This Warmachine news update lands with both rules crunch and some surprisingly grounded fiction.
Kithguard players get a serious artillery centerpiece. Meanwhile, Menoth’s return is explored through refugees rather than battlefield legends. Together, the two pieces show Warmachine working from very different angles. This is a summary of the community posts found here.
Dozer & Smigg Turn Kithguard Trap Doors Into an Artillery Network
Dozer & Smigg return as Kithguard’s new 80mm super-heavy warbeast, and their entire design screams mobile siege battery. Their 14-inch Howitzer can deal with several defensive problems through specialized firing rules. Pyg Spotters grants Eyeless Sight against Stealth, while Indirect Fire lets shots ignore line of sight.
Meanwhile, High-Angle Fire strips away cover bonuses, making trenches considerably less comforting.
However, Creeping Barrage is the real trick. Whenever a trap door marker disappears, Dozer & Smigg can be forced to shoot a nearby target. Consequently, Tunnel Rats and Medics become excellent partners because they manipulate trap doors and help manage Fury. Their Opening Fire animus creates another shot and can also be handed through the warlock’s battlegroup. Smigg even allows boosted attack and damage rolls outside their normal activation, then removes D3 Fury next control phase.
General Gunnbjorn adds Rune Mark, Rock Wall, and a defensive feat.
Alternatively, Fell Captain Wroughtmourn supplies accuracy, damage, spell protection, and trap-door spell channeling that can trigger more bombardments.
That is some gloriously elaborate trollkin artillery nonsense. Dozer & Smigg release October 6, with their full rules already available through the app.
Menoth’s Return Is Told Through Refugees, Faith, and Sacrifice
The latest Loremachine story approaches the Protectorate through Nadia, a young Menite refugee displaced by the new Orgoth invasion. Her family follows an older faith shaped by quieter traditions, particularly through memories of her conscripted father. However, approaching Orgoth forces force Nadia, her mother, and brother Maksim to abandon their Khadoran home.
Exemplar Errant Brother Gavril guides them south toward Protectorate territory, joining other displaced Menites along a dangerous refugee route. Their journey passes through sympathetic households, secret train travel, ruined wartime landscapes, and constant fear of discovery. Importantly, the story shows compassion crossing religious boundaries, rather than presenting every outsider as an enemy. Eventually, bandits attack near the Black River. Nadia floors one attacker with her beloved cast-iron skillet, while Gavril stays behind fighting so the refugees can escape.
The survivors finally reach Sul and later Imer, where Nadia joins thousands gathered around the Menite faith. There, Stallos, now called the Shield of the Righteous, prepares to recount how Feora brought the faithful back from the wilderness. It is a much more human way to reintroduce Menoth, with migration, belief, loss, and community carrying more weight than warjack statistics.
Summary and Final Thoughts
Overall, this Warmachine news batch shows why the setting works best when rules and fiction reinforce each other. Dozer & Smigg offer a distinctive artillery puzzle with excellent Kithguard synergies. Meanwhile, Nadia’s journey gives the returning Protectorate stakes beyond simply bringing an old faction back.
