These guys are kind of the generalists of the game. They don't really lack in any area. They have high-tech gear and units (thermoptic camo, high-tech weapons, lots of access to heavy infantry and advanced equipment), but they also have a lot of "old-school" units as well (cheap camo units, access to smoke-tossing warbands and close combat specialists, and dirty tricks galore). If I were to characterize them, they are kind of half-way between Nomads (sneakiness and subterfuge for all!) and PanO (technology reigns supreme!).
They share top booking for heavy infantry specialists with Pan Oceania (including a few near carbon copy units in each faction, though on their own PanO ones tend to be slightly better while being slightly cheaper since they don't have high levels of
CC,
WIP or superfluous Martial Arts skills amping up their points).
They have units that are delightful fusings of old tactics (camouflage infiltration) and new tech (power armour) in the Dao Fei. They have cheap, fast heavy infantry (Haramaki links are terrifying in the Japanese Sectorial Army). They have one of the few "fast" (same movement profile as light infantry) Heavy Infantry units that doesn't sacrifice anything in the way of defence (Shang Ji Invincible) along with near mirror units they share with Pan Oceania (the Hac Tao vs. the Swiss Guard and the Hsien Warrior vs. the Aquila Guard). The one place where the Hsien shines over the Aquila is that it can combine with Yu Jing's cheap access to smoke to cause a lot of havoc.
But Yu Jing also have great medium and skirmisher choices as well which lends them a lot of versatility when building lists.
Yu Jing is the faction that can do everything fairly well with a bit of a penchant for aggressive tactics.
Haqqislam is the army of cheap and plentiful specialists (lots of light infantry and skirmishers). Their equipment tends to be on the low-tech side of things, save for anything biotech related. They are one of the few (non-alien) armies to have skills like regenerate, super climb/jump and a few others. Along with that, they have plentiful doctors (compared to most armies who may only have one or two doctor choices). They are one of the armies (along with Ariadna) that can really make use of multiple combat groups.
Their other neat trick right now is that they are the faction of link-teams (a rules conceit that allows multiple units to act in concert with each other). Though this may change in the future, they have some of the few units that can link together outside of sectorial lists (usually this is a unique feature of sectorial factions). And their sectorials themselves offer some of the best unit links in the game.
Haqqislam can basically throw a rolling wave of well-educated super soldiers at the enemy. What's not to like!
PanO's solution to everything is to shove more technology in. They get the best toys of all the human factions (not including Aleph as human here). They can see through smoke and all sorts of camo, they have the best general aim of any faction, and if there is an instance of a rule in their army, it is seldom anything less than the highest level of that rule available. If they have a camo unit it comes with thermoptic camo (though they recently received standard camo units... that are TAGs), if they have smoke then it is zero-visibility smoke that can block visors. They have among the best heavy infantry and TAGs in the game with only Aleph and the Combined one-upping them.
That said, they seldom get things that are considered "low-tech". Cheap camo skirmishers are unheard of, they have no proper warbands (which usually cost >10 points and can really punch higher than their cost might suggest), they have a hard time getting the same number of template weapons as other factions (though they are better able to get them now than they used to). Outside of Yu Jing (who usually ends up getting ballooned in price due to having a bit of close combat training on everyone without sacrificing any other stats) PanO tends to be on the pricier side of the human factions. And even when compared to Yu Jing, they tend to be tight on points because they lack Yu Jings ability to take some really (really) cheap troops (Shaolin Monks, Kuang Shi, etc.).
But their strengths are numerous, and due to a lack of a lot of underhanded tricks, they also tend to be fairly easy to learn. They are a pretty straightforward shooty force that relies on awesome technology to put them a step above the rest.
I think im more interested in PanO since their kinda crusader-esque, but Haqq is also catching my eye then again I have yet to dig my teeth in that much..... anyways heres the kicker[/img]
Yeah, the Military Orders are neat. Heavy on, well, heavy infantry and very characterful. Just beware one thing (this is speaking from the experience of a Yu Jing player): some of your units may be waving swords around and looking all bad-arse. Don't feel the need to charge them in to hand-to-hand combat. You see, despite the swordage you are still PanO and you still have a higher ballistic skill than other forces (yes, even though you are dressed as Space Knights). Just shoot thing until they are dead and remember the swords are largely decoration (just like they are on most Yu Jing units). This has been a public service announcement!
2700 painted
1500 painted
