Written by Benjamin Lolmaugh
OVERVIEW:
The Ardboyz are the heart and soul of the Ironjawz, of the orruks and I would go even as far as saying as the whole Destruction allegiance. Everything about the Ironjawz is concentrated into the Ardboyz. Tough and killy and just cunnin' enough to sucker punch the enemy when he's not lookin'. One of the best units in Ironjawz even among the star-studded list. Competitive in both Ironjawz exclusive lists and Big Waaagh lists. You'll ask me "Chaos Spawn, are you telling me that Ardboyz can do everything?" and that answer would be YES, yes they can.
THE WARSCROLL:
As of General's Handbook 2019 these bad boys come in at 90 pts for 5. Only becoming Battleline for Ironjawz and Bonesplitterz in units sizes of 10 or more. That's perfectly fine. I take them in 10-15 and usually 40-60 in every list. Seriously. Unless it's a niche-list like a Gorefist, I take as many as I can.
The Stat Wheel isn't impressive. Slow. Average save at a 4+, average wounds (2). Low Bravery (6). The attack profile is quite good for a cheap(ish) Battleline unit. Stuck on 32mm, and 1" Range weapons means you'll only ever get 1 rank into combat at a time. But that will be enough to grind through the opponent.
The first hint of flavor we taste from the Ardboyz is that their unit composition is COMPLICATED. In the best circumstance of 10 Ardboyz you will have 1 Ardboy Boss, 1 Waaagh! Drummer, 1 Gorkamorka Banner Bearer, 1 Gorkamorka Glyph Bearer 4 Ardboyz with Orruk-forged Shields and 2 with regular Ardboy Choppas.
The Ardboy Boss is the king among unit champions. Having 2 EXTRA attacks is phenomenal and multiplicative with the Violent Frenzy buff from the Warchanter. The Waaagh Drummer is another great addition the a normally slow unit by adding 2 to the charge rolls. In any army that loves to be stuck in combat, you'll have no problem getting your units of Ardboyz across the table to krump the enemy. The Gorkamorka Banner Bearer is a must-have, if you want to only include one banner in your units, take this one. Granting +2 Bravery is a god-send for this elite infantry unit. No longer in danger of losing models when one Ardboy falls means they will stick around until far longer. The Gorkamorka Glyph Bearer is a nice-to-have. Bravery in most armies is not even a thought, but when you start to do that damage, another model fleeing can make the difference between securing an objective or losing it.
All of these extra components are worth it and are worth making sure you have the right bits in each unit. So be mindful of where each Ardboy is when you remove causalities or you might just screw yourself out of 2 points of Bravery or extra charge range.
The last ability on this lovely warscroll is the Orruk-forged Shield. Not as nice as many other shield abilities, but its better than nothing. From last edition, its more of a nerf. Each Ardboy could equip a shield instead of 2 out of 5 now. Keep in mind that this rule does not affect MORTAL WOUNDS, as wounds and mortal wounds are different. This is just effective enough to make yourself add shields onto your Ardboyz, but little enough to make you think you might be wasting your time.
The Ardboyz are just cheap enough, just tough enough, just killy enough where you will feel confident throwing them at the enemy buffed or not. If they die, so what, it was a cheap unit and absorbed lots of damage. Maybe you threw Go On Ladz, Get Stuck In! or Killa Beat and a Violent Frenzy on a unit of 10. Well they can now reliably deal 16 wounds AFTER saving throws.
One Ironjawz warclan really stand out for the Ardboyz-centric warboss. DA CHOPPAS. They have a fantastic relic to help buff those Bravery numbers and a Command Ability that makes Violent Frenzy affect D3 Ardboyz units instead of 1.
Big Waaagh is also a great place for the Ardboy hordes. The large unit sizes and amount of boyz you can fit within 18" means that you can maximize on how many Waaagh points you can get each turn. Taking units of 10+ will allow you to claim them as Battleline and also gather more Waaagh points when you make those charge and activate in combat. Once you get to the hallowed level of 20 Waaagh Points, your Ardboyz are now on 2+/2+. A true threat.
PROS & CONS:
+ Cheap
+ After Save
+ Buff Sponge
+ Cheap on eBay
- Love it or Hate it model
- Terrible to Paint
- Requires Buffs to really shine
Painting the hordes and hordes of Ardboyz is probably the worst part.
BATTALIONS:
Ironfist - which can fit 4 units of Ardboyz and 1 unit of either Goregruntas or Brutes and still be completely competitive. A free fight in the Hero phase or move, can help you screen an objective or slaughter those last few survivors to get to the next big fight.
Ardfist - made for those madladz like me who love hordes and hordes of Ardboyz. Allowing you to attempt to bring back units of slain Ardboyz on a 4+. You'll be taking Warchanters if you are taking Ardboyz anyways. Ardfist is particularly good in Big Waaagh since those new units are affected by Smash 'Em and Bash 'Em Waaagh abilities, making them immediate and dangerous threats on the table edges.
Moggorz's Rekrootin' Krew - From the White Dwarf. Gives your Ardboys immunity to battleshock. Not too useful. Your Ardboyz are almost immune already considering the bravery buff, unit size buff, Rogue Idol buff and possible auto-pass with a CP.
WRAP UP:
While needing a little love in the buff department, the Ardboyz can really do and be anything for the warboss who fields them. Always herded into battle by a Warchanter, they can take on anything. 'Ard as Nails and absolutely cunningly brutal. A true Testament of Gorkamorka's finest.
GRADE: A
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