Warmachine/Tactics/Khador

Why Play Khador?

Because you love infantry, patriotism, and patriotic infantry. Also bears, vodka, snow, and Soviet Russia.

Most people are initially drawn to Khador because of the 'jacks. You can't really blame 'em, either; Khador warjacks are big, beefy, armored to seven kinds of hell, and hit like trucks in melee. That sounds awesome. It's the rare Khador player that keeps using those 'jacks, though, because that isn't actually what the faction is about. Khador 'jacks are slow, have subpar statlines, have no arc nodes, lack ranged combat ability, and require huge amounts of focus in order to reach their full potential - something which is doubly problematic because Khador warcasters also need a lot of focus to function.

No. You come to Khador for the 'jacks. You stay for the infantry.

Khadoran infantry is everything that Khadoran 'jacks are not. They are flexible, powerful, dangerous, durable, and cheap. They're great units in their own right, and Khador packs a number of incredible support spells that can make them absolutely amazing. Khador infantry put in all the work you could ask for and more. They are the backbone of your army, and they will not rest until the job is done.

General Strategy

As mentioned above, most Khador warjacks are extremely focus-hungry and lack viable ranged options on top of being extremely slow. They can do some real damage in melee, true, but it's a rare Khador list that fields more than one or two 'jacks at a time. Unless you're playing Karchev the Terrible, the faction's dedicated 'jack-focused warcaster, you're going to be running a lot of infantry.

Fortunately, Khador has a lot of competitively viable options for foot soldiers. These range from the cheap-as-dirt Winter Guard to the heavily armored and elite Man-o'-War Shocktroopers. Iron Fang Pikemen can put the serious hurt on even heavy targets in melee. Widowmakers can chew through light infantry faster than blinking. The Assault Kommandos offer incredible board control and anti-infantry suppression. Whatever role you need filled, there is a Khador infantry squad for the job. They can shoot, they can chop, they slice and dice and if you order now you get a FREE UA. Get used to the idea of your warjacks playing support for them; most warjack selection for Khador is centered around fulfilling a role that the infantry you're taking can't, such as cracking heavy enemy 'jacks that get too close, while your infantry do the heavy lifting.

Khador's warcaster selection is as varied as its infantry. In this single faction, you have models like Supreme Kommandant Irusk, who is a purely support 'caster dedicated to buffing your infantry, and Orsus Zoktavir, the Butcher of Khardov, who just goes balls-deep in the enemy and hacks things apart on his own. As a general rule, though, Khador 'casters don't have particularly stellar FOCUS, and it's also a rare 'caster who doesn't come with at least one major buff for your infantry.

So, with such a varied faction, it's hard to put your finger on a single unified strategy, but as a general rule, Khador units prefer melee to ranged combat. While you do have some respectably shooty squads at your disposal, Cygnar is still the king of ranged combat - but that's okay, because while they cower in their trenches, your troopers are storming across the fields, bayonets fixed and pikes at the ready, preparing to crush the honorless cowards in a wave of steel and Khadoran pride.

Unit Analysis

Warcasters

• Kommandant Irusk (pIrusk): Khador is an infantry faction, and Irusk is the dedicated infantry 'caster. He's not a fighter by any means, and he doesn't have much in the way of direct offensive ability. What he does bring is a shit-ton of incredible buffs for your infantry. Fluff-wise, Irusk is a Tactical Genius who is loved by his men because he never wastes their lives; if you die under Irusk's command, it is because you could not have been saved, and your death was necessary for the glory of Khador. This relationship with his men is exemplified in his feat, Undying Loyalty, which gives all infantry in his control area Fearless, super-Tough, knockdown immunity, and bonuses to attack and damage rolls for the turn.
• Supreme Kommandant Irusk (eIrusk): One of the most unique 'casters in all of Warmahordes, eIrusk retains pIrusk's focus on infantry, but completely changes the way every single unit under his command plays on a fundamental level. His primary ability, Martial Discipline, is an entirely passive - meaning free, not a spell - ability that allows your infantry to move and shoot through one another. The number of shenanigans this enables is boggling. Doom Reavers can charge through the Man-O'-Wars that escorted them to the front line. Widowmakers can sit behind your Iron Fang Pikemen and clear the path without any fear whatsoever. And as if this wasn't enough, he also grants all his infantry Tough, also for free. On top of all of this, he also packs a suite of buffs that would make pIrusk proud, and which serves to make his army even more horrifyingly superior at the positioning game. No one matches the Supreme Kommandant for sheer infantry control.
• Karchev the Terrible: Pretty much your only option if, for some reason, you want to run Khador as a 'jack-focused army. Karchev is a crazy bastard who basically gutted a warjack, climbed inside, and now spends his time stomping around and making "brrm-brrm" noises in between bouts of murdering absolutely fucking everything. He's basically a warjack himself, only with the ability to cast spells. He makes his warjacks pretty terrifying, but they're still going to have focus issues. Hilariously fun, but not particularly competitive.
• Zevanna Agha, the Old Witch of Khador (Old Witch): One of Khador's best 'casters, but tricky as all hell to play. She's basically Baba Yaga, with Scrapjack being her little cottage, and she brings in Freddy Krueger's glove for added bonus points. She loves terrain, and has a lot of board control spells that are absurdly powerful if used properly but take a lot of thought to get right. She also has the ability to harvest souls from any infantry she kills in melee, which she can do en masse thanks to her spell Avatar of Slaughter. Just make sure you save enough focus to teleport her away again with Unseen Paths, because she's not particularly durable.
  • Scrapjack: The Old Witch's personal warjack, Scrapjack is unique in a number of ways. He's the only light 'jack in the entire Khador arsenal, as well as the only arc node. Like her, he's fast and tricky, a glass cannon with a lot of tricks up his sleeve rather than an outright brawler. His main purpose is to facilitate the use of Avatar of Slaughter; when the Old Witch casts it on herself, she'll need to teleport back to him, and when she can't get into position, he's going to need to use it to teleport back to her. Be sure to keep him alive, because without him, the Old Witch loses a lot of her potential.
• Kommander Sorscha Kratikoff (pSorscha): A hybrid support and assassination 'caster. pSorscha is the warcaster included in the Khador battlebox, and she's a great choice for new players due to her flexibility. She has the spell list to supplement a wide variety of army styles, and can actually run a few 'jacks semi-efficiently. She's got solid buffs and a few strong damage sources, so she's a great all-rounder, and she's surprisingly mobile due to Wind Rush. Most players use her as an assassin, though, because her feat inflicts Stationary on everything she can see, so if your opponent slips up for even one turn, she can Wind Rush into position, lock the entire army into place, and then calmly slice the enemy 'caster to ribbons.
• Forward Kommander Sorscha Kratifkoff (eSorscha): Sorscha, ANGRY Edition. eSorscha trades in some of pSorscha's versatility for a focus on infantry and murder. She's got several of Khador's signature infantry buffs, including Iron Flesh, on top of the absolutely brutal Cyclone, which makes her incredibly hard to lock down and very dangerous in melee. She's less capable of running 'jacks due to her increased focus hunger, but her increased personal power is well worth it.
• Kommander Strakhov: The Rushin' Russian. This guy is all about speed, speed, speed. He's gotta go fast. He's not much of a threat in direct combat, but he has a lot of ways to make your guys more mobile, which is great for the usually-cumbersome Khador forces. He plays especially well with Assault Kommandos, whom he grants Pathfinder, but it's important to note that he's focus-hungry even by Khador standards, so more than one or two efficient 'jacks will overload him - and even in light combat, he's not going to have much left over to boost his own ARM, so he's going to be damn squishy.
• Vladimir Tzepesci, The Dark Prince (Vlad1): Having a hard time figuring out who you should start with? The Dark Prince is a solid bet. He's very straightforward to play: use Signs and Portents to make your models hit harder, Boundless Charge to get your warjacks into combat, and then Blood of Kings and Wind Wall to make him nearly unkillable (throw in a War Dog for added amusement) when the match approaches end-game.
• Vladimir Tzepesci, The Dark Champion (Vlad2): This is the Dark Prince, Infantry Edition. His power-up is now reactionary and contingent on being damaged, but now he can more actively support infantry with everything from his feat to his spell selection. He's still decent for warjack support and has a mean endgame, though not as mean as his previous incarnation. Otherwise, the things that were said for Vlad1 still apply here. Hand of Fate is Signs and Portents Lite - a single unit at half cost. With Blood of Kings gone, he's not quite the beatstick he used to be, but he can get free boosted melee attacks and Parry. Don't fall into the trap of letting your opponent damage him hoping to proc Might of Kings. It's not worth risking your 'caster's death.
• Vladimier Tzepesci, Great Price of Umbrey (Vlad3): Dracula, Cavalry Edition. Mobile, but not quite as durable as his previous incarnations despite increased ARM; he lacks Blood of Kings or any equivalent, so he's not as tough as he appears. He is extremely mobile, though, and helps to make the entire rest of your army mobile as well. Also hits like a truck on the charge.
• Koldun Kommander Aleksandra Zerkova (pZerkova): A Russian secret agent sexy wizard femme fatale with a sweet hat. Incredibly squishy, so you absolutely must keep her protected at all times, but she brings some incredibly powerful and flexible spells to the table. She also carries an array of artifacts which allow her to add little twists to every spell she casts, like giving it longer range or making it cost less focus. Provides a laundry list of toolbox spells ranging from pure damage to defense to area denial and more. Tricky to play, but quite powerful if used correctly.
• Orsus Koztavir, The Butcher of Khardov (Butcher1): The Butcher is the iconic melee monster in Warmahordes. He takes playing like you got a pair and cranks that shit up to eleven - he plays like he's got everyone else's pairs as well, and he's hacking them open with his trademark battleaxe, Lola. He has the highest MAT of any warcaster in the game, and can be expected to reliably connect on every single attack he makes - and anything he hits will die, because Lola swings on P+S 16 with Reach, Weapon Master, Magical Weapon, and Fury backing it up. He also brings Iron Flesh along for the ride, so he can still offer some decent support to infantry, which is good, because despite his monstrous damage output, he's still a giant target. While he's far more durable than your standard 'caster, he'll still die to concentrated fire, so throwing him in thoughtlessly is still not a good idea (but it is awesome).
• Kommander Orsus Zoktavir (Butcher2): Remember everything you just read about the original Butcher? Yeah, crank that shit up to eleven. Butcher2 hits even harder, and, as an added bonus, hits everything within 2" on all sides when he swings. Lola just got that much sexier, and the Butcher got tankier to match - and he now brings along the Homicidal Maniac ability, which lets him move forward and become a murder-cyclone again every time he kills something. On the other hand, while he's now an absolutely ludicrous personal threat, he doesn't play nice with others and offers very little support to the rest of your army. In order to seize victory as Butcher2, you must take all restraint you have and rip it out of your frontal cortex. There is no subtlety here, no tactical genius, no grand strategy. Just whip that massive dick out and beat your opponent to death with it.
• Kommander Zoktavir, the Butcher Unleashed (Butcher3): Once again, the Butcher has gone completely fucking insane. The Butcher Unleashed is so filled with RAEG that he gives Angron a run for his money. In fact, he is so filled with rage that his pathetic mortal frame cannot contain it all, and he brings a long a pair of two-headed demon dogs to act as extensions of his murder-boner - and he gets EVEN ANGRIER if they die. He doesn't have Butcher2's delicious full-circle attack arc, but he does have the Flashing Blade spell, which means he puts out almost as much damage regardless - and he's much more mobile as well, with an absolutely ludicrous threat range that will make any enemy 'caster shit themselves in terror. Again, he packs no support for the rest of your army. Fuck buffs. The Butcher will ride to victory on his massive ten-foot dick or die trying.
• Kommander Harkevich, The Iron Wolf: An alternative to Karchev the Terrible if, for some reason, you want to run a lot of 'jacks but don't want to play as a dude who gutted one and rides around in it. He brings a lot of different buffs for your warjacks, making them much more mobile and allowing them to fire their ranged weaponry more often than would normally be possible, but his main spell, Fortune, works on both infantry and 'jacks - it lets you re-roll missed attacks, which is incredible.

Warcaster Attachments

• War Dog: A suspiciously pug-looking dog wearing battle armor and dedicated to savaging the ankles of any enemy units that dare come near your warcaster. The War Dog is surprisingly durable, quite threatening on the charge, and comes with the Counter Charge and Return abilities, so anybody trying to sneak up on your warcaster will get a face full of mutt that they won't get a chance to hit back against. For only one point, the survivability increase he offers is a steal.

Warjacks

Khador does not have any light warjacks, save for Scrapjack, who is a special case covered in the Warcaster section (as he's a Companion to the Old Witch). It also has no arc nodes, and its 'jacks tend to have exceptionally low RAT and SPD as well. The only saving grace for Khadoran warjacks is that they are durable as all hell and hit like a ton of bricks in melee, but they still tend to be exceptionally focus-hungry, which means that your average Khador army will only run two 'jacks at the most - and it's not uncommon to see just one.

Your warjacks to exist to do what your infantry cannot. Most of the time, this means killing the enemy heavy warjacks. As such, most of the time what you'll be looking for in a Khador warjack is melee murder power. Your 'jacks will tend to sit around the back line until the enemy 'jacks start getting frisky, at which point you proceed to linebacker them to death. Ranged options are generally not what you need, and aren't as good at downing heavies, so shooty 'jacks don't tend to be used much - especially given Khador's abysmal RAT.

• Berserker: A big metal brute armed with a pair of battleaxes. The Berserker swings with respectable P+S and can do some decent damage to enemy heavies if it hits, and, if both connect, it can Headbutt for free. It also runs and charges for free, making it pretty focus-efficient - which is a damn good thing, because it's otherwise fucking abysmal. Low SPD, low MAT, squishy as far as Khador goes, and it might fucking explode if you try to allocate focus to it so it sucks less. Outside of some extremely aggressive 'jack-focused lists (hello Karchev), not worth the points.
• Decimator: A solid option for a combined arms weapon platform, the Decimator sports a Revolver Cannon and a fuckheug chainsaw. The cannon probably isn't going to do much, since, like all Khador 'jacks, its RAT is in the shitter, but it's a nice bonus. The real reason you take the Decimator is for the saw, which can rip through enemy heavies stupidly fast if you're willing to feed it the focus to do so. Unfortunately, focus comes at a premium in Khador, and there are more focus-efficient heavy-killers available. Far from the worst option available, though.
• Demolisher: A ranged Devastator armed with some powerful AOE guns. Also comes with Gunfighter and the ability to make base-to-base allies immune to blast damage, which is awesome. Otherwise just a Devastator.
• Destroyer: The worst 'jack in the entire Khador lineup. Expensive as all hell, because it tries to excel at both melee and ranged combat - but if it's doing one, it's not doing the other, and you're paying for both, so it's only ever worth half as many points as you paid. The only time you actually want something like this is when you're playing an army specifically built to take advantage of it, particularly if your warcaster is someone like Harkevich who can offset the thing's abysmal RAT. Otherwise, not even worth considering - and even if you do build around it, that means that you aren't building around something better instead.
• Devastator: You only need to know one thing about the Devastator: 25 ARM. Yeah, fuck you. Pain does not exist. This thing trundles around the board in an invincible turtle shell and laughs off pretty much everything thrown at it, but other than being unkillable it really just exists to push enemy models out of the way, because it can't attack without opening its shields and reducing itself to a pitiful ARM 17. It can still trample and slam while keeping the shields closed, though, so have fun with that. Not necessarily the best 'jack out there, but god damn if it isn't awesome.
• Grolar: A relatively new but much-loved 'jack option. The Grolar is based on the Kodiak chassis, so it shares the same basic statline but brings a different weapon set to the table. It's packing a massive hammer with solid P+S and auto-knockdown (awesome), an Open Fist (solid), a giant fucking autocannon with a ridiculous rate of fire (great), and Gunfighter (fucking amazing). It's also quite fast and has Pathfinder, so it's more mobile than most Khador options. On the other hand, it's extremely focus-hungry, particularly if you want to get a decent number of shots out of the gun, and the gun itself isn't any better than a standard Winter Guard blunderbuss, so it's not hitting particularly hard to back up its monstrous rate of fire. Basically, it's a few extra shots during the first few turns of the game and then a melee beatstick for the rest. A solid choice, if not quite the best.
• Juggernaut: The archetypal Khador warjack, and one of your primary choices for heavy-cracking. No frills, all fury. The Juggernaut is slow, tanky, and hits like a goddamn truck in melee due to its Ice Axe. On the other hand, it doesn't bring anything else to the table, beyond the distant chance of Critical: Freeze going off. It's not going anywhere fast, but it hurts like a sonofabitch when it gets there, assuming that it doesn't get tarpitted on the way. A solid choice for heavy armor cracking.
• Kodiak: Another of Khador's primary anti-heavy options, this one trades in a bit of melee power for added speed, versatility, and focus efficiency. It's one of the most mobile 'jacks Khador can field, despite its low SPD, because it has Pathfinder and Heavy Boiler (which lets it run for free). It's hard to slow down, since any infantry without Reach that try to engage it will just explode in a cloud of steam next turn, and since both of its weapons are Open Fists, it has access to a greater range of power attacks than the Juggernaut. On the other hand, it doesn't have an Ice Axe, so it doesn't hit quite as hard - but if both of its Open Fists connect, it gets to make a power attack for free, which makes it surprisingly threatening in a brawl despite its lower P+S. One of the most popular choices for any Khador army.
• Marauder: The Marauder tries to fill the same anti-armor role as both the Kodiak and the Juggernaut, but doesn't perform as well as either. It is neither as mobile or as focus-efficient as the Kodiak, and it doesn't hit as hard as the Juggernaut. Even its Combo Smite ability is inferior to the Kodiak's melee options, since the Kodiak gets to hit with both hands and knock the target away with a double-handed throw or something similar.
• Spriggan: An extremely unusual but very effective 'jack, the Spriggan doesn't have anything even approximating an equivalent in the rest of the Khador lineup. In the right army list, the Spriggan is an irreplaceable and murderously effective machine, but it does have to be in the right list. It isn't as fantastic at cracking heavy targets in melee as the Kodiak or the Juggernaut, and since this is usually what you want your 'jacks to do in a Khador army, it certainly isn't going to fit in every list, but it does bring a powerful lance (which, uniquely among Khador's 'jacks, has Reach and is awesome) and a pair of grenade launchers. Its grenade launchers are primarily useful for their ability to shoot flares at enemies, which strips away Camouflage, Stealth, and clouds and leaves them ripe for shooting by other targets. Its lance, meanwhile, gives it one of the largest threat ranges of any Khador 'jack. It's especially powerful with 'casters that can give it increased mobility. Tricky to use, but it's an invaluable tool in certain strategies.

Character Warjacks

• Beast 09: A Juggernaut variant with an attachment for Sorscha, Beast 09 is an absolute monster in melee even by Khador's standards. It brings that delicious Ice Axe that all Juggernaut users already know and love, but sweetens the deal by throwing in Thresher and Reach, which lets it absolutely shred infantry, and a higher MAT than your standard Juggernaut, making it much more reliable. He gets to move whenever he's hit, he can spend focus for an additional die on attack rolls versus living enemy models, he runs for free, and when he's with Sorscha, he gets to re-roll charge and slam attacks, so he'll almost always connect. Expensive, but he certainly brings the tools to earn his keep. The main weakness is that Beast 09 has a rep, and as such is a giant fucking fire magnet for any enemy with half a brain.
• Behemoth: Big B. The original Colossal, before Privateer Press realized that they could make fuckheug models and charge fuckheug prices. Expensive as all hell, but an absolute terror on the tabletop. It brings a pair of Bombards on top of two Open Fists, all of which are much more powerful than their middling damage would initially suggest. For starters, the Bombards have fantastic range (by Khador standards, anyway), and the Open Fists both have Armor Piercing, so Big B can actually throw down even with high-ARM monstrosities like the Devastator. Then there's the real money: Big B can fire the Bombards while in melee, and can be allocated bonus focus just for them. He's big, he's tanky, and he's going to kill a hell of a lot of shit before he goes down.
• Black Ivan: A slightly less shitty Destroyer. More durable and less terrible at range, but really only worth taking if you're playing Harkevich, since it gets boosted ranged attack rolls while paired with him.
• Drago: Vladimir Tzepesci's personal Berserker. Drago fixes one of the Berserker's main problems by having a MAT score that isn't complete ass. It also doesn't explode if Vladimir is the warcaster controlling it and it uses focus, so that's another of the big issues taken care of, and if it connects with both of its initial attacks, it can just go fucking nuts and turn into a blender that kills everything around it. Awesome if you're running Vlad, and still works if you're using Harkevich, but isn't that great with anyone else.
• Ruin: The Butcher decided that he was not angry enough, so they made him a warjack that is just as angry as he is. Appropriately, Ruin is an expensive but absolutely brutal melee beatstick that will more than likely murder anything it manages to reach. It's got Reach on a Juggernaut-tier melee weapon, it dispels magical effects on anything it hits, it's almost immune to magic itself, it steals the souls of those it reaps and turns them into free focus, and it gets to charge for free (and for extra distance) when in the Butcher's control area... yeah. Basically, if you're playing the Butcher, you can't go wrong with this. For everyone else, it's still damn good. Just expensive.
• Torch: Kommander Strakhov's personal... well, Torch doesn't really have an equivalent among Khador's normal lineup. It's as versatile as the Spriggan, as it brings a flamethrower, a decently powerful Open Fist, and a Sustained Attack murder-saw which will rip through pretty much anything to the board. It's also got Relentless Charge, smoke bombs, Gunfighter, and a handful of other special abilities that make it ideal for pairing up with Strakhov and Assault Kommandos. Since they're all immune to Fire and suchlike, Torch can just let them get stuck in and them pour napalm over the whole melee, cackling madly all the while.

Colossals

• Conquest: An artillery platform so huge it would make Patton shed tears of joy and envy. Throws out a hell of a lot of AOEs with solid POW, but due to its RAT being Khador standard (READ: fucking low) you'll probably be praying for favorable deviations most of the time, assuming that you don't want to shell out a stupid amount of focus for the attack rolls. The frequency of deviation means that it's unreliable at best - but if you don't mind being at the mercy of Lady Luck, it hits hard enough to flatten pretty much anything whenever it does connect.

Units

This is where the meat of your army will come from. Khador loves its infantry, and infantry love Khador. Whatever you're looking for, you'll find it here.

• Assault Kommandos: Anti-infantry stormtroopers with a few tricks up their sleeves. They've got the standard anti-light-infantry gun (RNG 10, POW 10) on top of a grenade launcher alternative that puts down an AOE debuff on any infantry nearby. They're immune to Corrosion and Fire, ignore gas effects and clouds, and come with both Shield Wall and what is functionally Assault on their carbines. Unfortunately, they are not accurate. At all. This makes them extremely situational; if your opponent is running a lot of Fire or Corrosion, they can be invaluable, but if they're not, they're going to be incredibly weak compared to the other options available (and even taking them against an ideal army, they're only debatably as good as the other infantry you could choose).
  • Assault Kommando Flame Thrower: A flamethrower on legs. Since the rest of the Kommandos are immune to Fire, this guy can sit in the back and comfortably spill napalm over his buddies while they mix it up in melee. Unfortunately, he still suffers from low RAT, so that flamethrower probably isn't going to be worth much. He does form the centerpiece of the "Khador Hand Grenade", though; he explodes when he dies, so a 'jack with two Open Fists can just pick him up and chuck him into the enemy ranks for maximum hilarity. Not great, but the expression on your opponent's face is going to be absolutely fucking priceless.
• Battle Mechaniks: They repair your 'jacks. They can also marshal one, but you probably aren't running enough for that to matter. Mandatory for any 'jack-heavy army (so basically for Karchev or Harkevich), meh for anyone else.
  • Battle Mechanik Officer: Lets your mechaniks unscratch Man-O-Wars in addition to warjacks, which means that they're now valuable to anyone dumb enough to run Man-O'-Wars in numbers. Still meh.
• Doom Reavers: Crazed psychopaths chained to eldritch swords that have driven them even further into madness and bloodlust. They murder absolutely fucking everything in melee (including each other, or your other units, if you're not careful - they have to keep attacking if there are targets in range), but they're incredibly squishy and won't actually reach melee very fast, so they need to be escorted there in order to be effective - which can be a little difficult, since they have Abomination and might send your Winter Guard running despite the fact that they're on the same side. They'll either reach melee and clear a huge fucking swath through the enemy lines or die pointlessly. There really isn't any middle ground.
  • Greylord Escort: Expensive, but he makes your Doom Reavers much more workable, since he grants them Tough, keeps them from murdering your dudes, and carries an ice shotgun. If you're determined to make Doom Reavers the backbone of your army, he's a pretty solid UA - but Doom Reavers themselves aren't necessarily the best choice for main damage-dealers that you could make.
• Greylord Ternion: Three wizards for three points. The Ternion is Khador's best option for all-purpose support, as they bring a handful of magical abilities which give them the strength to turn the tide on almost any situation. They can drop clouds to provide concealment and block line of sight, they can apply a DEF debuff to any slippery targets, or they can throw a massive POW 12 ice magic murder spray. Guess which one most people want them for? Don't think they're just there to ice-shotgun people to death, though. The defensive boost they give your army with their clouds is incredibly powerful and should never be overlooked.
• Iron Fang Pikemen: Armored infantry with Shield Wall, high P+S, and Combined Melee Attack, meaning they can prove quite deadly against warrior models and 'jacks/'beasts. They lack ranged attack options, but they're still a solid choice for mainline infantry, as they can actually crack heavy armor if the need arises. Just remember that they'll need ranged support in order to be successful.
  • Iron Fang Officer & Standard: This grants the Pikemen Relentless Charge, improving their threat range against terrain campers considerably, and a mini-feat that lets them take a normal turn, then run together and slam down Shield Wall afterwards. All-around good, if you're running the Pikemen.
  • Black Dragon Officer & Standard: An alternate UA for the Iron Fang Pikemen. Brings Precision Strike rather than Relentless Charge, which isn't strictly the best trade, but trades the good mini-feat of the other UA for a great one that simply makes all Pikemen stupidly tanky for a turn. Another solid option.
• Iron Fang Uhlans: Cavalry that doesn't entirely suck, which makes them pretty much unique in the whole damn game. They hit like trucks on the charge and synergize very well with the various incarnations of Vladimir Tzepesci. Not as great for anyone else, but still usable.
• Kayazy Assassins: A huge mob of sneaky bastards with daggers, the Kayazy are not actually an assassination unit as their name suggests. Rather, they are a secondary threat unit which forces your opponent to commit large amounts of anti-Stealth and anti-DEF capability to deal with them, which forces them out of position and sets you up to capitalize on their disrupted battle line. They are absurdly hard to hit due to excellent DEF, Stealth, and the ability to simply walk out of melee without provoking free strikes, and they can do a lot of damage if they gang up on a target. They can be tricky to use effectively, and certainly don't belong on every list, but in certain scenarios they can be one of the most powerful units in the game. Any warcaster that can cast Iron Flesh makes them much better, as it takes their DEF up to a staggering 17, but they work especially well with any one that also requires someone to run interference on the flank. They will, however, crumple under any sort of pressure from anyone that can actually hit them, as their ARM is as low as their DEF is high. It's essential to keep them away from anyone who can inflict knockdown or stationary.
  • Kayazy Assassin Underboss: Mandatory for anyone running the Kayazy. The Underboss grants the entire unit a further +2 DEF in melee, which makes them even harder to get rid of than before, and adds a mini-feat which allows them to simply walk through enemy models for a turn. This turns the Assassins into a threat that your opponent cannot ignore and forces them to commit even more resources to their removal. Send them running up a flank while your main army swings around the other side.
• Kayazy Eliminators: A pair of more elite Kayazy Assassins, the Eliminators leave the aggro-tank tendencies behind in exchange for actual assassination power. Their SPD and DEF are both higher than the standard Assassins', which makes them staggeringly mobile and nearly unkillable in melee, since they come with Parry, Side Step, and Duelist. They can also walk through enemy models all the time, instead of just the turn when the Underboss decides to use his ability. Unfortunately, since they share the Assassins' weakness of evaporating under blast damage, rely on Gang for hitting power, and only come in groups of two, they're probably not going to get much done before one or the other gets blown to shreds and leaves the other one standing around and looking sad.
• Kossite Woodsmen: Iron Fangs or Winter Guard. Pick one. Not these guys. They suck.
• Man-O-War Bombardiers: A terribly useless unit, unfortunately. They suffer from all the drawbacks that the rest of the Man-O'-Wars have - slow as rocks, expensive as all hell, pathetic RAT, low DEF, and fierce competition for the role that they want to fill - with none of the slight strengths that the others bring. They try to work as anti-medium-infantry units with decent melee capability, but Khador has far better options for clearing infantry of any size at range, and their melee prowess doesn't actually exist. They'll never hit anything at range, and when they hit something in melee, it doesn't hurt as bad as it needs to.
• Man-O-War Demolition Corps: Man-O'-Wars with hammers. Like the rest of their power-armored brethren, they suffer from a range of crippling weaknesses. In this case, the main issues are their incredibly low SPD, lack of DEF, and incredibly high points-per-model cost. They hit like monsters in melee, and can deal with both high-DEF and high-ARM targets with equal ease, but they'll never get there unless your opponent is completely brain-dead. They waddle. And it doesn't actually take much to bring them down; even cheap light infantry can kill them with a massed charge, and they can't do anything to stop themselves absorbing huge amounts of concentrated fire as they slog their way across the tabletop. You will lose them too early for them to be effective, and that means you just sank a huge number of points into a unit that did jack shit.
• Man-O-War Shocktroopers: Perhaps the only Man-O'-War unit worth using, the Shocktroopers are essentially Khador's light 'jack equivalents. They're still very slow, they're still very expensive, and they're still rocking that shitty DEF, but these guys have Shield Wall to mitigate the worst of the fire they'll be taking. This makes them the only variant of Man-O'-Wars that can actually tank decently, so long as you support them, and they still hit damn hard in melee to boot. Irusk2 in particular synergizes quite well with them, as he can slap them down in front of his army's squishy ranged units and fire away, or have them escort a unit of Doom Reavers to the front. Very situational, but they do have their place.
• Widowmakers: Heavy infantry's worst nightmare. All the ARM in the world doesn't matter against the Widowmakers, as they can simply deal one point of damage through any amount of armor provided that their attack connects - and it usually will, since they're rocking a solid RAT 7 before aim bonuses. They're quite possibly the game's only true sniper unit, as they have excellent range and are quite hard to dislodge from cover due to Camouflage. On the other hand, they only get one shot per turn apiece, and there are only four of them per unit, which means that they're less effective against massed light infantry and targets with larger health tracks. They're also quite expensive, so they do need to be protected, but with proper positioning and planning, they can shatter your opponent's main infantry and hand you the game.
• Winter Guard Infantry: The rank-and-file troopers of the Khadoran military, the Winter Guard aren't so much effective as they are numerous. Their statlines are frankly abysmal, with low MAT, RAT, and ARM making them mediocre in combat and prone to dying en masse to even the lightest artillery fire. However, the Winter Guard are actually one of the most effective units that a Khador player can field, and they form the centerpiece of many armies. While they are individually very weak, the Winter Guard have a tremendous number of buffs that can be stacked onto them, taking them from "shit" to "actually okay" - and since there are so fucking many of them, that makes the unit as a whole a complete bitch to deal with for the enemy. While they'll never be the most elite infantry on the field, they will get shit done, and cheap.
  • Winter Guard Officer & Standard: Pretty much mandatory if you're fielding the Winter Guard Infantry, if for no other reason than it's two more bodies to throw into the grinder. That isn't the only reason, though; the Officer and Standard Bearer come with a host of special rules that make the Infantry as a whole much better. For starters, they bring Combined Melee Attack to add to the Infantry's innate Combined Ranged, which makes them much more of a threat on the charge. The real attractions, though, are Grape Shot and the Bob And Weave order. Grape Shot turns all your Infantry's blunderbusses into spray weapons, which is a nice boost for clearing out enemy light infantry, while Bob And Weave is a fantastic general-use order that gives all Infantry +2 DEF for the round, greatly increasing their survivability.
  • Winter Guard Infantry Rocketeer: A fantastic Weapon Attachment for the Winter Guard Infantry. You can take up to three of them, and you should. The RPG they bring is just too juicy to ignore, as it gives the Infantry a way to threaten targets that would otherwise laugh off their assault. Since another Infantry model can pick up the rocket launcher if the Rocketeer dies, they're also pretty hard to get rid of.
• Winter Guard Field Gun Crew: A giant anti-materiel rifle with great range and solid POW. It can mess up lighter 'jacks and at least wound the heavier ones, but it needs to be protected. Generally outclassed by other options in larger games, but paired with the rest of the Winter Guard, it can definitely be effective.
• Winter Guard Mortar Crew: Absolutely absurd range, great POW, and a 4" AOE. The biggest weakness of the Mortar is that it's firing at RAT 5, which means that it isn't going to hit jack-all most of the time. It can be effective at clearing out light infantry, but the Winter Guard already does that well enough. Not terrible, particularly if you want to keep Kovnik Joe around, but there are better options for those points.
• Winter Guard Rifle Corps: Standard Winter Guard Infantry, but outfitted with long-range rifles instead of the standard-issue blunderbuss. They still aren't going to hit anything, because Winter Guard RAT is shit, but they come with a handy board control ability that lets them place a damaging AOE on the board to discourage enemy infantry from entering.

Character Units

• Great Bears of Gallowswood: A unit of Iron Fang badasses wielding huge axes instead of pikes. Each of them comes with a slew of special abilities that makes the unit as a whole more effective. They can definitely be a useful unit, but the problem is that, the moment one of them drops, the unit as a whole becomes much less effective. They can work, but you need to be careful about it and not just charge in mindlessly.

Solos

• Iron Fang Kovnik: Essentially a UA that can be stuck on to any unit that uses the Shield Wall order, whether that be Assault Kommandos, Iron Fang Pikemen, or Man-O'-War Shocktroopers, despite his name indicating that he's an Iron Fang. He's a fantastic support solo if you're running any of the above, as he makes them much faster while Shield Wall is up, hits reasonably hard in melee, is fairly durable, and makes friendly Iron Fangs immune to knockdown. He's also a 'Jack Marshal, though that's not an ability you'll use often. He's there as a positioning tool, and it's something he does exceptionally well.
• Koldun Lord: Essentially an alternate Greylord Ternion with a focus on 'jack support. He grants friendly Ternions the ability to toss out a free spell after hurting something in melee, but this will rarely come into play; he really exists because he's a 'Jack Marshal who can give free focus to warjacks. He's good at what he does, but again, Khador doesn't tend to run too many 'jacks. He's useful if you're going Harkevich or Karchev, though.
• Manhunter: Steampunk Spetznaz or Russian Conan. Take your pick. Also comes in Russian Red Sonja if you prefer your axe-wielding barbarians female. Quite mobile, and can do a lot of damage in melee, but other than Stealth, it lacks protection from enemy fire - and since it's pretty squishy, that's a bad thing. Most of the time it'll die without doing anything of note, but they can be a lot of fun.
• Man-O-War Drakhun: An absolutely stupidly durable tank. He isn't going to do too much damage, since he's only one man, but he will soak an absolutely ludicrous amount of bullets before finally hitting the dirt. Useful for holding a position, but not much else.
• Man-O-War Kovnik: Another one of those rare Man-O'-Wars that can actually be quite useful, the Kovnik is an excellent support solo. Like a lot of other Khador solos, he's a 'Jack Marshal first and foremost, and he's probably the best one available due to his Drive granting his 'jacks a serious accuracy boost, which solves one of Khador's main issues. He's also quite tough and a respectable melee threat. Well worth the points if you need a meat wall backed up by a Kodiak.
• Widowmaker Marksman: Effectively a Widowmaker UA who can be taken alone, the Marksman is a Widowmaker with higher RAT, which means that he'll be hitting pretty much anything. Everything said about the Widowmakers applies here, with the additional comment that he gives them the ability to retreat back to cover after taking a shot, which increases their threat range greatly and makes them more survivable.

Character Solos

• Fenris: A more powerful Doom Reaver on a horse. He's much more mobile than your standard Doomies, which solves one of their main issues and turns him into a frightening assassin with the proper support. On top of this, he's an absolutely retardedly strong melee combatant, which is to be expected of a Doom Reaver on steroids. However, like all Doom Reavers, he's an absolute fire magnet and he isn't the toughest solo around.
• Kovnik Andrei Malakov: Khador's journeyman warcaster is an excellent choice for a dedicated 'jack commander, with two excellent spells at his disposal that make him both a personal threat and a great source of buffs for his 'jacks. If you absolutely must have a 'Jack Marshal, take him. He's a great deal for the points.
• Kovnik Jozef Grigorovich: Probably the single best character solo available to Khador. Kovnik Joe is simply too good to pass up for any army running the Winter Guard Infantry. He makes them work. In addition to being a Commander himself, which can keep the grunts in line if the leadership gets sniped, Kovnik Joe hands out buffs to any Winter Guard unit you want to be more effective. Want your Winter Guard Infantry to not die so easily? He gives them Tough. Want them to actually do some damage in melee combat? Done. Want them to be able to hit the broad side of anything? Fucking please. Kovnik Joe has your back. Kovnik Joe will never let you down. Kovnik Joe is love. Kovnik Joe is life.
• Uhlan Kovnik Markov: Basically an Iron Fang Uhlan UA. He hits hard, he makes your Uhlans more mobile, and he renders them effectively Fearless. If you're taking Uhlans, you really can't go wrong.
• Yuri the Axe: A character Manhunter who loves forests and is better at clearing massed infantry than assassination runs (though he can still do the latter fairly well if necessary). Unfortunately suffers from the tragic, crippling disability of exploding when anything of substance connects, like all his brother Manhunters.

Battle Engines

• Gun Carriage: A horse-drawn tank with more guns than the entire state of Alabama. It comes with two giant cannons that leave rough terrain craters wherever they hit and a sniper sitting on the roof to pick off any survivors. Mobile, durable, packs a punch. A solid choice if you can find the points to spare.