Master Ascetic Naaresh

Template:Skornebox This model is playable only in an Unlimited format.

A warrior-philosopher who seeks enlightenment through his own extreme suffering, Master Ascetic Naaresh has unlocked the powers of pain and forged them into a unique and devastating fighting style. Eager to challenge the limits of his philosophy against new foes, Naaresh has left his isolation to seek battle in the west. Before each engagement he submits to the ministrations of his paingivers so that he may draw strength and skill from the agony.

Basic Info

This model is a Warlock.

Warlock Rules A warlock is an Independent Model. a Leader model. a Battlegroup Controller controls warbeasts. Warlocks use Fury Manipulation Uses ARC to determine how many fury points it gains each turn. Begins the game with a number of fury points equal to its ARC. Cannot exceed its ARC stat in fury points as a result of leeching. Can spend fury points only during its activation (unless a special rule states otherwise) for the following: Buy additional attacks Boost attack rolls Boost damage rolls Shake some effects Can leach fury points from warbeasts in its battlegroup in its control range. Spirit Bond allows the warlock to gain a fury for each of its dead battlegroup warbeasts. Reaving allows the warlock to pull fury points from a warbeast in its battlegroup when it dies.

Feat : Imperishable Flesh

1. Immediately apply up to 1 damage point to each aspect of living warbeasts in Naaresh's battlegroup that are currently in his Template:CTRL range. Naaresh can remove 1 damage point for each damage point applied as a result of Imperishable Flesh..
2. While in Naaresh's Template:CTRL range, living warbeasts in his battlegroup gain +1 STR and ARM for each of their damaged aspects.

Imperishable Flesh lasts for one round.

Abilities

• Template:Tough
• Template:Blood Trade
• Template:Flagellant
• Template:Hyper-Regeneration
• Template:Painmonger
• Field Marshal [ [[:Category:{{{ability}}}|{{{ability}}}]] ]

[[Category:{{{ability}}}]] (Template:Pain Response-alt)

Weapons

Katara (x2) - 1" reach, POW 4, P+S 11 melee weapons

• Template:Magical Weapon
• Template:Combo Strike
• Template:Life Drinker

Spells

{{Category: Template:BleedTemplate:BlurTemplate:CycloneTemplate:Lamentation }}[[Category: Template:BleedTemplate:BlurTemplate:CycloneTemplate:Lamentation ]]

Theme Forces

• Template:Disciples of Agony
• Template:Masters of War. He gains "Optional Take Down" in this theme
• Template:The Exalted
• Template:Winds of Death

Also Naaresh has a bonded warbeast, The Terrorizer, which he can take in any theme.

Thoughts on Master Ascetic Naaresh

Master Ascetic Naaresh in a nutshell

Naaresh is a jack of all trades. He can have an assassination run using Cyclone. He can control enemy warbeasts and spellcasters with Lamentation. He shuts down shooting with Blur. He can crank up his battlegroup to an 11 on his feat turn. He can use Hyper-Regeneration to offset his Blood token damage, pushing himself up to P+S 20 and ARM 20. And he makes the best cookies this side of Halaak!

Maximising his feat & spells

• Cyclone makes for a great assassination (see below), or as a good way to reposition yourself for better scenario presence or general safety.
  • Charge someone random, cast Cyclone before making your charge attack, then redirect your initial attacks against your "real" target. This gives him an assassination threat range of 16" (non-linear).

Drawbacks & Downsides

• Jack of all trades, master of none
• His defensive stats really require Painmonger to be up. Of course this has become practical after the update (just save a couple of Paingiver Beast Handlers to beat him up)
• He really shines on his feat round, but not as much so on other turns.
• His assassination threat, while he can go a long way, isn't all that impressive. MAT 7 with very few ways to 'fix' this and a maximum P+S of 16 if you were able to damage him 5 times. There's more and better assassins than him out there (even within Skorne).
• If you want a caster with a feat that gives your warbeasts a damage and ARM buff, a solid defensive upkeep spell, and can beat people up in melee then Tyrant Xerxis does all that - and his feat does more damage and isn't restricted to his battle group. They've related playstyles unless you use Naaresh aggressively with lamentation and as an assassination threat. Of course small based helps here as does Arm 20 and anti-magic tech.

Tricks & Tips

• Lamentation gives some good matchups. Keep in mind that warbeast animi now count as spells, and should be doubled in cost while within his CTRL range.
• The combination of Hyper-Regeneration and Blood Trade means you should always cut yourself to upkeep spells.
• Taking an extra unit of Beast Handlers or Bloodrunners allows Naaresh to build up stacks of Painmonger on your turn, increasing his assassination damage, or general survivability for the following turn.
• Taking Tyrant Commander allows Naaresh to increase the distance Cyclone lets him advance or give him Pathfinder.
• SOP for the updated Naaresh involves beating him up with Paingivers every turn so he's ARM 20 - and on turn 2 or 3 feating to get back all the hit points the Paingivers cost him as you throw your juiced up warbeasts into the fray, with Naaresh threatening an assassination the next turn.

List Building Advice

Strategy

His main method of winning is attrition. His feat beats the enemy to a pulp, and Lamentation shuts the enemy down.

He likes to have one big unit of infantry to blur and get in the way of the enemy, forcing them to melee them.

Naaresh's only friendly-Faction buff is Blur so he's very Minion-friendly, which works well with him especially in the Disciples of Agony theme.

Theme thoughts

This gives him access to Nihilators (for Blur) and lets him stack his feat on light warbeasts with Primal for some extremely nasty piece trading (even an enraged and feated Bull Snapper is P+S 17 and both it and Razor Boars are better value than the Reptile Hound even if he prefers actual light warbeasts). This isn't to say a horde of Razor Boars with free charges and Enrage aren't fun even if not tournament winning.

This is playable with Naaresh but he doesn't have amazing synergy with it. Some of the best options for his "one big unit of infantry" are all available in this theme, though.

• Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer gives him either Pathfinder or 2" extra movement when cycloning for his assassination run.
• Praetorian Keltarii - Cast Blur on these guys and make your local Cygnar players cry themselves to sleep. Or find ways of avoiding their DEF
• Praetorian Swordsmen if expecting an infantry swarm) for the greatest melee output to do as much damage as possible.

Similar to Masters, these are playable with Naaresh but he doesn't have amazing synergy with them.

• Despoiler is available in Exalted, and combines with Naaresh to utterly shut down casting.
• Venator Slingers are the cheapest option and are ranged duelists, forcing the enemy to come to them.

• Paingiver Beast Handlers - Naaresh likes warbeasts and likes paingivers around to give him blood tokens

Battlegroup

File:Terrorizer.jpg

The Terrorizer is his pet warbeast that he can take in any theme.

For maximum effect from his feat, Naaresh likes light warbeasts that have a good melee attack. Or heavy warbeasts that are cheap and brick well to ignore the return strike.

• The Terrorizer - Naaresh's character warbeast has four base attacks, the excellent Rush animus, and gets boosted melee attack rolls from Naaresh. What's not to love?
• Cyclops Savage - cheap and effective light
• Cyclops Brute - the Savage's more defensive cousin
• Archidon - the diet heavy gains a lot from Naaresh's feat and Cyclone combines pretty well with the ability to Sprint to have him cut a swathe through the enemy and then sprint to safety.
• Rhinodon - so does the cheapest real heavy
• Titan Gladiator - and here's the cheap beatstick with Rush. I would say that the Terrorizer is taking part of his place but Naaresh is so rarely played anyway it doesn't matter.
• Titan Sentry - and the tough one.
• Basilisk Drake and Basilisk Krea - the Krea with Flank hits like a heavy. And the Drake allows Naaresh to get Pathfinder easily.

Other

Trivia

• Naaresh's origin story was likely inspired by the real life Buddha, but with large doses of psychotic breakdowns thrown in the mix.
• Released in Hordes: Domination (2011)