Unlimited Only
This model can only be used in the Unlimited game mode. You can see the other models with / without mk4 rules on this page.
Note that the rest of this page is about the model's Mark III rules.
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For more than 200 years the necromechanikal horror called the Deathjack has haunted the wilds of Western Immoren. Striking without warning, this infernal machine voraciously devours souls and leaves nothing but death and destruction in its wake.
Basic Info
| Deathjack1 |
| Missing Info |
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| COST |
{{{cacost}}} |
| UNIT SIZE |
{{{casize}}} |
| FA |
{{{cafa}}} |
| Warcaster 0 |
| BASE |
Large |
| SPD |
6 |
| STR |
12 |
| MAT |
8 |
| RAT |
N/A |
| M.A. |
7 |
| DEF |
13 |
| ARM |
19 |
| CMD |
N/A |
| ESSENCE |
{{{essence}}} |
| FOCUS |
N/A |
| FURY |
N/A |
| THRS |
N/A |
| HP |
32 |
| F. Field |
N/A |
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| WJP |
{{{wjp}}} |
| WBP |
{{{wbp}}} |
| IHP |
{{{ihp}}} |
| FA |
C |
| UNIT SIZE |
N/A |
| COST |
18 |
| N/A |
| N/A |
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| N/A |
| Warcaster 1 |
| COST |
N/A |
| N/A |
Understanding
the Statblock |
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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
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Construct
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Advance Deployment
- Magic Ability [ 7 ] - This model can cast spells. Normally this uses up the model's Combat Action and as such is limited to one spell per activation, but exceptions do exist.
- Skulls of Hate - This model can have up to 5 focus points at any time instead of the normal limit of 3. During your Control Phase, after focus allocation this model gains 1 focus point for each of its non-crippled arm systems.
- Snacking - When this model boxes a living model with a melee attack, it can choose to RFP the boxed model. When it does, this model can remove d3 damage points.
Weapons
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| Necroclaw (x2)
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RNG
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POW
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P+S
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LOCATION
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1
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6
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18
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1 each side
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| Horns
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RNG
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POW
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P+S
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LOCATION
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1
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3
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15
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Head
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- Hard Head - This model can add this weapon's POW to its head-butt and slam power attack damage rolls.
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Spells
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COST
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RNG
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AOE
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POW
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DUR
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OFF
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| Necromancy
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(★)
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Stats vary every time
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While this model is in its controller's control range, it can spend focus points to cast its controller's spells. This model cannot cast upkeep spells or spells with a RNG of SELF or CTRL. Use this model's Magic Ability score when making magic attack rolls.
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Theme Forces
Thoughts on the Deathjack
The Deathjack in a nutshell
Deathjack is a beatstick heavy - one of the best in the game - who also happens to be a spellcaster. He can one-round anything he gets to (including colossals with a little help), but he is too expensive to ever trade up (except against colossals), so he needs to get value from spellcasting in the first few rounds.
His positives are being fast, accurate, decent DEF/ARM/hitpoints, gets 3 focus per turn for free (and can be allocated another 2), and has a damage output on par with a colossal (up to seven P+S 18 attacks and a P+S 15 chaser). On top of all that, Deathjack can cast spell off of your caster's spell card (with some restrictions).
All this comes at a downside: his points cost. He is only slightly more durable than a Slayer but costs about twice as much, and he is a top priority for your opponent (even if they've never seen Deathjack on the table before, his physical model alone will tell your opponent "If you let me get in combat, you're going to regret it.")
This means that the formula for including DJ in your army very simple: Does you caster have a spell for him to cast every turn? Will DJ have an impact on the game every time he casts it?
- If the answer to both of these is "yes", Deathjack can be a worthy inclusion; but even then it is not guaranteed that he is the best choice for your list.
- If the answer to even one of these questions is "no", there will be a better warjack for you to spend your points on.
Deathjack is a flexible problem solver, but he is not something you put in the frontline to start a piece-trade. In truth, Deathjack is more of a 2nd warcaster than he is a warjack and you should treat him as such. Put him in the second line, casting spells as support, and don't let things get up close and personal until Round 3 or later.
DJ as a spellcaster
First off, a couple of notes about Necromancy:
- Unlike Spell Slave, this is not a Special Action. So DJ can cast spells at any time during his activation (like your warcaster does).
- He can cast more than one spell per turn, if he has enough focus (like your warcaster can).
- He can cast spells even while in melee (like your warcaster can).
Secondly, a couple of extra restrictions on Necromancy:
- He doesn't have a control range, so if a spell says something happens "in the spellcaster's control range" then that doesn't happen.
- For example, he can cast Excarnate but he can't use it to spawn a new Grunt.
- Notably, he cannot cast Overrun.
- However he does have a battlegroup, so he can target other warjacks with stuff like Locomotion.
Lastly, when it comes to DJ casting a spell from the warcaster's card, what you're looking for is:
Combos & Synergies
When considering whether or not to use Deathjack, seek two qualities in your caster:
- They should have a good spell for Deathjack to cast (see above)
- They should have something they can use to buff the DJ. Preferabbly something to increase DJ's threat range (e.g. Telekinesis, Mirage, Assail, Damnation).
Casters
- Aiakos2
- DJ can cast Stranglehold and White Squall. Also DJ is more accurate with spells than Aiakos himself.
- Aiakos can give DJ Assail for +2" move, or Scything Touch for +2 melee damage, and Carnage for +2 to hit.
- Aiakos' feat makes DJ faster
- Deneghra2
- DJ can cast Breath Stealer (which is good), Hellmouth (which is great), and Venom
- Deneghra can use Damnation to increase DJ's speed.
- Deneghra's feat makes DJ incorporeal which can be a great way to keep him alive, or to deliver him straight through the enemy frontline.
- Scaverous
- DJ can cast Excarnate (note it won't spawn a Grunt) or Telekinesis. Telekinesis is such a great spell that you can never have enough TK over the course of the game.
- Scaverous can give DJ Death Ward for +2 ARM, or various debuffs on the enemy.
- Scaverous's feat makes DJ spells more accurate. Scaverous's soul-based Knowledge of the Damned makes DJ overall better (if you can get souls)
Non-caster combos
- A Warwitch Siren is always useful to get rid of Disruption on your jack, and fill it up with a focus, so it can still charge and get stuck in.
- The Black Ogrun Ironmongers officer packs Curse, which gives DJ a to-hit buff on both his melee AND spells.
- The Hermit make him hit either harder or more accurately with spells. Mad Visions is also great for a model that is so very high on the enemie's priority list to take down.
Drawbacks & Downsides
- Infamous and feared; DJ is a high priority target.
- Despite his improved DEF/ARM/hitpoints, DJ is still a Cryx jack and so dies pretty easily.
- Only available in one theme.
- Such a big points investment that he warps your army list design to be centred all around him.
- No native Pathfinder
- His Skulls of Hate are vulnerable to targeted damage (Sniper, Precision Strike) and Disruption
Tricks & Tips
- Deploy him facing your army so he can cast friendly spells on them first turn, then trample towards the enemy battlelines. You don't need LOS for a trample.
- If you aren't ready to commit Deathjack into combat, use him as a glorified arc node for offensive spells. You could, say, give him just two focus from your caster and suddenly you've got 5 focus to cast a spell with. That's enough to cast a COST 3 nuke and fully boost the attack and damage, but at an effective cost of only 2 focus from your caster!
- Just try not to leave him charge range after casting a spell.
- Deathjack has some really impressive combat output while his arms and cortex are uncrippled, and can operate near-autonomously. Whether or not you'll need an extra focus from your caster to get the job done depends on your target. As a rule of thumb, with DJ's intial attacks, it will take him on average...
- 1 focus to kill a Slayer chassis warjack.
- 2 focus to kill a Ironclad chassis warjack.
- 3 focus to kill a Crusader chassis warjack.
- 5 focus to kill a Juggernaut chassis warjack.
Other
Trivia
Other Cryx models
Rules Clarifications
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Rules Clarification : Open Fist (aka, Power Attack Throw) (Edit)
- Throw ( Edit )
- See also the Throw article for a recap of the core Throw rules.
- If a model is somehow thrown at itself (which can happen with Durst1's feat) it would not move, it would be knocked down, and it would take a standard power attack damage roll but it would not take an additional die for colliding with itself. (Infernal Ruling)
- Because you move the target model between the attack roll and the damage roll, you can get different buffs applied to the two rolls. For instance, if you throw the target in or out of a Flanking model's melee range.
- Incorporeal vs Slammed/Thrown models ( Edit )
- Incorporeal models cannot be moved by someone trying to slam them.
- Slammed models can move through Incorporeal models.
- If they have enough movement to get past them, no dramas.
- If they land on them, you move the Incorporeal model out of the way as per the Rule of Least Disturbance.
- If the Incorporeal model cannot be moved (i.e. it's a flag) then you move the slammed model out of the way, also by the rule of Least Disturbance.
- For the purposes of Collateral Damage, only the model(s) you contacted before you applied the rule of Least Disturbance count as contacted.
- The same logic applies to Throws.
- Collateral Damage
- Collateral damage cannot be boosted and is not considered damage from an attack or model. Refer page 33 of the 2021.08 version of the rules pdf. As a result:
- It doesn't trigger stuff that relies on being hit by an enemy (such as Shock Field) or damaged by an enemy (such as Vengeance).
- It doesn't get bonus damage from stuff that adds to a model's damage roll (such as Signs & Portents or Prey).
- It doesn't matter if the attacker has crippled weapon systems or aspects.
- Throw - Power Attack
- When you make a Throw Power Attack, no other abilities of the Fist weapon (such as Chain Strike) are applied unless they specifically mention Throws. (Locked Thread)
- If you do a Power Attack Throw and you choose to throw the target directly away, no deviation is rolled to determine the final position of the model. (Locked thread)
- A model that cannot be targeted by melee attacks (such as Una2's feat) cannot have models thrown at them, either. (Infernal Ruling)
- Since throwing Model [A] at Model [B] involves making a melee attack roll vs Model [B] which is out of your melee range, it technically breaks a whole bunch of core rules. (Infernal Checking)
- Even though you make a "melee attack roll" vs Model [B] you don't actually make a melee attack vs it. Also, the damage it suffers is from Collateral damage, not from the original attack. So you can't trigger stuff like Snacking from damage you did to Model B.
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Rules Clarification: : Magical Damage (Edit)
(Click Expand to read)
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* The "Damage Type: Magical" is not inherited by "secondary" damage from a weapon. That is, stuff like arcs (Electro Leap) or hazards (Scather). (Infernal Ruling)
- All spells have "Damage Type: Magical" (refer errata).
- This is inherited by "immediate" secondary damage (such as Eruption of Spines). (Infernal Ruling)
- and might be inherited by "lingering" secondary damage (see below).
- If a spell leaves a template in play that does damage to models that walk around in it, then:
- if it is not described as a hazard it will do magical damage to models that walk around in it. (Example: Razor Wall)
- if it is a hazard then it will not do magical damage to models that walk around in it. Instead, it does whatever damage type is specified by the spell description. (Example: Breath of Corruption).
- (Infernal Ruling)
- If a weapon/spell includes Magic Damage and another kind of elemental damage it will still damage Incorporeal models. Incorporeal models are not affected by the rule "if an attack does multiple types of damage and a model is immune to at least one it is immune to the entire attack."
The phrase "immune to non-magical damage" should be interpreted as "immune to damage that doesn't include Damage Type: Magical" (not interpreted as "has immunity to Corrosion and Electricity and Cold and etc.")
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Rules Clarification : Hard Head (Edit)
- You can add the POW even if the weapon system is crippled.
- Hard Head doesn't get applied to collateral damage, because that is a separate type of roll. Refer page 45 of the mini rulebook.
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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.
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Rules Clarification : Construct - None yet. (Edit)
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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)
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Rules Clarification : Magic Ability (Edit)
- Nearly all Magic Ability spells require the spellcaster to use their Combat Action to cast the spell. As such it is not an "at any time" ability (like it is when warcasters/warlocks cast spells). This means ...
- You must complete your movement before you use a MA.
- A model in a unit cannot use its Combat Action to cast a spell until all members of the unit have completed their movement. (Infernal Ruling)
- You cannot make initial ranged or initial melee attacks on the same turn you use a MA.
- You cannot buy additional melee/ranged attacks after using a MA special attack. Refer to the core rulebook, "Special attacks listed as a rule of the model itself are neither melee attacks nor ranged attacks. The rules for these special attacks indicate the nature of any additional attacks that can be made afterward, if any."
- You cannot use a MA on the same turn you charge. Because a charge must (almost always) be followed by a melee attack.
- There are a few models that can use a Magic Ability without using their Combat Action. These models get around all the restrictions listed above.
- Models with Geomancy or Necromancy can use a Magic Ability at "any time" just like a warcaster/warlock.
- Models with Battle Wizard or Necrophage can make melee attacks then get a bonus "free" spell.
- Models with Combat Caster can cast a spell before charging, then do a normal charge + melee attack.
- Note that Battle Wizards, Combat Casters, etc have the option to use their Combat Action to cast a spell. Their special rule is in addition to the normal spell casting, not instead of.
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Rules Clarification: : Necromancy (Edit)
(Click Expand to read)
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Important Note
This Rules Clarification is very similar to the ones for Spell Slave and Geomancy (since all 3 are very similar abilities). Where Necromancy is different to the other two, the text has been coloured purple.
Who does the casting
- It is the Deathjack that does the casting, not the warcaster. (Infernal Ruling)
- It's not anything simple like the warcaster getting an extra spell during their own activation.
- Nor is it anything like an arc node.
- Any buffs/debuffs currently on your warcaster/warlock are completely irrelevant.
- For stuff that interacts with spellcasters (such as Witch Hunter) it is the location of the Deathjack that matters, not the location of the warcaster.
- If the Deathjack is within an area of "models cannot cast spells within this area" effect, it cannot cast spells. Regardless of where your warcaster is.
- If the warcaster is within an area of "models cannot cast spells within this area" effect, that has no affect on what the Deathjack can do.
When/how does the Deathjack cast
- Deathajck uses his Magic Ability to cast spells, but because it is neither a (★ Attack) or (★ Action) it means he can cast spells as an "Any Time" ability.
- The Deatjack must pay the full COST of the spell.
- Since it pays the full cost of a spell, it is affected by stuff like Lamentation.
What spells can the Deathjack choose to cast
- The Deathjack cannot cast spells with a range of SELF or CTRL, or that are an UPKEEP.
- Unlike Spell Slaves and Geomancers, it can cast spells with a COST more than 3.
- It can cast spells that use the phrase "Spellcaster's battlegroup" because it's in the battlegroup.
- In addition to this, the Deathjack is limited by the definition of 'Spellcaster'. Often it will be able to cast a spell fine, but the benefits won't be fully applicable to the Deathjack.
- Deathjack cannot benefit from anything that occurs in the 'Spellcaster's CTRL area' because they don't have one. (Infernal Ruling)
For instance, a Deathjack that casts Excarnate will not be able to summon a new grunt.
- Deathjack cannot benefit from spells that give the caster Focus. Such benefits are limited to models with the 'Focus Manipulation' rule, which only warcasters have.
For instance, a Spell Slave that casts Siphon Bolt would still take focus from the enemy, but won't gain any focus itself.
How can they boost the spell
- The Deathjack can spend focus to boost, just like with a regular attack.
Other
- The Deathjack doesn't gain any buffs/abilities that are on your warlock/warcaster (such as True Sight).
- The Deathjack cannot channel spells through arc nodes. You can only channel through nodes in your control range, and he doesn't have a control range.
- The Deathjack can use spells like Annihilation to gain enemy souls. But he will be unable to use the soul tokens so they will stay on the Deathjack for the rest of the game (doing nothing). (Infernal Ruling)
- Not only are warjacks in the caster's battlegroup, they are also in each other's battlegroup. In other words, all the warjacks are in Deathjack's battlegroup. (Infernal Ruling)
- This means DJ can cast spells like Locomotion. Also, he can cast it on the same target as Mortenebra2 because the spell is limited to "target warjack once per activation" not "target warjack once per turn."
- Despite having a battlegroup, DJ can't cast spells like Overrun because he doesn't have a control range.
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Rules Clarification : Skulls of Hate (Edit)
- Short version: You get 3 focus for free and can allocate another 2.
- Long version (Refer to Control Phase, pg 29 of pdf).
- First you gain 1 focus from Power Up (Step 2)
- Then you allocate focus from your warcaster (Step 3). You can allocate anything from 0 to 4 focus.
- Finally you gain 1 focus from each Skull, up to your limit of 5 (Step 5)
- The Skulls don't care about CTRL range. So if you're out of control range, you'll get zero from Power Up, zero from allocation, and 2 from the Skulls.
- Shaking effects occurs simultaneously with getting the Skull's focus.
- The Deathjack's focus limit is always 5, regardless of whether the arms are crippled or not.
- Disruption will prevent you getting focus from the Skulls.
- Fail-Safe does not let you ignore your crippled arms for the purposes of getting focus. (Infernal Ruling)
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Rules Clarification : Snacking (Edit)
- You can use Snacking to RFP your target even if you're at full health. (Locked thread)
- Snacking occurs at boxed, and thus:
- Doesn't prevent abilities that trigger at disabled (such as Tough, Self-Sacrifice, etc).
- Might prevent abilities that trigger at boxed, depending on who the active player is and whose model the ability triggered on. Refer the 'Triggers' section (pg 10 of the pdf)
- Does prevent abilties that trigger at destroyed (such as collecting soul tokens, etc)
- You can snack friendly models.
- You may choose where each individual point of healing goes.
- If you kill multiple models with a single attack (such as trampling over them) then you get to heal once for each model killed.
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