The Druze even brought their own bike!

You can find the army list here: 300 Points Druze Bayram Security

The Armees – Haqqislam

I tailored my list entirely to the mission. Combat Group 1 is responsible for the research lab. A duo of Odalisques is supposed to smoke out the room with their Discoballs. Protected by the Eclipse Zone, the Asawira is then meant to extract the data and retreat. A Ghulam Doctor serves as backup, and should the Odalisques run out of Discoballs, they can reload via the Kameel Drone. A Muttawi’ah and the Daylami are there for defense in case I don’t get the Initiative.

Combat Group 2 is targeting the security center. They don’t have a Discoball, but Zuleyka can help out with smoke if necessary. The two Mukhtars form a Haris Fireteam with the Azra’il, allowing them to advance together. Once the Mukhtar Hacker has deleted the evidence, they can attack the opponent together and hopefully decimate his Combat Group on that same side. A second Muttawi’ah and my Sāchā (good old Ilya) are also planned for defense here.

---

Initiative and Deployment

We roll for Initiative, and once again, Saladin is reliable: I win the roll and choose first turn. In this mission, that is already a massive advantage, even more so than in the previous one. My plan is set, and I deploy accordingly.

The Asawira and Mukhtar are standing by to immediately push into the rooms; the rest is prepared for their respective tasks. I hold Saladin and Zuleyka back in Hidden Deployment/Reserve to see where Uli places his troops, but in principle, all units are very safe from initial alpha strikes due to the two large, infinitely high rooms.

My Sāchā rolls Armor +4 on the Booty Table this time. That fits the narrative beautifully – after last time, Kleio definitely made sure he got better protection instead of another offensive weapon.

The Druze are up next and struggle to entrench their troops within the tight Deployment Zones. Especially with the TAG, this proves to be a complicated task. Uli has plenty of Booty rolls to make: both Yuans (2x Light Flamethrower), both Diggers (1x Monofilament CC Weapon, 1x Mimetism -6), and the Bounty Hunter (Adhesive Launcher Rifle).

As you can see, there are absolutely no units that could enter the game later via Airborne Deployment or Hidden Deployment, because the scenario rules would force them to do so within the original Deployment Zone of their Combat Group. That’s a bit of a shame, as it strips the game of a lot of tactical options.

---

Round 1 – Haqqislam

But now we’re off. My Impetuous troops (Zuleyka and the Muttawi’ah) advance unopposed, and then the plan is set into motion: The Odalisque shoots a Discoball into the entrance of the research lab, the Asawira storms inside, and, completely disregarding the security system, extracts the data from the server. This activates the four Adhesive Rifle Turrets in the corners of the room, but the Eclipse Zone of the Discoball denies them a valid Line of Fire (LoF). With the data in hand, the Asawira retreats back toward our own Deployment Zone and the table edge.

However, in doing so, he has to cross a single LoF that Scarface is holding across the center of the board. Overconfident due to the long range, the Asawira attempts a Dodge – and immediately takes a wound. Instead of risking the Heavy Infantry’s life, the Odalisque has to step in again: she fires her second Discoball, breaking the line of sight. Now, the Asawira can retreat as far back as possible.

With that, all orders of the first group are spent, and the second group gets to work. While a Druze can look into the security center from his position, he lacks a Multispectral Visor (MSV), and Zuleyka already dropped a smoke grenade into the room’s entrance during her Impetuous Order. This allows the Mukhtar Hacker to simply walk in, interact with a Console, and erase all traces of the Haqqislam task force’s presence.

The Haris Fireteam consisting of the Azra’il and the two Mukhtars pushes further forward to position the Hacker as a heavy roadblock for the enemy TAG. To pave the way, the Azra’il attacks the Druze with an E/M Grenade Launcher and successfully takes him out. The Mukhtars get into position, the Azra’il breaks from the team and enters Suppressive Fire. With that, the Orders for Group 2 are exhausted as well.

If the game ended right now, I would win 10-0, but of course, the Druze still have a say in this. Out of all the Victory Points, only 2 are locked in (the ones for erasing the evidence); my opponent can still contest everything else.

Nevertheless, it’s a bit frustrating for my opponent to have watched the whole thing unfold almost entirely uninvolved, and now having to push into my dug-in, prepared troops just to get to the deeply hidden research data.

Round 1 – Druze

Let’s see what damage the Druze can do. The Impetuous Yuan Yuans charge forward. At this point, we realize that the now-active Turrets in the research lab have way too many lines of fire leading out of the room, making navigation on that side of the table virtually impossible for the Druze. After a brief discussion, we use a house rule deciding that they only fire at targets inside the room.

The two Yuan Yuans and Fiddler’s Jackbots pick a fight with the Muttawi’ah, the Odalisque with the Viral Marksman Rifle, and the Daylami, but they don’t get very far. In the end, one Yuan is Isolated, the other is Unconscious, and both Jackbots are destroyed. On my side, only the Muttawi’ah is dead, and the Daylami has revealed himself.

The Digger tries to make a push as well, but catches the Daylami’s second Panzerfaust to the face and dies. On my right flank, the Druze advance is temporarily halted.

Can the other Combat Group find more success? Their Impetuous members (Digger and Bounty Hunter) have to hold back, as the Azra’il controls the field ahead of them with his Suppressive Fire. Scarface can’t advance without entering the Mukhtar’s ZoC – but he can move laterally to gain LoF to the Azra’il.

He does so, and upon measuring, we find out he is just 3 or 4 mm outside of 16″, making the Azra’il’s Suppressive Fire significantly less effective due to the range modifier. The TAG’s 5 dice are hitting on 10s, while my Heavy Infantry’s 3 dice are on 7s. The outcome is catastrophic for me: Scarface cleanly wins the Face-to-Face roll, landing four hits, and the Azra’il fails three ARM rolls. He is dead on the spot.

This clears the way for the large Fireteam to eliminate the Mukhtar. Arslan takes the lead and reveals himself to be Tao Wu as he enters the security center.

However, he struggles against the Mukhtar, who defends himself fiercely, even in CC. Eventually, Wolfgang Amadeus Wolff loses his patience and takes over. The Mukhtar stands no chance against him, but both combatants end up within range of the Muttawi’ah’s Chain Rifle waiting outside the door. The result: Tao Wu is rendered Unconscious and Wolfgang takes a wound.

After that, the rest of the Combat Group can only shuffle forward a bit. Scarface deploys his Turtlemek Drone, which is supposed to handle erasing their tracks later on. That wraps up the first round.

---

Round 2 – Haqqislam

For me, the goal now is to attrit my opponent enough so he lacks the Orders required to take the Data Pack back from me. Unfortunately, my strongest offensive piece, the Azra’il, is already down. So, I have to make do with what’s left.

On the right flank with Combat Group 1, the Odalisque duo advances and takes out the Brawler with the X-Visor and Heavy Rocket Launcher. As they get close to Fiddler’s threat range, I get cold feet and pull them both back into a more defensive position. A decision that will come back to haunt me.

On the other side of the battlefield, the Impetuous troops push ahead first. The Muttawi’ah finds no success with his Chain Rifle, other than finishing off the unconscious Tao Wu. Zuleyka is equally unlucky, getting caught by the Bounty Hunter’s Adhesive Launcher Rifle and becoming Immobilized. Her actual target was Wolfgang Amadeus Wolff, but he shrugs off the damage from Zuleyka’s Breaker Pistols with ease.

But then there’s the Mukhtar with MSV2 and Red Fury. He effortlessly guns down the biker. He also inflicts a wound on the Digger. With his final Order, he storms around the corner of the security center and is spoiled for choice regarding targets. Shooting the TAG in the back is highly tempting, but the Red Fury is a poor choice against its heavy armor.

Instead, I target Cordelia and the remaining Brawler to bleed my opponent’s Order pool. Both go down, which yields a fantastic side effect: The Brawler was the Druze Lieutenant – and since Tao Wu with his Chain of Command is already dead, the Druze are officially in Loss of Lieutenant!

The Mukhtar takes a wound in return from the Digger’s Chain Rifle, dropping into No Wound Incapacitation (NWI).

With that, my second turn ends. I’m highly satisfied, especially on the left flank; forcing the enemy into Loss of Lt should give me some serious breathing room.

Round 2 – Druze

Loss of Lieutenant is always a grim affair, but at least Uli still has some of my units within reach on the left side. The TAG eliminates the remaining Mukhtar, and Wolfgang Amadeus kills Zuleyka. The Turtlemek Drone attempts to hack the security console but fails.

From my Combat Group 2, only Sāchā and my Barid Killer Hacker are left standing, neither of whom pose a significant threat to the Druze anymore.

On the other side, things look a bit better. One Odalisque is hit but only drops into NWI. Uli manages to take out the Daylami before the turn passes back to me.

---

Round 3 – Haqqislam

At the start of my final turn, I look over the remaining Druze forces and conclude that Scarface is by far the biggest threat. He is positioned relatively central on the board, has an extra Order (Tactical Awareness), and packs the deadliest firepower. I have to neutralize him. But with what? I have no Hackers left that could threaten him. The only shooter with a realistic chance was the Azra’il, who is gone. Plus, for a TAG, Scarface is a pretty decent melee fighter.

Saladin with his E/Mitter? Might have been the better choice, but I decide to commit the Odalisque duo. They probably won’t kill him, but they can at least tie him up. So, they activate. On her way, the lady armed with the Viral Marksman Rifle gets into a shootout with the TAG, which she easily wins. However, viral bioweapons don’t really work against units with Structure (STR) instead of Wounds. Scarface’s BTS saves, on the other hand, succeed on 17s!

Still, I get close enough to engage in base-to-base contact with the other Odalisque. And she carries a Para CC Weapon (-9)! Even Scarface faces terrible odds against that. He manages to pass the saving throw, but I simply leave the Odalisque locked in combat and place the other one in Suppressive Fire nearby. With that, Scarface is effectively neutralized. He might be able to break away from CC, but he likely wouldn’t have enough Orders left to hunt down the Data Pack.

However, there was one unit I completely overlooked because the research lab blocked my view: Fiddler was lurking just around the corner, fast and incredibly dangerous, even without any of her Jackbots left.

Round 3 – Druze

Uli counts his remaining units and has six left. He has just enough Command Tokens to merge them all into a single Combat Group for maximum flexibility.

He tries to use Scarface’s Tactical Awareness Order to break away from the Odalisque in CC, but the roll fails and he ends up paralyzed (Immobilized-A) by the Para CC Weapon. Wolfgang Amadeus Wolff moves via his Impetuous Order and is promptly Stunned by my brave Sāchā using a Flash Pulse.

So, it all comes down to the ace up his sleeve: Fiddler. Unfortunately, by pulling back the Odalisques earlier, I left the path wide open for her. Only a Ghulam Doctor stands in her way; the Kameel Drone is unarmed, and both Saladin and the Asawira are too deep in cover. The six Orders available to Fiddler might just be enough.

To his credit, my Ghulam Doctor fights his heart out but can only delay Fiddler slightly. Thanks to her Climbing Plus, Fiddler gains a clean line of sight on the Asawira with her second-to-last Order, scores a hit, and the Heavy Infantry goes unconscious, dropping the Data Pack.

But it drops too far away. Since picking it up requires a Short Skill, Fiddler doesn’t have the Orders left to secure it. Ultimately, neither side can claim it at the end of the match.

I score 2 Objective Points because Haqqislam successfully deleted the evidence of the breach, and another 2 because the Druze failed to do so. The Turtlemek Drone couldn’t make another attempt since Scarface was locked in CC. Had it succeeded, the match would have ended in a 2-2 tie. Had Fiddler reached the Data Pack, it would have been a 4-2 victory for Uli.

Instead, it ends in a 4-0 victory for Haqqislam, marking my third win in “The Monday Signal” campaign.

---

Conclusion

I had a blast playing this match, but Uli had to deal with a lot of frustration at several points – this scenario is incredibly punishing for the second player.

The cool concept of having to deactivate the defense systems in the security center first can be bypassed far too easily using Smoke and Eclipse, leaving the active Turrets behind as a massive obstacle for the opponent. Since there is very little to actually do inside the security center itself, it allows the first player to execute a brutal alpha strike, which is further amplified by the incredibly cramped Deployment Zones.

Nonetheless, it’s awesome that the community creates such scenarios and shares them with fellow players. It’s only when you try it yourself that you realize how challenging it is to design a truly balanced mission – especially with all the narrative flavor, audio logs, and fluff built around it. And then you throw it out there for the community to feed on, and they ruthlessly pick it apart. I have the utmost respect for the creators!

So, kudos and thanks to Metachemistry for “Black Box”! I’m already incredibly excited for Mission 4: “The Megabeast sleeps tonight” by WIP 12.