Alguaciles counting as Ghulams is fluffy and cool, but... not really useful? At least I can't see an immediate use beyond saving 1 pt on a few fireteam members. Sekbans got NCO on their base profile, which is ok, but drives their cost up when you really only want NCO on on or two models. And we haven't got any additonal LT orders either. Hafzas are a bit disappointing and they (and Odas) still have that weird not-quite-Wildcard. Azra'il is really cool, and can drag Leila around for anti-hacking for example. Sadly we didn't get Yara like Ramah did. All in all, about what I expected, but not what I hoped for :-D
It's like you said, in general it's disappointing to me right now, zero notable changes. Bye bye al fasid welcome Azrail it seems (the only good change in qapu update)
I like: - Azra'il getting Duo with Rafiq, DAM +1 & Continous Damage - Mixed Fireteam of Ghulams & Alguaciles - Sekban getting a little bit more expensive but gaining NCO - and a Special Operatives Profile - Red Fury Rafiq - finally :) - Djanbazans got a little bit cheaper, Sniper getting AP + Shock, Regeneration on 13 - Al'Hawwa changes (I like them a lot in Starco and the changes seem even better for QK) Not happy: - no Hortlaks - Hafzas nearly unchanged - no NCO or Counterintelligence or Lt +1 Order oder even Number 2 for fireteams - Hafzas and Odalisques just semi-Wildcards - Mobile Brigada not linkable Overall I think I will give my first played sectorial (back in N2) a try in N4
Why did they shelve QK if the changes they made were so minor? It feels like little, if anything, changed, but at least it’s better than Rhama. However, that’s every sectoral that isn’t Rhama. lol CONS: > Hafza’s should have received some kind of leadership special skill. > Mobile Bragada are not able to link yet Alguaciles are? RANT: > Alguacile and Mobile Bragada bring nothing to QK as they currently are, which is a travesty. If they bring nothing, special rules could have been added similar to Yara to improve their fielding prospects. Regardless, I am happy QK is out so I can list build.
Count me in among people disappointed by Hafza's lack of leadership skills. When they came out (2ed HS), there were not much in terms of options for these (basically CoC and Strategos). But we're in N3, and the palette of abilites that would show "this troop is trained for a command role" is pretty long. Bah, even the Ghulam Lt. got an extra Command Token. Yet Hafza's best reason for being a Lt. is a Holomask...
I wasn't expecting a huge boost. Azrail: I was hoping for a Haris, But I really like the Cont.Dam. and +1B on FB. This makes up for the missing haris. The Haris was in order to get the +1B. Djanbzan: Still the main core of the list. Regen got better, and their regen stat got better. Makes for a persistent core. improved Mov to a 4-4 Mov means they got a LOT better compared to N3. Semi-Wildcards (Halfza, Odalisques): I was expecting it to stay that way. Alquacilles: I was hoping they would Semi-Wildcard into the merc cores, along with the Mobile Brigada. I don't see myself playing them unless I REALLY want Multi-sniper rifle. Druze: I am officially dumping my Druze models. I gave up on them in DBS\IKARI. I was hoping they would have a Haris option in QK. Kaplan: I just don't see myself playing them. Unless I REALLY want an adhesive launcher. Odalisques: I never really played them before. Other that an upgraded semi-wildcard I don't think I will. The split of profiles is a little odd, were they too good before? Janissairies: I rarely looked at them. I preferred Azaril as my HI. I like the TinBots in a link with a KHD (leila). With the model cap I may try them again. Sekban: I like the NCO. Having a haris with some semi-wildcards is worth it. They were a boring high BS model beforehand. The NCO means they use what is usually a wasted order. Rafiq FTO: Interesting. I was originally planning on using Leila as my duo option for the azrail, but the repeater\specialist is a nice choice. Having a tri-angulate fire red fury is interesting. Tags: I think I preferred the cheaper version of scarface. I didn't eat up too many points, and drew attention away from my core. N3 Vs N4: My old lists used to start with Yuan Yuan and cheap remotes. While its still very viable I may switch to a more robust list. I do see myself playing QK again in the future. I still see my list revolving around the Djanbzan core, but the surrounding models are going to switch up a bit. They got shelved because of lack of play. They had lack of play because the N3.5 update didn't give them any improvements. They actually lost the Azrail Fireteam. They didn't get any improvements because they were a little OP. They already had (semi-)Wildards, which none of the other factions had.
Aluaciles-count-as-Ghulam - it actually makes sense, points-wise, to use them for SWC. Eg. swapping HMG Ghulam for HMG Alguacile is net gain of 2pts, at the cost of losing 1 WIP and Terrain: Desert. Similar with Missile Launcher. And honestly, I don't consider that 1 WIP more to be crucial on those models. FO gets Deployable Repaters for that loss in WIP, which may be useful. Sure, Ghulam Hacker - thanks to the extra WIP - beats the cheaper Alguacile Hacker. There are also many Ghulam profiles that have no counterpart among Alguaciles. And, as you've already mentinoned, there's always the option of swapping a basic Ghulam for an Alguacile to save that one point you need elsewhere...
I'm not a Nomad player and didn't see this before, But the Mobile brigata got a LOT better from N3. I especially like the HD with Tinbot(-6). Easily the best hacker in QK.
The retention of restrictions on Hafza linkability is mind-boggling. They pretty much invented wildcard. If Djans rather than / in addition to Seks got wildcard QK might have been saved. No Hortlak is also really strange.
They should have dropped the semi-Wildcard and let them link in with Mercs as well, that's QKs whole theme. It would have also given me a reason to use Druze since they rarely show up in DBS.
To be fair, Druze got an additional cheap-ish wildcard: Rahman. But that Core costs 127 points and that is... ugh.
Damn, glad to see some cool changes here. Congratulations on Azzy finally becoming a top tier unit. But also now djans do have a way to compete with mukhtar and khawari msv units with that sweet ap+shock sniper and regen phys 13. Also sekban gettinh nco is a nice touch. But hafzas being untouched is a bummer, and QK still seems to be left behind in link options with their mercs. Which is weird cause druze and kaplans are the only mercs always available to vanilla, and were always haqq before they became independent, so why are they like strangers in the army that invented multiple mixed unit fireteams.
As for the Hafzas, well... Yeah, the Ghulam is a more useful Lt. as far as command tokens and all the leadership/strategy shenanigans are concerned, but Ghulam Lt. still loses to Hafza in terms of the linkability, so when you want to create a long-range Djanbazan Sniper Haris with two cheap Hafzas – you are more likely to have one of them as Lt. rather than spending an extra slot and extra points for Ghulam. But I am used to the +1 CT Ghulam in Dahshat so I'm not sure if sliding back into a boring WIP 14 holo-masked Hafza will feel good.
With the exception of the E/M GL I really don't see a reason to take the Druze. The non-merc cores are just better. If there is a scenarios where you need E/M grenades I'll consider them.
I have a feeling that because we got a glimpse of what QK was going to get in advance the list is not as impressive as it would have been if they got released with everything else. Everyone would have been all over the Djanbzans 4-4 Mov and the new improved regen if we got the profiles at the same time as the rules. Also the missing Semi-wildcard note for Sekban got over looked (at least by me) because it was not in ARMY. Without it they seem only decent. With it and the addition of NCO I expect one to be an auto-include.
Well, let's look at the bright side: the HMG in full core with X-Visor can actually outshoot the opposing HMGs and TR bots from outside 32" who will be shooting back on 5s while you will be shooting it on 12s with 5 dice. The same thing is applicable to the enemy Missile Launcher in 40-48" ranges. So the Druze are, if nothing else, the experts in long-range high-burst shootouts. Speaking of which, the Azra'il's Feuerbach profile has essentially the same ranges as the Druze HMG and can do the same stuff with 3 dice on 10s.
