Sephiroths Khador

The Butcher of Khardov:

Today I thought that I'd showcase one of the funner caster than I have in my repertoir: The Butcher.

First a bit of back story on the big, angry guy. Not much is known about Orsus Zoktavir before he showed up in Korsk with two old WarJacks in tow, he was quickly signed on as a caster under the command of Vladimir Tsepesci but the prince couldn't stand his crude, but effective, methods.

On his first command Orsus was sent to put down a small rebellion in one of the border towns. The battle was short as the rebels lacked any 'jack support. But even after the men had surrendered the Butcher condemned them all to death for treason and commenced the slaughter. When his own men tried to stop him he turned his axe to them. No one in the villiage, civilian or otherwise, was alive after the massacre. The crown quickly hushed it up and brought Orsus back to the capital.

His axe Lola is rumored to be named for a love that was lost and fuels his rage. In defending the Butcher Empress Vannar said "Zoktavir is a force as wild as Khador itself. Some say his manners and methods are crude and shortsighted, but I ask you, would you deny that he is the personification of victory at any cost? Has he ever failed us?"

Thats all for the fluff, on to stuff that matters. The Butchers stats put him in the melee league with Borka and Reznik.

Stats: SPD 5, STR 8, MAT 9, RAT 5, DEF 14, ARM 18. Twenty wounds.

Weapons: Lola, Reach and weapons master P+S 16. Plus the started bs blunderbuss that almost all casters have, but lets be honest if you shoot with the butcher you're playing him wrong.

Spells of note :

Fury. FOC 2. -1 DEF +3 melee dmg rolls model/unit upkeep

Iron Flesh FOC 2. +3 DEF to model/unit -1 SPD upkeep

Killing Blow FOC 3 double the Butchers Strength for one round upkeep

Retalliation You hit me I hit you back upkeep

The Butcher has a surprising amount of tool box spells for being a melee caster. Iron Flesh and Killing Blow are the two I use the most. I have scrapped light jacks in one hit with Killing Blow. It should its only P+S 24 with four dice on the charge.

Lets get on to the reason anyone plays the Butcher: his feat. Blood Frenzy might be my favorite feat in the game. All Khador Models (that means 'jacks too) get an additional damage dice this turn. Holy Crap!! In a faction where there are more weapons masters than not (I did the math it's true) that's like five dice on a charge. That means Drakhun hits a mighty P+S 14+5 D6 on a charge up to three times!! This feat works wonders with units like Doom Reavers who have berserk, there was a game against trolls where two Doomies took down the majority of a unit of champions on the feat turn. It was sick.

But thats the Butcher: hes a beatstick who has a surprising amount of versatility. Hes a solid caster for Khador just keep the mercenaries away.

P.S. Ten points to anyone who gets the reference in the picture.