New Troll, Light?

The speculation on the internet has begun, and lets be honest, many a Trollblood player has low expectations courtesy of Bruce (aka The Mountain King).  Some of the speculation might be spot on, and a random uncomfirmed internet source has this guy labeled a "Night Troll".

From the unconfirmed information, and a fair amount of prodding, here is our speculated stats for this nasty looking Light Trollblood Warbeast.

Night Troll

Trollblood Light Warbeast

~Speculation~ Grim Angus, Warcaster Hunter

Grim longs for peace, the ability to settle down and hunt game and a place to call home.  Circumstance is cruel though and require Grim's talents be used to protect the Trollblood nation.   Grim's outlook is simple and methodical.  He sees a task needing completion and he takes the straightest path to achieving victory.  Honing his considerable skills as a hunter and tracker Grim continues to excel in tracking down the elusive prey.  The Trollbloods plight for a home has Grim tracking more dangerous foes, more often than not these foes are human warcaster.  Ever the effecient hunter Grim continues to find ways to elimate these deadly foes with an effeciency that is unmatched.

Grim's hatred for humans burns in him and drives him to succeed.  It also threatens to consume him, he already feels himself slipping away and becoming unfeeling.   Unwittingly he balances this by attracting the outcast Trollkin, even Mercenaries and Minions that don't fit in anywhere else seem to be fighting for Grim Angus.  Noral Stonemapper being cheif among them, these cast aways only barely tolerated elsewhere find themselves achieving above and beyond expectations under the patient guiding hand of Grim Angus.

Grim has no patience for intrigue or politics, he simply cuts right to the point to finish the job.

On Learning Trollboods from Cygnar: Blue to Blue ~ by Sardonic Artery

Repost from Sardonic Artery over at the PP forums


 Intro

Figured I’d start a thread since making the leap to Trollbloods in the last couple of months. Originally a Cygnar (and therefore Mercs) player, I came in to Hordes via the Blindwater Congregation, with “no shooty” Barnabas being the opposite of the True Blues. Thing is, I’m the type of Warmahordes player who, as fun as they are, keeps Merc and Minions minon. I still love Cygnar—the combined arms approach, board control and how, even if you’ve got stealth and you’re hiding on a forested hill behind a rock wall, I’ll probably still shoot you—but I wanted an army that can take axe to face, play attrition, and run a decent level of synergy. In the end, Trollbloods seemed to fit best, though not without some swift competition from Skorne.

Jamming 101

One of the hardest transitions new players make is when they begin to add units and solo's to their army.  It is very difficult for players to figure out how to maximize their new additions.  Quite often these new additions are played too defensively or timidly because the new player doesn't want to lose all his new cool models.  Then the opposite happens as their guys get wiped out, they run the whole unit up in harms way to the same effect... anniliation. 

Let not the sacrifice of your fellow Trolls be in vain!!!

Trollkin War Wagon Speculation

Being afflicted by a healthy dose of speculative energy, here at the Scrum we often ponder the mysteries of the IK universe. This happens with increased frequency shortly before the release of new models happens. As in the past the speculation continues, and though we have been quite a ways off on a few models, we have been surprisingly close on others (we hit the Bomber right on the head).


With the upcoming release of the War Wagon our creative juices have been a flowing. Now it may not seem it, but we do try for balance when we speculate. Though sometimes our desire for the models rock overpower our instinct to balance them effectively. Lock and Load showed us the concept art, and we think that starting with the Khador Battle Engine was a safe place to start.

Dire Troll Smasher ~ Homebrew

"As the huge beast smashed our Lancer to bits, the Pygmy on it's back laughed maniacally while lobbing grenades into our trench. When the smoke cleared all that was left of our journeyman was his boots." ~Cygnar Trencher Commando

Dire Troll Smasher
Trollblood Heavy Warbeast

Smasher
SPD...STR...MAT...RAT...DEF...ARM...CMD
4.........12......5.........4........10......18(22)......5
Fury 4
Threshold 9
FA U
Wounds (Same as Bomber - 28)
PC 10

Elite Khador Jacks vs. Budget Khador Jacks

Hello Scrummers, Im back from my hiatus in the mountains of Switzerland. I went on a soul searching, 5 week hike through the Swiss Alps and...You're not buying any of this are you? Ok, so I actually just have a bad habit of falling off the planet. But Im back for awhile.

Today I want to talk about WarJacks, and more precisely, you guessed it, Khador WarJacks.
Now in Khador there is a very large disparity of funcitonality between our elite 'jacks (ala Drago, Beast, and Behemoth.) And our rank and file 'jacks(pretty much everything else.) Many tournament Khador lists have been almost exclusively single 'jack lists with one of those elite 'jacks. However there has been an influx of cheap 'jack armies recently that have been running four, five, and even six 'jacks.

Lock and Load List 2 - thegreatblah

So my second list is my other most played caster since MKII and easily my most played in MKI.  Madrak, Thronwood Chieftan.  The old standby.  He doesn't have the offensive power ability of his epic form but he brings other things to the table for scenario play.

Trollbloods
Standard Army
PCs: 50 / 50
40 models
[00] Madrak Ironhide, Thornwood Chieftain (0 / 6 WB)
[02]  >> Trollkin Runebearer
[09]  >> Dire Troll Mauler
[03] Janissa Stonetide
[03] Fell Caller Hero
[02] Stone Scribe Chronicler
[03] Trollkin Champion Hero
[06] Kriel Warriors (9 grunts)
[02]  >> Kriel Warrior Standard & Piper
[03]  >> Kriel Warrior Caber Thrower (3 Caber Throwers)
[10] Trollkin Champions (4 grunts)
[03]  >> Skaldi Bonehammer
[08] Trollkin Fennblades (9 grunts)
[02]  >> Trollkin Fennblade Officer & Drummer

The first thing you will notice is that there is only one beast.  If I lose him I'm screwed. The second thing you will notice is that there is no Kriel Stone.  I know its good but I just don't feel like it adds enough to my list to be worth losing half of one of the units.

First things first, the Mauler.  We all know beasts are needed and even fantastic so why one Mauler.  The answer is simple, out of all our casters pMadrak manages fury the worst and can run the lightest AND I want as much infantry as I can fit in the list to help swarm the board.  So my choices are either one heavy that costs nine points or two lights that cost 9 points.  I chose the one melee heavy that can really get it done in melee if necessary and that has a spectacular animus for any models in range.

The Gauntlet--Gunnbjorn at 35

If you haven't seen my previous installment in The Gauntlet, I'd read it now so you have a little background, because I'm building on what I put there. Our lovable Trollblood Scrum overlord theummhmmguy/thegreatblah (I call him TUHG) is going to try and crush the Borka list championed by Goris at the first (and hopefully not only) Lock and Load with his own Gunnbjorn army. Bakaryu and I were tapped to provide analysis and insight into what this battle might look like, and this is my spin.

The Gauntlet--Gunnbjorn Corner

When I heard that theummhmmguy/thegreatblah (hereafter known as TUHG) had Gunnbjorn picked as his warlock of choice, I was pretty excited. TUHG has a great selection of ranged warbeasts which play to Gunnbjorn's strengths, including his 13 Pyre Trolls.

That excitement was tempered by the fact that he decided to pick Borka for Goris. The problem isn't that I think they're horribly mismatched warlocks as far as overall viability--in fact, Gunnbjorn probably has an advantage in a field with all comers. The issue is that against each other, Borka has a host of tools that hard-counter Gunnbjorn's offensive toolset. Spells like Wind Wall and Iron Flesh are the bane of a shooty army, and the man himself has highly effective defenses. Should Goris decide to take a Krielstone along for the ride, there may be trouble brewing.

Homebrew ~ Horthol, Long Rider Lord

Horthol, Long Rider LordSpd: 7
Str: 9
Mat: 8
Rat: 4
Def: 14
Arm:19
Cmd: 10
Fury: 5
Beast Points: +6
18 Boxes

WeaponsBison’s Might
Pow 7
P+S 15
Reach
Magical Weapon
Critical Smite - On a critical hit, this model can slam the model hit instead of rolling damage normally. The model hit is slammed
d6˝ directly away from this model and suffers a damage roll with POW equal to this modelʼs STR plus the POW of this weapon.
The POW of collateral damage is equal to this modelʼs STR.

Thunder
MountPow 15
Critical Knockdown

Steady

Bull Rush
Long Rider Lord – When determining distance to friendly Long Riders for any spells, effects, or feats from this model double the total possible distance being measured. Long Rider Units become FA: 2

Elite Cadre Long Riders(same as written)

Follow Up

Line Breaker

FeatModel/Units starting their activations in this model’s control area gain Pathfinder, +2spd, may Charge, Slam or Trample for free. Large Based models effected by the feat become Calvary Models and gain the Calvary Charge Rule and may make Impact Attacks. Medium and Small Based models may make a Light Calvary move at the end of their activation.

Spells

Carnage 3
Friendly Faction models gain +2 to melee attack rolls against enemy models in this modelʼs control area. Carnage lasts for one
turn.

Killing Ground 2
Friendly Faction models beginning a charge in this modelʼs control area gain Pathfinder ICON. Warbeasts in this modelʼs
battlegroup beginning their activations in this modelʼs control area can charge or make slam power attacks against enemy
models without being forced. Killing Ground lasts for one turn.

Defender’s Ward 2
Target friendly Faction model/unit gains +2 DEF and ARM.

Out of left field, a few surprises from the Trollkin Skinner

by Hatchet

Most of the things I've seen on the forums about the trollkin skinner are pretty negative. One of the reasons I think this is the case is the fact that he just doesn't fit in with most trollblood play styles. I'm posting this to hopefully show that while the skinner may not be the most trollish of trollbloods, he's still a very viable part of our faction.

Stats
Spd: same as Madrak, Str: low for trolls, Mat: good enough to hit average Def on average dice, Rat: not important, Def: average, which is better than a lot of trolls get, Arm: he probably gets made fun of by the other trolls, but his wounds make up for it.

Crushing Crescendo: A Grissel Guide

Crushing Crescendo: A Grissel Guide
by Saerko

When I first picked up my friend’s copy of Primal to see about this “Hordes” jive he was spewing, I was having a hard time deciding what faction to play. I hate elves, so Legion was out immediately, and Circle was never going to fit my aggressive, melee-oriented playstyle. So it came down to Skorne and Trollbloods, and I was on the verge of picking up a Skorne army when I leafed through the Trollblood section again and decided to take a look at Grissel Bloodsong a little bit closer.

There was no turning back.

“Why” you might ask, is Grissel that great? The answer is that Grissel can do everything. With melee ability only out-stripped by Borka and Madrak, support abilities equivalent to anything Calandra, Grim, or Doomshaper can bring to the table, a killer feat, a spell list to die for and denial usually reserved for Cryxian warcasters, there’s no list she can face that she doesn’t have an answer for. If some warcasters/warlocks can be thought of as Swiss Army Knives, she’s a fully loaded Leatherman. She has so much potential, I didn’t really feel up to the task of writing this guide, but I’m going for it anyway and hoping I can give you a glimpse at how I use her. This guide will by no means be exhaustive--it’s a starting point and you’ll have to take it from there.

Crushing Crescendo: A Grissel Guide List Making & Tiers

Crushing Crescendo: A Grissel Guide 
List Making & Tiers
by Saerko

List Building

I play most of my games at 35 and 50 points, so this section of the guide will focus on those two point levels. Rather than cover every single list you could possibly make (there are lots), I’ll just introduce the reader (you) to some of my favorites, say why I think they’re awesome, and also go into an in-depth analysis of her Theme list and the benefits gained at each Tier. I’ve got quite a bit of time in using her with her Theme and and without, and have won several tournaments with the ones I’m going to post. Each list does have weaknesses though, and it’s important to identify other warlocks or build lists to combat those weaknesses when noted, so that you don’t run up against a bad match-up and feel like you’re running uphill.

Captain Harmek Ironfist

Captain Harmek Ironfist.

  ~Iron and Flesh, blood and gears, they all fall when Dire Trolls and Warjacks walk side by side.

Born an albino among his kith in the Thornwood , Harmek was destined to be a sorcerer among his people.  Someone should have told this to Harmek.  Smaller than the average Trollkin he set out daily to prove himself a warrior watching and training with a local Hero all the while ignoring his sorcerous ability.  Soon a door opened for him to hone his skills as a warrior when Greygore Boomhowler came through the Thornwood collecting fresh recruits.  

Life as a mercenary took to Harmek well as he learned to contract work for the Humans.  As Harmek’s name grew, so did Greygore’s dislike of Harmek.  Greygore continually put Harmek into harm’s way, hoping, but to no avail.  Greygore finally rid himself of Harmek by sending him off on a job on small privateer vessel  for a Captain Linas Smalls while the rest of the band left for Khador without telling Harmek.  Determined to complete the job Greygore abandoned he soon found himself sailing along the coasts from Cygnar to Ord protecting Captain Small’s wares… old warjacks.

Epic Hoarluk Doomshaper, Rage of Dhunia - a Guide to our Dire troll warlock

Hoarluk Doomshaper, Rage of Dhunia - Trollblood Trollkin Epic Warlock

by Gython

Epic Doomshaper is THE Trollbloods ultimate dire troll warlock. With his feat & spells, he is our prime delivery system of massive muscle, tooth and claw. He is a warlock who requires a bit of set up and positioning to be played effectively, but if done right your opponent's large and/or juicy targets will feel the full brunt of your dires.
Red: Muy MUY IMPORTANTÉ!
Orange: Very VERY GOOD
Black: Average, for eDoomy's purposes anyway

Statline
Epic Doomshaper's stats won't be winning him any awards, by far. All of his stats are below average except for his FURY of 7. He has sub-par defense, only one more that the majority of the rest of our army's Def. His ARM isn't great either, the same as our Kriel warriors. His CMD is poor and his health boxes are a little below average as well. But despair not! We aren't taking him for his stats, aside from his FURY…

Sample 35 point Edoomy list:
by Gython

Hoarluk Doomshaper, Rage of Dhunia -6
Troll Axer +6
Dire Troll Bomber +10
Earthborn Dire Troll +10
Earthborn Dire Troll +10
Trollkin Runebearer +2
Troll Whelps +2
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew (Leader and 1 Grunt) +1

The bomber is there to explode the forward units, the axer's animus helps the EBDT's get where they need to be on feat turn. And Moses is there to put Wild agression on the second EBDT - 'nuff said!

Throw a Brick at them ~ Chief Madrak Ironhide

One of the oldest Trollblood strategies, beginning from our Alpha warlock Chief Madrak Ironhide.  The Troll caster that every Trollblood players owns, yup its our battle-box caster.  One of his signature spells 'Surefoot' means him and his Trolls pack themselves so tightly together that they quite literally form a 'Brick' of Trolls.  Add in things like the Kriel Stone Bearer and Gobber smoke and now Janessa Stonetide playing pMadrak gives you more and more reasons to make sure large aoe's hit all of your army.  Other Troll casters can brick to some degree, Borka with Ironflesh, does a decent minibrick.  But no Troll caster can play clumped up with the effeciency of our buddy Madrak.

Photo courtesy of Battlecollege

Chief Madrak Ironhide

Stats- Madrak has decent stats for a Warlock, nothing glamorous but it's okay two of his spells make up for his defeciencies in Defense and take his good MAT and make it great.
Weapons- He has one that he can use in melee or range. At range it doesn't go far but that is what Farstrike is for, if you happen to kill something on your first throw then you get to throw again. Top that off since its a throw STR buffs increase the ranged damage along with the melee damage and his P+S is pretty good to begin with. In melee he has reach which was a glorious addition in MKII. Icing on the cake is Critical Grevious wounds, which makes enemy Warlock's cry if you pull on off while hitting one of them.

Abilities- He has a few nifty abilities. Talisman on subdual means beasts that activate where Madrak can see them can't charge or slam him even when they frenzy. Snap Fire is discussed above. Scroll of Grindar's Perserverance is pretty awesome and is essentially Madrak taking a free hit that won't hurt him.
Spells- Surefoot is his signature spell and key to bricking, it takes low Troll DEF and turns them into being difficult to hit unless you can boost. Stranglehold slows things down from getting into your front lines and has good range, it's also cheap which is good because Madrak needs all the fury he can get. Carnage means that when your brick closes on their front lines your chances of hitting go way way up.

Brick Basics

Chief Madrak Ironhide ~ Surfoot is why he bricks so well.  Cast it turn 1 or turn 2 (usually on himself) and upkeep the rest of the game.  The added defense for him and everyone around him along with making it so none affected can be knocked down takes the Average low Troll Defense into respectable levels.  Most of the othe Core-Bricking models have decent MAT and carnage just makes it that much better. Toss is his Scroll and a buff or two and he is very hard to kill in an assassination attempt.  If they do rush the brick then Crusher on high MAT high DMG Champs is bad news.

Calandra, The Dark Mother ~ by Sevwall

Beware trollblood players. The Dark Mother brooks no disrespect, and her powers are insidious. She controls the dice, and through them, the game. Play her with regularity and you will expect the dice to respond to your beck and call. Addicted to the power, games with other casters seem hollow, as fickle dice refuse to bow to your whim. She is powerful, but once played she refuses to play second fiddle to anyone else.

If you are weak willed, I suggest you stop right here. If not, continue on, and see the face of true power.

Calandra
Alias: Cali, Sexy Trollkin, Dice ****er

Calandra doesn’t play the same game as everyone else. She manipulates models, but more importantly she manipulates the dice. Other casters have various powers, but they cannot turn a roll of a 3 into a roll of a 9. Calandra can, with ease, in two separate ways. She is fragile, but her spells and dice manipulation makes her one of the most survivable casters we have. She lacks some power to kill things herself, but even then she will stalk and kill the wounded with her vicious dagger.

Old Doomshaper, the troll that deals out hate much as he recieves ~ by Hellictic Mojo

Hoarluk Doomshaper, Shaman of the Gnarls
Warlock that makes Ninja Gaiden and DMC3 look like a child's play.

Hoarluk Doomshaper is the most maligned warlock in troll arsenal. If you win with him, you should lament, because you should've used your luck to buy a lottery ticket. His fragile nature and lack of any really dedicated ability or spell lists really means that you are always playing with a hand tied around your back.

Statline
As an old man, his stats are rubbish. even Nemo outranks him in command and Def. His slow movement speed also means that he is horrible at running away from any threat against him. His fury stat is quite good however, boasting a whopping 7 that is a rarity in hordes.