Grand Exemplar Kreoss is a Protectorate of Menoth Epic Warcaster in Warmachine MK2

High Exemplar Kreoss is the Standard Version of Grand Exemplar Kreoss.

Background and Description

Grand Exemplar Kreoss painted by Cataclysmus

When Goreshade killed the previous Grand Exemplar, Baine Hurst, Kreoss and all Exemplar everywhere felt the loss through their bond. Kreoss turned his grief into fuel for his training and prayer. In an exhausted state, he felt the strength of Hurst flow into him. Exalted to Hurst's former position, Kreoss used the strength of Hurst to overcome the rituals performed by the Scrutators in the Sovereign Temple of the One Faith. Hierarch Garrick Voyle gave him command of every Exemplar of the Crusade, and Kreoss vows to lead them and every Menite to victory, even if he has to avenge the deaths of every life lost along the way to do so.^[1]

Special Abilities and Weapons

• Feat: Strength of Arms
  • Melee attacks made by friendly faction models automatically hit and they can make one additional melee attack.
• Aegis
• Elite Cadre Ability: Exemplar gain Aegis
• Imperishable Conviction: Destroyed friendly faction models in his control area heal Kreoss.
• Weapons
  • Justifier (melee)
    • Magical Weapon
    • Reach
    • Armor Piercing (*Attack)
    • Smite (*Attack)
• Spells
  • Castigate: Enemies lose Arc Node while in Kreoss's control area
  • Chasten: Removes enemy Upkeep Spells on a target model/unit.
  • Cleansing Fire: Causes Fire Damage and a small template. Critical: Fire affects all models in the AOE
  • Inviolable Resolve: Friendly faction model/unit gains ARM and Fearless
  • Sacrosanct: When a non-warcaster/non-warlock warrior destroys a model affected by this spell, the attacking model is knocked down

Strengths

• Melee Support: Strength of Arms has a wide variety of uses in Kreoss's army. It can be used to support melee warjacks, Reach troops, cavalry making impact attacks. It can guarantee his own armor piercing attack or his smite. During his feat turn, deliver a P+S 16 armor piercing initial attack followed by his free P+S 14 attack. If he's saved all his focus, he can then deliver up to 7 more auto-hitting P+S14 attacks.
• Magic Denial: Aegis and his Elite Cadre pretty much deny any spell based corrosion effect or fire effect from sticking to his army, while Castigate gives him some freedom to advance against arc nodes.
• Attrition: Sacrosanct and Inviolable Resolve offer up protection to get troops into combat, and Aegis prevents corrosion effect or fire effect from taking out his elite troops before they can get stuck in. If the enemy goes after Kreoss piecemeal, deaths in his army will heal him on top of things, making it easier for him to bring Justifier and his feat into melee combat.

Weaknesses

• Average Statline Defenses: While his special rules protect him from Offensive Spells and continuous effects, Kreoss will die to ranged attacks. If he upkeeps two spells a turn, and casts Chasten to debuff the enemy once in a while, that leaves him with three or less focus to assign to warjacks and overboost his powerfield.

Synergies

Warjacks

• Dervish: The Dervish provides a cheap melee warjack for Strength of Arms. Auto-hit while using Side Step to advance in range of another target that you really want to auto-hit.
• Devout: Protect the somewhat vulnerable Kreoss from ranged attacks with Shield Guard. However, if certain enemy models haven't activated, take the shots on Kreoss and wait for the other enemy models to provide Imperishable Conviction heals.
• Revenger: If you keep Kreoss close enough, Castigate can give him an arc node advantage over an enemy spell caster by allowing him to cast Chasten to remove enemy Upkeep Spells while preventing the enemy from arcing spells herself.
• Castigator: Use Strength of Arms to provide three auto-hitting Flame Fist attacks, or to get 1 auto-hitting double-hand throw power attack.
• Crusader: The Crusader is a cheap heavy with a P+S 18 swing that will kill anything Kreoss wants it to with Strength of Arms.
• Guardian: Its Flame Pike hits twice at P+S 17 with Reach attacks while affected by Strength of Arms. With careful placement, it also allows Kreoss to channel Chasten at units before sending the Guardian in.
• Vanquisher: The Vanquisher Auto-hits with its Thresher Attack from Strength of Arms, and then it gets to make a second regular attack for free that also auto-hits.
• Avatar of Menoth: The Avatar's self generating Focus meshes well with Kreoss's focus intensive style. Use Strength of Arms to deliver its Trample Power Attack 8" to wherever you want it to go, and then activate Menoth's Gaze at the end of that trrample to lock down units sneaking behind the former unit. Or use the feat to deliver three auto-hitting melee attacks, two of which generate Fire Effects
• Fire of Salvation: Forgo the casting of Chasten by using the Fire of Salvation's out of activation movement to put it in a position to Dispel enemy upkeeps through its Affinity with Kreoss. Save focus on its Imprint by using the feat to make it auto-hit for a solid Trample Power Attack.

Units

• Choir of Menoth: Boost the strength of Kreoss's melee warjacks for Strength of Arms and count on their deaths to heal Kreoss through Imperishable Conviction.
• Daughters of the Flame: Inviolable Resolve allows the Daughters to operate against Terror causing troops as well as to give them protection against blast damage. They each hit with three Anatomical Precision attacks with Strength of Arms, dealing at least half, if not more damage to a warlock or warcaster.
• Exemplar Bastions: Bastions with Inviolable Resolve provide an ARM 18 wall of infantry that can move damage around 8 wound models. As Exemplar they are protected from auto-damaging effects.
• Exemplar Errants: Be careful when using these Exemplar with epic Kreoss. Their Bond of Life will not trigger the healing of Imperishable Conviction. Stave off assault troops by casting Sacrosanct on this unit so that when the first model dies, the attacker will not get any additional attacks from being knocked down or use Bond of Life to prevent enemy kill triggers such as Berserk.
• Exemplar Vengers: Cast Inviolable Resolve on your cavalry to increase their armor, providing the unit with ARM 21 when it is Battle-Driven by damage. When Epic Kreoss uses Strength of Arms, the Vengers will auto-hit with their impact attacks, ride-by attacks, and P+S 14 charge attacks (P+S 16 when Battle-Driven. When charging a hard target, be sure to move within .5" so that they will be able to use their swords for the additional melee attack granted by the feat.
• Holy Zealots: They are a cheap troop that can Spell Ward itself against magic. Sacrosanct gives them a counter to attackers as they will be knocked down after killing a Zealot, freeing up the unit to disengage and throw fire bombs.
• Knights Exemplar: If the unit has no cover and will take small arms fire on the way in, cast Inviolable Resolve to get their ARM up before Bond of Brotherhood kicks in.
• Temple Flameguard: Remove the need for the Unit Attachment by casting Inviolable Resolve onto the unit, pumping its ARM to 19 during a Shield Wall Order. Gain additional combined melee attacks that auto-hit with Strength of Arms.

Solos

• Allegiant of the Order of the Fist : An allegiant attacks with three auto-hitting weapon master attacks with Strength of Arms.
• Hierophant: Save focus on moving your Inviolable Resolve upkeep around, or use its presence to cast Chasten up to 10" from himself without relying on an Arc Node.
• Knights Exemplar Seneschal: As troops die, the Seneschal benefits from Righteous Anger while Epic Kreoss heals from Imperishable Conviction. Instead of using its Chain Attack to smite models with Strength of Arms, it can attack three times with Weapon Master and count on the feat to provide the auto-hits.
• Reclaimer: Get souls for your warjacks while healing Epic Kreoss as your troops die.
• Vassal of Menoth: Advance warjacks that take damage with Enliven and use Ancillary Attack with Strength of Arms to automatically hit with an attack before you activate the warjack for even more charges/attacks.
• Wrack: Gain extra focus for auto-hitting melee attacks for Strength of Arms, or use the focus to boost one more damage roll on those extra attacks.
• High Exemplar Gravus: Gain soul tokens as Exemplar die, heal kreoss with their deaths, protect epic Kreoss from Knockdown and then charge Gravus in with Strength of Arms to automatically hit with his impact attacks, his chain weapon and any additional attacks that he buys with his soul tokens.
• High Paladin Dartan Vilmon: Castigate offers some protection for Vilmon hile he and his Paladins use the Impervious Wall stance. When he attacks, he will have two auto-hitting (not generally an issue with Vilmon) P+S 15 Weapon Master attacks.

Allies

Articles

Notes

1. ¹ Warmachine: Apotheosis. 2004