Asterion Moloc

Lord Asterion Moloc, the Chapter Master of the Minotaurs. Not to be confused with Bane.

Asterion Moloc is the Chapter Master of the Minotaurs and one hardass motherfucker.

Lord Asterion Moloc (how he wishes to be called) takes an almost perverse glee in stabbing dudes in the face with the Black Spear, a weapon that may or may not be based on an Adeptus Custodes halberd. And instead of having a bolter strapped to the underside it has a built-in laser to vaporize dudes. Lord Moloc himself is a huge dude riddled with cybernetic augmentation that allows him to ignore even more wounds than he already could with his simmering rage. Despite him often being on the battlefield alongside his Terminators stabbing dudes in the face, he has a ruthless mind for warfare, siegecraft, logistics and strategy. Lord Moloc's preferred enemy is fellow Space Marines, and he has become frightingly efficient at fighting them. The large amount of high-end equipment used by the Minotaurs combined with them almost always deploying at full Chapter strength means that the Minotaurs have a good shot at kicking heretic ass, as the Lamenters and Inceptors can attest. Because of the full deployment Lord Moloc is always in charge of the Chapter in entirity, meaning that in battle his captains are little more than his seconds.

There seems to be something strange going on with Lord Moloc. During the Orphean War he fought against Kutlakh the World-Killer in a Necron vessel. Moloc was spaced during the battle when the Imperial Navy blew open the ship he was on. His body was recovered and he was nursed back to health, which is not abnormal for a Space Marine who is merely spaced, but marks at least the seventh time that Lord Moloc was critically injured in battle yet lived to fight another day in five centuries, suggesting either that his name and equipment are inherited by the next Chapter Master, alongside his personality through way of engrammatically-enforced memories and personality, or that Lord Moloc is another Perpetual in that he literally will come back from the dead if killed - or that he is embedded with a nonsensically large amount of cybernetics, his lucky number is 7, or is protected by poorly justified plot armor or another potential offered by IA, Asterion is too much of a spiteful cunt to let silly little things like mortal wounds stop him. Still, it's not like he went on to punch enemies without a helmet on space or something. He possibly parallels Khorne himself, symbolically or otherwise, as his description says his name is a byword for slaughter, he rules over a chapter of raging berserkers that seek out worthy opponents, he comes back after allegedly dying which makes him more an undying concept than an individual (just as Khorne is the undying concept of hate, slaughter, and rage itself), and he's described as spending his off-battle time sitting on his "brazen throne" measuring the drops of blood that his chapter spilt.

It is also certainly possible that he is actually a Custodes. Considering he is at least a couple heads taller than most Chapter Masters and that he's survived so many grevious injuries that would kill most Marines or at least land them in a Dreadnought, he's obviously tougher than even most Chapter Masters. Gene-seed isn't even a factor since Custodes have their own and the Minotaurs come from a multitude of Chapters anyway. The most concrete evidence would be his halberd since it's known that Custodes weapons are coded to work only for the Custodes it's given to (though admittedly that didn't stop some certain Bloody Magpies). Also, since the Custodes operate on Terra and the Minotaurs are the High Lords' attack dogs, it would be reasonable and plausible for them to pull a Custodes from the ranks -who already has, more likely than not, centuries of combat experience- to lead them instead of another Space Marine. For reference, look at when the Custodes helped the Space Wolves annihilate the Thousand Sons during the Horus Heresy. If you need something to kill other Space Marines, why not grab someone who is basically a tougher, stronger Space Marine. For all we know, Moloc was there at the Burning of Prospero.

His tabletop stats compared to those of actual Custodes, however, take away some of the credibility of this theory. He's noticeably weaker with -1 S and T, and his spear isn't that similar to a Custodes one, maybe it could be a paragon spear if we're being generous. If he actually is a former Custodes, either he's the biggest runt among their ranks or (more likely) GW didn't bother to more accurately represent his power.

On the Tabletop

	Pts	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Sv
Asterion Moloc:	235	6	5	4	4	4	5	4	10	2+/3++

On the battlefield he is incredibly expensive to field: Just as much as Lugft Huron and just under The M.A.C. Daddy's point cost. In return you get a beast in Terminator armor with 4 wounds, a Storm Shield, an S6 AP2 weapon that strikes in Initiative order, Frag Grenades and all the goodies you'd expect from a Chapter Master. He also gives his squad Fearless and Frag Grenades through his special rule, meaning that somehow he wills fragmentation grenades into being through nothing but his sheer RAGE, which is something that even the Angry Marines have to respect. He also has the ability to give the really shitty Minotaur Chapter Tactic an upgrade, giving every model who has it Preferred Enemy (Space Marines) in addition (yes this does mean any and all Loyalist marines, regardless of Codex), which by itself is almost worth taking him considering how many Marines are around now.

Asterion Moloc is also a grade A++ character hunter able to kill Lysander, Calgar, Draigo, and Mephiston easily, and have a fair crack at Abbadon and the Swarmlord. In other words just about anyone short of a Black Mace Daemon Prince or Smashfucker had better get on their knees and start sucking when Moloc start rolling in. Don't think you can win a challenge against him, he will rip off any balls of adamantium you think you have and force feed them to you, and get victory points for doing it. If you're running a Minotaurs army and do not take Moloc as your Warlord consider yourself an official retard in the eyes of /tg/. Enclosed in this section is how Asterion Moloc fares against all other named Chapter Masters (or their closest equivalents), since he's basically tailor made to kill them. His model is also fucking awesome

• Asterion Moloc VS Papa Smurf
  • Marneus Calgar, wearing the Armour of Antilochus attacks 5 times, hitting 2.5 times, wounding 2.083 times, causing 0.694 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc attacks 4 times, hits 2.333 times, wounds 2.268 times, causing 1.134 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc wins.
  • Asterion Moloc starts off strong, dealing nearly twice the damage Papa Smurf can deal back, even though he has fewer attacks. Note that Marneus Calgar could choose Iron Resolve for his warlord trait, in which case he'll get a mutual KO against Moloc thanks to the fact that his fists aren't Unwieldy.

• Asterion Moloc VS Shrike
  • Shrike attacks 4 times, hitting 2.2 times (because master-crafted), wounding 1.65 times, causing 0.321 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc attacks 4 times, hits 2.333 times, wounds 2.268 times, causing 1.134 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc wins.
  • A bit of an unfair fight, after all Shrike is armed with just an AP3 weapon and he just became a Chapter Master very recently, he hasn't even received a normal Chapter Master's statline yet.

• Asterion Moloc VS Captain Lysander
  • Lysander attacks 3 times, hitting 1.875 times (because master-crafted), wounding 1.563 times, causing 0.521 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc attacks 4 times, hits 2.333 times, wounds 2.268 times, causing 0.503 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc wins.
  • While not a Chapter Master, Lysander might as well be one as he certainly has the statline and special rules to be one, and puts up the hardest fight yet. Unfortunately the end result comes down to one factor, Lysander has the Unwieldy rule, and Moloc does not, allowing him to kill Lysander just before he dies. Even including Concussive, Lysander just cannot put out enough damage to keep Moloc Concussed throughout the fight (not to mention Moloc isn't concussed in the turn he finishes off Lysander).

• Asterion Moloc VS Pedro Kantor
  • Pedro Kantor attacks 4 times, hitting 2 times, wounding 1.666 times, causing 0.555 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc attacks 4 times, hits 2.333 times, wounds 2.268 times, causing 0.756 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc wins.
  • Putting out the third toughest fight so far is Pedro thanks to Iron Resolve, unfortunately just like Lysander he loses the damage race.

• Asterion Moloc VS High Marshal Helbrecht
  • Helbrecht attacks 4 times, hitting 2.2 times (MC), wounding 1.1 times, causing 0.183 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc attacks 4 times, hits 2.333 times, wounds 2.268 times, causing 1.134 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc wins.
  • Rounding off the sons of Dorn, this fight is more of a joke thanks to Helbrecht lacking an AP2 weapon, as such he's crushed just as he normally is whenever he'd up against an opponent wearing terminator armour.

• Asterion Moloc VS Lugft Huron
  • Huron attacks 4 times, hitting 2 times, wounding 1.5 times, causing 0.833 wounds after saves (thanks to Ghost Razor).
  • Asterion Moloc attacks 4 times, hits 2.333 times, wounds 2.268 times, causing 1.134 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc wins.
  • While Huron puts out a very impressive amount of damage, he simply cannot kill Moloc fast enough.

• Asterion Moloc VS Lias Issodon
  • Lias attacks 3 times, hitting 1.5 times, wounding 0.75 times, causing 0.125 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc attacks 4 times, hits 3.111 times, wounds 3.025 times, causing 3.025 wounds after saves since Lias has no listed invuln.
  • Asterion Moloc wins.
  • A complete joke of a fight that's so pathetic it's not even funny, which it should be since Lias is not made for close combat. If Moloc charges and has hatred from a chaplain he can kill Lias in just one round.

• Asterion Moloc VS Tyberos The Red Wake
  • Tyberos attacks 5 times, hitting 2.917 times, wounding 2.836 times, causing 0.945 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc attacks 4 times, hits 2.333 times, wounds 2.268 times, causing 1.512 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc wins.
  • A combat monster, Tyberos can certainly dish out the hurt, he just can't take it as he's stuck with only a 5+ invuln.

• Asterion Moloc VS Lord High Commander Carab Culln
  • Culln attacks 2 times (smashing as AP2 is better than 4 attacks at AP3), hitting 1.167 times, wounding 0.973 times, causing 0.324 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc attacks 4 times, hits 2.333 times, wounds 2.268 times, causing 1.134 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc wins.
  • Culln is proud to live, proud to die, and not hard at all to kill in this fight.

• Asterion Moloc VS Malakim Phoros
  • Malakim Round 1: Phoros attacks 4 times, hitting 3 times, wounding 2 times, causing 0.333 wounds after saves.
  • Malakim Round 2 and on: Phoros attacks 5 times, hitting 2.708 times, wounding 1.805 times, causing 0.301 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc attacks 4 times, hits 2.333 times, wounds 2.268 times, causing 1.134 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc wins.
  • Malakim Phoros is another pretty good melee beatstick that is sadly unsuited for this fight thanks to his AP3 power glaive.

• Asterion Moloc VS Commander Dante
  • Dante attacks 5 times, hitting 2.708 times, wounding 2.257 times, causing 0.752 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc attacks 4 times, hits 2.333 times, wounds 2.268 times, causing 1.134 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc wins.
  • Dante puts up a good fight, and can attempt to close the gap a little with Hit and Run, unfortunately even if he manages to get perfect Hit and Run rolls, and getting the charge every single turn he still cannot cause even 1 wound per turn.

• Asterion Moloc VS Gabriel Seth
  • Gabriel attacks 4 times, hitting 2 times, wounding 1.666 times, causing 0.323 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc attacks 4 times, hits 2.333 times, wounds 2.268 times, causing 1.134 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc wins.
  • Unfortunately Gabriel Seth would have a hard time dealing with a Captain if they wearing power armour, let alone a Chapter Master in terminator armour thanks to his AP4 weapon.

• Asterion Moloc VS Kaldor Draigo
  • Draigo attacks 4 times, hitting 2.2 times, wounding 1.833 times, causing 0.611 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc attacks 4 times, hits 2.333 times, wounds 2.268 times, causing 0.756 wounds after saves.
  • Asterion Moloc wins.
  • While certainly an impressive fighter and very resilient, Draigo loses the damage race, dying one turn before he can kill Moloc.

• TL;DR: Moloc's built for wiping out Space Marines, and it's a job he does very well despite not having that impressive of a statline (it's the same as the generic Chapter Master), outdamaging everyone except Lysander, who he still manages to beat since he strikes first. The closest match in the entire list is Marneus Calgar, since Calgar can give himself Iron Resolve, in which case the fight ends in a draw.
  • Note, Mephiston isn't included in this list both because he's not a Chapter Master and because he has no listed invuln, which means he'll be dead within two turns.

8th Edition

Lord Moloc is still a beast in 8th Edition. A beefy statline paired with the altered Black Spear (S+2 AP-3 D3, +1 Attack against characters) means that while he's less likely to cause individual wounds, once he hits something it STAYS hit. The Black Spear's shooting attack is now a 12" S8 AP-2 Dd3 trick that he can use as a regular attack, so make sure to get some zaps in. He also has some new auras: all Minotaur units within 6" re-roll failed to hit (note that this is ALL Minotaurs units, not just infantry) and Minotaurs Infantry units get to re-roll failed Charge rolls, Moloc himself gets to make his attacks when he's slain in combat in case he dies before attacking and on top of all that he can teleport in like a a regular Terminator as well. All in all Moloc is less the death machine on legs that he used to be, but he still has a good shot at murdering dead anyone who gets in his way.