Mad Dog
The first of the new jacks based on the Berserker chassis, the Mad Dog has exactly the same stats as it's predecessor whilst costing one point less. It has two hammer spikes rather than war axes, losing two power and the chain attack benefit.
It retains the Berserker's characteristics of Aggressive and Unstable, meaning it can run or charge for free, but if it spends focus, it has a chance of blowing up.
It also has two additional rules on the card. Jury-Rigged allows it to spend one focus to gain +2 SPD, but take a point of damage to its movement system at the end of activation. Crusher gives free trample attacks and an additional die to trample attack rolls.
Khador warjacks are renowned for being slow, but Mad Dog joins the growing list of jacks like Grolar and Ruin who have inbuilt speed buffs. Coupled with one of the many Khadoran Warcasters who have mechanisms to speed up our jacks, Mad Dog can be a fast and focus-efficient addition to the forces of the Motherland.
A Mad Dog run by Andrei Malakov can be a very effective flanker. Cast Redline and then upkeep in subsequent turns for +2 SPD and STR and run it down one of the two sidelines. It can quite happily operate independently for the rest of the game, running, charging, and trampling for free. Trample whenever possible, ideally through backline support; with an additional die on trample attack rolls it should hit most small based models.
If you need extra speed for an especially long trample or charge, couple with a caster with Boundless Charge and give it a focus for Jury Rigged. It can now charge thirteen inches, or run sixteen. Of course there is a one is six chance that it will blow up, but that's Khadoran engineering for you.
At five points, the Mad Dog is very good value, and will start to be seen in quite a few different lists, particularly if it comes in a multijack kit that can be magnetized with...
Rager
Another new warjack based on the Berserker chassis, Rager is the first Khadoran jack with Shield Guard. Again boasting the Berserker stat line and the prerequisite abilities of Aggressive and Unstable, Rager is an in-faction alternative to other mercenary shield guard solutions previously used by Warcasters requiring a bullet magnet to stand next to them.
Rager is equiped with a Gladius, giving it a P&S half way between a Berserker and Mad Dog, a Shield (of course) and a Shield Cannon. Although it's priority is unlikely to be offence, it can certainly come into play late-game, and is as focus efficient as it's two brethren.
The only reason you'll be taking this jack is to provide your caster with a shield guard, a job it fulfills admirably with 31 damage boxes and the addition of a shield taking it up to armour 20. Compare this to a Vanguard who loses a point of armour and five damage boxes or a Bokur with three less armour and only has eight health, though obviously at half the cost. The big selling point is that the meagre 6 points you have to spend can come out of your warcaster's jack allowance, and being a non-character faction warjack it is allowed in most tier lists.
Ruin
With increased point cost comes increased killybility, as Uncle Pete used to say. Now that the bargain basement jacks are done, we move on to the big boys. Ruin is the character warjack of Orsus Zoktavir in all his incarnations. If you're running any flavour of The Butcher, chances are you'll be taking Ruin with him.
Based on the Kodiak chassis, Ruin has much the same statline but with greatly increased MAT and slightly lower RAT. In terms of armament, he still has one open fist, but clenched in the other is a Black Iron Mace featuring +2 POW, reach, magical weapon, and dispel! That's quite a package right there. Gone is the heavy boiler and steam attack, but Ruin has plenty of other rules to make up for that. If in Butcher's control area he gets Boundless Charge for free. He carries an Orgoth Seal which decreases the range of magic attacks against him and inflicts damage to the caster on successful attacks. Note this is not the same as Doom Reaver's Spell Ward, meaning Ruin can be targeted by friendly spells.
The final ability is without doubt the best. Soul Taker means that Ruin gains souls, up to a maximum of three, from enemy models destroyed within two inches of him. These can be spent that turn (or saved for later turns) to buy or boost attacks. They are in addition to focus, so Ruin can have three focus and three souls at the same time. These souls can come from Ruin's own attacks, or those of friendly models, as long at the enemy model that was destroyed was within two inches. This provides some great synergy with Butcher 3, who can use Impending Doom to drag enemy models within range and preload Ruin with souls before his is activated.
Ruin is an incredible warjack for the same points cost as a Spriggan, with the ability to put out serious damage on both multiple infantry and heavies or collossals. The combination of dispel and souls means that whatever ends up within 2 inches of Ruin is unlikely to survive.
Victor
And so we finally come to the really big boy, our new collossal, Victor. I'll be honest right from the start here, I'm conflicted over Victor for two reasons. Firstly I really dislike the notion of casterkills by lucky deviation, especially if they take three turns of continuous fire to achieve. To me, that isn't the Khadoran way. Secondly I've spent so long getting Conquest into a viable list, it just doesn't seem fair that the new kid on the block so quickly resigns him to the dusty top shelf of the game room.
Victor is very similar to his other brother Conquest, with identical stats and costing one point less. Melee weapons are the same, whilst the ranged weapons have changed dramatically. Instead of the Main Guns and their critical knockdown Victor is primarily armed with a Siege Mortar. On the plus side, five inches more range, arcing fire, an inch larger AOE, and three special effects to choose from is very nice. Unfortunately a minimum range and innacurate means it won't be hitting much, especially if it's standing on the doorstep. The special abilities are varied. The most obviously useful is continuous fire. Flare gives models hit -2 DEF, and crater creates an area of rough terrain, both of which could be useful situationally, but not that often. Secondary autocannons lose two inches of range, the AOE, and the barrage ability, but gain D3 shots and Flak Fire, which gives an additional die when trying to hit flying targets.
So Khador now have the ability to set things on fire. I'm sure Victor will see some play, as it loses nothing really when compared to Conquest and is a point cheaper. He certainly allows Harkevich to run a three collossal list which will look incredible on the table, and should be lots of fun to play!
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