For quite some time I have been thinking about modules in Khador. This is by no means my invention. It is a quite common approach across the game. With the January ’25 update, the Kontroller has suddenly gone from being unheard of to something quite interesting by becoming a ‘Jack Marshal. So, what could a Kontoller module look like?

Until recently, the Kontroller has been living a rather anonymous existence. However, as our only ‘Jack Marshal it really deservers a closer look. I think we can make a pretty good module consisting of the Kontroller, a ‘jack, a Battle Mechanik, a Winter Korps Officer and a unit of Arkanists. It is a self contained module, yet parts can contribute to the rest of the army. This module can be plugged into any list.

The Kontroller

The Kontroller comes with a standard Man-O-War armour, giving him SPD 4, MAT 6, RAT 6, DEF 10, ARM 19, and 10 boxes. All in all, the normal Man-O-War OK stats. He is also, as standard on a 50 mm base, has Unstoppable (he can walk out of combat without loosing his combat action), has Resistance: Blast (one less dice when damaged by a blast), and has Dual Attack (can do both melee and ranged attacks in the same activation). His main new addition is ‘Jack Marshal.

Furthermore, as all other Man-O-Wars he is Study (cannot be pushed), Steady (cannot be knocked down), is Repairable, and can Bulldoze (push models 2″ during normal movement). He has the addition of Girded (models base-to-base also get Resistance: Blast) and a special action: Hauler, which allows him to move Defenses 2″. His final and main addition is of course the Drive he has as being a ‘Jack Marshal.

Both the Kontroller’s MAT and RAT is 6. Thus, he will on the average hit DEF 13. There really isn’t any good way of fixing this, outside putting him in a Baranova list, where she will be casting Invocations of Wrath; or aiming for a better RAT. However, the Kontroller is probably not going to charge into melee at every single opportunity. He should be using his fantastic spray whenever possible. 

The Froster is a pretty nice range 10″, POW 14 spray. It is cold damage and is a Pistol (shooting into the model’s melee ignores the -4 to attack). Its claim to fame is straight up stationary (unless immune to cold). We like stationary. In particularly, when looking at this model’s Drive (more on that later). The Kontroller will hit DEF 13 on the average, and DEF 15 when aiming. The threat range is 10″ when aiming, 14″ when walking, and 17″ when charging. The RAT is a bit on the low side with respect to hitting. However, an average damage of 21 is not to be frown upon. Remember that it is stationary on hit so no requirement for actually doing damage.

The spray is also that which makes his Drive marvellous. Warjacks’ melee weapons under his control gain Shatter. That is an additional die on damage against stationary targets. So, any charging ‘jack would arrive with four dice (average of 14) and any additional damage rolls will be on three dice (average of 10). As a ‘Jack Marshal also allows a ‘jack to charge for free (to compensate for not powering up), a charge and any additional attacks are guarantied.

We can currently choose between the two character ‘jacks: Medveditsa or Razor; or any layout of the Great Bear or the Dire Wolf; or the Avalanche. Let’s investigate all the options.

The Dire Wolf

The lovely Dire Wolf. Our only “light ‘jack” option. It is kind of inexpensive and has some interesting options for heads and arms. 

I think the most sensible head for the Dire Wolf in this configuration is the Shield Guard head at 1 point. It allows it to take a hit on behalf of the Kontroller; and lets face it, a Dire Wolf is much more robust than a Kontroller. The Kontroller needs to stay alive to keep the benefits of ‘Jack Marshall around.

For the right arm, I think the discussion is whether or not to go ranged. Having a ranged weapons obviously allows the model to contribute in more rounds. However, the Drive doesn’t do anything for a ranged attack. So, I would argue that it is either the Ice Hammer or the Long Axe. The Ice Hammer is one more POW that the axe, yet at one less range. It does have Critical Freeze, though, which doesn’t really do anything here as we are relying on the Froster. The Long Axe is POW 16, range 2″ and has Critical Grievous Wounds. I would pick the Long Axe. The additional range is golden and there is alway a roughly 14% chance (on two dice) to trigger the critical.

The left arm is more difficult. There is a Flame Fist with a POW 14 melee attack and a 6″ flame thrower spray; the Heavy Chain Gun could give us a range attack and some anti infantry clean up; the Plow Shield is another POW 14 attack and two additional ARM; finally, the Scrap Saw is another POW 17 with critical Shred (make an additional attack). I like the Plow Shield. It gives us an ARM 21 ‘jack, which is always nice and even more so when it is a Shield Guard. 

So, if we are picking the Dire Wolf, I would go for the Shield Guard head, Long Axe right arm, and Plow Shield left arm. All of this for a mere 10 points. This brings the package to 14 points. Obviously, it is only MAT 6; but we are relying on the Froster. It can charge and touch things at 10″ (5″ + 3″ charge + 2″ Long Axe), which corresponds with the range of the Froster, if aiming. 

The Great Bear is our standard heavy Warjack. Compared to the Dire Wolf, it does have an additional MAT, one less DEF and SPD, an additional ARM, and Bulldoze. Generally at a slightly higher cost.

There are four options for the Great Bear’s head: Aggressive, Mage Static, Reposition and Slammer. Agressive doesn’t really do anything for this module. A ‘jack will already charge for free under a ‘Jack Marshal. Although, the additional +2 SPD when running is nice, but the Kontroller needs to be able to keep up. The Mage Static head probably requires the ‘jack to be pretty close to the front, which is not necessarily the role of this module. The Reposition [3″] head is always nice to block lanes to the Kontroller or just to get to a better place. Finally, Slammer allows follow-ups from a slam, it can slam for free and move the slammed model an additional 2″. I would pick the Slammer. It is inexpensive (1 point), and assuming that something survives, being both Stationary and knocked down is expensive to get out of. Only one can be shaken curing the Control Phase. So, something would most likely have to be given up.

For the right arm, we can choose between: the Battle Mace, the Deep Freezer, the Grinder and a Heavy Cannon. Again, are we going melee or ranged? The Battle Mace is an excellent choice for melee. POW 19, range 2 at four dice charging (33 points of damage on the average), and 3 dice normal (29 points of damage on the average) is a lot of damage. There is even Beat Back and a Critical Smite. The Deep Freezer gives us a range 14″, AOE 3, critical Stationary gun. The Grinder can surly clean out enemy infantry. The Heavy Cannon is a range 12″, POW 16 momentum gun. I will follow the same reasoning as with the Dire Wolf: ranged is nice, but to use the Froster we need melee. Thus, I’ll go for the Battle Mace at 7 points.

The left arm give us two purely melee options (Battle Axe, Blasting Fist), one ranged only (Dozer), and one having both (Heavy Cannon Shield). The latter is alway nice. This gives us an ARM 22 ‘jack with an additional melee attack, and a (short) ranged one. The Dozer gives us two POW 15 shots and range 10″. The two melee arms are basically a choice between an additional POW and critical amputation versus an open fist and critical knockdown. To keep it at a low price, I would go for the Blasting Fist. 

So, if we are picking a Great Bear, I would go for the Slammer head, the Battle Mace and the Blasting Fist (this is, by the way the closest we get to the good old Juggernaut). It can charge and touch things at 9″ (4″ + 3″ charge + 2″ Battle Mace) at ARM 20. All of this for 12 points, which would bring the package to 16 point.

Beside the two standard ‘jack platforms, we could also attatch one of our three named ‘jacks to a Kontroller.

The Avalanche aka the Slam God. This is currently my favourite ‘jack. However, I’m not sure it is particularly suited for a Kontroller. The Avalanche would really like to slam stuff. So, the free charge from the Drive doesn’t really do anything, as it can already slam for free. Further, it would like to be filled with focus, which of course can be done by Arkanists. Finally, it is 15 points, which would make the whole package 19 points.

Mother Bear

Motherbear is now priced as a comparable Great Bear (the AAD version). In general, this makes her interessting on the table. She has a larger damage output than the AAD Great Bear, thanks to Grab & Smash. She is actually a candidate for a Kontroller. She has Shield Guard. She can charge for free. She is still expensive at 15 point. Again, this will make a 19 points package. Yet, it could be fun.

Razor

The weird ‘jack, on paper; but according to wisdom of the crowd, really good on the table. I don’t think it will have a place on a Kontroller. It is 18 points, making the whole package 22 points.

There are, probably two good choices: the Dire Wolf and Great Bear; two bad ones choices: Avalanche and Razor; and one fun one: Medveditsa. Damage output from each of the choices are somewhat different. The table below summarises the average damage output (also compared to standard Khador ARM) if the ‘jack under Drive charge a model that is stationary.

Model	Att.	Pow	Dice	Avg.	Arm 20	Note
Dire Wolf (ADC)	Charge	17	14	31	11	Crit. grevious wounds
	2. initial	14	10	24	4
	Sum			55	15
Great Bear (AAB)	Charge	19	14	33	13	Beat back, crit. smite
	2. initial	17	10	27	7	Crit. knockdown
				60	20
Medveditsa	Charge	18	14	32	12
	2. initial	18	10	28	8
	Grab & Smash	12	10	22	2
	Sum			82	22
Avalanche	Charge	17	14	34	14	Grand slam
	2. initial	17	10	27	7
	Sum			58	18
Razor	Charge	18	14	32	12	Beat back, crit. shred
	2. initial	16	10	26	6	Momentum, siege weapon
	Sum			58	18

Unless there are some very specific requirements put on this module from the rest of the army, I would make the standard package Kontroller + Dire Wolf (ADC). It is a lovely little package at only 14 points all in all. That is less than just a random Great Bear or an Avalanche on their own.

It could be fun attaching Medveditsa to a Kontroller. It is a pricy package at 19 points. However, with the rest of the module (see below) it might be an option for ‘casters who do not do anything for their battlegroup.

In addition to the core parts of the Kontroller and the Dire Wolf, this module also consists of three other parts that completes it. Yet, these parts also contributes to the rest of the army. The tree additional parts of the module are: a Battle Mechanik, a Winter Korps Officer, and a unit of Arkanists.

Battle Mechanik

A Battle Mechanik is always nice. At a mere two points, it generally does a lot for any Khador army. It is immune to Cold, so it will not get into too much trouble if it is caught in the Kontroller’s spray. It can obviously repair both the Kontroller and the Dire Wolf. However, the most important ability here is Tune Up. Tune Up allows the Dire Wolf to stand up, loose stationary and all continuous effects. Finally, it gets Pathfinder.

Begin able to standup is potentially quite important. Somebody might knockdown the ‘jack, either directly or because it used it Shield Guard to catch a shot ment for the Kontroller. Also, if the Dire Wolf is caught in the Kontroller’s spray, it can become stationary. Finally, Pathfinder on a ‘jack is nice.

The Battle Mechanik do have weapons: a gun and a spray. However, if the Battle Mechanik really needs to use its weapons, it is probably in a lot of trouble.

Obviously, the Battle Mechanik is not exclusively for this module. When not required, it can move around and do its things for others, contribute to scoring a terrain objective or contests. Just remember that all its abilities is only range 1″. So, it should probably stay within 6″ of the Dire Wolf.

Officer

The Winter Officer, the backbone of the command structure of the Winter Korps. Their contributions to the army is well known and celebrated. They have build in Pathfinder and Tough, which makes them moveable and survivable. Also, on their own they can remove minor annoyances with a POW 11 Weapon Master attack (25 points of damage on an average charge) and the classic Hand Cannon (POW 12, range 12″ and Pistol). Both hit at MAT/RAT 7. Finally, together with the Battle Mechanik they can score a terrain objective.

The extra cool stuff is their Battle Plans, which can be used even when charging. There are three plans to pick from: Combat Coordination, March, and Press the Advantage. All are range 5″. So, with a SPD of 6, an Officer should probably stay within 11″ of the Kontroller.

Combat Coordination synergises really good with the Kontroller’s spray. The Dire Wolf will work so much better if the target is Stationary. So, everything we can do to help the Kontroller is appreciated. Combat Coordination allows the Kontroller to re-roll one attack or damage roll. As the Kontroller only has RAT 6, being able to re-roll is really nice.

The other two abilities are not to frown upon either. The combination of the Battle Mechanik’s Tune Up and March from the Officer, will give the whole core module Pathfinder. Finally, Press the Advantage gives Swift Hunter, which obviously can be used on the Officer self, but also gives the Kontroller the possibility to get 2″ out of the way after killing something with the spray.

Just like the Battle Mechanik, the Officer can obviously contribute to the rest of the army, whilst not occupied with the module.

Arkanists

The final part of the module is a unit of Arkanists. Arkanists are perhaps the only true auto-include unit in the Winter Korps. Their main purpose in life is to give focus to our magnificent Warjacks by using Empower.

Empower has a pretty nice interaction with a ‘Jack Marshal. Since it can charge for free due to being marshalled, such a ‘jack actually counts as having four focus (or being Aggressive). If the Arkanists fill up the Dire Wolf, it gets four attacks with the Long Axe and one with the Shield. That is quite a lot of damage. The table below summarises the expected damage from a completely fuelled Dire Wolf charging a stationary target.

Charge (free)	2. initial	Long Axe	Long Axe	Long Axe	Avg. dam.	Arm 20
31	24	27	27	27	136	36

There are also two other abilities: Razor Winds and Sigil of Power. It is always nice to spray chaff at POW 12. However, that is typically for the late game if we run out of ‘jacks to fuel. Magical Weapons actually has a pretty good use against, in particular Dusk using Void Engines where Incorporeal stuff appears all the time. A Magical spray is nice.

This is the Kontroller module as I see it. The whole module is only 23 points. It gives opportunities to score 50 mm objectives, terrain objectives, and 40 mm objectives; whilst also contesting. It can run completely autonomous irregardless of which Warcaster runs the army. Some will obliviously not do a lot for it, whilst others can do good things. Yet, it is lovely that it can operate without any explicit support, e.g. far out on a flank. Some of the scenarios in Steamroller 2025 almost requires abilities to operate autonomously on a flank.

Further, all the components in the module can naturally contribute to the rest of the army without diminishing the power of the module.

Finally, training with a fixed module should make playing it almost a reflex. Thus, we can spend our faculties on the rest of the army. The complete module is as follows.

Kontroller [4] – Dire Wolf [10] HEAD – Shield Guard RIGHT ARM – Long Axe LEFT ARM – Plow-Shield Battle Mechanikm [2] Winter Korps Officer [3] Arkanists [4] Total Points 23

Until next time.
For the Motherland!

The Winter Korps core army starter set contains the following models:

• Kapitan Ilari Borisyuk 
• Dire Wolf Heavy Warjack
• Great Bear Heavy Warjack
• 2 x Winter Korps Infantry unit with all possible attachments (12 models)
• 2 x Winter Korps Standard 
• Shock Tropper Gunner unit (3 models)
• Arkanist unit (3 models)
• Winter Korps Officer 

All in all, this gives us 68 points of army if we choose the most expensive ‘jacks and most expensive Command Cards. The most realistic army we can build is a 50 points army. So, what could we build that makes sense?

These musings are only base on theorising. So far, I have only manage to play the Armored Korps army in MK IV (see here for an overview of my first MK IV tournament).

Kapitan Ilari Borisyuk is, for some reason the chosen warcaster in our starter box. I would so much have preferred Kommander Valerii Savaryn. I still think Ilari is the long lost love child of Yuri and a Widowmaker.

He is a bit of a strange fellow. He is rather nimble at SPD 7 and native Pathfinder. The latter he also lends to his ‘jacks through Field Marshal. He has Reposition 3″ and Prowl, which he can trigger by casting Unnatural Darkness on himself each round. He clearly needs to be nimble and stealthy. He is DEF 16, which is pretty good. But with only ARM 14 and 16 boxes he dies if you stare hard at him.

Ilari carries a small knife, which is only POW 10 and at MAT 6. Yet, if he is in a situation where he needs to use his knife, he is probably already dead — he just haven’t noticed it yet.

He is far better with his gun, Shadow of Death. It is range 14″ at RAT 8 (average hitting DEF 15). It is only POW 10 yet. However, he is weapon master with it (average 20 points of damage), and he can choose three different types of ammunition:

1. Critical Armor-Piercing, which is pretty good if it hadn’t been on critical. There is a ~50% chance of a critical assuming that the opponent only has DEF 12. Obviously boosting increases the chance.
2. Flare, which makes the opponent suffer -2 DEF and loos Stealth. He just needs to hit something with Stealth to begin with. A command card comes in handy here (see below).
3. Grievous Wounds removes tough and target cannot have damage removed from it. Always shoot a Warlock before an assassination run.

On the bright side, he can reload once. So two shots. He appears to be a solo hunter primarily.

His feat is kind of cool. If a model in his battle group (that is him and his ‘jacks) destroys a model, somebody else can move 2″ and make a basic attack, which is boosted. He can probably start the chain. Shoot and kill something, shooty ‘jack moves and kill something, next ‘jack does the same, and finally Ilari moves and shoots something; and then he reposition. Funky movement.

He comes native with two spells: Dark Unravelling (his battlegroup gets Magical weapons and Blessed (ignores bonuses from spells adding to DEF or ARM), and Unnatural Darkness (center a Cloud effect on a friendly model). The former is pretty nice, whereas the latter sound really crap for 2 focus. It is of course Stealth on a stick for himself. But still. He can also pick two spells from the Khador rack, which gives him 90 different combination of spells.

I can’t be bothered to go through all of them. I’ll just describe my two favourite picks: I’ll go for the old standard spell, Fog of War. +2 DEF to models within 12″ of him helps, in particular the Winter Korps. The second spell is Superiority, which give +2 to SPD, MAT and DEF to a ‘jack and stops it from getting knocked down. That spell is so much going on the Great Slam Bear (see below). He then needs to upkeep two spells, which turns him into a Focus 4 ‘caster; hurrah for Arkanist.

He seems a bit lackluster (at least in the vacuum of not having looked at the other armies). His feat is cool and Dark Unravelling is a nice spell. Pathfinder on his ‘jacks is cool. He might be best as an anti-hordes ‘caster. Nevertheless, I can’t wait for Kommander Valerii Savaryn.

There are two ‘jack kits in the army set. One of the new Heavy version, the Great Bear; and one of the new Khador light version, the Dire Wolf. Both types can be customised with a lot of options. A more thorough walk through of the different ‘jack options and comparison to the MK III ‘jacks can be found here

For the purpose of the army core set, here are my two favourites.

Like all native MK IV ‘jacks the Dire Wolf can now be customised with several different heads and arms. The Dire Wolf is something as innovative as a light ‘jack — Khador style. This means only ARM 19 but fast as a shark at SPD 5!

Any ‘caster, or some other somewhat soft target need a Shield Guard. So, my preferred build is such a thing:

• Head: Shield Guard
• Right Arm: Bombard
• Left Arm: Plow-Shield

This gives us an ARM 21 Shield Guard (or CDA), which the ‘caster might even wish to hug as it gives Anchor (no knockdown) and Girded (Resistance: Blast) when base to base with it.

When it is hanging around with the ‘caster just playing guard, it might as well lob a few grenades at stuff. The Bombard is an excellent tool for this as it has Arching Fire and can deliver two 2″ AOE, POW 14/8 up to 12″ away. It is only at RAT 5. But, it is better than just hanging around doing nothing.

When the second wave goes into action or it needs to step up, it can deliver a POW 14 hit with its shield in addition to its Bombard. Not too shabby at only 11 points. 

The Great Bear can now also be customised with a broad selection of heads and arms. There are several good builds. However, I think this is my favourite. Perhaps not from a purely tactical point of view. It does, however have quite a high entertainment value: 

• Head: Slammer
• Right Arm: Battle Mace
• Left Arm: Heavy Cannon Shield

This gives us the Great Slam Bear (GSB, or CAD to be consistent), which can deliver a POW 19, range 2″ mace attack, a POW 14 shield attack; and a range 6″ POW 14 shot.

Slamming is fun. The GSB can slam for free and does so for an additional 2″. The GSB can slam something 8″ away (and bulldoze itself there). It slams the opponent d6+2″ away, at POW 14 and 12, and can follow up (the opponent is now most likely knocked down). All this for free. It can then buy an attack with the mace (POW 2d6+19), slam the opponent another 3″ and follow up; buy an attack (POW 2d6+19), slam 3″ and follow up; and finally buy an attack (POW 2d6+19), slam 3″ and follow up. 

So, a fully loaded GSB can move, on the average 21″ up the board, whilst slamming something (durable) in front of it. The theoretical maximum is 39″! This comes from the 7″ charge + 8″ slam + 8″ critical mace + 8″ critical mace + 8″ critical mace. I can’t be bothered to calculate the probability of this. But it is low. Only drawback is that sometimes (perhaps too often) one really wants to boost the initial to hit roll to get the slamming going. MAT 7 is “only” hitting DEF 14 on the average.

The average damage output is 19 + 26 + 26 + 26 = 97 points of damage. Against standard Khador armour that is 18 points of damage going through.  

As a bonus it does come with ARM 22, which is nice and the possibility to shoot something if it is not is a slam mood. All of this for a mere 14 points. 

The tactical sane person might opt for a 13 point AAB, which is basically the closest we get to a classic Juggernaut. But that is no so much fun.

There are three unit types included in the army starter: the pride of the Kdadorian army, two units of  Winter Korps; one unit of the new Shock Troopers; and one unit of Arkanist. 

The new and improved infantry now consists of a base unit of 3 grunts and 2 weapon attachments. In line with Khador tradition a Standard Bearer can also be added; making the unit 6 man strong (which is pretty big in MK IV). Units of Winter Korps can directly be supported by an Officer solo. So, the whole package will be 11 points (7 points base, 1 point for standard and 3 points for the officer solo, who can lead more than one unit).

Charge range is 9″. So, the charging trooper can reach out and touch something 10″ away. Thus, maximum range a unit can touch something with an axe is 13″ away (rounded down). This is: 9″ charge + 2″ placement + 1″ base + 1″ reach. 

The models will arrive at MAT 6, with a standard (hitting DEF 13 on the average) and a damage output of 3d6+9 (average 19 point of damage). Not a killer unit as such. 

There really isn’t a lot we can do to help here. Kapitan Ekaterina Baranova can help them to hit by casting Invocation of Wrath, giving them an additional die on attack rolls and discarding the lowest (only giving them the ability to hit DEF 14 on the average). Kommander Valerii Savaryn is slightly better, and can help by giving a Kill Order, adding 2 to attack and damage rolls (hitting DEF 15 at 21 points of damage on average).

Winter Korps have access to quite a lot of different guns. They come equipped with the standard Military Rifle, yet they can attach a Auto Cannon and Rockets; in addition they can all carry Fragmentation Grenades. Each unit has two attachments and one can pick and choose any combination of the three.

The Military Rifle is the run of the mill standard rifle. It can shoot 10″; so, the same as the charge distance. It hit at POW 11 (average 18 points of damage), and they shoot at RAT 6 (again assuming a standard), allowing them to hit DEF 13 on the average. So shooting and charging is more or less the same. Obviously, shooting allows for aiming, allowing the unit to hit DEF 15 on average. With Kommander Valerii Savaryn they will peak at RAT 10 (hitting DEF 17 on the average) and hitting at 2d6+13 (average 20 point of damage). Everybody, except the Auto Cannon and Rocketeer attachments can also do Combined Ranged Attack. The maximum is 4 (3 grunts plus the banner). There is a potential for up to 6 combining, if the attachments are Porters. This gives us a maximum (without Porters) of RAT 10 and POW 15.

So, in summary there is a slight damage advantage in charging, yet a major to hit advantage in shooting. 

For crowd control, the Winter Korps can also carry an Auto Cannon. It is basically a Military Rifle, just with 1d3+1 shots; so twice as many shots on average. Besides that, it is Encumbered and reduces the units SPD down to 5. 

To deal with ‘jacks. the Winter Korps can carry rockets. They shoot at POW 14 with a 2″ AOE (POW 7). The main advantage here is that they are ‘Jack Hunter giving an additional die against ‘jacks. This means an average damage output of 24 points of damage (26 under Savaryn). Again, Encumbered, reducing the unit’s SPD to 5. 

Finally, the whole unit can be equipped with Fragmentation Grenades by including a Porter. A grenade only has a range of 8″. However, it is at POW 12 and a 2″ AOE. The extra points of damage makes throwing a grenade exactly the same average damage as charging, yet aiming allows for a far better chance to hit. Finally, it does not reduce the SPD of the unit.

The Standard is in my book an auto-include. It is actually cheaper than a standard Winter Korps trooper which cost 1,4 points. It adds +1 to MAT/RAT and gives Rise, which is handy if the unit somehow acquire Tough, which currently only is available trough the Command Card True Inspiration.

All weapon possibilities are summarised in the table below.   

Model	SPD	MAT	RAT	DEF	ARM	POW (m)	POW (r)	AOE	RNG	ROF
Grunt	6	5	5	13	13	9	11	–	10	1
Auto Cannon	5†	5	5	13	13	9	11	–	10	d3+1
Porter‡	6	5	5	13	13	9	12/8	2	8	1
Rocketeer	5†	5	5	13	13	9	14/7	2	8	1
Standard	6	5	5	13	13	9	11	–	10	–
Officer	6	7	7	14	14	9	12	–	12	1
†This weapon in Encumbered which drags the whole unit down to SPD 5 ‡All models in the unit get Fragmentation Grenades

I’m pretty sure that the best combination for a standard unit is one Porter, giving the whole unit grenades and a rocket to deal with ‘jacks; or potentially two Rocketeers if in a ‘jack heavy environment. I don’t think an Auto Cannon actually adds anything; and, of course a Standard.

The Shock Trooper are actually quite cool. They are immune to fire, cold and blast. They are 5 boxes at ARM 15, which will keep them alive against shooting but not in melee; which makes sense since they don’t really want to be in melee. 

They have a Heavy Scattergun, which is a SP 10 at POW 13 and RAT 6. So that is hitting DFE 13 for 20 points of damage. If they aim, they can do two shots. Finally, they have Reposition 2″. 

In general, sprays used to win Warmachine games. I’m not sure if that is as clear a case in MK IV. So, one should actually bring them. However, partly due to the point costs of what is in the starter army, and my fondness for Winter Guards… I mean Winter Korps, I have left them out from this list. 

The Arkanists are a pretty good addition to the Khador forces. 3 guys working as support staff for Warjacks. They can do Arcane Reinforcement, which gives a friendly ‘jack Magical Weapons; and Empower, a free focus on a ‘jack. In a pinch, they can also do Razor Wind, which is now a spray with range 10″ and POW 12, and on critical fill in unmarked boxes or circles on the last column or branch damaged (kind of like Amputation).

In my book, Arkanist are a auto-include. 1 1/3 point for free focus with a spray on top. That is very nice. 

Solos — Winter Korps Officer

The army starter contains only one solo: the Winter Korps Officer. His primary job is to keep the grunts of the Winter Korps motivated. To do that he has three Battle Plans that he can use: March; Press the Advantage; and Stand Your Ground.

In addition to supporting the Winter Korps, he also carries a saber (axes seems to have gone our of fashion in the Motherland) and a hand cannon. His saber attacks at MAT 7, with a POW 9 (weapon master) giving 19 points of damage on the average, 23 on the charge. The hand cannon is POW 12, range 12 at RAT 7! He can potentially use both attacks as he has Dual Attack.

Finally, he has build in Pathfinder and Tough, and combined with Feign Death makes him durable against shooting. Finally, he has Dodge to move 2″ out of the way when an opponent misses him. 

The army is now ready for construction. Ilari and his ‘jacks are ready, so are the units and solo(s). The only thing missing is the command cards. 

We get five of the new Command Cards. I really like this new thing. It gives a flexibility that we only got from solos before. I think this might be to compensate for squishy solos dying to AOEs. 

There are 14 to choose from. Some of them for free, some at a cost. I can’t be bothered going through all of them, so I’ll just list my favourites: 

• Old Faithful — Repair d6 points of damage from a Warjack during Control Phase. Who would not like to fix a Warjack?
• Power Swell — Ilari immediately gains 1 focus during his activation.  
• Sentry Duty — A model or unit gains Eyeless Sight. Shooters adores this, charges love it.
• Take Cover! — A model or unit gains Cover for one round. This brings our Winter Guards to DEF 17, which is nice. 
• True Inspiration — A model or unit gains Touch. Works wonders with the Rise ability from the Winter Korps Standard.

That is it. The army is ready in all its glory. Ilari is leading the two ‘jacks in the starter set; all the units, save for the Shock Trooper Gunners; and the single solo.

That is it. The best army I think can be build from the Starter Army set. Now I just hope that my models will arrive soon, so I can get them painted and onto the table. They I might discover that all of these theoretical thoughts are worthless. I hope not.

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!