Nick907

Well the Khemist cannot augment while embarked, but the Endrinmaster can still repair. So yeah, it's safer inside a boat then outside.

I think the Endrinmaster is the best hero in the army. He repairs d3 wounds on sky vessels. The khemist is only better if you really want to augment specialty weapons like Skyhooks or saws, but this makes the Khemist an easy priority target. Meanwhile the Endrinmaster is safely embarked on a skyvessel. If you want your ships to do work then the Endrinmaster is legit.

8-13 repair per turn

Yeah the saws are great for melee but I use the Volley gun and Drillcannon loadouts because I hide my Riggers behind the Ironclad. This way they can repair the ship and contribute ranged attacks. As long as my Ironclad is in combat the Missenmaster can shoot with his rivitgun, but at longer range he really is just their for show. If the unit takes damage he is first to die. I know the saws are a great way to deal damage when they are augmented, but I replaced my khemist with a Gunhauler to make the Ironclad tougher (it also hides behind the ship). Blondebeard Overlords Endrinmaster (Captain Blondebeard, general, autotinkerer), Ironclad(ISHH), Gunhauler(), Company (10), Company (10), Company (10), Thunderers (5), Riggers (3), Riggers (3), Riggers (3), Riggers (3), Riggers (3), Riggers (3), Riggers (3)= 2000 points

Similar problem for Endrinriggers and the 'missenmaster'. I think of the 'missenmaster' as the first 2 wounds the unit will lose.

The volleygun does more damage but cannot shoot as far. It is basically impossible to keep the ships out of combat so you really can't kite with them. If you want to tank, volleygun is best.

I have a question: has anyone used the Drillcannon special rule (wound roll of 6 deals d3 mortal wounds to a nearby unit) to kill bunkered or protected heroes? I have 7 units of Endrinriggers with Drill Cannons, wondering if that is a viable strategy?

He is my favorite hero for sure. Then again, I tend to think of all the sky-dwarfs as being worthy of some renown (40 points per Endrinrigger is like a half a hero each, appropriate given their short stature). I like the Endrin Master's repair ability, I don't use the other heroes so he is my default general.

Here are my thoughts. I definitely have some selfish rules changes I'd like too. Tougher boats, cheaper Gunhaulers, more range or rend or damage. I think it will be tough for the company to decide on changes because they all have potentially significant consequences. -Battleline Thunderers might replace Company in most lists. Since both the units are less desirable for the Khemist augmentation then the Riggers, people might just run three minimum sized units of Thunderers to save 60 points so they fit their entire army inside one Ironclad. Battleline if: SkyWardens would probably make the most sense if another option must be added, but I think requiring a minimum 'two drops at 2000 points' was a deliberate design decision. - Giving Company Pistols -1 Rend would make them too strong relative to other 120 point ranged units. 'Dispossessed Thunderers' and 'Wanderer Glade Guard' have 5+ saves, weak melee, and a single 'good' long range shooting attack. With Company you have at least 7 models with one 'average' melee attack and 2 'average' shooting attacks each, but then you have three models that can become specialized for either 'good' ranged or 'good' melee attacks. Arguably Arkanauts are already among the best battleline units in the game, so -1 rend would require a points increase. I like some of the proposed special rules changes, even though some of them are hard to quantify. I'd like to see units shoot out of embarked vessels, I don't know how that would pencil out though. I also think that some additional anti-magic abilities makes sense, now that we are in the post 'endless spells' era, but I don't think it is too important. We are Dwarfs, we shoot the wizards with guns and they blow us up with spells. Some defense is okay, but killing more models is better. I really like the idea of '-1 to hit' in melee for flying models (unless they can also fly) and would even add 'flying models do not block line of sight for friendly units'; that could be a basic rules change for all armies. I think we will get a new hero with Underworlds, hopefully he will have a strong command ability. That move alone could potentially make KO more 'competitive.' My thoughts.

I think GW has several options on how to 'fix' the KO. One possibility is the upcoming Underworld models. A new hero with a strong command ability could be all we need.

Fumigator is good for damage denial, if you want them to be front line

Does anyone know when the we will get models for 'underworlds'?

EndrinMaster is my favorite, for his repair ability.

Truth. I'm excited to buy new models and play a new game with my faction. Since my other army, Wanderers, aren't an option for Underworlds I was extra excited by this announcement. Every single one of those complaints could be remedied with a little effort and creativity.

Oh yeah I see it, looks like it could be a spear, I thought it was the tip of a sword though.

No the one on the far right, with the Endrin backpack, pistol, and sword!

Looks like we'll have an endrinrigger with a privateer pistol and skycutter sword? The khemist looks like he might have an aethermatic saw in his left hand? Awesome!?!

Stoked for new models and underworld!

Looks like a good list to me! If you have two gunhaulers within 3 inches of the Ironclad, can you roll 'escort vessel' for both of them? I can see that making the Ironclad almost unstoppable!

Depends on what you want them to do. Most people equip Riggers with saws and use the Khemist ability to augment them. A Lot of people also mix in Grapnels in order to move around the board faster. I like the Riggers mainly for their Repair ability, so I'm running units of three equipped with a saw on the Missenmaster, volleygun and Drill cannon. My Endrinriggers hangout by the Ironclad to repair damage and shoot support-fire into enemy units. I wouldn't recommend Skywardens, but I think they do a little better in melee if you don't intend to use any augmentations from the Khemist. The Khemists ability is a huge deal for KO, most units have options that are better with an augmentation or better without an augmentation. A unit of Company with Volleyguns will do more damage then a unit with Light Skyhooks, unless you augment, then the skyhooks are much better. Since you'll likely have more units then you can augment per turn, it is good to pick some units to have the 'better without augmentation' equipment.

Some things could be done better but I don't think it's all doom and gloom. The force is appealing in playstyle and appearance and can at least put up a fight in most cases.

Yeah you need three battleline at 2k. Gunhaulers aren't 'good' by themselves, but I like to think about them as an 160 point upgrade to the Ironclad with : 10 more wounds, extra SkyCannon, 2x extra carbines, bombs, and melee. Gunhaulers make the Ironclad tougher to kill in a single turn thanks to the 'Escort Vessel' ability. If your Gunhauler is within 3" of the Ironclad you can put about 1/3 of the damage the Ironclad takes. It should be the equivalent of a '24 wound' Ironclad, on average.

That's fair. Seems like most builds playout to a quick victory or loss. Even my 'repair build' tends towards that.

We can potentially: repair skyvessals at a rapid rate, focus fire with every unit in our force, alpha strike, move around the board quickly, charge over enemy defenses to kill important targets

Nothing wrong with taking allies, just kind of breaks from the mold since there are so many different potential options. Discussing 'vanilla' KO armies equips you with the same knowledge you'll need to make informed decisions about allies, and with significantly less effort.