As I work my way through the Masters player pre-event interviews, one question that I've been asking each person (although in some cases, it just naturally came up in conversation) is whether or not they'll be taking on a new army heading into the new calendar year, and in most cases, it's a resounding yes. For the most part, each player is taking on an army that is quite different to the army they played for the 2017 tournament circuit. In my mind, this is fantastic. It shows that the scene is constantly evolving and diversifying.
Having asked the question to some of the best players in the country, however, had gotten me thinking about what my 2018 main project would be. This year has been pretty much split down the middle. The start of the year saw me wrapping up my Khorne Bloodbound army, while the second half of the year was dedicated to crushing out my Pestilens army, a project I originally started because it was a fairly low-cost army, and I already had two boxes of Plague Monks from my existing Skaven army. A huge incentive was that the whole range (excluding Plague Censor Bearers) were plastic kits, and all were pretty affordable. I didn't really take into account the time investment required to paint the army to a standard that I was happy with, but I took it on, and am predicting completion of the project to happen over the Christmas break. Only forty five infantry to go…
But with the end in sight, and my weak-willed resistance to impulse purchases, I began to plan my next army. Clan Pestilens will be my tournament army for the first half of the year while I begin work on the next army, but I needed something to redirect my energy after the rats were complete.
With an open mind, and GHB17 as my canvas, I began to ponder and plan what army I could sink my teeth into. For once, I was completely open to any Allegiance, any Grand Alliance, anything. My goal with the army was to plan and build a force that would not only be competitive and threatening (for some) on the table, but also have a strong theme, and enable me to paint an army that would perhaps be a contender for Best Painted at any event that I happened to go along to. Not saying that I would necessarily win any, because I'm the first to admit that my painting is not Golden-Daemon-worthy by any stretch, but I wanted an army that would catch the eye and stand out from the crowd.
I also wanted an army that didn't require me to paint 100+ models *shudders*…
So, with the mindset of artistic potential, competitive ability and low model count, I began scribbling down a shortlist. Soulblight and Ironjawz were both realistic options, as were Stormcast, but all were currently in-progress armies of good mates of mine. So, I continued searching until I read through a certain set of war scrolls that I'd previously written off.
Beastclaw Raiders.
They weren't uncommon on the table by any stretch, but typically they would be an element within a Grand Alliance Destruction army; it was extremely rare to see a Beastclaw Allegiance army. Simply put, Grand Alliance was just straight up stronger. It compensated for the low model count by giving players access to Grots and Bonesplitters, and gave them a considerable buff in the form of things such as Battle Brew. There was little-to-no motivation to restrict yourself to just Beastclaw.
But that's all changed. While Grand Alliance Destruction has been made slightly less attractive, the inclusion of the Allies system has neatly offset the model count problem that Beastclaw seemed to have. All of a sudden, they had a new lease on life!
My mind was made up.
So, how did I go about planning my list? From a competitive standpoint, one of the scariest things that BCR has access to is Thundertusks. Being able to hand out massive chunks of mortal damage from a safe distance was very, very scary. They're capable of just deleting characters, or crippling larger units, with only luck to stop them in most cases. Ok, so there was my focus. Ice Lasers!
Thundertusks do diminish in strength as they take damage, and for them to remain a viable threat, I needed them feeling tip-top. This naturally led toward including some healing mechanics in the army to keep damage output at its possible highest. A Frostlord on Thundertusk with the Pelt of Charngar (each friendly hero phase, roll a D6; 1-3 heals a wound, 4-6 heals D3), and two Huskards of Thundertusks (each triggering their healing abilities on a 2+ while all three characters are alive) meant that I had three solid, regenerating fire-bases to build my army around. Not that there was too much left to play with after purchasing these three juggernauts.
Next up was Battleline slots. Taking a Frostlord on Thundertusk conveniently unlocks Yhetees as Battleline, and they have some pretty cheeky Pile In shenanigans in their box of tricks, as well as being a little bit scary for smaller units. So I picked up two units of three to cause mayhem. All three characters and the Yhetees have negatives to hit them in close combat, so I'm hoping that keeps them all alive just that bit longer. My last Battleline choice was a unit of four Mournfang. While I don't think they are quite the wrecking ball they were in 8th Edition, there's no debating that twenty-four wounds over four models is nothing to cry about, and they aren't too shabby in combat either. I wouldn't put money on them to drop Archaon, but they can punch on with most equivalent units pretty reliably.
So, I'd completed my character plan and ticked all my Battleline requirements… And was left standing with 220 points. With only thirteen models in the list, I desperately needed some bodies. And I found them in Gutbuster allies, bringing in two units of twenty Gnoblars. Fantastic! I mean, sure, Gnoblars aren't going to kill anything, and they tend to die if they fart too hard, but they filled several valuable roles that perfectly plug (PLUG!) the weaknesses of BCR. I had two large units that I could leave in my backfield to deny deployment tricks and control the board, or plonk them on an objective and not stress about leaving martial strength away from the main brawl, or (probably most commonly) use them as screening units to absorb charges and prevent scary combat beasts from charging unimpeded into my crucial characters, hopefully giving me time to either counter charge them or blast their faces off with beams of ice magic.
One other thing of note about the list is that I took Blood Vultures on both of my Huskards. The reason for this is, where the Chaintrap and Harpoon Launcher roll dice to hit and wound, offer a save and inflict different degrees of damage, the Vulture is guaranteed to do a mortal wound every turn, with a massive 30" range. It might not always hit where I want it to, but that angry bin-chicken is going to gouge out the eyes of some poor fool no matter what. I think Vultures are by far the best ranged option for any of the riders that have a shooting option.
Now, I am very aware that this army still has glaring weaknesses, and I'm not expecting to be winning GT's left right and centre with it, but I think it has real potential to cause some headaches. I think if I invest time and practice in, I can become quite adept with the army.
So that's model count and the competitive side of things sorted. That leaves only one aspect; creative potential.
It goes without saying that Beastclaw Raiders in winter themes on snow bases has been done. That is their lore after all. It makes sense. But it's been done to death. Snow-themed BCR armies look good, but I needed something that would leap out and catch the eye; something different and unique. The decision to go in the complete opposite direction was an easy one. My "alternative colour scheme" armies have been a bit hit and miss over the years (my blue Grey Knights being an obvious and self-explanatory example), but I'm really satisfied with the pallet that I've settled on.
My ogres will wear deep red robes broken up by leopard skin pelts. They would ride natural-toned monsters based off real-life animals from our own world (you may have already seen my Jackal-inspired dogs that I'm using as Frost Sabres in a different list to this), and the basing would be crumbling ruins in the desert, using the fantastic Shattered Dominion large basing kit. As easy as that was to sum up, it's actually quite a challenge for me, as my style of painting naturally lends itself toward cartoony details and bright pops of colour. But I think it will be a good learning experience, and you don't learn if you don't push yourself. So, there it is. I'll post the list below, and hopefully you enjoyed the breakdown. Do you like it? Do you think it's trash? And are you starting a new army for the new year? Hit the comments and we'll have a chat!
Thanks for reading,
Gabe
Frostlord on Thundertusk (General, Everwinter's Master, The Pelt of Charngar)
Huskard on Thundertusk (Blood Vulture)
Huskard on Thundertusk (Blood Vulture)
3 Icefall Yhetees
3 Icefall Yhetees
4 Mournfang (Gargant Hackers)
20 Grots (Gutbuster Allies)
20 Grots (Gutbuster Allies)
1980 points
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