This time I'll be looking at Haqqislam's suite of Impersonators and how to make them as unpleasant for your opponent as possible. I'm sure that many of you have heard of the Saladin, Fiday and Al-Djabel list before, it is fairly notorious after all, and I'll be using those models as the core of this list.
The idea is that with Saladins WP of 17 you are more likely to take the first turn and using Strategos you will also be able to deploy more favourably. Strategos allows you to keep two models in reserve (your Impersonators, ideally) and your opponent may not keep a reserve model at all. As an added bonus you may spend your Lieutenants order on whoever you like which makes your army just that little bit more efficient.
So, with this in mind, let's see what we can do.
Engaging in a bit of light-hearted stabbing. - Image from Corvus Belli |
The List
We've already chosen our first three models and the only real question is what to arm the Fiday with. I've opted for mines as they can be placed in smoke without triggering AROs and can shred poorly deployed links and other bunched up troops. the Boarding Shotgun seems unnecessary as it only grants extra hitting power against very tough targets which you likely wouldn't be able to kill in one burst anyway. The Explosive CCW is also a bit too hit-and-miss for my tastes as it's only really useful against light troops which the Fiday doesn't really need help with anyway.
Saladin Lieutenant (37|0)
Al-Djabel (41|0)
Fiday Mines (33|0)
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111/300 points | 0/6 swc
So, that brings us up to a rather pricy 111 points and all we have at the moment is an obvious Lieutenant and two very order-hungry attackers that can't really deal with tough targets. We don't even have specialists yet. The list isn't looking too great at the moment, is it?
So let's solve some of these problems.
Farzan BS (32|0)
Tuareg Doctor (34|0)
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66/300 points | 0/6 swc
The next thing we've added is a Farzan with Chain of Command and a Taureg Doctor. Two Infiltrating (TO) Camo specialists give us some order efficient objective grabbers. The Farzan means that Saladin isn't worth killing early as we can avoid Loss of Lieutenant and the Taureg can heal up our injured Fidays. Our opponent will likely expect a Farzan on the field, so don't be afraid to place the Taureg as a regular camo marker to make the Farzan harder to find. This makes it even less likely that our opponent will put us into Loss of Lieutenant early.
We've now spent 177 points on a mere five models and are desperately looking for some cheaper troops to bulk out the force. I really want to capitalise on our board presence and fit in at least two more specialists. Sounds like Halqa to me.
Halqa HMG (24|1)
Halqa Doctor (20|0)
Halqa Observer (19|0)
Halqa Grenadier (18|1)
Halqa Grenadier (18|1)
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99/300 points | 3/6 swc
Five Halqa to be exact.
The two grenadiers can rain fire down onto troops behind total cover and often they will be in good range as well - quite a novelty for the humble light grenade launcher. The Observer and Doctor help round out our choice of specialists and the HMG is a concession to the fact that sometimes we'll have to deal with tough targets that we just need a big gun for.
This leaves us with 24 points (and a load of SWC) which I'm going to spend on four Muttawi'ah with Chain Rifles who can sit in their own combat group and further dissuade any attacks on Saladin. During the game they can also move up and threaten targets with their suite of close range weapons. The last few points will be used to give a Nasmat to the Haqla Doctor.
Haqqislam | 14 models
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Combat Group #1
Saladin Lieutenant (37|0)
Al-Djabel (41|0)
Fiday Mines (33|0)
Farzan BS (32|0)
Tuareg Doctor (34|0)
Nasmat (3|0)
Halqa HMG (24|1)
Halqa Doctor (20|0)
Halqa Observer (19|0)
Halqa Grenadier (18|1)
Halqa Grenadier (18|1)
Combat Group #2
Muttawi'ah Chain (5|0)
Muttawi'ah Chain (5|0)
Muttawi'ah Chain (5|0)
Muttawi'ah Chain (5|0)
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299/300 points | 3/6 swc
So there you have it, An army where nine of the models start half way up the board (or further) and can get stuck right in. How's that for order efficiency?
A quick couple of notes on this list:
Going Second
Sometimes you are going to lose that WP roll and you'll end up taking the second turn. Don't panic. Place your models in such a way that your opponent can't go on the offensive. Force them to spend lots of orders moving and discovering your Impersonators or climbing ladders/stairs to reach your forces. Your imperative is to take as little damage as possible on turn 1 so you can make an effective counter attack.
Spec Ops
If you are playing a Spec Ops tournament then I'd recommend switching out a Grenadier for a Hafza Husam. There are plenty of good builds such as:
- Infiltration, Hacking Device, Minelayer
- AD: Inferior Combat Jump, Viral Rifle, Specialist
- +2BS, Viral Sniper Rifle, Specialist
- Super Jump, HMG
Ideally whatever you pick should be a way to handle big tough targets, such as TAGs that would otherwise be a headache for this army.
Other Options
I really wanted to fit a Djanbazan with HMG into this list so I could make use of the smoke from the Fidays and this would probably be done by dropping one of the Halqa Grenadiers, the Nasmat and all the Muttawi'ah. It would also free up points to upgrade the second Grenadier to a HMG. If your local meta has a lot of big, tough targets like TAGs then this variant might be better as three HMGs pack a lot of punch!
Haqqislam | 10 models
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Saladin Lieutenant (37|0)
Al-Djabel (41|0)
Fiday Mines (33|0)
Farzan BS (32|0)
Tuareg Doctor (34|0)
Halqa HMG (24|1)
Halqa HMG (24|1)
Halqa Doctor (20|0)
Halqa Observer (19|0)
Djanbazan HMG (36|1.5)
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300/300 points | 3.5/6 swc
I tried the list out in a practice game of Quadrant Control against Tohaa (complete with Gorgos) and it performed fairly well. We both ended the game in Retreat, but having my army starting in every single quadrant on turn one meant that I won 9-0 overall.
What really struck me was how fragile the army was overall - it's all low BS, low armour and single wound models - quite a change from my normal Aleph force. Even though I managed to wreak havoc on the first turn (Halqa Havoc would be a great band name), I wasn't able to deal with the Gorgos who was eventually able to kill most of my troops (and is apparently BTS 12 in cover).
The Fidays were pretty horribly misused by me to be honest, I'm definitely not well practised with them. My opponent having an MSV2 definitely put a dent in my smoke/mine/close combat plans as well and that was something I hadn't accounted for. Again I think this is because I'm so used to having access to Zero-Vis smoke in Aleph. The Mutts were shooting into my opponent's DZ on turn two and clogged up the middle of the table though which was nice.
Overall, I think it's got a lot of potential and will play a lot better with practice. Careful use of the Fidays is crucial to the army.
Like or hate the list? Think it should look different or I'm missing something? Let me know :)
Really enjoying these creative lists and reading about the thought processes behind them! Both list look very formidable to face.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are enjoying them, not sure if people would normally be put off by the lack of relevant pics, but it's nice to be able to explore some interesting army ideas. It's a great chance to show how a variety of different designs can be very competitive. :)
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