Butcher3 With Reckoning Warjacks

One of the more amusing anecdotes that I have heard about Warmachine: Reckoning is that this was supposed to the debut book for Butcher3. He ended up being pushed forward a book in order to get him into the 10th Anniversary box for Warmachine, and Zerkova2 was shuffled back a book to take his original spot.

Aside: if this anecdote is true, it should help to illuminate just how far out PP's development cycle is (something we've always heard about). When you're hoping for what may be in the next book, realize that it is already done, and the devs are like 3 books ahead of us. Oh to have a quick look at what is being tested right now.

Join me after the break for a trip down the rabbit hole, and see how the new Berserker chassis warjacks may bump up Butcher3's (already considerable) game).

While I don't know if the Butcher3/Zerkova2 swap is true, it sure does make a lot of sense when you look at the models that were developed in each cycle.

Vengeance gave Khador the Outriders (which feel like they were made explicitly for Zerkova2), Malakov (to add some speed and punch to her list with warjacks), and even the Grolar to add a self-buffing warjack that she can use (with a high ROF gun to capitalize on Stationary). With Zerkova2 in it, Vengeance would have been a broadening of Khadoran army potential. Zerkova2 enables (for better or worse) more magical attacks than Khador has ever been able to muster, and she's probably the factions second best assassin (and best at not getting herself killed while trying). The Iron Fang Kovnik and Malakov encourage re-examining old entries, and the Grolar gives Khador what is arguably its best non-character warjack.

If Vengeance with Zerkova2 would have been a broadening of Khador potential, Reckoning with Butcher3 at the helm would have been a sledgehammer strike. "Hey, we heard about this 'armor' thing, so here is a bunch of warjacks, and a dude who is really good at killing tough things." You also see strong synergy with some of the models in the book: Ruin is obvious with Butcher3, and the Rager is the Shield Guard warjack people have been bending over backwards to try to get into lists for awhile. And the Mad Dog. It sure is mad.

Dawg.

Ahem.

Point being: if Butcher3 was theoretically tested with this batch of warjacks, they should have some synergy with him. Lets take a look at each of the new warjacks and see how they may benefit the big guy.

Going down the list:

Ruin - Already pretty well documented. A pretty resoundingly fantastic choice with any Butcher.

Mad Dog -

Good Points: One thing that Butcher3 wants to do most of the time is hoard focus like a, uh, madman, so warjacks that can operate with some focus independence are very welcome. Aggressive eliminates the need to fuel running and charging, letting any Berserker chassis warjacks operate pretty much focus-free all game long.

The original Berserker wasn't terribly well equipped to do anything with Butcher3 (or indeed, pretty much anyone at all) but the Mad Dog at least has two things going for it: 1) it can also Trample for free with an additional die to its Trample attack rolls, so if it happens to get the chance to it can try and squish some infantry (potentially more feasible on Energizer turns, though still probably unlikely), and 2) it is very cheap for a heavy warjack.

Although its defensive stats aren't great, it is also only 5 points for 31 points of ARM 18 your opponents have to chew through to get to Butcher3/start scoring on scenario. Adding just one or two of these to a list significantly reduces its overall vulnerability to typical anti-infantry measures, and due to Aggressive, also doesn't put any strain on Butcher3's ability to camp (unlike running, say, Juggernauts or clamjacks).

If you are trying to load up on infantry/solos with Butcher3, a Mad Dog is the cheapest you're going to get, costing you only 1 point above Butcher3's WJP allotment.

The Mad Dog is also the cheapest "mobile wreck marker" available in Khador, and I think it may be the cheapest heavy version of that concept in the game. Considering how often it proves worthwhile for Cryx players to shank 4/5 point bonejacks for Cover, 5 points for a heavy wreck marker where ever you want it could be worth it in some match ups (especially since it won't be doing much in those fights anyways).

Bad Points: The Mad Dog's hitting power is damn sad. Combine that with a low MAT, and most things aren't going to be too scared of standing in front of it.

Related to that is the fact that the Mad Dog's threat range is the same 'ol 7.5" threat that Khador usually has to work around. This is mitigated somewhat on Energizer turns with Butcher3, and rarely with Jury-Rigged (though I don't think that Butcher is going to want to be feeding this focus to it directly, because camp).

The Mad Dog is only "relatively" durable. It is harder to kill than single wound infantry and solos (Khador's usual bread and butter), but anything with noteworthy hitting power should have little issue turning Mad Dogs into scrap with just a couple of attacks. This is sort of a +/- situation with Butcher3, however, because you want those kinds of attacks going to the Mad Dog and not more important models like Butcher3 and Ruin, so they're either a nice distraction, or getting to the enemy whole.

Rager -

Good Points: Even if Ruin didn't come out in this same release cycle, the Rager is all you'd need to convince me that this group of warjacks was playtested around the same time as Butcher3.

One thing that becomes immediately evident after just a few games with Butcher3 is that he absolutely loves to have a Shield Guard or two hanging around him. Any form of Eiryss is a big concern (especially since his DEF isn't high enough for her to reliably miss him, even in a Blizzard), and even her aside he does not want to be eating high powered, boostable ranged attacks if he can help it.

The Rager allows you to include Shield Guards easily in your Butcher3 lists - no more need to mess around with Mercenary 'Jack Marshals and Vanguards - while also being more durable than every other Shield Guard model that would be otherwise available to him (ARM 20 until the Shield comes off, 31 boxes). That durability helps to push the overall toughness of Butcher3's list up, which plays into his "tank and win" general approach.

As with the Mad Dog, the fact that the Rager has Aggressive is a very big deal relative to its inclusion with Butcher3. The Rager will drain zero focus from Butcher3, while also providing him (or his dogs, or Ruin) with Shield Guard coverage, and/or also being able to run in to contest scenario areas. Free charging also allows the Rager to easily throw itself into the enemy if necessary.

Since this is Khador's first native Shield Guard model, it is worth noting that Shield Guard is a rule on the Rager itself, not on the shield. The Rager will be catching bullets - using its face if needed - right up until it is a pile of scrap.

The Rager also has a gun. A very inaccurate, low RNG gun, but a gun nonetheless. So every once in awhile, it may land a lucky shot while it's standing around near Butcher3 and net you a random kill/some random damage.

Bad Points: The Rager is only very slightly more effective in melee than the Mad Dog, and only then with its charge attack (P+S 15 vs. 14, but only a P+S 12 off-hand instead of a 14). Its also still boasting the very same dainty MAT 5, so anything DEF 12 or higher doesn't need to sweat too much. And anytime you get the Rager's gun to hit something (without boosting, which you probably don't want to be doing with Butcher3, or with focus in general) you deserve a cookie.

If you happen to lose the Shield early, the Rager's durability takes a very solid hit. This is not unique to it - all warjacks with Bucklers/Shields have this issue - but there will be games where the first boosted damage roll will shear off the left arm, leaving you sad. Some form of Repair is very helpful in off-setting that, but bringing those Repair models also off-sets the relatively low cost of the Rager.

Victor - I know that some folks are fans of running a colossal with Butcher3, but I am not in that camp. For those that do, I'd love to hear feedback as to how Victor compares to Conquest in that role.

With all those warjack thoughts in mind, what can we do with these shiny new toys?

Butcher3 Infantry Heavy Builds W/New Warjacks:
Lets take a look at the 50 point Butcher3 list I started out with this year:

Kommander Zoktavir, The Butcher Unleashed (*4pts)
   * Berserker (6pts)
   * War dog (1pts)
Greylord Ternion (Leader and 2 Grunts) (4pts)
Iron Fang Pikemen (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
   * Black Dragon Officer & Standard (2pts)
Kayazy Assassins (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
   * Kayazy Assassin Underboss (2pts)
Widowmakers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (4pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)
Fenris (5pts)
Iron Fang Kovnik (2pts)
Madelyn Corbeau, Ordic Courtesan (2pts)
Man-o-war Drakhun (with dismount) (5pts)
Saxon Orrik (2pts)

This list is a very rough version of the Butcher3 infantry spam list that was initially popular with him, with a few tweaks to suit my own needs (cav solos to try and tie up shooting units) and model restrictions (no second unit of IFP, so the Assassins tag in).

Right away, you can see a very easy and beneficial swap: switch out the Berserker - which was only in there because you have to spend your WJPs, and I wanted something that would afford me as many points for infantry as possible while also not draining any resources from Butcher - for the Rager. Same cost, same in game effectiveness (the Berserker never did much in my games other than stand around), but Butcher3 now has that Shield Guard I've always wanted.

Alternatively (and what I decided to do because it is actually available), how about getting Ruin into the mix? Easy as paring down some "support" solos:

Kommander Zoktavir, The Butcher Unleashed (*4pts)
   * Ruin (10pts)
   * War dog (1pts)
Greylord Ternion (Leader and 2 Grunts) (4pts)
Iron Fang Pikemen (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
   * Black Dragon Officer & Standard (2pts)
Kayazy Assassins (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
   * Kayazy Assassin Underboss (2pts)
Widowmakers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (4pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)
Fenris (5pts)
Man-o-war Drakhun (with dismount) (5pts)
Saxon Orrik (2pts)

Whenever the Rager actually comes out (or in proxy games between now and then) it is also potentially helpful to have a Shield Guard in the list, now that we want to get Butcher3 and/or Ruin across the table. Which is easy enough to do by fiddling with the cav solo points:

Kommander Zoktavir, The Butcher Unleashed (*4pts)
   * Ruin (10pts)

   * Rager (6pts)
   * War dog (1pts)
Greylord Ternion (Leader and 2 Grunts) (4pts)
Iron Fang Pikemen (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
   * Black Dragon Officer & Standard (2pts)
Kayazy Assassins (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
   * Kayazy Assassin Underboss (2pts)
Widowmakers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (4pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)
Man-o-war Drakhun (w/out dismount) (4pts)
Saxon Orrik (2pts)

At this point, the army is starting to get more dense, more ARM skew-y. The Assassins represent the weak link in that equation, and while they bring some very nice things to the table (Stealth, Acrobatics/Parry, and Gang MAT 9) we can reinforce the ARM skew by swapping them out for BD IFP.

But what if I don't like the idea of having that much infantry on the table? ("Then stop playing Khador," correctly jabs the peanut gallery.) Either unit totals out to 10 points with the base unit plus the UA, and didn't Khador just get a warjack that can easily slot into any multiple of 5?

Kommander Zoktavir, The Butcher Unleashed (*4pts)
   * Ruin (10pts)

   * Rager (6pts)

   * Mad Dog (5pts)

   * Mad Dog (5pts)

   * War dog (1pts)
Greylord Ternion (Leader and 2 Grunts) (4pts)
Iron Fang Pikemen (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
   * Black Dragon Officer & Standard (2pts)
Widowmakers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (4pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)
Man-o-war Drakhun (w/out dismount) (4pts)
Saxon Orrik (2pts)

I don't know how good that is, per se. But it is a lot of ARM and boxes for a low amount of points, all running/charging for free, backed up by Butcher3 and still a fair bit of support/supplemental infantry. 

Alternatively, the points freed up by the Assassins could become another Rager and something like Alexia2. Or just one Mad Dog and Fenris. Or a Rager, Mechaniks for the Shield Guard duo, and the return of the IFK/Madelyn. Or a Rager and a return of Madelyn and the IFK.

There are a lot of options, and what I find most interesting and compelling about them is that all of them have some degree of merit, because they're still pushing the list in the right direction: get Butcher3/Ruin into a position where they can either win the game outright, or swing it so hard in my favor that the opponent is going to have a hard time digging themselves back out (especially with one or two Shield Guards floating around).

New Warjacks in the Jamie Perkins/Trent Denison "Butcher3 + 3 Heavies" Build:

The other Butcher3 list archetype that is running around is one popularized by Jamie Perkins and Trent Denison (previously referenced here). That list looks to force your opponent into having to deal with more ARM than they are otherwise comfortable with, then use Butcher3 to come in and clean up, or use the warjacks in the list to ferry him to a 'caster/key model.

I'll be basing my mutations on Jamie Perkin's list, as it is the easiest one to cold swap Ruin into:

Kommander Zoktavir, The Butcher Unleashed (*4pts)
   * Juggernaut (7pts)
   * Juggernaut (7pts)
   * Ruin (10pts)
Iron Fang Pikemen (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
   * Black Dragon Officer & Standard (2pts)
Widowmakers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (4pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)
Iron Fang Kovnik (2pts)
Koldun Lord (2pts)
Ragman (2pts)
Raluk Moorclaw (2pts)
   * Vanguard (5pts)

As mentioned, the most obvious change is to switch out the Spriggan for Ruin, which I think is almost automatic; the secondary benefits that the Spriggan brings are nice, but Ruin is much, much scarier as a melee piece. Especially under Butcher3.

Raluk + Vanguard is a module that was previously the best way to get a durable Shield Guard model into a Khador army. While this module still has some merit - high SPD, Set Defense, boostable RAT 6 gun - I think the core purpose of it was to bring some Repair to the list, and of course the Shield Guard for Butcher3 or his warjacks. 

The Shield Guard can now easily be accessed using a Rager (arguably better in terms of ARM and boxes durability, which is all you really need for a Shield Guard). That frees up one point which allows you to get the War Dog back into the list (if there is any 'caster that wants to have the pup around, its Butcher3). Getting Repair back into the list may be trickier, but you can always drop something like the Koldun Lord to get in Mechaniks if you really feel the need for it. 

Kommander Zoktavir, The Butcher Unleashed (*4pts)
   * Juggernaut (7pts)
   * Juggernaut (7pts)
   * Ruin (10pts)

   * Rager (6pts)

   * War Dog (1pts)
Iron Fang Pikemen (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
   * Black Dragon Officer & Standard (2pts)
Widowmakers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (4pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)
Iron Fang Kovnik (2pts)
Koldun Lord (2pts)
Ragman (2pts)

That is a lot of ARM. You can make it even worse/more interesting by swapping one of the Juggernauts out for another Rager, which in turn frees up another point that you can put towards a Gobber Tinkerer to get Repair back into the list.

Kommander Zoktavir, The Butcher Unleashed (*4pts)
   * Juggernaut (7pts)
   * Ruin (10pts)

   * Rager (6pts)

   * Rager (6pts)

   * War Dog (1pts)
Iron Fang Pikemen (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
   * Black Dragon Officer & Standard (2pts)
Widowmakers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (4pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)
Iron Fang Kovnik (2pts)
Koldun Lord (2pts)
Ragman (2pts)

Gobber Tinkerer (1pts)

The basic ARM of the battlegroup hasn't changed and the number of boxes is only very slightly lower (you lose 3 damage boxes in downgrading the Juggernaut to a Rager). The list now has: 4 ARM 20 warjacks, 2 Shield Guard models, a Repair for those warjacks, a throwaway beater in the Juggernaut (that the Koldun Lord can manage early game via Power Booster), a legitimate beater in Ruin, the force of nature that is Butcher3, and still has a solid suite of support models, as well as a full unit of BD IFP backed up by an IFK.

Seems like a damn fine ARM skew list to me. You can even go totally berserk with it (har har):

Kommander Zoktavir, The Butcher Unleashed (*4pts)
   * Juggernaut (7pts)
   * Ruin (10pts)

   * Rager (6pts)

   * Rager (6pts)

   * Mad Dog (5pts)

   * Mad Dog (5pts)

   * War Dog (1pts)
Widowmakers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (4pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)

Madelyn Corbeau, Ordic Courtesan (2pts)
Koldun Lord (2pts)
Ragman (2pts)

Gobber Tinkerer (1pts)

I don't know how effective a list like that would be - as before, I don't know what the Mad Dogs are really going to do other than jam in and hopefully be an attack drain - but if you wanted to run Khador with a bunch of warjacks, you could certainly do a lot worse.

------

While it is not at all a comprehensive analysis, and I still need to get some of these lists onto the table to see how they play out, I think the Reckoning warjacks are (generally speaking) a great fit for Butcher3. At the very least, Ruin gives Butcher3 a very scary missile that he can fire off - sort of a Butcher3 proxy that won't lose you the game when it dies. The Rager seems like it was designed specifically with Butcher3 in mind, and even the lowly Mad Dog may be fun for zany warjack heavy fun times.

I'm really looking forward to trying out some of the more moderate warjack builds with Butcher3, though that quad-warjack list also looks effective and fun. The worst part about any of this theorymachining is that the Rager is likely to be "TBD" for awhile, so even if a list proves to be incredibly effective, it is going to have to sit out of Steamroller use until the damn model comes out.

Hopefully I'll be able to get some games in with one or two of these lists and report back some impressions. If anyone gets a chance to try out these lists or ones similar to them, I'd love to hear how they worked out!

As always, thanks very much for reading.