Short Fiction from Black Library by Eric Gregory & Evan Dicken
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I like short fiction, so this week I thought I’d branch out a little and review two of Black Library’s short stories from their previous releases.
Regular readers of Woehammer will know that I love Goblins and Grots and will read almost anything that includes them… so both my short stories this week are about the diminutive little devils.
Unfortunately the price point for these stories is high (£1.99) for a story that can be read in an hour… still it lasts slightly longer than a pint of beer!
Gribblak is having a rough time. A disastrous battle against a Khornate horde has robbed his skrap of its morale (not to mention two dozen Fanatics, two troggoths and a gargant called Hurg). Worst of all, when he fled from the blood-soaked ‘umie boss, Gribblak lost his dignity, his pride and the respect of his grots. He needs to get them back, and draw the attention of the Loonking if he is to achieve his goal of being the most powerful bossgrot ever. He needs to do something magnificent – so he leads his skrap against the most heavily defended enemy outpost in all the Loonking’s lands: the famed Glinty Crown. There’s no way his plan can fail…
This is a great first person view into the strange world of the Loonking’s Skrap, and one of his Loonbosses who has a little bad luck in his battles. Having been scared by a ‘umie Big Boss, and accidentally letting his followers know that he wasn’t a boss, Gribblak then pulls an ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’ storyline on us to hear what he Grots think of him.
Their diminished opinion brings him to promise to destroy the Glinty Crown… an enemy outpost which has been built in Grot territory.
This story is a great view of the world of the Grots and their fearless (or should that be hapless) leaders. A great introduction into Age of Sigmar Gloomspite Gitz.
I picked this up because of the cover, and the Fangs… who doesn’t love a very large Spider.
Kantus Vallo, witch hunter of the Order of Azyr, escorts a caravan of prisoners back to civilisation for trial. Their path takes them through the Rustwood, a great untamed wilderness, menacing and foreboding. Each prisoner is a suspect in the murder of an influential governor – sorcerer, poisoner and guard captain, each has their means and motives. Vallo’s attempts to discover the truth are derailed when the inhabitants of the Rustwood attack. Enemies quickly become allies, but can Vallo truly trust three potential killers?
So there may not be as Gitz in this one, as it does take place with them threatening to kill Vallo, his soldiers and prisoners. As the Grots and their Spiders emerge from the woods and attack with poisoned arrows, spears and fangs (see AoS rules writers… poison! …) and start to kill the guards. Will Vallo be able to keep his prisoners safe and escape the Rustwood?
Whilst this has limited Gitz background it is good to have a view of the Gitz from the humans and to see what they can do from ambush. A fun read, but difficult to justify at the cost.
War in the North was a five game event that took place in Cairns City, Australia on 5th and 6th March. It saw 26 players fight it out to be claimed champion.
The Top Three Lists
Zenith Mills-Shorter – Idoneth Deepkin
Zenith won all five games beating Sons of Behemat/Taker Tribe in Round 1, Nighthaunt/Emerald Host in Round 2, Flesh-eater Courts/Court of Delusion in Round 3, Disciples of Tzeentch/Hosts Duplicitous in Round 4 and Cities of Sigmar/Phoenicium in the last round.
Declan – The last swimming attacks before the new book! I don’t play against them often, and with the army about to change significantly… lets just say congratulations and well done to Zenith for giving a right royal send off!
Josh Carroll – Disciples of Tzeentch
Josh managed an impressive four wins and one loss, losing only against 1st placed Zenith and his Idoneth Deepkin/Fuethan in Round 4. Along the way he beat Ironjawz/Blooftoofs in Round 1, Kruleboyz/Big Yellers in Round 2, Stormcast Eternals/Hammers of Sigmar in Round 3and Stormcast Eternals/Hallowed Knights in Round 5.
Allegiance: Tzeentch – Change Coven: Hosts Duplicitous – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs: Inspired
LEADERS Kairos Fateweaver (435)* – Lore of Change: Bolt of Tzeentch Ogroid Thaumaturge (165)* – General – Command Trait: Will of the Phantom Lord – Artefact: Brand of the Spirit Daemon – Lore of Fate: Shield of Fate Gaunt Summoner of Tzeentch (255)* – Lore of Fate: Arcane Suggestion
UNITS 10 x Pink Horrors of Tzeentch (250)* 10 x Pink Horrors of Tzeentch (250)* 10 x Pink Horrors of Tzeentch (250)* 3 x Screamers of Tzeentch (100)* 3 x Screamers of Tzeentch (100)*
Declan – Ah Tzeentch! Not seen them in a top three recently, but Josh has brought them back with a great 4-1 result. As with many Tzeentch armies this is all about the spells, and pinning the opponent into their deployment with the Soulscream Bridge and the Pink Horrors. Don’t be taken in by that wound count… each pink horror unit is 50 wounds, but only counts as 10 so that’s another 120 wounds to add (or 195 total)… plus summoning!
This is not easy to kill – so how to you fight it; well get on the objectives as quick as you can; have teleports (outside 30″ range) and make sure that you take into account Kairos’ ability to change a die roll – don’t let it cause you to lose a battle tactic!
Ty Gordon – Cities of Sigmar
Like Josh, Ty won four games and lost only to eventual winner Zenith and his Idoneth Deepkin/Fuethan list in Round 5. Along the way he beat the Maggotkin of Nurgle/Befouling Host in Round 1, Stormcast Eternals/Hammers of Sigmar in Round 3, Nighthaunt/Emerald Host in Round 3 and Flesh-eater courts/Court of Delusion in Round 4.
Allegiance: Cities of Sigmar – City: Phoenicium – Grand Strategy: Dominating Presence – Triumphs: Bloodthirsty Anointed on Frostheart Phoenix (315)* – General – Command Trait: One with Fire and Ice – Golden Mist – Artefact: Phoenix Pyre Ashes Assassin (80)* Assassin (80)* Assassin (80)** Celestial Hurricanum with Celestial Battlemage (280) – Lore of the Phoenix: Golden Mist Anointed on Frostheart Phoenix (315)* – Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact) – Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon 10 x Phoenix Guard (175)* 10 x Phoenix Guard (175)* 10 x Phoenix Guard (175)* 10 x Shadow Warriors (120) 10 x Shadow Warriors (120)** 1 x Scourgerunner Chariots (80)* *Warlord **Vanguard ***Hunters of the Heartlands Artefact
Declan – The Pheonix ride with 4+ Ward save and very difficult to kill, with the range on the Hurricanum causing mortal wounds at range, and the assassins striking out of the Pheonix Guard units. It’s got a lot of tools, but is not a common or ‘net’ list so it’s good to see something different doing well. The double Frostheart is vicious… I can’t kill one with a Maw Krusha if it’s full health (although a Wurrgog is useful), so although it’s only 106 wounds, this has a lot more effective resistance.
Wildcard – Matthew Kimber – Gloomspite Gitz
Matthew managed to get two wins and two draws during their weekend and finished 8th. Beating Lumineth Realm-Lords/Helon in Round 1, losing against Soulblight Gravelords/Legion of Blood in Round 2, drawing against Sons of Behemat/Taker Tribe in Round 3, beating Stormcast Eternals/Hallowed Knights in Round 4 before drawing against Nighthaunt/Emerald Host in the final round.
– Army Faction: Gloomspite Gitz – Subfaction: Glogg’s Megamob – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumph: Inspired
LEADERS Kragnos (720) Dankhold Troggboss (240)* – General – Command Traits: Shepherd of Idiotic Destruction – Artefacts of Power: Aetherquartz-studded Hide Fungoid Cave-Shaman (95)* – Spells: The Hand of Gork
BATTLELINE 3 x Fellwater Troggoths (155)* 3 x Fellwater Troggoths (155)* 6 x Rockgut Troggoths (290)* – Reinforced: Once 3 x Rockgut Troggoths (145)*
OTHER 1 x Marshcrawla Sloggoth (150)*
CORE BATTALIONS *Battle Regiment
TOTAL POINTS: 1950/2000
Declan – 2 wins and 2 draws with Gitz… Great result from Matthew and a great pick from Peter. It is true that Kragnos is doing a lot of the heavy lifting here, and – if you can keep him away from mortal wound shooting – he’ll smash through what he charges. The Troggoths can do some damage, and the 5+ ward on the Rockguts is a nice additional defense measure. Whilst the Marshcrawla provides +1 to hit in a huge bubble.
It’s good to see Gitz recovering a little, but they seem to only be able to do this with Kragnos at the moment – it’s a shame the book isn’t good enough on its own!
Lone Star GT was a five game event over two days that took place in Texas, US on 19th and 20th Feb. It saw a 100 players duke it out to be claimed champion.
Most Selected Faction/Subfaction
No suprise that Stormcast Eternals/Hammers of Sigmar lead the way in the number of armies, but perhaps Soulblight Gravelords/Kastelai Dynasty having six is fairly surprising.
Win Rate
The Top Three Lists
These were the top three lists from the Lone Star GT tournament.
Zachary Kennedy – Seraphon
Zachary won all five games beating Lumineth Realm-Lords/Syar in Round 1, Soulblight Gravelords/Kastelai Dynasty in Round 2, Jiwan Noah Singh and his Ironjaws/Bloodtoofs in Round 3, Ronjaws/Bloodtoofs in Round 4 and Stormcast Eternals/Hammers of sigmar in the last round.
Declan – the Seraphon have a lot of options… so many in fact that they seem able to adapt to any meta, with almost any list. This is different to Mike Stewart’s List from Bloodshed in the Shires, but is just as good. Zachary has chosen to give up the possibility of chosing start player for the artefacts and extra command point from Warlord battalion.
From Wahapedia
For example the Fusil of Conflagration is another mortal wound at distance to take off the last few wounds. It’s not going to win games, but its a great little addition for all important mortal damage. The Bastiladon with Solar Engine is a great piece giving large ranged damage, whilst there are off-the-wall selections including the Ark of Sotek.
It’s a really interesting list, and I’m not sure how I would beat it – especially with the large units of Skinks with all the buffs applied!
Gavin Grigar – Gloomspite Gitz (Yes! Really!)
Gavin the winner of the LVO in 2022 returns with a Gloomspite Gitz list and manages to take them to five wins over five rounds (Declan take notes!) Why not check his recent interview out with the AoS Coach on winning a grand tournament like the LVO here. During Lone Star he beat Disciples of Tzeentch/Hosts Duplicitous in Round 1, Idoneth Deepkin/Fuethan in Round 2, Karl Rohr and Legion of the First Prince in Round 3, Soulblight Gravelords/Kastelai Dynasty in Round 4 and Thomas Zhennan Guan with his Maggotkin of Nurgle/Droning Guard in Round 5.
Leaders Kragnos, The End of Empires (720)* Fungoid Cave-Shaman (95)* – Lore of the Moonclans: Squig Lure Loonboss on Giant Cave Squig (110)* – General – Moonclan Stabba – Command Trait: Master of Magic – Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact) – Lore of the Moonclans: The Hand of Gork
Battleline 36 x Squig Herd (480)* – Reinforced x 2 12 x Squig Herd (160)* 12 x Squig Herd (160)*
Units 6 x Sneaky Snufflers (75)* 6 x Sneaky Snufflers (75)*
Declan – WooHoo… Gloomspite Gitz…! I’m amazed; Gavin has done brilliantly here given the current win-rate of GG – 31% according to The Honest Wargamer Stats Team. I know personally how much of a tarpit the 36 squigs are (72 wounds) and when killed they can come back through the Loonshrine.
Clearly Kragnos does all the heavy lifting here, and I am amazed he didn’t get shot off the table, but Gavin appears to have dodged all the shooting. This shouldn’t distract from the achievement though – 5-0 with Gitz… living the dream!
Jonathon Schlieszus – Ossiarch Bonereapers
Jonathon also won all of his games. Along the way he beat the Maggotkin of Nurgle/Munificent Wanderers in Round 1, Sons of Behemat/Taker Tribe in Round 2, Ironjaws/Bloodtoofs in Round 3, Legion of the First Prince in Round 4 and beat Seraphon/Thunder Lizard in Round 5.
Allegiance: Ossiarch Bonereapers – Legion: Mortis Praetorians – Mortal Realm: Ghur – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs: Bloodthirsty
Leaders Katakros, Mortarch of the Necropolis (450) Arkhan the Black, Mortarch of Sacrament (360) Liege-Kavalos (185) – General – Command Trait: Katakros’ Chosen – Artefact: Artificer’s Blade
Battleline 20 x Mortek Guard (280)* – Nadirite Blade and Shield – Reinforced x 1 10 x Mortek Guard (140)* – Nadirite Blade and Shield 10 x Mortek Guard (140)* – Nadirite Blade and Shield
Declan – With the changes to the Nagash warscroll in the December update there was some concern on twitter that the Ossiarch’s would struggle to keep up with their previous successes (or Owen Jackson’s previous successes!!!).
The Mortek Crawler gives ranged attacks whilst the Harvester sits behind the Mortek Guard and brings them back. They are difficult enough to kill without this added survivability. You really need to go all in to kill the Guard… and even then you may not be successful.
Finally Arkhan is a great Wizard with bonuses to cast, but his utility and benefit comes from his command ability:
Wahapedia
The extra range gives Curse of Years a scary 24″ range so it’s almost impossible to avoid the mortal wound output. Either dispel it, or hope your opponent fails to roll 6s in the first roll!
Another great success with an army that is seen as weak in the meta. Well done to Jonathan.
Wildcard – Chris Carlile – Skaventide
Chris won three games with Skaventide which is no easy thing in the current meta. He lost his first two games against Nighthaunt/Reikenor’s Condemned in Round 1 and Ironjaws/Ironsunz in Round 2. After that though he came back swinging beating Stormcast Eternals/Hammers of Sigmar in Round 3, Cities of Sigmar/Greywater Fastness in Round 4 and Kruleboyz/Big Yellers in the last round.
Declan – This is an interesting pick from Peter and I can understand why he’s gone with it. 60 Clanrats is a brave collection of cowards, but a cheap way to hold back objectives, whilst the Warp Lightning Cannons scour the board of your opponent’s models.
Thanquol has loads of Warp guns… but the suprise here is Lord Skreech. In fact I’ve never faced in Age of Sigmar and had to look up his scroll!
Wahapedia (again)
He has more keywords than I’ve seen in most warscrolls, re-roll 1s to wound in combat, and can bring in summoned Clanrats with Dreaded Thirteenth Spell (and cause mortal wounds at range) and can use his Knowledge to select the right tools at the right time. A list I would love to play – although perhaps not with my Kragnos!
This event saw a total of 26 players take part in five games over two days.
Most Selected Faction/Subfaction
The appeal of playing with Dragons is obviously very strong at the moment, with seven of the twenty-six payers choosing to select the Hammers of Sigmar for the tournament. The winning list was also from this faction.
Win Rate
While the Hammers of Sigmar were the most selected faction/subfaction at the event and held the honour of a list in first and second place at the tournament, they were only middle of the table when it came to their win rate. Perhaps a sign that the popular list could be hard to use well?
The Top Three Lists
These were the top three lists from Golden Sprue.
Corey Begley – Stormcast Eternals
Corey won all five games with 169 battle points.
Allegiance: Stormcast Eternals – Subfaction: Hammers of Sigmar – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumph: Inspired
Leaders ———- Aventis Firestrike Magister of Hammerhal (310)* – Spell: Thundershock Lord-Relictor (General)(145)* – Command Trait: High Priest – Prayer: Translocation Knight-Judicator with Gryph-Hounds(205)* – Artefact: Arcane Tome – Spell: Celestial Blades
Core Battalions ———- *Warlord **Hunters of the Heartlands
Total Points: 1985 pts
Wildcard! Justin Hagelin – Gloomspite Gitz
Justin came in 13th out of 26th with a two drop squig heavy Gloomspite Gitz army that our Declan would be proud of, Especially as it includes Kragnos! This must have been a lot of fun to play.
Allegiance: Gloomspite Gitz – Subfaction: Jaws of Mork – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs:
Leaders ———- Kragnos, The End of Empires (720)* Loonboss on Giant Cave Squig (General)(110)* – Moon-cutta – Command Trait: Envoy of the Overbounder – Artefact: Syari Screamersquig
Note – this article is for Gloomspite Gitz in AoS3. We are now in AoS4. Some of the article will still be relevant, but some of the rules may be different
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The AOS points changes are in, and the Dankhold Troggoth went down in points – again. So why not include them in another Warscroll Wednesday!
This points reduction would be more impactful if they hadn’t gone up in the first place… but the question today is: Are Dankholds not taken because of the scroll or because of the points – lets find out!
The first thing to note is that there are two similar scrolls – Dankhold Troggboss, and Dankhold Troggoth. The first is a Leader who makes most Troggoth’s battleline and let’s you run a Trogg only army (what’s not to like!!), the second is a unit in that army – unfortunately not battleline but they are big monstrous fiends… so surely they’ll work.
I was also gifted one through #hohohobbyvices secret santa and wanted to remind myself what he could do:
What a model.. isn’t he pretty?!
The Scroll
For the scroll you can either check out the book or the Age of Sigmar app… as a Warhammer+ subscriber I have this so on with the review:
170 points for 10 wounds on a 4+ save isn’t bad especially when we look at the regeneration below. He can go in units of 2 because of reinforcement points, but you’re probably going to want to run them in units of 1… just so you can use the Rockgut Troggoths in units of 9. At 170 points they are slight more expensive than 3 Rockguts (12 wounds, save 5+, 145 points), but are not battleline so are more disposable – as they won’t give up Broken Ranks. However, don’t be confused by their size being significantly above a Mindstealer Sphiranx… these are not monsters!
His move of 6″ is definitely a problem though. In a world of Dragons moving 12″, with a 12″ shooting attack this is a problem… but it’s a problem shared by Nurgle now… and they say a problem shared is a problem halved…
The Boulderclub is potentially great. It has a 2″ reach so can reach over some screens, and can occasionally hit a Windspirit, and 3+/3+/-2/D6 is a good damage profile. Games Workshop seem to be suggesting that 3+/3+ is the statline for elite combat troops and it’s good to see it on the Troggoths. The rend 2 can help as well, although you’ll want to be attacking multiple units with the army to reduce the impact of all out defense. My problem is with the D6 and only 3 attacks. Potentially of course he can do 18 wounds in combat but with my rolling that is never happening and I know I’ll roll a one. In Warhammer 40k they use D3+? a lot and would be great to see these guys at D3+2. If you’re unlucky enough to be hit by a boulderclub wielded by a Troggoth of this size it should hurt!
The crushing grip is a good ability and can split up units out of coherency if you strike after them (and survive!) It can even take out Fulminators with a little luck – great!
Magical resistance is a great ability to stop damage – I used Weird Un a lot in AoS2 on my Maw Krushas which was a similar ability and it either stops an opponent casting at the model, or means they risk a lot. Also remember it’s optional so if an Emerald Lifeswarm gets near the Troggoth he can choose to use it!
Regeneration is a small bonus, but only triggering in your hero phase and only on a 4+ is weak. In the world of AoS3 its difficult to justify this not happening automatically – It would also be great to have it triggered each battleshock phase (or similar) to make it happen more often.
A fun little bonus that can get the odd mortal wound through on single characters, but it’s a little disappointing it doesn’t trigger for each Troggoth, rather than once unit.
What’s not on the scroll
Unfortunately, that’s about it. You can make the regeneration work on a 3+ with Glogg’s Megamob, but that’s just making a weak ability very slightly less weak. He can also perform a similar task as the Mirebrute Troggoth from the Orruk Warclans / Kruleboyz books… but the Mirebrute can increase his attacks.
So I’m not sure I’d take him, although at a one-dayer he’d be fun to try again… and I have lots of them now so really do need to get painting them. Let me know if you’ve spotted any secret tech here to encourage me to catch up with them in 2022!
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 different builds and (where possible) even across multiple different armies.
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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!
As I prepare for another event the Age of Chumps are attending the November edition of the BoBo event. The last of these was run when I was at Carnage last month, so really happy to be finally going to one of the events. – I’ve not been since Chrimbobo in 2018, which seems like an age ago!
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Looking through the event pack, they are using the 20-0 system based on victory point difference:
I like this scoring system for those armies that normally struggle as there is always something to play for. This was especially relevant because of the awards available:
Trophies for all the Battletomes!
So, with a scoring system that rewards you even when losing, and a possibility of my Gitz actually picking up a trophy there was only one option… the Gloomspite Gitz would ride again!
The original list from A Gloomy Outing
Those who may have read my last article on the Gitz –A Gloomy Outing– will know that I struggled the last time I took the Squigs, but with a change in the FAQ, the main disadvantage of the Hoppers has been corrected.
This resolves a major issue I had with the Squig Hopper units where an enemy would ‘tag’ them in combat and they were neutered. Now we can retreat and still do mortal wounds, I hoped to get good value out of the 20 Squig Hoppers I intended to take. That said, there were still some changes to be made so I’m intending to take this:
General: Loonboss on Mangler Squig
The Loonboss on Mangler Squig is an expensive chap at 310 points, and I never seem to be able to get my worth out of him… he can (technically) hit like a train, but I always miss with him and his 12 wounds makes him very squishy… his random movement with no damage is okay (3D6″) but with a few wounds it can fall dramatically. That said he does have the greatest warscroll damage table in the game (he gets worse, then better!) which is a great use of design space.
He has the Arcane Tome (Flaming Weapon) so that I can give him the command trait Dodgy Character (re-roll successful attacks against him). I hope that this will allow him to charge a unit and ignore unleash hell, or put off Sentinels and Longstrikes from shooting at him. However I fear he will die often!
He’s not a complete loss in a Squig army though, as his command ability is +1 to wound for all friendly squig units wholly within 18″. Making the Squig Herd not too shabby.
Madcap Shaman
This little guy is squishy… like very squishy, but he holds my second artefact – Moonface Mommet. This little doll causes an enemy unit within 12″ to be at -1 armour save… I’ll deploy him with the Squig Herd, and hope he survives longer than a Spinal Tap Drummer… although at 4 wounds I don’t hold out much hope. He has Hand of Gork for the threat, but will likely cast Mystic Shield on the Squig Herd more often.
Fungoid Cave-Shaman
My third character and third wizard has a 4+ ward so effectively twice as many wounds as the Madcap. He can give command points on a 4+ and also comes with Hand of Gork… although he’s likely to try to cast it.
Battleline 1 – 36 Squig Herd
I love these vicious little blighters and at 72 wounds, they are more resilient than a Gargant at the same points (480 points), and can do some damage with 2 attacks at rend 1. They also explode if they flee, and can come back as an 18 Squig Herd if they die…. big, unwieldy, slow, off-meta but such great models with loads of character. They’ll be at the front of the army with the Mangler, Madcap and Mirebrute hiding within 18″, 12″ and 18″ of them!
With all out attack they attack in ranks of 2 (reach 1″) with 2 attacks each (see Snufflers below to increase this), 3+/2+/-1/D1. Sure you need 2 command points, but with the shrine I don’t need it for battleshock.
Battleline 2 – 20 Squig Hoppers
If you look up ‘left-field’ in the dictionary you may well see 20 Hoppers staring back at you. They have random movement (3D6″), are 1″ reach on 32mm bases, and have a bravery of, well, a goblin (4)… so why 20?
To get maximum use out of Boing! Boing! Boing! which does a mortal wound on a 4+ to one unit for each Hopper that moves across. Can you run and retreat – heck yeah; you can now. So charge the herd, get bogged down and then these guys fly over, cause 10 mortal wounds and then either charge in for the kill or wait for the next victim. Great stuff(*)
Battleline 3 – 10 Squig Hoppers
What’s more mobile, versatile and has a small footprint than 20 Hoppers but with all the fun…? 10 Hoppers! This is the unit that really needs to keep my Hold the Line objective so they can’t take the risks of the 20 unit, but they are still fun; are 20 wounds and will take some killing — unless anyone brings the shooting meta… then they’re in trouble.
With a cheaky mortal wound output here, and 4D6″ movement to run onto objectives, they are my secret weapon (not really). Like the 20 Hoppers they are Great Stuff (*)
Other units – 2 x Sneaky Snufflers
Sneaky Snufflers are a great warscroll – except the not moving part, which is odd – but at 75 points they give 12 wounds, and give +1 attack to Squigs & Grotz – just beware of the key word bingo. If disaster strikes, I can even do it twice on one unit, doing 2D6 mortal wounds, but giving +1 attack. Who doesn’t love the idea of Squigs with 4 attacks swarming the unit that’s just attacked… mu-ha-ha!
Other units – Rippa Snarlfangs
I’ve written and spoken about Rippa’s until I’m blue in the face, and it’s starting to get through… the most popular unit in Destruction (**) they are able to complete battle tactics in their sleep… or provide much needed 6″ pile in moves to avoid Unleash Hell. Want to know more… read about them here!
What a Rippa!
Other units – 5 Boingrot Bounders
Are these little armoured knights good in 5s? Sure Varanguard cope in 3s, so these little guys will do just fine – with only 5 models I can afford to give them a more wide ranging role, or save them for a late Hand of Gork. They’ll die a lot and often, but if (when) they do, they can come back through the shrine if there are no other dead yet.
Ally 1 – Marshcrawler Shoggoth
Still not an ally in the app for some reason, this chap is a great addition to the army from the Orruk Warclan book, with the ‘Krew Drummer’ special rule giving all friendly units wholly within 18″ +1 to hit. Also, it’s not a command ability so it can be stacked with All out attack, if you’re playing anyone sneaky enough to use -1 to hit abilities.
Perfect for when you come up against Stabbas and Shootas in the meta-defining mirror that’s almost certain when we play gitz! (***). I’m painting my first one up for this tournament (painting 2 at once for ease), and I imagine he’ll be appearing in a few other armies over the weekend… maybe in a certain Trogg army!
So the final list looks like this:
Allegiance: Gloomspite Gitz – Option: Gloomspite Gitz – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders Loonboss on Mangler Squigs (310)* – General – Command Trait: Dodgy Character – Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact) – Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon Madcap Shaman (80)* – Artefact: Moonface Mommet – Lore of the Moonclans: The Hand of Gork Fungoid Cave-Shaman (95)* – Lore of the Moonclans: The Hand of Gork
Battleline 36 x Squig Herd (480)** – Reinforced x 2 20 x Squig Hoppers (360)** – Reinforced x 1 10 x Squig Hoppers (180)**
Units 6 x Sneaky Snufflers (75)* 6 x Sneaky Snufflers (75)* 3 x Rippa’s Snarlfangs (70) 5 x Boingrot Bounderz (105) 1 x Marshcrawla Sloggoth (150)
Core Battalions *Warlord **Hunters of the Heartlands
I’ll let you know how I get on – hoping for 2 wins… but in reality will be happy with 1 win and 1 draw! as well as some points for close losses! Oh, and top Gloomspite Gitz of course!
So, what do you think of the force… whose going to place higher – me or Stuart (Troggs!) and who will win most friends? Hopefully I’ll have all the answers to these questions at the end of the weekend. Roll on BoBo!
— Declan
(*) – Player’s experience of Hoppers may not reflect the rosy picture painted above.. there’s a reason Gitz aren’t in Tier A!
(**) or most popular unit for me… which is clearly the same thing anyway.
(***) probably more due to going 0-3, than 3-0 but <shrugs>
During my recent chat with AOS Coach I got to thinking about the units I use most often, particularly those that I use across different army builds. Those scrolls that always go into every army whether they are from the book or allies.
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One of those units is (or should that be ‘are’?) Rippa’s Snarlfangs.
Rippa and his mates as painted by the GW ‘Eavy Metal team.
The Scroll
Unfortunately the warscroll is no longer available on-line and is only available via the Warhammer AOS app. (A disappointing move from the accessibility of previous editions, and a barrier to entry… a strange move from GW).
The Fluff!
Rippa’s Snarlfangs are a Warhammer Underworlds Warband which are based on the old style Common Goblin Wolf Riders – with a wonderful reimagining. The models have great movement (12″), and come with 3 different weapon load outs… talking of which:
Okay, so I hear you calling me out here… there’s nothing yet that is particularly strong or unique about the scroll. 6 wounds, mediocre goblins and a one shot 5+/5+ bow… they are hardly Longstrikes; but bear with me – there is logic to my madness.
Now we’re talking… 2 attacks per wolf with 2 damage each. They aren’t going to take anything with an armour save but I’ve charged them into Skinks with some success and the 3+/3+ can become 2+/3+ reasonably easily. Still not sold?… read on.
This is where the power of the scroll starts to become apparent… and it’s the wolfs. So the +1 to hit is ‘free’ on the charge, but Ferocious Pounce is where it is. This allows Rippa and his mates to ignore all the ‘Unleash Hell’ out there and get into the juicy underbelly of the enemy. I’ve used them as a ‘just in case’ in my Warclan army so they stay outside 3″, within 6″ and then if my Orruk’s failed to finish off a unit these 3 can do the job.
What’s not on the scroll
Hopefully I’ve convinced you that the scroll is good and has some play, but why is it in all my Orruk Warclans (as allies) and Gloomspite Gitz lists? The point value…! For 70 points I find this unit invaluable for grabbing early (or late) objectives and completing battle tactics. Having a unit that is quick enough to grab the odd objective early, and then if they survive getting a cheeky Savage Spearhead with another unit – it means I don’t have to rely on Hand of Gork being successful. They are also the cheapest unit in either of the books since the increase in minimums on the Squig and Squig Hopper units.
So if you use Gitz or Orruk’s give them a go and let me know in the comment how you get on
Two submissions this week under the #Woehammer on Twitter. Both members of the team.
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Dave has started a new 40k 9th Edition army, this time focusing on the Space Marine Chapter the Imperial Fists. The model below is his first Marine for the army, and I think you’ll agree its a stunner!
Dave’s Imperial Fist
Dave has gone for an awesome golden yellow armour tone and black trim denoting the 5th Company.
The detail on the base is great, and I especially love the coiled barbed wire and spent casings next to the dismembered head.
It’s little different this week for Declan’s submission, here we have an army shot of the force he took to Mancunian Carnage last weekend.
The blue armour really stands out along with the spots of Red. Declan has joked in the past that his Orcs have been called the Crimson Fists. It’s a great army and Declan finished the weekend 3-2!
And talking of Declan’s fantastic tournament performance, only yesterday he was interviewed by the AOS Coach on YouTube about the Gloomspite Gitz! I’ve included the video below for you to watch.
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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.
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But this is only possible because of our wonderful Patreons. So, some articles over 1 year old will now display our Patreon request at the top of the article… like this one! Don’t worry, we are not adding ads – but if you can afford to donate to the site, we would definitely appreciate it.Membership is available from just £1/month (plus taxes!!)
Following on with our series of interviews, this week I talk to Declan (@rightangle79) about his gaming history.
Ok, first question. When did you first get into wargaming?
I first played in 1989 on the floor of a friend’s living room! We played Space Marine 1st Edition (the Epic game that came after the Titan only version). I played Blood Angels (unpainted) and he played Ultramarines also unpainted!
Already getting ready for Heresy!!
So was Space Marine the first game you collected an army for?
Yes, blood angels but I didn’t really know what I was doing. I bought 2nd Ed warhammer and played some 2nd Ed Blood Bowl but it was the 3rd Ed warhammer starter set with Goblins and Elves that got me collecting… and I immediately knew I wanted to play goblins… which was great because another friend liked the Elves.
Do you still have those first Goblins you bought?
Definitely have some of them. They are the monopose ones with spear and bow. I have a unit of the bow Gobbos in my AoS Gloomspite army.
So what drew into the hobby? What do you find it gives you?
I love all the many facets. I first did it to play with friends then at Uni I only did the painting side as there was no club there (but I got into board games there). Now I paint in the evenings so I’m not just staring at a screen all day and then go to some tournaments. With COVID this was obviously not allowed but my wife is very good about me going to tournaments at weekends so I’ve got quite a few organised before Christmas.
What’s your most memorable gaming moment?
I was playing GG with allied Gitmob grots at Sheffield Slaughter against Nurgle with their first book. It was against a GW employee who I won’t name as they get enough grief! His Great Unclean One had a -1 to hit within 12″ bubble. My shaman cast a spell on 60 Gitmob archers, who walked into the 12″ range, fired at the GUO and took it off! He was a little shocked but took it very well!
You’ve been to many tournaments now, are there any armies you particularly fear when you see their name on the list?
I’m okay with most although if I’ve got my Gitz there’s a fear for all of them! More seriously it’s more the player than the army in most cases. Sure Tzeentch/Archeon before the FAQ or Nagash and friends is very difficult but they aren’t pick up and play lists.
The worst thing for me is playing against a shooting army that can’t be caught or can do so much damage I can’t get close enough. I think GW routinely underpoint shooting units. Still I have a unit of 60 Shootas which are almost as expensive as 30 sentinels so they must be as good! 🤞
Hahaha! So if Gloomspite were to get a new Battletome what changes would you like to see?
Removal of ‘Keyword Bingo’ – Fanatics are not Grots for example and the Fungoid Shaman can’t have the Wizard Artefacts. A few bonuses to cast. Giving back some cheap units (we lost units of 5 Hoppers and 6 Squigs in the GHB2021 but Aetherwings are still allowed in 3s!) I’d like to see each of the four ways to play the army work (Grots, Troggs, Squigs, Spiders). New models for Spider Riders and Spider Boss. Simplify the Gobbapalooza. And give us a theme rather than just ‘comedy’. And finally… they need to point random movement correctly. Boingrots seem to be pointed like they always roll a 12″, so either reduce randomness (6+D6) or reduce points. Sure it runs the risk of everything working and us being unstoppable for one game in 36… but stops us losing the other 35!!…. I’ll get off my soapbox now 😀
It would make sense to point random movement a little more than the average dice roll in my opinion.
They definitely point it as if you get the maximum! Definitely not the average. Bounders are 7″ movement cavalry but pointed very high!
So apart from Age of Sigmar, which other games do you play?
I play a lot of board games and keep track of them on Boardgamegeek. This year there’s been a lot of Hanabi, 7 Wonders and Terraforming Mars. I find it really interesting to see all the different rules available the interactions and how theme is dealt with.
For wargames I like historical but haven’t played recently. I have a 2000 point ‘War and Conquest’ Saxon army and loads of painted Greeks and Macedonians. This game was designed by Rob Broom who was head of GW Historical before they stopped the line.
Declan’s Warmaster Goblins
I also play lots of Warmaster and have an Empire army and recently painted Goblin army and a Macedonian Army for Ancients. Its such a great rules set that generalises the units and make maneoveur and where you charge the key element.
Some of Declan’s 15mm miniatures for ParWars
Have you ever been tempted to write your own rules for a game?
I keep thinking I’d like to design a board game but with so many releases now it needs to be good to be a commercial success. Normally I’m happy to play with rules friends are using… during lockdown I Painted a 15mm army for ParWars for example just to give me more potential games and opponents.
What was the last game your played, and against who?
2000 points against Will’s KO at the club (Chumps). I was trying out my Gitz and he was trying a slightly off meta KO list with some units deployed on the board not in boats. I made a deployment mistake with my Spider and he killed it turn one, but such that I couldn’t counter in my turn 1. I also wasn’t aggressive enough with my unit of 60 Shootas as I was worried about Unleash Hell. When I did charge though it was fine! It was a close loss and very useful game.
What are you working on at the minute, and do you have any pictures?
I am doing some scenery for Kill Team having just finished a quick Genestealer Kill Team (which is an article!!).
Name one game you would love to see be remade by GW.
My gut feeling is warmaster because I’d like to see the toys they would sculpt, but I would be worried about them changing the game… so I’ll say Battlefield Gothic or a re-release of Cursed City.
Magnus did nothing wrong! Yes or No?
Magnus — He did nothing wrong!
If you were to fall to chaos which power would you devote yourself to?
Nurgle… I have in the past played a small Warhammer Fantasy Chaos army in a very fetching putrid green!
