We continue with the “The Monday Signal” campaign for Infinity N5. The second scenario is “Ghost in the Feed“, in which my Haqqislam force and their opponents, Druze Bayram Security, search for Ruby Monday’s treasure among the ruins of a fallen alien civilization.
The mission was written by Robert Shepherd, a prominent Infinity YouTuber who produces excellent battle reports and faction analyses. If you have even a passing interest in the tactical depth of Infinity, you should definitely check out his channel.
Once again, I wrote a short story for the introduction of the mission, continuing the tale of the young Sāchā Ilya and the Fiday Kleio. You can find it in this separate post.
Mission and Table Layout
“Ghost in the Feed” takes us into one of the xeno-ruins on the planet Shinju and its currently inactive archaeological dig site. This is where Ruby Monday hid the clues meant to lead us to her hidden “treasure.” It is a mission with Radial Deployment, meaning we deploy our forces in a quarter-circle in opposite corners. Additionally, we distribute six potential clues across the game table, which must be placed at least 8″ away from the Deployment Zones and from each other.
Three Consoles sit on the center line. When activated, they reveal a clue (the opponent chooses which one). The revealed clue can then be picked up by the player who uncovered it and is worth 2 Objective Points (OP), up to a maximum of 6 points per side from clues. You score 1 OP for activating more Consoles than your opponent, and another 1 OP if you secured exactly one clue in each round. Add to that the two Classified Objectives for a maximum score of 10 points.
We are playing at 200 points again, so the table is slightly narrower than usual. Still, you potentially have to cover long distances here, so fast units are incredibly helpful.
The Armies – Druze Bayram Security
Naturally, we are sticking with our respective factions for the campaign. So, once again, I am facing the Druze. This time, Uli is bringing out the heavy metal: he has Scarface with his TAG (and his sister Cordelia). On top of that, he has two Diggers and a Brawler Duo. He also brought a Peacemaker with an Auxbot and deployed Armand Le Muet… though the latter will turn out to be Tao Wu over the course of the game.
Rounding things out are the two Yuan Yuan Airborne Deployment (AD) troopers, without whom Uli’s Druze never leave the house.
Here is the army list: Druze Bayram Security, 200 points.
The Army – Haqqislam
For a change of pace, I built a list without Saladin and am trying out my freshly painted flyer, the Zeybek Aero-Unit. Without my Lieutenant providing Inspiring Leadership, I have to limit my Irregular units, so neither Daylami nor Muttawi’ah made the cut. Only the Sāchā (yes, that’s Ilya from the intro story) and Zuleyka are Irregular.
Various Specialists are useful for this scenario, as I need to activate three different Consoles. The Farzan (Chain of Command), the Al Hawwa‘ (Hacker), and Sāchā (Specialist Operative) are meant for this task. Zuleyka on her motorcycle is supposed to handle picking up the clues. As a flying unit, the Zeybek cannot do this; its sole purpose is to hunt the enemy.
Here is the army list: Ghosting the Feed, 200 points.
Initiative and Deployment
Even without Saladin, I win the Lieutenant Roll, and in this scenario, I take Initiative and the first turn without thinking twice. Unlike in “Raid on the Kazureibu,” there is no significant advantage to going second here. Accordingly, Uli chooses a table side and has me deploy first.
As planned, I spread my forward-deploying Specialists across the Consoles: Sāchā in the center, Al Hawwa‘ on the right, and the Farzan on the left. My Hafza Lieutenant masquerades as a Ghulam Doctor near Knauf. I hope his elevated position keeps him safe from attacks. My standard Ghulam lies in Cover, just as you would expect from a Lieutenant. Leila covers the back corner against AD troopers, and the Zeybek and Zuleyka get into position for a push. I hold the Fiday back in Reserve.
I still have to roll for Sāchā’s Booty skill and decide to try out the dice rolling feature of the Infinity Geist app. I have to check twice, but it actually shows a 20: an HMG! So, my little rookie is immediately armed with a Heavy Machine Gun. Uh… let’s see what kind of damage he can do.
Then it’s Uli’s turn to position his Druze.
This time he deploys two Snipers instead of one: the Brawler and Armand le Muet—though one of them is probably Tao Wu, since the second Fireteam is missing and Cordelia Turner is on the field instead. This, in turn, means her brother Joe Turner (Scarface) will arrive in his TAG, even if he is biding his time (Uli holds him back in Reserve). Alongside the two usual Diggers, a Peacemaker ArmBot appears with its little Auxbot (unfortunately, the little guy is a bit forgetful and misses using his Minelayer skill). The two Diggers roll for their Booty, getting grenades for one and a light flamethrower for the other.
Then, my reserved Fiday tries to pull her usual trick and slip in right next to the Brawler Sniper. But today is not her day: I roll a 16 (her WIP is 15). So, she is placed on the table edge in my Deployment Zone, where she can spend the rest of the game dwelling on her failure. As expected, Uli places Scarface in Total Cover. Since he only has eight units on the table, I am anticipating two Yuan Yuans raining down from the sky again.
Round 1 – Haqqislam
After Zuleyka rushes forward with her Impetuous Order (without entering any Line of Fire / LoF), I consider what needs to be dealt with first. Knauf has an LoF to the Brawler Sniper, and since he still has his Decoy, he can apply his Surprise Attack mod for the first shot. So let’s do it—time for the first Face-to-Face Roll of the game.
We are both in cover and at optimal range. Knauf’s Mimetism is canceled out by the Brawler’s MSV2. Normally, both would shoot at their base Ballistic Skill (Knauf 13, Brawler 12), but due to Surprise Attack, the Brawler has to subtract another 3. 3 dice on 13s against 1 + 1 Special Die (the Brawler is in a Duo) on 9s sounds good.
Uli rolls a 20 and a 1 (a miss and the worst possible hit). Mentally I’m already celebrating because that is VERY easy to beat… and I roll a 17 and two 1s. This means all hits cancel each other out—a tie. The surprise effect is spent, and further duels would be 3 dice on 13s against 1 + 1 SD on 12s. Much less promising.
Off to a great start: first the Fiday’s botched WIP roll, now this. Alright, the duel against the Brawler is too risky, so let’s push elsewhere.
The Sāchā moves toward the central console (Console 2) to complete his objective. In doing so, he has to cross the Brawler’s field of view once, but he can manage that safely via Cautious Movement. And he successfully presses the first button—good job!
What now? Hm, he has that shiny HMG and there was that line of fire to the Brawler. Granted, he only has BS11, but also Burst 4, and most importantly, he has already done his primary job and is only worth 6 points (compared to Knauf’s 31). That’s what you call expendable! So he takes on the sniper (4 shots on 8s against 1 + 1 on 9s), and lo and behold, one hit gets through, putting the Brawler into the Unconscious state.
This clears the way for the Al Hawwa‘ to activate the second console (Console 1), which succeeds on the first attempt. Zuleyka uses her Irregular Order and another regular one to pick up the first clue.
Two Orders remain. I don’t want to pick up another clue yet, because there is a bonus point for doing exactly one per round. The third console (Console 3) would be within reach of the Farzan, but due to the Peacemaker and Auxbot, that would be a suicide mission, and that’s not worth it to me (yet).
So, I put the Al Hawwa‘ back into the Camouflage, and Knauf engages Armand le Muet—who turns out to be Tao Wu when he chooses to Dodge instead of shooting back. The Dodge fails promptly, and another Druze unit is taken out.
With that, my first round is over, and I can be VERY satisfied. After the first two blunders, everything went perfectly. Two Consoles are activated, one clue is secured, and I have eliminated two enemy models. It could hardly go any better.
Round 1 – Druze
Now it’s Uli’s turn to strike back. First comes the dreaded rain of Yuan Yuans. The first one lands (successfully) right behind Knauf. Fortunately, Knauf manages to Dodge and turn around. The “Ghulam Doctor” forgets that he isn’t actually a Doc and dodges too—revealing him as a Hafza. However, he prefers to stay Prone so as not to immediately become the Yuan Yuan’s target.
The Yuan Yuan charges into CC (Close Combat) with Knauf, who calmly draws his Heavy Pistol and puts a bullet through the pirate’s chest (Knauf wins the Face-to-Face roll because the Yuan Yuan narrowly misses a Critical hit with a rolled 3). The second Yuan lands (also successfully) behind my Zeybek (even after I point out to Uli that it cannot be engaged in CC), Zuleyka, the Fiday, and the Al Hawwa‘. This time, all Dodge rolls fail, and nobody can turn around.
Upon landing, the Yuan Yuan’s Booty roll is executed, and this one brings another HMG! This makes the pirate overconfident, and he tries to tackle three units at once: Zeybek, Zuleyka, and the Al Hawwa‘. Although only the Al Hawwa‘ gets LoF, the maneuver goes horribly wrong. In the end, the second Yuan Yuan is dead too, and I have suffered no casualties.
Since the airborne troops accomplished nothing, the heavy armor has to step up, and Scarface moves out. He gets the poor Sāchā in his sights, who miraculously only falls Unconscious. Then Scarface spots Zuleyka through the ruins and guns down the biker as well.
Together with Cordelia, Scarface works his way toward the next console (Console 3), which his little sister successfully activates. But the clue I reveal is too far away for the Druze to collect this round.
Instead, Scarface picks a fight with Knauf and the Hafza, who unfortunately isn’t positioned high enough to stay out of a TAG’s line of fire. Thanks to short range, Cover, and his Mimetism, Knauf emerges victorious from this duel too with his Heavy Pistol, inflicting one point of damage on the TAG. But the Hafza is hit, and my Lieutenant is eliminated.
With that, the Druze turn is already over, and they failed to score any points. I did suffer three casualties, but Sāchā and Zuleyka were “only” Irregular Orders, and the Farzan seamlessly takes over the Lieutenant role thanks to his Chain of Command. I am leading 2:0 in Objective Points.
Round 2 – Haqqislam
I have 7 Orders left in my Order Pool, and I have clear goals in mind. First, the Al Hawwa‘ secures the second clue, and then it’s time for the Zeybek to show what it can do. Its very first movement brings it into Scarface’s rear arc, and the volley completely tears the TAG apart (3 failed Saving Rolls).
The flyer quickly pushes further ahead and dismantles the Peacemaker guarding the third console. Only Cordelia and one of the Diggers stubbornly manage to Dodge it.
However, this clears the way for the Farzan, who now reveals himself and activates the third console. This opens up the third clue for me, but I want and need to save it for the final round. The Farzan uses his new Lieutenant Order to get back into cover. Unfortunately, he misses another order to re-enter the Camouflaged state.
Round 2 – Druze
The Druze Order Pool has shrunk considerably. With the Brawler Lt, Cordelia, and the two Diggers, only four Orders remain. One Digger manages to secure the first clue for the Druze, and the other tries to take out my Farzan. But my new Lieutenant successfully defends himself and stays alive.
This leaves the score at “only” 4:2 for Haqqislam, but things are looking grim for the Druze.
Round 3 – Haqqislam
Had the Digger managed to kill the Farzan and put me into Loss of Lieutenant, things would look different, but as it stands, I have an easy time with my remaining 7 Orders.
The Zeybek now takes out one of the Diggers and Cordelia, and the Farzan secures the final clue. I Secure the Enemy HVT, and only the last Classified Objective eludes me.
Round 3 – Druze
The Druze only have their Brawler Lt and one Digger left and are forced to Retreat. This ends the game.
I secured all three clues (6 points), exactly one each round (1 point), activated more Consoles than my opponent (1 point), and secured the enemy HVT (1 point). The Druze only secured one clue (2 points). Thus, the game ends 9:2 for Haqqislam.
Conclusion
After my successful first turn and the failure of the Yuan Yuan drop, the Druze were on the back foot and fell into a downward spiral they couldn’t escape. Haqqislam, with its variety of infiltrating Specialists and fast bikes, was also excellently suited for this mission, and after the first two failed actions, everything actually went perfectly.
The mission was tense and highly entertaining, and I believe that in the long run, it is more balanced and better suited for tournaments than “Raid on the Kazureibu.” However, in my opinion, the first mission was narratively superior—meaning you could better translate your mechanical actions into a story in your head. In any case, a big thank you to the author Robert Shepherd, please give us more of this! I’m excited to see how “The Monday Signal” continues next Tuesday.