Reaper

The fiendish inventiveness of Cryxian necrotechs has resulted in many machines perfected to employ the killing arts. The Slayer is a swift, hulking beast of bone and black iron that relishes murdering anything in its path. The Reaper can fire its harpoon to sink deep into flesh or steel before reeling in its victim with frightening speed to within range of its vicious helldriver spike. The Corruptor is the culmination of Cryx’s pioneering work in caustic compounds and necrotic poisons, a helljack armed with venomous weapons designed to consume both body and soul.

Basic Info

Abilities

• Template:Construct

Weapons

Harpoon
File:Gun icon.jpg		RNG			ROF			AOE			POW
		8			1			Template:-			12
Template:Drag
Helldriver
File:Sword icon.jpg		RNG				POW				P+S
		2				6				16
Template:Sustained Attack
Tusks
File:Sword icon.jpg		RNG				POW				P+S
		1				2				12
Template:Hard Head

Theme Forces

• Cryx
  • Template:Black Industries. Reaper gains Carapace in this theme.
  • Template:Dark Host
  • Template:Scourge of the Broken Coast. Reaper gains Gang Fighter in this theme.
  • Template:The Ghost Fleet

• Other Factions
  • Infernal players can use this model in the Template:Hearts of Darkness theme, but only if Mortenebra is leading the army. It gains Accumulator [Soulless] in this theme.
  • Mercenary and Convergence players can use it by either:
    • putting it under the control of Asphyxious4 in various themes,
    • putting it under the control of Mortenebra in Template:Strange Bedfellows.

Thoughts on the Reaper

The Reaper in a Nutshell

File:Reaper-2010.jpg

2010 to 2017 sculpt (PVC)

The Reaper is a support Warjack that can help you get the alpha strike on the enemy. By dragging an enemy model towards yourself, it allows other elements of your force to dogpile in and finish it off.

It is also great for the psychological effect from Drag. Your opponent, knowing that you could Drag his key model out of formation, is going to go to extra lengths to protect that key piece from Drag. Knowing that he knows this can let you control the ebb and flow of the battlefield.

However, the Reaper really needs a minimum of 2 focus to achieve anything one of which given by power up. If you're shooting, you'll probably want to boost to hit and to damage to ensure you get Drag. In melee, you'll probably want to boost to hit on the additional then buy a second auto-hitting Helldriver attack.

Combos & Synergies

The Reaper likes a buddy to "Tag-team" with. Between blowing all its focus on boosting the ranged attack, and being a little bit pillow-fisted, you're often left with an enemy jack in base contact with the Reaper, looking scratched and annoyed but not busted. There are lots of options here. One is the Scavenger. With Flight it doesn't need to worry about the Reaper's base getting in the way of its charge lane, and with Finisher it can turn that scratch job into a scrap job. Another one is a Slayer due to his damage potential and low point cost.

A Warwitch Siren and/or an Iron Lich Overseer can help, since as mentioned above the Reaper really needs a minimum of 2 focus to do anything reliably.

Skarre2 can help the Reaper's efficiency. With her Seas of Fates, you can avoid boosting the ranged attacks unless you need to, and save all your focus for the melee attacks after the drag has occurred.

Slaughter Fleet Raiders Theme Force gives it Gang Fighter. Really helps its melee game so drag enemy models in range of warrior models and then start jabbing!

Drawbacks & Downsides

• Drag sounds good until you consider all the things that counter it: stealth, Shield Guard, Sacrificial Pawn, stuff that can’t be moved, terrain/other models that block the charge lane, etc.
• Low number of initial melee attacks means it can get swamped by single-wound models.
• It is inefficient against low-ARM enemy, as it splatters them before getting any use out of Sustained Attack.

• The Reaper can be a focus hog:
  • If you're shooting, and the Drag is critical to your plan, you'll probably boost to hit and damage with the gun to ensure the drag. Then you'll probably give it a 3rd focus to buy a melee attack.
  • If you're in melee with a high-DEF medium-ARM enemy, you probably want to boost the first attack then buy 2 auto-hitting attacks to maximise on the Sustained Attack rule (3 focus total).
  • If you're in melee with a low-DEF high-ARM enemy, you probably want to boost damage (to offset the middling P+S), then buy an attack and boost damage again (3 focus total).

• For the same price you can get an Inflictor who has a similar 2" melee weapon but brings +2 ARM and Shield Guard, instead of the Drag gun and Sustained Attack, which are arguably much more useful.
• For 3 points less you can bring a Slayer who has none of the frills this jack has, but doesn't make you pay for something it does not do either and hits harder.

Tricks & Tips

• Place a Bane Warrior near where the enemy model will be dragged to, so that they will be dragged into the Bane's Dark Shroud aura and the Reaper will get a +2 damage bonus on it's melee attacks.
• At a pinch, it can jam enemy lines thanks to its high SPD and long range melee weapon. But being a fragile Slayer chassis, it won't jam for very long. (The Inflictor is a better choice for this tactic.)
• In melee, buying additional attacks is almost always better than boosting damage (due to Sustained Attack combined with a good P+S).

• Material type
  • From 2017 onwards this model is produced in HIPS plastic, in a Corruptor/Malice/Reaper multi-kit.
  • Between 2010 to 2017 it was produced in PVC plastic, in a Corruptor/Reaper/Slayer multi-kit.
  • Prior to that it was produced in metal as a stand-alone model.

Other

Trivia

File:Reaper-2003.png

2003 to 2010 sculpt (Metal)

• The Reaper is in the Mk3 Cryx battle box.
• Released way back in Warmachine: Prime (2003)
• Sculptor: John Winter