Proteus

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

The dragonspawn Proteus is Absylonia’s greatest creation. With a mass of thrashing tentacles projecting from its horrible visage, Proteus is the dragon’s hunger given obscene form. This unnatural abomination drags its victims inexorably into the grasp of its waiting claws. Those ensnared die horribly as Proteus strips flesh from bone, filling the air with a bloody mist.

Basic Info

Abilities

• Template:Eyeless Sight
• Template:Pathfinder
• Template:Soulless
• Template:Bond (Template:Grievous Wounds)
• Template:Snacking
• Template:Unyielding

Weapons

Tentacles
File:Sword icon.jpg		RNG				POW				P+S
		2				2				14
Template:Chain Weapon Template:Chain Strike Template:Pull
Talon (x2)
File:Sword icon.jpg		RNG				POW				P+S
		1				5				17
Template:Open Fist

Animus

{{Category: Template:Crawling Chaos }}[[Category: Template:Crawling Chaos ]]

Theme Forces

• When taken by Absylonia
  • Template:Children of the Dragon
  • Template:Oracles of Annihilation
  • Template:Primal Terrors
  • Template:Ravens of War

• When taken by anyone else
  • Template:Oracles of Annihilation

Thoughts on Proteus

Proteus in a nutshell

File:Absylonia1.jpg

Absylonia1

Proteus is a powerful predator, a capable heavy hitter which offers some unique support for aggressive casters & other hard hitting models alike. Proteus' main advantage is its unaided 12" threat on the charge, thanks to Chain Strike on the Tentacles. The additional threat allows you to invest resources in other heavies, or pump more into Proteus to enhance this range advantage over most other heavies.

Proteus' animus is also an interesting selling point, especially for casters that are looking to do work personally. -2 DEF on enemies pushes Proteus to MAT 9, though against the typical prey of warbeasts that's usually overkill. Proteus also offers a potent defensive advantage over the Carnivean with Unyielding, and is one of only a handful of Legion models easily capable of achieving the "tanky" tier of 20+ ARM.

That all said, Proteus isn't a point and click warbeast. Positioning it correctly and choosing targets wisely will require a bit of finesse. On its own Proteus won't kill most other similarly costed heavies. Proteus will appreciate a STR buff, and ARM buffs are always appreciated for such a premium attacker. Grievous Wounds is a really nice bonus for a mainline heavy, and when run with Abby Proteus can very easily have the full package of threat range, tank, and hitting power.

Also, it's got a Cthulu face (and his new sculpt is superb), so that's neat.

Combos & Synergies

File:Absylonia2.jpg

Absylonia2

• Abby1 favours a few, quality pieces in her battlegroup instead of numerous smaller ones, and Proteus fits perfectly in there. Extra STR in particular is especially good on Proteus since it makes trading positively into other heavies much more likely. Wild Aggression is also an appealing choice, enabling you to charge in, cast your animus, and still reliably drag in 3 targets. Combine with Blight Burst to make paperweight out of a large part of your opponent's battlegroup.
• Abby2 turns every beast into a powerhouse, and that's no different for Proteus. Fortify allows him to stay survivable once he's tied up in melee. It also stops slams and pushes that would be used to move him out of B2B, if his Crawling Chaos animus is on the table.
• Thanks to Pull and Chain Strike, Proteus works really well with the other board-controlling elements of the Legion. With proper positioning it is possible to ping-pong a heavy into the heart of your army, without exposing a single model to danger. Consider the Hellmouth, and warbeasts with movement tricks (Neraph due to Beat Back, the Angelius's Repulse, the Attractor animus from the Afflictor, etc).
• Proteus is as close to an anvil as most Legion lists are likely to get, and thus likes to be paired with other hard-hitting-but-soft models. In theme (Proteus is only allowed in Oracles of Annihilation when not run by Abby), this includes Farrow Slaughterhousers, Virtues, Rorsh & Brine, and other warbeasts.
• A Mekanoshredder is almost an auto-include with Proteus, simply due to the fury efficiency of free charges. The extra reach is nice, especially into lists such as Strange Bedfellows with lots of juicy Construct targets (a Mekanoshredder all but guarantees Proteus will be able to kill Clockatrices for example).
• Thagrosh0 - If you Blight Burst something and have Proteus within 1" of it and he activates Crawling Chaos they cannot escape and have to wail on him without being able to buy or boost.
• Rhyas1 - Proteus' Pull can set up her assassination angles. Her feat let him teleport into enemy lines, which can make crawling Chaos be a real problem for the opponent.
• Thagrosh1 can ramp Proteus's effective ARM to the same level as Abby2, granting it excellent survival rates. Proetues is not a bad target for Dark Revival as well. If you revive Proteus, it can still move and use his animus to continue to disrupt the enemy's movement.
• Thagrosh2 has similar offerings for Proteus (Dragon's Blood for ARM and Manifest Destiny for damage), but bear in mind that Chain Strike only applies during activation, meaning Dragon Storm's bonus attack/movement is only at the weapon's base 2" range. Proteus can still drag (keep this in mind for free strikes!).

Drawbacks & Downsides

• Expensive for a melee only heavy, with only average P+S for a heavy beast of this price range. If you don't need its board controlling elements and want a pure beatstick, choose the Carnivean for 2 points less.
• High cost animus cuts into the amount of enemies you can pull in. Additionally, the animus is difficult to be cast if your caster wants to avoid melee.
• Unyielding is only effective against melee attacks, leaving Proteus fairly vulnerable to long range shooting and guns in close combat (Gunfighter and the like).
• The Tentacles have the most utility, but have the lowest P+S. You lose some efficiency and damage output if you need to charge with them to drag in your target.
  • On the other hand, enemies will always measure your threat range based on your Tentacles' range considering how effective they can be.

Tips and Tricks

• During your activation your melee range is 4", which is very good shutting down Counter Charges, while you walk in to drag an important model out of formation (as CC won't trigger, if the counter-charging model is engaged).
• Know, which models resist pushes. Models and units with Sturdy, or under the effect of Magnetic Field/Fortify/Earth's Blessing/Inviolable Resolve spells can form an impenetrable wall against the Tentacles.

Other

Trivia

• Released in Hordes: Domination (2011)
• Derived from Greek πρωτος (protos) meaning "first". In Greek mythology this was the name of a prophetic god of the sea, (possibly firstborn) son of the god Poseidon. He can attain countless different forms, and only those who can capture him in his original form can harness his prophetic powers. That is a slight nod toward its twisted, blighted form, which found its true master under Absylonia, a warlock, whose body was also constantly mutating before Everblight granted her reborn in her epic incarnation.
• Released as a stand-alone set in 2016. Before that an upgrade set had been sold which basically contained the head spikes and tentacles and was compatible with every Carnivean/Ravagore kit, including the metal ones, and the plastic from the Mk2 starter set.