FOR THE MOTHERLAND!

FOR THE MOTHERLAND!

Today folks, we're going to be talking about Khador. Well, more than that. My history in Warmahordes is the main subject, with my thoughts on a new army at the end! (:

So folks, Khador. Well, let's start with a little (almost completely off topic) intro. I started Warmachine when the MKII "free" beta was released for Warmachine. To a wise reclusive social retard internet user tpye person such as myself this meant a free wargame I could try! And considering I was going through a "not so interested" phase in GW games, it seemed perfect. So I picked Cryx. At the time I fell in love with eGaspy and eSkarre, however a lack of players in my local area meant that my 50pts of cryx went unused and is actually still in my garage to this day.

However, recently TheLieutenant, Clayman and myself were in a local gaming store, and Clayman's eye was caught be the Warmachine section I was looking at with melancholy. He had a look at Cryx, had a look at Gaspy (Asphyxious), and one "That guy kind of looks like Rasputin, from Anastasia" later and we were hooked. Myself with my Cygnar starter box, and Clayman with a cryx one. Since then we've both started different armies (he's rocking Skorne and I'm on Circle and thinking about Khador) but both like the game.

Now I have prior experience with it and he's an almost total novice (but has an amazing knack for games, he'll beat you at most things if you're both new and it's the first time you've both played it, he just grasps them) but learning quickly. A few things we've both come away with (again for me) is that Warmachine/Hordes is very fun, there's a lot of planning involved, and being able to guess minute distances is very very important. It's also a completely different beast to any GW product (it's like Blood Bowl, Chess and 40k, kind of) and totally worth giving a try if you haven't already! The starter boxes are dirt cheap and Warmavassal (I want to coin this) is free.

Hi, I'm eKrueger. I win scenarios through sheer BS.

So then, all this out the way, my recent ventures with Warmahordes. I re-started with Cygnar, and went straight to eHaley. I like that list, it's definitely solid. However, I played around looking for a Hordes army, and started with Legion, moved to Trolls, had a thing for Skorne for a while (eMakeda + 4 WBs), but never really got round to circle. Tried it, wasn't too impressed. Tried eKrueger, loved it. With my current eKrueger list I've yet to lose a 2011 objective mission, he's like eHaley2.0x3. He rocks. However, after playing this army I got bored of prancey hitty runny winny by(ey) objectivey. I wanted an army that could fight! And beat people up! Up close and personal! Sweat, Blood, Tears and FISTS! Yeah! That's what us penis owners like! You like fists, blood, tears, being up close and personal whilst sweating? Yeah! Lets get some of that stuff going! In the words of Brian Hugh Warner- "FIGHT! FIGHT!" FIGHT! FIGHT!".

Yes yes, the point, I'm getting there. So I tried Menoth, didn't fit, I'm too aggressive.

See? We're here eventually. This led me to Khador! Ok, so, the reason I told you all that is so you know what my background is with Warmahordes. Basically, I'm new, but I don't suck at the game. I'm not the best, but I'd say I'm "good". Ish. Maybe.

So my thoughts on the mighty Khador. Well, my two favourite casters are the Irusks. In my opinion an army with either Irusk should run like a well oiled machine. In my opinion, eIrusk is the better warcaster. In Warmahordes, as a good guy I know once told me "Whoever moves more stuff wins, and Circle moves the most stuff." So we can take this and apply it to Khador, right? So, eIrusk's movement shenanigans, well, he has Energizer. That's good, actually. But the main pair is Artifice of Deviation (huge) and a feat that reduces speed (omfgwtfbbqaweome huge). Actually, his feat's main use that I can find is the -2SPD. The others are very much "may come in handy" effects.

Ok, so, I've tested Irusks, pButcher, eSorscha, Strakhov and pVlad. What I've noticed is KHADOR NEED SHOOTING. No, really. Barring Strakhov and a Jack Heavy pVlad, you need it. Why? Khador has shitty threat ranges. With shooting, they don't. It's that simple. If I played against my pButcher list with my Circle I know I'd demolish it. Why? My threat ranged were small and I could just dance at the edge of them and fling the Khardic furniture about like a removal man who's completely stopped giving a shit. If I was to make a second pButcher list now I'm a bit more experienced with the faction, I'd add shooting.

So this leads me to my eIrusk list.

eIrusk +5
Spriggan -10
10 Iron Fang Pikemen w/UA -10
6 Iron Fang Pikemen -5
Great Bears -5
Widowmakers -4
Winter Guard Mortar -3
Winter Guard Mortar -3

Now, that second "detachment" of 6 IFP I am very unsure on, and may well swap out for some mercs. However, the rest of the list is solid as far as I'm concerned. The pair of mortars is a considerable ranged threat able to mince infantry and jacks alike, especially with FFE being used on both of them. So why's this good? Well those mortars mean I have range on almost everything in the game. They also absolutely shred infantry, which is why the rest of my selections (barring widows, who're just amazing) are pretty anti-jack focussed. The Sprig is in there for the stealth hate, and he's a good jack (just in general). Even this small amount (25% of my points) of ranged firepower gives the Khador list some reach and means that it's very dangerous for the enemy to sit back and chill outsite of my threat ranges. This is a list my circle wouldn't enjoy facing, because I wouldn't be able to get close without having my druids, blackclad and woldwarden blown to shit by mortars. Of course, it could still win most objectives through virtue of sheer bullshit that they're capable of.

Hope you guys enjoyed the article.