Are the Brutes back again

When Ironjawz were released as one of the first new armies in Age of Sigmar the Brutes, Gore Gruntas and Maw Krusha were lovely models which went straight into my collection.

Unfortunately the rules always meant that my Big Waaagh and Ironjawz army kept coming back to Ardboyz, with minimal Brutes. I loved the models, but only had 10 painted, and the rules didn’t encourage me to buy any more.

However, that’s all changed and the new rules have prompted me to have a 50% increase on Brutes for Mancunian Carnage 2021.

What has made me change my mind… well the warscroll has said an upgrade, points are similar and Ardboyz have now become support / objective holders. Also, Big Waaagh! doesn’t care about number of troops anymore. In case you’ve missed the warscroll – especially as they’ve disappeared from GW website (!) here it is:

My Brutes all have Jagged Gore-Hackas, which is fortunate given the above. They have 2″ reach so can deploy in two ‘ranks’ on the table and still hit the enemy, and the additional pip of rend over and above the Brute Choppas more than makes up for the slight reduction in attacks. Especially as we’re hitting big things on a 2+ without a command point – Smashing!

Finally, they also have a great new special rule You Messin’ which means that models with a wounds characteristic of 1 can’t contest objectives. Sure, most things with 1 wounds within 3″ of this unit should be dead, but if a few Skeletons or Zombies survive this rule gives the Brutes the edge. Kunnin!

Sure they are slow on paper, but we’ve got lots of Mighty Destroyers available (free movement), and most scenarios start much closer to each other now. I’m taking my 15 to Carnage, and have 10 more on order for War in the Heartlands later in the month.

I’ll let you know how I get on, and how I find using the new & improved Brutes and their successes. Bashin’

— Declan