Battle Box Review #1: Khador

Welcome back. Now let's get into the juicy part of this blog: the Battle Boxes. When I review each one, I will mainly focus on their effectiveness against other Battle Boxes and expansion up to a small point level. Before reading any of these as a beginner, I suggest having either the Rulebook or Quick Start rules in front of you.

Contents:

Kommander Sorscha - Your Warcaster. She wields Frostfang, a polearm with Reach, along with her Hand Cannon, a powerful single-shot gun.

Juggernaut - A slow, Heavy Warjack with an Ice Axe, one of the most powerful melee weapons in the game, and an Open Fist, opening up the possibility of Throws.

Destroyer - Another slow, Heavy Warjack with an Executioner Axe, which has the ability to shear off the arms of another Warjack in one hit, and a Bombard, a high-powered 3" AoE.

Pros:

• Khador has the strongest, toughest and most durable Warjacks in the game and this Battle Box is no exception.
• An incredibly mobile Warcaster with very high DEF when buffed thanks to Wind Rush.
• Anything hit in melee by either Warjack will feel it.
• While the RAT on the Destroyer is low, the stray blast may take a few points of damage off an enemy Warcaster or Warlock. If you have a way of ensuring the hit against them though, you can boost your damage to cause mayhem.
• Sorschas is a one-trick pony that ends the game when it happens properly. She feats, shoots with her Hand Cannon at the enemy Warcaster than casts two boosted Razor Winds. Even applies in larger games.
• Fog of War upkeep for Concealment will help save some points of damage on you until your lines hit. Keep in mind it can affect enemies too, so drop it if you plan on causing direct hits.
• The Juggernaut's Ice Axe will make enemies Stationary on a crit, but don't rely on it. Think of it as a blessing, rather than something to aim for.
• Boundless Charge on your Juggernaut with 3 Focus will destroy almost anything it hits. Doing this will only leave Sorscha on 1 Focus, not enough to cast another spell, so be careful for retaliation.

Cons:

• Will be outnumbered in every single Battle Box matchup by at least one Warjack or Warbeast.
• The Warjacks are Focus intensive if they wish to cause serious damage. They are also incredibly easy to hit, only bumped up to an average DEF with Fog of War.
• Only two Warjacks and a fragile Warcaster means you will have gaps in your 'line'. Combine this with your low speed and you really need to watch out for fast flankers.
• Sorscha's average FOCUS means you will have to decide between survival and causing damage with your Warjacks.
• Only one spell will have direct synergy with either of your Warjacks: Boundless Charge.
• No Arc Node means Sorscha will have to put herself in danger to cast offensive spells. Even buffed to high DEF with Wind Rush, she will have to be careful because if anything hits her, she is going to feel it.
• As above, one-trick pony. Once an enemy has fought you a few times, they will know her only real offensive combo.
• She has a very expensive single-target Stationary spell, which will leave her with only one Focus if you boost to hit.

Khador Battle Box versus:

Cryx: You will be outnumbered 3:5 against a Warcaster with (in my opinion) a better spell list, Stealth, a more powerful feat (especially at this point level) but with only slightly less survivability. Be grateful that Deneghra is easier to hit than Sorscha. Your only advantages in this matchup are that your ‘jacks will absolutely thrash anything they hit in melee and even a stray AoE will do some damage to their jacks with lucky rolls. The problem is hitting them. Watch out for the Slayer, or gang up on it quickly, as it can and will ruin a Khador Heavy in one turn. If you get Crippling Grasp on your Juggernaut, game is over with him as they can just run circles around him. You’ll have to gun straight for Deneghra in this match up and hope for some luck with good terrain OR play attrition by taking out the ‘jacks one by one. The latter is a much riskier option, especially if the arc nodes get around your flank.
Retribution of Scyrah: While at first glance, Kaelyssa does not look like a powerful opponent, her feat combined with her Focus/Fury draining abilities makes her an excellent one to set up the assassination. Sorscha's high DEF, courtesy of Wind Rush, combined with the Retributions lack of knockdwns (outside of power attacks) means you might have a chance of surviving an assassination attempt Arcanatrik Bolt is something you need to watch out for, especially with your low FOCUS with which to shake Stationary with. If either of your Warjacks makes it into contact with one of theirs, it's as good as dead. While not as much in comparison to Cryx, these guys will be able to run rings around you in this matchup. The Griffon is not something to underestimate. It is commonly described as a speeding missile. It's a fairly accurate description. A Focus 3 Griffon charging into Sorscha, boosting to hit and damage, will severely cripple her, if not kill her with a lucky damage roll. The Manticore is not an ideal Warjack for this matchup. Covering Fire is unlikely to do much damage to anything besides Sorscha, who should be far enough back not to be concerned about it. Just be careful of the Force Generator + Combo Strike, which will deal 13 points of damage to one of your Warjacks on boosted damage rolls on average. If all three gang up, they can take one of your 'Jacks down in one turn with some luck. The Arc Node Chimera is just a bit of a pain, rather than a serious threat, as Sorscha should be sitting on at least DEF 18 most turns and not have to worry too much about it.

Protectorate of Menoth: This matchup is an almost certain win if you know the rules. As mentioned in the first post, Menoth rely on synergies with support units to turn their average models into unstoppable models. With no support units in their Battle Box, Menoth are going to have problems. The only thing really redeeming them is Kreoss' Lamentation, forcing you to pay twice as much for spells. With expensive spells and average FOCUS, Sorscha will have to hang back to not be affected by Lamentation (where she should be anyway). His feat is a game ender, much like yours. Even if you don't die on his turn, you will have to spend half your Focus to get Sorscha and your two Warjacks running at full effectiveness. The Repenter is barely worth mentioning, as the Battle Mace will cause minimal damage to you and the Flame Thrower is not going to do heaps here. If Sorscha does get hit by it and suffer the Continuous Fire effect, then she will have to worry. The Revenger is also going to struggle to do much here. The Arc Node advantage is good, but it isn't going to change the game a lot. It just allows Kreoss to stay back and let his Warjacks get beaten further away from him. With the same or lesser stats in comparison to your Heavies, the Crusader will suffer. The only thing you may have to worry about is it running up to Sorscha after she gets knocked down on Kreoss' feat turn.

Cygnar: A similar lineup to that of Menoth, but these guys will actually be able to do something. While Stryker may suffer from a less powerful feat than Kreoss, it still is handy to have. Watch out for bunching up your two Warjacks to be hit by the Earthquake AoE and be knocked down. That, combined with Disruption on his two weapons, means at least one of your Warjacks will be flopping around like a dying fish. What Stryker lacks in direct damage (though he still can), he more than makes up for by buffing up his Warjacks with Snipe (on the Charger), Blur (on the Lancer) and Arcane Shield (on the Ironclad). The Charger is designed to take out tough infantry or Light Warjacks. You possess neither, so it will struggle against you. That said, Earthquake plus full Focus Charger on Sorscha equals dead. The Lancer gives Stryker and Arc Node to play around with, letting him Earthquake from a safe distance. Get your Destroyer to take this guy out as quickly as possible from range, as the ability to take out your Cortex systems will cause serious problems without the ability to repair. The Ironclad is something to watch out for. While less powerful than your Juggernaut in melee, the abilities it possesses make it more powerful than the statline suggests. Critical Knockdown is a nice ability, but Tremor (2" emanating knockdown) is amazing, especially if you're unlucky enough to have both your Warjacks hit by it.

Skorne: A force that begins with the Tier 1 bonus - Pathfinder for all models on the first turn of the game. It's certainly something worth remembering. Like Sorscha, Morghoul is on the further end of the bell curve in DEF. Stray AoE's are going to hurt him badly with some good damage rolls. Like Madrak, he suffers from having some abilities that see no real use in this matchup. He can buff up his beasts, but is going to hurt them doing so. He is a killer in melee and suffers no Free Strikes, so if you managed to get Sorscha knocked down with him in charge range, you had better have camped 6 Focus. The two Cyclops Savages are going to be a pain, but will be unlikely to cause any serious damage to either of your Warjacks. Future sight being granted through the animus to the Titan or Morghoul is going to cause some serious pain through Fury efficiency. The Titan Gladiator is a Slam king, being able to shift things easily out of Sorscha's control range of 12", or just beat the heck out of anything it connects with. Watch out for Morghoul in this matchup as he is the real assassination threat. It won't take much to kill him though and with no ranged weapons and only one offensive spell with POW 12, he won't be contributing much if he hangs back.

Circle Orboros: Another poor matchup for Khador. One of the fastest factions against one of the slowest. Though Kaya is considered amongst the worst of the Circle Warlocks, she actually contributes quite well to this battlegroup. Her inherent ability, which grants a bonus to attack rolls to warbeasts, almost guarantees they will not need to boost to hit Khador DEF, except of course, for Sorscha. Her Sprit Door runs are actually dangerous, where the Feral and an Argus can charge in, do some decent damage to one of your Warjacks, and teleport back like nothing happened. Your Destroyer will be the favourite here, as stray AoE’s WILL hurt Kaya, especially if boosted. The Feral is your #1 target here, as he alone can easily rip up one of your jacks in a single turn, maybe even almost two if yours are debuffed with Spirit Fang. The Arguses (Argii?) are not the best in this matchup. They lack any real offensive capabilities, besides granting Kaya Fury to leach and debuffing with Doppler Bark, which they must hit Sorscha with in the first place. Your only real chance of winning here is to take out the Feral quickly and try to corner Kaya, because until you do she can constantly be taking away points of damage with spirit door. The only other serious option is the one-trick pony directly on Kaya herself. If that doesn’t work, say good night because there's a big bad wolf breathing down Sorschas neck...

Legion of Everblight: An interesting matchup. Facing no less than four Shredders may seem daunting, but they cannot take too much damage before being ineffective or dying. Boosted damage AoE's from the Destroyer will make their time on the table top short. The Carnivean is another story altogether. This thing is one of the few things that will make a Khador Heavy shake in its boots. Lylyth is going to suffer in the matchup, with only Parasite and her bow to save her. If the Carnivean charges a 'Jack with Parasite on it, it's toast. Lylyth will rely on hitting Sorscha herself, otherwise she will do little to no damage to you. Keep that Wind Rush up.

Trolls: A good matchup. Though Trolls are typically the toughest faction and the strongest, they aren't when compared to the Khador Battle Box. Their Light Warbeasts can still hit hard, but your Warjacks will hit harder. The Juggernaut will out-damage the Axer and the Destroyer will out-damage and out-range the Impalers in melee and at range. However, don't forget you are outnumbered and the Impalers have Critical Slam (with the option to boost). Madrak's feat doesn't do all too much in this matchup, as if you lose one of your Warjacks then it's likely you have lost the game or are about to. Stranglethorn on your Juggernaut will be a problem, though just making an advance to engage the enemy will still serve a purpose. Some of Madrak's abilities do nothing in this matchup, especially against Warmachine. Make the most of it.

Expansion to 15 points:

Coming in at 11 points, you can do a little, but not much, to get to 15 points. You have the option of two solos or small unit. Most would recommend a unit of Widowmakers, a deadly unit of four snipers. This gives you a few extra bodies on the battlefield, a serious assassination and anti-infantry threat. Under Sorscha's Fog of War, they go up to ridiculous DEF levels. While I do not own these myself (thanks to the worldwide stock issues), I know their capacity to cause serious pain. If you have the same problem myself or they just don't do it for you, I would recommend a Manhunter and a Widowmaker Marksman. The Manhunter is a serious melee threat with stealth, but can suffer badly from stray AoE's. The Widowmaker Marksman causes even more pain than regular Widowmakers, but gives you only one body for half the point cost of four Widowmakers.

Finally, in the words of a 'wise' man, "Watch out for nothing but the tears of your opponents on the floor, you could slip over - you're Sorscha :)"

Thanks go to the Adelaide Warmahordes community for suggestions.