Ghordson Avalancher!

[Hjelmen0]

From the newsletter:

Exclusive Sneak Peak: Ghordson Avalancher!
While most of the warjacks that accompany Rhulic mercenaries into battle were designed with industrial uses as well as military service in mind, the Avalancher is a dedicated combat machine. The warjack bears the intimidating Avalanche Cannon, a weapon capable of obliterating man and mechanika alike from a tremendous range. A dedicated mobile artillery platform, the warjack’s huge Avalanche Cannon grants Rhulic forces excellent battlefield control as it fires powerful shells that detonate on impact, devastating the surrounding area.
http://files.privateerpress.com/newsletter/Avalancher_CLPD.png

[Mod_Faultie]

Holy bloody hell!

Yes!

[PUFNSTUF]

Looks awesome, not gonna lie!

[raincaller]

Who's your daddy? Rhul :D

[Mod_Redphantasm]

Rhulic jacks with shields? Got ARM? :D

gorgeous paint scheme too.

[relasine]

Speculatin':

Ghordson Avalancer Rhulic Mercenary Heavy Warjack

SPD 4 - STR 12 - MAT 6 - RAT 5 - DEF 9 - ARM 19
FA: U
Point Cost: 8
Base Size: Large Base
Rhulic Mercenary Warjack - This model can be included only in a battlegroup controlled by a Rhulic mercenary warcaster or assigned to a Rhulic mercenary ʼjack marshal. This model can be reactivated only by a friendly Rhulic mercenary warcaster or a friendly Rhulic mercenary ʼjack marshal.

WEAPONS [Avalancer]
Assault Shield [1x] (Left) POW 2 - P+S 14
Shield

Avalance Cannon [1x] (Right) RNG 14 - ROF 1 - AOE 4 - POW 15
Critical Knockdown

[Hjelmen0]

Sounds a little to me that the cannon might have Devastation just like the Mule... otherwise, I think you're spot on. The Ghordson chassis is so easy to predict stats for :D

[relasine]

I'll wager that it'll be a great marshaled warjack for Thor. Native AOEs with Tune Up are good. Add Pronto and the 'Jack Marshal bonus and you've got a party. Add Bombs Away and you'll be lucky if you've got a real party.

[Mod_Faultie]

Speculatin':

Ghordson Avalancer Rhulic Mercenary Heavy Warjack

SPD 4 - STR 12 - MAT 6 - RAT 5 - DEF 9 - ARM 19
FA: U
Point Cost: 8
Base Size: Large Base
Rhulic Mercenary Warjack - This model can be included only in a battlegroup controlled by a Rhulic mercenary warcaster or assigned to a Rhulic mercenary ʼjack marshal. This model can be reactivated only by a friendly Rhulic mercenary warcaster or a friendly Rhulic mercenary ʼjack marshal.

WEAPONS [Avalancer]
Assault Shield [1x] (Left) POW 2 - P+S 14
Shield

Avalance Cannon [1x] (Right) RNG 14 - ROF 1 - AOE 4 - POW 15
Critical Knockdown
I'm going to guess/hope for natural ARM20 since it's a warjack (look, it's pauldrons are even bigger!). I'm also going to guess/hope for Crit Devastation or some cooler feature than just Critical Knockdown. Maybe it creates difficult terrain where it fires?
All that, and I'd pay 9-10pts.

Note: You're probably more realistic, but I'm more hopeful.

[Drillermaniac]

Wow. Just wow.

As for rules, I think ARM 21-23 (look at the shield. It should give +3)
Also, I hope it fires a cannon that leaves a 4" AOE rough terrain.

BTW, this is the third model made from the Driller chassis. Will this one be plastic?

Edit: My specs:

Ghordson Avalancer Rhulic Mercenary Heavy Warjack

SPD 4 - STR 12 - MAT 6 - RAT 5 - DEF 9 - ARM 19
FA: U
Point Cost: 9
Base Size: Large Base
Rhulic Mercenary Warjack - This model can be included only in a battlegroup controlled by a Rhulic mercenary warcaster or assigned to a Rhulic mercenary ʼjack marshal. This model can be reactivated only by a friendly Rhulic mercenary warcaster or a friendly Rhulic mercenary ʼjack marshal.

WEAPONS [Avalancer]
Riot Shield [1x] (Left) POW 2 - P+S 14
Shield
Brace for impact
Beat Back
Overly Large- This model gains +1 ARM, as long as this system is active.

Avalance Cannon [1x] (Right) RNG 14 - ROF 1 - AOE 3 - POW 16
Critical Knockdown

[SalsaShark]

Oh God yes! So excited. My newfound love of Durgen gets stronger everyday. Now I just need some rules. :D

[relasine]

I'm going to guess/hope for natural ARM20 since it's a warjack (look, it's pauldrons are even bigger!). I'm also going to guess/hope for Crit Devastation or some cooler feature than just Critical Knockdown. Maybe it creates difficult terrain where it fires?
All that, and I'd pay 9-10pts.

Note: You're probably more realistic, but I'm more hopeful.
Even still, the Crit is just gravy. Remember that Tune Up applies to all damage rolls. That's fully-boosted POW 8 blasts, doing POW 18/19 on average. With Bombs Away, it becomes POW 22 blasts. Gross.

[Hjelmen0]

I'll wager that it'll be a great marshaled warjack for Thor. Native AOEs with Tune Up are good. Add Pronto and the 'Jack Marshal bonus and you've got a party. Add Bombs Away and you'll be lucky if you've got a real party.
Big stonking AoE's with 4D6 to damage is just *sniffle* so damned pretty.

It's going to be really interesting to see the stats on this mofo, especially since we've now got a whole slew of 'jacks that fill vastly different roles.

The only sad thing is that the Rockram is going to go even further back in the painting queue. But even that's a small price :P

[Mr.B]

So why do we even have the Wroughthammer Rockram anymore? I WANT LOTS!

[Hjelmen0]

So why do we even have the Wroughthammer Rockram anymore? I WANT LOTS!

Yeah ... wonder if the Rockram shouldn't just go back into the mines and sulk in the darkness. WHILE THE NEW HOTNESS AVALANCHER SWEEPS THE NATION! :D

[Mod_Faultie]

Maybe the Avalancher will be really good, and thus 9 or 10 points.
Maybe the Rockram will drop to 7 points.

Who knows?!

[Devilsquid]

Just saw the newsletter myself. Hot damn, that's a wicked looking jack.

Man, the Rhul are spoiled for Heavy Jacks.

EDIT: And yes, that's three jacks on the driller chasis...one wonders if there'll be a plastic kit.

[Rosicrucian]

So why do we even have the Wroughthammer Rockram anymore? I WANT LOTS!

Easy, it's in his name, the hammer. There are a lot of targets the Avalancher may struggle with that the Rockram could just tear through.

[lastspartacus]

I'd say Rockram Corp. needs to step up production, because Ghordson Inc. is cornering the market in jack chassis!
Also of note, this is the very first Rhulic jack that is specifically made for war.
I was wondering when it would happen, and Rhul is finally getting wary enough of the trouble in the world to go beyond relying on their workers to also kick butt. Please be native arm20, Avalanche, because the only way I could dorfs for not making at least as tough armor as Khador was cuz they were working jacks.

From a practical standpoint, I'm very surprised there are 2 new Rhulic heavies in one release, thats just really strange considering the limited people who can use it. I am also hoping for a way to use more Rhulic jacks as currently its just 2 casters and a jack marshal. I was also hoping for a cheaper gunbunny chassis with an aoe. That said, this thing looks so awesome, and the power of almighty Madhammer keeps exploding outward!

[Drillermaniac]

Thor has found a new buddy!

[lastspartacus]

Thor has too many buddies damn it! I want him to marshal four jacks! The choices....gah! ^^

[Drillermaniac]

Believe me, this is his buddy. Pronto for Rat 7 (so no need to boost), boost damage with marshal when on jacks, Tune Up for damage to boost the complete AOE, repair while it is ARM 21+, lovely.

[lastspartacus]

...I never considered it effecting a whole aoe. Would that make durgen's feat...blastdamage+4d6?! *nerdgasm and falls to floor*

Two! I want two on Thor! Forgive me, all you other wonderful rhulic jacks. moar jack marshals!
Id run a full Rhulic jack list if I could.

[princessprettyposies]

Id say that since its an artillery platform it will probably have inaccurate

[stray_bullett]

now they just need to email us about dwarven cavalry!

[Drillermaniac]

@ Madrab, That would be bad.

[Thrall_Love]

Just when I thought I could concentrate on my Ret army, this bad boy comes out.

[relasine]

Id say that since its an artillery platform it will probably have inaccurate
That could be a possibility, but it's going to need some kind of boost elsewhere, like perhaps getting Arcing Fire and/or longer range.

[lastspartacus]

Dwarven cavalry? I'm calling speed 6. ^^
Dire moles with burrow.

[whitekong]

Man, the Rhul are spoiled for Heavy Jacks.
.
This is funny considering how bad our jacks were in mk1, god I love mk2 warmachine.:D

[Mod_Faultie]

Id say that since its an artillery platform it will probably have inaccurate
If the Mariner and Mule don't have it, I don't see the Avalancher having it, unless its RNG and POW are just way further.

Then again, if it's a walking Khador Mortar, with Crit Devastation, I might take Inaccurate.

[stray_bullett]

Then again, if it's a walking Khador Mortar, with Crit Devastation, I might take Inaccurate. bah auto devestate, itll be the dwarven long range vanquisher/mule awaiting the rhulic vassal!

[lastspartacus]

Its kinda funny how it has the biggest shield and is a support jack. Wish the Driller had that, or something. Wish I had a rotating view, those armor plates on the shoulders are cool, but seem to be defending nothing on the jack but the air behind...wait, some kind of shelter ability?

[Mod_Faultie]

Shield Guard?

If so, Thor loves it even more!

[lastspartacus]

Shield Guard would be perfect, Rhul needs one, and he looks the part for sure.
First heavy with shield guard it would be, iirc.

[Mod_Faultie]

Shield Guard would be perfect, Rhul needs one, and he looks the part for sure.
First heavy with shield guard it would be, iirc.
It's maybe the perfect 'jack for such an ability. It's a ranged-oriented 'jack, and it's heavy (so can take many hits without losing much), and will be around most of the game to soak damage.

Can we say "counter-battery fire"?

[stray_bullett]

maybe it can ignore singing!

[Mod_Faultie]

maybe it can ignore singing!
It can with Durgen regardless of its abilities.

[Galleon]

rhul has 3 bokurs with shield guard. Im glad you guys finally get somewith that is better then range 10

[mrhuettel]

avalancher? - hiphip huzzah!

as i pointed out in the general discussion: between the basher and this kid, i'm happy to be joining you searforgers in mk.2

[lordbubonicus]

That is one sweet looking warjack. I've been contemplating picking up Searforge for a while, and this might just tip me over the edge!

[Chuck B]

It sounds like this jack might also be a good jack to marshal with High Shields, I don't think SoG or Redline would do that much good except for the spd boost Redline gives but all of our other heavy's could make more out of it. Knock down or Devastation could help the High Shield pick off the fallen afterward.

[maxxev]

rhul has 3 bokurs with shield guard. Im glad you guys finally get somewith that is better then range 10

Better range than 10...? Try both our warcasters...:) and Herne's buddy.

This is one of Thor's toys, unless it somehow gets RoF more than one, there is no need for extra focus, it can't throw and extra attacks with the shield don't sound like a great idea to me!, therefore Thor can run this as well as any caster (except for lack of power attacks).

In a Durgen list this thing rocks, it's got and AoE and Explosivo can give it magical attacks :)

Searforge are looking stronger and stronger in MK2. On the subject of it being plastic, I'm going to guess no, because the parts that are the same as the Rockram are IDENTICAL, I would imagine plastic would very much need to change to prevent undercuts and the like.

I guess this means we aren't going to see the hinted at "stone pelter" because getting 3 jacks in one book would just be silly... or would it....

[Snarl]

This is a very unexpected surprise to say the least. If the other Contracts get as much love as Seerforge has gotten so far, this year will the Merc.'s coming out party.

[Mod_Faultie]

I guess this means we aren't going to see the hinted at "stone pelter" because getting 3 jacks in one book would just be silly... or would it....
I suppose a Stonepelter would just be this thing, but cheaper, lighter, and without a shield?

Maybe the Stonepelter is a Ghordson kit for a Grundback Runner chassis? Or it's based on the larger Ghordson Basher chassis?

[stray_bullett]

We havent seen a new grundback in a while. Would be kind of neat to see a melee grundback as well.

[maxxev]

It is true that Ghordson as a company seem to have a monopoly on jacks, where is the competition?

Also I am slightly disappointed that the first "dedicated warjack" is still just a labour jack with combat weapons, even if for the first time these weapons were actually designed for a war zone.
I wanted to see a full blown warjack with new chassis that vied with the faction unique or character jacks for power. Their experimental construction / expense could be their limit to FA and the fact that Searforge don't have any character jacks could be explained away by more stable construction or something.

I also feel the same as everyone else about the Rockram, It has the hammer, so it's slightly multi-purpose, but really I couldn't find a use for it before and with the Basher and Avalanche, I'm never going to field one again.... the only way I see my mind changing is with other Searforge releases that can give it a new lease of life.

GAH I want to have the merc book in my hands NOW!!! :(

[Galleon]

Good point on the longer range stuff maxxev. Rhul has got so many focus effective and marshal friendly jacks its crazy. If this thing is RoF 1 that makes another perfect marshal jack to sit by the basher. In fact , assuming RoF 1 , it might be the best thor jack ever. Drive to move 5 inchs , tune up damage. Jack goes stands still to aim and boosts to hit. 100% effective without a single point of focus used.

[Angelust]

It's ugly, and I really like it that way. It looks like a jack version of a high shield. I would love for it to have a special effect like the Mule, especially given dwarven love for slamming things. Crit knockdown would be fine though, especially with Highshield's CRA...KD a jack brick, hobble the dwarves up for a CRA on their caster.


The one problem I'm running into is that I don't know which jacks to take anymore. Driller for bare-bones effectiveness, Basher for slam-happy fun, or bunnies for ARM18 jack spam and basher-slamming. Now this dude!

[maxxev]

I like the idea about causing difficult terrain where it hits (though may get complex for markers on the board). it's just what I imagine when I read "devastating the surrounding area."

Of course this could just mean it's got a fairly powerful gun with a big blast radius and nothing more!

[TredHed]

Uhhhhhh
Wow
I am in shock...never expected to see another Rhulic jack.....I think Im gonna cry....
So shiny.....

[Wishing]

Ack, not a fan, worst looking rhulic jack yet. I'll stick with the other three.

[Galleon]

Ack, not a fan, worst looking rhulic jack yet. I'll stick with the other three.

If he provides long range death , I dont care if he looks like a trash can carrying a squirt gun , ill field one.

[TheBlueBaron]

Any more love and I'm going to start thinking a forces book is around the corner. I am a huge fan of the model!

[ColdYinTiger]

So I'm just cruising along BattleCollege and I see something on the side called an Avalancher, my curiousity was peaked so I decide to click on it and went. "Holy hell, they made a Highshield Warjack." Yeah if the basher and the changes to Madhammer didn't seal the deal for me, that thing did.

[Cannibalbob]

I'll wager that it'll be a great marshaled warjack for Thor. Native AOEs with Tune Up are good. Add Pronto and the 'Jack Marshal bonus and you've got a party. Add Bombs Away and you'll be lucky if you've got a real party.


Yes, but to be fair ANY Rhulic jack is a great jack to be marshalled by Thor. I mean, that little dude is stupidly good when it comes to running jacks. If he did not have the restriction of only Rhulic jacks he would easily be the best jack marshal in the game. And even with that restriction I still think he is pretty much the best jack marshal around.

But I agree, this looks like a great jack to marshal. However, it may have some sort of focus-driven effect that makes it better to control via a caster. I would not at all be surprised to see it given powerful shot cuz Rhulic jacks are all designed to be very efficient and I cannot imaging the FIRST actual WARJACK to not maintain the efficiency concept.


Speculation aside, my reaction would be

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEe!!!!!

Durgen is gonna have a new best friend I think.

[z1g1]

I agree with this thread regarding the sexyness of this new technologicla terror that the Ghordson Co has created, I'm just worried about getting my heart broken again. For all its awesomeness the basher has a trailer hitch that does nothing! I just don't want to get hurt again.

[lastspartacus]

I suppose it still is just a labor jack with dedicated military weaponry. I'm very curious what the first Rhulic offering of a true war intended chassis will be. A stonepelter jack would be dandy. If rhul needs anything, its lots of ways to deal with infantry swarms, in which they struggle. That said, a melee one would be neat too.

[SalsaShark]

The one problem I'm running into is that I don't know which jacks to take anymore. Driller for bare-bones effectiveness, Basher for slam-happy fun, or bunnies for ARM18 jack spam and basher-slamming. Now this dude!

It's a great problem to have.

[lastspartacus]

I still really like the rockram for not-bare-bones effectiveness. The thing really is a beast, but a slow one.

[maxxev]

I cannot imaging the FIRST actual WARJACK to not maintain the efficiency concept.



The Rockram doesn't have powerful shot (If it did it would be worth it's cost!!)

[Cannibalbob]

The Rockram doesn't have powerful shot (If it did it would be worth it's cost!!)


It does have assault though.

[maxxev]

It does have assault though.

Yep, so it can get into combat with it's one combat arm quickly...
*armlock*.... oh crap....

[Allan255]

"Holy hell, they made a Highshield Warjack."
Yeah fine nice Highshield Warjack.
Think about a Forge Guard Warjack ... nice hammer you'll get :cool:

[maxxev]

I did one of them up for MK1 (not the model the rules) on the IKWIKI I think I called it the pulveriser or something...I made it able to slam without having to move 3" first and capable of making thresher attacks if using it's hammer in 2 hands (looses the open fist) >.< lol.

[Murch]

Ack, not a fan, worst looking rhulic jack yet. I'll stick with the other three.


Coming from one who likes female casters with mechanical, spider legs and eyeless, land shark, dragon wannabees:p!

Hey, to each it's own, I happen to like it. Good thing for those who don't, there is still a whole lot more cans of whoop-ace in the Rhul toolbox!

[DaughterOfFrankenstein]

As before, I want to own two for the aesthetic alone. I imagine that I'll want two just as much or the rules, if the Basher is any indication.

[Drillermaniac]

BTW, the price is $34.99. This is the same as the plastic kits, but with the plastic kits, info of all 3 models were given. Not sure which way it will go.

Also, Rhulics now have very good ways of ranged power.

Tip: When you look at it in 3D, press 1 time on the right arrow. Man, that angle makes it look awesome!

[maxxev]

didn't realise there was a 3d view up, however just paid a lookie and now I'm absolutely certain it's metal, look at the chimneys, they would not have done them like that in plastic. All bits from the driller chassis are identical.

[Mr.B]

Madhammer has a new toy.

[Mod_Faultie]

:eek:
That looks awesome in 3d. Very mean, and very stubby.

[bouncymischa]

Madhammer has a new toy.

Now I'm recalling that scene in Robocop, when Clarence Boddicker pulls out the Cobra Assault Cannon and prompts one of his buddies to say "What's this? A new toy!" before he blows one of their cars to bits. XD

It does seem rather like the kind of thing Madhammer would do with an Avalancher...

[Mael]

Looks amazing. I have never truly wanted to start a dwarf army until now. PP, why you gotta be like that?

[petegrrrr]

This makes my durgen doom list even durgen Doomier!!!!

[MoDination]

This thing reminds me of a Rhulic highshield MoW... and its the most beautiful Rhulic jack I've laid eyes on... The only problem I have with his release is that it severely hurts the chances of seeing a melee bunny (bunny with a punching spike?)

[Stomphoof]

*holds up a sign stating "New Pirate Jacks!" and starts to picket*

Lucky dwarves and their awesome jacks.

[Murch]

*holds up a sign stating "New Pirate Jacks!" and starts to picket*

Lucky dwarves and their awesome jacks.

Hey no hating, with your 5 pt Renegades and 7 pt Manglers and all:D

[Stomphoof]

Hey no hating, with your 5 pt Renegades and 7 pt Manglers and all:D

Thats only for Magnus, not Talion Charter yo :P

[Killdrath]

So, looking at the workings on the shielf arm and shield, am I the only one that sees that the arm looks like a ram piston arm? Or that the shield mount looks like steam pipes connected to the grill on the front of the shield?

Just fueling the wild speculation fires...

[Chuck B]

So, looking at the workings on the shielf arm and shield, am I the only one that sees that the arm looks like a ram piston arm? Or that the shield mount looks like steam pipes connected to the grill on the front of the shield?

Just fueling the wild speculation fires...

Hate to put them out, but that just how the arm looks, take a look at the Rockram's hammer arm, its the same.

[mikethefish]

I'll wager that it'll be a great marshaled warjack for Thor. Native AOEs with Tune Up are good. Add Pronto and the 'Jack Marshal bonus and you've got a party. Add Bombs Away and you'll be lucky if you've got a real party.


Actually I kind of disagree with this Relasine. Of course, I am making a couple of assumptions here....

1) that it has a reasonable range (thinking 12" or more)

2) that it doesn't fight well in melee

Assuming those are correct (and I think we all believe that they are), then why on earth would you want to put one of these with Thor? Tune Up isn't dependent on the jack being marshalled, so the only thing that Thor gives a marshalled jack over a normal one is Pronto. I don't see why you would want to Pronto a ranged shooter. I suppose you could use it to maneuver around to get a better firing lane, but Pronto just synergizes with the other jacks so much better. In fact, it seems like just about every OTHER Rhulic warjack would be a better candidate for Thor than this new guy.

To be honest, I think most people would be better off having High Shields marshal the thing (which is cool because they need SOMETHING that they are good at marshalling - plus it's cool that they both look kinda the same lol). Let Thor get his Basher, Rockram, Blaster, etc etc. and leave the Avalancher to the High Shields.

Like I said though, this is all just based on assumptions. When we see the final rules, we'll be able to make a better judgement.

[Chuck B]

Tune Up isn't dependent on the jack being marshalled, so the only thing that Thor gives a marshalled jack over a normal one is Pronto. I don't see why you would want to Pronto a ranged shooter.


Pronto is the reason actually, it allows you to reposition (move) and still gain the Aiming bonus, that can save you from having to use the jack marshall boost to hit. Granted Thor has tune-up also which is also a booster, but I would rather have to boost damage.

I have to agree with you that this Jack is probably going to be best Marshaled by High Shield's because any of our heavy's would benefit from Tune-up/Upkeep's more then the Avalancher. It just sounds right... The Avalancher Knocks the target(s) down and the High Shields CRA into the fallen victims

[Drillermaniac]

I don't see why you would want to Pronto a ranged shooter.



Well,Pronto can let you move 4" AND still gain the aiming bonus.
You can move 8" and still fire.

That's pretty nice.

[mikethefish]

Well alright, but quite frankly, I doubt that the High Shields would need for the target to be knocked down since they would be CRA'ing - their Rat would be 7 minimum right? And like I said, Tune Up works on both Marshaled and battlegroup warjacks equally, so the only real advantage is Pronto. And Drillermaniac - I play with a lot of ranged jacks in other factions and rarely do I need to move THAT far to have them be useful. Sure it's cool, but Pronto is way sexier on a Basher or a Rockram or something. Ah well - we don't even know the stats yet, so we'll see :)

[Robert Shepherd]

Well,Pronto can let you move 4" AND still gain the aiming bonus.
You can move 8" and still fire.

That's pretty nice.You can also advance, shoot, and then activate Thor afterward to pronto back. It's like a free 4" range on your gun (or 5" if you use gunners and blasters with Thor, which I do all the time), which is awesome. You can also pronto then advance regularly, for even higher threat ranges. By way of example, let's take a gunner on Thor and field it in a Cygnar list. You can snipe the Gunner, pronto 5", advance it another 5", and shoot the gun at something 16" away for a total threat of 26". If you want to tack on another 2" for Double Powder Ration and then push it 1" with something that's 29", which hits an inch into the enemy deployment zone with a boosted POW 12 on the first turn.

It's an extreme example and perhaps not that useful in practicality (though, I did once use it to kill a bloat thrall which my opponent thought was safe, which then exploded all over a deathripper and blew the node off it), but should demonstrate what pronto can do on a ranged 'jack. It's arguably far more versatile and deadly then just using it to get a heavy into melee that much faster.

[Cannibalbob]

Pronto is the single best drive in the game for a shooting warjack. In fact, it is so damn good it is what elevates some jack marshals from being simply good to OMG GOOD levels. Sam Machorne comes immediately to mind. She runs a mule better than anyone else in the game save Magnus - and even that is a very close comparison. I personally don't even think that Bart runs a mule as well as Sam Machorne due to the huge accurate threat-range she easily gets every turn free from resources.

If Thor could take a Mule he would be stacked with them in half the games you see him on the tabletop. But, it now appears that he might have access to a mule-like jack.

He would be a much better choice than the Highshields to marshal a jack like this any day of the week. Yes, he can tune-up any target he wants - this is true. You might not always use tune-up on the jack, and if the Highshields marshalled it then he could still possibly tune it up. But, even if he does not tune up the jack it still runs at the same effectiveness under him as it does under the Highshields - and then he has pronto on top of that. Pronto gives so many benefits that it will be hard to turn them down on a dedicated shooting jack such as this.

In regards to what sort of gun it has, I will be seriously surprised if the gun is not longer range than 12". This jack has no melee to speak of most likely. It's shield is going to hit for something pitiful. If that is the case, then it is going to need a good range on the gun to make the jack worthwhile. Every short-ranged shooting-based warjack has a respectable back-up melee weapon - this jack will not. It does not appear to be much more than an armored artillery platform. As such, it will need a ranged weapon potent enough to justify its use.

[Lovingdeath]

So does any1 know if this truly awsome jack is gonna be metal or plastic....God I hope its metal...I mean it is supposed to be "Full Metal Miniatures" right!

[Drillermaniac]

Maxxev has a wonderful explanation why it is metal.

[StJason]

I'm having horrid visions of it being another RNG 7" jack. With a wonderful crit, I have no doubt (we seem to be the 'crit kings') but it might just be another dinky-ranged, slow, aggrivating to use Heavy that costs too much.

...maybe not. I hope not. RNG and cost 7. Ugh.

[Mr.B]

It looks really good. Love the model honestly minus the head.
From the text i'm thinking RNG 12"... -crosses fingers-

[Defenstrator]

Pronto is the single best drive in the game for a shooting warjack. In fact, it is so damn good it is what elevates some jack marshals from being simply good to OMG GOOD levels. Sam Machorne comes immediately to mind. She runs a mule better than anyone else in the game save Magnus - I rather like to run her with Magnus. Even if it's not on a Battlegroup jack it's still worth putting Snipe on the Mule. It can then either have a ridiculous threat range or shoot at something and be Pronto's well out of retaliation range. Plus he can double dip and Snipe their POW 14 guns after the Mule has gone that turn. Which is pretty funny after Crit Devastation just knocked someone down.

[lastspartacus]

I wouldn't think it would be under 12" of range, considering the description mentions hitting its targets from great range and being a mobile artillery piece.

[Lobster]

I hope he got an AOE range weapon.

Just imagine, Thor tunes up the Avalancher, then the big boy fires under Madhammer's feat! 4 dices colateral damages yeah!

[geistwald]

With Explosivo in my sleeve, an AoE shot is the last thing I want to pay for... so it's the range itself that I'm supposed to buy.
Let's say the Avalanche Cannon is POW 15, RNG 14, AoE 3 and Inaccurate. With a nice critical it's funky, and ARM 21 (?) on the Avalancher is golden, but I can't imagine how to spare points for this new heavy. (Assuming that it won't come as cheap as Drillers.) Okay it seems to be aces with Thor, but this follows from the fact that it's a warjack. And there is only one Thor in each army. Searforge simply can't manage too much mechanika.
Nevertheless, the miniature is sweet.