Choir of Menoth

99% of this website is about Mark 3 (mk3), which is the previous edition of the game (2016 to 2022). The reasons for this are explained here. 1% of the website is about Mark 4 (mk4), but only in regards to which mk3 models are useable in mk4 Prime and which are mk4 Unlimited. See Legacy Armies for more detail.

Choir of Menoth Protectorate Unit

Prime This model is available in one Prime Army, Final Interdiction. 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.

The quiet song, a hymn to the glory of Menoth, began to rise in volume as more priests joined in. The great Protectorate warjacks thundering ahead of their warcaster seemed to be strengthened by the song and responded with a tune of their own, as their weapons came crashing down on the enemies of Menoth.

Basic Info

Choir of Menoth
Missing Info
	COST {{{cacost}}} UNIT SIZE {{{casize}}} FA {{{cafa}}} Warcaster 0 BASE Small SPD 6 STR 4 MAT 4 RAT N/A M.A. N/A DEF 12 ARM 12 CMD 6 ESSENCE {{{essence}}} FOCUS N/A FURY N/A THRS N/A HP 1 F. Field N/A WJP {{{wjp}}} WBP {{{wbp}}} IHP {{{ihp}}} FA 3 UNIT SIZE 4 or 6 COST 4 or 6 1 pt each N/A N/A Warcaster 1 COST N/A N/A Understanding the Statblock

Abilities

• Hymn - RNG 3. Target friendly Faction warjack. When a model in this unit performs a Hymn special action, choose a hymn. Each activation, all models in this unit performing a hymn must perform the same one. If the target warjack is in range, it is affected by the hymn. A warjack can only be affected by one hymn at any time.
  • Hymn of Battle (★ Action) - The warjack gains +2 to damage rolls. Battle lasts for one turn.
  • Hymn of Passage (★ Action) - The warjack cannot be targeted by non-magical ranged attacks. Passage lasts for one round.
  • Hymn of Shielding (★ Action) - The warjack cannot be targeted by enemy spells. Shielding lasts for one round.

Weapons

• Battle Staff - 2" reach, P+S 6 melee weapon

Theme Forces

• Protectorate
  • Guardians of the Temple
  • Exemplar Interdiction
  • The Creator's Might. They gain Reposition [3] in this theme.
  • The Faithful Masses
  • Warriors of the Old Faith

• Other Factions
  • Infernal players can take this unit in the Hearts of Darkness theme, but only if Feora is leading the army.
  • Khador players can take this unit in the Warriors of the Old Faith theme.
  • Mercenary players can take this unit in the Llaelese Resistance theme. They become Llaelese models and gain Pathfinder in this theme.

Thoughts on Choir of Menoth

Choir of Menoth in a nutshell

Choir of Menoth is the iconic support piece of the Menoth faction. While Following its army's Warmachines closely the choir has a very well rounded utility belt of songs to sing for every occasion. Passage and shielding help keep the jacks healthy while they move up the table and Battle ramps up the damage when they finally connect. Almost every Menoth army list with 3 or more jacks would be hard pressed to find reasons not to include it.

For New Players

The order of operations for Choir is often a source of confusion for new Menites. Basically, it boils down to:

1. Activate the unit. Choose whether you're issuing a charge order, run order, or no order at all so that you can sing hymns instead. (Hint: You should be singing)
2. All members now advance.
3. Choose one hymn.
4. All members now apply their hymn to a nearby warjack. Each member can apply the hymn to a different warjack (but it's the same hymn each time).
5. If one or more of the choir don't have a warjack to sing at, they can alternatively make a normal melee attack. (Hint: You should not be in melee)

Remember that all Choir members must sing the same hymn, that hymns do not stack, and that all the Choir need to stay in formation in order to sing.

Combos & Synergies

• Choir of Menoth synergies with every single jack in the faction very well. Ranged or melee, defensive or offensive, battlegroup or not, no jack does not benefit from a nearby choir member humming the right tune.
• In a pinch the Choir is an excellent source or souls for the many models that use them, or for The High Reclaimer's Sacrificial Lamb

Drawbacks & Downsides

• Complete victims that absolutely will die when something decides to kill them.
• With the increased size of battlegroups in mk3, they are even more useful to the Menoth player ... and subsequently and even higher priority target for your opponent.
• Small CMD bubble can make it hard to Hymn all the jacks you want to every turn.

Tricks & Tips

• Consider your order of operations very carefully. A mistake could easily lead to your jacks running in without the benefit of Battle, or too far forward without Passage.
• If you spread your choir too far apart to cover more jacks, you're just asking your opponent to snipe out the Leader in the middle and putting half the choir out of formation next round.
• If you have the points available, consider using two min units instead of one max unit. This allows for greater flexibility of where you can send your 'jacks.
• Battle applies after blast damage is halved. This means a POW X shot with Battle would be blast damage [X/2] + 2
• Activation order
• On turn one, or when moving defensively, move the jacks first then follow with Choir to sing Passage or Shielding (whichever is more appropriate vs your opponent). The point is to get the jacks in front of the choir to help block LOS to.
• When it's time for offense, activate the Choir first, advance somewhere you won't be in the way (which shouldn't be too hard if you're already behind your jacks) and sing Battle. Bonus points if you're behind cover. The point is to get the buff on as many jacks as possible before they activate.
• While in no way should these guys get in a fight, do not forget that they have a 2" reach for free strikes. They suck, but dice do happen, and I've had a choir member get a free strike and kill a grunt as it tried to scoot by.

Other

Trivia

• Released in Warmachine: Prime (2003) the

Rules Clarifications

Rules Clarification : Hymn      (Edit) A warjack will be affected by the first hymn sang at it. If a second one is sung, it will not overwrite the first one. (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Hymn of Battle      (Edit) Battle adds to the damage roll, not the weapon stats. So, for instance, with an AOE blast damage you halve the POW then add the Battle bonus.

Rules Clarification : Hymn of Passage      (Edit) If a ranged attack has Damage Type: Magical it will ignore Passage. (Infernal Ruling) In other words, "can't be targeted by non-magical ranged attacks" means "can't be targeted by ranged attacks, unless they have Damage Type: Magical". Spells always ignore Passage, because spells are not ranged attacks.

Rules Clarification : Hymn of Shielding - None yet. (Edit)