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Infinity

Infinity — More Factions From the Future

An all-you-can-eat sci-fi smorgasboard

Welcome to the second part of our faction overview of Corvus Belli’s sci-fi skirmish game Infinity. Last time, we covered the corporate hyperpower PanOceania, the brutal State Empire of Yu Jing, and the independent lost colonists of Ariadna. 

In this part, we’ll look more closely at the more independent factions and Sectorials. From the benevolent A.I. of ALEPH to the vicious forces of the alien Combined Army and everything in between, Infinity has a faction for everyone.

Want to start playing tabletop Infinity? Check out our beginner’s guide!


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Haqqislam – Wisdom And Bravery

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When the Middle East finally heaved a huge sigh of relief and found peace, adjustments had to be made. One of these was: where would the followers of Islam go from here? And so, Haqqislam was formed. 

An ideology of tolerance and education, trying to emulate the best parts of the Islamic Golden Age, Haqqislam had a place for all. When humanity made space colonisation viable again, they followed the lead of their scientists and set out for a new homeland, eventually settling on the planet Bourak. While this means that the Haqqislamites only control a single solar system, Bourak has a monopoly on Silk, the substance needed to make Cubes (think “stacks” from Altered Carbon). Thus, Haqqislam projects power far beyond their reach. 

Haqqislam features three Sectorials: 

  • Hassassin Bahram
    Think Assassin’s Creed, with the Old Man of the Mountain ordering his men to conduct highly dangerous missions against foes threatening his land, then add in a good dollop of advanced science and weaponry — that’s the Hassassin Bahram. Internal Security forces for the Haqqislamites, this army leverages extreme stealth and resilience to cripple an enemy force before the heavily-armoured infantry team bursts in and decimates the remainder in a cloud of bullets. 
  • Ramah Taskforce
    The Sultan’s own guardsmen, the Ramah Taskforce, represents a traditional Haqqislam army composition. A vast array of the best heavily-armoured infantry backed by the strength of bio-engineered super soldiers, the Ramah Taskforce has the strength to punch through enemy lines and get back up again when met with heavy firepower.
  • Qapu Khalqi (inactive)
    Best described as a wealthy caravan trader’s personal guard force, the Qapu Khalqi or Men at the Gate take advantage not only of superior Haqqislam medical technology, but also mercenary forces from the Nomads and various Mercenary Companies to provide a well-rounded strike force.

ALEPH – The Benevolent Overseer 

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Artificial intelligence research is generally banned within the Human Sphere, but one A.I. has been sanctioned by humanity to be the overseer and keep the best interests of the human race advancing. This A.I. is ALEPH, technically under the mandate of the United Nations-like O-12. It controls most of the functions humanity relies on, from the gates keeping the wormholes open to being the final arbiter of the stock market in real time — ALEPH sees all. With a public army of troops at its command to enforce the peace, ALEPH has grown beyond its initial programming and created a black ops force to do the dirty work the public-facing forces cannot.

  • Operations Subsection of the S.S.S.
    The black ops portion of ALEPH’s military, the Operations Subsection is effectively an army of Adam Jensen clones – powerful augmented humans commanding platoons of robotic servants to achieve their goals in a stealthy yet immensely devastating way. Paying a premium for every action piece, most ALEPH troops will keep walking through gunfire that would shred traditional forces. 
  • The Steel Phalanx (inactive)
    The strike force of ALEPH that everyone can see, the Steel Phalanx is a force of heroes. Much like PanOceania has Joan of Arc and the Yu Jing have Sun Tze to lead armies into battle, ALEPH has stocked the Phalanx with a vast array of “recreations”: supreme post-human fighters imbued with the very best technological advances and medical science available to humanity. Taking inspiration from the works of Homer, reborn heroes such as Achilles and Hector lead the Myrmidons into battle against the alien menace. The Steel Phalanx also has the ability to field a special kind of 4-man fireteam that no other faction can access.

The Nomads – Live Free Or Die Hard 

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Before they could transition through wormholes once more and seed the stars with colonies, humanity constructed massive self-sustaining starships. Three in particular would become famous as the interstellar home of the Nomad Nation, a group of peoples who would not bow to what they perceived as the tyranny of ALEPH, nor would they let the corporations of PanOceania or the dictatorial State Empire of Yu Jing decide their fate. They will live free and die that way, and they will never cede autonomy.

  • Jurisdictional Command of Bakunin (inactive)
    The ship of the anarchists and more radical sects of society, Bakunin combines the most diverse of the Nomad outcasts. With tough religious units to hold the line, as well as heavily bio-modified commando units for penetrative operations into the enemy backfield, Bakunin can kill just about anything that stands in the way of completing their mission.
  • Jurisdictional Command of Corregidor
    A former prison ship with representation from primarily developing nations, Corregidor is perhaps the most generic of the Nomad factions. Most of their gear are hand-me-downs or converted from their original purpose into weapons of war. This is not to say they are weak however, as the former prisoners have a piece for just about any occasion — it’s more than none of them excel in the way some of the other factions do. A Corregidor army will have a strong punch, strike from the skies, and bury their foe in a deluge of smoke grenades.
  • Jurisdictional Command of Tunguska
    While the Russian government sent colonists as part of the Ariadna expedition, the Russian Mafia opted to build a massive starship they could control and take where they wanted. Composed of massive mafia families, along with information warfare specialists and criminals of all types, Tunguska represents the most well equipped of the Nomad factions. With a large emphasis on information warfare and hacking, they can dominate the field with a vast array of repeaters and hacking devices, while heavy troops like the Kriza Boracs march upfield to obliterate the enemy in a hail of gunfire as their systems lock and shut down around them. 

O12 – The Watchful Custodians 

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Think of this faction as the United Nations — if the United Nations didn’t rely on member nations contributing forces for peacekeeping and instead had its own standing army, as well as the research body to keep technological pace. O-12 take their role as peacekeepers very seriously, maintaining the Concilium Accords and only using weaponry that abides by them. 

As a newer faction, a lot of their units aren’t sculpted yet and they only have a single Sectorial.

  • Starmada, the Bureau Aegis Naval Police Department
    Think of the Naval Police as the NCIS on steroids. Though they’re armed with non-lethal weaponry such as glue cannons and tasers, they won’t hesitate to use force if needed. Their main draw is that they pull in a decent amount of units from other factions, such as Hector from the Steel Phalanx, and provide options for order efficiency via fireteams. Not a bad option but, much like White Banner or Kosmoflot, they are missing key sculpts.

Non-Aligned Armies – Mercenaries For Hire 

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A den of scum and villainy with some genuine good guys mixed in, the Non-Aligned Armies are mish-mash factions. Generally you can start playing them with leftover pieces from your collection, or in the case of some such as the White Company, by purchasing an Operations 2-player starter box and keeping both of the armies. The Non-Aligned Armies also contain some armies that don’t fit anywhere, like the newly-liberated Japanese and the alien Tohaa. 

  • Dahshat Company
    A mercenary force controlled by a powerful Silk merchant of Haqqislam, they occupy a similar role to the Qapu Khalqi. Mixing Haqqislam units with Yu Jing and an array of mercenary operatives, this army requires careful planning to succeed. 
  • Druze Bayram Security
    Russian Mafia forces without any of the scruples, they’re even more brutal than the Tartary Army Corp or Tunguska. Composed of veteran operators who will get the mission done no matter what, that’s basically their one trick; whatever they meet, they have the ability to kill with their excellent gear options. Limited in their force composition but effective at what they do. 
  • The Foreign Company
    The A-Team given Infinity form. With a variety of named characters from the spin-off sports gladiatorial game Aristeia!, the Foreign Company can create an all-star team. Leading them is Hannibal, backed up by personalities such as Senor Massacre and Valkyrie, with a decent selection of both Nomad and PanOceanic forces to carry them across the table. Fun, but can fall into the trap of having too many expensive named characters and not enough juice to get the objectives done. 
  • Free Company of the Star
    The unequivocal good guy mercenary company. Much like the Foreign Company, they can field a variety of named characters, some of whom create excellent wombo combos when put together. Drawing mostly from Corregidor and filling in the gaps with borrowed units from other Nomad factions, they can create powerful forces that can pummel an enemy into submission and simply waltz over to finish the mission. 
  • Ikari Company
    What happens when you get a rogue Japanese officer who joins forces with the Russian mob? Colonel Ikari’s mercenary company. With a smattering of Druze units, scavenged gear from pretty much every other faction and a bunch of Japanese samurai units, Ikari Company can be immensely effective. Like the Imperial Service, they did lose out a little from unit spam being reduced in this edition, but they can still create a formidable force and field excellent heavy hitters. 
  • Japanese Secessionist Army
    The fighting forces of Free Japan, who fought a rebellion against the State Empire during the Uprising expansion in N3, this is where you go to get your cyberpunk samurai needs met and field the Ghost in the Shell crew. Formed around a core of hard-hitting power-armoured samurai, with support from ninjas and a plethora of monofilament swords, they can cut their way through just about anything. The issue is getting them there, while having only average specialists makes taking objectives difficult. 
  • Spiral Corp
    A weird one, the Spiral Corp is basically where a lot of units from another faction called the Tohaa ended up. The Tohaa are aliens who ostensibly are less dangerous and overtly hostile than the Combined Army. Whether they are good guys, bad guys or something in between is still to be seen. Composed of some human mercenaries and a great deal of the Tohaa military, they can also field a special 3-unit fireteam called a Triad that no other faction has access to, but can be hard to use effectively and difficult to obtain models for. 
  • White Company
    John Hawkwood’s mercenary company active on Svalarheima, this might be the posterboy faction for buying an Operations box and keeping both sides. Drawing on PanOceanic and Yu Jing units from the Winter Force and White Banner, they have some excellent combos available – though they can’t harness the full power of either faction.

The Combined Army – You Will Aid In Their Ascension 

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These alien invaders represent the tip of the spear of their coalition forces. Think of them as a bit like Halo’s Covenant crossed with Star Trek’s Borg and you’re on the right track. With an excellent background concept of selfish aliens seeking ascension but stymied by their own selfishness and inability to introspect, they are trying to conquer their way across the Human Sphere. Uniting humanity against them, they represent the alien menace here to conquer everything you love.

  • Morat Aggression Force
    The pure combat force bred purely for war, made up of veterans of countless conquests. Thematically, they’re somewhat like Uruk Hai: relentless and fearless, they can and will destroy anything that stands in their way. They tend towards smaller armies, but each unit is a powerhouse in its own right. 
  • Onyx Contact Force
    Combining a straightforward no-nonsense ranged fighting faction with a selection of hackers, the Onyx Contact Force can lock an enemy in place with information warfare before finishing them in a hail of plasma. Don’t tend to have too many sneaky tricks but are less inclined to frontal assault than Morats. Still no slouches, though. 
  • Shasvastii Expeditionary Force
    The dirty tricks brigade, these guys are much like the Hassassin Bahram where their faction trick is stealthily tearing your opponent apart from the inside. Scarily effective, they can field units capable of destroying entire fireteams solo if need be, and combine unpredictability with a completely unique set of nasty tricks to accomplish the mission.

That’s all, folks!

Whew, so that’s everyone else who wasn’t in the first part. Hopefully this has given you a good overview of how the different factions feel and how they fit into the wider universe of Infinity.  

Our Infinity coverage doesn’t stop here, though. Coming up, we’ve got a series of in-depth articles focusing on some of the more intriguing Sectorials; we’ll be digging into their individual units and the unique flavours each faction brings to the table(top). First up is one of my favourite Sectorials, the rampaging Caledonian Highlanders, who will take on all comers with nothing more than Scottish grit and adult-sized swords.