Winter Guard Kommand under Vlad1 - post quality of life update

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!