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The People of the Dunes - Tuaregs in RTF

THE PEOPLE OF THE DUNES - Tuaregs 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.
 
When I'm playing Ramah Taskforce and I want something killed, I choose one (or more) of the fantastic supersoldiers for the task, but when the ITS Mission being played requires me to accomplish an Ojective, my first pick is almost always the Murabid Tuareg. While at face value seeming rather bland, these Badawi warriors have served in my battles with great distinction, and I often find it hard to build a list without one!

Becoming Part of the Desert

The stats on the Murabid Tuareg pretty closely mirror those of the standard Ghulams, with two key distinctions. The first is the high PH of 12, which makes the Tuareg surprisingly good at Dodging, and also allows them to risk Infiltrating on the opponent's side of the board with a 45% chance of success. The other key stat of theirs, is the amazing WIP of 15 which makes these Skirmishers truly spectacular when employed as Specialists!

The skills that the Tuaregs have are very much what you'd expect from a ghost of the dunes. Camouflage allows this Badawi to move about the battlefield in relative safety until Discovered, and this protection is further enhanced by the Mimetism (-6) rule. The Mimetism also makes the Tuareg a dangerous gunfighter, even despite the modest BS of 11. Hidden Deployment allows for the Badawi to start the game hidden (anywhere on your side of the table, thanks to Infiltration), and thus means that for most of the time they can safely wait for the moment to either strike at vulnerable targets, or a chance to accomplish Mission Objectives (just be mindful of your opponent's Sensors!). To complement this set of skills, the Tuareg also has the Surpise Attack (-3) advantage. You can even combine all of these skills in a truly devastating way: your Hidden Deployed Skirmisher can appear from out of nowhere to approach the enemy as a Camo Token, before springing their attack with a potential -12 modifier on returning BS attacks (-6 for Mimetism, -3 for Surprise Attack, -3 for cover)!

The Tuareg's skillset is completed by abilities that allow for swift and silent movement around the table. Terrain (Total) allows the Badawi to take advantage of any Special Terrain that your table might have, while Stealth means that enemies lacking the Sixth Sense skill can't dodge around even when the Tuareg moves in their Zone of Control, as long as no Line of Fire is gained. All in all these tagelmust wearing fighters have the abilities that you would associate with the "TO Camo models" of old!

Water Recyclers, Flexible Boots, and Other Dune Gear

The Murabids Tuareg have broadly speaking two types of profiles available to them. On one hand, you have dedicated Skirmishers, while on the other you have profiles that are also extremely capable Specialists. A weapon that all the different options have in common is the Shock Mines. These deadly deployables are at the worst of times speed bumbs that your opponent has to deal with or avoid, and at the best of times they wipe precious opposing models off the board for little risk to the Tuareg! The Mines give this Skirmisher always something to - if you've accomplished the current turn's goals, or the enemy has you pinned, place a few Mines to make a nuisance out of yourself! If your stoic Badawi is facing impossible odds and their fate is all but sealed, it's often good an idea to place one last Mine in ARO as a fairwell present to the Opponent! 
 
The Tuareg can also execute the old "place'n'peek" attack, where they come to a corner near an enemy model and stay a smidge out of their Line of Fire, place a Mine, and then use the next Order to peek at the enemy forcing a Dodge or a Mine hit! Just remember, that this maneuver burns your Surpise Attack (unless you spend another Order to recamo) and offers the enemy a chance to Dodge against you placing the Deployable Weapon. While speaking of no LoF and explosives, putting down a Mine as an Intuitive Attack against Camouflaged enemies isn't a bad choice either for this Skirmisher, as WIP 15 gives you a 75% chance of success! The different profiles available to the Murabids Tuareg are presented below.

Rifle, Light Shotgun, Shock Mines, Minelayer; 30pts/0,5SWC

Unfortunately the FAQ 1.2 mandated requirement to measure the Zone of Control of the Minelaying model effectively reveals the location of your Tuareg should you elect to use the skill, which almost leaves this profile dead in the water. If you really, really want a midfield Mine from the very start of the game, this is the profile you have to employ, though in practise this will mean that either your Opponent will be aware of your Skirmisher's position despite even Hidden Deployment, or you have to start the game out of in Camouflage. There's of cource always to possibility of starting the game without placing the Shock Mine, but why did you pick this profile to begin with then?
 

Boarding Shotgun, Shock Mines; 30pts

For a mere 0,5SWC less than the profile above, you lose Minelayer and trade the versatile Rifle + Light Shotgun for the more powerful, yet more restricted Boarding Shotgun. If you're really dead set on storming enemy positions at close range, consider this option, but I personally feel that RTF has better choices in the job at this point bracket.
 

Sniper Rifle, Shock Mimes; 29pts/0,5SWC

I have a love-hate relationship with this profile. I look at it on paper, and it seems rather attractive - a Minetism (-6) Sniper that can strike from Hidden Deployment, either as an active turn sharpshooter, or as an reactive turn ambusher. You can also use the Mines should the Sniper Rifle not be the tool for your situation. Then again, BS 11 means that even against a target that gets caught in the open and imposes no MODs on you, you still have a decent chance of missing. If you do miss your target, any decent burst return fire is likely to take out the Tuareg, and even if you do hit, you can only cause a single wound per shot at DMG 15... The pricepoint isn't the problem, but then again for a couple of points less(!) you could deploy the competent Zhayendan Sniper, and for few points more the more hard hitting Hortlak Janissary with AP Sniper Rifle.*

 

Rifle, Light Shotgun, Shock Mines, Hacking Device; 34pts/0,5SWC

My absolute favourite profile on the Tuareg! Having a Hidden Deployed WIP 15 Hacker (and thus a Specialist!) tucked away for when they're needed is absolutely amazing! In my experience Opponents don't bother to Sensor around the field against RTF too much, unless you give them a clear reason to - most players are weary of a Nahab dropping in as the 15th model in a list, and thus reluctant to start Sensoring for a Tuareg that might not even be there! This safety allows for your Badawi infowar Specialist to stay Hidden until the opportune time to start AROing bypassing troops with Spotlight or Oblivion (the latter in the case of Heavy Infantry for example), or the chance arises to press the attack and utilize the Surpise Attack (-3) to stack face to face odds ever more in your favour! Don't forget that besides Hacking opponents and accomplishing Mission Objectives, this Tuareg also has all the weapons that the startard profile has at their disposal! I've shot more enemies with his Rifle and/or Shotgun than I've ever Hacked! The Tuareg is really squishy though - at BTS 0 not even his amazing WIP will keep him safe against a dedicated active turn Hacker, but then again, few things do these days... Luckily you can Camouflage back up on your turn to try and avoid enemy Hackers in the reactice turn, and Stealth keeps the Tuareg somewhat safe from Hacking AROs on the active! Just be mindful about the presence of potential Camouflaged or Hidden Deployed enemy infowar Specialists when you decide to activate this guy... Remember that Stealth is an optional skill, so you can turn it off for a Move to force enemy Hackers to react to you while you still have the choice of what to do next - in my experience even most Killer Hackers aren't ready to engage the Tuareg on his active turn!
 

Rifle, Light Shotgun, Shock Mines, Medikit, Doctor (+3); 33pts

Most of the things said about the Tuareg Hacker apply to the Doctor as well - they are an S-tier Specialist, and compared to the profile above they have the added benefit of being unhackable. This naturally comes with the loss of infowar capability though... The Tuareg Doctor is tied for the highest WIP healer in the Faction, and they can lie in wait for a patient to quite literally drop in! To be honest though, I prefer the Hakim as a doctor for aggressive solo models, as he can Parachut into what ever position I need them at! But if I need a reliable non-Hackable Specialist, who can reach the target in a Marker State, or fight their way in with the help of Mimetism (-6), this is my go to choice!

The Desert is an Unforgiving Place

Having an extremely capable Specialist and a dangerous fighter in Hidden Deployment doesn't come without a cost. As long as you're keeping your precious Tuareg Hidden, you're having to manage the battle without an expensive model at your disposal. This also means that for each turn your elite Skirmisher isn't partaking in the fighting, you're effectively bleeding an Order. I've had plenty of games where the Tuareg has remained Hidden until my very last turn, before promptly assassinating a key enemy piece holding the Objective, and securing it in turn to win me the game. The downside in a situation like this is that if the rest of the strike team can't hold off the enemy effectively, your Opponent will be able to defend their gains too strongly for even the stealthy Badawi to get through!

A crafty opponent can also anticipate where your Tuareg is hiding and set up Mines or AROs (watch out for Discovers from models with either Multispectral Visors or Sensors!) to block your advance. Sometimes it's worth placing your deadly scout in the second, or even the third best position just to throw your Opponent off their scent. This also offers up a whole world of mind game possibilities, where you can make your opposing number worry about a potential Tuareg or Nahab ambushing them at every turn, being as they are pretty much worth the same amount of points.

Remember that these desert ghosts are very fragile, should they get hit. Mimetism and high Willpower, in addition to being able to usually pick their engagements, means the Tuareg should be well positioned to win most of their face to face rolls. Then again, should luck abandon you or the Opponent catch the Badawi out of position, ARM 1 and BTS 0 will quickly see them fall to the enemy. Alas, being a Skirmisher in Infinity is a deadly prospect to begin with...

I Was Never Here

Ramah Taskforce is blessed with an abundance of 30ish point models that can fight their way into an Objective and secure it, and some of these models can even Parachut, Super-Jump or Climbing Plus into a position from which to execute their attack. There are however, times when the opposition is simply is too strong, and even the Ramah's supersoldiers can't brute force their way in. At times like these, you will find that the Tuareg can get the job done like no one else. It's a testament to the potency of Tuareg's set of skills that they are costed around the same price point as most of the excellent supersoldier options, and still the Badawi soldier can snatch a squad slot from them in the listmaking part of a game. Ramah simply doensn't have any other Specialists with Mimetism (-6), Hidden Deployment or innate Marker State (Killer Hackers not withstanding).

If you're looking to smash your opponent with a decive hammer blow, or run them through with a savage spear thrust, there are other units in RTF for that. But if you're looking to execute a surgical dagger strike at excactly where it will hurt the most, the Murabids Tuareg are the models for you!

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

The Veteran's Word

  • *The Huntress. I've recently has some good success with the Tuareg Sniper. I'm more and more coming to the conclusion that she isn't so much a reactive turn killer, as she is an active turn hunter, and a pressuring piece. As stated in the article, revealing the Tuareg Sniper to shoot at a enemy on your Opponent's turn often leads to the loss of the Badawi, regardless of whether they down their target or not. As such, if you do decide to spring your ambush as an ARO, make sure the target is of such high value that such an attack is truly warranted, and that the resulting loss of your Skirmisher is something you're willing to live with. If (or preferably, when) you can conserve your Huntress for the active turn, things get a whole lot more fun. Leveraging Mimetism (-6), cover, potential Surprise Attack and range advantage, the Tuareg Sniper should be able to move about the periphery of the battlefield unmolested, and bully targets ill equipped to deal with her from half a board away. This can lead to spectacular kill counts, though there is a rather high a chance that even against a more or less helpless enemy, the engagement will turn out indecisive - you're "only" firing with Burst 2 and BS 11 afterall! The Tuareg can even reposition to find new target should that be advantageous to you, but don't get carried away spending too many Orders going after targets that could be dealt with more efficiently by other pieces! It's often a good idea to re-enter Camouflaged State towards the end of your turn. If there are no obvious MSV pieces or Pure Fireteams about to stare you down, it's rather hard for your opponent to Discover your Sniper at long ranges on the Opponent's turn, and the knowledge that such the Tuareg is watching your Opponent's every move should make them rather nervous... Just consider very carefully whether to return fire or trust in your Mimetic abilities when the Discovers start coming in! You should try and arrange some medical support near your Tuareg if discreetly possible (for the event that she goes down, but doesn't get outright killed), but if such a thing is not possible without giving away her position, then your Huntress just has to go at it alone...
  •  Now You See Me, and Now You're Dead! The Tuaregs can often force really dangerous ARO declarations on their enemies when they are able to attack lone targets. Sometimes the enemy model has no choice but to Discover you to prevent a Light Shotgun and/or a Hacker from making their way to the middle of their strike team, and this will give you the chance to take unopposed shots at them! In one memorable game my lone Tuareg approached a Military Order Crosier Fireteam Core and I was able to close in on them from a direction that only the Multispectral Visor L2 Black Friar with Heavy Rocket Launcher could see me from. This piece was a major hurdle in my plans, but my Opponent had no choice but to Discover the Tuareg in order to keep it from closing the gap, and an unopposed Rifle salvo later the enemy Fireteam was without it's most important member! You can also try to trick your Opponent into thinking that your Tuareg Sniper is actually a Hacker, and as they throw a long range Discover at you "because the Hacker only has a Rifle", you can thank them with a couple of high caliber Shock rounds!
  • Missile or Shotgun, Your Call Buddy. If you can engage a lone enemy target with your non-Camouflaged Tuareg Hacker while within 8'' of them, you get to ask them a tough question: will the they Reset (or Hack) against you and get double Direct Templated for their trouble by the Shotgun, or will they Dodge and face an unopposed Spotlight followed by a Guided Missile strike (from the Shaytaniyah you surely brought along)! If the poor enemy chooses to Shoot you, well now you get to pick whichever type of attack you want! This tactic does endanger the Tuareg, but you should be able to leverage Mimetism (-6), Cover and potential Doctor support to lessen the risk!

27/4/2021 Edit. Corrected spelling mistakes, added linkst to the text and wrote The Veteran's Word about The Huntress.
6/6/2021 Edit. Added the picture to the Veteran's Word. 
2/3/2022 Edit. Added The Veteran's Words Now You See Me, and Now You're Dead and Missile or Shotgun, Your Call Buddy.
10/4/2022 Edit. Updated the arcticle to post Fireteam Update era.

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