[Adventurer’s League] Bugbear Monk Brainstorming for the new MoTM AL rules…

[prototype00]

So they just made the Monsters of the Multiverse Rules legal (and supposedly required) for Adventurer’s league and I’ve been looking forwards to trying out the Bugbears’s awesome new upgrade. (Surprise Attack got really buffed)

I’ve settled on Monk and am now trying to plan out a decent/amusing build.

Here are my thoughts in no particular order, please feel free to comment:

- Monk is nice because of the many attacks you can get with flurry in the first round to maximise the extra damage.

- Mercy subclass in particular is considered above average as far as monk subclasses go and it likes to flurry.

- Max Dex seems to be the way to go to have high Init, but will have to try to fit in Alert feat somewhere.

- Long limbed racial trait gives you pseudo Mobile which will help the skirmishing playstyle. It’s not as good as Mobile, but it’s free.

I think Single Classed for max ki is the way to go, but have I missed anything?

Also, anyone else played a monk with the new Bugbear race? What did you think?

Thanks all!

[diplomancer]

I've just started playing a new Bugbear Mercy Monk (at level 5). It's quite powerful, both long-limbed and surprise attack synergize with Monk really well. The other "good" Monk build, the Kensei Archer, does not work as well with Bugbear, so Mercy is the best choice

I'd say Fey-Touched (Gift of Alacrity) is better than the Alert feat. You still want to increase your Wis, after all. And if you can get your hands on a Weapon of Warning (you should try to), there goes the other benefit of the Alert feat

[prototype00]

I've just started playing a new Bugbear Mercy Monk (at level 5). It's quite powerful, both long-limbed and surprise attack synergize with Monk really well. The other "good" Monk build, the Kensei Archer, does not work as well with Bugbear, so Mercy is the best choice

I'd say Fey-Touched (Gift of Alacrity) is better than the Alert feat. You still want to increase your Wis, after all. And if you can get your hands on a Weapon of Warning (you should try to), there goes the other benefit of the Alert feat

Excellent that your experience backs up the synergy in this race class combo.

With regards to gift of alacrity, I’m not sure AL allows it (its critical role material) so that might get put on the back burner (though misty step is always useful). Might be something useful for retraining at lvl 4.

I think weapon of warning, RAW, might stack with Alert, in which case that would be a pretty sweet combo. Shame WoW takes up an attunement slot however, I’ll have to see if I want to attune to anything else other than an insignia of claws and an amulet of health…

[AttilatheYeon]

Gloomstalker Ranger is going to be my go to. Plus Wis bonus to init, an extra attack first round, added movement to get within melee. Grab 2 scimitars go to town.

[diplomancer]

Excellent that your experience backs up the synergy in this race class combo.

Well, I've played it for all of one session thus far, but it was fun and powerful


With regards to gift of alacrity, I’m not sure AL allows it (its critical role material) so that might get put on the back burner (though misty step is always useful). Might be something useful for retraining at lvl 4.

For what it's worth, if I go to Dndbeyond.com and make a character with Fey-Touched, I can choose Gift of Alacrity even if Critical Role content is turned off (I've just checked it).


I think weapon of warning, RAW, might stack with Alert, in which case that would be a pretty sweet combo. Shame WoW takes up an attunement slot however, I’ll have to see if I want to attune to anything else other than an insignia of claws and an amulet of health…

The advantage to initiative of the Weapon of Warning stacks with Alert's bonus to initiative, naturally; I meant the surprise immunity of the Alert feat is wasted if you get the Weapon, as that's one of its benefits, and for the entire party. If you have a choice, my advice is the Short Bow, so you have a magical damage missile option going forward (you can make it a Monk weapon with Dedicated weapon if you want to).
So, if you get such a weapon, the Alert feat gives you +5 to initiative and no advantaged attack from unseen enemies, while Fey Touched (gift of Alacrity) gives you +1 to Wis, +d8 to initiative, and Misty Step once a day. I'd say that the Fey-Touched option is definitely better, specially on a MAD class like the Monk.




Gloomstalker Ranger is going to be my go to. Plus Wis bonus to init, an extra attack first round, added movement to get within melee. Grab 2 scimitars go to town.

This is also good. And there could probably be a good combo with both Gloomstalker and Monk.

[prototype00]

Well, I've played it for all of one session thus far, but it was fun and powerful

I would assume at T1 for Bugbear Monk, having two to three attacks per round, depending on ki and tacking on Greatsword damage to your first round’s attacks is probably not inconsiderable either.


For what it's worth, if I go to Dndbeyond.com and make a character with Fey-Touched, I can choose Gift of Alacrity even if Critical Role content is turned off (I've just checked it).

Much obliged, but AL runs on its own rules and I’m pretty sure it’s the sourcebook of the spell that determines yay or nay. Unfortunately gift of Alacrity did not show up in Tasha’s.


The advantage to initiative of the Weapon of Warning stacks with Alert's bonus to initiative, naturally; I meant the surprise immunity of the Alert feat is wasted if you get the Weapon, as that's one of its benefits, and for the entire party. If you have a choice, my advice is the Short Bow, so you have a magical damage missile option going forward (you can make it a Monk weapon with Dedicated weapon if you want to).
So, if you get such a weapon, the Alert feat gives you +5 to initiative and no advantaged attack from unseen enemies, while Fey Touched (gift of Alacrity) gives you +1 to Wis, +d8 to initiative, and Misty Step once a day. I'd say that the Fey-Touched option is definitely better, specially on a MAD class like the Monk.

What do you think of using a Dex half feat to up that stat instead at 4th? Wis is the lesser of the two stats for Bugbear monks at 4th level it would seem to me (on account of Init and all).

[diplomancer]

I would assume at T1 for Bugbear Monk, having two to three attacks per round, depending on ki and tacking on Greatsword damage to your first round’s attacks is probably not inconsiderable either.



Much obliged, but AL runs on its own rules and I’m pretty sure it’s the sourcebook of the spell that determines yay or nay. Unfortunately gift of Alacrity did not show up in Tasha’s.



What do you think of using a Dex half feat to up that stat instead at 4th? Wis is the lesser of the two stats for Bugbear monks at 4th level it would seem to me (on account of Init and all).

Dex half feats are the weakest half feats, I believe. The ones that are "alright" do not work well with Monk at all, unless you're going for a Ranged build (than Gunner, if allowed, and Piercer are good).

But yeah, if Gift of Alacrity's not an option, probably the best thing is to start with 16 Dex, Wis and Con and get Alert at 4.

[Rashagar]

Does AL still have the rule of "PHB+1" when it comes to sourcebooks, or has that been done away with?

It's been a while since I've been heh.

[prototype00]

Does AL still have the rule of "PHB+1" when it comes to sourcebooks, or has that been done away with?

It's been a while since I've been heh.

It got changed to all you can eat (out of specified books)… 2 seasons ago?

[sambojin]

You could go MI: Druid for Guidance (+d4 init and skills), Shillelagh (always have a magic thumpy stick) and whatever druid spell you like (Goodberry if you can feed them to downed PCs, saves 10ki per day of pop-up healing, so you can thump-punch more). It's not as good as Feytouched+ GoA +1Wis, but it still does a thing for you, especially early on.

[x3n0n]

What do you think of using a Dex half feat to up that stat instead at 4th?

If you'll be a Mercy (or especially Astral Self) Monk, Skill Expert (Athletics) is pretty good. Poisoned enemies (from Physician's Touch) have disadvantage on ability checks, including the contests associated with shoving and grappling.

Otherwise, yeah, Piercer is middling but available. If you end up with battle-axe or longsword proficiency, Slasher is kind of fun, imposing movement penalty with Long-Limbed reach and often not needing to Disengage.

[Burley]

I've found the Crusher feat to be great for a monk, if you're just doing the punchies. Attack and Flurry with knockback on the last hit so you don't provoke attacks when you hop back 30 ft. (The enemy is now 35 feet from you, so, they probably can't move toward you and attack.)
Also, I really like the Way of Shadow monk, for the mobility of Shadow Step. Is it the strongest subclass? Nah. But, getting advantage every turn after teleporting? That's a good.

Edit: I guess with Long-Limbed, the distance I described above is slightly short and maybe superfluous. I dunno. It's a good defensive assist at the end of your offense.

[Quietus]

You could go MI: Druid for Guidance (+d4 init and skills), Shillelagh (always have a magic thumpy stick) and whatever druid spell you like (Goodberry if you can feed them to downed PCs, saves 10ki per day of pop-up healing, so you can thump-punch more). It's not as good as Feytouched+ GoA +1Wis, but it still does a thing for you, especially early on.

The thing with MI here is that it takes up your bonus action, which you want for flurry of blows on that first round (and Shillelagh does nothing for flurries anyway).

To everyone talking about Gift of Alacrity : That spell is not allowed in AL. It's from a book that is not permitted in the standard Forgotten Realms track. It MIGHT be allowed in the offshoot Critical Role version of AL, but that's extremely limited and doesn't cross over to FR at all.

Prototype00 - I definitely think Alert at level 4 will be the way to go here. It'll hurt somewhat to not be able to bump dex at that level, but your big schtick here is dumping first round damage. It'll be best to maximize that value. For multiclassing, you'll probably want to stick with Monk at least through to tier2 so as not to slow down Extra Attack, but there's a few options. You could straight class it, in which case you might want to consider Astral Self; you may still want to focus on Dex over wis (although if you've got 16 dex, an argument could be made either way), but your level 17 subclass feature, if you play that long, will get you a third attack with Extra Attack. Someone mentioned Gloomstalker, and 3 levels there would be a great addition, you could even combine that with 17 Astral monk for 6 attacks at level 20.

You could also take Fighter levels - Unarmed or Dueling fighting style, 11 levels for the same third attack Astral monk gets, plus Action Surge; Monk6/Fighter11/Ranger3 would get you eight attacks on round 1.

[x3n0n]

You could also take Fighter levels - Unarmed or Dueling fighting style, 11 levels for the same third attack Astral monk gets, plus Action Surge; Monk6/Fighter11/Ranger3 would get you eight attacks on round 1.

For the best nova round as early as possible in progression (assuming you also want to be Monk-primary in later tiers), I'd probably start with Monk 5 or 6, Gloom Stalker 3 or 4, and Fighter 2 (or 3 or 4).

Extra Attack + Dread Ambusher + Action Surge is 6 attacks, plus Flurry of Blows makes 8 first-round attacks with as few as 10 character levels. (Taking Ranger 4/Fighter 2 still gets you to Diamond Soul at 20 with only one lost ASI, if that's a consideration.)

I second the suggestion to keep a bow on hand: it's super sad to be a Bugbear who can't reach anybody to Surprise Attack on the first turn.

[Skrum]

Monk is alright, but I'd hesitate to go monk, even for the extra attacks.

Alternative option: Warlock 1 Sorcerer 5. Upcasting a quickened scorching ray out of a 3rd level slot and an eldritch blast nets you 6 attacks for a total of 20d6 + 2d10 damage with enough range you can pick and choose whoever hasn't acted yet. And of course, you're still a 5th level sorcerer for enemies you haven't annihilated before their first turn.

Agonizing and Repelling Blast are obvious picks for Warlock 2, but could also keep to warlock 1 to maximize slots

Scorching ray just keep adding more and more rays as you get higher slots too, so at level 10 (warlock 1 sorc 9) you'll have 3 eldritch blast rays and 6 scorching rays for 9 attacks. And all it takes is 2 sorcery points and a 5th level slot.

[Burley]

Monk is alright, but I'd hesitate to go monk, even for the extra attacks.

Alternative option: Warlock 1 Sorcerer 5. Upcasting a quickened scorching ray out of a 3rd level slot and an eldritch blast nets you 6 attacks for a total of 20d6 + 2d10 damage with enough range you can pick and choose whoever hasn't acted yet. And of course, you're still a 5th level sorcerer for enemies you haven't annihilated before their first turn.

Agonizing and Repelling Blast are obvious picks for Warlock 2. All sorc after that.

Scorching ray just keep adding more and more rays as you get higher slots too, so at level 12 (warlock 2 sorc 10) you'll have 3 eldritch blast rays and 6 scorching rays for 9 attacks. And all it takes is 2 sorcery points and a 5th level slot.

Then, what's the point of being a bugbear? It's not just about extra attacks. It's extra attacks with reach on a cool goblinoid.

[Skrum]

Then, what's the point of being a bugbear? It's not just about extra attacks. It's extra attacks with reach on a cool goblinoid.

Surprise Attack adds on to all those rays. Each are a separate attack roll, so each gets +2d6

[x3n0n]

I've found the Crusher feat to be great for a monk, if you're just doing the punchies. Attack and Flurry with knockback on the last hit so you don't provoke attacks when you hop back 30 ft. (The enemy is now 35 feet from you, so, they probably can't move toward you and attack.)
Also, I really like the Way of Shadow monk, for the mobility of Shadow Step. Is it the strongest subclass? Nah. But, getting advantage every turn after teleporting? That's a good.

Edit: I guess with Long-Limbed, the distance I described above is slightly short and maybe superfluous. I dunno. It's a good defensive assist at the end of your offense.

Actually, I think Long-Limbed works particularly well with Crusher. One "gotcha" with Crusher is "which attack will be my last hit?" If you delay until your last attack, your last attack might miss, denying you the opportunity of doing it at all. If you push them on the first hit, they're out of range for more unarmed strikes _unless_ you're a Bugbear.

That said, Crusher is hard to fit into a typical non-V.Human Monk ASI progression, especially one that wants to prioritize initiative.

[strangebloke]

So monks basically have three good subclasses that I would recommend.
1. Basic kensei. Basic (non-sharpshooter) kensei is still really solid and will be more durable and damaging than your average monk. Falls behind Mercy overall.
2. Mercy Monk. Just a massively overtuned subclass overall. One of the better damage dealers, also a great healer.
3. Shadow Monk: take a level of fighter for blindfighting, then cast darkness as a pre-buff for always active advantage. Yay. The high stealth really works well with this build, and one level of fighter isn't much to ask.

Other monk subclasses are fine, but you're going to be weaker overall since the subclasses simply do less. Some of them, like Astral, actively discourage you from using attacks in your opening turn, so there's a degree of anti-synergy.

My recommendation overall though is: 2 levels of fighter gets you action surge, for an insane six attacks on the first turn. 2d6*6=42 bonus damage before accuracy is considered. That's how you nova.

[x3n0n]

So monks basically have three good subclasses that I would recommend.
1. Basic kensei. Basic (non-sharpshooter) kensei is still really solid and will be more durable and damaging than your average monk. Falls behind Mercy overall.
2. Mercy Monk. Just a massively overtuned subclass overall. One of the better damage dealers, also a great healer.
3. Shadow Monk: take a level of fighter for blindfighting, then cast darkness as a pre-buff for always active advantage. Yay. The high stealth really works well with this build, and one level of fighter isn't much to ask.

Other monk subclasses are fine, but you're going to be weaker overall since the subclasses simply do less. Some of them, like Astral, actively discourage you from using attacks in your opening turn, so there's a degree of anti-synergy.

My recommendation overall though is: 2 levels of fighter gets you action surge, for an insane six attacks on the first turn. 2d6*6=42 bonus damage before accuracy is considered. That's how you nova.

Agreed. One more benefit: Monk 5+/Fighter 2+, spending the first ASI on Alert, can take the Archery fighting style to recover the lost accuracy of not bumping Dex and still get 5 arrows in the nova round via Ki-Fueled Attack from Focused Aim (or maybe Kensei 6's Deft Strike--but Focused Aim is likely to be worth it when each hit is an additional 2d6). You might even choose to run up and Long-Limbed Flurry of Blows after using the Archery-boosted bow for the first 4 attacks and still be able to retreat without incurring an OA.

[Keravath]

What are the chances that Bugbear gets errata?

The MotM version has everything the VGtM version has plus Fey Ancestry and the ability to fit in small spaces without squeezing. The old version of sneak attack included "You can use this trait only once per combat." AND required surprise. The new version just requires going first and doesn't have the 1/combat limit. Both sneak attacks are/were applicable to anything with an attack roll.

The new version can be used with as many attacks as you can manage in the first round against targets who haven't taken a turn yet which is open to a lot of "opportunities".

Bugbear Sorlock with Agonizing blast + quickened agonizing blast with each doing d10+2d6+stat ... in tier 4 this would be 16d6 extra possible damage on the first turn. At level 11 this would be 12d6 extra. It could be 14d6 for a level 11+ fighter with 3 attacks and PAM who uses action surge for example. Even a modest level 5 bugbear (2 warlock, 3 sorcerer) could use 2 sorcery points in the first round to quicken AB and do a possible extra 8d6 to one target.

There are lots of cool ways to use the ability and it will be allowed in AL until it gets errata'ed ... if that happens.

In the meantime, would DMs here allow it in your game as written?

[Quietus]

What are the chances that Bugbear gets errata?

The MotM version has everything the VGtM version has plus Fey Ancestry and the ability to fit in small spaces without squeezing. The old version of sneak attack included "You can use this trait only once per combat." AND required surprise. The new version just requires going first and doesn't have the 1/combat limit. Both sneak attacks are/were applicable to anything with an attack roll.

The new version can be used with as many attacks as you can manage in the first round against targets who haven't taken a turn yet which is open to a lot of "opportunities".

Bugbear Sorlock with Agonizing blast + quickened agonizing blast with each doing d10+2d6+stat ... in tier 4 this would be 16d6 extra possible damage on the first turn. At level 11 this would be 12d6 extra. It could be 14d6 for a level 11+ fighter with 3 attacks and PAM who uses action surge for example. Even a modest level 5 bugbear (2 warlock, 3 sorcerer) could use 2 sorcery points in the first round to quicken AB and do a possible extra 8d6 to one target.

There are lots of cool ways to use the ability and it will be allowed in AL until it gets errata'ed ... if that happens.

In the meantime, would DMs here allow it in your game as written?

I wouldn't bet on it getting errata. It's been live for months now, they've seen plenty of people theory craft around it. They could have released errata if they wanted to, unless they're waiting for optics reasons.

[kazaryu]

So they just made the Monsters of the Multiverse Rules legal (and supposedly required) for Adventurer’s league and I’ve been looking forwards to trying out the Bugbears’s awesome new upgrade. (Surprise Attack got really buffed)

I’ve settled on Monk and am now trying to plan out a decent/amusing build.

Here are my thoughts in no particular order, please feel free to comment:

- Monk is nice because of the many attacks you can get with flurry in the first round to maximise the extra damage.

- Mercy subclass in particular is considered above average as far as monk subclasses go and it likes to flurry.

- Max Dex seems to be the way to go to have high Init, but will have to try to fit in Alert feat somewhere.

- Long limbed racial trait gives you pseudo Mobile which will help the skirmishing playstyle. It’s not as good as Mobile, but it’s free.

I think Single Classed for max ki is the way to go, but have I missed anything?

Also, anyone else played a monk with the new Bugbear race? What did you think?

Thanks all!

I mean, if you're looking to maximize attacks in that first turn, then you should probably put a couple of levels in fighter at some point. its an extra 2 attacks in that first round, and you only give up 2 ki for it in the long term. it'd also get you a fighting style, although idk if there are any good you'd have access to if you're using MoMM (does AL still use PHb+1? if so then you can't do any of the options from tasha's i think..which would probably be optimal). I suppose archery, so that if you do end up ranged attacking you get a slight buff..but i'd assume that you'd be more interested in something like blind fighting style.

[prototype00]

I mean, if you're looking to maximize attacks in that first turn, then you should probably put a couple of levels in fighter at some point. its an extra 2 attacks in that first round, and you only give up 2 ki for it in the long term. it'd also get you a fighting style, although idk if there are any good you'd have access to if you're using MoMM (does AL still use PHb+1? if so then you can't do any of the options from tasha's i think..which would probably be optimal). I suppose archery, so that if you do end up ranged attacking you get a slight buff..but i'd assume that you'd be more interested in something like blind fighting style.

I have been considering the fighter dip, I do confess.

See the thing is, AL has freely available retraining, you just can’t do it mid session. So I was thinking in between getting the impactful abilities from Mercy Monk, lvl 6 and 11 specifically, I could do the fighter dip thing and test it out and then switch back to full monk No multiclass when I hit the impactful levels again.

[sambojin]

Another thought, especially if you have free retraining, is a 2lvl Moon Druid dip. Especially if "you've seen a lot of beasts" (AL tends to just let you be anything, most of the time).

Do your first turn as a Monk and punch-ambush the hell out of them, then go bear or deinonychus or something for some free HP and damage sustain after that. As well as plenty of movement related options. And Guidance for skills/ +init. It's good for adventuring, and not bad for combat either.

It's another 2/sr ability, so essentially use it like Ki. Ie: all the time it's advantageous to do so. But you've actually got enough of it with wildshape, with just that two level dip. (Monks usually do have just enough ki by lvl9-11 or so, but extra sr abilities that last ages are great). It sort-of just saves Ki for the next encounter, so you can go mental on the "6-8 encounters per day, with two short rests" thing.

It's sort of like a combat-styles/ +HP package, plus your beasts get a tiny bit of +AC +movement from your Monkish'ness. You also can just use the beast's biggest attack (works with Extra Attack at Monk5) and flurry as a bonus, so it's essentially a "first attack damage upgrade" for you. But two +5/6 to-hit 2d6+3/4 first punches as a Bear or Warhorse or Dire Wolf isn't too bad in comparison to two +PB+stat to-hit 1d6+stat Monk damage punches. That's after you've used your Bugbear ambush in the biggest way possible, of course. It does take your bonus action to *bamf* into beast-form, but you just multi/extra-attack and Hands of Harm on that turn, so it doesn't feel too bad. The free HP feels wonderful. But you can "Got a Greatsword/ pseudo-magic-weapon with riders" whenever you want. They are magic weapons by Monk6.

It's more-so to break up the monotony. Want to be a web-slinging wall-climber sometimes? Giant Spider, go for it! Super jumper ninja? Female Steeder. Quick trample mover? Warhorse or Elk. Still have 3-4 attacks for next combat if you stay in wildshape? Deinonychus or Frilled Deathspitter. Sack of HP with pack-tactics? Dire Wolf. Just a bit of non-ki damage sustain? Brown Bear. Bouncy advantage strikes? Jaculi. Feel free to blow through wildshape charges as much as you want, they're there for the sheer hell of it. Extra Attack works really well with some forms, so single attack forms are still fine, if they give you the abilities you want.

Anyway, I wouldn't rate it as highly as a 2lvl dip into Fighter, but sometimes you want to do more *stuff*, not just "more damage". Big Wildshape gives you that, as well as action-cast familiars and smaller creature shenanigans, for when you're not in combat. And a tiny bit of magic for other stuff (a party never complains about +30HP of portable healing a day from Good Berry for instance, or a few extra bonus-action ranged pop-up heals while you're in Monk-form from Healing Word). Worthwhile retraining your character into one for a session or two, just to muck around a bit and have some fun.

I'd go Mercy Monk6 (you are now a real Monk) -> Druid1 (you now have Guidance and magic?) -> Moon Druid2 (you are now a beast ninja) -> Monk X (you now have enough Ki). Maybe chuck in another druid level later, if the character just keeps going on, for lvl2 spells.

You could trial it at Moon2 -> Monk1 at lvl3 for a laugh and early super-power, then retrain to MercyMonk4 for Alert at lvl4, and keep to the above from there on in. Or even Moon3 -> Monk X, and just slowly harness the inner punchiness after all the earlier biteyness+ Summon Beast. Your choice.


(Hand of Healing/Harm and Physicians Touch works fine in Wildshape, so you don't lose all your Mercy abilities while you're mucking about as a beast ninja. I doubt Long Limbed or Tight Squeeze carries over from Bugbear, but Ambush should. Even as a Cat or Rat or Tiny Spider. Lol. Remember, Druids Voltron, so you could easily blow a wildshape charge on a familiar in Monk form, just for help action advantage, so your first stunning strike and harm hits more reliably. There's a lot to play with here, not simply standard wildshape)

((Oh, and you might be able to get really janky with the AL rules and include a free +1 Moon Sickle if you retrain at lvl5. It's a nice item, and probably a Monk weapon too. Or maybe a +1 Dragonhide Belt, if you want. But it's better to have +1DC on lvl1 lockdown/ party advantage spells that last a minute (that you can optionally choose each day), than it is to have +1DC on stunning strike))

(((AL now uses most major sources, there's a list, not just PHB+1. They realised that was silly, and opened the floodgates on builds etc)))

((((If you do like the 2lvl dip, and feel pretty damn Monk'y with it, there's always that 3rd lvl dip to try out as well. No subclass, just a very good list of lvl 2 spells. Druids become extremely good casters at lvl3. PwT, Summon Beast, Enhance Ability, Enlarge/Reduce, etc etc. There is a *lot* on their list of "stuff you can now do" at Druid3. But probably not in comparison to an AL combat-fest on BM/Echo/Samurai Fighter3. But you could try either one at some point))))

(((((PS. Go Alert at Monk4. There is no reason not to. Going first is great, even in round 2 of a combat with no Bugbear damage buff. It is great *every* round of a combat encounter, every time. And with +5init +highDex, you mostly will. Even more fun if you can bamf into other movement forms with free HP whenever alongside it, but after init is rolled, so even lowDex forms get the advantage that round. It lets you choose what is best, in any given round. Chuck in an extra +d4init from Guidance, and it's pretty reliable for the Bugbear ambush as well. D20avg+5Alert+3Dex+2.5avgGuidance does give a fairly nice 21'ish average initiative, with quite a lot less variation on the low end of things, so it's mostly reasonable. Your party's Str-GWM-plate-pally gets, umm, a D20avg+1maybe)))))

[Psyren]

So monks basically have three good subclasses that I would recommend.
1. Basic kensei. Basic (non-sharpshooter) kensei is still really solid and will be more durable and damaging than your average monk. Falls behind Mercy overall.
2. Mercy Monk. Just a massively overtuned subclass overall. One of the better damage dealers, also a great healer.
3. Shadow Monk: take a level of fighter for blindfighting, then cast darkness as a pre-buff for always active advantage. Yay. The high stealth really works well with this build, and one level of fighter isn't much to ask.

Other monk subclasses are fine, but you're going to be weaker overall since the subclasses simply do less. Some of them, like Astral, actively discourage you from using attacks in your opening turn, so there's a degree of anti-synergy.

My recommendation overall though is: 2 levels of fighter gets you action surge, for an insane six attacks on the first turn. 2d6*6=42 bonus damage before accuracy is considered. That's how you nova.

I like the Shadow Monk Fighter idea. Cast Darkness on a pebble or something before combat, then run up to your target and drop it as a free action.