These were the top three lists from General’s War #46 held on 19th December 2021.
Piotr Kurkowski – Lumineth Realmlords
Piotr won the event with threw wins from three and 79 points. Beating an off-meta Nagash Soulblight Gravelords army in the first round, a Nagash Petrifex Ossiarch Bonereapers list in the second round and a Sons of Behemat list in the final round with four mega-gargants.
Allegiance: Lumineth Realmlords – Great Nation: Syar – Grand Strategy: Prized Sorcery – Triumphs:
Leaders ———- Sevireth, Lord of the Seventh Wind (345)* Vanari Lord Regent (155)* – General – Command Trait: Goading Arrogance – Artefact: The Perfect Blade – Lore of Hysh: Lambent Light Scinari Cathallar (145)* – Lore of Hysh: Total Eclipse
Battleline ———- 10 x Vanari Auralan Wardens (145)* – Lore of Hysh: Speed of Hysh 10 x Vanari Auralan Wardens (145)* – Lore of Hysh: Lambent Light 30 x Vanari Auralan Sentinels (450)* – Lore of Hysh: Protection of Hysh – Reinforced x 2
Units ———- 1 x Hurakan Spirit of the Wind (265)* 1 x Hurakan Spirit of the Wind (265)*
Core Battalions ———- Battle Regiment*
Total Points: 1985 pts
NB: – With the recent points update from Battlescroll: Gods & Heroes this list would now cost 2,085 points due to the +20 points for the Sentinels and is no longer a valid list for Age of Sigmar
Tomasz Litman – Ironjawz
Tomasz also managed three wins from three beating a Stormcast list with Vindictors and two units of reinforced longstrike crossbows in the first round, an off-meta Slaves to Darkness list in round two and a Soulblight Gravelords Grave Guard army in round three.
Leaders ———- Megaboss on Maw-Krusha (480)** – General – Boss Choppa and Rip-tooth fist – Command Trait: Mega Bossy – Artefact: Amulet of Destiny (Universal Artefact) Megaboss on Maw-Krusha (480)* – Boss Choppa and Rip-tooth fist – Artefact: Destroyer – Mount Trait: Fast ‘Un Orruk Warchanter (115)* – Warbeat: Get ‘Em Beat Orruk Warchanter (115)* – Warbeat: Fixin’ Beat Orruk Weirdnob Shaman (90)** – Lore of the Weird: Da Great Big Green Hand of Gork
Battleline ———- 3 x Orruk Gore-gruntas (150)* –Jagged Gore-hackas 3 x Orruk Gore-gruntas (150)*** – Jagged Gore-hackas 3 x Orruk Gore-gruntas (150)*** – Jagged Gore-hackas 3 x Orruk Gore-gruntas (150)*** – Jagged Gore-hackas
Core Battalions ———- *Warlord **Command Entourage – Magnificent ***Hunters of the Heartlands
Total Points: 1995 pts
NB: – With the recent points update from Battlescroll: Gods & Heroes this list would now cost 2,075 points due to the +20 points for the Gore-Gruntas and is no longer a valid list for Age of Sigmar
Robert Rajkowski – Soulblight Gravelords
Robert also managed three wins from three, facing off against a Tree-Revenant Sylvaneth list in the first round with Alarielle, a Kruleboyz Gutrippas spam list in round two and another Tree-Revenant Sylvaneth List with Alarielle in the last round.
Allegiance: Soulblight Gravelords – Lineage: Avengorii Dynasty – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs: Indomitable
Leaders ———- Big Drogg Fort-Kicka (525)* – Allies Necromancer (125)* – General – Command Trait: Master of Magic – Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact) – Lore of the Deathmages: Decrepify Vampire Lord (140)* – Universal Spell Lore: Levitate
Battleline ———- 60 x Deadwalker Zombies (345)* – Reinforced x 2 40 x Deadwalker Zombies (230)* – Reinforced x 1
Units ———- Zombie Dragon (295)* – Cursed Mutation: Urges of Atrocity Zombie Dragon (295)*
Note – this article is for Ironjawz in AoS3. We are now in AoS4. Some of the article will still be relevant, but some of the rules may be different
Welcome to Woehammer – have you noticed the lovely feeling of no adverts (ads), no pop-ups and no auto-playing videos? Well, that’s the norm here at Woehammer.
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!!)
With the Winter FAQ about to drop we wanted to take some time to talk about the new kids of the block, kicking butt and taking names… the Ironjawz! Since the Orruk Warclans book was released the Ironjawz have been climbing the stats and have appeared on tables everywhere in the UK and beyond.
What makes them so popular, and what is driving up this win-rate? We wanted to get the view of a tournament attendee and what better person than the Top Ironjawz player according to Bad Dice Podcast. We searched high and low, vale and dale and all across the UK but wouldn’t you know the person was sat here in Northampton all along!
I was as surprised as all our readers, so I demanded a recount… but blow me if it didn’t come up with my name again… So we’ve asked Declan to write a few words! (and talk about himself in the 3rd person for a bit for some reason).
Screenshot, before it all changes!
Who are the Ironjawz?
The Ironjawz are one of 3 allegiances within the Orruk Warclans book which was recently released. Along with Bonesplitterz and Kruleboyz they make up a book which you can run the allegiances separately (with limited model availability) or run them all in one list called Big Waaagh! Under the previous book Big Waaagh was the most popular list, but this has now pivoted to Ironjawz – although Kruleboyz are likely behind because fewer people have armies painted for them.
What is their playstyle?
Ironjawz love Smashing & Bashing and so they are an army that fights in close combat – none of the sneaky Lumineth shooting shennagins. This means that they will be attacking their opponent quickly and early in the game and hitting hard when they do so. Beware of the speed (up to 36″ + charge with the right Mount Trait) and the damage of their MawKrushas (Wyverns who fly because gravity itself is too scared to stop them).
Their Warchanters add to this damage, whilst the Gore Gruntas charge in with the MawKrushas and the Brutes slowly cross the table, before hitting like a steam train.
This means that they damage and then get damaged if the attacks don’t go as planned. So they are beatable, but as their opponent you do need to be careful.
A bit of everything in this one-drop. Apart from the Shaman… he’s at home!
Ironjawz Abilities
Ironjawz have 3 great abilities:
Smashing & Bashing – If an enemy unit is destroyed in combat by an Ironjawz unit, the Ironjawz player may immediately select another unit to fight
Mighty Destroyers – Hero phase free move if outside 12″ of enemy, pile in if within 3″ (no fighting), or charge otherwise
Waaagh – +1 to charge and -1 Rend
All of these abilities get the Ironjawz closer to the enemy, faster and they are great. A little care is needed with Mighty Destroyers as the 12″ rule for charging is regardless of whether you could make a charge or finish within 0.5″ of an opponent so a clever opponent can throw units forward to prevent the move being used.
Allegiance Abilities
There are 3 allegiance options for the Ironjawz but only two are regularly seeing play at the moment.
Ironsunz is the one I use as it gives a command ability to allow Ironsunz units to charge at the end of an opponent’s charge phase – perfect for counter charges with Brutes.
A small selection of my Brutes – the backbone of the Ironsunz!
Bloodtoofs makes Gore Gruntas battleline, and any Gore Gruntas that fought in a combat phase can make a pile in, move or charge at the end of the charge phase.
Both of these are great for speed, and getting into combat to do the Smashing and Bashing and get enemies killed. Again the Ironjawz do need to be in combat to do damage, but they do a lot whilst they are there and alive.
Megabosses – Command Abilities
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Maw Krushas and Megaboss special abilities (on their warscrolls). The Maw Krusha can issues the same command ability three times, and the Megaboss on Foot can do one twice – all for one command point. I’ve lost count of the number of redeploys I’ve done to stop Broken Ranks (step back one unit, step forward another) or Savage Spearhead (step up to my territory to stop the enemy). Or simply saving 3 units with Inspiring Presense. It’s a great ability – be warned!
Warchanters
The warchanters are the key to the army, although they only have 6 wounds on 4+ armour, but they use Vicious Fury which gives an Ironjawz unit +1 damage. This is critical to the Boars and Brutes and great on the Maw Krushas, but without it the army’s damage is severely reduced. Don’t leave home without 2 of them – and I’ve seen some Ironjawz players run 3!
Army Lists
I’ve run a few army lists that you can find in these articles
I also did well in War in the Heartlands with a similar list to my Carnage list. These are all Ironsunz lists, because I love Brutes and the counter charge ability is very complimentary to my playstyle. (Sit back, take a hit, punch… hard!)
The other army list available at the moment is Bloodtoofs and Gore Gruntas (pigs) massing for a charge. There is a 2 MawKrusha, 2 Warchanter, 24 Pigs list… and it is brutal! This list has done very well into the current meta, but before you start picking up Gore Gruntas wait for the Winter FAQ! Things may be changing.
How do I play them?
As alluded to above and with the lists in the other articles I play with 1 MawKrusha, 2 Warchanters, and lots of units – often being 10 or 11 drop. My favourite unit in the Destruction tomes – Rippa’s Snarlfangs – joins the army for some much needed speed, but you can leave these at home if you are going Bloodtoofs.
I tend to sit back, occasionally throwing the MawKrusha forward to krump, to get my Brutes in range so that I can charge in my opponent’s turn – or at least threaten to. I also make extensive use of Hand of Gork with the following combo (cheer Russ Veal of Facehammer fame for discussing this one):
Megaboss on Foot (you can use a MawKrusha) with Arcane Tome as the general. He then takes the Wizard Command Trait Touched by the Waaagh! This gives the Hand of Gork between +1 and +3 depending on causing D3 mortal wounds within 6″ (even the enemy if they are close enough). This turns a 50/50 spell into something much more likely to come off, and makes my Brutes appear in the strangest of places – exactly where my opponent doesn’t want them. Hand of Gork also forces opponents to stay on objectives in much the same way as a Fast ‘Un Maw Krusha.
How else can they play?
In a word Fast! The Bloodtoofs ability to make Gore Gruntas battleline and bringing 2 MawKrushas gives you a smashing & bashing army that no-one wants to fight. Swapping out a Maw Krusha for a Rogue Idol (Forgeworld, not in the book), means you can have a very powerful and hitty Battle Regiment – 1 drop. So you can decide who goes first. Just don’t face Morathi who can stop this tactic in it’s tracks.
How to beat them?
This being a Destruction book, it is obviously unbeatable (see also Gloomspite Gitz in the same position)… but if you wanted to beat them then you need to survive the alpha strike, and be able to do damage back to them.
Screens are coming back into the game and this is only a good thing although it does stunt the Ironjawz alpha strike capabilities. I bring 2 x Ardboyz and they are great in the mirror match either for holding objectives, or preventing the turn 1 charge by the GoreGruntas doing massive damage.
The Ironjawz are also surprisingly easy to kill – in combat or with shooting. A 4+ armour save (except for the Maw Krushas) means that most armies have something that can kill a Maw Krusha in 2 rounds, so if you can survive a charge (Morathi!) and get a few additional wounds in on the Ironjawz turn, you can be killing a Maw Krusha turn 1!
They also have very poor bravery for their size – just 6 on the Brutes & Gore Gruntas – so causing damage to multiple units can see models flee from battleshock – or means the Ironjawz player has to keep command points for inspiring presence.
Finally, remember that this is an objective game, so go after the objectives (unless your models are 1 wound and there are brutes), and don’t worry if the Ironjawz are ahead in turn 1 and 2 – it really is an alpha strike armour and a glass hammer and it can be stopped and then killed!
Good luck to the Ironjawz players out there – hope the Winter FAQ treats us well.
Roger managed four from five wins with 169 points.
Allegiance: Big Waaagh! – Grand Strategy: Waaagh! – Triumphs: Indomitable
Leaders ———- Swampcalla Shaman with Pot-grot (105 pts)++ – Spell: Nasty Hex Swampcalla Shaman with Pot-grot(105 pts)+++ – Spell: Nasty Hex Megaboss on Maw-Krusha (General)(480 pts)+++ – Artefact: Amulet of Destiny – Command Trait: Hulking Brute – Mount Trait: Fast ‘Un Orruk Warchanter (115 pts)+++ – Artefact: Arcane Tome – Warbeat: Fixin’ Beat – Spell: Da Great Big Green Hand of Gork
Following my reasonable success with the One Drop Ironjawz list at Warfare, Ascot I am back on the tournament scene this weekend and heading to Leicester. Leicester GT is using the Win/Draw/Loss scoring system as the primary scoring (with 20-0 as the tie breaker). This meant that winning by smaller values will still see us playing against other winners.
Because of this I have decided to bring a very different Ironjawz force with 10 drops, and no Gore Gruntas… which fits my playstyle (wait, wait, counter punch) much better than the hyper agressive 1 drop list I took to Warfare.
Brutes and more Brutes!
I had to send this list in before seeing how the Reading list did, and I may have swapped in a few Gore Gruntas before the inevitable points increase, but I am happy overall with the following list:
Allegiance: Ironjawz – Warclan: Ironsunz – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders Megaboss on Maw-Krusha (480)* – Boss Choppa and Rip-tooth fist – Artefact: Amulet of Destiny (Universal Artefact) – Mount Trait: Smelly ‘Un Orruk Megaboss (140)*** – General – Command Trait: Touched by the Waaagh! – Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact) – Lore of the Weird: Da Great Big Green Hand of Gork Orruk Warchanter (115)* – Warbeat: Fixin’ Beat Orruk Warchanter (115)* – Warbeat: Get ‘Em Beat
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 15 x Orruk Ardboys (255)** – 3x Gorkamorka Banner Bearers – Reinforced x 2 5 x Orruk Ardboys (85)*** – 1x Gorkamorka Banner Bearers 5 x Orruk Ardboys (85)*** – 1x Gorkamorka Banner Bearers
Units 3 x Rippa’s Snarlfangs (70)*
Core Battalions *Warlord **Hunters of the Heartlands ***Vanguard
As a 10 drop I’ll likely not often get the choice of first or second, and so need something to grab early objective or put some threat on the opponent. The Maw Krusha is the threat with 24″ + charge threat range on turn 1, and Rippa’s are the speed to grab a middle objective. Other that the main aim is to advance as quickly as possible and hit the enemy turn 2 or 3… I will be honest about a concern against shooting armies, but I can always use Foot of Gork or the Maw Krusha for an alpha strike if I need it!
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.
He also has the essential Amulet of Destiny, so he has a chance of reaching turn 2. As a combat unit his only chance is to get into range of the enemy and take some damage – unlike similarly priced shooting units – so his task is to either be a powerful counterpunch unit with the Ironsunz ability to charge in my opponent’s charge phase. The 1″ reach has been a problem, but that just needs to be worked around!
Character 2 – Megaboss on Foot
This will be the first time I have run my General as a foot Megaboss which will allow my opponent to Bring it Down (Maw Krusha) and Slay the Warlord (Megaboss) so I will need to be careful with him.
His main reason for being here is as a more defensive Orruk Shaman, with Arcane Tome, Hand of Gork and Touched by the Waagh! This command ability requires him to cause D3 mortal wounds before casting a spell and add this to the spell casting. Turning a 55/45 into a 60/40 or even better, and also making it more difficult to dispel.
Hand of Gork was the mobility I really missed at Warfare, so I’m really glad to have it back. He may have to hide near the back though until any shooting threats are removed, but I do have the option of using Hand Gork on him, charging and then casting Arcane Bolt in the next phase (D3 wounds from the command ability, D3 wounds from the Bolt). Could catch out a few players!
Characters 3 & 4 – Warchanters
The Warchanters are just superb with Violent Fury providing +1 damage and two of them allow to buff the Maw Krusha and one other unit. I give them Fixin’ Beat (healing) and Get ‘Em Beat (3D6″ charge) to give me an option of going second, healing damage done to the Maw Krusha and striking back.
No self respecting Orruk Ironjawz general wouldn’t go to war with at least 2 of these – and I’ve seen people take 3 with success. They are also not bad themselves with 6 attacks, 3+/3+/-/D3 – especially against things with low armour saves
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 signifcantly 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).
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 – 15 Ardboys, 5 Ardboys, 5 Ardboys
One of the things I really missed at Warfare with the 1 drop was having units to hold rear objectives, or throw forward as screens. Fortunately, I can bring them back now and use them to slow down fellow Ironjawz players or to stop teleporting units from getting my objectives. The unit of 15 will either be a last punch unit, or a forward screen with Hand of Gork. They will also be used as fodder for the General’s Touched by Waaagh! command ability. I am hoping I may be able to get off some cheeky rallies with this unit (on a 4+ if done with their leader and a Warchanter nearby), but I’ve not used it in 15 games, so it may just be a pipedream.
Unit 6 – Rippa Snarlfangs
I got them back in the army… thank Mork (or possibly Gork) for their reappearance. I’ve written about these guys a lot, so if you’ve read my previous blogs you’ll already know about them. If you need a catch-up it can be found here.
Ironsunz, Grand Strategy & Triumph
These are unchanged from Warfare. Alright, Get ‘Em allows me to charge units in my opponents charge phase either forcing them to charge me, or be counter charged. It’s great for keeping the Maw Krusha in combat. Grand Strategy is Hold the Line so my opponent needs to kill (and catch) all the Brutes and Ardboyz and Triumph is inspired (+1 to wound)
My Grand Strategy was equally easy to chose – Hold the Line – and the reason why I have taken 10 Ardboyz at my final unit.
What would you run in a Win/Loss/Draw system with Ironjawz; can’t get enough Gore-Gruntas or just want to run 3 MawKrushas – let us know below!
5 Tournament games at Ascott Race Cource – Warfare 2021
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Last weekend I was happy to be able to revisit an old event, that I have been attending for many years – Warfare. But this time there was a change of venue as the old sports hall in Reading was being redeveloped and the show had outgrown the venue anyway. (For those who may not know, Warfare is a trade show with some tournaments along the side)
I would be bringing my Orruk Warclan – Ironjawz – after my success at Carnage and War in the Heartlands with them. But this time I wanted something that was quicker to play than my normal armies – because I wanted to see the trade show!
I’ve never really tried a 1 drop army before, but I knew that this would definitely have quick games… allowing more time for shopping!
Although the Gore-Gruntas are a more popular choice I had two things which limited what I would take. Firstly I didn’t have any painted, and only had 6 available so I didn’t want to give myself too much painting to do… secondly I like to sit and counter punch so the idea was that the Maw Krusha & Gore Gruntas would charge first, and the Brutes would follow up… but no plan survives contact with the enemy!
Game 1 Savage Gains v Kharadron Overlords
I was drawn against club mate – Ben – in this clash which was great as we’ve not had an opportunity to play recently because of COVID. Also he was using his great undead KO army. It’s lovely!
Lots of Boats, Boats, Boats!
Survival of the Fittest doesn’t use the ‘normal’ scoring for AOS3, and instead has 1 point for a home objective, 2 for each of the middle ones, and 4 for the opponent’s. I was also lucky enough to have recently played against KO – albeit with my Gitz.
I started with Agressive Expansion, and grabbed the two neutral objectives, putting a toe on the one on the left (picture above), and moving some Brutes onto the one on the right. The MawKrusha (MK) meanwhile used Mighty Destroyers, and charged off to kill a unit of Duardin – I wanted to reduce the size of Ben’s army and was reasonably confident the MK could survive a round of shooting.
In Ben’s turn he picked up his boats and put them all over on my right away from the Maw Krusha, getting the objective (Agressive Expansion) and killing a few models with shooting. The Gunhauler charged 10 Brutes… it’s torpedo missed and it was killed.
I won priority turn 2, triggered Monstrous Takeover and charged the frigate off the objective, whilst getting near the Ironclad – I didn’t want to have unleash hell without the MK & GG getting in, but I failed the MK charge… however I had also made a mistake and the MK was a little too near Gotrek! I redeployed 3 away, forcing an 8″ charge but he succeeded with his reroll and charged… MK died! I’ve only played Gotrek with Gitz before and watching him wipe out an MK (albeit only just) was a shock! Ah well live and learn – I was still ahead 16-11 though because the MK had grabbed 4 points for Ben’s objective.
Winning Priority again, I chose Slay the Warlord… but failed to get through his armour and he lived – I always seem to do this instead of just attacking the boats — must remember next time! Ben did Broken Ranks and the difference was still 5 points in my favour.
Turn 4, and Ben won his first priority completed his Savage Spearhead and picked up 3 points; however I was struggling to get objectives and running out of Brutes – I did grab three objectives though to lead 26-19.
Turn 5, and I won priority again – unfortuantely with units in combat I couldn’t do any Battle Tactics (my third failure in the game!) and picked up 5 points… Ben then taught me the garrison rules – his general deployed out of the Ironclad onto my home objective and shot off the last of the Brutes getting the full 9! … This gave him 12 points at the last… bringing us to 31-31 DRAW!
It was a great game, and really happy it ended in a draw for both of us – must remember to avoid Gotrek with the MK, and attack the Ironclad and not the people inside it next time.
Game 2Survival of the Fittest – vs Sylvaneth
Ready, Steady, Waaagh!
This was bloody and very, very short. I took the first turn, charged the Kurnoth with the Gruntas – killing them, charged the Revenants with the MK – killing them with the impact hits & Stomp – charged again into the other Kurnoths – killing them! The Ardboyz & 5 Brutes took the outside objectives.
In his turn 1, he charged the MK with everything, but this allowed my Gore Gruntas and Ardboyz to counter charge with the Ironsunz ability – Drycha did some damage, but the Gore Gruntas killed the Warsong Revenants. The Treelord & Stormcast chap couldn’t finish off the MK who then killed the Stormcast and hurt the Treelord.
I won priority for Turn 2, and my opponent conceeded… I was a huge rock to his surgical scissors – 20-0WIN
Game 3 Power Struggle – Bonesplitterz
The board after the Bonesplitterz free movement
This was a classic army with 4 Wurrgog Prophets:
What an ability
This is a superb characterful ability and I was worried about the potential damage – especially as the Prophets have 6+ ward, and general has a 4+ ward, to reduce the damage they take! These things can (and in the tournament did) take down a Gargant so my MK was at risk… given that I needed to try to get his units away from the Prophets and let the Bonesplitterz go first.
Turn 1, he took Monstrous Takeover and moved his units forward whilst ensuring the Prophets could cover some of the units if I charged them. I took the bait, charged into the Rogue Idol with the MK, and engaged 2 of the Boar Boyz. Killing the Idol, 5 Boars and 3 Boars I was ready for the punch back… but if I could win priority it would all be over.
But it was not to be, and the Bonesplitterz won the priority and took the run selecting Bring it Down on the MK. The first Prophet started the attack doing only 5 damage before dying, but the general was still available – he went all out and rolled until his head exploded… but the MK had only 3 wounds left. Meanwhile one prophet was in range of the GoreGruntas and killed three of them, but died leaving just 1 Prophet left. He charged the MK with some boarboyz, and I counter charged with 5 Brutes and the remaining GG. The boars killed the MK, but the Brutes & GG took down the Boarboyz. Whilst I had lost the big guy I’d done a lot of damage, and was able to grab Broken Ranks in my turn. Meanwhile one of my units of 10 Brutes was walking towards the objective on his side of the board. It was 9-9 but the Bonesplitterz had lost most of their damage dealers.
Turn 3, and Bonesplitterz went first again, the remaining Prophet killing 9 Ardboyz and surviving… wow! gaining Broken Ranks, but this was the high point and I took Agressive Expansion, killed the 10 Orruk Bonesplitters and moving 12″ away from the remaining Prophet. I finished off with Furious Advance and then Savage Spearhead giving me the win. WIN 17-3
Game 4 Veins of Ghur vs Blades of Khorne
Cagey Start from both players!
Bright and early on the Sunday and I was playing Blades of Khorne and Myles, who I had played before recently. I knew this would be fun, although with Veins of Ghur having the random drop locations I didn’t know if Skarbrand and his mates were coming straight for me.
I set-up defensively, gave Khorne the first turn and we both just shuffled a bit, gained Furious Advance and waited for turn 2.
Khorne won priority turn 2 and gave it to me after the middle objective fell on the side of my MK… this was also the side of his Bloodthirster and Skarbrand, so we knew where the fighting would be. I decided to ignore Battle Tactics for this turn and just moved the Ardboyz onto the objective whilst my 5 Brutes and 10 Brutes advances on my left in case an objective landed over there. Myles predictably took back the objective with Conquer and he led 6-4. A very small lead in Veins.
I won priority turn 3, but the objectives fell reasonably for us both (his on my left guarded by Fleshounds so I couldn’t reach it, mine in the middle) so I gave the turn away. Khorne again played carefully and took Agressive Expansion for the two objectives he already held. I took the same, took back the one in the centre on my right with my Ardboyz and charged into the Fleshounds on the left. I had to keep out of 18″ from the Daemon Prince of Khorne to ensure my charge was successful. The unit of 5 did some damage to the Fleshounds.
I won the key turn 4, declared Monstrous Takeover with the MK who toe poked the objective, whilst on the left the 10 Brutes joined the 5 Brutes and started to threaten the objective. In Myles’ turn they took over the objective and so Myles went on the attack… but Skarbrand failed an 8″ with re-roll and so the Bloodthirster and Juggernaughts went into my force on their own. They failed to kill the 10 Ardboyz, failing their Battle Tactic… but worse – failing to capture the objective. 0 points gained in turn 4 and I was ahead 22-14.
However, the game still had something to give – and by this time we had quite an audience – and turn 5 priority went to Khorne – he selected Slay the Warlord and Skarbrand went for the kill – he wiped out the GG who were guarding the MK and did 16 wounds to the MK. The MK swung back and killed Skarbrand, but the Bloodthirster swung around and killed the MK. The Deamon Prince stood on my objective which I thought was safe as I had a garison near it… only to be told it only counted as 1… ooops! It was 28-22 going into my turn 5.
I selected conquer, set-up outside my garrison and charged the Brutes and one Warchanter into the Bloodthirster (who had used Bloodtithe to get onto my objective). The Daemon Prince’s Blood Soaked Ground made the charge a little more difficult but I was succesful and the Daemon Prince fought twice… killing 3 Brutes – but it wasn’t enough and the Brutes killed the Bloodthirster! I had won 38-31. WIN 14-6. Because of his previous games though Myles was still ahead of me in the tournament.
Game 5 Feral Foray vs Daughters of Khaine
Morathi plans her revenge agains the GG
I had not played Morathi yet (suprising with all the games in AOS3 I’ve played) and so this would be useful. My opponent had already beaten an Ironjawz list to get to this point in game 5 and so this might be difficult!
I went first, moved the GG up to grab an objective and got the 5 points… and then found out what Morathi does! She shot, charged the GG and killed 5 of them. The remaining one managed to do the 3 wounds needed (because little Morathi had miscast), but this was a bad start! On my right the Bow Snakes and Shadowstalkers were advancing and killing anything I put within 32″ of them – I did know enough to be outside 24″. First up was the Ardboyz.
With no throw away units or ranged damage to hurt Morathi I was struggling to see a way out, so I took Monstrous Takeover turn 2, and 3 objectives (2 points) putting me on 9. The DoK took the objective on my right, which I had retreated my Brutes from to stop them dying in the hero phase, and we were 9-9… and then it went wrong as I lost the third turn priority. I burnt my middle objective to make the DoK concentrate on an area I wasn’t in, whilst Morathi killed 10 Brutes and put loads of wounds on the MK. I did do three more wounds, but this was too little too late and the teleporting troops meant I couldn’t escape them.
I lost priority turn 4, and hence the MK. The last 3 Brutes charged Morathi and did the remaining 3 wounds gaining some valuable points but I was then wiped out finishing 32-14 for LOST 1-19
This army really struggles in this match-up especially as I don’t have any throw away units, and he was screening well. I think next time I’ll try to get the Warchanters into Morathi as they can be reasonably confident of doing the 3 damage required, but with my other Ironjawz army (lots of drops and Rippas!) I fancy my changes more.
The army again… just in case you missed it the first time ’round
Summary
I finished with 3-1-1 and 62 points having only lost to Morathi. It was a great tournament and I finished 10th out of 38, so very happy with the result. Also managed to chat with a lot of the other gamers there and catch up with friends on the 40k tables!
This was a great army which definitely achieved the target of being quick to play, but still having a chance. The last game draw was critical though and the game against KO was perhaps a little short of what I should have got… but that would have got my playing against some of the Team England chaps who had turned up due to a cancelled event at Warhammer World, so I definitely can’t grumble
I’m not sure it’s a play style I like (a little too reckless for me) but I can definitely see how this can regularly get very high scores in a 20-0 tournament and I may bring it back to the next one of those.
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!
So I’m biting the bullet and diving into my first tournament since 1999….. Yes I’m that old.
I’m attending the Battle of the Burning Skies in Northamptonshire on 26th March. Tickets for which are available here. The tournament has been organised jointly between the fantastic peeps at both Savage Hammer Gaming and Greetings from the Warp.
It’s a 2,000 point the day event of AoS.
I’m a little rusty with AoS having only played one game against my A.I. ruleset in 3rd. One game in 2nd and a few in the first edition. Time to get some practice in.
I own three armies for AoS, Cities of Sigmar, Kharadron Overlords and Kruleboyz. I’m going to go with Kruleboyz as they’re probably the most competitive out of the three and I don’t want to be spanked in every game by taking my pure old school Dispossessed list.
So my list?
Well this is my first draft after some consultation with @rightangle79. And will in all likelihood get changed as the tournament draws closer.
Allegiance : Orruk Warclans – Subfaction : Big Yellers – Army Type : Kruleboyz – Grand Strategy : Hold the Line – Triumphs : Inspired
Whilst talking through list options on the Warclans WhatsApp group a question was raised as to whether a one-drop Ironjawz list would work. As is often the case, the question was also asked by Rob on The Honest Wargamer during his review of the AOS lists, which can be found here.
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Brutes and more Brutes!
So, I started writing a list. For those who don’t know what a ‘one drop’ means, it is a force in Age of Sigmar which is deployed all at once. The advantage of it is that the first player to fully deploy gets to chose who goes first… there are also a lot of top-meta armies in the UK at the moment which are 1 or 2 drop. This can only be achieved by use of the Battle Regiment Core Battatlion – what’s that; I’m glad you asked:
From the Age of Sigmar App
This means that in order to be able to have an army that was deployed in go, I would have a maximum of 3 characters (only one at 10 wounds or above), 5 units and a behemoth or artillery. ‘Fortunately’ Ironjawz don’t have either of the last 2, so I was looking at an army with 3 characters and 5 units – this would certainly be a struggle but let’s see what I can do.
Character 1 – Megaboss on Maw-Krusha
There is no way I can reach the points level without an expensive unit and the Megaboss on Maw-Krusha satisfies this. Fortunately he is also a great warscroll and 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.
I follow up with Hulking Brute command ability (2+ D3 wounds on charge) to help him clear screens with Stomp & Destructive Bulk, and add the essential Amulet of Destiny for more survive-ability. He’s my General, my spear and the way I plan to kill the enemy’s big bad units early.
Characters 2 & 3 – Warchanters
I really like Hand of Gork because of it’s threat, but the Warchanters are just superb with Violent Fury providing +1 damage and two of them allow to buff the Maw Krusha and one other unit. I give them Fixin’ Beat (healing) and Get ‘Em Beat (3D6″ charge) to give me an option of going second, healing damage done to the Maw Krusha and striking back.
With my characters done, I’m at 710 points, so lots still to get… onto the units
Unit 1 – 6 Gore Gruntas
With the Maw Krusha, I need something that can alongside him if I have to take the turn one (to go after sentinels for example) and these are perfect. I have also never used them and – whilst I have 6 – they are all unassembled. This shocking situation would have to stop.
The intention if I take the first turn is to Mighty Destroyers these and the Maw Krusha and then move, and go for a charge on the enemy’s worst units. The Gore Gruntas go in first, take ‘Unleash Hell’, do mortal wounds and then the Maw Krusha can follow up, do D3 mortal wounds, and then stomp the same screen, allowing triggering of Destructive Bulk to move D6″ and do it all again. At least that’s the plan!
If I give up the first turn, these guys will likely become a mobile counter charge threat under Ironsunz (more on this later), and the Brutes (see below) will get the Mighty Destroyers.
I was asked why it isn’t two units of 3, and that’s because I have 1,290 points left so I need most of my remaining units to be reinforced.
Unit 2, 3 & 4 – 10 Brutes, 10 Brutes, 5 Brutes
25 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. I have 20 painted, so would only need to add an additional 5 to make this work.
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.
Unit 5 – 10 Ardboys
I was really torn on this selection, because I wanted to try to fit in my unit of Rippa’s Snarlfangs…. but the Gore Gruntas do a lot of what Rippa can do – so I went for a solid unit to keep a back objective and, if things start going wrong, get buffed by the Warchanter for a glorious charge. They are also Battleline, so my Grand Strategy makes these a unit that can definitely be hidden to get me those 3 (often crucial) points.
Ironsunz
I’ve chosen Ironsunz because the command ability is superb. Alright, Get ‘Em allows me to charge units in my opponents charge phase either forcing them to charge me, or be counter charged. It’s great for keeping the Maw Krusha in combat.
Grand Strategy & Triumph
For my Triumph I can’t see beyond Inspired (+1 to wound), and at 1,980 points for the army, I may get a few cheeky options for this in a tournament.
My Grand Strategy was equally easy to chose – Hold the Line – and the reason why I have taken 10 Ardboyz at my final unit.
The Final List
Allegiance: Ironjawz – Warclan: Ironsunz – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders Megaboss on Maw-Krusha (480)* – General – Boss Choppa and Rip-tooth fist – Command Trait: Hulking Brute – Artefact: Amulet of Destiny (Universal Artefact) – Mount Trait: Smelly ‘Un Orruk Warchanter (115)* – Warbeat: Fixin’ Beat Orruk Warchanter (115)* – Warbeat: Get ‘Em Beat
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 Brutes (160)* – Jagged Gore-hackas – 1x Gore Choppas 10 x Orruk Ardboys (170)* – 1x Gorkamorka Banner Bearers – Reinforced x 1
Units 6 x Orruk Gore-gruntas (300)* – Jagged Gore-hackas – Reinforced x 1
155 wounds, most at least at 4+, and 18 at 3+… that’ll take a lot to kill, especially if I chose to Alpha Strike and go after my opponent.
Having thought about this for a few days, I’ve decided to take it to Warfare at Ascot (run by Reading Wargamers). It’s always a fun, relaxed event, so hopefully I haven’t overclocked the army too much.
Let me know what you think and what you would change – it was great fun thinking of a change and abandoning my favourite ‘Warlord’ Battalion.
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
To keep the interest alive for Path to Glory within the Woehammer camp I’ve decided to release the overall map as it currently stands and each players progression to date.
The map after the first few games
Declan and Aron are the first to have adjoining territory, with Aron having the larger for having a force of 2,000 points.
Aron and Declan have both played their first games and both won.
Ed and Dave have both played their first game which Dave won, however they’re yet to roll up the results due to time constraints.
Solo Wargaming for your Favourite Games
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.
Why not pop over to Patreon and sign up and help me in this project? Money raised will go towards making these as physical products.
