I’ve been bouncing around Grot Spam lists over the last week or two, and a big part of that has been considering how much output you can get from jacked-up Stabbas: as the proud dumb owner of 200+ Grots I’m motivated to give the Moonclan side a fair old crack, and I reckon Gloomspite are shaping up to be pretty damn competitive in this cycle.

So today I’ll be looking at how far exactly you can buff them up, how we can use them to win a whole lot of competitive games and what else we might need to craft a podium standard list around that core.

Ready? Let’s go.

How are we gonna go about winning games?

The main purpose of Grots is giving you bulk bases on the tabletop – they are OC beasts, especially in the new Gittish Tide Battle Formation:

But there’s also a full suite of combat buffs available to Grots, and at the end of the day they’re just 5+ save dickheads that you’ll be scooping up by the armful, so sometimes you’ll really need to lift a glass hammer to keep your own models on the table. The question then becomes: can buffed-up Grots kick back much damage of their own?

If they can, we’re golden. You’ll be winning the fight on objectives, and wracking up all the VPs while you’re doing so. If not, we’ve got a bit more to think about: whether that means allocating some resources to counter-punching with dedicated fighting pieces, or doubling down on winning games in other ways, either by throwing a bunch of mobility and VP-stealing tech in there, or just slamming maximum bodies on circles and breaking your opponent’s ability to do anything about it.

So what can Stabbas do?

At their peak you can have them on:

• 4 attacks each (being 161 attacks total)
• 3s and 4s
• Rend 1 Damage 1

Some of those buffs are automatic while others require a roll:

• All Out Attack for +1 to hit just happens on a CP
• The Loonboss gives +1 to wound on a 2+
• Rend 1 from the Gobbapalooza requires a 3+
• +1 attacks from Sporesplattas¹ just happens – although it does mean you can’t take the Soggy variety, which lock down enemy units. We’ll come back to that
• +1 attacks from Snufflers requires a 6+ roll (5+ if the Bad Moon is Cacklin’)

So there’s a big spread of how reliably you’ll get these bonuses up. Needless to say your damage starts out pretty anemic:

But the question is how far it actually ramps up. 161 attacks with that profile sounds pretty decent, so applying the full suite of buffs (in roughly ascending order of how reliably they can be applied), this is what we see:

Not bad – but remember that in addition to your 220 point combat unit, you’re talking about 430 points of buff pieces and a whole bunch of successful rolls there. I’ve included a broad range of buff scenarios because that’s the spread you’ll have in reality – if you jump straight to the ceiling and assume that’s what you’ll get every time, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.

On the flipside I’d argue that you’ll want at least one Loonboss to lead your Regiments anyway, and you’d always take a Gobbapalooza and usually one unit of Snufflers, so they’re not really a direct overhead that you’re incurring purely to ramp up the damage on your Stabbas.

The main conclusion for me here is that I wouldn’t bother taking the classic Sporesplattas in a Grot Spam list. The output that they’re adding is pretty marginal for an extra 90 points, and you miss out on the Soggy variety – who can occasionally ice a game for you on their own.

Looking at those numbers I would just take the support pieces you would take anyway – Loonboss, Snufflers, ‘Palooza – and bank whatever damage you can from that. I wouldn’t throw more points into actively chasing extra damage that isn’t really there.

So if fighting with Grots is respectable but unlikely to blast anyone off the table, what are the other options we have?

The Alternatives

The Complement: Squigs

Squigs are just beautiful any time you play into an elite combat meta. Around this time last year I ran into my dear friend Coots² at Bush Bash who was playing a pretty filthy S2D army and he looked like a broken man. Glassy eyes, jumping at shadows, he was completely shot – the poor bugger looked like he’d been sleeping in his car. Turns out he’d spent the whole of Day 1 getting mortal-nuked off the board by Squig Herd, and that’s what Squigs can do to you.

It will be no great surprise to learn that pound for pound, Squigs massively outperform Grots in combat:

Inside and outside of their own subfaction, and assuming AOA and Crit Mortal in both cases. I didn’t bother with the Herders³.

They are a dedicated glass cannon, the supreme exemplar of that role. As Beasts they’re only OC 1 and it’s by design that the two sides of Moonclan – Grots for capping, Squigs for killing – complement one another very nicely.

One Squigboss and 2x reinforced Squig Herd costs 520 points and slots in majestically alongside a Grot Spam foundation. The next question becomes which subfaction to take in a blended list, but currently I’m sticking with Gittish Tide to really dominate the Primary game. Even with “just” the 3 attacks each, Squigs are still pretty scary.

The Competitor: Troggs

So Squigs are a complement to Grots rather than a competitor. The real competition to Grots as an anvil is, and always has been, 6x Rockguts:

• 60 Grots (330 points)⁴ offer 60 Health on a 5+ save. They also have a big advantage in OC 60 (+5 under the Moon for each unit) and the potential to get literally hundreds of models on an objective with Gittish Tide, plus a conditional Neg 1 to hit.
• 6x Rockguts (360 points) offer 30 Health on a 4+ save (ignoring one pip of Rend under the Moon) and, crucially, a 5+ ward. Their OC is only 12 so they can be outcapped, but they do hit back with Rend 2 Damage 3 attacks which gives them an advantage in the attrition war.

Assuming Rockguts get to roll for their Ward and have the Moon, they’re effectively 45 Health on a 3+ save (factoring in the Rend ignore). If your opponent has a way to strip wards then the Rockguts are in all sorts of trouble but that’s pretty rare – realistically, the Rockguts will be tougher in most instances, and clap back more damage too.

But how much more?

Rockguts have two sources of +1 attack: Roll right with Trugg, or take a Dankboss and hit that 4+. I’ve ran the numbers with +1 or +2 attacks, and assumed AOA throughout.

Their absolute baseline is 16.67 damage into a 4+ save, which if you scroll back, is comparable to 40 Grots with the Loonboss and Gobbapalooza rend. Troggs are an attrition unit and a very good one.

So: Grots or Rockies?

6x Rockguts will slot into any list, with or without dedicated support, and do a job for you. That’s well established. What I’d argue is that Moonclan Grots are now so cheap that the sheer volume of wounds you can put on the table makes them a serious competitor: you’re getting 60 Grots on the table for less than 6x Rockguts and that’s got to be worth something.

Grots come with their own baked-in Win Condition. You can basically go 3-for-2 on your anvil units: 3x blocks of 40 Grots (660 points) costs noticeably less than 2x blocks of 6 Rockguts (720 points), and secures you a surreal amount of Objective Control. The Grots will die quicker but the buff pieces that help Grots are hardly a tax – and you have plenty of room to fit them in.

And think about what Gittish Horde ability does for you on the tabletop – if you have models from two separate units and one only has a toe on the Objective, every single model is contributing to your OC. So your opponent has to split attacks and wipe both units to the last man to grab it from you. Then you’ve got a spell that lets you Retreat in the Hero Phase (bringing Rally online), the Loonboss putting models back in there and any half-units you can bring back from the Loonshrine too.

“Hey look, I’ve got 80 models on this objective”

“Yeah, you totally do”

Graphic design – and being an annoying twat on objectives – is my passion

What’s more, two of the most popular Battle Tactics right now are Restless Energy and Wrathful Cycles – both of which reward you early on for grabbing Objectives. So dominating the Primary with Grots can also effectively choke off the Secondary. Then it’s a matter of injecting some speed or aggression into your list – and 120 Grots still leaves plenty of room for that.

You could certainly slam a unit of 6x Rockguts into a Mostly Moonclan list and not regret it. This doesn’t have to be one or the other. My point is that blocks of 40 Grots have always been good at winning games, they’ve been grossly under-utilized in AOS and it’s time to give them another look.

The Renegade Option: Spiderfang

Shout out to Stuart “Irongutsman” McCowan for this excellent rundown of Gloomspite units:

It’s a great video. I don’t personally agree with everything in there⁵ – be weird if I did – but there’s some interesting and high-quality discussion from a man who really knows his shit.

The biggest thing I took from it is that maybe it’s time to look at Spiderfang for your third regiment (alongside two Moonclan regiments). I ran Spiderfang loads in 3rd Ed but I majorly cracked the sads when the A-Roks lost their Neg 1 to Hit spell on that huge pie plate base, so I put them on the shelf and haven’t looked at them since. But they’re still a good 2-cast Wizard that can fight a bit, and their mate (the little Webspinner Shammy) also gets +1 to cast from being nearby.

One thing I’d like to add is that the Webspinner Shaman has a built-in teleport, which in addition to all the standard stuff around stealing objectives or dumping spells into enemy lines makes him an ideal holder of Ghyranite Treasures. You can hide out in a pack of Grots, and when things start getting hairy, get the hell out of Dodge.

Food for thought.

Bringing it together

In terms of writing lists, I do value the shooting options available to Gits. Your Squigs are sitting ducks for enemy shooting or Strike First, so it’s important to have some reach on those occasions where Squigs won’t get a chance to swing. For that reason I’m putting a unit of 40x Shootas in most lists right now (noting that they can take the Gobbapalooza rend too) and also a Doom Diver where possible. Skraggy’s spell can be pretty scary so between that package, you’d usually have enough in aggregate to bring down an important piece, and not only rely on bogging them down while you remove your own models.

I’ve mentioned the Frazzlegit Lore and I do think it’s very useful – but when you take that Lore, you lose Hand of Gork. So unless you’ve got a lot of speed in your army from other sources, I’d suggest taking a close look at Forbidden Power to get a teleport back in there (or the Web Shammy as mentioned).

As well as advantages in OC, Grots have quite a bit of rezzing tech going on: you’ve got the Loonshrine summoning, the Loonboss can slam D6 minis back in there as long as you’re not in combat (hello again Frazzlegit retreat) and there’s a free Heroic Trait to chuck extra dice at any Rallies.

Finally the Sunsteala Wheela is an absolute Rolls Royce of a unit right now. A single unit is well worth its place in any Gloomspite list. Only 10 points per wound on a 4+ save is already efficient for a fast unit like this, but the fact that they can run away in your opponent’s turn (and punch out some mortals) is a game changer. You only need one or two units but if you own the models, I’d be pounding them until they get nerfed.

So circling back to the initial question:

Can you fight with Grots? Ah kinda. On a good day you’ll get solid damage out of them, but you’re never going to feel like you’re swinging with a nuclear bomb strapped to each fist. But hopefully I’ve been able to mount a case for how they can help you win games regardless, even up against the stiff competition for that anvil slot that is Rockguts. Grots are eminently spammable and leave plenty of room for fun stuff around the perimeter of your list, while you dominate the objectives and lock the game down.

I’ve been bouncing list ideas around in the Destro chat on our Discord, and I’ll keep working on them and fine-tuning. I’m taking 4 Megas in Brodd’s Stomp to Bush Bash this weekend, so once that’s wrapped up I’ll focus on posting up a full list on the Patreon including notes on battle tactics and cycles of the Moon.

I reckon there’s a 5-0 list with 100+ Grots out there waiting to be written, so let’s do it!

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1. Shout out to Mateusz Polaczek for reminding me that Sporesplattas only dish out +1 attacks to Moonclan units nowadays – so including Stabbas, but not Rockguts 🤟 ↩︎
2. Coooooooooooooooots ↩︎
3. Nobody ever bothers with the Herders. ↩︎
4. You could also compare the Rockguts to 40 Grots + Snufflers at 320 points, offering a 5+ ward. I think you’ll take Snufflers in most lists regardless, so I don’t see them as a direct overhead for the Grots – more like potential upside. ↩︎
5. I mainly just have a pet peeve around inserting extra tiers above S Tier. Sorry 🤷‍♂️ ↩︎
6. For my 90s Poms: ↩︎