Whether in 40K or Fantasy the enigmatic Old Ones are depicted as the elder race behind the creation of the majority of the races in both franchises, but despite the fact that they, you know, created most of the creatures inhabiting the universe we actually know very little about them. What their motivations were for creating the Old World, what their intentions were with their servant races, hell, even their appearance are almost a complete mystery to us. I will address the following issues that I think are perhaps the primary questions people have regarding these enigmatic beings. Firstly, their appearance, attitude, and culture. Secondly, their motivations and reasoning behind manipulating the Old World and its denizens. Please note that the majority of my reasoning and information that will support my theories come from 40K lore and Fantasy Lore, particularly from the Lizardmen book. Without further ado, let's begin.
Where the Old Ones came from is never fully addressed, but from the information available to us we do know that they came from a completely different sector of space from where the Old World is located. Ancient Lizardmen lore says that they were so advanced that for them, science and magic were one and the same, and it was they that created the Warp Gates through which their ships traversed to and from the Old World. Now, this detail in and of itself is actually one of the two biggest clues as to what they look like. Logically, if they traversed in spacecraft then they must have corporeal forms to operate said ships. Now, some people may argue that they could simply have created a race to operate said ships for them, but I also address this little detail in my theory. Why they came to the Old World is never specifically stated, but it is stated that they saw potential in the Old World. Again, the potential for what is never especially stated, but their next actions do clear things up a bit. Using their advanced technological and mystic power they physically moved the planet closer to the system's star, increasing the temperature of the planet. As a side note, it is specifically stated that there were beings living on the planet that is the Old World prior to the appearance of the Old Ones. One of these races in particular were the Dragons. That bit of information aside, the Old Ones had effectively destroyed most of the lifeforms on the planet after shifting it so dramatically. Ironic, considering that the one definitive thing that we know about the Old Ones is that they valued all life, regardless of its insignificance. However, the Old Ones did not stop there. They then began to do something they seem to enjoy the most, creating new life. First came the Slann Mage-Priests, and this is the second of the two biggest clues as to the physical appearance of the Old Ones. The Slann are in fact the only beings to have physically been in the presence of an Old One, and it was from them that the Slann learned and mastered the arts of magic. This again provides a key part to their identity. Slann do not, well, act, think, or pretty much do anything in ways that human beings can possibly understand. In fact, Slann are so much more intellectually evolved than humans that we monkeys can not even comprehend their thought processes. Even elves, considered to be the most magically gifted creatures in the Old World cannot make sense of the Jabba the Toads. All this means that Old Ones are so much, well, more than corporeal creatures can understand and as such if they were to create a race specifically to be their students and administrators of this new world, they would have to be able to physically learn from their creators. We also know that the majority of the gods that the Lizardmen worship were in fact Old Ones and they also had names, implying that the Old Ones had individual mindsets, and weren't a hive mind or a collective. However, this new planet was not the complete blank slate the Old Ones hoped it to be. There were still creatures existing on this planet that could interfere with their plan. This is where the Saurus come into the picture. As we well know, the Old Ones seem to despise ending the lives of creatures, it was easier, at least for them to justify, that it was simple survival of the fittest rather than genocide. The Saurus turned out to be perfect for this purpose and it was obvious that the Old Ones had succeeded in creating a perfect killing machine. Next came the rest of the Lizardmen species, and then other races. Elves, dwarfs, men, ogres, halflings, etc. As we all know Chaos came next and it was with their appearance that the Old Ones disappeared. Now, for all of you still awake, here is what we know as to the identity of the Old Ones; they were corporeal creatures, they had a fetish for creating new lifeforms, they hated taking the lives of others, they seemed to disappear with the appearance of Chaos.
Now we leave fact and enter theory territory hardcore with the reasons for their manipulating of the Old World. Now, this is completely theoretical, but I believe that the Old Ones used the Old World as a laboratory of sorts. Consider this, we know the Old World is NOT Terra of 40K, and thus the two planets are not connected directly. We also know that at the time of Old Ones appearance into the Old World they were still corporeal. Remember, the Old Ones and the Necrons of 40K (when they were still fleshy) went to war a looong time ago. At this time, the Old Ones had the ability and means to fight the war, but not the soldiers or the desire. In short, my theory is quite simple. We know that the Old Ones of both fantasy and 40K were the creators of most of the races in both franchises. I believe that the Old Ones used the planet that is the Old World of Warhammer Fantasy as a testing area for the races they would use to fight the Necrontyr. Observing the effectiveness of each race, and then deciding which of them they would use to combat the Necrontyr. We call them Elves, the Old Ones called them Eldar. We call them Orcs, the Old Ones called them, well, Orks? We humans proved to be the most adaptable and multi-functional race, not as fragile and fickle as the Eldar/Elves but not as savage and uncontrollable as the Orcs/Orks. The other races were much too flawed to fight effectively for the Old Ones. The Lizardmen were too robotic, too cold-blooded to be effective soldiers in a war that literally was fought across galaxies. The Dwarfs too resistant (and stubborn) to the psychic powers of the Old Ones to be effective in terms of communications and psychological enhancements. The Ogres and Halflings, well, they seemed to be incarnated in 40K in the form of Ogryns and Rattlings, but they're not the same. The former are certainly their own species while the latter are considered to be just mutations to a normal human being. Now, please remember, this is a theory and it has plenty of holes in it, such as the Orcs being the result of a seed caught in the Old Ones' ships, the God Emperor of Mankind's appearance, and the geographic similarities between Terra and the Old World are a little suspect, but honestly, this is the bet way to explain the Old Ones and why they created the Old World as it is and the not so subtle similarities between 40K and Fantasy.
Sunday, November 13, 2016
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Taking the Offensive
Mr. Malorian once did a
video, one of his Orc Tactical Teams, entitled Sun Tzu and Warhammer.
It's perhaps my favorite OTT, but he does say that the Art of War is
about real life war and Warhammer Fantasy is not real life warfare. I
agree with Malorian, but I still think very much that by learning
about the different battles and wars that occurred in the past that
it is possible to become a better warhammer player. One of the ways
that gleaming information on war from the past can help with WHFB is
by approaching the age-old question; is it better to take the
offensive approach, or the defensive approach? As you can guess by
the title, we will be discussing the former over the latter, although
that will be a discussion for a later time. For now however, let's
talk about the key tactical advantages to taking a more aggressive
posture.
First off, there are a
couple of things that you should keep in mind when running an
offensive style army. Primarily among them is that there are some
armies that are not as competitive when played offensively. In my experience, the following armies are better played in a more defensive or counter-offensive style: Chaos Dwarves. Dwarves, Empire, Lizardmen, and Tomb Kings. These armies tend to run better when they take charges or are allowed to dictate the position on the battlefield in which the fighting will take place. As for the other armies, I've found a more aggressive approach tends to be more successful than a more cautious playing style. However let's discuss why you'd want to take a more offensive approach to the game. But first, let's talk a little history! (Insert moans here) Shut up! You're going to learn something today goddammit! In particular, let's discuss the American Civil War. When the southern states seceded from the Union, they were faced with many logistical problems that would eventually lead to their defeat 5 years later at Appomattox. The Confederacy had less man power, and even less industry and raw resources to go with it. What they didn't lack however was skillful generals. Among some of these famous men, several names stood out. "Stonewall" Jackson, Longstreet, John Bell Hood, J. E. B. Stuart, and arguably the most famous, Robert E. Lee. These men were charged with defending a newly formed nation from an invading force better equipped, better armed, and with at least a 2 to 1 numerical advantage in most battles. They did have another key advantage. The majority of the battles would be fought on southern soil. This geographic advantage would naturally lead to a more defensive style of thinking. The south could, in effect, win by simply not loosing the war much as Washington had in the Revolutionary War. However, instead of retreating into their own nation further and playing a frustrating game of cat and mouse, the commanders of the Confederacy decided to instead take a more offensive approach to warfare. By taking the fight to the enemy, the South was able to dictate the pace and flow of any fight they wanted to take. In fact, for the first two years in Northern Virginia, the Confederacy absolutely handed the Union their asses on a silver platter. Now, what does all this really mean?
This little tale shows us three key advantages of taking the fight to the enemy. First, he who attacks first dictates the pace of the fight. By seizing the initiative, in both warfare and warhammer, one can easily decide the way in which the fight will be carried out. When you march your forces up, and you get into your opponent's grill, you force him to make decisions he might not necessarily want to make. Second of all, forcing the enemy into a defensive mindset limits the options that armies have in terms of movement and positioning. In some cases, depending on the scenario, this can even prevent them from winning. For example, in the case of a Watchtower scenario, defensive armies tend to have a difficult time winning the scenario. Gun Lines and Corner Castling doesn't work when you have to hold a position in the middle of the field. Now, in a standard fixed battle, this principle still applies. The defensive player is going to be trying to figure out what the attacker is going to do. This leaves a defensive force forced to sit tight and become a reactionary force. And from my time in the Army, I can tell you being reactionary is not a good thing to be. Waiting for something to happen compared to having a plan with a variety of options in which to facilitate that plan, well, you know which one you'd rather have. Finally, and perhaps the most important advantage you have on the attack, a blank check in the Movement Phase. I here a lot of people say that the game is won in the Deployment Phase. This, most of the time, to me is a complete falsehood. Warhammer is a game of chance because it has DICE. It's a game of chance with a dash of strategy, much like a good game of poker. That being said, if there is a phase that can decide the outcome of the game, it is the Movement Phase. Controlling the Movement Phase allows you to dictate the combat, deciding what units will fight what units, what kind of magic is best applied where, and units will immobilize your enemy's units. All in all, the Movement Phase is incredibly important and giving it away is a mistake no once can afford to make. All in all, taking the offensive is perhaps the overall best strategy one can take in warhammer, provided reason, and not recklessness, is the one that the offensive is tempered with.
This little tale shows us three key advantages of taking the fight to the enemy. First, he who attacks first dictates the pace of the fight. By seizing the initiative, in both warfare and warhammer, one can easily decide the way in which the fight will be carried out. When you march your forces up, and you get into your opponent's grill, you force him to make decisions he might not necessarily want to make. Second of all, forcing the enemy into a defensive mindset limits the options that armies have in terms of movement and positioning. In some cases, depending on the scenario, this can even prevent them from winning. For example, in the case of a Watchtower scenario, defensive armies tend to have a difficult time winning the scenario. Gun Lines and Corner Castling doesn't work when you have to hold a position in the middle of the field. Now, in a standard fixed battle, this principle still applies. The defensive player is going to be trying to figure out what the attacker is going to do. This leaves a defensive force forced to sit tight and become a reactionary force. And from my time in the Army, I can tell you being reactionary is not a good thing to be. Waiting for something to happen compared to having a plan with a variety of options in which to facilitate that plan, well, you know which one you'd rather have. Finally, and perhaps the most important advantage you have on the attack, a blank check in the Movement Phase. I here a lot of people say that the game is won in the Deployment Phase. This, most of the time, to me is a complete falsehood. Warhammer is a game of chance because it has DICE. It's a game of chance with a dash of strategy, much like a good game of poker. That being said, if there is a phase that can decide the outcome of the game, it is the Movement Phase. Controlling the Movement Phase allows you to dictate the combat, deciding what units will fight what units, what kind of magic is best applied where, and units will immobilize your enemy's units. All in all, the Movement Phase is incredibly important and giving it away is a mistake no once can afford to make. All in all, taking the offensive is perhaps the overall best strategy one can take in warhammer, provided reason, and not recklessness, is the one that the offensive is tempered with.
The Good, The Bad, and the Never Used; Orcs and Goblins Special Characters
Gorbad Ironclaw:
The big Boss orc himself, Gorbad is basically a dick kicker with a stat line of 4 7 3 5 5 3 5 4 10 riding his favorite war boar, Gnarla who's rocking a stat line of 7 3 0 4 4 1 3 1 3. His point cost is 187.5 Skaven Slaves. He comes generically with Heavy Armor, Choppas, Waaagh!, and Size Matters. Gnarla comes base with Tusker Charge and Thick-Skinned. In addition, Gorbad's got only one but one badass weapon in the form of Morglor the Mangler. It gives him ASF, Multiple Wounds (D3), and allows no Armor Saves to be taken against it. Demigryphs run for your lives! He also has three pretty crafty rules. First off, he's Da Great Leader. If any of your units fails an Animosity test within 18" of Gorbad, you get to his number of Wounds to their roll on the animosity table. We will talk about it later, but theres a much better rule in the book to help deal with Animosity. He also comes with Da Boss 'as a Plan! This rule makes him automatically the army's general and BSB, and gives him an 18" range of inspiring presence. This, this is money. Last but certainly not least, we've got Orcs are da Best. This rule allows you to upgrade more then just one unit of Orcs or Boat Boyz to Big Uns. This is also fucking metal. So let's to start with the reasons you'd want to take this guy in an army build. Well, for one, he's the only source of LD10 in this book which for an army like this is certainly a nice little trick to have up your sleeve. Second, he's an ass kicker with a tremendous stat line and a Magic Weapon that will fuck some shit up hardcore. Third, and most importantly, he allows you to maximize your Big Uns allotment. Orcs are pretty tough, but at S3 they're not anything to write home about. Once they're Big Uns? S4 baby! And for a measly one point more appiece? Yeah you should definitely be capitalizing on that little baby right there. The cons? He's only got a 3+ Armor Save and no Ward Save of any kind. So against heavy kitted out fighting Lords, he's gonna have a bad day. Also, he's kind of a target, which forces you to hide him in a unit of Boar Boyz, which if you've ever fought against Boar Boyz, well, they're worse then Cold One Riders really. Now, he's is by no means the most expensive special character in the book, so there is some potential that you could have him and a Level 4 in the same list. He's okay, but he's not an auto-include by any means. Also, why the fuck is he not in Total War Warhammer?! I mean, Grimgor, duh! He's easily the most kickass greenskin to ever exist. But Azhag? Just, just jesus christ. To put it in perspective, Gorbad is like the Karl Franz of the Orcs and Goblins. To me, I would've preferred some fluff bending to set the timeline so you could get this guy in here. Whatever, moving on to the only way to get a generic BSB magic Lore...
Azhag the Slaughterer:
Weighing in at 225 Skaven Slaves and with a stat line of 4 7 3 5 5 3 5 4 9, this guy's a prime example of how taking two good things and putting them together doesn't always result in Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, you know what I mean? So, much like Gorbad, Azhag is pimping out on his pet Wyvern, Skullmuncha, whom he, and I quote, "subdued the beast with but a single glance." Skullmuncha rocks out with a stat line of 4 5 0 6 5 5 3 3 6. He comes base with the rules Choppas (Azhag only), Waaagh!, Fly (Skullmuncha only), Large Target (Skullmuncha only), Poisoned Attacks (Skullmuncha only), Scaly Skin (4+) (Skullmuncha only), Size Matters, Terror (Skullmuncha only). He also comes with the special rule Get on Wiv it! This special rule allows any unit within his Inspiring Presence range to re-roll failed Animosity tests. This is a pretty nice rule, but we will talk about it later. He also comes with three pretty nice items. He comes with Azhag's 'Ard Armor, which gives him a 5+ Armor Save and a 5+ Ward Save. Additionally, he has the Crown of Sorcery, which besides making him a wee bit bipolar, also makes him a Level 3 Wizard on Death Magic and Stupid. This, this kicks serious ass. Again, we'll talk about it later. Finally, we've got Slagga's Slashas. This item counts as Magical Paired Weapons and allows Azhag to re-roll failed to-hits. So in total, let's break this down. Azhag is basically Gorbad, but with +1 Attack, re-rolls failed hits, magical attacks, 4+ Armor Save, 5+ Ward Save, on a 3 Attack WS5 Poisoned Dragon, who's also a Level 3 Death Wizard. Yeah, he's a badass. But there's a couple of things that really discourage you from taking this guy. First of all, he's really damned expensive. Sacrificing your level 4 hurts, because now your going to be at Magic casting and dispelling disadvantage. Second, he's a big damned target, and take it from a Bretonnian player, relying on a 5+ Ward Save against at least two Cannons is a terrifying event. Now, he does have the power to just nuke entire armies with Purple Sun and also run around and Death Snipe. He's also no slouch in close combat, but against going to be a little nervous around dedicated combat charachters. His model is also insanely expensive and ugly. I've played against some nice homemade models of this guy before, and he's certainly a really powerful charachter, but I've found a kitted out Dwarf Lord or a Saurus Old-Bloody can just smash this guy's face in. Bottom line, if you want to take him, he's not the worst choice in the book, but by God is he expensive.
Wurrzag:
This guy is basically the best caster in this book for his price tag. He's 175 Skaven Slaves, and he comes generically with Choppas and Frenzy. He's also got a stat line of 4 3 3 4 5 3 2 1 8. He's a Level 4 in the Lore of the Big Waaagh! He also comes with the Warpaint of Wurrzag, which gives him a 5+ Ward Save. He's also got Wurrzag's Revenge, which is a Hex spell that goes off on an 8+. All enemy Wizards within 12" of Wurrzag roll a D6 first each Wizard within range. On a roll of 1-5, nothing happens. On a 6, the Wizard turns into a Squig and is removed as a casualty. For each wizard affected, you can store one additional die in your Squiggly Beast special item. He's also got the Baleful Mask, which gives him the Vindictive Gaze Spell (Little Waaagh!) on a bound power level of 3. Also, he's rocking the Bonewood Staff, which counts as a Magical Hand Weapon, gives him MR3, and allows him to re-roll miscast results. Last but not least, he's got the Squiggly Beast, which is an Arcane Item that allows him to store one unused dice from the end of either player's magic phase, and at the start of the next magic phase that stored dice must be used. Oh, almost forgot, he can ride a War Boar for 24 points. So, yeah, this guy's a very dangerous caster for a couple of reasons. He is a caster that can actually fight and he's got 5 spells and a bound spell. He has a 2+ Ward Save to any magical damage and basically comes with a reusable grounding staff. His ability to store magical dice is also amazing, so hes going to be getting really high magic phases and just dickslapping enemy magic away like it's going out of style. This is one of the more common special charachters you'll see, and there's a reason why. Stick him in a unit of Savage Orcs with a back up Savage Orc Shaman who's carrying the Lucky Shrunken Head just to be a douchebag. Putting him on a Boar gives him some more killy power and some armor, but I like him on foot better. Great character, he's also only 15 Skaven Slaves more expensive then a Level 4 fully kitted out Savage Orc Great Shaman and comes with a ton more gear that more then justifies his point cost. Great charachter, wonderfully priced. Try him out if you want to have a really powerful magic phase as the Orcs and Goblins.
Grom the Paunch of Misty Mountain:
Never heard of this guy? Well, there's a pretty good reason why that is. Coming in at 142.5 Skaven Slaves this is our first Goblin Lord and he's kind of weird. His stat line is 44 5 3 4 4 3 4 4 8 and he's pimping out in his chariot that has S5, T4, and W3. It's pulled by Giant Wolves who have M9, WS3, S3, I3, and 1 attack apiece. He's also got a little Night Gobbo buddy named Niblet who's got WS, BS, and S of 3, I2, and 1 attack. He has only generic special rule and that's Regeneration (5+). After that, we get into his unique special rules. Niblet is a special rule that makes Grom the BSB and the little goblin cannot be engaged separately, or issue/accept challenges. If Grom gets killed then the BSB is considered lost. There's also Grom's Chariot, which is basically the most useless rule because all it does is state the abundantly obvious. Next up, we've got Eats Elves for Breakfast which means Grom and anyone in his army who has the Fear Elves special rule actually get to ignore that rule. Lastly, he has Grom's Waaagh! This just basically means he gets to call a Wagggh like a normal Ord Warboss, but it also effects units of 5+ Goblins, Goblin Wolf Riders, Night Goblins, and Forest Goblin Spider Riders. Next up, we've got the his two magic items. First up, we've got the Axe of Grom. It's a magic weapon that gives him +2 Strength and Killing Blow. Against Elves he gets Killing Blow on a 5+. Last of all, he's got his Lucky Banner which gives him and hi Chariot a 5+ Ward Save. Okay, so lets look a little at the good things about him. First off, he's the second cheapest special character in the book. Secondly, he's really good against Elves and in my opinion, that's never a bad thing. Thirdly, he is pretty nasty in close combat with S6 and Killing Blow and a 5+ Ward Save. Now, let's look at the bad things here. First, he's on a chariot. Chariots are just not all that good to begin with, especially Greenskin chariots. Second, Ward Saves and Regeneration do not stack, meaning this guy's a little awkward. Thirdly, he's got Leadership 8 which is not really all that good especially in a Goblin themed army as he is obviously supposed to be in charge of. This is all a really sad thing, because I love this guy's fluff. I mean, anyone who just decides, "Yeah, I'm going to sail to Ulthuan and just kick the shit out of some Elves." In fact, anyone who kills Elves, good on you man.
Skarsnik:
Ah, hands down one of my favorite characters in Warhammer Fantasy right up with Thanqol. Coming in at 137 and half a Skaven Slave Skarsnik is the first Lord level goblin worth paying for. So, as with all Night Goblins, he comes with Fear Elves and Hatred (Dwarves). However, he also comes with a buddy in the form of Gobbla the giant cave squig. With a stat line of 4 5 3 4 4 6 5 4 8 and a pet that has stats of - 5 - 6 - - 4 4 - Skarsniks stat line comapred to the other big boys listed above seems really lame, but kind of like Tetto its not the stats that make him worth his points, but two stats in particular are worth looking at. First, Ld8 as a Night Goblin is astronomical and 6 Wounds on any Lord is amazing. Also, he has 8 attacks, half of which are at S6 and all at WS5. It should also be noted that Gobbla has Killing Blow. He only has one magic item, Skarsnik's Prodder. Its basically a Magic Weapon that has a bound spell (Power Level 5) that turns out to be a Magic Missile with a 24" range. It causes D6 Strength 6 hits no armor saves allowed. This increases to 2D6 hits if he's within 12" of a Night Goblin Horde. He has two special abilties, Sneaky Schemes and Tricksy Traps. Sneaky Schemes makes your enemy roll a D6, before deployment, for each unit. On a roll of a 6, the unit does not deploy as normal but instead enters play as reinforcements in their first movement phase. We'll get back to this, but this is in and of itself worth every point you pay for him. Last in terms of abilities, Tricksy Traps allows any Night Goblin units in the same army as Skarsnik that choose to flee as a charge reaction and then rallies the next turn may reform as normal AND then may also move normally but they may not charge. They can shoot however, but the unit always counts as having moved. Lastly of all, he has Light Armor. So, as you can tell, Skarsnik is supposed to be used in a Night Goblin themed army. However, the single best ability he has works in any list. I would say in any large army builds, Skarsnik would be an acceptable pick in the Lords category, and in Night Goblin hordes, almost indispensable. However, his low Movement, mediocre Toughness, and pathetic armor save with nothing in terms of a Ward Save, he's very vulnerable to enemy attention. The only way to really avoid this is put him in a horde and stick him in a corner and pray to god the enemy doesn't have a 10 wide horde formation. I really like Skarsnik, but I would be so worried about loosing him and to be honest, his Leadership also means you're really going to be relying on winning combats or simply being steadfast for days. Fun, but by no means competitive. Don't worry though, we're getting into some good stuff soon!
Grimgor Ironhide:
The biggest, the baddest, and hands down the single best named Lord level character, the great green demon himself, Grimgor. I freaking love this guy. Grimgor is a prime example of what Games Workshop should've been doing, but instead they made the mistake of letting Mat Ward get anywhere near pen and paper. At 177 and one-half Skaven slaves Grimgor comes generically with Waaagh!, ITP, Choppas, and Hatred (everyone). He weighs in at 4 8 1 5 5 3 5 5 9. He also comes with Da Immortulz. Basically he has to be accompanied and deploy with a unit of Black Orcs, and they get +1 WS and and as long as Grimgor is alive, they also get Hatred (everyone). Now on to magic items. Starting off, Gitsnik. This Magic Weapon gives Grimgor +2 S and ASF in close combat. Yes, 5 Attacks with ASF at S7. Last of all, he's wearing Blood-Forged Armor. This gives Grimgor a 1+ Armor Save and a 5+ Ward Save. Honestly, I don't think I need to even say anything. His stats alone make him worth his points then factor in his special armor and weapons and you've got a recipe for destruction. I know a lot of people who bitch about having to take Black Orcs, but to be honest, I usually take a brick of them anyway because trust me, the few times that I bring my Greenskins to the table, I fail animosity rolls like a fat man goes through tacos. Hands down my favorite and the best character in the book. And in case you think I'm exaggerating about just awesome this greenskin is. He kicked Archaon in the balls. Arcahaon, the Everchosen. The guy clad head to toe in magical plate armor, perhaps the largest antagonist in all of Warhammer, fell to a kick in the nuts. From this guy. Just, just too stupidly awesome.
Snagla Gobspit:
Okay, fair warning for this guy and the guy after him. I have absolutely no experience going up against or with these two. That aside, this is the first of the named Hero level characters. 57 and a half Skaven Slaves buys you a 4 4 3 4 4 2 4 3 7 Goblin on top of a 7 3 0 3 3 1 4 1 2 Giant Spider. He comes generically with a shield, Creeping Assualt, Fast Cavalry, Fear Elves, Forest Strider, Obstacle Strider, Hatred (Empire), Poisoned Attacks (Spider only), and Wall-Crawler. Snagla brings the Sting of Snagla, a one use only throwing weapon that has Poisoned Attacks and Multiple Wounds (D3). He's also got Fangspike, a Magic Weapon that also has Poisoned Attacks and Multiple Wounds (D3). Lastly, he comes with Deff Creepers, meaning he must always be deployed in a unit of Goblin Spider Riders, but they have Ambushers, Devastating Charge, and Hatred (Empires). Also, the cause Fear any time they charge successfully. Snagla cannot leave this unit and must set up in it and no other character can join the unit. So, this character very much reminds me of Oxyotl from the Lizardmen book. In 2500 point games and below, I can definitely see him and his unit as a great way to hunt war machines, counter chaff, and hunt lone characters. Also, his insane maneuverability because of all the spider abilities make him really unpredictable against people not familiar with this unit. Other than that, I don't see him as being all that amazing. Against any dedicated combat unit or character, he's going to get pasted. In a themed Forest Goblin army, I think he'd be a perfect little addition if you've got the points.
Gitilla Da Hunter:
Stepping in at 55 points with a stat line of 4 4 4 4 4 2 4 3 7 and a Great Wolf named Ulda at 9 3 0 3 3 1 3 2 3. He comes generically with Fear Elves, a Spear, and Fast Cavalry. His first ability is Ulda the Great Wolf. This gives him and his unit the ability to re-roll any Pursuit or Flee rolls they make. Also, he has Da Howleraz. Very similar to the Deff Creepers, but instead its Goblin Wolf Riders. They get +1 BS and Quick to Fire. He must set up in this unit and cannot leave, and no other character can join the unit. He has two special items, firstly is the Stinky Pelt. This gives him a 4+ Armor Save, giving him a total of a 3+ from the mounted bonus. Lastly, he has the Bonebow. It's a 24", S3, Quick to Fire, and Multiple Shots (3). Most would assume my opinion would be similar to Snagla, but that is because most people are idiots. Honestly, this guy seems like a complete waste to me. You want to know why? Because a Goblin Big Boss on a wolf with a bow is less than half of what this guy is. Every OnG list I make has at least two or three of these guys running around chaffing, hunting war machines, and assassinating characters. Three of these guys are a much better investment and a much smaller target than a pack of Wolf Riders. If you've got the points in a larger army, then maybe. But just to throw him in seems like a waste.
The big Boss orc himself, Gorbad is basically a dick kicker with a stat line of 4 7 3 5 5 3 5 4 10 riding his favorite war boar, Gnarla who's rocking a stat line of 7 3 0 4 4 1 3 1 3. His point cost is 187.5 Skaven Slaves. He comes generically with Heavy Armor, Choppas, Waaagh!, and Size Matters. Gnarla comes base with Tusker Charge and Thick-Skinned. In addition, Gorbad's got only one but one badass weapon in the form of Morglor the Mangler. It gives him ASF, Multiple Wounds (D3), and allows no Armor Saves to be taken against it. Demigryphs run for your lives! He also has three pretty crafty rules. First off, he's Da Great Leader. If any of your units fails an Animosity test within 18" of Gorbad, you get to his number of Wounds to their roll on the animosity table. We will talk about it later, but theres a much better rule in the book to help deal with Animosity. He also comes with Da Boss 'as a Plan! This rule makes him automatically the army's general and BSB, and gives him an 18" range of inspiring presence. This, this is money. Last but certainly not least, we've got Orcs are da Best. This rule allows you to upgrade more then just one unit of Orcs or Boat Boyz to Big Uns. This is also fucking metal. So let's to start with the reasons you'd want to take this guy in an army build. Well, for one, he's the only source of LD10 in this book which for an army like this is certainly a nice little trick to have up your sleeve. Second, he's an ass kicker with a tremendous stat line and a Magic Weapon that will fuck some shit up hardcore. Third, and most importantly, he allows you to maximize your Big Uns allotment. Orcs are pretty tough, but at S3 they're not anything to write home about. Once they're Big Uns? S4 baby! And for a measly one point more appiece? Yeah you should definitely be capitalizing on that little baby right there. The cons? He's only got a 3+ Armor Save and no Ward Save of any kind. So against heavy kitted out fighting Lords, he's gonna have a bad day. Also, he's kind of a target, which forces you to hide him in a unit of Boar Boyz, which if you've ever fought against Boar Boyz, well, they're worse then Cold One Riders really. Now, he's is by no means the most expensive special character in the book, so there is some potential that you could have him and a Level 4 in the same list. He's okay, but he's not an auto-include by any means. Also, why the fuck is he not in Total War Warhammer?! I mean, Grimgor, duh! He's easily the most kickass greenskin to ever exist. But Azhag? Just, just jesus christ. To put it in perspective, Gorbad is like the Karl Franz of the Orcs and Goblins. To me, I would've preferred some fluff bending to set the timeline so you could get this guy in here. Whatever, moving on to the only way to get a generic BSB magic Lore...
Azhag the Slaughterer:
Weighing in at 225 Skaven Slaves and with a stat line of 4 7 3 5 5 3 5 4 9, this guy's a prime example of how taking two good things and putting them together doesn't always result in Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, you know what I mean? So, much like Gorbad, Azhag is pimping out on his pet Wyvern, Skullmuncha, whom he, and I quote, "subdued the beast with but a single glance." Skullmuncha rocks out with a stat line of 4 5 0 6 5 5 3 3 6. He comes base with the rules Choppas (Azhag only), Waaagh!, Fly (Skullmuncha only), Large Target (Skullmuncha only), Poisoned Attacks (Skullmuncha only), Scaly Skin (4+) (Skullmuncha only), Size Matters, Terror (Skullmuncha only). He also comes with the special rule Get on Wiv it! This special rule allows any unit within his Inspiring Presence range to re-roll failed Animosity tests. This is a pretty nice rule, but we will talk about it later. He also comes with three pretty nice items. He comes with Azhag's 'Ard Armor, which gives him a 5+ Armor Save and a 5+ Ward Save. Additionally, he has the Crown of Sorcery, which besides making him a wee bit bipolar, also makes him a Level 3 Wizard on Death Magic and Stupid. This, this kicks serious ass. Again, we'll talk about it later. Finally, we've got Slagga's Slashas. This item counts as Magical Paired Weapons and allows Azhag to re-roll failed to-hits. So in total, let's break this down. Azhag is basically Gorbad, but with +1 Attack, re-rolls failed hits, magical attacks, 4+ Armor Save, 5+ Ward Save, on a 3 Attack WS5 Poisoned Dragon, who's also a Level 3 Death Wizard. Yeah, he's a badass. But there's a couple of things that really discourage you from taking this guy. First of all, he's really damned expensive. Sacrificing your level 4 hurts, because now your going to be at Magic casting and dispelling disadvantage. Second, he's a big damned target, and take it from a Bretonnian player, relying on a 5+ Ward Save against at least two Cannons is a terrifying event. Now, he does have the power to just nuke entire armies with Purple Sun and also run around and Death Snipe. He's also no slouch in close combat, but against going to be a little nervous around dedicated combat charachters. His model is also insanely expensive and ugly. I've played against some nice homemade models of this guy before, and he's certainly a really powerful charachter, but I've found a kitted out Dwarf Lord or a Saurus Old-Bloody can just smash this guy's face in. Bottom line, if you want to take him, he's not the worst choice in the book, but by God is he expensive.
Wurrzag:
This guy is basically the best caster in this book for his price tag. He's 175 Skaven Slaves, and he comes generically with Choppas and Frenzy. He's also got a stat line of 4 3 3 4 5 3 2 1 8. He's a Level 4 in the Lore of the Big Waaagh! He also comes with the Warpaint of Wurrzag, which gives him a 5+ Ward Save. He's also got Wurrzag's Revenge, which is a Hex spell that goes off on an 8+. All enemy Wizards within 12" of Wurrzag roll a D6 first each Wizard within range. On a roll of 1-5, nothing happens. On a 6, the Wizard turns into a Squig and is removed as a casualty. For each wizard affected, you can store one additional die in your Squiggly Beast special item. He's also got the Baleful Mask, which gives him the Vindictive Gaze Spell (Little Waaagh!) on a bound power level of 3. Also, he's rocking the Bonewood Staff, which counts as a Magical Hand Weapon, gives him MR3, and allows him to re-roll miscast results. Last but not least, he's got the Squiggly Beast, which is an Arcane Item that allows him to store one unused dice from the end of either player's magic phase, and at the start of the next magic phase that stored dice must be used. Oh, almost forgot, he can ride a War Boar for 24 points. So, yeah, this guy's a very dangerous caster for a couple of reasons. He is a caster that can actually fight and he's got 5 spells and a bound spell. He has a 2+ Ward Save to any magical damage and basically comes with a reusable grounding staff. His ability to store magical dice is also amazing, so hes going to be getting really high magic phases and just dickslapping enemy magic away like it's going out of style. This is one of the more common special charachters you'll see, and there's a reason why. Stick him in a unit of Savage Orcs with a back up Savage Orc Shaman who's carrying the Lucky Shrunken Head just to be a douchebag. Putting him on a Boar gives him some more killy power and some armor, but I like him on foot better. Great character, he's also only 15 Skaven Slaves more expensive then a Level 4 fully kitted out Savage Orc Great Shaman and comes with a ton more gear that more then justifies his point cost. Great charachter, wonderfully priced. Try him out if you want to have a really powerful magic phase as the Orcs and Goblins.
Grom the Paunch of Misty Mountain:
Never heard of this guy? Well, there's a pretty good reason why that is. Coming in at 142.5 Skaven Slaves this is our first Goblin Lord and he's kind of weird. His stat line is 44 5 3 4 4 3 4 4 8 and he's pimping out in his chariot that has S5, T4, and W3. It's pulled by Giant Wolves who have M9, WS3, S3, I3, and 1 attack apiece. He's also got a little Night Gobbo buddy named Niblet who's got WS, BS, and S of 3, I2, and 1 attack. He has only generic special rule and that's Regeneration (5+). After that, we get into his unique special rules. Niblet is a special rule that makes Grom the BSB and the little goblin cannot be engaged separately, or issue/accept challenges. If Grom gets killed then the BSB is considered lost. There's also Grom's Chariot, which is basically the most useless rule because all it does is state the abundantly obvious. Next up, we've got Eats Elves for Breakfast which means Grom and anyone in his army who has the Fear Elves special rule actually get to ignore that rule. Lastly, he has Grom's Waaagh! This just basically means he gets to call a Wagggh like a normal Ord Warboss, but it also effects units of 5+ Goblins, Goblin Wolf Riders, Night Goblins, and Forest Goblin Spider Riders. Next up, we've got the his two magic items. First up, we've got the Axe of Grom. It's a magic weapon that gives him +2 Strength and Killing Blow. Against Elves he gets Killing Blow on a 5+. Last of all, he's got his Lucky Banner which gives him and hi Chariot a 5+ Ward Save. Okay, so lets look a little at the good things about him. First off, he's the second cheapest special character in the book. Secondly, he's really good against Elves and in my opinion, that's never a bad thing. Thirdly, he is pretty nasty in close combat with S6 and Killing Blow and a 5+ Ward Save. Now, let's look at the bad things here. First, he's on a chariot. Chariots are just not all that good to begin with, especially Greenskin chariots. Second, Ward Saves and Regeneration do not stack, meaning this guy's a little awkward. Thirdly, he's got Leadership 8 which is not really all that good especially in a Goblin themed army as he is obviously supposed to be in charge of. This is all a really sad thing, because I love this guy's fluff. I mean, anyone who just decides, "Yeah, I'm going to sail to Ulthuan and just kick the shit out of some Elves." In fact, anyone who kills Elves, good on you man.
Skarsnik:
Ah, hands down one of my favorite characters in Warhammer Fantasy right up with Thanqol. Coming in at 137 and half a Skaven Slave Skarsnik is the first Lord level goblin worth paying for. So, as with all Night Goblins, he comes with Fear Elves and Hatred (Dwarves). However, he also comes with a buddy in the form of Gobbla the giant cave squig. With a stat line of 4 5 3 4 4 6 5 4 8 and a pet that has stats of - 5 - 6 - - 4 4 - Skarsniks stat line comapred to the other big boys listed above seems really lame, but kind of like Tetto its not the stats that make him worth his points, but two stats in particular are worth looking at. First, Ld8 as a Night Goblin is astronomical and 6 Wounds on any Lord is amazing. Also, he has 8 attacks, half of which are at S6 and all at WS5. It should also be noted that Gobbla has Killing Blow. He only has one magic item, Skarsnik's Prodder. Its basically a Magic Weapon that has a bound spell (Power Level 5) that turns out to be a Magic Missile with a 24" range. It causes D6 Strength 6 hits no armor saves allowed. This increases to 2D6 hits if he's within 12" of a Night Goblin Horde. He has two special abilties, Sneaky Schemes and Tricksy Traps. Sneaky Schemes makes your enemy roll a D6, before deployment, for each unit. On a roll of a 6, the unit does not deploy as normal but instead enters play as reinforcements in their first movement phase. We'll get back to this, but this is in and of itself worth every point you pay for him. Last in terms of abilities, Tricksy Traps allows any Night Goblin units in the same army as Skarsnik that choose to flee as a charge reaction and then rallies the next turn may reform as normal AND then may also move normally but they may not charge. They can shoot however, but the unit always counts as having moved. Lastly of all, he has Light Armor. So, as you can tell, Skarsnik is supposed to be used in a Night Goblin themed army. However, the single best ability he has works in any list. I would say in any large army builds, Skarsnik would be an acceptable pick in the Lords category, and in Night Goblin hordes, almost indispensable. However, his low Movement, mediocre Toughness, and pathetic armor save with nothing in terms of a Ward Save, he's very vulnerable to enemy attention. The only way to really avoid this is put him in a horde and stick him in a corner and pray to god the enemy doesn't have a 10 wide horde formation. I really like Skarsnik, but I would be so worried about loosing him and to be honest, his Leadership also means you're really going to be relying on winning combats or simply being steadfast for days. Fun, but by no means competitive. Don't worry though, we're getting into some good stuff soon!
Grimgor Ironhide:
The biggest, the baddest, and hands down the single best named Lord level character, the great green demon himself, Grimgor. I freaking love this guy. Grimgor is a prime example of what Games Workshop should've been doing, but instead they made the mistake of letting Mat Ward get anywhere near pen and paper. At 177 and one-half Skaven slaves Grimgor comes generically with Waaagh!, ITP, Choppas, and Hatred (everyone). He weighs in at 4 8 1 5 5 3 5 5 9. He also comes with Da Immortulz. Basically he has to be accompanied and deploy with a unit of Black Orcs, and they get +1 WS and and as long as Grimgor is alive, they also get Hatred (everyone). Now on to magic items. Starting off, Gitsnik. This Magic Weapon gives Grimgor +2 S and ASF in close combat. Yes, 5 Attacks with ASF at S7. Last of all, he's wearing Blood-Forged Armor. This gives Grimgor a 1+ Armor Save and a 5+ Ward Save. Honestly, I don't think I need to even say anything. His stats alone make him worth his points then factor in his special armor and weapons and you've got a recipe for destruction. I know a lot of people who bitch about having to take Black Orcs, but to be honest, I usually take a brick of them anyway because trust me, the few times that I bring my Greenskins to the table, I fail animosity rolls like a fat man goes through tacos. Hands down my favorite and the best character in the book. And in case you think I'm exaggerating about just awesome this greenskin is. He kicked Archaon in the balls. Arcahaon, the Everchosen. The guy clad head to toe in magical plate armor, perhaps the largest antagonist in all of Warhammer, fell to a kick in the nuts. From this guy. Just, just too stupidly awesome.
Snagla Gobspit:
Okay, fair warning for this guy and the guy after him. I have absolutely no experience going up against or with these two. That aside, this is the first of the named Hero level characters. 57 and a half Skaven Slaves buys you a 4 4 3 4 4 2 4 3 7 Goblin on top of a 7 3 0 3 3 1 4 1 2 Giant Spider. He comes generically with a shield, Creeping Assualt, Fast Cavalry, Fear Elves, Forest Strider, Obstacle Strider, Hatred (Empire), Poisoned Attacks (Spider only), and Wall-Crawler. Snagla brings the Sting of Snagla, a one use only throwing weapon that has Poisoned Attacks and Multiple Wounds (D3). He's also got Fangspike, a Magic Weapon that also has Poisoned Attacks and Multiple Wounds (D3). Lastly, he comes with Deff Creepers, meaning he must always be deployed in a unit of Goblin Spider Riders, but they have Ambushers, Devastating Charge, and Hatred (Empires). Also, the cause Fear any time they charge successfully. Snagla cannot leave this unit and must set up in it and no other character can join the unit. So, this character very much reminds me of Oxyotl from the Lizardmen book. In 2500 point games and below, I can definitely see him and his unit as a great way to hunt war machines, counter chaff, and hunt lone characters. Also, his insane maneuverability because of all the spider abilities make him really unpredictable against people not familiar with this unit. Other than that, I don't see him as being all that amazing. Against any dedicated combat unit or character, he's going to get pasted. In a themed Forest Goblin army, I think he'd be a perfect little addition if you've got the points.
Gitilla Da Hunter:
Stepping in at 55 points with a stat line of 4 4 4 4 4 2 4 3 7 and a Great Wolf named Ulda at 9 3 0 3 3 1 3 2 3. He comes generically with Fear Elves, a Spear, and Fast Cavalry. His first ability is Ulda the Great Wolf. This gives him and his unit the ability to re-roll any Pursuit or Flee rolls they make. Also, he has Da Howleraz. Very similar to the Deff Creepers, but instead its Goblin Wolf Riders. They get +1 BS and Quick to Fire. He must set up in this unit and cannot leave, and no other character can join the unit. He has two special items, firstly is the Stinky Pelt. This gives him a 4+ Armor Save, giving him a total of a 3+ from the mounted bonus. Lastly, he has the Bonebow. It's a 24", S3, Quick to Fire, and Multiple Shots (3). Most would assume my opinion would be similar to Snagla, but that is because most people are idiots. Honestly, this guy seems like a complete waste to me. You want to know why? Because a Goblin Big Boss on a wolf with a bow is less than half of what this guy is. Every OnG list I make has at least two or three of these guys running around chaffing, hunting war machines, and assassinating characters. Three of these guys are a much better investment and a much smaller target than a pack of Wolf Riders. If you've got the points in a larger army, then maybe. But just to throw him in seems like a waste.
In A Nutshell; The Lore of the Wilds
Okay, so starting off, yes this is the first of the unique magical lores posts that I'm looking to do. Before it was the generic lores and the ones that multiple races had access to like High Magic and Dark Magic. Now however, we go into the faction unique lores, and as I like to do things alphabetically of course we're going with the Beastmen and the Lore of the Wilds. So let's get dangerous, let's get some shit done!
Lore Attribute;
None!
Yes, this is an older book dating from the way back when before GW actually used colored ink when making their books. As a result, this 7th edition shiny turd has no lore attribute and as a side note it has no boosted versions for it's spells or spell types. Just something to note before we get into this.
Signature Spell; Bestial Surge
On a 7+ this spell allows all units within 6" to move up D6+1", roll separately for each unit effected by this spell. You must move towards the closest enemy unit applying the usual penalties for terrain, wheeling, etc. If there are no visible enemies, just move your units forward. Units will stop if they come within 1" of another unit. Fleeing units are not effected by this spell. So, this spell is actually really nice, it's one of the few times I will say that in this post. Yes, it does seem a little limited in it's range and in it's flexability, but here's the thing to remember. Beastmen are an offensive army. They have almost as much shooting in their army as most VC do and thus they are reliant in closing with the enemy as quickly as is possible. This spell allows you to do that, and it does it very well if you're running a tight battle-line. There's not too much left in obsolete-hammer (as I call it now) that lets you move units after the movement phase. As a result, this spell is kind of nice. I give it a 4 out of 5 and a recommendation to swap for it, quite, quite often.
Spell #1: Viletide
... I now see where they got the idea for Flock of Doom. On a 9+, the targeted enemy unit within 24" takes 5D6 S1 hits.Remember the Dark Elves lore attribute for Dark Magic? Well, this is kind of like that, but a spell, and somewhat better. I understand what this spell is intended to do, but countering chaff is actually one of the few good things the Beastmen can do. I guess if you're into horde builds, then this spell can be useful because 5D6 is a lot of dice and 6's are inevitable at that point. Use it to clear chaff and maybe target a war machine crew or something. I give it a 2 out of 5 and recommendation to look at what your opponent is bringing before you take this spell.
Spell #2: Devolve
All enemy units within 12" must take a Leadership test and suffers a number of wounds equal to the amount they failed the test by and no armor saves may be taken against these wounds. This spell is actually pretty nice. And here's why, Beastmen have a lot of Leadership shennanigans they can play and they have access to Shadow and Death magic, which have a lot of spells that can drop Leadership like a hot rock. Now, it is a very specific build, but it can be devastating. My Beastmen buddy Will is a master of using this spell, and I can certainly understand why. Beastmen do not handle tarpits very well, and this spell can certainly help pop that horde of Night Goblins or Skaven Slaves very quickly. Against some armies its not going to do much, but it's also a bubble spell, so again, it's really good at taking out chaff. Good spell, somewhat situational, I give it a 3 out of 5, with a recommendation to keep it if you roll it up.
Spell #3: Bray Scream
A 10+ makes your caster, or any other character within 12", immediately use a breath weapon that has S3 and no armor saves allowed against it. This spell is actually pretty nice because it ignores armor saves and much like Devolve, it can help scythe through large hordes of core infantry. Unlike Devolve, it doesn't require a lot of synergy, it's kind of a stand alone spell. And to be honest, it's actually a really damn good spell to have. I give it a 4 out 5 and a recommendation to keep this one of you roll for it.
Spell #4: Traitor-Kin
With the same casting value as the previous spell, this spell is perhaps the most situationally hilarious spell out there. all enemy models within 12" of this spell riding a mount of any kind, including monster with handlers, chariots, cavalry, monstrous cavalry, etc., will suffer hits equal to the number of attacks and Strength of the mount. Any armor bonuses for being mounted and/or barding do not apply to these hits. Against Bretonnia or any other cavalry heavy army this spell is evil. This is also a great way to neutralize those Monsterous cavalry units that Beastmen really have no answer to. Arguably the best spell in this lore. I give it a 4 out of 5 due to its limitations but it can be an absolute barrel of monkeys.
Spell #5: Mantle of Ghorok
On a 13+ you get to give a friendly unit, including himself, +D6 Strength and Attacks (still maxes out at 10) until the end of the enemy's turn. Sounds great, right? Yeah, here it comes If you roll 6s the model suffers a wound with no saves possible. This spell again reinforces the idea of taking Lore of Beasts. Potentially awesome, but very risky. I give it a 3 out of 5 and a potential for it to go totally wrong.
Spell #6: Savage Dominion
On a big 16+, you get the ability to summon a free Jabberslythe, Giant, or Ghorgon but it must be touching any table edge of your choosing. Now, unfortunately while the creature is alive and under the shamans control, he cannot cast, dispel, or attack. Additionally everything the creature takes a wound, the shaman controlling it must take a Toughness test. If this test is failed the caster takes a wound too with no saves allowed. If the caster dies, the creature gets removed too. This is a slightly better version of Transformation of Kadon, but unless it's on a low level caster, it's not really worth it. 2 out of 5, maybe 3 out of 5.
So all in all, what do I think about Lore of the Wilds? Well, its, uh, its there... Yeah, I'll admit, compared to old school Gut Magic or Wood Elf Magic its not the worst thing out there, but when compared to the three other lores Beastmen have access to (Beasts, Shadow, and Death) its absolutely nothing to write home about. It has a few potentially useful spells, like Bestial Surge and Traitor Kin but most of its spells have an equivalent in Lore of Beasts that happens to be quite a bit better. Nowadays, its the worst lore out there but it does have a little potential on low level wizards. If you do want to take this in a Beastmen army, put it on a Bray-Shaman, never on the Great Bray. Oh, and one more little note. As this is an older lore, there are no spell types so there can be some shenanigans you can pull in Skaven fashion.
So, thanks a lot folks, I see a lot of views in my absence and I very much appreciate it. Now that I'm back home I want to try and pump out at least three blogs per week. Keep reading, commenting, and hating Mat Ward.
Lore Attribute;
None!
Yes, this is an older book dating from the way back when before GW actually used colored ink when making their books. As a result, this 7th edition shiny turd has no lore attribute and as a side note it has no boosted versions for it's spells or spell types. Just something to note before we get into this.
Signature Spell; Bestial Surge
On a 7+ this spell allows all units within 6" to move up D6+1", roll separately for each unit effected by this spell. You must move towards the closest enemy unit applying the usual penalties for terrain, wheeling, etc. If there are no visible enemies, just move your units forward. Units will stop if they come within 1" of another unit. Fleeing units are not effected by this spell. So, this spell is actually really nice, it's one of the few times I will say that in this post. Yes, it does seem a little limited in it's range and in it's flexability, but here's the thing to remember. Beastmen are an offensive army. They have almost as much shooting in their army as most VC do and thus they are reliant in closing with the enemy as quickly as is possible. This spell allows you to do that, and it does it very well if you're running a tight battle-line. There's not too much left in obsolete-hammer (as I call it now) that lets you move units after the movement phase. As a result, this spell is kind of nice. I give it a 4 out of 5 and a recommendation to swap for it, quite, quite often.
Spell #1: Viletide
... I now see where they got the idea for Flock of Doom. On a 9+, the targeted enemy unit within 24" takes 5D6 S1 hits.Remember the Dark Elves lore attribute for Dark Magic? Well, this is kind of like that, but a spell, and somewhat better. I understand what this spell is intended to do, but countering chaff is actually one of the few good things the Beastmen can do. I guess if you're into horde builds, then this spell can be useful because 5D6 is a lot of dice and 6's are inevitable at that point. Use it to clear chaff and maybe target a war machine crew or something. I give it a 2 out of 5 and recommendation to look at what your opponent is bringing before you take this spell.
Spell #2: Devolve
All enemy units within 12" must take a Leadership test and suffers a number of wounds equal to the amount they failed the test by and no armor saves may be taken against these wounds. This spell is actually pretty nice. And here's why, Beastmen have a lot of Leadership shennanigans they can play and they have access to Shadow and Death magic, which have a lot of spells that can drop Leadership like a hot rock. Now, it is a very specific build, but it can be devastating. My Beastmen buddy Will is a master of using this spell, and I can certainly understand why. Beastmen do not handle tarpits very well, and this spell can certainly help pop that horde of Night Goblins or Skaven Slaves very quickly. Against some armies its not going to do much, but it's also a bubble spell, so again, it's really good at taking out chaff. Good spell, somewhat situational, I give it a 3 out of 5, with a recommendation to keep it if you roll it up.
Spell #3: Bray Scream
A 10+ makes your caster, or any other character within 12", immediately use a breath weapon that has S3 and no armor saves allowed against it. This spell is actually pretty nice because it ignores armor saves and much like Devolve, it can help scythe through large hordes of core infantry. Unlike Devolve, it doesn't require a lot of synergy, it's kind of a stand alone spell. And to be honest, it's actually a really damn good spell to have. I give it a 4 out 5 and a recommendation to keep this one of you roll for it.
Spell #4: Traitor-Kin
With the same casting value as the previous spell, this spell is perhaps the most situationally hilarious spell out there. all enemy models within 12" of this spell riding a mount of any kind, including monster with handlers, chariots, cavalry, monstrous cavalry, etc., will suffer hits equal to the number of attacks and Strength of the mount. Any armor bonuses for being mounted and/or barding do not apply to these hits. Against Bretonnia or any other cavalry heavy army this spell is evil. This is also a great way to neutralize those Monsterous cavalry units that Beastmen really have no answer to. Arguably the best spell in this lore. I give it a 4 out of 5 due to its limitations but it can be an absolute barrel of monkeys.
Spell #5: Mantle of Ghorok
On a 13+ you get to give a friendly unit, including himself, +D6 Strength and Attacks (still maxes out at 10) until the end of the enemy's turn. Sounds great, right? Yeah, here it comes If you roll 6s the model suffers a wound with no saves possible. This spell again reinforces the idea of taking Lore of Beasts. Potentially awesome, but very risky. I give it a 3 out of 5 and a potential for it to go totally wrong.
Spell #6: Savage Dominion
On a big 16+, you get the ability to summon a free Jabberslythe, Giant, or Ghorgon but it must be touching any table edge of your choosing. Now, unfortunately while the creature is alive and under the shamans control, he cannot cast, dispel, or attack. Additionally everything the creature takes a wound, the shaman controlling it must take a Toughness test. If this test is failed the caster takes a wound too with no saves allowed. If the caster dies, the creature gets removed too. This is a slightly better version of Transformation of Kadon, but unless it's on a low level caster, it's not really worth it. 2 out of 5, maybe 3 out of 5.
So all in all, what do I think about Lore of the Wilds? Well, its, uh, its there... Yeah, I'll admit, compared to old school Gut Magic or Wood Elf Magic its not the worst thing out there, but when compared to the three other lores Beastmen have access to (Beasts, Shadow, and Death) its absolutely nothing to write home about. It has a few potentially useful spells, like Bestial Surge and Traitor Kin but most of its spells have an equivalent in Lore of Beasts that happens to be quite a bit better. Nowadays, its the worst lore out there but it does have a little potential on low level wizards. If you do want to take this in a Beastmen army, put it on a Bray-Shaman, never on the Great Bray. Oh, and one more little note. As this is an older lore, there are no spell types so there can be some shenanigans you can pull in Skaven fashion.
So, thanks a lot folks, I see a lot of views in my absence and I very much appreciate it. Now that I'm back home I want to try and pump out at least three blogs per week. Keep reading, commenting, and hating Mat Ward.
Monday, January 25, 2016
Fluff Theory #1: Hashut
You know, one of the best things about warhammer in my humble opinion is just how detailed and vast the universe is. I mean, in most fantasy dimensions things like magic and gods are just kind of swept under the generic rug of Chekov's Gun, simply relying on the reader to just accept that concepts like this just exist in that particular universe. Warhammer, both its fantasy and 40K components, actually takes effort to explain the hows, whys, whens, whats, and whos of its own fantasy. Now, this has the downside of shooting down most conspiracy theories before they can be asked, but every once in a while the story will leave us with little to no explanation of a particular subject, and to be honest I really like it when it dies, because it allows the D and D part of my imagination to explode with possible explanations. Hashut, the Father of Darkness, is one such mystery like that. His mere exsistance and the power he grants his followers means that he cannot be anice Old One, such as the Lizardmen worship. He's not a true Chaos God like the four ruinous powers worshipped by the Beastmen and Mortals of Chaos, despite the fact that he and Khorne seem to both share a penchant for fire, war, and smithing. Nor is he a created god, like any of the gods in the Elven pantheon. While this would seem most logical, only the Elves have were cannonically shown to actually have this ability and even they had lost the skills to creating dietes millenia before the coming of Chaos. This leaves the option of Hashut being an Ascendant God, a being who started off as a mortal and attained godhood through heroism or completion of herculean tasks. Examples of this would include Sigmar or any of the Dwarven Ancestor Gods. Yet nowhere in Tamurkhan, the BRB, or any other pieces of black library fluff do we really get anew accurate account. Even the much outdated Chaos Dwarf book from when they were a supported GW army didn't have the answers I sought. And then, after comparing timelines in the Dwarf 8th edition army book (because fuck end times with a rusty gunblade) and the BRB, I realized something. In the timeline, 300 years after Grimnir is last seen heading North to try and destroy the Chaos Gate, Hashut begins to be worshipped by the Dwarves of the East. Now, this is just my theory, but what if Grimnir strolled too far North or perhaps into the very depths of the Chaos Realm itself, and emerged sometime later, as time flows differently in the Chaos realm, with a penchant for fire and his stubbornness of a bull now literal as well as figurative? I took a look at a couple of pieces of fluff that support this particular theory. First, I have two direct cases of beings from the Old World entering and exiting from the dimension of Chaos. The first is Malekith, who did so only as a last result to escape imminent death. Now, Malekith was never the most stable of elves, but after emerging from the Chaos Realm his behaviour and personality became a bit more twisted then before his trip to Chaosville. The other is Oxyotl, a Chameleon Skink who basically got sucked into a portal and managed to emerge quite a while later back into Lustria, just as Chameleon Spinks began to spawn again. Now, Oxyotl doesn't seem all that out of the ordinary for a guy who just spent a thousand or so years being hunted by literally the evils of every living soul on the planet and had to watch Daemons eat the entrails of his particular Temple City's Slann Mage-Priest. However, Lizardmen are basically the only thing 100% immune to the warping effects of Chaos, which is why they were basically created. All this leads me to conclude that a creature like an Elf or a Dwarf does have the potential to enter and exit the Chaos Realm, especially someone as powerful as Grimnir. Additionally, consider the timeline here. At this point, the Dwarves entered their Golden Age, life was great, they were basically masters of their continent. Their cousins to the East though are begging for anyone or anything to save them from horrible mutations. A Dwarf of Grimnir's particular disposition would've helped the future Chaos Dwarfs, as they are more willing to empower him through worship. Thirdly, and lastly, the way in which the Chaos Dwarves have warped could not have been the result of a diety that was not Dwarven in nature. If the four big boys had gotten to them, they'd just be stuntier versions of their other worshippers. Yet the Chaos Dwarves maintain the majority of their original racial attributes. Their stubbornness and pride has not changed. In fact, it is on a whole other level that makes them hold other races with not just distrust or annoyance like their western kin, but outright contempt. Their talent for engineering also remains in tact, but that too has been upped to a whole new level with their ability to fuse Daemons to war machines. While Dwarves lust for mineral resources, the Chaos Dwarves seem to be motivated only by that and Hashut alone, and they are incredibly greedy creatures willing to slay without a second thought if someone so much as looks at their stuff. There you have it guys, my first Fluff Theory, I hope you guys like it and again, this is just my theory regarding Hashut. Now, I'm probably overthinking this, but I really do like this theory and makes a whole lot of since for the reasons I just stateddy above. I hope you guys enjoyed, and I'll maybe keep doing these if you like and comment.
Thursday, January 21, 2016
The Good, The Bad, and the Never Used: Ogres
Greasus Goldtooth:
Weighing in at 272.5 Skaven Slaves and coming in with a stat line of 4 6 3 5 6 6 1 3 9, the Overtyrant of the Ogre Kingdoms is a bit of a hard sell, but we'll get to that later. He comes generically with Fear, but in addition he has two unique special rules. The first of which is Everyone Has Their Price. It means at the start of each enemy turn, before any Stupidity tests are taken, D3 enemy units within 18" of Greasus have Stupidity for the remainder of the turn. He also has Hoardmaster, which gives all friendly models within 18" including himself +1 to their combat results and automatically pass Rally tests. He's also rocking two magic items, the first being the Overtyrant's crown. This gives him a 4+ Ward Save and ITP to any unit he joins and himself. Lastly, he's got the Sceptre of the Titans. This magical weapon makes all of his normal attacks S10 and Multiple Wounds (D3). So before I shit all over this guy, let's look at some of his better aspects. First, he is a great line holder/breaker with his two special rules. Given how Ogres don't generate static combat res worth a damn, this can really help with that. Second, he's pretty rugged and between his 4+ Ward Save and his S10 he's probably going to be pretty kickass in combat. The bad news, this guy is stupidly expensive and has two critical weaknesses in his stat line. Movement 4 in an army that's universally Movement 6, that's a problem. Second, I1 means he's a Death and Shadow magic wet dream. And lastly, this may have since been faq'd, but I don't see him having Ogre Charge. In my opinion, he's too expensive, take a regular tyrant instead.
Skrag the Slaughterer:
The second and last Lord level special character in this particular army, this guy's you're token wizard special character. He costs 212.5 Skaven Slaves and rocks out with 6 5 3 5 6 5 3 4 9. He's also generically a Level 4 wizard on the Lore of the Great Maw, and comes with two hand generic hand weapons. He comes generically with the special rules Frenzy, Immune to Poison (Poison doesn't auto-wound, still has to roll like normal), Killing Blow, Ogre Charge (Impact Hits (1) if successful charge is made and the number of ranks they have is added to the Strength value of the hit, if the cHargett roll is 10 or higher it becomes D3 Impact Hits imstead, this is all per model in close combat by the way), and Terror. In addition he rocks out with the Cauldron of the Great Maw. This Enchanted Item works in collaboration with Gorgers, and both he and said Gorgers gain the following abilities depending on how many enemies Skrak has killed in close combat. As a side note, these effects are cumulative and they take effect immediately. 1-4 enemies gives Skrag Regeneration and the Gorgers, since they're Ambushers, do so on their next term. 5-9 enemies gives him and the Gorgers +1 Attack. 10-14 Gives he and the Gorgers Hatred. 15+, he becomes Unbreakable and the Gorgers get Regeneration. This guy is, well, he's situational. He's kinda like the Hellbron of the Ogres. If you take Gorgers, take this guy. If you play lots of Undead, Empire, or Skaven, take him. 4 attacks seems kind of crappy, but after you factor in Impact Hits, Frenzy, two hand weapons, and Killing Blow? He's doing some pretty serious damage. The problem? He's got no armor, no Ward Save, and he's more expensive then a kitted out level 4 Slaughtermaster. I think he's alright and in some cases he's even a perfect fit in the army. He's just a little flimsy to be out by his lonesome. If you do take this guy, try to take two support casters to actually cast magic while Skrag is chewing through Core units and rubbing his oversized Level 4 cock all over the Dispel phase.
Golgfag Maneater:
You know, every once in a while a special charachter from an army has such amazingly awesome fluff that you have to field him regardless. Clocking in at 130 Skaven Slaves and rocking a 6 5 4 5 5 4 4 5 8, this guy is a fucking hammer, but for reasons other then his stats. He comes generically with two hand weapons, a brace of Ogre pistols, and Light Armor. He also comes generically with Fear and Ogre Charge. Now here is where he goes from being a suped-up Bruiser to a damned nightmare. He has two unique special rules, the first of which is Easy Come, Easy Go. At the start of the battle roll a 2D6 and multiply this result by 10. That's how much magical item allotment Golgfag is allowed. Yes, he's a special charachter with access to magical items. Do I even need to explain how awesome that is? Lastly, he's got Golgfag's Maneaters, which means if he's in a unit of Maneaters then they get generically Stubborn and Vanguard and are always treated as trusted allies in an alliance. This guy is easily the best charachter in this book and he may in fact be one of the best charachters in all of warhammer. One of the biggest issues with special charachters is how dependant they are upon the situation. Sure, Teclis, Mazdamundi, and Manfred are awesome casters, but against Dwarves or anti-magic builds they fall apart. Kroq-Gar, Karl Franz, and Gorbad are dick-kickers, but against gun line builds they die too early. With Golgfag you never really need to worry about that. Plus math says you're going to usually be packing as much gear as a Dwarf Thane, so that's just fantastic. He is damn near double the cost of a Bruiser, but if you have the points and you like Maneaters, then I'd invest in him. Great charachter with great fluff from an era where Dogs of War was still a thing, I love him.
Bragg the Gutsman:
The last and arguably the worst special character in the Ogre book, Bragg is a bit of a disappointment. Coming in at 105 Skaven Slaves and coming in with a stat line of 6 5 3 5(6) 5 4 3 4 8 this guy's a bit of a disappointnent. He comes generically with Fear, Ogre Charge, Light Armor, and his only special item/rule, the Great Gouger. It's a two handed weapon that gives him Heroic Killing Blow in a challenge and if he kills his opponent in a challenge, all enemies in base combat with him suffer from Disruption for the remainder of the turn. Remember Chakax, the Lizardmen uber-Temple Guard Special Character I reviewed before? Yeah, this guy can't even hold Chaky's jock. First off, any dedicated combat charachter is going to make mincemeat out of Bragg in a challenge. My Bretonnian Lord laughs at this guy. Especially with his only defense being light armor and his Initiative being so low. However, this guy's model is kickass, so I'd use it as a Bruiser model instead of just being a lame ass special character.
Weighing in at 272.5 Skaven Slaves and coming in with a stat line of 4 6 3 5 6 6 1 3 9, the Overtyrant of the Ogre Kingdoms is a bit of a hard sell, but we'll get to that later. He comes generically with Fear, but in addition he has two unique special rules. The first of which is Everyone Has Their Price. It means at the start of each enemy turn, before any Stupidity tests are taken, D3 enemy units within 18" of Greasus have Stupidity for the remainder of the turn. He also has Hoardmaster, which gives all friendly models within 18" including himself +1 to their combat results and automatically pass Rally tests. He's also rocking two magic items, the first being the Overtyrant's crown. This gives him a 4+ Ward Save and ITP to any unit he joins and himself. Lastly, he's got the Sceptre of the Titans. This magical weapon makes all of his normal attacks S10 and Multiple Wounds (D3). So before I shit all over this guy, let's look at some of his better aspects. First, he is a great line holder/breaker with his two special rules. Given how Ogres don't generate static combat res worth a damn, this can really help with that. Second, he's pretty rugged and between his 4+ Ward Save and his S10 he's probably going to be pretty kickass in combat. The bad news, this guy is stupidly expensive and has two critical weaknesses in his stat line. Movement 4 in an army that's universally Movement 6, that's a problem. Second, I1 means he's a Death and Shadow magic wet dream. And lastly, this may have since been faq'd, but I don't see him having Ogre Charge. In my opinion, he's too expensive, take a regular tyrant instead.
Skrag the Slaughterer:
The second and last Lord level special character in this particular army, this guy's you're token wizard special character. He costs 212.5 Skaven Slaves and rocks out with 6 5 3 5 6 5 3 4 9. He's also generically a Level 4 wizard on the Lore of the Great Maw, and comes with two hand generic hand weapons. He comes generically with the special rules Frenzy, Immune to Poison (Poison doesn't auto-wound, still has to roll like normal), Killing Blow, Ogre Charge (Impact Hits (1) if successful charge is made and the number of ranks they have is added to the Strength value of the hit, if the cHargett roll is 10 or higher it becomes D3 Impact Hits imstead, this is all per model in close combat by the way), and Terror. In addition he rocks out with the Cauldron of the Great Maw. This Enchanted Item works in collaboration with Gorgers, and both he and said Gorgers gain the following abilities depending on how many enemies Skrak has killed in close combat. As a side note, these effects are cumulative and they take effect immediately. 1-4 enemies gives Skrag Regeneration and the Gorgers, since they're Ambushers, do so on their next term. 5-9 enemies gives him and the Gorgers +1 Attack. 10-14 Gives he and the Gorgers Hatred. 15+, he becomes Unbreakable and the Gorgers get Regeneration. This guy is, well, he's situational. He's kinda like the Hellbron of the Ogres. If you take Gorgers, take this guy. If you play lots of Undead, Empire, or Skaven, take him. 4 attacks seems kind of crappy, but after you factor in Impact Hits, Frenzy, two hand weapons, and Killing Blow? He's doing some pretty serious damage. The problem? He's got no armor, no Ward Save, and he's more expensive then a kitted out level 4 Slaughtermaster. I think he's alright and in some cases he's even a perfect fit in the army. He's just a little flimsy to be out by his lonesome. If you do take this guy, try to take two support casters to actually cast magic while Skrag is chewing through Core units and rubbing his oversized Level 4 cock all over the Dispel phase.
Golgfag Maneater:
You know, every once in a while a special charachter from an army has such amazingly awesome fluff that you have to field him regardless. Clocking in at 130 Skaven Slaves and rocking a 6 5 4 5 5 4 4 5 8, this guy is a fucking hammer, but for reasons other then his stats. He comes generically with two hand weapons, a brace of Ogre pistols, and Light Armor. He also comes generically with Fear and Ogre Charge. Now here is where he goes from being a suped-up Bruiser to a damned nightmare. He has two unique special rules, the first of which is Easy Come, Easy Go. At the start of the battle roll a 2D6 and multiply this result by 10. That's how much magical item allotment Golgfag is allowed. Yes, he's a special charachter with access to magical items. Do I even need to explain how awesome that is? Lastly, he's got Golgfag's Maneaters, which means if he's in a unit of Maneaters then they get generically Stubborn and Vanguard and are always treated as trusted allies in an alliance. This guy is easily the best charachter in this book and he may in fact be one of the best charachters in all of warhammer. One of the biggest issues with special charachters is how dependant they are upon the situation. Sure, Teclis, Mazdamundi, and Manfred are awesome casters, but against Dwarves or anti-magic builds they fall apart. Kroq-Gar, Karl Franz, and Gorbad are dick-kickers, but against gun line builds they die too early. With Golgfag you never really need to worry about that. Plus math says you're going to usually be packing as much gear as a Dwarf Thane, so that's just fantastic. He is damn near double the cost of a Bruiser, but if you have the points and you like Maneaters, then I'd invest in him. Great charachter with great fluff from an era where Dogs of War was still a thing, I love him.
Bragg the Gutsman:
The last and arguably the worst special character in the Ogre book, Bragg is a bit of a disappointment. Coming in at 105 Skaven Slaves and coming in with a stat line of 6 5 3 5(6) 5 4 3 4 8 this guy's a bit of a disappointnent. He comes generically with Fear, Ogre Charge, Light Armor, and his only special item/rule, the Great Gouger. It's a two handed weapon that gives him Heroic Killing Blow in a challenge and if he kills his opponent in a challenge, all enemies in base combat with him suffer from Disruption for the remainder of the turn. Remember Chakax, the Lizardmen uber-Temple Guard Special Character I reviewed before? Yeah, this guy can't even hold Chaky's jock. First off, any dedicated combat charachter is going to make mincemeat out of Bragg in a challenge. My Bretonnian Lord laughs at this guy. Especially with his only defense being light armor and his Initiative being so low. However, this guy's model is kickass, so I'd use it as a Bruiser model instead of just being a lame ass special character.
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
The Good, the Bad, and the Never Used; Dwarfs Special Character
Thorgrim Grudgebearer:
The High King of Karaz Ankor, this guy is basically the most badass Dwarf on the most magical recliner ever. Clocking in at a whopping 325 Skaven Slaves, Thorgrim is the single most expensive model in the army book, roughly three times and then some more expensive then a Dwarf Lord on Shieldbearers. However, kind of like Mazdamundi, it's not just how powerful he is, but what he does for your army with all of his magic toys. So to begin with, Thorgrim rocks a stat line of 3 7 6 4 5 7 4 4 10 and is taken to war by two stout Thronebearers that additionally rock the combined stat line of 3 5 3 4 - - 3 4 -. He comes generically with the rules Ancestral Grudge (roll a dice at the beginning of the game to determine Hatred distribution), Relentless (No march blocking), and Resolute (+1 Strength on the charge). Unique to him though, he's got the rule High King, which means he must be army's general and if he's slain all friendly models from the army book get Frenzy. That can be nice, but if this guy dies, you're probably up shit creek without a paddle. He also has the Throne of Power, which just means he's treated as a model that has Shieldbearers (look it up) but he adds +4 to his Wounds (this is factored into his profile already) and +2 to his Armor Save. He also has an Inspiring Presence of 18", but cannot benefit from any "Look Out Sir!" saves even if he's in a unit. He's also totting around the Axe of Grimnir, the Armor of Skaldour, the Dragon Crown of Karaz, and the Dammaz Kron, or the Great Book of Grudges to you mannlings out there. So, let's get started one at a time. The Axe of Grimnir, it's a Magic Weapon that gives Thorgrim ASF and he wounds any model on a roll of a 2+ regardless of the target's Toughness. Or, an a 3+ if the enemy is wearing Magical Armor. In addition, if Thorgrim is fighting against a Giant or a Chaos Giant, he has the Multiple Wounds (D6) special rule. So, this weapon is pretty balling becuase one of Thorgrim's real weaknesses is that he's only Strength 4. But since he can pretty much auto-wound, this fact can kind of be ignored. As for the whole Multiple Wounds against Giants, well, it's cute, but not all that useful. Because, I mean, when was the last time you actually saw a Giant? Now, if it was against all Monsters, then I'd be much more inclined because I play against Beastmen all the time. Moving on, we've got the Armor of Skaldour. This armor gives Thorgrim a 4+ Armor Save (meaning he has a total of a 2+ Armor Save) and he has a 2+ Ward Save against anything that has the Multiple Wounds, Killing Blow, or Heroic Killing Blow special rules. Yeah, this is very, very nice. It also, technically gives him the save to cannonballs. Meaning he's not a character you can easily swat with a cannon, which considering he can't get a "Look Out Sir!" bonus, this is very important. Next to last we have the Dragon Crown of Karaz. This talisman gives the wearer and any unit he's in ITP and Stubborn special rules. As you can imagine, this item is pretty nice, but not as awesome as it seems. First off, if you're putting this guy in a unit, you're putting him in Hammerers. Hammerers are already generically Stubborn. Still not a terrible rule, but kind of unused most times he's fielded. His last, and my personal favorite item, the Great Book of Grudges gives you a +3 to your Ancestral Grudge Rune, if your roll combined with this bonus is equal to a 7 or higher, then Thorgrim and any unit he's in may re-roll all failed to-hit rolls, not just in the first round of combat. Phew! Were finally at the end of it all! So all in all, Thorgrim is a badass motherfucker, and between his stats, items, and special rules inevitably you'll see him at least once in your career. Plus, even if you don't play End Times rules, he's pretty affordable in 3K lists and above, especially since all Dwarf lists no longer start off without a Runelord on the Anvil of Doom in their lists. In fact, the reasons to bring a Runelord are kind of debatable as is, so shit, bring Thorgrim if you can. He's a really good character despite his point cost and he can lock down and annihilate entire blocks of enemies by himself.
Thorek Ironbrow:
While Thorgrim went from being rarely to never seen all the way to being pretty common as far as special characters go, Thorek went from being an auto-include to never again making an appearance on the tabletop. I shouldn't need to explain how terrible the Anvil got, so I'll just take Thorek as a whole, and try not to judge him entirely because of his anvil. Thorek rocks a statline of 3 6 4 4 5 5 3 2 10 and is accompanied by Anvil Guards who have a statline of 3 5 3 4 - - 2 2 -. He comes with Ancestral Grudge, Ancestral Shield (5+ Ward Save), Armor Piercing, Locus of Power ( adds one dice to both you power and Dispel pool), MR (3), Rune Lore (he can channel Dispel dice), Strike the Runes (he uses the three bound spells on the anvil), and he's Unbreakable. But wait, there's more! He's also got Kraggi, Assistant at the Forge, which gives Thorek the ability to re-roll a single dice on a failed casting attempt per turn. If your re-roll is a 1, Thorek takes a single S10 hit and you no longer have this ability. He's also the Master of Ancient Lore, which gives him +1 to cast the bound spells. He also has two magic items. The first is Klad Brakak, which is a Runic hammer that allows no armor saves in close combat and provided he Wounds his enemy, any form of magic armor the opponent is wearing is destroyed. Lastly, he wears Thorek's Rune Armor, which just gives him a 1+ Armor Save. Poor Thorek, he went from being so good you never saw him, to so bad you never see him. I guess, maybe if you really love the anvil regardless of the shape it's in now, then he's worth taking, but at 217 Skaven Slaves, he's over twice as much as generic Runelord on an Anvil. I would never field an anvil, much less Thorek on one however.
Ungrim Ironfist:
Here we go! Now this is some good shit right here! Weighing in at 175 Skaven Slaves and with a stat line of 3 9 4 4 6 3 5 4 10, Ungrim is one of my favorite special charachters period. He comes generically with Ancestral Grudge, Daemon Slayer (opponent's re-roll successful Ward Saves), Dragon Slayer (Multiple Wounds D3 against Monsters), Relentless, Resolute, Deathblow (makes a single attack upon his death as long as he didn't die to Impact Hits), Slayer (ignores Strength penalties and always Wounds on a 4+ unless less is needed), and Unbreakable. In addition, he's the Slayer King, which means he can only join units of Slayers, can be the Army's general, and he allows a single Slayer unit 8n the army to take a 100 point Runic banner. He's also got the Axe of Dargo, Dragon Cloak of Fryskar, and the Slayer Crown. So, first things first. The Axe of Dargo is a Magic Weapon that means all Ungrim's attacks are at +2 Strength and have Killing Blow. The Dragon Cloak of Fryskar gives him a 4+ Ward Save and a 2+ Ward Save against anything with the Flaming Attacks special rule. Last, but not least, he's got the Slayer Crown, which gives him +1 to his Toughness (already factored in) and +1 to his Armor Save (giving him a total save of 3+). Where to begin? So at first, I thought this guy was just going to be a fluffy choice for a Slayer themed army. Then I started to actually read this guy's stats and rules. Yeah, this guy is pretty kickass. Mostly because he's what every Dwarf player ever who likes Slayers has been pining to do. Put a Slayer in armor. True, he is 55 Skaven Slaves more expensive then a fully kitted out Darmor Slayer, but he is so much better that I think if you can take him, you should. He no longer makes Slayers core choices, but that whole shtick kind of died back in 7th edition. He's also perhaps the best thing to make Daemon Princes go splat. Also, put him into a High Elf Prince on a Star Dragon for laughs for days. Love this guy, he's my favorite Lord level special character in this particular army.
Belegar Ironhammer:
Now for a bit of downer. It's kind of a shame too, because in terms of fluff, I love this guy. The whole conflict between him, Skarsnik, and Queek Headtaker for control of Karak Eight Peaks is one of my favorite storylines in warhammer. Regardless, this guy rocks a stat line of 3 8 4 4 5 3 4 4 10 and clocks in at 157.5 Skaven Slaves. He comes generically with Ancestral Grudge, Relentless, Resolute, and Stubborn. He also comes with the rule, Revenge Incarnate (God that sounds fucking awesome!) which allows him to once per game double his attacks for the remainder of the turn. We'll talk about this later. In addition he has two special items, the first of which is the Hammer of Angrund. This magic weapon gives him ASF and give him +1 to wound. His last magic item is the Shield of Defiance, which gives him a 4+ Ward Save and makes him immune to Killing Blow and Heroic Killing Blow. Lastly, before I get grilled in the comments section, Belegar comes mounted on an Oath Stone, which means he and his unit can never elect to flee, cannot have their ranks disrupted, and allows them to make Parry Saves to their flank and rear. In addition, any charachter on an Oath Stone must accept challenges. Okay, so at first, this guy looks pretty cool, and his model is just fantastic in my humble opinion. When I first looked at this guy, I was immediately thinking Gor-Rok. Doubling attacks, re-rolls from ASF, +1 to KOwound. Then I realized he's on an Oath Stone. He's also only S4, now, he's +1 to wound, but S4 nonetheless. He's also 2.5 Skaven Slaves cheaper then a kitted out Dwarf Lord on Shieldbearers. He's just okay, and considering that the Dwarf Lord is awesome, he very rarely gets much playing time. However, awhile back we ran a three way battle with my Dwarves against my buddies who had Skarsnik with Goblins and Queek with Skaven. Really, really fun. I like him, but he's a little confused as to his roll in an army so I can understand leaving this guy behind, but he's certainly not the worst choice in the book.
Josef Bugman:
The first of two special Heroes available to the Dwarves, this guy is pretty kickass, but not necessarily for the reasons you might think. So besides always abiding by universal bro code guidelines regarding the byob subsection, this guy also rocks a 3 6 5 5 2 4 4 10 and comes in at 82.5 Skaven Slaves. He comes generically with Ancestral Grudge, Relentless, Resolute, and Scouts. He also has the Bugman Rangers ability, which let's you upgrade Rangers in your army to have WS5, BS4, and S4 for an additional 3 points per model. He also has probably the most realistic parallel rule that we have amongst my gaming group, Liquid Fortification. As long as Bugman is aroundestroyed he and his unit roll 2 D6 at the start of each friendly turn. On a 2 he and his unit are Flammable. On a 3-9, their Stubborn. On a 10-12, they all get +1 Toughness. He's also rocking out with the Stout Courage special rule, which grant him and his unit immunity to Fear and Terror. He's also totting around Ol' Trustworthy, which is his magic weapon that gives him Armor Piercing, and +1 to his Attack and Strength (already factored in). Last, but definitely the best, is Bugman's Tankard. This little beauty allows him or any friendly models in the same unit to regain D3 Wounds at the beginning of any friendly turn. Considering how many Wounds Dwarf Lords can gave, this will make him even more unkillable. So, there's two reasons to take this guy. One, you've got a hard on for Rangers, regardless of how terrible they are now. Two, you want to make the meanest, most douchiest Death Star available to the Dwarves. He's also dirt cheap compared to the other charachters thus far. I like him, but he's not an auto-include by any means.
Grimm Burloksson:
Ah yes, the reason Irondrakes are so hated by so many. Rocking out to a stat line of 3 4 5 6 4 2 2 2 9 and identical to Bugman in terms of points, Burlok here is your badass Master Engineer. He comes generically with Ancestral Grudge, Entrenchment (he can give one war machine hard cover and -1 to-hit in close combat provided it doesn't move), Relentless, Resolute, and Stand Back Sir! (Think lookout Sir but with war machines and a 3 inch range). He's also the Master of Accuracy, which at the start of each friendly shooting phase on a D6 roll of a 2+, he can confer one of three special rules. It should be noted though that he cannot benefit from these rules, but he may still use his own weapon. He can either allow a war machine to use his BS and re-roll a single artillery dice that can be the dice that determines a cannonball or flame cannon bounce, increase a unit's crossbow or handgun range by 2D6", or allow models in his unit to re-roll any missed to-hit rolls. He's also rocking a pimped out shotgun that has an 18" range, S4, Armor Piercing, Dwarf Crafted (no -1 penalty for stand and shoot), and Multiple Shots (2D3). In close combat it functions as S6 (as user), Armor Piercing, and Weaponsnapper (destroys an enemy's magic weapon on a successful hit on a roll of a 5+). Yeah, he may not be Ben Grim, but at S6 he damn near is! He's also an auto-include if you have more than three war machines in your army. He does have Grimnir armor, but if this guy gets into close combat, I'd just pick him up and apologize for making your opponent charge. However, he does have the potential to wipe out those pesky units of Goblin Wolf Riders and Dark Riders with his shooting potential. I've also seen him fuck up kitted out Goblin Bosses on wolves who bring magic weapons.
The High King of Karaz Ankor, this guy is basically the most badass Dwarf on the most magical recliner ever. Clocking in at a whopping 325 Skaven Slaves, Thorgrim is the single most expensive model in the army book, roughly three times and then some more expensive then a Dwarf Lord on Shieldbearers. However, kind of like Mazdamundi, it's not just how powerful he is, but what he does for your army with all of his magic toys. So to begin with, Thorgrim rocks a stat line of 3 7 6 4 5 7 4 4 10 and is taken to war by two stout Thronebearers that additionally rock the combined stat line of 3 5 3 4 - - 3 4 -. He comes generically with the rules Ancestral Grudge (roll a dice at the beginning of the game to determine Hatred distribution), Relentless (No march blocking), and Resolute (+1 Strength on the charge). Unique to him though, he's got the rule High King, which means he must be army's general and if he's slain all friendly models from the army book get Frenzy. That can be nice, but if this guy dies, you're probably up shit creek without a paddle. He also has the Throne of Power, which just means he's treated as a model that has Shieldbearers (look it up) but he adds +4 to his Wounds (this is factored into his profile already) and +2 to his Armor Save. He also has an Inspiring Presence of 18", but cannot benefit from any "Look Out Sir!" saves even if he's in a unit. He's also totting around the Axe of Grimnir, the Armor of Skaldour, the Dragon Crown of Karaz, and the Dammaz Kron, or the Great Book of Grudges to you mannlings out there. So, let's get started one at a time. The Axe of Grimnir, it's a Magic Weapon that gives Thorgrim ASF and he wounds any model on a roll of a 2+ regardless of the target's Toughness. Or, an a 3+ if the enemy is wearing Magical Armor. In addition, if Thorgrim is fighting against a Giant or a Chaos Giant, he has the Multiple Wounds (D6) special rule. So, this weapon is pretty balling becuase one of Thorgrim's real weaknesses is that he's only Strength 4. But since he can pretty much auto-wound, this fact can kind of be ignored. As for the whole Multiple Wounds against Giants, well, it's cute, but not all that useful. Because, I mean, when was the last time you actually saw a Giant? Now, if it was against all Monsters, then I'd be much more inclined because I play against Beastmen all the time. Moving on, we've got the Armor of Skaldour. This armor gives Thorgrim a 4+ Armor Save (meaning he has a total of a 2+ Armor Save) and he has a 2+ Ward Save against anything that has the Multiple Wounds, Killing Blow, or Heroic Killing Blow special rules. Yeah, this is very, very nice. It also, technically gives him the save to cannonballs. Meaning he's not a character you can easily swat with a cannon, which considering he can't get a "Look Out Sir!" bonus, this is very important. Next to last we have the Dragon Crown of Karaz. This talisman gives the wearer and any unit he's in ITP and Stubborn special rules. As you can imagine, this item is pretty nice, but not as awesome as it seems. First off, if you're putting this guy in a unit, you're putting him in Hammerers. Hammerers are already generically Stubborn. Still not a terrible rule, but kind of unused most times he's fielded. His last, and my personal favorite item, the Great Book of Grudges gives you a +3 to your Ancestral Grudge Rune, if your roll combined with this bonus is equal to a 7 or higher, then Thorgrim and any unit he's in may re-roll all failed to-hit rolls, not just in the first round of combat. Phew! Were finally at the end of it all! So all in all, Thorgrim is a badass motherfucker, and between his stats, items, and special rules inevitably you'll see him at least once in your career. Plus, even if you don't play End Times rules, he's pretty affordable in 3K lists and above, especially since all Dwarf lists no longer start off without a Runelord on the Anvil of Doom in their lists. In fact, the reasons to bring a Runelord are kind of debatable as is, so shit, bring Thorgrim if you can. He's a really good character despite his point cost and he can lock down and annihilate entire blocks of enemies by himself.
Thorek Ironbrow:
While Thorgrim went from being rarely to never seen all the way to being pretty common as far as special characters go, Thorek went from being an auto-include to never again making an appearance on the tabletop. I shouldn't need to explain how terrible the Anvil got, so I'll just take Thorek as a whole, and try not to judge him entirely because of his anvil. Thorek rocks a statline of 3 6 4 4 5 5 3 2 10 and is accompanied by Anvil Guards who have a statline of 3 5 3 4 - - 2 2 -. He comes with Ancestral Grudge, Ancestral Shield (5+ Ward Save), Armor Piercing, Locus of Power ( adds one dice to both you power and Dispel pool), MR (3), Rune Lore (he can channel Dispel dice), Strike the Runes (he uses the three bound spells on the anvil), and he's Unbreakable. But wait, there's more! He's also got Kraggi, Assistant at the Forge, which gives Thorek the ability to re-roll a single dice on a failed casting attempt per turn. If your re-roll is a 1, Thorek takes a single S10 hit and you no longer have this ability. He's also the Master of Ancient Lore, which gives him +1 to cast the bound spells. He also has two magic items. The first is Klad Brakak, which is a Runic hammer that allows no armor saves in close combat and provided he Wounds his enemy, any form of magic armor the opponent is wearing is destroyed. Lastly, he wears Thorek's Rune Armor, which just gives him a 1+ Armor Save. Poor Thorek, he went from being so good you never saw him, to so bad you never see him. I guess, maybe if you really love the anvil regardless of the shape it's in now, then he's worth taking, but at 217 Skaven Slaves, he's over twice as much as generic Runelord on an Anvil. I would never field an anvil, much less Thorek on one however.
Ungrim Ironfist:
Here we go! Now this is some good shit right here! Weighing in at 175 Skaven Slaves and with a stat line of 3 9 4 4 6 3 5 4 10, Ungrim is one of my favorite special charachters period. He comes generically with Ancestral Grudge, Daemon Slayer (opponent's re-roll successful Ward Saves), Dragon Slayer (Multiple Wounds D3 against Monsters), Relentless, Resolute, Deathblow (makes a single attack upon his death as long as he didn't die to Impact Hits), Slayer (ignores Strength penalties and always Wounds on a 4+ unless less is needed), and Unbreakable. In addition, he's the Slayer King, which means he can only join units of Slayers, can be the Army's general, and he allows a single Slayer unit 8n the army to take a 100 point Runic banner. He's also got the Axe of Dargo, Dragon Cloak of Fryskar, and the Slayer Crown. So, first things first. The Axe of Dargo is a Magic Weapon that means all Ungrim's attacks are at +2 Strength and have Killing Blow. The Dragon Cloak of Fryskar gives him a 4+ Ward Save and a 2+ Ward Save against anything with the Flaming Attacks special rule. Last, but not least, he's got the Slayer Crown, which gives him +1 to his Toughness (already factored in) and +1 to his Armor Save (giving him a total save of 3+). Where to begin? So at first, I thought this guy was just going to be a fluffy choice for a Slayer themed army. Then I started to actually read this guy's stats and rules. Yeah, this guy is pretty kickass. Mostly because he's what every Dwarf player ever who likes Slayers has been pining to do. Put a Slayer in armor. True, he is 55 Skaven Slaves more expensive then a fully kitted out Darmor Slayer, but he is so much better that I think if you can take him, you should. He no longer makes Slayers core choices, but that whole shtick kind of died back in 7th edition. He's also perhaps the best thing to make Daemon Princes go splat. Also, put him into a High Elf Prince on a Star Dragon for laughs for days. Love this guy, he's my favorite Lord level special character in this particular army.
Belegar Ironhammer:
Now for a bit of downer. It's kind of a shame too, because in terms of fluff, I love this guy. The whole conflict between him, Skarsnik, and Queek Headtaker for control of Karak Eight Peaks is one of my favorite storylines in warhammer. Regardless, this guy rocks a stat line of 3 8 4 4 5 3 4 4 10 and clocks in at 157.5 Skaven Slaves. He comes generically with Ancestral Grudge, Relentless, Resolute, and Stubborn. He also comes with the rule, Revenge Incarnate (God that sounds fucking awesome!) which allows him to once per game double his attacks for the remainder of the turn. We'll talk about this later. In addition he has two special items, the first of which is the Hammer of Angrund. This magic weapon gives him ASF and give him +1 to wound. His last magic item is the Shield of Defiance, which gives him a 4+ Ward Save and makes him immune to Killing Blow and Heroic Killing Blow. Lastly, before I get grilled in the comments section, Belegar comes mounted on an Oath Stone, which means he and his unit can never elect to flee, cannot have their ranks disrupted, and allows them to make Parry Saves to their flank and rear. In addition, any charachter on an Oath Stone must accept challenges. Okay, so at first, this guy looks pretty cool, and his model is just fantastic in my humble opinion. When I first looked at this guy, I was immediately thinking Gor-Rok. Doubling attacks, re-rolls from ASF, +1 to KOwound. Then I realized he's on an Oath Stone. He's also only S4, now, he's +1 to wound, but S4 nonetheless. He's also 2.5 Skaven Slaves cheaper then a kitted out Dwarf Lord on Shieldbearers. He's just okay, and considering that the Dwarf Lord is awesome, he very rarely gets much playing time. However, awhile back we ran a three way battle with my Dwarves against my buddies who had Skarsnik with Goblins and Queek with Skaven. Really, really fun. I like him, but he's a little confused as to his roll in an army so I can understand leaving this guy behind, but he's certainly not the worst choice in the book.
Josef Bugman:
The first of two special Heroes available to the Dwarves, this guy is pretty kickass, but not necessarily for the reasons you might think. So besides always abiding by universal bro code guidelines regarding the byob subsection, this guy also rocks a 3 6 5 5 2 4 4 10 and comes in at 82.5 Skaven Slaves. He comes generically with Ancestral Grudge, Relentless, Resolute, and Scouts. He also has the Bugman Rangers ability, which let's you upgrade Rangers in your army to have WS5, BS4, and S4 for an additional 3 points per model. He also has probably the most realistic parallel rule that we have amongst my gaming group, Liquid Fortification. As long as Bugman is aroundestroyed he and his unit roll 2 D6 at the start of each friendly turn. On a 2 he and his unit are Flammable. On a 3-9, their Stubborn. On a 10-12, they all get +1 Toughness. He's also rocking out with the Stout Courage special rule, which grant him and his unit immunity to Fear and Terror. He's also totting around Ol' Trustworthy, which is his magic weapon that gives him Armor Piercing, and +1 to his Attack and Strength (already factored in). Last, but definitely the best, is Bugman's Tankard. This little beauty allows him or any friendly models in the same unit to regain D3 Wounds at the beginning of any friendly turn. Considering how many Wounds Dwarf Lords can gave, this will make him even more unkillable. So, there's two reasons to take this guy. One, you've got a hard on for Rangers, regardless of how terrible they are now. Two, you want to make the meanest, most douchiest Death Star available to the Dwarves. He's also dirt cheap compared to the other charachters thus far. I like him, but he's not an auto-include by any means.
Grimm Burloksson:
Ah yes, the reason Irondrakes are so hated by so many. Rocking out to a stat line of 3 4 5 6 4 2 2 2 9 and identical to Bugman in terms of points, Burlok here is your badass Master Engineer. He comes generically with Ancestral Grudge, Entrenchment (he can give one war machine hard cover and -1 to-hit in close combat provided it doesn't move), Relentless, Resolute, and Stand Back Sir! (Think lookout Sir but with war machines and a 3 inch range). He's also the Master of Accuracy, which at the start of each friendly shooting phase on a D6 roll of a 2+, he can confer one of three special rules. It should be noted though that he cannot benefit from these rules, but he may still use his own weapon. He can either allow a war machine to use his BS and re-roll a single artillery dice that can be the dice that determines a cannonball or flame cannon bounce, increase a unit's crossbow or handgun range by 2D6", or allow models in his unit to re-roll any missed to-hit rolls. He's also rocking a pimped out shotgun that has an 18" range, S4, Armor Piercing, Dwarf Crafted (no -1 penalty for stand and shoot), and Multiple Shots (2D3). In close combat it functions as S6 (as user), Armor Piercing, and Weaponsnapper (destroys an enemy's magic weapon on a successful hit on a roll of a 5+). Yeah, he may not be Ben Grim, but at S6 he damn near is! He's also an auto-include if you have more than three war machines in your army. He does have Grimnir armor, but if this guy gets into close combat, I'd just pick him up and apologize for making your opponent charge. However, he does have the potential to wipe out those pesky units of Goblin Wolf Riders and Dark Riders with his shooting potential. I've also seen him fuck up kitted out Goblin Bosses on wolves who bring magic weapons.
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