Now that the rules for Warmachine MK2 (MKII) are available on the Privateer Press website, it's time to re-visit an old friend of mine:
Dartan Vilmon, High Paladin of the Order of the Wall[1]
Vilmon used to be a potential danger on any battlefield. He would run in his Invincible form, daring a warlock or warcaster to get close enough (either themselves or with their arc nodes) to cast spells at him.
MK2 has brought some major changes to his playstyle, however, and so it's relevant to look at this Iron Kingdoms defender of a dying knightly order in light of his new abilities and restrictions.
The Good
Vilmon supports his friendly paladins anywhere on the table. Paladins of the Order of the Wall gain the Impervious Wall stance in addition to their newly changed Stone-and-Mortar Stance. They no longer have to synergize with Vilmon by remaining in base to base contact.
He also still has one of the highest MATs in the game. He hits high defense warcasters an average amount of the time, and has a high enough P+S to deal near straight damage with his three dice. Add in a charge, and you're talking an average of 13 damage vs. ARM 16 casters.
The Bad
The loss of Swordmaster: Losing extra attacks was bad, but at least you don't hold your breath waiting for the number of attacks roll each time. Shieldbreaker stance, while cool, couldn't really be used as offensively as his Invincible ability.
And now Vilmon and his paladins are vulnerable to the increased number of magical attacks in the game even while in Impervious Wall. Warcasters and elite troops wield magical weapons alongside the magical spells that were already available to the armies. Though the number isn't disproportionately large, it's definitely large enough to worry Vilmon and his crew when they stand out in the open.
The Ugly
When Vilmon takes the field, his Paladins suddenly have two stances that both can be used to deliver them to the enemy.
Stone and Mortar stance keeps them up and running. With ARM 21 and the ability to avoid knockdown effects, a Paladin in S&M stance can shrug off slams, knockdown spells, and Kreoss's feat (the exemplar/paladin rivalry continues!).
What's more, the Impervious stance, while annoying on a single threat, can be downright crippling when that same threat is presented on three separate fronts: two Paladins and Vilmon all advancing with Impervious Wall. Unless a player is specifically built around the presence of Magical Weapons (say, an Exemplar Knights based army), they will generally have to devote more than a single turn dealing with the Paladins.
Delivering Vilmon and his Elite Cadre
The question about Vilmon will be the method of delivery.
The increase in magic weapons and the elimination of the Invincible Run tactic means that Vilmon and Co. is no longer a frontline forward threat. Instead, Vilmon and his Paladins will run behind troops and or warjacks on the first turn, depending on circumstances (a fast moving arc node would be a good reason to stay back) and then advance slowly up the field in Invincible Wall.
Keep them more than 3-5" apart, depending on the presence of magical sourced AOEs, and give them something to follow such as an infantry screen or a warjack. The three models should not make it easy for them to be targeted and eliminated with magical attacks, and Menoth is slow anyway.
Screening the Paladins' Advance
Holy Zealots with the Monolith Bearer.
The unit is cheap, and can be easily made immune to magical damage. As soon as one is killed, the reliability of AOE spam drops off the planet. And if the Monolith Bearer uses Greater Destiny during the same turn as the Warding prayer, Vilmon and his Paladins will be well shielded from errant magical effects landing anywhere near the Zealots.
Temple Flameguard with the Unit Attachment
Same cost as Zealots, the movement of the Flameguard under Shieldwall encourages a friendly paladin to take shelter behind them. Though they lack magic specific defenses to layer a paladin's defenses, an ARM 17 Shieldwall is more than respectable enough to keep the Order of the Wall safe.
And if you're simply overflowing with extra points, the Covenant of Menoth can grant Spell Ward to Vilmon or a Paladin in Impervious Wall, though a warcaster would be wise to activate first and cast any friendly spells on the model beforehand; Spell Ward would prevent them from casting on them afterwards. To make the most of this combination, the annoying thing to do would be to use Spell Ward on an Impervious Wall Paladin until it gets to strike, then follow up with another paladin or Vilmon himself. Eventually (or perhaps from the beginning of the game) the enemy will grow fed up enough to do what it can to eliminate the book. [2]
Warcaster Supported Paladins
Regular Kreoss can prevent the casting of spells against Vilmon with Lamentation, and Epic Kreoss can prevent Arc Nodes from getting too close with Castigate. Both feats create automatic hit situations, but Epic Kreoss gives models an additional melee attack which might be enough for Vilmon and his Paladins to finish whatever they hit.
With the removal of Fearless from models, both the High Reclaimer and the Testament of Menoth need more Commander models on the table, and Vilmon can grant a CMD 10 roll to nearby line troops. And should the Temple Flameguard ever need to make a Command Check, not only will it be at Command 10, but the presence of a standard will allow them to re-roll the check at Command 10.
Hierarch Severius can play the same trick as the Covenant and grant a Paladin or Vilmon the Holy Ward spell. With this combination, Impervious Wall becomes truly Impervious.
And finally, the caster Vilmon was meant to protect:
In a single turn, the Harbinger can extend the charge range of all three paladins by 2" with Crusader's Call, cast Guided Hand on each of them, and prevent a counter-attack with her feat. MAT 8 and 9 should hit anything it wants to with three dice, and an 11" Charge (13" Threat for Vilmon due to Reach) should be all the deterrent a player needs to keep from getting too close prematurely.
Conclusion
High Paladin Dartan Vilmon is no longer a threatening flanker seeking to draw out an opponent's magical resources. Instead, he supports the Paladins in a multi-pronged attack, counting on the Protectorate's plethora of magical deterrents and inexpensive infantry to deliver them safely. He's not meant to lead a charge, but rather, he's meant to emerge from a crowd to join battle in the name of the Wall, Sul, and the Lawbringer himself.
- 1 oomiestompa hates that guy
- 2 Spell Denial does not prevent Magical Weapons with the Magical Attack Advantage from wounding/killing Vilmon. Be careful around those Gun Mages!
