The sky-fleets of the Kharadron Overlords are descending on the Mortal Realms for pre-order this Saturday, guided by the expedient explications of the law-wrangling Codewright.
The new battletome includes rules for skyvessels that ensure Kharadron armies are shipshape on arrival, giving each boat its own specialised role. Arkanaut Ironclads are still mighty flagships bristling with guns, while Grundstok Gunhaulers remain agile escort craft. Arkanaut Frigates have spent some time in the dry-docks, however – they’re now dedicated combat ships with reinforced prows designed for ramming.
With a nippy 12" Move – which isn’t slowed by taking damage – and access to all the new Iron Sky Command Abilities, Frigates have a perfect mix of manoeuvrability, firepower, and transport capacity. That’s not all – when this Assault Boat charges into combat, it can ram a unit within 1" and inflict a barrel of mortal wounds.*
Embarked units may then disembark within 3” of an enemy unit, which counts as charging. To top it all off, a massive airship ploughing into enemy lines causes so much chaos that these units can also strike-first in combat.
The sturdy aeronautical artificers of the Kharadron Empire prefer to keep their foes at gunfire range, but the Era of the Beast has provided new challenges for the sky-fleets to surmount. In response, the Skywardens have sharpened their skypikes against bestial boarders – they now boast an extra attack, an improved hit roll, and more reliable Damage.
Even if these aether-endrin-equipped warriors fail to take out their target, they can just bail out of the fight entirely. At the end of each combat phase, this unit can retreat to safety on a 2+, dropping a nasty Timed Charge to deal D3 mortal wounds in the process.**
Battletome: Kharadron Overlords is available to pre-order on Saturday, along with the new Vanguard box – which actually features an Arkanaut Frigate, so you can gleefully declare “brace for impact!” in every charge phase.
* The Frigate starts with eight Ramming Dice, down to a minimum of five.
** Presumably sticking their tongues out, not that you’d see it behind those hermetically-sealed face masks.
