Greetings, savage brutes, cunnin’ stabbers, and primal shamans! Today we’ll be talking about Hedkrakka’s Madmob - a new team of green skins that enters the ranks of Direchasm warbands.
This is a 4 man team of savage Orruks that has taken the task of sowing destruction within the corridors of the Beastgrave. How do they compare to their armored cousins from Mogrok’s Krushas? Will they be a force to be reckoned with?
Inspire Condition
Inspire condition of this warband is very similar to Thundrik’s Profiteers. Your leader plays a pivotal role thanks to his Primal Portent ability. Every time your warband gains a Primacy token you can choose one fighter and inspire him. This is pretty cool, as you get the ability to decide which of your fighters will inspire. This flexibility is very valuable, but comes at a cost - should Hedkrakka die your warband is left with very limited options to inspire. I’ve been through that at times with my beloved Profiteers. It hurts a lot. But at the same time having the ability to inspire precisely the fighter you need is fantastic. Because those guys inspire off gaining Primacy token you’ll want to include some tools to make this as reliable as possible.
The Fighters
Almost all of the fighters (with exception of Dakko Sharp-Stikka) share one rule: Primal Surge. This rule states that after activation in which this fighter takes an enemy fighter out of action you gain the Primacy token. Effectively it means that any kill made by the three of your fighters will grant you the Primacy token. That is a very solid help for a warband that needs those tokens so much. What’s important to note is the fact that attacks that happen outside of activation will not grant the Primacy token - that part of the rule I dislike.
Hedkrakka, Gob of Gork - leader of the mob. He’s a level 2 wizard with two attack profiles. His Wurbgog Staff is very similar to most of the wizard leader’s attacks - range 2, damage two but hits on 2 swords rather than hammers. This makes that attack quite inaccurate and not a thing you’ll want to use. His second attack is Bone Krusha - ranged spell attack action with a range of 3 and 1 damage. What’s interesting about this is the Krushin’ rule - if the target of this attack is adjacent then this action gets +1 damage.
Hedkrakka has movement 3, 4 wounds, and defends on two dodges. He is a bit slow and if you would like to make full use of his spell attack action you might need some +speed power cards. He has a fairly solid defensive stat line. 2 dodges can be pretty tanky, so having it right off the bat is great. Still, you might want to be careful with positioning this guy. Losing him is very painful.
Our shaman has also his Primal Portent and Primal Surge abilities. He’s a key fighter - at least early on - as he enables you to inspire others.
Hedkrakka gains a +1 move upon inspiration, and his Krushin’ ability adds 2 damage instead of 1. This means his spell attack deals a respectable 3 damage in melee.
Wollop Da Skul - an angry orruk with a big chompa. He’s a hunter and he’s having range 1 attack that hits on 2 smash and deals 2 damage. Additionally, this attack has a special rule Leveller. This is a built-in Gloryseeker - attacks against targets with 4+ wounds gain +1 damage. This is a pretty sweet little thing. It’s a bit of a shame that it’s not a flat 3 damage attack, but still, it’s pretty balanced.
Wollop is having movement 3, defends on a single dodge, and has 4 wounds. He also has Primal Surge rule, so all his kills grant Primacy.
Upon inspiration he will gain a +1 move, his attack gets cleave and he also attains a new ability - Lucky Warpaint. This gives him a re-roll in defense. This is much needed for a single dodge fighter. Overall his inspiration bonuses aren’t that big and he could be considered as one of the last guys to inspire.
Toofdagga - he’s got an interesting fashion sense. He’s another hunter with a fairly decent attack action - Toofdagga’s Daggas. It has range 1, hits on 3 fury, and deals two damage.
Our Wolverine wannabe is not very quick - has movement 3, defends on a single dodge, and has 4 wounds.
What’s very important about him is his Tireless Trackers ability. At the start of the first round, he allows you to push up to two other friendly hunters by 1 hex towards the enemy leader. Since our orruks are rather slow, this is a super valuable tool that helps Madmob’s charges to connect. He’s also having Primal Surge ability, so all of his kills will reward us with the Primacy token.
Once inspired he gets to movement 4, gains extra defense dice - which is huge - and his attack action is improved. Now it will hit on 4 fury and gains Savage ability - on a critical hit it will deal an extra point of damage, going up to 3. Now that’s a respectable amount of stat gains - this makes Toofdagga our top priority for inspiration. He’s also a fantastic platform for Fighters Ferocity.
Dakko Sharp-Stikka - final orruk from the mob and third hunter. Dakko is the archer and can provide some ranged support with his Stinga Bow. It is a range 3 attack action that hits on 2 fury for 1 damage. It also has Lotsa Arrers special ability. As a reaction, after his activation, if he has no move or charge tokens he can make his bow attack. After that, he will get a charge token. It’s a good tool to launch a volley of two attacks if you had an enemy model in his range. It’s not as good as Rapid Reload or similar effects, but if you will get Dakko positioned well it can deliver some pain - especially after upgrading him. So… Dakko is not a sniper, he prefers quantity over quality.
Dakko also has a second ability - Primal Tracker. After Dakko’s move action, if he is holding an objective and there are no enemy fighters within 2 hexes, you’ll gain a primacy token.
It’s a cool ability and a good way to quickly inspire one of your fighters. However, with movement 3 it might be pretty difficult to find an objective in enemy territory that is in range and away from enemy models. Some setup is required if you want to make use of this. It will be well telegraphed - especially in the first round. And your opponent can counterplay it with relative ease.
What’s notable is that Dakko does not have a Primal Surge ability.
While inspired, Dakko gets movement 4 and his bow becomes more accurate going to 3 fury, which is nice and opens up the possibility to put Fighter’s Ferocity on him to maximize his damage. Our archer also gains Lucky Warpaint to get a defensive re-roll. It might save his skin as a single dodge is a meager defense.
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What I love most about this warband is its flavor. Miniatures are cool. Fighter name, weaponry, and special abilities - are all named in a very cool way. The thematic package is very solid and I’m enjoying it a lot.
Mechanically they seem to have a lot of potential. You’ve got the flexibility to inspire them in the order that suits you the most. The damage they have is in line with what we’re seeing across the whole season - 3 fighters with 2 damage, one of them has the option to go up to 3. Their speed is a little bit disappointing and I’m a bit concerned about a single dodge on two of the fighters - even after inspiration. 4 wound body helps here, but then again - in the current meta it’s not that difficult to deal 4 damage.
Still, they’re offering a very solid base for an aggressive playstyle and Toofdagga is the standout fighter of the warband. He can be built to be a real monster.
Having said that - let’s have a look at what Hedkrakka’s Madmob has in store in terms of cards.
Faction Specific Cards
While rating the cards I will be following the system as below:
1 - a very powerful card. You should take it in nearly every deck. A staple.
2 - a very strong card that you should consider taking. Might not always make the cut, but should usually contend with other options.
3 - a situational card that might prove to be good in certain situations or with proper card support
4 - a weak card. You might find a use for it, but in general, most often you’ll be better off with other picks.
Faction Objectives
Biggest and Meanest - this would’ve been good in Mollog/Hrothgorn/Krusha deck. Madmob’s fighters have 4 wounds and that’s too low to score this reliably - even with investments in +wounds upgrades. And I’m not entirely sure you’d want to make too many of those. Especially not for 1 glory. But it’s a solid card while playing into horde warbands.
Rating: 3
Bring It On - This should be fairly reliable to score. And it’s a Dual surge, which is always nice to have for Set The Tempo. My only issue with this card is that you don’t have control over when it can be scored. It might sit in your hand for a long time if your opponent is not interested in charging you. Or one-shots your fighters. That’s a major downside and the main reason why the rating for this card is so low.
Rating: 3
Dead Sneaky - on a first glance, this is a good surge. But then you realize that - while being loaded with special abilities - Madmob has only one built-in reaction. And it’s not one that’s granted to happen. It still can be a good card, but you’ll need to make sure your power deck contains enough reactions to score this reliably. And that might not be worth the effort.
Rating: 3
‘Ere We Go! - I love this. This card is pretty clear - be in enemy territory, or have everyone made a charge action. Very Orruk-ish. It’s also a hybrid surge that’s scoreable even in round 1 with a bit of an effort. Becomes easier later in the game. While not super strong, it’s something to consider having in your deck.
Rating: 2
Eye of Gorkamorka - I just don’t think I would like to spend the effort to score this in my end phase. Not for 1 glory. It can be argued that it flows nicely with your plan to have a Primacy token anyway. But if I were to take 1 glory end phase objective it would have to be easier than that.
Rating: 4
Great Hunters - this is very much scoreable. Your game plan will most likely revolve around going into enemy territory anyway. Sadly this is 3rd end phase card and those always should be handled with care. Does this offer payout good enough to justify taking it? At this point in the season probably not. There’s a very strong competition in end-phase objectives that grant 2-3 glory. Post rotation this card has the potential to be very good before the card pool expands again.
Rating: 3
Green Fury - frankly speaking, I’m a little bit torn on this one. With a bit of accuracy, this can be very reliable. But the part about being wounded is making the cost of failing an attack so much higher. Going from 4 to 3 wounds is quite big and not something you would want to do on your own via lethal hex. Sure, you could simply charge with an already wounded fighter, but then you might have to wait for one of your fighters to be hit by an attack. I really would like to give it 2, but it’s somewhere between 2 and 3 for me.
Rating: 3
Heralds of the Waaagh! - getting all of your fighters inspired takes some effort. And while most likely you’ll get there in the end, it might not always happen. This is effectively a 2nd or even 3rd end phase objective in many cases. Loose Hedkrakka early and your chances of scoring this drop almost to zero. There’re plenty of 1 glory end phase options that are strictly better than this.
Rating: 4
Hunt The World Spirit - if you wanted to go for a more flex route this objective could support it pretty well. It could also work well with Path to Victory. Still - it would require some investment to keep your fighters on those objective tokens, which can be tricky - especially for a warband whose tools are focused on delivering their fighters to the enemy, rather than on objectives.
Rating: 3
Smash ‘Em - it’s something that can be coupled with cards like Bold Deeds, Dominant Display or even Clean Kills. Getting 2 kills is something that will most likely happen. The main trick will be to retain Primacy token. You might want to consider having this in your aggressive build. But then you need to choose which of the entire package you’d want to keep - having too many of those might brick you early on.
Rating: 2
Stab! Stab! Stab! - I like the theme of this card. It’s all about carnage. It’s a hybrid card where both conditions are concerned about being aggressive but can be scored from doing different things. Sadly both conditions are fairly difficult - only Wallop Inspired has cleave. He then has to find someone with a block or who’s on guard. Then Wallop has to land his attack. Alternatively, he can go and kill a 5 wound fighter. And that is no small task.
Rating: 4
Weird Omens - that’s a lot of places to be while also having a Primacy. Positioning can be tricky and becomes fairly telegraphed when you’re parking one of your guys in no one’s territory. The card goes dead after you lose two of your fighters too. 2 glory end phase objectives are in a great spot right now with a lot of solid options to chose from. Weird Omens are not defending themselves in that company.
Rating: 4
Faction Gambits
Brutal Beast Spirits - first of the faction-specific gambits. I wish this worked on any attack. The limitation to only work during a charge is a bit of a bummer here. The value from the card is pretty good - it’s a combination of a Determined Effort and half of the Spectral Wings. Speed and accuracy in one card are fantastic. If only this had the flexibility to work in any scenario… Being one focus cast balances the card nicely.
Rating: 3
Da Big Waaagh! - a very good accuracy option. The base effect is a poor man’s Determined Effort - +dice that is limited to the range 1 attacks. However, if you happen to have a Primacy you can get quite the mileage out of this card. Play this early in the round and you could boost 2 or maybe even 3 attacks which is huge. This card is a very strong contender for a place in the deck.
Rating: 1
Da Great Stomp - this card lets you push all of your fighters by one hex closer towards the enemy. This is fantastic. If drawn in your opening hand this can help to close the gap of 5 hexes between the fighters - 1 hex from the card and another 1 hex from Toofdagga. Those move 3 orruks can get very close to you faster than one might think!
Rating: 1
Kunnin’ Beast Spirits - second in-faction spell in the deck. Extra defense dice can go a long way, but in general, I don’t think this card can make the cut and land in your deck. After all - the best defense is offense - especially when you want to gain those Primacy tokens. It’s not a terrible card, but it just doesn’t flow with the warband.
Rating: 3
Never Tiring - so, this is very similar to Da Big Waaagh! - you gain an effect, that lasts as long as you’re having a Primacy token. This is a very powerful effect. And having +1 speed in a move 3 warband is great. Thing is that you might want to focus on one of the +2 speed ploys like Tracking or Spectral Wings. Global +1 speed is sweet, but you might need that one more hex to reach your destination. Still - this is a very strong card.
Rating: 2
Primal Brutality - what a great card! So, the most basic usage is to play this one to gain the Primacy token and inspire one of your fighters and maybe score Surge of Aggression. Option B is to discard your token and make an attack with one of your fighters who haven’t charged yet. Out-of-activation attacks are very powerful moves that can be pivotal at times. The flexibility here is cool and both effects are very strong. The only downside is that you can’t get the Primacy back from that attack due to how primacy rules work.
Rating: 1
Primal Kunnin’ - this is a Sidestep with a twist. If you’re feeling bold enough you can give up your Primacy token to your opponent. If you do so you can push your fighter by 3 hexes instead of 1. This can get you in range of an attack that might give you your token back and maybe inspire another of your orruks! Very cool risk vs reward decision point.
Rating: 2
Strange Portents - I love this card. If timed right it can turn around an attack on its head. It’s also very flexible - it can be either an accuracy card or a defensive one. You can use it to change your characteristics to smash and hit a block fighter who suddenly defends on a dodge instead. That’s a very significant boost to your accuracy. Alternatively, you could try to do the opposite - change enemy attack to fury while turning your own defense to block. Very cool design and one of the best accuracy cards.
Rating: 1
Unhinged Ferocity - yet another extra attack card. Those are always super handy. What’s cool here is that even if you don’t have the Primacy to re-do the attack, you can get a consolation prize and inspire your fighter. If you have the primacy you can give it up and attack again.
Rating: 1
Warpaint Ward - with this card you’ve got 16% to avoid the damage of the attack (and being driven back) completely - which is huge. On top of that, there’s about a 33% chance to reduce the damage taken by 1. That’s about 50% to maybe avoid death. It’s not great, but you can take it if you’re feeling lucky.
Rating: 3
Faction Upgrades
Berserk Might - Knockback 1 is not that hot. I don’t believe anyone would take an upgrade only to gain that ability. If you have the Primacy token you’ll also get the benefit of Giant Strength, which is far more interesting. Trouble is that there are many options to grant that +1 damage without having to rely on having the Primacy token. Knockback doesn’t add anything to the equation.
Rating: 4
Green God’s Glare - a re-roll for Hedkrakka’s magic attack or Dakko’s bow. It’s nice to consider but overall ranged attacks are probably not going to be your focus in this warband. The value goes up if you’re going to go for a double-tap build. But then you might take Hunter’s Talisman instead to benefit from extra dice and a potential re-roll.
Rating: 3
Killa Instinkt - this upgrade turns Toofdagga into a surgical tool. Is this necessary for a 4 dice fighter? Probably not - you’re going to be aiming for a crit fishing as the most optimal way of maximizing his damage. But if you want to follow a more conservative route of adding +damage and making sure it is delivered then this upgrade can be very valuable.
Rating: 2
Lucky Bone - this is amazing. Fuelled By Fury on a stick! What’s so great about this upgrade is the fact that it works on almost any roll - attack, defense, casting. And if that wasn’t enough - you can choose whether to use it after you’ve seen your roll. So if your dice is hot you don’t have to spend this - it will wait as a safeguard for a less optimal roll. Very strong card. It’s also a reaction, so if you wanted to play Dead Sneaky it will help you score it.
Rating: 1
Morkish Familiar - a worse version of Green God’s Glare. It works on gambit spell casting rolls while Glare doesn’t. But it’s limited to Hedkrakka, so not that great.
Rating: 4
Power of the Beast - Take Great Fortitude and buff it. You’ll get this card. +2 wounds without downsides while having Primacy token is great. Just be aware that if your fighter is left at 1 wound he is living on a borrowed time. And he will die at the moment you lose your Primacy token.
Rating: 2
Spirit of Gorkamorka - re-rolls of your attack dice are always great to have. This is the bread and butter of any aggro team.
Rating: 1
Spirit of the Beast - there’s quite a bit happening here. You can simply apply this upgrade to one of your fighters. If you have the Primacy token that fighter will inspire. If you don’t have the token nothing happens - until you gain one. At this moment upgraded fighter will inspire leaving you with the option to inspire another one using your leader’s ability. That way you can get 2 for 1 promotion.
Additionally, while you have the Primacy token the fighter with this upgrade is on guard. You could stick this on Toofdagga, gain a Primacy token in some way and inspire one of your guys + Toofdagga, who is now a very formidable offensive force that is also sporting 2 dice on guard. A massive momentum shift from a single upgrade. Very cool.
Rating: 1
Stamina Reserves - this is a new version of Potion of Grace. The ability to replace a charge token with move one can be pivotal. Problem is that it’s very clear for your opponent what your plan is as soon as you equip this card. And since after the charge you’re left with a move token it’s not hard to counterplay by moving out of range of your fighter.
Rating: 3
Thick Hide - it feels too limited. It’s essentially lethal hex and ping damage protection. There isn’t enough ping damage to justify taking this. And immunity to lethal hex damage is not that amazing - even though can be useful. A big credit for the flavor text though.
Rating: 4
Closing Thoughts
Hedkrakka’s Madmob is full of flavor. I love this!
Card-wise they’re an interesting mix: rather mediocre faction objectives coupled with some fantastic power cards. While objectives are not very strong, they’re not straight-up bad either. Unlike in most warbands, there’s very little junk here. Sure - most of those objectives won’t see the competitive play, but they’re perfectly serviceable in a more casual environment. That’s rather rare, as usually more than half of the faction objective deck is trash that’s unplayable.
When it comes to the power deck - we’ve got quite a gold mine here. Hedkrakka has an access to some excellent accuracy and mobility tools. On top of that, they have at least 2 cards that can inspire one of their fighters.
Thirdly, their ability to play ping-pong with the Primacy token is amazing. Feign Weakness and Wrested Dominance is becoming an interesting pick for those guys. The ability to move those tokens around allows them to benefit from various “gain Primacy token” surges but also lets them inspire fighters very quickly. That’s a very cool element adding an extra layer of tactical choices for an aggro team. That Primacy ping-pong, while very rewarding, is also burdened with a certain degree of risk. And it’s up to you to decide if you’re feeling confident enough to give up your token to the opponent to gain some benefit and try to wrestle the token back. That’s very fun.
While most of the flavor in this warband is directed towards wanton destruction they can also support different playstyles. They have an access to magic - although almost no support for it from faction cards - and could maybe build for magic-oriented options. But what’s more interesting is their ability to flex into hold objective. They could be a very effective aggressive “hold 2” warband.
I’m going to enjoy running those guys over my opponent and crashing his territory while at it.
How will they impact meta? I don’t think they will at all. They fit very well into an aggressive playstyle that wants to hit hard and sit in the enemy territory. Not much is changing here except having one more warband that does it well. That’s more variety, which is good, but meta remains pretty much unchanged on an archetype level. When compared to their Krusha’s cousins - they’re are more aggressive and have more tools to deliver the damage. But at the same time, Krusha’s are better tanks which makes them more effective brawlers. Madmob has some very decently tanky fighters, but their main focus is alpha-striking main targets with pure savagery. And it has its charm.
What do you think about this warband? Are you as enthusiastic about them as am I? Or would you rather see something else in here?
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