Gloomspite Gitz may be an army born out of silly rules, and comic units, but 2nd Edition AoS has made them a diverse and valid fighting force. Which of their units proves the best value and which shouldn’t quit their day jobs?
It was not that long ago that I began penning these articles for Frontline Gaming, and it was in one of those first articles that I held up the Gloomspite Gitz as a bastion for good game design. I argued their book supplied diverse avenues to success, and relative internal balance. That, however, doesn’t imply a perfect book. In the months since we have seen some of the Gitz’s units thrive (sometimes even outside their army, as potent allies), while others rarely warrant use even in modestly competitive settings.
Over-Performer: Fungoid Cave-Shaman
At 90pts of excellence, the Fungoid Cave-Shaman is precisely the sort of unit this article was written for. If nothing else, its ability to generate a command-point per turn on a 4+ means that during a typical game, this model will have paid for itself in free command points alone. Forgetting the other tools he might bring to your game, this alone means he is a justified frequent ally of Command Point hungry armies such as the Orruk Warclans. As an extremely value rich ally already, his access to the extremely valuable tool that is the Skuttletide Endless Spell, simply makes him better. Whenever he appears in an ally capacity, expect to see the spell as well, whenever points allow.
In a pure Gitz list the Cave-Shaman still provides great value, and it is a common sight to see two or even three in a list. One of the most competitive ways to field Gloomspite Gitz is with a healthy investment into Endless Spells. With access to so much point-efficient spell-casting, the points spent on the spells themselves can be much less impactful than it is to many other armies. To that end, the once-per-game second cast of a Fungoid Cave-Shaman can mean potentially flooding the table with tools and obstructions, while not sacrificing some of the excellent spells from their own spell lore.
At a slight four wounds, no one will call this caster durable, but when surrounded with allies for “Look Out Sir”, the built-in 4+ after-save can potentially stave off an attack or two. In reality, this model is an unassuming target likely to always be worth his points in one capacity or another.
Under-Performer: Dankhold Troggboss
After one of the last points reviews, the Troggoth side of the Gitz book saw itself with some notable adjustments, most notable of which was how surprisingly well priced Rockguts had become. It might be easy to see a world where their hero, as a leader, justified his place on the table. Sadly, this is not really the case, as the very value those Rockgut’s show, actually highlights how over-costed this particular model is.
While capable of hitting like a mid-sized truck, this model fails to be versatile enough to take in an army full of swiss-army knives. To invest so deeply into a one-dimensional asset, in a Gloomspite list, is to give up one of your few advantages, you cheap, but useful, units. Players absolutely insistent on a “Hammer” type unit of Troggoths are better served with six Rockguts, and ambitious players might tempt fate by instead putting even more points into the significantly more useful Troggoth Hag from Forgeworld.
Whether for love of the aesthetic, or as solid units, Troggoths can absolutely be legit… but not this one. Spend his points elsewhere and just spend a CP on, “All Out Attack” instead.
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