Why'd You Pick That? Temple Flameguard

Ahh.  Blogging.  I remember being able to post once every day or two.  Those were the days.  Nonetheless, it feels good to be on the laptop typing away again.  I'm hoping to put some more content down in the near future starting today.

I've been thinking a lot lately, with 6th edition 40k imminent, about how Warmahordes has achieved a startling semblance of balance.  Most factions not only have lots of good units, but in most instances, the factions contain nothing but useful units even though some have less overt uses than others.  So, I thought it would be cool if I took a look at the reasons why I have chosen the Menoth units that I have.  I don't have them all, but I tried to purchase models according to their usefulness (at least perceived on my part) and how I could use them in my armies. Thus, today I will start with the lowly Temple Flameguard and their UA.

My Temple Flameguard with UA

Temple Flameguard are nothing special to look at.  They boast decent speed, decent MAT, and somewhat decent DEF and ARM.  Their spears are P+S 10, so they will damage infantry if the unit hits, but nothing special after that.  Temple Flameguard really shine to me through their rules and the inclusion of the UA. 

First of all, Temple Flameguard have the Shield Wall order.  This is an excellent rule that allows Flameguard to buddy up and receive a +4 Arm bonus.  This makes Flameguard a right pain to get rid of.  In terms of synergy, if you take pSevvy of pKreoss (and Vindictus, I think), you can drop Defender's Ward on them giving them an really good DEF/ARM rating (15/19).  This makes Temple Flameguard an excellent pressure piece in an army.  They can hold a piece of terrain or move down a flank advancing in shield wall and force your opponent to handle them or get flanked. 

Second, Flameguard have combined melee attack (CMA).  This allows them to buddy up for a combined attack in which each additional model in the attack grants a +1 to MAT and the strength of the attack.  This means that a full unit of Flameguard can even do damage to 'jacks or beasts.  They can also pose a threat to warcasters/warlocks if they can get close. 

Third, they have set defense which makes charges, slams, and impact attacks harder to land on them. 

Finally, a fully unit of 10 models is only a paltry 6 points to bring to the game. 

But they don't stop there.  I personally think that if you are going to take Flameguard you need to auto-include their UA.  The UA includes an officer (increased MAT and CMD and 5 boxes) and a standard bearer.  These two models bring some amazing tools to the game with your Flameguard.

First, the UA grants two full time effects, Ranked Attacks and Menoth's Howl.  Ranked Attacks grants you the ability to allow FF models to gain LOS through the unit.  This makes Flameguard a great vanguard unit for a Reckoner.  They can line up in front of the Reckoner allowing it to use its reach weapon across them while they benefit from it's Ashen Veil effect. Awesome.  Menoth's Howl is a great ability.  It grants Terror and gives their spears the Fire continuous effect.  This just makes Flameguard more dangerous.  If they don't end up killing models, the fire will. 

Lastly, the Flameguard UA gives the unit a one time mini-feat called Iron Zeal.  For one round, it grants +4 ARM and prevents stationary and knockdown.  So, if you are in shield wall and have defender's ward up, you can have a possible DEF15/ARM23.  A great tactic for the mini-feat is to jam your flameguard forward and mini-feat causing your opponent to have no choice but to allocate lots of attacks to dealing with the unit when in most cases they won't hit or won't scratch them.  Then, in subsequent turns, the flameguard can move to a flank and allow a second wave of attackers to advance to trash anything in front of them. 

The UA costs an additional 2 points yielding a 12-man unit that costs 8 points and will pose a real problem for many armies.  They are the ultimate speed bump/meat shield unit and even possess the ability to do a little damage back instead of just taking punches. 

So, if you haven't figured out, Flameguard work really well with pSevvy and pKreoss for their ability to synergize with Defender's Ward.  They also work well in an eFeora list due to their ability to set stuff on fire.  Overall, they present a great middle ground infantry unit for Menoth. They aren't as elite and dangerous as the Exemplar units or Daughters, but they are stronger and provide better staying power than Zealots or Deliverers.  Ultimately, Flameguard will see quite a bit of play in my lists, especially when I get around to playing in some 2 list tournaments. 

I'm looking to do several of these articles.  Hopefully, next I will take a look at a few of the 'jacks I have.  Thanks for reading. 

Other Menoth articles of Interest:
Warmachine the Way I See It: Warcaster Study, Grand Scrutator Severius
Finally, pKreoss is Ready to Fight
Menoth Bastions Model Review