The Ironjawz sport high damage and some limited movement shenanigans in their faction pack. These Gorky Orruks are here for a proper scrap, and they have the tools to bring it. They have access to some solid offensive buffs that send their damage even higher, but are quite vulnerable to debuffs as most of the damaging units are going to be hitting on 4+s. .
Battle Traits
Getting to use Mighty Destroyers to move in any hero phase (into combat if we so choose) allows us to be quite tricky with positioning. Locking down enemy cavalry that need their charge bonuses is a big boost to our defenses. The WAAAGH is the classic Orruky pedal to the metal big red button that can help crack through defensive buffs and debuffs once per game.
Battle Formations
The pigs getting bonus movement from ‘Ere we Come! feels a bit like a hat on a hat, given how fast the pigs already are. They would probably benefit from this as much as the others. The cascading +1 to hit for destroying units in Smashin’ and Bashin’ is really nice, particularly with how precious command points are. A good number of our units sport the durability to take a hit and fight back once they’ve received that benefit. If you’re a gambler, getting +1 attacks on an 8+ charge makes Ironjawz Brawl an absolute thrill ride. It is unmodified though, so no help from the WAAAGH makes this a bit unreliable, albeit very fun. Hordes of Brutes and Ardboys with 3+ saves getting 6+ wards in Weirdfist is a small boost in durability, but your Warchanters and Weirdnobs will have to stay quite close by to keep it up. This feels like a stand on circles formation rather than a run forward and smash one.
Brutal Warlords Heroic Traits
Getting impact hits from Hulking Brute is pretty underwhelming. A +1 to charge aura from Mega Bossy is quite nice, assuming you’re fielding the likes of a Megaboss who wants to be doing the charging. That aura coming off of the Maw-Krusha base will cover quite a bit of ground. The real winner feels like An’ Eye for da Fight. Consistent 4s on redeploys mean so much for denying tactics, denying charges, stealing objectives, and so on. That reliability is a valuable tool.
Da Boss’s Hoard Artefacts of Power
+10 Control score from Trophy of Skulls is really amusing and will help a more elite Ironjawz army steal points off of swarms. The 6+ ward from Armour of Gork is a bit underwhelming, but a Maw-Krusha with 18 health on a 3+6++ definitely has a place. The Amberbone Whetstone for a bit of extra rend for a Megaboss feels alright, as the poor boys are sitting at a pillowfisted rend 1 base.
Spell Lore
The spells are all cast on 6s and 7s, making them quite doable with our lack of bonuses. Bash ‘em Ladz as our unlimited spell for Crit (2 Hits) makes our volume of attacks even MORE volume, which I do love. Pair it with +1 damage and you’re off to the races. Mighty Headbutt isn’t winning any awards, but if you ever find yourself needing to kill 1 or 2 health worth of stuff that is tying you up, it will be there for you. Da Great Big Green Hand of Gork is here to whisk us away relatively reliably. The new redeploy has made teleport charges a bit more difficult, so just teleport such that you have more than 1 option for aggression and you will be a-okay.
Prayer Lore
The Warchanter beats all happen on a prayer of 4+ with a bonus on an 8+. The Killabeat is our ever sought after +1 damage, affecting 2 units with the bonus. It does, however, only last until the end of the turn, so we will have to be quite deliberate with its use (a cheeky magical intervention perhaps). The Fixin’ Beat is a D6 heal, D3+3 with the bonus. It’s not bad for keeping our heroes topped off. The Get ‘Em Beat is +1 to charge, with an extra charge die on the bonus. This one feels like it’s asking to be saved up for.
Heroes
The Big Boy himself, Gordrakk, is unfortunately lacking in some areas. Rend 1 across the board hurts. He gets Anti-Hero (+1 Rend) and Anti-Monster (+1 Rend), so he CAN get to rend 2, but he needs to be fighting very specific targets. He has a rampage to neuter enemy monsters, which is ok. He gives out an aura of +1 to hit on the WAAAGH, which is quite good. And as Megabosses do, he ramps with bonus attacks for helping destroy units. He has very specific use cases which simply aren’t available in every matchup.
The generic Megaboss on Maw-Krusha faces a similar deficit in being rend 1 across the board, but his Anti (+1 Rend) rule is infantry! He has impact hits, which double against infantry and the ability to pile 2d6. I can picture the Maw-Krusha dancing around screens, squishing them, beating up infantry hammers, and powering through to safety.
The Megaboss on Foot is quite expensive, and with the single pip of rend he is not doing a ton of damage on his own. What he does do is give Brutes +1 attacks until the start of your next turn, as well as an additional +1 attacks in the combat phase. The Brutes, Wrekkaz, and Ragerz will be feasting.
The Warchanter is our only priest (power level 1) and he can generate ritual points by slaying enemy models in combat. Nothing flashy about this warscroll. The Weirdnob is similar. He is our only wizard (power level 1) and gets +1 power level if he is near a 10+ model Ironjawz unit. They are simple support heroes propped up by our lore. The extra power level is nice, but that will require you to run at least some big units.
Zoggrok Anvilsmasha is going to hand out Crit (Mortal) to a unit. With as many attacks as we have, that is really strong. He does it on a 4+, 3+ with the tongs weapon option, rerolling if his token is alive. He only loses the token if he makes a save roll of 1, so just hide him in some obscuring and smash that anvil. His other weapon option lets him smash enemy wards in combat, but I think we know what his role is.
The Ardboy Big Boss will add 1 to Ardboy Shield bashes and allow them to roll 3 additional rally dice. Bricks of Ardboys will greatly love his support.
The Tuskboss gives out extra momentum to your other Maw-Gruntas. As that momentum adds up they will hit like absolute trucks, but as with most of our profiles it all hits on 4+s. Very vulnerable to debuffs to hit, unfortunately.
Units
If damage is your aim, then Brutes are your game. They are absolute blenders. Little idiots still cannot contest objectives against them and they sport a tasty 3+ save. The Wrekkaz (Anti-Infantry +1 Rend) are your infantry squishers that can run and charge. Alternatively, the Ragerz (Anti-Monster +1 Rend) are your big boy hunters. They also get run and charge with strikes-first on the charge, making them great candidates for counter charge. All these folks having the Brute keyword makes them love love love a friendly megaboss.
The Ardboys are the big units you can field, with Anti-Charge (=1 Rend) and the shield bashes for some cheeky mortal damage. Another great target for the counter charge. Their volume of attacks also make them a good target for Zoggrok’s mortal damage.
The Gore-Gruntas are Anti-Cavalry (+1 Rend), a bit of a rare rule that cements them firmly as an Anti-Cav silver bullet. Their impact hits also do bonus damage against Cav. They sit pretty at a 3+ save, making them a very interesting piece.
The Maw-Grunta with Hakkin’ Krew gets a very cool movement rampage that allows it to move out of combat, through models, inflicting damage and gaining momentum on the way and allowing it to charge elsewhere. The Gougers go up to a 4+ save as opposed to his big brothers’ 3+s. What he does get is a Strike Last rampage that becomes more reliable with more momentum. Combat order manipulation is at an absolute premium so this is valuable.
Final Thoughts
The Ironjawz sport big damage, mobility tools, and good durability. Some problems in the current landscape include the plentiful debuffs to hit and Anti-Infantry Rend rules. Those 3+ saves don’t mean what they used to when everyone and their mother can access Anti-Infantry Rend. That being said, the damage potential is high enough to raise an eyebrow. With Counter Charge and Mighty Destroyers, you are going to have to really consider your positioning against this army.
