Originally hammered together from an assortment of scrap materials by Asheth Magnus, the Mangler has quickly become a favored heavy warjack chassis among the mercenary companies of the Iron Kingdoms. Even the originals, while built of flawed materials, demonstrated a certain degree of adaptive genius and the hard-won experiences of a man who had fought in battles against a wide variety of enemies. Although he was an outlaw bereft of the cutting-edge warjacks, Magnus had once been a commander in the Cygnaran army who fought in the Scharde Invasions as well as border conflicts with Khador and the Protectorate. He put his experience to work on a chassis that could more than hold its own, borrowing from stolen laborjacks and outdated warjacks to create new weapons with which to crush his enemies.
The Mangler uses a massive spiked ball of riveted iron attached to a wrecker chain—often nabbed from ship anchors or drawbridges—able to smash through a dozen or more men in a single swing. Its left knuckles commonly feature a wicked three-foot spike that also makes them deadly up close. Because Magnus also uses Manglers for labor and hauling supplies, he designed the spike so that it does not impair the ’jack’s ability to open and close its hand.
As a result of Magnus’ victories, many of which are plainly due to the Mangler and its simple design, other mercenary mechaniks have stolen and adopted the configuration. Many notable sell-sword companies now include a heavy warjack or two bearing a wrecking ball, spike, and the title of “Mangler.”