Hey everyone! A new warband is here, what an exciting time! And with the new warband, I would like to invite you to my review of Gorlok’s Buccaneers. If you’re interested in how good Hrothgorn’s pirate cousin is then read on!
Gorlok’s Buccaneers are the crew from the grand alliance of Destruction. It is a 5 model warband consisting of an interesting mix of one very strong model and his entourage of minions and companions. At a first glance, there are very strong similarities to Hrothgorn Mantrapper, but are they Mantrappers 2.0? Let’s check out!
Before diving in I would like to thank Aman from Path to Glory for letting me use his card images - as always I appreciate it!
Inspire Condition
Interestingly, those guys have an individual inspiration mechanic. What’s more interesting is that smaller models have different conditions than Gorlok himself.
Gorlok’s Inspiration - our pirate will inspire after using up his second swag counter in the game. This translates to him having to perform two Grunderbuss attacks that do not ignore their Ammo rule. Additionally, he has to gain at least one swag counter as he starts with only one of those counters.
Everyone else - all other fighters have to make a Light-fingered reaction. This might be troublesome as they have to make a successful attack action and their target would need to survive the attack and have at least one upgrade attached. Don’t expect them to inspire via conventional means quickly - especially not the gnoblars as their accuracy is poor.
Special Rules
All members of Buccaneers, except the ogre, share the Light-fingered rule. This is a reaction that can be taken after making a successful attack. Once used you can break one of the targets upgrades and gain a swag counter. This is the main source of providing counters to Gorlok’s Grunderbuss, so it’s an important ability. It’s also a very cool and unique thing that allows the Buccaneers to deal with some troublesome upgrades. They can simply break them.
The Fighters
Gorlok Blackpowder - captain of Buccaneers. He’s an impressive fighter. His stats are movement 3, whooping 6 wounds, and defends on a single block. He’s also a brawler.
He has two attack options: Grunderbuss that has range 3, hits on 3 swords, and deals 2 damage. That’s a very respectable ranged attack profile. It has one drawback, however - to use it you have to discard one Swag counter. No Swag, no shooting.
His second attack option is his Great Cutlass - range 2 attack that hits on 2 hammers for 3 damage. Now that’s some heavy-hitting option! Mollog level of threat on this attack action.
Once inspired he gains +1 move, his Grunderbuss gains extra attack dice and he gets an option to spend two Swag counters to get Ensnare. It’s pretty okay, but it is not critical to inspire him asap. You can do a lot of heavy lifting with his Cutlass and be just fine.
4 dice on inspired Grunderbuss attack gives him the potential to dish out crazy damage once some upgrades are stacked.
Mange - THE monkey! Mange is the first of the two companions in the warband. He’s having movement 4, defends on 2 dodges, and has 2 wounds. A solid speed and protection for one of the smaller fighters. His Pilfered Dagger has a range of 1, hits on 3 swords for 1 damage. In addition to that, it has Grievous, so there’s a decent chance for dealing 2 damage with this attack.
Since Mange is a companion he has a reaction that allows him to be pushed up to 3 hexes after a friendly minion’s move action. He must end this push within 2 hexes of that minion. This is an excellent tool to help move Mange around the board.
Mange is having a Light-fingered rule. What’s interesting - he’s not a Beast. This means his tail can grab swords, polearms, etc. And he can hold objectives. That is a very nice touch.
Once inspired Mange gains +1 move, extra defense dice, and Ensnare. That is a very solid stat line and it’s worth inspiring our monkey. He can become a very difficult target to hit.
Shreek - we couldn’t have a proper pirate without a parrot! Shreek is the second companion in the warband. She’s a Beast and has Flying. This means Shreek won’t be able to hold objectives (but will do just fine for feature tokens) or equip weapon upgrades. Her stats are 5 move, two wounds, and defends on 2 dodges. It’s almost the same as Mange’s, but faster. Again - this is a very decent stat line for a small fighter.
Shreek’s Cruel Talons have range 1, hit on 3 swords, and deal 1 damage with a chance for an extra one from Grievous. That is pretty much a carbon copy of Mange’s attack.
Shreek chose to accompany Gorlok, so her push reaction works the same way as Mange’s, but is triggered by Blackpowder instead. In addition to that, if Shreek is within 2 hexes of her master, she’s supported by him. That makes here much harder to hit, but also makes here more accurate.
Shreek is also Light-Fingered.
Once inspired she gains an extra defense dice and her attack gains Stagger. She becomes very difficult to be hit and at the same time, she can support offensive actions by being around the targets and by staggering them with her attacks. While her inspiration might not be critical, she sure is one of the better candidates for it in this warband.
Kagey - a flying, bearded gnoblar! I love it! I’m afraid those are the most exciting parts of Kagey though. He’s the first of two minions of Gorlok.
He moves for 3, defends on a single dodge, and has 2 wounds. That’s not impressive at all, but then again that’s about a standard for gnoblars.
His Grapnel has a range of 3, hits on 2 swords for 1 damage, and has Ensnare. He also has a Light-Fingered rule. Nothing impressive.
After inspiration, he goes to the movement of 4 and gains extra dice in both attack and defense. He becomes slightly better, but not amazing. He will be the tool to do utility actions if anything.
Peggz - last crew member, second minion. Peggz has had a tough life that left him with a disability. He’s a true champion though as he’s not letting his wooden leg slow him down and he keeps up the pace with his flying gnoblar comrade!
Peggz offers a standard gnoblar stat line of movement of 3, single dodge, and 2 wounds. His attack is also very standard having a range of 1, hitting on two swords, and dealing 1 damage.
As every small member of the crew, he has a Light-Fingered rule.
Once inspired he gains +1 move and extra dice both in attack and defense.
He, like Kagey, is the sacrificial pawn of the warband. It must feel bad to be less useful than a monkey or a parrot…
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Overall we’re getting an interesting warband. At first glance, it’s simply the second Hrothgorn - a big ogre who does all the heavy lifting with the minor aid of Thrafnir. But there’s more to this warband. Blackpowder has a more dangerous melee attack thanks to having more range on it. This brings him in line with the likes of Mollog and Kainan. His ranged attack action is more accurate than Hrothgorn’s but limited by ammo to balance it out.
He has less defensive capabilities than what we were used to while playing Hrothgorn. No damage reduction and only a single defense dice make him more vulnerable. This might change thanks to the Brawler keyword though. Unfazed will turn him into 2 defense fighter for most of the attackers. He will be much harder to kill, but it will come at the cost of one upgrade and won’t work on range 2+ attacks. I think that’s fair.
What’s very interesting to see is the fact that companions will play a major role in this warband. You’ll need them to help deal with the damage. They can work as bait, support the big guys or even dish out punishment themselves. With Punching Up it’s not that unlikely to see them land a 3 damage attack on their own. What’s also very important is the fact that you need your small fighters to generate swag counters. Without them, you’ll not be shooting a lot and you’ll not inspire Gorlok.
Their ability to break upgrades can be very useful - especially when you try to prepare for an important attack versus a stacked fighter. Shreek could set it up nicely by breaking one of the defensive upgrades and by staggering the target. That’s a very cool option to explore.
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
Aspiring Tyrant - this is a fairly decent one glory end phase card. There are many options to set up a charge and claim the token with your leader. The secondary scoring option is harder early in the game, but with the offensive potential of Gorlok, it might be an auto-score later on.
Rating: 2
Bold Tales - the first scoring option is just a harder Supremacy and it’s hard to do. The second option could be the way to go for this objective. It might brick against elite teams, but it should be fairly easy to do against hordes, so it would be a meta call if to include it.
Rating: 3
Brash Braggart - mini Unafraid. It can be pretty easy to score if you intend to play aggressively with your leader (which you probably should consider).
Rating: 2
Broadside - it takes some setup to pull it off, but Blackpowder has the means to pull it off without too much effort. It’s cool that those attacks don’t have to be successful to score this. A rarity this season. Skip only if you intend to go 100% melee path or you want to hoard swag counters for some reason.
Rating: 1
Brutal Belaying - it’s pretty good if you pack the tools for it. It could also be achieved with Gorlok and Shreek if the target was close enough for the reaction to bring the parrot close enough to it. With some push ploys, this could be set up without this synergy as well.
Rating: 2
Eyes on the Prize - this one is interesting. You either go full-on Swag generation and forsake attacking with Grunderbus or you skip this objective. you could also be greedy and try to score it and unload your gun afterward, but I think that would be suboptimal. It’s not worth aiming for 6 counters to gain one more glory, so I would consider this card purely from 3 counters - 2 glory perspective.
Rating: 3
Gold Diggers - This is amazing. It’s Swift Capture but better. Not only it works on feature tokens, but its scoring window is after a power step, so you get to use your power cards to set it up. Really good surge.
Rating: 1
Loaded With Booty - that’s an interesting card. If you can ensure getting those swag counters this could be the best hold 2 card for this warband. It’s a strong option for a flex build.
Rating: 2
Maneater - can be tough for some matchups and having to be adjacent is not that hot for Gorlok - you want to be able to utilize the flexibility of your range. This objective limits that and I don’t like it. I think this could be easily replaced by another, less restrictive, kill surge.
Rating: 3
Smash and Grab - if you’re planning to use your companions to do some attacks or your local meta is using a decent number of illusions this could be a very nice card. Its secondary condition can be easy but is heavily dependant on your opponent. While this is not a bad objective I think there are better one glory cards out there. It gains a lot of value in illusion-rich meta though as it is an auto-score then.
Rating: 3
Tall Tale - so this is a good old Singled Out with an alternative, but a hard, scoring condition. It’s a good shout if you would like to stack your fighter with upgrades.
Rating: 3
Treasure-Hungry - a very nice option for flex build that synergizes well with the other hold 2 objectives.
Rating: 2
Faction Gambits
Been There - it’s a nice tool to bring your leader in for the kill. You could bait an attack with one of your companions, who have a good chance of surviving the attack, and then move in. It’s cool that you get to do it after the charge and your fighter doesn’t need to survive that charge. This can be a very nasty surprise for your opponent and your leader’s range makes it hard to avoid his retribution with a Sidestep.
Rating: 1
Done That - I like the wordplay here, well done GW ;) This might be a good option - especially if you run Unfazed in your deck. It is a bit too situational and provides not enough benefits for my liking though.
Rating: 3
Flurry of Claws - this is an amazing card. An extra attack in the power step is super sweet. And you get to do it with one of your companions, who are decent fighters on their own. You get to double-tap with this card. You could set your leader’s attack with your Shreek in the opponent’s power step, try to break the freshly applied upgrade, get a swag counter… there are many uses of this card.
Rating: 1
Gold Rush - this is a good card that goes to a must-have if you’re flexing into holding feature tokens. It can help you score those hold objectives or deliver your companions closer to their targets. Really nice card.
Rating: 2
Grand Theft - this is a nice accuracy option that awards you with a swag counter as a bonus. Can be very useful if you want to ensure your leader will inspire. Might not make the cut in many cases, but I do like it.
Rating: 3
Hasty Shot - another extra attack card - those are always at a premium. This one allows Gorlok to shoot his Grunderbuss without having to spend ammo. It’s really good and has nice synergy with objectives like Broadside. But it comes at a steep cost. You have to play this card and discard another power card to be able to make an attack. And that attack has a -1 dice penalty. I would say you would have to be fairly desperate to go for it while Blackpowder is uninspired unless you have supports or some other form of accuracy increase. Losing 2 power cards to make 2 swords attack is not the best of bargains. It’s more interesting when Gorlok is inspired - you have 3 dice shot then. It’s really nice option if there are some supports around or you really want to eliminate some models quickly.
Rating: 1
Makeshift Munitions - this ploy allows you to fire Grunderbuss even if you don’t have Swag counters for it. The downside is that it decreases the damage done by 1. That is a deal-breaker for me - I would like this card a whole lot more if it either gave an attack action in the power step or if it did not lower the damage. It’s better if you stacked Gloryseeker and/or Fighter’s Ferocity on your leader. That -1 damage is less impactful then.
Rating: 3
Punytive Damage - that’s an interesting ping ploy. But I don’t like the cards where I have little to no control over who and when is targeted by them. It gets bonus points for wordplay.
Rating: 3
Reckless Raid - you can buff your pet’s and Peggz’s accuracy at the cost of making them more vulnerable. It’s not worth it unless you’re desperate to get some attacks in at any cost. But at that point you’ve probably lost the game anyway.
Rating: 4
Snack Break - there are better heals in the game right now. Losing a fighter (who has to be adjacent), giving up one glory, and spending a ploy slot to heal 2 wounds are far from optimal. Not worth it at all.
Rating: 4
Faction Upgrades
Cache Compass - so this could be used as a weird +2 move kind of a thing where after move action you react to push your minion onto feature token. I don’t think it’s worth the upgrade slot though. Swag counter and inspiration are nice bonuses, but still, I’m not sold on this one. I would rather use the ploy to push, but then again - it could have its uses. It’s just that in Championship there are better upgrades available.
Rating: 3
Legendary Looter - this is a straight bad card. Spend a glory, spend one of your upgrades, then spend an activation and a swag counter to put an upgrade for free? Oh and put a charge token on your target? There’s an awesome shortcut to get the benefit at a much lower cost - just spend one glory and apply the upgrade you want instead of going through the whole ordeal.
Rating: 4
Liberated Map - Hidden Paths in an upgrade. Sounds fun. Sadly it is restricted to minions, so its utility is very questionable. This is the second upgrade awarding Swag counters and inspiration for standing on a feature token at the end of the action phase. This is a nice touch, but it’s very hard to find the game where this card’s effect alone would allow triggering that condition. I haven’t seen a single game where feature token had to go on the edge. And it’s not very likely to happen in the foreseeable future.
Rating: 4
More Powder - this one is a bit weird. I like the effect, but I don’t think I would ever spend an upgrade slot for this one. But if you want to try some weird sniper builds you could go for range 4 shots.
Rating: 3
More Shot - I like the flavor of this card. Big guns can lead to some splash damage! This effect is too random and requires enemy models to be adjacent to each other to work. Because of that, I don’t think this card will see play.
Rating: 4
Pointy Bits - Grievous for minions feels a bit like a waste - they’re the last fighters you would want to use offensively. Reaction for Gorlok is more interesting - if your meta is full of 2+ defense fighters who use block or go on guard often then this card could do some work for you.
Rating: 3
Scavenged Shot - while a bit situational it is a strong card. Delivering Gorlok to a feature token in no man’s land or in the enemy territory should be fairly easy. And trading 1 wound for a shot might be a very good option. Use with caution though or Blackpowder can become an easy kill.
Rating: 2
Thieving Grapple - if only Kagey was faster… rolling for more than one enemy fighter would also be neat. As it is now you get a 33% chance to break an upgrade and trigger the benefit effect… but with a movement of 3 it might be tricky to execute in the first place.
Rating: 4
Tiny Braggart - I don’t believe Peggz is worth the investment. Often he might be dead before you even draw it.
Rating: 4
Troggoth Grease - the art on this card makes my eyes hurt. But the effect is amazing. This card will be played on Mange in 90% of scenarios and having the monkey on permanent guard will make it super difficult to hit. Inspired Mange will be very safe to be sent for some daring charges with this on. Really good card.
Rating: 1
Closing Thoughts
I like this warband. I really want it to do well. Will it be top tier? It’s hard to say. They have the potential to do some good stuff. With the fighters and tools, they have they could go for either pure aggro or a more flexible approach. The current meta is very skewed towards big brawls in the middle of the board so it might be a bit difficult to hold feature tokens outside of their own territory as the kill zone is there. But companions could be delegated to try to breach the front line and do some holding at the back while Gorlok keeps the middle busy.
I really like the playstyle where some of the smaller fighters are still meaningful additions to the warband, not just pawns used for holding the tokens and trying to keep them alive. While gnoblars are just that in this warband, monkey and parrot are decent fighters on their own and they can contribute in more ways by breaking upgrades, providing swag counters, or simply killing opponents. That’s really cool.
When it comes to faction cards Buccaneers have a very nice set of objectives and ploys. Upgrades are in shambles though. Most of them are not something you will ever take out from your storage unless playing Rivals. There are two very cool standouts - Scavenged Shot and Troggoth Grease. But the rest are simply crappy or too situational. So this is a major downside as it creates a hard dependency on the universal pool in this area.
Bottom line is that they have tools to be a very strong option in the pool but they should not be as abusive as Hrothgorn was before all the nerfs he has received.
The last thing I’d like to comment on is the artwork. I have to say that whoever made those arts must have disliked the subject. I find those cards as one of the ugliest in the history of the game and their art style is very different from the rest. Quality sometimes resembles something a young teen would paint… I hope this was a one-time hiccup in otherwise really great art quality in WHU.
I’m looking forward to playing this crew, how about you?
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