Slaughtermaster (Lore of the Great Maw) LVL 4
Great Weapon
Dispell scroll
Armour of Destiny
Ironcurse Icon
Bruiser
BSB
Crown of Command
Dragonbane gem, Warrior Bane, Enchanted Shield
Heavy Armour
9 Ironguts
Command
Banner of Discipline, Look out Gnoblar
3 Ogre Bulls, Extra Hand Weapons, Musician
3 Ogre Bulls, Extra Hand Weapons, Musician
8 Maneaters (Stubborn, Swiftstride)
4 extra Handweapons
musician
5 Mournfang
Heavy Armour
Ironfists
musician
Stonehorn
Ironblaster
2400pts
OK so after some thought and much play testing I have tweaked my list a little to make it more streamlined and to match the new house rules that we are running when playing games at my flat. The thing that made the biggest impact to my army was the unit size cap of 450pts which is pretty standard for UK tournaments, meaning that I have to decrease my Irongut and Maneater units.
I've decided to keep the Ironblaster over the second Stonehorn, reason being that it saves me some points and gives me a vital utility that this army sometimes needs. Eg without it cannons and big monsters are a problem. This doesn't mean that I wont be taking two stonehorns at some point but for the time being this is what I am going to run with. The draw back is that the ironblaster is also a cannon ball magnet itself so I need to protect it somehow and as much as trollguts (4+ regen) can help its not a perfect solution. Similarly the stonehorn, as resilient as it is, is also a prime target for a cannon! So this is where I come to a rather elegant solution, the units of 3 bulls....
I have been having trouble with finding the perfect chaff unit for the army. Gnoblars are a bit hit and miss, the dangerous terrain test might just do nothing sometimes and the rest of the time they just die. Their shooting attack is nice against other chaff but still not amazing. Also because the movement of gnoblars is only 4 they get in the way and slow down my army considerably which is another problem I've been having. The other go to chaff unit is the sabretusk but I find them too fragile and very difficult to make use of especially against gunline or static armies which are unlikely to move.
So I got to thinking and I've heard it mentioned on loads of podcasts that small units of bulls can be great and I think I see why now. Against armies with chaff 3 ogres with 4 attacks each with impacts and stomps will annihilate most other armies chaff units. Also if you buff them using bubble trollguts and stubborn they can actually withstand charges of some powerful units, pinning them in place ready for a flank charge. Also if buffed with +1 str they actually become quite scary damage out put and can swing a combat a lot in your favour.
Now here's where it gets sneaky, I can use them as cannonball catchers against gunline armies. If a cannon shot fails to kill a monstrous infantry model then the shot stops dead and does not hit what's behind it. By placing them 1" in front of my stonehorn and ironblaster through the chances of failing to wound, not causing enough wounds and trollguts, the ogre has an about an 80% chance of stopping the cannonball. If the ironblaster has trollguts too then there is only a 7% chance of wounding it and then only a 3% of killing it. I think that's pretty amazing! Obviously sabretusks and gnoblars can't do this and they cost a lot less points but I think this is balanced out. I do think however that these units are only viable with lore of the great maw as the bubble buff and stubborn makes a huge difference to the unit.
The only gripe I have with the above army is that it lacks a bit of magical protection but fitting it in is a nightmare! I would liked to have got in some magic resistance, although the scroll is probably the way to go :)
The only gripe I have with the above army is that it lacks a bit of magical protection but fitting it in is a nightmare! I would liked to have got in some magic resistance, although the scroll is probably the way to go :)
I had some points left over but not enough for another character and it just so happened I could fit in a 5th Mournfang! The reasoning is that my mournfang rarely get into combat at full strength (usually only 2 left) and so are much less ineffectual. By adding this extra body I think that the unit will cause much more havoc and draw more attention!
What do you guys think?
What do you guys think?