Frej’s Horn

With the 3rd edition of WARMACHINE and HORDES on their way Privateer Press is running a continuous Hype train straight into Lock and Load. We’ve been privy to a massive amount of spoilers, but even these leave plenty to the imagination.

Today, we had our first look at actual models. The cards for the Mountain King, Eiryss 2, the Slayer and the Trencher Infantry were spoiled in their entirety, and there is a ton to digest. Lets take a look, shall we?

Slayer:

• Added Construct Icon  – This was always an inborn rule with warjacks. Now, decoupled and/or made more explicit, it could open up more rules or interesting design space. I suspect that this is because of monstrosities being Living warjacks
• Lost Helljack Moniker – I assume this is going to be called out in fluff pieces. It was a cute nickname, but was unnecessary to understanding the rules
• Melee Weapons now Have RNG Stat. All are 1 – This is really interesting. I’m not sure How I feel about it, but I see the purpose. I know that lots of people have had problems with the extremely small melee ranges that most heavy warjacks have, and doubling it from .5 inches to 1 inch may go a long way.
• PC 10 – based on the Doubled Points position, this is a bit of a discount. was 6 in MKII, (12 FVP – Future Valued Points) and is now 10 (5 in MKII Points). This i’m not particularly thrilled about. Its a cheap jack, I get that, and the Power up mechanic makes it slightly more attractive, but being cheap doesn’t make it good.
• Added Hard Head (from Titan Gladiator) – This is a callback to the old Tusk and Head Spike rule, and its pretty cool. I like that it has it, but I don’t know that I’ll ever use it.

Overall, I’m not terribly pleased with the Slayer. Fortunately, this isn’t a big let down because the slayer in MKII just wasn’t impressive either. Instead, he is cheaper, with a pair of slight buffs. There may be a job for him in the future, but I can’t really see what he does, other than be a cheap, bullet ridden heap of metal. Well, not even that with the Wreck Markers gone.

Mountain King:

• Added Icon for Assault – I assume the rule will be a little easier to understand, with it being an Icon. I like it, overall. Its a fairly ubiquitious rule that allows for easy reference.
• Added Icon for Pathfinder – All Gargantuans and Colossals had Pathfinder innately, but they were not part of the card. Adding it to the card is, in my opinion, simply clarifying so no one has to ask.
• +1 Mat (now 6) Thankfully, his meagre MAT was amped up to tolerable levels, enabling him to actually hit a couple targets now and then. A welcome change
• RNG 2 on its Big Meaty Fists – He always had Reach before, but with reach gone, the RNG 2 makes it clear.
• PC 36 – This is a touch of a discount of of the FVP that were expected. 36 puts him at 18 MKII points, which is pretty solid. He’s worth it, but does not seem required.
• Lost Terror – Everything did. Looks like there isn’t going to be a replacement.
• Gained Gunfighter – While Gargantuans and Colossals could shoot into melee prior, it was a rule that was limited to those models. Now, they seem to have simplified and just given them Gunfighter.
• Animus Changed to Rage – Big, badass warbeasts should have a good animus, and thats one that will do it.
  • Animus now have Duration Stat – Lets you know exactly when and how it expires. another piece of information that is welcome on a card
• Gained Bulldoze – Perfect for a giant Death Troll. I almost don’t understand why this isn’t on every Colossal or Gargantuan
  • Bulldoze wording changed. Normal Movement instead of During Activation. This matters very little, because Normal Movement is only during an activation, but there ways to gain additional movement that he will not be able to bulldoze during.
• Kill Shot now triggers on any enemy model, not simply living – One of the best changes. SImply making it so that if he kills a model, any model, that you can make an awesome RNG 10 pow 16 spray attack? Yes please.
• Snacking Changed. Now you choose to RFP, and if you do, you then heal. – another overdue change. While its still limited to living, Trolls and Legion just gained an enormous boost when it comes to RPF tactics
• Gained Deafen on Deadly Roar. – While this comes into play fairly infrequently, when it does, it is going to be awesome. Boosting to hit a killshot or assault shot on a Mountian King with Puppet Strings (hopefully that stays, right?) in it against a Caster to then lower their defense for the rest of the army seems extremely good!

Overall, I love the massive changes to the Mountain King. It seems like he gained significantly in the Hurtin’ department and will likely see many more tabletops. I don’t however, feel that the points cost and power level that he represent have much of a dichotomy. I am sad that you can, fairly easily, fit two of these giant bastards into a list while having some 35 points to play with. That should be two units and two solos, easy. I think the changes befit the most derided of all released gargantuans.

Trencher Infantry

• Gain Tough – While I am surprised, I think its perfect for the unit. Supposedly hard as nails and gritty soliders from the worst parts of the country.
• Gain Assault Icon – Again, this is great as an Icon as it should all be very similar
• Gain +1 RAT (now 6) – Ugh. Last thing I need is accurage Trenchers, but Magnus The Warlord should really enjoy them.
• RNG 1 on their Melee attacks – This represents their long rifles, I suppose. I cannot begrudge them that it is not really a close combat weapon, but not quite a Spear either.
• 10/16 points. Mildly equal to 5/8 – this is a solid discount. If translated from now, they would be a 12/20 unit. they deserve it.
• FA changed to U. – uh. What! This is another not-pleased moment. I really wanted them to reign back on the FA, not open it up! this gets an F+ from me, though I will wait it out to see how bad it really is.
• Dig In looses Man Made or Solid Rock qualifier – Good.
• Smoke Bombs are now centered on the model – Interesting. I am sure people will figure out some way to abuse this, but it seems a lot harder to do, currently, as if you are within someone elses smoke cloud, but definition, they are in yours.
• Gained Brutal Charge – Excellent change. I love the complete common sense behind this bayonet charge that allows them to really get in there. P+S 11 charges aren’t terrible!

This is a really good transition. This unit was reviled to play against in MKI, where they were the scourge of many an existance. In MK II, they lost almost all of their luster for a very long time, due to being expensive to field, difficult to use correctly, and not particularly effective. This seems to address all of the iniquities from both editions.

Eiryss, Angel of Retribution

• Lost both Character and Epic monikers – Character I understand, as she is already designated as a character in her FA. Epic I am not so sure of. I am curious why and how they did that.
• Gained Assault – I remeber the bad old days of MK I where Eiryss could shoot me from 22″ away. Well, now it seems she can again. This time, though, I’m not as terrified for my life.
• Lost Fearless – Again, she seems to have gained nothing for its loss.
• Gained Magical, Blessed, and disruption on all three weapons. – This is pretty nasty. Blessed weapons and Magical weapons will keep her hitting everything out there at its base defense, and as the preeminant hunter of mages and arcanists, I can appreciate that she would have those abilities, even if it makes me a little nervous.
• Gained Weaponmaster on her Melee Weapons – She had this in MKI, and I always forgot that she lost in in MK II, I assume it was a valuation decision, now, as with a deeper granularity, she is able to regain her melee prowess.
• 6 points – Exactly the expected FVP. nothing to see here.
• Partisian Changed to be Templated – This is interesting, as I can see the Ally rule going away and being replaced with this. The format and effect are pretty much the same, so I don’t see how they justify keeping them separate.
• Gained Reposition 3 – Another templated ability that I really like. Light Cav will definitely have this, and it will likely be granted to the Iron Fang Pikemen standard for the Minifeat, and if I remember properly, musicians as well.
• Gained Spellbreaker – This is easily the best change out of all four models. This one ability is my favorite. Now, it works on ranged and melee, but it only dispells upkeeps, leaving animi and non-upkeep spells alone. It does, however, give the player with the upkeep in question a choice: Loose the spell, or take damage. Depending on a number fo factors, this could be a game wining or losing decision, too! Three thumbs up in my book. well done.
• Gained Witch Hunter – This is bonkers, and also awesome. the combination with stealth is really nasty, as you have to figure out a way to deal with her or she can very well just shoot a whole unit of battle mages off the board
• Gained Purgation – if she didn’t have enough. Purgation works extremely well if the target is casting spells, or if they want to try and save themselves. this puts the player with the upkeep in an additionally painfun position, as she can potentialy do an additional 3d3 damage from Spellbreaker, along with her other weaponmaster attacks and purgation bonus, if they want to keep a spell up on them for later
• Lost Arcane Interference
• Lost Camoflauge
• Lost Sniper
• Lost Technological Interference
• Lost Wiplash
  • All of these work for me. She has transitioned into a killer of Mages from a utility and harrassment piece. I would not say she is better or worse, simply that she has taken her job to a more direct approach. Instead of enabling the casters death by the rest of the army, she simply wants to get right up in their guts.

All have date and Version tag int he upper right

• This seems to be a great way to keep up to date with the cards if they have errata. you can just make sure you have the latest version and move on!

I’m pleased with most of the changes, though sadly I see my slayer suffering something bothersome. Hopefully I will get an awesome whatever that happens to hide in the 3rd edition rulebook. Till next time!