Karchev Quickie

Sadly, not the title of a new harlequin romance novel from Skull Island Expeditions (but I am open to writing it if PP sends me an email.)

This is reference to the list idea posited by Nigel Brooks in Muse on Minis Episode #171. That list tries to answer a question I've been unable to adequately resolve for a few years now:

How can one make a Karchev list that doesn't suck?

More after the break.

The premise is simple, and one that I kicked around when Malakov was spoiled: Tow just says "friendly warjack", so Karchev can Tow around any 'ol warjack he wanders near. This is nothing new - it's been that way since about forever, but it hasn't mattered much because the only warjacks you could bring were either a) in Karchev's battlegroup (with all the limitations that imposes) or b) Merc warjacks, marshaled to something random.

Malakov opens up the door for some interesting Tow set ups. He can fully fuel a warjack on his own, so no longer do you have the problem of Karchev's battlegroup showing up on empty. Redline triple buffs with threat range extension, free charge, and +2 STR. Combine that with Tow and you have one helluva missile that you can drop off where you need it.

Nigel's list takes it a step further: toss in a Grolar and you can get KD on a key target like a warcaster or a warlock, which lets your Redline warjack absolutely go to town. Against a bigger single target like a colossal, you stand a pretty damn solid chance of taking it apart - three 18's (one boosted) from the Grolar and four 21's from something like Beast-09 - and you'll kill the hell out of an opponent's heavy in most cases.

Nigel unfortunately didn't share the entirety of the list he tried out (or, more specifically, that Crump tried out for him,) but the core of it was:

Karchev the Terrible (*5pts)
* Grolar (9pts)
* Devastator (9pts)
* War dog (1pts)
Greygore Boomhowler & Co. (Boomhowler and 9 Grunts) (9pts)
Kovnik Andrei Malakov (3pts)
* Beast-09 (11pts)

Which I like a lot. The Devastator I'm 50/50 on, but the only thing I'd swap it for would be a Demolisher; I think a clamjack helps a ton with Karchev because it gives you a scenario stall model if you need it, and anti-infantry explosions otherwise. He also had Madelyn in there, but based on just that snippet I don't really understand why. She can't move Karchev, nor does she do much for Malakov. Maybe there's something else in the list that I'm missing an interaction with.

I like this stub quite a bit. It's based on being super aggressive, which is 90% of the reason to play Karchev. This starter leaves you with 13 points to fill out the rest of the list, which is enough to sneak in a little extra Karchev support, harassment, etc. Maybe something like:

Karchev the Terrible (*5pts)
* Decimator (9pts)
* Devastator (9pts)
* War dog (1pts)
Battle Mechaniks (Leader and 5 Grunts) (3pts)
Greygore Boomhowler & Co. (Boomhowler and 9 Grunts) (9pts)
Tactical Arcanist Corps (4pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)
Kovnik Andrei Malakov (3pts)
* Beast-09 (11pts)
Ogrun Bokur (3pts)

Real rough cut, with an eye on keeping Karchev a little more protected on the approach (Eiryss1/2 is no good,) and TAC to protect Malakov (since the whole operation kind of goes belly up if he dies.) The TAC could just as easily turn into Ternion, which I like for additional anti-infantry, but that's also a little tenuous since the only things they can Blizzard are Andrei, Karchev, and the warjacks. Still, that may be enough. Mechaniks are in there for early game damage insurance, and additional Sac Pawn targets.

Looks like a very fun list, and I'm definitely going to try it or something similar soon. Karchev was the model that got me into Khador back in the day, and I'd love to have a list with him that I actually feel good about on the table.