Yeah they’re sweet, but do the rules match those sexy new models?  GW has released the warscroll for AOS:

Since the earliest days of Gutbusters and BCR being smooshed back together, there’s been a shining principle that the devs have failed to uphold:

• Everything should have either the Gutbusters keyword, or the Beastclaw Raiders keyword
• Nothing should have neither
• Nothing should have both

And yet Gorgers were shoddily robbed of the Gutbusters keyword on the last warscroll – presumably being punished for the existence of Kragnos, but that’s a shit reason to fuck with their core functionality in their own book.

Well the good news is, the Gutbusters keyword is back.  That’s a pretty good Quality of Life bump right there, and they can now benefit from the enhanced Meatfist charge mortals as well as the end-of-combat-chomping:

It’s not game-shattering, but quality of life matters, and I’m all for it.  Now how about the Firebelly?  Make that man a Gutbuster, for fuck’s sake!

The Benchmark

I’m going to set out two statements here, as the basis for what’s to come:

• There is a very clear comparison to Gluttons that will form the basis of this analysis
• Gluttons have generally not set the world alight competitively

The point being that when we discuss how similar they are to Gluttons, that’s in the context of Gluttons being decent enough without exactly wracking up the 5-0s. That’s the kind of benchmark we’re looking at here, and it’s not quite the competitive gold standard. I could write a whole separate article on why Gluttons have underperformed their potential, but in summary:

• Their “home” subfaction wants to go MSU to play charge mortal roulette
• Yet it’s impossible to really go MSU when the smallest unit size is an expensive unit of 6
• They trade poorly at their price point:
  • Sure they’ll kill chaff, but any other combat army could have achieved a chaff-kill with a unit costing half the points or less
  • After they kill that chaff, they’re completely fucked because they’re hyper-fragile
• 5+ save, no ward, no recursion means they are made of paper
• It feels like their durability should come from their wound mass, but 24 wounds on a 5+ save is easy pickings in the modern game

So long story short, the unit size of 6 at 240 points leaves them really exposed.  If Gorgers come out very, very similar to Gluttons, that’s probably not going to be a great place to be – Gluttons are quite good, but not OMG-buy-six-boxes-today good.

Durability

Gluttons get you 24 wounds on a 5+ save at 240 points.  Gorgers get you 25 wounds on a 6+ save at 220 points.  Don’t expect these things to stick around at all.

On the plus side, they do have a handy bravery 8, and that jumps up to 10 in combat, so they’re gonna be really tough to Battleshock off.  That’s a clear 2 higher than the Gluttons and not to be underestimated.

Verdict: Gluttons slightly ahead, but neither can act as a true anvil. Both crap, frankly.

Output

Gorgers are far worse.  Exactly the same weapons profile, but everyone takes paired weapons on Gluttons for 25 attacks at rend -1 damage 2, whereas Gorgers only pack 16 attacks.  It’s a massive drop off for a unit that is only 20 points cheaper.

One thing that could help the Gorgers a little is the ability to switch off All Out Defence on a 5+, but geez if you’re relying on a 5+ you’re in bad shape.

Verdict: Gluttons well ahead with their solid DPS stats. Rend -1 isn’t nutcracker status, but that’s what charge mortals are for.

Delivery Mechanism

Gluttons edge it on straight line speed: both move 6” or 8” when Hungry, but Gluttons get the +1 to charge that Gorgers lack.  It’s only marginal but it does help.

On the flipside, this is really where Gorgers have their separation: they can deepstrike.  This helps you get BTs and it creates a boardwide-threat that needs to respected to some extent.  If they don’t screen front and back, their heroes will be vulnerable (a 9” charge with a reroll is pretty close to a coin flip overall).

It’s a shame they don’t have charge bonuses out of deepstrike, but a Kragnos Meatfist build would love to have a unit or two of these guys to drop in 9” away, nail that charge with 3D6 and blast out a fuck-ton of charge mortals.

Verdict: A big tick for the Gorgers. They’re not the only deepstriking unit available to the army, but it’s automatically a really powerful ability every time you see it on a warscroll.

Extra Factors

Gluttons are Battleline, and there’s value in that.  I can imagine a world where a hero makes Gorgers Battleline in future, if only because it’ll give GW a reason to release another fucking Hunter.

Give ’em another Hunter: GW’s answer to everything.  TBF the Bloodpelt is dope.

Gorgers do have their CP switchy-offery, and while it’s not a dependable win condition, it will give you fun stories and freak the shit out of certain armies. 

Now, there’s a cyber pat on the head for anyone who notices the crucial word missing from this ability:

If you noticed that they didn’t say “any” friendly Cave Howlers, well done, treat yourself to a wank biscuit.  If you’re lucky enough to have a couple of these units where you need them, you can have multiple cracks at hitting the 5+.  That’ll piss ’em off.

Does it need an FAQ? Well you’ll hardly have a thousand points lying around to splash on 4 or 5 units of these 6+ save idiots, so I’d say let it ride. Two cracks at a 5+ is hardly a 2+ rerollable, and is mathematically quite similar to the 4+ it could easily have started at for a 220 point unit. It’s fine.

Key applications are Redeploy, Inspiring Presence, All Out Defence, All Out Attack, Fly High and Playing Against OBR.

Overall thoughts

These aren’t a “Buy 10 boxes and flood the table” kind of unit, and nor should they be.  They feel pretty expensive relative to their core stats, and I wouldn’t hate seeing them come down a bit from 220 to reflect that truly awful a 6+ save, but they’re interesting and good enough, which is what a unit like this probably should be. 

A single unit could slot into most Ogors lists, with their CA fuckery potentially supporting basically anything in the army if you hit lucky at a clutch moment, and the boardwide threat adding an extra element of stress for your opponent.  You’d love a couple of units but with expensive core Battleline requirements, expensive 140-point single-cast wizards and an expensive entry point of 220 points for 5 of these guys, you probably can’t spare the points in practice.  Hey ho.

So having said that, let’s write a fun list using at least a couple of units.

The List

Allegiance: Ogor Mawtribes
– Mawtribe: Meatfist
– Grand Strategy: Ready for Plunder
– Triumphs: Bloodthirsty

Leaders
Kragnos, The End of Empires (720)*
Tyrant (150)*
– Artefact: Gruesome Trophy Rack
– Big Name: Brawlerguts
Slaughtermaster (140)*
– General
– Command Trait: Shaman of the Chilled Lands
– Lore of Gutmagic: Greasy Deluge

Battleline
4 x Leadbelchers (160)*
4 x Leadbelchers (160)*
4 x Leadbelchers (160)*

Units
Gorgers (220)*
Gorgers (220)*

Endless Spells & Invocations
Suffocating Gravetide (30)

Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment

Total: 1960 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 2 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 131
Drops: 1

One drop and low model count, this list would be a blast to play.  The dream would be to deploy conservatively, put your opponent in first and clench.  Leadbelchers and Gravetide are there to blast holes in screening units for you to go rampaging through, and the two units of Gorgers off the board will have your opponent sweating and sap their mental energy from pregame onwards.

I’d probably take the classic Maw Pot terrain in this build: without the AL Battalion you need all the casting help you can get, and Kraggy copping even D3 mortals from the Saarlac Pit is a pain in the ass when each of those lost wounds cost you 40 points. With 4+ charge mortals from your troop units and 3+ from the Tyrant, Kragnos x Meatfist is a known quantity but always fun, and I’d be more than happy to put this list on the table at a one-dayer.

What about my old Gorgers?

Worth noting is that the new models are specifically a “Gorger Mawpack”, which is a distinct Pitched Battle Profile.  The old solo-Gorgers still exist (for now) and are still usable as their own thing.  Heck, you could buy this kit and run them as 5x solos if you wanted to (Note: you do not want to).

---

So that’s my thoughts on the unit: you’re not gonna be running a whole army of these things, but they’re interesting enough to be worth picking up.  Coming in below 10 points per wound with a bunch of rend -1 damage 2 attacks, it looks like a stat check unit, but that’s not what it really is.

It’s not a bludgeon – the army doesn’t need another bludgeon – but it’s an interesting little piece, scary enough to be menacing when it’s off the board and with a chance of fucking someone hard if you spike your 5+s.

FWIW I buy all this stuff with my own money – no freebies – and I’ll be buying one unit.  It’s a useful piece of kit to have in your Listbuilding arsenal.

If you’d like to help us continue our work, we’d love to have your support. All Patreon Tiers include Discord access, exclusive articles and regular contests. Our Tiers are priced to be within everyone’s reach, so please click here to join us today!