Bane Lord Tartarus

Bane Lord Tartarus Cryx Bane Solo

Prime This model is available in one Prime Army, Dark Host. It can also be used in the Unlimited game mode. You can view the other Mk3 models that made it into a Legacy Army at this page. Note that the rest of this page is about the model's Mark III rules.

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

Bane Lord Tartarus
Missing Info
	COST {{{cacost}}} UNIT SIZE {{{casize}}} FA {{{cafa}}} Warcaster 0 BASE Medium SPD 5 STR 7 MAT 8 RAT N/A M.A. N/A DEF 12 ARM 17 CMD 9 ESSENCE {{{essence}}} FOCUS N/A FURY N/A THRS N/A HP 8 F. Field N/A WJP {{{wjp}}} WBP {{{wbp}}} IHP {{{ihp}}} FA C UNIT SIZE N/A COST 5 N/A N/A N/A Warcaster 1 COST N/A N/A Understanding the Statblock

Abilities

• Stealth
• Undead
• Dark Shroud - While in this model's melee range, enemy models suffer -2 ARM.
• Veteran Leader [ Bane ] - While in this model's command range, other friendly Bane models gain +1 to attack rolls.
• Ghostly - This model can advance through terrain and obstacles without penalty and can advance through obstructions if it has enough movement to move completely past them. It cannot be targeted by free strikes.
• Rapid Strike - This model can make one additional melee attack each Combat Action.

Weapons

• Rivener - 2" reach, P+S 12 melee weapon
  • Weapon Master
  • Death Toll [ Small-based Bane ] - When this weapon boxes a living enemy warrior model during this model's Combat Action, RFP that model and add to play one Grunt to a friendly small-based Bane unit in this model's command range. Place the Grunt in formation and in this model's command range. The Grunt must forfeit its Combat Action the turn it is put into play.

Theme Forces

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

• Other Factions
  • Infernal players can use this model in the 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

Other Cyrx models

Cryx Index       (Edit)
Battlegroup & Similar
Warcasters	Agathia - Aiakos2 - Asphyxious1 - Asphyxious2 - Asphyxious3 - Coven - Deathjack2 - Deneghra1 - Deneghra2 - Deneghra3 - Goreshade1 - Goreshade2 - Goreshade3 - Mortenebra1 - Mortenebra2 - Rahera - Scaverous - Skarre1 - Skarre2 - Skarre3 - Sturgis2 - Terminus - Venethrax
Warcaster attachments	The Withershadow Combine - Satyxis Blood Priestess - Skarlock Thrall - Doctor Stygius (Partisan) - Madelyn Corbeau (Mercenary)
Other Warjack Controllers	Jack Marshals: Iron Lich Overseer       "Junior Warcasters": Aiakos1 - Asphyxious4 - Deneghra0
Light	Cankerworm - Deathripper - Defiler - Helldiver - Nightwretch - Ripjaw - Scavenger - Shrike - Stalker
Heavy	Barathrum - Corruptor - Deathjack1 - Desecrator - Erebus - Harrower - Kharybdis - Inflictor - Leviathan - Malice - Nightmare - Reaper - Seether - Slayer
Colossal	Kraken - Sepulcher
Units, Solos, Battle Engines, & Structures
Units	Asphyxious4 - Bane Knights - Bane Riders - Bane Warriors - Bile Thralls - BO Boarding Party - BO Ironmongers - BO Smog Belchers - Blackbane's Ghost Raiders - Bloodgorgers - Marauders - Carrion Thralls - Cephalyx Drudges - Cephalyx Overlords - Mechanithralls - Necrosurgeon - Revenant Cannon - Revenant Crew - Satyxis Gunslingers - Satyxis Blood Witches - Satyxis Raiders - Scharde Dirge Seers - Scharde Pirates - Soulhunters - The Devil's Shadow Mutineers - The Withershadow Combine
Solos	Aiakos1 - Agrimony - Axiara - Bane Lord Tartarus - Bloat Thrall - BTO Mobius - Captain Rengrave - Darragh Wrathe - Doctor Stygius - Deneghra0 - Gerlak - Hellslinger - Iron Lich Overseer - Machine Wraith - Master Gurglepox - Misery Cage - Necrotech - Ol' Grim - Pistol Wraith - Satyxis Blood Priestess - Satyxis Raider Captain - Scrap Thrall - Skarlock Thrall - Severa Blacktide - Soul Trapper - Warwitch Siren
Battle Engines & Structures	Wraith Engine
Theme Forces
Black Industries - Dark Host - The Ghost Fleet - Scourge of the Broken Coast
Mercenaries
Refer to Who Works for Whom and/or Category: Cryx Mercenary
This index was last updated: 2021.11

Rules Clarifications

Rules Clarification : Weapon Master - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Death Toll and/or Repurpose     (Edit) You can trigger the RFP even if there is no valid unit for you to add a Grunt to. (Infernal Ruling) At least one model from the unit must be in your CMD range, as well as the Grunt you spawn. There is no limit to how many models you can create simultaneously. For instance, if you have Death Toll on an AOE weapon, then you can create one Grunt for each model killed in the AOE. You don't need LOS to the model(s) you spawn. Return/Add to Play - Typical (Edit) If you're returning/adding multiple models simultaneously, they are placed sequentially. Often this will let you leapfrog the "within 3" of [x]" requirement. If you're adding models to a unit, then typically there is no limit and you can go over the unit's starting size. However, some abilities do have a limit (such as Stir the Dead) If you're returning models to a unit, then you're limited by how many there are in the "dead but not removed from play" pile.     (See Add, Return, and Remove From Play for further detail.) If you're adding more models than you started with, then in a Tournament you must physically own the correct models - proxies are not allowed in tournaments. (Locked thread) Return/Add to Play - Other Units (Edit) "Return to Play" and "Add to Play" are quite simple if you only return models to your own unit (like Blood-Bound) or only return independent models (like Thagrosh1's feat). But if you're returning/adding models to other units, then click to read more.   [Show/Hide] If you can return multiple troopers at once, they don't all have to be the same unit. Spread the love around. Troopers must return to their original unit. Even if you have two units of the same type (such as two units of Convergence Eradicators) then you can't have 4 die from unit [A] and return them all to unit [B]. If your rule is something like "return d3 models to units within CMD range" (Old Witch3) then it is d3 models total, not d3 models to each and every unit. If your rule is something like "spend 1 soul to return 1 Grunt" (Enigma Foundry) then it doesn't matter where the souls came from originally. Think of them like currency, in this case. You can Return models even after a unit is reduced to just Attachments (Weapon or Command) If your Return ability lets you return a Leader or Officer model, then they will immediately become the unit commander and redefine the "in formation" bubble. If your Return ability only allows Grunts, then the Grunt will not be field promoted when he arrives. This means that, in the unusual scenario where the Leader model has different wargear to the Grunts (such as Cygnar Stormguard), then that wargear is effectively 'lost'.

Rules Clarification : Stealth      (Edit) Stealth models are not invisible and you can target them - you'll just auto-miss most of the time. You can target them with a charge. You can target them with an AOE, have it auto-miss and scatter, luckily land on top of them anyway, and that will hit them.

Rules Clarification : Undead - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Dark Shroud      (Edit) Dark Shroud only applies to your melee range, and this doesn't include behind you. Refer to the latest errata. The ARM debuff still applies during a free strike.

Rules Clarification : Ghostly      (Edit) Ghostly doesn't let you move through other models, just terrain. Ghostly doesn't let you ignore damage from hazardous terrain. (Infernal Ruling) Ghostly ignores Windswept terrain penalties. A model with both Flight and Ghostly will move through Windswept terrain at full speed. (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Rapid Strike - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Veteran Leader      (Edit) Veteran Leaders don't give themselves the buff, because of the "other models within ..." clause. However, if you have two models giving out the buff, then they can give it to each other. (Locked thread) If a model can get Veteran Leader from two sources (such as Vet Leader [Winterguard] simultaneous with Vet Leader [Assault Kommandos]) then the benefit does not stack. (Infernal Ruling) Some versions say "friendly" and some don't. Regardless, Veteran Leader only buffs friendly models. (Infernal Ruling)