Glancing at the front of the model's card, the Kodiak looks a lot like your basic Khadoran 'jack. It has what I refer to as the “standard Khador 'jack stat line,” in that it shares the same Speed, Strength, MAT, RAT, Defense, and Armor as others in the faction. (Only Berserker chassis, Devastator chassis, and character warjacks differ from this mold, and in most cases only slightly.) Nonetheless, the Kodiak tends to shine in its own light. Its fists are more powerful than a standard Juggernaut's, and it has a very versatile chain attack. It can also cover its own advance surprisingly well with Vent Steam and proper spell support. The chain attack and its heavy boiler also make it very focus-efficient, making it a prime choice for some of Khador's “focus-whore” warcasters. It's also easy to marshal because of this. And at only 8 points, it's fairly cheap to field. (The only warjacks that are cheaper are Berserkers, Juggernauts, and Marauders.) And while it doesn't boast a high-POW attack such as the Juggernaut, there are plenty of good reasons to use it.
I typically divide Khadoran 'jacks into two categories: focus-hungry 'jacks and focus-efficient 'jacks. The former typically have more powerful individual weapons and fewer abilities to do a lot without focus, and I typically stay away from them if I'm using a focus-hungry 'caster such as the Butcher. It's not that they can't be used, but typically these 'jacks need more focus to be effective and the focus on these 'casters is better used on themselves. The Kodiak falls in the latter field though, especially because it generates a third attack as long as it hits. And Khador has enough attack buffs that they can make this happen pretty easily.
Let's look at some of the controllers that are more suited to Kodiak use:
Forward Kommander Sorscha – While I like doling out eSorscha's focus to high-POW 'jacks such as Juggernauts, Beast-09, and Decimators to take advantage of her feat, the Kodiak doesn't necessarily mind having extra focus, and under her theme force they only cost 7 points, which makes them worth considering.
The Butcher of Khardov – Full Throttle means you'll almost always get Grab and Smash on your target, and the Kodiak is a perfect target for Fury, effectively giving it two P+S 19 fists, only made even better by his feat. Plus, a Kodiak in his tier 4 Heart of Darkness theme force has Advanced Deployment, meaning that threat is that much closer to your opponent's army. Almost an auto-include.
Vladimir the Dark Prince – Signs and Portents help out a lot in the categories the Kodiak needs: hitting to enable the chain attack and damage output. His feat gets them into the fray quickly as well, ensuring that your Kodiaks get the first strike. Another solid choice.
Kommandant Irusk, Kommander Strakhov, Supreme Kommandant Irusk – The first two of these warcasters possess Superiority, letting the Kodiak get a boost to MAT, SPD, and DEF before letting it do its own thing. Superiority boosts its DEF to a respectable 14 against ranged if you use Vent Steam (higher if you have a terrain advantage), which is tough for many models to hit without boosting, increasing its survivability. Irusk's epic form has the warjack bond, which while only giving the defense buff can provide the same kind of covering effect, while Energizer helps boost its threat range.
Karchev the Terrible – Karchev is almost always spending all his focus upkeeping either Tow or Sidearms and casting Unearthly Rage, so the efficiency a Kodiak provides really helps. Unearthly Rage also has the benefit of boosting everything the Kodiak does besides Vent Steam – a useful side-effect.
Man-O-War Kovnik – Marshaling a Kodiak to a Kovnik never hurts either. It gets free boosts from the drive, and it can still benefit from effects like Signs and Portents (though it doesn't get the speed boost from Vlad's feat). If you're running too many 'jacks for your warcaster to handle, marshaling this bad boy is never a bad option.
The Kodiak has a lot of uses with several different controllers, making it a very reliable warjack. It does require some support, since it's a bit less than stellar on its own, but while other 'jacks can do well with only focus, the Kodiak doesn't need it. It can get up the field surprisingly quickly and trash opposing warjacks or warbeasts, or throw models out of control zones in scenario play. It's almost always worth at least looking at a Kodiak for this purpose.
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