Kayazy Assassins

Kayazy Assassins Mercenary, & Khador Partisan, Kayazy Unit Kayazy Assassin Underboss Command Attachment

Mixed How usable this model is in Mk IV depends on the Faction: Khador: This model is available in Unlimited Khador, but no longer counts as a Khador model (instead it is merely a Mercenary that works for Khador). Mercenary: This model is available in Unlimited. You can view the Mk3 models that made it into a Legacy Army at this page. Note that the rest of this page is about the model's Mark III rules.

The kayazy, merchant-princes of the new Khadoran Empire, have long employed bands of skilled and ruthless bladesmen to settle scores. Now these private soldiers go south to protect their masters' investment in the war. With a swift dueling style honed on the pitiless streets, these casual killers easily avoid unfavorable fights to attack in a group and quickly dispatch even well armored foes.

The ruthless underbosses lead handpicked teams of assassins in the service of their Kayazy masters. These skilled, patience, and intelligent killers rise to their rank through murder and cutthroat competition. They demand a sizable price for their services, but are worth every coin. An underboss leading an assassination team all but assures the death of the target.

Basic Info

Mercenary - This unit will work as a Khador.

• Partisan [ Khador ] - When included in a Khador army, this model/unit is a Khador model/unit instead of a Mercenary model/unit.

Kayazy Assassins
Missing Info
	COST {{{cacost}}} UNIT SIZE {{{casize}}} FA {{{cafa}}} Unit / Underboss BASE Small SPD 6 STR 6 MAT 6 / 8 RAT N/A M.A. N/A DEF 13 ARM 12 CMD 7 / 9 ESSENCE {{{essence}}} FOCUS N/A FURY N/A THRS N/A HP 1 / 5 F. Field N/A WJP {{{wjp}}} WBP {{{wbp}}} IHP {{{ihp}}} FA 2 UNIT SIZE 6 or 10 +1 CA COST 8 or 13 +4 CA 1.5 pts each N/A N/A Warcaster 1 COST N/A N/A Understanding the Statblock

Abilities

• Entire Unit
  • Parry
  • Stealth
  • Anatomical Precision - When this model's melee damage roll fails to exceed the ARM of the living model hit, that model suffers 1 damage point. A model disabled by a melee attack made by this model cannot make a Tough roll.
  • Duelist - This model gains +2 DEF against melee attack rolls.
  • Gang - When making a melee attack targeting an enemy model in the melee range of another model in this unit, this model gains +2 to melee attack and melee damage rolls.

• Underboss
  • He has a better statline
  • Tough
  • Kill Stroke [ Minifeat ] - This model can use Kill Stroke once per game at any time during its unit's activation. This activation, models in this unit gain Backstab. (Backstab - While completely within the back arc of an enemy model, a model with Backstab gains an additional die on its attack and damage rolls against that model.)
  • Tactics: Shadow Dance - Models in this unit gain Shadow Dance. (Shadow Dance - When a model with Shadow Dance hits an enemy model with a melee attack, immediately after the attack is resolved you can place another model in its unit completely within 3” of the placed model’s current position. A model can be placed by Shadow Dance only once per turn.)

Weapons

Leader & Grunts	Assassin Blade  RNG   POW   P+S  0.5 4 10
Underboss	Assassin Blade (x2)  RNG   POW   P+S  0.5 4 10

Theme Forces

• Mercenary
  • The Irregulars
  • Operating Theater (only if controlled by a Cephalyx Dominator)

• Khador
  • As a Mercenary model, they can be taken in most of the Khador themes. However, this will use your "Up to one Mercenary unit" slot (most of the time).
  • Armored Korps
  • Flame in the Darkness
  • Jaws of the Wolf. They don't use your "Up to one Merc" slot in this theme.
  • Legion of Steel
  • Warriors of the Old Faith
  • Winter Guard Kommand
  • Wolves of Winter

Thoughts on Kayazy Assassins

Command Attachment

Kayazy Assassins in a nutshell

Kayazy Assassins can do a lot of work if they are able to reach the opposing force, especially if they can charge one turn and backstab the next, or perhaps even do both on the same turn. They die fast to blast damage, and so prefer spells like Solid Ground or Iron Flesh to keep them alive. They also lack pathfinder and have a below average threat range. Casters that shore up their deficiencies are required or they just die.

Combos & Synergies

    Khador    

• Irusk1 and Irusk2 are the main infantry support casters in the faction; they have a readily available package to boost hitting power, or survival on the Kayazys. Doubling up Stealth with no-kd tough makes them suprisingly tricky to get rid of.
• Any Iron Flesh caster does soemthing for them, as blasts are their natural predator.
• Any of the casters with Fury ups their offensive profile significantly. Butcher1 in particular, with him you can live the dream by protecting them on the advance with Iron Flesh, then swap to Fury and have them roll up to 5 damage die under feat at P+S 13.
• Kozlov has an all important SPD buff for them as well as Fury and with Shadow Dance they can get into very interesting places for Gang Fighter.
• Malakov2 - Discombobulate means you can start your Shadow Dance with a Backstab charge. Veil of Mists alleviates the lack of Pathfinder.

    Mercenaries    

• Gorten Grundback has Solid Ground, which helps them not die but doesn't help their threat range issues.
• Rhupert or Saxon grant Pathfinder, Rhupert can also give them Tough which is neat with Gorten's Solid Ground spell
• Lanyssa's Hunter's Mark helps them get there.
• Crosse1 for even easier backstabs.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• They rely on Back Stab to get any work against harder targets done but are only SPD 6 and have no movement tricks to speak of that would help them get into back arcs.
• Low armor. Anything with high MAT/RAT, or auto-hit will clear these guys fast. They are especially vulnerable to sprays.
• Low speed and DEF for their roles (Duelist somewhat mitigates that).
• Anatomical Precision only works against living models and there's a bunch of non-living stuff that is very popular, including Archons, Jacks, Clocks, Immortals, ect.
• In Mercenaries they compete directly with Croe's Cutthroats for the role of a stealthy unit that relies on Backstab for offence, and Croes usually come out on top.

Tricks & Tips

Oh no, the left-hand assassins have charged out of formation (the red aura)! They won't get to attack this turn.
... or won't they?

After the right-hand assassins have finished their attacks, the Underboss can be Shadow Danced over and get the left-hand ones back in formation before they attack.
After that, you can get the right-hand ones to Shadow Dance back in formation, ready for next turn.

• Parry lets you get into the enemy's back arc to get your Kill Stroke.
• Shadow Dance:
  • You can't place the model that just attacked.
  • You place the model within 3" of itself, not the attacking model.
  • You cannot place yourself out of formation (refer to the core rulebok).
  • Shadow Dance can be used on free strikes. So if something tries to get away from you, simply hit them and get another assassin to jump back in their way.
  • Shadow Dance can be used to spread your unit out really thin and make attacks "out of formation" - see the thumbnails.

Other

Trivia

Kayazy Godfather; Minicrate Exclusive.

• The unit & UA were both released in Warmachine: Legends (2008)
• This model has a limited edition sculpt, released in 2022.01.

Other Faction 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:  : Partisan      (Edit) (Click Expand to read)

Which Faction am I? Partisans are Mercenary (or Minion) models unless they're taken in their "Home" Faction. For example, a Mercenary model that is Partisan [Cygnar]: When used in most armies it is "friendly Faction" only to other Mercenary models. When used in a Cygnar army it is "friendly Faction" to Cygnar models ... and stops being "friendly Faction" to any other Mercenaries in that Cygnar army. In a multi-caster game, Partisans count as the main army's Faction and not as a Mercenary models (if playing a Faction other than Mercaneries). (Infernal Ruling) Attachments If a Partisan unit can get a special attachment from their Partisan Faction (for instance a Soulless Escort or Trollkin Sorcerer) then they can only get that attachment when they're in the Partisan Faction. They can't take it when working as a regular Mercenary. (Locked thread) When taken in their Partisan Faction, they can't have a Ranking Officer attached. Partisan warcasters If you have a Partisan caster, you must choose whether your army is a Mercenary force or a [Partisan Faction] force. What warjacks the caster can take are then limited by your choice. Partisan casters can be taken in [Partisan Faction] theme forces. Refer to the main rulebook. Partisan casters can be fielded in multiple-caster games. (Locked thread) See also the Category: Partisan for what happens if you mix and match Partisan casters and Merc casters in multi-caster games. Partisans & Theme Forces (Edit) Partisans are Mercenary/Minion models, so there are two ways you can add them to a theme force: Freely: If the Partisan is on the list of allowed models, then you can take as many as you want plus another Mercenary unit/solo. (Infernal Ruling) They can be explicitly allowed (for example Jaws of the Wolf allows "Kayazy models/units" so Partisan Kayayz can be used freely). They can be implicitly allowed (for example Scourge of the Broken Coast allows "living Cryx models/units" and Partisan Cephalyx fit that criteria, so they can be used freely). (Infernal Ruling) Limited: If the Partisan isn't on the list of allowed models, it does use up your "Up to one Mercenary/Minion" slot, so you can only have the one. Whether you used option 1 or 2 above, once they're in your theme force they count as a Faction model and so: They can be taken as a Requistion Option (if they fit the Requistion description). For example Lanyssa can be taken as a free solo in the Legion of Dawn theme. (Infernal Ruling) They will get any theme benefit that they fit the description for. For example Storm Division gives all Cygnar models Immunity Electricity, so Partisan Mercs in that theme get immunity too. For example Nemo4's Mechaniks get Reposition [3] in Heavy Metal. (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Parry - 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 : Blight Storm and/or Anatomical Precision and/or Affliction     (Edit) With an AOE, only the model directly hit by the AOE will take auto-damage, other models in the AOE take normal damage. You don't get auto-damage on stuff which isn't an attack, like Electro Leap and Flak Field. If someone is immune to damage, you can't trigger the auto-damage vs them. Because you never got a damage roll in the first place. (Infernal Ruling) When this ability is triggered by a spell (ie Blight Storm or Affliction) then that does not change the source of the damage to the caster, nor change the damage type to magical. It merely changes the result of a damage roll. (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Duelist - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Gang and/or Gang Fighter and/or Tag Team and/or Team Effort     (Edit) You can gain the Gang bonus on free strikes, but generally only the first "Ganger" will get it. For example, if a target is engaged by two models with Gang, when it leaves the melee range of the first Ganger it suffers a free strike with the Gang bonus. Then it leaves the melee range of the second and suffers a normal free strike.

Rules Clarification : Tough - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Kill Stroke      (Edit) Restrictions on "Any Time" abilities     (Edit)         [Show/Hide] "Any Time" abilities can be used at any time during a model/unit's activation, except: Before any compulsory forfeiture of movement/action. See step 2 of the activation sequence, appendix A. After the model with the "Any Time" ability has had their activation end "prematurely". By this I mean you resolved something which includes the phrase "its activation ends". Examples include: Running, failing a charge, or failing a slam. Abilities that include "then its activation ends" (such as Reposition and Teleport). In between declaring your charge target and making your charge movement. (Infernal Ruling) In between completing your charge movement and determining whether it was a successful charge. (Infernal Ruling) When you're in the middle of moving. (Note: Impact Attacks count as being in the middle of movement). When you're in the middle of an attack. Which also includes effects that occur "after the attack is resolved". (Although the attack is "resolved" at Step 11, in terms of using an "Any Time" ability the attack is not "finished" until after Step 14. Refer to the first paragraph of Apdx A.) Your opponent interrupted your activation to trigger one of their own abilities (such as Countercharge). Warcasters/warlocks/etc can normally cast a spell or use their feat "At any time". However, there is a core rule saying they cannot do so on the same activation that they run. So, they are subject to all the same restrictions listed above, plus they can't cast/feat before running. Units: See below. In general you can use "Any Time" abilities while you're knocked down or stationary (except Spells and Feats which specify you can't). If you have a gun with a random ROF, you can use an "Any Time" ability inbetween rolling the number of shots and actually making the first attack. (Infernal Ruling) Units with "Any Time" abilities You cannot use an "Any Time" ability before issuing/receiving orders. See step 1 and 2 of the activation sequence, appendix A. A model in a unit can't use an "Any Time" ability after they run (Infernal Ruling) or fail a charge. Because that makes that specific model's activation to end even though the unit's activation is still ongoing, and you can't use abilities on models that are not active. You can use an "Any Time" ability before running, however. A model in a unit can't use an "Any Time" ability after anyone in the unit has begun a Reposition move. (Infernal Ruling) Rules Clarification : Backstab      (Edit) Backstab always applies on a free strike, because free strikes are always in the back arc. (Infernal Ruling) Backstab applies to magic and ranged attacks, too. For a caster with Backstab that uses an arc node to attack their target: Backstab doesn't care about the point of origin of the attack, and does not interact with Arc Nodes at all. In other words, if your arc node is in the target's back arc & but the caster is not, then Backstab doesn't apply. And vice versa, if your arc node is in the front arc & you're in the back arc, then Backstab will apply. Models with Circular Vision aren't immune to Backstab. They still have a back arc, and backstabbers can stand in it. As of November 2021, Steamroller objectives no longer have facings, and cannot be backstabbed.

Rules Clarification : Tactics vs Granted     (Edit) Granted = The unit loses the ability as soon as the model that grants it is taken off the table. (think "G for Goes away") Tactics = The unit keeps the ability for the entire game, regardless of who dies. (think "Tac-Tick = K for Keeps")   Granted [ Vengeance ] If the model granting Vengeance dies, the unit will not get any Vengeance attacks. It is "If you have Vengeance, and you were damaged last turn, you get a move+attack." It is not "If you get damaged, you get Vengeance next turn." If you lose Vengeance halfway through resolving Vengeance, then you stop resolving Vengeance immediately. (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Shadow Dance - None yet. (Edit)

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