Hello everyone!
I continue the series of articles about rules changes of models between MK3 and MK4. I already wrote an article about Ravens of War, First Army and Secret Dominion π
Privateer Press has just released Battle Engines update concerning all factions. I decided to cover that as well in a separate post, so sit tight and let’s go through Battle Engines and Structures in all of the factions in one go!
I will go faction by faction in the same order as in the app. Some of the battle engines are part of Unlimited format only, but as Adam from PP has confirmed, they will be all part of Prime format one day – I assume when more Prime armies and Cadres are released.
I am not sure how many of those battle engines were already present in the app, so I will cover all of them.
One of the changes in MK4 that is not directly linked to Battle Engines, is how AOE work in MK4. You can cover a significant area with an AOE 3 blast, right? π
The whole point of this post is to underline the changes between MK3 and MK4. I am not going to go too deep into tactics etc. as I haven’t even played against some of the factions in MK4 yet π I hope you understand.
Edit: New update that PP has released has introduced some changes to battle engines. Please check it HERE.
Circle Orboros
Celestial Fulcrum
It went down 3 points, but the cost for that was not insignificant. It is now 28hp only (-5)! Apart from that, all the rules remained the same, only rephrased a little to fit MK4. For instance Flame Blast is AOE 3 and Winter’s Rage is SP10. I suppose you are familiar with how those changes apply to MK4.
It lost Gun Platform rule, but all the weapons have Pistol icon.
Celestial Fulcrum is part of Secret Dominion army.
Well of Orboros
The well went down 1 point. Open The Gate rule is now removed from all models that used to summon solos for free. Instead, it now can return d3 small-based friendly grunts to play. The one condition is that it must be placed within 8″ of this model, and within 2″ of another model in their unit. Waken the Stones (Hyper-Aggresive to construct warbeasts) is within 10″ now.
The Sink Hole ranged attack is now AOE 3 POW 14/10 attack. It still ignores cover and concealment and collects corpses regardless of the proximity of models killed.
Well of Orboros is part of both Devourer’s Host and Secret Dominion.
Convergence of Cyriss
Artificier Prime Nemo
Nemorb went down 2 points, to 16 now. His baseline stats remained the same, although he lost immunity to electricity and gained Dual Attack.
For some reason CoC Nemo has only 16hp, while Cygnar one has 26 lol It is a typo for sure and should be corrected sooner than later π
Nemo has 3 abilities he can use at the start of his activation. The first one – Fold Space – can return d3 friendly small-based models (used to include medium based models too) and place them within 8″ of this model, and within 2″ of another model in their unit. There is no restriction for friendly faction model, keep that in mind while using mercenaries once they are available π Old Spatial Vortex ability was split into two separate abilities. First of the two, named Gate Jumper, is placing Nemo completely within 2″ (it used to be 3″ in the past). The second one is named Spatial Vortex and deals all enemy models currently within 2″ of Nemo a POW 10 electrical dmg roll.
If it comes for Nemo’s weapons, Nemo has to pay for additional ranged attack and its range is now reduced to 12″. Thunderbolt effect stayed. Melee attack haven’t changed.
Nemo kept Locomotion and Watcher. Lightning Shroud is replaced with Electrify, that adds 2 on melee attack damage rolls, gives Resistance: Electricity and probides Repulsor Field (after being hit, the enemy model is pushed 1″ directly away). Electro Leaps will be missed but Repulsor Field is a nice compensation, isn’t it? π
Nemo haven’t been assigned to any army in other factions so far, we will see in the future π it might vary from faction to faction.
Arcane Mechaniks
They are solos now! Although being a solo has its perks, that also means they cannot be returned to play by Nemo. Recharge was replaced by Empower and it is 6″ now! They can remove Disruption and give 1 FOC point to any friendly Faction warjack (not necessarily in Nemo’s battle group). Repair [d3+1] and Super Tune work in 1″ now (not B2B restricted).
Transfinite Emergence Projector
TEP went down 3 points. He also lost 8hp (23 now)!
The mechanics of firing changed a little too. At the start of TEP’s activation you can remove any number of the Servitors this model put into play (is there a maximum cap on that??). Once per activation, after its Normal Movement, you can decide to deploy up to servitors within 1″, and for each not deployed you get an additional attack. For each one in B2B contact you get additional die to hit, for each within 1″ (but not B2B) you get an additional die on dmg rolls.
The spray attack haven’t changed, it is still SP10 POW 11 ROF 2.
Edit 29.03.2023: it has 31 hp now! Ufff!
Permutation Servitors
The solos TEP brings to game lost Pathfinder and Construct icon (I believe it is a typo and will change with next update).
Crucible Guard
Captain Eira Mackay
Captain Eira Mackay is one of the warcaster that might have gained the most from MK4 dropping warjack points for casters. She was in a disadvantaged position in comparison to other warcasters and now they all start from the same level, points wise. This has not come at no cost, she lost 6hp.
She lost Exhaust Fumes, but kept Bulldoze, Dual Attack and Reposition [3″]. She is also Unstoppable now.
If it comes to her weapons, the Alchemical Mortar is now AOE 2 and has abilities a little changed. The first one, Flare (former Pyro Blossom) lost the Damage type: Fire. Psychomorphic Destabilizer remained unchanged. She lost Scather and it was replaced with Vitriolic Trajectile which is a Damage Type: Corrosion attack now, that gives continuous effect: corrosion on a critical hit. Her melee weapon remained unchanged. Well… it is 1″ now.
She kept her feat and all her spells remained unchanged. Ok, Jumpstart doesn’t allow you to turn however you want, as there are no Front Arcs anymore, but that’s pretty self explanatory.
Railless Interceptor
Crucible’s battle engine is cheaper by 3 points, he also lost 6hp. For some reason it also lost Build Up Power [1], so it cannot gain Power Tokens to boost attack or damage rolls, and that is a big deal. It also lost Exhaust Fumes. Bulldoze, Dual Attack and Reposition [3″] is still here.
Alchemical Cannon is AOE 3, POW 15/8 (better AOE than Mackay’s mortar). It has three effects to chose from, so it is something new π The first one, Blood of Urcaen, causes magic damage, and on a critical hit all upkeep spells and animi immediately expire. The second, Pyrocatalyst, is a fire damage that sets the target on fire on a critical hit. The last one, Vitriolic Trajectile, causes corrosion damage and on a critical hit causes corrosion continuous effect.
The remaining weapons stayed the same.
Thanks to the addition of the new effects Railless Interceptor gained a little versatility, but lost the hitting power. The addition of Power Tokens that slowly build up was a great addition in MK3 and it will be missed for sure.
Cryx
Deneghra, the Soul Weaver
As for Denny’s basic rules, she gained Unstoppable and Dual Attack. What’s more, she gained +1 MAT (7) and +2 Rat (6).
To be fair, I am not sure if this is the final version. As for now, she cannot change soul tokens into FOC (or am I missing something?) in her Control Phase. She cannot collect the soul tokens herself either, as she is missing Soul Taker: Cull Soul rule. She kept all the other rules, including Reposition [5″], Soul Mastery with 2 effects: Dark Whispers (name changed from Arcane Spirits) and Vengeful Spirits (range of the ability changed to 10″ from 9).
Power of her ranged attack – Venomous Breath – increased to 12. She lost her mount attack.
She kept her feat and all her spells.
Edit 29.03.2023: Gained Soul Taker: Cull Souls.
Denny3 is part of Dark Host army.
Skarre, Admiral of the Black Fleet
Skarre haven’t changed that much. Her baseline statistics remained unaltered. She just gained Dual Attack and Unstoppable.
Melee range of her Cutlass attacks is 1″ now and now the count as her attacks (all buffs apply), but she cannot make them before making normal movement. The rest of the attacks stayed the same (well, Cannon is AOE 2 14/8 now).
She can return only small-based models now, what is a pity taking size of bases of Ogrun and Trollkin pirates into consideration.
Her feat stayed the same. She lost Draconic Blessing, and gained Ignite instead (the difference is that the models affected do not gain immunity: fire, but crit fire on their weapons).
Skarre is part of Blackfleet army that is yet to be released.
Wraith Engine
This battle engine went 4 points down! It kept Incorporeal too.
The only difference here is that it gained Cleave instead of Rapid Strike, what basically means that it has to kill model first to gain an additional attack from that. This might be one of the biggest winners of Battle Engine and Structures release. 4 points down for such a small change is a fair deal, to say the least π
Wraith Engine is obviously part of Dark Host army.
Cygnar
Storm Strider
The disco ball went down 3 points and kept 28hp. It gained Dual Attack and Unstoppable.
Unfortunately, Superconduction’s range is reduced from 10″ to 8″. Also, it is no longer a Conductor for Stormsmith’s triangulation. That might change perhaps once they are released?
Another slight nerf concerns its ranged attacks. Now you have to pay a power token for the second ranged attack, what might reduce its damage potential. Especially in turns when you are not maxed out on power tokens.
What’s more, leaps arc to the closest model within 3″, not 4″ as it used to be.
I am not the biggest fan of those changes, especially of paying for the additional attack. That, combined with reduced range of the accuracy buff, means that this model has to be more conservative with the way it spends power tokens and stack them for the crucial turn I suppose.
This battle engine is part of Storm Knight army that is yet to be released and I honestly hope it will be a part of Stormsmith Cadre π
Trencher Blockhouse
Well, this model is designed in a way it is difficult to make him useful? I mean, I like it for casual games, but it never gained my trust for competitive play. It’s sadly the case in MK4 as well, since it is basically the same model it used to be.
The bunker kept its price of 9 points and 30hp. The cannon is AOE 3 POW 15/10 now. The Reinforcements [Trencher] ability returns d3 grunt models that must be placed within 8″ of this model, and within 2″ of another model in their unit.
The bunker is part of First Army… army π
Grymkin
Zevanna Agha, The Fate Keeper
For some reason Grymkin version has no feat, and Khador version is listed under Battle Engines π oh well, it is what it is, right?
Jokes aside, not much has changed here. Her baseline statistics haven’t changed. She kept her Arcane Machinery effects, with one difference, thatHellhole can return d3 models, place them in her control, but within 2″ (not 3″) of the other Grunt in that unit.
Not sure why she lost one Stomp melee attack. Carrion Crows special ability – Black Wings – places a 3″ cloud template now (not 4″).
I assume Grymkin Zevanna will get her feat back sooner than later. Her spells remained the same, with an exception of Respawn that is named Reconstruct now and Windstorm that gives -3 RNG on enemy ranged attacks (it doesn’t have the minimal range now, though). Scourge is adjusted to fit MK4.
Death Knell
Edit 29.03.2023: It is a battle engine now π
It is cheaper by 1 point. It is Unstoppable and apart from that all the baseline stats and all the rules remained the same. Oh, it lost a mount attack.
Infernals
Infernal Gate
Every model that used to bring solos for free has lost that ability, it is no different here.
It collects soul tokens within 10″ (not cmd 12″ as it used to be). There is no friendly/enemy model, nor enemy attack restriction, so you know what to do with some redundant cultists?
It still can have up to five tokens, but they are not generated automatically in case it doesn’t have any left. For some reason returning d3 small- or medium-based models works within 12″, so not only it can return bigger models, it also can bring them within 12″! That’s good news, especially if you compare to other battle engines and their reinforcement rules π The remaining two abilities work the same way as they used to in MK3.
The Spectral Flames ranged attack is now AOE 3 POW 14/8.
Edit 29.03.2023: it is 11 points now.
Khador
Man-O-War Assault Chariot
It went down 4 points! It gained Unstoppable and Trample Power Attack Icon.
There are no more impact attacks, so Line Breaker rule had to go.
If it comes to the main weapon, it is ROF 3 only (was ROF 3+1). It is AOE 2 POW 12/10.
The mount attack now is a normal melee attack with 1″ melee range and knockdown effect.
It is part of Armored Korps army.
Man-O-War Siege Chariot
Siege Chariot also went 4 points down, to 11 per model. It also gained Unstoppable and Trample Icon and lost Line Breaker rule. It also kept Repairable and Reposition [3″], as well as Smoke Launchers.
Heavy gun’s range increased +2″ (12 now)!
It is part of Armored Korps army.
Winter Guard Gun Carriage
Guess what, it also went 4 points down to 13 per model. It kept 38 (!) boxes. It received +1 RAT (6 now). Gun Carriage gained Unstoppable and Trample Icon and lost Line Breaker and Crushing Weight rule (since impacts are gone). Unfortunately, the Heavy Cannon doesn’t leave a rough terrain template anymore (it once almost cost me a WTC game, so I shouldn’t complain π ).
Its melee range increased to 1″.
It is part of 5th Division army that is yet to be released.
Legion of Everblight
Lylyth, Reckoning of Everblight
Lilo3 is back! And she is part of Ravens of War army, wonderful news to me and other Legion players π
The first thing that jumps out from the card is 6 Fury! That’s right, after all those years she has finally 6! She gained Unstoppable too. Bad news is that you cannot Trample and shoot anymore. She kept Repairable, Reposition [5″] and Threshing Blades rules.
She also kept Blood Boon rule on her Whisper ranged attack, that allows her to cast a spell for 3 or less when she kills something. Whisper has now Pistol Icon, so she can ignore Target in melee penalty when she is targeting a model she is in melee with. Unfortunately, there is no Gunfighter Icon on the card, so ranged attacks outside of melee are forbidden. Btw, her melee range is 1″ now.
Her feat remained unchanged. She lost Battle Host, but gained Escort, what is a unified version for both Warmachine and Hordes now, thanks to a Cohort keyword. However, it cost 3 Fury points now. It is an upkeep, so it’s not a big deal in most cases. Frost Hammer became Frostbite, it is the same. Wind Wall stayed unaltered and some armies might struggle against this spell.
Lilo3 is part of Ravens of War army.
Throne of Everblight
It went down 2 points and kept 38hp. It gained Unstoppable.
Throne gained Battle Wizard instead of Necrophage (its once per turn now, not each time it kills something) and kept all of its Magic Abilities: Frostbite, Ice Cage and Spine Burst. It kept Snacking rule too.
Its all 4 melee attacks are 3″ now – all the time, not only during its activation. Tentacles gained drag, what wasn’t here before.
For some reason it is a part of Dragon’s Host Blighted Ogrun army. It might be really durable with Thagrosh, but I am not sure if he likes having heavy hitters outside of his battle group? I used to play it this way, though, so I might try it in MK4 too π
Mercenaries
Sacral Vault
It went down 3 points. Apart from that, this model remained generally unchanged with only minor tweaks on the gun.
Its gun gained Pistol Icon. It can still buy up to 2 additional shots with souls and take control over the killed target to move and make additional attack. The new rule – Devour Soul – allows the player to distribute the soul token among every model with Soul Taker rule, regardless of the proximity.
Sacral Vault is part of Blindwater Congregation army.
Hammerfall Siege Crawler
I believe PP has to reconsider its cost, otherwise I am unable to justify 17 points for that model. It used to cost 18 points before, now its “just” 17. It gained Unstoppable. It kept 40hp.
If it comes for the rules, it kept Bulldoze, Girded, Periscope and Reinforcements [Rhulic]. With the last ability, it can bring d3 rhulic small-based models within 8″ and place it within 2″ of another Grunt from that unit.
The Quad Cannon has Pistol Icon. Siegbreaker ranged attacks are now AOE 3 POW 15/8, and as far as I am aware, models hit by AOE are also hit. In that case they would also lose their initial attacks in case of a critical hit, and that is something, isn’t it? π Although, it only says “On a critical hit, the model hit loses…[…]” and it doesn’t mention model’s, so I might be wrong. Please let me know if my understanding is correct π
Oh, and its melee range is 1″ now.
It is obviously part of Rhul Guard army.
Edit 29.03.2023: it is 15 points now and Reinforcements affects Rhul Guard models only.
Meat Thresher
It went down 3 points (13 now) and kept 36hp. It gained Unstoppable. It also kept Bulldoze, Exhaust Fumes (that all Crucible engines lost) and Turn Up The Heat.
Its ranged and melee weapons stayed the same (Blood Reaper is renamed old High-Impact rule).
It is part of Thornfall Alliance army.
Protectorate of Menoth
Servath Reznik, Wrath of Ages
Reznik2 lost 1hp (to 24 now) and 1 ARM (18 now). He gained Unstoppable and Trample Power Attack Icon.
He kept Curse [Battlegroup] but can now select an enemy model/unit within 10″ (not in cmd 8). He lost Lamentations of Suffering, so it doesn’t matter if he has 1 or more foc or not, he can always be a target of non-magical ranged attacks. He kept Repairable and Reposition [3″]. He gained Threshing Blades rule (POW 18 trample attacks sounds fun to me).
He lost his Mount attack, but gained Ram attack with +2 POW (14), reach 1″, continuous fire and critical knock down.
His feat makes enemy models in his control area explode with POW 12 (-2) and damage all enemy models within 2″ of the model.
If it comes for his spells, he kept them all. Only The Flesh is Weak has changed to AOE 3.
Reznik2 is part of Final Interdiction army.
Vessel of Judgment
The Vessel went down 2 points and kept 32hp. It gained Unstoppable.
It kept all of its Holy Reliquary effects, but now the additional ranged attack is one of them, so it will cost d3 hp to shoot a second time.
I guess 2 points is a fair deal for this change? It will be available in Temple Guardians army.
Shrine of the Lawgiver
This structure went down 2 points (10 now).
It kept all of his rules, slightly adjusted to MK4 standards. That’s it, not much to cover here π
The Shrine is part of Final Interdiction army.
Retribution of Scyrath
Dawnguard Trident
The famous lawnmower went down 1 point (15 now). It gained Unstoppable. It lost 1 ARM effectively, as the base ARM went up to 19, but Trident lost Shield with +2 ARM bonus.
It lost Reposition [3″] and Shooting Gallery (+2 to hit within 5″ of it). Build Up Power, however, works better that it was before. Now it generates d3 tokens each time this model moves (not just 1 as it was before).
It kept its effects – Force Shield and Telekinetic Wave. All the weapons stayed the same (guns gained Pistol Icon).
It works for Legions of Dawn army.
Arcantrik Force Generator
The AFG went down 4 points! It lost Gunfighter, sadly. It kept Carapace, Polarity Field (that now affects constructs only) and Focused Power.
Teleforce Cannon is still RNG 14 ROF 2 POW 14 cannon. It gained Pistol Icon. If it comes to the effects, it kept Destructor and Momentum. The third one, Blasted Earth, is now replaced by Void Blast, that is AOE 2 POW 14/8 attack that RFP models.
It works for Shadows of the Retribution army that is yet to be released.
Skorne
Xerxis, Fury of Halaak
He gained Unstoppable and kept Trample Power Attack that is now an Icon.
His Mount attack has now 1″ melee range. His feat and his spells remained the same.
For now, he is missing his CTRL stat, but I guess we can safely assume it is 10.
He is part of Army of the Western Reaches.
Siege Animantarax
It went down 3 points, gained Unstoppable and Trample Icon.
The biggest change is that Siege Animantarax cannot boost to hit or to damage with its rage tokens. It gets 1 token, up to 3, whenever it is damaged by enemy attack. It also gains +1 to attack and dmg rolls for each token on it. Those tokens can be spent to buy more attacks or to remove d3+1 damage from it for each token spent. It no longer can be repaired by Medicate (β Action). It kept Reposition [3″] and gained Shield Guard! That’s right, shield guard π it is quite interesting, isn’t it? An easy way to gain rage tokens for sure.
All the attacks remained the same. Spear attacks are not independent attacks, so all damage buffs apply here.
It is part of Army of the Western Reaches.
Supreme Guardian
The paddle guy went 1 point down. It gained Unstoppable and Dual Attack.
It kept Defensive Strike, Divine Inspiration, Direct Spirits. It also kept Soul Taker and can buy additional attacks for souls or negate a spell with Spectral Vortex (old Arcane Vortex). Returning d3 small- or medium-based models is now restricted to Maintenance Phase. It can place returned models within 12″ of it and 2″ of other Grunts from the unit.
You can now easily return models in your Maintenance Phase, kill enemy models to collect more souls and use them to buy additional attacks!
His Fires of Rage ranged attack is RNG 10 AOE 3 POW 14/8 now. It remained magical, Damage type: Fire with continuous fire attack.
Obsidian Blade stayed the same, he kept his 3″ reach.
This Battle Engine is part of Exalted army that is yet to be released.
Trollbloods
Hearthgut Hooch Hauler
The beer wagon went down 2 points and gained 2hp (38 now)!
It gained Unstoppable Icon. It kept Beer Wagon, Dual Attack, Reposition [3″] and Veteran Leader [Northkin].
It lost one Torch ranged attack! The one that remained gained Pistol Icon, and apart from that, it is the same attack. Cask Bomb is RNG 8 AOE 3 POW 16/8 and it lost Accelerant rule (no Oil effect…). The mount attack is now changed to 1″ Crushing Weight attack POW 14 and Knockdown effect on it.
Hearthgut Hooch Hauler is part of Northkin Storm of the North army.
War Wagon
It went 1 point down (15 now) and kept 38hp. It gained Unstoppable.
It kept Shooting Gallery and Reposition [3″] and lost Line Breaker and Crushing Weight (as Impact attacks are gone).
Pounder ranged attack is AOE4 POW 17/10 now that kept Arcing Fire (ignoring all intervening models) and Quake. Scattergun stayed the same.
Trampling Hooves is 1″ melee attack with POW 14 and gained Momentum rule (old Ton of Bricks in this case). I don’t get the last sentence though, aren’t slammed large-based models knocked down already?
War Wagon is part of United Kriels army that is yet to be released.
General thoughts
I am so happy that one of the most iconic and representative models were finally released!
There are some clear winners of the change (like Wraith Engine) or models that still need some work (Rhulic Siege Crawler). Overall, the power level of Engines lowered I believe. They do not work as efficiently as they used to and have to pay for additional attacks (Storm Strider, Nemo, etc.). Most of the changes are obvious nerfs, like Celestial Fulcrum randomly loosing 5hp or TEP loosing 8hp, Railless interceptor loosing power tokens or Storm Strider having to pay for an additional attack.
What’s more, reinforcement rule is simply worse than it used to be. Units are smaller and packed tighter together, so you cannot leave one model behind to return models constantly to that unit.
All of the engines went down a couple of points, so the surprisingly high price of Rhulic engine must be a typo.
In general, power level decreased together with point cost, so it maybe will not be that painful π I am more than happy to be able to field some of them finally (I’m looking at my Throne, not Trencher bunker).
What model do you think gained the most? Which one you simply cannot wait to test in game? Are there any that you have already played?
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