Commander Anson Hitch

Commander Anson Hitch is a stern and uncompromising leader who has so thoroughly internalized the trencher creed that it might as well be the air he breathes. As a commander in the First Army, he has little interest in politicking or glory seeking. Hitch is a trencher, ready to join his men in the mud and intolerant of cowardice in his brigade or indecisiveness in his officers—or in himself. Soldiers under his command are expected to fight to their last breath, taking no prisoners and relinquishing no ground.

Basic Info

Abilities

• Template:'Jack Marshal
• Template:Tough
• Template:Battle Plan
  • Template:Press the Advantage
  • Template:Target Priority
  • Template:Tenacity
• Template:Foxhole Buddy
• Template:Tactician

Weapons

• Heavy Pistol - 8" range, POW 12 ranged attack
• Sabre - 1" reach, P+S 10 melee attack
  • Template:Brutal Charge

Theme Forces

• Cygnar
  • Template:Gravediggers. Hitch gains Rise in this theme.

• Other Factions
  • Infernal players can use this unit in the Template:Hearts of Darkness theme, but only if Sloan is leading the army.

Thoughts on Commander Anson Hitch

Commander Anson Hitch in a nutshell

Anson Hitch is exactly what he looks like - a solo who supports Trenchers. Feign Death is great with Tough, Swift Hunter is nice (and better on Trencher Commandos than undigging Trencher infantry). Combined Arms is of course great for Trencher Infantry to murder high DEF infantry. He's also a jack marshal without a drive in a theme that disincentives Jack Marshals.

Combos & Synergies

'Jacks to consider

There's only one jack that's likely to be used by Hitch; the Grenadier synergises with Trenchers for three shots, and those three shots go very well with the Jack Marshal ability. Hitch can of course load it, and with Foxhole Huddy he'll get the same defence as the jack if it's dug in .

Non-jack synergies

• Trencher Long Gunners have neither Dig In, nor Practiced Maneuvers (unlike regular Long Gunners). His tactician ability solves the LOS issues. Also Press the Advantage gives Swift Hunter. This means that if your Long Gunners are using Dual Shot, if you kill with your first shot, you can take a 2" move and retain the benefits of aiming perhaps bringing new targets of opportunity.
• Trench Busters can be difficult to use. On one hand you want to make use of their valuable shield guard by having them in the middle of several important models, on the other hand you want to keep charge lanes open so they can use their impressive flank attacks. Hitch solves this problem so completely with Tactician, he is probably mandatory if you want to use Busters.
• If you're not making yourself deeply unpopular with rerolling attack rolls of Trencher Long Gunner CRAs, putting Tenacity on your infantry can really help them hang on to a zone to contest or hold it.
  • Or give your opponent a real bad day if they've managed to get several models within 5" of your commandos.
• To little surprise, the Trencher Blockhouse is also a Trencher model. With Hitch it becomes a really point-efficient bulwark for your shooting units, and allows strong combat solos, like the Trench Buster or Finn to charge through from behind.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• He's not that difficult to kill, and it can be a tactical disaster on the following turn if he dies.
• His offensive output is limited. Even at POW 12 his gun is only 8" in range. If he is close enought to shoot, he is close enough to get charged.
• Jack Marshals in Gravediggers are a rare sight - especially ones with no drive.

Tricks & Tips

• He can load a Grenadier. With two loaders a Grenadier can be ROF 3, RAT 8, POW 15 when aiming.
• Make sure you keep him deep in your back line. With CMD10, his Tactician bubble can cover your army safely from behind your other units.
  • With so many Trenchers around in Gravediggers, it's best to keep him located centrally.
  • Should he die to a stray shot from bad placement, you can find that you have completely jammed up your own models.
  • Often, the bonus won't be relevant until turns 2-3 onwards. Keep him a few inches behind your rear units (e.g. Trencher Long Gunners) and just move him first when you want Tactician to be used.
• With Trencher Long Gunners using their dual shot bonus while aiming, you can use Swift Hunter to bring targets who were preciously out of reach into your range. Be careful using this tactic on a clock as it can eat a lot of your time.

Other

Trivia

Released in the Gravediggers Expansion (2017.06)