Warmachine: Battle Box Tactica – Menoth #1

Today we will cover tactics for using the Menoth Starter Box. Menoth is the second Warmachine faction listed in the starter rules, and originally one of only two starter sets with rules available to download.

    Kreoss is your caster here, along with Repenter and Revenger light Warjacks and a Crusader heavy Warjack.  Now,Menoth is a strange army at small levels, since they rely so much on mutually supporting buffs from other models and units within the faction.  The best example of this is the Choir, which turns otherwise mediocre Warjacks into death-dealing gods of the battlefield.  You just don’t get those things at the battle box level.  So if you’ve picked these guys up and they seem a little low on the power meter, know that they get a LOT stronger once you start adding in infantry support.

     Like the other faction casters, Kreoss is a great all around Warcaster.  He works well with infantry and Warjacks, and can take care of himself in a fight.  His feat makes him one of the most feared casters in the game for newer players, though those with more experience will learn how to deal with it.  His stats are average.  SPD 5 is normal for the faction.  A P+S 14 reach weapon means he actually has a longer melee threat range than many SPD 6 casters (10″ vs 9.5″).  7 Focus is more than enough to play with (especially with other faction models helping) and means he can cast spells, take some things out himself, feed his Warjacks, or do a mix of all three.  DEF 14 and ARM 15 are a bit low, but again, there are ways to improve his survivability once you start adding units, and really, he’s best off staying back and supporting his army, only moving up to use his Feat and to finish off any stragglers.

     Kreoss has two attack spells: Cleansing Fire and Immolation.  Cleansing Fire is a POW 14 3″ AOE that causes critical fire.  It’s a nice group killer, though Immolation, a POW 12 spell, tends to be cast more often because it only costs 2 Focus to Cleansing Fire’s 3.  Three POW 12’s against a Warcaster will do more damage than two POW 13’s against most opponents.  Defenders Ward, Lamentation, and Purification are Kreoss’ bread and butter spells.  Defenders Ward is a really nice upkeep spell granting +2 DEF and ARM to the target model or unit.  Since Kreoss will often stay farther back, you can cast this on a Warjack or an infantry unit.  Lamentation is another upkeep spell which causes enemy Warcasters and Warlocks to pay double the Focus or Fury cost to cast or upkeep spells while within Kreoss’ Control Area.  Lamentation can almost singlehandedly shut down many casters especially some melee Warlocks like Absylonia or Butcher.  Just be aware that canny opponents can simply stay 14.1″ away from Kreoss and then arcnode or charge into control range without any negative consequences.  Lamentation can actually work against you if you are trying to force an enemy caster like Deneghra or Caine to move in close.  When a caster does move in close you can pop Purification to remove any any all spell effects, continuous effects, and upkeeps to models within Kreoss’ Control Area.  This can remove a troublesome Arcane Shield or Iron Flesh from an enemy model/unit, but it will also remove your own upkeep’s like Defenders Ward.  They operative word here is to plan ahead so you don’t waste your own focus upkeeping spells on a turn in which you cast Purification.

     This is an awesome Feat and can be very difficult for new players to come to grips with.  It knocks down every single enemy model within Kreoss’ 14″ Control Range.  This Feat is most commonly used as part of an assassination run, knocking down the enemy Warcaster to make him/her that much easier to hit.  Even if your opponent has models or spells that ignore knockdown, such as Superiority, those abilities tend to be limited to just one model or unit, meaning that even if the Warcaster remains standing, you can still use the Feat turn to take out a good chunk of your opponents’ army.  When playing Kreoss, always ask your opponent pre-game if he/she has any way of ignoring knockdown effects.  Being surprised during an assassination run isn’t fun.  One other thing to remember about the Feat is that knocked down models do not block line of sight and do not count as being engaged in melee.  This means the Feat can allow you to safely reposition previously engaged models, and you can charge an enemy model with one thing, and then later on shoot at that same target without incurring the +4 Def bonus for being in melee.

     Kreoss lists tend to look pretty similar.  Deliverers, with their rockets work wonderfully with his Feat since even their low RAT can hit knocked down targets.  Redeemer Light Warjacks take the same idea to the next level, with their multi-shot rocket pods.  A Vassal makes one of those ‘Jacks even better.  Exemplar models/units certainly fit Kreoss’ theme,  and can get some great use out of Defenders Ward, but don’t overlook other units such as Zealots or Idrians.  As for Warjacks, ones with long ranged shots area always nice (as we’ve already covered with the Redeemer), though Kreoss works fairly well with any ‘Jack.  Since you’ll often want to upkeep two spells every turn, try to find some that are more Focus efficient, such as the Avatar.  Those with already high POW attacks will also tend to work better since Kreoss has no way of boosting strength or damage output.