Before I begin, I wanted to clarify that when I discuss anything that involves a dice roll then I will refer to the average dice roll. For example, an average run roll being 3-4″ (average of 3.5 on one die).
This does mean that depending on how lucky your dice rolls are you can achieve more or less than the amount specified. But to keep it simple and for comparison purposes we will always refer to the average.
Basic Info
| Grand Alliance | Destruction |
| Battletome | Orruk Warclans |
| Subfaction | Kruleboyz |
| Cost | 120 Points |
Army Role
Man-skewers are the mainstay of many Kruleboyz armies in the current meta, being a battleline option under the Big Yellers subfaction.
They can kick out quite a few mortal wounds especially when buffed by Sludgeraker Venom and Poison from the Swampcalla Shaman. Buffed with these they can cause on average 6 mortal wounds totalling 9 damage as well as another 3-4 standard hits also causing a further 9 damage on average before saves. Ignore that output at your peril.
Units of Man-skewers are great for shooting anything you feel is a threat, and they can do this from turn 1 with a 24″ range (27″ if taking Big Yellers).
Combinations
Firstly there’s the allegiance abilities. The one that suits the Man-Skewer Boltboyz the most is the Big Yellers, Only Da Best. This gives missile units with the Kruleboyz Orruks keywords an extra 3″ range as well as the ability to re-roll a single failed to hit dice per unit in the first turn of the game.
Grinin’ Blades’ Out of Da Mists also applies to the Man-Skewer Boltboyz, meaning shooting attacks cannot affect this unit on the first turn as long as it remains beyond 12″ of an enemy unit.
Crawly Swarm the Skullbugz allegiance ability will mean that potentially the unit can have units attacking it at -1 to hit. This only applies if an enemy is within 3″, if an enemy gets that close then it wouldn’t really matter about the -1 to hit rolls.
Killaboss units are able to use their skill All part of da plan with Man-Skewer Boltboyz, allowing them to only lose 1 model to battleshock if they’re within 3″. As there is so few models in this unit, this can be particularly handy to keep them around.
Generals with the Egomaniak command trait can use Man-Skewer Boltboyz to offload their wounds on a 4+ to. But with only a few models and one of the few Kruleboyz Orruk units able to pack a punch, why would you?
The Supa Sneaky command trait can also be used on Man-Skewer Boltboyz to move them up the battlefield at the beginning of the battle to claim objectives or place them within shooting distance of the enemy to harass and pick off wounds.
As this is a Kruleboyz Orruk unit they’ll benefit from Venom-encrusted Weapons meaning that to hit rolls of 6 are treated as mortal wounds. This can be further enhanced when near either the Snatchaboss on Sludgeraker Beast or Swampboss Skumdrekk who can add 1 to the number of mortal wounds caused on a 6 via their ability Sludgeraker Venom.
Speaking of their Venom-encrusted Weapons, these can be buffed by the Swampcalla Shaman with Pot-Grot who can grant them Poison, this would mean they cause mortal wounds on 5 or 6. Bear in mind that the previously mentioned Sludgeraker Venom doesn’t work on rolls of 5 in this case and still only applies to the hit rolls of 6.
The Swampcalla Shaman and Pot-Grot can also grant the Man-Skewer Boltboyz an Elixir which will add +1 to outs save. Though if you can you’re much better attempting the Covered in Mud Dirty Trick.
Although this unit can benefit from the Kruleboyz Waaagh, with low damage in melee and being extremely vulnerable to melee attacks why would you?
Another dubious option is to have them near a Marshcrawla Sloggoth to take advantage of its Krew Drummer ability giving them +1 to hit in melee.
One of the better combinations for the Man-Skewer Boltboyz is using Dirty Tricks: Covered in Mud at the start of the game. If successful you can hide up to three units in terrain and they’re unable to be targeted by range attacks but can still shoot. This coupled with the Big Yellers allegiance ability of Only Da Best means you can park them inside terrain in your own deployment zone and use the 27″ range to attack from afar while not being shot at yourself.
Summon Boggy Mist spell can add 1 to the Man-Skewer Boltboyz charge rolls…. Again, why would you?
You can also use the Murknob with Belcha-banna‘s ability Power of Kragnos to give this unit a 5+ ward save against the effects of spells or Endless Spells.
The Rogue Idol will add 1 to this units Bravery.
Missile Attacks
The threat range of their missile attacks is a fairly decent 17″ if they move or, 24″ (20″ and 27″ respectively for Big Yellers) for the aimed shot.
| Attack | Threat Range | # of Attacks | Av # of Hits | Av # of Wounds | Damage Output (Pre-save) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hasty Shot | 17″ | 7 | 2.5 +1 Mortal | 1.3 +1 Mortal | 4.6 |
| Hasty Shot (Big Yellers) | 20″ | 7 | 2.5 +1 Mortal | 1.3 +1 Mortal | 4.6 |
| Aimed Shot | 24″ | 4 | 3.3 | 2.2 | 4.4 |
| Aimed Shot (Big Yellers) | 27″ | 4 | 3.3 | 2.2 | 4.4 |
Then viewing the amount of unsaved damage that can be caused based on average dice rolls:
| Save | Unsaved Damage |
|---|---|
| – | 4.6 |
| 6+ | 4.6 |
| 5+ | 3.8 |
| 4+ | 3.0 |
| 3+ | 2.3 |
Don’t forget that the damage can be increased if the Man-Skewer Boltboyz are near a Sludgeraker, and the number of mortal wounds can be increased by the use of poison from the Swampcalla Shaman.
Melee Attacks
No rend attacks with a fairly standard threat range of 12″ (movement + charge) plus a 1″ reach once in combat. However it probably goes without saying that you should avoid melee combat with these chaps.
| Attack | Threat Range | # of Attacks | Av # of Hits | Av # of Wounds | Damage Output (Pre-save) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaggedy Blades | 12″ | 6 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
Again, looking at the damage after saves:
| Save | Unsaved Damage |
|---|---|
| – | 1.5 |
| 6+ | 1.3 |
| 5+ | 1.0 |
| 4+ | 0.8 |
| 3+ | 0.5 |
Resilience
These fellas are two wounds each with a 6+ save, that’s only 6 wounds for 120 Points.
Bravery 5 means they won’t hang around either, so if you’ve clumped these into a unit of 9 consider using All Part of Da Plan to keep them around.
5 hits on this unit will see two models dead and possibly the last fleeing to battleshock. But really an opponent will need to deal the full 6 wounds to rid themselves of this unit. Meaning they should take up to 8 hits (Pre-saves) before they’re destroyed.
Final Results
| Category | Amount |
|---|---|
| Movement | 5″ |
| Missile Damage Output | 4.4 (24-27″ Threat) |
| Melee Damage Output | 1.5 (12″ Threat) |
| Total Wounds | 6 (20pts per wound) |
| Combinations | 16 |
| Resilience | 8 Hits (Pre-Save) |
| Cost | 120 Points (40pts per Model) |