Who Ya Gonna Call? New Ghost Infiltration Platoon Focus!

With copies of Invasion Amerika beginning to arrive around the world, and the accompanying Konflikt ‘47 rules update landing on Friday, now’s a perfect time to take a look at a very important new platoon that forms a big part of the updated Empire of Japan army list. Let’s meet the…

GHOST INFILTRATION PLATOON!

This new platoon lies right at the heart of the story of Invasion Amerika, and it really is what it says on the tin – a platoon of Ghost Warriors, infiltrating! These warriors are Japan’s advance guard, sent through Shinobi Space to strike at the heart of the United States’ Rift laboratories, and they’ve got the rules (and a shiny new plastic box!) to match their Herculean task.

First off, let’s look at the basic composition of the platoon. As with other Specialist Platoons, the Ghost Infiltration Platoon can be taken instead of your compulsory Assault Platoon to form the core of a force, and it’s actually pretty lightweight in its most stripped-back form compared to some of the other specialist formations: A Ghost Infiltration Platoon Commander (Hang on – he’s new! -ed.), leading two Ghost Attack Squads and a single Special Type Onryō Assault Walker* – and that’s it!

*A note about the Onryō: The plastic kit which builds all three versions of the new Japanese Walker will go on pre-order in late November, but given how pivotal it is to the Ghost Infiltration Platoon, and how heavily it features in Invasion Amerika, we’ve decided on this occasion to release its rules alongside the rest of the new units. We know that wargamers are a creative bunch, and we can’t wait to see what you come up with to represent it between now and the kit’s launch!

For optional extras, you’ve got 0-3 Ghost Attack Squads, 0-2 Shadow Warrior Squads (You can’t keep just name-dropping new units without context! -ed.), and another pair of Onryō to mix and match with. If you want to add some heroic punch, you can also include the legendary Kimura Tadaaki, Scourge of the Spirit Realm as part of the force, and all these options allow you to build out the Ghost Infiltration Platoon into a full army in its own right, or field a small one as part of your wider army.

We’ll look at some of what the new units do in a moment, but first we’ll have a quick run through what makes this more than just a bunch of Ghost Warriors, which of course you can already field. As with all Specialist Platoons, this one comes with its own set of special rules, and as you might expect, these are all about Imperial Japan’s unique mastery of Shinobi Space.

The first is a unique once-per-game ability, allowing a Ghost Infiltration Platoon Commander to use his Bon Odori Rift ability before executing an order, and allowing any other Ghost Attack squads activated with a Snap To! to do the same, opening up all manner of new tactical angles and letting you mass firepower exactly where and when you need it. The other is a platoon-wide buff to Active Rift Enhancements – but we’ll leave that as a surprise for launch day!

NEW UNITS

Okay, that’s the selector – let’s talk a bit about new units, of which there are four dropping with this update. We’ll leave Tadaaki and the Onryō for you to discover on Friday, but the Ghost Infiltration Platoon Commander and Shadow Warrior Squad are fair game. The Commander is exactly what you’d expect – a triple-’ard veteran Ghost Warrior selected to lead deep raids of the utmost importance, and as such he comes with the full Ghost Warrior statline, including Bon Odori, and he’s not alone!

Able to be accompanied by up to two extra Ghost Warriors, equipped with a choice of Type 10 Shiboru Rifles, SMGs, and Combat Blades, he not only unlocks the new platoon, but can also serve as a slightly miniaturised Ghost Attack Squad in his own right, adding even more ultra-manoeuvrable firepower to your list. His kit’s the same as regular Ghosts, so you can build him straight out of the new plastics or the existing Warlord Resin kit – but we also encourage you to go mad with kitbashing and converting! There’s also nothing to say that we might not do an extra-special unique model for him in the future…

Ghost Attack Squads (and the new Commander) are all about hitting hard at range and moving before the enemy can get to grips with them. While they can also pack a decent punch at close quarters, that isn’t their primary mission. When you absolutely positively need an enemy unit stabbed, sliced, and otherwise rendered messily incapable of further resistance, you’ll soon be able to call upon the Shadow Warrior Squads – and use the new plastics to build them!

These deadly fighters are the close-combat elites of the Ghost Battalions, armed with a bewildering variety of traditional melee weapons and practicing a brutal new martial art made even deadlier by Rift-tech. Made out of the same new plastics as the Ghost Attack Squads, Shadow Warriors boast a very similar ‘base’ statline to their brethren, but eschew ranged weaponry in favour of Deadly (3) and a truly lethal Active Rift Enhancement – Kage no Kōgeki (Shadow Attack). At its core, this is essentially a version of Bon Odori that lets the Shadow Warriors ‘ghost walk’ directly into melee, charging any enemy unit within their line of sight – regardless of range! Of course, this does come with the risk of instant destruction if they fail a Morale test, but if it lands there isn’t much that can stand up to them.

Beware the deadly flashing blades – Imperial Japan is about to get a serious upgrade in close combat! If your opponents weren’t afraid of no Ghosts before, they soon will be… (Right, that’s your quota of movie references used up for the year – ed.)If you want to field a Ghost Infiltration platoon of your own, the new plastic set is the perfect starting place!