Shadowflame Shard has gotten their gargantuan. It is a fantastic model. However, It must have been a fantastic party with a open bar, when it was decided to give a model with 50 boxes rapid healing. So who and how do we deal with the hangover from a bunch of drunk designers? Can the Motherland actually do anything or do we need to look at some of our allies to deal with this menace? 

The Trikhymaerax is a beast, which it obviously should be since it is a gargantuan. To begin with, it is a fast one. SPD 6 is one inch faster that all other gargantuan or colossal out there. This gives it an unassisted engagement range of 12″ (base 6″ + charge 3″ + 3″ reach). All of its potential four initial melee attacks has reach 3″. Obviously, 12″ engagement range is not sufficient. So, add a Vypex at 10 points and you have an additional 2″ from Hunter’s Mark, which can hit an average of DEF 16, boosted. Extra sugar on top is Kyrrax as a Warlock, who has Alpha Hunter for an additional 2″ of movement. That is 16″!

It has a multitude of options for heads and tails: 3 heads and 3 tails. If build for maximising attacks it can have 3 initial ranged attacks (POW 14, 15/10, and 13), 2 at range 14″ and one at range 8″; and 4 melee attacks (POW 17, 22, 14, and 15). So it’s fast, has long range and is a brute. It ticks in at MAT 6 and RAT 6. With 4 fury that is a lot of damage.

It comes base at DEF 11, which is fine; and ARM 19, which is also fine. 50 boxes is on the low end for a 120 mm. But there is a reason for that, which actually makes in on the high end. It has Rapid Healing d3 (When this model is damaged by an enemy attack, immediately after the attack is resolved remove d3 damage points from it.). In a worst case scenario it kind of brings it to ARM 22 without spending resources. Thus, if you can’t do a minimum of 22 points of damage on an attack you should seriously think about hitting it. I’m not sure only alcohol was involved in this decision. Mushrooms might have played a role for the design team.   

To add insult to injury, Shadowflame Shard has Dragon’s Blood on their rack. That is an extra 2 to the ARM, which for all practical purposes brings it to ARM 24! So, if you can’t do at least 24 points of damage per attack, perhaps you shouldn’t bother — you might be healing it instead of damaging it. Oh, and if it is fighting living models, why not park Ryvyn behind it for an additional 2 points of (pseudo) ARM. That is now ARM 26, which rapid healing. So, dear Steamforge, say after me: “Do not give a 50 box model Rapid Healing, Do not give a 50 box model Rapid Healing, Do not give a 50 box model Rapid Healing“.

In many ways. This could be then end of the analysis. Basically don’t face the thing that should not be. There is actually a rather enthusiatic analysis by Dice Down Gaming here. That is obviously see from the other side of the table.

However, let’s dig into it a bit more. It has, and rightly so a lot of options on heads, tails and animi. However, the prime concern for any opponent is how to deal with it. It is so fast and has so much range that it most likely just can’t be ignored. So, it must die!

The main concern is Rapid Healing; secondly ARM 22 under Dragon’s Blood. The latter is perhaps the simplest to deal with. There is a universal access to Blessed on the card Blessing of the Gods. This obviously only works for one model. Some models have Blessed build-in. I can only think of House Kallyss’ Mage Hunter Assassins, who are not going to damage it anyway. Our own Ilari can do Dark Unravelling. There might be others?

Rapid Healing is the culprit here. To circumvent this we need someway of denying removing damage. Since Grievous Wounds doesn’t work on 120 mm bases the options are scare. The options for dealing with Rapid Healing across armies are summarised below.

Table 1: Options for removing Rapid Healing

Army	#1	#2	#3	#4	#4
Necrofactorium	Carver Ultimus Torment	Maulgreth Entropic Force	Lich Lord Dekathus Entropic Force
Gravediggers	Carver Ultimus Torment
Storm Legion	Carver Ultimus Torment
House Kallyss	Carver Ultimus Torment	Maulgreth Entropic Force	Israfyl Entropic force	Seeker Warden Fell Curse	Morayne Mortality
Winter Korps	Carver Ultimus Torment
Old Umbrey	Let’s hope that Entropic Force or similar is ubiquitous.
Shardowflame Shard	Carver Ultimus Torment
Sea Raiders	Carver Ultimus Torment	Maulgreth Entropic Force	Orsus Horn of Woe
Brineblood Marauders	Carver Ultimus Torment
Crucible Guard	Vulcan Miasma of Death

So, basically only three armies have good options for dealing with this. House Kallyss being the prime candidate for handling the Trikhymaerax menace. Everybody else is left with taking Big Pig, or actually Little Pig. I was hoping that he would not be as pervasive as he was in 2024. Boy, was I wrong. I’m so happy that I actually did get one and painted him. The problem is of course to get, not Big Pig but Carver within 10″ to actually cast Torment. This is within 7″ if the beast has Many-Eyed Head equipped or even worse if it is equipped with Negation Tail, you can just forget it. The short story is that five armies probably can’t deal with a Trikhymaerax; most importantly Winter Korps can’t — or can we?

The Winter Korps is left in a bad place for this gargantuan. We could obviously go the Carver way and hope that there is no Negation tail. We do have Blessing of the Gods. So how to deal with it?

Following the logic from above, a Trikhymaerax having ARM, for all practical purposes ARM 24 we need to inflict a lot of damage (50 boxes) and be sure to deliver somewhere between 21 and 24 points of damage per attack to stand a chance (I know that ARM 24 is not the exact truth. It is more likely only 23. However, for the purpose of this, worst case scenario is assume).

What are our options? We are clearly in a Warjack environment, which also negates Ryvyn. We haven’t got any troops that can deliver this type of damage. The closest we get are actually Shock Trooper Pikemen, who can get to POW 22 (15 base + 3 model CRA + Puissance + Positive Charge/Kill Order/Fury’s Strength) under optimal conditions. So, they might fill a role despite my earlier argument that they are an unpolished gem and likely to stay like that).  However, even four full unit are not going to take a Trikhymaerax out.

In my view we have three potential ‘jack configuration for Trikhymaerax hunting: Medveditsa, an AAA (Agressive head, Battle Mace and Battle Axe) Great Bear, and of course the, formerly known as mighty, Mastodon.

Mother Bear can deliver quite a lot of damage under the right conditions. Her two claws are base 18 POW. She can do Hand of Vengeance, if some cannon fodder is killed nearby for and additional 2 POW. She can take Superiority for speed, Puissance (Rack) and Positive Charge (Tatiana) for extra damage, and of course Kill Order (Valerii) for even more damage.

Yet, she can’t really do anything against a fully buffed Trikhymaerax unless she gets some help. POW 18 will only take her to 20 and 21, which is 3 below the required minimum damage. The table below summarises the damage output from Medveditsa if she is under 1 to 3 of the 4 buffs available (Positive Charge and Kill Order are mutually exclusive due to belonging to different ‘casters).

Table 2: Mother Bear attempting to deal with a Trikhymaerax

Buffs	Charge	2. initial	Grab & Smash	Focus	Focus	Sum
1 out of 4	0	0	0	0	0	0
Blessing of the Gods	8	5	0	5	5	23
Torment	9	6	0	6	6	27
Both	11	8	2	8	8	37
2 out of 4	8	5	0	5	5	23
Blessing of the Gods	10	7	0	7	7	31
Torment	11	8	2	8	8	37
Both	13	10	4	10	10	47
3 out of 4	10	7	0	7	7	31
Blessing of the Gods	12	9	0	9	9	39
Torment	13	10	4	10	10	47
Both	15	12	6	12	12	57

The good news is that Medveditsa can kill a Trikhymaerax — under perfect conditions. That is: Hand of Vengeance is triggered; she has Puissance on her; she is either under the control of Tatiana who has put Positive Charge on her or Valerii giving a Kill Order; Blessing of the Gods has been played; and Carver has put Torment on the Trikhymaerax. This does not account for a probability of less than 1 for hitting, getting there and assumes average damage.

Getting there is somewhat difficult. Medveditsa “only” threatens 11″ (base 5″ + charge 3″ + Escort 2″ + reach 1″), which is less than the Trikhymaerax’ 12″, 14″ or 16″. This is under Valerii. Tatiana can only do 9″. Obviously, Avenging Force can give an additional 3″ (to 14″ or 12″) if the opponent is cooperating.

She most likely needs help. Unfortunately, brining a friend will result in the friend not having access to Blessing of the Gods, or the combination of Puissance and Kill Order due to order of activation. Tatiana bringing Damien, or positioning correctly, will allow the friend to have acces to both Puissance and Positive Charge. Ilari can fix the lack of more than one Blessing of the Gods, but can only do one damage buff.

The AAA Great Bear, with the Aggressive Head, Battle Mace (POW 19) and Battle Axe (POW 18) is a mighty beast. It is comparable to Medveditsa, perhaps even slightly better in damage output, a bit slower and not as good at hitting. This is not surprising as it is one point cheaper at 14 points.  

As with Medveditsa, the AAA can’t do anything to a Trikhymaerax without help. POW 19 will only take it to 22 and 21, which is below the required damage output to deal with Rapid Healing. The table below summarises the damage output of an AAA under 1 or 2 of the 3 buffs available.

Table 3: An AAA Great Bear attempting to deal with a Trikhymaerax

Buffs	Charge	2. initial	Focus	Focus	Focus	Sum
1 out of 4	7	0	0	0	0	7
Blessing of the Gods	9	5	6	6	6	32
Torment	10	7	7	9	7	37
Both	12	8	9	9	9	47
2 out of 4	9	5	6	6	6	32
Blessing of the Gods	11	7	8	8	8	42
Torment	11	12	8	9	9	47
Both	14	10	11	11	11	57

The good news is that an AAA can kill a Trikhymaerax — under perfect conditions. That is: Puissance is on it; it is either under the control of Tatiana who has put Positive Charge on it or Valerii giving a Kill Order; Blessing of the Gods has been played; and Carver has put Torment on the Trikhymaerax. This does not account for a probability less than 1 of hitting, getting there and assumes average damage. A small bonus: it does not take Critical Amputation on the Battle Axe into account either. However, there is only a roughly 14% of that on two dice, roughly 40% on three dice. So, to boost or not to boost? That is the question.

Again, the bad news is getting there. The threat range for an AAA is even lower than for Medveditsa. It can do 11″ (base 5″+ charge 3″ + reach 1″ + Escort 2″), under Valerii. Again, Tatiana can only do 9″. An AAA will also be far inside the charge range of a Trikhymaerax before it can do anything.

Help is needed. Either from Mother Bear or another AAA. It is conceivable to have to ‘jacks under 2 our of 4 buffs. Puissance can be cycled and Kill Order will obviously help everybody. So will Positive Charge, if positioned correctly.

If we bring two AAAs, or one AAA and Medvedtisa we could potentially kill a Trikhymaerax. Actually, the best option is to bring two AAAs. The first ‘jack would benefit from 2 out of 4 buffs, and Blessing of the Gods; the second would benefit from only 2 buffs. The first AAA would deliver 42 points of damage and the second 32. For a grand total of 74. We could even live without Blessing of the Gods, which would result in two times 32 points of damage.

Getting them there is still an issue. They max out at 9″ (base 5″ + charge 3″ + reach 1″), which is significantly less than, both the charge and shooting range of the Trikhymaerax. A Trikhymaerax is not going to shoot a Great Bear to death. Yet, in melee it is going to trivially kill one ‘jack and with a bit of help two.

Finally, what used to be the pride and joy on the Empress’ army, the Mastodon. Without doing any maths it is clear that one of these should be able to deal with a Trikhymaerax. Yet, for completeness sake let’s do the maths. 

The table below summarises the damage output of a Mastodon under 0, 1 or 2 of the 3 buffs available. I have not counted any of the ranged weapons as the either can’ deal a sufficient minimum damage or can’t hit in close combat.

Table 4: A Mastodon attempting to deal with a Trikhymaerax

Buffs	Charge	2. initial	Focus	Focus	Focus	Sum
0 out of 3	10	0	7	7	7	31
Blessing of the Gods	12	6	9	9	9	45
Torment	13	7	10	10	10	50
Both	15	9	12	12	12	57
1 out of 3	12	6	9	9	9	45
Blessing of the Gods	14	8	11	11	11	55
Torment	15	9	12	12	12	60
Both	17	11	14	14	14	70
2 out of 3	14	8	11	11	11	55
Blessing of the Gods	16	10	13	13	13	65
Torment	17	11	14	14	14	70
Both	19	23	16	16	16	90

It is clear that a Mastodon is a safe bet. Even with just one buff and Blessing of the Gods or two buffs it will take down a Trikhymaerax. As with most other Khador Warjacks, it is the problem of getting there. A Mastodon will have a charge range of 10″ (base 5″ + charge 3″ + reach 2″), 12″ under Escort from Valerii. Still to short compared to the Trikhymaerax. So the question remain: can we take an alpha and still kill back?

There is no risk to our Warjacks when it comes to shooting from the Trikhymaerax. All though, a dent will obviously be made. However, not enough to kill one of our ‘jacks. So the main threat is from a Trikhymaerax charging us. 

It is trivial to get a Trikhymaerax to reach out and touch something at 14″. It has a base of 12″ (base 6″ + charge 3″ + reach 3″) and we can either add a Vypex for Hunter’s Mark for 2″ or Alpha Hunter if under Kyrrax. For the full monty, both can be available for a threat range of 16″.

If we build a Trikhymaerax for maximum melee damage (which might not be the best), it will have 6 initial melee attacks and 2 ranged. The table below shows the expected damage.

Table 5: Expected damage output from a charging Trikhymaerax

Weapon	POW	Damage	ARM 20
Bite	17	24	4
Arcane Bite (assuming upkeep on target)	19	29	9
Gulper Head (charge)	22	32	12
Void Tail	14	21	1
Spine Tail	16	23	3
Barbed / Toxic Tail	15	22	2
Immolation Blast	15	22	2
Frost Head	14	21	1
Sum	34
Gulper Head (focus)	22	29	9
Gulper Head (focus)	22	29	9
Gulper Head (focus)	22	29	9
Gulper Head (focus)	22	29	9
Sum	36
Sum	70

A charging Trikhymaerax can trivially remove two Khador ‘jacks or one Mastodon. This is assuming that it can charge for free under e.g. Kyrrax. This makes perfect sense, since it is a huge and pricey gargantuan. So, something like that is to be expected.

Our main issue here is the threat range. We have to counter around 14″ charge range from the Trikhymaerax. Assuming we need as many buffs as possible. It is hard to get beyond the 8″ mark (base 4″ + charge 3″ + reach 1″). Escort from Valerii can add 2″, Superiority 2″ (we are loosing a buff), Conferred Rage from Yana 2″, we might skip a 2. initial from a Great Bear for another inch. On paper we can get 13″ on a ‘jack, if we skip one buff (base 4″ + charge 3″ + Escort 2″ + Superiority 2″ + reach 2″). Avenging Force could be a trick up the sleeve.

The other option is overwhelming force. That is enough ‘jacks. Some for the Trikhymaerax to eat and some for killing it. Screening might be an option to see if we can lure it closer. However, there are probably other stuff in the army as well. It is a difficult situation.

To kind of think about a list to kill a Trikhymaerax, our first intuition is: ‘jacks, and lots of them. We need a ‘caster that can stack damage buffs. One could think about Ilari for Drak Unravelling. However, he can only do Puissance. I think the two real options are either Valerii or Tatiana. They can both swing damage with 4 points. Let’s just pick Tatiana as an example.

That is 89 points, which is 11 points for having fun. The list obviously needs to include the card Blessing of the Gods. I’m not sure such a list would be good for anything else.

The second option is of course to just play around a Trikhymaerax. I think that is difficult. Oh, and did I mention that they have FA:2?

So, I think it is a cool model. It is expenssive and a center piece. So, it should be dangerous. However, Rapid Healing is just plain stupid. Without it, it would probably still have be a fantastic model.

Anyway, this is perhaps just me being grumpy about the thing that should not be. Unless there is something obvious I have missed, I think Rapid Healing here is what we all fear the most: a negative play experience. I can’t see that there is a real point in putting models on the table if there is a Trikhymaerax on there other side; let alone two. If anybody has a solution, I’m all ears.

Until next time.

For the Motherland!

It has been around a year since I decided to focus on Winter Guard Kommand and try to actually figure our how it works. I have played basically two different lists. One Stalingrad-style list under Irusk2 and one Gun Carriage based list under Vlad1 (in addition to a few variations of the themes). I think it is about time to evaluated how Winter Guard Kommand has worked, what is good and bad, and what I have learned.

There is nothing more Khador defining than disciplined Winter Guards pushing forward towards the enemy. It is pure human resolve (OK, supported by a few of Khador’s finest Warjacks) against all the strange horrors of this world; and lately not of this world.

While it was the lure of the wonderful Khador ‘jacks (and Man-O-Wars) that originally drew me into the Khador ranks; it is fair to say that, to a large degree, it is the ranks of lowly Winter Guards that have kept me here. There is something strangely satisfying about placing a bunch of painted Winter Guards on the table. Despite the fantastic Warjacks at our disposal, masses of Winter Guards just looks better than a large number of ‘jacks.

I have been playing almost exclusively Winter Guard Kommand for the last year and a half. My second list have been Armored Korps under Sorscha3 (see here for a description of that list). Even though, my daily schedule doesn’t allow a lost of games, I have managed somewhere in the vicinity of 50 games with my Winter Guards. I haven’t managed to write up all of them. However, most of them has been detailed here at The Greylord Archives.

I originally started with a Stalingrad style list under the command of the Winter Guards best friend: Supreme Kommandant Irusk’s (Irusk2) orders. The Winter Guards were led be him through two different iterations of the lists. Later, Irusk was send to care for other duties, and Vladimir Tzepesci, the Dark Prince’s (Vlad1) was put in charge of a very different version of the Winter Guard Kommand. He went through two iterations.

Here follows an attempt to write up my experiences with the Winter Guard Kommand under two different commanders, and two very different lists.

There is hardly anything more cinematic than waves of Winter Guards surging forward led by the grand old man himself, Supreme Kommandant Irusk. Irusk2 is in many ways a Winter Guards best friend. He inspires so much confidence that the Winter Guards that they are masters in operations from his Tactician ability. They are also Total Obedient, granting them Tough and Immune to Blast. On top of that, Irusk can cast his Solid Ground spell, which also makes them immune to knockdown. All in all, a rather robust package. As a bonus, he can also cast Artifice of Deviation, making a Winter Guard DEF 16 against shooting.

Irusk not only helps Winter Guards staying alive, he also has a few tricks up his flag to make them more dangerous. Fire for Effect really helps artillery, and Battle Lust combined with Kovnik Joe’s Bear Strength turns a Winter Guard into a P+S 12 Weapon Master. This is equivalent to our Doom Reavers! There is nothing more satisfying than having a unit of Winter Guards charge through a forest (thanks to Irusk’s feat) and kill a colossal or gargantuan (see an Archangel go down here).

Finally, he has a really big flag. Who doesn’t want to follow a really big flag?

Irusk has been in command of two different armies. The first one was a proper Stalingrad list, where he used as many Winter Guards as he could find (for a thorough discussion of the list, see here). The main idea was to have enough Winter Guards to outlive the opponent; a Marauder for dealing with huge bases; possibly in cooperation with Battle Lust’ed Winter Guards; and a Spriggan for long range charges and dealing with clouds. The Lady and his boyfriend were there to hand out magical attacks. The complete list can be seen to the left below.

The second attempt at the list did some changes (for a more detailed discussion, see here). First of all, Lady Aiyana and friend simply did not do anything. At 8 points, they are far too expensive compared to what they do. Also, in the mean time the fantastic Greylord Adjunct had appeared. He solves a lot of Irusk problems. Most importantly, he upkeeps a spell for free and can also handle clouds far better than the Spriggan. Speaking of the Spriggan, this is another example of something too expensive; at least in this list. So it also went away, and in came the fabulous Triple Marauder Goodness. Marauders are a dream when it comes to huge bases, of which there are so many; and combined with the Field Guns there are now so many knockdown possibilities; something which the Winter Guards and Mortar love. The full list is detailed to the right above. The picture below depicts the complete army in its second edition.

The main plan behind Irusk’s battles were to throw him at everything an anything to figure our what works. The table below summarises the battles and their results (some of them also has links to their battle reports). It is quite clear that Irusk did not have a lot of success. Out of 15 battles, he only managed to win four of them.

Let’s look at the ones he won. He beat Mackay1 and her Crucible Guards; Absylonia and he Legion of Everblight; Makeda and her Skorne; and Morghoul and his Skorne (the latter actually doesn’t count, as Irusk won on a technical error by Morghoul’s handler, who forgot that Morghoul is a Weapon Master). So besides Irusk apparently being able to only beat women, why did he win?

Mackay1 is, herself a huge-base and here she also brought another huge-base, the Railless Interceptor (battle report here). The main reason that Irusk was victorious here was the fact that Mackay is a huge-base. She got scared of the Marauders (and rightly so), attempted to avoid them, but finally succumbed to them. In only three rounds, she was killed by the biggest strength in Irusk’s list. The rest of his army was more or less decimated.

More or less, the same story can be told for the match agains Absylonia (battle report here). She brought an impressive three huge-bases. The game was, more or less about keeping them occupied by feeding Winter Guards to them, and then hitting them with Marauders and overcharged Winter Guards (Irusk’s Battle Lust and Joe’s Bear Strength). That did the trick.

Finally, the battle against Makeda is probably the odd one out (for battle report, see here). She did bring a single huge-base, which also spend most of the time being scared and not joining the battle. Irusk won on the clock after an assassination attempt on him failed. I think this was kind of deliberate (not surviving the assassination) as at this point Irusk could play his Winter Guards pretty fast, and the opponent had a lot of Immortals to move around. Nevertheless, lady luck smiled at Irusk.

In general, the three wins were won on the ability to kill huge-bases and keeping them sufficiently safe to actually make it into battle. This typically involves a lot of dead Winter Guards. This is a valid strategy, leaning of survivable Winter Guards to get the Marauders to finish the show. 

Let’s look at the many losses. We can divide them into two different groups: The winnable (Mackay, Siege and Harbringer), and the un-winnable (Iona, Ossrum, Goreshade, Syvestro and Reclaimer.

The winnable should obviously have been won. However, the gods do not always favour the bold. The match against Mackay1was actually progression quite ok (battle report here). However, I played too slow and managed to clock myself. The next two games were using the old list with only one Marauder and a Spriggan. The first was against Siege2 and his Gravediggers (battle report here). This one was touch and go; at least until a used some Rifle Corps as charges instead of shooters. I think I lost this because of poor planning. Finally, Harbinger, which is a match up that should be manageable (battle report here). This was another example where I was too slow. Irusk was, more or less in control, but I spend far too much time and ended loosing on the clock. So, to sum up two of them were lost on being too slow, and the last one on basically just not playing good enough.

Most of the un-winnable were known before the games began. However, on purpose Irusk was pitched against anything and everything. It is a good way of learning a list’s weaknesses and its possibilities. To begin with was Ioan and her Tharn (battle report here). Irusk simply haven’t got the tools to deal with tough, healing, no knockdown, unit surfing Tharn Ravagers. Next up were Ossrum and his bunch of bunnies (battle report here). This is one of those match-ups where I haven’t got a clue. I have also tried Armored Corps under Sorscha3 against such a list. Yet, I always come up short. Those bunnies are either spraying the pants of my troops or shooting them to smithereens. The are really fast as well. I’m clueless. Goreshade4 is one of those that potentially could have gone both ways (battle report here). I basically just lost to a better player. More speed would have been nice here. Syvenstro is actually Winter Guard unfriendly, in particular when they are supported by Irusk. Crucible Guards have all sorts of sprays and clouds that removes the thing that keeps Winter Guards alive. This was also under the old list, where there are not enough Marauders to be a threat. Finally, the Reclaimer with his handfull of faith on the Judicator (battle report here). Nothing here to see, move along.

All in all, most of the un-winnable are just that with the Irusk list. In particular with the first list, where the Spriggan simply did not pay off; and there weren’t enough Marauders. With the amount og huge-base around, a single Marauder is too easy to neutralise. Also, despite Irusk keeping his troops alive. Their threat ranges (for charging) are too short to keep the enemy honest. 

Irusk clearly has a few thing going for him. First of all, he excels in keeping Winter Guards alive. Thus, begin able to deliver the ‘jacks to the enemy. There is also the surprise move of Winter Guards killing colossal when under Battle Lust and Joe’s Bear Strength. However, there are far too many things out there that can kill Winter Guards, and Khador ‘jacks without a speed buff simply doesn’t cut it. Speaking of ‘jacks. It is clear, that with all the huge bases out there, triple Marauder is a thing. The original combination of a single Marauder and a Spriggan doesn’t work. Backup is important. From now on I will only run ‘jacks in, at least pairs (not character ‘jacks obviously). There is also an issue with low MAT/RAT and general damage output.

All of these issues led mw to the second version of the Winter Guard Kommand list with: Vlad1, triple Marauders, double Gun Carriage and Winter Guards.

Vlad is probably a Winter Guard’s second best friend. Where Irusk keeps them alive, Vlad makes sure that they can actually hit and damage stuff from his signature spell Signs & Portents. This spell adds roughly 1.5 to a 2d6 roll. This brings Rifle Corps just over the bar begin able to hit stuff, and fixes any other low MAT/RAT issues. The Winter Guards love him and his little spell.

In addition to the MAT/RAT fixer, Vlad brings two other important things that Irusk could not help with. Namely, Boundless Charge and most importantly his feat, which doubles the base speed of his Warjacks. This is huge for a Khador ‘jack. A Marauder can now threaten things a mighty 14″ away under both feat and Boundless Charge. Normally, only 12″ as Vlad tends to be focus strapped. Yet, 12″ threat range really keeps opponents, and in particular huge-bases honest. 

Army composition

Khador Army – 74 / 75 points [Theme] Winter Guard Kommand [Vladimir 1] Vladimir Tzepesci, the Dark Prince [+28]  – Marauder [11]  – Marauder [11]  – Marauder [11] Kovnik Jozef Grigorovich [4] Winter Guard Artillery Kapitan [3] Winter Guard Field Gun Crew [0(4)]                    Winter Guard Field Gun Crew [0(4)] Winter Guard Mortar Crew [0(5)] 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] Also at conflict chamber.

Khador Army – 75 / 75 points [Theme] Winter Guard Kommand [Vladimir 1] Vladimir Tzepesci, the Dark Prince [+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] Also a conflict chamber.

Vlad and his valiant Winter Guards (1st edition)

The plan for Vlad was to a large degree the same as the one for Irusk: throw him at everything and anything. This is simply the best way to learn the strengths and weaknesses. The long term goal was to figure out what the list is good against, and what it is bad against. This can then form the basis for a good paring. 

It is clear that Vlad was much more successful than Irusk. Of the 22 battles I have been keeping track of, he won half! He should have won more, but was sometimes let down by the man behind the line (that’s me, in case you were wondering). 

Let’s look at the impressive list of the games he won: He easily beat Orion1 and its Convergence of Cyriss; he beat Gearhart1 and his Crucible Guards twice (he should also have won the last match); He beat both Siege1 and Sloan1 running Cygnar; he beat Butcher3 twice and Irusk2 once (just demonstrating that he is better); He beat Harbinger1 and her Protectorate twice (and lost once); and finally, Gorshade4 and the crazy elves once (and lost twice).

 

Convergence is a bit peculiar with their weird focus manipulation. It turned out to be a surprisingly easy match (battle report here). There wasn’t a lot to be learned from this match, except for Joe demonstrating how to kill a huge-base, and perhaps the joy of Blood Boon. 

I still don’t like Crucible Guards, despite now getting the hang of them. Gearhart1 is, more or less the standard ‘caster I see across the table. Vlad manage to fight him thrice and emerge victorious twice. The first game saw the joy of the Triple Marauder living up to the idea of a backup to the backup (battle report here). Also, the two Gun Carriages really did solve a lot of infantry-related issues. The second game, which unfortunately haven’t got a battle report, did go more or less the same. The Gun Carriages doing crowd control, and the Winter Guards being killed to bring the Marauders to their targets. Finally, the third game was one of those that should have been won (battle report here). Vlad was in control for most of the game. However, he was let down by me when I got overly greedy trying to kill stuff instead of thinking. This was one of those examples where a toe in a zone is better than a dead enemy trooper.

Cygnar is Cygnar. A lot of blue guys running around claiming running away from the fray is a “tactical retreat”. Vlad managed to beat Siege1 and his Heavy Metal (battle report here). Siege brought two huge-bases, so party time for the Marauders. Siege did try to shoot Vlad to death (a lot). But, cleaver positioning of the Winter Guards ready to scarify themselves brought victory to Vlad. The second win was against Sloan1 and trenchers, actually more ‘jacks than trenchers (battle report here). Six Hunters and two Grenadiers are a lot of shooting under Sloan1. However, it doesn’t matter how hard you shoot, you are going to kill only one Winter Guard per shot. Finally, Vlad lost to Nemo3 and more lightning that one cares to remember. Winter Guards are clearly not a good match against lightning jumping around.

What can be said about Infernals. They are clearly not something Vlad and his Winter Guards should be thrown at. Nevertheless, they were (battle report here). There really isn’t anything to say besides that.

Civil war is never pleasant. Yet, Vlad has been sent to the front to deal with imposters and frauds. He managed to beat Butcher3 in Jaw of the Wolf twice (battle report here, none for the second). In both cases it was the same story: Vlad ensured that assassination runs by Butcher were unsuccessful and retaliated by killing him. One highlight was assassination by Gun Carriage (in the battle report). A knocked down Butcher is a sad Butcher. Vlad also beat his predecessor, who apparently have been assigned a lot of crazy half-naked men (battle report here). I honestly feel that Wolves of Winter under Irusk2 is not really a match for Vlad1 and his Winter Guards. 

Unfortunately, Vlad did also manage to loose to other Khador players. He lost once to fake-Vlad playing Jaw of the Wolf (battle report here). This was an example of the man behind the line laying Vlad down. I made too many mistakes. Most importantly moving Vlad out of cover and into the range of an overcharged Behemoth. Don’t do that. Speaking of mistreating Vlad, this is exactly the same situation for the last loss. This time to Strakhov1 running also Jaw of the Wolf (battle report here). Again, Vlad was doing pretty well until the man behind the line thought it would be a brilliant idea moving Vlad without thinking too much about it. This time it wasn’t Behemoth that Vlad came within range of, it was Beast 09. The result was the same. I should learn to stop and think sometimes! 

Ossum is still trouble. It simply can’t seem to get the hang of it (battle report here). Yet, this time it was really really close. Ossrum got saved by a hail Mary, where he pulled some fancy foot work out of a Driller and killed Vlad; seconds before a Marauder would have killed him. 

Harbinger and her Faitfull Masses has been so ubiquitous that it is almost boring. Vlad managed to win twice (battle report here and here). Both were by assassination by Marauder. For Harbinger to be efficient she has to play within threat range of a supercharged Marauder. She really doesn’t like that. The strategy is to weather the storm until an opening for a Marauder appears. Then feat and win. The lost game against Harbinger was proceeding according to plan. But, Vlad having played Harbinger a lot assumed it was a walk in the park. I got sloppy – and lost.   

The Crazy elves are difficult. Vlad lost three matches, twice against Goreshade4 and Legion of Dawn (battle report here, none for the second match). This matchup should actually be ok. He did manage to win once (battle report here). Yet, matches against the elves are always pretty close. I think I just got beaten by better players. Vlad also lost against Garryth2 and his Defenders of Ios. That was a matchup lost before the first dice was rolled. It contained double Trident and an Arcantrik Force Generator. There really isn’t anything this list can do about that.

Finally, Skorne is one of those factions that I, surprisingly haven’t see a lot across the table. This game saw Vlad beating the fat guy and his two turtles, or so it should have been (battle report here). Once again Vlad was let down by the man behind the line. I got preoccupied with killing stuff and not actually winning the game.   

I think the second iteration of the Winter Guard Kommand list under Vlad1 is done. I can’t see what I would like to change. It has everything that makes sense in this context. 

As I have played the last list I have really learned what separates a good player from a mediocre (I’m clearly the latter). Many of the losses I have incurred were basically down to me making sloppy and annoying mistakes, like not toeing a zone or being preoccupied with killing stuff rather then actually winning the game. 

Some of the games were lost basically before the first dice was rolled, just because it was a matchup that Vlad couldn’t deal with. 

Finally, some were also lost simply because the opponent were a better player. This is fair and there is only one way to deal with this. Be better yourself. 

There are clearly some matchups it is really bad against. It struggles against multi-wound heavy infantry, as well as tough and healing units. Also, soul or corpse manipulating armies are bad news. It is so so against armies that do not enjoy the long game. Some it can deal with, some not (read Infernals). To deal with this it needs to be paired with something that can deal with one or more of these issues. This might be a well played Armored Corps list (I have never managed to play one well) or perhaps Jaws of the Wolf (under Old Witch2?). Since this list is not a classic Stalingrad-style list, it might actually be paired with a Wolves of Winter list under Vlad2?

Nevertheless, this Winter Guards and Vlad1 list is now solid, and I will happily return to going forward.   

What can I say? I love Winter Guards. There is something about the stoic men and women of Khador valiantly battling all sorts of magical beasts and horrors. They do so without any fancy tricks of souls, corpses or magic mumbo jumbo. 

The current list is, in my view as good as it gets and I don’t think I will modify it any more. It will now just be a steady tool in the wonderful toolbox of Khador. 

There are, however many other ways to take a Winter Guard Kommand list. I have always wanted to try a ‘jack heavy list where the Winter Guards are kept to a bare minimum. Perhaps Butcher3 with a lot of (clam) ‘jacks and just enough Winter Guards to offer Sacrificial Pawn. That could deliver him for the assassination run he so craves. I have also been playing with the (crazy) idea of running Strakhov1 and, wait for it, two min units of Assault Kommandos with all the trimmings. Strakhov offers a similar feat, and the Assault Kommands can deal with tough and healing units. Finally, Sorscha might be in play again. Her main problem is lack of ‘jack speed. 

Dear reader, if you have made it here, I’m impressed. All in all, Winter Guard Kommand is a fantastic theme and I think Vlad1 has found his home in it. If you haven’t tried it, give it a spin. It is effective and a lot of fun to play.

Until next time.

For the Motherland!

You probably all know how it is. The battle is progressing and the well ordered ranks of Winter Guards have descended into a chaos of Winter Guards from several units all mixed up – and the clock is ticking!

One the deployment is done, it is still easy. Irusk normally deploy in the Empress’ standard deployment no. 1 (see picture below). One Rifle Corps on each flank (the red one on the left flank, and the green one on the rigt flank), and the Winter Guard Infantry in the middle (marked with blue).

Deployment, the easy bit

Already during turn one, Irusk might be in trouble. 51 Winter Guards pressing forward do take up a lot of table space. So, it is quite easy to get them mixed into each other. The picture below shows a typical first turn (I have colour marked the different units for simplicity). It is still somewhat easy to distinguish the different unit, as they are not too mixed up yet.

Turn 1, trouble on the horizon

Second turn, I’m usually in trouble. The picture below shows the chaos emerging. Try and guess which Winter Guard belongs to which unit. This is usually here I start loosing on the clock.

Turn 2, even worse

To exemplify, the same situation is depicted below just with each trooper marked with the corresponding coloured rings.

Turn 2, again

It is clearly not feasible to sit and put coloured rings on each trooper during the game – neither is it particularly pretty. I initially started by “only” making the bases slightly different. Below is a picture of the unit leader for each of the Winter Guard units. To the left is one of the Rifle Corps units. It has barbed wire and wooden spikes on the base. To the right is the other Rifle Corps Units. It only has barbed wire on the base. In the middle is the Winter Guard Infantry unit with only barbed wire. I assumed that it would be easy to separate normal infantry from Rifle Corps on the battlefield – I was wrong. In particular with respect to the Rocketeers, they all look the same.

Spikes and barbwire

Next level was to add colour markings to the base, which also function as front arc markers. This has helped a lot. It is perhaps not very evident in the three battle pictures above, but it really do help. I have also added a small star on the back of the unit leader base so I easily can spot him.

Who’s the boss?

This is clearly not a huge super fantastic new thing. I am pretty sure that plenty others have been doing the same. However. it has really helped my gameplay. Without having done a thorough scientific trial, I am pretty sure that I am saving at least five minutes each game by being able to easily identify which unit a given Winter Guard belongs to, and who is the unit leader. It is either green unit Rifle Corps, red unit Rifle Corps, or blue unit Winter Guard Infantry. The remaining models (Field Gun, Mortar, etc.) are not a problem.

Until next time.

For the Motherland!

So declare a move and accept the free strike. First move both grunts (if necessary) and make sure that they stay within 1″ of the artillery piece. Then move the artillery piece and accept the free strike (see figure to the left). 

Assuming that the free strike kills the artillery piece (which is very likely), remove one of the grunts. The artillery piece is now free of engagement and ready to knock down the annoying opponent warjack (see figure to the right).

Cool trick I wish I had known earlier.