Testament of Menoth

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

Few have traveled to Urcaen and back to recount the tale; the High Reclaimer was one such man, however the High Reclaimer is no more. Proclaimed the Testament of Menoth upon his return to Caen, he prepares for the crusade to enlighten those whom have yet to accept Menoth as their one true God.

Basic Info

Warcaster abilities:

• Focus Manipulation

• Battlegroup Controller

• Power Field

• Spellcaster

• Independent Model

• Leader

Feat - Essence of Dust

1. Friendly Faction models currently in the Testament's Template:CTRL range gain Incorporeal.
2. When declaring charges and slam power attacks or when making attacks, friendly Faction models can ignore models in the Testament's Template:CTRL range when determining LOS.

Essence of Dusts lasts for one turn.

Abilities

• Template:Apparition
• Template:Reclaim
• Template:Soul Ward

Weapons

Requiem
File:Sword icon.jpg		RNG				POW				P+S
		2				7				14
Template:Continuous Fire Template:Magical Damage

Spells

{{Category: Template:Cloak of AshTemplate:Dust to DustTemplate:Hallowed AvengerTemplate:Raise the Dead }}[[Category: Template:Cloak of AshTemplate:Dust to DustTemplate:Hallowed AvengerTemplate:Raise the Dead ]]

Theme Forces

• Template:Exemplar Interdiction
• Template:Guardians of the Temple
• Template:The Creator's Might. He can start the game with upkeeps in play, and upkeep them for free in turn 1, in this theme.
• Template:The Faithful Masses
• Template:Si

Thoughts on Reclaimer2

Reclaimer2 in a nutshell

The Testament brings his troops back from the dead; for every two of his troops that die he can raise one. This gives him a strong attrition game and makes him a very forgiving caster. Also, he can collect souls with great reliability, and his feat gives him a very potent assassination run.

Spell thoughts

• Raise the Dead - His signature spell and the cornerstone of his play-style. Your enemy destroys 2 of your models, you get two souls, which turns to 2 FOCUS, that's the basic math with the Testament. IF you're not spamming it, you are either winning hard or near defeat. Note that returned models are allowed to attack if they forfeit their movement action.
• Cloak of Ash - Your only defensive feature, which ensures the delivery of your most important models.
• Hallowed Avenger - Extra mobility for jacks is nice. You either have heavy jacks that can do damage, but have relatively short threat range (which this fixes) or support light jack, which benefit a bit less, but extra movement on your arc node can still be nice. Upload it on your heavy for extra movement early on and drop later as required (if you can keep it and you know you won't need that focus elsewhere, it can still be extra attack even when you are engaged).
• Dust to Dust - cheap, weak zap which can still be surprisingly effective, provided a large number of your army has fallen in the turn before (AKA the Hail Mary assassination run).

Feat thoughts

The Testament's feat is offensive flexibility in a bag, allowing you against the right armies to get at enemy support or even at their caster. In worst-case scenarios you can still move your models through terrain unhindered. It can also set up the Testament himself for an assassination run too.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• Its attrition game depends on 2 things: Raise the Dead and soul collecting. RFP attacks and Anti-Spell tricks will put you at a disadvantage. Mordikaar1's Manifest Void can shut down your recursion engine altogether.
• You need a large army, but apart from bringing them back, you have no offensive support and no movement buff outside your feat.

Tricks & Tips

• Don't forget Raise the Dead allows you to bring back only Grunts; not officers, Leaders, or attachments. Check this handy guide, when in doubt.

List Building Advice

Strategy

Assassination

Testament can win on assassination with or without his army. If you have them, they can get through the enemy under your feat and just shoot/punch the enemy caster to kingdom come. If the enemy has killed them already, you probably got a load of focus from their souls, so go for your pocket assassination. This can be achieved either by Dust to Dust (ideally through an arc node in the form of a Revenger or a Guardian), or by your 12" of melee threat range (Apparition 2, SPD 5, charge 3, reach 2), preferably under your feat. As you can see from the numbers (for example, his MAT6), this is a bit of a fall back scenario, his threat range really isn't that huge and there are few models in the whole faction that are both fast and hard hitting enough to make it worth your main focus. Nonetheless, you should actively look for an opportunity to kill either enemy caster or those annoying squishy support models that make your life so difficult.

Attrition

Testament can attrition like no one else in the game. Being able to return half of your destroyed unit models every turn BEFORE using his basic focus pool can't be matched by most. It's disheartening for your opponent to go up against, honestly. He benefits from anything that can further multiply the survivability of his troops or his spell slinging. Rhupert can provide tough (yes you can return dead dudes, but they are limited in how they can act), High Exemplar Gravus can give your exemplars multiple rolls with his no-KD bubble (as well as providing extra mobility) and Wrack + Hierophant can give you extra guy to resurrect between them. Models like the Exemplar Warder, Templar, Devout or Visgoth Juviah Rhoven & Honor Guard can provide either Testament or key models (such as UAs he can't bring back) some additional safety via Shield Guard. Rhoven also helps out against continuous effects as a bonus.

Models that can double dip into dying models such as Knights Exemplar Seneschal with Righteous Fury or High Paladin Dartan Vilmon with Righteous Vengeance are always welcome. As are warriors with long ranged guns like Deliverers as they are more likely to be able to take an action after being brought back.

Theme Thoughts

• Knights Exemplar - It's all about numbers, so bring 5-7 units of these guys to have a basically endless supply of souls. They hit hard and accurately, so they don't mind the Testament does nothing to help with that. They do mind guns though, so his cloud wall really helps them. Additionally, they gain Pathfinder from Battle Driven, which is pretty huge. Keep the officers back so he can revive fallen grunts! On feat turn they can all move and draw LOS through each other and ignore free strikes, so have at them!
• The other Exemplar units all have their benefits and love incorporeal, but they are don't have the benefit of giving you a lot of warm bodies at a cheap price.
• Fire of Salvation is a good choice as you can have TWO jacks with Righteous vengeance, but you will lose the benefits of its bond, but it still has access to pathfinder and MAT8 with inherent big meaty crusader mace.

Lists in this theme usually revolve around solos (which Testament has no real means of supporting) and the Hand of Vengeance (which Hallowed Avenger synergies nicely with, but he has limited focus and does nothing for jacks). It can probably still work as he is not the worst caster for Idrian Skirmishers - he can at least give them concealment and pull them back to game. Endless Holy Zealots waves can be hilarious, Paladins can provide some heavy hitting (if not jack cracking) and potential non-linear 16" charge (with righteous vengeance). This can probably make one or two 'casters nervous when coupled with Testament's feat.

This one might be really interesting Scenario list. Just as with Faithful Masses, it can struggle with armor (but at least Temple Flameguard can actually HIT things with CMA) but a recurring squadron of tough spearmen with Ashen Veil (so you have defense 15 against shooting and 15/17 against charges, depending on enemy being living model or not) that constantly keep coming back for seconds can be infuriating. Flameguard Cleansers with their assault and Flamebringers in general can synergize well with his feat to really get into the meat of enemy army. In some situations, the Flamebringers can be his best friends even in assassination against squishier targets (more attacks and probable grievous wounds). Rhupert and Idrian Skirmishers are again reasonable options for some additional support or ranged game, but the main strength would mostly be in the ability to just spam zones and refuse to leave.

Battlegroup

Testament isn't about his BG at all, so its best to just fill his WJPs to maximise the infantry you can take. Hallowed Avenger means he wants to take one melee heavy, the rest could then be another heavy, or two utility lights.

• Sanctifier - It competes with Testament for souls, but its basically fully self sufficient and with Hand of Fate it hits hard and accurately and also brings some nice anti-Incorporeal tech.
• Both the Devout and Vigilant can benefit the lists with their usual defensive mechanics to keep key models alive.
• An Indictor or two can provide a good anchor as they have top faction survivability, above average MAT and some nice anti-magic mechanics. They have a low threat range, but they will probably be in the second line anyway and Hallowed Avenger can also help a bit to put one into a good position.
• You can also go the route of ultimate spam and just grab a Crusader and multiply it by three. You will pay effectively 7 points (3 for going over 'caster WJP allotment and 4 for choir) to add a bit of jack spam to your infantry spam.
• A Guardian can be a nice compromise, if you want arc-node but don't really care for the Revenger. He has basic MAT7, 2" reach with POW17 sharpened stick and can arc those Dust Bolts of his. But you will pay for that combat strength and as he is just SPD4 and large base, making that arcing harder to pull off.

Other

Trivia

• Despite a completely different name, Testament is the second incarnation of The High Reclaimer
• He was part of the first ever wave of epic casters.
• Released in Warmachine: Apotheosis (2005)

Video Battle Reports

• 2018.08 Arcane Assist 75 points vs Butcher1
• House of Dice, 2018.03 50 points vs Syntherion
• Template:VBR