Waaagh! The Ironjawz and Bonesplitterz – they’re like extra crunchy peanut butter and magically infused jelly; a wonderful combination that’s now deliciously sandwiched together in Battletome: Orruk Warclans! Today, we’re looking into just what this mighty tome of Destruction means for you…
This article was originally published on the Warhammer-community site.
How It Works
Battletome: Orruk Warclans isn’t just one battletome – it’s a twin-headed monster akin to Gorkamorka himself! In this book, you’ll find absolutely everything you need to field an Ironjawz or Bonesplitterz army, with both factions receiving improved allegiance abilities, their own spell lores, command traits, mount traits, artefacts, and all the good stuff you’d expect from a contemporary Warhammer Age of Sigmar army. Both forces are free to ally with one another, or join forces as part of the Big Waaagh!
The Ironjawz
Ironjawz armies in the new battletome are big, mean and surprisingly fast. Your play style is simple – get up the field as fast as possible, grind the enemy down, then finish them off in a cascade of devastating combats.
As any Ironjawz player knows, there’s nothing worse than a player who won’t do you the courtesy of charging forward to get duffed up, preferring to pepper you with spells at long range. That’s where your next battle trait comes in handy.
Mad as Hell turns your enemy shooting and hero phases into a potential liability, offering D6” of free movement to any unit that suffers wounds or mortal wounds – anyone thinking they can wear you down could well be spelling their own doom! Particularly kunnin’ Megabosses may even want to use endless spells or the Weirdnob Shaman’s Green Puke ability to harm their own units to squeeze even more free movement out of them. After all, sometimes you’ve got to smash yourself to smash the enemy.
A variety of sub-factions make your Ironjawz even more brutal on the battlefield. Each has its own ability, command ability, command trait and artefact of power, and each has its own advantages. The Ironsunz, for instance, are harder to hit in the first battle round – ideal for weathering your enemy’s opening volleys.
The Bonesplitterz
In the new battletome, the Bonesplitterz retain their title as the Mortal Realms’ premier monster hunters, making them perfect for polishing off Keepers of Secrets, Terrorgheists, Verminlords or anything else the enemy can throw at you! Bonesplitterz armies are blisteringly fast, thanks to Tireless Trackers – an ability that gives up to half of your units a free move when the game begins, meaning you’ll be in charge range that little bit sooner.
Warpaint is unchanged and just as useful as ever, giving you an ever-welcome additional save against enemy attacks and making your Savage Orruk surprisingly resilient, particularly when combined with the normal saves.
Perhaps the most exciting change to Bonesplitterz is the new Monster Hunters rule. Rather than rolling randomly as before, you now choose from three powerful abilities whenever you’re in combat with a Monster, allowing you to tailor your tactics to your chosen prey.
In the likely event that you slay a Monster, the unit responsible for the deed will become immune to battleshock tests! We’d recommend taking maximum-sized hordes to really take advantage of this rule.
You’ll also be able to enhance your Bonesplitterz with a variety of sub-factions, with some truly game-changing abilities on the table. Struggling with the Nighthaunt and other enemies that can ignore wounds? Give the Drakkfoot a try!
Want to drag your enemies out of position? A few units of Bonegrinz Boarboy Maniaks should do the trick!
The Big Waaagh!
This is where things get really interesting. The Big Waaagh! is a new set of allegiance abilities that allows you to combine Bonesplitterz and Ironjawz in one unstoppable horde, charged up with the devastating energies of the Waaagh! itself.
With this army, you’ll generate Waaagh! points every turn, representing the savage energies of Gorkamorka that crackle around such massive gatherings of Orruks. This powerful and unpredictable resource can be generated in several ways. Warchanters, Wardokks and Wurrgog Prophets all provide Waaagh! points, while particularly orruk-y play will reward you with even more as you charge foes and get stuck in with your Heroes.
These then provide cumulative bonuses for your army, meaning as the battle goes on, you’ll get better and better at smashin’ stuff, with some truly devastating abilities on the table. With Smash ‘Em and Bash ‘Em, for instance, even the relatively lowly Ardboys will blend their enemies in close combat!
Waaagh! points can also be spent on some nifty abilities. You can sacrifice them to boost your spellcasting, or if you’re ready to unleash utter mayhem, you can use Da Big Waaagh! – a command ability that gives every friendly Orruk on the battlefield additional attacks!
After using this trait, you’ll roll a dice to see whether your Waaagh! points are wiped out, halved, or remain intact. Think of it as the final coup-de-grâce, delivered only when victory is secured and the lads are all stuck in – or when you need to claw to victory when you’re in the jaws of defeat.
We’ve just scratched the surface of Battletome: Orruk Warclans – for all the updated warscrolls, fancy new spells, and even more allegiance abilities, make sure to pre-order your copy this weekend!
In the meantime, if you’re itchin’ to get into the fight as soon as possible, grab yourself a set of Start Collecting: Ironjawz today.
And remember, Frontline Gaming sells gaming products at a discount, every day in their webcart!
