Hierarch Severius

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

Severius' voice has always resonated with sacred power, and he demonstrates a strength and surety that belies his age. Those who attend him can see and hear the power of unchecked divinity conveyed through his words and deeds. He has vowed to make it his life's work to unite the Menites of western Immoren, to spread the True Faith to all of humanity, and to usher in a new age by hammering the cathedrals of Morrow to rubble and erecting new temples to the Lawgiver.

Basic Info

Warcaster abilities:

• Focus Manipulation

• Battlegroup Controller

• Power Field

• Spellcaster

• Independent Model

• Leader

Feat : Fires of Communion

Choose d3+2 enemy non-warcaster, non-warlock living or undead warrior models currently in Severius' Template:CTRL range.

• The chosen models suffer a boostable POW 12 magical damage roll.
• If a model is boxed by Fires of Communion, center a 4" AOE cloud effect on the boxed model and RFP it.
• The AOE is a hazard that remains in play for one round. Enemy models entering or ending their activations in the AOE suffer a POW 12 fire damage roll and the Fire continuous effect.

Abilities

• Template:Arcane Power
• Template:Oracular Vision
• Field Marshal [ [[:Category:{{{ability}}}|{{{ability}}}]] ]

[[Category:{{{ability}}}]]

Weapons

• Staff of Authority - 2" reach, POW 8, P+S 13 melee weapon.
  • Template:Magical Weapon
  • Template:Admonisher

Spells

{{Category: Template:Arcane WardTemplate:Ashes to AshesTemplate:AwarenessTemplate:Creator's WrathTemplate:Hex BlastTemplate:Rebuke }}[[Category: Template:Arcane WardTemplate:Ashes to AshesTemplate:AwarenessTemplate:Creator's WrathTemplate:Hex BlastTemplate:Rebuke ]]

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 Severius2

Severius2 in a nutshell

The epic version of Severius is a support warcaster who does useful things to protect his battlegroup - and ranged warjacks who can take advantage of Awareness to shoot enemies who thought they were safe. As a rule between his feat and the ability to cast Ashes to Ashes three times in a round he's an offensive spellslinger who can thresh infantry while providing some battlegroup support.

Feat thoughts

His feat burns hard to reach infantry, and is very useful to take out units that are reliant on their leaders (like the Stormblades due to their Electrical Arc rule, or the Revenant Crew and their recursion mechanic). Beside the pinpoint removal of unit leaders and solos, this one is also a hard counter against armies which rely on smoke cover or likewise methods to stay alive, since Sevvy doesn't need LOS to choose the models. Especially useful against Haley3's Gravediggers, the Llaelese Resistance, an infantry-heavy Jarl list, or against casters with Wind Wall or Freezing Mist.

Mind the wording:

• it is not targeting and the damage roll isn't coming from an attack, bypassing a whole lot of restrictions and mechanisms like Vengeance or Battle Driven
• the AoE placement happens upon boxing the model, so Tough, Self Sacrifice, and other abilities happening at the Disabled step may still take away your chance to put down a flaming AoE

Against Battlegroup-heavy lists this feat is less appealing. You can catch important support solos and units (Shepherds, Choir of Menoth members, Beast Handlers, repair crews, etc.) in your feat zone, forcing them to keep the distance from your caster, and often causing them to lag behind the jacks/beasts they're supposed to escort.

Spell thoughts

• Rebuke: Beside the self evident benefits (blunt charges, or stop slams, head-butts for assassinations, and tricks with trample+reposition), do not forget about the orders. Losing "Press Forward" will bereft enemy units of run and charge (and thus, Assault). Also nullifies other orders, like "Cautious Advance", or "Shield Wall".
• Ashes to Ashes - Menoth's answer to Cygnar's Chain Lightning, it fills the same role - chaff infantry killing. Don't be afraid to cast it onto your own - preferably fire immune - jacks to kill jamming models.
• Arcane Ward - Best targets are either slow, sturdy units, like Exemplar Bastions ( who now resist SPD debuff spells, and are a whooping DEF15 against charges) or evasive units, like Daughters of the Flame or Flame Bringers, who are nigh unassailable in melee under this spell.
• Creator's Wrath - Yeah, it sounds cool for an old man to be technically MAT7 Weapon Master with a Blessed staff, but if you're using this, you probably just survived a melee assassination.
• Hex Blast - Beside the raw damage (which is also not bad), the main feature of this spell is the upkeep/animus removal. If in dire need, feel free to shoot your own troops into the back to get rid of a Parasite or Crippling Grasp.
• Awareness - Pretty great against walls of clouds, from Trenchers, or from Jarl's feat, and also lessening the threat from Wurmwood's forest-generating feat. Ranged jacks like the Vanquisher are all happy about it, too. Melee jacks however are not profiting too much, since Sevvy2 lacks any kind of buff to help their movement through rough terrain. The main best recipient of it, however, is himself, as it allows him to sling spells with impunity and ignore most defensive rules.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• Severius has some of the worst defensive stats in the game.
• His feat is not that useful against battlegroup-heavy lists
• No mobility, ARM, or damage buff for his army, they need to bring all of that themselves, or be able to take an alpha and punch back.
• Any focus you save for Oracular Vision is focus you spared from elsewhere.

Tricks & Tips

• Remember, Hex Blast-ing one of your own guys strips enemy upkeep from the whole unit.
• Rebuke as a free spell can be better than Ashes to Ashes or Hex Blast.

List Building Advice

Strategy

His main method of winning is simple attrition; he burns infantry and then turns things into a brawl, with the Choir of Menoth giving the protectorate an advantage in attrition (while if facing Protectorate he just burns their Choir). Awareness shuts down shenanigans, once again letting him turn the fight into a brawl.

Theme Thoughts

• Choir of Menoth - Pretty much a no-brainer for any Menoth warcaster.
• Vassal of Menoth - Severius appreciates the extra Focus they can give to his warjacks. Additionally, you can Empower a warjack once its spent all its Focus on offense, letting you still benefit from Oracular Vision. Enliven works pretty well with Severius, as you can take the initial hit, then use Oracular Vision to prevent the damage you'd take from the free strike moving away.
• Hierophant - The extra Focus and spell range is great for a spell-slinger like Severius.
• Wrack - Never say no to free Focus, especially from a one-point model.
• Menite Archon - Besides being a powerful melee beatstick, it increases the damage your opponents models will take from the Fire hazards Severius' feat will create, as well as from Ashes to Ashes. Additionally, Arcane Ward on one will boost its already substantial defenses higher.

Start the game with upkeeps in play, and have Reposition on your Choir members to keep them in a safe position. You can also take the Avatar of Menoth and Scourge of Heresy, although neither have any particular synergy with Severius 2.

• The Covenant of Menoth - Defend Severius and his battlegroup from stationary and Knockdown.
• The Living Covenant - Cast Creator's Wrath with Sevy, let the old man throw down in melee and then pull him back to safety, which is probably more hilarious than good, but it's still very funny!
• Exemplar Warder - A nice Shield Guard you can take as a requisition option. Besides being a solo that will stick around, it increases Severius' DEF in melee, making him a little safer from assassins or when you cast Creator's Might on yourself and go to town.
• Visgoth Juviah Rhoven & Honor Guard - Besides providing two tough Shield Guards, Rhoven can provide Eyeless Sight to a model. Combined with Awareness, it will allow your battlegroup to ignore virtually every visual-based impediment in the game, this is especially true for Severius and he should recieve this buff every turn from Rhoven.

Severius greatly appreciates the theme, as Hand of Vengeance provides an offensive buff for his warjacks and it has many cheap contesting models that ensure you don't lose on scenario while Sevy zaps the world and his slow jacks lumber up the board.

• Allegiant of the Order of the Fist - An independent model with high-DEF. Put Arcane Ward on one to make it even more difficult to remove.
• Initiates of the Order of the Wall - A durable unit of Shield Guards that are immune to most control effects. They're great at protecting Severius and his warjacks from shooting, blocking charge lanes, scoring zones, and dying to trigger Hand of Vengeance.
• Hand of Silence - Bring him around to collect the souls of the infantry to convert into Focus for your warjacks.
• High Paladin Dartan Vilmon - Another Shield Guard and he hands Righteous Vengeance out to fellow Paladins
• Paladin of the Order of the Wall - For some weird reason they do not have Shield Guard, but they are still excellent pieces.
• Reclaimer Gatekeeper - Giving his jacks Future Sight means they can boost after rolling, this way you might end up with leftover focus on your jacks; perfect for Oracular Vision!
• Both versions of the Covenant are in this theme, too.

A less appealing theme, where you have to give up on the Hierophant, the Wracks and the Book, but it gives you access to three character warjacks (Blood of Martyrs, Eye of Truth, Hand of Vengeance), as well as cheap jamming infantry that don't need warcaster support.

• Reclaimer Gatekeeper - Both Future Sight and Ashen Veil are very useful for Severius and his jacks.
• Hand of Silence - Fulfills the same purpose in Guardians as he does in Faithful Masses.
• Temple Flameguard - Cheap chaff infantry. Arcane Ward makes them annoying to remove for their point cost and unit size.
• Eye of Truth - An expensive warjack, but comes with plenty of tricks. Its high ARM is supplemented with Oracular Vision and Ashen Veil, while Holy Light essentially grants Blessed to all models within 5" of it. Unfortunately, Severius' Field Marshall doesn't stack with its native Oracular Vision, meaning you can only use it once per turn.

Blessed is a nice buff for the battlegroup's melee warjacks. However, as an infantry-focused theme, Severius will do little for it besides Arcane Ward on a unit. It does allow you to take Fire of Salvation with it, however.

• Fire of Salvation - Essentially a souped-up Crusader. For four extra points, you get MAT 8, SPD 5, a 3" move if any infantry were destroyed within 5" of it, and Dispel on hit, as well as Relentless Charge. If you're running Severius in Interdiction, there's really no reason not to take Fire of Salvation.
• Exemplar Warder and Rhoven- Serves the same purpose as it does in Creator's Might.

Battlegroup

File:BlessingofVengeance.jpg

Blessing of Vengeance is his pet warjack that he can take in any theme.

He normally runs a fairly large battlegroup to take advantage of Oracluar Vision, and an arc node or two. Awareness steers you towards ranged jacks, but melee heavies are able to blunt an alpha better if supported by Oracular Vision.

• Blessing of Vengeance is his pet warjack that he can take in any theme. You BG construction starts with it, because it's already extremely durable for it's point cost and Oracular Vision just adds another layer. The bond lets Severius arc with a +2/+2 buff, which makes Hex Blast very scary and Ashes to Ashes now threatens even well armored infantry on the initial hit.
• Templar - Probably the best choice for him, sitting at ARM 21 with Shield Guard (which can be used with Oracular Vision) and a higher native threat range than it's brethren.
• Reckoner - It jumps to DEF 14, ARM 19 with Ashen Veil and Arcane Ward, and brings an accuracy buff in Flare, which it can apply competently under Awareness.
• Devout - A Shield Guard on the cheap. At 7 point model should have no business being this hard to remove, but the Devout doesn't care, it's got a pope to protect!
• Redeemer - One of the best guns in the faction, so it makes great use of Awareness!

Other

Trivia

• Released in Warmachine: Legends (2008)
• This man was a warcaster on battlefield well into his 80s.
• His character is dead, killed by Hexeris in the book Godless.

Video Battle Reports

• Advanced Maneuvers, 2018.04 75 points vs Rask
• Advanced Maneuvers, 2018.04 75 points vs Issyria
• Template:VBR