Hey all,

As I have now played quite a few games, I am really starting to hone in my tactics a little and have hit a hurdle that i now want to jump!

Playing khador, I am finding it hard to get that big caster kill.. finishing off what the army is ultimately quite good at doing.

I have found that if I hit combat in the right areas, I am coming up trumps, losing a few units along the way also, BUT without arc nodes I am struggling to end games with any speed or losing them myself towards the back end.

I am yet to field this FULL force, but have been running variants of it up to about 30pts, as many opponents, like myself are still building their forces.

Here is what I have been toying with however for a 35pter

Kommander Sorscha (+5)
Loving using her, she offers concealment in the way in & some goodies like Pathfinder charges & a Full advance then Pop the Feat to make everything Stationary, Which ultimately wins me the big battle in the middle.
I have found myself saving her feat mostly until I have my jacks engaged and can ensure 3-4 opposing jacks/units can be brought down or crippled in one bloody turn. This has been working, But then i always find it a Big chase and with her low Focus, makes casting at other warcasters a bit hard, to push for that warcaster kill.

War Dog 1pt - Not in the 35pt list, but have been using alot at lower points.
Finding this fellow very useful for his points, he does a bit of cleanup work for me.

Doom Reavers 6pts
I really like these models So have persisted with them. they have required finess, But the longer I use them the more I am loving them, They really do hit like a tonne of bricks, and with Concealment & Not being able to be targetted by spells are better at getting to combat then I thought.
Fenris 5pts
YET to field this guy

Great Bears 5pts
I will admit, I am struggling to use these guys to their real effectiveness. They are yet to see decent combat, as they are often a big target early on. I did fail to remember a couple of rules across the few games I have used them however.

Widowmakers 4pts
I do like this unit, I have mucked around with their role within the force, but I find them very useful dealing with infantry.

ManHunter 2pts
This chick I am not sold on yet, Is it worth 2 points?! that is the question at this stage.

Juggernaught 7pts
I really like this Jack, happy with it and its points cost

Beast09 11pts
Yet to use, have tried as a regular



So yeah, Would love advice on How exactly most Khador players go about this. There is obviously a technique to it, Maybe it is in the list design? I have got some other ideas, such as introducing a bit more of a ranged element.
Or perhaps I just need to work out the synergies between what I already have?

You need to decide what you want your list to do from the offset- generally it's a choice between going for scenario victory or assassination, and either way, you need to design your list specifically to enable that.

Sorscha's feat is her kill condition- Stationary means you want to take things that hit HARD, because you're going to have an easy time hitting. Generally speaking, if you're designing your list for assassination, you'll want to take some ranged elements to ensure you can hit the 'caster wherever they are. Destroyers and Behemoth are good 'jacks for her to take, because a boosted shot from 2 Destroyers can really put a dent in most 'casters. To add to that, two mortars gives you anti-infantry ranged attacks normally, and their horrendous accuracy is mitigated somewhat by Stationary. Finally, Eiryss (either Prime or Epic) can be added to the mix to ensure defensive upkeeps and focus can be stripped

Every list has the rock to it's scissors- mix your list up and play with different things to get a feel for what trumps what.

EDIT:
Manhunters are great for flanking and herding the opposing 'caster where you want.

The Bears are great, but they come with a huge target on their head. My preference is too keep them slightly behind my lines as a counter charging threat, or use them as bait to force my opponent to try and take them out.

I'll just add- the best assassins have a way to mitigate the major assassination defenses (High Defensive, High Armour), combined with some form of maneuverability (which can come from stalling the opponent/limiting their options or just plain making your stuff faster/giving it out of turn movement).

Exactly, and you can bank on a list that will always have a few default means of caster kill.

I always found Sorscha to be not quite the front line caster, she is best supporting the troops who are hitting making the first blows and waiting for her time. She is mobile, a great assassin and carries a very wicked feat (even tho its a little lesser in Mk2). So units like Doom Reavers and Iron Fangs worked wonders with her for me. They can tie up alot of troops and the IFP are so effective for their price in points. You want units who can bring the ruckus to the enemy and make full effect of her feat.

Certain jacks are great too, and the Jugger is one. Cheap and reliable. The Destroyer is another that works well with her feat, freeze the enemy caster then rain then kill with a boosted hand cannon shot from Sorscha and a boost bombard shot from the Dessy. And of course heaps of others, Kodiak, Devastator etc And unlike the units, jacks not only hit hard but will stick around for a while so can force their way into engaging or trapping the opponents caster.

So working with Sorscha I think you need 1-2 hard hitting units (speed, POW, arm) and at least 1 jack, that gives Sorscha options in trapping or killing other casters, or taking down the opponents units to enable her to shut down the enemy caster.

The Beast is a brutal jack, I faced it for the first time recently. It scored TWO 2nd turn caster kills over three games. You might find it better suited to Irusk or Strakhov (sp?), to boost its speed. Its a horrible thing to face, fellatio from a great white shark is less painful.


I would drop the Great Bears and maybe trim something else for a more versatile/stable unit like IFP or assault kommados.

Sorscha can be a tricky caster to use....her feat seems like everything is simple. The real trick to getting BIG mileage out of Sorscha is learning to use her spells. It is a pity that she only has 6 focus, because she has two of the best spells in the entire game: Freezing Grip and Tempest.

Now, both of these are 4 focus to cast, but you should budget for 5 (boost attack roll) as your REALLY need these to work.

I never use Freezing Grip on Warcasters or Warjacks, while it works for your turn the primary gain (removing the models following activation) is lost for the small price of 1 focus. This spell does however punish units. You effectively take the unit out of the game for 1 turn. Knock them down as well and things get interesting. I use Freezing Grip as a defensive tool...or simply to buy time, you can shut down an attack by freezing the offending unit in it's tracks.

Tempest is all sorts of awesomeness. 4" AOE, all models cop a POW12 (no half POW blast damage here) and all models in the AOE are knocked down. A bargain for 4 focus...but the spells range is rather short. The key to this is the knockdown. As knocked down models do lot block LOS, you can use this spell to open up Warcasters to Sorscha's feat.

As far as the other models you are looking at.

Wardog: a solid choice for the meager 1pt costing. I find that my Wardog spends most of it's time counter charging arcnode warjacks (once engaged they cannot channel spells).

Manhunter: The solid hitting power of 2 P+S11 weapon master axes is great. My Manhunter normally works wide around a flank (along with my Widowmakers). Used this way they provide mutual support...the Manhunter kills off melee solos trying to get the Widowmakers and in turn, the Widowmakers kill off units well out of the Manhunters reach.

Beast 09: sure, it is a very expensive warjack....but for good reason...it can kill any living warcaster in the game with relative ease. Coupled with the fact it can wipe out large numbers of living infantry. As icing on the cake, the axe is still a massive P+S19...so it trashes warjacks just as well (if not better with reach) as a regular juggernaut.