Gloomspite Gitz: Loonboss on Giant Cave Squig GHB2020

Written by Benjamin Lolmaugh

The dukes and marquis of the Under-Dank. These regal and brave nobles lead their knights and squires into battle atop mighty steeds girded for battle. When you hear the thunderous bouncing and look to the horizon, what do you see leading the horde? THE LOONBOSS ON GIANT CAVE SQUIG!

OVERVIEW:

As of General's Handbook 2020, the Loonboss on Giant Cave Squig will run you 110 points. Games Workshop sells a few sculpts of the these little brave or crazy gobbos in Plastic, Finecast or Forgeworld. The newer plastic Loonboss on Giant Cave Squig goes for about $35 USD, while the resin Forgeworld one sells for about $58 USD. Both sculpts look great the one with the shield is a little dated but who cares. 

THE WARSCROLL:

The Stat Wheel - The Move is random but you get to FLY. 2D6" but will most likely be 7+3" using the command ability Let's Get Bouncing! Frankly it's fun once you get used to the randomness of the whole army in general. So don't get discourged by it if you're new to Gloomspite and the grot/goblin shenanigans. Wounds of 6 is standard for a human sized mounted Hero. 4+ Save is average too. Bravery 6 is a little low but it doesn't really matter in Age of Sigmar for the majority of cases. So everything is looking good so far. 

The Loonboss on Giant Cave Squig only has melee weapons and that makes sense. I imagine it would be hard to shoot a bow or a handgun while bouncing all over the place. When you pick this Loonboss, you need to pick if the rider has a Moon-cutta or Moonclan Stabba. One is a sword or sickle and the other is a spear or lance. At bare value the two are statistically the same. Once you start adding buffs to wound, like we regularly get from the Loonboss on Mangler Squigs' command ability Bite Da Moon! the math slightly moves in the favor of the Moon-Cutta but that disregards the Range benefit given to the Moonclan Stabba. All in all, it really doesn't matter much its only about 0.8 wounds inflicted on a 4+ Save model. The damage comes from the Giant Cave Squig, DUH! The squig fights with a Massive Fang-filled Gob. This attack profile is approximately what is on every other 100 point foot Hero in Age of Sigmar. 4 Attacks, hitting on 4+, wounding on 3+ with -1 Rend, dealing D3 Damage. That's about 1.8 damage for a grand total of almost 3 damage per combat round without buffs. With just Bite Da Moon!you're little guy is dealing about 3.4 wounds vs 4+ Save. Remember there is a definitive lack of +1 to Hit in the whole army, the only way to get it is from the Anvil of Apotheosis. Not too shabby for a gobbo that's used to living in filth and wearing dirty rags.  

The Loonboss on Giant Cave Squig does have access to rerolls once per game with the Redcap Mushrooms ability. You get to reroll hit and wounds for the Loonboss's weapons only, not the mount. It feels good to remember to use but in the end it doesn't end up doing much damage. It's nice to think that the gobbo attached to the giant bouncing squig is getting high while fighting desperately for his little life. The real reason you take this guy in a squig heavy list is the Command Ability. The Loonboss' command ability is called Let's Get Bouncing! and in so many words it basically says that the SQUIG units wholly within range get +3" to their movement. This is great news for an army full of random movement. This works on all sorts of units, Squig Hoppers, Mangler Squigs including the Loonboss on Mangler Squigs, Squig Herds, Boingrot Bounderz, the Squig Gobbla and the beautiful yet dangerous Colossal Squig. This does NOT affect some units that have squigs in or on them such as the Fungoid Cave Shaman, Sneaky Snufflers, Zarbag's Gitz or Loonboss WITH Giant Cave Squig. 

   

BATTALIONS:

Squigalanche (Super battalion) - 90 pts. 760 pts Minimum. 

COMMAND TRAITS:

Most of the time, this beautiful bastard will not be your general but in those smaller games where you aren't taking a Loonboss on Mangler Squigs, he's not a bad choice.

Tough n Leathery - +2 Wounds. Not bad at all. Your Loonboss's Wounds goes to 8 which is good for the type of character that he is. He doesn't need to shy away from combat, but you still don't want to throw him in the middle of a clusterfuck like you would with a Mawkrusha or Loonboss on Mangler Squigs. Its a great choice if you find that you have enough Command Points or CP generation or your meta has a lot of character sniping abilities such as magic mortal wound spam or shooting from KO (Kharadron Overlords) or LRL (Lumineth Realm Lords) or Seraphon.

Deady Shouty - You can use your command ability for free once per battle round. You'll definitely be using the Loonboss on Giant Cave Squig's command ability to let your squigs within range to get +3" movement in the first and second turn. After that though, maybe on the 5th turn Bad Moon-willing for those late game objective captures. Certainly the best choice out of the bunch! 

ARTIFACTS:

The Trogodytic Treasures are pretty useless for a Loonboss on Giant Cave Squig. Only one really seems useful but I take it every time... but not on this guy

The Clammy Cowl  -  This gives your little guy -1 to be Hit. It's great... on a Loonboss on Mangler Squigs. It will be useful for the Loonboss on Giant Cave Squig if you're playing with one or if you're playing a smaller game. Combined with Tough N Leathery, this makes a truly tanky Git!  

PROS & CONS:

+ Cheap-ish

+ Fantastic models

+ Useful Command ability

- Random-ish Movement

- Easy to snipe

- Feels like a tax

- Only fits in Squigalanche Super battalion 

WRAP UP:

This guy has A LOT of drawbacks... He is relatively fragile for a melee Hero, doesn't care an artifact well, and has random movement. BUT... BUT he has a lot of attacks, some with Rend and D3 Damage AND one of the best Command Abilities in the whole faction with Let's Get Bouncing! 

GRADE: B

Orruk Warclans: Wardokk GHB2019

Written by Benjamin Lolmaugh

The fledgling shaman of the warring clans of savage greenskins. The Wardokks help goad the furious horde into battle while casting terrible spells at the enemy or enhancing their fellow orruks with their fell magics. Superb, NAY! GIFTED dancers. The wardokks shake shake shake what their mommas gave 'em to entice the horde into heightened levels of frenzy. 

OVERVIEW:

As of General's Handbook 2020, the Wardokk will run you a lean 80 points. One of the cheapest Leader/Hero units in all of Age of Sigmar but probably way more useful than similarly priced models. The Wardokk is also one of the cheapest casters in all of Age of Sigmar too, tied with the Madcap Shaman of the Gloomspite Gitz, who we will get to eventually. The model itself will run you about $15 USD from Games Workshop themselves. A strange little PRIEST WIZARD but Priest doesn't do anything in the Orruk Warclans book. 

THE WARSCROLL:

Well, the Stat Wheel is terrible but you're expecting it by now with Bonesplitterz units. 5" Move is average for a foot Hero. He's not going anywhere  Of course if he's in Big Waaagh! he can use Zog 'Em. This may be more useful to get the Wardokk further embedded into your own lines rather than run after whatever unit hurt him that phase. D6" could get him out of range of further fire or lengthen a charge move. Wardokks in Bonesplitterz armies can pick him for the Tireless Trackers allegiance ability which allows them to move 5" before the game actually starts. Unless you missed placed him in the first place, he shouldn't be moved. Just make sure he is properly bubble-wrapped and is wholly within 12" of his power-pair Bonesplitterz unit.  5 wounds is about average for human sized, low tier heroes. Just above weedy little grots. The 6+ for the Save is super bad but at least you'll have a Warpaint after-save of a 6+ if you're going Bonesplitterz or a 6+ after-save Laugh At 'Em if you're going for Big Waaagh! I know, you're not impressed just yet. We haven't got to the dance moves yet. 

If I told you that the Wardokk was a combat monster that you're opponent should fear, I would be lying to you. And while that is a lot of fun, I'll give it to you straight this one time. With only 1 attack at Range of 1" hitting on 4+ and wounding on 3+ with No Rend is absolutely terrible. Epic levels of terrible. Gorkamorka weeps about the amount of suck in combat this guy does. At least you can do D3 if you jump through all the hoops. Oh, and don't worry about Monster Hunters Bonesplitterz faction ability, this little dancer is facing up against a Keeper or Terrorgheist or frankly anything with the MONSTER keyword, its D-E-D dead.  

The true POWER of the Wardokk lies in these paragraphs. The paragraphs on the warscroll, not my paragraphs. These paragraphs are garbage. Chances are that I'm writing these words while listening to Lo-Fi on my headphones in the dark with no pants on. Yeah, a great image. Ritual Dance basically tells you how you can dance to give buffs, just like a priest but with your tough green sweaty body. At the start of your hero phase, you can say that this model is performing one of the dances. The problem in here is the timing with other "start of the hero phase" shit. But most people don't care while you're going through your Hero phase, checking that you cast all your abilities and such. On a 3+, the dance is "successful" I guess we'll call it. The dance was a good 'un? The 3 current dances are: Grimdokk Dance. Glyphdokk Dance or Weirddokk Dance. 

Grimdokk Dance - Heal D3 wounds allocated to a friendly BONESPLITTERZ model within range. Not a Mawkrusha unfortunately. But you can heal a Rogue Idol and you should. Note that this says model not unit, so just the model has to be within range, not the whole unit, if you're healing Boarboys or Savage Orruks or a Big Boss. 

Glyphdokk Dance - The best one! Pick a friendly BONESPLITTERZ unit wholly within range. +1 to  save rolls for attacks that target that unit UNTIL YOUR NEXT HERO PHASE. Fan-fucking-tastic! This works against normal combat attack BUT also against shooting attacks, hero phase fighting of Ironjawz AND charge phase fighting from Nighthaunt. This is part 1 of 2 to make your Savage Orruks secretly tanky. Part 2 will surprise you.

Weirddokk Dance - Pick a friendly BONESPLITTERZ WIZARD wholly within range get +1 to casting, unbinding and dispelling rolls. Great for when all your Savage Orruks are out of range and you want to get some casting going. This gives the army an easy way to get +1 to cast. Note that this bonus is not stackable with itself but is stackable with Arcane terrain, Master of the Weird command trait, Mork's Boney Bitz artifact, Squiggly Curse's 1/100 odds or The one and only ROGUE IDOL. So if you play for it, you can get a +6 or +7 to cast.   

SPELLS:

What spells to take with your Wardokk? He's a single caster after all but doesn't come with a Warscroll spell.

Brutal Beast Spirits - Casting Value of 6. The casting value is super low considering how many sources of +1 we have. Pick 1 friendly BONESPLITTERZ unit wholly with 24". +1 to hit, charge and run rolls until your next hero phase. If you roll doubles, pick 2 units. Its great. Easy to cast. Wide range. A needed buff all around. Any unit can benefit from this including Arrowboys.   

Gorkamorka's Warcry - Casting Value of 7. It's relatively reliable to cast as long as you have some bonuses. Pick 1 enemy unit within 18", deal D3 mortals and that unit fights at the end of the combat phase. Excellent. This gives Bonesplitterz a chance to play in the Activation Wars. Also a great spell to have in a Big Waaagh! army as another combat trick to screw your opponent.

Kunnin' Beast Spirits - Casting Value of 6. Friendly BONESPLITTERZ  unit wholly within 24" gets +1 to save for attacks that target that unit until your next Hero phase. Part 2 of 2 to make your Savage Orruks into 3+ Save, 6+ after-save anvil monsters, so what if they're naked orruks. Yes you're right, you could always throw this and Glyphdokk Dance on a Rogue Idol for his 2+ Save, 5+ after-save. No, you're not a bad person for doing that. 

FACTIONS:

The Wardokk really fits in any army that has Bonesplitterz units in it but one sticks in my mind as extra useful.

Drakkfoot - The command ability substitutes all your WIZARDs  Arcane Bolt with Fireball. Which has a Casting Value of 5. Super reliable. You pick 1 enemy unit within 18", it suffers 1 MW if it has 1 model, D3 mortals if it has 2-9 models or D6!!!!! if it has 10+ models in the unit. This is great for weakening those units before the tidal wave of Savage Orruks comes crashing down. It's a Nice-to-Have for a WIZARD with no warscroll spell. 

BATTALIONS:

Kop Rukk - 140 pts. Minimum unit 540 pts. Actually usable at 780 pts. 2-5 Wardokks, 2-5 Morboyz. One of the battalion Wardokks wholly within  18" of 2 or more units of 10+ from the battalion can attempt to cast Fist of Gork from the Wurrgog Prophet warscroll card for FREE. It's the horde killer spell. For reference that is a Casting Value of 5. Super reliable. Pick an enemy unit within 24". Roll a dice for each model in that unit. (Not within range like most horde killer spells). On a roll of a 6, that unit suffers 1 mortal wound. If you cast it on a 10+ (doable) inflict a mortal wound on a 4+ instead. Well that's a great spell right there. If you want to spew out mortal wounds, which is doable in a Drakkfoot Bonesplitterz army, then this is a good option. MORBOYZ are really good, you can find an article about them in this blog. You have to jump through some hoops but when you do and hit that 10+, I'm sure it would be worth it.    

COMMAND TRAITS:

Master of the Weird - +1 to casting, unbinding and dispelling. Super solid and very useful. 

Fueled by the Spirits - +1 spell and you can cast an additional spell. Note that this does not mean you can dispel or unbind an additional spell though. This is usally my go-to Command Trait when I'm not taking Drakkfoot. Getting out an extra spell is worth the price of a command trait.

ARTIFACTS:

Mork's Boney Bitz - +1 to cast. +2 instead if there are 2+ MONSTERS within 24". Always great to have +1 to cast. +2 on very rare occasions and I'm sure you'll forget every time anyways. 

Big Wurrgog Mask - In your Hero phase, pick an enemy unit with 12" and roll 3 dice. Each 2+ deals D3 mortals. Each 1 deals D3 mortals back to the bearer. I absolutely love taking this artifact, I just never get a chance to use. Either the enemy is too far way in my Hero phase or my Wardokk is dead. Its orruk gambling at its best!

Mystic Waaagh! Paint - Start of your Hero phase, roll a d6 and the WIZARD can attempt to cast that spell from the Lore of the Savage Beast for free. This is the artifact for the person who always wants to have their book handy. 2/6 of the time this item will be useless. Most other times you'll find a use for it. Fun, but make sure you take it in a friendly game, you don't want to be called out for slow-playing by checking your spell book every Hero phase. 

PROS & CONS:

+ Great Dance Moves/Prayer

+ Cheap

+ Caster

- Fragile 

WRAP UP:

With all the drawbacks of being fragile. The Wardokk truly brings a tremendous amount of buffs to Bonesplitterz units. Whether its through sexy sweaty dancing or more mundane castings, the Wardokk always has a job to do and does it well. Your opponents will surely be GREEN(!) when they find out how much he can really do. For only 80 pts, I always take 2, every time. Cheap buffs, a Hero to walk around with my blocks of Savage Orruks. Ready to dance for defense, cast for offense, dispel when I can and using Inspiring Presence when needed.   

GRADE: A+

Orruk Warclans: Ironjawz Brutes GHB2019

Written by Benjamin Lolmaugh

OVERVIEW:

As of General's Handbook 2019 the iconic Brutes are 140 pts for 5 models on 40mm bases. Not much has changed for the Brutes since the Ironjawz stand-alone book. The Boss Klaw has changed to lose its trick and the combined into a faster, easier to use profile. The Brutes also lost re-rolling to Hits against 4+ wound models to get a +1 to Hit. It's a straight nerf as a +1 is a 16.7% increase while a re-roll is almost always better

THE WARSCROLL:

The Stat Wheel looks pretty good. For 28 pts a model, its not too bad.

Movement - The 4" Move is one of the biggest problems on this Stat Wheel. Luckily for both Ironjawz players and Big Waaagh! players this can be augmented. Mad As Hell and Zog 'Em will allow you to move in any phase in which you take any wounds or mortal wounds. Mighty Destroyers also can be used from either a nearby character of by the unit themselves if selected as Brute Boss in an Ironfist battalion. Which is absolutely crucial to get to combat or to close that distance to an objective. The Weirdnob Shaman or a character in an Ironjawz Bloodtoofs army with the Quickduff Amulet can cast the Ironjawz spell, a Great Big Green Hand of Gork to teleport a large unit of Brutes directly to the front lines (or back lines) of the enemy. Please note that if the unit took damage in that Hero phase from any source (:wink:wink: Green Puke :wink:wink:) is eligible to still move due to the wording on both Zog 'Em and Mad As Hell. The last option for extra movement I can think of is the Bloodtoof warclan command ability  Breakthrough Da Line, which allows you to "At the end of the combat phase, pick a friendly unit that's already fought wholly within 24": of a hero, that unit can make a normal move but can't retreat or run". 

Wounds - 

Bravery - The Bravery is the other big hurdle you're going to need to overcome when fielding a Brute heavy list. I have not a clue why Brutes on a Goregrunta are braver than a Brute on foot, but there you go. The Brutes is at a middling Bravery of 6. There are no options of a standard bearer for +2 or +1 Bravery. None. Besides using a CP to auto-pass a Bravery check there are a few Ironjawz artifacts that could help. The first being The Golden Toof. This makes your Ironjawz boys auto pass all Bravery checks as long as that unit is wholly wtihin 12". A little hard to do with a missile like the Megaboss on Mawkrusha, but much more manageable with a foot Megaboss. The other artifact is The Boss Skewer. This artifact gives off +1 Bravery to friendly Ironjawz units wholly within 18" and -1 Bravery to any enemy units within 12". It can certainly be useful now that we have to shy away from Realm Artifacts. The last option isn't a good one, but you should know all the options. A Ironjawz Megaboss general can take the Command Trait, Bestial Charisma, which allows you to once per battle round, use Inspiring Presence command ability without spending 1 command point. Now none of these options are ideal to be completely honest. The Boss Skewer can be generally useful and has a large range, so I can see that on the table. Chances are you'll just have to take an Ironfist and Brutish Cunning and keeping your CP for an Inspiring Presence when you need it. Lastly, you can always include a Rogue Idol. The Rogue Idol is a great monster! An absolute unit, an anvil and hammer all in one with two useful buffs. The one we are looking for is called Livin' Idol. Livin' Idol gives all units wholly within 18" +1 Bravery. Nice. Exactly what we need. With The Boss Skewer and the Idol you can have these guys run around at Bravery 8 to 9 depending on the size. 

Weaponry -  Just how the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, the weaponry is the powerhouse of the Brute. 3 in every 5 Brutes you are taking is going to be either wielding a Pair of Brute Choppas or a Jagged Gore-Hackas. The Pair of Brute Choppas is swinging in at 4! attacks each, 4!. That's incredible! Hitting on 3+s, yes please, and Wounding on 3+s, yes please, and with -1 Rend. Fantastic! Absolutely fantastic for 140 points, for 15 wounds at 4+, that can fight in the Hero phase. Jagged Gore-Hackas are great too. Don't get me wrong. In a unit of 10, these Brutes can sit behind a screen and play defensively or Rip and Tear! into any enemy. Brutes have the volume of attacks and the Rend necessary to take down most threats.

Choosing to build Brutes. You'll have to answer 2 questions. 1st Question is: Pair of Brute Choppas or  Jagged Gore Hackas? In units of 5, Definitely the Brute Choppas. In unit sizes of 10, what if I told you the math is basically the same for both the Jagged Gore Hacka and Brute Choppas if you make sure you're fighting 6 brutes wide. It doesn't matter what you take for it. If you take the pauldrons off the Brute and give him the Jagged Gore-Hacka, he makes a great Bonesplitterz themed Brute. 

The second question is :Boss Choppa or Boss Klaw and Brute Smasha?  The basic math is essentially the same. an average of 1.8 damage against a 4+ Save. Against a Big Thing, the Boss Klaw and Brute Smash wins out by  0.01 wounds. So really, it doesn't matter. Just make sure he fights, because you know who else is gonna show those runty gits if not da boss. 

In either case, make sure you have 1 Gore-Choppa for each 5 Brutes. These always increase your overall damage per activation and have a range of 2". It's a no-brainer. Plus they look soooo cool!

If I remember correctly Duff Up da Big Thing used to be re-roll Hit rolls against a unit with a Wounds characteristic of 4 or more, a little nerf with the new book but better for the speed of the game. Duff Up da Big Thing gives the Brutes unit +1 Hit for attack against 4+ Wound units. So, the big shit that every player has access to, you get a buff, not only a buff, a great buff and not only that, its within the warscroll and doesn't require a character to schlep around babysitting them. 

Now that we have all that information rattling in our orruk skull, this is big brain time.

We can slap just about any buff we have onto these killers and come out on time but we'll highlight just two. The first and second (cuz I'm kunnin') is the Big Waaagh powers Smash "Em and Bash 'Em. You can get these by turn 2 if you build for it. The +1 to Hit and the +1 to Wound will almost completely double the your damage out. Versus a 4+ a unit goes from 12.9 wounds to 20.8. That's a complete unit wiped from the board, a huge monster just *poof* gone. Getting the Warchanter buff of Violent Frenzy also almost doubles the damage out to 23.6! Again fantastic. Not much can stand up to that. Combined, Smash Em + Bash Em + Warchanter Violent Frenzy dishes out a grand total of 37.8 wounds. Nothing in the game can survive that. 10 Brutes, 280 points plus a Warchanter in Big Waaagh is all you need.

SUB-FACTIONS:

Ironsunz - Ironsunz Kunnin' is very useful for to keep your brutes alive through an alpha strike and if you can shuffle them forward fast enough, into combat with a definitive advantage with the -1 to Hit. The Ironsunz command ability, Alright - Get 'Em! is useful to make some really terrible match-ups or trades for your opponent. If you keep a CP handy, it may also keep your opponent from even trying to charge. Keep in mind that the Brutefist's mortal wounds would also tick off in this pseudo-charge phase as the battalion only specifies it deals mortal wounds after you make a CHARGE MOVE. 

Bloodtoofs - This warclan really helps mitigate a lot of the mobility losses of the Brutes warscroll. The Warclan trait, Hunt and Crush is great with Brutes because they don't have any native movement buffs save the Eager for Battle for being Ironjawz. Having +2 to charge is great those long bomb charges and the +1 to run can help get into position early game or for grabbing late game objectives. Breakthrough Da Line, which is a command ability for Bloodtoof characters allows a unit to move at the end of the combat phase if they fought in that same phase. So this is the 3rd way that a unit could move in an Ironjawz army. Once in Hero phase from Mighty Destroyers, another in the regular Movement phase and a third at the end of the combat phase. That's not counting and charges! The Quickduff Amulet is a great artifact especially for the slow thicc bois. Having a free, and unstoppable deep strike with a large unit of Brutes will absolutely wreck an opponent's battle plan. 

Da Choppas - Da Choppas is a great warclan to take a load of Brutes on foot. The warclan trait, Vandal Hordes allows you to re-roll charge rolls if within 12" of a terrain feature 1/2 way on enemy territory. A weird hoop to jump through but great when you remember. But we all know why you're here. It's for Rabble Rouser, a command ability, possibly one of the most powerful command abilities in the game but often overlooked due to Mighty Destroyer spam. Rabble Rouser allows you to use a CP to apply Violent Frenzy on 3! YES 3! DIFFERENT FRIENDLY Choppa Brutes unit instead of 1. ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! Yes please. Is this better than Smash 'Em and Bash 'Em of Big Waaagh, maybe. But it's damn close if it's not. So many times you'll have to pick and choose which unit will benefit from Violent Frenzy. NO MORE, I say. NO MORE!. Anyways, let's move on. Da Choppaz have a fantastic Command Trait in Checked Out. This gives a +2 Bravery to all friendly Choppas units wholly within 18". This shores ups the other weakness of the Brutes. So combined with a Rogue Idol your Brutes are looking pretty at a Bravery of 9. Ignore the artifact, just don't take a Weirdnob Shaman, he's shit anyways.  

Big Waaagh - For my money, Big Waaagh! is the best place for Brutes. Not only does Smash 'Em and Bash 'Em Waaagh powers double (!) the effects, but the Brutes gain the much needed after-save, albeit a 6+ from Laugh At 'Em. Zog 'Em and Get 'Em help mitigate some of the movement problems of the normally slow Brutes. Zog 'Em let's you move D6" in a phase in which you took wounds or mortal wounds, aka Ironjawz Mad as Hell. Get 'Em is the replacement for Ironjawz Eager for Battle, which gives +1 to charges. It literally has everything that you want for the Brutes if you take The Golden Toof or The Boss Skewer and a Rogue Idol.

PROS & CONS:

+ Fantastic Sculpts

+ Cheap for 3 wounds

+ Lots of damage

+ A solid Self Buff

- Low Bravery

- Low Model Count

- Slow

- No after-saves if in Ironjawz

BATTALIONS:

Ironfist - 160 pts -  I'd say a must have in any list. It's so useful and so powerful that it can really swing a game in your favor. This gives your Brute Boss +2 wounds, which is great too. What is useful, is that you can take this a Big Waaagh! army and I would every. goddamn. time. Every time. Say it with me. EVERY TIME.  Getting Mighty Destroyers in an army while having +1 to Hit and +1 to Wound turns your orruks into Super Saiyans. You're already taking these units, just take the 160 pts and say thank you.

Brutefist -  120 pts - Your Brute Boss gets +2 Wounds again. When you charge your brutes, roll a dice for each brute that ends their charge move within 1" of an enemy model. On a 4+ they deal a mortal wound. Meh. Better in Ironsunz because of the out of sequence charge but you're not taking Ironfist then and that's frankly a waste. 

Weirdfist - 140 pts - Honestly the Weirdnob Shaman feels like a tax by now, with being a single caster for 110 pts (the same as the more useful Warchanter). Anyways, about the battalion. It has 2 big restrictions on here that make it almost unusable. 2 or more units of 10+ from the battalion have to be wholly within 18" of the Weirdnob Shaman. If you jump through all those hoops, you get something spectacular.... wait you dont?... nope you can do his warscoll spell for free again! And it's still a random distance of 2D6". Not worth the points. Not worth the Gorkamorka forsaken tax of a shit-caster. Avoid.  

Da Bossfist - 220 pts -  300 pts of tax in the Megabosses on foot. 60 pts over costed. But, BUT if you want to take this you get some nice bonuses. Great for a narrative game. +1 attack to all your melee weapons, included mounts. The 4+ to gain a CP is a nice touch too. Great if it was fixed and would give Ironfist a run for its money. The forced subfaction to Ironsunz and the forced command ability is not cool because this would be fantastic with Da Choppas and maybe worth the points. 

Moggorz's Rekrootin' Krew  - 150 pts - 150 pts tax in the Megaboss on foot. Da Rekrootin' Krew js your Brutes unit. All you get to do is ignore battleshock for aspirant units. BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE. Sike. That's it. Oh, and you have to take Ironsunz and the aspirant units don't benefit from Ironsunz Kunnin'. Extra terri-bad. Just forget this information, its not worth the memory space. 

WRAP UP:

The Brutes can be amazing and get back their points, yes. Can they be duds and feel like a waste, yes. The Ironjawz Brutes are probably the most controversial unit in the Ironjawz army. While Ardboyz can absorb the same buffs, have an in-built after-save in the Orruk-forged Shields, and have a better Bravery due to the Gorkamorka Banner Bearer. But nothing FEELS as Ironjawz as a Brutes unit. These thicc bois will slice there way through an army and make it out on the other side. But you need to be aware and plan for the worst of it, the Bravery and the low model count. If you can compensate for that, you'll love field blocks of these murderous armored hulks. (just take them in Big Waaagh!)

GRADE: B

Orruk Warclans: Rogue Idol GHB2019

Written by Benjamin Lolmaugh

OVERVIEW:

As of General's Handbook 2019 this big boi comes in at 400 points of pure awesome and counts as a Behemoth. This big beautiful bastard has all of the keywords that we care about when it comes to buffing; ORRUK, BONESPLITTERZ, IRONJAWZ and GREENSKINZ.

THE WARSCROLL:

The Stat Wheel is good for how expensive he is. 10" Movement is great. With Breath of Gorkamorka this earth and dung elemental can be flying 20" to 30" in a turn. If included in a Bonesplitterz army, he can also use the Tireless Trackers ability to move 5" before the game starts. If included in an Ironjawz list he can benefit from Mad As Hell, allowing him to move D6" each phase in which he took any wounds or mortal wounds. If included into a Big Waaagh! army, the first Waaagh! ability unlocked is Zog 'Em, which allows the same thing, D6" movement if you took wounds or mortal wounds in a phase. He can even be selected for Da Great Big Green Hand of Gork from the Ironjawz spell lore.

16 wounds and a 4+ save is fantastic. He also comes with Da Big 'Un special rule, which allows you to shrug off wounds on a 5+. Of course this can be buffed further in this book since we have so many ways to layer our defenses. If you take the Rogue Idol in a Bonesplitterz army, it gets another 6+ after-save. The Wardokk can use either Glyphdokk Dance to give the Rogue Idol a 3+ Save or use Grimdokk Dance to heal the Idol D3 Wounds. You can even get to a 2+ Save if you also cast Kunnin' Beast Spirits on the idol. Combined this makes the Rogue Idol extremely hard to remove, even against mortal wounds, which he would have a 5+ then 6+ to save against them.  

Bravery 10 doesn't matter much on a single model but it's actually Bravery 11 due to the Livin' Idol affecting itself.

The Rogue Idols has 2 attacks with its Boulder Fists has a Range of 3"! hitting on 3+ wound on 2+ (degrading) -2 Rend and D6 Damage. This is comparable to any dragon's bite. The Boulder Fists stay reliable until the Rogue Idol has suffered 14 wounds and by that time, the game is over or your line has moved up to support the big guy. The Stompin' Feet has a range of 2" with 10 attacks (degrading) hitting on 3+ wounding on 3+ -2 Rend and 2 Damage each. That's a lot of damage!  That's about 10.8 Damage against a 4+ Save unit. 

Since the Rogue Idol has both the Ironjawz keyword and Bonesplitterz keyword lets see what kind of nasty shit we can come up with. Any ability to allow exploding 6s to Hit will work well with the 12 attacks the Idol can throw out.  That includes the Savage Big Boss's command ability Savage Attack, the Maniak Weirdnob's warscoll spell Bone Spirit and the Bonegrinz warclan command ability Feel Da Spirit! The Damage on the Boulder Fists can be increased to D6+1 and Stompin' Feet can be increased to 3 Damage by the Warchanter's Violent Fury ability. The Rogue Idol has the Spirit of the Waaagh! ability on his warscroll that allows him to reroll Hit rolls of 1 if he made a charge that turn. With the movement of this thing, you usually won't be on the receiving end of charges. 

There are several ways to give this guy +1 to Hit. Smash 'Em from the Big Waaagh!'s 16 Waaagh! point ability. For Ironjawz armies, the Megaboss on Mawkrusha or Megaboss on foot can use a command point for Go on Ladz, Get Stuck In!. Or you can use Killa Beat from the Warchanter to tack this on the enemy unit that is about to be beat into the ground.  Bonesplitterz player can cast Brutal Beast Spirits for the +1 to run, charge and Hit rolls. '

To get +1 to Wound. You will need to get 20 Waaagh points in a Big Waaagh! army. Ironjawz casters can cast Bash 'Em Ladz! to get a bubble of +1 to Wound around the caster. The Orruk Warboss with Great Waaagh! Banner which allows reroll of 1s to Wound if the idol is within 16" of the Warboss in the combat phase.

Livin' Idol is probably one of the most needed buffs in any Orruk army. The ability states that Orruk (and Grot) Wizards within 6" add 1 to their casting rolls. This is extremely useful for Bonesplitterz casters and for those lone Ironjawz casters. The Livin' Idol ability ALSO gives Orruk (and Grot) units that are wholly within 18" +1 to Bravery. This is incredible! This shores up two deficiencies in most Ironjawz and Bonesplitterz lists. 

 

FACTIONS:

Rogue Idols can fit in any army, Ironjawz, Bonesplitterz or Big Waaagh! but some better than others.

Bonesplitterz - If you choose a certain warclan or not you'll get a few things that could be useful for the Rogue Idol. Tireless Tracker, that allows him to move 5" before the game starts. Great for setting up the Rogue Idol for a first turn charge or to protect him from receiving the charge. Monster Hunters is a great rule for the Rogue Idol if you remember that he also gets it. +1 to Hit other Monsters (2+) is absolutely fantastic. As far as the math breaks down, you gain about a 50% increase in damage dealt if you charge a Monster and choose Stab! Stab! Stab!. And of course we've already spoke about Warpaint,  another chance albeit a 6+, to ignore mortal wounds or normal wounds is always helpful.

Bonegrinz-  The warclan trait, Bring It On can get your enemy's units in a bad match up against the Rogue Idol, but he'd be taking the charge. Being unable to retreat once in combat, is great if you're fighting armies that like to flee and charge later like Skaven. The command ability, Feel Da Spirit! will net you an average of 2 extra hits, which can make a big difference.

Icebone -  The warclan trait, Freezing Strike can be good against those Ossiarch Bonereapers, Seraphon or Stormcast Eternals players that love their high Saves; -3 Rend will do work. The command ability doesn't affect the Rogue Idol. The warclan artifact, Kattanak Pelt likewise doesn't really matter to the Rogue Idol. Pass. 

Drakkfoot -  The warclan trait, Freezing Strike really comes into play with a Rogue Idol... or two. -2 Rend vs Ethereal models means that they only get a 6+ Save and no Deathless Minions 6+ Save. Goodbye Hearthguard Berserkers, Witch Aelves, Phoenix Guard! The warclan command ability to Shout Down Da Magic doesn't really help a whole lot since the Rogue Idol won't be getting the +1 to dispel. 

Ironjawz- If you choose to pick a major Ironjawz warclan or not, there are a few benefits for big daddy rock elemental. Mad As Hell, as discussed before can be used to move the Rogue Idol in any phase in which he suffered any wounds or mortal wounds. It's great for closing the distance or making enemy charges harder. Eager for Battle, gives your big guy +1 to charge, which is always useful. Mighty Destroyer being used on Rogue Idol can be a true nightmare for your opponent. Fighting in the Hero phase is a great way to take care of those units with a few stragglers so you can move onto stomping other units or setting yourself up to trigger Smashin' and Bashin' in the combat phase. Smashin' and Bashin'! One of the best abilities in the entire game and our thiccboi gets it. Kill a unit and fight somewhere else immediately. With the amount of attacks and the damage coming from the Rogue Idol natively, you can easily start a Smashin' and Bashin' train to victory.  

Ironsunz - If you Mighty Destroyers your Rogue Idol on turn 1, then absolutely yes. You'll be able to take advantage of the warclan trait of -1 to Hit for as long as possible and be able to punch your enemy in the face. Good thing you get an extra command point for the mandatory general trait. The warclan ability to counter charge can be useful but I always find it better as a deterrent on my opponent's turn and using Mighty Destroyers on my turn.

Bloodtoofs - MOAR SPEEED! YES. The warclan trait combined with Eager for Battle means this big guy gets +2 to charge. The warclan artifact, the Quickduff Amulet is more useful on a large unit of Ardboyz or a unit of 10 Brutes. Get to Da Realmgate! could be useful to get more movement, onto an objective since not much will survive long against a creature with chariot sized fists.

Da Choppas -  The warclan command ability doesn't effect you. The rerolling charges when near a terrain feature in enemy territory does. Which can be very useful. The warclan artifact doesn't really apply those this single model unit already with bravery 11.

Big Waaagh -  Imagine all the buffs in the book. Now back to me. Now imagine all those buffs on the Rogue Idol. Now back to me. I'm happy. Look at you. You're happy. Big Waaagh allows the Rogue Idol to truly have it all. Another after save, moving after being damaged,  +1 to Hit and +1 to Wound.  You also have the opportunity to mix those faction specific buffs such as the Wardokk and Warchanter. The only problem is that you lose a lot of boyz. 400 pts is a lot boyz. And that is the fuel that Big Waaagh needs to burn the realms down.

PROS & CONS:

+ Killy

+ Resilent w/After Save

+ Fast for a foot monster

+ Lost of attacks

+ Can take ALL the buffs

- A huge target

- Difficult to put together

- $112 USD

BATTALIONS:

NONE! But who cares!

WRAP UP:

In Bonesplitterz armies, the Rogue Idol is definitely a MUST INCLUDE item. With a major source of Rend on a thicc boi with 16 wounds and saves out the ass, its hard to argue. But then he gives +1 to cast on all your needed spells and gives you +1 Bravery to all those Savage Orruks and Arrowboys you're taking. In Ironjawz, I can see instead taking a Megaboss on Mawkrusha

GRADE: A

Orruk Warclans: Savage Orruks GHB2019

Written by Benjamin Lolmaugh

The wild fury made manifest. Waaagh Energy incarnate. The Savage Orruks of the Bonesplitterz are nothing less of a natural fury, like the wild places of the realm grew legs and battered aside all civilizations that were unlucky enough to fall in its path. Innumerable beyond counting. Crazed beyond reason. Reckless without abandon.  

The Savage Orruks are the stereotypical orruk left out to bake in the sun. Only the raw Waaagh to cloth him, and anything solid in his hands to protect him. He is the true embodiment of Gorkamorka's will to destroy.

OVERVIEW:

As of General's Handbook 2019 these bad boys come in at 120 pts  for 10, with a horde discount at 30 Savage Orruks for 300 pts. Fantastic value. Battleline in Bonesplitterz or Big Waaagh! armies. The package comes with the ability to create 20 Savage Orruks armed with either Chompas and Shields, Stikkas and Shields, a Chompa and a Tooth Shiv or Bows. 4 of the Savage Orruks can instead be equipped with a Big Stabba. This box is honestly one of the best values you will get from Games Workshop.  Being able to create Savage Orruks, Morboys, Arrowboys and/or Big Stabbas is fantastic. Not only that, but none of those units are bad, or feel like a tax for battalion. Games Workshop really put in the effort to fix the old Bonesplitterz and bring them into a new age. The Time of the Orruk.

THE WARSCROLL:

Well, the Warscroll is underwhelming. But let's see what we are working with here. 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 big block of Savage Orruks to use the Tireless Trackers allegiance rule to move 5" at the start of the game.  The Skull Thumper, the musician of the unit, adds 2 to this unit's charge roll, which amazing. Never failing 3" charges is a life-saver. 2 wounds is fantastic for the price point on these units, usually doubling the amount of similarly priced units. Keep in mind that Wardokks do have a healing dance if you really need to save that one boy, but I'd save the healing for Rogue Idols. 5 Bravery is absolutely terrible, but average for non-Death, non-Daemon Battleline units. This is augmented by the Bone Totem Bearer for +1. If you get a large unit of 30 (which I highly recommend) you'll end up at Bravery 9, hitting Bravery 10 if there is a Rogue Idol nearby (which I also highly recommend). 

At first glance it seems like the Warboss has a real choice between Chompas and Savage Stikkas. In reality, sorry, its not the case. In ever scenario Chompas are outperformed by Savage Stikkas. The simple fact is that when you are taking 20-30 Orruks you really want them to fight in two ranks. If you want a small unit of boyz, just take Morboys. A quick look at Spirit of Gorkamorka gives you reason enough to always take blocks of 20-30 Savage Orruks. Getting +1 Attack to the melee weapons of the unit, while that unit has 15 or more models. Devastating! Large blocks of Savage Orruks with Savage Stikkas can have 91 attacks with only their warscroll buffs. If you are so inclined you can always cast Brutal Beasts Spirits on the orruks to give a +1 to Hit. The amount of attacks that this block of orruks can deal will shred chaff. If a MONSTER decides to enter the fray, you will average about 7.7 mortal wounds before any saves are made if you choose Berserk Strength from the Monster Hunters trait. The Savage Big Boss, which often accompanies large blocks of Savage Orruks, has a great ability called Let Me at 'Em, which would allow a unit of Savage Orruks wholly within 12" to fight right after the Savage Big Boss fights. Which is amazing and adds a tool in our tool box to fight in the Activation Wars. The Savage Big Boss also can use his command ability, Savage Attack on the unit. This will make any 6s to Hit in the combat phase count as 2 hits instead 1. Lastly the Maniak Weirdnob can cast his spell, Bone Spirit, which lasts until your next Hero phase (this is longer than Savage Attack) and does the same thing, 6s to Hit count as 2 hits instead of 1. Interestingly enough, the book states that these two types of effects can stack, so if both are on the Savage Orruks, each hit of a 6 deals 3 hits. I assume you can still use the Bonegrinz warclan for 4 hits!

The 6+ Save is terrible. This can be augmented several ways. Bone Shields lets your Savage Orruks have a 5+ Save in melee instead of 6+. Not great but it turns a shit save to an average save. Let's stop here for a second before moving on.Combined with the 6+ Save-after-Save from either the Bonesplitterz Warpaint allegiance ability or the Big Waaagh! Laugh at 'Em Waaagh ability, this takes our Savage Orruks into a solid ANVIL territory. 60 wounds, 5+ Save and a 6+ Warpaint save is very good. Very few units will be able to chew through your Savage Orruks blocks before being ground down. Additionally, the Wardokk's Glyphdokk Dance will improve this Save to 4+ on a 3+. Solid. The Wardokk can cast Kunnin' Beast Spirits on them. Give them another +1. Taking what on the surface is a fragile unit to at 3+ Save 6+ after Save nightmare.

FACTIONS:

The Savage Orruks work great in any Bonesplitterz Warclan and can fit into some Big Waaagh! armies. 

The Bonegrinz Trait, Bring It On! which makes it impossible for enemies to retreat from you, and enemies within 12" MUST declare a charge if able; is absolutely crazy for board control. Armies that have precise battle strategies, layers of chaff and close support structures for abilities lose all of that if they get too close to this giant tarpit of a unit. Bonegrinz has a fantastically useful command ability, Feel Da Spirit, which gives causes a 6 to hit to deal 2 hits instead of 1, which on a 30 Savage Orruk block gives 15 extra hits.

Icebone clan is a hit or miss for the Savage Orruks and sometimes I feel like its a trap when I'm in the middle of a game and rolling dice. The clan trait is useful in both melee and shooting; but in the end the -1 to Rend on a wound roll of 6, just adds time to the game without much benefit. Of course when you are rolling hot and score those magic 6s you feel great, but that's not likely.  The Icebone command ability Freeze and Run doesn't affect Savage Orruk units. The clan artefact, Kattanak Pelt is useful for small units of Savage Orruks, but with the larger blocks its a bit redundant. 

Drakkfoot clan is my favorite. Is the clan trait, Strength of Purpose, always useful? No, but when it is, you thank Gorkamorka you made the right decision. Ignoring the effects of Ethereal doesn't help much with the footsloggin' Savage Orruks who have no Rend at all, but no save-after-saves can be taken against attacks from Drakkfoot units. There are several armies that you will face in tournament that will give you a hard time even if you play right. Many of these "scary" armies depend on the ability to shrug off wounds and keep killing. That won't happen against Drakkfoot units. Blocks of Hearthguard, Witch Aelves, any Death unit, Phoenix Guard, all lose those save-after-saves. Additionally when facing magic heavy armies, you can Shout Down Da Magic by using this command ability. Best of all, those large blocks of Savage Orruks get +1 to that dispel attempt. 

Big Waaagh armies might use Savage Orruks as screening units or cheap Waaagh energy batteries. However I think that in those lists its better to have large units of Ard Boyz instead. Too much is lost when taking the Savage Orruks out of Bonesplitterz.

PROS & CONS:

+ Easy to Paint

+ Cheap blocks 

+ Solid anvil

+ Lost of attacks

+ In built mortal wounds

- Fragile to shooting

- Really only one choice for weaponry

BATTALIONS:

Brutal Rukk - 140 pts. Battalion units wholly within 12" of the Savage Big Boss can run and charge. This can be fantastic and a great way to get the first turn charge. 5" movement before the game starts from Tireless Trackers, 5" for movement, average 3 for running, with an average charge of 9" due to the Skull Thumper. Let Me At 'Em is great for when you get to melee but needs some precise aura management.

Kunnin Rukk - 140 pts. Still fantastic but no so much for Savage Orruks. Max of 20 Savage Orruks in the battalion but you can still use the Savage Big Boss to strike right after he strikes in melee due to his Let Me At 'Em. The free movement in the Hero phase is great but you'd be using that alternate to that ability to shoot in the Hero phase instead. 

WRAP UP:

The Savage Orruks really made a huge transformation from its previous book to Age of Sigmar 2.0. 3x the attacks. Better saves. A lot more synergies. There is really nothing that this unit can't do. Movement tricks? Yep. Stick on an objective through the whole game? Yep. Kill a Monster? Yep. Grind through chaff? Yep. Kill Gotrek? YEP! Seriously, they can do anything you want, the best 300 points you'll ever spend. 

GRADE: A

Orruk Warclans: Gore-Gruntas GHB2019

Written by Benjamin Lolmaugh

The wild vanguard. The tip of the jagged spear. The thundering destruction. The Goregrunta is the armored knights of the Ironjawz faction. Riding giant boars straight into the fray, the brutes on top reap a terrible toll on whatever unfortunate souls are caught in their charge. 

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

Orruk Warclans: Ardboyz GHB2019

Written by Benjamin Lolmaugh

The iron host, the horde, the green tide, the great green menace. When you think of orruks, you think of the unending tide of green skin, heaving muscles, barbaric rage surging across the landscape to burn and pillage everything they can touch. The pinnacle of Gorkamorka's fury is found in the Ardboyz. 

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