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 | 130 Points |
I started my Warscroll Reviews with possibly the greatest unit inside Age of Sigmar, the Hobgrot Slittaz. I continue it today with another Kruleboyz unit, the Beast-Skewer Killbow.
This is the only artillery unit available not only to Kruleboyz, but to Orruk Warclans in general. But is it worth the 130 points?
With only five wounds and a 5+ save it won’t stand up to much and has very little built in defense. On top of that, if it moves you’ll find that it’s shooting is affected. In competitive play, the Killbow is usually dropped in favour of other monsters that they have available to them.
Army Role
This unit is perfect for taking down large models with lots of wounds. They especially excel inside Big Yellers lists where they’re given an additional 3″ range and the opportunity to re-roll a single hit roll in the shooting phase of the first turn. This ability means they have a reach of 27″ and a 97% chance to successfully hit their target in the first turn
Combinations
Firstly there’s the allegiance abilities. The one that suits the Beast-Skewer Killbow 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. As mentioned previously this pulls their first turn hit chance up from 83% to 97%.
Grinin’ Blades’ Out of Da Mists also applies to the Beast-Skewer Killbow, 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.
Although Generals with the Egomaniak command trait can use Beast-Skewer Killbow to offload their wounds on a 4+ to, there are very few situations where you would do actually do this.
You may also use Supa Sneaky on the Beast-Skewer Killbow. This may be useful after a bad deployment to move it away from a threatening unit and safely inside your own deployment area.
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 Beast-Skewer Killbow 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 only 1 damage caused on average and bring 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 Beast-Skewer Killbow 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 Beast-Skewer Killbow‘s 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″ | 1 | 0.5 | 0.3 | See Damage Table |
| Hasty Shot (Big Yellers) | 20″ | 1 | 0.5 | 0.3 | See Damage Table |
| Aimed Shot | 24″ | 1 | 0.8 | 0.5 | See Damage Table |
| Aimed Shot (Big Yellers) | 27″ | 1 | 0.8 | 0.5 | See Damage Table |
Damage is different with the Beast-Skewer Killbow so the below table shows the average damage for different unit types.
| Unit Type | Damage Dice Rolled | Average Damage Caused |
|---|---|---|
| Single Wound Models | 1 | 2.3 |
| Two Wound Models | 2 | 2.6 |
| Five Wound Models | 5 | 3.7 |
| 14 Wound Monsters | 14 | 6.6 |
| 35 Wound Mega-gargant | 35 | 12 |
When compared to a similar cost unit of 3 Man-skewer Boltboyz the damage output is greater when targeting units with more than a five Wound characteristic. Anything less than that and the Man-skewer Boltboyz are a better damage dealer.
| Attack | Threat Range | # of Attacks | Av # of Hits | Av # of Wounds | Damage Output (Pre-save) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hasty Shot | 17″ | 6 | 2 +1 Mortal | 1.3 +1 Mortal | 4.6 |
| Hasty Shot (Big Yellers) | 20″ | 6 | 2 +1 Mortal | 1.3 +1 Mortal | 4.6 |
| Aimed Shot | 24″ | 3 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 3.2 |
| Aimed Shot (Big Yellers) | 27″ | 3 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 3.2 |
Melee Attacks
Tier 4* attacks with a fairly standard threat range of 12″ (movement + charge) plus a 1″ reach once in combat. Only three attacks, you’ll only get one hit before saves with this weapon. Avoid melee combat.
| Attack | Threat Range | # of Attacks | Av # of Hits | Av # of Wounds | Damage Output (Pre-save) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaggedy Blades | 12″ | 3 | 1.5 | 0.75 | 0.75 |
Resilience
With five wounds, bravery 5 and a save of 5+, it’s not going to stand up to much punishment. That being said, as mentioned earlier, you could use Dirty Tricks: Covered in Mud to keep it hidden in terrain from enemy ranged attacks. This forces the enemy into making melee contact with it when it’s likely deep within your deployment area.
The unit itself would need to suffer the following hits from each rend to almost guarantee its destruction:
| Rend | Hits Required (Before Saves) |
|---|---|
| – | 8 |
| -1 | 6 |
| -2 | 5 |
| -3 | 5 |
Final Results
| Category | Amount |
|---|---|
| Movement | 5″ |
| Missile Damage Output | Varies (24-27″ Threat) |
| Melee Damage Output | 1.0 (12″ Threat) |
| Combinations | 15 |
| Total Wounds | 5 (26pts per wound) |
| Resilience | 8 Hits (Pre-saves) |
| Cost | 130 Points (130pts per Model) |
