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| Dakka |
This is another Guest post by Wild taking an introductory look at Menoth - this time we're looking at some of the units!
Menoth Units - Part 1
The Protectorate of Menoth's units can be generally classified as one of three categories: Exemplars, Flameguard, and Zealots. Exemplars are your elite heavy infantry, and generally the slowest of the faction, matching the speed of the Warjacks. They can hit like a truck with weapon master swords, and have some kind of magical weapon. Flameguard models are faster with better defense, but sacrifice armor and overall individual hitting power compared to the Exemplars. The Zealots are your standard citizens, lacking any military training with below par statlines. However do not write them off as useless, as there's more bodies than the others on average. Then there's the Idrian Skirmishers, which really only have one unit, but provide an interesting toolbox not seen in the others.
Knights Exemplars: The Knights Exemplars are all summed up in the following, they're low defense, high armor models. All models are fearless, and carry weapon master melee weapons, and some type of magical weapon as well. Of this order, there are five units: Knights Exemplars, Bastions, Cinerators, Errants, and Vengers. Knights Exemplars are a 6-man unit, and the basis of the entire order. With an elite MAT and decent ARM for troops, their main strength comes into play when they start losing models. As each model dies, their ARM and Strength go up. With half their squad gone, they become harder to remove for the average trooper. Warjacks will still tear through them, but when they hit, the weakened unit strikes with such weight behind them that belies their initial starting strength. And remember, they are weapon-masters.
Exemplar Errants: The "scouts" of Menoth. 6/10-man unit, Advance Deploy, weapon-master, and magical blessed crossbows. This is part of the reason why so many Menoth players swear by the Errants now. A point better in ARM compared to Knights, Errants are one of the few models in Menoth that can ignore any and all direct defense and arm buffs from spells with their crossbows. They also have a special ability built into them known as Self-Sacrifice. Self-Sacrifice will kill another Exemplar Errant to save another within 3" of the dying model, restoring him to life at the cost of his brother. This can turn them into a very effective tarpit or objective holder in scenario games.
Exemplar Errant Unit Attachment: This makes the unit go from good to great. Two tactics are added on along with a special ability that will drive offensive spellslinging casters insane. The first tactic is pathfinder. The ability to ignore rough terrain during movement is big, and for a unit with better armor than most advance deployment in the game is a lot better. The other tactic is quick work. This will give people an incentive to charge into melee with these knights, as when they kill something in melee, they get a free ranged attack that doesn't count against their ROF. Considering a model normally can only either attack in range or melee, this is quite a boost. Especially effective with eKreoss' feat. The final ability of this duo is in the standard bearer: Purity. Enemy models cannot target them with spells or magic abilities. They can be affected by spells that don't target them, but anything directly against them will have no effect.
Exemplar Bastions: The heavy elite of the Exemplars, the Bastions are the slowest models of the Order with the Cinerators, and are a 3/5-man unit. Carrying blessed halberds, the Bastions are a point stronger than the basic Knight Exemplar and are one of two Exemplars with reach. Their defense however is even worse, and carry the same armor as Errants. However for heavy elite, Bastions are the single hardest unit to remove in the entire game for their special ability, Sanguine Bond. These guys are capable of spreading damage out for survival and tactical applications. They can minimize a unit's casualties and prevent charge bonuses where needed against other members of the unit.
Exemplar Cinerators: The redhead of the Exemplars, the Cinerators are the same stats as the Bastions with a point of armor higher thanks to their shields. Their swords lack reach, but are balanced with setting nearby enemies on fire when they strike an enemy down with their swords, much like the Avatar of Menoth. Their other ability is when they take damage, their speed goes up for a round, surpassing the Knights and the Errants, becoming the fastest of the non-cavalry. Often overlooked, their best use is being a screen for the Bastions and be their first wave. Already being fire magnets, they can certainly get there with an ARM buff.
Exemplar Vengers: The cavalry of Menoth, Vengers look and play like your traditional medieval knights on horseback. Also a 3/5-man unit, they carry blessed lances for charges, and Vengers also carry the same standard sword that the Errants have. Being cavalry, their threat range is much larger, and their armor is the same as the Cinerators. However they only have as many hitboxes as the standard solo, unlike the Bastions and Cinerators who have more. They also have a special abilty when damaged called Battle-Driven, pushing their strength and armor up by 2 points for a round along with pathfinder. Very useful for cavalry, but it like the Cinerators' special ability requires them to take damage first, and the Vengers are more fragile in that regards.
Exemplars Summary: The Knights Exemplars are overall very solid, with the Cinerators being the only real misstep in the selection. All of them have abilities that provide some sort of denial or offensive ability that triggers when the enemy attacks and damages a model. It is a common theme that carries from Grand Exemplar Kreoss, and also goes into their solos as well. It is perfectly viable to have simply one warjack and the rest be filled by Exemplar models, which can certainly catch an unprepared opponent off guard.
Temple Flameguard: The Flameguard are the other main military order of the Protectorate, carrying more numbers than the entire Knight Exemplar order. Trained and expanded by Feora, the Flameguard are overall more readily availabe and cheaper than the Exemplars, but lack the individual hard-hitting power of the Exemplars. Broken down into Daughters of the Flame, Flameguard Cleansers, and the Temple Flameguard, the Temple Flameguard are the defensive tarpit unit of the army. A cheaper 6/10-man unit compared to the Errants, they have basic stats with their armor and defense a point higher than the Errants. This is a deception, as they carry the order Shield Wall with them, allowing them to survive average damage. Be wary of chain weapons, as they will ignore this bonus. They also have Set Defense with their spears, allowing them to survive a charge. For offensive capabilities, the Temple Flameguard have Combined Melee Attacks, allowing multiple members of the unit to strike at once, increasing their to hit and damage for each participating member.
Temple Flameguard Unit Attachment: Another excellent UA, the Flameguard officer provides a mini-feat that is essentially another Shield Wall bonus. And they're stackable. They also cause terror and whatever they hit with their spears will be set on fire. Somewhere, you can hear eFeora laughing with glee at the sound of things burning alive.
Flameguard Cleansers: These guys gained a point of ARM for a trade-off of a point less in DEF. One of the harder to use, the Cleansers lose a point of MAT for a point of RAT compared to the TFG, and are also a 6/10-man unit. They're also slower. So why take them? They are a squad of flamethrowers and immune to their own fire. Also, the flamethrowers will set things on fire, just incase the initial shot of flames don't kill them. They also have a unique order that is basically their version of a CRA. While it creates an AoE instead of a single shot, it otherwise benefits from all the rules of the CRA, including the increased damage. It also stays in play for a round, so things that aren't immune to fire are going to be hurting after this. These guys however require more skill to make them work, and with a MAT and RAT considered to be sub-par for the normal trooper, they will need all the help they can get.
Cleanser Officer: Their new UA from Wrath, this guy is basically the same thing with a few new tricks. First off is the order Bushwhack. Basically, instead of move-shoot the order of operations becomes shoot-move. Keep in mind no one can sacrifice their movement, so aiming is out of the question, but it does give additional support in disengaging without a problem. The second ability it has is a special action that is a mirror image of Feora's Wall of Fire. The final trick behind the officer is his mini-feat, which extends the spray length to the maximum at the cost of some power. Not a bad trade off, but situational based on what you're going after and how many are there.
Daughters of the Flame: The assassins of Menoth, these ladies are the opposite end of the DEF/ARM spectrum compared to the rest of Menoth's units, and are only a 6-woman unit. They're very hard to hit in comparison, but can't take a hit as a trade-off. They have a few key abilities, advance deployment, anatomical precision, and acrobatics. They also have CMA like the Temple Flameguard, however it is less likely to be used except for warcasters. The reason for that is acrobatics allows the unit to move through other models without taking a free strike, and anatomical precision deals a point of damage to living enemy models, even if you don't break the ARM. As a result this makes them deceptively powerful, and with two swords, it allows the unit to swing twice.
Flameguard Summary: While not as developed as the Knights Exemplars, the Flameguard are still quite an effective force with the proper backing. They also benefit from their warcasters, Feora and Thyra more, much like how the Exemplars benefit from being with Kreoss more than others. The Flameguard are still growing under Feora's leadership to catch up where the Exemplars are, but their forces, unlike the Knights Exemplar, are much more specialized into offensive and defensive applications, with the Temple Flameguard much more defensive than most of Menoth, and the Daughters being much more effective than the Flameguard for melee against single-wound models. The Cleansers fall in the middle, being a close-ranged force, and can be quite effective kiting slower models. Against warjacks the Tenple Flameguard and Cleansers show better promise, with the TFG able to use CMA to bring their damage up to high levels for a big strike, and the Cleansers again setting things on fire, kiting the slower models. Daughters unfortunately fall short when it comes to heavily armored models, especially if they're not living or warbeasts. Even with CMA as well, the lack of reach can hurt if they're already not close to their target, and they don't have the numbers of the other units, but have two swings a piece.
The non-professional units, Rhoven, and the Attendant Priest will be covered in the next article, in part two of the Troops.
