Thoughts about Protectorate: Crusader

Today I'm going to talk about a warjack that has bashed it's way straight to my heart. I've used this warjack in almost every game since I got the old metal version in a trade. I'm talking about the Crusader. Lets start with stats and equipment.

Most important thing first, the Inferno Mace. This mace is brutal. P+S 18 is awesome, choir will buff this to ridiculous! 20 is enough to threaten Khador jacks and well, anything. It also has Critical Fire that is not that useful as anything that cares about fire just dies when you hit it with this mace. It can be useful when the target is left just a few boxes, but in nine out of ten games it won't matter.

Open fist is also surprisingly potent with his high strength. With choir it is enough to put few boxes on a cygnar heavy. With it's heavy warjack status and open fist, Crusader has almost all power attacks available to it. This grants some versatility, even though it does not have any special abilities. His high strength compliments those throws and locks quite well.

Mat is good, but it really needs choir. With choir you can hit heavy targets reliably without boosting, so you can just keep buying attacks. Choir also brings high def targets to a level where you can hit them with boosting.  Any solo or warcaster you hit is in trouble. However, his poor speed and lack of reach means that you will rarely catch anything else than other heavies.

His def is pitiful, arm is good. With it and heavy warjacks damage boxes, you can take a hit. Choir can also stop opponent from shooting him, which is nice for getting him into combat. I can't stress this enough: like all menoth jacks, he really needs choir to shine.

He looks like a frontline Warjack, but he really is not. If you just run him in front, his lack of speed, reach and ranged weapons means that your opponent will get the first charge. Arm 19 is good, but it's not really enough to just throw him out there and expect to survive. I've used him as a second wave jack, who protects your warcaster and charges any enemies that dare to attack your front lines. If you give him two or three focus, he can destroy anything. ANYTHING. Even khador heavies have to think twice about moving into his charge range.

Crusader is really cheap. Six points for a heavy warjack is great. Don't be fooled by his cost, he is not an cheap copy of a heavy. He hits really hard, his cheapness comes from two things: lack of versatility, special abilities and speed. He specializes in killing one target in one turn. You can block infantry movement or trample them, but not much else. He can kill some infantry, but using him for that is not efficient use of points or focus, Repenter is made for that.  He is good for blocking los, as he is cheap and has a large base.

Who to get with him? He will do fine with just about any warcaster, but really benefits from any ability that grants him extra mobility. If you manage to boost his threat range to 10 or more inches, you create a rather large area around him that other heavies don't want to enter. Then you can use him as a frontline Warjack. He is kind in the middle with focus efficiency. He will most likely need one focus almost every turn to run/charge and 2-3 focus when he gets to melee. You can finish a damaged jack without focus, but when you want to scrap a undamaged heavy, give him 3. With three focus and choir, he will reliable destroy his target.

Lot of people will tell you the following sentence: invest two more point and buy a Reckoner. This is good advice. That's not because Crusader is a bad jack, that is because Reckoner is that awesome. However, if you are bored of the Reckoner or want a second heavy, Crusader is great for his points. If your list lacks punch to kill heavies, Crusader is a cheap solution. You just have to deal with his slow speed and pitiful threat range, as that is his biggest weakness.