Immortal Valour - Zhayedans in RTF

IMMORTAL VALOUR - Zhayedans 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.

 

One of the explanations to the name of the Zhayedans is that in ancient Persia the 10 000 strong hand picked elite fighting force (and the King's Guard) was known as the Immortals - not because they could not be killed, but because their number was fixed. This is actually quite a good analogy for the Zhayedan Intervention Troops; they are the crème de la crème of the (non-supersoldier) non-Heavy Infantry of Ramah Taskforce; a reliable corps of veterans ready to face anyone, anywhere, anytime.

Veterans of Dozens of Campaigns

The Zhayedans are battle hardened veterans, though not supersoldiers, and this is reflected in their elite Medium Infantry statlines. They have the standard 4-4 MOV, while their more favored status is shown with ARM 2 and BTS 3 - even though not great, these are certainly better-than-ordinary stats. They have BS 12, which is above avarage for a Haqqislamite soldier, as well as the higher-than-Ghulam CC of 16, and the PH of 11. All in all: solid, but so far not great!

Now let's get to what makes the Zhayedans what they are: Marksmanship! Simply put, this skill means that the Immortals ignore their opponent's Cover mods when rolling to hit with BS Attacks, which effectively makes them BS 15 shots against models in cover. BS 15. In Haqqislam. 15. Let it sink in... Can you feel that warm feeling spreading all over your body? That's what a PanO player feels when they pick a gunfight! The importance of this skill cannot be overstated; the Zhayedans will most of the time give you the best chance you'll get at just picking a single Order firefight and winning it when you're playing Ramah Taskforce.

The elite status of the Immortals is also shown by their Veteran skill, which makes them immune to Isolation (be it from E/M munitions, Jammers or Pheroware Tactics), as well as to the Loss of Lieutenant - these hardened professionals will see the operation through no matter what! If the Zhayedan do go down on the line of duty, they can utilize Regeneration to get a 55% chance of recovering from unconcious at the end of the turn in which they got hit. This makes the Immortals very self sufficient, as you don't necessarily need to have Doctor support available for them, and these old warhorses won't even be providing enemies with easy Classified Card targets by lying on the ground, waiting to be captured or killed... Remember that you don't have to use Regeneration though - if a Zhayedan drops down at the feet of a Doctor, by all means heal them the old fashioned way!

The Zhayedan can also be part of both Fireteam Cores and Fireteam Haris - we'll adress those after the profile picks.

The Best Gear That Haqqislam Can Offer

The Zhayedans don't (unRamahly) have any special gear that all the profiles share, so we're off to the profiles!

 

Breaker Rifle, Light Shotgun, (Lieutenant option available) - 25pts

Ramah Taskforce has a very limited range of models that employ BTS targeting lethal weapons (Nahabs, Hortlak Janissaries and a Mukhtar profile carry some type Viral weapons), and this Zhayedan is one of the Sectorial's only three models armed with a Breaker Rifle (the other two being Namurr profiles). The Immortal is as good a shot with this weapon as one can hope, and getting to bypass heavy armor (or punish low BTS) is a good option to have - especially when you don't have to break the bank to get him. You do have to creep pretty close to make use of the Breaker Rifle at it's optimal range, but remember that you can take shots at targets up to 32'' away at 9s! This profile also carries the ever trusty Light Shotgun, which gives you the option to go for Direct Template attacks, or to try and roll for 18s when on your good range! Digging a Suppressive Firing Immortal out of Cover can also prove difficult (as he is rolling for 12s if you placed him right), so keep that option always in mind! The "standard" Zhayedan can be your Lieutenant, though to me he isn't special enough to warrant the job.

 

Heavy Machine Gun, BS Attack (Shock), (Lieutenant option available) - 33pts/1,5SWC

Oh sweet baby, where were you all of N3? Putting a Burst 4, Damage 15 long ranged Shock weapon into the hands of the Zhayedan makes for a very, very lethal gunner! Ramah Taskforce has a notable absense of HMGs on non-Heavy Infantry, non-TAG platforms (besides the humble Ghulams), but why would you want them on anyone else, when this guy exists? For 33 points (and sometimes more crucially 1,5SWC) you not only get an extremely competent active turn shooter, but also a very self sufficient one - the Zhayedan doesn't require any targeting or medical support to work at peak efficiency! When I choose to invest in an (Im)mortal LT, this is my go to choice; he gets to use a very high value order, he rarely requires much maneuvering to get to position, he's immune to Isolation, and he can even get up on his own should he go down! My intepretation is, that you can even roll for Regeneration before deciding whether to activate Chain of Command on the Khawarij or the Hortlak Janissary you surely brought along! As with the Breaker Rifle profile, keep your eyes out for good spots for Suppressive Fire, and also remember that in a pintch, the HMG can be used as a poor (or rich?) man's Sniper on the reactive turn!

 

Sniper Rifle - 27pts/0,5SWC

Ah! My personal favorite Sniper in RTF! This Zhayedan is a truly deadly marskman, as he's rolling for 15s against most targets at even the most extreme ranges. This gives him a 75% chance of scoring a success, and the successes at the higher end of the spectrum are likely to cancel most of incoming enemy shots that would threaten your Sniper. Even if you get hit, there's still the chance that your ARM or Regeneration will shine through, and you get to keep your Immortal. Regeneration also means that he doesn't need a Doctor's Nasmat to hold his hand (or telegraph his position - I sometimes like to leave my Zhayedan (Sniper) as a reserve drop to hopefully surprise my Opponent)! While it is true that on the reactive turn it's most often beneficial to stack negative modifiers on your Opponent, rather than positives on your roll (due to the weigh of dice being in favor of the attacker), having Marksmanship makes the Zhayedan a better active turn piece than his closest competitors. I personally love models that can pivot between roles as the situation dictates, and just like the HMG can be pressed to service as the poor man's Sniper, so can the Sniper fill role of a poor man's HMG!

Missile Launcher - 28pts/1,5SWC

This profile trades (almost) all the active turn reliability for added stopping power if you land your shot(s). No enemy can pick a fight with an effectively BS 15 Missile Launcher without a credible fear of finding themselves smeared all over the battlefield, and this makes this gal all the more fearsome an ARO presence for pretty much the same (points) cost as the Sniper. Then again, you never, ever want to roll one dice against one dice on an active turn (gunfight) if you can help it, and I've had my Sniper kill too many things on the active turn to pick the Missile Launcher over him too often. But, if you're looking for a definitive (and self sufficient) ARO piece, here you go! Turn up the heat by asking your Opponent's if they're "feeling lucky, punk?" and rattling a couple of dice in your hand as they ponder whether to challenge your Missile Launcher...

 

Boarding Shotgun, Doctor (+3), BS Attack (Shock) - 29pts

Elite RTF Doctors tend to get overlooked as "mere" Doctors, and it seems people are often rather eager to replace them with cheaper options (such as Rahman Rouhani) when possible. I personally find the Zhayedan Doctor (as well as her Khawarij and Mukhtar counterparts) to be both a great Specialist of her type, and a compentent attack piece to boot! Boarding Shotgun that hits things on 18s with AP slugs at close ranges is no joke, and remember that you're still rolling for 12s against most targets up to 16'' away! Opposing pieces can't even reliably trade with the Zhayedan Doctor if the Immortal chooses to fire away with the Direct Template mode, as Regeneration allows for the medical professional to potentially get up on her own! This Zhayedan is also phenomenal at completing Classified Cards, being as she is a WIP 14 Veteran Medium Inftantry Doctor! Unfortunately I'd be lying if said I tend to pick the Zhayedan Doctor over her half priced Ghulam counterpart most of the time!

An Essencial Strategic Resource

Although the Zhayedan Intervention Troops fall under the same general category of "Elite non-Heavy Infantry" as Ramah Taskforce's supersoldiers, they are alltogether a very different beast when it comes to how they play. While the genetically enhanced soldiers of Bourak muscle their way through a variety of situations competently, the Zhayedans work in the vein of more traditional spec ops troops by neutralizing key targets the old fashioned way - at a distance. In a Sectorial that is considered somewhat "unHaqqislam" due it's heavier focus on face to facing through problems, the Zhayedans are the kings of winning face to face gunfights.

Another key feature besides their Marksmanship, is the Zhayedans' self suffiency. As befits elite soldiers who've seen it all, they require absolutely no support to get the job done! Being Veteran Medium Infantry, the Immortals won't have to fear Hacking (besides the ever present Spotlight threat) or Isolation, and with the ability to Regenerate, they don't strictly require any medical attention when they go down either.

 

Regeneration is a double edged sword; on one hand, RTF players have access to the best Doctors in Infinity, yet most of their supersoldiers benefit from No Wound Incapacitation, so spending Orders (and risking failure!) to heal them isn't often worth it. With the ability to try and get back on their feet on their own, the Zhayedans can situationally save you two Orders by passing their Regeneration roll (one for the now concious model in your Order count phase, another for not needing to heal them), while also sparing you points in the list building part of the game by not requiring first aid solutions to back them up in the first place.

Marksmanship and Regeneration make single Zhayedans one of the most plug-and-play options available for Ramah Taskforce; they almost feel like self supporting mini Fireteams on their own!

These wryly veterans aren't without their weaknesses though. At the end of the day, they are very much one trick ponies: they want to engage their targets in (active turn) gunfights at optimal ranges, and that's really it! Most of the profiles can't defend themselves at close ranges, and all of them fall to actual melee fighters very swiftly. Almost uncharacteristically for RTF, they're also vulnerable to Shock weapons, which deny them the ability to try and roll for Regeneration. All the disadvantages above are however things that can be quite easily overcome in list contruction with proper support, while not being all around powerhouses makes the Immortals (slightly) more affordable to include in your lirsts than most supersoldiers.

 

Squad; Mount Up!

The gift that is the N4 Fireteam Update means that the Zhayedan Intervention Troops can be part of both Ramah Taskforce Fireteam Cores as well as Haris. This in and off itself isn't that out of the ordinary; units such as Khawarijs, Narmurrs and even more exotic choices like Beasthunter FOs and Fiddler can join forces with Ghulams and Naffatûns. What makes Zhayedans special however, is their ability to count as Ghulams while operatig with them, which in turn allows them to reap the full benefits of "pure" Fireteams (rolling for 18s - here I come)! A Core of Immortals would end up costing you quite alot, but adding a Zhayedan or two to your mostly Line Trooper Core will give you the highest amount of raw firepower that the Sectorial can muster for a very reasonable cost! This squad can be brutal on both the active and the reactive turns, as a Zhayedan led Ghulam Core is the de facto apex gunfighting presence of most battlefields, which forces your Opponent to maneuver around them, or face the very high chance of annihilation! The prime candidate for active turn fighting under these circumstances is quite obviously the HMG Zhayedan, while the Missile Launcher gives you the best stopping power in the reactive turn (if you can manage the rather demanding rangebands). The Sniper is a decent medium between the two, and he's quite quickly turning into my go to guy for my primary ARO piece and an attack piece of opportunity - I can't get enough of watching my Opponents bendover backwards to take out or bypass a 27 point model!

Another rather easy way to include a Zhayedan in a Fireteam is to have them form a Haris with Ghulams or other RTFFT capable troops. My three member teams tend to include the HMG (or Sniper if points/SWC are tight) Immortal for longe range encounters, the Ghulam Doctor as a Specialist/healer/close range gunner, and a choice between the utility provided my the Ghulam NCO, a Ghulam Specialist or a Wildcard of choice.

The Zhayedans also have the odd possibility of forming an Armored Assault Duo with a Maghariba Guard, a Shakush, an Al Fasid or a Ragiq FO but... Let's cross those rather weird bridges in future articles, shall we?

All in all, you can form decently affordable, and scarily effective, ranged Fireteams with the Zhayedans as the Team's main ranged component. Then again, some of the self suffiency of the Immortals is lost when they're accompanied by other soldiers, and unlike in the case with the Khawarijs for example, I don't neccessary want to advance my Zhayedans at my foes if I can help it!

Fire Superiority

While I personally love playing a list in which most (active) models can pivot between approaches to solving various situations, while at same time being troublesome to counter in my Opponent's turn, there's no denying the awesomeness that is picking lobsided firefights and gleefully tearing your opponents apart at range - and that is what the Zhayedan Intervention Troops are here for! These elite troops can offer the RTF commander the ability to dictate the flow of the battle at crucial points by threatening or leveraging their firesuperiority, and thus facilitate the execution of your battle plan. At the best of times, the supersoldiers and the Immortals can even work hand in hand to encircle and destroy your foes! I remember a game (where luck was really on my side in all of my face to face rolls, mind you!) where my lone HMG Zhayedan picked off Svalarheima soldier after soldier from range, all the while my MK12 NCO Khawarij led mostly Ghulam Core swept in through the breach thus created and devastated my opponent's forces! When one of these terrific gunfighters found themselves pinned, the other would knock out the troublesome piece and open a way for the tandem attack to continue!

The Zhayedans may not be supersoldiers, but if you're looking for truly superior soldiers; here you've got some!

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

 

 

30/4/2021 Edit. Corrected some spelling mistakes and added links to the text.

15/7/2021 Edit. Added a couple of pictures of the finally(!) painted Zhayedan Doctor.

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