Paingiver Task Master

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

Slavery is one of the most deeply embedded elements of skorne culture. The Paingiver caste takes great pleasure in subjugating new beasts and races, and recent battles have only served to open their minds to new possibilities. Paingiver Task Masters are sent to oversee Skorne Minions in battle, and they are quick to apply the lash to any who grow lax in their service.

Basic Info

Abilities

• Template:No Sleeping on the Job
• Template:Pain Driver
• Template:Scutter Action
• Template:Temper Flesh

Weapons

• Man Catcher - 2" reach, POW 4, P+S 10 melee weapon
  • Template:Man Catcher

Theme Forces

• Template:Disciples of Agony. He gains Sacrificial Pawn [Minion warrior] in this theme. Two Template:Pagename solos can be taken as a single requisition option in this theme.

Thoughts on Paingiver Task Master

Paingiver Task Master in a nutshell

The Paingiver Task Master buffs minions. It's what it does, and does cheaply. Two of them make a single requisition option in Disciples of Agony; if you want to use DoA for minion infantry rather than as a warbeast/animantarax/bloodrunner list you're almost certainly getting two of these.

Combos & Synergies

There are two parts to what works well with the Task Master - the choice of minion unit(s) and the choice of warlock. But the short version is that if you are bringing minion units in Disciples of Agony you probably want two of these as a requisition option.

Minion units - ideal is to take something that does something the Skorne units don't. And although ambushing is cute it means that the Task Master can't get anywhere near the ambushers.

• Gatorman Bokor & Bog Trog Swamp Shamblers - probably your best choice. This does something the Skorne simply don't (and as the Skorne collect souls and the Shamblers bodies it's waste not, want not). There's also little more annoying than a no-knockdown-tough shambler who just won't die. And a Str buff on the Bokor on a turn when you go for broke and burn all the shamblers for extra attacks is awesome.
• Farrow Slaughterhousers - a very popular combination both before the Great Skorne Errata and now after the Oblivion update these guys hit incredibly hard.
• Croak Raiders - no knockdown tough skirmishers are incredibly obnoxious and even if Croaks aren't what they once were they are still pretty effective - and Reposition is great for advance deployment shooting. These work really well if you've a caster who hands out debuffs. Reposition can even be used to give them a melee game without leaving them all bunched up for the counter-attack.
• Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew - Scutter allows the Gobbers to reposition behind their cloud, increasing their survival. This isn't a sensible package on its own, but if you're already bringing the task master for e.g. slaughterhousers it makes the bellows better.
• Farrow Valkyries Greatly appreciate No Sleeping on the Job for its synergy with shield guard and vengeance. Though pain driver doesn't affect their point blank attacks, a pow14 charge and pow14 point blank shot let them do work into debuffed heavies. In Disciples of Agony, they can protect your beasts with shield guards and your paingivers with sacrificial pawn all in the same turn.
• Hermit of Henge Hold - No Knockdown helps, but more important is that giving the Hermit Reposition 3 gives him 3" extra threat range for either telemetry or his ARM debuff.
• Void Archon - +2 STR adds up when you're buying attacks for an effective five attacks at P+S 17. Also adding reposition makes the spray safer to use when not fully engaging; 13" away is massively safer than 10" away.

Minion-friendly warlocks; warlocks like Supreme Archdomina Makeda are obviously a bad idea to use with minions. But others work really well with them; minions don't care who debuffed the targets just so long as they get debuffed.

• Master Tormentor Morghoul does very little for anything outside his battlegroup; he doesn't care where his infantry came from.
• Lord Assassin Morghoul is a strong debuffer with his feat and Mortality.
• Beast Master Xekaar is another debuffer.
• Lord Tyrant Hexeris; his feat and Parasite work no matter who does the killing.
• Dominar Rasheth can't channel through minions but otherwise works with his debuffs. And if all else fails he can channel through the Task Master.
• Archdomina Makeda - oddly enough her feat works on minions.
• Supreme Aptimus Zaal - although this isn't generally a good idea he normally brings more than enough troops that the Swamp Shamblers get to grow and grow. This is the rare case where you might buy only one task master rather than getting two as a requisition option.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• She's a faction model, but she only buffs non-faction Minions.

Tricks & Tips

• A taskmaster can support more than one unit; the no knockdown aura doesn't take an action to use so can work with already tough models like Farrow Valkyries and if you have skirmishers and hard hitting melee you don't need to buff both at the same time.

Other

Trivia

Released 2010.07