Winter Korps core army box, what can we build?

The Winter Korps is finally here. At last we can field the new improved Winter Korps Army. A good starting point is the core army starter set. This gives us most of what we need to build an army. The set itself easily allows us to build a 50 point army; but not enough to build 75 point. Here is some musing over what this starter set can give us.

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).

Warcaster — Kapitan Ilari Borisyuk

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.

Warjacks

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.

Dire Wolf

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. 

Great Slam Bear

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.

Units

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. 

Winter Korps Infantry

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. 

Winter Korps Auto Cannon

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. 

Winter Korps Rocketeer

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. 

Winter Korps Porter

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.

Winter Korps Standard

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.

Summmary

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.

Shock Trooper Gunners

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. 

Arkanists

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. 

Suggestet 50 points army

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. 

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.

Army list

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.

Kapitan Ilari Borisyuk

 - SPELL - Superiority

 - SPELL - Fog of War

 - Dire Wolf [11]

  - HEAD - Shield Guard [1]

  - RIGHT ARM - Bombard [6]

  - LEFT ARM - Plow-Shield [4]

 - Great Bear [14]

  - HEAD - Slammer [1]

  - RIGHT ARM - Battle Mace [7]

  - LEFT ARM - Dozer [6]

 Winter Korps Officer [3]

 Arkanists [4]

 Winter Korps Infantry [7]

 WEAPON SUPPORT TROOPERS - Rocketeer

 WEAPON SUPPORT TROOPERS - Grenade Porter

 - Winter Korps Standard [1]

 Winter Korps Infantry [7]

 WEAPON SUPPORT TROOPERS - Rocketeer

 WEAPON SUPPORT TROOPERS - Grenade Porter

 - Winter Korps Standard [1]

 Command Cards

 - Old Faithful [0]

 - Power Swell [0]

 - Sentry Duty [1]

 - Take Cover! [1]

 - True Inspiration [0]

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!