Introduction
No matter how many we shot down, there always seemed to be more of them. Damn Menites don’t know when to die!” -anonymous Trencher
As the epic version of the High Reclaimer, the Testament of Menoth leaves behind his clouds of Burning Ash and slow-rolling advance to bring a super-aggressive smash-mouth style of play to the Protectorate’s game of attrition and assassination.
Strengths
Eternal Zealotry: Like the High Reclaimer, the Testament is most definitely a troop-oriented warcaster. While he doesn’t have a great number of buffs to throw about or many ways of defending his troops, he can bring the dead back for more and will benefit from their destruction in the meantime. When combined with the typical bonuses found in Protectorate forces that trigger on destroyed effects, it can make it extremely punishing for the enemy to attack his forces.
Obviously, Revive is the spell you are casting most often with the Testament. However, its not just there to keep you on top of the attrition game. Use Revive to trade off cheap troops, such as Choirs that have lost their Priests, in order to keep key units like Vengers or Zealots topped off, or to reposition newly dead troops in better positions. In extreme cases, you could even kill one or two of your own troops, like a wounded Venger, to remove them from melee and/or gain a chage lane. This is a good way to maintain your board control.
Hallowed Avenger is a great way to reap even more benefits from the destruction of your troops. Using a ranged warjack such as a Vanquisher or a reach 'jack like a Guardian or Revenger will allow you make retaliatory strikes in your opponent's turn. This move could also be beneficial for strengthening your position or setting up an attack in your next turn.
We’re in the spirit world, asshole!: Beyond Revive, Essence of Dust and Urcaen’s Gate are two of the main reasons to use the Testament. The ability to allow your forces to see and move through other models, both friendly and enemy, is what makes the Testament. But there's more to it than just running up, popping the feat and charging in willy-nilly. To begin with, you’ll want to make the most of your feat. This is where Urcaen’s Gate really comes into play. Sure, it’s a great way to get you up the field and keep you in range for Reclaiming soul tokens, but you’ll want to be sure you have that one soul you’ll need to step up into place when it comes time to pop the feat. This ability lets you keep the Testament protected in the pocket on your way in. Just make sure you leave him room to pop out when he needs to, and in the right direction. Since his CTRL area is so small, placement is key for catching all your troops.
Now that you’ve popped the feat, you need to consider how to proceed. It’s usually best to begin with ranged or magic attacks, as you’ll want to avoid having to fire into melee later. I find it’s best to do the long range stuff first, then shorter things, like zealots. Also, DON’T FORGET! The Testament’s feat DOES NOT allow you to draw LOS while shooting, only while moving. So you can’t place the deliverers way back in the back and expect them to see the target. You’ll want to bring them in on a flank, or have some lanes of fire.
Once the ranged salvo is unloaded, and assuming the enemy ‘caster is still alive, it’s time to charge in. Again, be careful in how you go about things. Knockdown effects are a great tool in assassinations and the Testament is likely to have at least a few options. Both seneschals and guardians are choices you are likely to have, and both can get an enemy ‘caster laying on its back, ripe for the picking (again, assuming they’ve survived). After making the caster prone, you can bring in the rest. It’s best to start with reach options and stay at the limits of reach so that you can bring in non-reach troops later if you must. Think of it like an onion. You’ll want to start at the outside limit of your forces and work your way in to their ‘caster’s base edge, bringing the love all the way. At some point in the process, the ‘caster will die, but it’s best to maximize your resources, in case your dice fail you or you are taking on a tough target.
The Big Holy F You: The Testament’s other strength is the Omegus. This ability means that when it comes to soul tokens, you have all the fun and you don’t have to share. This makes for some favorable matchups, especially vs Cryx. Cryx ‘casters like epic Asphyxious or Terminus, who especially benefit from gathering souls will find themselves struggling in this department. The Omegus, is also especially nice in negating epic Asphyxious’s feat, as enemy model in your CTRL are Removed From Play, which makes them ineligible for use. Here again Urcaen’s Gate can be very useful in placing the Testament in an optimal position before pressing your attack.
Weaknesses
Oath of Silence: This isn’t so much of a weakness as it used to be, but you could still end up losing out, especially if your unit leaders are getting sniped. Nothing sucks more than not being able to get your troops to charge in when you want to use your feat. As such, you’ll want to make sure you have some Commander models for back up and ensure that you protect your unit leaders especially well.
Not so up-close and personal: The Testament’s low MAT (6) for a warcaster and lack of reach mean he isn’t much of a one for melee himself. Thus you won’t often find occasion to make use of Fire or Concremation on Requiem, unless you find yourself with a load of focus from souls, and not much worth reviving.
The Reverse F You: Just as much as the Omegus can screw over soul-dependant ‘casters, RFP effects can equally screw you. Revive can’t bring back leader models, and the Testament can’t issue orders himself. And you can’t bring back any models that are Removed From Play. This means you’ll have to watch out for such effects and do your best to avoid or negate them, as they will really ruin your attrition game.
Arcane Little Fish: With only a FOC 5 and 10” CTRL, the Testament’s forces tend to be pretty bunched up. This will leave you vulnerable to AoEs. Epic Butcher will be a special nightmare in this case. It also means that Wracks can be a very dangerous choice. The small CTRL area and large number of troops leaves little space to effectively place Wracks, and even less safe ground, should one blow. Additionally, it means you have only a few spells, at least one, if not 2-3 of which are of little to no use.
Ashen Veil and Soulstorm are the two less-than-optimal spells that are occasionally useful. Though Ashen Veil can help to protect a frontline unit like Temple Flameguard, it's a small protection at best. Soulstorm and Terror are handy for anti-troop measures on the Testament himself, but if you find the need for them, things are probably going badly to begin with. You'll also want to be careful not to upkeep too many spells, as that focus could probably be much more effective Reviving troops, or even acting as extra ARM.
Dust to Dust is a spell you should rarely cast, if at all. While it may seem tempting, at 3 focus, this spell is a big investment. The ability to attack wraith models is a red herring. With a 5 FOC you will almost certainly have to boost the attack roll, making this a 4 focus spell. For that investment you could upkeep Ashen Veil or Hallowed Avenger as well as cast Revive once. The Removed From Play effect is nice, but the smoke cloud effect could easily be detrimental, making this spell highly situational at best. If you do find yourself wanting to cast it, ask yourself if your plan might not be better served by investing that focus elsewhere first.
Army Composition
A troop-heavy list is certainly a way to go here, but efficient warjacks can also be quite powerful in a Testament list. When Infused warjacks barrel through models and rough terrain without even slowing, bad things happen to enemy models. Models that have the Commander ability or grant other models fearlessness are also a key consideration due to the Oath of Silence rule. Thus, you will want to build a force that capitalizes on the Testament's troop-recycling abilities and ethereal delivery system, supplimented with a few key solos and supported by a few warjacks.
Light Warjacks: A Devout is always a good choice with a ‘caster. Just be careful with your Urcaen’s Gate moves to keep the Testament in a position to benefit from his Devout.
The Revenger, with its relatively fast (for the Protectorate) SPD5 and reach combined with Powerful Charge is not a bad choice for use with your feat. You won't get much milage out of the arc node, but this durable light could also be a back-up target for Hallowed Avenger, due to its reach and the likelyhood of it being upfield and in the thick of it.
Heavy Warjacks: When it comes to Hallowed Avenger, a Vanquisher is always a good option. Its AoE shot and general effectiveness with little or no focus means it can make great use of the free move and attack to get in range and blast away with a 4” AoE.
Since the Testament is so low-focus, the Avatar is a solid choice for jacks. It won’t benefit directly from the Testament, but it can be a solid flanking choice as its operating outside of your CTRL won’t matter much. It’s also useful for pinning ‘casters in place with Gaze of Menoth, in preparation for Essence of Dust.
The Guardian is also a good choice with its reach weapons and critical pitch, as well as for its banners. Like the seneschals, it will help you keep troops in line on the way in and is useful in the feat.
Troops: Aside from the obvious Zealot unit and full Vengers, you might want to consider the Temple Flameguard with their Unit Attachment. Like most Protectorate troops, the TFG are reasonably cheap and plentiful, which mean lots of souls for you. The UA helps by making them pretty tough to deal with and Fearless, which offsets your Oath of Silence. Drop Ashen Veil on the TFG during Iron Zeal and you can have up to DEF15 ARM22 vs ranged and magic attacks, and DEF17 ARM22 vs charge attacks. Their Ranked Attack ability is also ideal for use with Essence of Dust.
A unit of Deliverers is not a bad choice for the Testament. Melee options and zealots are likely to be a primary choice, but having a few extra AoEs to help clear out the chaff is always handy. Though the feat will let you move through those enemy models, it is still beneficial to clear as much space as possible, leaving more room for you to fit your own bodies in.
Both Vengers and Exemplars Errant can help you out in the anti-wraith department. You’ll want to be careful if you opt for Errants though, their AD ability means they're less likely to be in your CTRL area, at least to start. It means less souls for you and possibly more for the enemy. Since soul denial is one of your strengths, you might want to seriously consider this before choosing Errants.
If you include any warjacks, the Choir will of course be a serious option. Unlike the High Reclaimer, though, there's no particular benefit to loading up on excess Choir, unless you like wasting attacks killing your own troops to gain soul tokens. This is not advised, as the enemy will likely be doing this well enough for you. Taking a back-up Choir is of course handy, but it would not be wise to waste the points and extra VPs just for a handful of extra souls.
Solos: One solo that is practically an auto-include is a Seneschal or two. The Commander ability will be important in case you lose unit leaders. Seneschals will also benefit from the deaths of troops, increasing their P+S and ARM. This plus their high MAT and chain attack Smite make them great choices with the Testament, as they are highly useful with Essence of Dust and can keep units running on the way in, despite the loss of Leader models.
Vilmon is another Commander model, and will also be a great choice. In addition to being able to command the troops, he can use Impervious Wall to be almost untouchable and reach coupled with Flying Steel makes him a great melee threat for the feat. Impel can also help your Seneschals in landing their chain attack, or other melee troops in assassinating the enemy 'caster.
Mercs: With so many troops, the Piper of Ord is an auto-include here. Zealots, TFG, Vengers - they can all benefit from the Piper's tunes. There's no reason not to have him.
As you are likely low on warjacks and are playing the assassination game, Eiryss can be extremely beneficial. Aside from using the Disruptor Bolt to strip focus from the enemy caster, she can use her Death Bolt to put the last few points on a model you need gone or use her Phantom Seeker Bolt on enemy Leader models.
Also in the assassination bag, Gorman Di Wulfe is useful both for his Smoke Bombs to screen off the Testament early on and for Black Oil, which is always handy in an assassination attempt.
Whatever your choices, just be sure to note that your Mercs won't be getting or giving any benefits from the Protectorate synergy.
Summary
The Testament of Menoth, like many epics, plays very much the reverse of his original version. Where the High Reclaimer was a slow-rolling denial ‘caster, the Testament is a high-speed wrecking ball. His Low FOC and assassination-oriented feat means he is not ideal for scenario play or overall board control, but he does excel at presenting a neigh-unstoppable ‘caster-kill threat. Setting up a solid, layered wall of troops and pressing in hard and fast in a tight knot is one of the best ways to take advantage of the Testament's strengths, but it can also be a great weakness. Use tough and expendable troops like TFG and zealots with their UA's to take point, and follow with Seneschals, Vilmon and Vengers to maintain control and press the assassination run from the back ranks.
ToM is a tough caster that can play the attrition game well and demands his opponents to think carefully to plan both their offence and defence. If you have anything to add to this summary please drop by the forums and post Here.
