Written by Benjamin Lolmaugh
OVERVIEW:
The Gore-Gruntas play an interesting role in the Ironjawz army. Fast enough to careen into the enemy first turn, tough enough to slug it out with heavy hitters but unable to capture most objectives. Slow enough to be unable to catch those truly fast units. Not good enough to trample through chaff but strong enough to not be ignored by the enemy.
THE WARSCROLL:
As of General's Handbook 2019 these bad boys come in at 160 pts (up from 140 pts) for 3. Battleline in both Ironjawz armies and Big Waaagh! armies. I find Goregruntas to be most effective in units of 6 which will run you 320 points and 30 wounds. They gained +1 Attack from the last book, which seems to be why they went up in points.
The Stat Wheel seems pretty good. Average movement for a mounted unit at 9", which can be augmented by Mad As Hell and Mighty Destroyer. No flying. No other movement tricks save the teleport.
Weaponry will be the big question for Warbosses choosing to field Gore-Gruntas. If you're using Ironjawz faction, I'd use Jagged Gore-Hackas. If you're using the Gore-Gruntas in a Big Waaagh! list, I'd use Pig Iron Choppas. The bonus on the charge is lost after getting 20 Waaagh Points.
A huge problem with the Gore-Gruntas is that there are no inherent buffs such as +1 Bravery or +1 to charge. However the Bravery is one more than Brutes and is native on the warscroll.
Gore-Grunta Charge got better since the last book. No more will you have to make those long charges in hopes of dealing D3 Damage instead of 1 on the Tusks and Hooves. Now we have a vastly more useful ability. +1 to Hit and +1 to wound will also be useful. Especially when buffed with Violent Frenzy from the Warchanter or further improved upon by Go On Ladz, Get Stuck In! or Waaagh Point buffs.
Rolling a D6 after the charge move for each model within 1" sounds good but in the best case scenario is only going to amount to 3 mortal wounds. Yes, some mortal wounds are better than none, but at what cost? However, the ability says "after a charge move", so this applies when you use Mighty Destroyer in the Hero phase to charge in or in the enemy charge phase if you use the Ironsunz command ability.
Gore-Gruntas are best used in two of the Ironjawz warclans. Ironsunz and Bloodtoofs. Da Choppas is not really a viable choice for Gore-grunta heavy lists. The warclan ability will still work for the re-rolling charge rolls but the Bravery boost from the Aretefact is wasted and the command ability can not affect Gore-Gruntas.
Ironsunz will let you capitalize on the -1 to Hit debuff your enemy is suffering 1st turn. Combined with a Gorefist, and getting first turn will allow you to take the most advantage of the debuff.
Bloodtoofs allows the Gore-Gruntas to capitalize on their speed. The +1 to run and charges is a great addition to a unit that loves to charge. Combined with the native Ironjawz buff, that's +2 to charge. If you get lucky you might be able to trigger Get to da Realmgate! after destroying a small unit of chaff and sit on an objective.
PROS & CONS:
+ Fun to Paint
+ Cheap on eBay
+ Potential to kill anything
+ High Bravery
+ Lost of attacks
+ In built mortal wounds
- Charge dependent
- Weapons decide your faction
- The ears! THE EARS!!!
- Expensive per Model
BATTALIONS:
Ironfist - A unit of 6 Gore-Gruntas is a great choice for the Big Boss of an Ironfist. With the high movement value and killing power, Mighty Destroyer will never be wasted.
Gorefist - Gorefist has changed wordings but functionally stayed the same in this book. Gorefist + Gordrakk used to be the winning combination for an Alpha Strike that even Gorkamorka would respect. Now, we just have a better option in the Ironfist. Unless you really need all of your units of Gore-gruntas charging, you'd be better served with fighting in the Hero phase in later turns.
WRAP UP:
Let's be honest and realistic for a minute here. A fully buffed unit of Gore-Gruntas is going to destroy pretty much anything it touches. A partial buffed unit can destroy most things in the game. A non buffed unit can slug it out and waste 2 combats. You make 2 gambles with this unit, once for the weapon choice, and again on the charge. Whichever way you choose, you will feel like you chose wrong. Will they under-perform for their points? No. Will they deliver the battle on their own? No. Does it feel like Christmas when you wipe a unit out with 6 models? HELL YEAH. If you don't want to gamble with a huge potential pay-off, why even play Orruk Warclans. Tough, fast, killy. What's not to love. Just remember to buff em before they move to far away.
GRADE: B
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