Savor the Vengeance - Mukhtars in RTF

SAVOR THE VENGEANCE - Mukhtars 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.

 

The Mukhtar Active Response Unit draws it's recruits from those veteran Ghulams whose units have been wiped out to a point beyond reformation. These bitter fighters are the most focused to a singular task out of all of the supersoldiers - they excel at taking the fight to the enemy with lightning speed and obliterating their opposition with (short to mid-ranged) firepower.

Focused Fury

Of the supersoldiers available to Ramah Taskforce, the Mukhtars have "the leanest" (or "sleekest"!) set of distinctive stats and special rules, which is also reflected in their slightly lower avarage point cost when compared to the Khawarijs, the Nahabs or especially the Namurrs. Their signature stat is their high BS of 13, which makes them excellent shots, especially when they can leverage positive range bands and Cover.

As befits a unit whose genetic enchanced program is called Saeiqa ("lightning"), the Mukhtars sport the excellent 6-2 MOV value. They however "only" have the PH of 11, and they have absolutely no Movement or Dodge enhancing abilities - which can leave the Mukhtars looking like sitting ducks on the reactive turn (but we'll hop on that horse a bit later).

When it comes to durability, the members of the Active Response Unit are truly a mixed bag. On one hand, the combination of No Wound Incapacitation, Immunity (Shock), Mimetism (-3) and BTS 6 make for a model that is pretty hard to hit, and quite resistant against BTS targeting attacks. On the other hand, having only ARM 1 and none of the more exotic Immunities, means that when a Mukhtar gets hit with bullets (the most prevalent occupational hazard for a soldier in Infinity), they fold almost as quickly as your standard Ghulams. Being CC 16 with no Close Combat skills also makes them very vulnerable to melee fighters.

The Mukhtars benefit from the standard Haqqislam WIP of 14, which makes their Specialists very capable, yet the stat is mostly a moot point on rest of the profiles as they also have the Courage skill. Then again, as befits their backstory, Mukhtars are classified as Veteran Troops (though not actually Veterans!), and they can thus achieve a number of Classified Cards. They also have the Forward Deployment (4'') rule, which allows for them to start with a bit a headstart to the rest of your force (yet still comply with the Exclusion Zone of most of the scenarions involving it), and they can form both Duo and Haris Fireteams.

Tools of Revenge

The Mukhtar Active Response Unit has five very distinct profiles available to them (though at the time off writing this article, only two models). All the profiles have a Burst 2 Direct Template weapon with either a Shotgun of some kind or the Nanopulser (+1B). This means that the Mukhtars can bully their opponents at close ranges on the active turn by forcing them to either Dodge the templates (and thus face the primary weapon shots in a one sided face to face roll), or try and attack back (and take the automatic hits on the chin).

Viral Rifle, Nanopulser (+1B) - 30pts

The "standard" Mukhtar profile packs weapons that will make low BTS models sweat! If (and when) the supersoldier  lands a hit with his/her Viral Rifle, the Opponent will be forced to make two saves, while the same goes for close range encounters with the Burst 2 Nanopulser. This version of the Active Response Unit can be absolutely brutal against factions like Ariadna (with their almost categorical BTS value of 0), but can at the same time bounce off badly against highly technological enemies (like many of the Tohaa units). This, combined with the fact that this is one of the only two non-Specialist profiles make it my least used Mukhtar loadout.

Boarding Shotgun, Medikit, Doctor (+3) - 31pts

To me, this is the most intriguing Mukhtar option! The profile loses performance at longer ranges by packing the Boarding Shotgun (which surprisingly carries a +0 modifier from 8 to 16'' and only a -3 from 16 to 24''!), in exchange for a hefty punch up close. What makes this particular unit so interesting, is the fact that he's the only NWI, Shock immune Doctor in RTF - meaning that you can afford to take a wound (say from a Mine or an ARO shot), and then proceed to Doctor yourself back to health rolling for 17s (with rerolls from CMD Tokens available)! Furthermore, if you get Stunned by a stray Flash Pulse, you can even self-remove the Stunned State, all the while advancing forward 6'' per order! This means that as long as you don't get killed outright, Isolated by E/M, or run out of orders, the Mukhtar Doctor will just keep driving down a flank to your Opponent's horror!

Another selling point of this model is the ability to take Nasmat(s) with him. I sometimes feel conflicted to include a Ghulam Doctor in my Defensive Core Fireteam - the team has to subject itself to AROs, or break a member off for the Doc to revive a squad member, and the healer often has to mind her distance from her potential patients at deployment for the fear of being hit by a Template, and thus requiring two moves Prone to get into position. Then again, a Mukhtar Doctor can just station a Nasmat prone 3'' away from ARO pieces, and with one Order the supersoldier can heal a friedly target as well make a 6'' move toward a Mission Objective or soon-to-be-shotgunned enemy - oh the efficiency!

Rifle, Light Shotgun, Flashpulse, D-Charges,  Forward Observer - 27pts

The cheapest Mukhtar is a no frill short(ish) range gunfighter, an effective Specialist, and a Direct Templated enemy Fireteam waiting to happen. His/her kit also includes the ever trusty Flashpulse (with that sweet, sweet WIP 14) for reactive turn goodness, and even D-Charges for when the Mission or a Classified Card calls for them. Pound for pound this profile offers great performance for a sub 30s pricepoint, and to me it's often the ideal 15th model to throw in when completing a list!

Rifle, Light Shotgun, D-Charges, Hacking Device - 31pts/0,5SWC

This profile right here is to me the premier RTF Hacker choice! With solid WIP, high mobility, excellent (gun)fighting capabilities, NWI, the amazing BTS 6, and a whole slew of boxes ticked for Classified Cards, Ramah infowar specialists don't come more effective than this! The basic weapon combo of Rifle + Light Shotgun is as useful here as anywhere else, and this profile even gets to have D-Charges (anyone feel like playing ITS13 Mindwipe?). This profile is in the unique position that it can react to all (non-Stealth) enemy activity within Zone of Control by applying Spotlight, and she can thus contest attacks regardless of facing! I love driving this gal to an ankward position for my Opponent, and setting up camp waiting for enemies to come within range to be Targeted! I rarely bring this model without a Shaytaniyah Remote for Guided Fire goodness - just threatening a Smart Missile should make your opponent think twice about approaching your Hacker...

Red Fury, Nanopulser (+1B), Multispectral Visor L2 - 36pts/1SWC 

The most expensive Mukhtar is an elite hunter-killer of enemy Skirmirshers and light troops, thanks to it's speedy movement, high Burst weapon, and the ability to ignore Mimetism modifiers. You can even get more of a leg up on your opposition by using the Ghulam NCO to provide smoke to shoot through! This is also the only Mukhtar profile that has the option of forcing either ARM or BTS saves, though in practise the weapon used will be often be dictated by the range and enemy (re)actions taken. Most players swear by this guy, but be warned! At only DMG 13 with Red Fury, this elite attack piece will bounce off any well armored enemy occupying cover - winning face to face rolls and forcing wounds are two very different things after all! If you require a MSV L2 model that can punch through tough opposition, turn to the Khawarij Mk12 NCO or Yara Haddad instead!

Hunters of Men

The Mukhtars are ideally suited to getting into their favoured rangebands and engaging their chosen targets in lobsided face to face gunfights. Their excellent movement allows for them to close in on their enemies (using Cautious Movement if neccessary), and then destroy them by stacking BS 13, Mimetism (-3) and Cover in their favor - sometimes this even means that the Mukhtar can pick a fight beoynd their positive rangeband and still come in to the roll heavily favored. Just take note, that because the Mukhtars lack any kind of movement skills (like Climbing Plus, Super-Jump, or Terrain (Total)), they have to work with easy to predict lanes of approach, which will make countering them easier for your Opponent.

 

With NWI and Immunity (Shock) the Mukhtars are unlikely to go down to a single bad dice roll under most circumstances, and their fantastic BTS of 6 makes them very durable against more exotic attacks - a Mukhtar Hacker that can leverage a friendly repeater (like the speedy Rafiq) is almost immune to most hacking attacks thanks to WIP 14, BTS 9 and a -3 modifier to enemy hackig rolls (just watch out for Spotlight)! High willpower, great speed, and a good set of defensive skills also mean that Mukhtar Specialists are highly likely to reach their given targets and deliver you good results once they get there.

The specialized focus of the Mukhtars as lean and effective gunfighters/Specialists comes at a cost though - they aren't very versatile. First of all, the weapons carried by the soldiers of the Active Response Unit are all short to mid-ranged (the Red Fury is the only one with a positive rangeband beyond 16'', and even it caps at 24''), while only the Viral Rifle can force multiple saving rolls per hit, and only the Boarding Shotgun has a DMG value higher than 13. These factors mean that it's a very real possibility that the Mukhtar has to make a compromise between order effiency and stacking all the positive modifiers in a face to face roll, or that the enemy can simply shrug off any hits delivered on your active turn and swing back on your reactive - remember that tougher foes can often afford to lose a wound, fail a Guts Roll to break Line of Fire, and be relative safe from you for the rest of the turn!

 

When in comes to the reactive turn, boy do the Mukhtars have a class jaw! With only PH 11, they will struggle to dodge even Direct Templates they can see coming (a Ligh Flamethrower has a disturbingly high chance of killing your vengeful supersoldier outright!), and they'll be hard pressed to keep agency on your reactive turn as enemies maneuver around them, as they'll be rolling 8s to Dodge when an enemy moves within their Zone of Control, and even if they succeed, they only get to move 2'' (consider this against the Khawarij's 10s/3'', Nahab's 10s/4'' or the Namurr's 12s/3''!)! The Hacker is a clear exeption here; she can contest (non-Stealth) enemy movement with Spotlights rather nicely.

While Mukhtars are quite tough against BTS targeting attacks, they are very vulnerable to hits from ARM save forcing weapons. Reactive turn gunfights, Template weapons and melee fighters will make quick work of them - your only true deterrent to close range attacks being your own Direct Template retaliation. On the subject of melee, the Mukhtars are also the only supersoldiers who are practically defenseless in a close combat scrum - they lack the melee skills of the Nahabs or the Khawarijs, and even the naturally high CC coupled with Immunity (Total) of the Namurrs - CC 16 isn't much to brag about, and only two profiles can threaten meaninful melee strikes (with D-Charges) if they somehow manage to win!

Avengers, Asssemble!

Mukhtars can form both a Fireteam Haris as well as Fireteam Duos. Their speedy 6-2 MOV, coupled with their Forward Deployment 4'' means that most Wildcards available to RTF can't keep up with them without slowing the team down, so you have to strike a balance between celerity and utility. Then again, the Mukhtar profiles themselves do offer a good range of gunfighter and Specialist options. If I were to build a Haris out of these supersoldiers, I'd probably include the MSV L2 Red Fury as the primary attack piece, the Doctor or the Hacker as the utility Specialist and the Namurr Tactical Awareness profile as the melee threat. The resulting Fireteam would be fast and terrifying for most enemy targets to face, but I fear it could fall to the enemy rather quickly when things stopped going their way.

Forming a Duo carries pretty much the same challenges, without any payoffs beyond Order economy. I personally love saturating the field with as many individual supersoldiers as I can, and thus projecting threat as widely as possible, but if I end having two Mukhtars or a Mukhtar and a suitable Wildcard, I'm not opposed to deploying them as a Duo if the circumstances make it seem like a good choice!

The Least Supersoldiery of the Supersoldiers?

In a catagory of troops mostly defined by being a varying blend of Rocks, Papers and Scissors, the Mukhtars stand out as being a cutting edge set of Scissors. They will make short work of any light troops (Paper) they're sent after, and they can achieve the stray ITS Mission Objective, Classified Card or Spotlight hack in the process, but they do usually get pummeled by the first serious rock thrown their way. Then again, it really pays to have some very focused units to spearhead (or support) your versatile pieces, and I can't remember a time I'd regretted bringing a Mukhtar along. I often unleash my Active Response Unit's soldier(s) early game, so that they can enact their revenge upon the enemy, and help my more well rounded pieces survive to the late game and make their presense felt. Then again, if my Opponents fail to put down the attacking Mukhtar swiftly and decisively, woe on them; vengeance has come!

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

In The Veteran's Word I write down experiences and tactics that I did not include when I released the article originally. I will separate these additions into a subpart of their own, instead of adding them to the main text, as to make it easier for readers who've already read the article to find the new additions!

• 
  Missile or Shotgun, Your Call Buddy. If you can engage a lone enemy target with your Mukhtar 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 Mukhtar, but you should be able to leverage Mimetism (-3), Cover and No Wound Incapacitation to lessen the risk!
  

 

19/4/2021 Edit. Corrected spelling mistakes, made some readibility improvements and added links to the text.

18/10/2021 Edit. Added a couple of pictures of the Mukhtar Hacker and rearranged the order some pics as a result.

2/3/2022 Edit. Added The Veteran's Word Missile or Shotgun, Your Call Buddy. 

2/8/2022 Edit. Updated the Article to post N4 Fireteam Update era.