So, I really want to make the Montesa Knight work. I've done a conversion for him that I love to put on the table, but he's typically shot out from under me in the first turn. And one of the biggest problems is that he sits in that 30-40pt slot that is so crowded with other good profiles that it's hard to justify playing him when he's not paying the bills on the field. I'm wondering if using him in conjunction with Patsy's Nimbus Plus grenades (particularly his Chaincolt and a little less so, his Boarding Shotgun) would provide some solid utility. Has anyone out there tried the Montesa together with Patsy? And if not in conjunction with Patsy, what ways have folks found success with the Montesa?
One of my regular opponents uses the Montessa from time to time, but it's an absolute magnet for obscene good luck (last game he used it, it shrugged eight heavy flamethrower and four combi hits before taking a wound) so I'm not entirely sure what a normal use case for it looks like. In the couple times I've fielded it myself it worked best springboarding off the efforts of a powerful static firebase. This can mean leaving it until turn two when you've hopefully really locked down the board's fire lanes. However he is nice in that he doesn't need a huge number of orders. Four or five plus his impetuous can make him a good candidate for including in a second combat group (unless you're taking him for scenario reasons where you need the DA CCW; then, obviously, he needs access to a full pool). No experience using him with Patsy I'm afraid, but hopefully someone will have something for you there :)
Yes, I think the Montessa is a tool you use mid and late game, not early. That may seem at odds with its point cost, but the Montessa is the ultra-quick Specialist you use to bounce between multiple objectives, grab them all, then end the turn running the shotgun into a juicy set of targets. Alternately, you get your objectives, dismount, climb a building in the enemy table half, and dare them to come dig you out. The bike makes all these things possible. Bike troops don't have the stats to win f2f vs hardened targets, so you have to value the Montessa for other roles too.
I have never had true success with the Montesa, unless it involves my opponent spending 6-8 orders to kill him that would have been better used on objectives. He’s always the reserve drop when I have him, he always attracts attention, and he always tanks a couple hits before he goes down. I’ve never had him survive to the end of the game. Once he’s survived to turn 3, all other times he’s been killed or eaten a crit ADHL in turn 1 or 2. I want to make him a superstar. I really do.
I've had great success with the Montesa in Varuna. My current favorite list features him. I find he's a great counter-attack piece when my opponent gets first turn. Varuna is such a defensively strong army that most alpha strikes lose steam and run out of orders/manpower right as they reach the doorstep of my deployment zone. As long as no long range AROs are present, it feels great to unleash him as a free move/attack on my first turn. After that initial impetuous move, I can then activate my Kamau Sniper to clear the way for him to move up. Once he's in your opponent's half of the table, he's out in the wind, but you can mitigate that by watching his back with your Zulu Cobra or, again, the Kamau Sniper. In every game I've had with him, he's decimated every group he's happened upon. He hasn't gone down yet for me! It feels great to have so much movement to line up those devastating boarding shotgun blasts. The larger base actually really helps with this!
I haven't tried the Patsy + Montesa trick yet, but I think it could work. I find that they aren't usually operating nearby. If I have two HI specialists, I want them spread out on the table to cover more objectives.
