Urgh, clickbait. Well if talking about Bonesplitterz is clickbait, then I look forward to watching the clicks pour in. I do enjoy other people’s Tier Lists (regardless of how much I agree or disagree) so it’s about time I had a crack, and today we’ll be focussing on Team Green from top to bottom.

We’ll be looking qualitatively at where each Faction has landed after the Battlescroll, which means I’m considering how interesting they are to play and the overall health of the army, as well as raw power level, with a bit of discussion around what we can do to make them work on the table. Because that’s the thing – I do actively play all of these armies, casually and competitively, through good times and bad. So this is not just me pontificating – I’ll be putting this into action on the tabletop.

Ready? Let’s go.

Gloomspite Gits

BAM! Let’s start off with Da Best and in my opinion the strongest army in Grand Alliance Destruction: Gloomspite Gits. The meta build going into the balance patch was 18 Rockguts, and those 3x blocks of 6 are important because it gets you the One-Two-More objectives on a lot of missions. They’re a fairly slow Anvil that will win almost any grind, rather than a mobile sledghammer that will obliterate whatever’s in front of them before moving on to clean up the next spot (à la Karenguard).

So can you still fit 18 Rockies? Yes, you can still fit 18 Rockies. The meta build still works, and with the truly S Tier armies coming down a bit, all those filth chasers who loaded up on Troggs can celebrate another three months minimum of standing around on circles. They’re somewhat of a gatekeeper army, and still a solid 4-1; basically peak Mega-Gargants, but somehow retaining better PR.

The Alternative

With that established – there’s loads of life in this Faction beyond Rockgut Spam, now more than ever. I’ve long been an advocate for the power of Stabbas in this army, and my KragStabbas Build from July has actually got cheaper. The sleeper unit though is Squig Herd, and 580 points of Kragnos really unlocks their potential.

These things trade insanely well. 200 points of Squigs with the Squigboss Mortals can drop Kragnos in a turn – I know, because it’s happened to me – and everything just falls into place for them. They’re a super cheap hammer that will trade up heavily from the first roll of the dice onwards. When you do kill them they blast out revenge mortals, and then they come back to life through the Herders (if you don’t wipe the unit) or the Loonshrine (if you do). You can crash these things into a cheap screen and still get a good deal.

I don’t have a fully refined list yet, but I’ll be working on that in earnest after Bush Bash in a couple of weeks. My Squigs are fully painted, and ready for Waaagh!

The Tech

One thing that modern Squigs need is a burst of pace, and something that I know a lot of people have missed is that Squig Herd are Beasts, which means that the Rabble Rowza can make one unit per turn run & charge:

He can obviously nominate Kraggalicious if needs be instead, so you’ve got options and redundancy. You drop the Rabble Rowza down into the backfield, you score Take Their Land and those angry balls of jelly run and 3D6 charge across the board like bright little PacMen. You can even add +1 to run and charge from the Gobbapalooza to really get them cranking (although it should be noted that as Companion attacks, they can’t benefit from the extra rend).¹

Yeet, Delete, Repeat.

The Verdict: Next Man Up Tier

20+ years ago, Drew Bledsoe was a superstar Quarterback in the NFL: he played a major part in rebuilding a franchise that had been a joke for most of its existence, leading them to multiple deep playoff runs and a Superbowl appearance, earning himself a record $100m+ contract along the way. Then Jets linebacker Mo Lewis smashed him so hard in a tackle he was blasted right out of the game, and their backup QB had to step in – a backup who was lowly 199th-placed draft pick. His name? Tom Brady, and the rest was, of course, history.

If a few Gloomspite players are steered away from Rockgut spam to looking into various combinations of Kragnos, Stabbas and Squig Herd – they might just find that the Next Man Up is better than they could have hoped for.

Kruleboyz

KB are in a funny spot as an army that not only demands a punishingly-high skill level, but can still randomly fuck you with dice even when you do everything right. I’m not as down on them as some people are, because this army does allow you to factor in multiple opportunities to get the roll you need – most of the time, if you can craft the table state correctly, it’s your opponent (rather than you) who’s the one praying for long-odds miracles.

Lumineth are the easier option because they’re doing a lot of the same things without requiring a dice roll, but also because they have a more fleshed-out range (including, crucially, cavalry). But on a good day, Kruleboyz can play like Lumineth with added wound density, so there is hope.

The Direction of Travel

On the plus side: KB players were braced for a points hike on Monsta Killaz that never came. That’s important, because packing a few small units of them is critical to making the list tick.

On the flip side: Changes to Priority Target hurt this army in two ways. Firstly, we liked putting that on a unit of 6x Boltboyz of our own. They might still be able to benefit if you teleport them up the field, but that comes with obvious costs and risks.

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, it will steer a lot of opponents towards the Bodyguard option:

I’ve already been using Bodyguard myself in a lot of lists, and I believe that it’s the hidden filth in this GHB. Way more people are about to cotton onto that, and Gutrippaz with one attack each will feel pretty sadface as a result.

The Workaround

There’s a couple of ways we can address this, both in Listbuilding and on the tabletop. First thing to understand is that the main paradigm we’re teching for is “Big Killy Monster General With Damage Sponge Chums”. They’ll chuck him right up in your business and go to work, leaving you to flail around pathetically at -1 attack. So ideally we’ll carve that Bodyguard unit out of the army before we engage.

In terms of Listbuilding, this is where it would be nice to have a cavalry unit to send across the board and directly into the Bodyguard – never mind Varanguard or Hexwraiths, having acccess to an analogue for Dawnriders, Black Knights or Centigors would really unlock Kruleboyz. So I guess we’ll just have to pick them off with shooting instead.

For that reason, I’m looking to invest further in the Dakke – points are tight, but Boltboyz are efficient at 110 and Killbows are rightly feared. Bulking out this area of your list and blasting Bodyguard units off the table can remove that debuff before it gets to you – you’ll need to make your own assessment over whether it’s more effective to hit up the Monster Hero himself (for the straight 6 damage) or the Bodyguards, but don’t be afraid to target the latter. 2D6 damage plus whatever your Boltboyz can muster is still formidable, and you can merrily clean up the bossman in combat once they’re gone.

Secondly, if it is indeed a Monster Hero that we’re dealing with, you’ll have two opportunities to make it Strike Last. The Monster Killaz’ warscroll ability and the Dirty Trick give you two cracks at it:

I wouldn’t have the chutzpah to claim “Run Monsta Killaz, they’re good” as novel listbuilding advice, but it does bear pointing out just how well these two abilities reinforce one another. This opens up a couple of opportunities (in order of preference):

• Activate first into the Bodyguard unit (which has hopefully been softened up significantly by your Dakka), smash them, then go to work on the Monster (who’s fighting last) with their debuff safely stripped away.
• If you don’t have the muscle to batter the Bodyguard, you can always just throw unit after unit into the Monster General and hopefully bring him down cumulatively. The Croc for example is not a true damage piece, but he and a couple of MSU Monsta Killaz might be able to drag it down between them.

I’d generally try Bait and Trap first, since that can only be used against Monsters, and then assess from there whether you need to use Noisy Racket for a second bite at the cherry, to tie down a second target (such as the Bodyguard itself) or just skip it and preserve the Dirty Tricks roll.

The Verdict: How Hot Can You Play? How Hot Can You Roll? Tier

I’d class this Battlescroll update as a net negative to Kruleboyz – Bodyguard really is that good – so the static points on their efficient units was in fact much-needed. You do have the tools to play around it to a certain extent though – with your teleports and shooting, you’re not a complete hostage to fortune.

So Kruleboyz are more or less in the same spot for me – interesting and competitive, fun and frustrating. Buyer beware, but there is something here worth fighting for.

Sons of Behemat

I’ve written loads on these chumps recently and nothing has changed. I still wouldn’t run Kragnos here, I still think the AOR is interesting, and I still think that running classic Sons of Behemat with Braggit’s Bottle Snatchaz is your best competitive bet.

An undeserved kicking

Shout out to the Dev Team for killing the Kraken-eater’s buzz. That poor bugger is only ever allowed to be useful briefly and by accident. How was this a mistake that needed to be fixed? How did you not consider, when you put classic Battleplans into the mix, that we’ve seen and dealt with these exact interactions before?

Constructive criticism

Any time I shitcan the rules for this game, I at least like to make it specific and to offer a solution – I think that’s a good working definition of constructive criticism. So here goes – this is how I’d fix Sons of Behemat in the short term.

They won a lot of tourneys in early 3rd Ed by standing on circles and dying very slowly. That loop deservedly got a bad rap. So their OC has been scaled back, bracketing fairly quickly, while others have risen – I recently took an objective that had two Megas on it with my Gluttons, and where do they go from there? There’s also no shortage of units that can just mow them down mercilessly. The classic question this army asked was “Can you drop one Mega per turn?”, whereas now you’ll see some armies drop two and a half in a single round of combat. Not good.

So if they were going to be hit that hard on their main win condition, they needed to see their output lifted: instead they’ve been shifted over to hitting on 4s and in some cases even having their rend reduced. So they really are getting stiffed in every possible direction, presumably because it’s “thematic” for them to whiff with a tiny handful of dice, but it would be just as thematic to think of them swinging those massive weapons into a big crowd and unavoidably hitting something.

There’s loads to think about for their Battletome, but as an immediate fix, I’d give Sons a new Battle Trait that means they ignore all negative modifiers to hit. If you’re making them hit on 4s, let them hit on bloody 4s. If it’s thematic for them to miss half the time, it’s equally as thematic for them to ignore any and all irritating dickheads scurrying around their ankles, and just smash gleefully away.

They wrote extra Battle Traits for other armies in this update, so let’s see Sons get similar love next time around please.

The Verdict: I Want To Spend More Time At The Bar Than At The Table Tier

Sons aren’t in the best shape competitively, but they will always be a gentleman’s army with an enduring wow factor. I’ve brought this army to gaming clubs where various different systems are being played, and people will gather round your table to watch them.

I’ve said my piece on how I’d give them a little tickle but in the meantime I’d still be happy to give the Sons a hit out occasionally, especially using Braggit’s ROR (of which more at the end).

Ironjawz

Two changes here: points drops on some interesting units, and as many Waaagh turns as you have heroes.

The former doesn’t go far enough, and the latter means you’re required to go high-drop more than ever. Still a nice ability though, and good on ’em for at least revisiting the army’s core abilities.

Kraggalicious

Ironjawz might be the only army where Kragnos dropping to 580 is not a net win, because they have so many abilities that trigger on charging. So the loss of 3D6 countercharge really does hurt Ragerz for example:

Similarly, Brutes love countercharging onto objectives, to switch off OC and turn the game on a dime.

Kraggy is still an Ironjawz Hero so he’s packing a Waaagh, and Gordrakk + Kragnos is a playable meme list just oozing with Rule of Cool. But I do think of all Destro armies, it’s IJ that will especially miss that 3D6 countercharge.

What they got

Popping the Waaagh for extra attacks (and +1 to charge) on ~3 turns per game will feel pretty good. Note that Gordrakk’s signature ability is once per game, so you can’t keep using it on consecutive Waaagh turns:

Big G is definitely interesting at 430 points nonetheless. Zoggy also got a welcome points drop to 180 (still overcosted), as did the Megaboss to 210 (likewise). The former does interest me, because those Crit Mortals really do turbocharge the army.

What they didn’t get

Maw Krusha attacks at Rend 1 remain a grievous insult. Brutes were left exposed at 200 points – potentially a very good warsrcoll, whose crippling slowness and limited faction rules is simply not priced in. That’s the story of modern Ironjawz, unfortunately, and this Faction Pack is almost beyond salvaging. If we’re not getting meaningful points drops then a rewrite is urgently needed – starting with the Maw Krusha’s rend.

The Verdict: At Least They Tried Tier

Murderlusting 3″ is all well and good, except that the top factions really don’t care about getting tagged in combat, which is a whole other problem. Overall Ironjawz are very poorly equipped to go toe-to-toe with the best combat armies in the game, and what else have they got? S2D are the benchmark melee faction currently, and the gulf between them is laughable. They’ve got Strike First coming out the whazoo, insane damage and mobility, loads of impactful debuffs and Be’La’Kunt’s points cost is still comparable to a Maw Krusha. Insane.

People have had some limited success with Ragerz spam, and if I was to play this faction currently myself, I’d probably try Bulk Ardboyz. I can’t say the idea particularly excites me though. Good luck to the people who are energised to give them another crack with this update and I honestly hope you have a great time. But my own Ironjawz are gonna be shelf-warmers until the book comes out – let’s hope that GW does a better job on that, because this Faction Pack has been a disaster.

Speaking of Complete Disasters: Ogor Mawtribes

Gluttons were crazily efficient and had to go up – but yanking them up 30 points really stands out in a world where Varanguard went up by only 10 points and Sentinels stayed the same. The Dad Bods were certainly undercosted previously, but it’s hard to shrug and say “Fair enough” when the broader context is not actually fair enough.

BCR got some points drops, but GW did such an awful job on them initially that they’re beyond salvaging. The one unit that could really have elevated the faction – the useful but overcosted Mournfang – was totally ignored and left to rot at 200 points (for 12 wounds on a 4+ save). Poor effort.

The Verdict: Lame Faction Pack Needs A Rewrite Tier

The best way to play the army is still Gutbusters for sure, and a blend of Gluttons and Ironguts will do you just fine. The trouble is that I played quite a few games with that list paradigm and while it felt strong, I hated every minute – even the games I won. The sad reality is that one of the coolest and most fun factions in AOS has had its soul entirely ripped out of it. This Faction Pack is a complete sack of shit, the Battlescroll does nothing to help the units that needed help and the actual Battletome can’t come quickly enough. In the meantime, hurry up and drop the points on bloody Mournfang.

Bonesplitterz

Urgh. We were promised 12 months of Matched Play support, so where is it? And don’t give me that “Not enough data” bullshit: we had zero data when these points and rules were written, and by definition we’ve now got more data than we had then, so that excuse just won’t wash. Similarly, their “Fine overall” win % is a poor excuse for chucking in the towel – loads of armies in the fat middle still got an internal rebalance. Because that’s what an army being supported means.

So what would you have wanted?

The first thing to say is that Boarboy Maniaks are way worse than Savage Boarboys – that unit’s enhanced Power Through is the best rule in this army by a mile:

Maniaks need to come down in points to be cheaper than Boarboys, so if we’re being cautious, maybe drop them by 20 points per unit to 130.

Secondly, this army drastically lacks punch, which is quite the problem for a combat army. GW have clearly decided they want Arrow Boys to be shit, and that’s OK as a direction of travel, but then you’re left trying to build a combat army around Rend 0 Damage 1 attacks that hit on 4s. And that’s a Fool’s Errand.

The answer is right there: Savage Big Stabbas have spike potential, and people love the unit. You’re just not seeing them in lists because they’re way too costly for a slow unit on a 6+ save. It really is that armour save that’s not priced in, and for that reason I’d drop them to 110 points as a starting point to revitalising the army.

To illustrate my point, if you run the damage tables, you’ll see that reinforced Big Stabbas have less output than Chaos Chosen normally, or do a sliver more on the charge. Points are the same (260 in both cases) but the real distinctions are that Chosen have access to to Be’La’Kunt, they’re less exposed to debuffs (because they hit on 3s) and above all, Chosen have a 3+ save whereas Big Stabbas are on a 6+. There’s just so much daylight between these two combat units that cost the same points.

And if you think it’s unfair to compare Big Stabbas to one of the best melee units in the game (who are usually squeezed out by Varanguard in their own Faction, mind you), then tell it to the Dev Team. They’ve literally just been through the exercise of comparing them, because that’s what the Battlescroll exercise is, and they’re the ones who’ve effectively reached the (grossly incorrect) conclusion that their points costs should be in line with each other.

Because they promised one year of Matched Play support to this army, and that means they just looked at each of our tiny handful of warscrolls with good faith, diligence and competence. Right?

The Verdict: Proactively Driven Into The Dirt Tier

This army is almost the opposite of Ironjawz: it has some great tech, pulled down by warscrolls completely lacking in the fundamentals. The shooting is crap, and that’s understandable, but at least make them a functioning combat army. This ain’t it.

It’s fixable: Big Stabbas are right there, so give them a meaningful points drop and breathe some life back into the army. It’s gonna be gone soon, so just let people enjoy it, for fuck’s sake.

A Comment on Regiments of Renown

Well as we slid down the Tiers we descended into the pits of hell, so let’s finish on a high note. Yes, it’s baffling that GW didn’t look at Callis and Toll. Maybe they want to push them as an AOS original IP that’s caught on? Maybe they liked using them in their own Order armies? Maybe it was 4.30pm on a Friday? I dunno, you’ll have to ask them to explain themselves, because it certainly makes no sense to me. But from a Destro viewpoint, our own RORs are all interesting:

• Big Grikk (aka the shooty Kruleboyz stuff) is a great tool for blasting away at Monster Heroes (or their Bodyguards) for armies who otherwise lack that option – which is most of Destro. They’re solid at their points.
• Merc Mega Gargants are always a decent inclusion, and Grunnock (aka the Warstomper) is the pick of the bunch. An Anvil with respectable output, the -1 to Hit debuff that he offers is immensely valuable and puts him head and shoulders above the others. What’s really baffling is that he’s also the cheapest amongst them. Fill your boots.
• Braggit’s (aka the assorted Gloomspite stuff) have their place – and that place is in Sons of Behemat. Offering hard synergy (run and charge for one Monster every turn) plus soft synergy (access to a proper Wizard, and outstanding Battle Tactic potential), this ROR significantly elevates a faction that’s mostly struggling competitively. There’s an extra layer of bullshit here, so check out our article specifically on this build.

Final Tier List

So here’s my overall thoughts on the state of the GA:

I reckon Gloomspite have got 5-0s and podiums in them, and across a few builds too. Rockgut spam still works, I’ve been banging the drum on Stabbas builds for a long time but what I’m personally excited for is Kragnos x Rabble Rowza x Squig Herd. After playing Bonesplitterz for a while that’s going to feel like stepping into a boxing ring carrying a machinegun.

Kruleboyz are good and cool, if you’re willing to invest the mental energy into them and embrace the diciness too. Sons of Behemat are still a good pallet-cleanser and I reckon you could go OK with the Gloomspite ROR in there, but they could use some attention.

Everything else – Ironjawz, Ogors and Bonesplitterz – I think you’re only playing for the love. I’ll personally be alternating between toiling away with various Bonesplitterz builds, and having a proper crack with Gits and Kool Boyz. Let me know what you’re going to be playing over the next few months, and if you’re one of the Ironjawz players who’s been revitalised by the changes: I sincerely wish you good luck and great fun, and I’m keen to hear how it goes.

Have a good weekend, nerds – see you on the other side.

---

1. Thanks to Stephen Matta for flagging that one up ↩︎

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!