I kind of get why people really don't like him. He promises so much conceptually but never really delivers. Part of this is his predecessor, the Decimator, who possesses the coolest looking weapon in Khador but is a pretty junk jack. Torch is an expensive melee jack with some cute options. He looks completely badass but if you compare him side by side with other jacks in his point range, well, let us just say it becomes hard to justify him. This seems to be because his three signature abilities are a lot more corner case than others. Take Spriggan, Reach is a massive deal, Bulldoze is useful most games because it opens up options and the grenades/flares have enough utility to do good work.
Torch has Relentless Charge which feels redundant with most casters because of Boundless Charge but let me tell you that I think pathfinder on heavies is in the same ballpark as reach. Big claim, I know. Most tables I play on have several pieces of terrain and most Warmachine armies end up providing at least on irritatingly located wreck marker. I want to use Torch as a second line jack so this should be pretty useful.
Torch has his immunities. People say these are either useless 99% of the time or game breaking against Legion, Menoth and Cryx. Both parties are wrong. Even though the immunities are a non factor against Cygnar, Khador, Retribution etc etc you have to look at them in the spectre of tournaments as whole entities rather than games and also what they get you when they work. Tis second element is why the second party is wrong. Cryx have little corrosion type attacks that they use against jacks. Menoth and Legion have fire or corrosive boostable guns. Fun times. It does not break the game but it does allow your jack to get to the fight. I am going to run Torch with Vlad3 to give multiple options for ranged defence. I already have Wind Wall and Beast has hyper aggressive so is gives me a nice little package of options. For example, an opponent with a ravagore/reckoner, do they shoot Beast because they cannot target Vlad because he Wind Walled to keep him and Fenris safe but know that if they don't wreck him he will hyper aggressive 6" forward each shot? Most likely they use the naga for magic guns (if I remember his animus correctly) but you get the point.
The third ability is his smoke bombs. I don't foresee these being super useful because speed 4 just isn't enough but I think it will be a nice surprise. I don't know why but I got a good feeling.
I guess the main point is this; if you don't take things because they won't be useful in every game then you don't get the enhanced value that they do give in other games. Besides, it is not as of he is completely useless. Sustained attack, a buffed stat line, a boostable spray that has continuous fire (albeit short ranged) and an open fist are all rules/abilities that give game influencing options when they come up. So I'm going to take him with an open mind so that even though I don't now quite what he will do in any game, I know my mind is waiting for moments of opportunity.
I'll report back with results in due course. Hopefully, I will get to attend two events in the next month.
