Following a thread on the stronghold about the top 5 worst things about our recent book, i decided to go a little deeper, and look at the top 10 best and worst of our book. First, lets look at the best of our book, what really make it a contender in tournament.
Best ;
#10 Leadbelchers
I personally didnt use them much before, or now, but i can easily see why everyone else does. They will not misfire again, and can still dish out a tons of shot every turn.
#9 Lore
When the book was announced, i was scared of our lore turning into "just-like-everyone-else". It did, but i think for the best. Sure out spell do not stack anymore, nor are we loremaster, but every spell is pretty easy to cast, and we keep our lore very buff oriented.
#8 New magical items
They are not really new, but their ability (and price) changed for the most part. Rock Eye at 5 pts is a steal. Grut's Sickle, is risky but can easily change a game. Hellheart is very random, but can decimate just about any caster-oriented-army. Greedy Fist is what makes a Slaughtermaster able to dish out some damage too. Even Dragonhide Banner, is finally worth it. A few item are obviously very bad, but for the most part, there's some keeper in there.
#7 Trappers
Quite frankly, i wasnt a big fan of loosing our only scout when i first read the book, but after playing with them a bit, i have to say that Trappers are really nice against gigantic hordes that seems to pop every now and then. Even against smaller horde they are very often worth their pts. Or just as roadblock, they are very good.
#6 Maneaters
It's like a unit that you can tailor to what you want to play. It's quite frankly pretty impressive. You want stubborn scout? check. Poison Sniper? check. They are still very pricey, but no matter your needs, they can fulfil it.
#5 Thundertusk/Stonehorn
I placed them both in the same entry because they come from the same kit, but they are so different. The Thundertusk is the utility player you always want nearby. It's even a mobile warmachine. The Stonehorn is the hard hitter, to turn the tide of any combat in Ogres favor. Two very nice model for two very good entry in our army book.
#4 Firebelly
A very nice model, and he adds something that few army can afford ; a flaming attack without a banner. In a unit of Ironguts, he can basically open the regen-can and let the hard hitter finish the works.
#3 Ironblaster
With cannon being what they are in 8th edition and the , its definately nice to have one of our own. It's even a very nice chariot that can do a pretty nice job at destroying ennemy.
#2 Sabertusk
It's probably the best redirector ever, even better than great eagle, thanks to their low price and the ability to take them in 1s. the drawback is their Ld 4 that guarantee you they'll break from combat (especially since they can't use General's inspiring presence).
#1 Mournfang
My favourite unit/models in the new book. They can devastate S3 units like there's no tomorrow, they have enough impact hit to make and impact (teheee), and they are able to be taken in very small or very big units. You obviously have to be careful with them, since they are still just WS3/T4/W3, but i think they are as balanced as it can get for hard hitter.
Runner up ; Price Drop Overall
First thing everyone noticed when the book was released, was how pretty much everything went down in price. It's always helpful to be able to field more body, but in the end, its not that many bodies you're fielding..
Worst ;
#10 Cathayan Longsword Long Gone
I missed having an extra weapon skill without taking a magical weapon. But with one less Lord allowed, more often than not, my Lord end up with Fencers blade, and my heroes with, well, nothing.
#9 Hunter
I'd really like to field him, i'd really do. Especially since he can take a mount. But he's expensive, kind of lack any real long range ability (that you couldnt get otherwise), and is just... well. For his price, you basically have to give up on a second caster or a BSB, and i don't think he can really replace any.
#8 Gorger
The price hikes alone make them worthless now. For 90 pts, you can get 2 Yhetees (who arent a great choice, but could fill a role easily too), or a Mournfang, with quite a few spare points. Ambusher is nice, but not worth the extra price.
#7 Maw taxe
I personally never considered to get a slaughtermaster with a lore different than the Maw, but i guess it has alot to do with the fact you actually need at least a caster with it to get any other lore. Beast and Heavens would be a nice choice for a lvl4, but i don't like to think about getting a butcher lvl1 to get it, forcing me to spend too much points in heroes, or dropping my beloved Firebelly.
#6 Thundermace/Siegebreaker
Why would someone buy a 85 pts weapon that does little more than a standard great weapon? For their price, they'd need to get something special, like Heroic Killing Blow, or something to make it worth the risk of a defenseless 300 points Tyrant
#5 Dissapearance of some items
Brahmir Statue, Skullmantle, Greatskull or Wyrdstone Necklace. Plenty of item that often made it in my list dissapeared. It's really sad because they were adding someting to our army to really help against top tier army.
#4 Bragg
He deserve an entry of his own because of his entry. The model is very nice, easily as nice as Golgfag or the firebelly. Even his stats are decent. What hurt is that you'd like to think he can kill big beast like a hydra and such, right? wrong. He has to be in a challenge to have heroic killing blow, basically making him nothing more than an overly expensive bruiser without defense. I'm sure 75% of Bragg's sale are going into converting him to be something else.
#3 Big names
Lets face it, mawseeker was way underpriced. Even the stupidity in gave couldnt overcome the fact our character were now in near god-mode. The new one could even work, if it wasn't for the fact they are now in magical item allowance. I'd gladly pay an extra 40 points for my Tyrant to be T6. It's expensive, but he'd be very, VERY hard to take down. But if i do that right now, he has to have only 60 pts in magical item... non-sense. Not sure anyone is actually using them anymore.
#2 Price hike on Runemaw
It was underpriced, it was a bumpy road rule wise, but it was a great anti-magic to get. It would even be worth considering if it wasnt for the fact it is now BSB only. It was the only item that pretty much allowed us to run caster-free and still get most of our army out of magical arm. Not anymore.
#1 Price hike on Slaughtermaster
A 85 points increase is all we needed to make sure we are never able to field a Tyrant + Slaughtermaster anymore at 2500 points. We joined the very select club of "lord killer or caster, pick one". I loved my ninja maneater as tyrant, and i really miss having one of each. I know some army like Warrior of Chaos have the same dilema, but i think we are still leagues apart.
Runner up ; Greasus Goldtooth and Skrag the Slaughterer
They aren't really worst than they were in the old book, but they aren't really better either. They are not really worth considering except if you're looking for a funny list. I think the Ogre book is probably the one who got the worst special character of the hard cover army book.
