We be Manglin'

[Furious]

It's time for those chained up ferocious orange balls of teeth to get some attention.

I've used a Mangler Squig, and I'm just not sure if I'm doing it right. The thing it seems best at is dying quickly and horribly. Sure, whatever unit you point it at it's likely to tear through in a turn, if it makes it there before being shot to death. In my experience, this is very rewarding but only for a short time, because your opponent will immediately obliterate it, with 10 wounds and a 5+.

So, is that it's purpose? It seems a little pricey for a suicide bomb - though what a bomb it can be (especially if you can land the Moonclan Warboss Command Ability on it - 2D6 attacks dealing 6 damage? Thanks!). That's the only strategy I can conceive of for the feisty little buggers. I wouldn't say with it I've had remarkable success, but I haven't brought one into battle in a long, long time...

Anyone else find success? Got stories? Gripes?

[Chris Tomlin]

Hey @Furious,

I have played against them a handful of times and used them once myself.

To be honest, I kind of feel like you've answered all your own questions there! They are incredibly destructive, especially if you buff one up as suggested; I deleted a Maw-krusha with ease when doing this. However, if your opponent is aware of their potential they will probably be their primary target. If you know this as well you could possibly use it to your advantage and deploy/move it into a position you don't actually want to be, in order to pull your opponent out of position or away from an objective etc. They will always need to deal with it.

The other option is to just use them purely as a glass cannon and try to cause as much damage as possible before they inevitably go down.

Also I still don't find there is masses of shooting in the meta at present, though clearly if your opponent is packing a reasonable amount you could be in trouble as like you say, 10 wounds at 5+ doesn't go very far.

[cranect]

I can't wait to use one. I thought up a 2k list with mostly squigs and the 3 grot units needed and it has a mangler in it along with almost 40 cave squigs, 20 hoppers and other stuff. The manglers look very much like a glass cannon though you are right there. Maybe hide it behind something bigger than it that could work. I haven't seen the model though so I have no clue how big it is.

[Chris Tomlin]

53 minutes ago, cranect said:

Maybe hide it behind something bigger than it that could work. I haven't seen the model though so I have no clue how big it is.

The model is narrow (volume wise it fills its 60mm base without much overhang), however it is incredibly tall. I wouldn't think there would be many instances you could hide it.

It's super fun to use though!!

[Donal]

Think @Chris Tomlin is right, it is a glass cannon. I think it also depends on what list you are using as well. I can see it working well with beastclaw/monster heavy lists due to target saturation and if it is taking wounds from other things in the list then it is worth it. If you are going all moonclan then I expect it will be Target Numero Uno. 

VS shoot armies they will go down easily.

Have you considering running two? It is expensive but it will help you dictate the movement phase, opponnents may find it hard to deal with them. they have such a great threat range (21" = 6d6). I will definitely try running them when i start using more moonclan. 

[Lord Biscuit]

Multiples are generally better then one I find, you are never going to entirely deny your opponent the opportunity to attack your valuable stuff,  so the best thing to do is over saturate them with stuff that is impossible to deal with in one go.

[Baron_Bathory]

Had a game against High Elves yesterday, I finally for the first time in AoS managed to get this thing into battle unscathed. O...M..G... Absolutely erased a Frostheart phoenix in 1 round of attacks. The term Glass Cannon was used in this thread, there is no more accurate description. It was killed shortly after. The Manglers die fast and are squishy as hell, but Gork (or possibly Mork) help anyone that actually gets charged by these things.

I think just like in 8th edition they are really good in a monster mash list, you need things that will take attention away from it. Maybe keep it back for the first few turns when shooting and magic are prominent. I'll let you know the results when I get a few more games in with it.

Good Luck!

[Furious]

So worth bringing in that battle? I imagine if they take out more points than they're worth, it's a win. 

I guess they're like Fanatics but on a grander scale. If they were hideable, or hell even summonable, then they'd be really scary.