Thinking of picking up Hordes, probably Trollbloods

[Fafnir]

When I get back home from University for Xmas, I've been considering picking up some Hordes. Mainly because of my interest in the models, and some real dissapointment with Games Workshop's knack for writing horrible rulesets and lack of care for their community as of late. The ruleset for Hordes looks really interesting, deep, and a lot more involving then GW's non-specialist ranges, and Trollbloods look like a pretty cool army, and having lots of big smashy stuff is always fun.

I love the eDoomshaper model, so I definetly want to use that (although I'm not above using him as pDoomshaper, that's for sure), along with the Axer and a mauler, but after that, I'm not sure where to go.

Would it be worth it to start with Doomshaper and the starterbox, or to go along the route of getting Doomshaper, an axer, and a mauler? The main question is would the 2 Impalers be worth getting? Because if not, then the starter box is wasted money. 9 points is kind of low to start, but it's better then getting parts I don't want. I like the Impaler model, but I want to know if they can be part of a playable, fun, competetive Doomy list.

After that, I'd consider something along the lines of maybe another mauler, or maybe champions to guard Doomy, and focus on a beast heavy list (why the hell else would I want trollbloods?). Does that sound like a decent idea? As far as I can tell, it seems fairly typical for Doomy.

Of course, I want to limit my planning ahead, simply because I don't want to end up buying more then I can handle.

[sepher32]

Impalers are awesome, not necessarily with Doomshaper so if you're dead set on playing him and no one else you could get by without them. From my experience the easiest (and cheapest) way to alter your play experience and switch things up is changing casters so to start you want 2 or 3 I would say. Madrak is a good counterpoint to Doomshaper.

For your first 2 beasts you can't pick better ones than Axer/Mauler you're right on the money there. But if you get the Battle Box you'll have one already.

I personally don't care to buy multiples of too many things, so if you want another heavy I would say not another Mauler. Mulg is amazing with EDoomie, the Earthborn gets more versatility, and the Blitzer is just win (he's decent in melee and at ranged and the model is hilarious)

For units Champs are pretty solid they're a little expensive to just be Doomie guards but you can always send them in after the trolls have engaged. Definitely a good buy, along with them you'd want a Fell Caller or Stone Scribe Chronicler. Kriel Warriors are good too. And dirty dirty cheap.

If you want to run beast heavy (my favorite way to play) you will need whelps. I have 2 units of whelps. They're good. Run properly they let you run those dire troll up to Max fury and then take it all off so you can do it again next turn, only trick is getting them to survive long enough to do it.

[Fafnir]

Well, I'll skip the starter box then, since I won't need Impalers with Doomy, and I don't want to build up too fast or branch to far out too soon, so I'll just go with the axer and mauler combo.

I hate the look of the Mulg model, but the Earthborn sounds pretty fun.

At what point do you suggest whelps? From the very get-go, or when you have a decent amount of beasts to manage?

[sepher32]

When you get a second heavy your possible beast fury exceeds double your Warlocks fury stat. If you're running that hot you want some help. At least that's how I feel about it.

And the Earthborn is a very competitive heavy, can't go wrong with him.

And if you're still thinking champs that's a good way to get up in points

eDoomshaper +6
Axer 6
Mauler 9
Earthborn 10
Champions 10
Whelps 2

And you're pretty close to a 35 point list which is one of the more common formats and you have decent pieces for smaller games too.

[moorg]

Well, I'll skip the starter box then, since I won't need Impalers with Doomy

I'd still get the box.

You'll end up using the Impalers at some point, because they are just plain solid at 5 points each.

Even if you don't get it initially, it's a good idea when you want to start expanding from your initial setup for another Axer, the Impalers, and another caster (and Madrak has gotten really good in MKII).


At what point do you suggest whelps?

At 25 points they're good to have on hand. If you expect to play 35 point games or higher, I'd get 2 boxes.

[sepher32]

Yes get more opinions in here. You don't want to take all your advice from me.

:)

[CerberusPuppy]

Get the box anyway. It's a good deal and Madrak is pretty strong in Mark 2. If nothing else, you'll have something different to play later.

The Axer is an awesome beast and Doomie's choice of light. Other than that he loves Dires. All of our heavies are good in Mark 2, especially with Epic Doomshaper. The Mauler is the first heavy you should buy, followed by the Earthborn. Mulg can be very strong with Doomie, so consider him as well.

As for infantry, Champs are always good, even without support, as Doomie doesn't have much to offer them. The Kreilstone Bearer and Stone Scribe Elder are central to many TB armies. Kriel Warriors can offer Doomshaper a cheap screen and are actually pretty good with Madrak. Our infantry can be very strong, and some of our best lists are troop-heavy.

Whelps are a must if you're playing multiple Dires. I have a list currently that uses 3 Dires and an Axer; I'd never get away with that if I didn't also include Whelps. It is fun to play, though, and I'm glad that recent changes to the Mark 2 rule set have made such an army viable.

[Cannibalbob]

I still use Impalers with Doomshaper. The Impaler is just a damned good beast all around.

[Fafnir]

So would you recommend starting with Doomy and the Box, or getting the box when I want to expand? I only have enough time/money (see: university) to warrant buying either the mauler/axer or the box, so I really want to pace myself.

The way I see it, the general consensus would be to focus on the mauler, and add impalers and junk when I want some versatile expansion. Impalers are good with Doomy, but not an integral part of his composition.

Whelps and a second dire are more important, when that is taken into context. After that, I could get the starter box to add another axer for added support, and the impalers to act as a guard for Doomy... or something like that.

[Ballasar]

Having recently started trolls seriously myself here is what I would do.

Epic Doomshaper-You like the look of him so he's in
DTM-You want a big stompy beast so he's in too
Battle box-You want an Axer..he's in there. Along with 2 Impailers and Madrack. It's all you want with a second caster and some spare beasts.

Assemble and paint what you want to use first. You have the rest for later. The total cost is higher to start, but you have some extra stuff to tinker with.

[Saerko]

So would you recommend starting with Doomy and the Box, or getting the box when I want to expand? I only have enough time/money (see: university) to warrant buying either the mauler/axer or the box, so I really want to pace myself.

I'd get the box when you want to expand. If Madrak doesn't excite you, and the Impalers aren't something you see yourself using right away then I would pass on it.

The other thing to consider is that when you get the battle box, you're missing an important component of any good Trollblood list: the damage buff. Getting the Mauler & another beast rounds things out a little better.

To start, I'd go with the Bouncer and a Dire Troll Mauler (DTM). You grab the Bouncer because Epic Doomshaper (Doomie2) already has an easy way to buff charge distances and you'll be picking up the Battle Box anyway, so why buy the Axer twice?

The Bouncer hits decently hard, ignores shields on his weapon and can put out about as much hurt as the Axer when given the Mauler's Rage animus. He'll also protect Doomshaper from ranged attacks, which is vital since he's so easily damaged. The Bouncer's animus gives you a nice denial for assassinations with his Bump animus, which pushes a model up to 3" away from the attacked model, which is again a great way to protect your semi-squishy Warlock.

The combo of the DTM/Bouncer also makes it so that you have some versatility if/when you pick up the Battle Box, so that you're able to field a nicely varied 15-25 PC list. Doomie2 also synergizes better with a DTM, so if you pick him up plus the Battle Box and skip the Dire Troll, you're not taking full advantage of his abilities (which are nice).


Whelps and a second dire are more important, when that is taken into context. After that, I could get the starter box to add another axer for added support, and the impalers to act as a guard for Doomy... or something like that.

Sounds good to me! I think this is the plan. I would definitely stress that the Bouncer is probably the better way to go than a second Axer in the near future.