WD148 Battle Report – Warhammer Fantasy (The Battle of Blood Keep)

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The first four player battle report with forces of 3,000 points per side. The Perry Twins take on Mike McVey and Wayne England.

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Solo Wargaming for your Favourite Games

I’m in the process of creating a series of Wargaming Aids which allow players to play their favourite games in a single player format against an AI controlled enemy army. To find out more on this click here.

For as little as £1 a month (the price of a chocolate bar) you can help support me in this endeavour and receive cool perks as a thank you, such as access to our Discord Server as well as downloadable copies of the gaming aids which you can print out and use at home.

Why not pop over to Patreon and sign up and help me in this project? Money raised will go towards making these as physical products.

Writing a Tabletop Wargame – Part 1

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I’ve always enjoyed creating my own rules and scenarios for the games I play, and last year I jumped into writing my own ruleset for Napoleonic Wargaming called ‘Clausewitz’.

But I thought it may be fun to create a ruleset with the community which could then be hosted here on the site for free.

So what should it be? A historical game? Sci-Fi, Fantasy? Should it be Grand Tactical, skirmish level or something in between?

What about measurements? Should they be in inches, centimetres, base widths or something completely different?

As you can see there are a lot of points to consider before getting into the nitty gritty of it all. So let’s tackle the first question.

Genre

What about the genre? What should it be. Well that’s up to you all. Why not vote in the poll below that I’ll keep open until the next article and you can decide here what we work on. Of course there’s always an argument to make the game genre agnostic as well, meaning the ruleset can be used for anything…

Orruk Warclans – Ironjawz in 20-0 System

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5 Tournament games at Ascott Race Cource – Warfare 2021

Last weekend I was happy to be able to revisit an old event, that I have been attending for many years – Warfare. But this time there was a change of venue as the old sports hall in Reading was being redeveloped and the show had outgrown the venue anyway. (For those who may not know, Warfare is a trade show with some tournaments along the side)

I would be bringing my Orruk Warclan – Ironjawz – after my success at Carnage and War in the Heartlands with them. But this time I wanted something that was quicker to play than my normal armies – because I wanted to see the trade show!

The army in all its Glory

The thoughts behind my list can be seen in my Ironjawz One Drop Article, and is repeated below:

Allegiance: Ironjawz
– Warclan: Ironsunz
– Grand Strategy: Hold the Line
– Triumphs: Inspired

Leaders
Megaboss on Maw-Krusha (480)*
 General
 Boss Choppa and Rip-tooth fist
 Command Trait: Hulking Brute
 Artefact: Amulet of Destiny (Universal Artefact)
 Mount Trait: Smelly ‘Un
Orruk Warchanter (115)*
 Warbeat: Fixin’ Beat
Orruk Warchanter (115)*
 Warbeat: Get ‘Em Beat

Battleline
10 x Orruk Brutes (320)*
 Jagged Gore-hackas
 2x Gore Choppas
 Reinforced x 1
10 x Orruk Brutes (320)*
 Jagged Gore-hackas
 2x Gore Choppas
 Reinforced x 1
5 x Orruk Brutes (160)*
 Jagged Gore-hackas
 1x Gore Choppas
10 x Orruk Ardboys (170)*
 1x Gorkamorka Banner Bearers
 Reinforced x 1

Units
6 x Orruk Gore-gruntas (300)*
 Jagged Gore-hackas
 Reinforced x 1

Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment

Total: 1980 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 4 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 155
Drops: 1

I’ve never really tried a 1 drop army before, but I knew that this would definitely have quick games… allowing more time for shopping!

Although the Gore-Gruntas are a more popular choice I had two things which limited what I would take. Firstly I didn’t have any painted, and only had 6 available so I didn’t want to give myself too much painting to do… secondly I like to sit and counter punch so the idea was that the Maw Krusha & Gore Gruntas would charge first, and the Brutes would follow up… but no plan survives contact with the enemy!

Game 1 Savage Gains v Kharadron Overlords

I was drawn against club mate – Ben – in this clash which was great as we’ve not had an opportunity to play recently because of COVID. Also he was using his great undead KO army. It’s lovely!

Lots of Boats, Boats, Boats!

Survival of the Fittest doesn’t use the ‘normal’ scoring for AOS3, and instead has 1 point for a home objective, 2 for each of the middle ones, and 4 for the opponent’s. I was also lucky enough to have recently played against KO – albeit with my Gitz.

I started with Agressive Expansion, and grabbed the two neutral objectives, putting a toe on the one on the left (picture above), and moving some Brutes onto the one on the right. The MawKrusha (MK) meanwhile used Mighty Destroyers, and charged off to kill a unit of Duardin – I wanted to reduce the size of Ben’s army and was reasonably confident the MK could survive a round of shooting.

In Ben’s turn he picked up his boats and put them all over on my right away from the Maw Krusha, getting the objective (Agressive Expansion) and killing a few models with shooting. The Gunhauler charged 10 Brutes… it’s torpedo missed and it was killed.

I won priority turn 2, triggered Monstrous Takeover and charged the frigate off the objective, whilst getting near the Ironclad – I didn’t want to have unleash hell without the MK & GG getting in, but I failed the MK charge… however I had also made a mistake and the MK was a little too near Gotrek! I redeployed 3 away, forcing an 8″ charge but he succeeded with his reroll and charged… MK died! I’ve only played Gotrek with Gitz before and watching him wipe out an MK (albeit only just) was a shock! Ah well live and learn – I was still ahead 16-11 though because the MK had grabbed 4 points for Ben’s objective.

Winning Priority again, I chose Slay the Warlord… but failed to get through his armour and he lived – I always seem to do this instead of just attacking the boats — must remember next time! Ben did Broken Ranks and the difference was still 5 points in my favour.

Turn 4, and Ben won his first priority completed his Savage Spearhead and picked up 3 points; however I was struggling to get objectives and running out of Brutes – I did grab three objectives though to lead 26-19.

Turn 5, and I won priority again – unfortuantely with units in combat I couldn’t do any Battle Tactics (my third failure in the game!) and picked up 5 points… Ben then taught me the garrison rules – his general deployed out of the Ironclad onto my home objective and shot off the last of the Brutes getting the full 9! … This gave him 12 points at the last… bringing us to 31-31 DRAW!

It was a great game, and really happy it ended in a draw for both of us – must remember to avoid Gotrek with the MK, and attack the Ironclad and not the people inside it next time.

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Game 2 Survival of the Fittest – vs Sylvaneth

Ready, Steady, Waaagh!

This was bloody and very, very short. I took the first turn, charged the Kurnoth with the Gruntas – killing them, charged the Revenants with the MK – killing them with the impact hits & Stomp – charged again into the other Kurnoths – killing them! The Ardboyz & 5 Brutes took the outside objectives.

In his turn 1, he charged the MK with everything, but this allowed my Gore Gruntas and Ardboyz to counter charge with the Ironsunz ability – Drycha did some damage, but the Gore Gruntas killed the Warsong Revenants. The Treelord & Stormcast chap couldn’t finish off the MK who then killed the Stormcast and hurt the Treelord.

I won priority for Turn 2, and my opponent conceeded… I was a huge rock to his surgical scissors – 20-0 WIN

Game 3 Power Struggle – Bonesplitterz

The board after the Bonesplitterz free movement

This was a classic army with 4 Wurrgog Prophets:

What an ability

This is a superb characterful ability and I was worried about the potential damage – especially as the Prophets have 6+ ward, and general has a 4+ ward, to reduce the damage they take! These things can (and in the tournament did) take down a Gargant so my MK was at risk… given that I needed to try to get his units away from the Prophets and let the Bonesplitterz go first.

Turn 1, he took Monstrous Takeover and moved his units forward whilst ensuring the Prophets could cover some of the units if I charged them. I took the bait, charged into the Rogue Idol with the MK, and engaged 2 of the Boar Boyz. Killing the Idol, 5 Boars and 3 Boars I was ready for the punch back… but if I could win priority it would all be over.

But it was not to be, and the Bonesplitterz won the priority and took the run selecting Bring it Down on the MK. The first Prophet started the attack doing only 5 damage before dying, but the general was still available – he went all out and rolled until his head exploded… but the MK had only 3 wounds left. Meanwhile one prophet was in range of the GoreGruntas and killed three of them, but died leaving just 1 Prophet left. He charged the MK with some boarboyz, and I counter charged with 5 Brutes and the remaining GG. The boars killed the MK, but the Brutes & GG took down the Boarboyz. Whilst I had lost the big guy I’d done a lot of damage, and was able to grab Broken Ranks in my turn. Meanwhile one of my units of 10 Brutes was walking towards the objective on his side of the board. It was 9-9 but the Bonesplitterz had lost most of their damage dealers.

Turn 3, and Bonesplitterz went first again, the remaining Prophet killing 9 Ardboyz and surviving… wow! gaining Broken Ranks, but this was the high point and I took Agressive Expansion, killed the 10 Orruk Bonesplitters and moving 12″ away from the remaining Prophet. I finished off with Furious Advance and then Savage Spearhead giving me the win. WIN 17-3

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Game 4 Veins of Ghur vs Blades of Khorne


Cagey Start from both players!

Bright and early on the Sunday and I was playing Blades of Khorne and Myles, who I had played before recently. I knew this would be fun, although with Veins of Ghur having the random drop locations I didn’t know if Skarbrand and his mates were coming straight for me.

I set-up defensively, gave Khorne the first turn and we both just shuffled a bit, gained Furious Advance and waited for turn 2.

Khorne won priority turn 2 and gave it to me after the middle objective fell on the side of my MK… this was also the side of his Bloodthirster and Skarbrand, so we knew where the fighting would be. I decided to ignore Battle Tactics for this turn and just moved the Ardboyz onto the objective whilst my 5 Brutes and 10 Brutes advances on my left in case an objective landed over there. Myles predictably took back the objective with Conquer and he led 6-4. A very small lead in Veins.

I won priority turn 3, but the objectives fell reasonably for us both (his on my left guarded by Fleshounds so I couldn’t reach it, mine in the middle) so I gave the turn away. Khorne again played carefully and took Agressive Expansion for the two objectives he already held. I took the same, took back the one in the centre on my right with my Ardboyz and charged into the Fleshounds on the left. I had to keep out of 18″ from the Daemon Prince of Khorne to ensure my charge was successful. The unit of 5 did some damage to the Fleshounds.

I won the key turn 4, declared Monstrous Takeover with the MK who toe poked the objective, whilst on the left the 10 Brutes joined the 5 Brutes and started to threaten the objective. In Myles’ turn they took over the objective and so Myles went on the attack… but Skarbrand failed an 8″ with re-roll and so the Bloodthirster and Juggernaughts went into my force on their own. They failed to kill the 10 Ardboyz, failing their Battle Tactic… but worse – failing to capture the objective. 0 points gained in turn 4 and I was ahead 22-14.

However, the game still had something to give – and by this time we had quite an audience – and turn 5 priority went to Khorne – he selected Slay the Warlord and Skarbrand went for the kill – he wiped out the GG who were guarding the MK and did 16 wounds to the MK. The MK swung back and killed Skarbrand, but the Bloodthirster swung around and killed the MK. The Deamon Prince stood on my objective which I thought was safe as I had a garison near it… only to be told it only counted as 1… ooops! It was 28-22 going into my turn 5.

I selected conquer, set-up outside my garrison and charged the Brutes and one Warchanter into the Bloodthirster (who had used Bloodtithe to get onto my objective). The Daemon Prince’s Blood Soaked Ground made the charge a little more difficult but I was succesful and the Daemon Prince fought twice… killing 3 Brutes – but it wasn’t enough and the Brutes killed the Bloodthirster! I had won 38-31. WIN 14-6. Because of his previous games though Myles was still ahead of me in the tournament.

Game 5 Feral Foray vs Daughters of Khaine

Morathi plans her revenge agains the GG

I had not played Morathi yet (suprising with all the games in AOS3 I’ve played) and so this would be useful. My opponent had already beaten an Ironjawz list to get to this point in game 5 and so this might be difficult!

I went first, moved the GG up to grab an objective and got the 5 points… and then found out what Morathi does! She shot, charged the GG and killed 5 of them. The remaining one managed to do the 3 wounds needed (because little Morathi had miscast), but this was a bad start! On my right the Bow Snakes and Shadowstalkers were advancing and killing anything I put within 32″ of them – I did know enough to be outside 24″. First up was the Ardboyz.

With no throw away units or ranged damage to hurt Morathi I was struggling to see a way out, so I took Monstrous Takeover turn 2, and 3 objectives (2 points) putting me on 9. The DoK took the objective on my right, which I had retreated my Brutes from to stop them dying in the hero phase, and we were 9-9… and then it went wrong as I lost the third turn priority. I burnt my middle objective to make the DoK concentrate on an area I wasn’t in, whilst Morathi killed 10 Brutes and put loads of wounds on the MK. I did do three more wounds, but this was too little too late and the teleporting troops meant I couldn’t escape them.

I lost priority turn 4, and hence the MK. The last 3 Brutes charged Morathi and did the remaining 3 wounds gaining some valuable points but I was then wiped out finishing 32-14 for LOST 1-19

This army really struggles in this match-up especially as I don’t have any throw away units, and he was screening well. I think next time I’ll try to get the Warchanters into Morathi as they can be reasonably confident of doing the 3 damage required, but with my other Ironjawz army (lots of drops and Rippas!) I fancy my changes more.

The army again… just in case you missed it the first time ’round

Summary

I finished with 3-1-1 and 62 points having only lost to Morathi. It was a great tournament and I finished 10th out of 38, so very happy with the result. Also managed to chat with a lot of the other gamers there and catch up with friends on the 40k tables!

This was a great army which definitely achieved the target of being quick to play, but still having a chance. The last game draw was critical though and the game against KO was perhaps a little short of what I should have got… but that would have got my playing against some of the Team England chaps who had turned up due to a cancelled event at Warhammer World, so I definitely can’t grumble

I’m not sure it’s a play style I like (a little too reckless for me) but I can definitely see how this can regularly get very high scores in a 20-0 tournament and I may bring it back to the next one of those.

Warhammer AoS Battleforce Boxes – How much and whats in them?

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So the Battleforce boxes are back after their success in 2020. These are a fantastic way to get into a new army or even add to an existing one, but whats inside them and how many points of miniatures do you get?

(EDIT (Nov-22) If you’re looking for the AoS summary for 2022 it’s here)

The rumoured price of these is going to be:

Soulblight Gravelords: Revenant Legion£130
Lumineth Realmlords: Vanari Shining Host£130
Hedonites of Slaanesh: Sybarite Blade-Carnival£125
Adeptus Sororitas: Purgatos Mission£130

But I can tell you a way of saving even more money by purchasing these at 25% off the recommended retail price! Just visit SCN Hobby World and sign up to their mailing list for 25% off all GW products and 20% Warlord Games products.

So what do you get inside and how much would it cost you normally? All of the points and PL have been given for the basic unit options and include no upgrades.

Soulblight Gravelords – Revenant Legion

UnitPointsCost
Vengorian Lord280£39.50
5 Blood Knights195£39.50
20 Deathrattle Skeletons340£36.50
40 Deadwalker Zombies230£69.00
Total1,045£184.50
Predicted RRP£130.00
Saving£54.50
SCN Hobby World Price (25% Off)£97.50

Hedonites of Slaanesh – Sybarite Blade-Carnival

UnitPointsCost
Shardspeaker150£18.50
3 Slaangor Fiendbloods150£31.50
10 Blissbarb Archers110£31.50
5 Exalted Seekers/Slickblades/Blissbards220-230£42.00
10 Mymirdesh Painbringers/Symbraesh Twinsouls320-370£73.00
Total950-1,010£196.50
Predicted RRP£130.00
Saving£66.50
SCN Hobby World Price (25% Off)£97.50
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Lumineth Realm-Lords – Vanari Shining Host

UnitPointsCost
Vanari Auralan Wardens145£36.50
Bladelords130£36.50
Dawnriders140£39.50
Vanari Starshard Ballista125£31.50
Vanari Bannerblade120£21.00
Vanari Lord Regent155£34.50
Total815£199.50
Predicted RRP£130.00
Saving£69.50
SCN Hobby World Price (25% Off)£97.50

Ossiarch Bonereapers – Mortisan Tithe-Echelon

UnitPointsCost
Mortisan Boneshaper135£17.50
Mortisan Soulreaper115£17.50
20 Mortek Guard280£35.00
3 Necropolis Stalkers/Immortis Guard180-190£30.00
Githizzar Harvester215£30.00
Mortek Crawler215£50.00
Total1,140-1,150£180.00
Predicted RRP£125.00
Saving£55.00
SCN Hobby World Price (25% Off)£93.75

So what do you think good value or not? Will you be picking up a set?

Warhammer 40k Battleforce Boxes – How much and whats in them?

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So the Battleforce boxes are back after their success in 2020. These are a fantastic way to get into a new army or even add to an existing one, but whats inside them and how many points of miniatures do you get?

(EDIT (Nov-22) If you’re looking for the 40k summary for 2022 it’s here)

The rumoured price of these is going to be:

Space Marines: Shieldbreaker Strike Force£130
Necrons: Worldscour Legion£130
Orks: Killdakka Warband£125
Adeptus Sororitas: Purgatos Mission£130
Adeptus Mechanicus: Omnissiah’s Talon£125
Death Guard: Plaguefester Warband£125

But I can tell you a way of saving even more money by purchasing these at 25% off the recommended retail price! Just visit SCN Hobby World and sign up to their mailing list for 25% off all GW products and 20% Warlord Games products.

So what do you get inside and how much would it cost you normally? All of the points and PL have been given for the basic unit options and include no upgrades.

Space Marines – Shieldbreaker Strike Force

The Shieldbreaker Battleforce Box
UnitPLPointsCost
Primaris Captain590£22.50
Bladeguard Veterans5105£31.50
Intercessors10200£35.00
Assault Intercessors10190£36.50
Heavy Intercessors7140£39.50
Storm Speeder8-9135-160£42.00
Total45-46860-885£207.00
Predicted RRP£130.00
Saving£77.00
SCN Hobby World Price (25% Off)£97.50

Adepta Sororitas – Purgatos Mission

UnitPLPointsCost
Sister Dogmata465£21.00
Celestian Sacresants370£34.50
Battle Sisters6110£35.00
Immolator7130£45.00
Exorcist9180£50.00
Total29555£185.00
Predicted RRP£130.00
Saving£55.00
SCN Hobby World Price (25% Off)£97.50

Adeptus Mechanicus – Omnissiah’s Talon

UnitPLPointsCost
Pteraxii485£35.00
Ruststalkers495£30.00
Serberys260£35.00
Ironstrider Ballistarii475£32.50
Skitarii Rangers490£27.50
Tech-Priest Manipulus480£22.50
Total22485£182.50
Predicted RRP£130.00
Saving£60.00
SCN Hobby World Price (25% Off)£97.50
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Death Guard – PlagueFester Warband

UnitPLPointsCost
Plague Marine Champion21£17.50
Plague Marine Icon Bearer31£17.50
Plague Marines12147£30.00
Deathshroud Bodyguard7150£35.00
Myphitic Blight-Haulers21420£45.00
Plagueburst Crawler9175£40.00
Total49944£185.00
Predicted RRP£125.00
Saving£60.00
SCN Hobby World Price (25% Off)£93.75

Necron – Worldscour Legion

UnitPLPointsCost
Psychomancer Cryptek470£21.00
Necron Warriors with Scarabs8175£29.00
Lokhust Heavy Destroyer460£21.00
Ophydian Destroyers5105£34.50
Flayed Ones3165£31.50
2x Canoptek Doomstalkers14280£53.00
Total38755£190.00
Predicted RRP£130.00
Saving£60.00
SCN Hobby World Price (25% Off)£97.50

Orks – KillDakka Warband

UnitPLPointsCost
Nobz685£20.00
20 Boyz* 8160£63.00
Gretchin250£12.50
Deffkilla Wartrike7125£30.00
Big Mek with Shokk Attack Gun7120£22.50
Dakkajet8150£45.00
Total38690£193.00
Predicted RRP£125.00
Saving£68.00
SCN Hobby World Price (25% Off)£93.75
*Based on price of Kruleboyz Gutrippas Sprue

So what do you think good value or not? Will you be picking up a set?

Woehammer Staff Painting Competition

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So as well as the public painting competition (where you can win a Start Collecting or Combat Patrol box of your choice, courtesy of SCN Hobby World), we’re also running a mini painting competition for those here at Woehammer.

But I need your help! Below are all the entries to our competition (without names to remove any possible bias), I’m going to post a poll on Twitter on which model you think deserves to walk away with prize. But you can also vote on your favourites below which will be added to the scores. Vote for that which brings you joy!

Here are the entries:

Cartoon Pin-Up

This model has had the cartoon or cell-shaded method used on it where the artists has lined in black and then painted the areas between. Pulled off to perfection.

Jakkob Bugman XI

This particular artist has been painting for nearly two years now, but has the skills of someone who has been painting for ten times that long. Take a moment to enjoy the bear in the window on the rear of the back pack.

Imperial Fist Captain

An experienced artist who has put every detail into the model with water effects, zenithal highlighting and weathering. There are so many details to see with this model from the chipping on the black trims around the shoulder pads, to the details on the cloak to the water effects on the boots!

Howling Griffons Captain

Another artist who has been painting for only a couple of years and has gone town with an excellent water effects base and glowing power sword. I love the idea of this Captain leading his troops on some kind of water planet scourging the xenos ahead of them.

Calas Typhus

Another experienced artist who took particular care on the base and weathering and lots of wet blending.

Ork Beastsnagga Warboss

5 / 7

A model with rage and violence in abundance, look at all that blood flowing from the sword! With warpaint, a headless primaris and as I mntioned… lots of blood whats not to love about this mini?

GW recall the Red Gobbo’s Ride – Having a Squig in the home is dangerous!

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Games Workshop have announced a recall of their plushie Squig, and as we often share Destruction things here, so of our readers may need to be aware. It’s all here: https://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/recall

Warning – contains frightful scenes of Squigs being hurt!

Ouch!

In all seriousness well done to GW for letting the world know quickly and be sure to check your Squigs before you give them to any little Grots in your family!

Warscroll Review – Marshcrawler Sloggoth

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With each new release in the Destruction family of Army Books I’m always on the lookout for good units that can be used across multiple differrent builds and (where possible) even across multiple different armies.

The first of these to get an article were Rippa’s Snarlfangs – the Grot Underworlds Warband for Gitz… that can be used by Orruk Warclans. The second is the topic of today’s discussion – Marshcrawler Sloggoth.

Two may be overkill, but I’ll never know unless I try!

The Marshcrawler Sloggoth is a unit from the new Orruk Warclans book which forms part of the Kruleboyz allegiance – can’t see that all important Keyword in the book… yep; they left it off! Check out the FAQ to see it back in. Unfortunately as an Ironjawz player I can’t bring him along, but like many Destruction players I have a lot of the Kruleboyz units awaiting painting and the Marshcrawler (affectionality called ‘Dobby’ in the Warclans chat) will definitely find a way in there – as well as into any Big Waagh lists I run.

But, as luck would have it the Gloomspite Gitz can ally in Orruk Warclans, and I had a tournament to go to last week (BoBo) and so into a Squig army went a Marshcrawler. You can read about the army here.

Order & Chaos players may not understand the excitement that comes with a warscroll that can be used in multiple armies, with their collation rules, Cities of Sigmar, or Stormcast in general, but Death players will understand the joy that comes with a warscroll that revitalises an existing book – it’s a little ray of light!

The Scroll

For the scroll you can either check out the book – remember that there’s a missing Keyword in there, or the Age of Sigmar app… as a Warhammer+ subscriber I have this so on with the review:

It’s got Troggoths & Grots

The first thing you’ll notice about the Marshcrawler Sloggoth is that it doesn’t have any of the key Kruleboyz characteristics… it’s not an Orruk, it’s not poisoned… but what it is, is 3 Grotz riding a Troggoth. And it’s great! If this model isn’t also in the new Gitz book I’ll be disappointed. Looking beyond the immediate visual high, he is reasonable survivable with 12 wounds on a 4+ save, the bravery is less relevant and the move (6″) is fast enough to keep up with the foot slogging Orruks & Grotz that he is likely to be with. At 150 points, you’d still need selling on him, but bearing in mind a Loonboss on Mangler Squig is 310 for 12 wounds on a 4+, he doesn’t have to have too much going on to get into lists.

A superb combat profile… it is not!

So, at 150 points we do need the unit to do something and this combat profile is not something to write home about. The Grots are useless – but may sneak through 1 damage on an unsuspecting foe, and the Sloggoth is really only a single Troggoth (Troll!) with a poor rend. The 3+/3+ is not bad though, and can work in a pinch and 2 damage means he may be able to sneakily take out a character… but to be honest at 6″ move he’s not getting to them. So with okay base stats, but relatively poor attacks I imagine you’re not sold on him… unless you just love Gitz riding Troggs!

But wait… there’s abilities to come.

Like a Sandwich, the best is in the middle!

First up is the regeneration – this is standard Trogg regeneration and whilst it’s not brilliant it does mean that the Marshcrawler is mostly immune to ‘chip’ damage (occasional mortal wounds throughout the game), and his Troggoth keyword does mean he gets some benefit in Gitz from the Bad Moon. Let’s be fair it a good ability on a 12 wound model, which is a good bonus.

Second, and at the top of the App list is an auto-slay ability like the Sons of Behemat have. This one is the slightly weaker version in that we need to roll twice the model’s wounds – so we’re not killing characters – but it does have a massive benefit… It goes at the end of the combat phase – sure you have to survive and if ‘Dobby’ is in combat you might be in trouble in the wider game, but it is a 2″ reach that can break coherency. So on a 5 model unit on 32mm bases in a line killing one of them can cause another 2 to flee due to coherency problems. Best used as a threat, or as a Hail Mary play but certainly not something to ignore.

And finally, the reason for looking twice at this warscroll, Krew Drummer. It’s so good I’m going to repeat it below:

It’s a Grot with a good ability

The Krew Drummer is a superb ability – sure it repeats the ‘All Out Attack’ command ability which Kruleboyz can issue twice anyway, but there is no cost to this – no command point, no spell casting, no prayer required. Nothing – it’s always on…! And that is a dream situation. The 18″ of the model is a huge distance, especially with the move of 6″ and the fact you’ll likely be running it, because you don’t want to charge, and with the smaller tables.

This frees up command points for other command abilities, including in the same turn. If you’re fighting an enemy at -1 to hit, add in All Out Attack to retain the +1, or use All Out Defense on the key unit and then swing back with the drumming ringing in your ears. It’s just great.

I took one of them to BoBo Heat 2 (a 70+ player tournament in the UK last weekend), and it was superb. My Squigs were almost always hitting on 3+ instead of 4+ and that made a huge difference to my output in melee… where Gitz are struggling at the moment. I think it may be even better with Grots, because it allows the +1 to hit and the Loonboss’s I’m da Boss, Now Stab ‘Em Good! ability can be used with it, instead of having to decide. Trogg (Stuart) also used it in his force and said he would keep it in.

What’s not on the scroll

Hopefully I’ve convinced you that the scroll is good and has some play, and that it is pretty much a must take in Gloomspite Gitz lists but what about the Kruleboyz & Big Waagh lists?

Well that’s a strange one… granted I’ve not really tried to write a Big Waaagh list yet because I’m having so much fun with Ironjawz – who can’t take ‘Dobby’ – but also because it plays very differently to AOS2, in that I am reasonably certain it is much slower to build up the Waagh points.

But for Kruleboyz builds it’s tricky – the +1 is melee only so no boosting the Bolt Boyz – which is what all Kruleboyz are taking – and the Marshcrawler doesn’t use the poison rule. I still think there’s a list with only a few Bolt Boyz and more foot troops at which point he’ll be back in the list but it’ll need some practice and missing out on the 9 Bolt Boyz will certainly change the army.

So for Gitz he’s almost a 1+ (although 2 is probably overkill), and I’d definitely take him when I start trying out Big Waagh… but I’m still on the fence with the Kruleboyz and maybe that’s why Games Workshop forgot the keyword… he’s not for them anyway!

Let me know how you get on with Dobby the Marshcrawler Sloggoth and if there’s any secrets you’re prepared to share!

— Declan

CategoryAmount
Movement6″
Missile Damage Output
Melee Damage Output4.5 (13″ Threat)
Combinations5
Resilience18 Hits (Pre-Save)
Cost150 Points
Marshcrawla Sloggoth

Rogue Trader Collection – V

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Following on from last week’s post, I’ve not been able to get too much done painting wise. However a couple of pieces have arrived to enable me to do a quick dry fit mock up.

Is this a good layout?

As you can see I’ve had a bear rug delivered from a seller on Etsy (apologies I can’t recall the seller). And I’ve had a name plaque delivered from Versatile Terrain.

I’m more than happy with the name plaque which will get painted up and placed on the side of the plinth once that arrives from Green Stuff World. The bear however….. I’m not as keen on. It feels a little too large for the scene. Especially if I’m going to try and include a wall in the background. Also the print quality isn’t great.

I’m tempted at this stage to remove the rug from the equation.

While I’m here I wanted to give a massive shout out to fellow club member Steve Milford who sold me some metal rogue trader models you see below. But who also threw in some of the lovely plastic original space marines from the RTB1 set. Very generous!

Rogue Trader Imperial Bike – I think this is part of RT106 “Vincent Blackshadow”
Rogue Trader era terminator (I recognise this, but can’t pin point the exact code, it may be slightly later than RT).
I believe this was a Squat from the RT03 set named “Owen Garano” (1987)
RTB1 Marines

So what to do with these? The marines will be stripped and then painted up as Crimson Fists (may need to source a couple of arms and a boltgun). The terminator I’m going to to try and track down what set it belongs to before committing it to a paint scheme, however it may also end up as a Crimson Fist.

The Squat will get painted up and placed on a 25mm scenic base of some sort to wait for the rest of his brothers from that set who’ll then also be displayed on a plinth at some point.

I’m hoping that I’ll have the Imperial Commander sorted by next week (as long as the remaining parts arrive) at which point I can start thinking about which of the models to do next (yeah, it’ll be the land speeder).

My Second Solo Game of AoS

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This is my second test game of my Solo Gaming System for AoS. Last weeks post is here.

The Army Lists

Sons of Behemat

Allegiance: Sons of Behemat
Subfaction:
Army Type: Taker Tribe
Grand Strategy: Hold the Line
Triumphs: Inspired

Leaders
———-
Kraken-Eater (General) (490 pts)
– Command Trait: Very Acquisitive
Kraken-Eater (490 pts)
– Artefact: Net of the Beast-reaver
Gatebreaker (525 pts)
Warstomper (470 pts)
– Artefact: Arcane Tome
– Spell: Flaming Weapon

Total Points: 1975 pts
Made with AoS App List Cleaner

Kruleboyz

Allegiance: Orruk Warclans
Subfaction: Big Yellers
Army Type: Kruleboyz
Grand Strategy: Hold the Line
Triumphs: Inspired

Leaders
———-
Gobsprakk (General) (300 pts)
– Spell: Choking Mist
Swampcalla Shaman and Pot-grot (105 pts)
– Artefact: Eye-biter Ash
– Spell: Nasty Hex
Snatchaboss on Sludgeraker Beast (315 pts)
Killaboss with Stab-Grot (110 pts)

Battleline
———-
Man-skewer Boltboyz (120 pts)
Man-skewer Boltboyz (360 pts)
– Reinforced: Twice
Gutrippaz (360 pts)
– Reinforced: Once

Units
———-
Rippa’s Snarlfangs (Ally) (70 pts)
Marshcrawla Sloggoth (150 pts)
Hobgrot Slittaz (80 pts)

Total Points: 1970 pts
Made with AoS App List Cleaner

Gobsprakk looked across the clearing towards the lumbering behemoths in the distance.

“Iz everywun in pozishun?”

“Yes, Boss” said Gollock leader of this particular tribe of Big Yellers. “Da boyz iz hidin’ in da suroundin’ trees ready ta pounce and send dese longshanks back to where dayz came from.”

“Good, ‘cos I wontz one of dese big gitz wiv us. An to do dat we have ta catch one rightz?! So no killin’ all of ’em!”

Luckily for the Kruleboyz, the Battleplan was the Vice

Deployment as viewed from the players side, The rolls for the AI meant that only one objective was initially held.
The Sons deployment

Sons finished deploying first and gave the first turn to the Kruleboyz.

Kruleboyz Turn 1 (Ferocious Advance)

No shooting this turn as everything was out of range, so I took the opportunity to claim the Ferocious Advance battle tactic advancing the Sludgeraker, Man-Skewers and Killaboss in the centre.

The Gutrippas and Hobgrots were kept on the objectives.

The Sludgeraker, Man-Skewers and Killaboss advance in the centre of the board.

Sons Turn 1 (Monstrous Takeover)

The sons initially drew the Ferocious advance battle tactic but as this was unachievable a second card was drawn which turned out to be Monstrous Takeover… perfect for them.

The drawn tactic card

The gargants move forwards and the two flanking gargants move to claim the objectives.

The scary sight of four mega gargants marching towards your lines

Turn 1 Summary

Sons Turn 2 (Broken Ranks)

The sons won the roll off and elected to go first. This time getting the Broken Ranks Battle Tactic

Broken Ranks

The objectives did there thing and started moving towards the centre of the board.

New objective locations
These three poor Man-Skewers found themselves to be the target of the Sons ire

One of the Kraken-Eaters hurled debris at the man-skewer smashing one underneath a mighty stone. But no other Gargants could do anything to rid themselves of the Man-Skewers.

Sons of Behemat Turn 2

Kruleboyz Turn 2 (Monstrous Takeover)

With Monstrous Takeover as my battle tactic, I chose to move Gobsprakk onto the left flank objective and moved the other units up in support of those in the centre. Making sure that the Swampcrawla and Gutrippas kept within 6″ of the objective on my right.

The Man-Skewers unleash a devastating volley on the Warstompa causing 14 wounds
Its a truly terrifying sight

Turn 2 Summary

The scores after round 2

Kruleboyz Turn 3 (Bring it Down)

The Kruleboyz won the roll off and elected to go first in this battle round. The man-skewers managed to do another 14 wounds on the Warstompa, but the sludge raker fails its charge as does Gobsprakk and so the Kruleboyz can’t quite finish the Warstompa off. Gobsprakk casts soggy bottom mists.

Kruleboyz Turn 3

Sons Turn 3 (Slay the Warlord)

The Sons draw Slay the Warlord as their battle tactic
Crunch! The Warstompa charges into Gobsprakk and utterly destroys him in single combat.
The Leaderless Kruleboyz look on in dismay as Gobsprakk is sent running by the Warstompa

Turn 3 Summary

The Sons creep ahead in the scores

Sons Turn 4 (ferocious Advance)

With the sons winning the roll off on the fourth turn, they elected to go first. The objectives are removed and a single objective takes up its position in the centre of the table.

The objective location before the turn begins
The Sons draw Ferocious advance as their Battle Tactic
The three designated units for Ferocious advance
End of movement

As the first unit finished its move within 12” of the Sludgeraker the solo wargaming rule for unit under threat kicked in;

If an ENEMY unit is within 12″ of this unit then the unit will move towards the CLOSEST ENEMY unit, shoot (if able), followed by a charge.

So it would act with the intention of destroying the Sludgeraker. The other two units were all also within 12” of enemy units and so they also acted with the unit under threat rule. This meant the Sons were unable to achieve their Battle Tactic this turn.

The Gatebreaker destroys the small Man-Skewer unit with hurled debris
While a Kraken-Eater swops his diet of Kraken for Wolf with a side of Goblins as he chows down on Rippa and his Snarlfangs
Meanwhile ‘Unleash Hell’ pays off for the large unit of Man-Skewers as they finish off the Warstompa before he reaches them
Around the objective the Sludgeraker manages to cause 15 wounds on the Kraken-Eater in the centre
But he clubs the Sludgeraker and its occupants to death in response.

Kruleboyz Turn 4 (Slay the Warlord)

The Man-Skewers seeing their position hold still and take aim at the Kraken-Eater con the objective, while the Killaboss bravely charges in.

The man-skewers work there magic again, and cause another 12 wounds, this time on the Kraken-Eater
Despite causing 4 wounds on the Kraken-Eater, the Killaboss is flattened by the Kraken-Eaters weapons.

Turn 4 Summary

Sons Turn 5 (Savage Spearhead)

The Sons draw Savage Spearhead
The Sons move to mop up the Kruleboyz
However before it can finish its charge ‘Unleash Hell’ strikes again and the Man-Skewers destroy one of the Kraken-Eater Gargants
But the remaining Kraken-Eater ignores the fate of his brother and completes the charge taking great pleasure in devouring the Man-Skewers.
Despite their diminutive size the Hobgrots somehow to 8 wounds on the Gatebreaker who flattens them in response.

Kruleboyz Turn 5 (Conquer)

With the last turn on our hands it was do or die, so I chose Conquer to try and wrestle the remaining objective from the sons.

The Kruleboyz close in
The Kruleboyz do 4 wounds on the Kraken-Eater before having 9 of their number smashed aside.
Another nine flee due to Battleshock

However that is just enough for the Kruleboyz to claim the objective having a monster and 4 other models on there against the Sons single Monster.

Game Summary

That was an extremely close game, with the game coming down to the last dice rolls. If the Kraken-Eater had killed just two more Gutrippas then I wouldn’t have been able to claim my Grand Strategy.

I’m also under no illusion that if an actual player had controlled the Sons of Behemat, they would probably have made different choices to the AI, such as committing the Gatebreaker to the centre as well rather than chase after a few unimportant Hobgrots on the flank.

But the system is working, it will need a slight tweak here and there but overall I’m very pleased with the way its working so far.

If you like what I’m doing why not donate to the cause below?

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