There’s a faintly luminous green glow on the horizon, and the hooting and hollering are getting louder. This can only mean one thing: Battlome: Orruk Warclans is available for pre-order this weekend.
This is a tome of two halves, containing the background and rules for the brutal Ironjawz and the kunnin’ Kruleboyz. Both are mean, green, and keen to get stuck into a fight – but the two groups don’t quite eye to eye: the Ironjawz prefer to bash stuff up all simple like, while the Kruleboyz prefer dirty tricks and poisoned blades.
Where the Ironjawz charge around on the backs of gigantic, malodorous pigs, the Kruleboyz instead employ pint-sized but pernicious mercenaries. The Kompany Taktikz used by the new Hobgrot Slittaboss allows a unit of Hobgrots to fight immediately after their cruel taskmaster, adding 1 to Wound rolls for the rest of the turn.
KOMPANY TAKTIKZ
Reaction: You declared a Fight ability for this unit
Slittabosses drill their hobgrots without mercy – after all, the more decisively they strike, the better chance they have of grabbing up the loot.
Effect: Pick a friendly Hobgrot Slittaz unit that has not used a Fight ability this turn and is within this unit’s combat range to be the target. The target can be picked to use a Fight ability immediately after the Fight ability used by this unit has been resolved. If it is picked to do so, add 1 to wound rolls for the target’s attacks for the rest of the turn.
Infamous Kruleboyz like Swampboss Skumdrekk have learned how to work these avaricious, opportunist, but ultimately scrawny scamps for all they’re worth. The legendary beast-master can choose one unit of Hobgrot Slittaz during deployment and give them Crit (Mortal) on melee attacks, while also adding an extra 1 to wound rolls against the unit he bets will be the first to fall – a hefty investment for such a fragile unit, but the Hobgrat Slittaboss lets you tweak the odds in your favour.
Both flavours of orruk also now have Faction Terrain and Endless Spells. As the premier agents of Destruction in the Mortal Realms, the Orruk Warclans are more used to flattening structures rather than building them, but the irresistible lure of clambering up a tower and yelling at (literal) underlings has seen both Ironjawz and Kruleboyz rush to set up Bossrokk Towers and Skaregob Totems.
As if possessed by the Aggressively Bossy spirit of Gork himself, their words land with a sledgehammer impact and can either reduce control scores, casting and chanting rolls, or charge rolls. The mind-warping mists that coil around a Skaregob Totem alter the perceptions of those under its Sinister Stare, helping Dirty Tricks go off without a hitch. If a hero climbs into either, the efficacy of both also increases, while a 4+ save and 12 wounds helps them weather ranged assaults.
BOSSROCK TOWER: AGGRESSIVELY BOSSY
Once Per Turn, Your Hero Phase
Commands and insults bellowed from around this tower seem to carry extra weight.
Declare: Pick a visible enemy unit within 18" of this terrain feature to be the target.
Effect: Roll a dice. Add 1 to the roll if this terrain feature has a Shouty Boss. On a 4+, pick 1 of the following effects to apply to the target until the start of your next turn:
Dat’s Ours, Ya Git!: Subtract 3 from the target’s control score.
Zog Off Wiv Ya Magic!: Subtract 1 from casting rolls and/or chanting rolls for the target.
Oi! Hold It!: Subtract 1 from the number of dice rolled when making charge rolls for the target, to a minimum of 1.
SKAREGOB TOTEM: SINISTER STARE
Once Per Turn, Your Hero Phase
Kruleboyz find it hilarious to subject foes under the insidious influence of a Skaregob Totem’s hallucinogenic fogs to a host of nasty surprises.
Declare: Pick a visible enemy unit or a friendly Kruleboyz unit wholly within 12" of this terrain feature to be the target. If this terrain feature has a Shouty Boss, you can pick an eligible unit wholly within 18" instead.
Effect: Until the start of your next turn, if the target is picked to be the target of a Dirty Trick ability while it is wholly within 12" of this terrain feature, add 1 to the dirty trick roll for that ability. If this terrain feature has a Shouty Boss, this ability applies to targets picked to be the target of a Dirty Trick ability while they are wholly within 18" of this terrain feature instead of 12".
The iconic Foot of Gork returns from the mists of time* as a pair of size 200 feet ready to stomp across the battlefield. The Wandering Destruction of these disembodied clompers deals damage and affects charge rolls, but most importantly each foot must remain within 9” of the other – the Orruks’ imagination can only conceive of Gork’s gait being so long.
WANDERING DESTRUCTION
Once Per Turn, Your Movement Phase
You can’t expect Gork to stand still when there’s fighting about.
Declare: Pick a part of this Manifestation to be the target.
Effect: Remove the target from the battlefield and set it up again on the battlefield wholly within 9" of the other part of this Manifestation.
Then, roll a D3 for each enemy unit within 3" of the target. On a 2+:
• Inflict an amount of mortal damage on that unit equal to the roll.
• That unit has the Stomped keyword until the start of yournext turn.
• Subtract 1 from the number of dice rolled when making charge rolls for Stomped units, to a minimum of 1.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Morkspit Marsh is pure Morkish cunning, an eldritch quagmire whose Grasping Gunge prevents nearby enemies from running – perfect for holding them at bay while Man-Skewer Boltboyz line up their shots.
GRASPING GUNGE
Once Per Turn, Your Movement Phase
The arcane protoplasm of a Morkspit Marsh seizes limbs tight, dragging at those who draw too close.
Declare: Pick a part of this Manifestation to be the target.
Effect: Enemy units cannot use Run abilities while they are within 6" of this Manifestation.
There’s the Gork-Roara too, whose bellows supercharge your wizards and priests with the overwhelming power of the Waaaagh! – with only a slight risk of popping their heads in the process. Rules for everything can be found in Battletome: Orruk Warclans which is available to pre-order on Saturday. If you can’t choose between the Ironjawz and the Kruleboyz you’ll be able to run both together with the Big Waaagh! Army of Renown, which we’ll be covering later in the week.
* Those of you old enough to remember the original cardboard template for the spell – we see you.
