Honor, Discipline, Cohort - Janissaries in RTF

HONOR, DISCIPLINE, COHORT - Janissaries 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.

While there are other, more specialized, Heavy Infantry units integrated into Ramah Taskforce, only the Janissaries are dedicated line troops, as they are the ones tasked with holding the front against the fiercest attacks, and leading the most daring assaults. In the backstory, the Janissaries are recruited mostly from the lowest socio-economical levels of the Haqqislamite society, though there are exeptions of volunteers from more well off families who also join the Corps. Only the toughest make it through the cruelling physical, mental and spiritual training, that produces an elite (if on the game table, rather vanilla) Heavy Infantry unit.

Forged in the Harshed of Conditions

The Janissaries' statline is nothing short of amazing! While they lack the now rather common S 2 Heavy Infantry MOV of 6-2, instead having to do with the standard 4-4, their CC of 18, BS, PH and WIP of 14, and their ARM 4 and BTS 6 make the Janissaries some of the highest capability "standard" HI out there!

 

Slighly dissapointingly, the rest of their rules aren't as spectacular... While having Dodge (+1'') is nice (especially considering the aforementioned PH 14), Religious Troop is a slight disadvantage you must be accustomed to by now, so work that one into your reactive turn plans! Damnigly though, the Janissaries' code of conduct stops them from using Cubes, and this means that you can't reroll failed Doctor Rolls when trying to resuscitate them - keep that one in mind, it'll be important later! Lastly, Immunity (Shock) is a multi-wound model standard, so no surprises there.

These elite Heavy Infantry can form both a Fire Team Core, as well as a Haris, but let's check out the profiles first!

To Pierce Some Armor

Interestingly enough, all the Janissaries carry Shock CC Weapons - there won't be any survivors if these power armored warriors jab a combat knife between their enemies' ribs! While CC 18 is decent enough, I don't think we need dwell on the matter any more than that - just keep it in mind if the fighting ever gets really desperate!

AP Rifle, Light Shotgun, (Lieutenant Option Available) - 34pts

While most "standard Heavy Infantry" carry Combi or Multi Rifles, the Janissaries up the ante by carrying AP Rifles and Light Shotguns. I'd argue that this is even stronger a set of armanents, as while you're losing the ability to use DA and Shock rounds when compared with the Multi Rifle (the first of which is of use mostly only on the reactive turn anyway), the addition of the Light Shotgun more than compensates for this - even to a point where I'd struggle to bring a dedicated Boarding Shotgun trooper with my Fireteam! This profile also has the option of being a hard to kill (yet Isolatable!) Lieutenant, and I've used the Janissary LT on the ITS (13) Mission Decapitation sometimes!

 

Heavy Machine Gun - 41pts/1,5SWC

If you require a sturdy, dependable HMG platform, here you've got one! The Janissary fits neatly between the Zhayedan and the Al Fasid Heavy Machine Gunners on the axes of ability to win gunfights/durability/price. Throw this guy into a (mighty expensive) five member Fireteam, and watch him gun down everyone and their mothers! Just keep in mind that this guy is the only Janissary profile without AP ammunition available, so TAGs and other really heavy armored targets may prove troublesome!

 

Boarding Shotgun - 33pts

While the Boarding Shotgun is a solid weapon that can achieve hilarious target numbers in a five man Fireteam at close ranges, this profile struggles mightily to compete with the AP Rifle/Light Shotgun variant described above. You can bring one along if you have something special in mind, or you absolutely need a point saved, but otherwise it's a hard sell!

 

Boarding Shotgun, TinBot (Firewall -3) OR AP Rifle, Light Shotgun, TinBot (Firewall -3) - 34 OR 35pts

For a mere point, you can upgrade either the AP Rifle/Light Shotgun or Boarding Shotgun Janissary to also provide Hacking protection for the whole Team. The only reason I wouldn't do this, is having a body double for my Lieutenant! Keep in mind, that the Firewall also works both against Jammers and the pesky Tohaa Pheroware Tactics - BTS 9 and a -3 attack mod will frustate your alien Opponents greatly! If you choose to include Leila Sharif as a part of your Fireteam, she also becames a whole lot deadlier against opposing Hackers when utilizing the Firewall!

 

Missile Launcher - 38pts/1,5SWC

This profile is an excellent no-nonsense ARO piece, with or without a Fireteam to back her up! While her BS 14 doesn't quite mach up to the BS 12 + Marksmanship of the Zhayedan Missile Launcher, the greatly added survivability more than compensates for this! Sadly, like her Immortal counterpart, this piece lacks a good secondary weapon, and thus can't really pivot to attack duty with any semblance of dependability...

AP Rifle, Light Shotgun, Doctor (2W) - 38pts

Remember when I told to keep in mind the fact that Janissaries don't carry Cubes? No problem you thought, I can still heal them on 17s you thought! Not so fast! The Janissary Doctor is an odd beast. On one hand, healing two wounds back to Heavy Infantry is great (thanks to Doctor (2W)), but on the other, rolling for 14s with no re-rolls available doesn't feel so great! This leaves the elite Doctor in a situation where I'd rather use him as an aggressive solo Specialist, who can heal Cubed two wound infantry (like Al Fasids and Tarik Mansuri) via Nasmats, than actually have him be part of a Janissary Fireteam - the squad healer's job can be outsourced to the cheaper, and more realiable, Rahman Rouhani!

Stand With Me, Brothers and Sisters!

The N4 Fireteam Update was a total overhaul to the way Janissary Fireteams are constructed, and I'm sad to say that things didn't change for the better, atleast if you're looking to run a "pure" Fireteam of these elite soldiers. While a Janissary squad can include Hortlak Janissaries, an Al Fasid and Wild Bill among it's numbers (in addition to the full complement of Wildcards), only the Hortlaks actually count as Janissaries for the purposes of Fireteam bonuses! What all this means is that you either have to build squads that forgo the full bonuses for added flexibility, or shell out copious amounts of points for your Heavy Infantry Fireteams!

Janissaries as a Fireteam Core

While there techically is the possibility of fielding a full Core Fireteam of just Janissaries, their high cost makes this (almost) unsustainable from list building standpoint, unless very spesific conditions apply. Furthermore, such a squad has many glaring weaknesses (like being blinded by Smoke for example), that can be overcome by diversifying the Team's makeup - allthough this will in turn end up costing you the +2BS and +3 to Discover bonuses!

Hortlak Janissaries are the obvious pick to bring along, because while they lose some durability (with their 1 wound + No Wound Incapacitation/Immunity (Shock) and ARM/BTS 3), they do impose a Mimetism (-3) modifier on their opponents, while having Multispectral Visor L1 themselves! You can have a bargain briced Heavy Infantry with SMG and Blitzen join your Team for 27pts, or add the excellent (AP) Sniper for 35 points.

The Janissaries also accept all the Wildcards to their ranks. The Namurr surely is an intriguing option here; while he/she costs more than most of the other team members, they do provide some maneuverability with his/her 6-2 MOV and Climbing Plus, while also being a durable, and non-Hackable, Specialist. When it comes to other Wildcards, any of them can be justifiably included in the Core:

• Tarik Mansuri can act as a brutal mid to close range pointman, and fight in melee if neccessary.
• Yara Haddad can provide a secondary gunfighter with which to nullify Mimetism mods and take advantage of any Smoke you may have access to.
• Leila Sharif can be the cheapest member of the team, while still providing an important deterrant to any Hackers your Opponent may employ to try and counter your Janissaries with.
• Rahman Rouhani is a way cheaper and way more reliable way of healing your Heavy Infantry, than your Janissary Doctor.
• Wild Bill can be a very effective close range gunner, thanks to his Marksmanship and higher mobility, while still being cheaper than your avarage Janissary.
  

If I were to build an all comers Core Janissary Fireteam, I'd probably bring the HMG as a primary gunfighter, the AP Rifle, Light Shotgun and TinBot Janissary as a secondary fighter/Comms Attack protection, Rahman Rouhani as a healer/Specialist, a Hortlak Janissary AP Sniper as an ARO piece, and Wild Bill as the fifth member, with Leila Sharif hanging around for when the Sniper goes down and the squad requires reinforcement. This resulting Fireteam is both brutally effective and brutally costly, but if you don't mind putting (almost) all of your eggs in one basket; got ahead and give it a spin!

Janissaries as a Haris

I'd consider running a Janissary Haris mainly for it's ability to include an exotic combination of models capable to synergising with one another, rather than including three expensive Heavy Infantry troopers in a squad just for the heck of it! To me the Haris that promises the most is a combiantion of the Janissary Doctor, Namurr Tactical Awareness and Al Fasid Heavy Rocket Launcher - this combination allows for you to take full advantage of the Doctor (2W) skill while migitating it's unreliability with Cube provided rerolls, power the squad with an additional Order, and threaten a variety of targets at a variety of ranges (Burst 4 Heavy Rocker Launcher; come to papa)! On the otherhand, there's no denying that the three models above eat up well more a third of your strike team's points allowance, so the opportunity cost is rather steep indeed...

At end of the day, there are almost an infinite amount of ways of building Janissary Haris teams, as long as you bring along atleast one true Janissary - just go to town and let me know what you came up with, and how did it do!

Don't Quit on Me Now!

The Janissaries are a wildly different unit from anything else you can field in Ramah Taskforce. Where the rest of the force mainly focuses on versatile, lightly armored combatants, the Janissaries instead are more traditional heavy armored gunfighters - they are solid hammers in a toolbox that's mostly made up of multitools.

Two wounds, good armor and excellent BTS make Janissary (Fireteams) some of the most durable assets at RTF's disposal. If trudging forward and obliterating your opponents with volleys of gunfire is your thing, ready your Cohort members for the job! Just keep in mind, that unlike most units in this Sectorial, the Janissaries themselves will struggle to pivot from their prime role to do anything else. They're also highly susceptible to close combat attacks, and somewhat threatened by Hacking, not to mention expensive to field.

Most of the Janissaries' apparent weaknesses can be overcome by including various "counts as" models and Wildcards in the Fireteam, but ultimately this will end up compromising the squads (ranged) fighting capability and/or durability. The Janissaries also lack good Specialists of their own (the Doctor is a peculiar piece, as discussed), so they have to rely on outside help to get Objectives completed and infowar Specialists outhacked.

I'm usually opposed to cross comparing units between factions, but if we look at the roles that Heavy Infantry play in other Factions, I believe we can gleam a better understanding of the position of Janissaries in RTF. Janissaries can actually outperform most other gunfighting oriented S2 Heavy Infantry out there statswise - their BS, ARM/BTS, WIP and/or basic weapon loadouts put ORCs and Zhùyongs to shame! Unfortunately, the aforementioned units are usually seen spearheading Fireteams of cheap Light Infantry, or as highly Order effective squads of their own, while the Janissaries can't join Ghulam Fireteams, nor can they access profiles with NCO or cheap Tactical Awareness - facts that leave the heavility armored Haqqislamites feeling quite bland, despite their great statlines!

There is also no denying, that while Janissaries are effective, and most importantly durable, shooters, there are plenty of other great shooters in RTF. Zhayedans can achieve higher Success Values (at a lower pricepoint) thanks to their Marksmanship ability, the Mukhtars can set up even more lobsided face to face situations thanks to their Mimetism (-3), while the Khawarijs can draw their swords are carve enemies up in melee if gunning down a target down doesn't pan out. While Janissaries in and off themselves are strong, they also face strong competition in Ramah's "things to kill things with" -category of troops.

A Bond Unbreakable

Janissaries offer Ramah Taskforce a dependable, and situationally stellar, Heavy Infantry unit with which to smite the enemies of Haqqislam. While they are truly elite soldiers on their own, their bond with their comrades in arms is what gives them strength in both the backstory, and on the tabletop. It's quite rare to see a lone Janissary in a RTF strike team - if you see them, it's usually with a diverse and deadly Fireteam by their side! Such a squad will give you the chance to play some of the pieces otherwise less seen in the Sectorial, and maybe even catch some opponents off guard - I sometimes bust out my Heavy Infantry Core when I feel that my regular Opponents seem to complacent in their ability to predict what I'm going bring against them! At the end of the day, you can count on the Janissaries walking to hell and back for you, or die to the last trying!

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

 

 

23/4/2021 Edit. Corrected spelling mistakes and added links to the text.

20/2/2021 Edit. Replaced the pictures of CB painted miniatures with ones painted by yours truly. Removed the "Unit Performance Data Incomplete" notification because of the extensive experience I've been able to garner playing my Janissaries.

2/8/2022 Edit. Updated the article to reflect the changes brought about by the N4 Fireteam Update.