Grot weapon choices

[Solaris]

Hey!

I'm looking at putting together the Grot elements of my mixed Destruction army, and am thinking about how to arm them. I have not really played against the dread BCR+Grot lists, and most lists I find from events do not specify weapon choices. I'm wondering if you guys who have played with/against them have seen any trends, or have any preferences?

It seems to me like Pokin' Spear with Moon Shields and Barbed Nets would be the way to go with Moonclan, particularly for large units but even at 20 models. Is this generally how people run them? With the Moon Shields, as well as the two Icons and the Netters, these guys are a fair amount more durable than their Gitmob counterparts, and therefore more suited for frontline action. They can also come with Fanatics, which necessitates that they are far forward, making bows a less attractive option.

For the Gitmob grots, the Grot Bows instead look like a very interesting option. They don't need to be as far up the field, since they don't release fanatics at the enemy. Bows would then allow them to sit comfortably at objectives and still have some battle impact. The Gitmob Shaman is also a very interesting option, since he can give a Gitmob Grot unit of 20 or more models a 4+/4+ rend -1 profile on their Grot Bows. At that point they actually start to sting.

What are your experiences? Is there ever any cause to go for the Stabbas, for either unit?

[Soulsmith]

I'm not sure on gitmob, but badmoon are definitely what you want for your rank and file purely because fanatics are a really good. I would probably say spears just to get more in combat as they will almost always be large groups. Also skull pass goblins have spears [emoji12]

[Nightgaunt]

I have no experience with them, but I've heard that since they're so small both goblin units can attack in three ranks using spears.

Also, is the normal Goblin Warboss from the Orcs and Goblins compendium still valid? If he were general his command ability would be worth considering.

[Chris Tomlin]

Hi @Solaris,

How are you planning on using the Grots in your army? Or more importantly, what kind of list are you intending to run around them?

I have seen people running both Moonclan and Gitmob, though Moonclan tend to be the more popular option in mixed Destruction, purely due to the Fanatics and the additional protection they provide whilst the Thundertusks hammer away!! #pewpew

@ChippyRick has been assembling Moonclan this week and I'm sure will be able to share some thoughts on equipment. I believe he has done small units of 20 with bows and then one of 40 with spears and shields.

[Andreas]

I guess this is going to be an anvil unit to your hammers (for example the brutes you are painting). Make it as much anvil as possible ie. shields.

Even if you get 20 4+ 4+ -1 rend with your shaman I am not sure it's better than just throwing an arcane bolt (or bad moon if you go moonclan shaman). 

My opinion but I am no destruction player.

[Solaris]

Hey guys!

They will mostly be meat shields or sit on objectives.

7 hours ago, Chris Tomlin said:

I have seen people running both Moonclan and Gitmob, though Moonclan tend to be the more popular option in mixed Destruction, purely due to the Fanatics and the additional protection they provide whilst the Thundertusks hammer away!! #pewpew

This is definitely true, however it's also a question of cost. While one Moonclan unit with a Fanatic for 150 points is more or less a given, having three such units is not an obvious choice to me if I want to minimize battleline. In many cases I think one Moonclan unit and two Gitmob units will be as effective and save me 100 points.

6 hours ago, Andreas said:

I guess this is going to be an anvil unit to your hammers (for example the brutes you are painting). Make it as much anvil as possible ie. shields.

Even if you get 20 4+ 4+ -1 rend with your shaman I am not sure it's better than just throwing an arcane bolt (or bad moon if you go moonclan shaman). 

Solid thoughts, I agree. I don't think 20-man units of Grots can ever be considered proper anvil units, but even as meat shields their durability is the primary concern. I agree on the bows as well, you really need a unit of 40 Grots to make the Shaman buff worthwhile.

I think what I'll settle on for the time being is building my 40 Moonclan Grots as one unit with spears, and my 60 Gitmob Grots as one unit of 40 with bows and one unit of 20 with spears. That should give me plenty of options.

[Andreas]

Haha true... road bumb is probably the right word. ?

[ChippyRick]

On 3/6/2017 at 9:47 AM, Chris Tomlin said:

Hi @Solaris,

How are you planning on using the Grots in your army? Or more importantly, what kind of list are you intending to run around them?

I have seen people running both Moonclan and Gitmob, though Moonclan tend to be the more popular option in mixed Destruction, purely due to the Fanatics and the additional protection they provide whilst the Thundertusks hammer away!! #pewpew

@ChippyRick has been assembling Moonclan this week and I'm sure will be able to share some thoughts on equipment. I believe he has done small units of 20 with bows and then one of 40 with spears and shields.

I am still a little unsure myself. Currently i am building 40 moonclan with bows, having some shots is great in the army. Bows also give you another option to remove the small number of models left over from a combat that are holding up your monsters, as i am looking at this with part of my BCR characters. I have gone moonclan over gitmob for now so i can include the fanatics, but can see the potential in the gitmob with the buffs.

In a big unit sitting on home objectives i see the appeal in spear and shield, and will likely have a unit soon to try as well. again for this i think i will look at moonclan as with the use of fanatics its keeping charges off those units and others for longer.

Not had much game time yet so may come back with more and different thoughts 

[Gauche]

I always run Spear/Shield. I wish Bow/Shield was an option since the additional shooting would be great but alas, it's not. In my list the Moonclan Grots are a pure screen, throwaway Unit so I want them as durable as possible. 4+ Armor Save against opposing shooting is really strong for such a cheap Unit and they usually get a Wound or two through, extra reach from the Spears is worth the poorer profile since the Unit has quite a few models on small bases.

Depending on your local meta Bow/Slitta is perfectly viable, it's great against melee armies. I have a lot of shooting in my area so I need the resiliency in order to make sure they can deliver the Fanatic (double screen).

[Dotification]

13 hours ago, Gauche said:

Depending on your local meta Bow/Slitta is perfectly viable, it's great against melee armies. I have a lot of shooting in my area so I need the resiliency in order to make sure they can deliver the Fanatic (double screen).

Double screen??  

From the FAQ;

Q: If I put more than one Grot Fanatic in the same unit of Moonclan Grots, can I release them over the course of several different turns, or must they all be released at the same time? Must all of the Fanatics that are released at the same time be placed within 1" of the unit that is hiding them?

A: They must all be released at the same time, and must all be placed within 1" of the unit that is hiding them.

Also, the ratio for Netters is 3/20

Q: On the Moonclan Grots warscroll, how many Netters count as a ‘few’? A: Up to three out of every twenty models.

[Solaris]

21 hours ago, ChippyRick said:

I am still a little unsure myself. Currently i am building 40 moonclan with bows, having some shots is great in the army. Bows also give you another option to remove the small number of models left over from a combat that are holding up your monsters, as i am looking at this with part of my BCR characters. I have gone moonclan over gitmob for now so i can include the fanatics, but can see the potential in the gitmob with the buffs.

In a big unit sitting on home objectives i see the appeal in spear and shield, and will likely have a unit soon to try as well. again for this i think i will look at moonclan as with the use of fanatics its keeping charges off those units and others for longer.

Not had much game time yet so may come back with more and different thoughts 

I agree, I do think a mixture of weaponry is beneficial (barring play test still). Moonclan are certainly better than Gitmob, there is no doubt about that. However, the cost also has to be considered - a basic Moonclan unit with a Fanatic costs 50% more than a basic Gitmob unit. Do we really need all of our mandatory Battleline units to unleash Fanatics? I have a hard time imagining the table top scenario where that would be absolutely necessary. Again, waiting to play test, I have a game tomorrow where I will field a 1500 points mixed Destruction list if I manage to glue together 40 Grots and 5 Brutes until then.

17 hours ago, Gauche said:

Depending on your local meta Bow/Slitta is perfectly viable, it's great against melee armies. I have a lot of shooting in my area so I need the resiliency in order to make sure they can deliver the Fanatic (double screen).

Again, I agree. I still question the need for all three mandatory Battleline units to be able to deliver Fanatics though.

3 hours ago, Dotification said:

Double screen??

Yes. The Fanatic unit is the first screen, and the Grot unit is the second screen.

[Gauche]

As Solaris said, the Fanatic is one screen and the Unit is another screen. Not sure why the 3 Netters was mentioned though.

[Magister]

If you have a spear/shield moon clan unit, do netters count as having shields? I mean, I'm assuming if you're down to 10 gobbos you're unit is in trouble anyway, but just curious because I didn't see it in the FAQ.

[Oreaper84]

in the equipment it says instead may carry nets....so by that i assume no. Something to consider if you are rolling mass saves for the unit.

[Solaris]

Got a couple of games in, ran 20 Moonclan with spears and 2x20 Gitmob with bows. Really happy with how I geared them - they did exactly what I was hoping they would do. For the Gitmob archers, they mostly hung back, capped objectives and put some wounds on key targets - very good utility. The moonclan spearmen were, as expected, great for delivering Fanatics. If you can control which enemy units can charge, that gives your other units a massive advantage in the following combat.