Orruk Warclans: Savage Orruk Arrowboys 2020

Written by Benjamin Lolmaugh

The Savage hunters of the Bonesplitterz marauding tribes of orruks. They use a special type of Kunnin' to bring down larger prey. They stab 'em.... from afar.

OVERVIEW:

As of General's Handbook 2020 these kunnin' boys come in at 120 pts  for 10, with no horde discount. I'd imagine most players will be fielding them in groups of 20. Savage Orruk Arrowboys are considered a Battleline unit for Bonesplitterz or Big Waaagh! armies. The box contains enough bits and bobs to make 20 Arrowboys. It is one of the great boxes created by Games Workshop that can also great Savage Orruks with Stikkas or with Chompas or Morboyz or Big Stabbas. It's a great kit!

THE WARSCROLL:

Well, the Stat Wheel is looks pretty bad. But who doesn't like a naked crazed orruk. 5" Move is average for non-aelf infantry Battleline. Remember that if you are going Big Waaagh! you will be getting Zog 'Em as the first Waaagh Power, this ability allows you to move D6" every phase in which that unit took damage. Alternatively, in Bonesplitterz you can pick a unit of Arrowboys for the Tireless Trackers allegiance abilty which allows them to move 5" at the start of the game. This is great for position for triggering Kunnin' Rukk in your first Hero phase! Just make sure you bring your Savage Orruks screen with you. The Skull Thumper, the musician of the unit, adds 2 to this unit's charge roll, but you shouldn't be charge unless you need to get in range of an objective and can take the hit back from the enemy you're tying up. 5 Bravery is absolutely terrible but the Bone Totem Bearer gives +1. If you get a large unit of 20 you'll end up at Bravery 8. And Bravery 9 if you take a Rogue Idol... or two. 6+ for the Save is terrible too but who cares, you don't want them taking damage in the first place, but at least you get an after-save from Warpaint if you're going Bonesplitterz or Laugh At 'Em if you're going for Big Waaagh!. At least you have 2 wounds for 12 points a model.

The true power of the Arrowboys lies surprisingly in the shooting phase. The base Stinga Bow is 2 attacks that are hitting on 5+s and wounding on 4+ with no rend. With Loadsa Arrows, this gives a unit of 15 or more +1 attack with their Stinga Bows so now a unit of 20-30 boys is spitting out 60-90 shots! You're only hitting on 5+ though but you can cast Brutal Beasts Spirits on them and take it to 4+. If you have a Maniak Weirdnob you can cast Bone Spirit on them to have exploding 6s to Hit to score 2 hits instead of 1. Let's skip the melee, you have plenty of other options for that and the Arrowboys are sub-par but not completely ineffective as other ranged units might be. Aim Fer Its Eyes is great! Improve the Rend characteristic with Stinga Bow by 1 if the target is a MONSTER. for taking out those general-monsters like Ghoul King on Terrorgheist or Keeper of Secrets, taking their 4+ Save to a 5+ Save or 6+ Save if you're going Icebone warclan and with a little luck. Much more useful on every monster/hero hybrid now that Ethereal Amulet is gone. 

That's about it for mechanics. The book mostly provides buffs to melee weapons and the reason you take the Arrowboys is for the ranged weapon. Good thing though that the writers added a few easy ways to buff the missile weapons. 

FACTIONS:

The Arrowboys really only get a buff in two warclans in Bonesplitterz Warclan and almost no useful buffs in Big Waaagh army. 

Icebone  - This warclan is a pretty damn good for an Arrowboys heavy armies. The command ability is useless on them, sooooo SKIP. The clan artefact, Kattanak Pelt is pretty useful for the +1 Bravery within 18". Wound rolls, INCLUDING with missile weapons of 6, are at -1 Rend. Which is good for how many shots you can put out in a unit of 20 Arrowboys.... or 2 Kunnin' Rukks. 

Drakkfoot - Strength of Purpose works on the Stinga Bows of the Arrowboys so its a great way to soften up Heathguard Berserkers or some Daughters of Khaine Witch Aelves. Additionally when facing magic heavy armies, you can Shout Down Da Magic by using this command ability. Since you'll have at least 20 Arrowboys you'll get rolling to dispel enemy spells at a +1. 

BATTALIONS:

Kunnin Rukk - 140 pts. Kunnin' Rukk got a nerf, yes. But it's still worth taking. You get both a decent screen and anvil in the Savage Orruks and the ranged power of 120 shots over a Hero phase and a Shooting phase. Like always, you need to keep your Savage Big Boss alive, but hey its worth it. Doubling your output for almost half the cost, an extra CP and an extra artifact is worth the 140. Now I can hear you, Chaos Spawn, well I should just take 2. And this is where I say...

Yep. Take 2 Kunnin' Rukks. With all the changes from GHB2020 and the FAQs that followed, why not. Facing Petrifex Elite Mortek Guard? Shot em, shot em twice. They can't reroll the 1s from shooting and they are only 4+ Save now. Relive that scene from 300 when the Persians blot out the sun with arrow fire. 

WRAP UP:

The humble Arrowboy. A simple orruk with inhuman strength and agression but sub-human intelligence and emotional awareness. The Bonesplitterz only have a few ways to reach out and touch support characters that love to sit behind chaff-walls and buff. They live and breath the Stalin quote of "Quantity has a quality all its own". Throw enough dice at a 5 wound hero and they'll die just like the Spartans did in 300... like pin-cushions. Add a few layers on top them like a Kunnin' Rukk and Icebone's Rend, and your orruks will start projecting power far across the board.

PROS & CONS:

+ Lots of wounds

+ Lots of attacks

+ Access to Rend

- Fragile 

- Needs Kunnin Rukk to be good

GRADE: A