MK IV, Khador Winter Korps is here!

This blog has been a bit quite lately, however Warmachine MKIV is here! So is the new incarnation of Khador. Now as Khador Winter Korps. I am excited. The sun is setting on Mark III. I'll still manage to have the chance to get a few more games in — and I will. Yet, I am really looking forward to the "new" Khador. As you might know, I'm a huge fan of Winter Guards, so this can only be good. Let's have a look at the new Khador stuff, soon to be available. 

Winter Korps is arriving. It seems that the Orgoth invasion has moved the Khador army more into the future by adopting newer weapons and building more 'jacks. This is my first impression on what is in stall for us. I'll try to build in upon what is actually know and as little speculations as possible, and see if there is enough information to make heads and tails of the new and bright future for the Motherland. I'm excited.

Warcasters

We have two new 'casters — and what 'casters they are. We seem to have received a spell slinger (with as many Arc Nodes as you like! and a gun slinger). Both seems to be squishy backline 'caster. So no classic axe-to-face caster her. Interesting selection. 

Kapitan Ekaterina Baranova

Ekaterina Baranova

Our new Warcaster, Kapitan Baranova is a cool addition to our arsenal. Her basic stats are SPD 6, which is normal; MAT 6, which is on the low end, so she is clearly not a frontline 'caster; RAT 6 is ok; DEF 15 is OK, as it requires boosting to consistently hit for an elite MAT (which is around 7); ARM 15 and 16 boxes means she is dead if stuff hits her. She har 7 Focus, which is nice. So a squishy backline support 'caster who doesn't really wants to get into melee?

The backfield 'caster is further exaggerated by the fact that she is an answer to the age old question: "Why can't Khador have Arc Nodes?" She gives out Arc Nodes galore to all her 'jacks as a Field Marchall ability! This fits with some of her spells (see below), which would be nice to arc. However, she is not overwhelming. 

She is probably a control 'caster since her feat gives enemies -2 SPD, they cannot charge, slam, trample or power attacks, and enemies suffer -4 RNG on ranged or arcane attacks with 14" of her. Combined with her other build in ability that gives her a focus when an enemy model is destroyed by an arcane attack; this could also suggest assassination by spells, freezing and cannons. 

Finally, she has a small gun and a sword. If she is in sword range, she is dead. It might, however come in handy for removing upkeeps on friendly models or units.

Ekaterina has three personal spells as well as three rack options (so, six spells all in all from a potential of 720 spell combinations). Her personal spells are: Banishing Ward (remove enemy upkeeps on model/units), Gallows (RNG 10", POW 13, push model d6" towards caster), and a new one Invocation of Wrath, which give friendly faction models in control an additional die on attack rolls, and discards the lowest.

In addition, she can choose three spells from the Khador rack, which are the following: Avenging Force (if a friendly Faction warrior model is damaged within command, a battlegroup 'jack can advance in the Maintenance Phase), Fog of War (Concealment in a 14" bubble), Freezing Grip (RNG 8", target becomes stationary), Iron Flesh (+2 ARM and Blast Resistance), Puissance (gains +2 melee attack rolls and weapons gain Beat Back), Razor Wind (RNG 10", POW 12 spell, on a critical hit fill last column or branch damaged), Return Fire (when the model is targeted by an enemy ranged attack, it can make a basic melee or ranged attack), Superiority (target 'jack gains +2 SPD, MAT and DEF and immunity to knockdown), Tempest (RNG 8", AOE 3", POW 12/12, models hit are knocked down), and Weald Secrets (target gets Pathfinder and Prowl).

She kind of looks like some combination of Zerkova and perhaps Old Witch. I'm pretty sure she will be fun, yet challenging to play. I'm thinking fast nimble (yes, Khador nimble, see below) 'jacks, Superiority, Avenging Force Freezing Grip and/or perhaps Razor Wind.  

Kapitan Ilari Borisyuk

Ilari Borisyuk

Kapitan Borisyuk is our second new Warcaster. I think he is Yuri's long lost love child with a Widowmaker. He is actually SPD 7 (and Pathfinder), which is pretty good. Has an average MAT of 6. But, he has a mighty RAT 8 to go with his very large gun. DEF 16 is pretty good (he also has Prowl). But as with Ekaterina, ARM 14 and 16 boxes means that he is dead if something hits him. He is a FOCUS 6 'caster with access to only four spells. So he is clearly more a gun slinger than a spell slinger.

Ilari has a pretty cool feat. When a model in his battlegroup destroys an enemy model another battlegroup model can advance a do a basic attack. unfortunately a model can advance only once. Combined with his Field Marshal Pathfinder, this could make for an interesting ripple effect. 

He carries two weapons. A knife, which if is needed he is dead. The other one is his rather large gun. It is a RNG 14, ROF 1, Reload [1], POW 10 gun that has three different types of attack: Critical Armor Piercing, Flare or Grievous Wounds. Given the size of the gun it is not very impressive. I'm guessing Flare and Grievous Wounds as the most commonly used shots. 

Ilari has a much more manageable combination of spells that Ekaterina, only 90. His two personal spells are: 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 him self. But still. He can also pick two spells from the Khador rack (see above).

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 are cool. However, not as important anymore since alle our Dire Wolfs can have Pathfinder build in (see below). He might be an anti-hordes 'caster.

Warjacks

Warjacks have change in an interesting way. In the old days, we typically needed 9 'jacks to cover the most usual use of our standard chassis (3 Juggernauts, 3 Destroyers, and 3 Marauders). Now we can in principle get by with just 3

The chassis are fixed, however, we can now change both arms and the head giving us 64 different combinations per 'jack (4 left arms x 4 right arms x 4 heads). The models come with magnets, which is nice. From a model owner perspective, this is nice as we do not need to purchase and paint as many models. Whether or not it is nice for the opponent is a bit unclear. I'm not sure it is easy to distinguish the different heads, and thus the different models. Yet, time will tell.

As a huge thing is that we are actually getting two different heavy Warjacks chassis: a heavy and a not so heavy (yet, faster!)

Dire Wolf

The new, not so heavy chassis

This is our new not so heavy chassis. It is in a way a new and improved version of the Berserker/Rager/Mad Dog chassis. It has SPD 5! 25% faster than normal Khador speed. This is fast! It has MAT 6, which is OK. It also has RAT 5, which again is a 25% improvement. It comes with an impressive DEF of 11 (which typically doesn't really matter), and only ARM 19. So it is a bit squishy.

It has the basic rules of being a Construct, it can Headbutt, Slam, Trample. However, as something new it now has Dual attack (can use both melee and ranged initial attacks when engaged; although only against engaged models), it also has Anchor (Friendly warrior models B2B cannot be knocked down. It is not Unstoppable (see Great Bear below). This could be a problem.

All in all, I think it is a nice upgrade. We lost the cartoonish Unstable (which is fun but dumb). We gained speed.

Like all 'jacks, the Dire Wolf comes with 4 head options, 4 options for the right arm and 4 options for the left arm; leaving us with 64 different 'jack configurations. The options are as follows:

Dire Wolf Head		Abilities
A	Overtake	When the Dire Wolf destroys a model with a basic melee attack it can advance up to 1"
B	Pathfinder	Pathfinder
C	Shield Guard	Shield Guard (Can be hit by non-spray ranged attacks within 3" instead of the original target)
D	Evasive	When this model is his by an enemy ranged attack it can advance up to 2"

Dire Wolf Right Arm		Abilities
A	Long Axe	RNG 2", POW 16
B	Ice Hammer	RNG 1", POW 17, Critical Freeze (Stationary for one round)
C	Cannon	RNG 12", ROF 1, POW 15, Beat Back (Enemy model can be pushed 1" and the Dire Wolf can move 1"), Critical knockdown (Models hit becomes knocked down)
D	Bombard	RNG 12" ROF 1, AOE 2" POW 14/8, Arcing Fire (can ignore intervening models when attacking)

Dire Wolf Left Arm		Abilities
A	Plow Shield	RNG 1", POW 14,  +2 ARM, Resistance: Blast (remove one die from the damage roll when suffering blast damage), Girded (While B2B the others also get Resistance: Blast)
B	Flame Fist	Flamethrower is RNG SP8", ROF 1, POW 12, Continuous effect: Fire, Pistol (ignores the +4 DEF from target in its melee). Open fist is RNG 1", POW 14, Throw Power Attack
C	Scrap Saw	RNG 1, POW 15, Critical Shred (Make one additional attack)
D	Heavy Chain Gun	RNG 10", ROF d3+1, POW 12, Volume Fire (POW 13 vs. medium-based models and POW 14 vs. larger-based models)

The classic Rager was basically the only 'jack used regular in MKII. We can build something similar using the new chassis by constructing a CAA (Shield Guard, Long Axe, Plow Shield). This one will clock in at 10 points, which is just one more that the classic Rager. This gets us a slightly better Shield guard (remember Anchor), with a better melee weapon, yet no ranged weapon.

Another option could be a ranged classic Ranger by building a CDA (Shield Guard, Bombard, Plow Shield) that clocks in at 11 points. It is a kind of crossover between the classic Rager and the classic Destroyer. I could see that getting played.

We can't really do neither the Berserker nor the Mad Dog. Surprisingly, we can do something akin the to classic Decimator by building a BCC (Pathfinder, Cannon, Scrap Saw) that clocks in at 10 points.

In general, I think that the lack of unstoppable could be an issue. However, several interesting gun platforms can be build rather inexpensively. I think the Shield Guard head will be popular. There might also be an interesting build in something like AAB for a dancing berserker style troop remover at only 13 points.

Great Bear

The new heavy chassis

Our new nice heavy chassis. It is comparable to our old classic Juggernaut/Destroyer/Marauder/Decimator chassis with the same basic stats. It has SPD 4, MAT 7, RAT 5 (which is a 25% improvement over the old one), DEF 10,  and ARM 20. 

It also has the same basic rules, as it is a Construct, it can Headbutt, Slam, Trample. However, as something new it now has Dual attack (can use both melee and ranged initial attacks when engaged; although only against engaged models), it is Unstoppable (do not have to forfeit its combat action when moving out of an enemy models melee range), and it can Bulldoze (When B2B with an enemy model during Normal Movement, the enemy model can be pushed 2").

All in all, it is a nice upgrade, yet still true to the classic Khador approach. You can hit it blind folded, yet you have to bring the big hammer to damage it; and you need to do it a lot. I am just curious to see if the ARM 20 actually means something in MKIV. It did not in MKIII. 

Like all 'jacks, the Great Bear comes with 4 head options, 4 options for the right arm and 4 options for the left arm; leaving us with 64 different 'jack configurations. The options are as follows: 

Great Bear Head		Abilities
A	Agressive	Run and charge without spending focus and Heavy Boiler (+2 SPD when running)
B	Reposition	Reposition [2"]
C	Slammer	Follow up on slam and Grand slam (slam for free and add 2" to slam distance)
D	Mage Static	Spells cast by enemy model within 10" suffer +1 COST and -3 RNG.

Great Bear Right Arm		Abilities
A	Battle Mace	RNG 2", POW 19, Beat Back (Enemy model can be pushed 1" and the Great Bear can move 1") and Critical Smite (The model hit is slammed d6")
B	Heavy Cannon	RNG 15", ROF 1, POW 16, Momentum (small- and medium-based models are slammed d3" directly away. Large-based models are knocked down)
C	Deep Freezer	RNG 12", ROF 1, AOE 3, POW 14/8, Critical Freeze (Stationary for one round)
D	Quad Chain Gun	RNG 10", ROF 2d3, POW 12, Volume Fire (POW 13 vs. medium-based models and POW 14 vs. larger-based models)

Great Bear Left Arm		Abilities
A	Heavy Cannon Shield	Cannon is RNG 6", ROF 1", POW 14,  Shield is RNG 1", POW 14 and +2 ARM
B	Blasting Fist	RNG 1, POW 17, Critical knockdown (Models hit becomes knocked down), Throw Power Attack
C	Battle Axe	RNG 1, POW 18, Critical amputate (Fill the unmarked boxes on the last column or branch damaged)
D	Dozer	RNG 10", ROF 2, POW 15, Beat Back (Enemy model can be pushed 1" and the Great Bear can move 1") and Critical Smite (The model hit is slammed d6")

The closest we get to the classic Juggernaut is AAB (Aggressive, Battle Mace, and Blasting Fist). This one clocks in at 13 points (2 + 7 + 4), which is exactly the same cost as the classic one. Yet, it is a huge improvement. It has the same DEF, ARM and MAT, and number of boxes. Yet, it can run and charge for free and gets a +2 SPD when running from the Agressive head, Beat back and Critical Smite on the Mace (and POW 19), and Critical Knockdown on the Fist (and POW 17, two better that the Juggernaut). 

Disregarding the chance of knockdown, push and smite on the Great Bear (AAB) and stationary on the Juggernaut, the output of AAB is pretty good. On average a fully loaded Juggernaut will make 118 points of damage when charging; whereas AAB will make 139 (it charges for free). This means that against a standard Khador 'jack the Juggernaut will on average make 31 points of damage (just shy of one rounding a 'jack); whereas AAB will make 39 points of damage (leaving damage to spare after one rounding a 'jack). What a lovely beatstick.

Making a classic Destroyer is a bit more difficult. It will have to be a BCC (Reposition, Deep Freezer, Battle Axe). This one clocks in at 14 points, which is one point more than the classic Destroyer. It also has the same DEF, ARM and MAT, and number of boxes. It does, however has a RAT of 5! This is a 25% improvement over the classic one. On the other had it has lost Arcing Fire. Only the Dire Wolfs can have that now. This is a great loss.

Giving is the Reposition head clearly improves its usability as it can Aim, shoot and then move forward 2". The heavy cannon has to be the Deep freezer. It has lost 2" of range and 1" of AOE. Yet, is has gained Critical Freeze. I would say a downgrade all in all since critical effects are random in nature. The Battle Axe is a no brainer since it is the exact same as it used to be (except that it has gained 1 POW). The question is whether we should go for a Heavy Cannon or the Deep Freezer. 

We can't really make neither a classic Decimator nor a classic Marauder. The former is missing the Rip Saw (which is is only available to the Dire Wolf) and the latter is missing the Ram Pistons. The Marauder will be sorely missed, as it was arguably the best 'jack in the game.

Units

There are three new units in MKIV. Not a lot of information is available at the time of writing. So, I might have to venture into the realm of speculations. A new version of the Winter Guards have arrived, now known as the Winter Korps, Shock Troopers are presumedly a new version of the Assault Kommandos, and finally an elusive Arkanist Unit.

Winter Korps Infantry Unit

The new Winter Korps

The new and improved light infantry, the Winter Korps Infantry now comes in units of only five Riflemen. This is the new standard. They can, however include a Standard Bearer. 

The seem to have a military rifle, which looks like a newer version that even the one that the Rifle Corps carried. I am assuming that the range then still will be 14". They have also exchanged their axes for sword (this is an unfortunate trend. Sword to face do not have the same ring to it as Axe to face). Apparently, they come with Combined Ranged attack. Also,  two of the models can be exchanged for two heavy support troopers. It seems that we can mix and match as we feel like.

The heavy support troopers are either Grenade Porters, which allows all models to shoot some sort of high-explosive fragmentation grenades; Machine Guns, which are good against other troopers; and Rocketeers are of course back with a vengeance. Apparently, two of them can cripple Warjack systems. So, they should be high POW.

It is going to be interesting to see how the Winter Korps can be mixed, how useful they are, and if there is pick up.

Shock Trooper Gunner Unit

The second unit seems to be a development of the Assault Kommandoes. The Shock Troopers are only a small unit, that is three models. They seem to be dressed in protective gear. So, I'm suspecting them to be immune to all sorts of stuff like their precursors. Besides that, not a lot is known.

Arkanist Unit

Finally, a nice surprise. An Arkanist Unit. Some sort of spell slinging unit. Perhaps akin to the Greylord Ternions. Like the Shock Troopers also a small three person unit. 

Solo

Winter Korps Officer 

The only solo, thus far is an officer. Who looks remarkable like Kommander Andrei Malakov. I think it is his sister. I'm assuming some sort of Veteran Leader, perhaps Sacrificial Pawn, and. if we are lucky some sort of Joe light speech giving. 

While we are at it, Ol' Grim is still around at Cryx. I wonder if he still remembers his days as a Widowmaker?

Legacy Armies

Everybody get two Prime armies (that is, the old models in MKIV)^†. We get two: Man-O-War Army and Winter Guard Army.

The former is no surprise, as Man-o-Wars are very much Khador defining. I hope this means that we can use all the ones that are in the existing theme Armored Corps. I'm wondering about the Riot Quest solos (in this case Bulkhead). Yet, Ol' Grim appears in Cryx, so I am hopefull. I am also wondering about the two Battle Engines. 

The latter is a bit weird. The new Khador Army is basically Winter Guards in a new and improved version. So, why not Wolves of Winter where the Doom Reavers and pointy hat guys reside? However, Winter Guards are cool, so why not. Again, I'm wondering about the Battle Engine. I love the Winter Guard Gun Carriage. 

Summary

I'm excited. 

I think Ekaterina looks like an interesting 'caster. I'm not so sure about Ilari. New Winter Korps is so cool. Finally, there are so many combinations of heads and arms on the Warjack that it might be difficult. I'm expecting just a few standard build will be used.

We are still stuck at ARM 20, unless we shield up. We can then get to ARM 21/22 native. We only have one spell to increase ARM to 23/24. Also, we are still stuck at a static threat range of 11" for the Great Bears and 12" for the Dire Wolf. We have no Vlad1 or K2D2 to speed the army up. Boundless Charge is also gone.

So, I'm so much hoping that ARM 20 is actually going to matter. We have to do things the old fashion way. Weather the alpha and bring axe (or mace, hammer, fist, axe or what ever to face). I like that style. It has just not been in fashion for a long time.

That's it. If you made it here, I'm impressed. 

With a bit of luck, I can hopefully soon get painting and playing. Battle reports will surly follow.

Until then.

For the Motherland!