The Excellence of Confidence - Nahabs in RTF

THE EXCELLENCE OF CONFIDENCE - Nahabs in RTF

In the Unit Focus series I take a look at the different units that make up the Ramah Taskforce, and try to answer why, not if, you should include them in your lists.

Nahab apparently translates as "a marauder" or "a predator", and even though I was unable to confirm the linquistics, these titles sure fit the RTF's primary midboard power piece. The Nahab combines versatile weaponry, advanced deployment rules, and second generation supersoldier abilities in a deadly, yet surprisingly economical package. These genetically enhanced soldiers can serve as Parachutist attack pieces or as Infiltrating skirmishers, excelling at both tasks. No wonder the supersoldier program that produces these fighters is called Nayib - Excellence.

Touch Down and Start Running!

The Nahab has a strong stat line and a lot of special rules (the same of which can be said about all of the Ramah's supersoldiers). Let's start with the fighty stuff, shall we? The Nahab is a passable gunfighter with BS 12, which isn't great per se, but adequite by Haqqislamite standards. When it comes to melee though, boy does this model pack a punch! CC 23, Natural Born Warrior, Martial Arts L2 AND Berserk (+3), make the Nahab one of the most dangerous close combat fighters in the game! This airborne soldier denies their opponent their use of Martial Arts (if any), while themselves benefitting from the +3/-3 hit mod and +1 damage; thus in most cases the Nahab is attacking with CC 26 and DAM 14 (with a base critical hit chance of 35%)! You can even Berserk your opponent in the active turn for a truly monstrous CC 29 roll (with a base crit chance of 50%), ouch!

On the durability side of things, the Nahab is surprisingly survivable. While only having ARM 1 and BTS 3, the model benefits from the combination of No Wound Incapacitation and Immunity (Shock), which traslates into a pseudo two wound profile. The Nahab also has an exotic defensive addition in the form of Immunity (Critical), which means that even if the airborne soldier has to take a hit, he can't be crit off the board by a lucky attack (just watch out for weapons forcing multiple saves)!

The Nahab can make use any Special Terrain that the battlefield incorporates (like the ITS13 Blizzards!) to slingshot themselves forward, thanks to Terrain (Total). These supersoldiers' mobility is augmented even further by the fact that they have Dodge (+2'') with PH 13 - this should make enemies hesitant to engage them at close range for the fear of the Nahab dodging succesfully into melee with their would-be-shooter. The nimble airborne trooper can also take advantage of Stealth, meaning that their enemies cannot Dodge around or otherwise ARO against the Nahab as they close in for the kill (unless they have Line of Fire or the Sixth Sense skill of course). The last bit of mobility that these marauders have going for them is the movement component of Berzerk, which allows for them to charge a model withing their MOV-MOV distance to deliver a devastating melee attack. Just remember the roll is going to be unopposed, and the airborne soldier is probably going to get shot up on the way in...

The headstrong and over confident nature from the Nahab backstory manifests itself as the skills Courage and Frenzy. The first one mostly means that you can always choose the result of your Guts Roll - an excellent perk for a model that is going to get shot alot (yet survive often too)! Frenzy on the other hand means that once the aggressive supersoldier has inflicted their first wound, they become Impetuous at the end of the turn, and thus gain an optional extra activation from there on out, but more importantly they can no longer benefit from Cover. In practise this means that the effectiveness of the Nahab as a gunfighter takes a nose dive after the turn when they (succesfully) engage their enemy, and their focus should optimally switch more to melee combat.

Equipment Check!

The Nahabs have a total of six different profile options available to them, but there are only three really distinct ones. These three profiles are then split into Parachutist and Infiltration variants, both of which I'll be covering below. But first, to the equipment common to all the airborne supersoldiers!

The unit defining characteristic of the Nahabs is their close combat provess. Then again, a melee fighter is only as good as the weapon they're swinging, right? Lucky for us, these supersoldiers come equipped with the excellent Viral CC Weapon, which means that most of the time they are forcing two BTS saves against DMG 14 (with Shock) if (and when!) they win their face to face roll or decide to Berserk. Their innately high critical hit chance coupled with the fact their CC can't be lowered by the Opponent's use of Martial Arts means that they are in actuality rather often forcing THREE saves against their targets BTS!

Another thing all the Nahab profiles have in common is their access to a Direct Tempalate weapon in the form of either a Nanopulser or a Boarding Shotgun. This means that enemies faced by a close range Nahab have to choose between Shooting and Dodging before the Haqqislamite has to make his decision. The added benefit of an aggressive close range play is, that a Nahab can happily tank a shot from most weapons (thanks to Immunities for Shock and critical hits), while blasting their happles victims with Direct Templates. If the opposing model decides to Dodge to try and avoid getting hit, this opens up the chance for the supersoldier to gun them down with hit rolls or to close the gap and press their advantage in melee. The Nahabs' equipment and skillset also make them a nightmare to dig out for your Opponent's traditional Skirmishers - they are unlikely to go down to a single burst of Combi Rifle or even Boarding Shotgun fire, while their retaliation has a significant chance of taking out single wound aggressors! Onwards!

Red Fury, Nanopulser, Infiltration or Parachutist; 37/1SWC or 36pts/1SWC

The most straight forward Nahab profile is a no frills attack piece that can gun things down at range, or carve them up in melee with brutal effectiveness. Being able to throw four dice at BS 12 against things that weren't at most of the time planning on engaging a Nahab-caliber hostile, can quickly gut your Opponent's Order pool, or remove a key piece or two. Just remember that once Frenzy kicks in, using the Red Fury becomes increasingly hazardous. Don't forget that while this loadout is the only non-Specialist one, she can still accomplish several Classified Cards, namely those requiring Veteran Troops or close combat. Whether you choose the Infiltrator or the Parachutist is largely up the Mission at hand and the role you have in mind for your marauder. I see the Infiltrating profile as more defensively oriented, as she provides an Order from the get go, and denies part of the midfield from your Opponent (though I can't really recommend her in a scenario with an Exclusion Zone). The Parachutist is way more offensive a choice, and she can work wonders even if the possible points of entry are heavily restricted by the Mission. Either way, you propably get to start from the optimal range to fire off your Red Fury, so you should be engaging targets of opportunity in no time!

Submachine Gun, E/Mitter, Nanopulser, Killer Hacking Device, Infiltration or Parachutist; 33 or 32pts

One of only two(!) Killer Hacking Devices in Ramah Taskforce comes in a rather surpirising a package. This Nahab is as deadly a close combat fighter as the options above, while his SMG is more suited to close range affairs when it comes to gunfighting. I see the E/Mitter as primarily an ARO tool against tough opponents, as I wouldn't want to gamble a single shot on the active turn (unless I can get behind a target and deny their Dodge). Besides the ability to go after opposing Hackers via infowar, the Killer Hacking Device gives the Nahab quite some versatility. First, it allows for the use of the ever useful Cybermask program, which allows for your supersoldier to enter the Impersonation-2 State, and thus roam about the battlefield with a certain level of safety (just remember that after the Nahab becomes Impetuous due to Frenzy, he can't gain nor maintain the Impersonation State). Second, this Nahab is a very capable Specialist, and a Hacker at that, which means that he can accomplish a whole suite of Mission specific tasks and Classified Objectives. Even though BTS 3, NWI and WIP 14 make for a rather good Hacker platform, the Killer Hacker Nahab often has to face the opposing infowar specialists more or less alone, due to the lack of hacking support in RTF, and this is the only thing that gives me pause when including this unit in my lists. Then again, Cybermask and Stealth provide a limited defence against hostile hackers, and I've ravaged my Opponent's infowar capability with this piece on the top of turn one quite a few times...

Boarding Shotgun, D-Charges, Specialist Operative, Infiltration or Parachutist; 33 or 32pts

My favourite Nahab comes equipped with the ever dangerous Boarding Shotgun (no need to worry about hitting when you can go up to whopping BS 18 with range modifiers or just double Direct Template stuff!) and the ability to interact with ITS Mission Objectives. I sometimes prefer this option over the Killer Hacker because he can't be hacked by your opposition (beyond the obvious Spotlight), while still being a solid WIP 14 button pusher. He's also the most dangerous of the Nahabs in melee, as he can slap the deadly D-Charges on tough targets. This puts him in the unique position of being able to choose between going for two saves against BTS with Shock or three against ARM with AP! The explosives can even be used to achieve the odd Classified Card or deny a Destructable Object to the enemy!

The Finest Asskickers in the Haqqislamite Army

The Khawarijs (a unit I've covered in a previous article) may be as much religous scholars as they are soldiers, but the Nahabs truly are no warrior poets! Instead, they are grade A bullies, who specialize in picking fights with opponents who'd rather not dance with the airborne supersoldiers. Most of the time this involves the Nahab gunning down foes ill-equipped to deal with such stiff resistance, and sometimes the Killer Hacker gets to fry an opposing infowar operative's brain. At the best of times though, the Nahab gets to do what they're best at, and spectacularly destroy happless foes in melee. There truly aren't many close combat fighters who can match these excellent (pun intended) supersoldiers blade to blade, and even fewer that want to take their chances with the Nahab if they can avoid it.

When all is said and done, and it's time to tally up the Objective and Army Points, I'm usually happy with the performance of my Nahab(s) if one or more of the following things are true:

• A signifcant portion or a single important piece of the opposing force has been brutalized by my over confident supersoldier. Maybe the Nahab found an opening in the enemy lines and wrecked a part of their backline, or they assassinated a key model that my opponent really would have needed to enact their game plan.
• The Nahab was able to accomplish the ITS Mission by virtue of using their advanced deployment rules or superior fighting capability (or both!) to reach and interact with a crucial objective or score a Zone of Operations.
• The airborne supersoldier was able to occupy a key section of the field, slowing down my opponent's advance significantly by costing a number of precious Orders to be dealt with and maybe even killing something in response. If I'm going second for example, and all my Opponent achieves on their first turn is to take out my Infiltrating Nahab and secure modest territorial gains, I'm more than happy most of the time! 
• The Nahab was able to Complete Classified Card(s) while performing their may job. Being highly capable Close Combat Veteran Trooper with advanced deployment skills, as well as options for a Hacker or D-Charges available, the Nahabs can very effectively accomplish a number of Classifieds without taking much time away from the actual fighting - this can be especially crucial in Missions with a heavy emphasis on completing such Cards (like ITS13 Missions Biotechvore, Highly Classified or Countermeasures).
  

When I'm building my Ramah Taskforce lists I always make a serious consideration whether I should include a Nahab in my team. Most of the time I find it a good idea to bring one to act as a fast attack piece and/or button pusher, especially in Missions that don't restrict the use of Infiltration or Parachutist. You can even build your whole list around a trio of Nahabs (maybe one of each flavour?), and I've done so succesfully on a number to times! Watching your opponent struggle to deal with a pair of your elite Skirmishers and then getting to inform them that you're bringing in yet another Nahab is deeply satisfying...

Go Forth, and Stride with Confidence

It is a testament to the exciting and rich design of Ramah Taskforce, that even a unit that I'd describe to a new player as "an instument of brute force", is actually a diverse and versatile piece capable of achieving more than one thing. If you want to make something dead, the Nahab(s) will most likely get the job done, should you give them a proper chance, but at the end of the day, even they aren't just straight forward point and shoot tools. Most of the time, there are different tactical approaches that can be taken, and choices to be pondered (are any of the regular readers of the blog starting to sense a theme here?), which makes the Nahabs not only a singularily deadly melee fighters, but genuinely multifaceted assets to any RTF strike team.

Until the next time - I wish you the very best in leading the Swift and Deadly Spear of the Haqqislamite Army to Victory!

 

7/2/2021 Edit. Added the fact that Impetous models can't obtain nor maintain the Impersonation state to the Killer Hacker profile part of the article.

19/4/2021 Edit. Corrected some spelling mistakes and made other small quality of life imrovements to the text. 

11/4/2022 Edit. Updated the article to post Fireteam Update era.