Warmachine: Koldun Kommander Aleksandra Zerkova
Khador’s expert on the occult is back in town with a sexy new model to uncover supernatural artifacts in the name of the Motherland; let’s go over the tools this feared Greylord Warcaster brings to the table for the armies of the Empress!
While not numbered amongst the top tier of Khador’s most powerful Warcasters on the table, Kommander Zerkova brings an interesting toolbox of weapons, abilities and offensive magic pirated from forgotten Orgoth treasure troves. She’s both ruthless and ambitious and these attributes are clear in the tools she brings to the table.
While she has a rather eclectic group of spells, her spellcasting abilities are greatly enhanced by the stash or Orgoth relics that she carries with her into battle. These artifacts buff her spells by granting one of three benefits when she casts them, each of which can only be gained once per activation; either -1 COST (via Focus Sphere), the ability to ignore LoS and Stealth (from the Ghost Stone) or +3 RNG (thanks to the Lens of Tarvodh), so remember these effects when considering her spells. She also has a small dose of anti-magic thanks to her Orgoth Seal (the same rule that Ruin now sports), which reduces the RNG of enemy spells that target her and deals damage to their caster if they are able to land a hit. Zerkova also carries with her the Rod of Whispers, an Orgoth weapon that fires a RNG 8 POW 13 magical attack to augment her spells in a tight spot.
Speaking of spells, Zerkova has a long list of magical abilities that give her a broad toolbox for a variety of situations:
- Banishing Ward completes the Orgoth anti-magic theme by making a model/unit untargetable by enemy spells and removes enemy upkeeps already in place on them. A bit of a situational buff, but with the number of offensive debuffs being handed out by new Warcasters and theme forces such as Deneghra2’s Body and Soul, it can never be overlooked.
- Secondly, Zerkova brings Force Blast to the field, a decidedly un-Khadoran ability similar to an Angelius’ Repulsion Animus, this spell allows the Kommander to clear scenario zones or free up her ranged ‘jacks by pushing enemies within 2” of target model in her battlegroup 4” away. A significant distance that can radically change the board state, especially in a scenario with small areas to contest or control.
- Zerkova brings a debuff of her own in the form of Icy Grip, an offensive upkeep that stops enemies from running or performing Special Attacks in addition to delivering -2 DEF; great for both marking enemy infantry for elimination by Khadoran guns or stopping specialist troops such as Hex Hunters, Runeshapers (or even dissident Winterguard!) from using their spells or abilities. Remember, though; stopping a unit from running doesn’t mean that they can’t charge, so be ready!
- Zerkova’s third upkeep is a little less offensive in nature; Watcher allows a Warjack in Zerkova’s battlegroup to make a full advance if an enemy model ends an advance within 6” of her. That Warjack can also make an attack against that model at the cost of causing Watcher to expire; certainly a spell that can ruin someone’s day if their target walks out of melee with them or they eat a critical Stationary from a Juggernaut’s Ice Axe or are knocked down by a Grolar’s Ram, but requires Zerkova to be pretty close to the action; not really where she wants to be with her mediocre defensive stats unfortunately.
- Next up we have Zerkova’s suite of offensive abilities; the first of which is Influence, another situational spell that causes the target enemy model to make a melee attack against one of their friends. Useful if they put their Warcaster next to a Paladin or something, but otherwise not so much.
- Razor Wind is a nuke of similar mediocrity; a RNG 10 POW 12 pew pew spell that causes a blade of wind to slice through the target model. Nifty.
- Last up on her massively long list of spells is Twister; a POW 13, AoE 3 that remains in play as a cloud; another nice tool to have that can block LoS to your important models by shooting useless conscripts in the back in just the right spot. Don’t feel bad; they knew what they were signing up for.
On top of her rather diverse spell list, Zerkova’s feat is very powerful, especially for a Warcaster that doesn’t see too much play time. Howling Wind (the name of her Feat, ostensibly) stops enemy models that activate in her CNTRL from giving or receiving orders, running, charging or making special attacks. With proper placement, this Feat can really stop an enemy army in their tracks and ready for another round of being pulverized by mighty Khadoran artillery.
Would you like an ice cream cone!?
So put it all together and what do you get; most of Zerkova’s abilities (mainly Icy Grip and Howling Gale) focus on controlling enemy models, slowing them down and punishing them repeatedly with ranged attacks, using Force Blast to push them off of her front lines when they do make it in to engage. In order to pursue this game plan, Khador has many options to choose from, sporting a variety of long-range small arms and big guns. Models like Nyss Hunters or Winterguard Rifle Corps can make use of Icy Grip to reliably hit enemy infantry with their ranged attacks while heavier shots like those of the Conquest’s pound heavy targets. The Conquest also makes a great target for Force Blast; that Huge base is a huge footprint from which to push nearby enemies.
With Khador’s lack of Arc Node technology, Zerkova usually needs a little help getting her offensive spells out there. Fortunately, her Mercenary friends are there to help! Sylys Wyshnallyr can both buff her spell’s accuracy and add an additional +2” RNG (for an impressive of +5” when using her Lens of Tarvodh!). Cloud generators such as Gorman di Wulfe, Tactical Arcanist Corps or her buddies the Greylord Ternion can keep her safe from enemy ranged attacks while she casts her spells or tries to protect her Warjacks with Watcher.
Silly Willy, Khador's best friend since 2011
Special shoutout to Zerkova’s Theme Force from No Quarter as well; while it doesn’t include all of the options I listed above, it allows Zerkova access to the Vanguard Light Warjack from Mercenaries (Khador’s only light outside of Scrapjack!) as well as multiple Kayazy Assassin Underbosses; all of which are great benefits for her. I’ll probably cover Hunting Wolves in a future installment of Thememachine!
Are you a Zerkova fan? What do you think of the new Zerkova resculpt? Remember to check out Way of the Swan for more awesome Warmachine/Hordes content!
