“Dude looks like a Lady” - Mabrothrax on eGrissel vs pMadrak

eGrissel & Armour Spam Discussion continued:

So we all know (or should at least) that armour stacking is generally something Trollbloods can do well and do often. The key components are usually the Kriel Stone and the Earthborn and Janissa combo.

With the Warders being a mighty ARM 17/19 (Battle Driven) they get to the key ARM 21 under the Stone’s aura. As has been discussed before here and elsewhere ARM 21 is difficult to deal with, significantly more so than ARM 17 – 20.

What makes Warders so significant in this is that they are cheap, and we can start to build a spam* list.

These are the options for that magical ARM 21 (when within the Kriel Stone’s aura)

Warders

Mulg

Bouncer

Mountain King

War Wagon

Depending on circumstance and the use of Janissa’s Wall with the Earthborn you can have an ARM 20/22 EBDT, or give any of the above an additional +2 ARM. For the purpose of this discussion I’m going to assume that like in my own lists (going by character restrictions) Janissa is elsewhere and the EBDT therefore becomes a less desirable piece.

My pMadrak list:

This is what I have used with varying degrees of success. Whilst it hasn't gotten as many victories as I would have liked, it has conceded few models, stood up to a number of severe thrashings, and weathered many storms giving people a real headache.

The issue I have above all others is the speed of the Warders. I know all the naysayers bemoaned the meagre SPD 4 and will point and say ‘told you so’, but I would in return utter ‘tish’ and ‘fipsy’.

One unit of SPD 4 Warders is manageable. Two units at SPD 4 is the problem. It hurts, frankly.

As I said at the end of my last post I was seriously considering swapping pMadrak for eGrissel… so, let’s get on with it then.

I want a speed buff, and whilst prime Grissel and Jarl offer very solid options, I want to go for Epic Grissel. Her spell Dash gives all my warriors a simple and effective speed bonus. Beyond this, her feat obviously adds to the ARM spam theme (as well as giving a small speed bonus in the form of an out-of-activation move).

The less obvious thing is her low spell count. I’m not going to be making hard choices on how to spend her Fury, and as such will have plenty to keep the Kriel Stone as full as possible. Add in some decent defensive stats and a nice gun with interesting effects and I’m certain the Marshall of the Kriels is the lady for me.

Looking back over the list, the double Warders, Mulg, max Stone + UA and twin Bouncers are staying. I like them and how they work; they are the ARM 21 core.

Rok is an often overlooked beast. I really like the way he complements the other beasts with his Primal animus, which also covers the lack of buffs available in eGrissel’s spell list. For the time being he’s staying in the list, but I might in the future experiment with a War Wagon.

The last model in the list is the Runebearer. In the pMadrak list he was there to mini-feat first turn and cast Sure Foot, allowing Madrak to set up the Kriel Stone, and then obviously help by reducing the cost of Carnage. With eGrissel, I don’t have an expensive upkeep spell to set up and she has one more point of Fury… Dash will almost certainly be cast most if not all turns, but I’m not convinced that I need the Runebearer. I know, 2 points to save one fury per turn, maybe two. My gut says I don’t need him.

If I took out the Runebearer, what would I replace him with? A Kithkar? Triggering Righteous Vengeance should by virtue of the list be a rare occurrence, and without Fennblades to buff he seems a little wasted. I don’t think the Chronicler does much here either.

Two Sorcerers strikes me as an interesting option, each adjunct to a unit of Warders. They can remove those upkeeps that threaten my boys, and with two lots of Windwall (removing Pathfinder) in play, eGrissel’s Inhospitable Ground could cripple an opponent on a vital turn. The list lacks magical weapons as well, which they provide. Could be fun to try out. Sadly there’s still no sign of the Sorcerer model on the PP release schedule which means the earliest we’ll see him is currently March 2014. Boo.

So those are my thoughts. I will put them on the table and play with them in due course and get back to you. If anyone has any ideas or experience with similar lists and playstyle, please comment!

Till then, keep rolling Tough, and remember to #SpreadTheHatred

*Spam vs Skew.

Skew is a well-known concept – take one (or a few) thing in your force and buff one of its abilities through the roof, whereas spamming is taking an excess of something to the point of it being impossible to deal with.