With the FFG sale going on they are offering up a few free special miniatures if you order over a certain amount. One of the models that they are offering is Guide Darius, a Karman sniper. The rules for using Darius are pretty straight forward even though you may think they are a misprint.
The Karmans have two types of ** infantry, Wendigos and Yetis. While both of these units both have access to medics (the only two units in the karman army to have them), they fill the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of role. While the Wendigos are an extremely versatile unit and perform well in the majority of situations, yetis require more finesse to use effectively. read more »
In AT-43 you spend most of your time taking and holding points. getting RP are essential to getting your reinforcements on the board and VP are essential to winning. Enter the point holding unit. Its job is to get to an exposed VP point as fast as possible and hold onto it for dear life. Every faction can field such a unit and it is essential to have one in your force.
These guys take indirect fire weapons so they don’t all have to be exposed to enemy fire, and can help slow the enemy’s advance. They also should have a large number of troops as they will be holding onto those VP points that will be highly contested and WILL take some nasty indirect fire in an attempt to dislodge them.
Examples of point holders are:
These units will be extremely tough to dislodge either due to large numbers and/or stealth and will also be very difficult to advance on due to their indirect weapons. The Point holder will need to be backed up with an anti AFV unit as these pose the greatest threat to dislodging them.
The point holder is a key role in any AT-43 army, sure lists that let AFV’s control points are great for grabbing RP points quickly, but when it comes to holding onto a fiercely conteded point, nothing beats the combo of a large unit with medics/stealth and indirect weapons.
Thinking of playing Karmans? Got the models in the 800 point starter and want to expand to a full 2000? This guide should point you in the right direction and by the end you’ll have a nice 2000 point army list that is not only useful but only contains the essentials so you can start playing at 2000 points without spending a lot of extra money on models that might collect dust on your shelf.
One of the first questions most Karman players have is Anakongas or Kaptars, closely followed up by Yetis or Wendigos. For a starter list I would recommend going with Kaptars and Wendigos. Kaptars have higher strength and more range and therefore make a better all around unit. Wendigos have higher strength access to grenade launchers as well as maser strike. Yetis are very good but situational.
Karmans – Karmans (2000 AP)
Platoon 1
- 4 Kaptars (Mentor)
- 8 Wendigos (+ Venerable Cornelius, 2 Grenade Launcher)
- 2 K-Shooters (Mentor)
- 1 Easy Trike (Mentor) / (proxy jungle trike)
- King Buggy (Mentor)
I built this list to be compatable for zero proxies, I know some people don’t like to play with them. If you do allow proxies i would use a jungle trike and use the extra points on karmic warrior for the wendigos.
The King buggy is a great all around buggy. Its flamers are what set it apart and make it better than the Thunder buggy. in this list you’ve got K-shooters so having a Jungle buggy is a bit of overkill. For a comparison of all the buggy types see the battle of the buggies.
So you’re thinking of getting into at-43 but don’t want to shell out for a full 2000+ point army? Here are some good places to start if you’re looking at getting into the game. Each of these armies will give you an AFV, a type 1 unit and a battle suit to give you a flavour of each of the unit types. Best of all none of the units will go un used as they are all staples of each army.
As you can see each of these lists will come out to around 825 points give or take. you will get a feel for how the army will play and will find that all these units will be useful. Each of these armies are from their basic troop pattern so there are no extra rules to complicate matters. From here it is easy to branch out after you get a feel for how the army will play.
Jungle Trikes have bencome a new favourite of mine in my Karman lists. The stats are impressive, for 200 points you get a unit with double the firepower of a fire toad that can fly over obstacles. The drawback is that they are made of glass but when used correctly it doesnt matter.
The fast hit from reserves is how I use them best. They have a 30cm movement and on most missions you can easily get the 200 RP to bring one on your second turn. When I bring them on I dont plan on them surviving very long so I make a bee line usually towards the enemies battle suits. With karmic warrior and the rerolls of the ZZ guns you are pretty much guaranteed to hit with all your weapons at close range. 15 strength will wound even the dreaded kolossus on a 3+. Not too shabby for a 200 point unit.
against armies that dont have missile launchers you can also have them hang around at the back of the field and take potshots all day long, just use their high movement to keep as much distance between your opponent and the trike and you’ll likely get a few rounds of fire un harassed. Arceo lists are ideal for this as you can give the trikes “take cover”.
There is no middle range for these guys, its either charge towards auto hit range and hopefully take a round of AT fire off your buggies, or hang back and let cover and range give you the advantage. Regardless of how you play them they’re a huge asset to a karman commander. I wouldn’t leave home without them!