Drago

Drago Khador Character Heavy Warjack

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.

All Berserkers have the roughened look of decades of service, but Drago stands out even among such company. While it has a cortex as old and unstable as any Berserker's, the passing of long years has removed many of the limited restraints that once held the machine back in battle. Mechaniks keep it chained up like a wild beast when not fighting, for Drago unleashes unmitigated violence at the slightest provocation.

Basic Info

Drago
Missing Info
	COST {{{cacost}}} UNIT SIZE {{{casize}}} FA {{{cafa}}} Warcaster 0 BASE Large SPD 4 STR 12 MAT 7 RAT N/A M.A. N/A DEF 11 ARM 18 CMD N/A ESSENCE {{{essence}}} FOCUS N/A FURY N/A THRS N/A HP 32 (★) F. Field N/A WJP {{{wjp}}} WBP {{{wbp}}} IHP {{{ihp}}} FA C UNIT SIZE N/A COST 13 N/A N/A (★) Has only 2 Cortex hitboxes 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
• Berserk - When this model destroys one or more models with a melee attack during its Combat Action, immediately after the attack is resolved it must make one additional melee attack against another model in its melee range.
• Bond [ Vladimir ] - If this model begins the game in Vladimir'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 Vladimir and in their control range, you can choose not to make Unstable rolls for it.
• Imprint [Grave Wind] - This model can spend 1 focus point at any time during its activation to gain +2 DEF and Poltergeist for one round. (Poltergeist - When an enemy model misses a model with Poltergeist with an attack, immediately after the attack is resolved you can choose to push the enemy model d3" directly away from the model with Poltergeist.)
• Unstable - At the end of an activation in which this model spent more than 1 focus point, roll a d6. If the roll is equal to or less than the number of focus points spent, this model explodes and other models within 3" of it suffer an unboostable POW 14 blast damage roll. Remove this model from play.

Weapons

Executioner Axe (x2)
		RNG				POW				P+S				LOCATION
		1				5				17				1 Each Side
Critical Amputation - On a critical hit on a warjack or warbeast, fill in the unmarked damage boxes or circles on the last column or branch damaged.

Theme Forces

• When taken by Vladimir
  • Armored Korps
  • Flame in the Darkness
  • Jaws of the Wolf. Drago gains Pathfinder in this theme.
  • Legion of Steel
  • Warriors of the Old Faith. Only Vladimir3 can take him in this theme. Drago becomes both a Khador model and Protectorate model in this theme.
  • Winter Guard Kommand
  • Wolves of Winter

• When taken by anyone else
  • Wolves of Winter

Thoughts on Drago

Drago in a nutshell

Drago is something of a curiosity, and suffers a little from lack of direction. He is ultimately an "elite budget heavy" which means he ends up at a mid-range price point. He's good at slaying hordes of non-elite Warriors, provided they group up tightly because he lacks 2" reach. He can crack armor decently well, in a faction known for doing that better for cheaper. He can boost his defense a little bit, which for a Khador goes about from "anything but snake eyes" to "gee you need a 4 to hit me." Due to theme restrictions on characters and the Unstable rule he will only ever be fielded with a Vlad, none of whom can help increase his def further.

Even with Vlad you'll frequently prefer to take either a Juggernaut or two vanilla Berserkers instead which is a shame since Drago has one of the best sculpts in the Iron Kingdoms.

Combos & Synergies

Vladimir1

Vladimir2

Vladimir3

Khador in general has no problem shredding even the toughest infantry in close combat, and Drago on his own is only allowed in the Wolves of Winter theme. That makes him a really niche pick that you're only likely to consider running under any of Vladimir Tzepesci's incarnations.

• Vladimir1 - Signs & Portents is a universal MAT and damage fixer, and can help you to land important attacks even against elusive targets. It is also useful to re-ignite your Berserk attack-chain. Drago has no means to navigate rough terrain, so Boundless Charge goes a long way of helping him.
• Vladimir2 - Hand of Fate makes Drago far deadlier than he appears. High MAT + additional die to swing the bell curve means his attacks are going to hit where they're aimed, so fully-loading him can bring you five attacks that are hyper accurate and deal fairly good damage. That being said, Vlad has no shortage of good HoF targets and all of them make probably better use of it that Drago does. Assail is a neat spell for Drago though, giving him a much needed speed buff.
• Vladimir3 - Hand of Fate is also present here, but if you just want to shred infantry, and from afar, do it with Infernal Machine. It synergizes superbly with the feat granting Side Step for some crazy or unexpected vectors to get deep into enemy lines. This helps mitigate his lack of 2" reach but keep in mind you can only Sidestep off of initial attacks, not Berserk attacks, and also note you must resolve the Sidestep movement before the Berserk attack (Appendix A, Step 12 vs Step 14).

• Greylord Adjunct and Greylord Ternion - The Imprint and Blizzard stacked give Drago DEF 15 against shooting, which is quite elusive for a Khadoran jack. Ice Cages also set him up to smash things.
• Menite Archon or Purifier (the latter only in Warriors of the Old Faith) - Both have Ashen Veil, so if you park them next to Drago and activate the Imprint his DEF becomes high enough to be consistently missed. Add in Enliven from a Vassal of Menoth and Drago will be able to move if he is hit, or move the attacking model if he is missed.
• Greylord Forge Seer - Plain old empower to make the Imprint cost hurt less. Can also marshal him in Wolves of Winter to circumvent Unstable and grant him Blessed, magic weapon and Crush!

Drawbacks & Downsides

• Normal Khador complaints: no innate ability to mitigate rough terrain, low predictable threat range, no 2" reach, low defence... and lower armor besides
• Costs almost as much as 2 Berserker, and as expensive than a Juggernaut, while the latter has a better offensive profile.
• As other members of its chassis, compared to the Juggernaut-class it lags behind in terms of durability, too. Unless you activated the imprint and have a defence buff on him.
• Unstable: It never works when you want it to, and it always works when you don't want it to.
  • You can't rely on it to block charge lanes, threaten free strikes, etc. You always have to plan your other models' positions around the assumption that Unstable removes this model.
  • Unstable is particularly bad on a somewhat pricey character heavy, therefore he should only be run with Vladimir
  • Unstable and spending focus on the Imprint can be a bit of a trap.

Tricks & Tips

• Critical Amputation has a huge boost against Gargantuans. As it fills all unmarked damage box on a damage spiral's branch, you can completely remove a whole aspect with a lucky roll. Not something to build a strategy on, but spectacular, when it comes into play.
• Popping Poltergeist, then running up behind a wall or obstruction will give you DEF17 - something that is fairly uncommon on Khador heavies.
• If you are playing Wolves of Winter, the above trick works even better with a Superiority caster.
• Pushing enemies away with Poltergeist is optional. Enemies will have to second-guess whether or not they'll be pushed out of melee after their first missed attack, and position their forces accordingly.
• Ignoring Unstable due to your bond is optional. If you want to go on suicidal by overloading Drago, you may still go for a pretty sizeable kaboom.
• Note that the bond is only active while in Vlad's control range. Taking a Boundless Charge too far can be an explosive mistake.

Other

Trivia

• Sculptor: Jason Hendricks
• Released in Warmachine: Legends (2008)

Other Khador models

Khador Index       (Edit)
Battlegroup & Similar
Warcasters	Butcher1 - Butcher2 - Butcher3 - Harkevich - Irusk1 - Irusk2 - Karchev1 - Karchev2 - Kozlov - Malakov2 - Old Witch1 - Old Witch2 - Sorscha1 - Sorscha2 - Sorscha3 - Strakhov1 - Strakhov2 - Vlad1 - Vlad2 - Vlad3 - Zerkova1 - Zerkova2
Warcaster attachments	Khador: War Dog - Greylord Adjunct Mercenary: Madelyn Corbeau - Reinholdt - Wyshnalyrr
Other Warjack Controllers	"Junior" Warcasters: Malakov1 - Sorscha0 'Jack Marshals: Man-o-War Kovnik - Greylord Forge Seer
Heavy Warjacks	Beast-09 - Behemoth - Berserker - Black Ivan - Decimator - Demolisher - Destroyer - Devastator - Drago - Grolar - Juggernaut - Kodiak - Mad Dog - Marauder - Rager - Ruin - Spriggan - Torch
Colossal	Conquest - Victor
Units, Solos, & Battle Engines
Units	Assault Kommandos - Battle Mechaniks - Black Dragons - Doom Reaver Swordsmen - Great Bears of the Gallowswood - Greylord Outriders - Greylord Ternion - Iron Fang Pikemen - Iron Fang Uhlans - Kayazy Assassins - Kayazy Eliminators - Kossite Woodsmen - MOW Atanas & Standard - MOW Bombardiers - MOW Demolition Corps - MOW Shocktroopers - Widowmaker Scouts - WG Field Gun - WG Infantry - WG Mortar Crew - WG Rifle Corps Ranking Officer CA : Koldun Kapitan Valachev
Solos	Bulkhead - Fenris - Greylord Adjunct - Greylord Forge Seer - Iron Fang Kovnik - Jozef - Koldun Lord - Malakov1 - Manhunter - MOW Drakhun - MOW Kovnik - MOW Strike Tanker - MOW Suppresion Tanker - Markov - Sofya - Sorscha0 - Ol' Grim - Underboss Vizkoya - War Dog - Widowmaker Marksman - WG Artillery Kapitan - Yuri1 - Yuri2
Battle Engines	Gun Carriage - Man-o-War Siege Chariot - Man-o-War Assault Chariot
Theme Forces
Armored Korps - Flame in the Darkness - Jaws of the Wolf - Legions of Steel - Warriors of the Old Faith - Winter Guard Kommand - Wolves of Winter
Mercenaries
Refer to Who Works for Whom and/or Category: Khador Mercenary
This index was last updated: 2021.11

Rules Clarifications

Rules Clarification : Amputation      (Edit) Amputation triggers after you've marked normal damage. So it goes: Roll damage ; mark damage ; fill in unmarked boxes/circles.(Infernal Ruling) Amputation doesn't do anything if no boxes are filled in / the attack deals no damage. (Infernal Ruling)

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 : Berserk      (Edit) Berserk attacks will generate even more Berserk attacks. You keep going until you miss, something survives, or you run out of targets. Berserk grants an additional attack which by definition can only occur during your Combat Action. Therefore Berserk doesn't work on free strikes, impact attacks, etc. "Immediately" means you can't save it until later in your activation. Berserk must be resolved at step 14 of the attack sequence (refer Apdx A). You cannot use "Any Time" abilities while resolving the original attack, the Berserk attack, or between the attacks. Refer Apdx A. Berserk doesn't trigger during a frenzy. (Infernal Ruling) Berserk will not trigger if the target uses an ability to move the damage to another model (such as a warlock transfer). But it will trigger if they use an ability to move the attack to a different model (such as Grim Salvation). Berserk has a weird niche interaction with Agathon's abilities, which you can read here. Attack-Generating Abilities (Edit) From the core rulebook: When a model is granted more attacks as a result of an attack it made, it gains only one. If two or more special rules would grant the model another attack as a result of making an attack, its controlling player chooses which special rule to apply. If you trigger two attack-generating abilities (such as Black Spot and Kill Shot) you choose to resolve one and "lose" the other (unless you trigger it again later). If you trigger two attack-generating abilities, and one of them is compulsory (such as Black Spot and Berserk), you must choose to resolve the compulsory one. (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 : Imprint - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Poltergeist      (Edit) If the attack is out of range, Poltergeist is still triggered. This is because an out of range attack misses automatically, and an auto-miss is still a miss. If a single attack misses multiple Poltergeists (for instance a Thresher), then you get to resolve the pushes in any order you choose (after the last thresher attack is resolved).

Rules Clarification : Unstable      (Edit) You have to resolve Unstable even if some other triggered ability causes a "activation ends immediately" situation. (Infernal Ruling) You can spend a focus even if you have a buff that says "Warjack can do [X] without spending focus" (such as Full Throttle or Boundless Charge). The "can" is optional. (Locked Thread) Not considered an attack & "Non-attack damage roll" (Edit)   [Show/Hide] There are two ways you can get these "non-attack" damage rolls. Type 1 - A secondary damage roll that is not considered to be an attack. Some attacks create a second damage roll that is explicitly "not considered an attack" (such as Electro Leap). (Note that although the secondary damage roll is not an attack, the original attack certainly is and will trigger stuff normally. These clarifications don't apply to the original attack.) Type 2 - A damage roll that's not from an attack. Some special abilities & special actions tell you to make a damage roll without mentioning whether it is considered an attack or not (such as Vent Steam and Flak Field). When it comes to other abilities that trigger on damage (such as Vengeance) both types function the same way. For brevity we'll refer to both as "Pure Damage". Pure damage is not an attack, so doesn't trigger stuff like Vengeance. Pure damage is not an attack, so doesn't benefit from stuff that affects 'attack damage rolls' (such as Bethayne1's feat). (Infernal Ruling) Pure damage (normally) doesn't actually hit the model(s) it damages, so doesn't trigger stuff like Shock Field. (A few of them do specify they hit, though, like Warhead.) Pure damage is not from an attack, but it is (normally) damage from the original model. This has two implications: It's not an attack from a weapon so: it won't gain damage buffs from the weapon (such as Poison). it won't gain any Damage Types from the weapon. (Infernal Ruling) It is a damage roll from a model so: it can be boosted. (Infernal Rulings) ... unless the rule specifically says it can't, like a Scrap Thrall explosion or Lightning Generator. it will gain benefits that worded "this model gains ... on damage rolls" (such as Prey). (Infernal Ruling) warbeasts with a Crippled Body will roll one less die. (Infernal Ruling) Exception: Some damage is not from an attack and not from a model (for example, Collateral damage). In this case, you should reverse the stuff listed under #2 above.