Harpoons at the ready — Reel in your strategy with Chainbelchers
Get over here! Thornfall Alliance are reeling in some serious mechanikal muscle in May’s upcoming Warmachine 3D subscription.
Fast, durable, and armed with improvised harpoons, the Farrow Chainbelchers bring a menacing new cavalry unit to the battlefields of the Iron Kingdoms. Let’s hand over to Loremaster, and Thornfall general Sherwin Matthews for a look at how Chainbelchers get up close and personal.
Tactical trotters — Sherwin talks Chainbelchers
Hey everyone, I hope you’re keeping well. After the article I wrote for Thornfall Alliance warlock Midas went down a storm, I’m back to write another. This time, we’re looking at the new unit joining the Thornfall Alliance as part of May’s Warmachine 3D subscription the Farrow Chainbelchers.
This is a unit I’m personally very happy to see. Not only have I been a Thornfall Alliance player since the days of Mk. II, but this is also a unit I’ve been champing at the bit for ever since Sturm & Drang first appeared. I know I’m not alone, either.
The Thornfall Alliance channel in the Warmachine Discord has been buzzing with excitement since we hinted at them in last year’s keynote at Lock & Load US, and again in the Thornfall Alliance Compendium on the Warmachine app.
Well, wait no longer! Today the Chainbelchers rules charge their way into your Warmachine app, don’t forget to update and see how they fit into your army lists.
Suffice to say, I’m thrilled my fellow farrow generals finally get to put these frankly terrifying models on the table. Believe me when I say it: you’re in for a real treat.
Built like a brick smokehouse
Let’s start with the strengths baked into the stat line.
Before we get any further, I want to draw attention to the magnificent 10 boxes each of these twisted creatures has. Until now, Thornfall Alliance has only had access to small-based infantry, most of which has a single box. Farrow Chainbelchers aren’t just a big change to that, but above and beyond the 5 or 8 box cavalry seen in most other armies. Couple that with ARM 18, and this is a significantly more durable unit than we’ve ever seen before in the Thornfall Alliance.
Next up, SPD 7. In most factions, this isn’t a dramatic increase in pace. For an army predominantly made up of SPD 5 farrow, it’s a significant increase, and a strength we’ll come back to shortly when we’re discussing the Chainbelchers’ ranged weapon. It gets even better when you factor in Reposition [2”], which lets the unit spread out across the battlefield after placement and threaten much further in the subsequent turn.
Now’s a good time to look at that ranged weapon I mentioned: the Improvised Harpoon. It’s short-ranged, but comes with an incredible twist. After a Chainbelcher hits an enemy, they can be placed anywhere in base-to-base contact with their target. This placement effect gives the unit incredible mobility and extends its threat range far beyond what you might first expect, especially when you factor in the Hooked special rule and the free attack it grants.
Which brings us nicely to those melee attacks. First up is Gore, a staple amongst farrow warbeasts. Not only does it hit pretty hard, it also knocks the opponent down on a critical hit, making it a perfect accompaniment to the Chainbelchers’ cavalry advantage on a charge.
Land that critical hit, and the follow-up Mechano Fist attack will be even more devastating. Though less powerful on paper, Trash adds an extra die to the attack, often pushing the damage far higher than Gore.
In practical terms, this combination means the Chainbelchers can really gang up on a target. The first harpoons its prey, places, and knocks them down. The next two Chainbelchers then repeat the process, but this time hit with their Mechano Fists, causing a lot more damage. That’s three POW 13 Improvised Harpoons, one POW 14 Gore, and two POW 12 3D6 damage rolls.
Brutal.
What kind of magic spell should you use?
In a highly synergistic game like Warmachine, a unit’s raw stats and rules are only the first part of the puzzle. The next part is understanding how they can be augmented by their warlock.
Let’s start with the living legend himself, Emperor Carver Ultimus Esq. III, BMMD. Yes, we have to use his full title at all times.
For starters, Carver adds a very respectable accuracy modifier to both their melee and ranged attacks. He can lean even further into that with Quagmire, decreasing enemy DEF. Speaking of Quagmire, more interestingly, he gains access to a durable unit with extremely unorthodox, difficult-to-defend-against movement, which can become a potent control piece.
And if you’re using the Chainbelchers For their melee output? Well, how about that feat combined with the extra die from Trash?
Helga the Conqueror is next up, and as the army’s infantry-centric warlock, she unsurprisingly has a lot of powerful combos to leverage. Most obvious are Dash and Declaration, increasing the Chainbelchers’ already solid speed and durability. However, don’t underestimate her accuracy fixer, Distraction, either. It makes landing those Improvised Harpoon shots a lot easier.
More potent by far, however, is Helga’s feat, Grand Finale. Imagine this: Chainbelchers harpoon a target, place behind it, and then follow up with a melee attack that slams the target back toward Helga’s army. That’s an incredible strategy, and one that’s extremely hard to defend against.
Even if the melee attack misses, it’s not the end of the world. Having a warrior unit that can be placed offers a tremendous way to set up Gang Fighter on Helga’s battlegroup.
As a warlock that wants to set up a potent assassination run with his battlegroup, you wouldn’t think that Midas has a lot to offer the Chainbelchers, but you’d be wrong. Midas has an extremely versatile spell list with a trio of spells in particular that can really set up the Chainbelchers for success.
The first of these is Bond of Gristle and Bone. Chainbelchers are important for the Thornfall Alliance because they satisfy new battlefield roles the army previously didn’t have access to. Most pertinent here is their ability to operate as a tough, durable unit that takes a lot of effort to shift. Giving them additional ARM and a sneaky way to avoid being shot at only improves this.
The other role Midas enhances is that of fast-attack shocktroopers, and that’s where I’m looking at you, Battle Lust. An extra die on damage rolls is immense, especially when you add Trash into the equation. Granted, the Chainbelchers drop to DEF 9 to compensate, but I’ll make a bold statement here: at DEF 11 natively, pretty much anything that wants to hit the Chainbelchers was already going to do so, even before you apply the debuff.
Finally, Calamity. It’s not a buff to the Chainbelchers per se, but it’s a great force multiplier. Dropping enemy DEF and ARM makes it a lot easier for the unit to do what they do, with terrible efficiency.
That’ll do, pig
So, there you have it: the new Thornfall Alliance unit in a nutshell. Doubtless you’ll find other ways to use them on the battlefield than I have, and I strongly advise my fellow farrow commanders to get out there and try these fabulous creatures for themselves.
I very much doubt anyone will be disappointed.
You’ll be able to print your hogs and harpoons very soon. May’s Warmachine 3D collection is coming to transform your tables, and unleash the stampeding Chainbelchers. Load up the printer, clear some desk space, and get ready to sunder the Iron Kingdoms Battlefields.
