Bane Lord Tartarus

Over two thousand years the soul that was to be Tartarus writhed in hellish agony until discovered and called from the void by Tenebrous. The lich lord bound the spirit into the stitched-together remains of several unearthed and defiled warrior-kings to become a unique necromantic masterpiece. Encased in rune-inscribed armor and given the unholy axe Rivener, Bane Lord Tartarus was created to rule over and dominate all bane thralls in service of the Dragonfather.

For more backstory refer to Lore - Banes.

Basic Info

Abilities

• Template:Stealth
• Template:Undead
• Template:Dark Shroud
• Template:Veteran Leader
• Template:Ghostly
• Template:Rapid Strike

Weapons

• Rivener - 2" reach, P+S 12 melee weapon
  • Template:Weapon Master
  • Template:Death Toll

Theme Forces

• Cryx
  • Template:Dark Host. Bane Lord Tartarus gains Prowl in this theme.

• Other Factions
  • Infernal players can use this model in the Template:Hearts of Darkness theme, but only if Mortenebra is leading the army.

Thoughts on Bane Lord Tartarus

Bane Lord Tartarus in a Nutshell

Despite being a melee monster, Tartarus is more of a support piece. At least for the first few turns, until it is "safe" for him to wade in and make a real difference. You mainly take him for the Veteran Leader buff. He tends to only get in melee if you desperately need Dark Shroud on something, and/or the gains from killing a couple of plebs and turning them into Banes outweighs the risks of getting killed next turn.

In combat (assuming you don't throw him away early), Tartarus hits like a ton of bricks and is hard to kill with a large number of damage boxes, Stealth and enough ARM to ignore most AOEs. The Rivener as a long-ranged melee weapon and when combined with Death Strike, Dark Shroud, and Weapon Master it is absolutely brutal. Death Toll is a nice perk, but shouldn't be viewed as a "I need to charge this turn so I get some use out of Death Toll" ability. Because really, you're not going to get that many "free" Banes before something makes Tartarus go splat.

Combos & Synergies

• Bane Witch Agathia counts as a Bane model and will benefit from Veteran Leader on all attacks, including her spells. She can charge a target, cast Vanish to get into its back arc, and be hitting at effective MAT 10.
• He synergises well with Bane Knights and Bane Warriors because they get good benefits from both Veteran Leader and Death Toll.
• He has a slight synergy with Bane Riders. They don't benefit from Death Toll at all, and although they can benefit from Veteran Leader they tend to move so fast that they're outside Tartarus's CMD range most of the game.
• He can be taken for free in the Dark Host theme force.
• Desecrator gains focus for proximity via their Accumulator for Bane models.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• Huge target on his forehead - your opponent will kill him at the earliest opportunity.
• Death Toll only works vs. living models.
• Even though Rivener can magically turn enemy dudes into Banes for you, it does not count as a magical weapon.
• By the time you add a unit of Banes for him to support you may as well be playing in the Dark Host theme force. This is a little bit stifling in list creativity.
  • The above comment must have been made pre Theme Remix update, as there is very little reason to run lists not in a Theme anymore.

Tricks & Tips

• Charge an enemy unit, kill one or two models, and add new Banes to a unit that hasn't activated yet. Then activate that unit and move them into a position to shield Tartarus from reprisal. This can combo well with the Bane Warrior's minifeat, Void Bringer.

Other

Trivia

• Released in Warmachine: Superiority (2006)
• Sculptor: Jose Roig
• Nicknames: Tartarus, Tartar Sauce, BLT