The Humble Komodon
“… I don’t see myself ever taking these guys.” – Ryan Munsell, Kings of War 3rd Edition First Impressions: Salamanders, Dash28.
“Komodon – A longer range, Vicious, and Blast (d3+1) make the Komodon an intriguing choice compared to the Lekilodon. However, the increased cost and lower hit chance dash any hopes at a fair comparison between the two. With Height 3 it can at least see over friendly and enemy infantry, but it then takes cover and move penalties and only has a measly Range 5+.” – Patrick Zoro Allen, Kings of War 3rd Edition: Salamanders Army Review, Dash28 (grading the Komodon a Tier C choice).
The Internet wisdom about Komodons is not kind to them. In fact, the samples above are less critical than many other critiques I’ve seen. The sense you walk away from most discussions with is that Komodons are at best O.K., but really you should never take them since “O.K.” here is about the same as telling someone their mangled haircut is “nice.” It’s always walking out on a limb for a guy who has never even been to a tournament to disagree with more experienced sages, but I don’t think the Komodon is really all that bad.
The Komodon has a fair number of cons to consider, starting with the 115 point price tag. While that’s still in the chaff range, a Lekelidon only costs 85 points and an Ember Sprite regiment only costs 80 points. Both shoot more attacks (18 and 12 inches respectively) with Ra 4 and Steady Aim. So, for chaffing or mid to short range shooting, the Komodon is not the best pick. And if the question ended there, the Komodon is hard to justify in a Salamander list.
Except I don’t think that Lekelidons and Ember Sprites are really the right comparisons precisely because a Komodon is not shooting chaff.
To me, the Komodon fills one of the glaring holes in the Salamander list – long range war machine shooting. (The only other long range shooting is from another monster, the Ghekkotah Slasher, comparison to which is beyond the scope of this post. Suffice to say they are very different beasts with the much more costly Slasher shooting slightly worse but being better at melee and shooting on the move. The next longest range shooting available to the Salamanders is on the also-maligned Ghekkotah Hunters if you pay to upgrade them to the 24” bows.) So, let’s consider the Komodon a war machine and compare it to the war machines in the Salamander list. Oh wait, there aren’t any actual war machine options in the list, just the Ghekkotah Slasher. Instead, I’ll compare Komodons to some of the other common war machines out there.
The Komodon has 36” of reach. Many other war machines have 48”. However, a good number of them also have the Indirect rule, so they can’t shoot close targets, giving them an effecting engagement area that is also 36”. So the Komodon is middle of the pack range-wise, especially since being able to shoot at a war machine hunter that’s breathing down your neck is somewhat advantageous.
The Komodon has Piercing (1) and Blast (D3+1) which is low to middle of the pack for war machines. Most cannons have Piercing 2, and at least one has Blast (D3+2). Several also have the Shattering rule. However, a few war machines are worse with only Blast (D3). (Although the Leviathan’s Bane is Blast (D3), Piercing (3) to compensate.)
The Komodon has 3 attacks. Most other war machines have only 2. The also-maligned Katsuchan has 3. Compared to the 2-attack war machines, a 3-attack war machines have a 70% chance of hitting each round vs. 55%. The Komodon is better than most war machines in terms of number of attacks.
The Komodon has Ranged 5. Most war machines have Ranged 5, though I believe the Leviathan’s Bane has Ranged 4. The Komodon is middle of the pack here.
And the Komodon is more expensive than almost any other war machine out there except (working from the top of my head) the Angkor Heavy Mortar. So, how do those two units compare? I did some back of the napkin math and against all Defense Values from 3+ to 6, the Angkor does more wounds on average and thus, more wounds per point spent on it than the Komodon. In terms of killing power, the Angkor is the superior weapon, but of course, it is also often called (one of) the best war machine(s) in the game.
What was a little more interesting was comparing the Komodon to the 95 point G’rog Light Mortar. Against 3+ Defense values, the Komodon does more wounds and more wounds per point than the G’rog (and I see plenty of G’rogs fielded). Against Defense 4+, the Komodon does more wounds in total per turn, but the G’rog does ever so slightly more wounds per point of cost (0.0146 vs 0.0122). And against Defense values of 5+ or 6, the G’rog does both more wounds total and more wounds per point than does the Komodon. Chalk this up to the fact that with Piercing (2), the G’rog gets no better at killing Defense 3+ than it was with 4+ while the Komodon does get better.
So, for pure killing power as well as killing efficiency, the Komodon is not as good as either the G’rog (in most cases) or the Angkor. I haven’t done the calculations, but I suspect this would be the case if compared to most, but not all) other war machines. (It beats the Katsuchan in all respects though.)
What does the Komodon bring to the table then to make it worth 115 points? Actually, quite a lot.
Let’s start with a big one. As compared to other war machines, the Komodon has something that none of them have, Unit Strength, and that’s very important in scenario play. A Komodon can be parked on a back objective and actually hold it while still participating in the shooting phase. The Komodon can also carry tokens. Performing these tasks with an Angkor would require both the Angkor and then some other unit, raising the effective price by the cost of the second unit.
A Komodon can shoot things close to it and, more importantly, charge things if it is disordered. Additionally, it suffers none of the war machine’s vulnerability to charges and the individuals often assigned to hunt war machines don’t get triple attacks on a Komodon. This makes stalking a Komodon a bit trickier than stalking most war machines. And if the Komodon has been sitting still and shooting like most war machines, opponents tend forget these differences and come after it like it was a traditional war machine. This also means that unlike regular war machines, a Komodon doesn’t necessarily need a babysitter unit to protect it, and as noted above, if another unit is required, it functionally increases the cost of the war machine in those circumstances.
A Komodon is Height 3 while most war machines are height 2 (but would be even better if it were Height 4). That means it can see Height 2 targets over a battleline of Height 2 troops. As Patrick points out above, the troops would provide cover to the Komodon’s targets making it effectively Ranged 6 which, with only six shots sucks. Likewise, since the Komodon lacks Steady Aim, if it moves it also will only be effectively Ranged 6 (dropping its 70% chance of hitting per round to 42%). Against the other shooting chaff options with Steady Aim, that matters. But against war machines? In similar circumstances, most other war machines can’t see and, thus, can’t shoot at all. So, is it better to have no shot or a Ranged 6 shot? I think the answer is obvious. (The ability of things with ignore cover to hit targets taller than your battle line – 55% to 42% - is worth noting however.) Also, as Patrick pointed out (but I did not quote), the Komodon is Blast (D3) in melee. In the right position, this extra visibility might give it a flank charge that would surprise anyone who is thinking of it as if it were a regular war machine.
So, to summarize, the “extras” a Komodon brings to the party for about 35 more points are: Unit Strength, Height 3, the ability to shoot at all if it moves, the ability to engage in melee, and a lack of vulnerability to individual war machine hunters. Is that package worth the extra cost? It might just be, especially since having a war machine at all tends to have an outsized impact on your opponent’s deployment and moves.
There are still some significant issues with taking a Komodon, of course. The biggest con is, not surprisingly, related to the source of many of its most significant advantages – it uses a monster slot. This means that it is competing for unlocks with the Lekelidon, the Fire Drake, and the Phoenix, all of which are excellent. However good a unit might be, when competing with a suite of excellent units, it can be tough to justify it. However, the Komodon is also far from be an auto-exclude. I have found that bringing one or even two has served me well so far, especially when I play to the Komodon’s strengths instead of trying to force it into a sub-optimal role that better fits a different unit.
“Komodon – A longer range, Vicious, and Blast (d3+1) make the Komodon an intriguing choice compared to the Lekilodon. However, the increased cost and lower hit chance dash any hopes at a fair comparison between the two. With Height 3 it can at least see over friendly and enemy infantry, but it then takes cover and move penalties and only has a measly Range 5+.” – Patrick Zoro Allen, Kings of War 3rd Edition: Salamanders Army Review, Dash28 (grading the Komodon a Tier C choice).
The Internet wisdom about Komodons is not kind to them. In fact, the samples above are less critical than many other critiques I’ve seen. The sense you walk away from most discussions with is that Komodons are at best O.K., but really you should never take them since “O.K.” here is about the same as telling someone their mangled haircut is “nice.” It’s always walking out on a limb for a guy who has never even been to a tournament to disagree with more experienced sages, but I don’t think the Komodon is really all that bad.
Except I don’t think that Lekelidons and Ember Sprites are really the right comparisons precisely because a Komodon is not shooting chaff.
To me, the Komodon fills one of the glaring holes in the Salamander list – long range war machine shooting. (The only other long range shooting is from another monster, the Ghekkotah Slasher, comparison to which is beyond the scope of this post. Suffice to say they are very different beasts with the much more costly Slasher shooting slightly worse but being better at melee and shooting on the move. The next longest range shooting available to the Salamanders is on the also-maligned Ghekkotah Hunters if you pay to upgrade them to the 24” bows.) So, let’s consider the Komodon a war machine and compare it to the war machines in the Salamander list. Oh wait, there aren’t any actual war machine options in the list, just the Ghekkotah Slasher. Instead, I’ll compare Komodons to some of the other common war machines out there.
The Komodon has 36” of reach. Many other war machines have 48”. However, a good number of them also have the Indirect rule, so they can’t shoot close targets, giving them an effecting engagement area that is also 36”. So the Komodon is middle of the pack range-wise, especially since being able to shoot at a war machine hunter that’s breathing down your neck is somewhat advantageous.
The Komodon has Piercing (1) and Blast (D3+1) which is low to middle of the pack for war machines. Most cannons have Piercing 2, and at least one has Blast (D3+2). Several also have the Shattering rule. However, a few war machines are worse with only Blast (D3). (Although the Leviathan’s Bane is Blast (D3), Piercing (3) to compensate.)
The Komodon has 3 attacks. Most other war machines have only 2. The also-maligned Katsuchan has 3. Compared to the 2-attack war machines, a 3-attack war machines have a 70% chance of hitting each round vs. 55%. The Komodon is better than most war machines in terms of number of attacks.
The Komodon has Ranged 5. Most war machines have Ranged 5, though I believe the Leviathan’s Bane has Ranged 4. The Komodon is middle of the pack here.
And the Komodon is more expensive than almost any other war machine out there except (working from the top of my head) the Angkor Heavy Mortar. So, how do those two units compare? I did some back of the napkin math and against all Defense Values from 3+ to 6, the Angkor does more wounds on average and thus, more wounds per point spent on it than the Komodon. In terms of killing power, the Angkor is the superior weapon, but of course, it is also often called (one of) the best war machine(s) in the game.
What was a little more interesting was comparing the Komodon to the 95 point G’rog Light Mortar. Against 3+ Defense values, the Komodon does more wounds and more wounds per point than the G’rog (and I see plenty of G’rogs fielded). Against Defense 4+, the Komodon does more wounds in total per turn, but the G’rog does ever so slightly more wounds per point of cost (0.0146 vs 0.0122). And against Defense values of 5+ or 6, the G’rog does both more wounds total and more wounds per point than does the Komodon. Chalk this up to the fact that with Piercing (2), the G’rog gets no better at killing Defense 3+ than it was with 4+ while the Komodon does get better.
So, for pure killing power as well as killing efficiency, the Komodon is not as good as either the G’rog (in most cases) or the Angkor. I haven’t done the calculations, but I suspect this would be the case if compared to most, but not all) other war machines. (It beats the Katsuchan in all respects though.)
What does the Komodon bring to the table then to make it worth 115 points? Actually, quite a lot.
Let’s start with a big one. As compared to other war machines, the Komodon has something that none of them have, Unit Strength, and that’s very important in scenario play. A Komodon can be parked on a back objective and actually hold it while still participating in the shooting phase. The Komodon can also carry tokens. Performing these tasks with an Angkor would require both the Angkor and then some other unit, raising the effective price by the cost of the second unit.
A Komodon can shoot things close to it and, more importantly, charge things if it is disordered. Additionally, it suffers none of the war machine’s vulnerability to charges and the individuals often assigned to hunt war machines don’t get triple attacks on a Komodon. This makes stalking a Komodon a bit trickier than stalking most war machines. And if the Komodon has been sitting still and shooting like most war machines, opponents tend forget these differences and come after it like it was a traditional war machine. This also means that unlike regular war machines, a Komodon doesn’t necessarily need a babysitter unit to protect it, and as noted above, if another unit is required, it functionally increases the cost of the war machine in those circumstances.
A Komodon is Height 3 while most war machines are height 2 (but would be even better if it were Height 4). That means it can see Height 2 targets over a battleline of Height 2 troops. As Patrick points out above, the troops would provide cover to the Komodon’s targets making it effectively Ranged 6 which, with only six shots sucks. Likewise, since the Komodon lacks Steady Aim, if it moves it also will only be effectively Ranged 6 (dropping its 70% chance of hitting per round to 42%). Against the other shooting chaff options with Steady Aim, that matters. But against war machines? In similar circumstances, most other war machines can’t see and, thus, can’t shoot at all. So, is it better to have no shot or a Ranged 6 shot? I think the answer is obvious. (The ability of things with ignore cover to hit targets taller than your battle line – 55% to 42% - is worth noting however.) Also, as Patrick pointed out (but I did not quote), the Komodon is Blast (D3) in melee. In the right position, this extra visibility might give it a flank charge that would surprise anyone who is thinking of it as if it were a regular war machine.
So, to summarize, the “extras” a Komodon brings to the party for about 35 more points are: Unit Strength, Height 3, the ability to shoot at all if it moves, the ability to engage in melee, and a lack of vulnerability to individual war machine hunters. Is that package worth the extra cost? It might just be, especially since having a war machine at all tends to have an outsized impact on your opponent’s deployment and moves.
There are still some significant issues with taking a Komodon, of course. The biggest con is, not surprisingly, related to the source of many of its most significant advantages – it uses a monster slot. This means that it is competing for unlocks with the Lekelidon, the Fire Drake, and the Phoenix, all of which are excellent. However good a unit might be, when competing with a suite of excellent units, it can be tough to justify it. However, the Komodon is also far from be an auto-exclude. I have found that bringing one or even two has served me well so far, especially when I play to the Komodon’s strengths instead of trying to force it into a sub-optimal role that better fits a different unit.
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