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I was messing around with the army builder this afternoon, looking at what kind of lists I could build with the models I have and I noticed that a few units available to Haqqislam have pretty similar stats. So, Ahl Fassed and the Janissaries have pretty similar stats and weapon options. The only difference I could see was the strangely low AVA for the Ahl Fassed, who really should have been in QK, the fact that the Ahl Fassed cost slightly less than the Janissaries, and that the Janissaries are Religious Troops. So, other than the higher availability, is it actually better to take the Janissary over the Ahl Fassed?

Same thing with the line troops. They all have pretty similar loadouts and stats, except that the Naffatun have the option of Heaver Flamers and they cost less than everyone else. Why would I want to take Ghulam or Halqa over them? Is it just due to the fact that the others can field specialists?

The Ahl Fassed/QK thing has bewildered many, but the Jannisaries apparently do belong in there. Someone on the official board did some looking into it, but I can't find the post anymore. It's something to do with the historial naming of the Qapu Khalki and the Jannisaries.

Taking Ahl Fassed is simply 'do you want a more budget HI than the budget HI'? They're both cheap, no frills HI, with the Jannisaries getting Religious. The difference between the Ahl Fassed and Jannisary HMGs is quite literally the Religious skill (and the only reason the Ahl Fassed is 4pts cheaper). The AP rifle loadout at least distinguishes itself with a light flamethrower. I'm not sure why you'd ever take a Boarding Shotgun Ahl Fassed.

There's no real reason to take Ghulam over Naffatun if you're taking rifles. I mean, I do, but that's because I have Rifle Ghulam painted and I haven't painted my Naffatun yet. Ghulam take the edge with options - missile launcher, panzerfaust, hacker, sniper, HMG. Options that have their place as cheap heavy weapons (well, the hacker really has no place) that the Naffatun simply don't bring to the table.

Halqa have a definite place with Mechanised Deployment. You can get them up the board pretty quickly with that.

But still, this is Infinity. Taking Jannisaries over Ahl Fassed with the arguably not that effective Religious (unless it's a whole list like Hassassins), or Ghulam rifles over Naffatun, isn't going to lose you the game. I take units based on what models I find awesome at the time. So far Naffatun haven't even made my painting list because I'm not super keen on the models.

Regarding the line infantry, I feel they were all designed with specific sectorials in mind. Ghulam are in Qapu Khalki because it's basically the Haqqislamite space based army. They're the grunts. They're in the Hassassin Bahram because they're basically there as Sultinate observers to Hassassin operations. The Halqa are going to be in the Khanate sectorial - probably as Sultinate observers to the Khanate forces, selected because they're mechanised troops that can keep up with the mechanised Khanate forces (bikers). They will probably be the basic line infantry there, probably with expanded options, new models and link ability. They're not the grunts in Qapu Khalki because as a space based army, they don't need motorised infantry. They have dropships for that. I'm hoping Naffatun get expanded and used as the Al Medinate/Caliphate line infantry. They've got the money, so they would be outfitting even their line infantry the best.

Loki covered the difference between the HIs so I'll add something regarding the LIs.

They all perform a different role. The Ghilim are the lackluster dudes who can link in both sectorials. If you're playing the regular Haqqislam, I'd never take them over Naffatun or Halqa.

The Naffatun are my order generators when playing regular Haqqislam. They are great at covering flanks and the Deployment zone, as well as charging the enemy in suicide missions. Don't forget they have a rifle, too! Sometimes you want a Face to Face.

The Halqas have a certain role to perform - which is to alpha strike objectives due to their Mechanized deployment skill. I usually use the Grenadier Halqa, the FO Halqa and the Doctor Halqa, sometimes adding the HMG Halqa. It allows the Special weapons to be in position for positive range modifiers and also gets you 2 specialists. Sometimes, to mix it up, you could disguise Yasbir as a Halqa and throw them with them among the group to surprise the enemy. Halqas are awesome.

Eh, I take Ghulams because it's a cheap Lt. that I can hide with othe Ghulams. A Naffatun or Halqa would be more forward position-wise from the way I play, so not really ideal for Lt.

Plus, the models are sweeeeeet. I love the Naffatun mechanic-wise, but I hate the heavy flamer models. The light flamer one is good in terms of looks, but not so much.

The Lt shell game is the primary reason to take Ghulam over Naffatun. With an Lt costing 2swc, it's not really practical for to do it with Naffatun.

It also depends on whether you play sectorial or vanilla.

With sectorial, the choices between multiple units that do the same or similar things are much reduced.

If you need cheap orders in QK, it's Al-wazeeri or Ghulams, for example. The other options become irrelevant if you can't take them.

I play NCA for my panO. Yes, I admit, the idea of using THREE aqulia guard or Swiss guard does have some appeal > but there's a whole raft of units I no longer have to choose between as a result - so I don't have to worry about buying them.