Hordes Review: Trollkin Warders
The Trollkin Warders arrived in stores everywhere last August. What does this new unit offer my favorite Hordes faction?
Survivability is probably the adjective to place highest on the list of “things about Warders that are cool.” These guys boast a natural ARM of 17, eight hit boxes, and of course the Tough ability they share with all their non-warbeast kin. Just to knock it up another notch, they also have the Battle Driven ability to boost their ARM by 2 if the unit is damaged by an enemy attack. Oh – and this will also boost their P+S up to a much more respectable 12. They won’t even set you back that many points for it. They’ll only cost you 5 points for a min unit and 8 for a full.
Is this already sounding good to you? Well don’t forget about the excellent support system trolls have. Of course there’s the Krielstone Bearer unit, who will wreck your opponent’s morale by bring the Warders up to a very respectable arm 21, if they’re under the effect of Battle Driven. And of course you can take that Fell Caller along to get them swinging at MAT 9 and make sure their attacks go where they’re supposed to.
Of course that’s all pretty basic stuff. What makes these guys special? Or perhaps more importantly, why should you take them instead of another popular infantry choice: the Trollkin Champions? Ah yes, you knew I’d have to get to these guys eventually. At first glance it seems like the Champs do everything better. They don’t have reach – but they have higher SPD and two attacks. Their ARM is a little lower, but they have Defensive Line, so they can get ARM 18 without getting damaged. Yeah, they’re a little more expensive, but don’t all their added skills make them a shoe-in every time?
Well there are some ways in which the champs simply don’t compare. They just can’t do tarpitting and board control quite like the Warders. Battle Driven, Reach, and that inherently higher ARM value are the key factors here. It means the Warders can spread out, still be hard to kill, and still get in the way. A full unit of Warders can create a line across the field over 32″ long through which anything wishing to pass must receive a MAT 9 4d6 free strike. Of course like so many examples I like to write this one is ridiculously above optimal – you don’t have to string them out nearly so far to get them to do their job.
But maybe the coolest part about Warders is that some Trollblood warlocks let you have it both ways. There are no less than three of these individuals you can take to allow you to up the attack count on these sweet Reach-having models. You have Grissell Bloodsong, Fell Caller (Grissell 1 for those of you that aren’t into lengthy titles) with the Heroic Ballad Fell Call that gives a unit an extra melee attack per turn. Madrak Ironhide, Thornwood Chieftain really loves these guys given the insane number of kills they can rack up on your Crusher turn. Madrak’s epic version likes them nearly as much since his feat Desperate Hour lets friendlies make a melee attack against all models in their melee range.
Other Warlocks can help make up for different deficits or play to the strengths of the unit. Grissell Bloodsong, Marshall of the Kriels can boost the Warders low SPD with Dash, and boost their armor to ridiculous levels with Call of Valor. Jarl Skuld can get them across the board faster with Tactical Supremacy. Quicken will do the same while also increasing the units DEF against shooting attacks. With Mirage, The Hunters Grim can also give your Warders a much needed speed boost with the potential for an additional charge thanks to the spell’s 2″ place effect.
Of course as much as I like this unit, like most things Privateer releases, I don’t think these guys are powerful enough to become an auto-include. Fennblades, which cost the same as Warders but bring twice the bodies will always have their uses. And Champions with Skaldi and a Hero along for the ride hit hard enough to make them worth taking if you have the points to spare. So overall I’m really pleased with this new unit, and I can’t wait to bring them to the battlefield. I just have to find the time to paint them first.
More Warmachine soon.
