Finding the Right Fit For Your List
Lists in Infinity are like suits.
When you go to a store that knows what they’re doing to buy a suit, you’re going to get it tailored. It’s going to be adjusted and modified to suit your needs and preferences so that it fits perfectly. If you grab a suit from your friends closet? Probably not going to fit very well. Grabbing one fresh off the rack from the store? It might fit okay, but there are gonna be things that are off.
The same goes for lists in Infinity. If you take a list from the internet, it’s not going to be tailored to your playstyle, skill level, or what you’re comfortable with. Taking the time to really tailor a list to suit you and your personal strengths/weaknesses is a huge component of finding a list that really grooves with you and the way you play. This is why net-listing doesn’t really work for Infinity.
So how do you go about tailoring a list to you? First, you have to start to figure out what your playstyle is. Before you start trying to define every element of your play, we don’t need to get super specific here, we just need to figure out what elements you really enjoy/feel confident with. A broad playstyle example could be “camo skirmisher heavy” or “elite board control” or “Tarpit Swarm.” Playstyle still isn’t that easily defined, but it will give you a starting point. Figure out what types of troops you like to use and how you like to use them and start from there.
Take those units you gravitate towards and build support around them. Find other units that synergize well with them and help them achieve their goals. If you love combat jump troops and want to get the most out of them, try to include either an EVO or Hacker that can use controlled jump, for example. Utilize a long range unit that can punch a hole for your AD to drop into, or maybe utilize infiltrators to clear out or protect an area for them.
Experiment with “unpopular” or “unoptimized” choices too, you may find something off the beaten path that is perfect for you and your play. I can’t stress this point enough. I’ve found numerous units/profiles that the community at large has written off as “useless” or “inferior” and found uses for them that no other troop can fill.
Get ideas from other players. Find out what they like, and most importantly why they like it and how they use it. The “why” and “how” are the most vital pieces of information you can get as they give you some insight into what they use that troop for. If someone says “I love Guilang FOs, I always take one” and doesn’t give you context, you might miss out on the fact that he also runs multiple hackers and relies on the deployable repeaters to take on targets with hacking attacks. The “why” and “how” will tell you if that troop will fill a role that you want/need in your list.
After you’ve got something together, try it on.
Get some games in and get a feel for things. Find out of the order pools are too restricting, if you really could use another pocket over here, or of you need to shorten the cuffs to trim excess material. A skilled tailor can figure all of this out very quickly, but that takes experience. For the less veteran of us, it will take more time, but keep playing and keep getting closer to finding exactly what fits you best. Taking the time to get your suit tailored and fit to your preferences will ensure it is comfortable and effective in any situation.
StarCo HQ 
Experimenting with unpopular options gave me two of my favorite units, the Anaconda and Bolts. They always do good work for me.
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Absolutely! The Tiger Soldier Sniper has been one of my favorite unpopular choices in YJ for quite some time now.
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“This is why net-listing doesn’t really work for Infinity.”
Well as people get better at Infinity I suspect this will be less and less true. Just like it has been in every other game that claimed this.
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I find that to be unlikely. Too much of the outcome of a game depends on the player and their skill level and their decisions on the table rather than what faction they play or what units they take. We have still yet to see a single “build”, let alone faction dominate the tournament scene in any way.
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A lot of people agree with you.
You are probably not going to find a single build dominant as mission structure is going to prioritize different builds.
Still for a game you can’t net deck, I can’t help but feel that OSS list that won Interplanetario looks very close to a few other OSS lists I have played or fought against. How different do the lists have to be before you can really call them different builds?
However, considering the lack of proper information to go trend hunting in the first place it will probably take some real time for people to figure it out.
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You’re going to find some specific units (posthumans) or fireteams (Kamau sniper with Fusilers) in many lists but the remainder of the list will vary. You’re also only really going to see that type of consistency in sectorials where your options are much more limited.
The reason why net listing doesn’t work in Infinity is because you can’t just take a list (like that Interplanetary list) and roll into a tournament and start winning games. The list composition doesn’t mean anything if you can’t play it well, and even if you can, a skilled player can still outplay you.
Learning to develop your own playstyle and tailoring your list to match your personal strengths is going to yield better results than just copying someone else’s list.
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“The list composition doesn’t mean anything if you can’t play it well, and even if you can, a skilled player can still outplay you.”
Yah I know it’s not popular to admit this, but this is true in Magic The Gathering…. and as we know, no one net decks in that game. =p
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There are a lot less variables in MTG than Infinity. Player skill in MTG involves knowing how to combo cards and knowledge of what cards can be played against them. Infinity involves tactical decision making with immense variability with table setup, accounting for chance with die rolls, and risk evaluation. It’s apples to oranges.
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“There are a lot less variables in MTG than Infinity.”
Well I do suspect MTG it is slightly less random anyway.
“Player skill in MTG involves ”
Yes they are different skills but that apples to oranges was not the point I was making,
My point is that you don’t get to just pick up the right netdeck and start swimming with sharks in MTG despite the popular belief to the contrary.
Lets try looking at it another way.
The reason why net listing doesn’t work in MTG is because you can’t just take a deck (like that Grand Prix list) and roll into a tournament and start winning games. The deck composition doesn’t mean anything if you can’t play it well, and even if you can, a skilled player can still outplay you.
I know I am not going to convince you or anything, but I already see it starting to finely start maturing into the beginnings of a meta.
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You may not start “swimming with the sharks” as you say, but your win rate will drastically increase and you will start winning more against players above your skill level with the right deck.
With Infinity, the more skilled player is going to win nearly all the time unless the players are closely matched. In that case it comes down to decisions made on the table, deployment and terrain setup, and dice all before the specific list/faction taken.
A lower skill level player is not going to be able to take a net list and drastically affect his/her win rate in Infinity. The opposite is true in MTG and many other tabletop wargames.
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“you will start winning more against players above your skill level with the right deck.”
Oh I disagree. I do think you will start winning more vs people of your skill level if your using a good deck. But my money would still be on the better player beating an average opponent even if he was held back by a average deck.
Like I said, I know I am not going to convince you that you might be handicapping yourself by ignoring the top ranks of players and seeing how they play, or what/why they value what they do. Honestly I doubt most of them could even tell you anyway.
Myself, I am going to keep net listing. Especially lists from the few people who’s opinions and skills I respect. I only wish I could see more of those lists and games in action. Speaking of that, don’t suppose you know of any good Snake Eater lists running a Cutter I could use for Show of force? Didn’t a list like that win Cancon or something like that not that long ago?
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I think we’re talking past each other here. I’m am 100% advocating for listening to top players and what/why they value what they do. But I am not advocating for copy/pasting their lists as a means to win more games. Lists are very personalized in Infinity, and a list that may work wonders for me might be horrendous for you because it doesn’t suit your playstyle. The why and the how are the most important questions you can ask someone about a list, but you need to take that information and apply it to your playstyle, not just take something tailored to someone else’s and try to apply it to yours. That’s the whole point of the article.
(Unfortunately, I have no idea what/who won cancon, nor have I spent much time fiddling with Varuna)
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“I’m am 100% advocating for listening to top players and what/why they value what they do. But I am not advocating for copy/pasting their lists as a means to win more games.”
Because a list is a form of personal self expression and everyone should really be building lists that suit them individually right. I think in MTG they call you Johnny
Also they say the same thing for WH40k and BattleTech and even ironically MTG.
We are agreeing on fundamentally much of the same things.
We both believe you will play better with a list you are more comfortable and that fits your style.
So Bob wants to play infinity and sees that OSS list and knowing it did well try’s to play it, and here is where we differ.
Your advice to Bob is don’t really worry about it and go play that anaconda or whatever it is he likes because that OSS list is not really going to help him anyway.
My advice is that OSS list is not going to help him win games, because he sucks and need to get better.
If Bob want’s to win more games in the long run he should absolutely play that list, and play against that list. He should play outside his comfort zone and strengthen other playstyles.
Some clown telling me the Anaconda, a Tag I dislike because I feel it underperforms for it’s points, is just fine is probably going to be ignored by me.
That same clown taking 1st at a non insignificant tournament however has made his point, the problem lies with me and my skill.
“Unfortunately, I have no idea what/who won cancon”
You don’t say….
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“If Bob want’s to win more games in the long run he should absolutely play that list, and play against that list. He should play outside his comfort zone and strengthen other playstyles.”
This quote is closer to what my advice is. You should play that list, you should play other lists, you should develop your playstyle and then refine it. Part of that is talking to experienced players and finding out what they gravitate towards and why. Another part of that is experimenting with other units to see of there is value there as well. Nowhere have I said “play whatever it doesn’t matter.”
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