Great Bears of the Gallowswood

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

Kapitan Joreslev Volkov, Lieutenant Moskor Kolsk and Sergeant Kartov Yarovich are heroes of the Iron Fangs, survivors of a company which became legend. In the last fifteen years they fought in every major Khador battle, always serving the Empire where the fight gets brutal and the morale is falling. They are an icon for the Khadoran people. They embody the willpower and resilience which lie within every son of the Motherland.

Basic Info

Abilities

• Template:Tough
• Template:Flank
• Template:Rapid Strike
• Template:Wall of Steel
• Template:Relentless Charge

• Volkov only
  • Template:Officer

Weapons

Great Axe
File:Sword icon.jpg		RNG				POW				P+S
		2				4				11

Theme Forces

• Khador
  • Template:Legion of Steel. In this theme the Great Bears gain Counter Charge.

• 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 Great Bears of the Gallowswood

Great Bears of the Gallowswood 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.

Among elite soldiers, the three Great Bears of the Gallowswood--Kapitan Joreslev Volkov, Lieutenant Moskor Kolsk and Sergeant Kartov Yarovich--are living legends in the Legions of Steel. Swinging their massive Great Axes in unison, they can fell just about anything. With their effective six attacks at MAT 10 and P+S 11 +3-4d6 they excel at taking down heavy infantry and cavalry, and light 'jacks and beasts. Their natural home is as part of the second wave of a Legions of Steel theme force, directly behind a line of Iron Fang Pikemen.

Compared to something like an unassisted Berserker warjack, three Bears put out significantly more damage and at no Focus cost, but are immensely fragile while costing a point more. The Bears absolutely need protection for long enough to actually connect, but if they do they'll earn back their points, provided you enable their Flank ability.

Combos & Synergies

• In Legions of Steel the Bears get the powerful Countercharge ability. Only use it if you can get multiple Bears to connect with an incoming opponent, and make sure the target is worth their likely demise!
  • Do be aware that the fírst countercharging Bear will not get the Flank benefit.
• Screening the Bears with Iron Fang Pikemen or a warjack is pretty much mandatory.
• Iron Fang Kovnik: The Kovnik grants them both No Sleeping on the Job to make them immune to knockdown (which lets them make consecutive Tough rolls!) as well as Unyielding, which bumps their ARM against melee attacks. Both are excellent boons, and the Kovnik is a solid combat piece as well.
• Uhlan Kovnik Markov: His Tactician bubble is especially valuable for Bears because it lets them Countercharge through Pikemen.
• Kapitan Skirova: Her Veteran Leader ability makes them even more accurate, though they likely won't need the help.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• Even under the effects of Wall of Steel, they're not especially survivable.
• The Bears rely on B2B contact to survive and fight, so they're vulnerable to blasts and any displacing effects.
  • It also means the last Bear alive isn’t very frightening.
• Rapid Strike doesn't work on Countercharges, and doesn't get charge bonuses.

Tricks & Tips

• It's optimal to keep the Bears in a 'triangle' formation where each Bear is in B2B contact with both other Bears unless you know for a fact the opponent is unable to touch them. ARM 16 is way better for keeping them alive against small arms fire and blasts.
  • For visual reference, the Bears might be set up as follows:

0 0 <--- Kolsk & Yarovich
 0  <--- Volkov

• Looking at their ideal unassisted damage output while Flanking, each charging Bear will generate two hits that deal a low average (11 + (4 x d6) =) 25 and (11 + (3 x d6) =) 21 damage. Going after an ARM 18 target, they'll collectively do a low average (3 x ((25 - 18 = 7) + (21 - 18 = 3)) = 3 x 10 = 30 damage, which is just barely enough to total a Cygnaran Ironclad. Alternatively, you can split the six attacks between a few squishier targets, but the point here is that under ideal conditions, the Bears shouldn't have trouble making their points back. The trick, then, is in keeping them alive and connecting all three of them to that kind of target. Generally, being a little less ambitious is going to work better; sending them after two lighter targets is often more likely to pay off. But now you should have a decent picture of what kind of damage they can do.

Other

Trivia

Released in Warmachine: Legends (2008)