Slayer

Slayer Cryx Heavy Warjack

Prime This model is available in two Prime Armies, Dark Host and Black Fleet. 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.

An eerie glow pulsates from the Slayer's furnace, a frightful light illuminating even its eye sockets, suggesting some greater intelligence. After decades of Cryxian terror along the coasts, any greenish lights - like those found floating in the bogs and fens of Immoren - are often called "Cryxlights" by superstitious travelers.

Basic Info

Slayer
Missing Info
	COST {{{cacost}}} UNIT SIZE {{{casize}}} FA {{{cafa}}} Warcaster 0 BASE Large SPD 6 STR 10 MAT 7 RAT N/A M.A. N/A DEF 13 ARM 17 CMD N/A ESSENCE {{{essence}}} FOCUS N/A FURY N/A THRS N/A HP 28 F. Field N/A WJP {{{wjp}}} WBP {{{wbp}}} IHP {{{ihp}}} FA U UNIT SIZE N/A COST 10 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

Weapons

Death Claw (x2)
		RNG				POW				P+S				LOCATION
		1				6				16				1 each side
Open Fist Combo Strike (★ Attack) - Make a melee attack. Instead of making a normal damage roll, the POW of the damage roll is equal to this model's STR plus twice the POW of this weapon. (Giving a total P+S = 22)
Tusks
		RNG				POW				P+S				LOCATION
		1				2				12				Head
Hard Head - This model can add this weapon's POW to its head-butt and slam power attack damage rolls.

Theme Forces

• Cryx
  • Black Industries. Slayer gains Carapace in this theme.
  • Dark Host
  • Scourge of the Broken Coast. Slayer gains Gang Fighter in this theme.
  • The Ghost Fleet

• Other Factions
  • Infernal players can use this model in the Hearts of Darkness theme, but only if Mortenebra is leading the army. It gains Accumulator [Soulless] in this theme.
  • Mercenary and Convergence players can use it by either:
    • putting it under the control of Asphyxious4 in various themes,
    • putting it under the control of Mortenebra in Strange Bedfellows.

Thoughts on the Slayer

The Slayer in a Nutshell

2010 to 2017 sculpt (PVC)

The Slayer is Simplicity incarnate - aim at the enemy, beat face.

The Slayer is a cheap heavy warjack to field (it costs as little as other Faction's light warjacks). It is capable of sneaky tricks and dirty tactics when combined with various casters, but it will always be known as a straight-up melee fighter when simple, honest brutality is called for. And when isn't brutality needed?

Consider that, just by itself, with no extra focus other than power up, you have a warjack that:

• has three initial attacks,
• can hit most models with average rolls,
• smash moderate-to-high ARM targets with two solid hits, or
• swap the 3 initials to smash very high ARM targets with a Combo-Strike.

That's an incredible deal for the points cost!

Lastly it has Open Fists, meaning the ever-useful Throw Power Attacks are available.

Combos & Synergies

Non-casters

• Carapace from Black Industries fixes one of its major weaknesses, which is losing its arm systems from a few moderate POW shots.
• A Warwitch Siren can Power Boost it for one focus, giving it enough to charge into combat.
• A Necrotech can repair the Slayer's crippled systems. No more skill check.
• Black Ogrun Ironmongers - curse (mat9) is fantastic and healing is useful

Casters

• Asphyxious3 makes him shine with Mobility and his Field Marshal[Unyielding].
• Mortenebra makes this 'jack hell on wheels against living models,
• while Deneghra1's spells like Crippling Grasp and Parasite make it lethal to even the toughest warjacks. Subtle spells like Ghost Walk allow it to freely maneuver around the battlefield.
• Infernal Machine from the The Witch Coven of Garlghast will make a Slayer both speedier and more accurate in melee.
• Goreshade1's Shadowmancer spell will increase its damage output while protecting it from ranged attacks.

Drawbacks & Downsides

The Slayer is not a bad warjack as such, but it is a cheap warjack. The cheapness always comes with a sacrifice to performance, and in the case of the Slayer those sacrifices are:

• Low durability. The Slayer hits hard, but it cannot take a hit back.
  • The Slayer embodies the Cryx "Glass Blade" approach to warjacks; either they hit hard and take out their target, or get hit first and are destroyed with ease.
  • A Slayer can't take a charge on the chin and still be there next turn; nor multiple ranged attacks to the face, it will die or at very least be crippled.
• Easily crippled. The combination of low durability and poor damage grid layout makes it very easy for at least one of its arms to be shot off before it gets into combat.
  • Note that this means you lose the ability to do Combo Strikes, as well as losing the effectiveness of one of your initial attacks. Losing one arm can more than halve your damage output.
• Somewhat pillow-fisted. In comparison to other faction's heavy warjacks, the P+S on the Deathclaws is a bit mediocre.

Another minor downside is the disparity in P+S between the Tusks and the Claws. If you go against a heavy target the Tusks will barely scratch the paint job, but if you go against a lighter target that the Tusks can damage then the Claws will be complete overkill. Although: the tusks aren't really intended to enhance it's raw damage potential, and should be seen as a nice (little) boost to slams, 'butts and anti-light power.

Tricks & Tips

• The Slayer is great as either a piece trade (tempting an enemy heavy to charge and wreck it, but be left open for your army to kill it next turn) or to be held back until the late game, when fewer models are alive still capable of tearing apart a warjack.

• If you're charging single-wound infantry with ARM around 18-20, you're better to use the Tusks as the charge attack. Assuming average dice:

  Tusks (charge) = 12 + 3d6 = 20.5 on average

  Claws = 16 + 2d6 = 22 damage on average

If you did it the other way, it'd be

Claw (charge) = 16 + 3d6 = 24.5 on average (complete overkill)

Tusks = 12 + 2d6 = 19 on average (probably no kill)

• When going up against a heavy target, try to position yourself so that you have at least one infantry in range, and use your Tusk attack against that model.
• One of the big advantages of combo strike is that is can significantly speed up your turn. If you are playing on a clock, this is an effective way to save a great deal of time, even if you end up losing some damage. This is particularly good to do if you are strapped for focus.

• Material type
  • From 2017 onwards this model is produced in HIPS plastic, in a Erebus/Slayer multi-kit.
  • Between 2010 to 2017 it was produced in PVC plastic, in a Corruptor/Reaper/Slayer multi-kit.
  • Prior to that it was produced in metal as a stand-alone model.

Other

Trivia

2003 to 2010 sculpt (Metal)

• Released way back in Warmachine: Prime (2003)
• Sculptor: John Winter

Other Cryx models

Cryx Index       (Edit)
Battlegroup & Similar
Warcasters	Agathia - Aiakos2 - Asphyxious1 - Asphyxious2 - Asphyxious3 - Coven - Deathjack2 - 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 - Deathjack1 - 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 - Blackbane's Ghost Raiders - 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: 2021.11

Rules Clarifications

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.

Rules Clarification : Combo Strike      (Edit) You cannot make a Combo attack if the weapon is crippled. Refer "Crippled Systems" in the core rulebook.

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.

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)