Unit Profile: Kayazy Eliminators

A unit that is an incredibly powerful tool when used correctly. That is the best way to some up the deadly duo that make up the Eliminator squad. If you have ever played a unit of Kayazy Assassins then this unit runs in a pretty similar way. For those who haven't you're looking at a unit that is almost as fast as cavalry, hits DEF 15 on average (Ignoring buffs) has DEF almost on par with Circle or Cryx units and a nice CMD (good for allowing them to spread out to avoid the AOEs that will be flung their way). On the downside, their ARM is rather low, they do have damage boxes allows a little survivability, though anything that hits them will likely kill them. Their RAT is poor, but given that they have no ranged weapons (and don't really need them anyway) that is a moot point and their STR is lower than the Assassins, however their abilities more than make up for this short coming.



Like the Assassins the Eliminators come with Assassin Blades, two each in fact making up for the lower P+S with more attacks and a nifty Combo Smite ability. By sacrificing one attack the POW of their blades is added on to the P+S of their attack, making them a serious threat to heavier armoured targets (i.e. Jacks). Add on to this the Gang rule meaning that while both models in the unit attack the same target they gain a bonus to hit and damage, meaning anything short of MOW Shocktroopers or other equivalents will be go down like a rock. However it is worth noting that once one Eliminator falls the other can't get the bonus.

In the way of survivability the Eliminators come with a few tricks to ensure they get their target. Duelist, grants a small DEF bonus when the unit is in melee, if you think how hard it is to land a hit on Sorscha with Fog of War active, this duo are pretty similar in difficulty to hit once they get stuck in. They also come with the Kayazy staple ability, Stealth so any ranged attacks auto miss, though against vast numbers of AOEs this tends to mean very little if the blast deviates well for your opponent. Best of all the unit has Acrobatics which in essence is pathfinder except with units rather than terrain. It allows the unit to charge through models as long as they have enough movement to move fully through them, ignoring free strikes and intervening models, making for the ultimate in caster assassination opportunities. When you consider their final ability, the true worth of the unit shines through, they come with side step meaning after each successful hit, the model that hit gets a small move. Not much on paper, but when you consider it all as part of the bigger picture you are looking at a highly mobile, speedy killing squad of two, just watch for the Stealth removing abilities that Cygnar can bring to bear though, they commonly spell the end of many Eliminator squads, as well as any other Stealth reliant infantry.

Essentially the unit is geared towards hitting distant targets hard and fast, made easier by their Stealth ability. Once they get there they tear through whatever has the misfortune to be there and then make way to the next target. Often it's said that this unit is fighting the Manhunter for the 'Ballistic Missile slot', respectfully I disagree, the Manhunter is designed to run into a unit, rip a hole in it, then likely die having caused some mild irritation (unless you field Yuri the Axe in which case they become incredibly annoying to remove). The Eliminators on the other hand are far more surgical, they run into a unit, more than likely force a command check. If the unit passes, they are tied up for a turn, if they fail they've provided run distance for the eliminators by being a charge target, and allowed the Eliminators to strike deeper into the opponent's lines. The best comparison is that the Manhunter is a hammer, easy to use, but somewhat blunt to a point. Whereas the Eliminators are a scalpel, requiring a little more thought, but are incredibly useful and nipping in places and taking out important models whilst maintaining survivability to see next turn.

On a further note as I mentioned in a previous Battle report, if you field Eliminators, field two pairs. If one of a pair dies, that lone Eliminator is going to have a far harder job doing the damage two can, whilst having four maintains the ability to threaten tougher models even when one of a pair goes down. Having played them a few times, I've found the amount of times I've forced my opponent to waste shots on a lone Eliminator, allowing the other pair to nip in a slice the offending model that there is no better way to field this unit.