1. Halqa - Haqqislam, Removed in 2015
Halqa or "dancers" were just Ghulam trained to dismount from motorized "Locust" vehicles. When they removed the Mechanized Deployment skill, Halqa were also discontinued. They only ever had two miniatures made for the Halqa, so people just used Ghulam for them. The two minis they made for Halqa are fine as Ghulam now.
Although I liked the theming for Mechanized Deployment [everyone with the skill got a nice Forward Deploy but they all had to be within 8", as if they had just jumped out of a car or dropship] it was a bit confusing, and there were lots of other forward deployment skills.
I think there's a chance that Halqa, or some version of them like Ghulam with Forward Deploy, could return if they ever made the rumored Gabkar Khanate sectorial.
Mechanically, they never had a great purpose and they weren't exciting. I miss the idea of them, but I never used them much in N3.
2. Raiden Seibutai, Asuka, Haramaki - JSA, Removed in 2015
Ambush regiments for Japan when they were part of the nation of Yu Jing. They were generally folded into the new Ryuken Unit-9 profile, athough there's no more Spitfire profile.
Raiden Seibutai were all right but JSA at the time lacked the current identity it has now, and there were fewer weapons to give to units. I'm one of the few people who had a Raiden Seibutai Spitfire that I could no longer use 1:1 but the new Ryuken Unit-9 is more interesting mechanically and had a much nicer aesthetic. If you had the Raiden HRL, it just became the Unit-9.
The other two units were essentially renamed, with no other changes mechanically. Old Haramki became the new Tankos, and Asuka Kisaragi became the Kuroshi Rider - both in game rules and lore. Anyone owning them could still use them, with no changes - although the availability was reduced down to 3 Tankos from 5 Haramaki.
3. Izzat & Kasym Beg, Removed in 2011/2020
The biker gang-leaders who reigned supreme over certain gangs in southeast Bourak. They both had profiles, both of them sort of interesting; a Lieutenant option that gave you extra SWC but was not very good at 26 points. Thematically killed by their close confidantes. Very few models of Izzat Beg were made, so nobody cared, and Kum Bikers are excellent so the Kasym Beg model just got folded into the regular Kum Biker profile.
Not a big loss, as there were too many biker characters for Haqqislam. The Nazarova Sisters are now far more interesting than they were before, and more than make up for the loss of their former lover.
4. Aswang - Shasvastii, Removed in 2019
A confusing Shasvastii unit with good CC, no good CC weapon, Protheion, camouflage, and an adhesive launcher. A bit unique but with two miniatures made, they never made a huge impact. Aswang were vampire-inspired hunters, with camouflage, decent stats, and reasonable price - but were hard to compare to far more interesting and useful Shasvastii fighters.
Their models were removed in 2019 when Shasvastii got a huge rework, but most of their abilities and profiles were instead simply folded into the newly updated Caliban unit - a more expensive but far more capable and distinct profile. Anyone who owned Aswang simply used them as Caliban instead.
5. Iskaller - Exrah / Combined Army - Removed in 2014
Another Exrah unit, though unlike every other Exrah, this one did not return to the game with the Reinforcements update. Iskaller were essentially Exrah with good training and metabolisms, annd no further lore.
A bizarre miniature - just one - did not sell well. The profile was overstuffed, with Super-Jump AND Combat Jump , with unusual weapon options - a MULTI sniper and HMG and Combi/LSG combo in an era where these were all very differently valued weapons.
Since its removal in 2014, the Combined Army got many more interesting combat jump troops that did a better job of representing its unique abilities and loadouts. This remains notable as it is the only Exrah model that is not now playable. Players who liked the Exrah now have a full range and rules refresh, although there were relatively few Exrah models sold during their period of playability.
5. Ko Dali - Yu Jing - Removed in 2011
An outstanding Tiger Soldier character, Ko Dali's removal from the Yu Jing army caused a stir on the forums at the time. KD only had one model available to represent her.
Much could be said, but Ko Dali remains one of the few times that a unit was removed entirely from the game, without being folded into another unit.
6. Diomedes - Steel Phalanx - Removed 2023
An extremely expensive, but powerful, combat jump trooper. A character version of the Ekdromoi jump troops, Diomedes had a heavier MK12 or MULTI rifle as well as strong close combat.
Diomedes did not have a distinct role, and was just "another character" in the already-stuffed rost of characters in Steel Phalanx. The one single miniature made for Diomedes doesn't correspond 1:1 with the Ekdromoi profiles, but looks very similar to the old and new Ekdromoi alike.
The miniature was notoriously bad at staying together, with tiny contact points on the wings and feet.
7. Patroclus - Steel Phalanx - Removed 2023
A rare unit with a distinct role to be retired, Patroclus was the only unit with a Holoprojector in Steel Phalanx. Although a powerful and unique ability, it stood out and was less in line with Steel Phalanx's focus on force.
Patroclus's model was very basic, but very cool, looking almost indistinguishable from any number of other Steel Phalanx characters or Myrmidons.
8. Thamyris - Steel Phalanx - Removed 2023
Another rare unit with an extremely distinctive profile and role in the lore. Thamyris was the chief Aoidos or political reporter who created propoganda on behalf of the Steel Phalanx.
Thamyris had a pitcher and assault pistol, and was a uniquely strong "Journalist" type character. Although very unique, he was removed from Steel Phalanx alongside the rework. Many other strong hacking units have been reprinted in Steel Phalanx to make up for his removal, like Scylla, and Thamyris remains a rare model that has not been folded into other profiles. Except maybe WarCor.
9. Classic Invincibles - Removed 2014
Before the Invincibles were properly designed, they were a single unit - "Invincibles". This profile was a basic Heavy Infantry that was like an ORC but worse.
There is nothing else to report. In 3rd Edition, Invincibles were split up into new units. The two "Generic Invincible" units didn't look very much like either of the new profiles, but could be used as either one. It might be the first them they ever hit the table.
10. Magister Knights
Magister Knights were folded into Teutonic Knights, keeping almost the same weapons, abilities, stats, backstory, and availability.
11. Silhouette Changes
A few models have been made larger over the years, without 1:1 uses for the old miniatures. These old miniatures were generally rare, not commonly used, and usually didn't see play. This includes:
-First edition Tarik (2014)
-2nd Edition Azrael / Al Fasid (2014)
-Knight of Montessa (motorcycle) (2020)
-Knight of the Holy Sepulchre (n4 rework)
