The releases for Warcry have been crazy this week. We’ve just got the full details for the new Bloodhunt box set, I’m still only half way through the Underworlds fighters from the recent FAQ, and now we’ve got the new rules for Grinkrak’s Looncourt from the new White Dwarf.
White Dwarf 485 is due to hit shelves soon enough, but those who have a subscription get it a little earlier, which is how we’ve got the details for this Underworlds Warband in Warcry. The cards I’ll be showing in this video have been mocked up using the Warcry Card Creator which you can find in the description.
The Looncourt has a total of 7 models for a total of 8 Goblins, 3 squigs, and more mushrooms than you can shake a stick at. These are all part of the Gloomspite Gitz, so they have access to all those abilities which you can find in the Destruction pdf on the Warhammer Community website. These are all repeated in the White Dwarf for convenience.
There are two new abilities that any of the Looncourt gobbos can use. The first is a reaction, Tuff Nut. It’s a super defensive ability reducing up to two crits against them down to normal hit. Gobbos are generally quite low health, so moving a crit of 4 down to a hit of 1 or 2 can be enough to save them.
The second ability is a double, Enthusiastic Dubbin, which let’s you chain two activations together. We saw something similar with the Claws of Karanak in the Bloodhunt box. I really like this ability, but it’s obviously better when you’re using it with big scary fighters who can do lots of damage. Grinkrak and Grib on the bounder both look pretty dangerous, so maybe they can make it work. Even with the little gitz, if can be a really useful ability when you have objectives or treasure to score. You do risk impact damage, that’s a d6 with a 1 doing 3 damage and 2 to 3 doing 1 damage. That can mean a lot for little gitz but it’s all part of the fun of playing Gobbos.
We start with the leader, Grinkrak the Great. He’s exactly the same as a Loonboss but with 5 points more which is the price for the bonus abilities. In addition to the two abilities anyone from the Looncourt can use, Grinkrak also has a Double which will give him a bonus action after he takes down a fighter. He’s doing an average of 4 damage per attack versus Toughness 4 fighters, so he can get some work done. That reach of 2 will help him stay alive a little longer while doing so.
Grib da Wonky Lance is a Boingrot Bounder, again for 5 more points. These guys are a lot of fun. With decent health, great speed and fly, they can get where you need them fast. They also do good damage with an average of 4.5 versus T4, again with reach 2. Grinkrak and Grib chained together with Enthusiastic Dubbin’ could be quite dangerous, hopefully not to themselves.
Snorbo da Spore is something different. The closest equivalent I could find is the Shoota but Snorbo is doing so much more. He’s 5 points cheaper, plus 1 toughness, and does more damage. The shoota is 1.5 in melee and 1.3 at range. Snorbo is doing 2 damage in melee and 2 at range.
In addition, Snorbo has a triple unique to him which boosts the move of nearby friendly fighters. This is the Swift as the Wind ability from the Tempest Eye that has been very popular in tournaments, although it is the post-FAQ version. Even then, this is a fantastic ability to have. Popping it turn 1 will let you get your entire group a big movement boost and into position. Sometimes you can even get this to two battlegroups and with the Gitz as cheap as they are you’ll end up boosting a lot of fighters.
Next up we have Skolko and Pronk, who are two gitz on top of each other hiding behind a shield and catapulting squigs at the enemy. Again, the closes equivalent I could find is the Shoota, but this fighter is a massive 40 points more expensive. That does come with some advantages, 1 extra toughness for the shield, 6 extra wounds which makes sense as it’s two gitz after all. The melee is slightly improved with the crit boosted, while the ranged attack is much better. It is only 2 damage, but after getting in position turn 1 Skolko and Pronk are unlikely to move again partially because they are move 3 but more importantly range 20, so all the board will be fair game.
Pokin Snark has taken his Pokin’ Spear and upgraded it with a bitey Squig. He’s actually up to 4 average damage versus T4, so obviously it’s working. A normal stabba will do 2 damage on average, and Pokin Snark is almost the cost of 2 gitz with Stabbas, so keep that in mind. On the plus side, you do get the Looncourt runemark and he is still slightly cheaper than the two gitz you’d need to do the same damage.
Last up we have Moonface Naggz and Pointy Burk. These are exactly the same as the Stabba with Stabba and Moon Shield but 5 more. Bodies for 60 points is still super cheap and lots of warbands would love to get fighters like this even if they are just coming in with 2 damage for the blade and 1.6 for the spear.
In total, this warband comes to 740 points, so it’s pretty chunky but you still have room for some other gitz. For that 260 you could get something big like an Orruk Megaboss or get more gitz, maybe from Zarbag’s crew.
There are 7 gitz in total across this warband, so if we assume we’re actually paying 5 more for everyone, then that’s a total of 35 points for the abilities. That’s not quite another gobbo, but it’s still a chunky number. For all that, you do get to make you gitz annoyingly survivable with their Reaction denying your opponent the joy of getting crits. You also get an incredibly fun double to mess with the tempo of the game, something that previous was a Universal triple reserved for just the Leaders.
All in all, this warband is a lot of fun. The costing is pretty tight and I definitely approve of the slight cost increase for the extra abilities. Snorbo and the pair of Skolko and Pronk offer some new profiles, and Snorbo in particular is probably a must have for any gitz warband from now on. If you like playing Gobbos in Warcry, this warband and White Dwarf 485 is a must buy as you get all the rules and the cards you need for the warband.
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