Spotlight: Bloodgorgers

The Bloodgorgers are frequent subjects in questions from new players, and with good reason. The angry trolls are in the unique position, of being a great unit in a faction of exceptional units. This makes people take notice of them (and the models which are made of pure awesome), but when placed on the table they often disappoint.

I'll begin with a little story about the first time I faced Karchev the Terrible. This opponent made the error of assuming that Bloodgorgers were designed to destroy infantry, and parked his wall of armor within range. His expression when the debuffs began stacking on the two heavies in front, was one of curious caution, and his expression when the Bloodgorgers charged was one of confusion, but when the first Bloodgorger began swinging at PS 19 that all changed.

Bloodgorgers: Statistics

Bloodgorgers are what I like to call unbridled potential. They need help, they need direction, and they need someone to invest resources in making them work, but when you do, the pure destruction a single troll can inflict defies belief.

• Defense

The Bloodgorgers have pathetic armor. I know it might look solid, but their armor won't protect them from anything but the weakest of blasts. There are times when people will roll exceptionally poorly, but in general you can expect to be hit and killed on average dice, by almost anything in the game. This is their main weakness, and if your caster can somehow overcome that problem they become a truly different unit. This can be accomplished by Occultation, Death Ward, Blood Magic, or similar effects, but is pretty much required in order to make them work as a primary unit.

The Bloodgorgers do have one more trick up their sleeve, and being Tough makes them a fairly resistant unit, when you've done something to protect them from ranged attacks. With General Gerlack Slaughterborn nearby they also become steady, and suddenly the unit can handle some real punishment.

• Offense

The Bloodgorgers are a truly terrifying unit, featuring the gang ability and multiple attacks. Without support they can each achieve two MAT 8 attacks with PS 13, but when you begin applying buffs/debuffs the unit transforms. A simple application of Parasite will allow a few Bloodgorgers to severely damage an opposing heavy, and additional debuffs will see almost anything die horribly.

With General Gerlack Slaughterborn the unit gains overtake, which allows them to be fairly effective against infantry as well. Without the general their potential is limited by their lack of reach, but with the right support (Ghost Walk) and overtake, they can munch through a lot of models. The main issue is keeping their gang bonus available when moving around, but if you can manage it the Bloodgorgers can really go to town.

• Movement

This is another issue you will need to handle, because these guys have some serious issues with terrain. Having a Skarlock and a caster with access to Ghost Walk is your best bet, but Saxon Orrik can handle business if you've got other plans for the Skarlock.

The Bloodgorgers are slow, and while bloodthirst allows them a fair threat against living models, you really need the ability to ignore terrain quite badly, and Ghost Walk is the superior choice. Without access to Pathfinder or Ghost Walk, the trolls will be out of range or unable to charge, and a good opponent will lure them in and destroy them.

Bloodgorgers: Complications

I hope you've noticed this already, but these guys need support. They need something to assist them with movement, something to safeguard them against shooting, and a couple of things to increase their offensive potential as well, and that's a lot of effort to make one unit work. This is why I rarely make Bloodgorgers my primary infantry, but they're really good backup!

Bloodgorgers: You get what you pay for.

A minimum unit of Bloodgorgers is just five points, and that's actually a pretty decent price for what they do, if you already planned on including a few other models.

• General Gerlack Slaughterborn: There are plenty of lists out there with Slaughterborn in them, because honestly he's worth the three points on his own. Add to this that the Bloodgorgers help to keep him safe, and they basically gain Steady & Overtake for free.
• Skarlock: This guy is probably in you list anyway, and sometimes you end up without a job for him. Instead of bringing support specifically for the Bloodgorgers, you can use a couple of them to keep him safe, and they can benefit on turns where he's not needed elsewhere.
• Bane Thralls: A staple of many lists, and they do well with Bloodgorgers. If you're facing infantry the Bloodgorgers can clean it out before you send in the Bane Thralls, and if you face heavy armor the Bane Thralls can supply Dark Shroud, and the Bloodgorgers can inflict some real damage.

When you look at it like that, you'll find that a minimum unit works well as an all purpose unit, that can scavenge resources from your army when nobody else needs it. They can shield important models, roll annoying Tough checks to block lanes, or simply get in the way of tramples. If your main units collapse the Bloodgorgers can pick up the slack, and inflict horrendous amounts of damage to both heavies and infantry alike.

Bloodgorgers are good, because they can be tooled to take on anything, which makes them the perfect backup unit. Bloodgorgers are great, because while they're waiting around to see where they're needed, they do a good job at being incredibly annoying to an opponent. Bloodgorgers are fantastic, because seeing the two remaining trolls annihilate a Juggernaut, will make your opponent go "blergh".

Training game...

We had an player turn up today, that had his last game in MK1, and I volunteered to run a training game for him. He was more or less up to speed on the rules for MK2, and a veteran player of old, so we had a semi-competitive game, but I pointed out mistakes he was about to make, and gave him the odd suggestion for rules he was obviously unaware of.

He did very well, but in all the confusion he forgot about objectives, and put himself in a bad position where he had to come to me, in order to avoid loosing outright. He was playing Hexeris, which I'd never faced before, and dear god that's an amusing feat. I had half my unit of Croe's trying to assassinate my Warwitch at one flag, and my Bloodgorgers punching each other on the other. In the end Malice got him, and while it wasn't a "real" game, I did learn a few things.

• One unit of Bloodgorgers is not enough to bear the brunt
• General Slaughterborn either dies or does nothing in the game
• I need to play Croe's more defensively.
• Ragman still rocks, and allowed Malice to kill a Titan Cannoneer
• I don't think I need Saxon Orrik, with the Skarlock available
• I don't think I need two Warwitch Sirens. Then again, why not

So... either I find something I like for four points, or I figure out a way to find two extra points, and include a couple of Pistol Wraiths. I also found the idea of running a couple of machine wraiths funny, as Telekinesis can increase possession range to 12", and kicking out two machine wraiths could wreck his focus economy. Then again.. Warjacks go in the belly and become Seethers, so maybe it's not worth it.
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A little bit of Scaverous on my mind...

I took the Exhumator to a tournament today.

I made him a model last night, and though the picture is crappy phone quality, I think you get the idea. It's a work in progress of course, and the scythe arm looks clunky on the picture but rather elegant in real life. His arms are magnetized so they/he can be posed and transported, and most of the flight stand will be covered in terrain of some sort when I'm done.

Ftaghn?

Now equipped with a model, I noticed that it was two in the morning, and I needed to get up at eight. That left me with little time to crunch the numbers on a list, so I mostly just threw together what I'd been considering for the last couple of weeks, and hoped for the best. Though I seem to be suffering from a strange disorder that makes me ill at tournaments, I did manage a third place and got a shiny new coin.

Lord Exhumator

- Nightwretch

- Nightwretch

- Skarlock Thrall

Bane Knights (Leader and 9 Grunts)

Bloodgorgers (Leader and 9 Grunts)

Croe's Cutthroats (Croe and 9 Grunts)

The Withershadow Combine

Bane Lord Tartarus

General Gerlak Slaughterborn

Necrotech & 1 Scrap Thrall

Ragman

Warwitch Siren

Round 1: Exhumator Vs. pIrusk
I was very unsure about the army, so I mostly just trundled ahead and tried my best not to be destroyed by shooting. The game turned, when a Telekinesis got Admonia within range of his Winterguard Deathstar, and managed to unbind Iron Flesh. Scaverous put Icy Grip on them, and Tartarus cursed them and Threshered up two new Bane Knights, and then the Knights charged. With most of his unit destroyed by Bane Knights, I turned my attention to his jacks. Scaverous had applied a Feast on his Juggernaut, and the Ragman had made it close enough to the lines, that charging with my Bloodgorgers became a possibility.

Feast, Dark Shroud, and Gang had the Gorgers rolling at PS 17, and three of them took down the slightly damaged Juggernaut (I had two more ready to hit, though outside Ragman range), while the rest were munching on random Manhunters or the remains of the WG. That round totally broke his back, and after the following round he gave up. I didn't feel the fight was completely lost for him, but it was his choice and I respect that. I also didn't feel like I was using the list to it's full potential, but I did learn a lot of things.

Round 2: Mortenebra Vs. eVlad
I should have gone with Scaverous, but I couldn't resist a shot at the top five list of bad match-ups. I decided I'd go for it, and prove my non-tier list could rock eVlad, but alas I was sadly mistaken. The game itself was incredibly uneventful, and I was squashed like a bug. I had one shot at Vlad, with a reasonable chance of success, but it didn't pan out and Mortenebra got hit by Fenris.

Round 3: Exhumator Vs. Karchev
I had to take a seat for a couple of minutes, because the room began behaving in strange ways. You know that feeling just before you pass out, or if you're really really drunk and the world just doesn't want to stay were it's supposed to... well I had a solid five minutes of that. Then it passed, and we got down to it.

I never faced Karchev before, and I get him with just the caster I needed to mess him up beyond belief. I learned a lot from my first game of the day, and the poor guy never stood a chance. Bloodgorgers messed up his jacks with the help of Ragman & Feast, while Bane Knights tore through his support on the right flank, and Croe's were making sure he couldn't just swing around to face them.

I got a Nightwretch through, and Karchev was hit in the back by the two Croe's Cutthroats that were in charge range after he was turned around. Watching two grunts carve about half of Karchevs hitpoints was fun, and charging him with my shiny new WSC brand Seether (Again with Feast & Ragman) took out some more vital systems. He pondered his options for a while, and the gave up, as he couldn't escape Croe's, and had no chance at taking down the Exhumator behind the wall of angry Bloodgorgers.


Post-game Thoughts: I'll go through this more thoroughly in the coming days, but these are my initial thoughts on the army composition, and Lord Exhumator Scaverous.

I had way to much infantry. I know it's awesome, but moving 45 models around is tough when you're under a time limit. That means something must go, and I think it's going to be my Bane Knights. I ordered the Exhumator to use the models and units I otherwise wouldn't, and one of my melee units has to go. The Exhumator also needs protection, and a wall of steady trolls is just what the doctor ordered. With the points left over by the Knights and Tartarus, I can put in Gorman di Wulfe, which should allow the Gorgers to munch some jacks. I also think I might bring a Ogrun Bokur, as I was hit by pEiryss in my first game, and had it happened a round earlier I would have been in big trouble. I'll try a few more games without one, as I might be able to keep him safe and save those points.

The Ragman is awesome in this list. It's just crazy how hard Bloodgorgers can swing, when they've got backup. I'm using some of the points from the Bane Knights to put in Gorman, and then I can have three Bloodgorgers take down a Khador heavy. Feast + Dark Shroud + Rust + Gang + Charge, equals 15.5 damage per Bloodgorger, and if the feast took just a couple of points of it, then two of them could take down a Juggernaut on average dice.

The Withershadow Combine also likes that combination. Getting at a jack, and rolling 13 average damage each, will make some fine Seethers. I don't think I can avoid bringing Malice, as that combination is simply to good. With a few points left over, I'm thinking I could use another Warwitch Siren.

Finally I think I might bring in Saxon Orrik. Having Pathfinder available to the Bloodgorgers, Withershadow Combine, or Slaughterborn, could prove valuable. I know I've got Ghost Walk available, but that's a lot of Focus I could use elsewhere, and there are plenty of units that will work just as well with just Pathfinder. Saxon can also help out with the odd warbeast, or shoot some key models if needed.

Lord Exhumator

- Nightwretch*

- Nightwretch*

- Malice

- Skarlock Thrall*

Bloodgorgers (Leader and 9 Grunts)

Croe's Cutthroats (Croe and 9 Grunts)*

The Withershadow Combine*

General Gerlak Slaughterborn*

Gorman di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist*

Ragman

Saxon Orrik*

Warwitch Siren*

Warwitch Siren*

* means painted, which is actually a selling point for me. With the whole marriage, honeymoon, apartment, and countless other things to do, I'm not going to have much time for painting. The Bloodgorgers are actually 6/10 done as well, and Malice just needs a touch up, so that means 4 Bloodgorgers, Exhumator, and Ragman to paint. That's a huge amount of time saved.