Welcome back to the Hiring Post.

Today we’ll be taking a look at a model that has been my bane in a number of games.  The Saracen Nazir ibn Hamid ibn Hajjad, Emir.

Typically good support pieces don’t make good combat models.  Emir Nazir breaks the mold on this concept – he is an Officer, with fairly good support capabilities, but thanks to riding atop the shoulders of Youssef, a capable Saracen warrior, Emir Nazir is more than ready to stand up and fight.

Let’s take a look at what he has going for him.

1. Charisma – +1 Combat to allied units with four fathoms.
2. Expertise – Allows him to use his Healer 5 ability as a Concentration ability and not an Exhausting one – allowing him to move or be in combat and still heal more vulnerable models – or himself.
3. Healer 5 – Always useful to keep your models alive and in the fight!
4. Leader – Allows Emir Nazir to bring a very respectable 10 Troopers in his lists.
5. Tenacious – Gives Emir Nazir +1 Combat to the first round of combats when he is engaged by an enemy before his own activation.

These are all pretty solid for a support piece – add in Vae Soli, Vae Victis and his own unique order, In Che’Allah – which gives all allied Muslim units +2 Defense during their next attack sequence, and you’ve got a very solid support-themed leader.

But now let’s see the rest of his stats.  Combat 5!  A very generous Damage chart – inflicting 5 damage for two hits is really powerful, and it just gets better from there.  16 Life Points means that he will need devoted attention to take down. He’s only 38 points – the cheapest option for Saracen Officers, and absolutely worth his points.

The weaknesses of Emir Nazir that I can see are:

1. He is a little slow.  Poor Youssef can’t keep up a good sprint with the old man on top.  He will have trouble keeping up with your battle-lines if you rely on Hunting Panthers and Djinn.
2. Defense 3.  Even 16 Life Points aren’t going to keep Emir Nazir in the fight forever if you expose him needlessly.

Here’s a list to try Nazir ibn Hamid ibn Hajjad, Emir with:

• Nazir Ibn Hamid Hajjad, Emir
• Hashishin  x2
• Lancer x 2
• Berber Chasseur x 2
• Dibbukim x2

Emir Nazir, Dibbukim and the Lancers form the center of your battleline.  The Berber Chasseurs head for good fields of fire for their Jezails, but no further than 10 fathoms from Emir Nazir in case they need to fall back let the Lancers and Dibbukim handle the heavier fighting.  The Hashihin do what they do best – hide until the right moment and then strike quickly and deadly.

When the enemy commits his heaviest forces against your battleline, have Emir Nazir use his In Cha’Allah order to keep them from being able to score any telling blows – then demonstrate the might of the Saracens to the poor unfortunates with your flashing blades.

Join us again next time when we see what the Mercenaries have to offer.

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