Do you use Kaplans in vanilla Haqqislam? Would you? For me, they do seem to offer some things: - The only Burst 4 weapon in conjunction with mimetism in Haqqislam. - A sometimes fearsome ARO weapon (again, with mimetism) in the form of the Blitzen. - Somewhat badass engineers. I'd only ever use engineers in a Maghariba Guard list, but I do need to build one of those for the next tournament, so... now, the 23-27 points bracket has somewhat stiff competition in Haqqislam, with Lasiqs, Farzans, Muyibs, cheap Ragik profiles, the HMG total reaction remote...but still, might the Kaplan be worth a try?
Kaplan engineer is the profile for Vanilla. All of the other profiles have stiff competition that either outshines them or does the same job for fewer points. Spitfire -> Khawarij Sniper -> Lasiq Doc -> any Haqq doc profile The Engineer brings a profile that is both useful and worth pumping with orders for actual combat.
Whenever I put one in a list, I later swap it for an Odalisuqe (Spitfire with 2 effective W is always better than 1 W and Mimetism) or a Najjarun (I need an Engineer, not a combat engineer, usually).
Well, I see several niches for them in Vanilla Haqq: No need for buying the support pack if you already have some S1 servitors lying around (just use Ghulams for medics, and Kaplans for your engineering needs!). Kinda nice, since you will mostly send the kaplan behind the Maghariba... Still veteran troops in generic: that means a free ADL in hunting party... which means 2 ADL, so B2! Also, by being engineers they can remove the IMM2 state from other models, and if they have a servitor, use it to remove it from themselves. Blitzen for 23 points, or +4 if you want it on an engineer or medic! That means an E/M2 (so 2 PB/2 rolls or go Isolated and maybe IMM2!), Sure it's disposable 2, but... As for the weapon loadouts, in the sniper option for 1 extra point you get Knauf, who is slightly inferior in survivability (-1 ARM, -6 BTS) but carries a MSV1 visor and gives +shock to his shots, plus he has +1CD. And the spitfire... the Muyibs lack mimetism, but for the same cost are dogged, and for 2 more points the Odalisques have options.
I used Kaplan Engineer in last LI 333pts tournament to help my Maggie. He was rather unlucky to destroy her completely in the one and only roll when I tried to repair TAG. But in the end he showed how good he is in pure shooting, killing two guys of a 4-ape link (I was fighting against MAF in this battle). Sometimes it's good to have a engineer that can take a good use of his combi - and in Limited Insertion tournaments it's even more important. I also used Spitfire Kaplan few times. He was quite successful, yet I don't use him now to often - we really have many great soldiers in similar cost and characteristics. They're definitely worth a try, maybe they'll fit your playstyle good. But most of the times they stay at home and secure it, while different soldiers go to war at tournaments ;) PozdRawiam / Greetings
I almost always field a Kaplan, engineer Adhesives and D-Charges. The Spitfire is often added to my list early, and then dropped later as points and SWC add up. I do tend to build lists with most specialists covered, even for gun fights, and really like an extra layer of protection on my models. I had an early success (in, like game #2 I ever played after Ice Storm), with a ADL vs. a Dragoe. I have other anecdotes of success, but usually the Kaplan is just so so. Generally, Kaplans are a second tier priority for my opponents (who murder Mutts first and Djan second.) Although the mimetism helps when I remember it, it is not enough to keep the Kaplan alive when your opponent decides the Kaplan is threat that must be dealt with. One note, Blitzens are SWC 0 while the Ghulams and Daylami with Fausts are 0.5 SCW. Yes, I'd prefer a Faust, but Blitzens aren't half bad.
I mostly field either the Spitfire Kaplan or the Kaplan engineer in vanilla. Kaplan with spitfire and mimetism is just a good platform for the weapon and allows him to eliminate targets that I need dead. The Kaplan engineer is the tool box, the ADHL is a great weapon to shut down things they need and having a durable engineer for the Maggy or other STR units is just nice. He's more survivable with the mimestism.
This thread prompted me to do a little investigating on the Kaplan Spitfire... Looking through Haqq's SWC weapons, there are a few patterns: There are a few models in the 2 SWC range at around 40 points - these are the heavy hitters (Azrail, Jannissary) There are a huge wealth of models in the ~30-35 pt 1.5 SWC range - Knauf, Zhayedan, Djanbazan, Govad, Khawarij, Druze, Ragik, Lasiq on the cheaper end, etc. There are only a few models with 1 SWC weapons that are superior to basic Light Infantry. These are elite Light Infantry models - the Muyibs, Odalisques, and Kaplans. The Muyib plays the range band game best with his X visor. The Odalisque is the toughest of the bunch with NWI, and she trades well with the Nanopulser. The Kaplan represents sort of a middle ground - he's reasonably tough with 2 ARM and 6 BTS, but lacks any sort of Dogged or NWI. Where he shines is in mod stacking - he's the only one of the three with Mimetism, so he's good at winning F2F rolls in his good range band and is great on suppression. In two games yesterday, a Kaplan spitfire performed fairly well, killing a Charontid and Dr. Worm in one game (Charontid was on suppression, but outside 16"), and killing an Auxbot and Hunzakut in the second game. Would I play him every time? No way, but I would give him a shot in vanilla if you want to save a little SWC, but still want a fairly strong attack piece.
My friend takes the Kaplan as his go-to engineer, never taking the Najjarun. I prefer to save ten points with the Najjarun, but his Kaplan always does enough during a game that I never think it's a bad choice. Blitzen and mimetism and BS 12 on a WIP 14 specialist is pretty darned good. Back in paradiso when only hackers and engineers were specialists and Kaplans were mercenaries everyone in every faction would take these guys.
That friend of yours seems to be one after my own heart. I always use the Kaplan Engineer, be it Vanilla or Qapu (my Core link team preferences preclude me from fielding Kaplans as a Link). The mimetism alone is worth it, in case the Engineer has to get close and personal to do her job. In my meta, the ADHL has been a good enough deterrent, but the Blitzen is a good solid choice too.
