Beep Boop: Incoming Intel on Cassandra Kusanagi

Welcome to a new segment yo! We are talking INFINITY THE MINIATURE GAMES NOW, NERDS!

I admit, I think that might be the best segment intro that has ever been done. I don’t mean to brag, but this is for sure why everyone avoids me in public places.

With that out of way we can start talking about one of my favorite characters from the Infinity Universe! She is mean, she is ANGRY, and she has a really cool looking robe/cloak thing.

Her name is Cassandra Kusanagi and she is here to lead the Observance of St. Mary the Knife to ultimate violence. I have played the game on and off since N2, and she has been in the game as long as I can remember. She has been a constant presence in the Nomad roster, and I think with the recent Bakunin rework, she has more bang for her buck for bringing justice the great enemy, ALEPH.

Lets get to it then!

Who is Cassandra Kusanagi?

Reverend Superior Cassandra Kusanagi is one of the main figureheads of The Observance of St. Mary of the Knife on the mothership Bakunin. She is considered a hero on the ship and her religious order due to the way she gets the job done. Cassy has an intense presence that she carries where ever she goes and it’s very difficult to not be effected by it. She is most well known for her intervention in the Violent Intermission when she took down ALEPH infiltrators that were causing havoc on Bakunin in order to cripple the Nomad nation. Due to the importance of Bakunin to the Nomad Military Force, this was a prime target for the enemies of the new Nomad Nation experiment, but thankfully Cassandra had already been a veteran of many conflicts by this point. The Order of St. Mary being a very open antagonist of ALEPH would have most likely given her the exposure she needed to fight the great enemy no matter where it was.

While Cassandra looks young, she has received many medical procedures to keep her looking young and in her prime. It is my personal opinion that she is most likely pushing into her late 40s based on what I can tell from the lore. These surgeries are what most likely manage to give her the amazing stats that she manages to carry around with her. In order to keep the order of religious nutjobs under her command I imagine she must be very intense to stand near. When a team of heroes was assembled to take on the suicide mission that was Defiance, I know that I can’t think of a better prospective participant than Cassandra.

Corvus Belli love to use “inspiration” from other IPs to create many of their different characters and units. Personally, I love this since it adds another layer of inspiration for what you can do hobbywise. I have not been able to determine if CB took anything DIRECTLY for inspiration for Cassandra, but the only thing I can think of is Motoko Kusanagi or the “Major” from Ghost in the Shell. It should be readily apparent that Ghost in the Shell is a prime inspiration for Infinity in general, but if she is a direct reference to the Major I can not know for certain. The name and the hair color thing make me think that she isn’t completely independent, but I think that Cassandra Kusanagi stands mostly on her own in this regard.

What is Cassandra Kusanagi?

As always, take everything I say with a grain of salt since it is all based on my own personal findings, opinions, and circumstances. In the game of Infinity, Cassandra is best described as a mid-field ranged assassin. She does a specific job very well, and as soon as you put her out of her element I think you are going to find her not doing as well as you would hope. I have found her used best in situations where you can “slice the pie” and pick off individual targets that would give many of your other troopers issues.

Lets take a look at this profile.

First thing first, look at that BS 14 in Nomads of all places. Cassandra is the only source of straight BS 14 that is not on a TAG in all of the Nomad faction currently. This can be an advantage in itself since it is much, much easier to hide a S2 model then a S6 or S7 Tag. When you combine this with the -6 mimetism that accompanies all of the Observance, you can create some very difficult choices for your opponent in regards to AROs. I have had many games where the opponent’s ARO will waffle between shooting and dodging before they attempt the F2F roll on their phys. Thankfully, they usually die like all the rest. If the model on the other end of an active Cassandra decides they want to shoot back, they had better hope that they have some kind of MSV or are in direct templating range.

Cassandra’s gun choices are also very interesting. She has the option between a spitfire, and jeez lousie do I love spitfires, or a MULTI Rifle with a E/M Grenade Launcher. I think that both of these profiles have game depending on what you goal is. Giving her the Spitfire will give you a lovely Burst 4/5 dice pool to fling at your enemies while the MULTI Rifle might give you some much-needed AP when you need it. My only issue with the MULTI rifle is the lack of range that could make certain portions of board difficult to get things done, but thankfully fireteams exist to help with these kinds of situations. The E/M launcher gives you a very interesting opportunity to launch speculative shots and have one of the highest chances at 8 to get the shot to land. Do I think you should rely on that kind of shot to hopefully put a model in isolation and/or immobilized?

Heck no, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

It is an option and you should at least know what tools you have available to you. I think that the MULTI Rifle profile handles higher armor targets more reliably, but you have to consider the range difficulties and make sure you can accommodate your attack run. Thankfully, even if you have to shoot in less-than-optimal situations, her amazing BS 14 is strong enough that you might be able to press through some range issues. Nomads are not known for having large stocks of MSV, and sometimes you just gotta throw bullets in their direction and hope for the best. Most minmitism models lack MSV as well, so it turns into two models with poor chances of hitting each other. Fortunately, in the active turn using the dice advantage to its full effect might be able to edge out a win. Do this with care since you don’t want to throw away Cassy on a fool’s errand.

Thankfully, one of the current strengths of Cassandra is the fact that you can put her into very solid fireteams in Bakunin. A fireteam that she is in will most likely have a custodier or at least another model that is much better in melee that can tie those kinds of enemy models up that might directly template her. The new Cenobites are perfect for this role and can keep Cassy away from situations that would result in her untimely death..

Why is Cassandra Kusanagi?

I love Cassy and I am never disappointed with her when I bring her. Any time that she has not got the job done was almost entirely my fault. Keep her away from direct templates and shoot in that middle range band and she is going to rule the board. If she starts finding herself near warband models with templates like shotguns and chain rifles she is going to start hitting the dirt. Thankfully, Agatha might be nearby to help get her back up.

I give her a very high score.

5 Angry Anime Wifus / 5 Nomadic Motherships Filled With Hedonists.

Thanks for reading this article guys. Send me any suggestions and ideas to Furypainting@gmail.com if there are any units you are specifically excited for me to ramble on about. I am very excited to bring more Infinity content to you so that we can rock the world with one of the best miniatures games out there.

If you guys want to specifically help Infinity grow on the channel please sign up for the Digital Nomad Level on Patreon or use the code PROFESSIONALCASUAL at Monument Hobbies so that I can tell my overlords where the real party is at.

And of course, DON’T FORGET TO LISTEN TO ARACHNE!

BYE GUYS!!