Menoth Introduction Part 4: Troops Part 2
Alright, last time we looked at Menoth's militarized forces. Now though we're going to look at the average citizen and how they contribute to the Crusades. The Holy Zealots are exactly what they sound like, zealots. They along with the Idrian Skirmishers are the oddballs of Menoth, and taking a glance all these units are sub-par. However, like all things in Menoth, statline alone is not enough.
Holy Zealots:
First up are the Holy Zealots. A 6/10-man unit, they are as fast as the Temple Flameguard are, and that's where all the good things that can be said about their statline go. The rest of the stats read like a Space Marine's statline, poorly translated to Warmachine. In other words, think the SPD of Khador. Their DEF/ARM is the same as the Knights Exemplar's DEF. Throw anything at them, and they will die own their own. Their maces are awful, being weaker than Errant Swords. However, their bombs are nice at a decent POW and a small AoE....with a range that doesn't break double digits. So why would anyone take a unit that is obviously going to die painfully? Because of three abilities that save this unit from mediocrity on their own. The first is back to their bombs. They have critical fire on a direct hit, and being an AoE, this will affect everyone on a direct hit. The second not only fixes their chances for a direct hit, but also helps in the case of blast damage. The first of two prayers, Fervor adds 2 to both attack and damage rolls. What this does is increase the POW of not only the main hit, but also the blast damage. To help them survive up the field, the Zealots have a second prayer, Warding, which protects them from being targeted by enemy spells. Their weak CMD still leaves them clumped together, which leaves them easy prey to AoEs. Fortunately, there's one more trick up their sleeve....
Monolith Bearer UA:
The UA for the Holy Zealots saves them even further and makes them a more viable front-line unit. The Monolith does four things for the unit. First off is the CMD statline being much better, now allowing the Zealots to spread out and not be the victim of stray AoEs. The second part is they're now Fearless as long as the Bearer lives. Considering their bad original CMD score, it just makes things better. Third is their mini-feat, Greater Destiny. During the round, only two things can hurt the unit, spells and feats that cause direct damage. So most feats will not affect them. Combine it with Warding, and you've now encountered the single greatest tarpit of all time. The final one makes them a bit more survivable, where when someone dies, the rest of the unit's ARM goes up +4 for a turn. Beware of blasts, as it activates after the first model in the turn dies, and blasts are simultaneous.
Deliverers:
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| Dankeblarg |
Deliverer Sunburst Crew:
The artillery piece of Menoth, it doesn't suffer the inaccuracy issue that the normal Deliverers suffer. A single trebuchet with a support crew of two, the team has a very high POW, with a range equal to their POW as well. The AoE is also medium-sized, and will catch unwary opponents off-guard upon seeing a Menoth weapon reaching a range typically reserved for Cygnar. An excellent support piece for firing at low-ARM models or warjacks.
Idranian Skirmishers:
Meet the Protectorate of Menoth Ally unit. The term ally makes them selectable for mercenaries....however only Magnus can take them. The Skirmishers have very low armor, but their defense is a notch higher. Combined with the ability camouflage and their defense shoots up to being very high, giving most ranged options a lot of difficulty. With Advance Deployment and Combined Ranged Attack, they can present a serious threat for infantry and solos who aren't careful. With Pathfinder, terrain is not an issue, which helps them get maximum use of Camouflage, especially hidden in a forest. However otherwise they are rather mediocre, and for the point cost are a little bit on the expensive side. Some of their issues and use with cost are resolved when their UA comes into play...
Idranian Chieftain and Guide UA:
Costing a point more than the average UA, they bring a lot of utility to the Skirmishers and unlike most UAs both models have a weapon and sword. The Chieftain aside from the usual point increase in several areas give the unit Combined Melee Attack. Normally, this kind of ability on a ranged unit seems rather pointless if it wasn't for the next two abilities that come into play: the order Assault and Battery, and Huntsman. Assault and Battery allows the unit to do something very few units can do, shoot and charge. This is similar to the Assault charge except there's a key difference in the order of attacks. Assault happens after the movement and ignores the target in penalty, while this does not as it happens before movement. The other ability is huntsman, which is the unit's version of prey until the Guide is killed. Within a certain distance the unit gains a bonus to movement, as well as increased odds to hit and damage the target. Be very wary of who their prey is, as they can easily ruin most basic units with ease. The final improvement they get is Go to Ground, which gives them cover and renders the one weakness they have useless for a turn, immunity to blast attacks. Overall, if you're taking Skirmishers, you need the UA.
The character unit of Menoth, the Exemplars have already been discussed in great detail, so for any info on Guis and Cassian, simply refer back to Part 1 of the Troops of Menoth. The only difference they get is set defense, a Flameguard ability. Instead, the focus will be on Rhoven. He's not a fighter like his men, though he can fight decently. Instead he brings a lot of utility to the army in the form of several abilities. The first of these is Negation, which removes a point of focus and/or fury from enemy models in range. This is devastating to Hordes by far, as it messes with fury management. The second one is Menoth's sight, which gives a single model the ability to ignore stealth. Considering no other option exists in Menoth that can do this, this is huge, and is frightening for solos, especially Eiryss. The final one is Cleanse, which is a mini-Purification. The only exception is that it's tied to CMD range and it doesn't remove spells of any kind. Still, very effective against Hordes. The only ability the unit shares is Battle-Driven, which the Vengers also have. You won't see this unit get as much utility out of it since usually an attack that can damage them will probably kill someone. But at least the survivors will strike back with a vengeance.
Conclusion:
As can be seen, these units compared to the others are not as strong on paper. They require synergy and tactics to keep them alive. It also helps they're on average as cheap as the Temple Flameguard, which gives them all a firm place in Menoth where looks can be deceiving. Respect what they bring, and they won't let you down. Apologies for the delay in this, but with this the last article is next: Solos and the Battle Engine.
- Wild
