A couple
months ago I started looking for a new warcaster to playtest. I wanted to try something a little
“different.” I have pedestrian tastes—I
am drawn to the original prime casters.
In spite of those preferences, I kept coming back to Zerkova I. She looked tantalizingly off the snowy path. I was vacillating between Sorscha and her when
PP released her reskulpt—sold! Thus I
give you this review from a non-tournament playing, low experience son of the
motherland.
Lady Z is
nothing special on paper. Her 15
defense, armor, and 16 boxes are solidly mediocre. At MAT 6 and RAT 5 she is barely better than
a winter guard recruit. Her twenty-eight
battlegroup points are the MKIII warcaster default. Cold immunity, pathfinder and sacred ward are
useful grace notes. Her sword is a
standard magical melee weapon—there to check the magical armament box rather
than for utility. She is extremely
squishy while posing a minimal melee threat.
Zerkova’s
value comes from her feat and spell list.
Her feat denies enemy shooting originating in her control range and
stops enemies giving/receiving orders, making special attacks/actions, power
attacks, and running/charging for those activating within her control
range. This is the mother of all denial
feats since it cannot be shaken, shuts down shooting, and prevents models from
doing most of the things used to supplant shooting (charging, trampling,
running…etc.) Since non-warnoun spells
are special actions/attacks, it stops non-focus/fury users that activate in her
control range from casting spells. The
only way to bypass her feat is to activate outside her control range and/or
employ elements that can strike from more than 14 inches—hunters under Sloan’s fire
group spell for example. While the feat
does not fix accuracy like icy gaze, it is also a lot harder to
circumvent. Add to this the fact that it
hits infantry, warjacks, warbeasts, casters/locs, and huge bases equally and it
becomes the centerpiece of Zerkova’s toolbox.
The rest
of her kit is less sexy but no-less useful.
Freezing mist lets her “place” a three inch LOS blocking cloud template
within her control range for 2 focus.
Models within the template suffer a -2 to attack rolls—melee, ranged,
and spells. This lets her cut off line
of sight with the vaunted cloud wall, trigger prowl/concealment, and debuff
enemy attack rolls. True sight and
eyeless sight are rare outside legion and Cygnar—making the template bunker a
hard counter to many lists.
Ghost
walk is her only spell that actively supports other models/units. For 2 focus, it lets a target friendly
faction unit/model ignore terrain and free strikes. At first this looks like an inefficient way
of deploying pathfinder. In reality it
is a versatile tool that lets Zerkova’s forces walk out of combat and run
through terrain on command. Since it is
not an upkeep, she can spread it around. The first couple turns it lets units move
through delaying terrain features. In
the late game it lets Zerkova pull multiple targets out of combat without
penalty—which is especially good against cheap jamming elements.
Watcher
is her only upkeep spell. Once per turn,
it lets a member of her battlegroup make a full advance followed by a boosted
ranged or melee attack against an enemy model that moves within 6 inches of
her. I found this spell to be a bit corner
case. In theory it should enable out of
action counterattacks and battlegroup blocker movement. In practice it never came into play. If Zerkova was close enough to the enemy to
trigger watcher then her battlegroup was already engaged. Zerkova has so much denial between her feat,
her offensive spells, and her cloud wall that by the time enemy models got
within six inches watcher was irrelevant.
Lady Z
has two damage dealing spells. Frost
hammer is a power 12 8 inch spray with critical freeze for 2 focus. It is useful for dealing with multiple
targets, especially if you can spare the extra focus to boost the to-hit roll
and fish for the critical. Considering
that rod of whispers and hex blast top out at power 13, frost hammer is a
strong offensive option for the points.
Hex blast
gives her a 10 inch power 13 small blast for 3 focus. On a direct hit, all upkeeps and animi on the
target expire. Although somewhat
expensive, hex blast serves as a useful debuf, ranged damage dealer, and mass
removal tool. I often found it difficult
to decide whether to go all in on the hex blast root or to try and hit targets
with multiple frost hammers. One costs
less with a potentially devastating critical while the other can do more damage. In most cases frost hammer is the better choice
since you can fully boost 2 frost hammers or drop 4 unboosted sprays. Assuming you have the range, the increased
output does more work than the extra point of power on hex blast.
Zerkova
has three magical items, each of which may be used once per turn. A single casting may only benefit from one of
her items. Focus sphere cuts the cost of
a spell by 1 to a minimum of 1. This
lets her protect her battle group’s advance with four cloud templates in the
early game while transitioning to cheaper offensive spells later. This means
Zerkova plays like a caster with 8 focus worth of resources but 7 focus worth
of accuracy. True sight only supplements
spells, not rod of whispers; so is only relevant to hex blasts. Lens of Tarvodh gives her a once a turn five
inch range boost to a hex blast. It lets
Zerkova plink away at targets in the mid game while staying out of the danger
zone.
Rod of
whispers rounds out her kit with a 10 inch range power 13 ROF 1 magical
gun. If Zerkova kills an enemy living model
with the rod, she can leave it in play, change its facing, and use it as an arcnode
for the rest of that turn. The model
dies at the end of her turn whether or not she channels through it. A lot of reviews paint the rod as her core
strategy. My experience is that its limited
range, Zerkova’s low RAT, and the dearth of infantry in MKIII render it more of
a nice if it happens sort of thing. The
gun is handy for removing pesky incorporeal solos. If you get an assassination vector with grave
door, so much the better but it is not worth building your entire strategy
around its utility.
Play experience:
It is
difficult to pin Zerkova’s style down.
Most casters have strategic themes.
Some are generalists like Butcher I.
Some are support casters like Irusk.
Some enable other models through their personal offense like Sorscha
I. Zerkova does not fall cleanly into
any one category. I want to use words
like generalist or versatile to describe her but these imply a breadth and
depth that I am not sure she deserves.
Outside
of watcher, Zerkova has nothing that specifically interacts with jacks. She wants to keep her entire stack for cloud
walls, attack spells, and camp. Zerkova
only has one spell that benefits infantry in particular (ghost walk.) Freezing mist is a powerful tool for LOS
denial, generating concealment, and debuffing enemy attacks. She can throw down a magical storm with hex
blast and frost hammer but lacks the threat potential of the butchers and
Sorscha. This leaves her dependent on
her feat and clouds to deliver her army.
She does not speed up her forces.
She does not increase their accuracy or hitting power.
I tried
her with everything from Rorsh and Brine to demolition corps to a heavy jack
list. Her playstyle changed every
time. One game she bunkered her way
across the board, completely shutting down the opposing list. Another time she walked around removing enemy
linchpins while a unit of demolition corps ran wild. I am used to looking at problems and choosing
from static options. Zerkova has this
tendency to morph into something unexpected.
True sight or a 5 inch range boost on hex blast lets her take a standard
spell and change the game state. Mage
hunter coming up a flank? Here is true sight.
Got something you cannot target directly? Charge a jack into combat with it and lob a
15 inch hex blast into its back and boost the blast damage. Got a caster hiding behind an infantry
screen? Drop one of the screens with a
boosted rod of whispers shot and nuke the caster. Are your demolition corps tied up with a
couple of jammers? Ghost walk them into
another threat. Her toolbox is so eclectic
as to lack focus but that very diversity gives her an unusual degree of
tactical relevance.
That
flexibility still leaves her with a couple weaknesses. Despite personal pathfinder and ghost walk,
Zerkova runs slow. She does not increase
threat range. The cloud wall defense
tends to brick up her forces until she goes on offense. If she wants to run, she has to setup the
cloud wall before she starts her movement which limits how far forward she can
push the LOS screen. While this is fine
for jacks and man-o-war, cavalry and infantry—especially forward scouting
elements—have to choose between the bunker’s protection and maximizing their
forward movement. This can leave her
behind on scenario even if she eventually delivers her army.
Zerkova has
to balance the desire to push her board presence forward with her need to avoid
assassination. On paper she shuts down
enemy models. In practice I found that
after her forces broke from behind the cloud bunker, her 14 inch control range
was not enough to shut down every threat vector—especially if she played behind
a screen. Playing conservatively limits
her feat turn, cloud wall placement, and offensive range. Playing aggressively enough to maximize her
board presence leaves her sitting on 0 camp hoping her army and sacred ward do
enough work to save her bacon.
List building:
It is
easier to say what Zerkova does not like than what she prefers. Between the cloud wall and zap slinging, she
rarely has enough focus to support more than two jacks. This is not to say that she cannot support an
all-jack force but that her toolkit prefers more independent elements. Huge bases cannot be screened by cloud walls
so require careful consideration. Bigger
units such as a winter guard circus can pose screening challenges—especially in
larger forces where safe landing zones are at a premium. I found that she does not do well with
intermediate range shooting such as the decimator. The dozer’s 10 inch range combines with
Zerkova’s slower deliberate style to leave me wishing for range 12+ guns or a
stronger melee presence.
My
favorite battlegroups for lady Z are 2 destroyers or Behemoth and a rager. Both of them give a mix of 14 inch shooting
and focus efficiency. The rager package
gets you a nice mix of offense and defense as well as a sacrificial objective
holder. The destroyer package perfectly
spends her warjack points and functions just fine with the powerup focus until
they get into melee. Ruin is a great
option with sacred ward and arcane vortex.
Juggernauts make great watcher targets.
The grolar has built in movement buffs and an accuracy fixer in its
hammer. I like all of these options but
over and over again I found myself wishing for that 14 inch shooting.
The big
question I had to answer was to theme or not to theme. Zerkova is one of Khador’s most mercenary
friendly casters. Her cloud wall
protects utility pieces and heavy hitters.
Her spell list lets her zap out control solos and smaller units while
her hired soldiers hamstring enemy fulcrums.
She benefits from Sylys or Reinholdt—my preference is Sylys for the 2-inch
range boost and free upkeep but the speculator certainly has his charms. Hutchuk, Gorman, and Ragman provide valuable
damage boosts—Hutchuk also provides ambushing knockdown on a stick which is so
so sweet. A&H plus Valachev gives
you spot removal and a nice damage boost.
While three models for 12 points probably seems a bad deal, it gives
Zerkova much needed utility while keeping her model count down. Orin and Alexia II are strong denial
pieces. Rorsh and brine give you
boostable guns, a 14 inch non-linear charging heavy, and a strong assassination
threat against living models. Alten is
expensive at 6 points but provides a RAT 8 14-inch gun with reposition, prowl
plays into Zerkova’s clouds, and targeted shooting is always a good thing. Eiryss II out performed expectations every
time. Opponents knew hex blast was on the
table and decided not to risk taking the damage and having their upkeeps
removed anyway. Like Alten, she could
move up, take a shot, and reposition into cover or behind the cloud wall—which
really started to annoy opponents. If
you can pull off the bunker, lady Z gets a lot of use from utility models that
would otherwise die before seeing much use.
On the
flip side, Khador’s themes provide strong incentives to stay in-faction. I feel that legion of steel and winter guard
are great for what they are but require Zerkova to manage too large a
footprint—in smaller games perhaps but not at 50 and above. Even though jaws of the wolf should not work
with a non-jack caster, I think it is Zerkova’s best themed option. At 25 points she can take Behemoth, a rager,
and marshal 2 destroyers with 2 free forge seers. The forge seers can empower which ever jacks
they want taking the focus Burdon off Zerkova.
Even if the destroyers just sit and aim, they are hitting at RAT 8 under
the marshal’s rule. This list hides well
in the cloud, ranges well, and offers a strong cleanup presence on feat turn for
very little focus investment—expand to taste.
Theme or not, lady Z is a big fan
of annoyance models. Eiryss,
eliminators, man hunters, kossites, and widowmakers pick at your opponent’s
patience. They get tired of dancing
around and over-extend—just wanting to make the pain stop—and boom, the cloud
wall comes down, the feat drops, and they get alphaed. She rewards a patient player using list
elements to bate out the opponent.
All that being said, Zerkova’s best
games came with man-o war. Full
disclosure, I play big red because of these guys. Any caster that boosts their stock gets my
vote. While bombardiers were so-so,
shock troopers with officer loved the ability to run for a couple turns of
cloud wall with impunity. Ghost walk let
them seamlessly transition from hammer to anvil and back again. The unit my opponents hate hate hated though
was demolition corps. Especially in
smaller games they ruled the field. It
was like having a mini battle group.
Cloud wall meant they got stuck in on their own terms. Ghost walk let them walk from one target to
another, usually leaving some poor sod open to a nuking. Once they started trucking, they would not
quit. They made me wish I had more than
one unit. Sure, Sloan turned them into
hamburger but that’s nothing new. I
cannot wait for the MOW theme to come out to see how Zerkova performs.
Fury’s Mutterings:
Zerkova
is one of those casters who would make the ‘A list’ with a couple tweaks. I feel like PP looked at her arcane items and
said “naaa, we have to give her limits.”
She deserves to be focus 8 rather than 7 with a once-a-turn discount. That one change would make her feat far more
dependable. Along the same lines, I do
not get why PP just did not give her full-fledged true sight. This is par for the course for Zerkova. She is fun to play but her design feels just
a little bit clunky such as how her gun lets her create arc nodes but she only
has RAT 5 or how most of her magic items are only really useful with hex blast.
For
me, Zerkova’s appeal is her unique factional toolkit. The package lacks a unifying theme but
provides a diversity of options that is fun to play even if it is not as
competitive as I would like. That
novelty cuts both ways. Opponents—used
to Khador’s usual straight forward style—had trouble adjusting to Zerkova’s
quirky approach. One opponent remarked
after my third premeasurement that I was unusually strategic for a Khadoran
player…thanks? If one wishes to be
successful with lady Z one needs that level of strategic awareness. Which brings me to the other thing I like
about Zerkova.
She
demands a high level of tactical awareness.
I like casters that give me choices—that challenge my mechanical
knowledge. For all that I would like her
to be a stronger competitor, Zerkova offers many choices in order of
activation, defense, and offense. For
example, freezing mist can be placed in many ways—to block line of sight, to
provide a +2 defense bonus against shooting and melee, to reduce shooting
attack rolls, and to force counter magic resource expenditure. She pivots quickly from offense to defense
through a variety of tactical options.
So she is fun and demanding.
Conclusion:
Zerkova
is a solid caster. She is fun to play if
for no other reason than the variety of her feat and spell list. However, her novelty does not mask her second
tier status. She is a great learning
experience—just be aware of her limitations.
