Cankerworm

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Cankerworm Cryx Character Light Warjack

Cankerworm attacks with a breed of cunning and sense of self-preservation that makes mockery of life. The 'jack's unprecedented ability to manipulate even the most sophisticated and complex mechanikal devices makes Cankerworm a versatile and vicious tool. It waits for the mightiest of warjacks to suffer crippling damage and springs to attack the vulnerable machine. After the final strike, Cankerworm harvests weapons and other useful machinery from the fallen construct and turns them against their former masters.

Basic Info

Cankerworm
Missing Info
	COST {{{cacost}}} UNIT SIZE {{{casize}}} FA {{{cafa}}} Warcaster 0 BASE Medium SPD 6 STR 8 MAT 7 RAT 5 M.A. N/A DEF 14 ARM 16 CMD N/A ESSENCE {{{essence}}} FOCUS N/A FURY N/A THRS N/A HP 24 F. Field N/A WJP {{{wjp}}} WBP {{{wbp}}} IHP {{{ihp}}} FA C UNIT SIZE N/A COST 9 N/A N/A N/A Warcaster 1 COST N/A N/A Understanding the Statblock

Warjack - All warjacks share the same set of special rules. Most notably being big and stompy. Click here for a newbie-friendly recap, or click here for the full rules.

Abilities

• Construct
• Stealth
• Parry
• Advance Deployment
• Pathfinder
• Salvage - When a warjack is destroyed while in this model's melee range, remove d6 damage points from this model. If the destroyed warjack was a heavy or a colossal, remove +3 additional damage points from this model.
• Bond [ Asphyxious ] - If this model begins the game in Asphyxious's battlegroup, it is bonded to them. This model is not considered to be bonded while under your opponent's control. While this model is bonded to Asphyxious and in their control range, Cankerworm gains Reposition [5"]. (Reposition [5"] - At the end of an activation in which it did not run or fail a charge, a model with Reposition [5"] can advance up to 5", then its activation ends.)

Weapons

Bite
		RNG				POW				P+S
		0.5				3				11
Armor-Piercing (★ Attack) - When calculating damage from this weapon, halve the base ARM stats of models hit.
Replicator
		RNG				POW				P+S
		0.5				5				13
Adapt - When Cankerworm uses the Salvage ability, you can have the Replicator gain the special rules and weapon qualities of one of the destroyed warjack's weapons. The Replicator becomes the type of weapon adapted (melee or ranged) and uses that weapons's RNG, ROF, AOE, and POW. This effect lasts until Cankerworm uses Adapt again.

Theme Forces

• When taken by Asphyxious (1), (2), or (3)
  • Black Industries
  • Dark Host
  • The Ghost Fleet
  • Scourge of the Broken Coast. Cankerworm gains Gang Fighter in this theme.

• When taken by Asphyxious4
  • Asphyxious4 can take Cankerworm in a plethora of Cryx, Convergence, and Mercenary theme forces.

• When taken by anyone else
  • Black Industries

Thoughts on Cankerworm

Cankerworm in a nutshell

Asphyxious1

Cankerworm is effectively everything you would want in a light combat jack at a bargain price. Offensively speaking, his bite will break heavies apart, the more armor the better. Average rolls give him approximately a 50% chance of breaking a system on a Khador juggernaut chassis, the gold standard of heavy jacks. Cankerworm is going to hurt them badly, he's going to require help to kill the target he's going for. Pathfinder give this little guy a very good chance of reaching his target in time.

Defensively speaking, stealth keeps him from being shot at. His defense is strong enough to justify a boost, and his armor isn't bad. Perhaps one of his greatest defensive strengths is his unique damage grid requires at least 12 damage to destroy a system, a Slayer stands at 10.66 (mitigated by a little more armor). Parry allows Cankerworm get stuck deep into enemy lines. When using the reposition bond from Gaspy, you get to see just how silppery this snake can be.

Put it together and you get a powerful anti-armor support piece.

Combos & Synergies

Asphyxious2

• Cankerworm is fine with his armor piercing bite, but don't ignore the salvage ability altogether. It can be very advantageous in the right situation. While having Cankerworm kill targets and stealing their weapons is great, keep an eye on your own warjacks near their demise. Bring some jacks with the idea of possibly replicating their weapons in mind.
  • While the Kraken has the largest gun in the Cryx arsenal, don't discount the chain weapon Harvesters.
  • Harrowers have reach thresher weapons. If your opponents is using large group of infantry, let Cankerworm adapt to the field by keeping your Harrower nearby.
  • In an odd twist of fate, if Cankerworm picks up a weapon with Chain Strike, it cannot use it (because it requires two initial attacks with that weapon to trigger the ability), but the Combo Strike weapon ability has no such wording. Therefore, if a Slayer dies next to Cankerworm, taking the Death Claw 'only' gives it +1 POW over the Replicator, but Cankerworm can use Combo Strike for a nice POW 20 attack before debuffs. Not bad for a little light, especially if the head gets crippled.
  • If you like running the Inflictor, keep a lookout if it dies near Cankerworm. DEF 14 ARM 16 with 24 boxes is annoying. DEF 14 ARM 16 with a SHIELD is infuriating on a light warjack.

Drawbacks & Downsides

Asphyxious3

• The armor piercing attack is a special attack - anything that forbids those will condemn the Cankerworm to rely on its mediocre basic attacks.

Tricks & Tips

Asphyxious4

• If you adapt a 2" reach or Chain Strike weapon then your melee range increases and that also increases your Salvage range.
• Know what rules are on a warjack's weapons, and what rules are on the warjack itself. Taking the Scavenger's Snapping jaws will grant Cankerworm the Assimilation ability, it will NOT grant the Scavenger's Finisher ability.
  • This is in your favor if you're ever playing against enemies with the Field Dependent ability, since that's a rule on the model, not the weapon. Cankerworm's just better at optimizing systems than Retribution scientists, it seems.

Other

Trivia

• Originally released in Warmachine: Legends (2008)
• Sculptor: Steve Saunders

Other Cryx models

Cryx Index       (Edit)
Battlegroup & Similar
Warcasters	Agathia - Aiakos2 - Asphyxious1 - Asphyxious2 - Asphyxious3 - Coven - Deneghra1 - Deneghra2 - Deneghra3 - Goreshade1 - Goreshade2 - Goreshade3 - Mortenebra1 - Mortenebra2 - Rahera - Scaverous - Skarre1 - Skarre2 - Skarre3 - Sturgis2 - Terminus - Venethrax
Warcaster attachments	The Withershadow Combine - Satyxis Blood Priestess - Skarlock Thrall - Doctor Stygius (Partisan) - Madelyn Corbeau (Mercenary)
Other Warjack Controllers	Jack Marshals: Iron Lich Overseer       "Junior Warcasters": Aiakos1 - Asphyxious4 - Deneghra0
Light	Cankerworm - Deathripper - Defiler - Helldiver - Nightwretch - Ripjaw - Scavenger - Shrike - Stalker
Heavy	Barathrum - Corruptor - Deathjack - Desecrator - Erebus - Harrower - Kharybdis - Inflictor - Leviathan - Malice - Nightmare - Reaper - Seether - Slayer
Colossal	Kraken - Sepulcher
Units, Solos, Battle Engines, & Structures
Units	Asphyxious4 - Bane Knights - Bane Riders - Bane Warriors - Bile Thralls - BO Boarding Party - BO Ironmongers - BO Smog Belchers - Bloodgorgers - Marauders - Carrion Thralls - Cephalyx Drudges - Cephalyx Overlords - Mechanithralls - Necrosurgeon - Revenant Cannon - Revenant Crew - Satyxis Gunslingers - Satyxis Blood Witches - Satyxis Raiders - Scharde Dirge Seers - Scharde Pirates - Soulhunters - The Devil's Shadow Mutineers - The Withershadow Combine
Solos	Aiakos1 - Agrimony - Axiara - Bane Lord Tartarus - Bloat Thrall - BTO Mobius - Captain Rengrave - Darragh Wrathe - Doctor Stygius - Deneghra0 - Gerlak - Hellslinger - Iron Lich Overseer - Machine Wraith - Master Gurglepox - Misery Cage - Necrotech - Ol' Grim - Pistol Wraith - Satyxis Blood Priestess - Satyxis Raider Captain - Scrap Thrall - Skarlock Thrall - Severa Blacktide - Soul Trapper - Warwitch Siren
Battle Engines & Structures	Wraith Engine
Theme Forces
Black Industries - Dark Host - The Ghost Fleet - Scourge of the Broken Coast
Mercenaries
Refer to Who Works for Whom and/or Category: Cryx Mercenary
This index was last updated: 2020.12

Rules Clarifications

Rules Clarification : Armor-Piercing and/or Case Cracker     (Edit) The correct maths is (Infernal Ruling): First halve the target's base ARM (what's printed on their card). Then round up. Then apply any +/- ARM modifiers (Shield, Spiny Growth, Dark Shroud, etc). There are examples of how to do maths on the Armor Piercing page.

Rules Clarification : Adapt      (Edit) If you Adapt a weapon with a longer melee range, your Salvage area increases too. You can use weapon rules that you'd think would require two arms, but it depends on the wording of the weapon in question. For instance, the Cankerworm ... can make a Combo Smite (★ Attack) after adapting a Slayer's Death Claw. can't make a Grab & Smash attack after adapting Nightmare's Wicked Claw. Cankerworm can adapt and use Retribution Field Dependent weapons for two reasons: Field Dependent is a rule on the Retribution model, not the weapon, so it doesn't "carry over" to Cankerworm. Field Dependent only triggers if the Field Generator is crippled. Cankerworm doesn't have a Generator, so he certainly doesn't have a crippled one.

Rules Clarification : Salvage      (Edit) Salvage triggers off friendlies dying, as well as enemies. If a warjack is destroyed in melee range of multiple models with Salvage, they all get to heal.

Rules Clarification : Warjack      (Edit) The Cortex/Induction core rule means a warjack cannot have more than 3 focus at any time (maybe 4 if they're really special). Many abilities give out focus and don't state an upper limit (such as Convection and Empower). Despite not stating an upper limit, they are always "hard-limited" by the core rule. A warjack can have more than 3 focus during a turn, though. For instance, a knocked down warjack can Power Up and be Allocated 2 focus, then spend 1 to shake knockdown, then another model could Empower it back up to 3. Warjacks cannot spend focus outside of their activation. For instance, they can't boost free strikes or trigger Powerful Attack on Broadsides. (Infernal Ruling) Inert warjacks Abilities that say they cannot be used if the model is stationary (such as Shield Guard) cannot be used while a warjack is inert, either. Refer "Warcaster Destruction", page 59 of the core rulebook.

Rules Clarification : Construct - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Stealth      (Edit) Stealth models are not invisible and you can target them - you'll just auto-miss most of the time. You can target them with a charge. You can target them with an AOE, have it auto-miss and scatter, luckily land on top of them anyway, and that will hit them.

Rules Clarification : Parry - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Advance Deployment      (Edit) Sometimes you can attach a WA or CA that doesn't have AD to a unit that does have AD. If you do, the attachment effectively gains AD and they can all advance deploy together. (Locked Thread)

Rules Clarification : Pathfinder      (Edit) Pathfinder (Edit) - Pathfinder does not apply to involuntary movement (pushes & slams). (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Bond      (Edit) Bonds are ineffective while the model is under your opponent's control. Refer the core rulebook. Bonds & Themes If a warjack/warbeast with a bond is in that caster's battlegroup, they can be taken in any theme force. Refer the core rulebook. This is true even if the caster isn't a full warcaster or warlock (this interaction changed as of 2018.06).

Rules Clarification : Reposition      (Edit) Models out of formation cannot move via Reposition. Refer to the "Out of Formation" rules in the core rulebook. End of Activation (Edit) Some end-of-activation abilities explicitly state your activation ends as part of resolving the ability, and some don't. Either way, you can never do anything extra during or after triggering an end-of-activation ability. You cannot cast spells, purchase additional attacks, use a mini-feat, etc. If you start resolving an end-of-activation-movement (such as Reposition) then you cannot trigger abilities that occur "at any time" (such as Go To Ground). Because you can't trigger it while moving, and after moving your activation has ended. (Infernal Ruling) For units: if any model in the unit starts resolving the unit's end-of-activation-movement, then no model in the unit can trigger an any-time ability. (Infernal Ruling) If you have more than one end-of-activation ability, you have to choose which one to resolve, then your activation ends and you cannot use the other one. See also the training article: LPG - End of Activation.