The Samurai Gunslinger

Overview:

Overview:

The Karman faction, released late last year completes the first four of the planned factions for Rachkam’s AT-43 table top miniatures battle game. The Army book itself is identical in format and production quality to the previous 3 efforts. As such, it is another outstandingly well produced book with semi glossy cover, beautiful glossy pages with nice graphics, clear  layout and gorgeous photos.

The Karman race itself is an interesting concept, self aware genetically altered Gorillas who live in a society focused around the concepts of Karmic debt, environmental awareness and a warrior ethic. Origionally raised to sentience by the Therians, a race of self aware machines who represent to closest thing to an evil race in the AT-43 universe. Due to their devout belief in Karma and general unwillingness to mechanize their homeworld, the Karmans were eventurally forced to overthrow their mechanical masters and are now a powerful star spanning civilization in their own right. To put it simply this is an army all about cigar smoking, power armored monkeys! How much fun is that?

It is up to each individual player as to how much they like the unique style and flavor of the Karmans, but I think there are few who would not admit that it is an intersting and origional idea that the designers at Rachkam have come up with for their game.

Sub Factions:

Like all of the other factions in AT-43 the Karmans are divided into three sub factions, each with its own unique background and its own platoon organization chart. The player also has the option of using the default organization chart, but that takes away the special abilties and vulnerabilites that give the factions so much character and would be a mistake in my opinion.

The first of the three groups is the Libra. These are the philospher warriors of the Karman race who favor the use of massed infantry over heavy vehicles. They have a platoon organization that allows the most options for infantry while allowing only a single choice from the vehcile section of the army list. This allows a Libra commander an exceptional flexibility of infantry troop choices but leaves them lacking in vehicle support. In smaller games this will have no major negative effect as it would be very rare to field multiple vehicle squadrons in a smaller game but in a high point cost game it could leave the Libra player at a disadvange.

The special ability of the Libra is helpful in overcoming the possible vulnerabilty of fielding a nearly all infantry force. It allows every medic in the army to bring back a slain comrade. This can make it difficult to eliminate large Libra infantry units, but it also makes medics an even more tempting target for enemy snipe units. The disadvantage is that all Libra units are required to include an officer. This is in some ways an advantage as it reduces the leadership point cost of activating the armies units but it can add up to a substantial additional cost detracting from the groups one main advantage of having superior numbers.

The seconde sub group is the Nova. This group is a band of adventurers and explorers who are tasked with keeping an eye on developments among other races in the galaxy. They are tasked with insuring that the Karman race as a whole is prepared for whatever may come and are ready in the event of hostilit with any of the many races they have encountered in their travels. The Nova army list is all about balance, trying to ensure that a little of everything is available for the Nova commander. This does mean that a Nova list will not be able to overload on any one particular troop type but also helps to ensure that the army has some force within it capable of fulfulling any necessary role or countering any threat.

The Nova special ability is a truly nasty one. They are able to negate the effects of any enemy leadership point abilities by spending an equal number of leadership points themselves. This does make it diffcult for the Karman player to use those abilities but can be crippling agins a foe who has built their army to tak advantage of a particular leadership based special ability. The Nova disadvantage is signifigant, allowng the opponent to allways choose who goes first or second, but this can be countered by intelligent deployment and use of terrain.

The final sub group is the Flux, the elite high tech super soldiers of the Karman race. This faction travels the galaxy in a mobile fortress world called Zaius searching for wars with which to test and improve themselves. They are warriors who see war as their path to karmic evolution and allways seek the most difficult opponents and dangerous situations. The army list is  designed to force a small number of highly elite warriors. In fact this list can be built without a single one one star unit in the force, and can have as many as three vechicle units in a single platoon. With the ability to field trike units in units of three that can lead to a virtual swarm of Karman skimmers supported by a small number of K - type units and not a single basic infantry unit to be seen.

The special ability of the Flux is almost necessary given the vehicle centric builds made possible by the factions organization chart. The Flux comander may use vehicles to control objectives. The disadvantage is that the army commander must be a armored fighting vehicle unit officer. Given the vechicle heavy nature of typical Flux builds this is not really much of a disadvantage and helps to prevent a single sniper shot from eliminating the army commander with a single well placed shot.

Units:

Karman units are an intersesting combination of small numbers, good armor, excellent weapons and suprising vulnerability. They can put out a horrendous volume of fire but even though their armor values are the highest in the game for infantry, they are still very vulnerable to any number of medium anti infantry weapons present in the other three armies. This forces the Karman commander to take great care with his forces and dictates a battle strategy that favors conservative play punctuated by occasional highly agressive attacks at opportune moments.

I will list each unit starting with the heroes and give a breif run down of its capabilities, function and finally recomended useage of the unit.

Heroes:

Mentor Freezer

Able to lead any type 1 infantry unit, mentor freezer brings excellent hand to hand capability to any basic Karman infantry unit. With 18 movment, 9 Leadership, 6 armor, 6 melee skill and 2 each authority and leadership points Freezer is a farily good value for his 90 points. His only armament is his pair of super j grips that give him a 10/2 damage profile against troops and a 3+ / 2 against armor. His capabilities allow him to defend the unit against heavy close combat threats or any AFV that gets too close.

Venerable Cornelius

An expensive, but powerful Hero, Venerable Cornelius must lead a unit of wendigos if he is to be fielded at all. Coming in at a substantial 155points he is not a cheap addition and is really best used in very large point cost forces. His stat line is good at 18 movement, 9 Leadership, 7 armor and melee skill, with 6 authority and 5 Leadership points, but it is his +3 additional troops that put him over the top. Armed with two zz rifles that combine for 8 shots per turn at 5 accuracy with 6/1 damage, he is almost an anti infantry squad unto himself. When you bring him along with the three additional troops he makes possible you have a 12 strong squad of wendigos that can now lay down 52 accuracy 5 shots per turn!!! As it that was not enough Cornelius allows the Karmen player to use the concentrate fire special ability withoug any further restriction which gives them the ability to re roll all failed damage tests.

With all of this you should have a unit that is virtually guranteed to kill any infantry unit it sets its sights on every turn. The large number of troops will also give them a better than normal chance for Karman units to survive. The problem is that to get all of this you need to spend a whooping 835 points without grenades! With so much wrapped up in one unit it will be difficult to find the points for a balanced army along side him. In a very large game this can be possible but in anything under 2000 points I think Cornelius is just too heavy a concentration of resources.

Saint Anuman

Almost as expensive but perhaps more versatile is Saint Anuman. A legendary pilot Anuman can be purchased alone or with his Jungle Buggy Jindo-un. With his buggy he is a signifigant 645pts, and alone he comes in at a hefty 135 and is allowed to lead any type 1 soldier unit. As a vehicle he adds his 7 authority and 7 leadership points to the buggys exising abilities. On his own he comes in with 18cm movement, 8 leadership, 6 armor and melee skill, a +3 additional troop modifyer and the same 7 authority and leadership points.

Alone, his ability to turn a unit of Anakongas or Kaptars into a 12 strong force including him makes him nearly as devastating as Cornelius if slightly less expensive. His own weapons, a Jammer pistol with an accuracy of 3, 2 shots and an unimpressive 4+/1 damage profile makes him an ininspiring combatant alone but his ability to so heavilly improve another unit can not be ignored.

In his Buggy, he brings signifigant firepower along with his very impressive leadership skills. This makes him a great choice if your army allready includes a vehicle component as the huge increase in leadership points outweighs any loss due to his cost. In a smaller army that allready has a mandatory type 1 infantry choice Anuman can turn that mandatory choice into the powerful core force through his added troops ability. Either way he is an good value for his high cost.

Infantry:

Anakongas

One of two type 1 infantry units in the Karman aresenal, the Anakongas are the closest thing in the Karman army to disposable cannon fodder. The fact that they have equivalent statistics to most other armies elite infantry is a telling factor in the flavor of the Karman List. With a 6 basic armor they are one of the best protected basic troop types in the game, but this is still not enough to protect them for either concentrated fire or the attention of the various anti infantry support weapons present in the UNA or Therian lists or the wall of rockets and flames likley to come there way if they get too close to a Red Block force.

The greatest weakness of this unit is the fact that they use the short ranged Drum pistol as their primary weapon. With a range of 1 and a rate of fire of 6 shots per turn this weapon can allow an anakonga unit to put out an insane volume of anti infantry fire. The problem of course it that with their small numbers ( unit size of 4 / 8 ) they do not have the numbers to soak up enemy fire on the way into getting those nasty little guns in range. With a speed of 18cm per turn and the jump pack ability they are relativly quick but even a single turn of fire from any number of dedicated anti infantry units will decimate them despite their relatively high armor value.

The support weapon options of the unit, the Drum Gun and the Flamer, are both good but not amazing. The Drum Gun is basically a longer range lower rate of fire drum pistol with an unimpressive accuracy of 3 and a rate of fire of 4. The guns damage rating of 8 does allow it to make short work of any enemy infantry and even some battlesuits but it is inferior to the flamer in my opinon. With two flamers the Ankakongas can be certain of dealing a devastaing blow against any foe even if they have allready suffered too many casualties for their massed drum pistols to be of much use.

The support troop available to the Anakongas is the mechanic, which seems very odd given how usefull a medic would have been for them to survive an attack on an enemy gunline. I can see how having a mechaning in a unit of Anakongas hiding behind terrain with a squad of trikes using the pop up attacks could be helpful, but still at least the option for them to have medics would have been much more effective.

Finally they have a very effective melee weapon in the powergrip which has a damage value of 10 allowing them to threaten light armored fighting vehciles with destruction in close combat. They are certainly not the first choice among the Karman list for taking out armor, but in a pinch this weapon at least gives them a fighting chance.

The best use of the Anakongas is a leapfrogging strategy using their jump packs to appear from behind terrain at an opportune moment and deliver a knock out blow to an enemy unit. This makes them something of a defensive unit as they really do not have the durability to survive a frontal assault nor the range to blast their way through into close range. On a wide open table they will simply be carved apart at range, but in a dense table they can appear at the wrong moment to simply devastating effect.

Kaptars

The second level one infantry unit is an overall much more effective choice. With an equal stat line to the Anakongas, boasting an 18cm move, 8 leadership, 6 armor and 6 melee skill they also compare very well against even the elite infantry of other races. They lack the jump packs of the Anakongas and are thus less able to make bold and suprising attacks from behind the cover of terrain, but they do have a far better suit of weapons than thier brothers. They can come in units of 4 or 8 with 1 or 2 special weapons respectively.

The main weapon of the Kaptars is the ZZ rifle, a weapon based off of the UNA laser rifle which impressed the Karmans so much upon seeing it that they took steps to copy and improve upon the weapon. With an accuracy of 4, Rate of fire of 4 and damage of 6 this weapon is a nightmare for enemy infantry. Although it is less accurate than the Steel Troopers weapon the increased rate of fire and damage rating combine to make it much more lethal. They also share the Powergrip weapon which allows them to defend themselves well if attacked by teleporting therian assault troops or fast moving anti infantry walkers.

The Kaptars support weapons are equally impressive with a choice between a sniper gun with an accuracy of 9, 2 shots and a 9 damage or the ZZgun with it’s accuracy of 6, 2 shots with a re roll and a damage of 15! With such a selection of weapons in a basic infantry choice the Kaptars give the Karmans the ability to deal with nearly any opposition with their core troop choice.

Like the Anakonga’s the Kaptars have only a mechanic as a support troop choice. This makes even less sence than on the Anakongas as the lack of jump packs means there will rarely be a situation that sees the Kaptars advancing along side a unit of trikes who prefer to strike from cover quickly as opposed to slowly proceeding along the axis of advance. Again the medic would have been a wonderful choice, but alas perhaps the balance issues were a problem.

The tactics of using the Kaptars are much more open than the Anakongas. They have the same basic problem in that they can only have 8 troops maximum and this makes them vulnerable to enemy fire even with their above average armor for an infantry unit. It would not take much for a unit of fire toads to devastate them. The best use is to get them into good cover and use it to improve survivability while using the overwealming firepower of their zz rifles to control a signifigant area of the front lines. Like all Karman units they rely on quickly takikng out the enemy before their limited numbers can we overwealmed.

Wendigos

The first of the Karmans level 2 infantry choices, the Wendigos are a terrifying unit to face on the battlefield. Again with the option to field 4 or 8 with 1 or 2 special weapons as with the previous choices the Wendigos are actually identical in point cost to the previous infantry units. Lacking jump packs they still have the excellent 18cm movement, but field an improved leadership of 9 as well as a 7 armor and 7 melee skill. This makes them a great value with a signifigant improvement in capability without any increase in cost.

The Wendigos primary weapon is the ZZ rifle but they gain an increased accuracy of 5 and the special ability to use the weapon for the Maser Strike which turns them into a two shot area effect weapon with an area of 1 and a damage of 4. With the effects of multiple area effect shots this can turn the Maser Strike into a fairly terrifying ability when used by large units, especially if using a high level officer to bring the unit up to a size of 10 troops. With 16 shots the chance of gettng the necessary 6 hits to maximize the area of effect and score a double hit on every model in a 10cm radius is very good.

The support weapons of the Wendigos are somewhat less impressive however and provide the only reason that one would choose Kaptars over Wendigos. With the option of the Drum Gun or the Grenade Launcher the Wendigos lack a weapon capable of taking on enemy armor in any serious fasion. On the other hand, the grenade launcher can compliment the ZZ Rifles maser strike ability very well with an accuracy of 4, 2 shots, a 3 area of effect and a damage of 5. With 2 grenade launchers and a perfect roll it could be possible to score two maximum strike results against a single unit, something that very few infantry units of any type could survive. The Drum Gun is an ok choice and gives the unit the ability to deal with enemy battlesuits but does not synergize as well with the rifles as the grenade launcher.

The other large advantage the Wendigos have is the option to take a medic. This, combined with their improved armor gives them a much better survivability against enemy anti infantry weapons and specialist units.

Tactically the Wendigos are an excellent unit for dealing with enemy infantry units of all types, but lack the abillity to handle enemy vehicles. If properlly supported they can form an excellent addition to the core force. When combined with the superior anti armor abilities of the Kaptars they can form a very effective and versatile team. Even so, they are still vulnerable due to their limited numbers and are far more fragile than their point cost would lead a player to expect.

Yetis

The final Karman infantry choice is an interesting one to be sure. The Yetis have the same stat line as the Wendigos but add the jump pack ability and go up signifigantly in price to the point of being literally double the cost of a fully outfitted squad of 9 Steel Troopers. As with all Karman Infantry they come in the standard 4 or 8 troop option with the same 1 or 2 support weapons and one support troop, once agian the highly usefull medic.

The weapons of the Yeti are the Jungle rifle, basically the same as the Kaptars zz rifle but with one re roll, and the powergrip. This makes them very versatile and allows them to fight up close or at pont blank range with equall effectivness.

The support weapons are both good but have very different roles. The standard flamer option gives them a devastating anti infantry weapon at close range, while the rocket launcher with its rate of fire of 3, 2 accuracy and 12/2 damage rating allows them to deal with enemy armor at close range. The jump packs help to make the limited range of the jump packs less of an issue and increase the likleyhood of having a chance to use the flamer as well.

Tactically the Yetis are a little of a mixed bag as their very high cost makes it critical to get the best use of them, yet their short range can make that more difficult even with the jump pack ability. Given the much better anti vehicle options elsewhere in the list, it seems to make more sense to equip the Yetis with flamers and use the indirect fire ability of the flamers to help keep the Yetis safe until an ideal opportunity to pounce on an enemy that makes the mistake of drawing too close.

Battlesuits:

Karman Battlesuits are all variants on a squad of two heavilly armored karmen warriors with huge weapon mounts on their backs. These K-troop units are at once insanely leathal and terribly vulnerable to enemy fire. Even with excellent armor for a battlesuit troop they are still fairly easy to knock out with any kind of dedicated anti armor weapon, and as such must be used with extreme care given their high cost and very low model count.

K-Fighters

The first of the K units it the K-Fighters. These troops have an excellent stat line, with the standard 18cm Karman movement, 10 Leadership, 11 Armor and a 7 melee skill.

This makes them almost completely immune to anti infantry weapons and most dual purpose weapons but provides very little protection against full on anti amor weapons. The advantage they do have is that being infantry and not armored fighting vehicles they doe not have to worry about lock on or jammer weapons, but other heavy anti armor weapons will tear through them in no time. This is not a problem unique to the K-Fighters as all battlesuits occupy this strange middle ground, however the K-Fighters have only 2 models per unit as opposed to the 3 for the battlesuit class units of every other race.

The weapons of the K Fighters are very impressive. With two Jammers capable of laying down 2 shots each with an accuracy of 5 and the devastating 2+ damage effect of the jammer class weapons they will tear apart any vehicle regardless of its armor value. The key limitating is that an accuracy of 5 prevents them from being used as true stand off weapons and forces the K-Fighters to use them either from reserves or counter attacking from cover. The other problem is that although they can virtually ignore armor values, the damage is one point per hit allowing the hits to spread out over a large vehicle allowing it to survive. This can be a real problem if the Karman player is depending upon the K-Fighters to deal with a key enemy armor threat at a critical time. In addition to the Jammers they also posses a pair of superpowergrips that give them 2 10/2 weapons with which to defend themselves from melee assaults.

At the same price as a unit of Red Blok Kollosus they are more in line with the cost of other simillar units, but again the reduced number makes them much more vulnerable than even the more lightly armored UNA TacArms.

K-Warriors

The K-Warrriors share all of the same qualities of the K Fighters with the exception of a slightly higher price and a different weapon, the Mortar Gun.

Looking like a pair of mini howitzers on the K-Warriors Back, the Mortar Guns make them one of the most visually imposing models in the game and the guns themselves live up to the threatening apperance. With an accuracy of 4, 2 shots each, 4 area of effect and a 7/1 damage rating the pair of guns can really ruin someones day. Obviouslly only usefull against enemy infantry, these weapons are among the most effective at killing them in large numbers. The indirect fire capability of the weapons makes the K-Warriors the most survivable of the Karman K units, but with the exceptional anti infantry abilities of all of the Karman Infantry units, they are also perhaps the most redundant.

In armies that find themselves short of infantry, such as a vehicle heavy Flux list, this troop type could prove very usefull and it definitely excells at it’s assigned role, still with so many quality anti infantry options in the infantry and AFV sections of the list, it is hard to justify this many points for a very small unit with such a limited scope.

K-Shooters

The jack of all trades of the K unit choices the K-Shooters struggle to find a role. As with the previous two units, the Shooters vary only in cost and heavy weapon. The cost is actually signifigantly less than either of the other K units and helps to make them a viable choice.

The weapon used by the K-Shooters is the ZZ-Gun, a heavy version of the weapon used by the Kaptars. This weapon has an accuracy of 7, 3 shots with a reroll and a 15/1 damage profile. This makes it a fantastic weapon for eliminating battlesuits and elite infantry. Against heavy armor its single damage point per shot gives it the same problem faces by the Jammers but with a lower rate of fire and a lower chance of penetrating armor. This makes the K-Shooter something of a jack of all trades, master of none type of unit.

The best tactics for the K-Shooters are actually to use them in multiples, taking advantage of their rate of fire and excellent damage rating. Really only a viable tactic in Flux armies, this allows the K-Shooters to be certain of annihilating any armor unit they set thier sights on and allows them to split fire against elite infantry and battle suits wreaking certain havoc on both. Nothing can be done to make up for the fact that their low model count makes it critical for them to eliminate any threats quickly and with maximum force.

Armored Fighting Vehicles:

Like everything else in the Karman army, the Armored Fighting Vehicle choices are completly different from those of any other army. All of the AFV’s in the Karman force are open cockpit hover skimmer type vehicles. With three basic types; Trikes, Buggys and the King Mammoth. To save time I will just review each category and discuss the various weapon and cost options among them.

Trikes

The Trike Class units are small single seat skimmers with an amazing 30cm speed, 9 Morale, an unimpressive 10 armor (12 for easy and thunder trikes) and a 6 melee skill. All four Trikes are identical in this and it makes them all ideal hit an run units. The skimmers also share the antigrav ability which basically gives them the jump pack ability and the ability to vary thier altitude to allow for pop up attacks from behind cover. The four different Trikes vary only in their weapon loadout, Protection and their cost and we will go over the different options here.

Dirt Trike: Armed with twin light drum cannons that have an accuracy of 5, 4 shots and 8/1 damage each, the Dirt trike is a specatcular anti infantry unit and also is the cheapest of the 4 trike versions costing slightly less than a fully equipped squad of Kaptors or Wendigos for a squadron of 3. In full squadron strenght this unit can really clear the field of enemy infantry very quickly, and when supported with sufficient anti armor to protect it from enemy AFVs, it can be a suprisingly effective weapon considering its fragility.

Easy Trike: Armed with twin light jamers the Easy Trike is an AFV’s worst nightmare. With an accuracy of 5 and 2 shots each the Light Jammers are just as effective as the Jammers used by the K-Fighters but mounted on signifigantly more survivable frames (especially given their 12 protection) and capable of lightning bursts across the table from behind terrain. Fully 50% more expensive than the Dirt Trike these vehicle hunters come at a premium and a squadron of 3 can account for half a standard 1500 point list, but if you are expecting to face the heavy armor of a Red Blok or Therian force this can be worth it in spades.

Jungle Trike: This version mounts twin light ZZ cannons that can attack the enemy with an accuracy of 8, 2/1 rate of fire and a 15/1 damage profile. Just like the K-Shooter this makes them a jack of all trades that are not quite as effective against armor than the Easy or against infantry than the Dirt Trike. The bonus here is that the much more versatile and survivable Trike frame makes it much easier to use these weapons to proper effect. The cost of these is right in the middle between the two previous units and also helps to make the unit a viable choice. This unit is the best selection for an army that already has some dedicated anti infantry, and anti armor units allowing the Jungle Trike to respond to what ever threat is the most pressing at any given moment.

Thunder Trike: An odd beast, the Thunder Trike breaks the mold by having two seprate main weapons. One Drum Cannon and one Light ZZ Cannon. This allows it to be used against any threat, but makes it a very mediocre anti armor threat as it can only deliver a single damage point per turn at best. With only a single drum cannon it is also far less able to deliver real damage to enemy infantry. Despite the increased protection, they are really only effective at all in full squadrons. The Thunder Trike is just too expensive to be usefull at the same high cost as the Easy Trike, without any where near the effectivness.

The Buggy Class of vehicles are in some ways even more odd than the Trikes. Open air hover vehicles like the Trikes, the Buggys all sport a combination of front and rear mounted weapons. This allows them to fly through the battlefield doing damge to everything around them as they pass, but also nearly forces a player to put them in danger in order to get the full use of their weapons.  All three have the same profile with a 25cm speed, 10 Morale, 14 Armor(12 for the Thunder/King) and 6 Melee skill. This makes them much more survivable than the trikes, however they are deployed in units of only one so do not benifit from the safety of numbers. They also share the antigrav traits of the trikes.

Jungle Buggy: Armed with twin forward and twin rear light zz cannons, the Jungle Buggy can literally dominate an entire battlefield from a center position. Throwing 8 15 damage shots both in front and behind it, the Buggy can take a broadside position in the center of an enemy force and lay down a withering barrage at any enemy unit no matter the type. With the strong 14 armor frame it can be much more able to inevitable return fire as well. Costing exactly the same as a squadron of three dirt trikes it is also a signifigant allotment or point cost that can be quickly destroyed by an enemy with signifigant dedicated anti armor capability. If a Karman player can clear out the enemy anti armor, however, the Jungle Buggy will quickly finish off the opponents surviving forces.

King Buggy: Less devastating and surviveable, but also much less expensive than the Jungle Buggy, the King Buggy is more of a bit player. Armed with the same twin forward firing light zz cannons, it exchanges the rear mounts for a pair of flamers. The excellent speed of the King Buggy along with its antigrav ability can enable it to close to the range of its flamers and then orient itself so as to pass it’s infantry target on the way to an armor target allowing it to engage with all weapons. This makes it much more dangerous to use effectively but if sucessful the two flamers can wreak horrific carnage on any infantry unit.

Thunder Buggy: Even more difficult to use effectively, the Thunder Buggy mounts two light drum canons to the front and two light zz cannons to the rear. This puts the pilot in the difficult position of having to close to within drum cannon range in order to use its full firepower negating the range advantage of its zz cannons. Combining this with the lower protection of 12 and this puts the Thunder Buggy in a diffucult position.

Although the twin drum cannons are effective, the are not as overwealmingly lethal as the twin flamers of the King Buggy. It is only slightly more expensive than the King buggy so if the enemy will be fielding large numbers of infantry with short ranged anti tank weapons it may be a viable choice.

King Mammoth: The King Mammoth is the Karmans size 5 vehicle and like all of the rest of the Karman AFVs it is a hover vehicle of great effectivness. Like all size 5 vehicles it is highly expensive and very heavily armored. With a 25cm movement and 11 leadership along with an amazing 16 armor and 6 melee skill the King Mammoth is truly an awe inspiring sight on the battlefield.  Like the Buggy class vehicles it also has forward and rear firing weapon systems. The front weapon is the horrific Heavy ZZ Cannon that combines an 8 accuracy with a 4/1 rate of fire and a 17/1 damage profile. This gives the King mammoth the ability to deal with literally anything in the game so far with confidence. The rear weapons are an infantry commanders worst nightmare. 4 flamers give the King Mammoth the ability to wipe out entire infantry formations in a single turn. In addition to the weapons, the king Mammoth gains the Curtain of Flames special ability that can be used instead of shooting the flamers to block line of sight to or through the vehicle. This ability to automatically protect itself from an entire arc of fire can greatly add to it’s own survivability.

Like the Jungle Buggy, the King Mammoth must close to near point blank range of enemy infantry in order for it’s flamers to be of use, but with it’s 16 armor value it is much better able to survive such action as few infantry carried weapons can even scratch it’s thick protection. Designed to lead the charge destroying enemy AFVs to the front and wiping out their supporting infantry as it passes them, the King Mammoth almost drives the strategy of the army it supports with it’s unusual weapons mix. When compared with the other size 5 vehicles the King Mamoth is both slightly less survivable due to fewer damage points and less capable of dealing with it’s equals due to slightly less anti armor firepower. On the other hand it is both faster and signifigantly more maneuverable as well as having the ability to literally change the battlefield singlehanded with its massive flamer attacks, and curtain of flames special ability.

Conclusion:

Unlike any other army in theme, apperance or style the Karmens are a very difficult army to master. The low model count and surgical precision required by its odd combinations of speed and fragile weapons platforms makes it the kind of army that will punish novice players rather severely. I think this army should come with a warning label on all of the models reading ‘new players not allowed’. This being said, the Karmens also have all of the hallmarks of a masters intrument just waiting for someone skilled enough to play them properly.

This is an army that will not allow a single mistake and will brutally punish thoughtless play or uncareful list design. Every unit must be selected with the intention of meshing it’s capabilites with the rest of the army. Tactics must be selected in the same way with every move thought out well ahead, but without fear of taking advantage of an enemies mistake without hesitation. I think that this is an army that will be all about capitalizing on the mistakes of your foe as opposed to dominiating him with the force of your will.

Each sub faction will demand a very different play style, and some will be almost impossible to use against some opponents due to the fragility of the Karmen army. All of that considered, the Karmen Army has three major strengths to build upon. First the lethality of it’s infantry units combined with slightly superior speed and several jump pack units makes the Karmen army an army that requires swift decisive movement at just the right time and in just the right place, but will reward decisive generals with results. The second advantage is the Trike class AFV. A squadron of three of these vehicles can obliterate anything in sight and can get to any target on the battlefield in a single turn in most cases due to the antigrave ability and good range of most variants. The Third advantage of the Karmens is the very strangness of the army. They look and play unlike anything else in the game and do not fall into any of the typical minatures wargaming sterotypes. This allows a skilled Karmen general to keep his enemy off balance and while the army is still new this should be a very signifigant advantage indeed.

If you are a gamer looking for a challenging and unique force with character and flair then the Karmen may be a good choice for you. If nothing else its hard not to love the big monkeys when you see them lined up on the battlefield in all thier stogy puffing glory.

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