Rasail Review

Tohaa historically has access to fine soloist units, and the new Rasail is no exception.  Having had the fortune to play the Rasail a dozen times or so since their release, I wanted to share my thoughts on the Tohaa’s new pirates.


The above is of course the work of Ángel, Infinity’s official and exceptionally talented painter.  You can find all of his collected work here.

GAMEPLAY

The Rasail Boarding team is described as a contracted or repurposed military branch of a former pirate group under the command of the nebulous Captain Noovan.  The Rasails are described as breacher squads, brazenly invading openly hostile areas.

Where Rasails might lack in beautiful story arc, they abound in gameplay.  The unit borders on the expensive side for Tohaa, clocking in at about 12% of the average army’s worth.  As most Tohaa units cost around the 30+ points, the Rasail is one more unit to demonstrate that Tohaa players may not, unfortunately, have a toe in every pond.  Many delightful models such as the Nikoul, Kotail and Gao-Tarsos will not hit the table the same time as the Rasail, simply due to the limits of standard 300-point games.

On the table, the Rasails are highly unique.  Their Nanoscreen provides Partial Cover from all angles, acting as a sort of forcefield.  Their durability is peerless, for light infantry, with 3 wounds in each profile.  And in all other stats, the Rasails rank a good average, suffering no obvious flaw aside from the usual Fire vulnerability of multiwound Symbiont Armor.  Mobile and durable, the Rasail is one of the best candidates in the Tohaa army to be your Lieutenant.

The Rasail Team has a variety of weapon loadouts to choose from, but I think the three rifles loadouts are best.  Because the Rasail will be a prime target for any prudent opponent with a Flamethrower, the range bands of Shotguns and Contenders is overall unfavorable to the Rasail, and do not enable the valuable Suppressive Fire option.  However, with the Kaeltar’s Symbiomates, a Shotgun loadout of a Rasail may be a braver entry.  It’s worthwhile to note that the Contender equipped in the Rasail’s shotgun loadouts is also useful for scenarios objectives that need to be demolished, as the Contender’s potent Double-Action rounds can destroy scenery elements.

CHAUXILIA!

The brave Rasail’s companion, the Chaksa Peripheral, is not so lucky in defense and brawn, but as it freely synchornizes with the parent Rasail whenever the Rasail moves, the quality of the unit is tactically grand.  As all Chaksa, they are surprisingly lucky otherwise.

The Chaksa will force the opponent to make agonizing decisions—shoot back, and be lit aflame by the Chaksa; or dodge, and be likely hit by the Rasail.  While the Chaksa has Mimetism, it is not survivable, with zero armor and only 1 wound with which to make glory.

It was a fluke of flukes, but in a game of March 2015 with my Combined Army opponent, the 4-point Chaksa Peripheral defeated the Avatar—the most expensive unit in all of Infinity―with only his knife!

HOBBERY

For those who would have liked an unboxing, I apologize, as I do not have a good habit of taking pictures of Infinity releases and battle reports.  But simply as a miniature, I would like to note from the pure hobbying perspective:

The models are comparatively extremely easy to assemble.  Unlike many other releases for Infinity, there are no little horns, fins, or spikes to break off.  The mounting sockets are deep and squared, inherently supporting the model’s limbs and able to hold plenty of adhesive.

The greebled details of the model are a fraction of a milimeter thicker or deeper than the like details of previous Tohaa models, allowing for greater ease to paint.  As a newer sculpt, Rasails and their Peripherals are sized tall and broad, more appropriately to the Silhouette value than some of the other Tohaa sculpts.

I rate the Rasail Boarding Team box 5 out of 5 artichokes.

TL;DR

• Rasails are very good, great Tohaa Lieutenant options, great models
• Make a habit of keeping 16 inches from enemy flamethrowers
• The weaker Chaksa Peripheral is extremely valuable for pincer attacks
• Buy Rasails