hello all! I have been playing Shas for a bit now and I have been struggling with getting effective use out of the haiduk. Most times it does nothing due to LOS and it's hard to remobilze it to get into better positions. How do you use the Haiduk? Where do you find good places on the board to set up? How often do you come out of foxhole? Thanks for the help!
I get the feeling the Haiduk is a sub-optimal unit these days unfortunately. It's not a particularly strong ARO piece and is not really much more difficult to pick off a roof top than a Q-drone in cover - which is probably a better option for the points. If I use it I would be looking for a spot on the ground, over-looking an awkward fire lane, where cover is otherwise a little sparse in your deployment zone and there is little chance of receiving active fire from other directions (so pretty niche) Shame as it's a lovely model but the Q-drone is a better piece for the points in my opinion.
I didn't test that yet, but I imagine him for guarding my DZ (and not AROING the field) in face of smoke warbands, and could eventually chasing them with his AP Marksman Rifle. Can we stack Suppressive Fire and Foxhole ?
I think for that, it's quite good. Perfect for missions that have you guarding a console or AC unit. Even just for keeping pts. on a board. The others were movement is needed I think he's a waste. I wish they would just give him Nanoscreen.
For missions when you have something to defend, like Looting and Sabotage, Decapitation and so on, I've got a lot of mileage out of a Foxholed Haiduk in Suppression. In those cases, he's not trying to cover the advance across the board, but rather is snug back in the deployment zone covering a fire lane horizontally. Smoke Warbands Hate This One Trick. :D
I find it's best use is left on the shelf so that you can take another Shrouded instead. Considering how good Shrouded are, the ability to provide you with room for another one is really great utility.
He does face competition in his own faction, especially with the Shrouded, but if you know you are going up against other camo troops, that MSV2 is essential. It's too bad he lost the Guided rule. It would make him a little different. Plasma Sniper would have been even better.
Shas does get a linkable sensor bot though. In a link that can bring another MSV2 trooper (with Albedo!). So I wouldn't even call it essential.
One guy that cost almost double the Haiduk. I'd almost rather have a Shrouded and Haiduk for just a few pts more.
You got me with my own Shrouded bit. Touche. Although I'd argue that the Gwailo brings a lot more to the table, especially with his ability to link with troopers you'd want to take up anyway. Not to mention his ability to no-sell other MSV users through smoke (although that is definitely becoming a considerable investment). Granted, the Gwailo is himself a little costlier than he probably should be, but I still think he's a better trooper that affords more options than the Haiduk. As for the Haiduk himself, I think he'd be a lot more interesting with FD8. Then he could use that sapper to cover some funky angles. And even then, I don't really know if MSV2 is really a requirement for SEF.
Unfortunately the Sapper skill on it's own in N4 isn't that great for the Haiduk, in my opinion. To take advantage of some cover and minetism -3, you have to weld yourself to the ground - not so bad if you have a Haiduk with AP Marksman on suppressive but you could gain these bonuses with a shrouded on a roof top in suppressive or even Q-Drone sat in cover (although you probably wouldn't want a Q-drone on suppressive fire orders). I also don't think that MSV2 is necessarily enough to bring me round to spending the points on the Haiduk. Another alternative for covering your back lines and providing some MSV coverage would be the Jayth SMG/pit patrol loadout, which for the extra points is far more of a defensive tool box than the Haiduk
Points cost for one (nanoscreen costs more), and Sapper gives Mimetism (-3) and Courage for two. The Haiduk is actually a pretty annoying ARO piece for its points; MSV2 + Mimetism + always in cover makes for an effective sniper, and he's a lot cheaper than other, similar units like an Epsilon (26 points vs. 33). There's also the fun trick where, after making an ARM save, choose to fail guts and go prone. If you're on a building, this will likely drop you out of the LoF of the attacker, making you safe. Then during your active turn, declare an Entire Order to reactivate Sapper to "stand up" without allowing AROs. Alternatively, deploy him prone to avoid being shot on turn 1, then stand him up during your turn once you've killed the opponent's best attack piece. He's not the greatest model, but he's pretty cheap for what he does, and you can get some fun use out of him. For extra fun have a Noctifier ML in Hidden Deployment watching the same firelane and force your opponent to split his burst when it pops out.
The Haiduk is a profile that is doomed to be like a pendulum between editions sadly. I like them but they're not "great" by any stretch of the term.
I find the sniper profile the only one interesting. But you need to be able to place him on the back edge of the board to fully maximize its benefit. This also needs the terrain to have some long fire lanes. My experiences with the markman profile have been sub-par due to the fact that you opponent usually has some way to get into their preferred range bands. There are also ways of forcing you out of suppressing fire (ex shoot form over 24 inches) which makes the option not worth it. I find the Sniper profile more beneficial what the situation allows for the haiduk. But the situations are not that common. If you are playing a list that doesn't have a preference to going first or second he can be useful. If you are playing him, you want to select which side of the table you are on.
