A Tale of Two Power Armors

With Wotan over, I finally have time to finish this article, so we take a break from stories and lore for us to once again return to discussing tactics and strategy. So, gather ‘round as I spin you a tale - a tale of two power armors.

In light of a previous post where I went over the differences between Vanilla and Sectorials (Which can be found here: The Struggle Between Vanilla and Sectorials) I discussed how some units can overshadow others when two units occupy the same niche within an vanilla army, causing one to only see play time in their respective Sectorial. The example I used for a major overshadow was from Ariadna, knowing that I would want to later write about a supposed major overshadow in Haqqislam, one that comes up more and more as people start to play Haqqislam because they picked up Red Veil. What is this supposed overshadow you ask? Well, it is between the two S5 power armored units in Haqqislam - the Al Fasid and the Azra'il. 

At first glance they seem to occupy the same job within a list - S5 power armored badass to straight up wreck fools. I understand this because they do appear to be similar units like the Mormaer and Veteran Kazak I used as an example in my last post. I can see why people ask the question: "What is the point of the Azra'il when the Al Fasid exists?" Unlike the Mormaer and the Veteran Kazak though, the Al Fasid and Azra'il occupy two different niches within a list but these two niches are nuanced to the point that people often miss the difference when they are first starting out and taking in all the profiles of Haqqislam.

Before we get into the difference, let's go over the unit profiles. First up, the Azra'il, the Angel of Death from Qapu Khalqi!

The Angel of Death, the Azra'il

Calling the Azra'il the Angel of Death isn't something I came up with to make it sound more awesome. It's actually the meaning of the name in Turkish, since the Azra'il is from the Turkish themed Sectorial of Qapu Khalqi. The ranks of the Azra'il are filled when a new Sultan comes to power within Qapu Khalqi. The former Sultan's guard is disbanded to prevent any conflict of interest, and because these operatives can not return to their former units as they may have seen and heard things while in the service of the Sultan, they are sent to where they can be watched carefully - the Azra'il Special Deterrence Group. It is the job of the Azra'il to protect the transportation of Silk. The big heavy armor isn't a mistake, or is the fact that it's outdated tech, the armor of the Azra'il is designed to look intimidating to dissuade any attempts to illegally obtain Silk. They are there to hunt down any enemy of Haqqislam, as their name implies, and they wouldn't have it any other way. They are often deployed to finish off a mission, hunting down the rest of the enemy as the Angel of Death. 

Right there gives you the Azra'il's role in a list. It is a hunter. The Azra'il is not a static unit meant to be an ARO piece. It is meant to hunt things down and it certainly has the weaponry and stat line to achieve this goal. The Azra'il has a BS of 13 which is standard for HI in Haqqislam, but it is still high for Haqqislam units in general. This is the main stat we actually care about, because it's the main one we will be using. The Azra'il has a PH of 13, which is nice, because despite being S5 HI, it allows the Azra'il to dodge shots when conditions aren't favorable for the Azra'il to fire. With 4-2 movement, the Azra'il is slow, but both loadouts the Azra'il has have positive range bands out to 32", so you won't be moving much to get into favorable fire conditions. The CC isn't anything special at 12 and the Azra'il has a standard Haqqislam WIP of 14, which will come into play mostly with Guts! checks and hacking attempts. Reset at 14 is awesome and will help to keep the Azra'il from being Immobilized. With ARM 5 and BTS 3, the Azra'il is pretty survivable, especially after you have mastered the skill of keeping an S5 model in cover. Lastly, the Azra'il has 2 wounds like all HI outside of Ariadna. 

It has a pretty solid stat line, but that is all it has. There is nothing else special about the Azra'il. No extra special skills, which is why a lot of people don't like it. Even the Janissary at least gets Religious Troop while the Azra'il has nothing. The thing that people mostly overlook about this, though is that the Azra'il is cheap as dirt when compared to other HI. You will pay either 39 or 41 points to take one which is a steal when it comes to 2 wound HI, especially considering the heavy ordinance that the Azra'il carries - which is why you are taking them. Big weapons that will make things dead. 

Azra'il with AP HMG:

I am going to just say this now, this is my preferred profile of the two Azra’il options. It is a problem solver. Have a tough target to crack? The AP part of that AP HMG shreds their armor at damage 15 making sure that you get wounds on those tough targets. Hunting lighter targets? Well, it's still an HMG so it's good at taking out those targets as well. No matter what the AP HMG can take care of the target which is why I like it so much. Plus, the burst 4 gives you more dice to defeat any ARO your opponent tries to throw. I also like the AP HMG because you have the ability to put it into suppression fire allowing you to lock down a fire lane after the Azra'il cleared it out, establishing better board presence and control of the board. The AP HMG definitely is a dominating presence on the board and defines the Azra'il as the hunter that it is. 

Azra'il with Feuerbach:

Now don't get me wrong, I still like the Feuerbach. It’s main advantage over the AP HMG is a more forgiving range band. Instead of going to -3 mod if you shoot over 32 inches, the Feuerbach is a straight 0 which is a lot more forgiving if you misjudged your distances.The Feuerbach is only burst 2 at damage 14, but it adds DA ammunition to the AP, so you get less dice, but when you do hit, it hurts more. The Feuerbach has an explosive mode at burst 1 as well that is usually done in ARO, making your opponent think twice about what kind of moves they want to make in front of the Azra'il, so the Feuerbach gives a little more of an ARO edge than the AP HMG. It's not a bad weapon, I am just the kind of person that prefers more dice. The Feuerback is 2 points and .5 SWC less than the AP HMG, though, giving you more room in a list while still giving you a scary hunter. The Anti-Material characteristic also can't be ignored, because this allows you to destroy scenery, which is useful in missions like Nimbus Zone where destroying objectives is a tactic you may want to employ to deny points to your opponent. 

As usual, this really comes down to preference when it comes to choosing which load out you want for your Azra'il. I am a person who tends to favor more dice in the active turn, but that is my preference. I have used the Feuerbach and it is a fine weapon.

By now, it's clear that the Azra'il is meant to ruin people's day in offensive maneuvers, it truly is the hammer used to smash your opponent's forces… “But wait,” you say, “isn't that what the Al Fasid is for?” NOPE! If the Azra'il is the hammer, the Al Fasid is the anvil.

The Corrupted, the Al Fasid:

The updated lore for the Al Fasid right now is contained in the Red Veil booklet, so unless you have acquired Red Veil, you might not be familiar with the background behind the Al Fasid. In Arabic, Al Fasid means "The Corrupted," and relates to the Islamic religious concept of corruption. The reason for this is the Al Fasid are only chosen for their ability to do the job, no questions asked about their past. Because there is no need for them to share their past, it is generally assumed to be bad. The only concern they have when applicants sign up to be Al Fasid is that they can survive the grueling process and admission tests associated with it and that they have a solid operational record. Al Fasid are known for their willingness to do absolutely anything in order to get the job done because these soldiers don't care about glory. Some just enjoy it, others just want the paycheck and for some, it's all they know how to do.

Just as with the Azra'il, the lore gives us a hint as to what it's job is suppose to be. The Al Fasid is a little more of a utility piece than the purely offensive Azra'il. It's the rock that you anchor the rest of your forces to. That's not saying that an Al Fasid can't be used offensively, but both profiles of the Al Fasid really lend it to be a utility or defensive piece to help cover your flanks. Haqqislam lore often talks about how the Sword of Allah likes to use Hammer and Anvil tactics, and the Al Fasid most certainly fits the role of the Anvil as a solid backfield piece.

Just like the Azra'il, the movement of the Al Fasid is 4-2 but just like the Azra'il, you won't be moving them as much, especially as the anvil of your army. The Al Fasid also has a bit better stats than the Azra'il. The Al Fasid has 3 better CC bringing it to 15 instead of a 12, while you don’t want either of these units in CC, the little bump can make the difference against CC units trying to assassinate your HI. The Al Fasid also has a PH 14 which gives it a slightly better Dodge. Finally, the Al Fasid has a BTS of 6 instead of the Haqqislam standard of 3. Combine this with the fact that the Al Fasid has ARM 5 and it's a pretty tough target to take down. Your opponent will have to work to dislodge the Al Fasid from its position. The Al Fasid also has the typical Haqqislam HI BS of 13 so its shooting is in line with all the other HI. The rest of the stat line is as you expect as well, 2 wounds and S5.

Where the Al Fasid really shines, though, is the skills it gets. All Al Fasid are Minelayers, carrying antipersonnel mines, so you can place a mine out during deployment to better protect your backfield and your LT from things like infiltrators, impersonators or the occasional Van Zant. They also have Sixth Sense Level 1 so there is no sneaking up on them within 8 inches and no surprise shot/surprise attack allowing them to fire that heavy pistol that they all have. The final special status that the Al Fasid comes with is Veteran level 1 so the Al Fasid can't be isolated by any means, and the Al Fasid stays regular should you lose your LT or go into Retreat!. All this makes the Al Fasid an awesome unit. It is also the most expensive HI available to Haqqislam, but the Al Fasid most certainly earns its points, and it only gets better when you consider the loadouts that it gets. 

Al Fasid with HMG + (Smoke and Normal) Light Grenade Launcher

I really like this profile despite it being one of the most expensive unit in Haqqislam (Only Tarik and the Maghariba Guard cost more than this unit) because of the amount of things you can do with it. It is a jack-of-all-trades utility piece that can fill many roles in a list. It can be an offensive piece with the HMG and grenade launcher utilizing that BS 13 to eliminate things. It actually makes speculative firing worth it, you don't have to risk the Al Fasid when facing mimetism or ODD. You can also just choose to mow things down with the HMG as well. You get utility out of the Al Fasid because of the access to the smoke grenades, allowing you to put smoke cover to move units through or use a Djanbazan to fire through the smoke. By being a lot tougher than the other smoke delivery units in Haqqislam, the Al Fasid helps you keep access to smoke longer. The defensive nature comes from the fact that you can put the HMG into suppression to cover lanes while the Sixth Sense Lvl 1, Minelayer and Mines let the Al Fasid act defensively. I always find myself spending orders on this unit for some reason or another. This is what makes Red Veil worth buying, this unit is not only a great sculpt, but so useful. From what I have seen, people tend to use this profile a lot because of how much it can do. It's a tool box that likes to wear power armor. 

Al Fasid with Heavy Rocket Launcher and Submachine Gun

This profile I think doesn't get enough credit, mostly because people see the light grenade launcher that fires both smoke and normal grenades, get tunnel vision, and miss what this unit brings to the table. It's one of my favorite sculpts in Infinity too, shouldering the heavy rocket launcher while wielding that beautifully rendered SMG (Best looking gun in all of Infinity, hands down.) I also really like the profile. It's not a tool box like the other profile, but it is a solid defensive piece and it is 8 points cheaper than the HMG, making it easier to throw in a list. The heavy rocket launcher does only have burst 2, but I still like firing it offensively, especially at fireteams. That blast template forces your opponent to make some tough choices concerning their link. It is also a great ARO piece for the same reasons since it has a relatively forgiving range band. The Submachine gun not only helps to cover up close encounters, using AP or Shock depending on the target, but it also allows for the Al Fasid to close down lanes with Suppression. Might not be as good as an HMG, but it does give more options to this profile when it comes to the reactive turn. The other defensive capabilities are the same as with the HMG. I find this profile, though, to be an ideal body guard for obvious Lieutenants like Saladin. The defensive nature of this unit make it ideal for sitting in the backfield and protecting such things.

As you can see, an Al Fasid isn't a purely offensive piece like the Azra'il is. I won't necessarily spend orders on an Al Fasid like I do the Azra'il because of the amount of things an Al Fasid can do, usually to help support other units. While your Azra'il goes crashing forward raining destruction on your enemies, the Al Fasid is hanging back making sure the home front is nice and secure. One of my favorite ways to use the Al Fasid with HMG and grenade launcher is in support of units like the Khawarij or Tarik. Launching smoke to cover their advance so they can super jump to their heart's content in order to get into their threat ranges; meanwhile the Al Fasid can also cover them with HMG fire. Laying mines to ensure pesky infiltrators and AD troops have a tough time getting to your backfield or playing bodyguard to valuable pieces are the main job of the Al Fasid, using them as a hunter like the Azra'il is wasting their potential. The price difference between the two units is the selling point. If you are investing this amount of points into a unit, you have to make sure to use it to its maximum potential. If you want a power armored badass to kill stuff, stick with the Azra'il, since it is cheaper and that rampage is a much riskier undertaking.

The Hammer and the Anvil: The Destruction Duo!

I hope by now I was able to illustrate the differences between the Azra'il and Al Fasid, which are so similar, yet so different, because now I want to tell you my favorite use for them - working together. I love bringing both of them in a list. If you are playing vanilla Haqqislam, I suggest you try them together because they are an awesome force to behold, and will give your opponent a problem that they might not be used to facing in Haqqislam: two tough heavy infantry that sow destruction wherever they go. These two really highlight the Hammer and Anvil tactics favored by Haqqislam that I mentioned earlier, and I absolutely love it.

The best way to take them, in my opinion, is if you take the HMG of the one profile, choose the non-HMG choice of the other. My favorite combination: Azra'il AP HMG partnered with the Al Fasid with Heavy Rocket Launcher. You have the hunter in the AP HMG taking out tough targets while the solid defensive piece that is the Heavy Rocket Launcher able to cover the flank of the Azra'il. The best thing is once the Azra'il is done clearing things out, both can be placed into suppressive fire, making them incredibly hard to dislodge. The Rocket Launcher is there when you need something burnt (Like Camo/ODD or pesky space vegetables like Tohaa), or when you see a nice grouping that is begging for the attention of a template.

The other combination, Azra'il with Feuerbach and Al Fasid with HMG isn't bad either, but the Al Fasid has to pick up a bit more of the slack in the active turn. The Al Fasid in this instance probably will get a little more orders than the Azra'il because they kind of switch roles with the Azra'il being more of a cheaper ARO piece while the Al Fasid has more of an offensive capability. The tool box the Al Fasid brings is definitely where you want to be spending your orders, though, with the Azra'il there to take down your tougher targets. That AP + DA will be able to take down higher armored targets than the Al Fasid's HMG. Still, not a bad combination, especially if you want smoke coverage, which is something the previous combination lacked.

Now, I can feel it, why not just take both Al Fasid profiles? That's because of the expense of the Al Fasid. You can do it but they take a hefty chunk. The two Al Fasid together cost 98 points and 4 SWC, a large chunk of your list right there, which might be nice for Limited Insertion, but maybe not so much for regular 300 point games. The Azra'il AP HMG and Al Fasid with HRL is 86 points and 4 SWC. A 12 point difference - that could be another order. The Azra'il with Feuerbach and Al Fasid with HMG is 92 points, but you do save 3.5 SWC. That is a reason I like taking the Azra'il with AP HMG and Al Fasid with HRL, you get a lot for those points.

Finally, if you are playing limited insertion or just don't mind low order counts, throw a Janissary Ackbar Doctor when taking them in tandem like this. They both have cubes which means you can re-roll failed Doctor rolls, really making the Ackbar Doctor worth it. There is nothing like your heavy infantry standing back up at full wounds after an opponent spent so much to take them down. Honestly, the Janissary Doctor makes a great partner for either of them when taken solo as well due to that ability.

Both units are great weapons platforms and I suggest using them both, whether solo, which is how I like to use the Al Fasid with HMG, or in the tandem roles I just pointed out. Both S5 power armors have a clear and present niche within Haqqislam, something you can't often say about some power armor laden factions, and neither overshadows the other. I hope this has inspired you to use both the Azra'il and the Al Fasid to their fullest potential. Until next time, my friends, continue seeking knowledge, mashallah!