Warcasters and Warlocks are the core part of the Warmachine game, as each type is a considerable threat in combat, wields magic that can enhance units and themselves while also hindering their enemies, triggers epic effects that can turn the tide of battles, as well as controlling and enhancing warjacks and war beasts.
We have a good starting point with the previous two blog posts as we understand how things move, how dice rolls are made, and the importance of boosting these rolls.
All Warcasters (and Warlocks) share the same basic information as solos and units of warriors.
The distance they can make a normal advance is denoted in inches by SPD (speed). If they have a ranged weapon to attack, their RAT rating denotes their proficiency. Likewise, MAT is their ability in melee combat. AAT is their arcane attack rating and is used for magical attacks. When an arcane, melee or ranged attack is made, 2D6 is rolled, and the sum of that roll, plus the attack rating, is compared to the target's DEF (defence) rating.
That leads us neatly onto the DEF score, which must be equalled to or beaten by an attack roll. ARM (armour) is the number that number must be beaten by a damage roll, with the excess of the roll being dealt as damage.
Attack Rolls:
MAT/RAT/AAT + 2d6 + Modifiers => Target DEF + Modifiers
Damage Rolls:
POW + 2d6 + Modifiers > Target ARM + Modifiers
Units also share these stats or a combination of them. For example, the Arkanists only make arcane attacks and so only have an AAT rating. Shock Trooper Gunners only have a RAT rating (but they can shoot while in combat, so that doesn't prevent them from attacking). The Pikemen have only a MAT score, but the Man-O-War Suppressors have a MAT and RAT rating.
However, Warcasters and Warlocks have two other statistics - ARC and CTRL. These relate to their ability to wield magic and control warjacks and warbeasts.
ARC, or Arcane, is a measure of the amount of magical power the Warcaster can control. Focus or Fury points represent this and is the maximum amount they can have at any time. These points are spent casting spells, healing, and other actions related to warjacks and warbeasts.
CTRL, or Control is the distance from the warcaster/warlock that warjacks/warbeasts must remain within so that they may be influenced by the warcaster/warlock controller, plus it is also the radius of certain spells when centred upon the warcaster/warlock. If a warjack or warbeast is out of this CTRL range of their controller, then they can't be allocated Focus/be Forced.
Above the stats, we also note some symbols, which are typically abilities or conditions the model has as standard, plus a number that tells us the base size for the model. Health, of course, is the amount of damage that a model can take before it dies.
Below the stats is a list of further abilities. These are often not unique, so these named abilities are verbatim the same, regardless of which other models in the game may also have that ability.
The next thing to consider is the weapons that a model has. Again, these rules are common to all units in the game, including warbeasts and warjacks.
A ranged weapon has a stat profile, starting with the RAT, and is repeated here for clarity. Next is the RNG (range) of the weapon, measured in inches. ROF is the rate of fire and is how many attacks the weapon makes when used. Usually, in a model's activation, it gets one basic attack action for each weapon it has, and so if the ROF is 2, it makes two attacks for that weapon's basic attack action. ROF for some weapons may also be variable, such as d3+1. When making damage rolls, the POW (power), or the attack, is added to 2d6.
AOE, or Area of Effect, works in conjunction with POW. Most weapons lack an AOE. Those that do will have a number for the AOE, and POW will be two numbers, e.g. 12/6. When an AOE weapon hits the target, the target is subject to the first value in the POW rating. Then, some models, equal to the AOE value, within the AOE range of the targeted initial model, are also hit, but the damage roll against them uses the second value in the POW stat. This is a blast damage roll. In the case of the attack missing, the initial target instead sustains the blast damage roll, and no other models are hit.
Melee attacks and Arcane attacks work in the exact same manner, though melee attacks lack an AOE. Above the stat line of the weapon are symbols that denote innate traits of the weapon, and below the stat line are further abilities that are less common but, again, will be described verbatim on other weapons if they also share some of the traits.
Below the list of weapons that the Warcaster/Warlock has, they will have a Feat described. A Feat is a single-use ability of the Warlock/Warcaster. And then below that are the spells that Warcaster/Warlock has.
In the case of the Warcasters we have a list of spells they always have. When building your army, you select some extra spells from the army rack of spells. This allows for some customization of the Warcaster.
In this example, Vilkhul's Cyclone and Cold Front spells are joined by three more. Spells have an AAT, which only matter if the spell says YES for the OFF stat - meaning the spell is offensive. Spells all have a Cost, which is the amount of Focus/Fury that must be spent to use the spell. RNG is the range of the spell, just like ranged attacks. Some might show the range as Self, meaning the spell only affects the Warcaster/Warlock is is centered upon them. AOE is just like ranged weapons, but some spells will have an AOE equal to CTRL - typically for spells with a range of Self. POW is the power of the attack of the spell if it is an arcane attack that does damage. DUR is the duration of the spell. Some last a turn. Others last the entire round (both player's turns). Others last a round, and for the cost of 1 Focus/Fury during the Warcaster/Warlock's next Control phase, it may be maintained, i.e. upkeep. Under each spell will be the description of the spell effects. Whether different models or armies use a spell, spells with the same name have the same stats (other than the AAT) and descriptions.
Focus and Fury, and how these points are gained and used, are slightly different for Warcasters and Warlocks. Both are used to pay for the casting of spells. Furthermore, by spending a Focus or Fury, a Warlock/Warcaster can buy extra attacks, boost attack rolls, or boost damage rolls.
In the Control Phase, Warcasters replenish their Focus up to their ARC stat. They then can distribute these points between themself Warjacks in their CTRL range with an undamaged Cortex (up to a maximum of 3 points of Focus can be allocated to a Warjack), and can be spent to Upkeep spells in play that they have cast. Focus can also be used to remove damage - one point of Focus for a point of damage, and used to reduce damage dealt to the Warcaster - a point of Focus can be spent to reduce damage made by an attack by 5. This can only be done once per attack.
Warlocks gain Fury points in the Control Phase by Leeching Fury from warbeasts in their CTRL range. Fury is also used to upkeep spells and heal damage. Rather than reduce damage like a Warcaster, for a point of Fury, a Warlock can have damage dealt to them dealt to a warbeast in their CTRL range, so lock as the Warbeast doesn't have Fury points on it equal to their FURY stat. Because Warlocks replenish Fury by Leeching, it means as the game continues, and Warbeasts die, there is potentially less Fury to Leech. For this reason, in the Control Phase, Warlocks get a point of Fury for each of their dead Warbeasts (excluding Lesser Warbeasts) due to the Spirit Bond they have to them. They also gain the Fury points off their Warbeasts as they die - Reaving.
While Warcasters have a spell rack to select from, Warlocks add to their list of spells further spells which are the Animus spells of the Warbeasts they control.
Ultimately, Warcasters and Warlocks encapsulate a large part of how the game works. They move and attack like regular unit and solos. They can boost attacks and damage rolls and buy further attacks in the same manner as warjacks and warbeasts. They can use Focus/Fury to cast spells. And they each have a unique ability called a Feat. The challenge then during a game is the management of Focus/Fury, and where to allocate it/remove it, and which spells to cast or upkeep, while also deciding if an attack needs to be boosted.
The combination of spells, weapons, stats, feats and abilities, is what distinguishes one Warcaster/Warlock from another. Let's compare a few. Vilkhul who we have already seen, has movement and attacks that make her excellent in combat. In particular, she can rush up to 14 inches into a group of warriors and dispatch them, and as she does so, place cloud effects where they were. All warjacks in her control get Prowl - and the spell Fog of War provides all friendly models in her Control range concealment. This means she can spend the first few turns with herself and her jacks benefitting from Concealment and Stealth thanks to Prowl. Finally her Feat lets her place a number of cloud templates that will block line of sight and impact the enemies within them. Ultimately she is best used for being stealthy before rushing into the enemy lines for a well timed attack on a unit or an attempt to take out the enemy warcaster.
By comparison, Baranova is a Warcaster with much less utility in combat. However, where she lacks in combat stats and decent weapons, she has more Focus, a better AAT, and larger CTRL. This makes her more capable of casting more spells, while also controlling more warjacks. Her, being a jack-caster makes even more sense when one of her abilities makes all her warjacks Arc Nodes (she can cast spells as if they were the point of origin, thus further extending her reach). This means she has a long reach anywhere on the battlefield to attack with spells, or provide buffs and debuffs to units.
Savaryn is again a different Warcaster within the same army. Somewhere in the middle of capabilities compared to Vilkhul and Baranova when it comes to combat, Savaryn is best placed helping units of troops with his Battle Plans. This is reflect in his Feat, which allows him to use his Battle Plans multiple times in one turn.
Next time we will dissect Warjacks and Warbeasts.
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