(or ‘Don’t look up!’)

The forthcoming Gravediggers army is an evolution of the iconic Trenchers theme that first appeared in the original WARMACHINE: Prime in 2003. Over multiple editions and many more expansions, the Trenchers theme was thoroughly explored through their wide catalog of units, characters, weapon crews, and more. In addition to their visually distinguished uniform, Trenchers were defined by their play style, perhaps more than any other singular theme in WARMACHINE, characterized by concentrated light arms and their ability to take and hold ground by advancing under the cover of smoke and digging in, making them both difficult for enemies to hit as well as remove from the battlefield.

MKIII era Trenchers

When the Privateer development team began outlining the different armies that would make up MKIV, we knew that we wanted to include this classic theme as a cornerstone of the new era of WARMACHINE. But with so much ground covered by the Trenchers over three previous editions, the question was, where do we go with them to make them feel as fresh and exciting in the Iron Kingdoms setting as they did when WARMACHINE first stormed onto the tabletop? The answer was, “up”.

During the MKIII era, several storylines intertwined which would eventually introduce skyships to the Iron Kingdoms. While flight was relatively commonplace in several WARMACHINE and HORDES armies, and hot air balloons has been part of the setting’s lore since the original Witchfire Trilogy, we had held the idea of large scale aircraft at bay until such a time that we could witness and experience the impact of such a technological development on the wars that shaped western Immoren. In Stormbreaker, the final chapter of the Acts of War series by Aeryn Rudel, the arms race between Khador and Cygnar comes to a climax when Khador attempts a war-ending invasion with their massive skyship carriers, forcing Cygnar to engage in the first ever air-to-air boarding action in their desperate struggle to foil the conquest-driven empire. Later, during the Infernal War, Khador and Cygnar would both commit their skyship fleets to assist in the evacuation of thousands of civilians from across the Iron Kingdoms as they fled toward an unknown sanctuary far from the reach of the diabolical Nonokrions that had come to claim the souls of humanity.

Over a decade later, as the Iron Kingdoms was still rebuilding in the aftermath of the Claiming, the Orgoth would return, provoking a new war. And it was here that we asked ourselves how the now conventional skyships could influence the tactics of our next generation of Trenchers, the Gravediggers.

Gravedigger Rangers

The original Gravediggers were a Trencher company within the greater Cygnar army, recognizable by their bayonet-skewered winged skull insignia. They were the toughest and bravest of the hard-as-nails fighters that made up Cygnar’s Trenchers corps, and without a doubt would be the first fighting force with enough guts to try jumping out of a skyship onto the battlefield. In MKIV, the Gravediggers are essentially an army of paratroopers that utilize skyships for enhanced mobility, dropping in ahead of the battle for better deployment positioning. But during the battle, thanks to the skyship support, as the Gravediggers enjoy unprecedented tactical flexibility.

Gravedigger Commandos

While being an airborne infantry force will definitely have some influence on the deployment of the Gravediggers army, we wanted to push the concept of air support on an Iron Kingdoms battlefield in a way that would truly define their gameplay in a fashion not ever seen before on a WARMACHINE tabletop. To that end, we dove into the concept of supply drops, like medical supplies and special ammunition that could be dynamically delivered to your forces anywhere on the board, wherever and whenever they need it most. We also envisioned a new light warjack model — the Patriot — designed as a versatile support asset meant to work alongside Gravedigger units, and which could also be mobilized via an air drop, augmenting your forces offensively or defensively as needed.

Patriot Concept Work-In-Progress

Taking the concept of dynamically supporting the army to its most iconic conclusion, our most radical and exciting idea was to imagine a new heavy warjack chassis as an in-game customizable weapons platform. The new Valiant heavy warjack will include a dedicated heavy weapon hardpoint located on its carapace. While the Valiant won’t deploy with a heavy weapon affixed, Gravedigger players will be able to call in heavy weapon drops and in mid-battle, upgrade a Valiant from a menu of formidable options.

Valiant Heavy Warjack

The air dropped supplies, weapons and warjacks make the Gravediggers highly reactive and adaptable to a changing battlefield, while also making them one of the most unpredictable forces one can face on the tabletop. While they have retained some of their old Trencher tricks, like smoke bombs and the ability to dig-in, their new role as airborne infantry brings a whole new play style to the Gravediggers that will redefine them in MKIV.

Valiant Heavy Warjack shown with various Heavy Weapons Equipped

But if you think we stopped there, you couldn’t be more wrong! We’ve got more surprises in store for the Gravediggers, from their exciting lineup of warcasters, to the first-of-their-kind hardware they’ll be putting on 80mm bases. Be sure to watch for more previews through our social media feed in the weeks to come!

(Obligatory disclaimer: The Gravediggers army is the current MKIV focus of the Privateer development team right now. While everything reported here is accurate at this time, we do reserve the right to change concepts and rules in their final form based on our experience in play testing, which may or may not exactly reflect statements made in this behind-the-scenes preview.)

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