THE SINNERS AMONG THE ANGELS - Al Fasids 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.
Big, But Not That Bulky
Haqqislam is the leading power in the Human Sphere when it comes to biotechnological enhancement and supersoldier creation, but in the more traditional hardware side of things the soldiers of Bourak often have to do with more moderate equipment. In the case of Al Fasids, this means that a Size 5 Heavy Inftantryman has to do with a statline that you might find in a S 2 model within the PanOceanian or the Yu Jing forces.
The Al Fasids have 4-4 MOV, which is thoroughly average, but you also do need to take into account the fact that their S 5 (and thus larger base size when compared to standard troops) makes moving around corners and clearing obstacles more cumbersome than you may be otherwise used to.
BS 13 means that the Al Fasids can brings their heavy weapons to bear rather effectively, while if you’re checking their CC (of 17), your next question is probably going to be ”how many saves and against what damage should I roll?”. When it comes to taking hits, ARM 5 means that the Corrupted should be able to tank most hits from standard weapons when taking up position in Cover; if you take a wound, it’s propably better to fail your Guts Roll and break Line of Fire, as to not lose a rather powerful (and expensive!) model unneccessarily. Immuninity (Shock) is universal to models with more than one wound, and all it means that you get to try and heal an unconcious Al Fasid even if they took their last wound from a Shock weapon.
While all Heavy Infantry are susceptible to Hacking Attacks, the Al Fasids are surprisingly on the more difficult end of the spectrum for most infowar specialists to disable. To begin with, they benefit from the excellent WIP of 14 and decent BTS of 6 (the latter stat can be even further improved by the Fairydust Hacking Program available to the EVO Kameel). In addition, Al Fasids have the Veteran skill, which makes them immune to the effects of Isolation (and the Loss of Lieutenant should the worst come to pass)! Veteran effectively means that neither the Oblivion Hacking Program (the usual go to for most reactive Hackers), the (Tohaa and Spiral Corps) Pheroware Tactic of Eraser, nor Jammers can be put to use against these elite Heavy Infantrymen! Veteran also reduces the risk of E/M weapons against the Corrupted, as even if they fail their saving throw, they are only Immobilized-B; a State that they can still reset out of by rolling for 11s - not bad!
The wryly Al Fasids also benefit from the amazing Sixth Sense rule, which negates enemy Stealth and Surpise Attack skills, as well as stops opposing soldiers from gaining an edge over the Haqqislamite by employing the old Smoke + Multispectral Visor L2/3 -trick! When taken into account with the Al Fasid’s stellar PH of 14, this skill also means that enemies trying to outflank this armored behemoth will find him to be surprisingly agile on the reactive turn (Dodging on 14s against Zone of Control acting enemies and Guided Missiles is a higher target number than any of the supersoldiers can achieve without four member Fireteam Core Bonuses), and they can even return fire against attacks directed at them regardles of facing! Note that you have to ponder carefully whether to shoot back or dodge on the ARO, as your Dodge’s Success Value is usually better!
The Al Fasids have 4-4 MOV, which is thoroughly average, but you also do need to take into account the fact that their S 5 (and thus larger base size when compared to standard troops) makes moving around corners and clearing obstacles more cumbersome than you may be otherwise used to.
BS 13 means that the Al Fasids can brings their heavy weapons to bear rather effectively, while if you’re checking their CC (of 17), your next question is probably going to be ”how many saves and against what damage should I roll?”. When it comes to taking hits, ARM 5 means that the Corrupted should be able to tank most hits from standard weapons when taking up position in Cover; if you take a wound, it’s propably better to fail your Guts Roll and break Line of Fire, as to not lose a rather powerful (and expensive!) model unneccessarily. Immuninity (Shock) is universal to models with more than one wound, and all it means that you get to try and heal an unconcious Al Fasid even if they took their last wound from a Shock weapon.
While all Heavy Infantry are susceptible to Hacking Attacks, the Al Fasids are surprisingly on the more difficult end of the spectrum for most infowar specialists to disable. To begin with, they benefit from the excellent WIP of 14 and decent BTS of 6 (the latter stat can be even further improved by the Fairydust Hacking Program available to the EVO Kameel). In addition, Al Fasids have the Veteran skill, which makes them immune to the effects of Isolation (and the Loss of Lieutenant should the worst come to pass)! Veteran effectively means that neither the Oblivion Hacking Program (the usual go to for most reactive Hackers), the (Tohaa and Spiral Corps) Pheroware Tactic of Eraser, nor Jammers can be put to use against these elite Heavy Infantrymen! Veteran also reduces the risk of E/M weapons against the Corrupted, as even if they fail their saving throw, they are only Immobilized-B; a State that they can still reset out of by rolling for 11s - not bad!
The wryly Al Fasids also benefit from the amazing Sixth Sense rule, which negates enemy Stealth and Surpise Attack skills, as well as stops opposing soldiers from gaining an edge over the Haqqislamite by employing the old Smoke + Multispectral Visor L2/3 -trick! When taken into account with the Al Fasid’s stellar PH of 14, this skill also means that enemies trying to outflank this armored behemoth will find him to be surprisingly agile on the reactive turn (Dodging on 14s against Zone of Control acting enemies and Guided Missiles is a higher target number than any of the supersoldiers can achieve without four member Fireteam Core Bonuses), and they can even return fire against attacks directed at them regardles of facing! Note that you have to ponder carefully whether to shoot back or dodge on the ARO, as your Dodge’s Success Value is usually better!
Heavy Armor, Heavy Weapons
All Al Fasids pack Heavy Pistols as their sidearms. I’ve killed many an enemy with DMG 14 Shock rounds when foes have gotten delusions of grandeur in their heads, and thought that the safest spot for them to take the Corupted on is up close. The Heavy Pistol is especially dangerous to models with Dogged/No Wound Incapacitation, but no Immunity (Shock), so Warbands beware! As already mentioned Al Fasids also carry Mines. If (and when) you chooce to utilize the Minelayer skill at deployment, you only have two explosives left for the rest of the game. This should be plenty though, as Al Fasids usually place Mines as an afterthought while advancing (or sometimes as cheeky AROs), rather than use them as important components when executing attack runs (compare that to the Tuaregs for example).
Heavy Rocket Launcher (+1B), Submachine Gun, Heavy Pistol, Shock Mines – 45ps/1,5SWC
The cheaper Al Fasid packs the deadly Heavy Rocker Launcher (+1B) as his main weapon, and even supplements his close range firepower with the Submachine Gun. This loadout is probably the more popular of the two, as it brings a decent Burst main weapon that can potentially take out almost any target with a single hit (thanks to Continous Damage), and even splash careless secondary enemies in the process. The template attack also bypasses the +3 ARM bonus from cover, so you can almost think of it like a DMG 17 gun most of the time! SMG will come handy if the Al Fasid finds himself in a close encouter, or you want to enter Suppressive Fire state at the end of your active turn! This weapon however has a lot of overlap with the Heavy Pistol, which is relegated into a close range non-Suppressive Fire ARO option (or a melee weapon!) on this loadout.Heavy Machine Gun, Grenade Launcher, Smoke Grenade Launcher, Heavy Pistol, Shock Mines – 53pts/1,5SWC
The second Al Fasid profile makes use of the trusty HMG, and having such a weapon on a BS 13 and ARM 5 platform is pretty sweet. The durability of the Corrupted means that the Al Fasid can pick close to even fights and trust in his armor holding, should the face to face roll go wrong! This piece also has the option to Speculative Attack with the Grenade Launcher (rolling for 7s while firing at targets within 24’’), or to lay Smoke to cover your advancing pieces. If you pick this choice over the other HMG options of RTF, you should aim to make full use of the Al Fasid's versatile set of abilities – the task of simply machine gunning people can also be achieved by the likes of the Janissary or the Zhayedan HMG for cheaper, or the likes of Shakush with more Order efficiency."We're All Familiar With the Reputation of the Al Fasid, And None of Us Like It!"
I feel that Al Fasids are traditionally maligned not just in the backstory of Infinity, but also by the RTF players. I think this has more to do with the weigh of history from N3, than the actual performance of the model in the contemporary Infinity meta.
First of all, the stock of heavily armored/expensive models has gone up since the shift to N4. As it's very hard to catch an Al Fasid out of Cover (remember he's going to be Dodging around as opponents close in!), these elite soldiers will be benefitting from ARM 8 against most gunshots! The 15 model cap also means that it's more plausible than ever to include the Corrupted in your list. Al Fasids are also surprisingly self sufficient. I always bring some form of Doctor support to revive my fallen Heavy Infantryman, but he doesn't need an Engineer to hold his hand - thanks to being immune to Isolation and being able to break out of Immobilized-B pretty realiably (55% chance per roll); how many other models of his class can claim the same level of independence?
Another thing going for the Corrupted is the emergence of the threat of Tohaa's "smell attacks" against Ramah Taskforce operatives. Pheroware Tactics can really give the alien forces an isurmountable advantage over many traditional RTF units, but the unisolatable BTS 6 Al Fasid can tank most of such by the Tohaa - especially as I'll always bring an EVO along to impose the -3 attack modifier and +3 BTS modifier from Fairydust if I know that I'll be facing these high tech aliens!
With Ramah Taskforce's heavy focus on Light Infantry operatives (see what I did there?) it's quite common for RTF strike teams to end up being quite light of traditional longe range firepower - especially some with good staying power. While the maneuverability and close range fighting prowess of the Sectorial are most the time enough to overcome this weakness, it's also great to sometimes splash out and invest in an Al Fasid to anchor your force of mobile attack pieces. Many a foe can be caught off guard when they're expecting a force of low ARM Light Infantry with close range guns, only to walk into a reserve deployed Al Fasid!
You, With Me!
The Al Fasids have the ability to be part of two types of Fireteams. The more simple one is the so called Armored Assault Fireteam (a Duo). The idea of running a pair of Al Fasids together or one Corrupted with a TAG or a Zhayedan is to me more funny than usable so Duoing up will in reality mean bringing along either a Wildcard or a Rafiq Red Fury. The latter option means you get to bring a 20 point specialist along, and a Burst 4
gun with which to cover the Al Fasid's 0 mod rangeband (from 8'' to 16''). This isn't half a
bad option to utilize, as you can advance towards Scenario Objectives, while churning out impressive amounts of firepower, and having a Sensor along for the ride can be really nice against any Camoed or Hidden Deployed threats waiting to ruin your day! The Rafiq also carries a Repeater, so you can cover your Al Fasid in a protective hacking net (if you've invested in infowar Specialists of your own)!
The other option is to bring a Wildcard along in your ASFT, and this will in practise most of the time mean either Leila Sharif or Rahman Rouhani. Both are very capable specialists on their own right - one brings Killer Hacking support, while the other is ready to revive the Al Fasid should he fall Unconcious. Rouhani can also be pressed to service as an ARO asset with his WIP 15 Flash Pulse, while Leila's Shock Marksman Rifle can augment the Duo's firepower, and her E/M Mines can be a nasty surpise for enemies trying to creep up on you! If you're worried about Mimetism employing foes, or you're jumping at the chance to fire through the HMG Al Fasid's Smoke with a MSV L2 trooper, you could even splash out for Yara Haddad!
The other Fireteam that the Corrupted can join is the somewhat weirdly that of the virtuous Janissaries (maybe they're hoping some of their good behavior rubs off on the mercenary operative?). Unfortunately not only are the Al Fasids even more expensive than the already expensive Janissaries, but also they lack the ability to count as cohort members for the purposes of Fireteam composition bonuses. This means that it should be exceedingly rare to see a full Core of Janissaries with an Al Fasid in tow, but to me the Haris option shows a whole lot more promise! By adding a Wildcard of some type, you can form a flexible (if still expensive) Team that get's to leverage the Corrupted's heavy weapons (with that sweet +1 Burst bonus), the Janissary Doctor's ability so heal the Al Fasid back to full wounds should he go down (thanks to Doctor 2W), in addition to what ever the chosen Wildcard brings to the table!
Honor Restored
The Al Fasids suffer from an undeserved bad reputation. I've heard people ask "why should I bring an Al Fasid, when I can bring a Shakush (and it's Tactical Awareness Order) for only a few points more"? My answer is: if you can't see the value in a Minelaying, Veteran, Sixth Sensed Heavy Infantryman, who Dodges around better almost any of our supersoldiers, who can't be Possessed by an enemy Hacker (like a TAG can), and who can engage their chosen targets at a variety of ranges, all the while making use of the awesome Doctor support that Ramah Taskforce has to offer, then this unit propably isn't for you! At the end of the day, it's not just what the Al Fasid can do; it's also what the enemy can't do to the Al Fasid!
Until the next time - I wish you the very best in leading the Swift and Deadly Spear of the Haqqislamite Army to Victory!
21/42021 Edit. Corrected a few spelling mistakes and added links to the text.
5/8/2022 Edit. Updated the arcticle to reflect the N4 Fireteam Update changes.
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