Colossals, the walking siege towers birthed of steam and steel, have stepped out of antiquity back onto the battlefield. The ancient machines that first took the title of Colossals are now long gone, lost to the centuries. A handful of these mighty machines still remain, as symbols of power and protection, but these relics have not seen battle in over a lifetime.

The first Colossals were created by humanity’s resistance forces enslaved under the cruel yoke of the Orgoth, who enslaved all of western Immoren for over four hundred years. Using their newly found gift of magic and with the aid of the dwarves of Rhul, fifty foot tall golems of iron, steam, and arcantrik mechanisms were constructed. These legendary war machines drove off the Orgoth never to be seen again.

While brutal wars were being waged between the newly-formed human nations, it became apparent that the Colossals had limitations of mobility, responsiveness and cost. Newer technology was developed and a smaller, more efficient cortex design manufactured to bring forth warjacks.

These smaller machines, still towered twelve feet tall in height, were the more effective progeny of the Colossals. The massive marvels that were forged to cast off the oppression of slavery faded away as warjacks soon dominated the battlefield.

The advance of technology has brought the races of man many new weapons with which to wage war. Warjacks have taken a key role in conflicts and for centuries, have been a decisive asset in countless battles.

As each new model that steps off the assembly line, the designs grow more fierce and brutal. Warjacks have grown to be synonymous with military might. However, in this new age, history has begun to repeat itself. A new series of military constructs, bearing the title of Colossals, have joined their nations’ arsenal, ready to leave their own massive footprints on the fabric of history.

Still smaller than their progenitors, this new generation of Colossals are more advanced than any existing warjack design and bristle with weaponry that only their immense superstructure can support. These super-heavies may be the trump cards each of the warring nations is counting on to seize victory in a war that is spiralling out of control.

In the game of Warmachine, the new colossal models represent the biggest, meanest, most robust warjacks available to each faction. They have many unique rules, representing their superior size and strength, but individually they are very similar to what you might expect from an oversized warjack.

Each colossal has about the same armour you would find on one of the more durable heavy warjacks, but has nearly double the damage boxes! This is appropriate since they cost as much as two of the top-end heavy jacks combined.

But, what do you get for putting all your eggs in one massive basket?

For one, you get more ranged weapons than any two individual warjacks typically have and secondly you get a model with one of the highest strength melee weapons in the game.

Each colossal has two melee weapons that are comparable to the power of your typical, dedicated melee jack and each sports at least two ranged weapons.

Every colossal seems to have at least one ranged weapon that can either produce a high volume of fire or area of effect attacks with no Focus investment needed. These weapons are not strictly anti-infantry, but could certainly be used to thin enemy ranks.

Many Colossals also have a “main gun”, by which I mean, a weapon with high power. Some of these weapons have very strong effects, large AOEs, or an armour-busting POW score.

The hallmark of the Colossal models are their superstructure systems, from the Stormwall’s lightning pod ejector and the Judicator’s reliquary, to the massive firepower of Conquest and the Kraken. These systems are independent and provide an offensive advantage.

It’s perhaps too early to say how these new models will change how people build armies, but there are some intriguing possibilities and definitely some fearsome new threats. You may not need a Colossal to deal with an opposing Colossal model, but you will be hard-pressed to find any other model that can stand up to their punishment or any way to level them in a single turn, short of committing their equivalent points in heavy-hitters.

All you can do is brace for impact and steamroll the opposition!

-   Dais