Holy Zealots

Holy Zealots Protectorate Zealot Unit Monolith Bearer Command Attachment

In years when the Protectorate pretended not to possess a standing army, no able-bodied Menite would refuse a call to arms, and the faithful continue to join the crusade even now that the need for secrecy has passed. Armed with their unshakable belief and devastating firebombs, these holy zealots are spurred to combat by a battle priest that girds them with prayers to the Lawgiver.

When the call to battle sounds, those who are most devout carry into battle a massive stone menofix as a signal to the unbeliever of the power of their deity. Only the purity of their devotion gives them the strength to lift these mighty symbols, and it is this demonstration of the power of faith that inspires their fellow devotees to more extreme expressions of their faith.

Basic Info

Holy Zealots
Missing Info
	COST {{{cacost}}} UNIT SIZE {{{casize}}} FA {{{cafa}}} Warcaster 0 BASE Small SPD 6 STR MAT 5 RAT 5 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 UNIT SIZE 6 / 10 +1 CA COST 7 / 12 +3 CA 1.35 each N/A N/A Warcaster 1 COST N/A N/A Understanding the Statblock

Abilities

• Leader & Grunts
  • Prayers - {{{1}}} can use one of the following prayers at any time durimg each of its unit's activations. Each model in the unit gains the benefits listed.
    • Fervor - Affected models gain +2 to damage rolls this activation.
    • Path of Flames - Affected models gain Immunity: Fire and an additional die on their attack rolls with weapons with Damage Type: Fire for one round. For each of those attack rolls, you choose one die to be discarded. Models are not affected while out of formation.
    • Warding - Affected models cannot be targeted by enemy spells for one round. Models are not affected while out of formation.

• Monolith Bearer (CA)
  • He has +2 CMD, +2 STR, and 5 hitpoints
  • Officer
  • Greater Destiny [ Minifeat ] - This model can use Greater Destiny once per game at the start of its unit's activation. Immediately return to play all models to this unit that were destroyed during your opponent's last turn. Place them completely within 3" of this model.
  • Holy Monolith - When one or more other models in this unit are destroyed by an enemy attack, after the attack is resolved models in this unit gain +4 ARM for one turn. Models are not affected while out of formation.
  • Sacrificial Pawn [ Holy Zealots ] - When this model is directly hit by an enemy ranged attack, you can have one friendly, non-incorporeal {{{2}}} within 3" of it directly hit instead. That model is automatically hit and suffers all damage and effects. The Sacrificial Pawn special rule can only trigger once per attack roll.

Weapons

• Leader & Grunts
  • Fire Bomb - 6" range, 3" AOE, POW 12 ranged attack.
    • Damage Type: Fire
    • Critical Continuous Fire
  • Mace - 0.5" reach, P+S 7 melee weapon.

• Monolith Bearer (CA)
  • Mace - 0.5" reach, P+S 9 melee weapon. It's the same mace, he's just stronger.

Theme Forces

• Protectorate
  • The Faithful Masses

• Other Factions
  • Infernal players can use them in the Hearts of Darkness theme, but only if Feora is leading the army.
  • Mercenary players can use them in the Llaelese Resistance theme. They become Llaelese and gain Pathfinder in this theme.

Recent Changes

No changes since 2017.11

Thoughts on the Holy Zealots

Command Attachment

Holy Zealots in a Nutshell

Zealots are cheap bomb throwing cannon fodder for jamming the enemy and setting them on fire. Cheap, and with the Monolith Bearer they return from the dead.

Thoughts on adding the CA

The Monolith Bearer costs slightly more than two zealots - if you can return two from Greater Destiny it's definitely worth it for that and the Holy Monolith ability. And on average you should be able to. Just keep it safe.

Combos & Synergies

• Testament of Menoth & Sanctifier - Greater Destiny? Harvest souls twice!
• Vice Scrutator Vindictus - Death Toll & Call to Sacrifice: An excellent infantry brick caster. Can tank wounds for him and any kills Vindictus makes replenishes their numbers. Penitence, True Path and his feat are excellent for them as well. Defender's Ward can turn a recurring unit of Zealots into a nightmare of a tar pit (especially if you bring Rhupert Carvolo as well to give them tough).
• Malekus, The Burning Truth - Malekus likes anything that does fire damage for his feat turn, path of flames means you can jam with zealots and then lob fiery death into the scrum without bothering them at all. Fire bombs rolling 3d6 damage, and crit fires that can't go out, both make this unit potentially really strong with Malekus.
• Flameguard Cleansers - Path of flames, run zealots into position, aim sprays at zealots to get optimal template coverage.
• Hand of Judgement - An additional +2 to Fire damage rolls within 5" of the big guy means that they can hit above their weight class and any crit fire that doesn't go out is going to hurt. They can also crit fire to give the big guy free charges. As a plus, the latter two of the three Feora's help these guys or they help her in some way.

Drawbacks and Downsides

• Low DEF, vulnerable to blast damage (especially before the Monolith has triggered), not terribly hard hitting, and not that accurate. Zealots are cheap models with a ranged attack and you get what you pay for.
• Focusing firebombs on a single heavy can end up doing serious damage...or nothing at all.

Tricks & Tips

• Don't worry about missing with the fire bombs - the bombs are going to land somewhere
• Defender's Ward is surprising effective on Zealots, giving them DEF 14 and ARM 14. Whenever one is killed and triggers Holy Monolith, they become DEF 14, ARM 18!
• Keep in mind the Monolith Bearer's Sacrificial Pawn ability, along with five health boxes, this gives him some resilience to ranged attacks. Remember that AOE attacks that directly hit the Monolith Bearer will have the center of the AOE moved to the the Zealot you choose within 3".
• Take a Reckoner for the Flare, he can target other heavies over the Zealot's heads, and will make them effectively RAT 7, meaning that they will be able hit much more consistently.
• If you haven't used Greater Destiny yet, make sure to put the Zealots that die during a single round in a seperate pile from your actual dead pile.
  Then after the unit has activated and if you didn't use your mini-feat, shove them into the actual dead pile and start a new pile for the next round.

Other

Trivia

• Released way back in Warmachine: Prime (2003)

Rules Clarifications

Rules Clarification : Fire      (Edit) If you deploy in fire hazard terrain (Burning Earth), then you get set on fire before the game starts. Deploying a model in a hazard counts as being "put into play" in the hazard. Being put into play counts as "entering". When you enter a hazard, you trigger the hazard. Moving into "Shallow water" standard terrain does not cause continuous fire to expire. It's magic fire. You can always use non-standard terrain if you agree with your opponent before the game starts, however. A weapon can inflict continuous fire without itself being a fire damage weapon (for example, the Helios's fists). In this case, the attack can hurt models with Immunity:Fire it just won't apply the continuous effect. In terms of which player's clock is running down during the Maintenance Phase: The active player will roll for expiration of all the continuous effects. Then the inactive player will roll for all the damages of the continuous effects. (Judge Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Prayers and/or Follow the Leader and/or Tactical Flexibility and/or Witchcraft     (Edit) All models get the benefit, regardless of whether they're in formation or not. Sometimes this rule is put on the whole unit, and yet specifically mentions "the Leader model" as the one that uses the ability (for instance the Gatorman Posse). As a result, if the Leader gets RFP'd you can't use the ability. See Unique Leader Model for a fuller explanation. Restrictions on "Any Time" abilities     (Edit)         [Show/Hide] "Any Time" abilities can be used at any time during a model/unit's activation, except: Before any compulsory forfeiture of movement/action. See step 2 of the activation sequence, appendix A. After the model with the "Any Time" ability has had their activation end "prematurely". By this I mean you resolved something which includes the phrase "its activation ends". Examples include: Running, failing a charge, or failing a slam. Abilities that include "then its activation ends" (such as Reposition and Teleport). In between declaring your charge target and making your charge movement. (Infernal Ruling) In between completing your charge movement and determining whether it was a successful charge. (Infernal Ruling) When you're in the middle of moving. (Note: Impact Attacks count as being in the middle of movement). When you're in the middle of an attack. Which also includes effects that occur "after the attack is resolved". (Although the attack is "resolved" at Step 11, in terms of using an "Any Time" ability the attack is not "finished" until after Step 14. Refer to the first paragraph of Apdx A.) Your opponent interrupted your activation to trigger one of their own abilities (such as Countercharge). Warcasters/warlocks/etc can normally cast a spell or use their feat "At any time". However, there is a core rule saying they cannot do so on the same activation that they run. So, they are subject to all the same restrictions listed above, plus they can't cast/feat before running. Units: See below. In general you can use "Any Time" abilities while you're knocked down or stationary (except Spells and Feats which specify you can't). If you have a gun with a random ROF, you can use an "Any Time" ability inbetween rolling the number of shots and actually making the first attack. (Infernal Ruling) Units with "Any Time" abilities You cannot use an "Any Time" ability before issuing/receiving orders. See step 1 and 2 of the activation sequence, appendix A. A model in a unit can't use an "Any Time" ability after they run (Infernal Ruling) or fail a charge. Because that makes that specific model's activation to end even though the unit's activation is still ongoing, and you can't use abilities on models that are not active. You can use an "Any Time" ability before running, however. A model in a unit can't use an "Any Time" ability after anyone in the unit has begun a Reposition move. (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Fervor - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Path of Flames      (Edit) Discard Die (Edit) If you're discarding lowest or highest, you have to discard even if you want it for a critical hit. For instance: if you discard "the lowest die", need 6+ to hit, and roll a 3, 3, and a 4 ... then you must discard one of the 3s, and you'll end up with a non-critical hit with the 3 + 4.

Rules Clarification : Warding      (Edit) Models can still be affected by spells that target someone else, such as AOEs and sprays.

Rules Clarification : Officer      (Edit) Even if they're not on the Officer's card, an Officer can give (and benefit from) any non-standard orders that are on the unit's card (such as Shield Wall). Refer main rulebook. A Ranking Officer can't do this, though. When the Officer dies, the Leader model becomes the new Unit Commander (you don't get to choose). But if your unit doesn't include a Leader model, then you do get to choose any of the remaining models to be the new Unit Commander. You don't swap the model, but it may be worth putting a token down so you can tell that grunt apart.

Rules Clarification : Greater Destiny      (Edit) Restrictions on "Any Time" abilities     (Edit)         [Show/Hide] "Any Time" abilities can be used at any time during a model/unit's activation, except: Before any compulsory forfeiture of movement/action. See step 2 of the activation sequence, appendix A. After the model with the "Any Time" ability has had their activation end "prematurely". By this I mean you resolved something which includes the phrase "its activation ends". Examples include: Running, failing a charge, or failing a slam. Abilities that include "then its activation ends" (such as Reposition and Teleport). In between declaring your charge target and making your charge movement. (Infernal Ruling) In between completing your charge movement and determining whether it was a successful charge. (Infernal Ruling) When you're in the middle of moving. (Note: Impact Attacks count as being in the middle of movement). When you're in the middle of an attack. Which also includes effects that occur "after the attack is resolved". (Although the attack is "resolved" at Step 11, in terms of using an "Any Time" ability the attack is not "finished" until after Step 14. Refer to the first paragraph of Apdx A.) Your opponent interrupted your activation to trigger one of their own abilities (such as Countercharge). Warcasters/warlocks/etc can normally cast a spell or use their feat "At any time". However, there is a core rule saying they cannot do so on the same activation that they run. So, they are subject to all the same restrictions listed above, plus they can't cast/feat before running. Units: See below. In general you can use "Any Time" abilities while you're knocked down or stationary (except Spells and Feats which specify you can't). If you have a gun with a random ROF, you can use an "Any Time" ability inbetween rolling the number of shots and actually making the first attack. (Infernal Ruling) Units with "Any Time" abilities You cannot use an "Any Time" ability before issuing/receiving orders. See step 1 and 2 of the activation sequence, appendix A. A model in a unit can't use an "Any Time" ability after they run (Infernal Ruling) or fail a charge. Because that makes that specific model's activation to end even though the unit's activation is still ongoing, and you can't use abilities on models that are not active. You can use an "Any Time" ability before running, however. A model in a unit can't use an "Any Time" ability after anyone in the unit has begun a Reposition move. (Infernal Ruling) Return to Play - Own Unit (Edit) If you have a model that can return models to its own unit during its own activation (such as Bane Warriors or Blood-Bound) then: Models returned "at any time" (Bane Warriors) do not benefit from any orders issued to the unit. Orders need to be issued first, before using an "Any Time" ability. Orders cannot affect models not on the table. Models returned elsewhen during the activation (Blood-Bound) do not benefit from any orders issued to the unit for the same logic. (Infernal Ruling) If anyone in the unit has attacked, then the returned models can't use their Normal Movement. If no one has attacked, then they can. (Locked thread)

Rules Clarification : Holy Monolith - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification:  : Sacrificial Pawn and/or Sucker! and/or Grim Salvation     (Edit) (Click Expand to read)

Differences Sacrificial Pawn is optional. Grim Salvation and Sucker are not optional. Grim Salvation only works vs basic attacks, not special attacks, power attacks, chain attacks. Spells are not basic attacks, because they are not "made with a weapon". (Infernal Ruling) CRA and CMA are basic attacks. (Infernal Ruling) If a Special Attack generates an additional attack (such as Multi-Fire), the second attack will be basic and as such can have Grim Salvation used vs it. (Infernal Ruling) Sacrificial Pawn & Sucker! don't work against melee attacks. None of them work vs magic attacks (spells). All of them work against Magical Ranged attacks, though. The model the attack is transferred to is always hit, even if they have an ability that makes them automatically get missed (such as Stealth). Automatically missing is determined earlier in the timing sequence than when the attack is moved. (Infernal Ruling) From here down, the terms Sacrificial Pawn, Grim Salvation, and Sucker! are interchangeable Using Sac Pawn moves all damage and effects onto the other model. Including stuff that triggers "on hit" (such as Blind) (even though the Pawn kinda wasn't "hit"). (Infernal Ruling) Because the other model counts as the one "hit", it can break a Chain Attack. (Infernal Ruling) The new model hit may use any abilities that trigger on being hit/damaged by an enemy attack (such as Vengeance and Shock Field). Sprays and AOEs With reference to the timing chart in Appendix A: placing a spray template down occurs at Step 3. Using Sacrificial Pawn occurs at step 6. Placing an AOE template down occurs at step 7. Therefore if you use Sac Pawn vs a spray, the placement of the spray template does not change. If you use Sac Pawn vs an AOE, the placement of the AOE template does change. A model indirectly hit by an AOE attack cannot use Sac Pawn vs it. Since a spray template doesn't move, it may cause the Pawn to be hit twice by the same spray. So you then resolve two damage rolls against it. When/if you shift an AOE template, the original target may be clipped by the edge of the AOE anyway (depending on how far apart the original target and Pawn are). Quick Draw vs Sacrificial Pawn (Edit) If enemy "Model A" shoots you, and then you use Quick Draw against "Model A", but they use Sac Pawn to move your Quick Draw attack to "Model B" then ... Quick Draw has no effect (or rather, it affects "Model B" who isn't currently shooting you so is irrelevant). Point is, "Model A" can continue shooting you. This won't happen with Shield Guard though (outside of a very low-probability scenario) because Shield Guard can only be triggered during an enemy turn.

Note to Editors To edit the CA's tagged abilities, Click here