Theist Priest - Unit Guide (english)

Theist Priest
Our little priests who unfortunately are not allowed to have men under arms... how annoying.

Overview

The priest's profile is mixed and he actually doesn't want to get into a duel and he strikes rather cautiously, but at least with 4 attacks Clash 2 and Cleave 1. It's important to know that unfortunately he doesn't give Fearless to his regiment and he gets away with it only benefits in a duel and Devout helps the regiment he joins when he casts a buff on them and thus gets an extra success. Which brings us to his main purpose, because as Priest 6 he has several useful spells that all have an attunement of 3, i.e. every 1-3 is a success.

Spells or should i say prayers?

Holy Fire -  only range 10", but for every hit the enemy regiment gets 2 hits. It's hard not to cast this at every opportunity because an Arcane 3 focus caster quickly generates 10 hits which also require morale tests. Don't forget if the target Even Devout turns a failure into a success. Rarely, but for Wardens, Valkyren, etc. this can hurt twice as much

 Saints Favor - Range 10" Unfortunately with Scaling. In return, a friendly unit gets +1 Evasion or +1 Defense. Interesting for cavalry to get to D5, for everyone else Blessed is almost always the better choice.

Heavenly Blessing - Range 10" only infantry regiments and scaling. The target unit gets blessed if it is successful, which is just great. Repeating all missed Clash or Defense throws can tip the game and being allowed to do that every round is almost nasty. Horses also get this through Supremacy if they are Devout.

Fervor -  Exceptionally range 12", but the usual attunement 3 with scaling. The target unit lost the brolen status. Nice to have, but very situational.

Divine Sanction - Reach Self and the priest immediately gets +1 Cleave, Deadly Blades, Quicksilver Strike and can take a free Duel action. Or you don't do that-. If there isn't a soft magician on the other side it's suicide. Even then there's a serious risk of simply losing the priest unless you equip him accordingly and even then that's rarely a good plan. Holy Fire is most of the time the better choice.

In my opinion, this is the best spell list outside of Dweghom and if buffs weren't often just too slow and his warband where a little bit better, we would have the best character in the Hundred Kingdoms here. Without Sicarii he only has access to the Militia units and no restricted selection. This limits him, since Seek new Escort costs us a turn and since the priest only has a pitiful resolve value of 2, he usually doesn't increase the regiment's either. The third selection of his Warband has unfortunately not been released yet and would give the Hundred Kingdoms new options as you can now choose two Warlords and his Supremacy "The Spirit Shines" allows any priest spell cast on the Warlord Priest's regiment once per game to share with all other Devout regiments. This also includes Divine Sacntion +1 Cleave and Deadly. Unfortunately, this is not a "can" option, i.e. if an opposing priest cast a damage spell, everyone gets it in the face. So be careful! Even if without Sicarii, probably also later with it, it is only of limited interest.

It's also important to mention that when they eventually appear, he won't be allowed to join any Order of the Sword regiment. But he can bless them with his magic/prayers.

Common Equipment, Retinues and Masteries

There are essentially two ways to play the priest. You can make him a bit of a fighter, but the Combat Masteries should be ignored.

On the one hand as a buff bot with Arcane 3, focus and the fragment. With this he can distribute Blessed or +1 D/E in 10", give a block of Militia for a round of Smite or cast Holy Fire on anyone who ventures near him. You will probably do the latter the most. If you use him like that in Militia 7-9 stands are a good option and you should also use the upgrade to veterans to get the maximum threat. Most of the time you won't use this because the opponent wants to keep corresponding targets away from the block.

If you want to play him as a warlord, you can always have a second priest and a character with the cloak that makes a regiment of devout. This allows you to buff your army absurdly high in Supremacy, but it takes two activations to give almost the entire army, Blessed, +1 Clash and Deadly. I've wiped out 1200 points of Dweghom in one round with a meme list like this, but most of the time it's just too slow because the opponent takes his important regiments to safety in time or cuts a big hole in the troops of the Hundred Kingdoms.

Conclusion: poor Warband, solid character