Yeah they definitely don't draw from any existing Haqq designs or anything Whoops how did that get there
Oh… damn. These are all so pretty. For haqq I’m loving the muyibs and that bot! Chickenbot 2.0, now comes complete in its own box! It must be bought if only for its backstory alone. No Ajax for Aleph but those myrmidons make up for it. Now I just need to fatten up my wallet…
Personally I'm not seeing the resemblance to either Djanbazan or Naffatun. They all have high collars I guess? But to me the collars don't look at all the same. Djan and Naff are puffy fabric, whereas the Muyib looks like Kosmo style big rigid plates, the armor is all hard angles and flat surfaces. I dunno, I'm not an art guy, I don't have the words. I bet @jake richmond could tell us exactly how they do or don't look like Djan, Naff, or Kosmoflot.
I mean, personally I don't give a flying flamingo about the new Muyibs' look. I have a full set of the roiginal N2-era ones, with a number of conversions. Just voicing a thought :) So I'll either make this guy into something completely-not-Muyib, or try to sell him away.
Muyib finally looking like a demolition specialist in his bomb suit! I like the way they've added more variety to the Hassassins but kept the iconic helmets, I'll actually be able to tell a Barid and a Muyib apart now.
I've never been a big Haqq guy so I think I'm not going to have much to say about the design lineage of these models. it seems to me like Haqq has always been in a weird place, design wise. historically they get touched on less than any of the original armies (except for Combined Army), with their designs sometimes changing dramatically between releases. Unlike PanO or Yujing or Ariadna or Nomads where you can see a smooth progression from the very oldest to the very newest models, Haqq's progression comes in stutters and leaps. They've never lost their distinct character, but their design elements are never quit consistent either. I do like this new set though! I also liked the previous Hassassins starter, which I actually bought, painted and played for about a year (and recently sold to one of you, I think). I'm looking forward to finishing my review on these guys.
I agree that the Haqq design kind of seems inconsistent. I really like small, consistent details that pull the army together. The ridged shin guards, the Y-shaped kneepads, the ribbed/stripy pattern on the limbs, that sort of thing. Maybe that gets boring to sculpt but I like it. A lot of that seems absent, or shaken up, in both later RTF releases and some of these, but I guess those are quibbles. I'll just say that one of the reasons the Khawarij survived as being Boba Fett style cool through all those years of being nearly unplayable had something to do with the trenchcoat and turban; I wouldn't mind leaning to that aesthetic more (albeit outside HB). Anyway, agree with @Errhile that while the Muyibs look good, they aren't going to replace my existing ones any time soon. They do look the part at demolition-specialist MI. And I would say they do look like Naffatuns and Djanbazans; its the high collars, but also the pouch on the belly is only also found in the Naffatun, if memory serves. As a side note, I don't like the newfangled 3D looking dossier compared to the typical 2D. And, tangential to the earlier bit about style and design, I like that the Muyib doesn't have pants that are unique in the whole faction anymore! Now, if only we could get a color scheme that highlights the miniature instead of leaning so heavily into tan on beige on brown with yellow OSL.
Yes, hackers are constantly a problem for solo HI operatives. It's not an argument of whether they can reach a target the point was the Red Fury isn't the right gun for bullying those types of units, it's the wrong range bands.
Hmm i like that new muyib but i can see specifically the chest armor plates are of ariadna origin and the helmet doesnt look quite hassassin. Even the overall design doesnt feel super hassassin compared to the previous versions. My guess is someone did a kosmo design they liked but it was too high tech for ariadna so they modified it for haqq and are using it to help relaunch hassassin. I do however wish they kept the parachute pants and a slightly more hassassin helmet. But otherwise im happy.
I am still a little unhappy that the Hoplites armour and its ARM value do not match - look at the Thorakitai, they are also ARM 3. I understand that TI should represent partialy the armour and shield but it feels not right. At least ARM 4 and instead of TI I would like to see something more innovative, like BS DAM -3 or -1 at least. Overall the Hoplite has protection against all sort of possible attacks: The ARM/BTS states together with TI vs general damage (BS, CC, Com), Hacking vs Coms and NBW, CC- 3 vs CC-Attacks. But it will still get easly get down with normal HMG/Spitfire attacks. Anyone noticing, that the TAG has not the usual BS Dam +1 listed in its profile? I don´t think its intentional and hope its one of the typical CB errors - maybe they are always in a hurry when putting together new troop profiles for a presentation.
"The truth is that the Hoplites’ servo-powered armor isn’t actually characterized by its thickness, but rather it tends to be quite light and features intelligent systems for absorbing impacts and nullifying special and exotic ammunition." https://infinitytheuniverse.com/blog/aleph-in-blackwind
Somewhat similar thought. I dislike the new Muyib design visually and will retain my N2 versions that still look like the unit they've always been. A lot of the new armour (and repeated poses) has blended in for me. If you painted them all the same colour, I probably couldn't tell you which army half of all the new armoured models belong to. I mean, Bokhtar would look Shas to me, Muyib would look like a Djan or something from Cosmoflot etc, even the new Haqq-crate-bot could look like Long Ya's or something for USAriadna (hopeful lol) . I do, however, appreciate that the Lasiq retains the design that is so iconic. I look forward to more of the new Aleph models (all those shields lookg reat) along with Yara and the Shakush.
Much agree with both these statements. I must state that I do like the new muyib design just NOT as a muyib… I have plans for such a design though it will likely depend on pose and weaponry. Should have made sure to mention that before. I love the all new chickenbot though. I only hope it will perform as well for me as it’s previous fowl related brethren. The lasiq too is just pretty. I may pick up a second and outfit it with a spare viral sniper rifle for auld Lang syne… See, now I was told not to open Pandora’s box… so why did you?! Damn good question though it is, stirring the pot like that is only going to make a mess!
