So, you've had your demo, you've read a bit online and you are excited about the opportunity to get into Infinity The Game.
Maybe you've wargamed before, in fact that's pretty likely as the overwhelming majority of Infinity players pick up the game as a second (or third, or fourth... you get the idea) wargame. But maybe you haven't and you are still getting your head around this whole idea of miniature games, with their little miniature towns (which look so much like a model train table, or a Christmas village), little toy soldiers, dice and tape measures (and tokens, SO MANY TOKENS).
It's likely that you made first contact with the game through your local WarCor, if not then it's worth finding out who they might be. Corvus Belli keep a master list here:
https://its.infinitythegame.com/warcors/list
Get in touch and they will be able to help you with the start of your Infinity journey! There are a lot of local Facebook groups which are used for communication and you can also reach out via the Infinity forums:
https://forum.corvusbelli.com/
https://www.facebook.com/InfinitythegameCB/
Regardless, something has caught your attention and drawn you to the boys in blue. Maybe it's the clean lines and sleek aesthetic, maybe it's the crisp military uniformity, maybe it's just the colour (shout out to all my Ultramarines brothers!), or the gameplay of great shooting and straightforward tactical approaches, but perhaps (like me) it's the setting and background of the sole hyperpower which drew you in.
Now you are looking at your options for where and how to get started.
That's a great place to be.
If you are very lucky you will have a local game store which stocks Infinity, if not then you will be looking at ordering online. There are some good online retailers in every part of the world and finding out which would be best is a great question to ask your WarCor! Otherwise you can go direct 'through CB (but watch out for import taxes etc. which might make the price more than it initially appears):
https://store.corvusbelli.com/
There are five different products which you might want to consider as your first purchase. Each of these acts as a starting point for PanOceania, either the "Vanilla" generic army or one of the Sectorials.
Operation Icestorm (Vanilla PanOceania)
Operation Icestorm is considered by many to be the default entry point for PanOceania, especially for new players. It does, indeed, have a lot of advantages from this perspective. It offers a range of miniatures from across the PanOceania range, drawing on released and unreleased Sectorials. It provides all the materials needed to play, including dice, counters and a measuring tool. Best of all it actually walks through the rules in a very intuitive fashion, introducing new models and rules in a way which will help anyone to become more familiar with the mechanics of Infinity.
This box does come with some disadvantages, however. Price is a factor, and the fact that this is by far the most expensive choice to make as a new player can be a consideration. This can be mitigated by splitting the box with another player who wants to pick up the Nomads, but this might not always be possible. The actual model range is the main issue here, as you are picking up a couple of seldom utilised sculpts and a whole other faction. Ignoring the Nomads (which you are hopefully going to hand off to someone splitting the cost with you) there is still the ORC with Multi Rifle (which makes a pretty good Swiss Guard Hacker proxy, if you don't mind painting it that way) and the Father Knight (which some people will swear by, but I'm not keen on personally). An Airborne Deployment unit might not be the best choice for smaller games either, but that's less of a consideration long term.
PanOceania Starter Pack (Vanilla PanOceania)
The PanOceania starter box set is the same models as Operation Icestorm, minus the Father Knight, and also missing the other bits and pieces (dice, markers, intro rules). As the quick start rules are available for download on the Infinity homepage ( https://assets.infinitythegame.net/downloads/qsr/en/v1.1/qsr.pdf ) that's one less consideration. The major advantage here is price point and avoiding the need to split the box. You miss out on the Father Knight, but that isn't a big loss in the eyes of many players. If Icestorm is perfect for brand new wargamers then this is, perhaps, more suited to an existing wargamer moving into Infinity, who doesn't need the same level of support provided by the "starter box".
Neoterra Capitaline Army Starter Pack
The NCA Starter Pack is an odd beast. It has a couple of nearly essential options, the Swiss Missile Launcher, Aquila Guard Multi Rifle and Hexa Spitfire (if only for a conversion base in the case of the latter) combined with what is considered by many to be the least useful unit in all of PanOceania, the Neoterra Bolts. It's brutally unfair to ever play this Starter Pack against any other starter, so watch out for that imblance, but that's largely because it's packing over 200 points of models into the 6 troopers you are buying. The really odd thing about this box is that it isn't even necessarily a great start for someone who intends to actually play NCA as their first entry into PanOceania. That means this one is probably left for a later purchase (even if it's a later purchase you are very likely to make).
Acontecimento Shock Army Starter Pack
The Shock Army of Acontecimento, or SAA, is considered by many to be the "least PanOceanian" of the PanO Sectorial options. But that doesn't make the Sectorial, or this starter box, any less of a solid option. This box is probably worth picking up even if you are playing Vanilla PanOceania, 'though in that case it's less of a "starter" choice but a great expansion option. Beginning with SAA might not bring the same play experience as the other options, but it is an interesting and engaging choice which is supported well by this pack. If SAA is your jam then this box might be the perfect place to start your Infinity collection.
Military Orders Starter Pack
At the time of publishing I'm very reluctant to suggest this box to a new player. Most of the sculpts are outdated, even if not actually replaced by something new, and I feel that if it isn't going to be resculpted by Corvus Belli in the near future then it SHOULD be, and discouraging people from picking it up will kill the sales and make that more likely. However, if you want to play Military Orders and don't want to do a LOT of proxying then this box is an essential. The Combi Rifle and Multi Sniper Order Sergeants are essential units which you will need (to run as Specialist Sergeants). This will still catch you with an outdated Teutonic Knight and Magister Knight sculpt 'though. Hopefully CB will resculpt this soon and make this whole discussion irrelevant.
What If I Just Want One Model?
For all those things which you want, but which are buried in a box full of other things you DON'T want, there is one official CB sanctioned box splitting service. Shae Konnit Games is an online service which delivers from Great Britain to the world. I'm basically as far away from him as it's possible to be and I've always had great service, so I highly recommend him:
http://www.shaekonnitgames.com/infinity-split-box-deal/
Now, just before you go there are a couple of other assets which I'd want any new player to have access to. This marker maker is invaluable, play a couple of games, figure out what you want/need (or ask an experienced player) and print what you want. Print and laminate, or print onto card, or print cut and glue onto "domes", these make great tokens:
http://inf-dice.ghostlords.com/markers/
And when you're 20 or so games in, and you are ready to take on the advanced rules I highly suggest looking here for help with hacking. This tool is so good it's all many players use:
https://www.captainspud.com/n3hacking/
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