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| Now with more plastic/resin! |
Join me after the break for thoughts about the Man-O-War Drakun, it's place in the meta, and where it can be useful in your Khador lists.
The Man-O-War Drakun has a lot of things in common with other Khador melee combat solos: it has a high MAT (fairly exceptionally high at MAT 8), it hits hard (P+S 14 Weaponmaster), and it has Reach. Like it's Man-O-War brethren it's DEF is poor (11) but unlike most Man-O-War it actually has a pretty solid ARM to offset that (19 mounted, 17 dismounted).
What really sets the Drakun apart are all the things that come with being a cavalry solo. It has a high SPD (7) for such a hard hitting, decently tough model. It has one of the hardest hitting mounts in the game (POW 14) with critical Knockdown which makes it's impact attacks very dangerous (especially when combined with MAT 8). The Drakun also has Combat Rider, so it can make use of that powerful attack even on turns it doesn't charge, and giving it a decent melee output most turns.
The mounted Drakun has two more rules that round out it's excellent suite of abilities: Steady and Counter Charge. Steady is one of those rules that isn't always useful (it can be fairly hit-or-miss if your opponent has any Knockdown effects at all), but it's a lifesaver when it comes up. Counter Charge plays into the Drakun's aggressive-denial approach, and has a few different applications (that I'll hit on later).
Counter Charge is a rule that can seem useless - canny opponents will try to tie up the Drakun before moving into range, or stay 6.01" away - but even if your opponent is able to mitigate or avoid Counter Charge, the Drakun's position is still dictating how they have to move around it. Subtle board control, but you take whatever board control you can get in Khador.
Finally, the Drakun has the distinction of being the very first Dragoon model in the game, and it's still one of the better ones from a durability perspective. Your opponent needs to deal with 10 damage boxes at ARM 19, then deal with 8 more damage boxes at ARM 17, with any damage on the mounted version being lost to the ether. Harder hitting models are likely to take the Drakun down very quickly, but even moderately powerful melee infantry can be stymied by it's durability for a round or two (especially if they're really jammed up). And the Drakun's preferred targets - ranged or hybrid models, which typically have a medicore-to-low melee output - will be extremely hard pressed to deal with the Drakun directly.
When dismounted, the Drakun loses Steady and Counter Charge (as well as all it's cavalry rules) and it's SPD and ARM drop (to 4 and 17, respectively). However, the dismounted Drakun is still a very accurate, hard hitting melee model that your opponent probably won't want to ignore (most obviously if it's already in melee or can charge/run into melee). Whether or not you choose to take the dismount option for the Drakun varies by what your purpose is for him in the list (more on this later), but it's hard to argue about the value of the solo you get for 1 point.
Lastly, don't forget that the Drakun (in both versions) still has a Shield Cannon (of Shocktrooper infamy). It's not a particularly impressive attack - great POW but low RNG and mediocre RAT - but it does give the Drakun something to use on turns when it either can't reach it's target after a full advance (and running into combat is ill advised), or when you can leverage ride-by attacks for a little hit-and-run skirmishing before diving into combat.
Rule Quirks To Bear In Mind
A quick list of rule related quirks that are good to be aware of when using the Drakun:
- The Tall In The Saddle cavalry rule only applies to melee attacks. No ignoring models when shooting the Shield Cannon!
- Also related to Tall In The Saddle: it does not allow you to engage models that you do not have LOS to, nor can you make freestrikes against those models (reference).
- Counter Charge cannot be used when you are engaged, but it's totally fine to use when you are engaging. This isn't likely to come up often - once the Drakun is stuck in enough to engage enemy models, it's usually pretty easy to engage it and shut down Counter Charge - but it's an important distinction to keep in mind.
- As with all Dragoons, you can place the dismounted Drakun anywhere in the area occupied by the mounted version's base. This is harder to leverage than it is with Dragoons with small based dismounts, but it can still be possible to dismount the Drakun in such a way as to prevent follow up attacks. Keep an eye out for situations where a model ended up at the full extent (or nearly so) of it's melee range, and try to place the Drakun as far back within the allowed area as possible.
- When counter charging with the Drakun, don't forget about impact attacks! It can net you extra kills against infantry models, extra damage against heavier targets, and once in a rare while you'll get a lucky critical and knock down something like a heavy warnoun, screwing up their activation entirely.
Using the Drakun
The Drakun enjoys a bit of flexibility in the role it can play in your list, thanks to it's suite of stats and abilities. That flexibility is what makes the Drakun such a good investment: although you may include it for one reason, it can audible to other jobs if you end up needing those gaps filled in other match ups, or as the situation changes in game.
To illustrate all that the Drakun brings to the table, here is a (by no means exhaustive) list of the different roles a Drakun can fulfill:
- Cruise Missile: Very straightforward, and a good "default" plan of use with the Drakun if you're not sure what else to do with it. The Drakun has one of the best charge attacks available in Khador - 12" range, effective MAT 10, P+S 14 + 4d6 damage - which makes it a great model to either soften up or finish off hard targets in your opponent's army. The Drakun also hits hard enough with it's free strikes that your opponent isn't going to want to risk taking one (especially after eating the charge), which forces them to work to free up that model if they want to do anything else with it.
Thanks to the relative durability of the Drakun, it can often require an entire turn of attacks from an enemy heavy to remove. Even if it does nothing else, sinking around 30 damage - ARM into an enemy heavy, then tying it up for a turn, is usually worth the Drakun's investment.
- Ranged Unit Jam: Another thing that the Drakun is well equipped to do thanks to it's stat line and abilities is run screaming towards a significant ranged component of your opponent's army and tie up as much of it as possible. The Drakun is fast enough to close the distance with most shooting units after two turns of running, it's ARM 19 and 10 damage boxes makes it difficult for most ranged units to consistently deal with, and it's MAT 8 makes it's melee attacks as accurate as you can get against the higher DEF units (such as Nyss or Gun Mages).
Once it gets stuck in, the Drakun can work through most ranged units at a decent pace thanks to Combat Rider, and even the dodgiest units will be sweating the MAT 10 free strikes it threatens. Even the more combat capable shooting units are going to have to really pile into the Drakun to kill it, and having the dismounted option may give you an extra turn of tying them up (since ranged units don't have the necessary Reach to ensure they'll easily get follow up attacks on the dismounted model).
Counter Charge also makes the Drakun uniquely suited to harass shooting models. As few (no?) ranged units have Reach, the Drakun can more easily threaten counter charges if your opponent isn't mindful of how they move. If you're able to anticipate where the unit may want to move, you can position the Drakun such that it threatens counter charges to where the unit wants to move, which in turn limits your opponent's movements. Even just moving one model in to stop counter charging is removing one ranged attack from the unit, and the Drakun can easily keep killing models and then tying up more thanks to ride by attacks.
- Anti-Cavalry Jam: Cavalry units rely on charging to deal optimal damage. While the Drakun has lower threat charging threat than most cavalry units (being equal to the slowest cavalry units), it's "run and engage" range is 3" further than the charge threat range of all current (unbuffed) cavalry units. If you're the aggressor (i.e. you had the first turn of movement) you can often use the Drakun to create a zone on the table where your opponent can't afford to commit their cavalry, or force them to send support along with the cavalry to try to ward off the Drakun. Either way, you're forcing your opponent's hand.
How useful this tactic is depends on what kind of cavalry you're up against. It is most effective against many of the original Warmachine cavalry units - Storm Lances, Uhlans, and Vengers - which isn't surprising as the Drakun was developed in tandem with those units. This tactic is probably also alright at jamming up Long Riders (though they're tough enough to potentially survive free strikes with a little luck) and Ferox (assuming you ever see them, and they can Leap out of combat). It is least useful against the still-relatively-new Bane Riders, thanks in large part to their freestrike immunity. The best you can hope for with the Drakun is to block charge lanes, but you're probably better off going a different route altogether against that unit.
This tactic is also semi-useful against light cavalry units, though they're often harder to anticipate and catch due to their ranged attacks and higher mobility. Against these units, the Drakun is probably most effective against the Flamebringers and Soul Hunters, thanks to them being melee only. The other light cavalry units are likely to be harder to catch - and some, like Raptors, hit hard enough to deal with the Drakun on their own - but it can be worth throwing the Drakun at them regardless to give them something to sweat about.
- Anti-Melee Jam: This is a bit different from the cavalry jamming tactic, largely because it's often a suicide move for the Drakun (sacrificing it for time/board positioning). While cavalry units can have a hard time dealing with the Drakun due to their rules (and the small size of the unit), regular or heavy (i.e. 8 wound) infantry models can often deal with the Drakun much more easily due to volume of attacks, having multiple models, rules such as Weaponmaster/Gang/Dark Shroud/Battle Driven, etc. Moreover, it can be difficult for the Drakun to tie up significant portions of the enemy unit due to the ease with which most units can spread out, so even tying up a sufficient number of models can be tricky.
Bearing all of that in mind, it can still be worthwhile to do this if it will stall your opponent in a way that is going to help you in the long run. This is most likely to be the case with smaller units (many medium based infantry) or enemy heavies/colossals. They are very likely to kill the Drakun the turn after it jams them up, but that can often throw off where they want that model/unit to be, and command a disproportionate resource commitment. Forcing your opponent to spend a 10+ point model's activation to just remove a Drakun can be valuable in and of itself.
If you jam the Drakun into melee against a colossal, your opponent isn't going to be excited about committing it's entire activation to beating the Drakun to death. At the same time, the colossal's ranged attacks aren't going to easily remove it (especially if they want to use the primary gun(s) elsewhere), and the Drakun prevents the colossal from aiming while it's in melee with it.
- Counter Charge Threat: In situations where the Drakun cannot proactively harass the enemy (due to distance, threat saturation, terrain, etc) it can still potentially cause your opponent some consternation by threatening counter charges in key areas of the table.
The trickiest part of this tactic is positioning the Drakun appropriately. You want it in a position where counter charge will trigger in the first place, but you also don't want to position it so aggressively that it will be either tied up/charged directly. This is usually easier to manage when you're trying to threaten counter charges against a small number of targets - the first wave of an infantry unit, a solo, a warnoun, etc.
Something important to bear in mind with this use of the Drakun: most of the time, you won't be getting counter charge opportunities in this way unless your opponent has no other choice (or extremely poor alternatives), or if the effect of the counter charge is likely to be minor (killing one or two infantry models). Don't get discouraged! Just having the Drakun in place is probably forcing your opponent to change their plans to account for it, even if it seems like they aren't. And in situations where the Drakun's counter charge has low output (which will likely be most of the time) it's still extra output from it, in addition to whatever it can do on your turn.
- LoS Blocker: This is another role the Drakun can serve while waiting for an opening. Although it isn't as durable as, say, a heavy warjack, the Drakun is still rather durable and provides a Steady, large base for things to hide behind. The Drakun is also a good target for a Ternion cloud if it has the dismount option. Your opponent will have to remove both models before getting rid of the cloud, making it much more reliable than many other potential blocking models.
- Flanker: Although it lacks the follow-up moves of light cavalry or any real ranged weapons, the Drakun still makes an excellent flanking model. SPD 7 is still more than enough to allow it to swing wide around an enemy army and start putting pressure on backfield models, and thanks to it's statline the Drakun can be a significant threat to ranged models hanging back, support solos, and warcasters.
- Bullet Magnet: This is a passive, unwritten rule on the Drakun's card, and one of the reasons it can be discouraging to use until you become familiar with how opponents can react to the big guy. Players familiar with the Drakun are going to try to neutralize it before it can do whatever it's best job will be that game; aggressively so if they're relying on ranged elements they don't want harassed. The easiest way to do that is to dump ranged firepower into it until it stops moving, and unfortunately the Drakun is pretty susceptible to that due to a low DEF and lack of any anti-shooting tech.
All that said, sometimes the Drakun can earn it's keep just by absorbing shots on the approach that you don't want going into other important parts of your army. Although ranged attacks are the easiest way to take the Drakun off the table, that doesn't mean it's "easy" to do so: ARM 19 with 10 damage boxes still takes a concerted effort to bring down. It's likely that the Drakun will eat a couple of boosted shots/CRAs before it goes down, which in turn means that something else in your list wasn't taking those shots. And sometimes you'll get lucky and the Drakun will tank more ranged attacks than expected, either leaving you with it alive, or forcing your opponent to over-commit to removing it.
Noteworthy 'Casters
It is worth noting that the Drakun's suite of abilities is potentially useful with every 'caster. However, there some 'casters that have special synergy with the Drakun. In no particular order:
- Strakov: Strakov's feat allows the Drakun to charge from waaaaaay down town which in turn allows the Drakun to either dig really deep, or hang back a little further the turn before (thus being somewhat safer). The Drakun can also easily get around to a flank which can open up interesting opportunities with Strakov's feat (as it gives a bonus for friendlies charging enemies in his feat aura).
While the feat interactions are nice, the Drakun also works well with Strakov because it a) doesn't rely on the feat to have a solid threat range, and b) doesn't even necessarily need to charge to be effective (as compared to something like Uhlans). The Drakun can also do a fine job of harassing the ranged models that Strakov's army doesn't want to be dealing with.
- Vlad2: The Drakun is one of, if not the, best feat targets for Vlad2. It makes fantastic use out of all the stat bonuses - under Vlad2's feat the Drakun screams across the table, hits harder than most heavies, and ends up being able to absorb a remarkable amount of punishment. And you can double down on the feat bonuses by having the dismount option!
- Vlad3: Having a model that interacts with Vlad3's feat is nice, though it's not terribly potent. What is nice, however, is what Dash does for the Drakun - bumps him up to "normal" cavalry threat levels, and gives it immunity to free strikes (which opens up interesting opportunities after the lines clash).
Also, Vlad3's original theme list is (as of this posting) the only way to run two Drakuns. Which certainly sounds like a fun time.
- Sorscha2: This one is fun due to the damage multiplication of her feat. Throw in Boundless Charge for additional threat range and Pathfinder, and Sorscha2 can get one of the nastiest Drakun charges in all of Khador.
- Butcher2: If you're going outside of Butcher2's theme list, both Dragoons are excellent choices as their high SPD, MAT, and hitting power allow them to threaten a wide variety of targets under his feat turn (including 'casters/'locks). So long as you can manage the feat aura correctly, you can have either Dragoon run into position, pick up three feat tokens, then advance and dump attacks into a target.
Fenris has a higher SPD and a better ability to generate multiple feat tokens himself, but the Drakun has the benefit of being more durable on the approach with a higher P+S attack (most important for the feat, since you only get one attack during that sequence).
Closing Thoughts
I've really fallen back in love with the Drakun, after a long time of not using it. Part of it was having to get over the difference between what it was capable of in Mk. 1 and now, and part of it was also that I didn't really have a role for it in most of my lists.
Now, however, there are plenty of ranged units showing up, some of which Khador can't count on being able to tank through/out shoot (Incindiarii are a big problem, and Gun Mages are never fun to deal with). I've found a lot of value in having the Drakun around as a model I can throw into those units to tie them up, or at least run at those units and force my opponent to react. The versatility of the Drakun ensures that, unlike other options I've considered in the past, it doesn't end up being "dead points" in very many match ups (if any).
I'm currently running a Drakun in both of my Steamroller Khador lists, and I really appreciate having it. I've been tempted to change those lists up several times, but each time I end up keeping the Drakun in because it very rarely disappoints.
So if you, like me, have had the Drakun lingering in the case for awhile, dust it off and give it a spin. Or, if you've never put it on the table before, give it a shot. The Drakun is still a very relevant and useful part of Khador's arsenal, and it has been particularly valuable for me in solving some match up issues.
Plus it's nice to have a Man-O-War model that isn't a crushing disappointment on the table.
Thanks very much for reading!
What really sets the Drakun apart are all the things that come with being a cavalry solo. It has a high SPD (7) for such a hard hitting, decently tough model. It has one of the hardest hitting mounts in the game (POW 14) with critical Knockdown which makes it's impact attacks very dangerous (especially when combined with MAT 8). The Drakun also has Combat Rider, so it can make use of that powerful attack even on turns it doesn't charge, and giving it a decent melee output most turns.
The mounted Drakun has two more rules that round out it's excellent suite of abilities: Steady and Counter Charge. Steady is one of those rules that isn't always useful (it can be fairly hit-or-miss if your opponent has any Knockdown effects at all), but it's a lifesaver when it comes up. Counter Charge plays into the Drakun's aggressive-denial approach, and has a few different applications (that I'll hit on later).
Counter Charge is a rule that can seem useless - canny opponents will try to tie up the Drakun before moving into range, or stay 6.01" away - but even if your opponent is able to mitigate or avoid Counter Charge, the Drakun's position is still dictating how they have to move around it. Subtle board control, but you take whatever board control you can get in Khador.
Finally, the Drakun has the distinction of being the very first Dragoon model in the game, and it's still one of the better ones from a durability perspective. Your opponent needs to deal with 10 damage boxes at ARM 19, then deal with 8 more damage boxes at ARM 17, with any damage on the mounted version being lost to the ether. Harder hitting models are likely to take the Drakun down very quickly, but even moderately powerful melee infantry can be stymied by it's durability for a round or two (especially if they're really jammed up). And the Drakun's preferred targets - ranged or hybrid models, which typically have a medicore-to-low melee output - will be extremely hard pressed to deal with the Drakun directly.
When dismounted, the Drakun loses Steady and Counter Charge (as well as all it's cavalry rules) and it's SPD and ARM drop (to 4 and 17, respectively). However, the dismounted Drakun is still a very accurate, hard hitting melee model that your opponent probably won't want to ignore (most obviously if it's already in melee or can charge/run into melee). Whether or not you choose to take the dismount option for the Drakun varies by what your purpose is for him in the list (more on this later), but it's hard to argue about the value of the solo you get for 1 point.
Lastly, don't forget that the Drakun (in both versions) still has a Shield Cannon (of Shocktrooper infamy). It's not a particularly impressive attack - great POW but low RNG and mediocre RAT - but it does give the Drakun something to use on turns when it either can't reach it's target after a full advance (and running into combat is ill advised), or when you can leverage ride-by attacks for a little hit-and-run skirmishing before diving into combat.
Rule Quirks To Bear In Mind
A quick list of rule related quirks that are good to be aware of when using the Drakun:
- The Tall In The Saddle cavalry rule only applies to melee attacks. No ignoring models when shooting the Shield Cannon!
- Also related to Tall In The Saddle: it does not allow you to engage models that you do not have LOS to, nor can you make freestrikes against those models (reference).
- Counter Charge cannot be used when you are engaged, but it's totally fine to use when you are engaging. This isn't likely to come up often - once the Drakun is stuck in enough to engage enemy models, it's usually pretty easy to engage it and shut down Counter Charge - but it's an important distinction to keep in mind.
- As with all Dragoons, you can place the dismounted Drakun anywhere in the area occupied by the mounted version's base. This is harder to leverage than it is with Dragoons with small based dismounts, but it can still be possible to dismount the Drakun in such a way as to prevent follow up attacks. Keep an eye out for situations where a model ended up at the full extent (or nearly so) of it's melee range, and try to place the Drakun as far back within the allowed area as possible.
- When counter charging with the Drakun, don't forget about impact attacks! It can net you extra kills against infantry models, extra damage against heavier targets, and once in a rare while you'll get a lucky critical and knock down something like a heavy warnoun, screwing up their activation entirely.
Using the Drakun
The Drakun enjoys a bit of flexibility in the role it can play in your list, thanks to it's suite of stats and abilities. That flexibility is what makes the Drakun such a good investment: although you may include it for one reason, it can audible to other jobs if you end up needing those gaps filled in other match ups, or as the situation changes in game.
To illustrate all that the Drakun brings to the table, here is a (by no means exhaustive) list of the different roles a Drakun can fulfill:
- Cruise Missile: Very straightforward, and a good "default" plan of use with the Drakun if you're not sure what else to do with it. The Drakun has one of the best charge attacks available in Khador - 12" range, effective MAT 10, P+S 14 + 4d6 damage - which makes it a great model to either soften up or finish off hard targets in your opponent's army. The Drakun also hits hard enough with it's free strikes that your opponent isn't going to want to risk taking one (especially after eating the charge), which forces them to work to free up that model if they want to do anything else with it.
Thanks to the relative durability of the Drakun, it can often require an entire turn of attacks from an enemy heavy to remove. Even if it does nothing else, sinking around 30 damage - ARM into an enemy heavy, then tying it up for a turn, is usually worth the Drakun's investment.
- Ranged Unit Jam: Another thing that the Drakun is well equipped to do thanks to it's stat line and abilities is run screaming towards a significant ranged component of your opponent's army and tie up as much of it as possible. The Drakun is fast enough to close the distance with most shooting units after two turns of running, it's ARM 19 and 10 damage boxes makes it difficult for most ranged units to consistently deal with, and it's MAT 8 makes it's melee attacks as accurate as you can get against the higher DEF units (such as Nyss or Gun Mages).
Once it gets stuck in, the Drakun can work through most ranged units at a decent pace thanks to Combat Rider, and even the dodgiest units will be sweating the MAT 10 free strikes it threatens. Even the more combat capable shooting units are going to have to really pile into the Drakun to kill it, and having the dismounted option may give you an extra turn of tying them up (since ranged units don't have the necessary Reach to ensure they'll easily get follow up attacks on the dismounted model).
Counter Charge also makes the Drakun uniquely suited to harass shooting models. As few (no?) ranged units have Reach, the Drakun can more easily threaten counter charges if your opponent isn't mindful of how they move. If you're able to anticipate where the unit may want to move, you can position the Drakun such that it threatens counter charges to where the unit wants to move, which in turn limits your opponent's movements. Even just moving one model in to stop counter charging is removing one ranged attack from the unit, and the Drakun can easily keep killing models and then tying up more thanks to ride by attacks.
- Anti-Cavalry Jam: Cavalry units rely on charging to deal optimal damage. While the Drakun has lower threat charging threat than most cavalry units (being equal to the slowest cavalry units), it's "run and engage" range is 3" further than the charge threat range of all current (unbuffed) cavalry units. If you're the aggressor (i.e. you had the first turn of movement) you can often use the Drakun to create a zone on the table where your opponent can't afford to commit their cavalry, or force them to send support along with the cavalry to try to ward off the Drakun. Either way, you're forcing your opponent's hand.
How useful this tactic is depends on what kind of cavalry you're up against. It is most effective against many of the original Warmachine cavalry units - Storm Lances, Uhlans, and Vengers - which isn't surprising as the Drakun was developed in tandem with those units. This tactic is probably also alright at jamming up Long Riders (though they're tough enough to potentially survive free strikes with a little luck) and Ferox (assuming you ever see them, and they can Leap out of combat). It is least useful against the still-relatively-new Bane Riders, thanks in large part to their freestrike immunity. The best you can hope for with the Drakun is to block charge lanes, but you're probably better off going a different route altogether against that unit.
This tactic is also semi-useful against light cavalry units, though they're often harder to anticipate and catch due to their ranged attacks and higher mobility. Against these units, the Drakun is probably most effective against the Flamebringers and Soul Hunters, thanks to them being melee only. The other light cavalry units are likely to be harder to catch - and some, like Raptors, hit hard enough to deal with the Drakun on their own - but it can be worth throwing the Drakun at them regardless to give them something to sweat about.
- Anti-Melee Jam: This is a bit different from the cavalry jamming tactic, largely because it's often a suicide move for the Drakun (sacrificing it for time/board positioning). While cavalry units can have a hard time dealing with the Drakun due to their rules (and the small size of the unit), regular or heavy (i.e. 8 wound) infantry models can often deal with the Drakun much more easily due to volume of attacks, having multiple models, rules such as Weaponmaster/Gang/Dark Shroud/Battle Driven, etc. Moreover, it can be difficult for the Drakun to tie up significant portions of the enemy unit due to the ease with which most units can spread out, so even tying up a sufficient number of models can be tricky.
Bearing all of that in mind, it can still be worthwhile to do this if it will stall your opponent in a way that is going to help you in the long run. This is most likely to be the case with smaller units (many medium based infantry) or enemy heavies/colossals. They are very likely to kill the Drakun the turn after it jams them up, but that can often throw off where they want that model/unit to be, and command a disproportionate resource commitment. Forcing your opponent to spend a 10+ point model's activation to just remove a Drakun can be valuable in and of itself.
If you jam the Drakun into melee against a colossal, your opponent isn't going to be excited about committing it's entire activation to beating the Drakun to death. At the same time, the colossal's ranged attacks aren't going to easily remove it (especially if they want to use the primary gun(s) elsewhere), and the Drakun prevents the colossal from aiming while it's in melee with it.
- Counter Charge Threat: In situations where the Drakun cannot proactively harass the enemy (due to distance, threat saturation, terrain, etc) it can still potentially cause your opponent some consternation by threatening counter charges in key areas of the table.
The trickiest part of this tactic is positioning the Drakun appropriately. You want it in a position where counter charge will trigger in the first place, but you also don't want to position it so aggressively that it will be either tied up/charged directly. This is usually easier to manage when you're trying to threaten counter charges against a small number of targets - the first wave of an infantry unit, a solo, a warnoun, etc.
Something important to bear in mind with this use of the Drakun: most of the time, you won't be getting counter charge opportunities in this way unless your opponent has no other choice (or extremely poor alternatives), or if the effect of the counter charge is likely to be minor (killing one or two infantry models). Don't get discouraged! Just having the Drakun in place is probably forcing your opponent to change their plans to account for it, even if it seems like they aren't. And in situations where the Drakun's counter charge has low output (which will likely be most of the time) it's still extra output from it, in addition to whatever it can do on your turn.
- LoS Blocker: This is another role the Drakun can serve while waiting for an opening. Although it isn't as durable as, say, a heavy warjack, the Drakun is still rather durable and provides a Steady, large base for things to hide behind. The Drakun is also a good target for a Ternion cloud if it has the dismount option. Your opponent will have to remove both models before getting rid of the cloud, making it much more reliable than many other potential blocking models.
- Flanker: Although it lacks the follow-up moves of light cavalry or any real ranged weapons, the Drakun still makes an excellent flanking model. SPD 7 is still more than enough to allow it to swing wide around an enemy army and start putting pressure on backfield models, and thanks to it's statline the Drakun can be a significant threat to ranged models hanging back, support solos, and warcasters.
- Bullet Magnet: This is a passive, unwritten rule on the Drakun's card, and one of the reasons it can be discouraging to use until you become familiar with how opponents can react to the big guy. Players familiar with the Drakun are going to try to neutralize it before it can do whatever it's best job will be that game; aggressively so if they're relying on ranged elements they don't want harassed. The easiest way to do that is to dump ranged firepower into it until it stops moving, and unfortunately the Drakun is pretty susceptible to that due to a low DEF and lack of any anti-shooting tech.
All that said, sometimes the Drakun can earn it's keep just by absorbing shots on the approach that you don't want going into other important parts of your army. Although ranged attacks are the easiest way to take the Drakun off the table, that doesn't mean it's "easy" to do so: ARM 19 with 10 damage boxes still takes a concerted effort to bring down. It's likely that the Drakun will eat a couple of boosted shots/CRAs before it goes down, which in turn means that something else in your list wasn't taking those shots. And sometimes you'll get lucky and the Drakun will tank more ranged attacks than expected, either leaving you with it alive, or forcing your opponent to over-commit to removing it.
Noteworthy 'Casters
It is worth noting that the Drakun's suite of abilities is potentially useful with every 'caster. However, there some 'casters that have special synergy with the Drakun. In no particular order:
- Strakov: Strakov's feat allows the Drakun to charge from waaaaaay down town which in turn allows the Drakun to either dig really deep, or hang back a little further the turn before (thus being somewhat safer). The Drakun can also easily get around to a flank which can open up interesting opportunities with Strakov's feat (as it gives a bonus for friendlies charging enemies in his feat aura).
While the feat interactions are nice, the Drakun also works well with Strakov because it a) doesn't rely on the feat to have a solid threat range, and b) doesn't even necessarily need to charge to be effective (as compared to something like Uhlans). The Drakun can also do a fine job of harassing the ranged models that Strakov's army doesn't want to be dealing with.
- Vlad2: The Drakun is one of, if not the, best feat targets for Vlad2. It makes fantastic use out of all the stat bonuses - under Vlad2's feat the Drakun screams across the table, hits harder than most heavies, and ends up being able to absorb a remarkable amount of punishment. And you can double down on the feat bonuses by having the dismount option!
- Vlad3: Having a model that interacts with Vlad3's feat is nice, though it's not terribly potent. What is nice, however, is what Dash does for the Drakun - bumps him up to "normal" cavalry threat levels, and gives it immunity to free strikes (which opens up interesting opportunities after the lines clash).
Also, Vlad3's original theme list is (as of this posting) the only way to run two Drakuns. Which certainly sounds like a fun time.
- Sorscha2: This one is fun due to the damage multiplication of her feat. Throw in Boundless Charge for additional threat range and Pathfinder, and Sorscha2 can get one of the nastiest Drakun charges in all of Khador.
- Butcher2: If you're going outside of Butcher2's theme list, both Dragoons are excellent choices as their high SPD, MAT, and hitting power allow them to threaten a wide variety of targets under his feat turn (including 'casters/'locks). So long as you can manage the feat aura correctly, you can have either Dragoon run into position, pick up three feat tokens, then advance and dump attacks into a target.
Fenris has a higher SPD and a better ability to generate multiple feat tokens himself, but the Drakun has the benefit of being more durable on the approach with a higher P+S attack (most important for the feat, since you only get one attack during that sequence).
Closing Thoughts
I've really fallen back in love with the Drakun, after a long time of not using it. Part of it was having to get over the difference between what it was capable of in Mk. 1 and now, and part of it was also that I didn't really have a role for it in most of my lists.
Now, however, there are plenty of ranged units showing up, some of which Khador can't count on being able to tank through/out shoot (Incindiarii are a big problem, and Gun Mages are never fun to deal with). I've found a lot of value in having the Drakun around as a model I can throw into those units to tie them up, or at least run at those units and force my opponent to react. The versatility of the Drakun ensures that, unlike other options I've considered in the past, it doesn't end up being "dead points" in very many match ups (if any).
I'm currently running a Drakun in both of my Steamroller Khador lists, and I really appreciate having it. I've been tempted to change those lists up several times, but each time I end up keeping the Drakun in because it very rarely disappoints.
So if you, like me, have had the Drakun lingering in the case for awhile, dust it off and give it a spin. Or, if you've never put it on the table before, give it a shot. The Drakun is still a very relevant and useful part of Khador's arsenal, and it has been particularly valuable for me in solving some match up issues.
Plus it's nice to have a Man-O-War model that isn't a crushing disappointment on the table.
Thanks very much for reading!
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