Malady Man

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Malady Man Grymkin Unit

Not all music is pleasing to the ear, and it is with discordant, off-kilter harmonics and an uneven tempo that the Malady Man plays his fiendish instrument. He punishes those who lack conviction and are easily distracted to abandon work or to neglect their wards. Soldiers who stray from watch posts, mothers who let their children wander off, or laborers who stand idly by more than they work, all have been transfixed by the sound of his hand-cranked organ before being torn apart by the deranged monkey that joins him.

Basic Info

Malady Man
Missing Info
	COST {{{cacost}}} UNIT SIZE {{{casize}}} FA {{{cafa}}} Man / Monkey BASE Large / Small SPD 5 / 7 STR 5 MAT - / 5 RAT N/A M.A. N/A DEF 12 / 14 ARM 14 / 12 CMD 8 / 3 ESSENCE {{{essence}}} FOCUS N/A FURY N/A THRS N/A HP 5 / 1 F. Field N/A WJP {{{wjp}}} WBP {{{wbp}}} IHP {{{ihp}}} FA 2 UNIT SIZE N/A COST 6 N/A N/A N/A Warcaster 1 COST N/A N/A Understanding the Statblock

Abilities

• Man
  • Officer
  • Combat Caster - When this model's unit receives the Press Forward order, before its Normal Movement, this model can make one Magical Ability special action or special attack. This model can then run or charge normally.
  • Hard to Keep a Good Monkey Down - If the Monkey is not in play during your Maintenance Phase, you can return the Monkey to this unit. Place the Monkey completely within 3˝ of this model.
  • Magic Ability [ - ] - This model can cast spells. Normally this uses up the model's Combat Action and as such is limited to one spell per activation, but exceptions do exist.
  • Wagon - This model always has cover.

• Monkey
  • Acrobatics - This model can advance through other models if it has enough movement to move completely past their bases. This model ignores intervening models when declaring its charge target.
  • Countercharge - When an enemy model advances and ends its movement within 6" of this model and in its LOS, this model can immediately charge it. This model can use Countercharge only once per round and not while engaged.
  • Monkey Bite - While in melee with this model, living enemy models suffer -2 to melee attack rolls.

Weapons

• Man
  • Unarmed - This model has no weapons.

• Monkey
  • Bite - 0.5" reach, POW 3, P+S 8 melee attack

Spells

• Cradle Song (★ Action) - When a living enemy model ends its activation within 5˝ of this model, the enemy model becomes stationary for one round. Cradle Song lasts for one round.
• Desperate Pace [ Grymkin ] (★ Action) - RNG CMD. Target friendly Grymkin unit. If the unit is in range, Grymkin models in the unit gain +2" movement during their Normal Movement this turn.
• Something Wicked (★ Action) - While in this model's command range, the Monkey gains an adiditional die on melee attack and melee damage rolls and Killing Spree. Something Wicked lasts for one activation. (Killing Spree - When a model with Killing Spree destroys one or more enemy models with a melee attack during its Combat Action, after the attack is resolved the model with Killing Spree can advance up to 1" and make one additional melee attack.)

Theme Forces

• Bump in the Night. They gain Rise in this theme.
• Dark Menagerie

Thoughts on the Malady Man

Malady Man in a nutshell

Nothing seems more Grymkin than a devilish songster who enchants you with his tunes while his murderous monkey companion bites his way through your infantry. The Malady Man (and his monkey) are a small two-mankey unit that provides some control for you and some spacing problems for your opponent. The Malady Man himself has a bevy of bewitching spells that makes life difficult for your opponent. Also, when needed, he can really turn the dial up to 11 and let the monkey loose, where it goes on a homicidal killing spree. Don't worry, when the monkey finally falls, another pops up next turn. Lastly, he can turn his melody upon his own allies to increase their movement as they rampage across the battlefield towards their enemy with Desperate Pace for Grymkin units.

Grymkin are a melee faction whose biggest weakness is their ability to deliver their models to the enemy’s face intact. There isn’t a single Grymkin unit which does not overwhelmingly benefit from an additional 2” of movement a turn courtesy of Desperate Pace.

Combos & Synergies

• Dread Rots are squishy & slow, but also hard hitting & cheap. They pair particularly well with the Malady Monkey (Monkey Man?) as the Monkey can effectively deal with the softer, harder to hit targets while the Dreads deal with the harder, but much easier to hit ones.
• Piggybacks have always needed a goodly amount of support, and now those support options have just gotten better! Literally the only thing Pigs need to be worth their points is to be an additional couple inches up the table. Desperate Pace is so relevant to their impact on the board, it might even be worth calling Pigs + Malady Man the best combo in Grymkin (perhaps even better than Skin & Moans + Death Knell).

Drawbacks & Downsides

• While the Malady Man himself has some resistance to shooting thanks to the Wagon rule, he is still a large base with middling stats and will get sniped by anything which can boost. Once he's dead, the utility of the monkey drops dramatically.
• Likewise, the monkey can be removed from game. This prevents its respawning, and effectively removes all the direct output of the unit. This scenario is especially crippling into similarly slow & bulky armies (such as in the mirror), as the relevance of Desperate Pace declines dramatically later in the game.
• The Malady Man & Monkey is a 6 point unit which can be taken for free, you are unlikely to be spending points on these guys. This means they take up a free slot which could be used on something else, such as Lord Longfellow or one of the attachments. This is less a problem for the Malady Man and more for other options in your list; including a full FA of 2 Maladies Man result in fast but samey lists.

Tricks & Tips

• The Malady Man is a great scoring option for Dark Menagerie lists, whose only other unit option is Dread Rots. Their ability to act as scoring pieces actually improves when only one member remains, as they are still technically a unit. If this is only the Monkey, it can be trivial to contest & score round zones as it is very easy to block a small base.
• Countercharge on the Monkey can be used to block charge lanes. This is especially relevant for 1" reach medium bases, a well placed Monkey can block two-three models from meaningfully engaging.
• Don't be afraid to send the Monkey right into the enemy. His -hit aura works on things which are engaging him making him especially annoying for gargantuans or 2" reach living heavies.
• The Monkey can be used in conjunction with a unit of Mad Caps to efficiently generate corpses for Grave Ghouls. This is most relevant on turn 1, when Countercharge & Monkey's Paw are unlikely to do anything. See the Grave Ghoul page for an explanation of how the combo works.

Other

Trivia

Released at Adepticon (2019.03)

Other Grymkin models

Grymkin Index       (Edit)
Battlegroup
Warlocks	The Child - The Dreamer - The Heretic - The King of Nothing - The Wanderer - Old Witch 3 Arcana Warlock Attachment: Baron Tonguelick
Warbeasts	Lesser: Crabbit	Light: Frightmare - Gorehound - Rattler
	Heavy: Cage Rager - Clockatrice - Skin & Moans	Gargantuan: Slaughterhouse
Units, Solos, & Battle Engines
Units	Dread Rots - Hollowmen - Mad Caps - Malady Man - Murder Crows - Neigh Slayers - Piggybacks - Twilight Sisters
Solos	Baron Tonguelick, Lord of Warts - Cask Imp - Defiled Archon - The Four Horseymans - Glimmer Imp - Grave Ghoul - Gremlin Swarm - Isiah, Dread Harvester - Lady Karianna Rose - Lord Longfellow - Trapperkin - Weird Wendell - Witchwood
Battle Engines	Death Knell
Theme Forces		Minions
Dark Menagerie - Bump in the Night		Refer to Category: Grymkin Minion
This index was last updated: 2021.08

Rules Clarifications

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 : Combat Caster      (Edit) The unit has to receive the order before you can trigger Combat Caster, so you cannot use it if you are suffering from "cannot give/receive orders" (such as Rebuke) or a "the order does not take effect" (such as the Pandemonium Arcana). You can still move and cast a spell normally, though. Special Mention: The Trollkin Sorcerer & Sevryn can't trigger Combat Caster while suffering Rebuke (even though one of his spells would make Rebuke expire).

Rules Clarification : Hard to Keep a Good Monkey Down - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Magic Ability      (Edit) Using a Magic Ability counts as a spell, for effects such as Spell Ward, Witch Hunter, etc. Combat Action Nearly all Magic Ability spells require the spellcaster to use their Combat Action to cast the spell. As such it is not an "at any time" ability (like it is when warcasters/warlocks cast spells). This means ... You must complete your movement before you use a MA. A model in a unit cannot use its Combat Action to cast a spell until all members of the unit have completed their movement. (Infernal Ruling) You cannot make initial ranged or initial melee attacks on the same turn you use a MA. You cannot buy additional melee/ranged attacks after using a MA special attack. Refer to the core rulebook, "Special attacks listed as a rule of the model itself are neither melee attacks nor ranged attacks. The rules for these special attacks indicate the nature of any additional attacks that can be made afterward, if any." You cannot use a MA on the same turn you charge. Because a charge must (almost always) be followed by a melee attack. Non-Combat Action There are a few models that can use a Magic Ability without using their Combat Action. These models get around all the restrictions listed above. Models with Geomancy or Necromancy can use a Magic Ability at "any time" just like a warcaster/warlock. Models with Battle Wizard or Necrophage can make melee attacks then get a bonus "free" spell. Models with Combat Caster can cast a spell before charging, then do a normal charge + melee attack. Note that Battle Wizards, Combat Casters, etc have the option to use their Combat Action to cast a spell. Their special rule is in addition to the normal spell casting, not instead of.

Rules Clarification : Wagon - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Acrobatics      (Edit) Charging through models (Edit) You can't charge all the way through your charge target, with the intention to turn around and face them once you're on the other side. Because you aren't able to satisfy the "must keep the charge target in melee range" clause at the point after you are through the model but before you turn to directly face. At that point the target is behind you, not in your front arc, and thus not in your melee range. Your melee range only extends to your front arc. Refer to the latest errata. You can still "skim" through the edge of their base, if you're careful and smart with your positioning.

Rules Clarification:  : Countercharge      (Edit) (Click Expand to read)

Timing     If the moving model has Assault, the Countercharge is resolved before the Assault attack. (Infernal Ruling). If the moving model has a rule that resolves "at the end of Normal Movement" (such as Slipstream), the Countercharge is resolved before the other rule. (Infernal Ruling) The moving model cannot use an "Any Time" after finishing their advance but before your Countercharge. They can use it only after the Countercharge is resolved. If the non-countercharging player has a similar "ends an advance" trigger (such as Admonition) then they can trigger and resolve that from your countercharge movement. Example: Model [A] charges, and triggers Countercharge on [B]. Model [B] countercharges, and triggers Admonition on [C]. Resolve Admonition on [C]. Then finish resolving Countercharge on [B]. Then finish model [A]'s activation.     Triggering Countercharge     You can trigger Countercharge if you're engaging, but not engaged. You can trigger Countercharge during your own turn, if your opponent has an ability to move during your turn (such as Admonition). Some abilities let you "ignore intervening models when declaring a charge" (such as Flight). Unfortunately, you still need LOS to trigger Countercharge, and it's only after CC is triggered that you actually get to declare a charge. In other words, Flight and Countercharge don't work together for LOS purposes. What does trigger Countercharge Countercharge triggers off any advance, not just in-activation stuff. Standing still but changing facing is an advance. What doesn't trigger Countercharge Aiming, or forfeiting your movement, is not advancing. If a model doesn't move, doesn't change facing, doesn't aim ... does nothing but skips straight ahead to its Combat Action, this is not an advance. (Infernal Ruling) Being placed (such as Teleport) is not an advance. Involuntary movement (being slammed, thrown, or pushed) is not an advance. When a unit is moving, countercharge is triggered on a model-by-model basis. So you can countercharge after any model in the unit has finished its move within range, but you can only countercharge that model who just finished its movement. You can't "save it" until the entire unit finishes moving and then say "I'm going to Countercharge the first guy you moved."     Attacks, Boosting, & Other Triggers     You only get one attack when making a countercharge, regardless of how many initials you normally have. The charge attack damage is only boosted if the Countercharger moved 3" or more, as with a regular charge. Countercharge occurs outside of activation so you can't spend fury/focus to boost a countercharge attack, nor buy additional attacks afterwards, not trigger stuff that only happens during your Combat Action (like Berserk). Even if you trigger Countercharge during your own activation, for the duration of you resolving the CC it "no longer counts" as being in your activation. (Infernal Ruling)     After the Countercharge     The countercharging model cannot use any abilities that trigger on "during activation" or "during combat action" (such as Sprint), as Counter Charge is not an activation. (Locked thread)     Other interactions     Countercharge during your own activation (Countercharge vs Admonition etc) ( Edit ) You can trigger Countercharge during your own activation, but only if an enemy model moves during your activation. For instance, you move towards a model who has Admonition and they trigger that to try to move away. (You do a normal move, they trigger admonition and move, you trigger countercharge from their admonition-move.) However countercharge always counts as being out-of-activation, no matter when you trigger it. (Infernal Ruling) As a result, you can't trigger only-during-activation effects (such as Critical Shred & Sustained Attack). On the other hand, you can potentially get two charge attacks (one for your normal charge, one for the counter charge). (Infernal Ruling) This ruling still applies even after the 2018.07 update (Infernal Re-ruling) Countercharge plus Admonition If a model has both CC and Admonition, it can trigger both at the same time. A model moves nearby, it admonitions away, then countercharges back in. Countercharge Inception If a model [A] has Countercharge, and it charges an enemy model [B] that has Countercharge and Admonition, then ... Model [A] charges and triggers CC and Admo on [B] Model [B] Admo moves but before it can resolve its own CC, it triggers CC on [A] You now have two models that have triggered CC simultaneously. So the Active player gets to resolve their one first. Assault vs Countercharge ( Edit ) Things which are resolved when a model "ends movement" (such as Countercharge) need to be resolved before the Assault attack. (Infernal Ruling). Countercharge & Cavalry ( Edit ) A model with Countercharge and Cavalry can make Impact Attacks during the countercharge. (Refer "Charges Outside of Activation" in the rulebook).

Rules Clarification : Monkey Bite - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Unarmed      (Edit) Since this model has no weapons it does not have a melee range. This means it can't engage other models, declare charges, or make free strikes Also it can't gain abilities that require a melee range (such as Ragman granting this model Dark Shroud). However, other models that do have melee weapons can engage this model. So this model can still gain the "target in melee" shooting bonus.

Rules Clarification : Cradle Song      (Edit) Stuff which happens "at the end of a model's activation" get resolved before stuff which happens "when the activation ends". So things like Sprint and Reposition occur before Cradle Song can be triggered. (Infernal Ruling) Remember, stationary only prevents what it says it does. Refer the recap on stationary for what models can/can't do. Abilities that say they cannot be used if the model is stationary (such as Shield Guard) cannot be used while a warjack is inert, either. Refer "Warcaster Destruction", page 59 of the core rulebook.

Rules Clarification : Desperate Pace      (Edit) Desperate Pace applies to all movement during the Normal Movement part of activation, to include running, charging, and others. (Locked Thread)

Rules Clarification : Something Wicked      (Edit) Rules Clarification : Killing Spree and/or Hornet's Nest     (Edit) Attack-Generating Abilities (Edit) From the core rulebook: When a model is granted more attacks as a result of an attack it made, it gains only one. If two or more special rules would grant the model another attack as a result of making an attack, its controlling player chooses which special rule to apply. If you trigger two attack-generating abilities (such as Black Spot and Kill Shot) you choose to resolve one and "lose" the other (unless you trigger it again later). If you trigger two attack-generating abilities, and one of them is compulsory (such as Black Spot and Berserk), you must choose to resolve the compulsory one. (Infernal Ruling)