Since Open War 17 I’ve been invited to join team Has Anyone Seen My Pair?, as a stand in,
for the ETC event held at Maelstrom Games in
July of this year; further details here.
The ETC is something I’ve fancied
going to for a few years but have never been able to commit to for fear of
letting people down due to medical necessities like operations I would be
having near the time. The event is team
based, where four players take a single list and team wins and losses drive the
overall standings. There is some
strategy in team list building as each player only has one list meaning bad
match-ups are quite possible as well as characters not being allowed
duplication across a team.
As you guessed it I have taken the mantle of producing a
competitive Menoth list for the event and have decided upon taking Kreoss1 as
my Warcaster rather than Sevvy1. I think
I would have been happy with either caster but felt after Open War 17 the Kreoss
list was stronger overall. Play testing
started quite quickly and I simply added 15 points to the Open War list as an
initial starting point and I’m pleased to say that the results have been
successful and at present I’m fairly sure on the final list. So to reveal my ETC
list I intend to field the following:
+5 High Exemplar
Kreoss
8 Reckoner
8 Reckoner
8 Vanquisher
2 (4) Choir of Menoth
8 (10) Exemplar Errants
2 Exemplar Errants UA
4 (6) Temple
Flameguard
2 Temple
Flameguard UA
4 Visgoth Rhoven & Honour Guard
2 Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord
2 Covenant of Menoth
2 Vassal of Menoth
2 Vassal of Menoth
1 (3) The Wracks
Reserves
4 Repenter
4 Repenter
2 (4) Choir of Menoth
Ideas behind why I chose the additional points
The additional 15 points comprise the Vanquisher (8), Temple
Flameguard + UA (6) and Wracks (1).
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| Vanquisher (PP web image) |
I put the Vanquisher in because this jack adds to the ‘pop
and drop’ theme of the list, but more importantly seriously messes with
opponent’s deployment and movement. The
huge threat of the continuous fire 4” AOE makes people spread out and gives me a lot of board
control. Downsides are that it places a
greater focus burden on Kreoss and isn’t that effective as a melee jack.
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| TFG UA (PP web image) |
The Temple Flameguard
work much better as an offensive unit with the UA; now causing terror and having continuous fire melee weapons as well as ranked attacks, increased command and a re-roll from the banner
plus Iron Zeal as a mini-feat. I felt these guys would form a second wave
after the advanced Errants get killed off.
Rhupert and the Book can switch to buffing these making them useful in
the late/end-game. Downsides are that
they can get in the way, clogging up my own deployment and don’t hit that hard,
though their combined melee attack mitigates that a bit.
 |
| The Wracks (PP web image) |
My list originally had a Vassal Mechanic for the loose one
point, but I soon realised that I would get more mileage per game out of the
Wracks as the extra focus is a boon in keeping Kreoss alive as well as casting
both upkeep spells and allowing all three warjacks to run on the first turn. Whereas the Menofixer is skill [8] and this
is not that reliable at a crucial stage, I also found that he ended up lagging
behind and not in a position to fix things!
The Wracks don’t really have a downside other than that they can get in the
way if you let them and can potentially blow up your own models if poorly
positioned during deployment.
The Avatar was a strong consideration and would have fitted
in place of the Vanquisher, Wracks and Rhoven, allowing a few more points to
max out the TFG. Despite being an avid fan of the Avatar I
felt that the Vanquisher’s board control and Rhoven’s abilities outweighed the
gains the Avatar brought – though this is always situational in each game.
Reserves
I’ve not play tested my reserves yet so there is much debate
still to come here and they are not final b y a long way. Whether defensive/offensive units are better
for the two scenarios to be played at the ETC
is something I need to figure out. I did
have lots of choices in these 10 free points and I must admit to reading about
the double Repenters and Choir being a favoured combo amongst the Menoth
players community; something I wish to discover for myself! My next couple of blog entries will no doubt
follow the painting of these forces and any changes I make – so watch this
space.
Thoughts on overall list synergy
I feel that the list gels quite well despite the fact I
simply added 15 points, rather than built something from scratch: the Errants,
Piper and Book combo form the advance infantry wave followed up by the three
jacks. I’ve deployed the Vanquisher
central in most cases as it can then have more board control, the Reckoners
taking more of a flanking role with their increased speed and range keeping
them close to the fight when needed. I’ve
left the TFG milling behind and to the late
game quite often and feel that they might be more beneficial in the earlier
game so I might try Errants on one flank and TFG
on another, perhaps backed up by Rhoven & Co. The only problem is that at 50 points the
middle board gets quite packed with miniatures and I’ve gotten units a bit
stuck. Quite often!
Rhoven & Co. have been a continued source of debate for
me, but at present they have a secure place in the list, most people aren’t
aware of what Rhoven’s ‘tool-box’ can bring to the table and I have had some
success with his anti-stealth being able to shoot Eiryss/Tartarus dead from
long range, possibly 20” with a Menoth
Sighted Reckoner, as well as removing defensive Hordes Animi. I need to play against more Hordes armies and
use his Fury removal ability to mess with my opponents Fury management, or
maybe just remove a fury point from a caster to reduce transfers by one in an
assassination attempt. In any case his
bodyguards alone are easily worth 1-2 points each, as solos, and as a four
point trio they’re pretty good value.
Similarly to the TFG, they’ve hung
back and played the second wave role, supporting where necessary. I guess they’re like defenders in football
where their role is essential but never get any glory (guess which position I
played)!
Summary
In summary I am happy with the list and feel that I need to
practice more with deployment and positioning, getting the best use out of
Rhoven and not getting Kreoss’ head blown off!
I need to finalise my reserves choices and get these painted.
I’ll write up a few more thoughts as well as post images of
the completed reserve forces. :-)
