Kommander Harkevich, the Iron Wolf
Khador’s Iron Wolf has earned a reputation as a peerless master of heavy armor on the battlefield, a war hero beloved by his men and respected even by the enemies of the Motherland. He is famous for his ability to move large numbers of warjacks at an unprecedented pace to arrive where the enemy least expects him. Where Harkevich and his iron army stride, the enemy finds itself hounded, outmaneuvered, cornered, and eventually obliterated by overwhelming firepower.
Basic Info
Kommander Harkevich, the Iron Wolf | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Weapons
- Hand Cannon - RNG 12, POW 12 gun.
- Minister - RNG 1, P+S 14 mace.
- Damage Type: Magical
- Stagger - Models hit by this weapon lose their initial attacks and cannot make power attacks or special attacks for one round.
Special Abilities
- Warcaster - All warcasters come with a stack of standard special rules - most notably being awesome. Click here for a newbie-friendly recap, or click here for the full rules.
- Field Marshal [Reposition 3"] - Warbeasts/warjacks in this model's battlegroup gain Reposition 3". (Error: Use {{Reposition 3}} or {{Reposition 5}} instead.)
- Iron Sentinel - While B2B with a friendly Faction warjack, this model gains +2 DEF and ARM and cannot become knocked down.
Feat: Hour of the Wolf
While in Harkevich's control range, models in his battlegroup gain +3 ARM. Models in his battlegroup beginning their activation in his control range can charge or make slam power attacks without spending focus. A model in Harkevich's battlegroup that declares a charge or slam against an enemy model while in his control range can make a basic ranged attack before advancing. Hour of the Wolf lasts for one round.
Spells
- |-
|colspan=7 style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff;"| |colspan=1 style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff;"| |- |style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff;" rowspan=1| Bombshell ! style="border-top: 1px solid #A8A8A8;"| 3
! 10
! 3
! 13
! -
! Yes
|style="border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-top: 1px solid #fff;"| |- |colspan=8 style="text-align:left; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-top: 1px solid #fff;"|On a critical hit, models hit are thrown d6˝ directly away from the attacker. Roll distance once for all models affected. Models thrown do not deviate. Move models farthest from the attacker first. Instead of suffering blast damage, models hit but not directly hit suffer a POW 10 damage roll. (Blast damage on non-critical hits is done normally.) The POW of collateral damage is 10.
- |-
|colspan=7 style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff;"| |colspan=1 style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff;"| |- |style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff;" rowspan=1| Broadside ! style="border-top: 1px solid #A8A8A8;"| 3
! SELF
! Control
! -
! -
! No
|style="border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-top: 1px solid #fff;"| |- |colspan=8 style="text-align:left; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-top: 1px solid #fff;"|Models in the spellcaster's battlegroup currently in its control range can immediately make one basic ranged attack. Broadside can be cast only once per activation.
- |-
|colspan=7 style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff;"| |colspan=1 style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff;"| |- |style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff;" rowspan=1| Jumpstart ! style="border-top: 1px solid #A8A8A8;"| 1
! SELF
! Control
! -
! -
! No
|style="border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-top: 1px solid #fff;"| |- |colspan=8 style="text-align:left; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-top: 1px solid #fff;"|Models in the spellcaster's battlegroup that are currently in its control range stand up and are no longer stationary. Affected models can turn to face any direction. Models that were knocked down this turn are not affected by Jumpstart.
- |-
|colspan=7 style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff;"| |colspan=1 style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff;"| |- |style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff;" rowspan=1| Mobility ! style="border-top: 1px solid #A8A8A8;"| 3
! SELF
! -
! -
! Turn
! No
|style="border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-top: 1px solid #fff;"| |- |colspan=8 style="text-align:left; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-top: 1px solid #fff;"|Models in the spellcaster's battlegroup that are currently in its control range gain +2 SPD and Pathfinder for one turn.
Thoughts on Kommander Harkevich, the Iron Wolf
Comparison to Mk2
- Harkevich's former Escort spell has been traded in for the passive Iron Sentinel and Field Marshal:Reposition abilities. This can be seen as a net improvement since neither ability requires focus and can't be stripped by anti-upkeep spells and abilities
- He has lost the spell Fortune
- Harkevich no longer has Field Marshal : Pathfinder but has a medium costed spell that gives pathfinder and a small speed boost. The new spell is not an upkeep so it must be cast each turn to gain the benefits
- Harkevich is probably one of the casters who best benefits from the increase in Warjack Points. Broadsides works best with multiple ranged jacks and being able to field more jacks helps his playstyle.
- Harkevich's weapons and feat have received very little change and he has kept his signature spell Broadsides. This has allowed him to keep a similar tactical playstyle to his MK II incarnation.
- The swap of escort for mobility on paper looks the same but he must now invest focus each turn into gaining his speed, this will make him feel focus hungry.
Kommander Harkevich, the Iron Wolf in a Nutshell
Harkevich is a close-to-the-line warjack support warcaster that excels at speed and attrition. His spell Mobility lets normally slow Khador warjacks strike first for once, and Field Martial:Reposition gives them an unusual amount of adaptability. His feat gives his battlegroup incredible durability. He has excellent defensive stats and abilities, making him difficult to assassinate. He lacks any infantry support and plays best with a warjack-heavy list, often in the Jaws of the Wolf or Winter Guard Kommand theme forces.
Feat
Of the two Feat effects, the +3 ARM is the most important. There are only a few abilities in Khador that increase the ARM of our already tough jacks, and for good reason. Armor 23 for most jacks or ARM 26 for closed "clam" jacks (like the Devastator and Demolisher) can be very difficult for an enemy to crack. This lets you weather the inevitable counterattack after rushing your jacks in with Mobility. Also remember that Harkevich does benefit from his own feat, and can be very difficult to assassinate on feat turn.
The second effect, an additional ranged attack before charging, is controversial. Like the spell Broadside, it encourages you to take ranged 'jacks, but our low RAT jacks rarely make the additional attacks count. Remember that you can shoot things other than your charge target, and look for opportune targets like knocked down models or clumped up infantry. Treat it as a nice bonus, but don't feel obligated to build your whole list or strategy around it.
Spells
- Bombshell - AOE attack with a great critical effect. Expensive (especially if you boost to hit, maximizing the chance of a critical hit) but situationally useful. Use against something you really need to move, or against difficult infantry that is normally immune to blast damage.
- Broadside - Expensive but potentially powerful ranged attack generator. You will want to either take 3+ ranged jacks and cast this every turn, or mostly ignore it in favor of casting Mobility or allocating focus to your battlegroup.
- Jumpstart - Very situational, but incredibly useful for making sure your battlegroup doesn't get shut down by things like Disruption, Telekenesis, knockdown, ect. You likely won't need to cast it much, but you'll be glad to have it when you do.
- Mobility - Hark's "other" signature spell. Makes Khador heavies as fast as most infantry. Great for extending your threat range or getting an additional 4" up the field. If you run a melee-focused Hark list, you will likely cast this every turn, at least until you're stuck in with the enemy.
Typical Strategy & Army
Strategy
There are two major schools of thought with Harkevich: running a ranged-focused jack list that relies heavily on Broadside, or running a melee-focused jack list that relies heavily on Mobility. Either way, you want to pressure the enemy into committing the models that can actually deal with a large volume of high armor warjacks. Once you take those out, you should have no problem bullying the enemy caster for a scenario, attrition, or even assassination victory.
A ranged-focused list should look for ways to knock down or otherwise reduce the DEF of enemy models, since the low RAT of Khador warjacks is the biggest challenge for this strategy. Repositioning backwards can help you get more rounds of shooting in, and the additional shot when charging on feat turn should help when you do eventually close to melee.
A melee-focused list relies on the fact that Khador jacks are already awesome, they just need a little help getting to the enemy. Mobility helps with +2 SPD and Pathfinder, hopefully letting you engage the enemy on your own terms. Make sure to bring jacks that can handle screening models (Like Kodiaks, Berserkers, or Ragers) so you don't get bogged down with cheap infantry, and can prioritize the enemy models that can actually hurt you.
Army
- Adding a War Dog and keeping in Iron Sentinel range can take Harkevich in undreamed of levels of defense in melee. He also becomes immune to knockdown and back strikes in this situation, forcing the opponent to risk a lot on their assassination run.
- Harkevich and one or more Demolisher can be a potent combination. Broadsides can allow each Demolisher to fire before it activates, which reduces the armor, but brings it back up when the Demolisher's activation starts. This can allow the warcaster's player to take advantage of the Demolisher's cannon without exposing the jack's armor.
- Demolishers also have Gunfighter, allowing them to take advantage of Broadside even when engaged.
- Kodiaks synergize very well with Field Martial:Reposition. They can Trample up 9" under Mobility, use Vent Steam, then Reposition backwards 3", just enough to get them out of their own steam cloud. The cloud will block line of sight, protecting them from ranged attacks/charges. Use several of them to create a cloud wall for the rest of your army.
- Marauders usually only need their 1 Power Up focus to do their job, which is good for the focus-hungry Harkevich.
- Greylord Forge Seers can use Empower to help take the focus strain off of Harkevich.
- Jr. Warcasters like Malakov1 and Sorscha0 can also help, but remember that they won't benefit from Hark's spells or Field Martial.
- A Winter Guard Field Gun Crew can easily knock enemy models down, allowing your low RAT warjacks to hit reliably under Broadside.
- Two or even three colossals (Conquest or Victor) can be very efficient with Harkevich due to Broadside. The enemy will suffer a lot of big gun shots.
Drawbacks, Downsides, & Bad Match-Ups
- Harkevich has a relatively low amount of Focus for the amount of jacks he wants to run.
- He doesn't have any spells to support non-battlegroup models directly. This means his infantry has to be completely self-sufficient.
- Broadsides generally needs at least 3 warjacks to justify the focus cost of the spell and the shots from the spell cannot be boosted - a hard pill to swallow on low RAT Khador Warjacks.
- Harkevich is not a very "active" warcaster, usually handing out focus and casting 1 or 2 spells a turn. His big spells and passive abilities are effective, but he might feel boring to play for some people.
Tricks & Tips
- Harkevich is a model in his own battlegroup, so he benefits from Broadsides, Mobility, and his feat.
- However, he is not a warjack so doesn't benefit from his Field Marshal:Reposition ability.
- There is a skill in knowing when to cast Broadsides or not. If you cast it, you double your amount of fire and can drift more AOEs, do more damage to low ARM models, etc. If you don't you can instead allocate the focus to boost the shots the Warjacks make during their activation.
- Bombshell is a great charge lane opener. Cast it into the middle of the enemy line and stick a Decimator or Demolisher in the new hole to disrupt the enemy line with a high ARM threat.
Other
Trivia
- A common fan-joke after Harkevich's spell list was revealed was that one must grow a prodigious beard in order to cast Broadside (as, at the time, the only characters with the spell were Harkevich and Captain Montador, both possessed of truly magnificent facial hair).
- Originally released in the Warmachine: Wrath expansion (2011)
Theme Forces
Other faction models
Rules Clarifications
Rules Clarification : Stagger (Edit)
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Rules Clarification: : Magical Damage (Edit) | |
* 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)
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Rules Clarification: : Warcaster (Edit) | |||||
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Rules Clarification : Field Marshal (Edit)
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Rules Clarification : Reposition (Edit)
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Rules Clarification : Iron Sentinel - None yet. (Edit)
Rules Clarification : Bombshell and/or Full Battery Fire (Edit)
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Rules Clarification : Broadside and/or Abattoir (Edit)
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Rules Clarification : Jumpstart (Edit)
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Rules Clarification : Mobility (Edit)
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