SBOT 2 Metagame Part 3 - Ravaging Hordes
SBOT 2 Metagame Part 1 - Overview
SBOT 2 Metagame Part 2 - Forces of Fantasy
SBOT 2 Metagame Part 3 - Ravaging Hordes
SBOT 2 Metagame Part 4 - Legacy Armies
In part 3 of this metagame review I’ll be looking at the army lists from Ravaging Hordes. As with last time I’m going to try and highlight interesting lists and identify trends across lists for an army.
Tomb Kings (17 Lists)
The most popular army at the event, Tomb Kings are certainly going to be a factor for anyone trying to win the event. Most surprising is that only 3 players took Grand Army. The bulk of the lists are the 11 Mortuary Cults players. And then we have 3 players that are all-in on Skeleton Cohorts in the Royal Hosts. And unlike some armies there isn’t a huge amount of overlap in how the three army lists play.
Key units:
33 Tomb Scorpions (22+ required)
26 Level 4s (only 14 lists can take level 4s)
17 Casket of Souls
14 Necrosphinxes
10 Skeleton Archer units
10 Bone Dragons
10 Skeleton Skirmisher units
9 Skeleton Horse Archer units
You can see here there isn’t a ton of overlap, thanks for Mortuary Cults we have a ton of Tomb Scorpions and Level 4s, but that’s about all we have overlapping.
I’ll start of and say that I think the biggest mistake Tomb King list builders are making is not bringing more Skeleton Skirmishers. Starting at 20 points being able to control deployment is so huge. Yes, you give up turn 1 more often than not but over time I’ve come to realize that turn 1 isn’t as important as I thought at the start of Old World, and Tomb Kings are an army that is well suited to going second. A Tomb King army going second gets six changes to Arise! in a game, versus 5 when you go first. This doesn’t always work out but it is something to keep in mind. Also if your opponent advances toward you you’re much more likely to be in range for your spells on turn 1.
I’ll also say that none of these lists mark their Hierophant. The Hierophant needs to be decided at list construction and must be one of your highest level wizards. Events should really make sure to require this is added for Tomb King army lists as any list with two level 4s is incomplete without it, ditto for the Royal Host list’s level 2s. Of course it’d help if Old World Builder had it as a checkbox.
Mortuary Cults (11 Lists)
The most popular Army of Renown at this event this is also the army I know best so I’ve got a lot to say.
23 Tomb Scorpion (22 required)
21 Level 4s
15 Casket of Souls
11 Necrosphinx
10 units of Tomb Swarms (one list skipped them)
9 BSB (4 level 1s)
8 Units of Skeleton Archers (average size of 42 models if we exclude a 13 model outlier)
8 Units of Great Bow Ushabti (2 taken in Special)
8 Units of Skeleton Skirmishers
8 Amulet of the Serpent
6 Dragons (all Illusion, 4 Serpent Staff, 2 Dragon Slaying Sword)
7 Level 2s
5 Screaming Skull Catapults
5 Ruby Ring of Ruin
4 Units of Necroserpents
4 Units of Skeleton Warriors
3 Units of Ritual Blade Ushabti (one list skipped taking any Ushabti)
Let’s look at a breakdown of the level 4s, there are 7 Necromancy, 7 Elementalism, and 6 Illusion. That’s a pretty damn even split. Level 2s are highly tilted toward Elementalism with 5 of 7 taking it. The Cults lists in SBOT2 are pretty diverse, there is a heavy bent toward BS shooting but leadership bomb and melee units are very much still in the meta. There is only one triple level 4 list and no double dragon list, both I might have expected more of in a field this size. The one item that stands out to me is Ruby Ring of Ruin, points are tight in Cults lists but that item is very good, and even better in Cults thanks to the Casket bonus. I think we should have seen more like 8 or 9 of them.
I personally am more on the melee side of the debate but think the shooting lists are very viable, and we’ll look at a few examples.
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++ Main Force ++ [1999pts]
Characters [790pts]
High Priest [445pts]: Hand Weapon, Necrolith Bone Dragon (Breath of Dessication, Full Plate Armour, Wicked Claws), Wizard Level 4, Illusion, Serpent Staff, Lore Familiar, Talisman Of Protection
High Priest [205pts]: Hand Weapon, General, Wizard Level 4, Elementalism, Earthing Rod, Ruby Ring of Ruin
Mortuary Priest [140pts]: Hand Weapon, Battle Standard Bearer, Wizard Level 2, Elementalism, Amulet of the Serpent
Core [665pts]
Skeleton Archers [260pts]:
• 50x Skeleton Archer [5pts]: Hand Weapon, Warbow
• 1x Master of Arrows [5pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [5pts]
Tomb Swarms [111pts]:
• 3x Tomb Swarm [37pts]: Hand Weapon
Ushabti [294pts]:
• 6x Ushabti [49pts]: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Greatbow
Special [349pts]
Necrosphinx [195pts]: Cleaving Blades, Decapitating Strike, Heavy Armour
Tomb Scorpion [77pts]: Decapitating Claws, Envenomed Sting, Heavy Armour, Ambushers, The Terrors Below
Tomb Scorpion [77pts]: Decapitating Claws, Envenomed Sting, Heavy Armour, Ambushers, The Terrors Below
Rare [195pts]
Necrosphinx [195pts]: Cleaving Blades, Decapitating Strike, Heavy Armour
I like this list a lot. It combines a few things. First up it has a level 4 of Illusion on a dragon. I think this is a very strong unit and gives the list counter-punch that nothing can match. Necrosphinxes struggle versus units with good saving throws and are also less durable than you sometimes hope, the dragon solves both these issues and by making it not the general you can risk it more easily. The level 4 and the level 2 BSB both take Elementalism, this is very much a list hoping for Plague of Rust. I’ll also note the general taking Earthing Rod, this is a very good magic item in cults and you should always try and fit it on a level 4.
Core is very standard with a big brick of poison archers, 3 Swarms, and 6 Ushabti with bows. I’d love to see Skirmishers as this list has quite a few drops already, but otherwise no complaints. Outside of core we see a change from most lists and there are 0 Casket of Souls. I don’t really agree with this decision, but I respect it. Light of Death is not very good unless you index into it heavily, meaning the casket just offers Light of Protection (18” bubble of 6+ ward and -1 to be hit for friendly units) and +1 to cast spells. Which is still pretty insane? However rather than take a Casket we’ve got 2 Necrosphinxes. I think this list will actually play out in many ways like the grand army list below, it has a lot of fast hard hitting units. I think Casket lists are probably stronger, but I like this direction showing there are other ways to build Cults.
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++ Main Force ++ [2000pts]
Characters [480pts]
High Priest [200pts]: Hand Weapon, General, Wizard Level 4, Necromancy, Lore Familiar
High Priest [170pts]: Hand Weapon, Wizard Level 4, Necromancy
Mortuary Priest [110pts]: Hand Weapon, Battle Standard Bearer, Wizard Level 2, Necromancy
Core [665pts]
Skeleton Horse Archers [77pts]:
• 7x Skeleton Horse Archer [11pts]: Skeletal Steed (Hand Weapon), Hand Weapon, Warbow
Skeleton Warriors [195pts]: Magic Standard, Nehekharan Phalanx
• 25x Skeleton Warrior [6pts]: Hand Weapon, Shield, Light Armour, Thrusting Spear
• 1x Master of Arms [5pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [30pts]: War Banner
Tomb Swarms [148pts]:
• 4x Tomb Swarm [37pts]: Hand Weapon
Ushabti [245pts]:
• 5x Ushabti [49pts]: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Ritual Blade
Special [335pts]
Necrosphinx [195pts]: Cleaving Blades, Decapitating Strike, Heavy Armour
Tomb Scorpion [70pts]: Decapitating Claws, Envenomed Sting, Heavy Armour
Tomb Scorpion [70pts]: Decapitating Claws, Envenomed Sting, Heavy Armour
Rare [520pts]
Casket of Souls [135pts]: Casket Guardians
Casket of Souls [135pts]: Casket Guardians
Screaming Skull Catapult [125pts]: Stone Thrower (Skeleton Catapult Crew), Hand Weapon, Light Armour, Skulls of the Foe
Screaming Skull Catapult [125pts]: Stone Thrower (Skeleton Catapult Crew), Hand Weapon, Light Armour, Skulls of the Foe
Here we have a more melee-focused list that is all in on the leadership bomb. All three wizards are taking Necromancy looking for as many copies of Spiritual Vortex as you can get. It’s worth noting that when you stack Necromancy casters setting up Unquiet Spirits/Curse of Years is also quite powerful.
Core has a small unit of Horse Archers which are fine but I think too expensive for their impact and durability. It also has a medium sized block of Skeleton Warriors. I’ve been taking similar units and like them a lot, they’re shockingly durable and can hold up a lot for longer than you’d expect. I’d like to see the terror mask on the Champion and the spears and armor aren’t worth the points, but otherwise a very solid unit. The Ushabti are also equipped for melee and a lot of people underestimate what 15 WS4 S6 AP-3 attacks can do to a unit. Few units in the game can take them on, I would like to see a champion to give them the ability to hold up a 600 point dragon for a few turns.
Rounding out the list we have a Necrosphinx, and a pair of Caskets and Catapults. This is a pretty typical setup for the leadership bomb lists but I think should do pretty well if the pilot is experienced. The catapults are not popular at this event but being able to debuff leadership form long range is very important for this list. The big danger for this risk is a lack of control elements, if the enemy can close the distance and pick their charges you’re going to be in trouble.
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++ Main Force ++ [1999pts]
Characters [914pts]
High Priest [237pts]: Hand Weapon, General, Skeletal Steed (Hand Weapon), Wizard Level 4, Elementalism, Hieratic Jar, Ruby Ring of Ruin
High Priest [445pts]: Hand Weapon, Necrolith Bone Dragon (Breath of Dessication, Full Plate Armour, Wicked Claws), Wizard Level 4, Illusion, Serpent Staff, Lore Familiar, Talisman Of Protection
High Priest [232pts]: Hand Weapon, Skeletal Steed (Hand Weapon), Wizard Level 4, Necromancy, 2x Hieratic Jar
Core [661pts]
Skeleton Horse Archers [111pts]:
• 9x Skeleton Horse Archer [11pts]: Skeletal Steed (Hand Weapon), Hand Weapon, Warbow
• 1x Master of Horse [6pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [6pts]
Skeleton Skirmishers [20pts]:
• 5x Skeleton Skirmisher [4pts]: Hand Weapon
Skeleton Skirmishers [20pts]:
• 5x Skeleton Skirmisher [4pts]: Hand Weapon
Tomb Swarms [111pts]:
• 3x Tomb Swarm [37pts]: Hand Weapon
Ushabti [399pts]:
• 8x Ushabti [49pts]: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Greatbow
• 1x Ancient [7pts]
Special [154pts]
Tomb Scorpion [77pts]: Decapitating Claws, Envenomed Sting, Heavy Armour, Ambushers, The Terrors Below
Tomb Scorpion [77pts]: Decapitating Claws, Envenomed Sting, Heavy Armour, Ambushers, The Terrors Below
Rare [270pts]
Casket of Souls [135pts]: Casket Guardians
Casket of Souls [135pts]: Casket Guardians
I also wanted to include this list for the triple level 4, triple Hieratic Jar. Hieratic Jar is an extremely common magic item that lets a wizard arise an extra time once per game. I’ve not used it but I think this list might be on to something. There tend to be a few crucial turns where you really need arise to go off or you need to heal your dragon twice but also want to heal something else. The jars will let you get that off. They do come at a cost however, for only 10 points more you could take a level 2 giving you an extra Arise every turn, and a spell caster to boot.
The level 4s themselves are split between the three lores. This is interesting, it allows a chance at all the best spells, but you also only have 4 chances to roll Plague of Rust or Spiritual Vortex. One of them is on a Skeletal Steed, which I don’t love. It can join the 9 Horse Archers, but only when those Horse Archers are in Open Order, so 360 line of sight is lost. I’m also not sure why the Horse Archers have a banner. This unit is very vulnerable and against an army with any shooting I’d be desperately worried for my wizard’s health.
Outside of that core has a few units of skirmishers which I like, and a very large unit of Ushabti while forgoing a block of archers or warriors. I think this is defensible but I just don’t like going this big on Ushabti or spending 111 points on 9 wounds of Horse Archers. Rare has a pair of caskets which make sense.
Overall I think this is a list with some new ideas, and I hope they pan out. I think in the end it’s a little too unfocused, but I like the direction it is headed in and I think triple level 4 is very strong, and fitting in the dragon is great.
Grand Army (3 Lists)
As I noted I think this is underrepresented here, though Grand Army certainly feels a lot more fair than Cults or the Royal Hosts lists at this event. The best thing Tomb Kings can do with Grand Army is double dragon and these 3 lists take 4 dragons between them. And really, I think it should have been 6. I think this may speak to why there are only 3 GA players, the sharks have (mostly) decamped for the Arcane Journal armies.
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# ++ Main Force ++ [1998pts]
## Characters [921pts]
High Priest [460pts]: Hand Weapon, Necrolith Bone Dragon (Breath of Dessication, Full Plate Armour, Wicked Claws), Wizard Level 4, Illusion, Serpent Staff, Warding Splint, Lore Familiar, Potion of Speed
Tomb King [461pts]: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Shield, General, Necrolith Bone Dragon (Breath of Dessication, Full Plate Armour, Wicked Claws), Great Weapon, Armour of the Ages, Potion of Toughness, Talisman Of Protection
## Core [537pts]
Sepulchral Stalkers [162pts]:
• 3x Sepulchral Stalker [54pts]: Halberd, Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Petryfing Gaze, Writhing Tail, Ambushers
Skeleton Archers [55pts]:
• 10x Skeleton Archer [5pts]: Hand Weapon, Warbow
• 1x Standard Bearer [5pts]
Skeleton Chariots [320pts]:
• 6x Skeleton Chariot [43pts]: 2x Skeletal Steed (Hand Weapon), 2x Skeleton Crew (Cavalry Spear, Hand Weapon, Warbow)
• 1x Master Charioteer [6pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [56pts]: Icon of the Sacred Eye
## Special [150pts]
Tomb Scorpion [75pts]: Decapitating Claws, Envenomed Sting, Heavy Armour, Ambushers
Tomb Scorpion [75pts]: Decapitating Claws, Envenomed Sting, Heavy Armour, Ambushers
## Rare [390pts]
Necrosphinx [195pts]: Cleaving Blades, Decapitating Strike, Heavy Armour
Necrosphinx [195pts]: Cleaving Blades, Decapitating Strike, Heavy Armour
There was a reason I said (mostly) above. Phil is a local player and very good having won or gotten best general at a number of East Coast GTs this year with Tomb Kings. And here we have a pretty archetypical Tomb Kings list. It’s identical to his 5-0 list from a GT in October. Key things to note: L4 on a dragon taking Illusion, a King on a dragon with the standard tank build but the less commonly seen Potion of Toughness. In core there is a unit of Chariots taking up the bulk of the points. Banner of the Sacred Eye is expensive but gives them +1WS taking them to 4. A pair of Necrosphinxes and Ambushing Tomb Scorpions round out the list. This is an extremely mobile, fast list. Everything in the list except the Skeleton Archers has Fly, Reserve Move, or Ambush. Then there is a lot of offensive output. Phil is a very good player and I’ve not faced him with this list yet but I can see why he keeps winning.
I will note that the Archer unit is a bit of an odd choice. It takes a banner which I know would have helped at the above GT, but seems like a downside for SBOT. I wonder if this is just a question of copy/pasting a list, or if there is good cause for this choice.
Royal Hosts (3 Lists)
To talk Royal Hosts I have to talk Skeleton Infantry Cohort. This is a core unit only available to Royal Hosts that has motley crew and mixes Warriors and Archers. This isn’t important, what are important are a few very important rules.
1. It can volley fire after moving or during stand and shoot
2. It can pay 10 points to not be pushed back when losing combat
3. It’s champion can take an item to give the unit poison
4. It has no cap on models
So the three lists between them average 135 models in these units. Which makes these the three largest units in the event. For those unfamiliar with the giant archer blob, your opponent can’t really charge them. If a large target (dragon) charges them from the front all models get to stand and shoot, with poison. With this unit even if a small target charges them half of them get to shoot. And stand and shoot shots are added to combat resolution so the block not only will likely kill something that charges them, it will start combat with a bunch of combat res. This is why multi-charging them isn’t a great solution to the unit. These lists end up being strong at shooting, strong in combat, and incredibly effective points denial as they won’t die and can’t be shoved off the board.
So, what else goes into these lists? All three have a Tomb King, 2 Royal Heralds, and 2-3 Mortuary Priests. The Tomb Kings and Heralds are on chariots but can still join the massive block making it even harder to take down with both tanky builds and My Will Be Done.
It should be noted that SBOT is basically the perfect event to take this list in. First up you know what the possible terrain setups are so you can plan to make sure the unit fits, though I have my doubts for the 140 model unit. It’s also an event where you really want to get wins, battle points can matter, but mostly it comes down to wins, and points denial lists will always struggle to pick up big wins. Lastly, who wants to have to move around over 100 skeletons? Having the event played digitally is a big help.
I’m not sure how these three lists will do, they have weaknesses, and I don’t know how many games the players have run with them. But I’m not too worried for in-person events, I think the downsides of running huge units will keep them as more fringe lists for in-person events.
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++ Main Force ++ [1999pts]
Characters [1000pts]
Mortuary Priest [135pts]: Hand Weapon, Wizard Level 2, Elementalism, Power Scroll, Lore Familiar
Mortuary Priest [135pts]: Hand Weapon, Wizard Level 2, Illusion, Power Scroll, Enkhil’s Kanopi
Royal Herald [243pts]: Hand Weapon, Light Armour, Battle Standard Bearer (Icon of the Sacred Eye), Skeleton Chariot (2x Skeletal Steed), Hand Weapon, Flail, Armour of Meteoric Iron, Potion of Toughness, Talisman Of Protection
Royal Herald [167pts]: Hand Weapon, Light Armour, Shield, Skeleton Chariot (2x Skeletal Steed), Hand Weapon, Spelleater Axe, Warding Splint
Tomb King [320pts]: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, General (Arise!), Necromancy, Wizard Level 1, Skeleton Chariot (2x Skeletal Steed), Hand Weapon, Ogre Blade, Shield of Ptra
Core [684pts]
Skeleton Chariots [69pts]:
• 1x Skeleton Chariot [43pts]: 2x Skeletal Steed (Hand Weapon), 2x Skeleton Crew (Cavalry Spear, Hand Weapon, Warbow)
• 1x Master Charioteer [26pts]: Death Mask of Kharnutt
Skeleton Infantry Cohort [615pts]: Nehekharan Phalanx
• 1x Royal Host Archer [10pts]: Hand Weapon, Light Armour, Warbow, Musician
• 1x Royal Host Archer [40pts]: Hand Weapon, Light Armour, Warbow, Standard Bearer (Banner Of The Desert Winds)
• 94x Royal Host Archer [5pts]: Hand Weapon, Light Armour, Warbow
• 1x Royal Host Warrior [40pts]: Hand Weapon, Light Armour, Shield, Thrusting Spear, Master of Arms (Amulet of the Serpent)
• 9x Royal Host Warrior [5pts]: Hand Weapon, Light Armour, Shield, Thrusting Spear
Special [315pts]
Skeleton Skirmishers [45pts]: Ambushers (Lay in Wait)
• 9x Skeleton Skirmisher [5pts]: Hand Weapon, Warbow
Skeleton Skirmishers [45pts]: Ambushers (Lay in Wait)
• 9x Skeleton Skirmisher [5pts]: Hand Weapon, Warbow
Tomb Scorpion [75pts]: Decapitating Claws, Envenomed Sting, Heavy Armour, Ambushers
Tomb Scorpion [75pts]: Decapitating Claws, Envenomed Sting, Heavy Armour, Ambushers
Tomb Scorpion [75pts]: Decapitating Claws, Envenomed Sting, Heavy Armour, Ambushers
This is pretty typical of the three lists. We have 1000 points of characters, most of which will be joining the 615 point of Skeletons. It also takes 3 Tomb Scorpions and I think this might end up being a downside, in points denial lists the win can come down to very small advantages and Tomb Scorpions are quite easy to kill.
Orc and Goblins (14 Lists)
Grand Army (11 Lists)
Key Models:
55 Fanatics
21 Level 4s
18 Doom Diver Catapults
11 Squig Hopper Mobs
8 Wyverns (one list with 2)
The O&G Grand Army lists are interesting, most are packing 6 fanatics, 2-3 level 4s and 2 Doom Divers but outside of that all bets are off. Two have taken massive poison blocks of Night Goblin archers. Squig Hoppers are more popular than I expected, but overall it’s hard to draw a lot of trends here outside of that core listed above.
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# ++ Main Force ++ [1997pts]
## Characters [875pts]
Black Orc Warboss [365pts]: Full Plate Armour, Hand Weapon, General, Wyvern (Heavy Armour, Venomous Tail, Wicked claws), Da Choppiest Choppa, Charmed Shield, Trollhide Trousers, The Collar of Zorga
Night Goblin Oddnob [160pts]: Hand Weapon, Wizard Level 4, Illusion
Night Goblin Oddnob [160pts]: Hand Weapon, Wizard Level 4, Illusion
Night Goblin Oddnob [190pts]: Hand Weapon, Wizard Level 4, Waaagh! Magic, Lore Familiar
## Core [575pts]
Night Goblin Mobs [212pts]:
• 30x Night Goblin [4pts]: Hand Weapon, Shortbow
• 3x Fanatic [25pts]: Fanatic Ball & Chain
• 1x Boss [7pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [5pts]
• 1x Musician [5pts]
Night Goblin Mobs [151pts]:
• 21x Night Goblin [4pts]: Hand Weapon, Shortbow
• 2x Fanatic [25pts]: Fanatic Ball & Chain
• 1x Boss [7pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [5pts]
• 1x Musician [5pts]
Night Goblin Mobs [212pts]:
• 30x Night Goblin [4pts]: Hand Weapon, Shortbow
• 3x Fanatic [25pts]: Fanatic Ball & Chain
• 1x Boss [7pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [5pts]
• 1x Musician [5pts]
## Special [207pts]
Black Orc Mobs [72pts]:
• 6x Black Orc [12pts]: Full Plate Armour, Hand Weapon
Goblin Bolt Throwas [45pts]:
• 1x Bolt Throwa [45pts]: Goblin Crew (Hand Weapon), Bolt Thrower
Goblin Bolt Throwas [45pts]:
• 1x Bolt Throwa [45pts]: Goblin Crew (Hand Weapon), Bolt Thrower
Goblin Bolt Throwas [45pts]:
• 1x Bolt Throwa [45pts]: Goblin Crew (Hand Weapon), Bolt Thrower
## Rare [340pts]
Doom Diver Catapults [95pts]:
• 1x Doom Diver Catapult [95pts]: Goblin Crew (Hand Weapon), Stone Thrower
Doom Diver Catapults [95pts]:
• 1x Doom Diver Catapult [95pts]: Goblin Crew (Hand Weapon), Stone Thrower
Goblin Rock Lobbers [75pts]:
• 1x Goblin Rock Lobber [75pts]: Goblin Crew (Hand Weapon), Stone Thrower
Goblin Rock Lobbers [75pts]:
• 1x Goblin Rock Lobber [75pts]: Goblin Crew (Hand Weapon), Stone Thrower
I picked this list due to the heavy focus on magic and war machines. Starting off we have a pretty typical Black Orc on Wyvern build, then 4 level 4 goblins with 2 taking Illusion, clearly aiming to deny charges. Which lines up with the rest of the list, core is all night goblins taking 81 of them and 8 Fanatics, all have bows. Then in special and rare we have 2 Bolt Throwa, 2 Doom Diver Catapults, and 2 Rock Lobbers. This gives the list a lot of shooting going back to the Illusion wizards being on guard duty. I do think this list will struggle a little without any chafe or redirectors, the opponent will be able to get some charges off. One unit that I can’t quite understand is a very small Black Orc Mob, all in full plate with just hand weapons. This unit could deal with some things that might want to flank you, but it’s slow and immobile to really function as defense against flyers and the like, and it won’t hold up against anything that is reasonably killy. I’m sure there is a plan for this unit but I don’t know what it is.
Troll Horde (3 Lists)
Seeing three troll horde lists brought a smile to my face. Not being able to take Night Goblins means these will look very different from the grand armies.
Troll Counter:
River Troll: 6 units, 24 models
Stone Troll: 5 units, 16 models
Troll Hag: 1
No common trolls were taken and all lists had a good number of points invested into their namesake. It’s also worth noting that all of them took a general on a Wyvern, having that 18” Inspiring Presence bubble is clearly very important. They also leaned heavily into magic with 7 Wizards and 4 level 4s across the three lists. All lists also took at least one Giant, something seen in zero Grand Army lists.
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++ Main Force ++ [1999pts]
Named Characters [195pts]
Ogdruz Swampdigga [195pts]: Bog-wood Staff, Lore Familiar, Trollhide Shawl, Wizard Level 3, Elementalism, Troll Magic
Characters [734pts]
Goblin Oddnob [220pts]: Hand Weapon, Wizard Level 4, Troll Magic, Lore Familiar, Da Thinkin’ Orc’s ’At
Goblin Warboss [217pts]: Hand Weapon, Great Weapon, Armour of Meteoric Iron, Trollhide Trousers, Potion of Foolhardiness, Talisman Of Protection
• 1x Goblin Wolf Chariot [58pts]: 3x Giant Wolf (Claws and fangs), 3x Goblin Crew (Hand Weapon, Cavalry Spear, Shortbow)
Orc Warboss [297pts]: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, General, Wyvern (Heavy Armour, Venomous Tail, Wicked claws), Great Weapon, Enchanted Shield, Trollhide Trousers
Core [670pts]
Goblin Mobs [246pts]: Unit Options (Magic Standard)
• 41x Goblin [4pts]: Hand Weapon, Shortbow
• 3x Nasty Skulker [10pts]: Hand Weapon, Light Armour
• 1x Boss [7pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [40pts]: Da Spider Banner
• 1x Musician [5pts]
River Troll Mobs [212pts]:
• 4x River Troll [53pts]: Calloused Hide, Hand Weapon, Troll Vomit, Great Weapon
River Troll Mobs [212pts]:
• 4x River Troll [53pts]: Calloused Hide, Hand Weapon, Troll Vomit, Great Weapon
Rare [400pts]
Giants [200pts]:
• 1x Giant [200pts]: Calloused Hide
Giants [200pts]:
• 1x Giant [200pts]: Calloused Hide
This list does a few interesting things. First it was the only one to take Ogdruz Swampdigga, I don’t think Ogdruz is an amazing but he has some interesting rules. Trolls can more easily protect him from shooting, use his leadership, and also boost his casting. While only knows 3 spells and isn’t great at dispelling he can cast at level 4. I don’t think these tradeoffs are worth it over a standard level 4 but I don’t think Ogdruz is bad.
Filling out the 929 points of characters we have a level 4, a tanky goblin on a chariot, and a warboss on a Wyvern. What caused me to pick this is the core. Troll Horde can’t take Night Goblins but can take regular goblins, and can still give them poison via the Spider Banner. So here we have a unit of 41 goblins with poisoned shortbows. I think this might be a little small for this style of unit, but I do like people finding options in these more restrictive army lists.
For heavy hitters it has 8 river trolls and 2 giants. I think the river trolls in core are good, but at 670 points of core this list isn’t fully taking advantage of that. The giants were regarded as pretty good at the start of the edition but have fallen out of favor, and I think the meta is mostly to blame. Everyone is ready to fight dragons and most things that can fight a dragon can absolutely murder a giant. Interestingly, the one exception is infantry blocks aiming to win on combat res. Giants are unbreakable. I don’t think this makes them super worth taking, but it’s something to think about for the developing metagame.
At the end of the day I don’t expect these Troll Horde lists to take the crown, they look extremely fun but give up way too much. If we look at Grand Army the key units were Fanatics, Doom Divers, and level 4s. Troll Horde can only take one of those four and the rewards aren’t worth it.
Beastmen (9 Lists)
Key Units:
47 Dragon Ogres (15 units of 3 and 2 solos)
34 Razorgors (all solo)
15 Tuskgor Chariots (including mounts)
14 Level 4s
11 Gigantic Chaos Spawn (10 of Nurgle)
8 Hagtree Fetish
6 Units of ambushers (all Gor)
3 Doombull
1 Jabberslythe, 0 Ghorgons, Cygors, Giants
0 Minotaurs
So, where do Beastmen end up here? Well, will a lot of ogres and pigs. What I find most interesting about Dragon Ogres from Beastmen is the dominance of units of 3 of them. And I think this can make sense, Warriors of Chaos rely more on single models for control, while Beastmen more want theirs to be their heavy hitters. And in large part that’s because of Razorgors, why pay 63 points in special when you can get a similar effect for 52 in core?
Then Beastmen are another list with a lot of reliance on magic and level 4s. 8 of the 9 lists also took Hagtree Fetish, which makes sense. A lot of parts of the Beastmen list are a miss. We see no Minotaur busses, and the large selection of Beastmen monsters has mostly been ignored in favor of Gigantic Chaos Spawn.
One area I think Beastmen players should look at more is the Doombull (and even Gorebull). They can be quite killy or tanky and are very maneuverable. However lacking fly and swiftstride maybe it’s best people don’t look at them too closely.
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++ Main Force ++ [1997pts]
Characters [775pts]
Doombull [331pts]: Hand Weapon, Shield, General, Heavy Armour, Ogre Blade, Talisman Of Protection, Gnarled Hide
Great Bray-Shaman [290pts]: Braystaff, Wizard Level 4, Daemonology, Lore Familiar, Horn of the First Beast, Slug-skin
Wargor [154pts]: Hand Weapon, Battle Standard Bearer (War Banner), Heavy Armour, Pelt of the Dark Young, Charmed Shield
Core [882pts]
Gor Herds [249pts]: Magic Standard
• 26x Gor [7pts]: Hand Weapon, Additional Hand Weapon
• 1x True-horn [7pts]: Great Weapon
• 1x Standard Bearer [55pts]: Banner of Iron Resolve
• 1x Musician [5pts]
Razorgor Herds [52pts]:
• 1x Razorgor [52pts]: Hand Weapon, Light Armour
Razorgor Herds [52pts]:
• 1x Razorgor [52pts]: Hand Weapon, Light Armour
Razorgor Herds [52pts]:
• 1x Razorgor [52pts]: Hand Weapon, Light Armour
Razorgor Herds [52pts]:
• 1x Razorgor [52pts]: Hand Weapon, Light Armour
Tuskgor Chariots [85pts]:
• 1x Tuskgor Chariot [85pts]: Tuskgor (Hand Weapon), Bestigor Crew (Great Weapon, Hand Weapon), Gor Crew (Cavalry Spear, Hand Weapon)
Tuskgor Chariots [85pts]:
• 1x Tuskgor Chariot [85pts]: Tuskgor (Hand Weapon), Bestigor Crew (Great Weapon, Hand Weapon), Gor Crew (Cavalry Spear, Hand Weapon)
Tuskgor Chariots [85pts]:
• 1x Tuskgor Chariot [85pts]: Tuskgor (Hand Weapon), Bestigor Crew (Great Weapon, Hand Weapon), Gor Crew (Cavalry Spear, Hand Weapon)
Tuskgor Chariots [85pts]:
• 1x Tuskgor Chariot [85pts]: Tuskgor (Hand Weapon), Bestigor Crew (Great Weapon, Hand Weapon), Gor Crew (Cavalry Spear, Hand Weapon)
Tuskgor Chariots [85pts]:
• 1x Tuskgor Chariot [85pts]: Tuskgor (Hand Weapon), Bestigor Crew (Great Weapon, Hand Weapon), Gor Crew (Cavalry Spear, Hand Weapon)
Rare [340pts]
Gigantic Spawn of Chaos [170pts]:
• 1x Gigantic Spawn [170pts]: Slashing talons, Gnashing maws, Scaly Skin, Gigantic Spawn of Nurgle
Gigantic Spawn of Chaos [170pts]:
• 1x Gigantic Spawn [170pts]: Slashing talons, Gnashing maws, Scaly Skin, Gigantic Spawn of Nurgle
This is a list that knows what it wants to do, full-send with a ton of chariots and pigs. This is one of the only lists to not take Dragon Ogres opting to spend a lot of points in core. I don’t think this is the right choice, but I respect it. In core we have a big block of Gors that will be joined by the BSB. And then 4 Razorgors and 5 Chariots. One concern I have with this list is that the Gors seem a bit misplaced, they’re the slowest part of the army and while the unit is required I’m not sure spending 250 points on the unit and putting a character with them makes sense. The Doombull here is a big threat tanky and taking an Ogre Blade, if this gets into the right target it should do a lot of damage, but I think it suffers a little of the “300 point model into 600 point model” if you want to take on a dragon. It probably won’t win a fair fight and that’s where you most want an Ogre Blade.
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++ Main Force ++ [1999pts]
Characters [766pts]
Bray-Shaman [140pts]: Braystaff, Wizard Level 2, Elementalism, Jagged Dagger, Ruby Ring of Ruin
Great Bray-Shaman [245pts]: Braystaff, General, Wizard Level 4, Elementalism, Lore Familiar, Pelt of Midnight
Great Bray-Shaman [250pts]: Braystaff, Wizard Level 4, Elementalism, Hagtree Fetish, Flying Carpet
Wargor [131pts]: Hand Weapon, Shield, Battle Standard Bearer (Vitriolic Totem), Heavy Armour, Gnarled Hide
Core [510pts]
Gor Herds [47pts]: Ambushers
• 5x Gor [7pts]: Hand Weapon, Additional Hand Weapon
• 1x True-horn [7pts]: Great Weapon
Razorgor Herds [52pts]:
• 1x Razorgor [52pts]: Hand Weapon, Light Armour
Razorgor Herds [52pts]:
• 1x Razorgor [52pts]: Hand Weapon, Light Armour
Razorgor Herds [52pts]:
• 1x Razorgor [52pts]: Hand Weapon, Light Armour
Ungor Herds [307pts]:
• 58x Ungor [5pts]: Hand Weapon, Shortbow
• 1x Half-horn [7pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [5pts]
• 1x Musician [5pts]
Special [299pts]
Dragon Ogres [189pts]:
• 3x Dragon Ogre [63pts]: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Great Weapon
Harpies [55pts]:
• 5x Harpy [11pts]: Hand Weapon
Harpies [55pts]:
• 5x Harpy [11pts]: Hand Weapon
Rare [424pts]
Dragon Ogre Shaggoth [254pts]: Hand Weapon, Light Armour, Great Weapon, The Blackened Plate
Gigantic Spawn of Chaos [170pts]:
• 1x Gigantic Spawn [170pts]: Slashing talons, Gnashing maws, Scaly Skin, Gigantic Spawn of Nurgle
I like seeing people taking an idea from one list and applying it to another. The 90 Night Goblin list has inspired some folks to try something similar and here we have 58 Ungors with poison attacks from the BSB’s banner. Combining this with 3 Elementalism casters means that you’re very likely to get Plague of Rust and and can make the 58 bows a real threat.
The rest of this list has some things you’d expect, some Razorgors, some Dragon Ogres. It has 2 units of Harpies which are extremely mobile but as skirmishers I worry that they won’t be that valuable to redirect charges. In rare there is a 1:1 split of a Gigantic Spawn of Chaos and a Dragon Ogre Shaggoth. I like the Shaggoth and this one has a 2+ but I worry it won’t be worth the points premium over a Gigantic Spawn. As a large target in an army that mostly has low saving throws I also worry it will draw the fire of all their anti-dragon weapons and go down quickly.
Warriors of Chaos (8 Lists)
Due to only having a single Wolves of the Sea and a single Heralds of Darkness list I’ll talk about them all together. I am surprised to see how few Warriors lists there are in SBOT2. It’s historically a very popular fantasy army, has seen a large share of the Old World meta. On top of that it has a new Arcane Journal. So yeah, I can’t say why there aren’t more Chaos players but we can look at the ones we have.
Key Units:
17 Dragon Ogres (7 units)
9 Marauder Horsemen units
8 Gigantic Spawn of Chaos (5 Nurgle, 3 Khorne)
8 Level 4s
8 Units of Chaos Warhounds
7 Units of Forsaken
7 Chaos Lords (1 Daemon Prince)
5 Dragons (4 mounts, 1 Warpfire)
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++ Main Force ++ [2000pts]
Characters [847pts]
Chaos Lord [632pts]: Full Plate Armour, Hand Weapon, Shield, General, Chaos Dragon (Dark Fire of Chaos, Full Plate Armour, Fumes of Contagion, Wicked Claws), Mark of Nurgle, Ogre Blade, Favour of the Gods, Ruby Ring of Ruin, Extra Arm
Exalted Sorcerer [215pts]: Hand Weapon, Light Armour, Daemonic Mount (Hand Weapon), Mark of Tzeentch, Wizard Level 2, Battle Magic, Infernal Puppet
Core [501pts]
Chaos Warhounds [45pts]: Vanguard
• 5x Chaos Warhound [8pts]: Hand Weapon, Armour Hide (1), Poisoned Attacks
Forsaken [152pts]:
• 8x Forsaken [19pts]: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Forsaken by Slaneesh
Forsaken [152pts]:
• 8x Forsaken [19pts]: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Forsaken by Slaneesh
Forsaken [152pts]:
• 8x Forsaken [19pts]: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Forsaken by Slaneesh
Special [322pts]
Chaos Spawn [53pts]:
• 1x Chaos Spawn [53pts]: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Spawn of Khorne
Chaos Spawn [53pts]:
• 1x Chaos Spawn [53pts]: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Spawn of Khorne
Dragon Ogres [216pts]:
• 3x Dragon Ogre [63pts]: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Great Weapon
• 1x Shartak [27pts]: Many-limbed Fiend
Rare [330pts]Gigantic Spawn of Chaos [165pts]:
• 1x Gigantic Spawn [165pts]: Slashing talons, Gnashing maws, Scaly Skin, Gigantic Spawn of Khorne
Gigantic Spawn of Chaos [165pts]:
• 1x Gigantic Spawn [165pts]: Slashing talons, Gnashing maws, Scaly Skin, Gigantic Spawn of Khorne
On first glance this felt like a pretty standard list but taking a look closer there are a few unusual things to note. First off the Dragon Lord built is very offensive, it has a Ruby Ring of Ruin, Ogre Blade, and Extra Arm. I don’t love the Ruby Ring (can’t use it in combat) but the more offensive dragon can give you an edge in some matchups.
The other unusual bit is the level 2 wizard, rather than taking a level 4 this list has a level 2 with Infernal Puppet. Infernal Puppet is a very powerful item and it does make the level 2 a more effective anti-magic model, but still far less powerful than a level 4 in the same spot. The level 2 is on a Daemonic Mount and I don’t see a great place to put them, I think they will just aim to stay out of line of sight.
Moving to core we have a pretty typical setup with 24 Forsaken and a unit of Chaos Warhounds. In special there are 2 singleton Chaos Spawn and a unit of 3 Dragon Ogres. I like the spawn and think more lists should use them. They’re less durable than Dragon Ogres but are cheaper. And Random Movement is very powerful. This list has 4 models with it which makes things like 90 Night Goblin archers a lot less threatening.
In rare there are a pair of Gigantic Spawn of Khorne, most people are running Nurgle for the 5+ regen, but I think Khorne is second best as killing blow can be pretty powerful, there are a lot of units that don’t want to get into combat with these spawn.
Wrap-Up
Getting to this point I wish I’d done a similar thing for SBOT1 to see how the meta had changed. It certainly seems like Mortuary Cults are the hotness and a lot of people have fallen off Warriors of Chaos. With most of the giant unit of poison archer lists falling in Ravening Hordes lists it will be interesting to see how they do as a whole, and in what lists do they have what it takes.
