Friday, December 3, 2010

On Khador Units I'm Considering.


by Ishamael



Hey there folks, Ishamael here with some comments on some ideas that have come to me while pondering point efficiency in my dealings with Khador. Specifically, the cheap cost of a full unit of Winter Guard Infantry caught my eye. 6 points for a 10 man unit with a decently powered (12) ranged attack, albeit at range 8, is tempting off the bat. The spark came when I was looking at the UA with the Standard Bearer and Officer. 2 more points to let them re-roll a command check, and the Officer gives every single man in the unit the option to make an 8 inch spray out of his blunderbuss. SO, that issue I found seemingly insurmountable when I first began this game, Stealth-concealed melee units, becomes null and void. Sprays ignore the Stealth advantage.

Wow. And I am not even done lauding this yet.

It should be noted that currently I have visited the Privateer Press forums for more ideas, a number of which come from combining a full unit of Winter Guard Infantry, their Unit Attachment, then adding in Kovnik Josef Grigorvich for his Speeches.

This is a whole 10 points to do. Given that the WGI have Combined Ranged Attack, "uncle Joe" will be able to boost the attack rolls of other Winter Guard units, ranging from Mortars, Field Guns, or the Rifle Corps. Now, for the CRA, let us assume that the full unit is capable of giving up firing, except the one that makes the shot. That is an accumulative +11 to hit and damage the target, taking the WG from its normal RAT 5 + 2d6, to RAT 5 + 11 + 2d6. Then the POW is 12 + 11 + 2d6 That will devastate pretty much everything. I must admit, I find that in the future I will purchase a full unit, with the UA, of the Winter Guard for utility. Luckily, I already have Josef.

Moving along, there is another model I am looking at: the Koldun Lord. Nicknamed "Bad Santa" for a reason, this 'Jack Marshal can be quite effective when coupled with the Destroyer. By virtue of being Marshalled, the jack can boost an attack role, and the Koldun Lord can use a special action to allocate a single focus to a nearby jack, or cure it of Disruption. Combine this with the bonus for not moving, and one gets a RAT 6 + 3d6, POW 14 + 3d6 beast that hangs out at the 14 inch marker. If needed, the Lord can use his magic shotgun of 8 inch spray, POW 12 goodness, or cast Ice Cage on a single model, making a model easier to hit. So, the single attack on the Destroyer can be worth something in such a situation, although it would probably be better to just give one focus to the jack.

Next on the list of considerations are two units, the first of which is a unit of Man-O-War Shocktroopers, minimum sized. A seemingly balanced unit to use, these fellows have a short ranged POW 14 shot from their shields, or a POW 14 Reach halberd for their melee weapon. With 8 HP per man, as well as ARM 17, as well as the Shield Wall Order (+4 ARM), these guys are equivalent to some Warjacks in their damage output and endurance capacity. Not to mention that their look has rather grown on me, so they just look sweet. Among all this is their ability to perform a Combined Melee Attack, so for a min unit it gets a +2 to attack and damage. I can not say that this is a more attractive option than the three just going to town on an enemy, but it will do well against high DEF opponents. Next on the list is a unit of Demolition Core. These guys I am the most ambivalent to. Their damage output is fantastic, either they can make 2 attacks, or get the damage equivalent to Weapon Master with just one. The issue lies in their ARM of 16, which is rather easy to break through. So, this is a unit to come into play late game, and will need screening in order for it to get into position. Both units cost the same, and I must say I am leaning to the side of the Shocktroopers.

Luckily, I have had some small amount of time to look around for ideas regarding my Khador army, and I would be appreciative of any further input anyone might have.

It's cold out here,
Ishamael

3 comments:

  1. If you take the Marshall, absolutely do not fail to take the Shocktroopers. The Man-O-War units are B-frickin-A when combined and DO MORE DAMAGE than a jack while costing less. Yes, they look fabulous, too.

    Demo Corps are OK but really work best with Sorscha, who I hate. Skip em unless you love the cold-hearted byotch.

    I usually throw in some cavalry and forgo the infantry (because I like the models better) but I think that's a personal preference issue.

    If you're going for stealth, why not some Widowmakers? They have those great hats!

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  2. Just for damage output, I've got a bit of a soft spot for playing with eSorscha. I've seen Uhlans one-shot Jacks on the feat turn, and that's pretty awesome.

    I'm a pretty big fan of Widowmakers. Generally they make it into my lists with the Marksman. Something I try to do with them is to take out the last parts of the Movement system on incoming Jacks.

    Gotta say I'm still on the fence when it comes to what caster to use. I've got Vlad, Sorscha, Zerkova, and the Old Witch. I've read a good amount of forum chatter that Zerkova is terrible, but I'm unsure on that.

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  3. I haven't read or played anything with Z. Old Witch is fairly specialized so I avoid her. I love Vlad and Butcher (Lola's my girl) and hate, hate, hate, hate HAT Sorscha. I know she's effective, I just hate her.

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