The Man, the Myth, the Legend - Tarik Mansuri in RTF

THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND - Tarik Mansuri 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.

 

If there is a military unit positioned in the front and centre of a Ramah Taskforce recruitment poster, it's the legendary Khawarijs. If there's a Khawarij positioned in the front and centre of the unit, it's Tarik Mansuri. This near mythical Red Turban is the runihura supersoldier program's most lauded success, but also the pinnacle that could never be reproduced - if it could have been, I'm pretty sure the map of the Human Sphere would look a tad different! So let's delve into the Khawarij Amir!

Super Supersoldier

And you thought non-character supersoldiers had busy statlines? Oh boy, how wrong you were... Tarik Mansuri is the fastest bioenhanced warrior in RTF, with his 6-4 MOV and the Super-Jump ability. Where it's sometimes difficult to make the 4'' Jump + Short Skill combo work with lesser troops, the excellent movement of Tarik makes his leaps not only more dashing, but also more dangerous to the enemy (just don't get caught by his S 5 base not clearing a ledge or you finding yourself without adequate space to land in)!

 

Tarik's improved PH of 14 makes the Amir skilled at Dodging enemy attacks (a task in which he's also aided by the Dodge (+2'') ability), and it also makes him a dangerous advesary in melee combat, when combined with with his CC 23, Martial Arts L1, CC Attack (Shock) and Natural Born Warrior! I actually ran the numbers, and Tarik is favored to win a single Order sword duel against Achilles himself (though the greek hero is way more likely to deal a killing blow should he win)!

Tarik doesn't pale against his Khawarij companions in the gunfighting department either, thanks to BS 13 and BS Attack (+2 DMG)! On the survival part of his profile, this legendary soldier boasts Immunity (Critical), Immunity (Shock), Stealth, 2 Wounds and ARM/BTS of 3 - though somewhat surprisingly, no Bioimmunity! 

The Khawarij Amir's profile is rounded out by the Religious Troop special rule, the harm of which is greatly migitated by his spectacular WIP of 15! Tarik is also a Wildcard, so he can make an appearance in any of the Sectorial's Fireteams!

All in all Tarik is pretty much everything you could look for in an aggressive power piece - his fast, deadly both at range and in melee, decently durable, unhackable (beyond the ubiquitous Spotlights), as well as attachable to any Fireteam! Why don't we see him more then?

The Khawarij Commander

Technically Tarik Mansuri has a total of five profiles available to him, but in truth, there are only two very distinct ones; the other three are just minor variations of the form!

AP Rifle, Light Shotgun, Grenades, DA CC Weapon (Lieutenant (+1 Order) and Tactical Awareness options available) - 48pts (OR 52pts/+1SWC for the Lieutenant (+1 Order) OR 51pts for the Tactical Awareness)

The first Tarik profiles comes equipped for short ranged affairs. The (DMG 15!) AP Rifle gives excellent killing power against well armored enemies, while the ever reliable Light Shotgun offers the choice between the +6 to hit modifier and Direct Templates when at optimal range. Grenades allow for Tarik to take advantage of his great PH of 14 to Speculative Attack bunched up enemies thinking themselves to be safe! If you do decide to make Tarik your Lieutenant, you will be rewarded with an extra Lieutenant Order! If you're really planning on bringing all the big guns, the AP Rifle Tarik LT version also gives you an extra 1 SWC, though I find it hard see myself building a 7 SWC list - not after already including as expensive a model as Tarik! If you're not brave (or foolish!) enough to make (AP Rifle) Tarik your Lieutenant, you might as well shell out the extra 3 points and upgrade to the Tactical Awereness version to gain access to an additional high value activation each turn!

Spitfire, Nanopulser, Grenades, DA CC Weapon (Lieutenant (+1 Order) option available) - 53pts/1,5WC (OR 57pts/1,5SWC for the Lieutenant (+1 Order))

The more expensive version of Tarik swaps the AP Rifle and the Shotgun for added Burst and range of the Spitfire, and for the BTS targeting Direct Template weapon in the Nanopulser. If you're planning on running around with your Khawarij hero gunning down all the enemies you can find, then this profile most likely is the one to get - the jump from B3 to B4 and from a 16'' positive rangeband to a 24'' one are very much felt! You're making a very pricey model even more expensive though, and the 1,5SWC tax can force you to make compromises when it comes to bringing other heavy weapons along! If you do decide to make him your striketeam leader, you get to access an additional Order, just as above!

Regardless of which Tarik profile you choose to bring, you're getting a heck of an offensive backage! Excellent Movement value and Super-Jump should make traversing the battlefield quite easy, and the Khawarij Amir's combat prowess should allow for him to cut down most enemies he faces, whether they be at (his optimal) firing range or in melee - and all this before you add the possibility of Fireteam Bonuses!

Even though attacking foe after foe with the king of supersoldiers is surely fun, you'd do best to stop your offense with enough Orders to tuck your elite attack piece somewhere (relatively) safe by the end of your active turn - consider Super-Jumping on top of something for example! While being ARM/BTS 3 and having Immunity (Critical) is nice, Tarik has no visual mods, and "only" two wounds. If the enemy can target him from outside his favourable rangebands with accurate high Burst weapons, or close the distance and Shotgun him up close, you may find yourself Tarikless pretty fast!

This duality of great offense and so-so defense makes for a very risky Lieutenant, should you choose to go that route. Having the extra Order is great, but you'll propably want to invest in some NCO and/or Chain of Command models to make full use the Khawarij Officer's leadership capabilites. It's also very unfornate that you can't use Tarik's Lieutenant Orders on him if he's leading a Fireteam, so there's that...

The situations in which I've found myself (being happy about) using Tarik as my Lieutenant have been:

• When the Mission awards the enemy points for killing my Lieutenant. I'll try and find a well protected spot for the Khawarij Amir, drop him on Suppressive Fire, and dare my enemy to come fight him - there are very few pieces that can make it all the way past the rest of my troops to Tarik, and even fewer still that can reliably take him out once there!
• When the Mission doesn't award points for killing Lieutenants. In this case I can either rush Tarik at my enemies with the knowledge that my Chain of Command will pick up the mantle should he fall, or use him as a final turn reserve attack piece - you don't need to care about the Loss of Lieutenant once your last turn has started!
• When I want to supercharge an NCO led Fireteam. Having an NCO spend two Lieutenant Orders can actually lead to you having an effectively 12 Order Combat Group at your disposal! In a recent game (of Decapitation, mind you!), I hunkered Tarik down and allowed for a Khawarij Mk12 NCO to lead his Ghulam team on the offensive. Despite my Opponent denying me two Orders from the pool by spending a Command Token, I was able to march my Fireteam all the way to opponent's Deployment Zone on my first turn, all the while taking out two Fugazis, a Peacemaker, a Bulleteer and a Karhu! Shooting through Smoke with a Khawarij MSV L2 backed by an entire Fireteam Core is no joke...

Remember that if you do decide to use Mansuri as your Lieutenant, you're telegraphing your Opponent he is your LT (thanks his WIP15 when rolling for Initiative and by the very least the presense of two Lieutenant Orders), so prepare accordingly!

When utilizing Tarik as a part of a Fireteam, you'll most likely be having him be the point man most of the time. The rest of the team should hence be built more or less to support him, with atleast a Doctor to pick him back up should he fall, and when possible an NCO to help drive the Team forward. You should also propably be mindfull of what types of pieces Tarik is leading into close contact with the enemy - a squad of Ghulams can form a nasty defensive premiter with their Light Shotguns (and not cost too much should they fall), while a Zhayedan Sniper as a part of a Haris may be left wondering what his doing in the middle of the enemy territory! You won't be able to gain "pure" Fireteam bonuses with Tarik, unless he's leading a squad of Khawarijs, but to be honest, I don't think he needs all those bonuses to be effective anyway!

As a last note, Tarik's DA CC Weapon does have the Antimateriel trait, which means it can be used to bash any destuctable Objectives that the Mission might incorporate (such as those found in the ITS 13 Missions Mindwipe or Looting and Saboging) - so don't rule him out spearheading an assault on such targets either!

 

All About Fists and Heart

If you're still looking for more pointers on how to make best use of Tarik Mansuri, head to my article covering the Khawarijs' themselves - Tarik may at the end of the day be the most badass of the Red Turbans, but he's still very much a Khawarij! While Tarik may not offer much in the way of unique abilities when compared to rest of Ramah Taskforce (beyond the situational additional Lieutenant Order), he still manages to be a compelling, and at times even great, package that adds just that extra bit of flexibility, lethality and bravado to this elite Sectorial. I've always thought that deploying RTF is more than a tactical decision by the Haqqislam government - it's a statement. If that's true, what statement could be more pronounced than having the Legendary Khawarij Amir Tarik Mansuri lead the strike team?

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

 

 

27/4/2021 Edit. Corrected a couple of small misspellings.

3/8/2022 Edit. Update the article to the post N4 Fireteam Update era.