Malice

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

The product of fell experimentation lasting many centuries; the helljack Malice hosts a legion of vengeful spirits; the specters of those who fell under its claws. These trapped and tormented souls swarm across its hull, swimming in and out of its plates and mechanisms, shrieking constantly in a dissonant, deathly cacophony of madness. A dark and terrible chorus howls within the helljack. Blasphemous whispers permeate its cortex, driving the machine to ever-greater heights of slaughter. Malice exists only to glut itself on the souls of the living; it feasts jealously on the fallen in the heat of battle. Template:TOCbox

Basic Info

Abilities

• Template:Construct
• Template:Spirit Harvester
• Template:Ghost Shield
• Template:Possession

Weapons

Barbed Harpoon
File:Gun icon.jpg		RNG			ROF			AOE			POW
		8			1			Template:-			14
Template:Drag
Death Claw
File:Sword icon.jpg		RNG				POW				P+S
		1				6				16
Template:Open Fist Template:Magical Damage

Theme Forces

• Template:Black Industries. Malice gains Carapace in this theme.

Thoughts on Malice

File:Malice.png

The 2011-2017 "Upgrade Kit" version of the sculpt

Malice in a nutshell

She's an upgraded Reaper, able to move the target even further with the Possession rule. Unfortunately she lost the awesome Helldriver and tusks for the much worse Slayer claw, but her claw is at least magical, it really emphasises that you won’t get the most from Malice without using Drag.

If Drag is your intended game then the +1 RAT and +2 POW on the harpoon is almost always worth the 2 extra points required to upgrade a Reaper.

Ghost Shield should not be underrated. Even a few souls can boost armour to a point where Malice can be hard to remove, especially in the late game when fewer heavy-hitters are on the table.

Malice has 1 less initial than a Reaper so she can get bogged down in a protracted melee, she works best as a bully of lights and things that she can dispatch with ease, if she isn’t using possession of course. Because she is quite easy to jam casters who can disengage her with Ghost Walk or similar are often a good shout.

Combos & Synergies

• Team her up with Deneghra,The Soul Weaver or with a Soul Trapper so she can quickly gain some much-needed soul tokens.
• Darragh Wrathe can provide an effective +2 armour vs living which can be extremely effective if Malice has a full soul load.
• Any caster that can provide an armour buff synergises well. Both in getting Malice into the fray without dying and turning her into a late game tank.
  • Special mention to Agathia she has Hellwrought to improve durability and mobility, Death Shroud that passively improves durability further and Ghost Walk + her feat to stop Malice getting tied up in melee, where she does not want to be generally.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• Drag sounds good until you consider stealth, Shield Guard, Sacrificial Pawn, stuff that can’t be moved, walls/terrain/other models ... it’s a long list.
• If your harpoon straight-out kills your target, Drag doesn't trigger and you'll only get the soul token if it was within 5".
• In a game without souls readily available, Malice's performance is notably underwhelming and she's slightly over-costed.

Tricks & Tips

• After Possessing an enemy warjack, always finish its movement with it facing away (so it can't declare charges next turn), with its back to you (so the rest of your army gets +2 to hit) and outside its controller's control range (so it can't get focus next turn).
• you can choose not to convert souls into focus, if you plan to keep ghost shield going.

Other

Trivia

• Malice is a she.
• Malice was originally sold as an "upgrade kit", which meant you needed to purchase the regular plastic Slayer model and then you attach the Malice bitz to it.
  • As of 2017, she was repackaged in a new multi-jack kit that also includes the bits for a Reaper or Corruptor.
• Originally released in Warmachine: Wrath (2011).
• Weirdly enough, she is the only character jack (other than "The Big 4" from Warmachine: Apotheosis) that does not belong specifically to one caster.