Iron Fang Pikemen

Template:Khadbox2 This model is playable only in an Unlimited format.

Khador’s heavily armored Iron Fang pikemen are charged with hunting down and destroying enemy warjacks, carrying explosive-tipped blasting pikes designed to tear through the thickest armor of man or machine. The most veteran of these pikemen are welcomed into the elite Black Dragon kompany, where their experience and precision make them brutally efficient on the attack and unbreakable in defense.

Rally the Iron Fang Pikemen behind the standard of Khador and lead them to glory at the command of their brave Kapitan.

Basic Info

Abilities

• Leader, Grunts & Officer
  • Template:CMA
  • Template:Shield Wall

• Officer only
  • The Officer has a +1 MAT and 5 hit boxes.
  • Template:Officer
  • Template:Defensive Formation
  • Template:Tactics (Template:Relentless Charge-alt)

• Standard only
  • Template:Standard Bearer
  • Template:Take Up

Weapons

Leader, Grunts, & Officer	Blasting Pike File:Sword icon.jpg  RNG   POW   P+S  2 7 13 Template:Critical Knockdown
Standard Bearer	Template:Unarmed

Theme Forces

• Khador
  • Template:Legion of Steel

• Other Factions
  • Infernal players can use this unit in the Template:Hearts of Darkness theme, but only if Malakov2 is leading the army.

Thoughts on Iron Fang Pikemen

File:Iron Fang CA.jpg

Command Attachment

Iron Fang Pikemen in a Nutshell

The Iron Fangs represent an ancient Khadoran tradition of elite warriors stretching back to even before the founding of the Khardic Empire. They are history walking, a caste of elite soldiers who eagerly face the most indomitable of machines and the most ferocious of beasts with only the flats of their shields and the exploding tips of their pikes and lances.

Each individual Iron Fang warrior is a formidable fighter, but their true strength derives from their strict adherence to their legacy tactical formations. Iron Fang units operate as if they were entities with a singular mind, working together to shore up their weaknesses and amplify their strengths.

Tough and hard-hitting, Iron Fang Pikemen are the gold standard for Khadoran single-wound melee infantry when it comes to fighting mid-weight threats like cavalry, battle engines, 'jacks and beasts. They can comfortably handle a wide range of targets, provided they can reach them. Their high MAT combined with Combined Melee Attack lets them punch waaay above their weight while also threatening nimble combatants under the protection of their Shield Wall and some external support they can generally survive the journey. Thanks to the 2" reach on their Pikes, the Pikemen boast an impressive base 11" threat range, and the base P+S 13 on their Pikes should scare any charge target they come across. If you're looking for a powerful, affordable and reliable unit, then look no further than the Iron Fang Pikemen.

Thoughts on adding the CA

The Iron Fang Kapitan and Standard Bearer should be considered auto-inclusions with the Pikemen. Both Relentless Charge and Defensive Formation are stellar additions to the unit. Relentless charge helps you out if the enemy hides behind rough terrain and Defensive Formation offers a crucial, one-time bonus for your advance (see tips & tricks). The Officer also has an elite MAT, making him an ideal conductor for combined melee attacks against especially elusive targets.

Combos & Synergies

Iron Fang Pikemen are at their best in the Legions of Steel theme force, which is dedicated to Iron Fang models of all kinds. The theme includes all the models with synergies that really matter to them, and promotes forming battle plans around them.

• Iron Fang Kovnik: The Kovnik grants them both No Sleeping on the Job to make them immune to knockdown as well as Unyielding, which bumps their ARM while in melee with an enemy model. Both are excellent boons, and the Kovnik is a solid combat piece as well, particularly with the addition of Countercharge, which is added by the theme.
• Uhlan Kovnik Markov: His Tactician bubble makes combat maneuvers all the more easy and enables you to set up powerful two-punch combos where the Pikemen form the first wave and Iron Fang Uhlans the second as they (counter)charge nearby enemies.
• Kapitan Skirova: You'll hit Cryxian bonejacks on average rolls, and start your CMA on effectively MAT10 in her aura.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• Corrosion and attacks that cause fixed damage (Puncture, Deadly Shot, Sniper, Anatomical Precision and so on) kill them all the same, whether or not they're in Shield Wall.
• Rough terrain outside charges and SPD de-buff in general will decrease their efficiency a lot.
• With all the base-overhang it is a real pain in the back to put them into actual base-to-base contact on the table.

Tricks & Tips

• Defensive Formation is a deceptively powerful Order. You can of course use it to reform your formation into Shield Wall after a successful charge, but it can also be used to massively speed up the unit without leaving them exposed. SPD 6 + 3" Shield Wall Move + 5" Reposition + 2" reach = 16" engagement range. Depending on the opponent, you can even use this trick to jam up an opposing unit (like Long Gunner- or Crucible Guard Infantry) while maintaining Shield Wall, and ideally bolstering it with Unyielding for a massive 20 ARM.

Shield Wall 101

• You cannot run/charge and enter Shield Wall, as both are tied to orders, from which a unit can receive only one.
• Consequently, things that forbid orders (Zerkova1's feat, Rebuke, Wailing, the Pandemonium Arcana, etc.), forbid Shield Wall as well.
• Generally the arrowhead/triangle formation is the most often used way to marshal your IFP. If an enemy pushes away a model, the other two still receive the Shield Wall bonus in their front arc.
  • For visual reference, a max unit of twelve Pikemen might be formed up as follows:

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 <--- front line of eight, all in base contact from left to right
 0   0   0   0  <--- rear line of four, each touching both Pikemen ahead of them

If you want you can stretch the formation back to make it even harder to disrupt and more narrow:

0 0 0 0 0 <--- front line of five, in base contact with all surrounding Pikemen
 0 0 0 0  <--- middle line of four, in base contact with all surrounding Pikemen
  0 0 0   <--- rear line of three, in base contact with all surrounding Pikemen

• Read the rule clarification for Shield Wall when you will get the bonus.
• Units with Chain Weapons are natural predators of Shield Walls - try to get them first, before they charge you.

Other

Trivia

• The unit (not including CA) was originally released in Warmachine: Prime (2003).
• The CA was released in Warmachine: Escalation (2004).
• The CA's Officer has the rank of Kapitan.
• This unit, and especially the older metal casts are quite notorious about their bending/breaking pikes. It is advised to exchange the shafts of their pikes to stronger metal (usually brass) rods.