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Menoth Introduction Part 5: Solos and Battle Engine
Sorry for the incredible delay, but I've been getting familiar with a Hordes army now as well. I'll be doing some coverage on that later on. For now, lets wrap it up with the solos and the Battle Engine of the Protectorate. Every solo falls into two categories: utility and offensive. Some of them overlap with the two categories, depending on what their abilities are.
Allegiant of the Order of the Fist: The monks of Menoth, where warcaster Amon originates from, is unlike the majority of what Menoth contains for solos and units. The first and most obvious is their statline, they're fast, pretty strong, and as skilled as Exemplars. Monks are also more agile, but their armor is as good as a Zealot. They're also tough, a striking divergence from the rest of Menoth. Their fists are only in the single digits, but being weapon masters make up for that. An extension of the same order that Amon is part of, they have a few abilities the caster has as well, mainly Groundwork and Perfect Balance. However they also have a unique ability called Shifting Sands Stance, placing their defense in the same level as Thyra. Great for the flanks, be wary of CRAs and AoEs though as they can kill your monks very quickly.
Covenant of Menoth: The big book, this is one of everyone's biggest annoyances. It's statline is rather unspectacular, but it has a lot of great utility, and the book despite it's large base has a special rule that allows it to be screened by standard infantry. Also, you can't do more than point of damage to it....ever. Having said that, it has 3 abilities it can use. Two of them will see common use, while the third is VERY situational. It can give a unit's weapons the fire continuous effect, prevent friendly Menites from being knockdown, and if the enemy's getting too close, prevent spell-casting in its large command. Also, it can't be targeted by spells, both friendly and enemy. One model most players will have in their army.
Exemplar Errant Seneschal: This is what happens when you take an Errant Officer, turn him into a solo, and then give him a few nice abilities. When MkII came out, the Errants got a HUGE boost in use. The UA was the first reason, this guy is the other. He gives Errants within his command hunter, which if you've ever fought Nyss Hunters know nothing is going to escape. Legion can't hide behind their forests, smoke clouds mean nothing, not even the walls Trolls hide behind. You...will....hunt them. To carry along the self-sacrifice, any Errant in his command can die instead of him, which in a lot of cases is quite needed. Not always, but when you feel that he needs to survive for that Hunter bubble or capture a point, good luck killing him.
Hierophant: Almost every self-respecting caster is going to take this guy, and before Wyshnayyler, or whatever his name is spelled, everyone in Warmachine groaned at not having this kind of guy. Sure he's not a Squire or a Skarlock, but his ability to reduce a cost of a spell by 1, or heal someone *coughHarbingercough*, is very useful. His spiritual conduit can also help those who need just a little more distance on their spells, but mainly for the defensive buffs.
Knights Exemplar Seneschal: The zombies of Menoth. No really, these guys are rediculous. Unlike the Errant Seneschal who support the Errants, this Seneschal is PURE offense. Much like the Knights Exemplar, he gets stronger when fellow Menoth die around him, and he also heals. This ties into more complicated rules that prevent him from dying on your opponent's turn. The only way he can die is if he is still at 0 HP on your maintenance phase. Anyone unfamiliar with him will gnash their teeth upon realizing the guy they beat senseless is somehow still alive when they cut into his battle brothers nearby. He's a standard elite Exemplar otherwise, with a chain attack that hits hard too. Oh and don't bother setting him on fire, it won't work.
Paladin of the Order of the Wall: These guys are much like the Exemplars, but not as numerous. While certainly similar and offensive as well, they serve a defensive role as well with their Stone-and-Mortar stance, boosting their ARM beyond that of a Warjacks. Tough to get the balance right, but when used properly are excellent tarpits for solos. Also weapon masters. Their swords are magical and also cause critical fire. Best used to get in the way of enemy units.
Reclaimer: The Reclaimers are the only method for Menoth to give their jacks additional focus without coming from the Warcaster. Feeding off the souls of their fallen Menites, the Reclaimers can each hold 5 souls, and can transfer up to three souls to a singular jack, becoming focus in the process. They're no slouch in melee, able to defend themselves if need be, but don't try to get them in melee. Or do you? Their ability soulstorm causes a point of damage to any enemies who end their activations within 2", but their average defense and armor means it's not a good idea, but average infantry will be deterred. They're quite useful for casters who have low focus or run lots of jacks well beyond their normal means.
Vassal Mechanik: This guy is very straightforward. He's a solo who can repair our jacks d6 damage points a turn. This is both good and bad, good in that he has 5 hit boxes and can't be taken out so easily, bad in that there's no way to boost the repair skill like the other factions. Good point filler.
Wracks: These come in groups of three, and a personal favorite of Reznik. Each of these have a focus point and upon grabbing it, a 50/50 chance of blowing up. Otherwise they'll replenish the focus next turn. They can't move, and the focus prevents them from being hit by the enemy, forcing all ranged attacks to miss. Just watch out for AoEs and keep your own guys away from it. Useful for just about any warcaster.
High Exemplar Gravus: The dragoon of Menoth, Gravus is one of the oldest characters on the battlefield, and his experience and age shows in his stats. He's not as strong as the rest of his Exemplar brothers, but his weapon makes him just as deadly with a chain weapon that also dispels upkeeps. It also like all Exemplars sans Kreoss, a Weapon Master. Furthering his abilities, he prevents friendly Exemplars from being knocked down or stationary while in his Command. This includes Kreoss himself. He also can act as a mini-warcaster by collecting the souls of the fallen Exemplars. Notice a theme here? The only usefulness he has outside of Exemplars is that he is a Commander, and quite fast at it too. Truly varied, but he is pigeon-holed into specific roles depending on the list.
High Paladin Dartan Vilmon: The second named character solo of Menoth, Vilmon is everything the Paladins want to be. He has the same abilities, but comes with a very high POW sword, with the highest MAT in the game. Oh did I mention he's a weapon master too? Yeah this guy's nasty, and his special rules make him and other Paladins nastier. He still has Stone-and-Mortar, but it's the other ability that makes him a true force to be reckoned with, and makes Paladins that much deadlier as well. Impervious wall renders the model immune to continuous effects, and unless the source of the damage is magical, you will not damage him at all. The ability also prevents knockdown. When there's a paladin on the table, more than likely Vilmon is nearby somewhere just for that ability.
Nicia: A daughter of the flame with a gun sword. Apparently this is what happens when someone looks at the Legion of Everblight, and decided that Menoth could use someone just as much of a beatstick. High defense with a low ARM just like her sisters, she is also stealthed. She shares the same acrobatics ability, and comes with a few new ones. First is rapid strike, this lets her swing her big sword twice in melee. The second is quick work, if she makes a kill and is no longer in melee, her gun gets to shoot, and she's just as good a shot as she is in melee. The third ability is sprint, and combined with her Legion-like SPD, she's going to be out of a lot of threat ranges. Be warned she does not have pathfinder, though she is both reach and a weapon master with that blade. Overall, a good addition to Menoth as of Wrath.
Vessel of Judgement: The battle-engine introduced in Wrath, the Vessel of Judgement is an oddity. It has a lot of hit points and armor for a battle-engine, though its gun is similar to eSeverius' own gun, with a better range and power, before the arc node comes into play. It can injure itself to boost the hit and damage, which is a plus. It can also damage itself d3 points for one of 3 miracles. The first one is the same ability Rhoven has. The second one is a surprise attack of sorts, allowing you to make a full advance and then swing once, before being removed from play. No.1 on the list of models that it should be used on is the Exemplar Knight. The final one is Eruption of Faith, which sets anyone on fire who's within reach-range of the model itself, and then pushed away a decent distance away. Mechaniks can repair this thing, and more than likely you'll need one or two to prevent it from killing itself. It provides a few more abilities, and depending on how your forces are built, can put the hurt on the enemy, though it is far more subtle than the other battle-engines.
Conclusion:
The solos of Menoth are a mixed bunch. They either get in your face or are strictly support. Whether it's for a specific part of the army or the whole, the solos of Menoth can certainly tip the scales in your favor, and in some cases drive opponents absolutely crazy. That wraps up all the models of the Protectorate of Menoth pre-Collosal, which as of this writing is currently being spoiled all over the place thanks to Lock and Load. Thankfully with that book, only two additions are in it, so what's in this guide won't change for at least another year, when the next book comes out.
- Wild
