The Old Witch of Khador & Scrapjack

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

Zevanna Agha has been around for hundreds of years, working from the shadows to enact her plans for Khador. With her companion Scrapjack she can overturn many a strategy and dictate the flow of battle to her every whim.

Basic Info

Old Witch

Warcaster abilities:

• Focus Manipulation

• Battlegroup Controller

• Power Field

• Spellcaster

• Independent Model

• Leader

Feat: Field of Talons

Enemy models that advance except to change facing and end their movement in Old Witch's CTRL range immediately suffer an unboostable POW 14 damage roll. Warrior models damaged by Field of Talons become knocked down. Field of Talons lasts for one round.

Abilities

• Template:Pathfinder
• Template:Apparition
• Field Marshal [ [[:Category:{{{ability}}}|{{{ability}}}]] ]

[[Category:{{{ability}}}]]

• Template:Great Power
• Template:Prowl
• Template:Cull Soul

Weapons

Iron Claws (x2)
File:Sword icon.jpg		RNG				POW				P+S
		0.5				6				13
Template:Magical Damage

Spells

{{Category: Template:Avatar of Slaughter

delete Template:Murder of Crows Template:Unseen Path Template:Weald Secrets

}}[[Category:

delete Template:Murder of Crows Template:Unseen Path Template:Weald Secrets

]]

[[:Category:{{{name}}}|{{{name}}}]]	Cost	RNG	AOE	POW	DUR	OFF
	8	1	6	12	up	no
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[[:Category:{{{name}}}|{{{name}}}]]	Cost	RNG	AOE	POW	DUR	OFF
	8	1	6	12	up	no
No errata for {{{name}}} ([[:Category:Errata-{{{name}}}|Create]])

Scrapjack

Abilities

• Template:Construct
• Template:Arc Node
• Template:Pathfinder
• Template:Bond
• Template:Companion
• Template:Prowl

Weapons

Mechanikal Talons (x2)
File:Sword icon.jpg		RNG				POW				P+S
		2				4				12

Theme Forces

• Template:Armored Korps - When Scrapjack is repaired he heals 1 point extra.
• Template:Si
• Template:Jaws of the Wolf
• Template:Legion of Steel
• Template:Si
• Template:WG Kommand. In this theme the caster gains Sacrificial Pawn [Winter Guard trooper model].
• Template:Wolves of Winter

Thoughts on Old Witch1

The Old Witch in a nutshell

The Old Witch is an interesting, if of maligned caster in the faction. She has a mixed bag of denial and support tools and a field marshal that makes it hard to pin her jacks down Between Murder of Crows, Berserk and Overtake and her feat, she is exceptionally good in eradicating single wound infantry, plus she can be surprisingly effective in melee, and can still fall back to safety after some proper brawling. She's fragile, though, so you have to use her movement tricks to evade retaliation. In that you can count on her Scrapjack friend, who is the only arc-node and light Warjack in Khador's arsenal.

Feat thoughts

The feat can be used both defensively and offensively. Used early and defensively, it will dissuade enemy models charging into your lines and/or running over to contest your scenario elements. Used later it is more of an offensive tool aimed at the enemy support and/or enemy caster. A caught caster will struggle to escape without being knocked down (which would spell doom for them on your next turn), and at very least it will probably mess up their order of activation. This goes double for support models, which also risk getting plain old killed by the damage.

Use Gallows to pull critical models into your feat range.

Note:

• Warcasters that spend focus to reduce damage to zero still count as being damaged, so will get knocked down.
• Same for warlocks transferring damage.
• The knockdown happens at Step 10a of the Attack Sequence, before Tough checks, and knocked down models can't use Tough.

Spell thoughts

• Avatar of Slaughter - Not as potent as Engine of Destruction, but allows the old woman to cut a swathe through tightly packed light/medium infantry formations. Don't forget Cull Soul, you can easily start your next turn with 10+ focus after a good rampage. Usually goes hand-in-hand with Unseen Path to do a yoyo with either the Witch or with the Scrapjack.
  • As a footnote, it might be appealing to let the Old Witch be damaged by an enemy attack so you can charge in with Scrapjack's effective MAT 9 P+S 16 RNG 2 melee attacks under AoS. Just don't. If the witch survived an assassination, or brushed by a blast damage, it might be an option, but do not expose her to danger just so you can pump up the combat potential of Scrappy.
• Iron Flesh - Khador's premiere support spell which synergizes very well with nearly any infantry unit. It makes the tough (like the Man-o-War units) even tougher, while blast immunity will counter the squishy units' (like Kayazi Assassins) vulnerability to AOE attacks.
• Gallows - combine it with Scrapjack's arc node to get the best angle for a push.
• Murder of Crows - a very expensive way to get Stealth on her, but a good roadblock / area denial tool.
  • Place it in a good spot and you can upkeep it for the rest of the game for free.
  • The damage threatens only light infantry, but remember it can harm your troops too.
  • It is quite good to place it onto enemy models locked in close combat with your troops. They will have to make decisions: strike your troops, and get the hit from the spell, or try to evade the spell, and get the free strike from your troops during the disengage?
• Unseen Path is a nice backup spell. It can be used both offensively and defensively, and it is a really good tool to dominate flags / zones. Nothing prevents you from casting it multiple times, so you can "leap frog", i.e. teleport Old Witch to Scrapjack and then Scrapjack to Old Witch as long you have enough Focus to keep casting the spell.
• Weald Secrets - the Pathfinder part is pretty self evident; while Hunter lets your ranged units, like Winter Guard or Widowmakers, to deliver very accurate fire.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• She does nothing to increase the damage, or the hit rate, of her army.
• lower amount of Warjack Points (to compensate the 'free' Scrapjack).
• Very fragile - she relies on her spells, DEF and Prowl to remain alive. Anyone, who can negate it, will easily catch her, and will wreck her
• Upkeep hate, especially Purification will severely decrease her usefulness.
• Non-warrior models, like warjacks or warbeasts won't be knocked down by her feat, and can usually shrug off the damage.
• Kill-box scenarios limit her movement options.

Tricks & Tips

• Her feat's knockdown part is being triggered after damaging but before disabling the target, so enemies won't get their Tough rolls (unless they are immune to knockdown).
• Watch for placement tricks under your feat, like Telekinesis or Apparition (or even throws and slams); they don't count as advance.
• Scrapjack has a very good system load-out, and it is surprisingly durable for a light jack. Feel free to block critical charge lanes.
• Apparition can be used even if you are stationary or knocked down. You can also use it to get into your enemy's back arc, escape from melee range, or back off far enough to get your own charge / slam.
• Apparition happens at the end of your CTRL phase, after Power Up, allocation and spending Focus on upkeeps. If a jack ran out of the Witch's CTRL area, you cannot use Apparition to place it back into CTRL in order to gain the Focus from Power Up, or make it eligible for allocation.

List Building Advice

Strategy

The Old Witch is kind of hard to master. Thanks to Cull Soul and Avatar of Slaughter she has some assassin potential against weaker casters and warlocks, but will be dispatched in no time if the enemy can get a bead on her. More useful are her board controlling and area-denial tricks, with which you can be really annoying in scenario games. Field of Talons is a very potent feat against units and solos - if they're not already within it, they will fear to tread into it. If they are already within they will be knocked down after moving so will be neutralized for at least one turn. Gallows, Weald Secrets, Apparition and Unseen Path will offer a huge amount of movement shenanigans, that can be used even better now thanks to pre-measuring.

The Old Witch is in the lucky situation, that she can synergize with nearly anyone. She can support infantry and warjacks alike, though with her support duties she will rarely have the focus in excess to fuel an overly large battlegroup.

Theme Thoughts

• Winter Guard Infantry naturally, Iron Flesh goes a long way on them.
• Gun Carriage - with readily available Pathfinder from Weald Secrets, feel free to throw rough terrain templates around - your forces can charge through with full speed, while the enemy will be forced to bypass the patches.
• Sorscha0 - When taken in Winter Guard Kommand, she and Old Witch can provide layers upon layers of buffs for the lowly red pattriots. No Sleeping on the Job + Tough from Joe + Iron Flesh + Fog of War makes the Winter Guard surprisingly resilient against shooting, while Boundless Charge and Gallows increase the threat range of Scrapjack, who also gains Stealth from FoW.
  • Give her a Rager, which is the second cheapest jack in Khador and also a Shield Guard, for another layer of protection.
• Kovnik Joe as mentioned he adds Tough to the above equasion which is essential to keep your guys standing. He also offers a limited damage fix with his +4 STR speech, something OW lacks.

Template:Header Countercharging solos and Murder of Crows AOEs let you control the battlefield in a weird but surprisingly effective way.

• Iron Fang Uhlans after investing so many points into them they need to survive, iron flesh protects them from each other and stacks with wall of steel.
• Black Dragons putting Iron Flesh on them is likely overkill given their mini-feat but unlike their brethren they struggle with terrain and like Pathfinder.

• Greylord Adjunct - should be considered mandatory with the old witch 1 more free upkeep, +2 range on spells and Blizzard to apply Prowl.

• Sylys Wishnalyrr - to upkeep a second spell for free, and increase your chances with Gallows
• Saxon Orrik - a second source of Pathfinder will yield a surprisingly fast Khador force.
• Ragman and Aiyana & Holt - OW has no way to actually up the damage of her troops, which is a significant drawback. These guys help in that regard.
• Kayazy boys and girls enjoy Iron Flesh a bunch.
  • Kayazy can be taken in the Jaws of the Wolf theme and not use up your Merc slot.

Battlegroup

Apparition is a great threat extender but not compared to what some other casters can do. Don't be tempted to run battlegroup heavy it based on just this.

• If you run a primarily ranged army, like in Winterguard Kommand, you will find a Spriggan very appealing due to its flare shot.
• Good old Juggernaut, since she has no damage fix she will want to have a heavy that can hit hard on its own.
• Long ranged guns like the Destroyer have more chance of aiming thanks to apparition.
• Kodiak don't hurt yourself but vent steam triggers prowl. A 12 inch run (sort of) is useful turn one.

Other

Trivia

• Her real(?) name is Zevanna Agha.
• Released in Warmachine: Apotheosis (2005)
• She iss inspired by the Russian folkloric figure Baba Yaga.
• She is an aspect of the god-mother Dhunia.
• She has launched and executed several (un-)successful schemes across the lore:
  • Suggesting the idea of seceding from Khador to Ord to the people of Boarsgate, which resulted in their massacre at the hands of the Butcher. This weakened the barrier between Caen and Urcaen in that location.
  • Saving the life of Vladimir during the first Thornwood War so he could have a child with Sorscha. Then sending him to die at the hands of Zaateroth at the battle of Hengehold, before he could have a child with Ayn Vanar.
  • Using the crack in the barrier at Boarsgate to unleash the Defiers onto Caen, so they would kill the infernalists, resulting in the Infernals launching the Claiming in haste and liable to errors.
  • Grooming Holden into a Defier-killer to keep them honest and under her control (failed).
  • Sending Vladimir's and Sorscha's child to the Cyriss dimension through the gate at Hengehold, therefore bypassing the Prophecy that Khador would fall to ruin if the Tzepesci bloodline ended.
• She keeps a magic list of people who's fate she can't see and hopes to find a person on there who can keep the Grymkin Defilers in check. Her last "subject" was Holden who failed at killing The Heretic and was consequently turned into a Hollowman.

Video Battle Reports

• 2019.06 Tiny Men, vs Helynna1
• 2019.04 Tiny Men, vs Garryth2
• Template:VBR