Preface: Lets all take a look at Vanilla Haqq. Right now, I commonly see among my lists and some other Haqq lists floating online; 4x Ghazi Muttiwiah Barid Hacker + Hunzakut (Deployable Repeater) with Rifle + Grenade Launcher Djanbazan HMG + Fiday / Muyib G.L 2+ Daylami with Panzerfausts Either Leila Sharif / Barid KHD + H.I Ghulam Doc+ Some staple units like Ghazi Mutts are cheap enough that flexibility is allowed in the list to be built. Others like Barid Hacker (21pts ,0.5 swc) + Hunzakut GL (18 pts, 0.5 swc) have moderate level of swc and pts mixed in for the Hack- Targeted - Speculative Fire combo. Djanbazan HMG with a smoke source usually costs 40+ pts total unless you use a Fiday to either screen your Djan with Impersonation (to prevent Direct / Impact templates) or Muyib to distance your smokes. Sometimes I see a Barid KHD pop pitchers to cover Heavy Infantry with Anti-hacker support. Question: When and why would we swap out these Staple units for "Uncommons" ? Units that are technically T.A.C (Take all comers) but aren't efficient enough to be seen most of the time? I don't see Halqas, (I think people are using Ghulams since Halqas are the same statline but 3 pts cheaper, and even then the Mechanized Deployment telegraphs where your opponent should place mines / cheap ARO + its harder to keep them safe if you set up outside 12 deployment.) I don't see Govads due to people choosing Djanbazan Rifle + Shotgun or HMG etc I don't see regular Khawarjis over Tarik Mansuri.
One of our locals takes regular Spitfire over Tarik all the time as he says he can't justify the extra cost. And also because Tarik cannot fit into some of the windows found on certain terrain pieces in some of our clubs, unlike S2 guy. And of course now that MSV2 version exists, there is a piece that isn't quite similar in function.
Short answer is that you wouldn’t I guess. These units do seem better when used as part of their sectorial (no Djanbazan in HB so Govads look a little better, although I’d still rather take Muyibs as my fireteam, and Khawarij will come into their own a little more in RTF, although still debatable whether they’re a viable option over some of the new profiles). The only unit out of the ones mentioned that I would consider taking in vanilla is the Khawarij spitfire, perhaps in a lower points game where I couldn’t fit Tarik in, but there is generally going to be better options.
I shudder at the absence of the Hawwa. Granted, the Sniper is a no-no, and the AHD is a dangerous gambit (yet able to perform the biggest amount of classifieds of all the models in the game that can infiltrate!), but the FO is quite good enough and cheap, and can cover a lot of needs. Another "generic yet not named" are the Naffatun. I like the old, sleek models better (who can also survive being dropped from the table without any kind of issue! XD), but the 12pts one covers 2 critical roles: Lt option and lateral flamethrower, for 12 pts (he's essentially a Ghulam without light shotgun in the combo). The Bashi Bazouks are also a great unit for confusing the enemy and make a good disposable, cheap assaulter, a role shared, with less assurances, by the Inferior Infiltration Daylami (Panzerfaust). The Odalisque is a seldom used, quite resilient (for her price) assault piece, in her 22 pts SMG+Contender+Nanopulser SS2/360º loadout. The Farzan CoC is quite the interesting backup for Saladin or Tarik, and also is another midfield specialist, with a BSG he can also give trouble to even enemy TOs. The Tuareg is a little more situational, but it's a midfield doctor plus you can pop out of nothingness to recover Tarik or the Djanbazan. Sure, you can exchange her with a Halqa for about 10 pts less, but it's not a surprise then, and the Tuareg can still shoot applying a -12 when showing up, which can be a boon against a Total Reaction you were not expecting.
I commonly have Hawwa AHD, Hunzakut, Leila, Ghazi, and a Barid of some kind. Usually a KHD. These units are just very good at getting things done for cheap.
I second the Bashi Bazouk- I almost always take the SMG/chain colt profile for hunting cheerleaders turn 2. Holoprojector pairs very well with parachutist so for 12pts you can’t go wrong really. With regards to units that people don’t use, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen the Kaplan used in vanilla.
I've played most of the units in Haqq, just to try them - Kaplans, Khawarijs, Zhayedans et cetera et cetera. Some of them worked well, but in bigger tournaments I also have a pretty firm squad. And in my Vanilla Haqq one of the stamples is Kasym Beg, for me one of the best units. Tactical, with various options to threat the enemy and to help your own army. Plus Lasiq Sniper, one of my favourite ARO options. Forementioned Hawwa for clicking options, Hunza... Saladin as the best lieutenant in clicking missions and Tarik as a Datatracker/LT in killing missions. I personally don't see any sense in taking normal Khawarij, when The MAN gives me so much more options ;) And definitely Djabel. The first of Fidays. About the units that are popular, but not in my lists - to be honest I don't always have place for Barids in my armies. Muyib LGL is also unit that's completely unimportant, as we have cheaper smokers. The shocking truth for many is that I don't use full ava of Ghazis - sometimes I play without any ;) That's how good I am for my enemies. Merciful :P PozdRawiam / Greetings
Halqas are mostly waiting for a sectorial, where I actually think they'll be scary if they can link, but for now I think a single FO is pretty good if you want a dirt cheap button pusher that starts halfway up the board.
Well, some people run them as medics for their midfield rambos in addition to specialist pieces, but without any extra defense there are plenty of things that can go wrong there. But indeed most people don't even remember they exist. Spoiler: Off-topic As for potential Halqa link, it really depends on what else will be in that sectorial. So far they would be able to do damage similar to what KotHS FD2+LGL can do while costing much more, albeit bringing their own order base. You will really need the rest of that list to be self-sufficient and cheap enough to accommodate such an expensive gambit.
If i'm playing vanilla non-limited insertion, I usually start from a list of 4 naffs, 4 ghazis, and a krakot or 2. I have found those provide a good backbone before padding it out according to mission needs. The fun(?) thing about Haqq is that "take all comers lists" tend to not fare as well as mission tailored lists even more so than when compared to other factions. The margin of error for playing Haqqislam is typically lower than other factions, as we don't really have tough hyper optimized top of the line kind of options. Often we need to build redundancies and alternative back-ups into a list, and that's where occasionally the "uncommon" units shine. For example, Halqas. In missions that require you to hold onto territory, I sometimes swap the Naffatuns out for them, simply because they can function as both cheerleaders and yet contest territory pretty efficiently without spending a single order.