Thanks to Games Workshop for sending us these rules and the Skaventide box set for review. Over the coming weeks, we will be having experts provide insight into how they are building and running lists with each faction in Age of Sigmar. For this overview, we’re looking at what stands out for each faction, how much has changed, and how we might approach some key challenges on the tabletop.

Want to eschew “tactics” for good ol’ fashioned combat? Ogors, like most Destruction armies, really do just want to win their games by removing the enemy from the table. There’s still plenty of buffs and important decisions to be made but all of those ultimately end you in the same place: kill the enemy before they kill you. Simple! 

Ogors have gone through some strange phases with what often felt like two different armies in the same book between Beastclaw Raiders and their foot-slogging kin. This faction pack brings the two closer together than before and even guides you to take a bit of both, if that’s the way you want to go. You can absolutely still play oops-all-monsters if that’s your thing.

Army Rules

As with the other factions, Warhammer Community has already shown off their Battle Traits so I won’t be repeating them in depth here. In short: units deal some mortal wounds when they charge, get +2 to run rolls earlier in the game, and once per game have a nice little picnic of enemy flesh to heal and deal mortal wounds to enemies already engaged in combat. After the feast though you lose +2 to your run rolls, so don’t use it too early to keep some mobility. 

Battle Formations

Like all faction packs you get four to choose from, it’s free, and will depend heavily on how you’ve constructed your army; or maybe it will change how you construct your army list. Real chicken and egg quandary there. 

Prophets of the Gulping God

Your wizards get +1 to all casting rolls. That’s just casting rolls, not dispel rolls, but it works on both spells and summoning manifestations. In general you’ll only be looking at taking up to two or three wizards in a list so you need to decide if that +1 is worth not having one of the other buffs. If you’ve gone for a very mixed army of infantry and cavalry then it just might be. 

Beast Handlers

Geared entirely towards the Beastclaw side of the army whenever a Monster uses the Trampling Charge ability it deals 1 additional mortal wound. That’s not much but if you’re going oops-all-monster it’s really the only choice for you. I’d have liked to see this also work on Mournfang Cavalry but oh well. 

Heralds of the Everwinter

Easily the coolest one for me this is the first time they’ve made a truly combined trait for Beastclaw and other Ogors. Your Beastclaw Raiders Heroes give a 12” wholly-within aura effect for -1 to hit rolls from shooting attacks targeting your infantry. Covering the advance with the Everwinter is an incredibly cool thing to get on the tabletop. Of course it simply won’t even come up in some games, but keeping your infantry that much safer from ranged damage before hitting enemy lines is great. 

Blackpowder Fanatics 

Your leadbelchers and Ironblaster gain Shoot In Combat so long as there’s a friendly Ogor Hero within combat range too. I don’t think the prerequisite of having a hero nearby was really needed on this but if you’re leaning heavy on shooting then it’s a nice ability to gain. 

Heroic Traits

Great Gutlord 

This hero ignores negative modifiers to its control score, hit rolls, and wound rolls. It can still gain positive modifiers on any of these which is nice. Keeps a Tyrant or even mounted hero fighting to full effect despite whatever tricks your opponent might have. 

Booming Roar

All enemy infantry subtract 5 from their control scores when in combat range. A bit too niche since it only effects infantry units where your Ogors are likely already killing off enough of them or just standing on points with a higher control score anyways. The last pick of the three, easily. 

Touched by the Everwinter

Easily the best ability you could choose. The hero either becomes Priest (1) or if they already were then re-roll all chanting rolls of 1. However if you choose to make a Wizard a Priest you can’t cast a spell and chat a prayer you have to pick one. There are some powerful prayers to use so getting more of those in your army will be a great benefit.

Plunder of the Mawtribes

Gruesome Trophies 

All of your Ogors wholly within 12” get +1 to all hit rolls targeting heroes or monsters. A nice, solid, easy to use buff that you’ll almost never be sad you have. Until you come up against an army that doesn’t have any monsters and its heroes are cowards hiding behind too-many units to get to. 

The Fang of Ghur

Once per game an enemy unit in combat range doesn’t get to make Ward rolls for the rest of the turn. Very powerful considering the abundance of Wards this edition. This is my top pick. 

Elixir of the Frostwyrm 

Roll a D6 and deal that much mortal damage to an enemy unit in combat range while healing that much to yourself. Very solid take on a Stonehorn hero to get some wounds back and dish out some mortal wounds in the shooting phase, potentially clearing up the last couple wounds of a unit he was stuck in combat with to be free for another charge. It is of course a once per game ability so time it right. 

Lore of Maw Magic 

Just a quick note that I’ve always loved that Ogors perform magic, even back in old Warhammer Fantasy, by just eating a bunch of weird shit. It rules.

Troggoth Guts

The unlimited spell of the lore with a low casting value of 5 it heals the target for D3 wounds and adds 3 to its control score. Getting multiple heals going will be great for any of your units, but even more so for your big monsters. Unfortunately you specifically cannot cast it on the same unit multiple times. Dreams of a Stonehorn healing 3D3 with +9 control score instantly dashed away. 

Greasy Deluge 

Casting on a 6 you pick an enemy unit in range and subtract 1 from their hit rolls. Simple. Good honest magic. No notes. 

Blood Feast

On a higher cast of 7 and can only target an Ogor Infantry unit this spell adds +1 to their attacks characteristic until your next turn. Cast from a Butcher, run and charge with some Ironguts, fight twice with them, and watch whatever they charged into be removed from the table. 

Everwinter Prayers

The only Priests are Huskards on Stonehorns or Thundertusks, and then the model you turned into a Priest with the above trait cause it rules and you should. 

Call of the Blizzard 

Answers on a 4 with the better-effect being a high 10. You place a blizzard token on a terrain piece within 18” which makes it Obscuring if it wasn’t already. If it was a 10+ then until your next turn all Beastclaw Raiders get a 5+ ward while within 3” of any terrain with a blizzard token. Being the unlimited prayer you can spread these across a few pieces in the early game and then build up some chanting points to get the ward turn two or three when you need it. Will take a bit of setting up and practice but really great to have. 

Pulverising Hailstorm 

A higher answer value of 5 and better-effect of 10 you point a point on the field within 12” and effects every enemy unit within 3” of that point as your priest calls down a hailstorm. This is the now-common D3 roll on 2+ deal that many mortal damage on the target and if you get the higher value it doubles the damage dealt. It’s hard for me to want to use chant tokens up on an ability that will fail to do anything ⅓ of the time but if your opponent is super clumped up you could hit a few heroes and/or units at once. 

Keening Gale

The simplest and possibly best to use each turn: pick a Monster or Mournfang unit in range to be able to charge after running. Answering on a 4 its’ relatively easy to get and on an 8 the effect unit also re-rolls all run and charge moves for the turn. Keep in mind you get +2 to run rolls but not if you auto-run 6” with the command that can make for an extremely fast unit crossing the table and causing carnage early. 

Faction Terrain

Ogor players are spoiled for choice here as the only faction (currently) to have two different pieces of terrain to choose from. You only get one though and it’s free as part of your list like any other faction terrain.

Great Mawpot is up first and the classic terrain piece that Ogors have had for a few years now. It’s a smaller/lighter piece with only 6 wounds and a 5+ save which gives a Wizard +1 power level until the end of the turn; that means it can cast an additional spell. It can also do some healing by emptying the pot and you’ll have to refill it by killing something near it to get the first benefit back again. It pairs nicely with the battle formation of +1 casting rolls to get a couple early game spells off before your opponent realises how easy the terrain piece is to kill. 

Choice number two is the Mawpit which has 4 more wounds than the Great Mawpot (so which is one is great, really?) and has a bunch of rules. You can pick a Butcher or Slaughtermaster to be “head Butcher” and place it on top of the terrain feature. Remember that models on a piece of faction terrain cannot fight. Everything that the Head Butcher does its now measured from the terrain piece, anything that would target the Head Butcher instead targets the terrain piece, and if the terrain is destroyed then the Head Butcher takes some mortal damage and is set back up on the table normally; it can also simply choose to leave, too. Getting some extra range on those spells and abilities can be great for Butchers who give Infantry run and charge wholly within 12” of him. The terrain itself dishes out some mortal damage every hero phase (yours and your opponents) with a longer range so long as it has a Head Butcher too. 

Warscroll Spotlight

Warhammer Community showed off Gluttons already but I am just so happy that finally there will no longer be debates all over the internet over ironfists or dual hand weapons. It doesn’t matter! Build them as you like and they just do the same thing regardless. Easy. Fortunately Mournfang Cavalry are in the same boat riding into battle with “mournfang rider weapon” with a solid little profile which gets extra rend against cavalry. These truly are the cavalry masters as well with all Charge (+1 Damage) having no effect on them either. Set them up mid-field, charge in, and accept any charges coming their way. They also give Beastclaw units within combat range -1 to wound rolls against shooting attacks making them a bit tougher on the way in.

Frost Sabres are like an unsung hero of Ogor armies. With good positioning and clever play these little guys can be incredibly useful for scoring points. In this edition they also flat-out cannot be seen by enemies while near terrain and more than 9” from all enemy units. Wandering around scoring battle tactics is just a great tool to have and in combat they can go pick off weaker back line units too, they can get pretty lucky. 

Frostlords have the choice of two different mounts, the Stonehorn or Thundertusk. The former deals a flat D3 mortal damage on the charge and can move 2D6” so long as it still ends in combat, able to move across models while doing so to get to a juicier target behind a screen; his Frost Spear also gains an ability to subtract 1 from the Attacks made by any Heroes or Monsters wounded by it. The latter option instead is a real anti-infantry machine doling out mortal wounds in movement phases to units in combat range and making 3 attacks of damage 5 that become Rend 2 against Infantry units; this Frost Spear doesn’t have the same effect and instead the Frostlord has a 12” wholly-within aura to give your Beastclaw units +1 mortal damage on the charge. Combine that with the right battle formation and suddenly that’s a decent amount of damage. 

Trampling Through Battle Tactics 

Frankly this army will really just not struggle for battle tactics really at all. With a combination of surprising speed, hitting power, and even multiple sources of staying power you’ll often have at least one battle tactic ready to score. Sabretusks are great for scoring the more movement-based tactics when you don’t want to send a brick of Ogors to the sides of the board. 

Winter Ever On

As someone who has played ogors (and ogres) across a couple editions of the game and also in old Warhammer Fantasy they still feel very much like ogors should. They don’t have the best saves but they can cross the table, pick their fights as they want, and dish out an incredible amount of damage before going down. It’s very cool to see a sub-faction type ability (battle formations now) that benefits taking a mix of both Beastclaw and “normal” ogors in the same army, something that we haven’t seen before. 

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