Warmachine: Winter Guard
This article will mark the first in a series of examinations of different unit types in Warmachine and Hordes, the strengths and weaknesses of those units, and how and where they work well. First off, we’ll start with Khador’s Winter Guard.
Winter Guard have received decent support throughout the years, starting as a humble unit that was often ignored for what used to be the more effective and similarly-priced Ironfang Pikeman. What started as a rather squishy unit of conscripts has become a fantastic baseline for Khador players. This is thanks to its decreased price in MkII, its fantastic supporting models, and a second unit type that is also quite good.
Looking at Winter Guard Infantry, you’re getting a fairly nice – if a little unexciting – core unit for a cheap cost of 4/6. By point cost alone, this makes Winter Guard attractive if simply for the reason that there are few other things that can provide you with a mass of bodies at a bargain price, save a few examples like Kossite Woodsmen or Steelheads. Stat-wise, there’s not much to write home about. Their one saving grace as a base unit is that they have POW 12 Blunderbusses and Combined Ranged Attack, giving you means of applying some decent damage when needed, and without outside help.
When you start looking at their attachments things get a bit more interesting. The Officer and Standard Bearer provide the unit with a wealth of options including adding CMA, the choice between a Blunderbuss attack and a RNG 8, POW 10 spray, a higher CMD stat in addition to a Standard for re-rolling command checks, and two extra bodies that can both make regular attacks, all for two additional points: a steal.
There’s also the Winter Guard Infantry Rocketeer. While a Rocketeer, or three, can be a nice way to increase unit size for better buff returns, at one point a piece, they are rather pricey for a 4/6 unit. I’d only recommend adding any at all if you’ve already got a full unit with the attachment and you need to fill in a point to hit the army total cap.
The second main Winter Guard unit are the Rifle Corps. The Rifle Corps gives up access to the versatility that the Winter Guard Infantry have for ranged superiority with their RNG 14, POW 10 rifles. Unfortunately, they lack CRA or a decent RAT value, so accuracy can be a problem. However, while they aren’t terribly accurate at range without help, access to the Suppressing Fire order helps to negate this. They also benefit quite well from the help of Kovnik Jozef Grigorovich, but I’ll get into that a bit more later.
The third option for Winter Guard is the Mortar Crew. While a little pricey at two points, the Mortar Crew remains one of the best long-ranged artillery options in Warmachine and Hordes. Boasting an insane range of 20″ and hitting with an POW 16, AOE 4 attack, the Mortar Crew is a great way to thin out infantry hordes. While its Inaccurate rule makes it, well, inaccurate, it’s actually not much of a problem, as a drifting AOE with a large footprint will often tag more bodies than one that directly hits its target. If you can knock their target down or make it stationary, you get a nice source for an additional ranged smack on the head. If you see a lot of infantry in your local meta, a Mortar Crew can be a nice three-point fix for any Khadoran army.
The fourth option for Winter Guard is the Field Gun Crew. At two points, it’s fairly affordable, but its damage profile keeps it effectively limited to attacking multi-wound solos and infantry, as well as lighter warjacks and warbeasts. At an effective RAT 7 with Range Finder, it’s pretty accurate. It also sports a good RNG value, so you’ll often be able to get several shots off with it in a single game. It’s not bad, but there are often better options available to Khador players. Consequently, finding a niche for the Field Gun Crew might be tricky.
Lastly, there’s the solo that brings it all together: Kovnik Jozef Grigorovich. First, for two points and the three glorious buffs he has, he’s amongst the best support solos in the game. Bear’s Strength is a decent buff to any Winter Guard unit, effectively boosting them up to P+S 11. While that’s not really impressive in itself, Khador warcaster have loads of damage buffs to make up for this, making what was a respectably versatile unit pretty scary in melee. Courage of the Forefathers gives Tough and Fearless to an entire Winter Guard unit. This is a great way to keep your opponent focused on your big, cheap unit while your high-priority pieces move into position behind them. It’s also worth noting that the bigger the unit, the more you’ll get out of it.
He has For the Motherland, another superb buff that boosts the attack rolls of the targeted unit. Combine that with Grape Shot from the Officer and Standard Bearer, or put onto a Rifle Corps unit, and you can achieve some pretty frightening results. While he does have a Hand Cannon, remember that you’ll almost always be better off keeping him safe and in the back; put him too far forward and your opponent will find a way to put him down.
In terms of warcaster support, pretty much all Khadoran warcaster have something to bring to the table, be it via damage buffing (Blood Frenzy, Fury, Battle Lust, Winter’s Chill, Signs and Portents), accuracy buffing (Icy Gaze, Signs and Portents, Freezing Grip) or increased survivability, (Iron Flesh, Occultation, Undying Loyalty), so you’ve lots of ways to make the unit go from good to great. There’s nothing more frustrating than facing down a swarm of 15 Winter Guard benefiting from Tough, Bob and Weave, and Iron Flesh.
Winter Guard: great unit or the greatest unit? Sound off!
