Welcome to the latest entry in our Six Questions series, where we punch straight through the armour save and get to the heart of the matter. What were the key list choices, what worked, what didn’t and what’s next? Interview by Peter Atkinson.

Yeah you’re a good player, but have you ever taken Gordrakk to Table 1, Round 5?  Tristan Smith did exactly that last weekend, handing my ass to me along the way.  Our guy Pat Nevan had him covered and won the event, but that prick doesn’t need a bigger ego, so today we’re celebrating Tristan’s run with Big G.

It’s not often you see the King of the Orruks at events, let alone mixing it on top tables, so it’s worth taking a look at how Tristan got there.  Just as interesting is the future of the list, because this event was using the old Orruk warscrolls and points: Tristan has been playing the shit out of Ironjawz for a long while now, with a bunch of really solid results in there, so I’m keen to see how the new updates will impact Tristan’s lists moving forward. The list wasn’t relying on the old 80 points Ardboyz, so it’s all upside with the new unit options.

Hang on, is this whole series just going to be you talking to your mates about Destro armies?

Start your own blog, motherfucker.  The reality is, there’s plenty of other people already giving you the lists from every podium and doing a damn good job of it, so there’d be no point in us trebling down on that kind of coverage – having another voice listing off all the events that SBGL have won this week wouldn’t add much further value to the conversation.  This whole series is about celebrating competitive success with interesting armies, so if you (or one of your mates) has cracked out a 4-1 or better with something cool, feel free to get in touch and we’ll take a look at it.

Ready?  Let’s go.

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1. I reckon the headline is Gordrakk.  I’ll be honest, I took one look at his 4+ save and thought it was an absolute insult, then never thought about him again.  Most successful Ironjwawz lists in 3rd Edition have been using two generic MBMK’s: Did you enjoy running Gordrakk, and was he better than a second normal Maw Krusha?

To be honest YES. I had a goal for the weekend and it didn’t involve having “the best” possible list/combo. The tournament was on the smaller side so I just wanted to play something fun and chill, and being able to test Gordrakk out against some decent players was a challenge I didn’t mind having to face. 

On whether or not he was better vs a normal Krusha I’d lean into having to say yeah he was, for a couple for reasons. Firstly whether I had him or a normal, my opponents would have had to do a similar amount of work to take both of them down. The kinds of things they were throwing at him were KO with 12 Riggers / Wurrgog stare + Blizzard / 20 Graveguard + Blizzard and it wouldn’t have mattered either way. With the amount of punishment they attracted, both were bound to die no matter what flavour they were, it was just that simple.

So the perks he does bring I enjoyed, and the 4+ Save really didn’t make or break any games in my opinion. Post weekend, thinking about it I really couldn’t see myself taking a second normal without giving it a Mount Trait and Artefact; and the Battalions / drops required just doesn’t enthuse me enough to give away the 2 -drop (with which I out-dropped 4/5 opponents and had the freedom to dictate first turn).

2. Yep that makes sense. I guess with Gordrakk, it’s kind of like he’s got all the Enhancements baked in for a very similar total cost. So kitting one out your own way, and taking him in a low-drop package is a pretty good overall outcome. Any good scalps or cool stories with the big fella?

Both Cabbages attracted a lot of attention from the opposition so I would have to say his best moment and the highlight of the weekend was Game 4. He went and camped out on a nice flat bit of terrain (which was Mystical and in the centre of the board), and just held there while my opponent fed him screening units, allowing him to power up again and again.

In the end my opponent had to Blizzard him (13MW) and then charge 20 Graveguard in to finish him off. Having 16 Attacks on his Axes was just glorious.

3. Big Waaagh is the consensus strongest way to run Orruks right now, what’s lead you to run Ironjawz allegiance ahead of it?

I concede BW has the advantage BUT at the moment I’m not looking to play something “that” competitive. Getting back into the competitive side of the game this year after time overseas working, I’ve thoroughly loved every minute of playing Ironjaws. It had some really good tech and combos before, so now with the update those combos just got even better imo.

I’m just loving pure Ironjaws far too much atm and can’t really see myself changing to BW just to try get that extra win.

4. Fair: Ironjawz definitely have their own feel and identity still. Now you’ve had a lot of success running Kragnos in Ironsunz for the 3D6 countercharge.  What’s driven you to shelve Kraggy for the time being?

GW Giveth, GW Taketh Away.

Running Kragnos and a Krusha now is a damn lot of points! The recent update taking away our 80pt Battleline put a nail in his coffin I’m sorry to say. At the moment, to run him and a Krusha with minimum Battleline = 1590pts to be exact. And that’s without any buffing heroes!

Though I still love him and reckon he’s awesome on the table, the points just aren’t there to really do what I was doing with him. The list I want to run is coming in at 2010 currently, so if we manage to snag a 10pt drop somewhere I reckon I’ll swap back to him in a heartbeat. Who doesn’t love a 3d6 Hero phase charge or a 3d6 counter charge?

5. Fingers crossed mate! How do you rate the new Ardboyz warscroll at 220 points – will you be putting them in your lists?

I absolutely love ’em, though feel they’re 20-40pts over costed at the moment. Since I’m running the big boys, I don’t have the points to spare for them right now, BUT I am toying with a couple of pure foot-slogging Orruk lists just for fun.

I’d love to be able to throw around blocks of Ardboyz with +1 damage and MWs on 6’s to Hit. So many dice while having the equal best Save of the faction and enough wounds to soak up a bit of punishment. Can’t wait until they get adjusted to a proper cost.

6. How about the new Ragerz: which ones are your favourites, and what configurations are you planning on running?

OMG I’ve said I love the new Ardboyz, but OMG Ragerz! I was initially sceptical about the unit being only 3 models but GW have delivered again. The basic Ragerz just leave the Wrekkaz in the dust right now. The situational ward and the extra points, combined with them not synching with the MW buff just makes them less usable in my opinion.

When the scrolls became available for the Ragerz I math-hammered the different weapons with basic buffs and hooo boy… Destruction is the Grand Alliance, and destruction is what they’ll bring to anything they get into combat with.

Personally I’m going to aim to run 6-12 of them, all of them with the Chain-smasha. Paired with Zoggrok’s 2+ MW buff and Violent Fury, the extra dice being thrown at the ability to proc MWs easily outstrips the 4+ to hit, not to mention more attacks enhances the effect of the +1 damage buff too.

I will try to magnetise mine when I get them or I might try to find some cheap Brutes to convert for the spare weapons, just so I can test out the other combos. If only a certain someone didn’t sell off his spare Brutes earlier on in the year…

Oops! Never sell the Orruks mate. And just as a bonus 7th Point, I’ve been chatting with Tristan since the interview and he’s focusing in on Weird Un for the Mount Trait moving forward, as anti-Blizzard tech.

Thanks for doing that mate, and well done on smashing face with Gordrakk!

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