Commander Adept Nemo

And now this, the long-delayed next in my series on casters.  Today we focus on the non-epic version of everyone's favorite mad scientist, Commander Adept Nemo.

Nemo's statline is pretty much at the bottom of the barrel.  He's both slower and less accurate than average, and his defenses are at the absolute nadir for casters-- the combination affectionately referred to as "old man stats."  Fortunately, his abilities and his desire for arc nodes mean he can play a bit farther back than most.  He has a fairly generic melee attack; it Disrupts, but if an enemy warjack ends up in melee with him he's in trouble anyways.  He has a ranged attack as well-- it's a bit higher POW, and it disrupts as well, so if an enemy jack makes it close to him you're probably better off shooting it than whacking it.  Remember that his gun is an AOE and disrupts on a hit, so even if he misses, if the template clips the enemy, they're not getting any focus.  Of course, Nemo's still pretty fragile even if the enemy can't boost, so you're going to want to do something else about it.  He does have seven focus, which is a bit above average, and he can easily get more-- which is good, because he likes to spend it!

Nemo has quite a few powerful special rules that really help him in his assigned role.  First and least, he's immune to electrical attacks.  This won't come up often, but it does mean that certain assassination vectors-- most especially enemy pNemos, but some others-- won't be able to touch him.  Nemo's second rule, Arcane Accumulator, is his primary way of getting more focus.  Every time a spell is cast in his control area by anyone but him, he gains a power token!  These turn into focus.  The max he can get is three.  At first glance this looks like a way to get powered up from the enemy casting, but frequently you won't be within 14" of the enemy caster.  It does trigger from friendlies, though, and Cygnar has lots of access to them.  Notably, the Journeyman Warcaster can trigger it, and he's such a good model that you'll likely have one anyways!  So can Aiyana and Alexia, though frequently you'll only need one of the two.  I'd say Aiyana, because she synergizes well with Nemo's preferred means of offense.

Overpower allows Nemo to extend his control area at the start of your turn-- one focus for a 1" increase.  Along with the Squire this can give Nemo a huge control area, at the cost of lots of focus.  This also means that you can allocate to 'jacks that are more than 14" away, if you're willing to invest a little extra focus.  This is often a good decision, because a 'jack with focus is far, far more effective than one without it.  This will also let you bubble out your control area to catch enemy casters for the Arcane Accumulator rule.  Supercharge is his last ability, and it's a really big one.  Normally, you can only allocate three focus to a 'jack; Nemo can allocate five.  A single 'jack can wreck house with five focus, but it's also just the right amount to pull off a really neat move that I will discuss later on.


Now, Nemo's spells.  Chain Lightning is his first and most commonly used spell.  For three focus, you get a RNG 10 POW 10 shot that bounces d6 times.  Each bounce hits the closest target to the last one hit within 4", not counting previously hit targets.  This can kill as many as 7 enemy infantry per cast, and Nemo can throw it out twice and still upkeep his other spells, with the help of a warcaster attachment and/or some power tokens.  This won't always be necessary, but it helps absolutely blow away enemy infantry.  You can use Cygnaran 'jacks as rangefinders for this spell against Stealthy and high-DEF infantry, since a POW 10 will bounce off of most of them.  This spell is why you always bring at least one arc node with Nemo.  Be careful-- it will jump to friendlies, and even if they're electrically immune (like Storm infantry) they'll eat up a bounce.  You can also roll low and only get one bounce; it happens.

Deflection is a neat little spell-- +2 ARM for all of your warriors against ranged and magic attacks.  That won't help lots of infantry, but stacked with Arcane Shield it pushes ARM 15 Storm stuff to ARM 20, which will keep them mostly safe from POW 10-12 stuff (as long as it's not boosted).  Obviously, if you think that your opponent's chief anti-infantry threat vectors are lower-POW ranged and magic attacks, this will be useful.  Note what I said: there's a difference between that and "your enemy has lots of guns."  If the opponent's shooting is largely high-POW, Snipers, or anti-'jack, Deflection won't help much.

Disruption Field is just a nice standard add-on to a Cygnaran warjack.  Cygnaran 'jacks by and large aren't the most melee beatsticky, but Hammersmiths, Centurions, Stormclads, etc. can all put the hurt on enemies.  Disruption Field increases their STR by 2, which is a decent melee buff.  If you're going to be sending a 'jack into melee, you want every edge, and that includes extra strength; the Disruption is just the icing on the cake.


Electrify is an interesting defensive spell.  It's cast on a single model and knocks the first attacker d3" away, hitting them for a POW 14.  This is a two-part defense; first, it means you can't be hit twice by the same enemy; and second, it makes the enemy think twice about sending infantry in.  A single powerful warjack attack can crush Nemo unless he's seriously camping, though, so it's not best on him.  Also note that since it is an upkeep (even though it only lasts for one attack) it will override Disruption Field or Arcane Shield.  A good target for this is the Thunderhead or another valuable ranged heavy-- someone you don't want tied down in melee.

Locomotion is an interesting bit of utility.  For 1-3 Focus, you can move a 'jack 1-3."  The standard use for this is to extend a threat range-- for a melee or ranged 'jack-- and certainly that's a good use; but you have other options.  For instance, this can be used to move a 'jack into range so it can then aim; it can set up slam angles; it can do all sorts of neat stuff.  Think outside the box!  Be creative!  Don't feel the need to move the full 3" if you don't have to.

Voltaic Snare is an interesting anti-warjack spell.  It won't do damage, but it'll absolutely paralyze one 'jack and everyone near it.  It's quite pricey to cast, but sometimes-- especially in a low-model-count army of the kind Nemo prefers-- the ability to prevent an enemy from moving is the best way to deal with them.  If you can simply deny a powerful threat piece like the Deathjack or Beast-09 the ability to advance to advance, you don't have to devote resources to shutting it down by tying it up or blocking its lanes.  Don't forget that you can cast this on your own warjack to shut down enemies nearby.  This is a second best solution, since you're consigning the target to a quick and brutal death and the enemy can circumvent the penalty by slamming or throwing it away if they really want their jack to charge, but it's better than nothing.

Nemo's feat is kinda neat.  It's a free POW 14 hit against every beast and jack in his CTRL, boostable, with bonus Disruption against the 'jacks.  It seems simple, but it's deceptively complex.
First of all, Nemo has a very variable control area.  It starts off at a reasonable 14", but the Squire pushes it up to 16," and you can extend it further.  This means you should almost always be able to catch all of the essential enemy warnouns in the bubble.
Second of all, this is an instant pulse feat.  It Disrupts, but has no lingering effects besides that.  So you want to maximize its punch when it happens.
POW 14 is respectable, but most heavies won't care too much, unless you boost it.  On your feat turn, boosting is likely a good decision.  Remember that this isn't an attack and so won't trigger almost any protective ability in the game.
Against lights, though, especially arc nodes, this feat can be murderous.  Bone chicken swarms of the kind preferred by some Cryx casters will be absolutely decimated; they're only ARM 14, and even if they survive the pulse they won't be able to channel next turn.
This feat won't really help assassinate the enemy.  It won't help too much against infantry-heavy lists, or high-ARM enemies.  It'll help some against 'jacks due to the Disruption, but you'll really want to get your own heavy hitters into position.  A turn of Disruption is like a turn of relative safety, since a heavy without access to Focus is a heavy that won't be able to do too much damage to another heavy, especially with Arcane Shield.  Beware of Power Booster, Unearthly Rage, the Avatar, the Deathjack, and other ways that the enemy will be able to boost without being allocated Focus.  This is a very matchup-dependent feat, clearly.


Nemo's tier list allows all warjacks but Ol' Rowdy, Thorn, Triumph, and Gallant-- that is, non-characters plus Thunderhead.  The most important jack in there is Thunderhead, so you're covered.  For troops he allows Mechaniks and Storm Knight units.  That's a lot of stuff, but it's missing some mercs that he really likes, and it's missing Rangers.  So that's a shame.  For solos, he can take the Squire, Junior, Stormsmiths and Storm Knight solos.  He does want the Squire and Junior, which is nice, but this list doesn't have Strangewayes, which is a major downer.  Bonuses give Junior and his jacks AD; cute, but not useful, since Junior's job is to hang out in the back upkeeping Arcane Shield and keeping Nemo fueled up.  You get +1 on your starting roll for bringing two lights, which is a great bonus (one of the better ones to get) but Nemo doesn't really need two lights.  If you have two Stormblade units you get a free UA, which is a lot of points to throw out there (never mind if you want a UA for the other unit, let alone storm gunners) on things that aren't jacks and don't directly help Nemo out.  Tier 4 gives your jacks +2 SPD on the first turn if you take the Thunderhead, which is cool and you're going to take the Thunderhead anyways, but ultimately not enough to make up for the restrictions.


Let's talk about some key model synergies.  Nemo's jack synergies are pretty basic: he loves the Thunderhead to death, and also likes Lancers (or Thorn) and the Stormclad.  Pretty much besides that you don't need any specific jacks; he doesn't do much for shooty jacks, so you can leave them at home.

The Lancer (or Thorn) is for Chain Lightning and, rarely, Voltaic Snare.  It's the number one way Nemo has of removing infantry without risking the Thunderhead.  He'll generally have some spare focus due to Arcane Accumulator and the Squire, so why not spend three to clear out d6+1 low-armor enemy infantry?  It doesn't function against enemy Storm Knights or Druids but most other things can be whacked.  This is the first 'jack to drop if you're picking up other things but it is nice to include in an all-rounder list.


The Stormclad is a great target for both Electrify and Disruption Field.  It's already got fairly high melee P+S, so Disruption Field pushes it into the territory of one-rounding enemy heavies without too much trouble.  It's got Reach, so it benefits greatly from Locomotion to extend its threat range-- maxes out at 13," which is nice.  Its buckler makes it somewhat resilient, so it is a good target for Electrify to keep it alive longer.  And the free focus from Storm stuff really helps stretch Nemo's even further; you can get up to 15 on the table in one turn, which is ridiculous.  Remember, though, you can't get an additional one if you already have 3, even with Nemo; if you want to go over, you have to do it yourself.  Never forget that it has a gun, too.  This list has an awful lot of POW 14 shooting from jacks, which really starts to add up.


The Thunderhead is the cornerstone of any good pNemo list, and it lets him play a deadly ranged assassination game.  It goes like this: Allocate 5 to the Thunderhead.  Activate Strangewayes and give it Evasive Action.  Locomotion it 3" forward, then advance another 5" ignoring all free strikes.  Shoot the enemy caster with a boosted Lightning Coil attack.  Proceed to buy two more Coil shots, boosting the damage each time and hitting automatically.  That's an 18" non-linear threat range that will kill lots of casters dead-- one unboosted and two boosted POW 14s are bad news to anyone but the kings of camp sitting on full focus.  Naturally, some casters shrug this off-- stealth, sac pawn, Vyros/Butcher/Venethrax/Terminus on camp, etc.  But a lot of them hate it.  The T-head is no slouch in melee, though you'll want to put Disruption Field on it if it's tangling with enemy heavies.  It can also pulse in a pinch to fry out enemy infantry, and if it gets within 6" of the enemy caster, you can pulse to hit them automatically.

Not mentioned but worth a look: Stormwall.  It's huge, so Nemo can hide behind it; and with 5 Focus it can pound the ever-living shit out of another Colossal in melee (or boost a bunch of its ranged attacks, killing tons of enemy infantry).  Nemo's very good at putting lots of eggs in one basket and you won't find a bigger basket than your Colossal.



Units and solos that work with pNemo include Rangers, Stormblades, Squires, Junior, the Black 13th, Arlan Strangewayes and mercs including eEiryss, Aiyana and Holt, Gorman, Alexia, and Steelheads.  As an assassination-oriented caster, many of the models fulfill fairly predictable roles for Nemo.  Others are taken because of his specific attributes.

Rangers are there for a simple reason: they make it easier for the Thunderhead to hit stuff with its gun.  That's it, but that's all they need.  For a list that can rely on a single die roll, you want to stack every available modifier on.  Rangers are also fairly hard to kill if you're smart about Prowl, and have decent guns to remove enemy infantry, so they're generally never a bad choice.


Stormblades are a fairly standard Cygnaran unit these days, and for good reason.  They hit very hard in melee without requiring any of Nemo's focus, which is good, and their ARM is just good enough that it's not a waste of time to cast Deflection when they're around.  Putting them up to ARM 17 makes POW 10s unreliable at removing them, and with Arcane Shield they can hit ARM 20.  They also juice up any Stormclads you take.  Basically, if you need some bodies on the field (and you do) you could do worse than Stormblades.

Aiyana and Holt fulfill a couple of key roles.  First of all, Aiyana's spells power up Nemo; with her and Junior around, he should basically always have nine focus.  That's pretty cool; it means two upkeeps, two allocated, and still camping on ARM 19.  Or something.  Second of all, the list relies pretty heavily on T-head's gun, and being able to make it magical is pretty great.  Finally, as an assassination list, Harm is never a bad thing.  Toss it on enemy 'jacks to make it feasible to shoot them to death with POW 14 electricity.  Toss it on the enemy caster to break a camp.

The Black 13th have some excellent spot removal, which is lacking in this list outside of the unreliable Chain Lightning.  Mostly, though, what you want is Fire Beacon.  This opens up a whole class of casters to kill with the Thunderhead; without it, your best assassination vector is shut out of any caster with Shadow Pack, Shadowmancer, Occultation, Stealth, or Prowl.  Which is a lot of casters.  It also removes Camouflage, which, you know, sometimes helps.

Alexia serves two purposes; first, as a recycler.  Nemo really, really doesn't want enemies anywhere near him.  Being able to use each of your infantry twice to block lanes is great.  Second, for her spellcasting; go for 10 focus per turn if you want.  Camp it all to ARM 24, or unleash absolute mayhem via Chain Lightning spam, fully loading one jack to 5 and another to 3 whilst upkeeping, or whatever else you can imagine.

If you're looking for bodies to jam with to keep Nemo safe, Steelheads are your best option.  Sturdy, cheap, reliable, with Reach to engage lots of enemies and CMA to have a chance of denting them, you can't ask for better.  They pair well with Alexia because you get so much Steel for your buck.  You really need to jam with this list; it relies on lots of vulnerable models that are FA:C, so you can't have redundancy.  If your opponent can tell what you're planning they can pick apart essential list components.  You cannot give them the luxury of doing this; jam, jam, jam.

Arlan Strangewayes is the best mechanik you've got, which is pretty important.  You can't lose the T-head's gun, but you CAN lose your Cortex or whatever, and that sucks hard.  You generally want your jacks to survive longer; why not repair them?  Mostly, though, what you want is Evasive Action to prevent your opponent from blocking your Grand Strategy by simply engaging the T-head with a few guys that can really hurt it on free strikes.  It can't Pulse or shoot in melee, so Evade them and back out to fry them up.  You can also unDisrupt jacks with Power Booster, but that's not super important because most Disruption effects are electrical, which you are immune to anyways.

Junior's there because in a list with 1) a fragile caster 2) a lot of ARM 19 jacks, you need that Arcane Shield.  Casting it on Stormblades makes them very difficult to shoot to death as they advance; casting it on the Thunderhead or Stormclad increases the odds it'll survive long enough to get a Locomotion/Lightning Coil or Locomotion/Disruption Field/charge assassination off.  Casting it on Nemo lets him camp up to a hilarious 28, which is always worth a look.  Ultimately, though, if he has to do that you're in serious trubz.  Remember to cast an out-of-range Arcane Bolt across the table each round to fuel up Nemo's accumulator!

Squires do a lot for Nemo.  As I keep mentioning, he wants lots of Focus because he's good at making it go a long way, and that's sort of their job description.  Arcane Realignment is nifty if you want to Chain Lightning, and Nemo does.  Finally, since his feat affects his CTRL area (and you can make it even bigger via Focus expenditure) Arcane Repeater is a huge boon.  Plus there's nothing funnier than a 27" control area.  Yes, that is the entire board.  Yes, that is the outer possible limit.

Eiryss and Gorman are there for boring reasons: he helps hide Nemo (who needs all the help he can get) and she helps assassinate casters.  Like the B13, she opens up a whole category of casters that can now be killed by the Lightning Coil-- Vyros, Butcher, Venethrax, etc.  Anyone who thought they could camp to safety will discover their error.  Be very careful to keep her more than 5" from your 'jacks, since allocation is kind of a big deal to Nemo.



Here's a sample 35 point list:
Nemo +6
Thunderhead- 12
Rangers- 5
Aiyana and Holt- 4
Black 13th- 4
Max Steelheads- 6
Squire- 2
Junior- 3
eEiryss- 3
Rhupert- 2


This is a decent all-rounder list.  I included Rhupert to help the Steelheads jam.  Notice that this list is very character heavy, including four of the character models that almost always appear in at least one tournament list.  Basically, Rhupert makes the Steelheads Tough and they run to engage, running interference for Nemo and the T-head.  The Rangers hang back, taking potshots, until they can get close enough to Mark the enemy caster and you can go for the kill.  Eiryss likewise hangs back-- not always a good idea to AD her the extra 6" out.  Aiyana and Holt are for Harm and to give Nemo more focus.  This list is reliably at 9 Focus per turn, and should play somewhat conservatively until it explodes into action.  Against infantry heavy lists, that should consist of a pulse, a couple of Chain Lightnings and then a Locomotion (to get T-head out of danger), and as many shots as Holt and the 13th can put out, hopefully putting a substantial dent in the enemy's army.  Against armor heavy lists, that should be a Harm, a feat, and then a fully juiced Thunderhead tossing around effective POW 16 shots.

I hope you enjoy playing this lesser-used warcaster!  I'm happy to be blogging again.  Next time I hope to cover one of three issues: the difference between one-turn, two-turn, and three-turn feats, the types of models in a list (essential, superfluous, interfering), and the idea of dice games and how to make probability work for you.  Or at least stop working against you.

BWOG, WISE FWOM YOUW GWAVE

God I'm the worst.

Anyways, today's post is about why government is different from business.

Every election cycle you get a few businesspeople running for office. Invariably, their business expertise/experience as CEOs is held up as a qualification for a position in government. "They know how to make money!" is the argument, and even sometimes "They will run government like a business!" Deficits and taxes and debt are often mentioned in this context.

The trouble is, government is not a business. Government is, in fact, pretty close to the opposite of a business. Business experience is a negative, not a positive, and rationally it should make you LESS likely to vote for someone, not more. Here's why.

The job of a business is to make money. This isn't just greed; any publicly traded company is responsible to its shareholders. As long as doing so violates no legal or ethical codes, the pursuit of profit should be the highest motive. To do less is to deceive one's shareholders. Business(wo)men should make money; that's their job. When you get hired as a CEO, your job is to increase the profitability of your firm, just like how my job as a comedian is to make people laugh, or your job as a cesspool cleaner is to scoop human filth out of a shallow ditch. NO OFFENSE BRO.

A politician's job is totally different because GOVERNMENT IS NOT A BUSINESS. Let me say that again. GOVERNMENT IS NOT A BUSINESS. GOVERNMENTS SHOULD NOT TURN A PROFIT. This is not hard to understand.

A government's job is to serve its people by providing them those services that cannot be efficiently provided individually or by the market. For example, it makes no sense for the government to inform you when you should eat or go to the bathroom. Those are things you can efficiently do yourself. A national Pooping Clock would not be an efficient use of the government's time. To use a more concrete and less silly example, the government should not be selling you groceries. This is a service that can be provided efficiently by regular businesses, at a profit. This is not to say that the government shouldn't, say, have some program that distributes food to the needy-- but the profitable business of selling food to ordinary people is not the government's job.

The government's job is to do those things that cannot or will not be provided efficiently by the private sector. In a free market utopia, only the rich will afford insurance. We see that today. That is an efficient solution in terms of profit, but it is not socially efficient. It leaves people to die, which has no monetary downside but has a significant moral and social downside. The government, then, should step in and provide healthcare (via a strong public option) since otherwise this service will not be provided by the market. Ditto with the post office; FedEx and UPS will ship packages, but the USPS will mail a letter to anywhere in the country for the same price. Whether this is still necessary in the age of email is debatable, but that's not the point; the point is, the service of carrying letters is socially efficient and thus the USPS serves an important purpose even though it does not make a profit. The government is not about profit. In fact, in order to turn a profit, it would have to tax people more heavily and provide fewer and less robust services. It would have to take more than it gives, which is almost the definition of oppression.

The government is not a business. It should choose its spending and income decisions based on the good of society as a whole, not based on the desire to make a profit. Politicians should not run the government like a business. In fact, the government should be run like a bad business: an inefficient, debt-saddled one. That is because by definition the things that are good for government to do are not economically efficient. If they were, they would be done by the public sector. Health care, protecting the environment, police and fire protection: these are things that, if provided privately, would extend only to an inefficiently small fraction of the population. The government serves everyone, not just the very rich. This is an important fact to keep in sight as it seems that a vast swathe of the right wing in this country has forgotten it (and some of the left wing too).

NEW STUFF

Guess what guys, I started playing Malifaux! Hooray! I'm also working 40 hours a week so I have even less time than normal. So basically I'll be updating at maximum once a week but I'll try to ensure that it IS once a week. Also I might write about Malifaux sometimes. I'm bashing my head against this Nemo update so once it's done it'll show up. I know what I want to write but I open the file and I'm like URRRRGGGGHHHH and nothing gets written.

NO! THAT IS VERY WRONG!

YOU CLING TO YOUR PATHETIC FABLE OF FLUID EXCHANGE!

seriously, this will never ever not crack me up

Ugh

Oh god I am really bad lately :(. When I started writing in this thing again I promised myself I'd be more regular. Today I want to talk about something that's not wargaming, though I know I should stick to what I'm good at. I promise I have another caster coming up-- actually, it's Commander Adept Nemo, unexpectedly enough.

Anyways, I'm really excited about Elizabeth Warren. I think one thing she does very well, and something that basically every Democratic politician should be taking lessons about, is articulate the ethos of the liberal position. Not the Democratic position, the liberal position. The media has done a good job in turning "liberal" into a dirty word in recent years, which is a bit of a shame. We shouldn't run away from our liberalism. We should embrace it. Saying "I'm a liberal" is saying "I believe in the mission of government." Liberalism is the belief in the social contract, and the idea that government's purpose is to improve the lives of its citizenry. People come together to form governments because they think they're stronger together than they are apart. Hell, that's on our money: E Pluribus Unum, Out of Many, One.

The market is all about efficiently allocating resources, but the government says that sometimes the market's idea of efficiency is wrong. Sometimes something is socially inefficient. Letting people's houses burn down if they can't afford to pay for fire protection is economically efficient, but socially inefficient. Liberals believe that sometimes we must accept a certain level of economic inefficiency to provide against things like poverty, starvation, illness, disasters (including fire) and etc.

I am a liberal, and proud of it. I believe that government can be a force for good. I believe that taxation is not slavery-- it is the price we pay for civilization, for roads and bridges and power and water and protection. If you are rich in America, you didn't get rich all on your own. You worked hard (maybe, inheritance is something else entirely) but you also ate food and drank water that was safe because the FDA made sure of it; you drove your car and shipped your products on roads that were built by the government; you communicated with your clients, family, friends, and coworkers through the government postal service or the government-developed and funded Internet. The government set up the environment in which you were able to make your money. The most brilliant investor in the world can't turn much profit if he has to hire mercenaries to protect his money, build and pave his own roads, grow his own food etc.-- and if he's relying on other people to do it for him, he has no reason to trust that they will do a good job unless he can oversee them or pay someone else to do so. And if he does that then we're starting to get government again! See how that works? The absence of government is an undesirable situation. Anyone who says otherwise has not really thought it through.

Conservatives forget this. They take government for granted. They assume that because things are ok now with the level of government we have, we can slash spending. In effect, they believe that the rich are rich in spite of the government, not because of it, and this is a dangerously stupid and myopic view. The conditions for wealth only exist in the presence of civilized society, and such a society requires a strong and well-funded central government.

There's a lot more I want to say on the morality of wealth distribution, but that can wait for another time. Basically, government is an invisible benefit to everyone, and in recent years some people have taken to denying the existence of that benefit because they've forgotten about it. They've grown accustomed to it. Elizabeth Warren articulates the liberal point of view-- that because government helped us get where we are, we have a responsibility to see that it carries on to help the next generation-- and I am glad of her for it.

Failure

Short entry today, about how not to lose. This won't win you games, but it will keep you from losing them. This is a topic near to my heart because it's my biggest weakness in the game and a problem I've struggled to overcome.

This is a game about assassination. We're trying to kill the opponent's caster. People erect defenses to protect their caster, and a good assassination is not just about preparing a model to kill the opponent but smashing aside those defenses to let him (or her) do his (or her) job.

Sometimes, you can't do enough. Sometimes it doesn't work. Sometimes it fails. Recognizing this and responding to it appropriately is key. When you've started setting up an assassination and something goes wrong, you're at a serious risk of failure if you continue. You need to evaluate. "If I abandon this plan now and pull back, will I lose too much? Am I too committed?"

The concept of "sunk costs" in economics applies here. If you already activated a model, its activation is done. You can't undo it. You may be tempted to forge ahead so that that activation wasn't "wasted" but if your chances of success are slim, you are just wasting more activations. Instead, see what else you can do. Did you hand out buffs? Why not strike against a portion of the enemy's army, dealing some damage? Why not pull back and turtle up, limiting the damage he can do and biding your time until another chance comes along? Think about your options. Don't be afraid to play aggressively and go for an assassination, but if the dice betray you, be pragmatic. Re-evaluate constantly. Recognize failure as soon as it occurs and don't throw good money after bad, but move on to Plan B rather than struggle fruitlessly to complete Plan A.

Karchev the Terrible

Ugh, I've been so bad lately. I do really apologize, to both of my readers. I have been busy, busy, but it's time for a new caster series. I guess that since I'm apparently only doing these lately, their length will have to make up for their infrequency. This week we're talking about Karchev the Terrible.

Karchev is one of the few 5-Focus warcasters, though like most of the others he has access to more. His statline is impressive: it's more reminiscent of a Khadoran warjack than a warcaster. His speed is the lowest of any warcaster, and his defense is near the lowest. His armor is quite high, though, and with a decent focus camp his armor gets to pretty significant levels. He is also well-provisioned in the attack area, having a very powerful 10-inch spray that automatically knocks down everyone it touches and two very powerful melee attacks, one of which has Reach and one of which can perform power attacks, like throws. Finally, his damage grid is enormous, making him very survivable. Like a warjack, if he loses systems his attacks become less powerful, and he has only limited ability to heal himself via Focus; still, the sheer damage he can take outstrips any other caster, even the 20-health behemoths like the Butcher and Rasheth.

Karchev's special rules are a major part of him. First of all is Arcantrik Turbine, which can solve one of his two biggest problems (but not both at the same time): lack of focus or low speed. It either grants him a focus point or gives him +2” of movement and Pathfinder. Note that this triggers at the start of Karchev's activation, so the focus cannot be allocated; still, you'll often be spending focus during your activation, so this isn't so bad. It also means you can look at the lay of the land before you decide which benefit to take, as your plan may change over the course of your turn.

Man in the Machine is his second special rule, and it's a really huge one. What it boils down to this this: Karchev is alive, but he's not a warrior nor a warjack. For most purposes, you can treat him as a warjack-- but non-damaging effects that specifically target warjacks, such as eNemo's Tractor Field, have no effect on him. On the other hand, effects that damage warjacks in a specific way, like Iron Rot, will affect him. Karchev can be repaired, and normal heals can only heal the three boxes of his “Body” system, which replaces the cortex and allows him to allocate focus. Karchev can trample, which means he can compensate for his low speed by moving at +3” without having to immediately end his activation for failing a charge.

On to Karchev's spells. First up is Eruption, one of his two extremely expensive attacking spells-- although this one is really worth it. It's like a fire-based Breath of Corruption, but more powerful: a POW 14 hit to the direct target AND everyone under the template. This isn't blast damage, either, so Battle Mages and Satyxis both take their lumps like everyone else. The cloud stays there, too, doing a POW 14 to everyone who touches it. Karchev will need to boost to reliably hit anyone with this, and if he does so that'll cost 80% of his Focus. Still, sometimes you don't have better options. Fortunately, even if you scatter you're still doing POW 14s, so boosting is not always necessary-- and if you absolutely have to hit someone, running a Khadoran 'jack into base to base contact with them and zapping him from behind works. They're DEF 10, going to 14 in melee, and 12 if Karchev starts his activation in their rear arc-- so you'll hit on a 7, average on 2d6, and toast everyone touching them with a POW 14.

Ground Zero is a sort of “get away from me!” spell. Karchev has a large base and is easy to engage, but sometimes you need to clear a path to get out of there. Ground Zero blasts everyone within roughly an inch and a half of Karchev's base away from him, hitting them for a POW 13 and pushing them d6” straight away. Note that if you are careful and have Sylys Wyshnalyrr, you can upkeep Tow, cast Ground Zero, then trample away, towing your 'jacks and cast Unearthly Rage. However, this will require careful placement, as you don't want to push your own 'jacks out of towing range. Remember that you push in an order you choose, so if you carefully place cheap models like mechanics touching your 'jacks, they won't be able to be pushed away. A pushed model stops if it contacts another model, regardless of base size.

Sidearms is a nice upkeep that helps keep your 'jacks safe. While they're B2B with other models in your battlegroup, your jacks gain +1 DEF for each other 'jack they're touching and can't be knocked down. Now, normally the DEF bonus won't be much, as your 'jacks start at DEF 10. If you're Towing three models, though-- and this will be tricky, since you'll have to cast or upkeep Tow, then advance, then cast Sidearms, since both this and Tow are upkeeps on the self-- then you'll be getting a +3 on Karchev and the 'jack directly behind him and a +2 on each of the others. This will put Karchev up to DEF 15, which is respectable, and if you're in a forest or on a hill the cumulative bonuses can put your DEF 14 'jacks up to something significant. More importantly, the Tow formation is vulnerable to slams, which can knock down all four 'jacks when aimed properly. If this is a possibility, it's wise to case Sidearms to prevent knockdown. You'll still take damage, but at least you won't have to spend lots of focus standing up.

Tow is the first of Karchev's signature spells, and it's a real killer. It's a bit tricky to work out, but basically it functions like this: when you cast or upkeep it, Karchev has Tow active. While it's active, if he moves, any friendly 'jack that passes within 2” of him can be “hooked.” You can “hook” up to three 'jacks, and if you do, at the end of your movement they are all placed in his rear arc facing any direction you wish. This spell is one-half of the dreaded Karchev Powerslide, the maneuver that gives your SPD 4 Khadoran 'jacks among the highest threat range in the game. Karchev can start 2” in front of a 'jack, upkeep Tow, trigger his Turbine, then Trample obliquely towards the enemy (though you can't change facing after a trample, so be careful; you can Run if you don't want to cast Unearthly Rage, but if you do make sure you allocate out all your Focus at the start of the turn). This is a 9” movement, and then the friendly 'jack can be placed in your back arc, where it can charge a further 7”. Counting the place effects and the potential of Reach, this can be a 20” or higher threat range. Combined with Unearthly Rage, Karchev's feat for free charges, and a focus to buy another attack, this is an astonishingly large number of very high-POW boosted damage rolls. Remember that 'jacks must be placed in Karchev's rear arc, so frequently he won't be able to attack himself unless you get lucky with positioning-- and enemies will be getting the back strike bonus against him, if he places his butt facing them. Frequently, of course, this won't matter, as the game will either have ended or your opponent will have bigger problems to deal with.

Unearthly Rage is Karchev's best spell, and indeed one of the best spells in the game. It's woefully simple: Karchev and his warjacks gain boosted attack and damage rolls and magical weapons. That's it. It's brutal. This is a pure focus multiplier, and on a good day with some 'jacks it's the equivalent of 4-6 focus per 'jack. It only lasts for your turn, and thus won't benefit free strikes, but also won't benefit attacks made via Domination or the like from your opponent. If your 'jacks are going into melee, you should always cast this unless you're running. Even a 'jack with two base attacks will benefit from four focus worth of boosts, making this worth it. It only affects melee attacks, though there are some very good Karchev builds using ranged 'jacks.

Karchev's feat is a bit simple and underwhelming-- it's more of a “free focus” battery like Unearthly Rage. His 'jacks can turn to face any direction at the start of their activation, can charge for free and gain Pathfinder. This is quite useful since if you're upkeeping Tow and casting Unearthly Rage, you often don't have enough left to let all of your 'jacks charge. If they charge for free, they can get into melee and benefit from Rage. Total War is for the turn where the metal hits the flesh and you get stuck in, so maximizing benefit is mostly a timing issue, but it's often easy to tell when you're going to make it in. So pop it then.

Karchev's tier list is interesting. It allows all non-character 'jacks plus Behemoth, Battle Mechaniks, Greylords, and Man-o-Wars. Tier 1 lets you take as many Ternions as you wish, and increases your Koldun Lord FA based on how many Ternions you take. Tier 2 requires two units of Man-o-Wars and lets them Advance Move, somewhat compensating for their low speed. Tier 3 requires at least one Ternion and gives you some free cloud effects on Turn 1, helping to shield you from the enemy's first turn offense (if they have one). Tier 4 requires three warjacks and makes all of his 'jacks cheaper.

The Tier 4 bonus is very nice, given how many warjacks you'll want to bring (and how expensive Karchev's favorite 'jacks are) but requiring two units of Man-o-Wars is pretty onerous. Man-o-Wars do well with casters who can support them by increasing their speed or survivability, but Karchev does nothing for them. And the points you spend on Man-o-Wars will likely outweigh the points you'll save on 'jacks. Also, the tier leaves out some key models you'll want, like Beast-09, Widowmakers, and mercs.

Let's talk about some key model synergies. Jack synergies are important, since a Karchev list is so 'jack focused. He likes the Destroyer, Spriggan, Behemoth, Beast-09, and possibly the Kodiak.

The Destroyer works well with Karchev for a specific strategy: towing it around the edge of the battlefield, dropping tons of POW 14 templates all over the enemy. If you're going for a melee-based army, which plays into Karchev's powerslide, you'll want someone else, but with the Behemoth and two Destroyers you can drop four templates per turn all over the enemy while staying out of engagement range, and still aiming. You can see over Karchev with Arcing Fire, making positioning less important.

The Spriggan is probably the best non-character 'jack for the Powerslide, largely due to Reach extending its threat range. It has a very potent POW 18 main attack, as well as some utility-- the ability to launch grenades or flares while being towed around, at least until it's time to engage, can be very helpful. Bulldoze is also a great utility ability for an army that relies on mobility and speed, as pushing enemies out of charge lanes can help three very tightly bunched 'jacks all reach their targets. Still, if you're taking a Spriggan, you're mostly taking it for that badass lance, and the ability to powerslide someone's face right off.

The Behemoth is a classic Karchev 'jack. It's tough as nails, it hits harder than almost any other warjack in the game (against ARM 18-19, it's effectively POW 21; against ARM 17, it's effectively POW 20; against ARM 20, it's effectively POW 22), and it can launch tons of bombard shots while you advance. You can rain steel on the enemy while you maneuver into position, getting the aiming bonus all the while, and then charge in and shred their heavies when you need to. A top choice.

Beast-09 is the centerpiece of any good powerslide. It's an absolute monster, hitting at MAT 7 with a reach POW 19, and with Thresher to boot. With Unearthly Rage, a single Thresher can do serious damage to multiple enemy 'jacks, if they're dumb enough to stick together, and the combination of Unearthly Rage and its Imprint mean that a thresher can reliably hit even super high-DEF enemies like Kayazy (although often you won't need both and you'll be casting Unearthly Rage anyways). Still, free runs to advance in the early game, Reach, and an absolutely punishing damage output means that it's the best Powerslide 'jack in the game, even better than the Spriggan (for just one more point) and with Thresher to boot. It can kill warjacks and infantry, it can do anything it needs you do.

The Kodiak is a possibility, if you need a midrange 'jack and if you're already running 3 others. Its cloud is a nice defensive ability, its chain attack benefits strongly from Unearthly Rage, and Heavy Boiler means it can keep up even if three other 'jacks are being Towed. It's not as powerful in melee as the others, but it's very effective against enemy 'jacks, with the ability to throw out two boosted POW 16s and then throw the target away. Note that it does not have Reach, like the Behemoth, so it's a bit trickier to get it into melee than the Spriggan or Beast.

Units and solos that work with Karchev are more valuable for what they can do for him, rather than what he can do for them-- which in most cases is nothing. Battle Mechaniks are a must, for their ability to keep Karchev and his 'jacks in fighting shape, and Greylord Ternions provide some much needed versatility. Doom Reavers work well unsupported, though they don't really provide anything that Karchev is missing except infantry removal. Widowmakers are great for their ability to surgically remove key enemy models. Nyss Hunters are excellent infantry removal, something Karchev loves. For solos, Koldun Lords provide some great support, a Widowmaker Marksman can support your Widowmaker unit, and Sylys Wyshnalyrr is an amazing support piece to help Karchev manage everything he has to manage. It's tough to argue with Sylys, but a War Dog can be helpful if you are considering committing Karchev to fight personally. Finally, an Ogrun Bokur can prevent some real problems.

Battle Mechaniks serve a simple role: they keep Karchev and his 'jacks repaired. Losing an arm or movement system can cripple you, but Mechaniks can get a 'jack right back in the fight, and they are also the only way to restore MOST of Karchev's health (except for his Body system). I'd go with two minimum units over one maximum, which gives you some strategic flexibility. It's also not hard to keep them base to base with 'jacks for Iron Sentinel, but be careful of slams!

Greylord Ternions are an interesting choice, and one that doesn't show up too often. Ice Cage is a very impressive ability for its ability to make enemies stationary, but Unearthly Rage often means accuracy is not a problem. The ability to generate cloud effects is very potent, and combined with Sidearms can often push your warjacks' defense up to the point where it actually becomes an issue for the opponent-- very rare for Khador. They can also fight decently in combat if you have a Koldun Lord, though you'll want to pick fairly weak enemies as their MAT is not great. Finally, if you have nothing better to do, a few Sprays is also nice-- note that they're far more accurate with Sprays than with melee attacks, so unless you have Battle Wizard and are fairly sure you'll be hitting and killing the enemy, you should stick with spraying. They're pretty pricey for some 13/13 one-wound infantry models, so use your jacks to keep them protected while you advance.

Doom Reavers are an interesting choice. Karchev has no problem destroying enemy 'jacks with his own, but infantry clouds can pose a threat, since only Beast can thresh and 3” AOEs can be unreliable. Doom Reavers are great at clearing infantry with a Reach, Weapon Mastering Berserk attack, but they might then gum up the charge lanes you want open unless you plan carefully so they remove each other after they're done removing the enemy. You usually don't want berserkers killing each other, but if it clears an opening to deliver Beast to the enemy caster, it can be a good thing. Just make sure you need it before you do it. They have Spell Ward anyways, making them unbuffable by many casters, but even Karchev's feat can't support them like Butcher's or Irusk's. Take them if you think you will need to, but I think Karchev has better infantry removal options.

Widowmakers and Nyss Hunters serve similar roles: both shoot out enemy infantry. Nyss Hunters can shoot right through forests, which is nice and helps keep them safe, and can fight passably well in melee. Karchev can't buff them, but they do reasonably well on their own. They both take out infantry screens without gumming up the works with their bodies. Widowmakers are slightly more accurate and have a longer range, but lack Hunter; they also have a lower defense, but Pathfinder and Camouflage more than compensate for that. They also advance deploy and have Sniper, allowing them to get into position quicker and take out even shieldwalled infantry (or do some damage to heavy 'jacks if necessary). In contrast, you get many more Nyss Hunters, the ability to CRA lets them take out high-DEF high-priority targets, and with Weapon Master they can actually fight in melee. They also have a higher base DEF, making them safer out in the open. It's up to you which you take (or take both!) but either present a compelling infantry removal option.

Koldun Lords do everything basic Ternions do (almost; they lack Blizzard) but have a very useful ability in Power Booster. Since Karchev often won't be allocating Focus, you'll have plenty of chances to Power Booster someone, which will usually go to buying another attack (since Karchev will feat the turn he engages). Koldun Lords are slightly better fighters than regular Ternions, though it's still not their preferred place to be. They can marshal, though doing so would be a mistake as you'd lose the benefit of Unearthly Rage. Power Booster is why you buy them, since one extra focus on a warjack is really three if it's used to buy an attack under Unearthly Rage, but whether this is a worthwhile expenditure of two points is up to you.

If you're taking Widowmakers and have two points free, a Marksman can help keep them safe by allowing them to Swift Hunter deeper into terrain after shooting, but he's competing with Kell Bailoch for that two-point sniper slot and Bailoch can shoot twice (and magically). How much infantry removal shooting do you need? It obviously depends on your opponent's list, which you won't know in advance, so you have to sort of dial it in based on how comfortable you are. Two points won't buy you another Khadoran 'jack, but a cloud of support models might, and that's a tough tradeoff to make.

Sylys Wyshnalyrr is a dream come true for Karchev. He allows him to upkeep Tow for free, giving him another Focus (and every one is precious) and giving him more tactical options-- like the aforesaid Tow/Ground Zero/Unearthly Rage combination. Wyshnalyrr makes offensive spell-slinging with Eruption a bit more viable with his other abilities, making it less essential to boost, though it's still almost always a better use of focus to sling Beast-09 into an infantry formation and let him Thresh them away. Still, that extra focus is not to be sneezed at, especially since it allows you to upkeep Tow even if Karchev is in the area of Lamentation, shot by a Disruptor Bolt or something like that.

The War Dog competes with Sylys and thus won't show up often, but he deserves a mention for being a combat support model for a caster who most definitely can fight. He's also very cheap, thus making him good filler. Being able to run out of combat without free strikes and Tow your jacks with you is a very valuable ability, and the +2 DEF against melee attacks may just push Karchev into “hard to hit” territory for many enemies. Finally, since you'll be spending a lot of time with your butt towards the enemy for powerslides, negating back strikes might help. It's something to think about, though I'd reach for Sylys first in many cases.

Finally, the Ogrun Bokur is there for one reason only: taking shots for Karchev. A large base with DEF 12 and the requirement to be right up in the thick of things is hard to protect, and a single Disruptor Bolt can really ruin your day. The Bokur can take that bullet, as well as any Momentum or Tractor Field shots, and keep your army moving. And he can fight, too!

Here's a sample 35 point list:
Karchev -5
Behemoth +13
Beast-09 +11
Kodiak +8
Sylys Wyshnalyrr +2
Ogrun Bokur +3
Max Mechaniks +3

A nice, simple but effective list, containing two ARM 20 and one ARM 21 'jack at 35 points. Remember that the Bokur doesn't actually have to be in the path of the shot to absorb it, just within 2” of Karchev, so keep him a bit safe. In fact, if your Kodiak is running to keep up instead of being Towed, there's a spot behind Karchev and between his friends that's nice and safe. The Mechaniks keep everything running and Sylys stretches out the Focus. Sylys does have to be within 3” of Karchev to use his little spell assist Arcane Secrets, but only within 8” to upkeep a spell for free, so keep him safe. This list lacks the delicious infantry removal options discussed above, but hits like a train. If you want, you can drop the Mechaniks to a minimum unit and switch Sylys for the dog to free up two points, which can bump the Kodiak to a Spriggan or buy you Kell Bailoch. At 50 points, you can add maxed out Nyss Hunters to this, split the one max Mechanik unit into two minimum ones, switch the Kodiak for a Spriggan and add the two-point solo of your choice: a Koldun Lord, Bailoch, Gorman di Wulfe, or Widowmaker Marksman, perhaps.