MK III – The Greylord Archives

List of Minicrates

Igor Khador — Mon, 13 May 2024 12:01:00 +0000

The minicrate models from Privateer Press are alternative sculpts of their Warmachine models, which are only available through a subscription. Unfortunately, Privateer Press does not maintain a list of models released. So, here is a comprehensive list of all models released.

Privateer Press’ (now Steamforged) subscription service Minicrate delivers a new model each month to your door step. If you subscribe to the VIP-service an additional model will arrive every half year. The first model was released in October 2017, and is still running. As of December, 2024 the VIP subscription services has been discontinued. Yet, the “normal” subscription services still exists.

I can never find the complete list of Minicrates when I’m looking for it. There is an old list here at Warmachine University, and one at privateerpress.wiki. So, here is the list of Minicrates delivered under the normal subscription, and the list of VIP models. I’ll update it as soon as new information arrives.

Please note that the delivery time in Europe is typically around two to three months from release date. Also, earlier there have had been some issues with models not being sent with the correct VAT declaration. However, that has not been an issue for quite a while. Also note that the release months might not line up with the official PP release month.

Minicrate normal subscription

#	Name	Model	Month	Year
1	Swamp Siren	Swamp Horror	October	2017
2	Plaid Piper of Ord	Rhupert Carvolo	November	2017
3	Geist of Christmas Yet to Come	Feralgeist	December	2017
4	Ashes to Ashlynn	Ashlynn D’Elyse	January	2018
5	Bloody Bradigan Pitt	Bloody Bradigan	February	2018
6	Professor Victoria Pendrake	Victor Pendrake	March	2018
7	Totem Huntress	Totem Hunter	April	2018
8	Alten Van Helsing	Alten Ashley	May	2018
9	Runeball Wizard	Gun Mage Captain Adept	June	2018
10	Farrow Brigand War Valkyrie	Farrow Brigand Warlord	July	2018
11	Gastone Crossbones	Gastone Crosse	August	2018
12	Eiryss, Angel of Vengeance	Eiryss, Angel of Retribution	September	2018
13	Lady Rose Riding Hood	Lady Karianna Rose	October	2018
14	Lady of the Feast	Lord of the Feast	November	2018
15	Butcher Klaus	Orsus Zoktavir	December	2018
16	Ice Queen Lanyssa	Lanyssa Ryssyl	January	2019
17	Raggedy Mandy	Ragman	February	2019
18	Harlequin Versh	Harlan Versh	March	2019
19	Seeker of Silence	Sylys	April	2019
20	Ancestral Guardin Angel	Ancestral Guardian	May	2019
21	Asphyxious	Asphyxious	June	2019
22	Greylord	Greylord Escort	July	2019
23	Midwinter	Orin	August	2019
24	Shield Sister	Paladin	September	2019
25	Brew Bearer	Runebearer	October	2019
26	LIL’Fenris	Fenris	November	2019
27	Non-metallic human	Aurora	December	2019
28	Disco Infernal	Dark Sentinel	January	2020
29	Grim Stalker	Stalker	February	2020
30	Medusonia	Absylonia	March	2020
31	Gremlin Beach Party	Gremlin Swarm	April	2020
32	Kara, the Sloan Ranger	Kara Sloan	May	2020
33	Admiral Carver	Lord Carver	June	2020
34	Issyria, Sibyl of Dusk	Issyria, Sibyl of Dawn	July	2020
35	Asheth Magnus	Magnus the Warlord	August	2020
36	GOR10	Gorten Grundback	September	2020
37	Widget Wonka	Widget, Tinker Extraordinaire	October	2020
38	Lady Wraith	Pistol Wraith	November	2020
39	Winter Watch	Pyg Lookouts	December	2020
40	Flugwug the Hero We Dwaweve	Flugwug the Filcher	January	2021
41	Gorghadra Plushie	Dreamer Phantasm	February	2021
42	Drake “Kiltlifter” Macbain	Drake Macbain	March	2021
43	Death Metal Fell Caller	Fell Caller Hero	April	2021
44	Little Blighted Peep	Blighted Nyss Shepherd	May	2021
45	Allegiant Prize Fighter	Allegiant of the Order of the Fist	June	2021
46	Hermit the Frog	Hermit of Henge Hold	July	2021
47	Swamp Gobber River Rafter	Swamp Gobber River Rafter	August	2021
48	Maternal Guardian	Umbral Guardian	September	2021
49	Robo Caine	Captain Allister Caine	October	2021
50	Gourd Horde	Boneswarm	November	2021
51	Gunslinger Garryth	Garryth, The Blade of Retribution	December	2021
52	Kayazy Godfather	Kayazy Assassin Underboss	January	2022
53	Champion of Patience	Virtue Champion	February	2022
54	Thor Meinhammer	Thor Steinhammer	March	2022
55	Demon Rattler	Rattler	Aril	2022
56	Dhunian Tree Spirit	Dhunian Archon	May	2022
57	Negation Daemon	Negation Angels	June	2022
58	Captain Maxine Finn	Captain Maxwell Finn	July	2022
59	Knight Hunter	Exemplar Warder Elias Gade	August	2022
60	Wraith in the Machine	Machine Wraith	September	2022
61	Rhulic Rocketman	Rocketmen	October	2022
62	Living Dead Girl	Dusk House Kallys Dyssiss, the Eye of Darkness	November	2022
63	Dark & Stormy Night	Cygnar Storm Legion Shapshooter	December	2022
64	Hollowman Flamebearer	Grymkin Hollowman Lantern Bearer	January	2023
65	Leader of the pack	Nuala, the Huntress	February	2023
66	Hero of the Motherland	Winter Korps Officer	March	2023
67	Weird Science Wendall	Weird Wendell	April	2023
68	Black Magic Gator	Gatorman Witch Doctor	May	2023
69	Death Rage Rahera	Captain Rahera	June	2023
70	Immortal of the Netherworld	Immortal	July	2023
71	Cephalyx Dominatrix	Cephalyx Dominator	August	2023
72	Blight Makes Right	Blighted Nyss Warlord	September	2023
73	Goddess of War	Athena di Baro	October	2023
74	Wicked War Witch of the West	Orgoth Sea Raiders Therion Vhanek	November	2023
75	Eye of the Spider	Tyrus	December	2023
76	Frozen Retribution	Eiryss, Shadow of Retribution	January	2024
77	Standard Bear	Standard Bearer	February	2024
78	Dragon Ninja	Khymaera Shadowflame Shard Rassyk	March	2024
79	Sgt. Gunny	Gunnery Sergeant	April	2024
80	Beth Mad Axe	Major Beth Maddox	May	2024
81	Wold Walker	Wold Watcher	June	2024
82	Lord of Kold	Koldun Lord Damien Korovnik	July	2024
83	E-Cat-Erina	Kapitan Ekaterina Baranova	August	2024
84	Sabbreth, The Eternal Annihilation!	Sabbreth, The Eternal Annihilation!	September	2024
85	Scare-Lock Lieutenant!	Skarlock Lieutenant	October	2024
86	Retro Commando	Mage Hunter Commander	November	2024
87	Captain Dreadquill	Captain Firequill	December	2024
88	Salted Pork	Marauder Crew Bosun	January	2025
89	Major Thunder	Major Anson Wolfe	February	2025
90	Magnus the Masterless	Magnus the Traitor/Warlord	March	2025
91	Shyriss, the Flawless Oni	Shyryss, the Flawless Dark	April	2025
92	Buccaneer Boomhowler	Greygore Boomhowler	May	2025
93	Successful Experiment	Failed Experiment	June	2025
94	Discerptor Eviscerous Twist	Discerptor Eviscerous	July	2025
95	Kishtaar the Conqueror	Kishtaar, the Howling Silence	August	2025
96	Hazaroth, Narcissar of Ios	Hazaroth, Narcissar of Ruin	September	2025
97	Spellbinder Nekane	Wraithbinder Nekane	October	2025
98	Hellyth, Ghost of Nightfall	Hellyth, Scyir of Nightfall	November	2025
99	Shadowtongue, Death’s Dominion	Captain Shadowtongue	December	2025
100	Blighted Spinner	Spinner	January	2026
101	Oriax, the Void Walker	Oriax, the Soul Slaver	February	2026
102	Koldun Kommander Valerii Savaryn	Kommander Valerii Savaryn	March	2026
103	Master Exulon Sepsira	Master Necrosurgeon Sepsira	April	2026
104	Gravedigger Variant Caine	Allister Caine	May	2026
105	The Ghost Shaper	Void Shaper	June	2026
106	“Fancy” Primalist	Liegemen Primalist	July	2026
107	Krielstone Boss	Booty Boss	August	2026

Minicrate VIP subscription

#	Name	Model	Month	Year
1	Di Wulfe in Sheeps Clothing	Gorman Di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist	October	2017
2	Mrs. Walls	Mr. Walls, the Quartermaster	May	2018
3	Alexia, Handmaiden of Death	Alexia Ciannor & The Risen	October	2018
4	Bride of Arkadius	Dr. Arkadius	April	2019
5	Trancer	Trancer	October	2019
6	00 di Bray	Anastasia de Bray	April	2020
7	Fiona from the Black Lagoon	Fiona the Black	October	2020
8	Morrowan Battle Priestess	Morrowan Battle Priest	April	2021
9	Bog Trog Smoke Speaker	Bog Trog Mist Speaker	October	2021
10	Tomb Raider Taryn	Taryn di la Rovissi	April	2022
11	Og Orgoth	Orgoth Sea Raiders Commander	October	2022
12	Kreoss Unmasked	Grand Exemplar Kreoss	April	2023
13	Party Pyg	Southern Kriels Brineblood Marauders Pyg Tapper	October	2023
14	Prisoner in the Iron Mask	Prisoner 102822	April	2024
The VIP subscription services has been discontinued by December 2024.

A venture into Brawlmachine and Disciples of Agony

Igor Khador — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 10:39:00 +0000

Welcome to something completely different. I have attended a one day Brawlmachine event, and I though I would try something completely different. I am trying a Hordes faction that somehow resemble Khador (which I normally play) in the sense that it has very heavy Warbeasts and interesting infantry: Skorne. But why keep it simple, when I can also play Minions. Enter Disciples of Agony, where Skorne and Minions can mix. Here is some rational on my list. Reports on how it went will follow later.

Brawlmachine has become a very popular format; which is understandable. It is a marvellous piece of work that seems to be a very good way of getting new players into the game. I finally have the possibility to actually attend a Brawlmachine event, and the reflex was obviously to play Khador. However, I though that it is also an option to try the fury mechanics. So, what to play?

I my mind Skorne has some similarities to Khador. There are slow, but dangerous heavy Warbeasts and interesting infantry. It kind of looks like a combined arms type of army. It then dawn on me, that Disciples of Agony allows me to play elephants (some of the coolest models in the game), crocodiles (I mean, it’s crocodiles), and pigs (mad pigs with weapons. Hello!). What could be better. So, I settled on a Skorne Disciples of Agony list as a zoo. The list is a follows:

   [Theme] Disciples of Agony
       [Xekaar 1] Beast Master Xekaar [+31]
       – Blackhide Wrastler [14]
       – Blind Walker [9]
       – Titan Cannoneer [14]
       – Aptimus Marketh [0(4)]
       Paingiver Bloodrunner Master Tormentor [4]
       Paingiver Task Master [3]
       Farrow Bone Grinders (max) [7]
       Paingiver Beast Handlers (min) [5]

It’s going to be fun to play this list. It has all the animals. The fury mechanics is somewhat different from the focus mechanics that I’m use to. Finally, a Warlock plays somewhat differently that a Warcaster. In particular, as the Warlock gets access to the ‘beasts’ animus as spells. This is going to be fun.

Skorne & Disciples of Agony

Skorne has always been a thorn in my side. I usually get my middle back part handed to me when I play against them. Except for the Titians, they have never really appealed to me. However, when I stumbled upon Disciples of Agony, I was sold. I’m probably not going all in. But Brawlmachine seems like a nice place to put Skorne on the table.

The theme Disciples of Agony allows a Skorne player to take a lot of Minions model; or a Minion player to take a Skorne Warlock, ‘beasts and a few units. So this list actually allows me to play elephants, pigs and crocodiles; a whole menagerie of coolness. How can this not be fantastic?

The benefits are that a Skorne Warlock can control non-character Minion Warbeasts and are considered Skorne ‘beasts (that is friendly faction). In addition, the list can include any Minion unit or solo that will work for Skorne. However, they do not become friendly faction, only friendly. They do‚ however, allows Sacrificial Pawn for Paingiver models.

Finally, the Requisition Points can be used on: a non-character Agonizer, one Skorne Command Attachment (which is a bit weird as there isn’t any available for the units allowed), two Paingiver Task Master solos (which in the case of Brawlmachine is only one, according to the rules), or one small- or medium-based Skorne solo at a cost of 5 or less.

Beast Master Xekaar & Marketh

Xekaar

Beast Master Xekaar is the Battle Box ‘caster, so he should be among the easier Warlocks to play. On paper, he should be able to play somewhat ‘beast heavy.

His build-in abilities do support a ‘beast heavy list, as he has Alpha Hunter, which allows his ‘beasts to run, charge, or make power-attacks without being forced. If Xekaar also manage to kill a model his ‘beasts also gets +2 SPD and MAT for one round. He can also at anytime during his activation Maltreat a Warbeast and remove one fury. However, the ‘beast will suffer d3 damage, which he potentially can fix by casting Psycho Surgery (see below).

If he tries to kill something, it needs to be something small or already damaged. He has two initials at MAT 7 (hitting DEF 14 on average) or MAT 8 if the Master Tormenter is around, and at P+S 10, weapon master though (average damage of 10 points, or 24 points on the charge). It is range 2″ so he can reach out a touch something 12″ away if he can’t get some speed help, which he can’t. Finally, he can attempt to get out of trouble as he has Reposition [5″].

Xekaar packs four spells: Deadweight, Mortality, Psycho Surgery, Pursuit. Since he is a Hordes ‘lock he can also cast the spells of his ‘beasts as his own. In this case they are: Far Strike (Titan Cannoneer), Rites of Power (Blind Walker), and Rage (Blackhide Wrastler). Far Strike (he has no ranged weapon) and Rites of Power (he can’t be an arc node for himself) doesn’t do anything (except use focus). So, it is basically only Rage that he can use.

The Rage spell gives a targeted Warbeast +3 STR for a turn. Xekaar can cast it 6″ or arc it through the Blind Walker if it has cast Rites of Power first. He can, however, cast it at a cost of 1, if Marketh has used Harmonious Exaltation first.

Deadweight is a so so spell, at least in the context of Brawlmachine. It is a POW 12 spell that, if it destroys a living or undead model allows Xekaar to chose a model within 2″ and decide whether that model must forfeit its movement or combat action in its next activation. He can only hit DEF 13 (DEF 14 if the Master Tormentor is around) on the average and do 19 points of damage (assuming he doesn’t boost anything). So, for it to work the opponent needs to be brittle. This is one of the spells that Marketh can cast as Spell Slave or it could be arched through the Blind Walker.

Mortality is the spell that will help the entire army. It is a range 10″ spell with a hefty price cost of 3 focus. However, the target model or unit suffers -2 DEF, -2 ARM, looses tough and cannot have damage removed from it. All of this for one round. This is the main candidate for Marketh to cast and for Xekaar to arc through the Blind Walker. If Xekaar does nothing else, he can potentially deliver three of these in one turn. It will obviously help Xekaar’s ‘beasts, but is basically a prerequisite for the Bone Grinders if they expect to charge anything (see below).

Psycho Surgery is Xekaar’s tool to keep his ‘beasts alive. Once per activation he can cast this and it will remove d3+1 points of damage from each model in his battlegroup (this includes himself).

Finally, Pursuit is another possibility for Xekaar to speed up his battlegroup. It is an upkeep, which allows a model in his battlegroup to make a full advance if the target (model or unit) advances. It is only range 8″ so it should probably be arched or cast by Marketh.

In addition to the list of spells, he obviously has his feat. Whisper of Torment makes enemy models within 12″ suffer -3 STR, MAT, RAT and THR. It is a very powerful defensive feat. It corresponds to an increases of 3 to the DEF and ARM of the Skorne forces; and if the opponent is also a Hordes player it forces a much more sober approach to running ‘beasts hot. Xekaar feast just before the enemy hits his line.

Marketh

Xekar also have Aptimus Marketh attached to him. Marketh does a lot for Xekaar. Not only can he cast either Deadweight or Mortality as a Spell Slave. For Mortality, this means that it can target something up to 22″ away from Xekaar. He can also make upkeeping Pursuit free either indirectly through Harmonious Exaltation (lowers a spell’s cost with 1, which is the same cost as an upkeep); or if Marketh happen to have a soul on im that can be used to upkeep.

In addition to helping Xekaar, Marketh can do some work on his own. He has a Magical P+S 11, reach 2″ weapon, which is not something he should find himself in a position to use. He does, however have a pretty cool range weapon (only RAT 5, unfortunately). Although it is only range 8″ and POW 6, the latter will be added to the the target’s STR for the real POW (so if the target has STR 12 it will be POW 18); assuming that the target is living or undead.

It also ignores LOS, concealment and cover. He also has Gunfighter, so he can use his range weapon in melee. However, only against models in the same melee. Also he has to choose between his melee or range weapon since he haven’t got Dual Attack. Again, if Marketh is in melee, he has bigger problems than choosing between which weapon to use.

Finally, Marketh can manipulate souls. He can have three of them at any given time. If a living friendly faction model (so, unfortunately not the Bone Grinders) dies within 8″, Marketh can collect its soul. In addition to be useful for a free upkeeps, Marketh can also use the souls to boost one attack or damage roll. Finally, he get a +1 ARM per soul on him; potentially bringing him up to ARM 16.

Oh, he is free here as the Requisition Points choice.

Warbeasts

The battlegroup consists of three Warbeasts and a Warlock attachment. There are two Minion ‘beast and one Skorne. The Minion ‘beast are a Blackhide Wrastler and a Blind Walker; and the Skorne ‘beast is a Titan Cannoneer.

The beat stick – Blackhide Wrastler

The Blackhide Wrastler is the primary beat stick in this list. It has a P+S 17 bite and two P+S 14 claws. The latter two are both open fists so double handed throws are on the table. At SPD 5 it can reach out and touch something 9″ away, and MAT 6 allows it to hit DEF 13 on the average. However, this is where animus, spells and other cool stuff comes into play.

First of all, it can charge for free thanks to Xekaars Alpha Hunter. Having this gives the Beast Handlers to stay a bit further away and use Enrage for an addition +2 STR. Rage can also be cast for an additional +3 STR, either by the Blackhide itself or preferably by Xekaar (for freeing up fury on the ‘beast). Finally, if the target is already under Mortality it looses 2 ARM, which corresponds to an extra +2 STR.

So, under optimal conditions the Blackhide Wrastler can hit something 9″ away (11″ if Xekaar actually managed to kill something before), arriving with an effective MAT 8 (MAT 10 if Xekaar has been killing stuff), with 7 attacks: 5 at P+S 24 and 2 at P+S 21. That is a lot of damage. On the average it is: 34+28+28+32+32+32+32 = 218 points of damage.

Against a standard Khador ‘jack it will be 78 points of damage. That is easily enough enough to kill any Colossal og Gargantuan, even if missing it a few times.

Since Rage is an important animus, also for the other ‘beasts it is kind of important to keep it alive until Rage isn’t necessary anymore. Snacking (remove d3 damage when killing a living model), Xekaar’s Psycho Surgery and the Beast Masters’ Medicate can help.

The all-seeing Blind Walker

The Blind Walker is a weaker version of the crocodiles. Its mouth is tied up so it only has two claws (opening up for double handed throws). In a pinch it can still do a lot of damage. Following the same stacking as with the Blackhide above, the Blind Walker can touch something 9-11″ away at MAT 7-9. It will have 5 attacks at P+S 21. Against a standard Khador ‘jack that is 44 points of damage. Easily enough to kill a standard ‘jack.

In addition to beating things up it can be used as an arc node if it casts its animus Rites of Power. It is an extra cool arc node as it has Eyeless Sight (which is a bit odd as it is called a Blind Walker). This means that arcing will ignore cloud effects (only for LOS, not the DEF bonus) and Stealth. As an extra ability, it is also a Shield Guard.

The elephant in the room

Finally, the Titan Cannoneer is the only elephant in the room. Yet, it is an elephant with a really big gun. It is range 12″ (16″ if it uses its animus Far Strike), POW 15 and AOE 4″. Unfortunately, it is only RAT 5. Again, Mortality is helpful. Under Mortality, it is effectively POW 17 at RAT 7 (9 if aiming).

Once the enemy is close (that is within 9-11″) it might be beneficial to switch to melee. Following the same stacking as for the two crocodiles, the Titan can arrive with MAT 7-9 bringing 6 attacks: 1 at P+S 22 and 5 at P+S 23. Again, this is 62 points of damage against a standard Khador ‘jack.

All in all, all three ‘beasts are quite heavy hitters. Yet, it requires stacking of buffs. So keeping the Blackhide alive is important, getting Mortality on whatever is going to be hit is key, and keeping enough at least one) Beast Handlers alive helps. The main challenges is hitting stuff. They are all either MAT 5 or 6, which is fine against most ‘jacks, but not so fine against many ‘beasts and troops. Having to boost to hit quickly limits the effectiveness. So targets must be chosen carefully. Or some cooperation is required. One ‘beast could make a double handed throw back towards Xekaar’s line, thus also knocking down to opponent, or the titan could slam something.

Unit & Solos

The list contains two units and two solos. The ubiquitous Paingiver Beast Handlers and a max unit of Farrow Bone Grinders, “supported” by a Paingiver Task Master. Finally, a Paingiver Bloodrunner Master Tormenter is also around.

Bone Grinders & Paingiver Task Master

The Bone Grinders with their “assistant”

The main Minions unit is a full unit of Bone Grinders. First of all, they serve as cannon fodder for the Paingivers in this army (that is the Beast Handlers, Task Master, Master Tormenter, and most importantly Xekar himself). Disciples of Agony gives Sacrificial Pawn to Paingiver models on Minion Warrior models. As Bone Grinders are Tough that helps a lot. The combination with the Paingiver Task Master who gives them immunity to knockdown from No Sleeping on the Job is golden.

The second usage for the Bone Grinders is supporting Xekar through Craft Talisman. This gives him and additional +2 RNG on spells that originates from him (so not when arching through Marketh or the Blind Walker, unfortunately). This means that he can now sling Deadweight and Pursuit 10″, and Mortality 12″. Every little thing helps. The can also almost keep up with him, in particular when the Task Master gives them Scutter (Reposition [3″]).

Finally, they can put up a fight if required; in particular if fighting other Hordes factions. Somewhat less so if it is Warmachine factions.

They are equipped with a Magical (which might come in handy) Cleaver, which is a meeker P+S 10, 0.5″ weapon. This is, however helped a bit by the Task Master who can give them +2 STR. Against Warbeasts (living and constructs, actually) they gain an additional damage dice. This gives them an average damage output of 26 points of damage when charging a Warbeast. That is not too bad for a cheap unit.

They also inflict Grievous Wound (denying tough and damage removal for one round) and can place or remove 1 focus on hit. Unfortunately, they are only MAT 6 (average hitting DEF 13). Something which the Task Master can’t fix. Finally, they gain +2″ movement when charging living models, giving them a mighty range of 10.5″.

If the Bone Grinders are to charge anything, it is probably a good idea to get Xekar’s spell Mortality on it first. This effectively allows them to hit DEF 15 on average (target has -2 DEF) and do 28 points of damage on average (target has -2 ARM).

Paingiver Beast Handlers

The ever present Beast Handlers

The ubiquitous Beast Handlers are obvious also in this list. As described above they are instrumental in cranking up the damage output of the Warbeasts. They can also heal the beasts for d3 points of damage, they can remove and add fury to Warbeasts through Condition. If they end up in melee (which should be avoided) they can also manipulate fury on enemy ‘beasts. Their 2″ reach whip is only P+S 8. However, they do have Anatomical Precision, which guarantees one point of damage and denies tough for this attack.

In this theme they are a bit easier to keep alive than normal. They have Sacrificial Pawn onto the Bone Grinders, who are tough and hopefully immune to knockdown.

Paingiver Bloodrunner Master Tormentor

The Master Tormentor

The final solo is a Master Tormentor. She is here to give Xekaar a +1 to hit (both melee and spells). Besides that she is also pretty good at capturing flags and contesting. She has Apparition, Pathfinder, Advance Deployment and Stealth. With SPD 6, Apparition and Sprint she is quite mobile.

She has the same whip as the Beast Masters (P+S 8). Yet, she is a weapon master and can do a thresher attack. This is quite powerful against infantry with one box, as she can charge at MAT 9 (8 native + veteran leader) and with the 2″ thresher weapon with Anatomical Precision she can clean out a lot. Unfortunately, I do not foresee too many units of easily killable infantry in Brawlmachine.

The zoo is ready for battle

This is the list that I’m going to play at our local team tournament. We are 8 teams of three people each. This is going to be so much fun.

Battle reports will arrive shortly.

Kommandant Sorscha Kratikoff (Sorscha3) vs. Kommander Andrei Malakov (Malakov2)

Igor Khador — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 15:48:00 +0000

There seems to have been some sort of internal conflict in the Khador army. It is probably due to Malakov being a bit too close to the infernal plague. Sorscha is dispatched to contain any potential uprising. Not only is it a Khador on Khador fight; it is also both Jaws of the Wolf lists. However, they are very different. It is not the best game Sorscha has ever played. Luckily, Malakov is very slow. So he times out, leaving Sorscha victorious.

In the local meta there is a lot of Khador. Not surprisingly as the Empress is the only true leader of Immoren. Currently, Jaws of the Wolf is very popular, and most often with the shiny new Karchev2. However, this time two untraditional versions of Jaws of the Wolf are facing off. Sorscha’s experimental “ask two half questions” list (see here for a description of the list) vs. Malakov with trimmings. I am still learning how to pilot this list. So it can go both ways. Luckily, Malakov’s pilot is know to die to the clock. So, I might gamble on that. The two lists facing off are:

Khador

[Theme] Jaws of the Wolf
[Sorscha 3] Kommandant Sorscha Kratikoff [+28]

 – Devastator [14]

 – Devastator [14]

 – Greylord Adjunct [3]

 Man-O-War Kovnik [3]

 Man-O-War Demolition Corps (max) [12]

 – Sergeant Dragos Dragadovich [4]

 Man-O-War (max) [15]

 – Man-O-War Shocktrooper Officer [3]

 Kayazy Assassins (max) [13]

 – Kayazy Assassin Underboss [4]

 Kayazy Eliminators [0(4)]

 Kayazy Eliminators [0(4)]

 Kossite Woodsmen (min) [7]

 Manhunter [2]

 Manhunter [2]

 Yuri the Axe [4]

 Bulkhead [0(5)]

 Battle Mechaniks (min) [2]

 – Battle Mechanik Officer [1]

Khador
[Theme] Jaws of the Wolf

[Malakov 2] Kommander Andrei Malakov [+28]
– Behemoth [20]
– Kodiak [12]
– Greylord Adjunct [3]
Greylord Forge Seer [0(4)]
Kovnik Apprentice Kratikoff [0(4)]
– Beast 09 [16]
Manhunter [2]
Manhunter [2]
Thamarite Archon [9]
Underboss Vizkoya [0(4)]
Widowmaker Marksman [3]
Yuri the Axe [4]
Kayazy Assassins (max) [13]
– Kayazy Assassin Underboss [4]
Kayazy Eliminators [4]
Kayazy Eliminators [4]
Kossite Woodsmen (min) [7]

Initial Thoughts

So, Jaws of the Wolf. I’m guessing that we should be familiar with this now. Most importantly it gives our ‘jacks a much desired Pathfinder. It also allows us to Bring Your Own Forest (BYOF), a 5″ AOE that ca be placed anywhere completely within 18″ of the back table edge. So, here we will se two BYOFs.

The opposing list is piloted by Malakov2 who is a bit of an odd (Khador) ‘caster. He has recently received a rather cool update in the Quality of Life Update. He has received the spell Discombobulate. When it hits an enemy unit or model. They spend so much time trying to pronounce Discombobulate that both front and back arc is back arc for one turn. This has quite a few very nice effects. Not only does it remove everything that only works in the front arc (e.g. Shield Wall, Free Strikes and Counter Charge), it also works wonders for things with Backstab.

Malakov brings a lot of backstabbing. The Kossites have it as a build-in function; the Assassins have as their minifeat, and finally Malakov also has his Battle Plan Throat Cutter, which gives a friendly unit or model Backstab. The only drawback is that he needs to be a bit closer to the front than he would prefer. He can cast Discombobulate 12″ (the extra 2″ from the Greylord Adjunct), and if he has Tactical Supremacy on himself he can Cygnar Advance 3″ away from the front. This will bring him 15″ away from revenge, and combined with Sucker to take care of incoming fire, he should be pretty safe.

Clearly Throat Cutter is cool on paper. On Behemoth, as an example, it can lead to a ridiculous amount of damage damage. Any melee attack is Armor-Piercing and can roll 4 dice. That is 14 points of damage on a closed devastator pr. attack. At the end of the day, any application of Discombobulate spells trouble for Sorscha’s Shocktroopers. Luckily, not so much for the Devastators as they no longer have shields, just a shell.

In addition to the mighty Behemoth, Malakov is also brining a Kodiak. This is a very versatile ‘jack with a Heavy Boiler (+2″ movement when running) that allows it to go places fast (at least Khador-fast); it can also Vent Steam, which centres a 4″ AOE cloud on it where living and undead suffers a POW 12 damage roll; finally, it has Chain Attack: Grab and Smash, which allows it to make a head-butt or throw attack if it hits with both its initial attacks (for free). This is a fantastic ‘jack, in particular for cleaning out zones. In this match-up all the light infantry really doesn’t like POW 12.

Malakov actually makes his battlegroup somewhat mobile. He can cast and upkeep (for free due to the Greylord Adjunct) Escort, which gives his ‘jack a +2″ movement. Also, Tactical Supremacy potentially gives a ‘jack Reposition [3″]. Finally, his feat Poison Pill allows models in his control to make a full advance is it is damaged by an enemy attack; and doing so with Parry and immunity to Knockdown.

Since Jaws of the Wolf is a ‘jack heavy theme, there is obviously one more. The hyper violent Beast 09 under the control of Sorscha0 (the false one, obviously, as the real Sorscha is on my side of the table). Sorscha is basically Boundless Charge on a stick (+2″ movement when the targeted ‘jack charges). She can do two in an activation, if she doesn’t want to use focus on anything else. She can target any ‘jack in the list. This further improves an already deceptively mobile ‘jack list.

Sorscha’s pet ‘jack, Beast 09 is obviously tagging along his (false) master. Beast 09 is a Juggernaut on steroids. It has one higher MAT (8) and a cooler Ice Axe with which it can do a Thresher attack. It is also Murderous, which gives an additional attack dice against warrior models. He can really kill Shocktroopers, in particular if Malakov have managed to get Discombobulate on them, Oh, and he is Hyper-aggressive, which allows it to advance directly towards an enemy model if it has damaged it. Finally, when he is under Sorscha’s control he is also a Shield Guard (to all models, not only Sorscha). As the only model, besides the Greylord Forge Seer, it is immune to cold.

The units and solos is pretty much standard Jaws of the Wolf: one min unit of ambushing Kossites, a max unit of Kayazy Assassins with the Underboss, two units of Kayazy Eliminators, and Yuri and his two Manhunters, The “variation” is: a Widomaker Marksman, a Greylord Forge Seer, Underboss Vizkoya, and a Thamarite Archon.

The Widomaker Marksman is good at taking out solos and other smaller models, as he guarantees 3 points of damage and no tough (at RAT 10 if aiming). With Stealth and Swift Hunter (move 2″ if he destroys a model) he is also really good at holding flags and contesting zones.

The Greylord Forge Seer is probably here to fuel the Behemoth. With power-up and the Forge Seer, the Behemoth can fire twice under Powerfull Attack.

Finally, Underboss Vizkoya is a new addition to the arsenal (he is a Riot Quest model). He is probably there as, primarily a solo hunter. He has Parry to get out of sticky situation, Stealth and is tough. He is equipped with a crowbar and a grapple gun. With dual attack he is probably going to try to shoot something with his gun, then pull the target in (if same size) and then place himself base-to-base with the target. The then crowbar comes into play. Hitting somebody with it is a 3d6 is the target is a character model, as is the damage. So, Yuri, Bulkhead and Sorscha watch out.

I think this is a manageable list. The Behemoth is nasty, even against Assassins with Iron Flesh; Beast 09 is brutal; and the Archon has also improved. However, I have trust in my master plan.

Deployment

We are playing the Steamroller 2021 scenario Spread the Net. Sorscha picks the objective Cargo Nets and Malakov picks the Observatory. Sorscha wins the dice off and opts to go first.

Sorscha deploys according to Empress’ standard deployment 11 (see here for details and tactical discussion). The BYOF (Bring Your Own Forest) goes on the left side with the two Manhunters behind, ready to enter it. Yuri deploys behind the existing forest on the right, also ready to move into it. The Kossites stay at the camp fire.

End of Deployment

Malakov also has a BYOF, which goes on the right side diagonal to Sorscha’s. A unit of Eliminators on each flank, and the advance deployed more or less in the middle. Beast and the Kodiak (today dressed as a Marauder) go to the left. Behemoth and its pet Forge Seer on the right in the shooting part of the deployment along with the Archon. Everything else kind of goes into the middle

The picture above depicts the end of deployment.

Round 1

The famous positioning round. Not a lot is going to happe. Stuff will most likely just move forward at blazing Khador speed.

End of turn 1

Both the Eliminator units make wide advances on the flanks, attempting to force the opponent to clump together; and staring down their counter parts. The Manhunters and Yuri move into their forests. Besides the rightmost Devastator parking in the zone, everything else basically moves forward. There is no way of staying out of Behemoth’s long shooting distance, so the Assassins just have to live with it (they do have Iron Flesh on them, so there is a chance).

The picture above shows how Sorscha unpacks from deployment 11. She spent 7 minutes on the clock, including deploy, which is a bit on the slow side. This could be done better.

End of round 1

Malakov decides to advance more cautiously. On the left flank, the Kodiak parks in the zone, along with the Eliminators. On the right side, the Forge Seer empowers Behemoth, which then fires its guns and take out an Assassin in the middle, and more troublesome an Eliminator on the right.

That’s it. A comparable action packed first round. The picture above shows the result after the dust have settled.

Round 2

Round two for Sorscha, also know as R2F (Remember to Feat). So far not a lot have happened. However, we are getting closer to axe to face – or in the case of the assassins: small pointy object between ribs.

End of turn 1

On the right, the Eliminators go wide and around the line to be ready to sneak up behind the enemy. The Eliminator on the left moves in to hide behind the BYOF.

The Assassins do what they are suppose to. They advance as much as possible to tie down the enemy, whilst waiting for the Man-o-Wars to get there. Once they have advanced, Sorscha moves up and feats. She gets five clouds and makes a wall between the Assassins and Man-o-Wars. A few on the Assassins are caught in the cloud. But that doesn’t matter as they have activated and won’t be damaged.

The Man-o-Wars move up in tight formation. The rightmost Devastator shuffles forward and the leftmost one just hangs up in the trench. Finally, the Battle Mechanik Officer remembers to move into base contact with Sorscha to give her Girded.

That is it. Sorscha is ready for Malakov’s next move; and a small course in why careful measuring is underrated. The picture above shows the end of Sorscha’s turn. Oh yes, I also forgot to call the Kossites. I should have had them coming in on the right flank.

End of round 2

First of all, why careful measuring should be learned and eyeing it is not to be trusted. On the right flank, Sorscha’s Eliminators had a brilliant plan of sneaking behind the enemy. This is brilliant, if it wasn’t for the fact that I couldn’t be bothered to measure the distance to Malakov’s Eliminators. They were left in walking distance, which means that one of them died. Same problem on the right flank, where Sorscha’s Eliminator was hiding behind the forest, which agains was a brilliant plan if she had not been within walking distance of Malakov’s Eliminators. I really should remember to position correctly.

More action on the right flank from the Kodiak, which moves up, farts a could (that also kills an Assassin) and then Reposition out of the could again thanks to Tactical Supremacy, which Malakov had cast on it earlier. Vizkoya also moves in and hides behind the cloud.

In the middle the Assassins moves out of the way. One gets killed from a free strike, another one sprints up to tie down the Devastator. Everybody else just make room for the ‘jacks. Beast charges forward and kills four Assassins with a swing of its mighty axe. Behemoth and the Archon moves forward, the latter shoots at something in the middle, which leaves a 3″ hazard (the green paper circle). Malakov and fake-Sorscha hides out in the back.

The picture above demonstrates the result of not measuring and forgetting the boys scouts at the camp fire. Scenario score is 1-1 (Sorscha scores a flag, Malakov a zone).

Round 3

I won’t say that Sorscha’s plan is coming together. Conversely, I wouldn’t say it is completely ruined either. So, let’s see what happens.

End of turn 1

Sorscha’s feast ends and everybody can see again. This also means that the Kossites finally can be bothered to show up. Something they do on the right flank.

On the left flank, the lonely Eliminator runs away from her two sisters and moves in behind Malakov and fake-Sorscha. On the right flank, the Kossites kills the Forge Seer and the two Eliminators. Spurred on by their success, they also shoot at the Archon. However, that misses and it dodges out of range. Yuri kills the annoying Assassin.

It is in the middle the party is. The Assassins charges their counter part and takes out a few. This leaves room for the Shocktroopers. They move forward. I’m a bit unsure why they did not charge Beast. In stead they just Shield Wall forward. This leaves room for the Demolition Corps, who charge Vizkoya. The rest just runs forward. In hindsight, Dragos should have activated the mini-feat here.

Every thing else move forward. The Devastator moves in behind the Demolition Corps to be ready for next round. The Kovnik and Adjunct hang around near Yuri, as they suspect that the opposing Kossites might arrive soon.

That is basically it. Sorscha is kind of happy. She is a bit worried about Beast. The scenario score is now 3-3. The picture above shows the end of the first turn in round 3.

End of round 3

Malakov is potentially under a bit of pressure. Yet, his ‘jacks are still around and at full health. So, everything is on the table still. His Kossites decides to join the battle and arrive at the right flank.

On the left flank, the two Eliminators turn around and moves into the zone. The Kodiak easily kills the two Demo Corps, then farts a could and Reposition out. The Marksman moves in behind the big rock.

On the right flank, the Archon shoots and kills all the Kossites. Behemoth moves to the right and its guns pounds Sorscha’s objective until it evaporates. Finally, the Assassins again contest the rightmost zone. They also try to kill Sorscha’s Assassins; luckily without a lot of luck.

In the middle, Beast is finally on the move. He moves in a thresher away. He only manage to take out one Shocktrooper and one Demo Corps. Sorscha is happy. Fake-Yuri tries to copy the thresher move, without a lot of luck. One of the Manhunters also kills the remaining Eliminator.

Finally, the Kossites activate and kill the Manhunter and the Kovnik. That was more damaging that expected. It also removes the scoring on the flag.

Malakov also feats in this turn.

So far, so good. Not as bad as I had feared. However, the scenario score is now 6-3 in Malakov’s favour. On the bright side, Malakov only has 2:37 left on the clock, whereas Sorscha has 24:00. The picture above depicts the end of round 3.

Round 4

With plenty of time left on the clock, Sorscha is to a certain degree in a happy place. She just nees to make sure that she doesn’t loose on scenario. If nothing happens in this turn, Malakov will score 3 points and Sorscha none. So, scenario is on the table.

End of turn 1, end of round 4, end of game

Sorscha allocates the rightmost Devastor fully. She activates and casts Stoke the Fire on the leftmost Devastator. She then moves into the right zone to score.

On the left side, the Adjunct moves to the flag and sprays the Kossites. Unfortunately, not enough to remove the contesting Kossites. The means that Bulkhead runs over there, if another round happens.

In the middle, the Assassins runs to the Behemoth and surround it to make sure that it can’t get out of the way due to Malakov’s feat. The Man-o-Wars move forward. Malakov feated in the last round, so Beast 09 gets out of the way. But it was not possible to kill it. Yet, one swings at Behemoth and chips it. The Devastator runs and toes the zone.

On the right side, the Devastator can now charge Behemoth. It spends all of its attacks and almost kills it. That would have been nice to kill. Yuri agrees, charges Behemoth and kills it.

This is the end of the round. It was not as good as I have hoped for. Malakov’s feat is pretty good. I also spend a bit too much time. The clock now says 7:20. Luckily, Malakov’s clock still only says is even worse. The scenario score is 6-4 in Malakov’s favour.

The clock is flipped and Malakov thinks about it. There really isn’t anything to do. Conceivably the Kodiak could throw the Devastator out of the zone, scoring one point. The Kossites can kill the Adjunct and then the Marksman could run to the flag, scoring another point. However, there is no way to score the centre zone. Also, the rightmost Devastator contests the rightmost flag and can’t really be removed. Sorscha’s zone could be contested. All of this would leave the scenario score at 8-4. As the winning condition is 5 points more than the opponent, Malakov can’t win on scenario.

All in all, Malakov clocks out and looses. The picture above shows the end of Sorscha’s turn, which is basically the same as then end of the game. Sorscha wins with a scenario score of 4-6 or 4-8 depending on what happened if we played it out.

Final thoughts

It was a good and fun game. Yet, in isolation Sorscha is still not completely on top of this list. She probably won this game primarily be the opponent being too slow. I do, however, still think that this list is viable. It just needs more playing. I’m hoping that it is the same case as when I exclusively played Winter Guard Kommand for a year. It took many games before I managed to pilot it respectively.

Nevertheless, we had fun.

Until next time.

For the Motherland!

Kommandant Sorscha Kratikoff (Sorscha3) vs. Baldur the Stonecleaver (Baldur1)

Igor Khador — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 21:22:00 +0000

Sorscha and her Man-o-War irregulars are back. This is the second try at getting this list to work. Baldur and his Blackclads are stirring in the woods. There is a lot of sticks and stones on the table. Sorscha is going to approach it in the Empress improved manner. Send the mercenaries into the fray to die (and save some money) whilst the Man-o-Wars move forward to clean up. The battle is bloody. However, Sorscha comes out victorious.

Circle is a common foe across the table. I have traditionally struggled with the druids, and in particular the chief druid pulling Baldur’s strings. Sorscha is still learning to pilot her new Jaws of the Wolf list (see here for a description of the list). It is going to be interesting to see how this list deals with Circle, and in particular this player that I have a long history of loosing to. The two lists facing off are:

Khador

[Theme] Jaws of the Wolf
[Sorscha 3] Kommandant Sorscha Kratikoff [+28]

 – Devastator [14]

 – Devastator [14]

 – Greylord Adjunct [3]

 Man-O-War Kovnik [3]

 Man-O-War Demolition Corps (max) [12]

 – Sergeant Dragos Dragadovich [4]

 Man-O-War (max) [15]

 – Man-O-War Shocktrooper Officer [3]

 Kayazy Assassins (max) [13]

 – Kayazy Assassin Underboss [4]

 Kayazy Eliminators [0(4)]

 Kayazy Eliminators [0(4)]

 Kossite Woodsmen (min) [7]

 Manhunter [2]

 Manhunter [2]

 Yuri the Axe [4]

 Bulkhead [0(5)]

 Battle Mechaniks (min) [2]

 – Battle Mechanik Officer [1]

Circle
[Theme] Bones of Orboros

[Baldur 2] Baldur the Stonecleaver [+31]
– Megalith [17]
– Wold Guardian [16]
– Woldwarden [13]
– Woldwarden [13]
– Woldwyrd [8]
– Woldwyrd [8]
Blackclad Stoneshaper [0(2)]
Blackclad Stoneshaper [0(2)]
Blackclad Wayfarer [3]
Blackclad Wayfarer [3]
Chuck Dogwood [0(4)]
Shifting Stones [0(3)]
– Stone Keeper [1]
Shifting Stones [0(3)]
Stoneward & Woldstalkers [8]
Celestial Fulcrum [16]

Initial Thoughts

The theme, Bones of Orboros is for sticks and stones, and men in black. It allows a ‘caster to run the ‘beasts hot as one fury can be removed from each ‘beast in the Control Phase. This is pretty good. It also allows for units and models to start with upkeep spells, which are three from Baldur (more on this later).

Baldur the Stonecleaver is leading this list. He is an oldie but goldie most famously know for his jump forest and assassinate trick (a trick that Sorscha has been on the receiving end of before). In short, the assassination involves him placing an AOE 4″ forest anywhere within 12″ (through his spell Rapid Growth), and assuming he is already in a forest, he can Forest Walk a kill the opposing ‘caster. I’m so not going to fall for that again.

He does pack two additional powerful spells: Solid Ground, which we are familiar with through Irusk2 (no knockdown and immune to blast within 12″); and Stone Skin, which gives a unit +2 ARM and STR, and -1 SPD and DEF. Finally, he has Earth Spike, which does damage in a 3″ AOE and knockdown. His feat is primarily there to get his troops to the enemy, whilst hindering the enemy. It gives Cover and Pathfinder to to his models, whilst enemy model can never have Pathfinder. All of this within 12″.

As a final bonus, he offers the build in Elemental Mastery, which allows ‘beasts within 12″ to charge and make power attacks without being forced. He can also heal friendly constructs within 12″.

Baldur’s batttlegroup consists of six warbeasts (despite being constructs): two Woldwardens, two Woldwyrds, a Wold Guardian, and his pet Woldwarden Megalith. Megalith is a Woldwarden on steroids (except the surprising fact that it has one less STR). It has two fist at P+S 17 at MAT 7 and with Weight of Stone, which lowers the SPD and DEF by 3 of a model damaged. Megalith’s Animus is Undergrowth, which makes rough terrain for enemy models within 5″ and reduces their DEF by 2. It can also cast Earth Spikes from Baldur once per activation (at Magical Ability 7).

The two Woldwardens are basic, two open fist brutes. They are a bit pillow fisted at P+S 16. However, the Stoneshapers help here by casting Earth’s Power on them for an additional two points of STR. In addition to the two fists, they can also do a Chain Attack: Smite, which allows them to do an extra attack that slams the opponent d6″, if both initial attack hits. They have the same Animus as the bigger brother, Megalith (except for 1″ area) and Geomancy.

Megalith and the Woldwardens are probably going to be used for slamming stuff and just generally beat things up. Perhaps the occasional Earth Spikes.

Speaking about beating things up, enter the Wold Guarding. It is basically a Khador ‘jack disguised as sticks and stones. ARM 20 and 35 boxes, and two Battering Rams at P+S 18 (20 if the Stoneshapers have done their thing). If a model is hit by a Ram it becomes knocked down and pushed 1″, which the Wold Guardian then can follow up on. Finally, it is a Shield Guard, is Steady and can get Bulldoze by using its Animus. This is a bit dangerous. On the average it will one-round a Khador heavy. Luckily, Sorscha brought Devastators that at least have a chance of surviving; and then hope for a Mechanik to be nearby.

Finally, the two Woldwyrds are light shooting ‘beasts. Their claim for fame is Purgation that gives them an additional die on attack and damage rolls against models with an upkeep on them. So, anybody with Iron Flesh on them will be targeted. The additional to hit die is not that important for the Shocktroopes, whereas the additional damage die actually is slightly more damage than the extra 2 armour from Iron Flesh. It is quite the opposite for the Assassins, where extra damage it irrelevant but the extra to hit die matters. So, all in all annoying.

Baldur brings a Celestial Fulcrum, which is kind of cool. As passive abilities it helps Baldur running his ‘beasts hot. It can leach fury and function as a fury bank for him. In addition, it is Veteran Leader [Blackclads] (giving them +1 to attack rolls). Besides the support features it can also shoot a lot.

The Fulcrum has three shots all at RAT 7 (base 6 + 1 from Veteran Leader): an AOE 4″ continuous fire at range 11″ and POW 15; an electric leaping (one leap within 4″ at POW 10) shot at range 13″ and POW 14; and a range 10″ spray with critical freeze. A quite versatile shooting platform. It is not that dangerous against the heavy armoured part of Sorscha’s army. The assassins is a completely different story. They have to hope for Stealth (except against the spray).

Among the solos are two Stoneshapers. They are primarily there to increase the strength of the Wolds; secondly to repair them and manipulate fury. In a twist, they have a 8″ POW 12 spray. There are also two Wayfarers, who are there to put Hunters Mark (+2″ movement when charging and charging for free) on what ever a Wold would like to charge. The combination of these two solos makes the Wolds rather dangerous. All in all, Baldur’s heavies can now reach out and touch something 11″ away and hurting it at between P+S 18 and 20; and ready to spend all fury on attacking. This brings the heavies into one rounding Khador heavies territory. Finally, Chuck gives all constructs +1 to hit; which is not too important, given the impressive Khador DEF.

As units, Baldur is brining two units of Shifting Stones and one unit of Stoneward & shrimps (not to be confused with the Woldwyrd prawns). The former can do what they do. They can heal, leach and teleport Warbeasts. The shrimps are quite mobile due to Zephyr and can shoot 10″.

In general, I think Sorscha should be OK. Baldur is going to struggle with the heavy armour part of her list; as long as she can control the heavy Wolds. Her Kossites should ambush and try to get rid of the support solos. Something that will really diminish the threats from the heavies.

Deployment

We are playing the Steamroller 2021 scenario Recon II. Sorscha picked the Cargo Nets objective (one model becomes Steady and stands up if knocked down). Baldur chose the Observatory objective (one model gets True Sight). Sorscha won the roll-off and decides to go first.

Sorscha deploys almost in accordance with the Empress’ standard deployment 11 (see here for details and tactical discussion). The BYOF (Bring Your Own Forest from Sorscha’s theme) is placed on the left flank next to the zone, for Yuri to hide in. The two Manhunters deploy behind the forest on the right. The Kossites stay at the camp fire for now.

End of deployment

Baldur deploys the Fulcrum, a Woldwarden, a Woldwyrd and Chuck on the left. Everything else goes in a big pile on the right. The stones Advance Deploys in front. The picture above depicts the situation after deployment.

Round 1

First round. As always this is just going to be the boring move forward fast round. Two, rather slow armies just need to get closer.

End of turn 1

The Eliminators move forward at almost full speed. The leftmost unit position behind the linear obstacle for an extra good defence, if something unexpected should happen. The rightmost unit just runs around the forest to be ready to put pressure on that flank. The Assassins do their thing runs.

All the Man-o-Wars move forward: the Shocktroopers in Shield Wall (under Desperate Pace from the Kovnik) and the Demolishers running. Sorscha moves forward, drops Iron Flesh on the Assassins and Stoke the Fires on each of the ‘jacks. The two Devastators then run forward. Everybody else follows suit. The Mechanik Officer practice his Girded ability by being base to base with Sorscha. Finally, Yuri and the Manhunters move into their forests.

The picture above shows the result of Sorscha’s first turn.

End of round 1

Baldur’s army starts with the upkeeps in place. Solid Ground on himself, Rapid Growth in the middle between the impassable terrain and the field. Finally, Stone Skin on the Wold Guardian.

Not a lot of interesting things happens. Everybody basically moves forward. Megalith hides behind the impassable terrain. In accordance with Sorscha’s plan, Baldur’s army clump up in the middle. However, the Fulcrum faces the left edge and a Wayfarer moves a bit out on the right flank; both ready to receive the Kossites.

The picture above depicts the end of the first round.

Round 2

The round where stuff can actually happen. Sorscha has the initiative. I think it might be the feat turn.

End of turn 1

Since Baldur has a feat the seriously will slow down Sorscha’s advance it is important to go forward and apply scenario pressure. So, first step is to jam with the Assassins. They run forward and try to tie up as much as possible. However, the big impassable terrain in the middle is difficult to navigate around.

Following up behind the Assassins, the Man-o-Wars lumber along. Again, the Shocktroopers under Shield Wall and the Demolishers running. Sorscha moves up and feats. She rolls six clouds and produces a cloud wall in the middle. She also drops Stoke the Fires on the Devastators.

The Assassins have arrived on the left flank (in hindsight, this might have been to early). They take out one of the Wayfarers and attempts to hurt a Shifting Stone. But stones are hard.

The Eliminators run up both flanks to apply more flanking pressure. Finally, the Adjunct moves to the flag to be ready to score and casts a cloud on the rightmost Devastator; just because he can.

The picture above shows the result of Sorscha’s feat turn.

End of round 2

On the left flank, the Fulcrum takes advantage of a potential too early arrival of the Kossites and a reckless move by the Eliminators. It shoots with everything. When the smoke and lightning dissipates the Eliminators are gone and only two Kossites remain.

Then the shrimps and prawns take over. They shoot a lot at the poor Assassins everybody on the left side. Iron Flesh was definitively not beneficial. Perhaps it should have been cycled to the Shocktroopers?

The Shifting Stones move around. Most importantly, one teleports to the middle of the board, blocking potentially charges against the Wold Guardian. Chuck also moves forward to score the Circle flag. On the right flank, the Wayfarer moves out and attempts to spray the Eliminators. Luckily to no avail. Finally, Baldur moves in and hides behind the objective.

This round ends with a scenario score of 1-1. The picture above depicts the end of the second round.

Round 3

I guess this is the crunch round. The two armies are now getting sufficiently close to start beating each other. Unfortunately, for Sorscha, Baldur has feated.

End of turn1

For all practical reasons, Sorscha’s army stationary. Under Baldur’s feat, the Pathfinder from Jaws of the Wolf doesn’t even help. So, speed is around 2″. Hurrah!

First of all, the Assassins do their Shadow Dance and mini-feats. It takes out the Shifting Stone in the middle and brings two Assassins into Baldur’s vicinity. The Shocktroopers do what they can. Under Desperate Pace and Shield Wall they storm forward the best they can under Bladur’s feat. This brings them almost to the enemy. Two of them engage the Wold Guardian.

Sorscha moves up and casts Stoke the Fire on the first Devastator, she then Wind Rush to the Objective and casts Stoke the Fire on the second Devastator.

The Eliminators are outside Baldur’s feat, so they are free to charge and kill the last Wayfarer. One of the Manhunters runs forward to keep the pressure on the right flank. The right Devastator shuffles a bit backwards. There was probably some sort of reason.

On the right flank, the Devastator moves up as far as possible. A lot of measuring did take place to stay out of the Woldwarden’s charge range; and then all that was ignored. For some reason Yuri decides to run in behind the Shocktroopers (and magically turns into a proxy base. That big cape of his really messes with his balance). The Mechaniks then moves up as well.

The Shocktroopers manage to get within 4″ of Baldur’s flag. So, the scenario score is now 2-1 in Sorscha’s favour. The picture above shows the end of the slow turn.

End of round 3

This is Baldur’s murder round. The right flank is easy – nothing happens. It is another story on the left flank. Here the Fulcrum, and shrimps and prawns move about a do a lot of shooting. Again, perhaps Iron Flesh was not such a bright idea. They hurt the Shocktropers quite a lot. The Wold Guardian moves up and cleans up. Four Shocktroopers, an Assassin and a Mechanik is killed.

Now the result of ignoring all the measuring in the previous turn really comes back to hurt Sorscha. The leftmost Woldwarden can now charge the Devastator. It manages to hit twice and trigger the Chain Attack. The poor Devastator is slammed far sway. Luckily, it is Steady; but now out of the fray.

Somebody kills the two Assassins near Baldur. That is fine, as they have served their purpose. Finally, the Shifting Stones do their teleportations, and once again they try to block charge lanes.

Scenario score is now 3-2 in Sorscha’s favour. The picture above shows the situation at the end of round 3.

Round 4

OK, things are heating up. I guess it is time for Sorscha and her troops to get back and the sticks and stones (and shrimps and prawns).

End of turn 1

On the right flank, the Devastator moves sideways to get into a slightly better position for later. The front Manhunter charges Megalith and does a not insignificant amount of damage. The two ladies run across the table to threaten models from the back. The last Manhunter moves up behind the big rock. The Adjunct is happy where he is. Scoring flags is nice.

On the left flank, the damaged Devastator moves out of the BYOF to get near a Mechanik. Sorscha moves a bit forward so she can see one of the Wolds and drops Winter’s Wrath on it. She manages to make the Wold Guardian, the Woldwarden and one of the prawns stationary.

The Demolition Corps charge the Wold Guardian and almost take it out. It is surprisingly robust. Bulkhead finally leaves bodyguard duty and charges the Woldearden, slams it into the objective and sprays twice. The Woldwarden, the objective and Baldur is caught in the sprays. A bit of damage is dealt. But nothing too impressive.

The Mechaniks move forward. One repairs the damaged Devastor. The offices flamboyantly moves infront of Sorscha to protect her.

That is it. An OK turn, but not too impressive. This time a Demolition Corps grunt manage to contest Baldur’s flag. So, the scenario score is now 4-2 in Sorscha’s favour. The picture above depicts the end of Sorscha’s turn.

End of round 4

Baldur strikes back. As I didn’t manage to actually kill the two heavies they are quickly brought back to full power. This is the true power of Hordes.

The Fulcrum moves forward and does it shooting, which deals a lot of damage to the front line. The Wold Guardian and Woldwarden them mow up the sorry remains of the front line Man-o-wars. Even Yuri is killed in the mayhem. A prawn the moves forward on the left and shoots something.

In the back, the shrimps kill the two nice Kayazy ladies. Luckily, Baldur is running out of time and has to end the turn quickly. He flips the clock with 3 secondes left. The scenario score is now 5-3 in Sorscha’s favour.

The picture above shows the end of round four; and for all practical purposes the end of the game. Sorscha activates one more time. She has two minutes on the clock, So she simply runs the last Kossite to contest Baldur’s flag, flips the clock and wins the game. The final scenario score is then 6-3 in her favour.

Glory to the Motherland!

Final thoughts

I haven’t completely mastered this list yet. On the good side Sorscha remembered to feat, and even on the right round. I also managed to bring in the Kossites (last time I completely forgot them). However, I suspect that I should have waited a round.

On the bad side, I should be more precise with my measurements. I almost lost a Devastator due to poor play. I also over extended the Eliminators. I think the Assassins did their job. The Man-o-Wars were subpar. Iron Flesh is probably a trap against things with Purgation or similar. ‘

At then end of the day I won the grind. However, I’m still not completely convinced that the list is as it should be; or I just need more training.

Until next time.

For the Motherland!

Kommandant Sorscha Kratikoff (Sorscha3) vs. Aurora, The Numen of Aerogenesis (Aurora1)

Igor Khador — Tue, 25 Jan 2022 15:28:00 +0000

Sorscha is trying out her new irregulars in Jaws of the Wolf. First point of contact is a set of strange bedfellows. Aurora is leading, basically a Convergence army, just camouflaged as mercenaries, with a twist of Cryx. That is indeed strange. Sorscha’s mixture of nimble light infantry and heavy cumbersome Man-o-Wars is a really good counter to flying flimsy stuff. All is fine, until an important lesson is learned: Do not stand within 10″ of Asphyxious.

It is rare to see Convergence on the table. It is even rarer to see Convergence dressed up as Mercenaries. What a strange sight indeed. I have faced some of the models before. But never Aurora and a bunch of angles. Sorscha is bringing her brand new Jaws of the Wolf list (see here for a description of the list). I have so much been looking forward to this list. However, it is my first time, so many things can easily go wrong. The two lists facing each other are:

Khador

[Theme] Jaws of the Wolf
[Sorscha 3] Kommandant Sorscha Kratikoff [+28]

 – Devastator [14]

 – Devastator [14]

 – Greylord Adjunct [3]

 Man-O-War Kovnik [3]

 Man-O-War Demolition Corps (max) [12]

 – Sergeant Dragos Dragadovich [4]

 Man-O-War (max) [15]

 – Man-O-War Shocktrooper Officer [3]

 Kayazy Assassins (max) [13]

 – Kayazy Assassin Underboss [4]

 Kayazy Eliminators [0(4)]

 Kayazy Eliminators [0(4)]

 Kossite Woodsmen (min) [7]

 Manhunter [2]

 Manhunter [2]

 Yuri the Axe [4]

 Bulkhead [0(5)]

 Battle Mechaniks (min) [2]

 – Battle Mechanik Officer [1]

Mercenaries

[Theme] Strange Bedfellows
[Aurora 1] Aurora, the Numen of Aerogenesis [+29]

 – Corollary [5]

 – Negator [6]

 – Negator [6]

 – Negator [6]

 – Negator [6]

Algorithmic Dispersion Optifex [2]

Destructotron 3000 [6]

Enigma Foundry [4]

Enigma Foundry [4]

Hermit of Henge Hold [0(5)]

Prefect Hypatia [0(5)]

Widget, Mathlete Archeologist [0(4)]

Stormsmith Stormcaller [1]

Asphyxious the Sanctified [14]

 – Stalker [8]

Clockwork Angels [5]

Clockwork Angels [5]

Negation Angels [6]

Negation Angels [6]

Negation Angels [6]

Stormsmith Storm Tower [4]

Stormsmith Storm Tower [4]

Initial Thoughts

The theme, Strange Bedfellows really makes for a strange mixture of model. It turns all models into Convergence and Mercenaries, which basically makes them friendly fraction. Further, all solos that are not Servitors gain Swift Vengeance (advance 3″ and make an attack, if a friendly warrior model was destroyed within 5″). Finally, if a model is repaired and additional point of damage is removed. These are really good benefits.

Aurora is a speed up and hit first ‘caster. She has an alpha or double strike feat. A weak little brother to the one we know from our own Vlad3. The feat gives models within 16″ (see Corollary below) Reposition [5″] and Parry. Combined with her build in Field Marshal ability that gives her ‘jacks Apparition (2″) and her spell Aerogenesis, which gives warrior models with 16″ (see Corollary below) +2 movement and flight, makes for potentially strange hit and run tactics.

She is not really a front line ‘caster with DEF 16, ARM 15 and 16 boxes, which makes her squishy. However, if she happens to be nearby a ‘jack she has Mechanikal Seizure on her range 2″ staff (making a ‘jack stationary).

In addition to the Aerogenesis spell, she brings another four spells: Admonition, which allows a model to move 3″ if an enemy model ends its advancement within 6″; Arcane Might, which is a bit nasty as it allows warrior models within 16″ (see Corollary below) to use Auroras focus to boost melee attacks or damage rolls; Blade Gale, which removes flight from models hit (so not really relevant here) and is a POW 13 spray; and Flashing Blade, which allows Aurora to make an attack against all models within 2″ and in her LOS.

Aurora brings five ‘jacks: four Negators and one attachment, a Corollary. The latter is basically a focus battery. It gains focus when near the Warcaster (within 3″); it extends the ‘caster’s control range with 2″ (when within 5″ of the ‘caster). Finally, it can transfer focus to Warjacks within 5″.

The five Negators are light Warjacks with just P+S 10 (two attacks). In this list, they will attack with just MAT 6 (from Aurora). They do have flank, giving them MAT 8 and P+S 10 on 3d6. Nevertheless, they are not really dangerous to Khador’s heavy armour. On a charge (with another Negator already there for flank) the average damage output is just 24 (4d6+10). That is just one point of damage on a Shocktrooper Shield Wall under Iron flesh or the Devastators. At ARM 15 and 33 boxes it is like fly swashing.

Aurora is brining an impressive nine solos: an Algorithmic Dispersion Optifex, the Destructotron 3000, two Enigma Foundries, the ubiquitous Hermit, a Perfect Hypatia, Widget, a Stormsmith Stormcaller, and finally the (black) rabbit in the hat: Asphyxious 4.

The Algorithmic Dispersion Optifex basically does two things: it extends the focus induction range by 3″ and Aurora can channel through it. The latter doesn’t really do anything in this list, besides the occasional spray. The other support type solo is two Enigma Foundries that are basically advanced mechanics. In addition to being able to repair constructs they can also make new grunts (assuming angles here) if there are souls on the Foundry. This is kind of annoying and means that care should be taken to kill whole units in one go; or they will return.

The Destructotron 3000 is a new model that I haven’t see before (one of the Riot Quest solos). Surprisingly, it is a cavalry model and stumbling drunk. It supports the Stormsmith units and solos by being super conductive giving +2 to the attack roll if the target is within 6″ from it. It has two POW 12 guns that also slams small and medium based model d3″. It is probably OK, but not a big threat here.

Along the Riot Quest solo line is also Widget, Mathlete Archeologist who has a fun ability to define half of the table as her digging site, which give +2 to attack and damage rolls for her against model in that half. She is also ‘jack hunter, which gives her an additional die on damage rolls against ‘jacks. This actually gives her gun an effective RAT 7 and 3d6+14 (average 24) on her gun against the Empress ‘jacks. Luckily, they are Devastators.

Obviously, the Hermit is here. I would like to point out that I have never ever put an army on the table including him; and I think I’ll keep it like that. The Hermit can take six hits before he dies. Five for Ancient Shroud, which allows him to only suffer one point of damage, and once for Mad Visions, which allows him to disregard a damage roll against a model within 8″ of him. He can also cast spells. In this matchup the only one that matters is Whispers at the Gate, which lowers the ARM of all models within 5″ of him by 2.

To support all the angels (see below) a Perfect Hypatia is on the field. It is born with Apparition 2″, which is also gives to angles within 7″. It has a P+S 11 reach 2″ weapon, which it is weapon master with. It also has a range 10″ POW 12 beam, which har critical push. Again not a big problem for the heavy Khador, which is mostly steady.

For some reason, a Stormsmith Stormcaller has entered the list (I’m guessing it’s because it’s one point). In this list it’s only danger point is the critical disruption, which is quite annoying for our nice ‘jacks. In particular in combination with Aurora’s Stationary stick.

Finally, the (black) rabbit in the hat: Asphyxious4. He is nasty. On his own he is actually an accomplished fighter. With MAT 7, P+S 16 (actually 18, due to Dark Shroud), and five focus he can put out a lot of damage. Also, him and Aurora are BFF, so if she casts Arcane Might and nothing more, she will be left with five focus. This allows Asphyxious 6 attacks all boosted (if charging). That is 51 points of damage against standard Khador armour, or 33 points of damage against a Devastator (which is just one shy of what it has). Dangerous guy.

Yet, that is not all. He has three Annihilation Servitors, which can fly and kill light infantry. One can come back every round if it is missing. They also have Dark Shroud when within 9″ of Asphyxious. That could potentially be annoying. But wait, there is more. He also has spells. He can cast: Caustic Mist (3″ AOE cloud with corrosion), Hellfire (POW 14 spell that also removes Tough), and Vanish (placing him completely within 3″). Wait, that is still not all. He also has a ‘jack with him: a Stalker.

The Stalker is a Cryx ‘jack (just to mess up the coherent list a bit more), which is highly mobile; yet not horrible dangerous for heavy Khador. It is speed 7 and can jump 5″, Pathfinder and extended control range (in this case 20″). So it can show up almost everywhere. It has two P+S 12 weapons with Grievous Wounds. Yet, without help, it can’t kill Sorscha.

Finally, Aurora brings a load of angels: two units of Clockwork Angles and three units of Negation Angels; and two units of Stormsmith Storm Towers for good measure.

The Clockwork Angels are fast, flying and hard to shoot units of 3. They have a P+S 10 blade (with brutal charge) and a POW 10 beam. They are not really dangerous to the heavy part of the Khador list. The Negation Angels are somewhat similar, except they have Gang and Prowl; and they can paralyse living things with their weapons.

At the very end are two units of Stormsmith Storm Towers. They can shoot 14″ at POW 14 with lightning arcing to d3 other models. Again, another model adept at killing light infantry. It also does Disruption, which combined with Aurora’s stationary staff could be a pain. Luckily, Devastators can still go Kaboom without focus.

In general, this list does not worry me. The Assassins, Eliminators and Kossites are going to die. But there really isn’t anything that can touch the Man-o-Wars or the Devastators. Not that they are immortals, but a lot of concentrated attacking is required to kill ARM 21-23 things. (Almost) everything is flying and fast, so it is going to be interesting to keep track of where stuff will be next round. I think that as long as I do not cock up, I should be good.

Deployment

We are playing the Steamroller 2021 Bunkers scenario. Aurora chooses the Observatory Objective (one model can have True Sight), Sorscha goes for a Cargo Net Objective (giving Steady to one model). We roll for who’s going first and Sorscha wins. Aurora’s army is fast, so Sorscha gives Aurora the opportunity to pick side.

Sorscha deploys according to the Empress’ standard deployment 11 (see here for details and tactical discussion). The BYOF (Bring Your Own Forest) is dropped on the right flank for Yuri to hide in, whilst threatening the rightmost flag. The Manhunters deploy to take advantage of the leftmost forest and threaten the other flag. Oh, and there is an annoying house in the middle. Whatever happened to Demolition Corps being experts at demolition?

End of deployment

Aurora deploys herself and her battlegroup to the left, probably going for the zones. Asphyxious deploys to the right. All angels are Advance Deployment and does so. The picture above depicts the end of deployment.

Round 1

For once, there is actually a chance of the first round becoming slightly more than just moving forward. Khador is fast and Aurora is even faster. Interesting times ahead.

End of turn 1

Sorscha sends the Eliminators as far up each flank as possible. Yuri and the Manhunters moves into each of their own forest. The Kossites stay at the camp fire.

In the middle, the Assassins run up the board, but stays out of the angels’ charge range (perhaps I should have baited a few?). Some of them also get stuck in a stupid field. That is not something to put up when the city boys arrive. Sorscha manage to place herself so she can’t cast Stoke the Fire on both Devastator before they move. So the right most is a bit slower. Nevertheless, they run up the board, as there really aren’t anything dangerous in front of them.

Man-o-Wars follow suit. The Shocktroopers in Shield Wall, and the Demolition Corps just tagging along. That is about it. The picture above shoes the end of Sorscha’s first turn.

End of round 1

Aurora is a bit hesitant to meet Khador steel head on. She moves the Negators up to present a wall. Most of the other stuff clamp up and hide behind the house. Two units of Angels manage to draw first blood by killing one of the Manhunters that got too cocky. The picture above depicts the end of Round 1.

Round 2

OK. so far so good. Nothing interesting so far. Aurora is moving cautiously up the board. So it seems that Sorscha has the initiative.

End of turn 1

As we all know, Hubris is the precursor of Nemesis. So let’s start with a bit of Hubris. Since Sorscha is not worried and she really wants to try out her new toys, she sends the Assassins far up the field. She should have waited, but… In combination with the Eliminators, they take out the Angels that killed the Manhunter. Shadow Dance is so cool. Yet, it takes some finesse and is heavy on the clock. But, the magic it can work; and this was even without the mini-feat. I love it.

Except for the over eager Assassins, not a lot more happens. Everybody else moves into postions. Perhaps the most important thing that (didn’t) happened was that Sorscha forgot to feat. She was too engaged in admiring the Assassins’ dexterity. The picture above shows what Sorscha made out of the first turn in Round 2.

End of round 2

Aurora is finally moving. This is her feat turn. First of all, some of the angels are being recreated by foundries. I should make sure that whole units are killed. A whole bunch of them moves into the forest on the left flank.

On the right flank, the Stalker moves and jumps to eliminate Eliminators, but can’t really hit them. A bunch of angles fly forward to mess up the right flank. They are basically everywhere. They also manage to chip the Devastator on the way. The Foundry on the right moves into contact with the flag; hoping that it might score if Aurora somehow can remove the Devastator. She can’t. Asphyxious moves in and hides behind the house.

In the middle, all sorts of flying stuff happens. The Hermit flies down behind the Man-o-Wars and does his -2 ARM thing. The Algorithmic Dispersion Optifex moves forward to be used as an arc node. Aurora can then spray from it to take out the Assassins and a single Eliminator. One of the Stormsmith Storm Tower also shoots the Devastator and Disrupts it. Finally, the Negators attack the Devastator and gives it some damage. However, ARM 23 is hard. Finally, the two Assassins, including the Underboss is killed by the Perfect Hypatia (on in this case, the Perfect Nemesis).

That is more or less it. Scenario score is now 1-1. The picture above depicts the end of Round 2.

Round 3

On paper, Sorscha is on top of this. Aurora has thrown most of what she has at the heavy Khador armour, with no effect. The sensible choice would now be to hide Sorscha and just grind Aurora into the ground. However, being sensible has never been my strong side. So, let’s see what happens.

End of turn 1

Hubris is back! After much thinking and contemplating, the Kossites decide to leave the campfire and move in on the left flank; which was perhaps not the best choice.

On that flank, the Kovnik charges the Hermit and damages it 3 times (assault, axe and shield). The remaining Eliminator charges him and kills him (I must have damage him once in a former round). There is now room for the Demolition Corps to charge and kill the leftmost Negator.

The Kossites discover that the Angles in the forest have Stealth (from Prowl). So they have to move to shoot them. It also turns out that Negation Angels have an effective DEF of 18 (14 +2 for Blade Shields +2 for concealment). With RAT 4 and shooting in the back, they need a 12 to hit, which is a 37% chance. I do, however think I forgot to roll 3 dice (from backstab). So they hit nothing.

The Shocktroopers can now charge into the enemy part of the field. In the middle, they take out the Perfect Hypatia and move in behind the house. On the right flank they try to contact Asphyxious, which one can do. The Devastator on the right parks next to the flag. It goes Kaboom and removes an angel.

Sorscha now moves in and kills the Negator next to the Devastator. She then Wind Rush back into the zone. There really isn’t any reason for her to move. She should just have moved left and backwards in the zone to stay safe. But, she is not Cygnar. For reasons that are not clear she decides to feat now.

In the back, Bulkhead cleans out some Angles by charging and spraying (he is so cool). Yuri cleans up the remaining ones. The Eliminators take out the last Angel and a Servitor. The Adjunct also sprays a Servitor. This area is now disinfected.

That is about it. Scenario score is now 2-2. The picture above shows the result of the first turn.

End of round 3, end of game

As stated earlier, Hubris is always followed by Nemesis. In this case Nemesis is called Asphyxious. The only thing that matters in this turn is that Aurora casts Arcane Might. Asphyxious flies over the building, dodging a free strike from a Shocktrooper. He is now in front of Sorscha. He needs sevens to hit (she has DEF 14 due to Wind Rush). He has six attacks, five of them with a boostable damage roll due to Arcane Might. There really isn’t anything more to say. Except for: “do not stand within 10″ of Asphyxious!”

The picture above depicts the result of Nemesis. The scenario score ends at 3-2 in Aurora’s favour.

Final thoughts

On paper this is an easy game. Aurora really has nothing to deal with heavy Khador armour. To a large degree I followed the master plan; which was fine. Of course, I should have been more thorough and relaxed. But, I really wanted to try the new Assassins and Kossites.

I was too early with the Assassins. I did not think through the deployment of the Kossites. But most importantly Sorscha ended up within 10″ of Asphyxious! This should never be done. In particular not when Aurora has cast Arcane Might. That is potentially 6 attacks from his on focus, five boosted with Aurora’s focus.

It is possible to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Until next time.

For the Motherland!

Jaws of the Wolf under Kommandant Sorscha Kratikoff (Sorscha3)

Igor Khador — Sat, 15 Jan 2022 14:30:00 +0000

The Empress has decreed that the Infernal pestilence has been removed from the Motherland. Thus, armies are moving again and battles are fought. Sorscha Kratikoff has for a long time lead her fellow Man-o-Wars as the Armored Korps. Thereby attracted a lot of Man-o-wars as irregulars; whom she is now leading in Jaws of the Wolf. The combination of heavy durable infantry and nimble light infantry; combined with the best armoured ‘jacks available will spell trouble for the enemies of the Motherland!

With the quality of life update to many things in Immoren, quality of life has indeed improved in many ways. Among the changes are some interesting twists to Sorscha3. Sorscha in her beautiful Man-o-War armour should to be able to support her Man-o-War fellows. However, I have never really managed to get her to work (for a walk through of the old Armored Korps list, see here). However, things have changed.

By royal decree from the Empress herself, Sorscha can now bring her Man-o-Wars into areas earlier banned as irregulars. She can now combined heavy armour with the numerous core Khador infantry in Winter Guard Kommand, support the combination of homicidal maniacs and Greylords in Wolves of Winter, add Iron Fangs to Man-o-Wars in Legion of Steel, but perhaps most importantly, she can now bring Man-o-Wars into Jaws of the Wolf.

In the text below I’ll go through a version of Jaws of the Wolf that I enjoy immensely, the models involved and some rationale behind the composition.

Theme — Jaws of the Wolf

Jaws of the Wolf — the classic theme for Khador. Heavy Warjacks combined with light infantry; and now also heavy infantry. The bonuses at a glance does not appear to be fantastic. However, it mitigates one of our Warjacks’ biggest weaknesses: the extremely rare native Pathfinder. Jaws of the Wolf now gives all ‘jacks this. This is huge. The second bonus can go both ways. Having the possibility to deploy a 5″ AOE forest 18″ completely within the rear end of the table is either stupid (if Circle of Orboros is facing the Motherland) or fantastic (if Yuri and Manhunters and present).

Sorscha3

Sorscha in her Man-o-war armour

First of all, Sorscha3 is just a cool caster (no pun intended). A Warcaster in Man-o-War armour — I mean, what’s not to like? Man-o-Wars was what originally attracted me to the Motherland.

She has two build-in and always on abilities that makes a combination of Warjacks and Man-o-Wars interesting. In addition, she projects a 9″ sphere of concealment, which is always nice.

First of all, her Field Marshal ability of Flank [Man-o-Wars] basically turns our already dangerous ‘jacks into Weapon Masters if a Man-o-War already has the opponent in melee range. This gives our standard Juggernaut an average damage output of 33 points on a charge attack, and the ability to hit DEF 16 on average. Not too shabby.

Secondly, she now has Irregulars [Medium-based Man-o-Wars], which is the whole reason for having her lead Jaws of the Wolf. She can now bring all Man-o-Wars, save for the Tankers and Chariots. Finally, being a Man-o-War herself, she is now repairable; and she also gives Flank, which I tend to forget.

She is equipped with two weapons: her old friend Frostfang, which has been with her since she graduated from Kovnik, and a cannon (not a hand cannon, an actual cannon in her hand).

Frostfang (2″ range and P+S 16) har improved quite a lot. It is no longer Critical Freeze, it is now just freeze. That is Stationary on a stick, which is just fantastic. Hit something a it is stationary (unless it is immune to cold, obviously). The Man-o-War Demolition Corps is already slightly impressed. Secondly, Frostfang has now acquired Critical Smite (slam d6″). Critical hits are not something to build a plan on. Yet, a Warjack being both Stationary and Knocked down is a very sad ‘jack; if it should miraculous survive into the next turn.

The cannon is not to be frown upon. It is a range 12″, AOE 3, POW 13 shot, with Arching Fire. Despite there actually being a cannon in her hand, I tend to forget it. If she can, why not take a potshot at something. It is RAT 6, so don’t get your hopes up. But, a drifting AOE can be nice.

She is, however surprisingly brittle! With a DEF of only 12, an ARM of 18 and only 17 boxes, she is not really a frontline caster. Any somewhat concentrated effort from an opponent will bring her down. She can be repaired though. So, Mechaniks might be a good idea.

Feat — Dead of winter

Her feat is a bit odd. At first glance it is not particularly powerful. This is not completely true. It is rather situational. She can place between 4 and 6 3″ AOEs completely within 12″ of her. They remain in play for 1 round and cause 1 point of damage if entered or one’s activation ends within them. Unless one is immune to cold.

The primary use of the feat is to shield the Man-o-Wars. They are clouds. So unless the opponent has some way of seeing through clouds, the Man-o-Wars are safe from shooting whilst they advance up the table. If your opponent can see through clouds; well, they really doesn’t do anything.

The secondary use is against cheap, one box Weapon Master infantry. Man-o-Wars really do not like cheap weapon masters, and there is so much of it around. Most weapon master infantry is around P+S 11, which means a nice 21 points of damage on the average charge. The opponent do not have to swing ARM, STR or just straight out damage a lot before Man-o-Wars disappear. These weapon master units also tends to be really cheap. However, they don’t like one point of damage. Forcing them to go through clouds tends to keep them sober and give the Man-o-Wars a possibility to charge rather than being charged.

The feat is often used on the first or second round, or not at all. However, there is a corner case, if it has not been used at the front. It can sometimes be used to keep enemy ambushers away from one particular edge for one round.

Iron Flesh

Iron Flesh, almost the Khador signature upkeep spell. This is what polish Man-o-Wars and makes lesser warriors less likely to be blasted of the table. It add +2 ARM (which brings Shocktroopers to ARM 19) and give a +4 ARM against blast damage (bringing e.g. Kayazy Assassins to ARM 18 against blast).

Cast it on the Assassins turn one, upkeep it (its free to upkeep, thanks to the Adjunct) until the Shocktroopers are joining the fray and smile at your opponent cursing. Then move it to the Shocktroopers before they hit the frontline, giving them ARM 23.

Stoke the Fires

A marvellous new spell in the Greylords’ arsenal. It speeds up our rather lumbering ‘jacks by giving them +2 SPD. They can now run a whooping 12″ or charge 9″. It also give Countercharge, which often is more of a threat than something actually being used. The idea that a Khador heavy can interrupt an otherwise carefully planned charge will often make the opponent think twice.

It is always a good idea to have one ready for each ‘jack. It is cheap and not an upkeep. Cast them before the ‘jacks activate.

Wind Rush

Wind Rush is back. It allows Sorscha to make a full advance and gain +2 DEF. The latter, combined with her build-in concealment brings her to a respectable DEF 16 agains shooting. DEF 14 against melee is still shabby, though. If she has no better to do with 2 focus, just cast it. She does not have to move.

There is a nice combination between her charging something, making it stationary with Frostfang and then using Wind Rush to get out of the way for the Demolition Corps to move in. Also, her stationary spell Winter’s Wrath (see below) suddenly becomes range 14″ (if the Greylord Adjunct is around), whilst Sorscha getting out of trouble again. It can even be 18″ in a pinch.

Winter’s Wrath

Winter’s Wrath is fantastic; in particular in combination with the Demolition Corps. Sorscha can make anything under the AOE 4 stationary (and it is POW 14 in addition). The cool combination of Sorscha walking forward, casting Winter’s Wrath and the Wind Rush, allows her to hit some thing 14″ away. Unfortunately, she will then be naked (in a Man-o-War suit of armour, though) as she often likes to boost to hit as well. However, if it works, the Demolition Corps will have a field day.

The Battlegroup

Sorscha’s battlegroup consists of two Devastators. Despite a ‘caster attachment not formally being part of the battlegroup, the Greylord Adjunct is also included in this part.

Greylord Adjunct

Sorscha’s best friend

The Greylord Adjunct has become almost an auto-include since the Greylords allowed them to join the standing army (poor War Dog). He solves a lot of problems for many Khador ‘casters and really helps Sorscha; making him her new best friend. He brings to build-in abilities that work by him simply being within 7″ of Sorscha.

First of all he offers Arcane Assist, which helps, typically focus-strapped ‘casters as it allows a free upkeep. Here, he allows Sorscha to upkeep Iron Flesh for free. This is pretty good since Assassins or Shocktroopers really want that spell on them. Sorscha is now back to being a 6 focus caster.

Secondly, he is also a Spiritual Conduit, which is really good as it allows a +2 range on spells; here in particular Winter’s Wrath. Sorscha can now freeze model 10″, or even 14″ away (see above).

He also brings three spells to the table: Blizzard, Frostbite and Guidance. Blizzard is a cloud, which is always handy; Frostbite is a POW 12, range 8″ spray. This is good. We all know that sprays win games, and if you haven’t got sprays you are probably going to loose. A quick brush up: sprays ignore concealment, cover, Stealth, intervening models, and the target in melee DEF bonus.

Finally, Guidance is where the real money is. Casting this on Sorscha gives her Eyeless Sight so she ignores concealment and Stealth, and can’t be made blind. This is so good when she needs to hit something with Winter’s Wrath or take out some annoying stealthy solo with her little cannon. If the Adjunct has nothing better to do, just cast Guidance every turn. Then you get into the habit and do not forget it when it really matters.

By the way, he is immune to cold, so he can walk through Sorscha’s clouds. I can’t fathom why he would, but it is an option.

Devastator

The ‘jack that goes Ka-boom!

The Devastator is now finally allowed to do Rain of Death without opening up its shell. That is really a quality of life update. It can now shuffle around at ARM 23 and blow stuff up, if required. The Ka-boom is POW 18 is the opponent is base to base, and POW 9 if the opponent is within 3″. Remember it can be boosted; that is 28 points of damage against a model bases to base, and 19 points of damage in a 3″ circle (on the average). All this whilst keeping ARM 23.

In addition to a functional Rain of Death, it can Bulldoze (push model base to base 2″ directly away), whilst it is immune to push itself (Sturdy). It is also Steady (immune to knockdown).

Normally, the role of a Devastator is just to shuffle about, bulldoze stuff out of zones on into trouble, and once in a while go ka-boom (oh, it can also Trample and Slam without giving up ARM 23). Sometimes, it does have to open up and hit stuff with its fists (and then only be ARM 19).

It has two standard fist, each with P+S 16. Which is a bit pillow fisted. However, thanks to Sorscha’s Field Marshal ability Flank [Man-o-War] it can attack with an effective MAT 8 and 3d6+16 (effectively a Weapon Master). This means that it can now hit DEF 15 on the average and deal 30 points of damage on the charge, and 26 points of damage on a normal attack.

For a Devastator to become Weapon Master the opponent also needs to be in melee with a Man-o-War. Luckily, this is achievable with the Shocktroopers and Demolition Corps, as they have reach 2″ and can move quite far in this list (see below).

Oh, and there is a devastating bonus in this list: there are two Devastators!

The Brick

Part of the major plan for running Sorscha3 in Jaws of the Wolf is to have a solid brick in the middle, where the opponent can break their inferior weapons on heavy Khador armour. It is also a place where Sorscha can hide (remember, the Man-o-War armour is misleading).

The Brick consists of a full unit of Shocktroopers and Unit Attachment, a full unit of Demolition Corp with Sergeant Dragos Dragadovich and a Man-o-War Kovnik to primarily speed the Shocktroopers up. The Shocktroopers are there to absorb attacks in their shield wall; whilst the Demolition Corps is there to kill heavy stuff once Sorscha has makes it stationary.

Man-o-war Shocktroopers

The Empress’ brick

Shocktroopers are the backbone of a good brick. They often play the role of anvil, typically holding the middle of the field; where they slowly but steadily advance in Shield Wall, whilst other troops “hide” behind them. Typically, they will be in Shield Wall as often as possible, and Sorscha will also upkeep Iron Flesh on them. This gives then an effective ARM of 23, which is pretty OK. When accompanied with the Officer, they are also immune to Knockdown and Push. All in all, pretty solid. I do, however recommend having a unit of Mechaniks nearby, as ARM-cracking is currently abundant.

The quality of life update has been good to Shocktroopers. Shield Wall now gives an extra +3″ movement in addition to the +4 ARM. Combined with having a Kovnik (see below) nearby (within 9″) makes for fast Shocktroopers.

The Kovnik can give them Desperate Pace, for +2″ movement. This combined with Shield Wall allows Shocktroopers to move an impressive 9″ in Shield Wall. This is just one inch short of their max distance when running.

Shocktrooper Officer

The Shoctrooper Officer

The officer adds quite a lot of nice features. Some of them has already been detailed above. Not only does he give the troopers Steady and Sturdy, which remains even if he dies (Tactics); he also give them Assault, which the unit looses if he dies (Granted). He does have a slightly better axe, with an extra P+S and critical Stationary; and one better MAT and RAT. He is also an extra body in a small unit. I never leave home without him.

I have always wondered why Shocktroopers do not have shields? They have a shield gun, they can do shield wall; yet they don’t have a shield. Giving them a shield would bring them to ARM 25 with all the trimmings. 25 is a good number, which would make them the brick they are suppose to be. 23 is still too little in the current state of Immoren, where swinging damage quite a lot and cheap weapon masters are common place.

Man-o-war Demolition Corps

The Demolition Corps ready to wreck stationary stuff

The Demolition Corps is easily my favourite Man-O-War unit. They are Man-O-Wars, and equipped with huge hammers used for charging ahead and smashing enemies with. What’s not to like? They are, however more brittle than one would expect from huge steam-driven heavy armour. This can be mitigated by casting Iron Flesh on them, making them (most likely) DEF 12 and ARM 18, which is kind slightly better than victim stats.

This unit is basically five guys with P+S 16, 2″ reach hammers who really wants to charge stuff and get into the fray. They do have Critical Freeze, but perhaps more importantly they have Shatter. This gives an additional dice on damage if the target is Stationary. This is lovely in combination with Sorscha’s Winters Wrath, which gives a 4″ AOE of stationary. Charging something that Sorscha have tagged with Winter Wrath is an auto hit with 4d6+16 points of damage (an average of 30).

Remember that the Kovnik also can give Desperate Pace to these guys.

Sergeant Dragos Dragadovich

Dragos leading the Demolition Corps

Dragos is the Command Attachment to a Demolition Corps. He is twice as cool as a normale Demolition dude — he has two hammers. They do appear smaller, but they are not. So, that is twice the chance of a Critical Freeze. He is native tough and has quite a few nice abilities that benefit the Demolition Corps he is attached to. For a bit of lore background, check out the short story “The better part of valor“

He grants 3″ Vengeance (works whilst he is in formation), and has Tactics Defensive line (unit gains this even if he dies), which gives the unit DEF 12 against melee attacks and immunity to knockdown, whilst base-to-base with another model in this unit. DEF 12 is still not remarkable, but every little bit helps.

Dragos’ also has a mini feat, Band of Brotherhood that allows the unit to distributed damage amongst all members instead of just the one model getting hit (it’s the same as Sanguine Bond, if you have ever faced Trollkin Champions or Exemplar Bastions). This is super good for keeping a unit alive and weather the storm so as many as possible can hit back. Combined with Iron Flesh actually makes for a really robust unit.

Man-o-war Kovnik

The Mighty Kovnik

The Man-O-War Kovnik is slightly meaner than the average Shocktrooper. He has one better MAT; a slightly shorter axe, but at P+S 15; a shield cannon that can shoot 2″ longer, he can even hit people with this shield; build-in Assault; and finally, he clocks in at ARM 18 (including the shield).

A Kovnik does three things for a fellow Man-o-War. First and foremost, he brings Desperate Pace to the Man-O-Wars. These extra 2″ of movement to a unit means a lot to slow Man-O-Wars; in particular to Shocktroopers. They can now move 9″ in Shield Wall.

Secondly, he can actually Slam models! A good slam is not to be frown upon.

Finally, he is not a helpless solo in melee, he actually brings three attacks to a charge: one assault shot (hitting DEF 14, bringing 21 points of damage of the average), one charge axe attack (hitting DEF 15, bringing 25 points of damage on the average), and one shield attack (hitting DEF 15, bringing 18 points of damage on the average).

The Harassment

The harassment part of this army is there to, well harass the enemy whilst the Man-o-War lumber forward. The assassins are there to run up the middle of the board to tie down the enemy. The Eliminators and Kossites together take the role of threatening the flanks, thus forcing the enemy in clump up in the middle. Finally, Yuri and his Manhunters will be parked in a wood (potentially then one the theme brings along) to threaten a flag or just an extra bit of board control.

All in all, the Assassins are speed bumps and the rest is there to force the enemy to clump together in the middle to be served to the Man-o-Wars.

Kayazy Assassins

Assassins doing the Empress’ bidding (and getting handsomely paid)

Kayazy Assassins are among the winners in the quality of life update. They got a bit cheaper, gained dualist and a new and very cool Tactics [Shadow Dance]. I think they went from OK to really cool.

Assassins come with a load of build-in abilities. They have Stealth, Parry (cannot be target by free strike), Dualist (+2 DEF against melee attacks), Gang (+2 to melee attack and damage rolls if the enemy is within melee range of another model in the unit), Anatomical Precision (automatically one point of damage if damage roll doesn’t exceed ARM, and no tough rolls), and if the Underboss is around (don’t leave home without him) Shadow Dance (more on that later) and a mini-feat Kill Stroke, which gives them Backstab (an additional die on attack and damage rolls). They have almost as many rules as a Crucible Guard unit.

The Underboss makes Assassins shine

So, what do they do? They can get up the board without being shot off the table, thanks to Stealth. Just remember to keep them apart so a drifting AOE doesn’t kill a lot of them. They only have ARM 12. So, most, if not all AOEs will kill them. Also, they really really hate sprays. It is worth getting Sorscha to put Iron Flesh on them, until they have done their thing and the Shocktroopers take over.

Once they get into melee, they can be difficult to get rid of. Native DEF 13 plus dualist gives them DEF 15, which means that MAT 8 is required to hit them on an average roll.

If they get to do a charge, they can do fun stuff. They can poke stuff with their daggers 9.5″ away (which is not very impressive). When possible make sure that two Assassins gang up one each opponent. They will then arrive with an effective MAT 8 (hitting DEF 15 on the average) and P+S 12 + 3d6 (average 22 points of damage). But, wait there is more.

Getting into the back arc

The Assassin Underboss

Shadow Dance and Kill Stroke is a beautiful thing.

When the first model hits something, the magic can begin. After a model hits something, another model can be placed within 3″ the attacking model.

Assuming the model to be placed have successfully charged something, the Assassin can now potentially be place in the back-arc of the model it charged (see illustration to the left where two Assassins are charging a large base). There is some wriggling room when charging a large base. But careful measuring is advisable. Of course, the further into the back arc the model can charge, the mode room there is to be placed correctly.

Getting the Assassin to “charge” into the back arc, means that the Assassin will now on the average hit DEF 20 (MAT 6 + 2 from gang, and +2 and 3d6 from backstab)! It will also do an average of 26 points of damage (P+S 12 + 4d6)! Two of these little guys will take out a Shocktrooper under Iron Flesh (remember Shield Wall does nothing when attacking in the back arc).

Kossite Woodsmen

The hardy north Khadorian woodsmen

The Kossite Woodsmen is another unit that has gotten a lot of help from the quality of life update. Despite actually going up in cost, they can finally in the whole history of Warmachine be useful.

They are at the very core a unit with range weapons; unfortunately with poor eyesight. They only have a range of 10″ and their inferior bows, crossbows and rifles are only POW 10. So, what’s the big thing?

They have Ambush and Backstab. Ambush in itself is a very nice thing; in particular before it is used. The threat of having a bunch of shooters appear on any table edge (except the back of the opponent’s deployment zone) easily forces the opponent to pack their army in the middle (which is what the Man-o-Wars want). Sometimes the threat of ambushing is actually more important than ambushing.

When the Kossites are deployed they excel in hunting solos and other support. They can hit something 19″ way from the table edge (3″ deployment + 6″ walk + 10″ range). Unfortunately, RAT 4 is not good. This is where Backstab comes in. It allows them to hit DEF 16 on the average (RAT 4 + 2 back strike + 3d6). They will also do 20 points of damage on the average (POW 10 + 3d6). This will trivially kill most support and even dent frontline infantry. If they can’t find anything to kill, they are pretty good at contesting zones of flags.

On top of that they have Pathfinder, Prowl and when Yuri is in the army also Treewalker (allowing them to ignore forest for LOS and +2 DEF against melee when completely within a forest). Just remember they have victim stats. DEF 13 (15 in a forest) and ARM 11 means that they die to even a light sneeze.

Kayazy Eliminators

The ladies of death

Kayazy Eliminators are a small unit of two city chicks who excel in knife dancing. Like the Assassin brothers they also come with Parry, Stealth, Anatomical Precision, Gang and Dualist.

In addition, the do Acrobatics (advance through models and ignore intervening models when declaring a charge) and Side Step (when hitting a model, they can advance 2″ after the attack is resolved).

They work marvels on the flank. They are fast (SPD 7″) and with Stealth and a native DEF of 15 (17 in melee, thanks to Dualist) they can get most places fast. Thanks to Acrobatics they can also charge most things trying to hide behind other modes.

The two ladies will arrive with an effective MAT 7 or 9 (gang) and do 21 + 18 points of damage; or one time 25 points, using their Combo Strike. Remember the deny tough due to Anatomical Precision.

They are a threat that most enemies cannot afford to ignore. Having a unit on each flank will to a degree also force the enemy to pack their models into the middle of the board. In addition, the ladies are also really good in scenario play, as they can contest zones far away and score circle zones

Yuri the Axe

A man — an axe!

Yuri, the man, the myth. He is a Manhunter on steroids (in the literal sense, I think). He comes with a nice package of build-in abilities. Pathfinder is given; Stealth, obviously; Advance Deployment (6″ extra), naturalement; He is clearly Tough, just look at him; and finally Treewalker, allowing him to ignore forest for LOS (basically being able to see though them) and give him +2 DEF agains melee attacks when in a forest (effective DEF 16, needing MAT 9 to hit on average).

After the price adjustment in the quality of life update, he is interesting. He moves from interesting to cool when a list includes Kossites and Manhunters. He gives Treewalker to them as Elite Cadre (so it stays after he dies).

He is equipped with a pretty large axe, which is reach 2″ and P+S 13. He is obviously Weapon Master. As a bonus he can do Thresher. That means he can reach out and touch something 11″ away, hitting with MAT 8 (DEF 15 on average) doing 4d6+13 (average of 26 points of damage) on the charge attack. Remember only the charge target is boosted. One basically just parks him in a forest, preferably close a flag. The opponent simply can’t ignore such a missile.

Manhunter

Yuri’s two friends

Manhunters are Yuri’s outdoor loving friends. They also have Pathfinder, Stealth, can Advance Deploy and are obviously Tough.

They also get Tree Walker from Yuri. Helping their DEF 14, ARM 14, 5 boxes a bit.

Each Manhunter is equipped with two P+S 11 axes, olny range 0.5″ though. Luckily, they are Weapon Masters. So, they can touch something 9.5″ away.

They will arrive with MAT 8 (hitting DEF 15 on the average). First axe will do an average of 25 points of damage, and the second one 22. This will hurt most solos and light infantry.

They take much the same role as Yuri. Plant them in a wood somewhere close to a flag. With a bit of luck they can contest and are not somebody a flag scoring solo can afford to ignore.

The Support

The harassment part of the army is there to force the opponent to clump up in the middle. This is where the brick will hit them hard. The harassment units are probably going to die. It is, however important to keep the brick, Sorscha and Devastators alive. Enter the support. Mechaniks to fix damage and Bulkhead to remove jammers, and protect Sorscha.

Battle Mechaniks

For when stuff is broken

Battle Mechaniks have also been blessed by the quality of life update. They have gotten cheaper, and the officer has become much cheaper. The latter has finally become relevant.

The four Mechaniks can each repair for d3. The officer is somewhat more adept and can repair for d3+3. A unit of Mechaniks only is ok. But it is the officer that really makes them shine.

A Mechaniks officer has a command of 8, so that is a pretty large area that can be covered. He is also Girded (does not suffer blast damage) and anybody B2B with him is also Girded. This might be handy.

He will probably live in the middle behind the brick which can screen him; whilst the other Mechaniks are more free to roam on the flanks.

Bulkhead

The perfect bodyguard

This guy is the latest addition to the Man-o-War family. Bulkhead is an pretty hefty solo, and he is a Requisition Card, so he is free.

Bulkhead has a bunch of rules. He has standard Man-o-War DEF (10), ARM 19 (base 17 + shield), and 8 boxes. He can be repaired. He has two weapons: not a shotgun, but a shotcannon, and a shield.

The Shotcannon is a fantastic piece of artillery. It is ROF 2, spray 6″, POW 16. He can do Both Barrels for one POW 20 shot. His shield is less impressive being P+S 12 and range 0.5. He can use both in an activation as he has Dual Attack.

He is also surprisingly mobile. He has bulldoze (push enemy model 2″ is making B2B contact during normal movement), He can slam and has follow up. This combined with his different types of attacks and Dual Attack makes for some weird combinations.

He can start by slamming something. That is 7.5″ away he can touch something (7″ + 0.5 melee range). He can now slam something d6″ away for 2d6+9 points of damage (3d6 if slammed into an obstacle or equal- or larger-base size). He can now do follow up for up to 6″. This brings him up to 13″ away.

Dual Attack can now trigger and Bulkhead can fire his shotcannon twice up to 6″ away. So, under optimal conditions, he can spray something 19″ away. Don’t build a plan around it, though. He can, however spray whatever he slammed. It is now knocked down and quite easy to hit.

Bonus abilities are: Immoveable Object (no knockdown, can’t be placed, nor pushed, slammed or thrown), he can be repaired, and he is a Shield Guard.

He is a pretty good bodyguard for Sorscha. Make sure that he stays within 3″ of Sorscha to work as a shield guard. He can also slam, charge, bulloze, or spray stuff that might be threatening her.

The final Jaws of the Wolf list

Sorscha and her army. Ready to take on the enemies of the Motherland

That’s it. The whole list. Sorscha3 leading Jaws of the Wolf, which consists of three main parts: The battlegroup, the anvil and the harassement. The final list is as follows:

[Sorscha 3] Kommandant Sorscha Kratikoff [+28]

– Devastator [14]

– Greylord Adjunct [3]

Man-O-War Kovnik [3]

Man-O-War Demolition Corps (max) [12]

– Sergeant Dragos Dragadovich [4]

Man-O-War (max) [15]

– Man-O-War Shocktrooper Officer [3]

Kayazy Assassins (max) [13]

– Kayazy Assassin Underboss [4]

Kayazy Eliminators [0(4)]

Kossite Woodsmen (min) [7]

Manhunter [2]

Yuri the Axe [4]

Bulkhead [0(5)]

Battle Mechaniks (min) [2]

– Battle Mechanik Officer [1]

Tactics

The whole idea behind this list is to force the opponent to clump up in the middle. The Harassment part of the army threatens both flanks from the Eliminators and the risk of Kossites appearing on either flank.

The Assassins will run as fast as possible in the front to tie up the advancing enemy. They will be under Iron Flesh to begin with, have Stealth and a reasonable DEF. This should keep the opponent occupied until the Brick can arrive.

Manhunters and Yuri will advance deploy, potentially in the forest the theme brings. They will attempt to do a bit of board control by asking the question: “are you sure you would like to be charged by a missile?”

Finally, everything else will go into the Brick in the middle. Shocktroopers in front to soak up shooting and or charges. Demolition Corps behind to be protected and ready to charge things that Sorscha can freeze. Bulkhead to work as Sorscha’s personal bodyguard. The Brick is finished off by a Devastator on either side.

Army position after first turn (going first)

The picture above depicts the Empress’ standard deployment 11 after the first turn. It should implement the tactics described above.

Assuming you, me dear reader has arrived all they way down here, I hope you have enjoyed these wild speculations. With a bit of luck, battle reports will appear in the foreseeable future.

For the Motherland!

Vladimir Tzepesci, the Dark Prince (Vlad1) vs. Kaelyssa, Night’s Whisper (Kaelyssa1)

Igor Khador — Sun, 09 Jan 2022 20:00:00 +0000

The pointy eared xenophobes are on the move again. Since the Infernals have been kicked out of Khador, the Retribution are attempting to get rid of the few remaining humans with magic. Luckily, Vlad1 is back with his relentless Winter Guards. They have been affected by the quality of life update and are now ready to once again defend the Motherland’s borders. The battle is fierce, However, Vlad is a bit rusty and has to face defeat against Kaelyssa and her Defenders of Ios.

It has been a very long time since I have played the double Gun Carriage Winter Guard Kommand list under Vlad 1. I actually thought that I had retired it (see here for Vlad’s last stand). However, with the recent quality of life update, Vlad is back. The list has been brushed up and update (see here for a summary). So who better to try the new version of the list on that the first opponent I encounter. Kaelyssa and the pointy ears. The two lists are as follows:

Khador

[Theme] Winter Guard Kommand
[Vladimir 1] Vladimir Tzepesci, the Dark Prince [+28]

 – Marauder [11]

 – Marauder [11]

 – Marauder [11]

 – War Dog [2]

Kovnik Jozef Grigorovich [0(3)]

Winter Guard Artillery Kapitan [0(3)]

Winter Guard Artillery Kapitan [0(3)]

Battle Mechaniks (min) [2]

Winter Guard Field Gun Crew [0(3)]

Winter Guard Field Gun Crew [3]

Winter Guard Mortar Crew [3]

Winter Guard Rifle Corps (min) [7]

 – Winter Guard Rocketeer (3) [6]

Winter Guard Rifle Corps (min) [7]

 – Winter Guard Rocketeer (3) [6]

Winter Guard Gun Carriage [17]

Winter Guard Gun Carriage [17]

Retribution

[Theme] Defenders of Ios
[Kaelyssa 1] Kaelyssa, the Night’s Whisper [+29]

 – Aeternae [16]

 – Aeternae [16]

Aelyth Vyr, Blade of Nyssor [0(5)]

Arcanist Mechanik [2]

Arcanist Mechanik [2]

Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios [6]

Ghost Sniper [0(3)]

Ghost Sniper [0(3)]

Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress [3]

Lys Healer [2]

Priest of Nyssor [0(4)]

House Vyre Electromancers [5]

House Vyre Electromancers [5]

Ryssovass Defenders (max) [15]

Ryssovass Defenders (max) [15]

Arcantrik Force Generator [17]

Initial Thoughts

I’m assuming that the update also has been good to Retribution. However, there is no way I can be bothered to know all the details; and it doesn’t really matter. What matters is what they can do now. It is Kaelyssa who is facing Vlad and she is doing it in Defenders of Ion.

The theme gives House Vyre Electomancers and solos Reposition [3″] (also Stormfall Archers, which is not relevant her), and Kaelyssa can place a wall template anywhere within 20″ of her rear table end. I guess that is ok. Even though reposition on shooting models always is a pain.

Kaelyssa is a support caster who can shoot and packs a dangerous assassin potential. For this matchup, in particular she has a quite annoying feat. It gives Stealth to all friendly Faction models within 14″ of her. Also, models within 14″ of her can’t be charged or slam power attacked (luckily, a Marauder can still slam stuff around). She is a Focus 7 ‘caster but have ways of getting more (see below).

She likes to shoot a lot with her nice magical ROF 3 gun. She has True Sight, can steal a focus when hitting and get a power token if she destroys a model. As a bonus she can choose +4 range, dispel or make warjacks stationary. To add insult to injury, she can also cast Phantom Hunter to ignore cover, concealment and stealth (again). All in all, getting within 14″ or even worse 10″ of her results in all sorts of annoying difficulties.

In addition to phantom hunter, she brings four other spells to the table: Backlash, which she can cast on a Warjack. When the ‘jack is damaged, Vlad suffers one point of damage; Banishing Ward for removing upkeeps from her own models (this does noting in this matchup); Blur, which adds 3 to DEF of a unit or model. This is handy against Vlad’s shooters; and Refuge, which allows a friendly model to make a full advance at the end of its activation, if it has hit something.

All in all, Kaelyssa has a pretty good assassin potential against Vlad. His Wind Wall does nothing against her, Backlash it actually more efficient when ‘jacks have a high armour, and she can shoot a lot. So Vlad has to be on his toes.

Kaelyssa brings two identical ‘jacks. They are new and I have never seen them before. The Aeternaes are heavies with DEF 12, ARM 19 and 30 boxes. Being Vyre ‘jacks, they don’t have forcefields. They do, however have a pretty hefty gun. Range 14″, magical POW 8 — but Armor Piercing. That kind of shooting combined with Kaelyssa’s Refuge could be really annoying. They also pack two swords: a P+S 17, reach 2″; and a P+S 15, also reach 2″ with beat back. Two Aeternaes will, on the average trivially remove a Marauder. One can also do it, if it has been doing some shooting first.

The ‘jacks are obviously escorted by two Arcanist Mechaniks — the best mechanics in the game. They do the three things we all wish all mechanics did: Repair [d6], Empower (remove disruption and give one focus), and Concentrate Power that add two to the melee power of a ‘jack. This brings the Aeternaes to P+S 19 and 17, and into Khador ‘jack killing territory. Arcanist Mechaniks should be on the receiving end of some shooting as fast as possible.

Another big thing on the battle field is the Battle Engine (or as they are known in Vlad’s army: Marauder Munch — or M&Ms, if you prefer), Arcantrik Force Generator. First of all, it can’t be charged due to Polarity Field, which is worth remembering when doing M&M. Secondly, it is difficult to shoot of the table due to Carapace, which brings it to ARM 22 against shooting. Finally, if an Aeternae is within 2″ it gets +2 range and +2 on attack roll; bringing an Aeternae to RAT 8 at range 16″. This is of course not all, the M&M can also shoot on its own. It has a ROF 2, range 14″, POW 14 cannon that can either be an AOE 4, leaving rough terrain like our Gun Carriages; or automatically boost the damage roll; or finally, slam small and medium bases d3″.

On the unit side, there are two different types: two units of Ryssovass Defenders and two units of House Vyre Electromancers. The former are basically reach 2″ P+S 10 weapon masters. It is in itself not terrible impressive. However, they do have Precision Strike, allowing them to dictated which column to damage on a ‘jack. They also do Defensive Line giving them DEF 14 in melee and making them immune to knockdown. They are also girded, which makes them selves and anybody B2B immune to blast. Finally, thanks to Alyth Vyr (see below) they get Dying Breath, which allows them one attack as they are destroyed.

The two last abilities makes them fantastic jammers agains Vlad. There is no blasting them with the Mortar, the Rocketeers or the Gun Carriages. Also, they can’t be knocked down by the Field Guns, Marauders or Gun Carriages. They are kind of annoying.

The Electromancers are really annoying. They can shoot 10″ (threatening 16″) and thanks to Reposition [3″] from the Theme, they can also get out of trouble again. They damage both infantry, thanks to Lightning Generator (basically Electroleap to d3 models) and ‘jacks thanks to Energy Leak that lowers the focus limit by 1 — cumulative. All of this is just shooting. They can hit with a melee weapon as well giving one point of cortex damage.

The remaining seven models are solo galore. Eyriss1 is there, Lanyssa as well, not to mention two Ghost Snipers, a Lys Healer, a Priest of Nyssor, and finally Alyth Vyr.

Eyriss1 is an oldie but goodie. She can threaten 19″ with her super crossbow that either gives Disruption and the loss of all focus, Deadly Shot giving 3 points of damage and remove tough, or Phantom Seeker (see Kaelyssa). She will typically move forward, disrupt a Warjack and then Reposition [3″] (thanks to the Theme) out of harms way and hide in her stealth. She really needs to go.

Lanyssa, is typically there to throw Hunter’s Mark on something. This will allow Kaelyssa’s models to move an additional 2″ when charging something hit by it. I think she might be using Winter Storm as well here, which removes Pathfinder within 9″ of her. She has Prowl and also Reposition [3″].

Alyth Vyr is new to me. He is a Ryssovass solo, which is probably why he gives the Defenders Dying Breath and are Veteran Leader for them (+1 to attack rolls within 9″ of him) — the latter also to Lanyssa and the Priest, as they are also Nyss. I think these two things are his primary roles. Beside these things he is just a slightly better Defender.

The Ghost Snipers are what it says on the package. They can shoot 14″ has Marksman (choose column), Deadly Shot (3 points of damage), and Swift Hunter (Reposition 2″ when destroying a model, which is actually 3″ due to the theme).

The Lys Healer is there to heal stuff (d3+1) and hinder knockdown within 5″.

Finally, the Priest of Nyssor is probably there to hand out Blessing of the Winter Father, which gives all Nyss +1 to attack rolls within 9″. He can also remove Pathfinder like Lanyssa and obviously has Stealth (due to Prowl and Snow-Weathered).

This is going to be interesting. On paper, it should be no trouble killing most of this. However, hitting it is difficult due to Stealth and highish DEF. Also, Kaelyssa has also sorts of ways to make the Marauders into somewhat ineffective lumps of metal through Disruption and taking our specific columns at range. Luckily, she hasn’t got any fancy way of dealing with the Gun Carriages, except good old fashion shooting and hacking. I think this calls for aggressive Gun Carriage playing and getting the Marauders into a position to assassinate Kaelyssa under Vlad’s feat.

Deployment

We are playing the 2021 Steamroller Scenario Bunkers. We roll off and Kaelyssa wins. She wants to go first. Vlad picks a side of the board thinking he would like to hide behind the forest on the left flank and the house on the right flank (see picture below). In hindsight, this was probably a bad choice (more on this later). We both go for the Pathfinder objective, which we later discover seem to have disappeared as an option. Never mind, we both made the same error.

It is worth mentioning that Kaelyssa had trouble finding the right models. So, basically not many of the Retribution models are what they appear. Here is a list:

Army model	Phycial model
Kaelyssa1	Kaelyssa1
Aeternae	Some other Retribution ‘jacks
Alyth	First Mate Hawk
Archanist Mechanik	Tactical Archanist Corps
Eiryss1	Eyriss1
Ghost Sniper	Ghost Sniper
Lanyssa	Lady Aiyana
Lys Healer	Lys Healer
Priest	Protectorate choir boy
Electromancers	Electromancers
Defenders	Dawnguard Sentinels
Arcantick Force Generator	Dawnguard Trident

Anyway, Kaelyssa deploys in the middle along with Eiryss1, Alyth, Lanyssa and the Priest. All base to base with Alyth to avoid blast damage. A unit of Defenders go on each flank with a Ghost Sniper. The left flank also has the Lys Healer and the M&M. Electormancers deploy behind both Defender units.

End of Deployment

Vlad deploys more or less in the standard setup. A Gun Carriage, a Field Gun, a Kapitan and a unit of Rifle Corps on each flank. Everything else in the middle. The picture above depicts the end of the Deployment

Round 1

Round 1. The exiting round of moving forward. Having possibilities of drifting AOEs, something might actually happen.

End of turn 1

Kaelyssa basically just moves everything forward. She is cautious as she fears Khador shooting. She casts Blur on the Defenders to the right, bringing them to ridiculous DEF. She also casts Refuge on one of the ‘jacks. I think that pretty much sums up the turn. The picture above shows the end of the first turn.

End of round 1

Vlad is a bit worried about being shot to death. So his primary goal is to bring a much cannon fodder —I mean Winter Guards— into range of Sacrificial Pawn. Also, both armies’ guns have approximately the same range. The Mortar has the longest. However, one of the enemy ‘jacks can get to range 16″. So, it is basically just a matter of getting forward and into range.

The two Gun Carriages move forward and shoots at something out of range. This is fine, as it is only to put down rough terrain. The elves haven’t got any Pathfinder to speak of. So this will slow them down. Everybody else moves forward. Vlad cast Might of Kings on himself since Wind Wall won’t help. Joe says tough to the Field Gun on the left as it can be shot by the Force Generator.

That is basically it. The picture above depicts the end of round 1.

Round 2

The second round is where something is going to hit somebody’s fan. One thing is for sure, guns will roar (or crackle in the case of Retribution).

End of turn 1

Kaelyssa upkeeps her spells. On the left flank, the Defenders and Electromancers spread out, and stay back fearing the Motherland’s guns. The Force Generator shoots at the Field Gun as predicted. Unfortunately, the three guys fail all tough rolls and are removed

On the right flank, one of the Aeternaes in cooperation with a Mechanik take out the other Field Gun. Some combination of Eiryss and Kaelyssa manage to disrupt the rightmost Marauder. The Defenders play the game of how many models can we fit into rouble — all of them.

All in all, no so bad. Even though loosing both Field Guns so early is bad. The picture above depicts the end of Kaelyssa’s turn.

End of round 2

So, we can either go for slow grinding or rely on Khador fast ‘jacks. The rightmost Marauder has been disrupted, which is really annoying. If it hadn’t, Kaelyssa would be dead by now. There is less than 14″ between that Marauder and her. Nevertheless, there is a chance of Combo Smithing her into the objective, which has a reasonable chance of killing her.

Vlad allocates to the left most Marauder. He the moves the middle Marauder in front of the house on the right flank to make room for him and to be ready for a potential second wave. The Marauder doing the assassin run would benefit from being under Signs & Portents. Vlad moves in front of the Objective, casts Boundless Charge on the disrupted Marauder, Sings and Portents and feat. He is now naked.

The disrupted Marauder can now charge for free and move 13″. It does and arrives next to Kaelyssa. She has DEF 16. The Maruader has MAT 7 under Signs & Portents. It should have a 64.4 % chance of hitting. She has ARM 14 and camping five I think. So she is basically ARM 19 and 16 boxes. A Marauder doing Combo Smite and slamming her into an objective should do 5d6+20 points (drop the lowest) of damage against her, for an average of 36 points of damage. One more than what she has all in all. The odd are in Vlad’s favour (actually not, it just appears so).

The Marauder swings its two pistons to hit, having a 64.4 % chance of hitting. The dice are: 1, 2, 4. So 6. Hitting DEF 13. If I only could have boosted. What I wouldn’t give for a Greylord Forge Seer. This Marauder will be reassigned to mining duties at the first possible opportunity.

OK, change of plans. The only way is forward. The Gun Carriage on the right moves forward and shoots at one of the Defenders. It is clear that the odds of hitting is very low. But, the main purpose is to slow them down with rough terrain. The Winter Guard on the Gun Carriage almost takes out the Ghost Sniper.

The Gun Carriage on the left does more or less the same. It moves up and tries to drift an AOE onto the Priest and almost kills him. The other AOE drifts way off. The Rifle Corps shoot at the Defenders and kill a few. Finally, the remaining Marauder tramples through to woods and into a very surprised Aeternae. It puts some damage onto it. But not enough to make it impossible to repair in the following round.

That is more or less it. A failed assassin run. To be fair, it only had a 35% chance of killing her. But the stories that could have be told around the camp fire if the Marauder had succeeded. Vlad is probably going to loose the two Marauders in the front and perhaps a Gun Carriage in the next round. But all in all, Vlad is still in the game. The scenario score is 1-0 in Vlad’s favour.

Round 3

Kaelyssa is spooked, but more importantly angry. So, she’ll probably take it out on the citizens of Khador who are just innocent bystanders.

End of turn 1

Kaelyssa upkeeps her two spells and allocates a few to the two ‘jacks. On the left flank the Force Generator shots at the Gun Carriage and does some damage. Getting rid of the Gun Carriage requires the Defenders to engage. Luckily they are hindered by a lake and a lack of Pathfinder. Nevertheless, enough Defenders manage to get to the Gun Carriage and they take it out. The last Defender takes out the last box in his last attack. So, it was a close run.

On the right flank, the second unit of Defenders tries to do the same. Rough terrain is our friend. Not enough make it to the Gun Carriage and it survives. The last Marauder takes a few hit. But nothing serious. The Electromancer on both flanks kills quite a few Winter Guards and the Mortar Crew. The rightmost ‘jack moves up and kills the assassin Marauder. Finally, the last ‘jack takes a bit out the leftmost Marauder. But still nothing serious.

All the shooting ladies make sure that the front Marauder is disrupted. Kaelyssa moves backwards and hides in a cloud. Finally, the Lys Healer on the extreme left flank runs to the flag to score. The picture above shows the end of Kaelyssa’s revenge. Also know as turn 1, round 3. Scenario score is now 2-2.

End of round 3

There is still hope. The front Marauder is disrupted but might be able to sneak around the opposing ‘jack and slam it over Kaelyssa. This requires that the rightmost Marauder can take out the rightmost ‘jack. Hey ho, here we go.

Vlad fills up the rightmost Marauder, moves a bit to the right to get away from the Defenders on the letf flank. He then casts Signs & Portents.

The Gun Carriage would like to soften up the Aeternae and impacts all the Defenders surrounding it before wanting to shoot the ‘jack. It takes out most of them. Unfortunately, Dying Breath results in the Defendes killing it whilst dying. Annoying and unnecessary, if you ask me.

The rightmost Marauder tramples over the Defenders in front of it and starts hammering the Aeternae in front of it. It rolls almost as bad as the assassin Marauder. So, not a lot of fun here. The last Marauder still goes for a slide to the left to slam the Aeternae. Yet, a pattern is emerging. MAT 7 under Signs & Portents can apparently not hit DEF 12. The Mechaniks moves in behind the two Marauders; just in case.

On the left flank, Joe starts by telling the story of what can be done For the Motherland to the Rifle Corps. It is very important that they can kill the Lys Healer hugging the flag. They start shooting and easily kills the Lys Healer, a Defender and one of the Electromancers.

That is it. Not impressive and I think Vlad is in trouble. The picture above depicts the end of round 3. Scenario score is now 3-3.

Round 4

This is probably where it ends. Kaelyssa is clearly in the lead. She has so much more of her army left than Vlad. Let’s see where it ends.

End of turn 1, round 4. End of game

On the left flank, the Force Generator shoots at the remaining Winter Guards and kills at least one. The Defenders charge and take out the remaining. One also runs to contest Vlad’s zone. The Priest runs to the flag to score.

On the right flank, the remaining Defenders charge a Marauder and some Mechaniks. Together with the two Aeternaes both Marauders are killed. The Electromancers move forward and kill more Mechaniks and some Winter Guards. The Ghost Sniper runs to the flag to score.

That is basically it. Vlad is done for. He is left with very few models and can’t reach Kaelyssa. So, he concedes. The battle ends with a scenario score of 6-3 in Kaelyssa’s favour. The picture above shows the end of the battle.

Final thoughts

It was actually a good battle. Vlad and his Winter Guards still have game. I think I did a tactical error when I chose the side. I should not have feared the Retribution shooting. The house did really hinder the Gun Carriage on the right flank.

Perhaps I should have resisted the assassin run in round 2. Then again, It would have been so cool. A 35% chance for a kill is probably too low to be pursued. Nevertheless, there was quite a few bad rolls from the Marauders. But, one should plan for bad dice rolls.

Finally, I’m not sure what the Mechaniks are doing. Perhaps I should exchange them for something else. That would require a more through exchange as they are only two points. So, I’ll need to think about it.

At the end of day, it was fun. I’m pretty sure that Vlad is back.

Until next time.

For the Motherland!

Winter Guard Kommand under Vlad1 – post quality of life update

Igor Khador — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 22:07:00 +0000

Vlad is back. He have had a long and proud tradition of leading the double Gun Carriage Winter Guard Kommand list. He managed to have a 50% win rate over a year of playing (which on this blog is considered very impressive). The recent Quality of Life Update has affected the Winter Guard Kommand and the corresponding troops. The changes are not huge. Nevertheless, this post will sum up the changes and how Vlad’s new and improved Winter Guard Kommand list looks.

I have historically been playing Vlad1 and his famous Winter Guards a lot. I played the double Gun Carriage list almost exclusively for a bit over a year (see here for a summary of a year of Winter Guard Kommand playing). The original list was pre-Oblivion (see discussion of list here), which was updated post-Oblivion (see discussion of list here and of Vlad’s famous last stand). It was a lot of fun. I still believe that this list has merit.

Now, the Quality of Life Update has change some of the models and their cost. So, perhaps we should brush the dust of this list and have fun again. The point cost change only releases 4 points from the original list. The low number of free points is primarily due to the fact that many of the models were, and still are Requisition Options. Thus, point changes doesn’t change a lot.

Nevertheless, some changes are made. In the text below, I’ll go through the new version of the list, the important changes, and what we can get extra for four points. The leftmost list below is the original (post-Oblivion) version, whereas the rightmost is the new one.

[Theme] Winter Guard Kommand

[Vladimir 1] Vladimir Tzepesci [+28]
– Marauder [11]
– Marauder [11]
– Marauder [11]
– Greylord Adjunct [0(4)]
Kovnik Jozef Grigorovich [0(4)]
Winter Guard Artillery Kapitan [0(3)]
Winter Guard Artillery Kapitan [0(3)]
Winter Guard Field Gun Crew [4]
Winter Guard Field Gun Crew [4]
Winter Guard Rifle Corps (min) [8]
– Winter Guard Rocketeer (3) [6]
Winter Guard Rifle Corps (min) [8]
– Winter Guard Rocketeer (3) [6]
Winter Guard Gun Carriage [17]
Winter Guard Gun Carriage [17]

[Theme] Winter Guard Kommand

[Vladimir 1] Vladimir Tzepesci [+28]
– Marauder [11]
– Marauder [11]
– Marauder [11]
– War Dog [2]
Kovnik Jozef Grigorovich [3]
Winter Guard Artillery Kapitan [0(3)]
Winter Guard Artillery Kapitan [0(3)]
Winter Guard Field Gun Crew [0(3)]
Winter Guard Field Gun Crew [0(3)]
Winter Guard Rifle Corps (min) [7]
– Winter Guard Rocketeer (3) [6]
Winter Guard Rifle Corps (min) [7]
– Winter Guard Rocketeer (3) [6]
Winter Guard Gun Carriage [17]
Winter Guard Gun Carriage [17]
Winter Guard Mortar Crew [3]
Battle Mechaniks (min) [2]

Winter Guard Kommand

The Winter Guard Kommand theme has had a few minor changes. Primarily, there has been a change to the Sacrificial Pawn rule that the ‘caster benefits form. Before the Quality of Life Update (QLU) we could chain a Sacrificial Pawn via e.g. Joe. This is not possible anymore as the rule now explicitly states that: “the Sacrificial Pawn special rile can only trigger once per attack roll“. This is OK. The old version was a bit strange. Also, I think I have only used chaining a very limited number of times.

The second change is in the models that can be chosen as Requisition Options. It is the same as the old one, except for one other small- or medium-based Khador solo with a cost of five or less. In principle, this changes a bit since some models have had a price change. However, for this version of Winter Guard Kommand (WGK) there really isn’t any change.

Battlegroup

The battle group comprises Vlad1 and the marvellous three Marauders. Neither, Vlad nor the Marauders have had any changes to them. So, that’s the same.

There are three solos in this list that has carried over from the older version: Joe and two Artillery Kapitans. In addition, the Greylord Adjunct is being exchanged for the trusted War Dog (more on this later).

Kovnik Jozef Grigorovich has had two minor adjustments made: i) the universal change to Sacrificial Pawn and ii) a one point reduction in cost. The latter is really nice, as he is an auto-include in a WGK list.

The two Winter Guard Artillery Kapitans are still a single Requisition Option. They have lost Close Fire, which is fine, and gained Veteran Leader [Winter Guard] and a change to Fire & Displace.

Veteran Leader is huge, if you ask me. They now automatically give a +1 to attack rolls to all Winter Guards within 8″. This means that the Field Gun, Rifle Corps (and Rocketeers), and Gun Carriage are now RAT 6 if sufficient close; and if they aim (perhaps not particularly relevant for the Gun Carriage) they can now hit DEF 15 on an average roll (almost DEF 16 if Vlad goes first and does Signs & Portents). This is really good. They also works magic on the Mortar Crew. They are now an effective RAT 6 when aiming and under Artillerist; also bringing them close to hitting DEF 15 when aiming and under Signs & Portents – even without Joe. I’m almost tempted to bring four.

Finally, Fire & Displace has gained and extra inch for Reposition. It is now Reposition [3″], which is obviously nice.

The old version had a Greylord Adjunct attached to Vlad1. His primary jobs was to allow Vlad to cast Boundless Charge 8″ instead of 6″. However, points are tight so I have opted to exchange him for a War Dog. Vlad have had a bad habit of getting into more trouble that he could handle. He would quite often leave a safe hiding spot and join the battle. He is surprisingly brittle. The additional +2 DEF agains melee attacks (bringing Vlad to DEF 17), immunity to back strike bonus, and gaining Parry are what I think Vlad needs to get out of trouble. By the way, the War Dog became one point cheaper.

Units

The core of this list is still two Gun Carriages, two Field Guns and two min units of Rifle Corps with Rocketeers. The new version also includes a Mortar Crew and a min unit of Battle Mechaniks.

There hasen’t been any significant changes to any of these units. The Field Guns, Rifle Corps and Battle Mechaniks have all drooped one point; whilst the Mortar Crew has dropped two points. Nothing has happend to the Gun Carriage.

The main benefit here is actually the improvement to the Artillery Kapitans. As aforementioned, the +1 to attack rolls for Winter Guards is huge. The table below describes the DEF that can be hit on an average roll. Rat 5 is for all Winter Guards, save Mortar Crew (Rat 1), Joe (Rat 6), Artillery Kapitans (Rat 6)

Rat	Base	AK	Aim	FTM	S&P	AK+Aim	AK+Aim+S&P	AK+Aim+S&P+FTM
1	8	9	10	10	9	11	12	14
5	12	13	14	14	13	15	16	18
6	13	14	15	15	14	16	17	19

Where AK is Veteran Leader from the Artillery Kapitan (+1), Aim is the aiming bouns (+2), FTM is For the Motherland from Joe (+2), and S&P is Signs & Portens from Vlad (+1.5).

All of the minor point cost adjustments have left two point up for grabs. I’m opting for a min unit of Battle Mechaniks. The list heavily relies on the two Gun Carriages creating pressure on the flanks for as long as possible, and the Marauders surviving until they can make their fabulous 14″ piston to face manoeuvre. Thus, having a few Mechaniks around to fix minor issues seems like a good idea.

My (new) Winter Guard Kommand List

All of the above sums up to my current WGK list. Despite only minor changes coming out of the QLU, I think the WGK is a winner. The Veteran Leader from the Artillery Kapitans alone is golden. It might actually warrant four of these solos. Time will tell.

I’m pretty sure that I’ll field this list again soon. I like the uncomplicated nature os an almost quintessential Khador list. It will be interesting to see it in action. I wonder if the War Dog is the right choice.

For the Motherland!

Kommandant Sorscha Kratikoff (Sorscha3) vs. Xerxis, Fury of Halaak (Xerxis2)

Igor Khador — Sun, 28 Nov 2021 12:21:00 +0000

It is not only Khardor who have gotten a quality of life update. It is clear that Skorne has as well. Xerxis, Fury of Halaak has mounted his favourite Rhino, gathered some elephants and a litter of kittens. For unknown reasons he has decided to bring the whole menageri across the desert and into Khador territory. Sorcha is dispatched along with her Man-o-Wars to send Xerxis back. It turns out that Khador steel is steadfast against claws and bites from Xerxis’ pet shop.

It has been ages since I have seen Skorne across the table; also before the pestilence. I have never seen the guy on a Rhino before, so this will be fun. I am so regretting not bringing Marauders. Yet, with the appearance of Death Archons in the Empress’ service, it is time to review Sorscha3 and her trusted Man-o-Wars (some thoughts on an earlier version of Armored Korps under Sorcha3 can be found here). Sorscha has a new Armored Korps list that I haven’t played before. The Skorne list is from memory and I’m not completely sure that it is correct. Nevertheless, here they are:

Skorne [Theme] Masters of War
Xerxis, Fury of Halaak [+28]
– Bronzeback Titan [16]
– Tiberion [16]
– Aptimus Marketh [0(4)]
Makeda of House Balaash [4]
– Basilisk Krea [7]
Tyrant Rhadeim [8]
Cataphract Arcuarii (max) [13]
Paingiver Beast Handlers (max) [7]
Praetorian Ferox (max) [17]
Praetorian Ferox (max) [17]
Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer [0(5)]
Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer [0(5)]

Khador [Theme] Armored Korps
Kommandant Sorscha Kratikoff [+28]
– Devastator [14]
– Devastator [14]
– Greylord Adjunct [3]
Bulkhead [0(5)]
Death Archon [9]
Greylord Forge Seer [4]
Greylord Forge Seer [4]
Man-O-War Kovnik [3]
Man-O-War Kovnik [3]
Man-O-War Strike Tanker [5]
Man-O-War Suppression Tanker [0(6)]
Man-O-War Suppression Tanker [0(6)]
Battle Mechaniks (max) [4]
– Battle Mechanik Officer [1]
Kommandant Atanas Arconovich & Standard [5]
Man-O-War Demolition Corps (max) [12]
– Sergeant Dragos Dragadovich [4]
Man-O-War Shocktroopers (max) [15]
– Man-O-War Shocktrooper Officer [3]

Initial Thoughts

I have never faced Xerxis, Fury of Halaak before. He looks rather imposing on top of his pet Rhino. He is leading the Skorne troops in the Masters of War theme, which gives warrior models take down. So no tough for Khador.

Xerxis himself is a battle engine, which already makes him immune to the primary trick in Sorscha’s list: stationary by cold. He has the “standard” defensive stats of a battle engine (DEF 13, ARM 19 and 19 boxes). Thus, he is killable (even without Marauders).

He brings a pretty hefty feat, Hand of the Ancients, which basically covers the entire board, and gives his models an extra die on attack and damage rolls. Contrary to our version, Signs and Portents, the model can choose any die to discard, not just the lowest. This is nice when fishing for critical effects. I am assuming that Xerxis will position his army for an alpha strike, feat, and then hit everything with everything. I just hope that Khador armour will hold against this.

Xerxis also brings three spells to the table: Ignite, Rapport and Stranglehold. The fist one gives a unit +2 on melee damage and critical continuous fire. Rapport allows the targeted warbeast to use Xerxis’ MAT (8) and RAT (4) -I’m assuming the latter is irrelevant- and makes the warbeast controllable within 20″. Finally, Stranglehold forces the damaged model to give up either movement or combat action. It is not a terrible set of spells. One of the elephants will have MAT 8, which really doesn’t do a lot since Man-o-Wars are pretty easy to hit. The +2 damage to one of the units is of course annoying as Sorscha’s list tries to survive on armour.

I have to admit I’m not completely sure that I remember the list correctly. So the rest of this is my best guess.

The battlegroup consists of two elephants, a Bronzeback Titan (it might actually have been a Titan Gladiator) and Tiberion. The Bronzeback is a beat stick. It is ARM 19 (21, using its Animus Unyielding) and 34 boxes, two P+S 17 fists and a P+S 16 Tusks. They will most likely be P+S 19 and P+S 18 due to Paingivers, and if Xerxis is really cheeky he will also cast Ignite, making it effective P+S 21/20. In addition, it has Countercharge, Hyper-aggressive and can remove 1 fury from other Titans within 7″ (in this case Tiberion).

Tiberion is another beat stick and it is bonded to Xerxis, giving it Overtake. ARM 21 (due to shield) and 32 boxes. Three attacks: Tusks P+S 15, Tetsubo P+S 18 and Shield P+S 14. Again, most likely P+S 17/20/16 due to Paingivers. Its Animus gives it Bulldoze.

Makeda of House Balaash, who is a newcomer, is bringing a Basilisk Krea. She is, in classic Makeda style capable of doing quite a lot of damage on her own; in particular against infantry. She is a P+S 11 Weapon Master with Flashing Blades. However, Man-o-Wars are too heavily armoured to be concerned. She is brining a Krea, which I guess is there primarily to protect her against ranged attacks (+2 DEF and +2 ARM against ranged attacks within 3″).

There are six units: two units of kittens (Praetorian Ferox), two units of Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer, a unit of Cataphract Arcuarii and a unit of Paingiver Beast Handlers. The latter has already been described under the elephants above.

The two units of kittens are potentially quite annoying. They are only two times P+S 12 (one unit probably P+S 14 from Ignite). However, they are quick (SPD 8), can jump 5″ and at the end Reposition 3″. They might even get an extra 2″ if the Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer is nearby. If they jump or charge, they get an additional +2 to attack and damage roll. Also, they have Take Down from the theme. The kittens are lead by head-kitten-master Tyrant Rhadeim, who is a Dragoon on another kitten. Most interestingly for units, he gives them Dodge within 10″. All of these kittens are going to run, dodge and jump around like crazy. The best defence against this is probably to make an impregnable brick where they can only scratch their claws on the outside.

The shooting unit on the table is a unit of Cataphract Arcuarii. Their primary purpose is to drag units out of shield walls or out of safety. Luckily, the Shocktroopers are immune to push, thanks to their Unit Attachment. Yet another good argument for keeping a brick. Also their range is just 8″. Whereas the Death Archon’s Mortal Fear aura is 10″. So the Shocktroopers are probably going to be ARM 25 against them.

Finally, there are two units of Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer. They are there to fix minor issues with warrior models. They have three Battle Plans that can give Pathfinder, +2 SPD og get knocked down models to stand up. It is probably the +2 SPD we will see most.

This is so not going to be a walk in the park (or in this case zoo?) for Sorcha. I do, however, think that with a solid brick, the Man-o-Wars are presenting too much ARM to break. The Shocktroopers are ARM 25 in Shield Wall, under Iron Flesh and if the attacker is within 10″ on the Death Archon. Basically, it is only the elephants that can trivially remove Shocktroopers. So, the plan is simple: 1) move brick forward; 2) kill anything getting too close; 3) win. I like simple plans.

Deployment

We are playing the 2021 Steamroller scenario Invasion. I don’t think this battle is going to be decided on scenario, so this is probably fine. We rolled off and Khador won. Sorscha is going first (Man-o-Wars should always go first). She picked the Fuel Cache objective, which gives a model Pathfinder. I forgot what Xerxis picked.

Sorcha deployes in a massive brick. Shocktroopers in front, followed by the Demolition Corps and Kommandant Atanas Arconovich & Standard. The brick is flanked on either side by a Devastator and a Suppression Tanker. Everything else just tries to fit into the 7″ deployment area. The picture below depicts the deployment after the Advanced Move.

End of Deployment

Xerxis deploys more or less symmetrically around himself in the middle. The outer flanks are occupied by the kittens. The two elephants are next to Xerxis on the right, and the Arcuarii on the left. Everything else fill up behind the front line.

Round 1

Round 1 – the exciting move everything forward round.

End of turn 1

Sorcha simply sticks to the plan. The brick moves forward by having the Kovniks shout Desperate pace to the Shocktroopers as well as the Demolition Corps. Sorcha drops Iron Flesh on the Shocktroopers and Stoke the Fires on at least the Devastator to the right. She then cast Wind Rush on herself and gets behind the brick. The Shocktroopers can move forward a whooping 9″ in Shield Wall! The Death Archon just get into the middle and does nothing more. Everybody else move forward to protect the brick’s flanks. The picture above shows the battlefield after the first turn.

End of round 1

Not surprisingly, Xerxis moves his troops in a classic pincer movement. The kittens spread out on each flank, whilst the main force move forward in the middle. The picture above depicts the end of the first round.

Round 2

There is a fair chance that something might happen in this round. Probably not initiated by Sorscha. But action is action.

End of turn 1

Sorcha moves her brick forward. The Shocktroopers stay in Shield Wall with the Demolition Corps right behind them. The Death Archon tags along and uses the only corps token on Mortal Fear. This brings the Shocktroopers to an effective ARM 25 against most of the stuff that can attack them. Atanas give the Shoockies Unstoppable Fury (Retaliation Strike), since Tough doesn’t really matter here.

Everybody else move forward. The Devastator on the right decides to go crazy and runs into the right most zone. In hindsight, this is probably not a good idea.

That’s it. Khador steel is ready to receive the Skorne pet shop. Sorscha is confident. Yet, you never know.

End of round 2

Initially, the Arcuarii moves forward, trying to stay out of the 10″ Death Archon bubble. They do get a few shots off, without a huge effect. It is quite a difference story with the Bronzeback. It charges into the Shocktrooper line (for PP-overhang reasons its back is turned to the frontline in the above picture). He manages to kill two Shockies! I love ARM 25.

In my honest and as unbiased as possible opinion. ARM 25 is where Shocktroopers should be without paying the Death Archon tax (9 points). It feels right without feeling too over the top. It is easily fixable. They have a shield (they can do shield wall and have a shield cannon). Give them the shield rule so they would be ARM 19 before bells and whistles. Anyway, I digress.

Having removed two of the Shocktroopers makes room for the kitten. They get the +2 SPD Battle Plan from the Tyrant. Then they move and jump and what not. On the right flank that costs Sorcha the first Forge Seer. In the middle they take out a single Demolition Corps (giving them Vengeance). The left flank also suffers, as the second Forge Seer is removed along with Bulkhead.

Finally, as predicted, the Devastator should not have strayed. Tiberion is quite capable of removing an ARM 23 ‘jack. Well, lesson learned.

All in all, both Xerxis and Sorscha agreed that this turn was not as bloody as they both expected. I have to admit I forgot if Xerxis did feat this turn. Nevertheless, heavy armour was too heavy it seems. The picture above shows the end of the second round.

Round 3

This is where it get’s interesting. The Man-o-Wars, finally after all these years survived an alpha strike and can now strike back.

End of turn 1

There is a lot of cleaning to be done after all the kittens have spread out behind the lines. Sorscha starts the cleaning from the bottom. Atanas and his standard does a press forward in opposite directions. The Standard takes out the kitten in the bottom left corner; whilst Atanas takes out the one in the bottom right corner. On his way to that kitten he also gives the Kovnik behind the wall Relentless Tide.

Having Relentless Charge enables the Kovnik to assist the Strike Tanker in removing one of the two remaining kittens. The plan was to take out both. But they have Tough that works.

On the left flank, Vengeance helps cutting down on the feline pest (the move was of course taken to begin with). This, in combination with the Suppression Tanker and Kovnik cleaning up made room for charging possibilities. Before that, however, the Devastator bulldoze Rhadeim to the left and explodes on him. Unfortunately he survives.

Now it is party time. Sorscha begins by freezing the Bronzeback using Winter’s Wrath. Now the Demolition Corps can charge it (despite som difficulties as Atanas is quite far out to the right). Demolition Corps against stationary is fun (P+S 16, 4d6. That is 30 points of damage on the average). Thus, the elephant goes down. The remaining troops take out as many kittens as possible and try to position so that they block line of sight to Sorscha. The Death Archon uses one of its newly acquired corps tokes to put up Mortal Fear.

The picture above depicts the result of the Man-o-War revenge.

Almost end of round 3 and the game

This is where the photographer forgot to take picture. He was simply too excited. So the picture above must also stand in for the remaining battle.

Xerxis can easily see that this is not going in his direction. He needs a clever plan. Unfortunately, he does come up with one. By clever manoeuvring what is left on the right flank, he should be able to get Tiberion all they way to Sorscha. Despite her have two focus, there is no way she can survive elephant to face. I’m getting worried.

So, without further ado the arrow in the picture above shows the direction on Tiberion. Xerxis moves forward slightly to the right. This might be when he feats.

The remaining cat removes some of the troops in the way; whilst Tiberion can bulldoze what is left; kill something (in this case the Battle Mechaniks Officer) and Overtake. What stands between Tiberion and Sorcha is two free strikes. One by a Demolition Corps and one by the Shocktrooper Officer. Both have Critical Freeze.

The Officer gets to take the first attack. He hits and does an insignificant amount of damage.

Next up is the Demolition Corps grunt. He attacks and hits on double 4’s. Tiberion is frozen in his path. No assassination of Sorscha. There will be medals when we return to camp.

After this, there really isn’t any reason to play on. Tiberion is now, for all practical reasons, dead. There is nothing really left on the table to threaten Man-o-Wars. End of game.

Final thoughts

ARM 25 rocks. This is exactly where Shocktroopers are suppose to be. They can now actually survive an attack. It is probably one of the few times in the last decade or so that Man-o-Wars actually get to strike back. I will still argue that this should happen without the 9 points payed for the Death Archon.

In this game the Death Archon really didn’t do anything else than radiating Mortal Fear. Perhaps a bit of normal threat. It is able to do a lot of harm on its own. Yet, Mortal Fear is the winner.

The Devastator can finally go kaboom without opening up. This is a nice change in quality of life. Not too much and not too little.

I think the brick was the sensible solution. Luckily, the opponent did not have any AOE weapons. That would really have ruined the brick.

I got over excited with one of the Devastators. I was so keen on using the new version of Rain of Death that I basically gave it away on a silver plate.

Finally, Sorcha must be better protected. She almost got killed by assassination. Although, I’m not quite sure how to pack her better. Perhaps she should just have move to the left earlier to get away from the elephants?

Besides that, there is not a lot to complain about. Victory to the Empress.

Until next time.

For the Motherland!

Warriors of the Old Faith under Vladimir Tzepesci, Great Prince of Umbrey’s orders (Vlad3)

Igor Khador — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 12:15:00 +0000

Some of the heroes of Umbrey are finally realised the errors in going south and joining the emerging cult. They have returned under the banners of the Tzepesci family to fight off the infernal threat. The Great Prince of Umbrey is the natural choice to lead the cavalry of the old faith. Warriors of the Old Faith demonstrates that Khador lists are not slow and lumbering. Charge of the horse lords for country, empress and the old faith!

Warriors of the Old Faith is one of the Oblivion cross-faction themes. There is only one proper Khador ‘caster. The other ones are all Protectorate ‘casters. So, clearly running this theme points directly at the third incarnation of Vlad: Vladimir Tzepesci the Great Prince of Umbrey. This is probably the fastes Khador list one can make with plenty of cavalry.

Theme —Warriors of the Old Faith

Warriors of the Old Faith is an almost pure cavalry theme. The natural home of Vlad3; perhaps the only home. It allows Vlad to run all sorts of Protectorate models, who are both Khador and Protectorate models in this theme. It also gives cavalry models Line Breaker, which gives an additional die on Impact Attacks (so three die on both impact and charge attacks for cavalry models). Finally, a reroll is allowed for the starting roll. This is good, as Vlad almost always wants to go first.

My version of this theme is as follow:

[Theme] Warriors of the Old Faith

[Vladimir 3] Vladimir Tzepesci, Great Prince of Umbrey [+27]

– Judicator [35]

High Paladin Dartan Vilmon [0(6)]

Menite Archon [8]

Uhlan Kovnik Markov [7]

Vassal Mechanik [0(1)]

Vassal of Menoth [0(3)]

Choir of Menoth (min) [4]

Exemplar Vengers (max) [20]

Iron Fang Uhlans (max) [20]

Also at conflict chamber.

In the text below, I’ll go through the different models making up my Warriors of the Old Faith list, as well as some rationale to the composition of the list.

Vlad3

Vlad, the man himself

The third incarnation of Vladimir Tzepesci finally sees him on his trusted steed Vasada. He is the natural choice for leading a Warriors of the Old Faith list.

Vlad3 is in many ways a well rounded ‘caster, without being super fantastic to one of the things he do. He is fast and has a 3″ Reposition (he is on a horse). He can also gain Pathfinder when charging. When he gets into it and have to beat stuff up on his own, Blood-Quenched give him an extra STR and ARM for enemy destroyed (which have an interesting, yet situational interaction with his spell Flashing Blade). He also gets Pathfinder on the charge thanks to Relentless Charge. This is handy, as this list doesn’t really have a way of handing out Pathfinder.

Despite appearing as if he wants to get into the middle of the melee, he is, however deceptively brittle. At DEF 15, ARM 17 and 18 boxes, he will die to somebody making an effort. Something like an enemy ‘jack, ‘caster, stuff shooting at him or Weapon Master infantry (if they can catch him).

His feat, Charge of the Horse Lords, is the epitome of his hit and run approach to battle. It allows Warjacks and Cavalry to move 2″ if their initial attack hits (side step), and make a full advance and the end of activation, if they manage to kill something. Side step is clearly super with models with more than one attack. Yet, it is also interesting with the two possible (heavy) cavalry units he can bring to the table (Iron Fang Uhlans and Exemplar Vengers).

Vlad brings six spells to the table: Dash for extra movement, Flashing Blades for more attacks, Hand of Fate the discount version of the signature spell Signs & Portens. Infernal Machine for faster ‘jacks, Razor Wind his single damage spell, and Wind Wall to keep him safe from shooting.

Even with 7 focus, Vlad tends to be a bit strapped for focus. In a perfect world, he would like to upkeep both Infernal. Machine and Hand of Fate, and he will probably be casting Dash every round. This is already four focus, leaving him with only enough to either cast Wind Wall or fuel a ‘jack. This leaves him naked and not really good for either attacking or defending himself. Also, Vlad often likes to go first (at least before the cavalry) for using Dash.

When not casting or upkeeping too many spells, he actually do have an assassination potential. Under normal circumstances he can charge 12″. To gain both impact attacks and both hand-weapons, this is a far as he can go. There are of course options under his feat (an extra 2″ via side step) and Dash for an extra inch. All in all, this allows Vlad to poke stuff with his spear 16″ away (with Pathfinder). He can arrive at 16″ with five focus, which is not too shabby. Unfortunately, his spear is only a POW 12 weapon, so any options for using Blood-Quenched on the way will be highly appreciated (see Flashing Blades below).

Dash

Dash is the spell that makes the army even faster. It adds +1 SPD to friendly faction warriors models within 14″. In this army the most important models affected are obviously Vlad himself, giving him SPD 9; all the cavalry, giving them SPD 9; and also the Archons, giving them SPD 7. This means that all cavalry can tie up stuff 18.5 to 20 inches away, and can charge stuff 14″ away. Also, the Archons becomes highly mobile with flight. Dash will probably go up every round. Dash also have a very nice interaction with Vlad’s feat. More on this later. Finally, it also gives Parry!

Flashing Blades

Flashing Blades is also known from Butcher3. When casting, Vlad makes one basic attack against each enemy model in range. This is always handy. Yet, the spell has a very nice interaction with the ability Blood Quenched; in particular when Vlad is on an assassination run. When Vlad charges, let’s say a ‘caster, he can pump up the charge attack by casting Flashing Blade between ending his charge move and carrying out his charge attack. He will receive a +1 to STR and ARM for each enemy model destroyed. Unfortunately, his two weapons are not the most potent ones. You can pick either a range 2″ P+S 12, or a range 1″ P+S 13 (Chain Weapon). Nevertheless, pumping up before using his spear for a charge attack will make it P+S 14, plus any number of models killed on the way in.

Hand of Fate

This is Vlad’s signature spell. Poor mans version of Signs & Portents. It gives a friendly model or unit an extra die on attack and damage rolls. Then discard the lowest. Everybody clearly loves an extra 1.5 on the average two die roll. However, the Judicator really loves it. It already has Reliquary, which is basically them same, yet it stacks. So, using both Hand of Fate and Reliquary add a nice 2.5 on the average two die roll. This is brilliant, in particular for the shooting of the Inaccurate Rocket Pods that only has an effective RAT of 2. This allows a Judicator to actually hit DEF 11 and DEF 15 (if boosting) on average roll.

Infernal Machine

This spell adds love to Vlad’s ‘jacks, or in this case ‘jack. It adds +2 SPD and murderous. The latter adds an additional die to attack rolls against warrior models. I’m not envisioning the Judicator attacking too much warrior models, so it is primarily there for the speed buff; which the Judicator needs to keep up with the fast list.

Razor Wind

Razor Wind is in the standard arsenal for many Khador ‘casters. It’s just a POW 12 range 10″ spell.

Wind Wall

This is Vlad’s protection spell against non-magical ranged attacks. It also protects models completely within 3″. As a side note it also hinders models from making ranged attacks. In this list this doesn’t really matter.

Charge of the Horse Lords — Feat

Vlad’s feat is a hit and run feat. Friendly ‘jacks and Cavalry models (remember this also applies to Vlad himself) gain Side Step and Sprint. The former allows a model to advance up to 2″ if it hits an enemy model with its initials. The latter allows a model to make a full advance at the end of its turn; if it killed a model. As a small note, the Judicator can’t Side Step nor Sprint as it is a Colossal.

Combined with Dash, the Feat caters to a beautiful alpha strike. Vengers and Uhlans can charge and hit something 14″ away and then, if the target is killed move 11″ (SPD 8″ + Dash for 1″ + Side Step for 2″) away; and be ready for the next charge. Away can also go into the enemy’s lines, for some weird flipping sides action. Also, remember that Dash gives Parry.

Warriors

Exemplar Vengers

Returning Umbrey Vengers

These are the proud horse lords who followed Menoth, but has finally re-rallied under Tzepesci’s banners. Exemplar Vengers are a pretty good heavy cavalry unit. It can be argued that they are flat out better than their Khador counter part, the Uhlans. They come with the classic Reposition 3″, which all cavalry has. In addition the also come with Battle Drive, which gives +2 to ARM and STR, as well as Pathfinder for one round, if the unit is damaged by an enemy attack. This bringes them to ARM 20 and P+S 17 on the charge (remember that the Cavalry rule gives them 3 die on charge attack rolls). This is pretty good. Often it is a good idea to bait the opponent to damage one of the models to overcharge to unit. It is an even better idea if the attack does less than 23 points of damage, so the model survives.

This unit also has the strange Lance rule. They are equipped with a Blessed Lance (thus also Magical), which can only be used on the charge. Blessed ignore spells or animi that adds to DEF and/or ARM. So, Vengers really wants to charge and not being tied down in melee. This is why Vlad’s combo og Feat and Dash is so cool. Obviously they can also do a POW 12 impact attacks from their mount. Remember that the theme gives them Line Breaker, which is an addition die on attack rolls for impact attacks. This will then hit a DEF 17 on the average.

If they are tied down in melee, they only have a sword. However, compared to the Uhlans’ pommel spike, this is a pretty good melee weapon. Vengers are Weapon Masters with this weapon. So, assuming Battle Driven, they are going to hit at P+S 12 on three die (average of 22 point of damage).

Iron Fangs Uhlans

Charge of the mighty Uhlans

These are the heavy cavalry of Vlad’s homelands. Compared to the Vengers they have stayed true to Motherland and tradition. Uhlans are to a large degree similar to the Vengers. Arguably they are worse for the same point cost. However, I’m not completely on that band wagon. I think that each unit fills a slightly different role, and I would not bring neither two units of Vengers, nor two units of Uhlans.

Uhlans also come with the classic Reposition 3″. They also have build in Pathfinder on the charge, thanks to Relentless Charge. Having proper horses, and not ponies like the Vengers, they are also Steady. Finally, if base to base with one of their comrades they gain +2 ARM (bringing them up to 19). In today’s meta, ARM 19 is still on the low side, despite having 5 boxes.

This unit also has the strange Lance rule. On the charge, they hit at P+S 16 (average 26 points on damage). Remember that both their impact attack rolls and charge attack rolls are on 3 die (thanks to Line Breaker and Cavalry, respectively). In addition to obviously hitting better on 3 die, there is also an extra bonus, since both impact and the lance have Critical Knockdown. On 3 die, the chance of a critical is around 44%, which is pretty good (ignoring rolls that will not hit the target).

As with the Vengers, Uhlans really don’t like being caught in melee. They only have their Pommel Spike, which is just a pathetic P+S 10. You are actually better off using the mount as a melee weapon. That is POW 12 and the critical knockdown. However, it is only range 0.5″ compared to 1″.

Finally, it is worth remembering that this list also includes Uhlan Kovnik Markov. He grants Tactician to Uhlans when within 10″ of him. Being able to ignore fellow Uhlans for LOS and move through them makes life so much easier. Make sure to plan accordingly.

I think that Vengers and Uhlans fill two slightly different roles. They are equally adapt at removing models that they can kill in a charge attack. Yet, when charging more robust models, Uhlans are to be preferred as they have a reasonable chance of knocking them down.

Choir of Menoth

The Choir singing their praise to the Empress

The famous choir finally available to Khador. They are now praising the Empress with their songs. As there is only on ‘jack in this list, albeit a rather big one, this is a good investment. The Choir of Khador offer three hymns: i) Hymn of Battle, which gives the Judicator +2 on damage rolls. This makes the fists P+S 23. Yet, perhaps even more interesting it makes the rocket pods POW 14 with a blast of POW 9, and the flame thrower POW 14; ii) Hymn of Passage, which stops the Judicator from being targeted by non-magical ranged attacks; finally, iii) Hymn of Shielding, which stops the Judicator from being targeted by enemy spells. Normally either Passage or Shielding will go up in the beginning, whereas Battle goes up when the Judicator starts bringing pain to the enemy.

As a side note, they are also pretty good at scoring zones since there are only four of them and the other two units are often preoccupied with charging something.

Vassal of Menoth

Mini Doom Reavers?

Vlad is often strapped for focus. Luckily, there is a solution to this. The Protectorate of Menoth has learned from our simple and elegant solution to traitors to the Motherland. In this case, it is people showing sorcerous abilities who are chained and masked, thereby resembling our Doom Reavers.

Contrary to the Doom Reavers who are homicidal maniacs, the Vassals are sorcerous maniacs. They offer Empower which gives a focus to the Judicator. On the rare occasion that they are not empowering, they can also do an Arcane Bolt for a POW 11 blast 12″ away.

Having two in this list is the optimal. Combined with Power Up the Judicator can be fully loaded without Vlad spending a single focus. As a bonus they are free in this theme. However, they are also a favourite target for long range shooters, ambushers or similar, as loosing them quickly puts strains on Vlad. So protect them. Being base to base with the Judicator does a little towards this as their DEF and ARM goes to 14. Not impressive, but every little thing helps.

Vassal Mechanik

Mechanics

Having only one ‘jack in the list is a hefty investment. So, ensuring that it runs smoothly is paramount. Enter the Vassal Mechaniks who are quite adept at maintaining ‘jacks.

They are solos and at 1 point a head they are a bargain (they are actually for free here). They are slightly more expensive than our own Battle Mechaniks. However, they are also slightly better at repairing stuff, d3+1 compared to d3; and you can have them in any number between 1 and 3. I never leave home without two.

They are also a favourite target for shooting and ambushing so try to keep them safe. They are also good for scoring or contesting. Just run them and annoy your opponent.

Menite Archon

One of the burning Archons

The Menite Archon is one of the many new models in Wingsmachine. As with all the archons this model has a whole lot of rules on its card. It has a few build in (passive) abilities that are always on. It has Flight, which is handy. It is immune to fire, which is handy being on fire. It cannot be knocked down, cannot suffer Blind, nor can enemies take control of it. It also hinders enemy models in gaining souls from friendly models within 10″. Finally, Ashen Veil gives this model Concealment (up to DEF 15 against shooting) and living enemy models who are not immune to fire suffers -2 to attack rolls while within 2″.

On the active side of build in abilities it has build in Hand of Fate (Divine Inspiration), allowing it to hit DEF 16 on the average. Archons are on the average also quite annoyed with the world, so Righteous Fury gives it +2 STR and ARM (11 and 21, respectively) if a friendly warrior model is killed within 10″. So, keep it within 10″ from the charging cavalry. There might even be argument of keeping it within 5″, as it also has Swift Vengeance, which gives it the 3″ move and basic attack during the Maintenance phase.

Finally, Menite Archons can also fuel flames. If a model (friend or foe!) suffers fire damage within 5″, add 2 to the die roll. This interacts very nicely with the Judicator’s flame thrower, bringing up to POW 14 is the archon is close. Strangely, despite doing Continuous Fire, neither of the archon’s weapons actually has damage type: fire. So, no +2 for itself.

However, the two weapons carried by the archon can still do some work. It has a 2″ sword, which in addition to being P+S 15 also dispels spells and animi. This is on hit, so any ARM buffs will have expired when damage is rolled. The second weapon is a huge flail. It is a 2″ Chain Weapon (ignoring shields and Shield Wall) at P+S 13″. Even more likeable it denies Tough and can do Thresher.

The archon is highly mobile, in particular under Dash, making it SPD 7 and Parry; enabling it to go most places. This could for an example be near something the Judicator wish to spray. Also, being imune to fire it doesn’t matter if it gets caught in the spray.

Uhlan Kovnik Markov

Dorek “Stalin” Markov

Kovnik Markov is a more expensive and better Uhlan. He has the same basic abilities: Reposition 3″, Relentless Charge, and Steady as the other Uhlans, except Shield Wall. I guess it is because he has his shield hanging from his sadle, rather than on his arm.

One of the main reasons to pick him is Tactician. It allows Iron Fangs to ignore each other for LOS and move through each other. This does obviously also include himself. Having this ability makes managing 6 modes on large bases so much easier.

He has the same Pommel Spike for melee attacks, and the same type of horse. So, as with his brethren it is often better to use the horse, having d3 to hit and an OK potential for knockdown. He also has a lance, which is a slightly better lance. In stead of the normal small powder charge, his actually has a warhead. This allows him to put down a 4″ AOE when hitting, which causes a POW 10 blast to everybody in the area except himself. It also causes knockdown on a critical hit. Again, on the charge, a guy on a horse has 3 die on the charge attack roll.

He is a bit expensive at 7 points, and his primary ability is actually giving tactician. So, he should be kept alive for as long as necessary, or at least until he can get a devastating charge off.

High Paladin Dartan Vilmon

The High Paladin

To a certain degree, Dartan Vilmon fills a substitute roll as he is the only thing left on the Requisition list worth taking. At 6 points, he is probably too expensive if the theme didn’t give him away for free.

Despite that he has a role to fill. He is a pretty good Shield Guard, and who doesn’t like a shield guard? Keeping him with 3″ of Vlad (or something else that for some reason shouldn’t be hit by a shot) and making sure that he has the option to go into his Stone-and-Mortar Stance (giving up either movement or combat action) allows him to take a shot at ARM 21. At 8 boxes this makes him pretty survivable.

Having no horse, he can have trouble keeping up. The traditional approach is to have him running in the first turn, and then making his stance for the rest of the game. If he isn’t on Shield Guard duty, he also makes a very good flag-camper. He is quite difficult to remove when doing his dance, I mean stance.

Warjack

Judicator

The Judicator in proper colours

Vlad only has one ‘jack in his list. But what a ‘jack. The Judicator is finally available to a proper faction (and in the case of this list, finally in a colour approved by the Empress).

The Judicator is slightly less robust that our own Conquest and Victor. Also, slightly less brutal in melee. It has two fists at P+S 21, normally at 23 when the choir is near and sining Battle (which they should do if it is in melee). However, its main selling point, weapon wise is actually the Flame Throwers. Sprays rule in Warmahordes. The two Flamer Throwers are rand 12″ and POW 12. Remember, this is POW 14 is the choir is sining, and POW 16 if an archon is near the targets. That is clearly not too shabby.

It also has two Rocket Pods. at range 14″ and POW 14 (16 with the choir) they can do some damage. In addition to the AOE 3″ where it hits, a deviation roll is also made for one more AOE 3″ at POW 7 (or 9 when listening to the choir). Unfortunately, the Rocket Pods are Inaccurate, which means that it has an effective RAT of only 1. Exactly the same as our own Mortar Crew. However, this is where the trump card comes in: Reliquary is the same effect as Hand of Faith, just with another name. This also means that they stack. So, 4 die rolled, remove the two smallest. The combination of Reliquary and Hand of Faith basically shifts the distribution of die rolls to the right (higher number). The table below describes the average DEF and max DEF the Judicator can hit under the different combinations of the base roll, aiming, boosting and Hand of Faith.

		B	B+A	B+A+Bo	B+A+HoF	B+A+Bo+HoF	B+Bo	B+Bo+HoF	B+HoF
Rockets	Avg.	9	11	15	12	16	13	14	10
	Max	13	15	21	15	21	19	19	13
Flamer	Avg.	13	15	19	16	20	17	18	14
	Max	17	19	25	19	25	23	23	17
Fists	Avg.	14	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	18	19	15
	Max	18	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	24	24	18

Average DEF the Judicator can hit (B = base; A = aim; Bo = boost; HoF = Hand of Fate)

It should be clear that the Judicator really likes Hand of Faith. Yet, it also likes Infernal Machine. In particular the first round, when it really likes the +2 SPD when moving up the board, and perhaps when, and if it needs to charge into melee.

The Judicator is an expensive package. It is 25 points on its own. Yet, it really works marvels when it is combined with the choir, two Vassals, and at least one Mechanik. If paying for everything this package would be a whooping 46 points! Luckily, 7 of these are free in this theme. So, the package only cost 39 points. Make sure they count!

There are two important things to keep an eye out for (well actually three, the last one is getting the Judicator killed. But let’s assume we are always looking out for that): the enemy jamming with inexpensive models when the Judicator needs to get into melee; and loosing the support. Should the former happen, it can sometimes be mitigated by the cavalry, as they can charge in and the Reposition sway again, also the Thresher attack from the archon can clean stuff away. Finally, Trampling is always an option, unless the opponent is clever. The latter should be avoided. Always make sure that at least one of the choir boys is kept alive. It is possible to loose one Mechanik before trouble arrives. Loosing the Vassals puts a strain on Vlad’s focus.

My Warriors of the Old Faith list

So, that’s it. My approach to the Warriors of the Old Faith. It is a pretty strait forward list to play. The tremendous speed should be used for all it is worth. Making good use of the reroll to start, to make sure that Vlad starts is good. The speed of this army can really put a heavy scenario pressure on the opponent. To recap the army is as follows:

[Theme] Warriors of the Old Faith

[Vladimir 3] Vladimir Tzepesci, Great Prince of Umbrey [+27]

– Judicator [35]

High Paladin Dartan Vilmon [0(6)]

Menite Archon [8]

Uhlan Kovnik Markov [7]

Vassal Mechanik [0(1)]

Vassal of Menoth [0(3)]

Choir of Menoth (min) [4]

Exemplar Vengers (max) [20]

Iron Fang Uhlans (max) [20]

Also at conflict chamber.

Also, good use of the Feat is important. None of the models really likes being tied down in melee. So, if it is possible to charge under Feat and then sprint away to charge again, you get full value of the army.

The picture below depicts the Empress standard formation 7, which uses the maximum number of auras in the army. This is probably a formation that is only possible in theory, but it is worth keeping the many auras in mind when moving the army around.

Suggested unpacking to take advantage of all auras

Assuming you, me dear reader has arrived all they way down here, I hope you have enjoyed these wild speculations. With a bit of luck, battle reports will appear in the foreseeable future.

For the Motherland!