STANK - Yes, it's unit type is chariot & hence it requires a to-hit roll in combat vs WS3 and also gets I3 vs pit of shades/purple sun initiative tests. During opposing turns (i.e. lizzie turns) its only attack in close combat is the single WS3/S3 attack from the engineer. A few other notes about it:
1) Only the impact hits on a charge count toward combat resolution. The grind attack (d3 x S6 per steam point-SP) occurs during the movement phase vs 1 unit in base contact and thus while it will kill models, it will not affect CR. This is very important to remember as sometimes an empire player will only grind, meaning that combat is almost guaranteed to be a draw or victory for anything in CC with the stank since the single S3 engineer attack usually isn't enough to overcome static CR.
2) Breath weapon - can be used every Empire turn in CC. varies from 2 to 4 in strength (based on SP allocated) and the wounds will affect CR. The attack occurs on the engineer's initiative of 3.
3) Movement - random mover so no charge reaction is allowed (good news is it eliminates terror check when charged by it). Also, it cannot reform after combat or pursue.
4) Shooting - range is limited by the SP expended in increments of 12". The cannon can only fire DIRECTLY ahead in a straight line, it cannot choose a target anywhere in its forward arc. Consequently, a stank nearly always has to expend at least 1 SP for movement so that it is aligned with its chosen target for the shooting phase.
5) SP generation and mishaps - arty die is rolled each turn and if a misfire occurs or the number is > current number of stank wounds, a mishap occurs. The mishap table varies according to the number of SP generated but usually nerfs some capability and drains SP. If a misfire occurs with the first die when firing the cannon, the stank takes d3 wounds without an armour save, it does not roll on the mishap/misfire table.
6) SP allocation - a max of 5 SP can be generated per turn and are allocated to movement, the cannon & the steam gun. A max of 3 can be allocated to any activity so no 5d6 movement is allowed or trying to generate a S6 flame template attacks.
The stanks are a major threat to any of our big monsters or to cowboy characters so they need to be delayed as soon as possible to reduce the amount of danger and to get the monsters/cowboys into the relative safety of combat. Due to the random allocation of stank impact hits/breath weapon, skrox are usually still the best unit to deal with them both offensively (multiple x s7+ attacks combined with ablative skink wounds). Here is a three step approach for killing/tar pitting the stank:
1) Turn 1 lizzies - charge with skirmishers/disposable unit. This will pin the stank in place this turn since the most it can do is 1 wound to yield a tied combat. At the same time, move a hammer unit (skrox or sharpened horn steggie) into a position to charge during your next turn.
2) Turn 1 Empire - stank crushes the skirmishers with combo of grinding hits & breath weapon.
3) Turn 2 Lizzie - charge in and hammer away. It will likely take several turns to beat it into the dust so make maximum use of wyssan's and HoG to increase both the number and strength of hits.
At some point, it may even be worth sacrificing an entire skirmish unit to delay the stank for a full turn. This tactic is useful if you are engaged with the chicken knights and need to prevent a stank from coming to their rescue. Even chameleons can be useful in this regard if they do not have any other high value target to go after.
For the chicken knights, the pin & flank move already recommended will work well. However, with S5 AP attacks at WS4/I4 plus stomp, you should expect heavy casualties on the part of the anvil unit. Care should also be taken to keep the saurus character in contact with only 1 knight as the mounts could easily kill a SV in a single round of attacks. Magic support can be a series of minor hexes/buffs (iceshard, HoG, shadow miasma, curse of the midnight wind, etc.) with wyssans or savage beast being held back or used to eat up the dispel dice.
