By @theokik

Before the new Gitz book came out, the different options for allies into Gitz were all the talk on the Gitz forums (all 7 of us that still hung around). Option number one was the Marshcrawler Sloggoth: with its +1 to hit aura for all friendly units, that scroll was written as an ally. The other scroll Gitz players were looking at was the Breakaboss on Mirebrute Troggoth (henceforth, Mirebrute, not typing that shit 10 times): that’s the handsome fella with the stinky Orruk on his neck.

But since the new book dropped, it’s practically disappeared from everyone’s radar. Rightfully so, or are we missing out? The question has been thrown around in Gitz chats about whether he still has a place, so let’s dive in.

Role

When considering what to take in your list, it’s important to consider the role you need it to play. The role for the Mirebrute could be considered that of a small footprint hammer, performing Heroic Actions and a Hero for issuing command abilities (very important to Troggoths, who don’t have a unit Leader). A unit like this would likely be used as a scalpel unit. Its small footprint allows it to concentrate its damage exactly where it needs to be delivered.

The Gitz book has a couple of units that could perform a similar role as a scalpel in the sub-200 point space. There is the Troggboss that stands out as perhaps the most comparable unit on the face of it, but it’s not a damage beast but does serve as a buff piece and Battleline unlocker. The Aleguzzler comes close in dedicated role, but while it does have the Monster keyword it is not a Hero and can’t issue commands. The Dankholds likewise don’t check all the boxes, as they aren’t Heroes or Monsters. Other sub-200 scalpel options are Rockguts and Boingrots.

The numbers

Let’s have a look at the numbers shall we? Here we can see the output from just the melee profiles:

In this hypothetical game, we would like to scalpel off either 5 Libs, 20 Stabbas or a generic foothero off of an objective, and they’ll use AoD (unless Roared). We’ll assume you’ll not be pouring all your buffs into these units, so an AoA (a Troggoth AoA for the Troggs) will have to suffice. The Boingrots are assumed to be in Jawz of Mork. The Mirebrute will use it’s Harness ability for extra attacks.

To kick it off, the Mirebrute has an average damage output of 8.9 damage against a 4+ save. In other words, per 100 points invested, it will likely kill around 3 Liberators (with AoD) in a single activation, or around 9 Grots. No Roar means AoD will be in effect. He has just under 25% chance to kill a 6 wound hero with a 4+ save and a 5+ ward.

The Aleguzzler does even worse and can’t be relied on to kill just about any unit in the game reliably. It is the only unit in this comparison that can rely on Roar to potentially boost it’s damage due to a units unability to use AoD. Even then it’ll most likely fail to kill even 3 Liberators. It will likely take the objective, as it count’s for 5 on an objective. It’s something…

The Troggboss kills 3 Liberators on average, but is likely to do grab another Liberator off by crushing it’s helmet. The extra MW per activation can’t get it over a 50% chance to kill mr Generic hero though. It’s about on par with the Mirebrute in most sutuation thanks to the extra abilities.

Looking a bit further, the Boingrots and Rockguts fare better. But because they don’t have Roar, we’ll give the Libs, Grots and our random hero an AoD to boost their chances. With 4 dead Libs or 10 Grots, the Rockguts actually come surprisingly close to the Mirebrute in a single activation. They have a 60ish% chance to kill our Hero. The Boingrots do very similar damage, but add 2.5 MW to the damage on the charge, making it 5 Libs and 12 Grots dead. The hero will have a 70% plus chance to kick the bucket against a Boingrot activation.

The Dankhold is certainly interesting. Despite no access to Roar it is very efficient in its output, going toe to toe with the Rockguts (even edging it out in melee), which is pretty impressive for such a small footprint. With the added (effective) damage from the Grip, it just about kills the 5 libs on average and gets rid of 12 Grots, including one of your choice like the champion. The hero is dead in about 60% of cases.

Why would you take which unit?

So which sub 200 point scalpel unit should a Gitz player put in his list? What does each unit bring to the table?

Boingrots

+ Insane efficiency at 7.1 damage against 4+ save per 100 points

+ Fast and flies, adding to its utility as a scalpel

+ The buff potential of this unit is gross, for those must-kill moments

+ Can issue itself commands

-/- Doesn’t Roar

-/- Very susceptible to Battleshock, even in MSU

Troggboss

+ Is a buffpiece and Battleline unlocker

+ Access to a really clutch unique Heroic Action

+ Access to Monstrous Rampage (with the right Command Trait)

+ Has magic protection

+ A lot more buff potential when played more conservatively

+ Gets to grip a model

-/- All the downsides of a Monster, without getting the perks

-/- Swingy (we’ll cover that in a later article)

Dankhold

+ Efficient output, a lot less swingy than the Boss

+ Can be reinforced for insane burst damage

+ Has magic protection

+ A lot more buff potential when played more conservatively

+ Gets to grip a model

-/- All the downsides of a Monster, without getting the perks

Aleguzzler

+ Cheap platform for Monstrous actions

+ Deceptively fast when charging

-/- Hits like a wet noodle

-/- It’s not a Trogg

Mirebrute

+ Can issue commands to itself and other Troggoth units

 -/- No relevant buffs

-/- No further utility

So?

The Mirebrute warscroll already shows its age and it lacks the efficiency of other units in its weight class.

Is it the best scalpel? No, it won’t reliably kill most units and it doesn’t fly, to better get it where it needs to go.

Is it the most efficient hammer? Nah.

But is it an interesting choice none the less? Yeah… Also No

As it stands, it can’t reliably be used to do any scalpel action with any reliability. If the Mirebrute hadn’t been screwed out of the Monster keyword, access to Roar could really put it into serious contention (moving it within 50% chance to take an objective off of 5 libs or a generic hero), but sadly that’s not the case.

In any other book, it might have fulfilled a role, but in a book as offensively efficient as the new Gitz tome, it’s destined to only live in the memories of 7 (pretty delusional) people.

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