View source for Kommandant Atanas Arconovich & Standard

{{Khadbox|{{Khador}} {{Man-O-War}} {{Character}} {{Unit}} }} [[Category: Model]]
{{4P|Armored Korps}}

''Atanas Arcanovich participated in the capture of Northguard and subsequent occupation of the Thornwood Forest. He was one of the few officers who resolutely held his position against the southerners, refusing to give ground. In recognition for his bravery, Arcanovich received the Star of the Motherland and was promoted to the rank of kommandant and given a special assignment to assist in restructuring the Man-O-War corps into a dedicated division. Arcanovich abides by the principle that a kommandant must lead his soldiers from the front line, to provide an example of patriotic duty and to inspire them to acts of greatness.''

=Basic Info=
{{Infobox-Model
| name  = {{PAGENAME}}
| altname=Atanas{{/}}Standard
| image = Atanas.jpg
| base  = Medium
| spd   = 4
| str   = 9
| mat   = 8{{/}}7
| rat   = 6{{/}}-
| def   = 10
| arm   = 16
| cmd   = 10{{/}}7
| hp    = 8
| cost  = 5
| cost_note = 2.5 each
| fa    = C
}}

===Abilities===
* '''''Arconovich
** {{Officer}}
** {{Battle Plan}}
*** {{Heroic Call|Man-o-War}}
*** {{Relentless Tide|Man-o-War}}
*** {{Unstoppable Fury|Man-o-War}}
** {{Repairable}}
** {{Tactician|Man-o-War}}

* '''''Standard Bearer
** '''Repairable
** {{Standard Bearer}}

===Weapons===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
! Arconovich
|style="width:99%;"|
{| class="wikitable"
{{Ranged|Hand Cannon|12|12|}}
{{Melee|Great Sword|2|6|15|}}
|}
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
! Standard Bearer
|
{| class="wikitable"
{{Melee|Gladius|1|4|13|}}
|}
|}

===Theme Forces===
* '''''Khador
** {{Armored Korps}}. This unit gains [[Advance Move]] in this theme.

* '''''Other Factions
** '''[[Infernal]]''' players can use this unit in the {{Hearts of Darkness|notbold=}} theme, but only if [[Malakov2]] is leading the army.


=Thoughts on {{PAGENAME}}= 
===Kommandant Arconovich in a Nutshell===
Atanas Arconovich and his standard bearer do one thing, and one thing only: support a [[Man-o-War]] Theme Force. His job is to make your Man-o-War better in every way that matters to them and enhance their strengths while mitigating their weaknesses. 

Any army with a serious Man-o-War component can and will benefit from bringing Arconovich along. [[Tactician]] is an amazing ability to have on-command for any force, but even more so in one that has a lot of models with big, bulky bases in tight formations getting in each others' way and each of the [[Battle Plan]]s does impressive things at different occasions. 

Giving a unit [[Tough]] is always going to be beneficial, especially on the advance in the first few turns. but [[Relentless Charge]] and [[Retaliatory Strike]] can be just as key for achieving victory. The Standard Bearer is here to do nothing other than bump Atanas' command range up a bit more and serve as a roadblock against enemy assassination attempts. 

Aside from maybe [[Supreme Kommandant Irusk]], who doubles up a lot on what these guys do. Every warcaster attempting to run an [[Armored Corps]] of two or more units should include Arconovich. He's so good that he should typically be the last of your models to go down, second only to your warcasters.

Atanas Arconovich was literally ''made'' to work wonders in an Armored Corps list. He forms a unit with the Standard Bearer so they can benefit from the extra [[Advance Move]] from the Theme Force bonus, and they love being [[Repair]]ed at +1 rolls after taking splash damage. Any list of 50 points and over is going to love having a Tactician around without needing to rely on the Supreme Kommandant specifically. Thanks to Atanas you can even field them with warcasters that function more like super solos than anything else (think [[Sorscha1|Kommander Kratikoff]] or [[Butcher3|
Zoktavir and his Argi]]) because of how self-sufficient Atanas makes your Man-o-War.

At 5 points even ignoring the battle plans (they can always target themselves) their stat profile & melee capabilities (including gun for pot shots). They will rarely fail to make their points back.

===Combos & Synergies===
Arconovich and the Standard Bearer have significant levels of synergy with literally all Man-o-War models: it's their job to be Man-o-War support. For this reason, this section only covers especially significant combos and synergies that go beyond simply occasionally benefiting from [[Pathfinder]], Tactician or Tough.

Tactician is an amazing boon for Man-o-War because they tend to fight in classic two-wave [[Shield Wall]] formations. Typically you have [[Man-o-War Shocktroopers|Shocktroopers]] and [[:Category: Tanker|Tankers]] up front and [[Bombardiers]], [[Demolition Corps]], [[Man-o-War Kovnik|Kovnik]]s and [[Man-o-War Drakhun|Drakhun]]s following closely behind. Tactician lets the second wave see and move through the front line, letting you set up one-two punch combos where the second wave attacks first, following up with the Shocktroopers closing ranks with their Shield Wall. This maneuver allows you to consistently present a hard front to the enemy without getting jammed up very much. Charging through your front line with a Kovnik or Drakhun presents the opponent with some very odd angles to work around as getting off a Slam with the Kovnik or a series of [[Cavalry|impact attack]]s with the Drakhun is no picknick when the opponent cannot physically reach them to prevent it from happening.

In terms of Atanas' Battle Plans, you get the highest return on investment on them by using them on units rather than solos. That means your main targets for them should typically be Bombardiers, Demolition Corps and Shocktroopers. Bombardiers benefit the least from his Battle Plans because all their use is greatest on melee-centric models and Bombardiers do the least of that, at least compared to their peers. Shocktroopers are pure attrition fighters and absolutely adóre all three Battle Plans. [[Steady]] from their Officer lets them roll Tough and still remain upright and Retaliatory Strike is gravy on a unit that was designed to take blows. Pathfinder from Relentless Charge is wonderful for them but it does mean dropping Shield Wall for a turn, something Shocktroopers do nót like to do. This leaves us with Demolition Corps as the absolute favorite Battle Plan target for Arconovich. [[Defensive Line]] from their Sergeant CA makes them effectively Steady for Tough rolls, they have no qualms about charging into battle when the time comes and Retaliatory Strike is positively devastating on Ice Mauls when used on their [[Bond of Brotherhood]] [[Minifeat]] turn.

{{Header|Warcasters}}
Literally ''any'' warcaster that works well with Man-o-War works well with Arconovich, either by further enhancing the synergies between them or by giving the warcaster more freedom to do as they please as they goes after their own objectives. Beyond that, of particular mention are:
* [[Irusk1]]: Access to tactician means that Irusk1 can pull off a lot of [[Irusk2]]'s tricks, while adding his own crafty battle plans. [[Iron Flesh]] means your troops are more likely to survive long enough to retaliatory strike, and his feat lasts all round so they'll be more accurate as well.
* [[Butcher3]]: Orsus isn't much of a leader this time around so he loves being able to focus on his killing work while Arconovich manages the troops. He doesn't need to eat up a lot of points for a big battlegroup either, so these two work well together.
* [[Sorscha3]]: Kommandant Sorscha is herself a Man-o-War model and she benefits from literally everything Atanas brings to the table. Charging through a Shocktrooper frontline only to [[Wind Rush]] back is a great trick that really opens up your vectors of approach and Relentless Tide further helps her get where she needs to go. Unstoppable Fury helps guard her against warbeast/warjack assassination because a tap from Frostfang freezes it up (and you can't Focus: Shake off stationary outside of the Maintenance Phase). Even Heroic Call can save her, although that's quite obviously a desperation move. Still, desperate times are exactly when you want to have that kind of option available to you.

{{Header|Solos}}
* [[Man-o-War Drakhun]]: Tactician opens up very dangerous charge vectors for the opponent to try and work around, even on the [[Countercharge]].
* [[Man-o-War Kovnik]]: All Man-o-War units can benefit from the Kovnik's [[Desperate Pace]] and while you should be using it on your melee units primarily you shouldn't forget that Atanas and his Standard form a unit. If the Kovnik is a [[Jack Marshal]] for a [[Rager]] you can also use its [[Shield Guard]] to help keep Arconovich safe at range.
* [[Man-o-War]] [[:Category: Tanker|Tanker]]: Tankers can benefit from Tactician to open up [[Bulldoze]] avenues where they otherwise wouldn't be and lets smaller Man-o-War see past their lumbering frame to set up attacks that would otherwise be impossible.

{{Header|Units}}
* [[Battle Mechaniks]]: All Man-o-War models have the Repairable rule and keeping Atanas and his Standard healthy is very valuable. Some Man-o-War have a tendency to move too fast for the Mechaniks but Atanas tends to be very reachable.
* [[Man-o-War Demolition Corps]]: A Demolition Corps led by Dragos Dragadovich loves working with Arconovich's [[Unstoppable Fury]] Battle Plan and everything else when you're looking for a melee attrition victory.
* [[Man-o-War Shocktroopers]]: Shocktroopers are great with Atanas and provide an absolutely crucial screen for him as well. Advancing them in tandem is a great method for maximizing their odds of reaching the fray relatively unharmed.
* [[Man-o-War Bombardiers]]: due to the lack of reach and Clear Cut these guys get the least from the battle plans, targeting them with tough and moving through each other is still great though.

{{Header|Mercenaries}}
* [[Colbie Sterling]]/[[Gobber Tinker]]/[[Raluk Moorclaw]]: These three are [[Mechanikally Adept]], meaning they can [[Repair]] Khador models.
* [[Ogrun Bokur]]: Atanas stays relatively close to the action and appreciates a [[Shield Guard]].
* [[Orin1]]: Ideal to provide some protection from spells.

===Drawbacks & Downsides===
* Like all Man-o-War infantry, their base SPD and DEF are very low.
* They don't have any defensive abilities, making them very vulnerable if you don't protect them.
* The Battle Plans have a short range so you need to keep Atanas relatively close to the action and because you can't run and issue Battle Plans you might end up in awkward spots where you're just out of range to use a Battle Plan.
* Much like the Man-o-War Kovnik, if they're just sitting in the back handing out buffs 7 points is a lot to pay. At some point you might need them to get their hands dirty or contest a zone in order to be worth the investment. But exposing Atanas is also a big risk.
* If you're bricked up pretty tightly, it can be devastating to unexpectedly lose Pathfinder and/or Tactician. Be careful and watch for stuff like [[Arcing Fire]] that can reach the back line.

===Tricks & Tips===
* In a pinch, Atanas can use his Battle Plans to target his own unit.
* The Standard Bearer exists to block charge lanes, eat bullets, and maybe shank an enemy trooper if he's having a really good day. All of these things he can do playing surprisingly far forward and a lot more aggressively than Atanas while still being in formation. It's not exactly suicidal, but any attack your opponent spends killing the Standard Bearer is an attack not hitting a more important model like a Demo Corps or Atanas.
** He also spreads out Atanas' Tactician bubble to an awesome 12". Losing him early can mean that Atanas might have to play that much closer to the frontline.
* Tactician only requires the intervening model to be in Atanas' CMD range. The model that moves through can start its movement outside his CMD bubble.
* Man-o-War lists tend to struggle with a low volume of attacks, which means every one counts! Keep an eye out for troopers you can plug with the Hand Cannon or stab through the back of a Shocktrooper wall.
* When most of your Man-o-War are dead, that Greatsword hits almost as well as an Ice Maul. Who's the support now?
* It can be tricky to know when to use Tough vs Retaliatory Strike. Some questions to ask yourself:
** Do I expect to be in melee at all, or mostly shot at?
** Do I have access to (effectively) Steady?
** Can my opponent ignore Tough via [[Grievous Wounds]], [[Take Down]], etc?
** Is there a good chance that my models will die in one hit, therefore never getting to swing back?
** Does my opponent have a huge ARM buff or some reason he wouldn't care if I hit him back?
* Generally speaking you'll want Tough to weather shooting and then Retaliatory Strike once you're dug in, especially against chaff jamming models, but conditions can vary.

=Other=
===Trivia===
* Originally released in the Armored Korps CID (2018.02).
* ''Atanas'' is a very common Bulgarian and Macedonian name derived from the Greek ''Athanasios'', fittingly meaning ''immortal''. It is also the name of a 6th century fortress in Serbia.

===Other Khador models===
{{Index Khador}} 
 
===Rules Clarifications=== 
{{RC Officer}}
{{RC Battle Plan}}
{{RC Heroic Call}}
{{RC Relentless Tide}}
{{RC Unstoppable Fury}}
{{RC Repairable}}
{{RC Tactician}}

{{RC Standard Bearer}}