Man-o-War Bombardiers

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Khador Logo.jpg

Man-o-War Bombardiers
Khador Man-o-War Unit
Officer
Command Attachment

Mk4 icon.png
Prime
This model is available in one Prime Army, Armored Korps. It can also be used in the Unlimited game mode. You can view the other 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.

Each Man-O-War bombardier is a self-contained mobile artillery unit able to devastate an opponent with explosive fire or tear them to pieces with the massive chain blade affixed to his cannon. Girded in steam-powered armor, bombardiers shrug off incoming fire that would cripple or kill a lesser soldier while the shrill, metallic whine of their chain blades announces inexorable destruction to the enemies of Khador.

The officers of the bombardier corps lead their soldiers to seize victory in the name of the Motherland. Each has spent a lifetime on the battlefield raining fiery death on the heads of the enemy. This wealth of experience lets the officers direct their units in cunning maneuvers, like slashing through thick underbrush with their steam-powered saws to flank an enemy emplacement before unleashing a hail of explosives with unrelenting precision.

Basic Info

Man-o-War Bombardiers
Missing Info
Bombardiers.png
COST {{{cacost}}}
UNIT SIZE {{{casize}}}
FA {{{cafa}}}
Unit / Officer
BASE Medium
SPD 4
STR 9
MAT 7 / 8
RAT 6 / 7
M.A. N/A
DEF 10
ARM 16
CMD 7 / 9
ESSENCE {{{essence}}}
FOCUS N/A
FURY N/A
THRS N/A
HP 8
F. Field N/A
WJP {{{wjp}}}
WBP {{{wbp}}}
IHP {{{ihp}}}
FA 3
UNIT SIZE 3 or 5 +1 CA
COST 8 or 14 +3 CA
2.8 pts each
N/A
N/A
Warcaster 1
COST N/A
N/A
Understanding
the Statblock

Abilities

  • Officer only
    • He has a better statline
    • Officer symbol.jpg Officer
    • Granted: Clear Cut - While this model is in formation, when advancing as part of a full advance, models in its unit that are in formation gain Pathfinder.
    • Support Fire [ Minifeat ] - This model can use Support Fire once per game at any time during its unit's activation. This activation, models in its unit gain Dual Shot. (Dual Shot - If a model with Dual Shot uses its Normal Movement to aim, it can make one additional ranged attack this activation.)
    • Tactics: Quick Work - Models in this unit gain Quick Work. (Quick Work - When a model with Quick Work destroys one or more enemy models with a melee attack during its Combat Action, immediately after the attack is resolved it can make one basic ranged attack.)

Weapons

Grenade Cannon
Gun icon.jpg  RNG   ROF   AOE   POW 
12 1 3 14
  • Arcing Fire - When attacking with this weapon, this model can ignore intervening models except those within 1" of the target.
Chain Blade
Sword icon.jpg  RNG   POW   P+S 
1 4 13
  • Critical Shred - On a critical hit with this weapon during this model's Combat Action, after the attack is resolved this model can make one additional attack with this weapon against the model hit.

Theme Forces


Thoughts on Man-o-War Bombardiers

Command Attachment

Man-o-War Bombardiers in a Nutshell

Man-o-War heavy infantry are elite combatants that trade mobility for heavy steam-powered armor. They are highly trained and equipped to deal with a wide range of threats, benefiting from a highly disciplined combined arms approach to achieve victory. Each of the three Man-o-War infantry units fills a distinct niche:

  • Man-o-War Shocktroopers are the Man-o-War frontline infantry, capable of weathering tremendous punishment before they engage in close quarters combat with their heavy Shield Cannons and Annihilator Blades. They are an excellent screening unit that can do serious damage to almost anything they set their sights on.
  • Man-o-War Demolition Corps are heavy hitters, outfitted to crack the toughest of targets with their Ice Maul hammers. When they connect with the appropriate targets they can do spectacular damage.
  • Man-o-War Bombardiers are deadly combined arms combatants that excel at clearing out swathes of enemy combatants, opting for an overwhelming volume of attacks with the combination of Grenade Cannons and Chain Blades.

The Chain Blade is a fine melee weapon in its own right but Bombardiers exist to fire their devastating Grenade Cannons over the heads of a Shocktrooper screen. They are vulnerable for their points when exposed to enemy fire but as a second wave unit they devastate most enemy warriors, clearing the field for your formation. Combined Ranged Attack lets them place attacks exactly where they need to be and when things turn close and personal they can mop up with their Chain Blades. They have an effective base range of 16" on their Grenade Cannons if they walk and do well by just moving up steadily and lobbing POW 14 blasts across the field from a safe position. They hold their own in melee combat as well and their Critical Shred will occasionally let you double tap a multiple HP warrior where it would otherwise survive, or attempt to force a failed Tough roll.

Bombardiers are great for Armored Corps lists that can take advantage of their volume of attacks. But there aren't any particular synergies that benefit Bombardiers in particular, and they benefit the least from buffs handed out by Man-o-War Kovniks and Kommandant Atanas Arconovich when compared to their peers. They are, however, an excellent flexible unit that can safely lob grenades from behind a Shield Wall of Shocktroopers and be effective against a wide range of threats.

Thoughts on the Command Attachment

The Bombardier Officer is an amazing addition for the Bombardier unit and you will typically want to lead your units with them. Between Support Fire and Quick Work the Officer supercharges the volume of attacks your Bombardiers can pump out, doubling their attack output on the turns where it matters. Without their Officer the Bombardiers' maximum five shots per round can seem a bit anemic from time to time, paying 3 more points for a turn where they can generate up to twelve instead will ensure you can reliably clear out jamming units or put serious dents into hard targets.

All this said, it can be hard to leverage the extra shots due to how situational their triggers are:

  • Quick Work requires the bombardiers to close with the enemy, destroy them, then be unengaged by anyone else afterwards. This can be difficult against some units due to the merely "ok" unbuffed melee output and lower range of the chain blades.
  • Dual Shot will come up less often than you'd hope, as an opponent is unlikely to walk within range of aiming Bombardiers without also engaging your other units, or worse, engaging the Bombardiers directly. That said, if the enemy has engaged your frontlines, you can potentially use arcing fire to wipe out anything behind the first rank of enemies.

Large CRAs are better used vs heavier targets where you'll appreciate the CRA's damage bonus: the sweetspot for unbuffed Bombardiers is ARM 21, where any combination of CRA's will result in the same average damage across the attacks. Below 21, many 2-man CRA's have the best outcome assuming all shots hit the target. Above 21, 6-man CRA's are best. Without Support Fire and the extra gun this is scratch damage at best, but the CA creates a credible option to bang up a heavy if need be.

Clear Cut allows the unit to keep its total threat range in any terrain conditions, which could allow them to take shots they otherwise wouldn't have gotten and project a lot of threat. It won't increase their mobility when charging or running however.

Combos & Synergies

    Warcasters    

  • Butcher1: The Butcher of Khardov's feat is a perfect match with the high volume of attacks each Bombardier can push out, and Iron Flesh is a great fixer for their relatively vulnerable frame. All their attacks and blast templates are boosted by the feat so-ironically for a melee warcaster-he loves blast damage on ranged attacks.
  • Cylena-1 (not tournament legal): Bombardiers lay down an impressive amount of firepower under the effects of Shatter Storm and her feat.
  • Strakhov2: The Assault Kommando warcaster does great with Man-o-War, and Bombardiers like having additional ARM from Inviolable Resolve and his feat, and SPD and DEF from Quicken.
  • Vladimir2: The Champ is a powerhouse warcaster with elite warriors and the Bombardiers make excellent use of his toolbox as well. His feat even buffs RAT so you can make the Bombardiers shockingly accurate for a turn.
  • Malakov2 - How do ranged RAT 8, POW 14 Backstabs that ignore intervening models and shields sound? Well that's what you get with his Throat Cutter Battle Plan and Discombobulate! Add in Tactical Supremacy so they can back up after shooting and you have yourself a very dangerous combination.
  • Kozlov1 - Fury makes Quick Work that much more likely to trigger and +2 ARM and SPD is great on anything Man-O-War. He also brings TacSup.
  • Irusk2 - Tough + Steady and Fire for Effect is hilarious on the leading model of a huge CRA. Battle Lust for Quick Work plays
  • Irusk1 - Battle Lust again and a Reposition Battle Plan.

    Non-casters    

Drawbacks & Downsides

  • Like all Man-o-War infantry, their base SPD and DEF are very low.
  • They lack any defensive abilities which leaves them vulnerable for their cost.
  • Their AOEs can be negated by good positioning.
  • Doing a CRA improves your accuracy and damage, but decreases your AOE coverage.

Tricks & Tips

  • It's best to use the Officer as the primary attacker for Combined Ranged Attacks so you can benefit from its increased RAT.
  • For your CRAs and blast damage, remember to halve the damage first, then add the CRA bonus. So, for instance, a 3-man CRA blast damage is a respectable POW 10! (14/2 + 3 = 10)
  • Some opponents will assume Bombardiers are only good for shooting their Grenade Cannons and can be caught off guard by going on the offensive, after which you can make use of Quick Work.
  • For beginners, this unit can cause a lot of time management issues. Working out numerous AoE attacks (especially under minifeat), as well as extra attacks from critical shreds can eat up precious minutes on your deathclock. Practice accordingly.


Other

Limited Edition sculpt.

Trivia

  • The rules for the base unit were published in Forces of Warmachine: Khador (March 2010), but it took several years for the physical models to go into mass production.
  • The CA was released in the Armored Corps CID (2018.02).
  • The Unit Leader's insignia signify their rank as a Korporal. There is some confusion because the rest of the unit has the same emblem on their left shoulder plates as well, although the Unit Leader has an additional emblem on their chest.
  • The Officer's insignia signify their rank as a Lieutenant.
  • The Bombardier Bombshell exclusive model can be used as a trooper model.

Other Khador models

Khador Logo.jpg       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

RC symbol.png

Rules Clarification : Arcing Fire      (Edit)

  • Arcing Fire lets you ignore models but not terrain. You don't ignore clouds, forests or buildings.
RC symbol.png

Rules Clarification : Critical Shred      (Edit)

  • Shred only triggers during your Combat Action, so not on free strikes, countercharges, etc.
RC symbol.png

Rules Clarification : Combined Ranged Attack      (Edit)

  • CRA cannot target models in melee ... unless the target is a huge-based model or the attacker has War-Tempered.
  • If you give the attack-leader a buff to their attack (such as Guidance) then that buff applies to the combined attack (even though the other participants don't have the buff). (Locked thread)
  • Assault & CRA (Edit)
    • You cannot mix Combined Range Attacks with Assault shots, as CRA works during your combat action and Assault shots occur before it. (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Repairable - None yet. (Edit)


RC symbol.png

Rules Clarification : Officer      (Edit)

  • Even if they're not on the Officer's card, an Officer can give (and benefit from) any non-standard orders that are on the unit's card (such as Shield Wall). Refer main rulebook.
  • When the Officer dies, the Leader model becomes the new Unit Commander (you don't get to choose).
  • But if your unit doesn't include a Leader model, then you do get to choose any of the remaining models to be the new Unit Commander. You don't swap the model, but it may be worth putting a token down so you can tell that grunt apart.
RC symbol.png

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)
RC symbol.png

Rules Clarification : Clear Cut      (Edit)

  • "Full advance" means when you walk. You don't get Pathfinder while running, charging, etc. Refer main rulebook.
  • Clear Cut has an "in formation" clause which is awkward to apply when you look at it closely.
    Say you have a trooper 9" behind the Officer and in a forest. You want to move everyone 4" forwards.
    • If you move the Officer 4" forwards first, now the trooper is 13" away and is out of formation, so he has lost Pathfinder. He gets to move 2" in the forest and will end his movement 11" away from the Officer, still out of formation.
    • If you move the trooper first, he is in formation for his entire move and there is no problem.
  • Pathfinder (Edit) - Pathfinder does not apply to involuntary movement (pushes & slams). (Infernal Ruling)
RC symbol.png

Rules Clarification : Support Fire      (Edit)

RC symbol.png

Rules Clarification : Dual Shot      (Edit)

  • You can't Aim if you start your activation in melee. So you will never benefit from Dual Shot, even if you have Gunfighter and/or your squad mates disengage you before you start your Combat Action.
RC symbol.png

Rules Clarification : Quick Work      (Edit)

  • If you're still engaged in melee when Quick Work triggers, you won't be able to make the ranged attack.
  • Quick Work specifies "Combat Action" so doesn't work with Impact Attacks or out-of-activation attacks
  • 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)


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Note to Editors
To edit the CA's tagged abilities, Click here