Jackalope

The Jackalope is an odd 'Monster' character.

Jackalope’s card.

It's got better evade and energy than trolls and giants, but lower health and damage output. In this respect, it's more of a 'Lightweight monster' rather than a proper full-sized monster. Because of this, the Jackalope is able to fill a Jack(alope) of all trades style role, adapting easily to the current situation in the game.

Melee

As for melee, when dealing damage the Jackalope has an excellent +2 piercing damage for rising attacks and thrusts and a dangerous signature for anyone who gets too close. This signature is particularly good for low health models as it deals a minimum of 0 (+2 piercing) to any card in melee meaning there's no way to avoid damage! When the Jackalope is hit back it can rely on a healthy 10 wounds to stay alive as well as impact damage reduction. This is mostly situational in melee though as most models will choose to avoid dealing impact damage and go for slicing or piercing damage. Its best utility is therefore against shooting attacks like pistols and muskets which only deal impact damage. This can help the Jackalope survive an initial barrage of pistol fire which other characters may not survive as easily and will let the Jackalope get to whatever work it is needed for.

‘Hippity’, ‘Hop’amd ‘Burrowing Claws’

As well as some damage reduction the Jackalope can use their superb mobility to get into position as soon as possible to mitigate this incoming ranged damage. This comes from an excellent passive and active ability. 'Hippity' is only useful during the model's jog actions but will give the Jackalope faerie-like mobility, letting them move over models and obstacles alike.

A large, fluffy, destroyer.

'Hop' is the active mobility ability and lets the Jackalope have a relatively unrestricted 4" move for only 2 energy. This is far better than the more typical 2" of movement afforded by 2 step actions and is also unaffected by 'Slow carry' which a jog action would be. This means the Jackalope can stay very mobile even if carrying a stone. As well as being a good model to keep stones on, the Jackalope is also well equipped to harvest them too. With 'Burrowing Claws' the first harvest every turn will lower the depth of a stone by 2 instead of 1. With the Jackalope's base energy of 3, this means they will be able to harvest a depth 4 stone with only one activation!

Who to Field the Jackalope Alongside

Whilst the Jackalope can be fairly self-sufficient with its all-around set of abilities and decent energy, it can always benefit from additional support. Chubs for example can gift the Jackalope an additional 2 energy with 'Rouse' taking it up to a whopping 5 energy. With 5 energy the Jackalope will be able to harvest a depth 4 stone then 'Hop' or utterly annihilate something in melee with 5 brutal attacks! Another character in the Leshavult that the Jackalope will be glad to see is Gloom. With 'Whisper to the wild things', Gloom can move the Jackalope 3" and can do this twice for a potential 6" of movement. Between this, 'Hippity' and 'Hop' the Jackalope will truly be able to get anywhere they want on the table and threaten anything and everything with their excellent melee attacks.

There are also some models which the Jackalope can help out. Joanna for example is buffed by nearby animals, so the presence of the Jackalope will give her -1 damage reduction to all damage. With the Jackalope's high wound count and great mobility, they can surely always be close to Joanna and too tough to easily kill. Boris also likes to be around animals to increase his damage output via his signature. For the same reason as Joanna, the Jackalope is a good character to have around for this due to its mobility and toughness. Boris also has the Unique ability to resummon the Jackalope, so if the Jackalope is slain it comes right back, especially useful if it's the focus of your troupe!