Holy Zealots

Template:Protbox2 This model is playable only in an Unlimited format.

In years when the Protectorate pretended not to possess a standing army, no able-bodied Menite would refuse a call to arms, and the faithful continue to join the crusade even now that the need for secrecy has passed. Armed with their unshakable belief and devastating firebombs, these holy zealots are spurred to combat by a battle priest that girds them with prayers to the Lawgiver.

When the call to battle sounds, those who are most devout carry into battle a massive stone menofix as a signal to the unbeliever of the power of their deity. Only the purity of their devotion gives them the strength to lift these mighty symbols, and it is this demonstration of the power of faith that inspires their fellow devotees to more extreme expressions of their faith.

Basic Info

Abilities

• Leader & Grunts
  • Template:Prayers
    • Template:Fervor
    • Template:Path of Flames
    • Template:Warding

• Monolith Bearer (CA)
  • He has +2 CMD, +2 STR, and 5 hitpoints
  • Template:Officer
  • Template:Greater Destiny
  • Template:Holy Monolith
  • Template:Sacrificial Pawn

Weapons

• Leader & Grunts
  • Fire Bomb - 6" range, 3" AOE, POW 12 ranged attack.
    • Template:Fire Damage
    • Template:Critical Continuous Fire
  • Mace - 0.5" reach, P+S 7 melee weapon.

• Monolith Bearer (CA)
  • Mace - 0.5" reach, P+S 9 melee weapon. It's the same mace, he's just stronger.

Theme Forces

• Protectorate
  • Template:The Faithful Masses

• Other Factions
  • Infernal players can use them in the Template:Hearts of Darkness theme, but only if Feora is leading the army.
  • Mercenary players can use them in the Template:Llaelese Resistance theme. They become Llaelese and gain Pathfinder in this theme.

Thoughts on the Holy Zealots

File:MonolithBearer.jpg

Command Attachment

Holy Zealots in a Nutshell

Zealots are cheap bomb throwing cannon fodder for jamming the enemy and setting them on fire. Cheap, and with the Monolith Bearer they return from the dead.

Having pow 14 with pow 8 blast damage fire bombs is useful but with poor RAT you are more likely to be using your prayers to help you hit.

Thoughts on adding the CA

The Monolith Bearer costs slightly more than two zealots - if you can return two from Greater Destiny it's definitely worth it for that and the Holy Monolith ability. And on average you should be able to. Just keep it safe.

Combos & Synergies

• Testament of Menoth & Sanctifier - Greater Destiny? Harvest souls twice!
• Vice Scrutator Vindictus - Death Toll & Call to Sacrifice: An excellent infantry brick caster. Can tank wounds for him and any kills Vindictus makes replenishes their numbers. Penitence, True Path and his feat are excellent for them as well. Defender's Ward can turn a recurring unit of Zealots into a nightmare of a tar pit (especially if you bring Rhupert Carvolo as well to give them tough).
• Malekus, The Burning Truth - Malekus likes anything that does fire damage for his feat turn, path of flames means you can jam with zealots and then lob fiery death into the scrum without bothering them at all. Fire bombs rolling 3d6 damage, and crit fires that can't go out, both make this unit potentially really strong with Malekus.
  • since his CID update Malekus is an even better pick as he can either cast scourge for free and knock down a target to be peppered with bombs or he can grant the unit Ashen Veil.
• Flameguard Cleansers - Path of flames, run zealots into position, aim sprays at zealots to get optimal template coverage.
• Hand of Judgement - An additional +2 to Fire damage rolls within 5" of the big guy means that they can hit above their weight class and any crit fire that doesn't go out is going to hurt. They can also crit fire to give the big guy free charges. As a plus, the latter two of the three Feora's help these guys or they help her in some way.

Drawbacks and Downsides

• Low DEF, vulnerable to blast damage (especially before the Monolith has triggered), not terribly hard hitting, and not that accurate. Zealots are cheap models with a ranged attack and you get what you pay for.
• Focusing firebombs on a single heavy can end up doing serious damage...or nothing at all.

Tricks & Tips

• Don't worry about missing with the fire bombs - the bombs are going to land somewhere
• Defender's Ward is surprising effective on Zealots, giving them DEF 14 and ARM 14. Whenever one is killed and triggers Holy Monolith, they become DEF 14, ARM 18!
• Keep in mind the Monolith Bearer's Sacrificial Pawn ability, along with five health boxes, this gives him some resilience to ranged attacks. Remember that AOE attacks that directly hit the Monolith Bearer will have the center of the AOE moved to the the Zealot you choose within 3".
• Take a Reckoner for the Flare, he can target other heavies over the Zealot's heads, and will make them effectively RAT 7, meaning that they will be able hit much more consistently.
• If you haven't used Greater Destiny yet, make sure to put the Zealots that die during a single round in a seperate pile from your actual dead pile.
  Then after the unit has activated and if you didn't use your mini-feat, shove them into the actual dead pile and start a new pile for the next round.

Other

Trivia

• Released way back in Warmachine: Prime (2003)