Mad Dog
Soon after the first Berserkers proved their worth in battle, hacking into infantry with their twin axes, the Khadoran High Kommand borrowed its chassis to develop other equally brutal machines. With the Mad Dog trampling forward to crush enemies with bloodthirsty glee and the shield-bearing Rager standing firm as an imposing eight-ton bodyguard, these warjacks are far from obsolete on the modern battlefield.
Basic Info
Abilities
Weapons
| Hammer Spike (x2) | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Sword icon.jpg | RNG | POW | P+S | LOCATION | |||||||||||
| 1 | 3 | 14 | 1 Each Side | ||||||||||||
Theme Forces
- Khador
- Other Factions
- Cygnar and Mercenary players can use this model in the Template:Flame in the Darkness theme.
- Infernal players can use this model in the Template:Hearts of Darkness theme, but only if Malakov2 is leading the army. This model gains Accumulator [Soulless] in this theme.
- Protectorate players can use this model in the Template:Warriors of the Old Faith theme.
Thoughts on the Mad Dog
Mad Dog in a Nutshell
It's a cheap trample machine. When it does trample it hits hard, and it is blisteringly fast for an unsupported Khador jack (so averagely fast compared to most other Factions). As with most trample-based models, though, you need the opponent to leave their stuff neatly laid out for you if you want a good turn with this model.
Its main gameplan is being allocated a focus, after powering up.spending ond of them for a single attack because it tramples for free, and killing a bunch of preferably high DEF, low POW small based infantry models hoping they die to an unboosted STR 11 damage roll.
The Unstable rule sounds very cool and flavourful but in reality is completely debilitating on the table, resulting in it (and the other Unstable 'jacks) being relegated to high risk cheap heavy warjacks.
Combos & Synergies
The Mad Dog has only trampling on its mind and works well with anything that helps it get into trampling range as soon as possible. Beyond maybe a single point of focus it doesn't need any support and is best used as a missile intended to cause havoc and explode behind enemy lines.
- Butcher2: If he's able to take the lead to trigger his Conferred Rage, archaic warjacks under Orsus' "supervision" become dangerously quick and accurate--further pushed by his classic Boundless Charge spell to help them over rough terrain--and they're great vessels for rage tokens from his feat.
- Karchev the Terrible: The Man in the Machine loves a volume of archaic warjacks to multiply the effects of his feat, Battle-Charged, Jumpstart and Road to War to create a roiling engine of destruction. Mad Dogs don't need help to hit as long as they're trampling, and are great as Karchev's crowd control division.
- Karchev & Deathjack, Malignant Fusion: Karchev's second incarnation might be the best caster for running a Mad Dog. With plenty of Focus to allocate, Full Throttle to help with its mediocre MAT, and a feat that not only greatly increases its charge/trample range, but introduces the possibility of spending 4 Focus/turn (increasing its chance to explode when you want it to 66%), he combines many of the best synergies of many of the other casters on this list. The only downside is the lack of a damage buff means that he'll only ever be good against light infantry.
- Sorscha1's feat will enable you to trample the Mad Dog through a crowd of models you'll automatically hit.
- Vladimir1: Both thematic and extremely synergistic, Mad Dogs thrive under the combined effects of Boundless Charge, the signature Signs and Portents and his devastating Forced March feat. Mad Dogs especially appreciate the movement bonuses so they can trample even further into enemy lines.
- Zerkova2: While relying on focus allocation through Sacrificial Lamb to push archaic 'jacks, she can run a large battlegroup for the cost of something like a couple Mechaniks per activation. They don't roll for Unstable unless they actually spent the focus allocated to them so there's no risk of blowing up your horde before you're good and ready. Beyond that, her armies tend to Freeze models regularly, and stationary models make for great targets. And they're completely respectable Telgesh Mark-created Arc Nodes to boot! Do be wary that her Doom Reaver lists tend to have plenty of anti-infantry capabilities already so a Mad Dog might end up redundant.
Archaic warjacks are great picks for Battlegroup Controllers because the controllers themselves can be quite vulnerable and losing a big stack of points to an inert warjack is a good way to lose a match. Archaic warjacks are dirt-cheap, mitigating the risk of losing a battle when a controller goes down.
- Malakov1: His signature Redline spell is excellent on these expendable warjacks and he has enough focus to load one up and send it in for a glorious assault.
- Sorscha0: Fog of War offers protection against ranged attacks and Boundless Charge is excellent on the sluggish archaic warjacks. She has just enough focus to load one up up for a frenzy and will continue to help her Winter Guard comrades even after it has done its job and either retired for the day, or exploded into a ball of white fire.
- Greylord Forge Seer: Unfortunately, since marshaled jacks don't power up, a single Forge Seer controlling a Mad Dog won't be able to Empower it enough to activate Fleet. However, if the Mad Dog is controlled by a warcaster (or other battlefield controller), a Forge Seer can bring it up to speed (literally) without any tax on that caster's resources.
- Battle Mechaniks: While typically hard to reach, the Mad Dog can be Repaired, although archaic warjacks probably aren't worth the effort most of the time.
- Colbie Sterling/Gobber Tinker/Raluk Moorclaw: These three are Mechanikally Adept, meaning they can Repair Khador models, although archaic warjacks probably aren't worth the effort most of the time.
Drawbacks & Downsides
Trample downsides
- You need a landing spot at the end of your trample, which means you can only trample stuff within 7" of your start position.
- Enemy don't normally end their turn that close , lined up in a conga line.
- It's only 'real' value lies in its trample attacks, so if there is nothing to trample or the trample targets can shrug off its stampede, it is of little use in your army.
- Unlike the flying tramplers in Cryx and Circle, it can't trample medium based models.
Other downsides
- Typical low SPD low DEF for Khadoran warjacks.
- Low ARM and hitpoints (for Khador) and no defensive abilities, means it dies or loses an arm or leg pretty easily before it can reach its preferred targets.
- Unstable: It never works when you want it to, and it always works when you don't want it to.
- You can't rely on it to block charge lanes, threaten free strikes, etc. You always have to plan your other models' positions around the assumption that Unstable removes this model.
- Fleet and Unstable make for a very confused kit. Fleet wants you to allocate 1 focus for a total of 2, but Unstable wants you to only spend 1.
- When not trampling 2 initials at MAT 6, P+S 14 is not all that threatening.
- When it is trampling, it is only MAT 6 + 3d6, STR 11. Still not that threatening.
Tricks & Tips
- Between Power Up and Smasher, it probably never has to test for Unstable...unless you want it to.
- Never forget that Unstable can work to your advantage. There are a lot of things that don't like taking an auto-hitting POW 14 to the face. And remember, that ear-splitting KABOOM isn't a 3" AOE; it's everything within 3" of the model. A severely damaged Mad Dog is an amazing fire-and-forget missile you launch into enemy lines to wreck shop, and then spend focus to (hopefully) intentionally blow it up, causing more damage.
- For this maneuver to work, the Mad Dog needs both it Cortex and Movement systems to be functional.
Other
Trivia
This entry can be found in Warmachine: Reckoning (2015)
Other Khador models
Rules Clarifications
Template:RC Warjack Template:RC Construct Template:RC Fleet Template:RC Smasher Template:RC Unstable