I have decided to shell out and go for the Stormbringer magazine. This will allow me to bump up the numbers of Orruks I have at a fairly substantial rate.
But I’ve been wondering what I should do with the Stormcast. How should I paint them? What should I do when I have painted them etc etc etc.
So my first question on the matter of the subscription is would you all like me to follow the colour guides and painting guides given in the magazine’s or should I use a different set of colours for each army? Also, should I follow the guides precisely to show how the collection progresses using the guides from the magazine?
A Painting Guide from the Premium Magazine for Mortal Realms
If we decide to go for a different colour scheme to the guides should I produce my own weekly guides on how I used the paints supplied?
Finally for this boy finished and it brings me to 755/2000 painted for Burning Skies.
I’m currently also just basing my first three Man-skewers so they should be done over the weekend as well. Then I’ve got my my Beast-Skewer and nother 10 Hobgrots on the painting table.
The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice that I painted these in January, but I’m counting them as February for our Hobby Roundups.
2 x 2 Big Stabbas
I needed something to replace the Marshcrawler Sloggoth in my Big Waaagh! army as I didn’t need the +1 to hit. Having decided on the Big Stabbas, I grabbed some bits from my Gargant bits box to make the chaps on the right.. and the actual models on the left.
As Savage Orruks they have a slightly lighter skin tone than my Ironjawz, but still have the significant 90s style line edge highlighting throughout the model.
They were great to paint and very quick, so I may get a few more done.
They have also already had their first outing at Nameless King event in Derby were they definitely caused more damage than the Marshcrawler and served as a useful second defense against the double turn!
Hobby Bingo
I’ll be counting these are the Unit of 2+ models for Age of Sigmar (B2) and A4
So that’s another two boxes completed, and one at expert level. I may catch Peter at this rate!
The Nameless King was a 1 day, 3 game AoS tournament run by Speccles of Twitter fame! I wrote about the Big Waaagh army I took to the event here.
Here’s the list for those who missed the original article.
Allegiance: Big Waaagh! – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders Megaboss on Maw-Krusha (480)* – General – Boss Choppa and Rip-tooth fist – Command Trait: Touched by the Waaagh! – Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact) – Mount Trait: Weird ‘Un – Lore of the Weird: Da Great Big Green Hand of Gork Orruk Warchanter (115)* – Warbeat: Fixin’ Beat Wurrgog Prophet (150)* – Artefact: Glowin’ Tattooz – Lore of the Savage Beast: Power of the Were-boar
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 Ardboys (85)*** – 1x Gorkamorka Banner Bearers 5 x Orruk Ardboys (85)*** – 1x Gorkamorka Banner Bearers 5 x Orruk Ardboys (85)*** – 1x Gorkamorka Banner Bearers
Units 3 x Orruk Gore-gruntas (170)** – Pig-iron Choppas 2 x Savage Big Stabbas (80)* 2 x Savage Big Stabbas (80)*
Core Battalions *Warlord **Hunters of the Heartlands ***Ironjawz Fist
Game one was against Stormcast with 6 Longstrikes, teleporting on a 2+… but this had a twist. A Stardrake! You don’t often see these around because they are not a top tier warscroll for their points so it was great to see it on the table.
I was given the first turn, slightly advanced, and didn’t take any of the objectives as I didn’t want my heroes shot off the board. In response he shot at some Ardboyz and moved his Stardrake onto the centre objective.
Second turn, and I took Monstrous Takeover to take the right most objective, whilst my Brutes charged off his Aetherwing screen and a unit of Liberators. They were joined by a unit of Big Stabbas to increase the Waaagh points, whilst my Wurrgog moved up to bring the Stardrake into 12″ for next turn… hidden behind a screen of Ardboyz.
My Brutes were then shot to shreds, whilst the Stardrake charged into the Ardboyz – and so stayed within 12″ of the Wurrgog.
I got the third priority, he destroyed the objective with my MawKrusha on it… so I triggered the Mask on the StarDrake and did 14 wounds before the Wurrgogg died, this was enough for the MawKrusha to come barelling in, killing the Stardrake and getting the objective!
Wurrgog after the staring!
This gave the Longstrikes too much to shoot at and I ended up with a small 12-8 victory.
Game 2 vs Sons of Behemat – Feral Foray
A 3 Mega-Gargant, 3 mini-gargant list which ran at me… quickly! He smashed into the screens and the Gatebreaker hit the Orruk Brutes. I swung back, stared at the Gatebreaker doing 16 wounds before dying, but it was enough for the Brutes to finish him off.
They are big…!
The MawKrusha charged the mini-Gargants and killed them all with the significant help of the second unit of Brutes… they nearly killed the Maw-Krusha in return… but he survivied… just!
This meant I could then fight the Kraken & Stomper killing them all by the top of turn 4… a win and a big one (19-1) in a game that is very difficult for the Gargants because of the number of objectives.
Game 3 v Stormcast – Techtonic Inteference
This was another shooting list, with 3 Longstrikes, 6 Crossbows and 5 of the bow chaps… so I needed to Alpha Strike. I do however tend to follow a rule that the Maw Krusha doesn’t charge turn 1 – this is because he fluffs … a lot! But I had my Triumph and command points and needed to do damage so I broke my rule, and the Gore Gruntas and Maw Krusha went in. I killed 2 Judicators on the stomp, and then swung with the MawKrusha with All Out Attack and Inspired Triumph (+1 to wound)… and did nothing! Only 7 wounds which were all saved on 4+ and 5+… oh very dear!
An embarassing attack!!
I had moved up the entire army though and gained 6 points in turn 1.
My opponent then shot off the Maw Krusha… just – but because it was in combat with most of the shooting there was limited moves towards the objectives.
In Turn 2 I racked up the max 6 point again, and cleared the judicators off the central objective, gaining Waagh points as the Bodyguard stayed alive. In response he failed to shift my army, but did kill 10 Brutes… this was now about survival!
Turn 3 saw the Wurrgog stare off the Bodyguard and rack up 4 points… but I forgot my Furious Advance and cost myself 2 points! I haven’t do that in a while …! His turn 3 killed most of the Ardboyz, and captured one of the objectives.
Turn 4 and I took 2 objectives and tried for Slay the Warlord with my Wurrgog… but this time he failed; rolled a 1; 6 wounds and only save 1 of them. I couldn’t keep going because he was holding an objective. So I couldn’t do much damage so over to him… to kill most of my army.
Priority 5 was still important as it would get me a vital few points if I got it… I rolled a 4; but he finally got the 6 he needed, took it and tabled my army – winning by 1 point!!! Such a close game and I still think the Maw Krusha move was right – no damage was so unlikely! Still it will make me think twice as the last time he charged turn 1 I lost as well (into Paul Scott’s Nurgle at March to War!)
So I finished 2-1 and 4th, only 1 point behind 3rd, and only 2 points behind 2nd (who got a 20-0 in his last game)… so close!
Tomorrow (January 29th 2022) I’ll be going to my first 1 dayer event this year. I love one dayer events – I get to try out new stuff have a bit of fun and still have Sunday available to be at home and spend some time with my family.
The Nameless King is and event being run by Boards and Swords which is a gaming store based in Derby. They run regular one day events and are only 75 minutes away from me… so a great local tournament.
I have said previously that I would bring Gloomspite Gitz to a one-dayer, but after my success at March to War with the Big Waaagh I want to see whether I can do well in a 20-0 system with them. At March to War I went 4-1 but took a ‘sit-back’ approach, which doesn’t always work for a 20-0 system. Sure, I can win, but can I win by enough?
Without any further ado, the army:
Allegiance: Big Waaagh! – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders Megaboss on Maw-Krusha (480)* – General – Boss Choppa and Rip-tooth fist – Command Trait: Touched by the Waaagh! – Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact) – Mount Trait: Weird ‘Un – Lore of the Weird: Da Great Big Green Hand of Gork Orruk Warchanter (115)* – Warbeat: Fixin’ Beat Wurrgog Prophet (150)* – Artefact: Glowin’ Tattooz – Lore of the Savage Beast: Power of the Were-boar
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 Ardboys (85)*** – 1x Gorkamorka Banner Bearers 5 x Orruk Ardboys (85)*** – 1x Gorkamorka Banner Bearers 5 x Orruk Ardboys (85)*** – 1x Gorkamorka Banner Bearers
Units 3 x Orruk Gore-gruntas (170)** – Pig-iron Choppas 2 x Savage Big Stabbas (80)* 2 x Savage Big Stabbas (80)*
Core Battalions *Warlord **Hunters of the Heartlands ***Ironjawz Fist
This is almost the same army as I took to March to War so to get an idea of how it works look here!
All Change…
… or not! The only change here is dropping the Marshcrawler Sloggoth for 2 x 2 Big Stabbas.
2 x 2 Big Stabbas… with a couple of conversions in there!
I raided my Gargants Bitz Box to find two big weapons for my second set of Big Stabbas and I think they work a treat. But… why Big Stabbas? During March to War I found that I reached the +1 to hit threshold a lot earlier than I had anticipated (by turn 2 most of the time). And so I have decided to replace him. I still have only a few Kruleboyz painted and I haven’t settled on a scheme so it was either 2 x 5 Ardboyz, or 2 x 2 Big Stabbas… as it gave me an excuse to get painting I’ve picked the Big Stabbas.
8 wounds for 80 points, 6+/6++ save means that an opponent will need to dedicate resources to killing them, and they can be teleported by Hand of Gork if required. At bravery six, they are unlikely to die to battleshock – they’ll either die or be alive!
During March to War I found my lack of rend a bit of an issue, so 3 attacks, 3+/3+/-2/2 is not a bad damage profile. With a 3″ range they can also hide behind units and still attack if the front unit is charged. Da Final Fling is also a great bonus few damage especially if I have to play a Seraphon monster list or the Sons of Behemat.
My only two other changes were switching out Smelly Un for Weird Un (4+ mortal wound save vs spells) and giving the Wurgogg a spell to slightly boost the movement and charge of the Big Stabbas.
In January (22nd & 23rd 2022) Purple Sparkly Unicorns are presenting March to War. They are a great fun group who can often be seen at tournaments sporting their unmissable club shirts!
It is a VERY sparkly Unicorn
This is my first tournament of the year, and the first since the FAQ drop and points changes, so I was unsure what to take. Regular readers will know I have a ‘reasonable’ collection consisting of most Destruction models. I was very tempted to use Kragnos to see how his new warscroll would work, or I could use an Ogor army and see why the US scene is running 4 Ironblasters…! Unfortunately I didn’t have them painted, and after Kragnos (v1) embarrassed himself at a THWG event last year, I wasn’t sure I trusted him in a two day tournament.
So next on the option list was Gitz… I am fortunate to have some 1 day tournaments booked in for later in the year and the Gitz are likely to make an appearance there… but in a world with Gargants, Sentinels, Krganos inspired Ogors, and Dragons… loads of Dragons … I don’t really want to play 5 games and lose all of them. I do try to avoid wooden spoons!
So that brought me back – in a very round-about-way – to the Warclans book. I had success with on release including a 4-1 at Leicester and temporarily gaining the ‘Best Ironjawz’ tag on Bad Dice Rankings. But I’d played them a lot in 2021, so perhaps something different? I have very few Bonesplitters and – although I have lots of Kruleboyz – I really want to have Hobgrots be good… so I haven’t painted much yet.
So why not Big Waaagh! Well the answer may be in the stats that The Honest Wargamer has given us!
Not taken very often!With only 38 games played, Big Waagh is struggling against most opposition
So there was only one option really… let’s see if I can get them working!
Planning
What would the army include? Well as I have experience of the Ironjawz – and had lots painted – I would use these as a basis… what did that mean? Brutes… lots of Brutes!
Brutes and more Brutes!
The List
Allegiance: Big Waaagh! – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders Megaboss on Maw-Krusha (480)* – General – Boss Choppa and Rip-tooth fist – Command Trait: Touched by the Waaagh! – Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact) – Mount Trait: Smelly ‘Un – Lore of the Weird: Da Great Big Green Hand of Gork Orruk Warchanter (115)* – Warbeat: Fixin’ Beat Wurrgog Prophet (150)* – Artefact: Glowin’ Tattooz – Lore of the Savage Beast: Gorkamorka’s War Cry
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 Ardboys (85)*** – 1x Gorkamorka Banner Bearers 5 x Orruk Ardboys (85)*** – 1x Gorkamorka Banner Bearers 5 x Orruk Ardboys (85)*** – 1x Gorkamorka Banner Bearers
Units 1 x Marshcrawla Sloggoth (150)* 3 x Orruk Gore-gruntas (170)** – Jagged Gore-hackas
Core Battalions *Warlord **Hunters of the Heartlands ***Ironjawz Fist Additional Enhancements Artefact
It’s another 10 drop… so I’m not going to decide who goes first… and with Big Waaagh I need to survive a few turns. Hopefully I won’t play dragons too often. However the Maw Krusha and Gore Gruntas have a reasonable turn 1 threat range to encourage my opponents to deploy more carefully. Will it work? We will see.
Character 1 – Megaboss on Maw-Krusha
The Megaboss on Maw-Krusha is a great unit, and a fun warscroll and is currently an auto-include in every Ironjawz list I have seen to date. His equipment is easy – a Rip Tooth for a 3+ armour save is this only real option.
I then make his mount a ‘Smelly ‘Un’ which is my go-to option at the moment, as it makes opponents -1 to hit in combat if you don’t charge. Perfect if you plan to alpha strike and then survive an opponent’s turn.
With the change in the Amulet of Destiny I have given him a Arcane Tome to allow my to take Touched by the Waaagh – to get up to +3 to cast – and Hand of Gork – so I can get closer to the enemy for those all important early charges.
Character 2 – Warchanter
I have only taken one this time, and he gives +2 Waaagh points a turn so I’ll need to protect him. If there’s no terrain he’ll hide behind the Maw-Krusha. As he’ll be hiding he’s been given Fixin’ Beat so he can heal anything that the Maw Krusha wounds with Touched by the Waaagh.
Character 3 – Wurrgog Prophet
I fought against 4 of these at Reading and they were great fun to play against. They can cast and dispel 2 spells, give +1 Waaagh Point and have a 4+ ward because of the Glowy Tattoos. But the best thing is his mask – and I hope to be able to stare down the enemy:
I can use this to keep units honest or just blow up the head of a Gargant – sure it requires a bit of luck and I’m rubbish at ‘push your luck’ mechanics but it’ll be fun and the 4+ ward save can be used against these mortal wounds so he has some protection.
Units 1 & 2 – 10 Brutes, 10 Brutes
20 Brutes, 3 wounds at 4+ save and Jagged Gore-Hackas. These guys can push out some serious damage, can stop 1 wound models counting on objectives (looking at Pink Horrors here!) and can be used as a screen if that is what’s needed. Plus they are great models, and who doesn’t love great models. They are definitely significantly better with the Warchanter buff (+1 damage) on them but I also love their movement shenanigans with redeploy and counter charge. They can suddenly be on an objective that your opponent thinks is safe.
They are also both in the War in the Heartlands battalion to stop monsters using their monstrous rampage abilities – this is great to guarantee that they can have the +1 to save (they rarely need the +1 to hit because they get this naturally against 4 wound models and I’ve got a Marshcrawler Troggoth).
If you’re unsure how Brutes work, you’re also in luck, for there’s an article on this very blog on it. Just here.
Units 3,4 & 5 – 5 Ardboys, 5 Ardboys, 5 Ardboys
Screens… lots of screens… and more screens! Also helping with Hold the Line or if I need to leave some objectives with small guards. My intention is to Hand of Gork these units near the enemy and then make a charge against a relatively small unit for the bonus Waaagh points. I’ll get +1 for charging, and an additional 1 if I’m still within 3″ of enemy at the end of the combat phase – so I’ll be wanting to charge weak screens here.
Unit 6 – Marshcrawler Troggoth
My only Kruleboyz unit and one I’ve used before – in my Squig Army at BoBo. He’s not bad, doesn’t count as a Orruk (unfortunately) but gives a huge bubble for +1 to hit. Why would I need him with the Brutes getting a natural +1 often and being able to use All Out Attack? Well he’s super cheap and can reduce the ability of -1 to hit to hurt my army. Plus it’s got Grots of it… and a Troggoth! So it’s like I’m still taking Gitz.
I’ve written further about this in a past article.
Unit 7 – Gore Gruntas
Despite their points increase they are still quick (super quick with Mighty Destroyers) and I’ll use them as a screen or to gain a cheeky +1 Waaagh point if I fail a Hand of Gork on the Ardboyz. Added to this the internet says they are good, so maybe my opponents will spend too much time trying to kill them… please!!
Big Waaagh!Grand Strategy & Triumph
For my Grand Strategy I have gone with Hold the Line – 5 units of tough Orruks are going to be difficult to kill especially as I can Hand of Gork them into corners if need be. There were a few other options, but this is the one I normally use so it is easier to remember!
With 40 points spare I may get a Triumph and so Inspired will allow me to get +1 wound – probably on the Maw Krusha or on a unit of Brutes if I manage to get the Warchanter buff on them.
Finally I have one additional thing to remember on Big Waaagh – there is a Battle Tactic I can do… Wait for it Ladz is successful if you start a turn with 24 Waaagh points and end with at least 30. It means I can’t call the Waaagh (which is +1 attack), but if I get that high it’ll likely be too late to use it effectively anyway. You can also use this when already on 30 so it’s a possible last turn Battle Tactics even if I’ve not got a lot left.
Waaagh Points!
Big Waaagh was very popular in AOS2 under the previous Warclans book, but it’s taken a hit this time with fewer points awarded and fewer rewards for your time… but I think I can make it work. I tend to sit back a little and wait to see what happens (except against those with a lot of range firepower and mobility like Longstrikes, Sentinels & Bow Snakes). So I should be able to accumulate some points.
I’ll get D6+3 each turn all 3 characters are alive, so they’ll be hiding a lot and they trigger at thresholds:
8+
+1 to Run for Orruks
10+
+1 to Charge for Orruks
12+
+1 Cast, Dispel, Unbind
16+
+1 to hit in Melee for Orruks
20+
+1 to wound in Melee for Orruks
24+
Can call Waaagh. +1 attack, lose all points at end of phase
So I think I can get to 12+ with luck by turn 2 and 20+ by turn 3. The real question is whether I can stay alive long enough to crank up the Waaagh Points and get to the good stuff!
And then as a bit of fun I’m going to see if I can get top Big Waaagh player (UK). Currently this is held on 38 points from a pre-book tournament in 2021… This means with 38 players I’ll need to finish 22nd or higher – it’s possible but I may need some luck. I just need to remember that the units I am using are good – even if the allegiance ability is probably a bit weak.
If you’re at the tournament come along and say hi! I love to speak to fellow gamers.
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
