“Get da Clans togevva….We’s goin to war!”
-Gorbad Ironclaw: Pig Enthusiast
Arcane Journal: Orc and Goblin Tribes follows in the footsteps of the first two Arcane Journals (Bretonnia and Tomb Kings) with a book filled with new lore, two new Armies of Infamy, two new named characters, two new generic units for the Orc and Goblin Tribes, two new mercenary units (one usable by every army in the game, the other just the Ravening Hordes), a whole swath of new magic items, AND an entirely new lore of magic. Right out of the gate I think I can safely say that just about everything in this book is a banger. It offers a load of fun, competitive, and narratively satisfying options for any enjoyer of greenskins and the potential chaos they portray on the table. While I thoroughly enjoyed what the previous arcane journals brought to the game, I think this one takes the cake…so far. In this article we’re going deep into the badlands and off through the swamps as we show off just what is on offer for the Old World.
Before we do, as always, a big and special thanks to Games Workshop for giving us an early review copy of Arcane Journal: Orc and Goblin Tribes. Now let’s get into the good stuff.
Table of Contents
The Nomadic Waaagh!
The first entry in the journal explores the lore and army composition of Waaagh Kiknik, a goblin warboss of particular cunning, as he races from deep in the the badlands, through the border princes and into Bretonnia in the hopes of joining the vast horde of Waaagh Spine-Cracker. In stories reminiscent of Atilla the Hun’s surge across the ancient east (fitting given that Kiknik’s spiritual successor would come to be known as Gitilla a Hunta in later years), Kiknik races from village to village pillaging and ambushing whatever he can to keep his forces fed, never letting himself be slowed down lest the unruly and impetuous hordes he controls go off on their own.
Da Nomadz Speshul Fings
The Nomadic Waaagh! has a series of special rules to really enhance the flavor of this particular part of the faction. If you are a 40k enjoyer, you could think of this army of infamy as a ‘Speed Freaks’ style list. Everything is meant to go fast and WANTS to go fast really bad, to the point where you may not have much control over that speed.
Cunning Hunters gives all Goblin Wolf Rider mobs in a Nomadic Waaagh the option of taking the Ambushers special rule for +1 point per model. Any Goblin character mounted on a Giant Wolf may also take this ability for 10 points instead.
Goblin Wolf Rider mobs also gain the Hunting Packs special rule, which allows them to be deployed in Close Order instead of the Open Order and Skirmisher formations they normally only have access to. If you choose to do so, they also gain the Horde special rule. If you’re running Kiknik, who we’ll discuss shortly, there is definitely some space for a larger unit of Wolf Riders with closer order coming in from reserves to make a dent in an opposing army.
Boar Boys, one of my favorite units in the Orc and Goblin Tribes army list already, get a big glow up in the Nomadic Waaagh, gaining the Hit ‘Em Fast and Hit ‘Em ‘Ard special rule. This grants Impact Hits (1) to all units (including characters) riding War Boars in the list. This impact hits are at the strength of the boars in question and AP -1. In addition, one unit of Boar Boys per 1000 points may take the Vanguard special rule for one point per model. I cannot emphasize enough how strong this is on the table. Boar Boys are quite tough for their points and giving them the extra hitting power of the impact hits really amps up their shock cav power.
On Da Move forces all characters in the list to have a mount. Nobody has time to wait for you if you’re hoofing it.
Lastly, Black Orc units in a Nomadic Waaagh lose the Da Boyz and Quell Impetuosity rules due to their new Solitary Fighters special rule. Once these big guys jump on their boars and chariots with the wind on their skin, they stop caring about what the rest of the army is fussing about. Of the 2 main drawbacks to the Nomadic Waaagh from a competitive standpoint, this one probably hurts the most (losing out on the glorious Night Goblin line being a close second). This is an army list that has no real way to deal with the impetuous rule that the majority of its units have other than Da Thinkin’ Orcs ‘At a new 25 point enchanted item that grants its bearer +1 initiative and shuts off the Impetuous special rule for them and any unit they join.
Wot’s Inna Nomadic Waaagh?
As expected, to represent this army of infamy (and other nomadic tribes found deep in the sun-parched wastes) there are zero foot options available other than Giants, whose long legs can just barely keep up with the boars and wolves, and the new Badlands Ogres who can be paid to show up wherever they are needed rather than having to stay on pace.
In terms of characters, Black and Regular Orc Warbosses and Big Bosses are available, as are regular Goblins. Weirdnobs, Weirdboys, and regular Goblin Shamans are here too. The Nomadic Waaaghs do not employ any Night Goblins or Forest Goblins (though you can slip a sneaky Araknarok into your list as a character mount); they’re too slow and unserious. As stated before, any Character choice you take in this army MUST be mounted.
For Core, the only options available are Goblin Wolf Riders and Goblin Chariots, though if your General is an Orc Boss you may take a unit of Boar Boys as Core, and if your General is a Black Orc Boss one of the new Black Orc Chariots moves to this slot.
In the Special Slot, prospective nomads may choose to bring any number of Boar Boys, Orc Boar Chariots, or Snotling Pump Wagons to the table. While Rare is taken up by the Black Orc Boar Chariot and Giants.
Finally, if you wish to invest in some Mercenary support, Badlands Ogre Bulls and the terrifying new Bonegrinder Giant are available for a price.
Da Nomadic Lads
There are two new units for Orcs and Goblins with a Nomadic theme. Kiknik Toofsnatcha (who may be run in any Orc and Goblin Tribes army that allows for a Goblin Warboss on Giant Wolf) and the Black Orc Boar Chariot (that is exclusive to the Nomadic Waaagh!).
Kiknik is a pretty cool character option for intrepid souls trying to make the most out of the Goblin Wolf Riders. He has the standard Goblin Warboss statline though with an additional point of Leadership, and his wolf Chompa comes in with an additional strength and attack over a standard Giant Wolf. For wargear, he comes with Da Boss’s Trophy Rack which applies a static +1 bonus to Combat Results for his unit and makes any Wolf Rider mob he joins gain the Fear special rule. His weapon of choice is Da Skull Smasha, a war pick with two profiles. If you choose to swing with the hammer end, he gains +2 strength, AP -1 and Armourbane (2), and if you choose to use the pick, instead he swings at his base strength but has AP-2, Armourbane (2), and Multiple Wounds (2). Not bad for just a little guy with big dreams.
Most importantly, Kiknik has two killer special rules that really amp up your Wolf Rider mobs. All Sneaky Like gives up to one unit of Wolf Riders the Ambushers rule for free in your list AND in addition ALL Wolf Rider mobs in a Kiknik list may apply a +1 or -1 to your ambushers roll when determining when to bring them in. Any way to manipulate the ambush rule is huge and this is a good one. Secondly, Kiknik has the ‘It and Run special rule. If a unit of Goblin Wolf Riders with Kiknik attached wins a round of combat, they may choose to Fall Back in Good Order rather than follow up or pursue allowing for some really interesting play lines. At just a little over 100 points, Kiknik is a pretty cute tech piece you can build an impressive themed army around.
The Black Orc Boar Chariot is the other Nomadic option and it is pretty good on its own, but particularly incredible as a character mount. For 130 base points, you get an Orc Boar Boy chariot but with two Black Orcs for crew (equipped with either Great Weapons or Extra Hand Weapons if you like) and the option to take a standard. While the chariot loses the Warband ability (which sucks), it gain Furious Charge on the Black Orc crew, can take a banner, and loses the Impetuous special rule on top of an additional leadership and a 3+ armour save. What I have found to be a really impressive build is to take a Black Orc BSB, give him Trollhide Trousers and the new Dead ‘Ard Armour (Orc exclusive Full Plate with a +1 to Toughness, but cannot be taken if mounted on a monster) and either the Warbanner or the Raggedy Red Banner. Pay for the extra standard on the chariot and now you have a Toughness 6, 7 wound combat monster with a 2+ armour save, 5+ Regeneration save, impact hits AND at least eight quality attacks + tuskers with a static combat result of +4 (Close Order, Standard Bearer for the extra banner, Battle Standard Bearer, and magic item). This fellow is decently pricey, but also an absolute party bus of violence that stacks up well to threats almost double his cost.
The Troll Horde
While the Nomadic Waaagh’s tale informed us on the ruthless cunning of Waaagh Kiknik as it marched ever onwards to join the great Spine-Breaker Waaagh, the Troll Horde teaches us of the enigmatic Ogdruz Swampdigga who, by sheer force of luck and the intense stupidity of the trolls of the dense bogs and deep caves, has started up his own little army that also marches on Bretonnia in an attempt to get in on the action.
The Troll Horde army of infamy is all about big beefy stanked up Trolls and how it seems like their regenerative powers, acidic vomit, and stupidity are magically contagious. If you’re into surprisingly resilient monstrous infantry, gorgeous troll mamas that are basically giants with wizard levels, have an intense fear of fire, and don’t mind rolling infinite stupidity tests, then this is the army for you.
Da Troll Horde Speshul Fingz
Trolls are simpler folk and as such their list of special rules is much smaller than those of the other Armies of Infamy we’ve seen so far. But they’re still quite potent.
When you’re in Troll Country, you’re family, and just like Vin Diesel once said, “The worst thing you can do to a troll is take away their family”. When trolls get together in big numbers, their power grows (kind of like the care bears). To represent this flux in troll magic, any model in a Troll Horde army with the Regeneration(X+) special rule gains the Enhanced Regeneration ability which allows them to reroll any failed Regeneration save so long as the wound was caused by a non-magical attack. Given that all trolls come stock with 5+ regeneration, the new Troll Hags have 5+ regeneration, and the Trollhide Trousers exist, I cannot understate how valuable this ability is. It bumps the vast majority of your army from having a 33% chance of surviving a wound to 55% against the vast majority of the setting and in my handful of practice games has made my trolls a walking pile of inevitability.
Oi! Dis Way! is a great little Stupidity buffer, allowing friendly Troll Mobs in a Troll Horde list to use the leadership of any Orc Shaman, Goblin Shaman, or Troll Hag they are within the command range of, rather than their own. This means that at the very least most of your Trolls will be walking around at a decent leadership 8 and may get as high as 10 if a nearby shaman is being escorted by a suitably sized unit to bump up their warband status.
Lastly, all Orc and Goblin shamans in a Troll Horde army gain access to Troll Tongue, allowing them to use the Lore of Troll Magic without having to purchase the Da Hag’s Brew magic item that wizards in other lists would have to do.
Wot’s Inna Troll Horde?
Just like Da Nomadic Waaagh, the Troll Horde army of infamy has some pretty tight restrictions on what they can and cannot bring to the table. The biggest omissions here are Black Orcs and Night Goblins, a steep but fair price to pay in order to live forever. Apparently Black Orcs of any variety cannot stand being around this many trolls, and Night Goblins taste too good to stick around for long.
The Troll Horde may take one Orc Warboss or Weirdnob for every 1000 points and may otherwise fill out their character allotment with any combination of Troll Hags, Orc Bigbosses/Weirdboys, and Goblin Bosses/Shamans.
Fittingly, in the core slot, one Troll Mob per 1000 points of your army counts as Core and you may take an additional Troll Mob as core for every Troll Hag in your army list. Orc Mobs, Goblin Mobs, Spider Riders, and Wolf Riders round out your core options but no one cares. You are not running this list for that crap. Just like the fantastic and probably critically acclaimed film Troll 2, or its spiritual successors in the Trolls series by Dreamworks, or the absolutely stellar Troll Hunter, you just want more trolls in your life (yes, taking an orc mob to have a leadership 10 general to mitigate Stupidity is a solid plan but get out of here with your list advice you heathen). Given the benefits in the list, and how awesome they are, if you’re running a Troll Mob you’re just trying to jam as many Trolls as you can into your cart as we speak.
But I digress. At Special, you may continue to fill your boots with trolls (YES PLEASE), or lean into Goblin Wolf Chariots. Troll Hordes may also take Boar Boys (this is not nomads so get out) and Boar Boy Chariots (more like BORING Boy Chariots), though they are limited to one per 1000 points.
Rounding out the army, Giants (this is cool) are still available as your only rare slot choice, while Badlands Ogre Bulls and a single Bonegrinder Giant may be taken as mercenaries.
Da Troll Horde Ladz
As mentioned, the Troll Horde brings two on-theme units to the Orcs and Goblins roster. Ogdruz Swampdigga is the first of these and is a suitable badass weirdnob. As a weirdnob, Ogdruz may be taken in any Orc and Goblin Tribes army that allows them in their army composition and is the only way to access Troll Magic without a magic item or Troll Hag outside of the Troll Horde army of infamy. He has the exact same statline as a standard Orc Weirdnob, is a level 3 Wizard and knows the Troll Magic and Elementalism lores (no Lore of the Waaagh for him). For equipment he comes stock with a Lore Familiar, so if you choose to field him keep that in mind, the Bogwood Staff which is a Strength +2, AP -1 weapon that heals Ogdruz for every wound it inflicts in combat, and a Trollhide Shawl that gives him a 6+ armour save, Regeneration 5+, and Flammable special rules.
Ogdruz is a keen advocate for troll rights and as such has three unique special rules. Da Troll Calla allows trolls to use Ogdruz’s leadership instead of their own if they are in his command range even outside of Troll Horde lists and Protect Da Boss effectively grants him the Lone Character rule around any Troll Mob regardless of its size. Lastly, so long as Ogdruz is within 3″ of a Troll Mob with a unit strength of 6 or more, he gains +1 to all his casting rolls.
Ogdruz is a pretty cool character with a pretty decent set of rules for his points (he runs just shy of 200). While I wouldn’t say he is a game-defining piece, I do like that he has uses both in and out of the Troll Horde list.
The second new trolltastic unit is definitely the one you have been waiting for. The Troll Hag. What is there not to love about this big beautiful matriarch of troll society? Troll Hags are base 235 points, which is a pretty steep cost, and take up a 0-1 Rare slot in regular Orc and Goblin tribes lists (though as mentioned, they are characters in the Troll Horde), but you are paying for an incredible stat line and two pages of flavourful and powerful rules. They count as level 1 wizards that may take either Battle Magic or Troll Magic and have the option to be level 2 and take up to 50 points in magic items. They are essentially toughness 5 Giants with Regeneration 5+, Flammable, Unbreakable, Immune to Psychology, Terror, Large Target, Timmmm-berrr! and D6 Stomp Attacks. Their Slimy Shanks special rule makes them -1 to be hit in combat and they have a 5+ armour from their Scaly Skin. Just like their little baby troll children, Troll Hags have access to the Troll Vomit Attack and they have an added Swamp Breath breath weapon that causes panic tests if it does any wounds to an enemy unit.
On top of all of the above, Hags have the Indiscriminate Hunger special rule which forces an enemy unit in combat with the Hag in the command phase to take an initiative test or lose a wound with no saves allowed. For each successful wound caused this way, the Hag heals one wound in return.
Lastly, and hilariously, the Troll Hag has an attack chart akin to their giant brethren called Motherly Love. Such is the maternal nature of the Troll Hag that they do not differentiate friend from foe, in their eyes, everyone is family, and her wayward children just need to be shown the error in their ways with the firm application of her tender ministrations or a slap upside the head. If only she weren’t 15 feet tall…
Rather than make her paltry three attacks, a Troll Hag may choose to roll on the Motherly Love table when in combat and apply the result to an enemy unit she is engaged in combat with. On a 1-2, the Hag chooses to Smother her foes with a massive hug, dropping a 5″ template on the centre of the target unit that risks every model underneath it suffering a Str 6 AP -2 hit. On a 3-4, the Hag decides that her opponents just need a stern talking to. She selects a single model in the fighting rank of an enemy unit to Mother. That model is automatically hit and take D3+1 wounds with no armour or regeneration saves allowed. Finally, on a 5-6, she has had enough; your tomfoolery has gone on for too long. Mither has the Hag slapping her enemies about the head and yelling in trollish at them. The target enemy unit take d6+1 Str 6 hits with no armour saves permitted and has their Leadership reduced by 1.
In my practice games with the Hag, I found them to be quite strong, particularly alongside other monsters like the Bonegrinder or even regular giants, where the threat saturation can escalate pretty quickly. While being a level 2 caster means she isn’t getting her spells off too often in the face of more classy wizards, I found this was just an added bonus to an otherwise very fun model to begin with. Being able to toss a Talisman of Protection or other defensive magic item on them also felt very good and worth the investment.
Da Troll Magicks
The Lore of the Trolls is a brand new fully-fleshed out magic lore available to wizards in the Orc and Goblin Tribes armies. As mentioned before, all wizards in a Troll Horde may choose this lore, and you otherwise may only access it via Ogdruz, a Troll Hag, or if you pay the 25 points for Da Hag’s Brew, which also takes up your arcane item slot and is not a common magic item.
The Troll Magic signature spell is Big Smartz and is a real big piece in running the Troll Horde effectively. It is a Remains in Play enchantment with a range of Self that casts on an 8+. If it goes off, friendly units within command range of the caster may reroll any failed Stupidity Tests. In addition, if any units failed a Stupidity test during the Start of Turn phase of the round Big Smartz was cast in, they may reroll that test immediately. Given that a Troll Horde list is probably running at least five units with Stupidity, this power is really important.
Outside of this, the rest of the Lore is situationally solid. Acidic Bile is effectively a Doombolt that scatters. Troll Brainz is a Remains in Play Hex that causes the target unit to gain the Stupidity special rule and reduces their Leadership by 1 which is actually quite strong. Ravenous Recourse grants all friendly units with the Stupidity special rule +2 to their Movement characteristic if they are within 12″ of the caster which is quite powerful for the Troll Horde list, bumping most of the units in the list to movement 8. Foetid Whirlpool is a magical vortex that does D3+3 str 4 AP -2 hits to any unit it randomly crosses over. Torrent of Filth is an assailment spell that uses a Flame Template for Str 3 AP -2 hits and perhaps strongest of all Rapid Regeneration grants a target friendly unit within 12″ the Regeneration 5+ and Flammable special rules which is stellar on say a giant or a block of lonesome Boyz just trying to live their best lives.
Da Merc Boyz
Cry Havoc! Because the Dogs of War are back and they add two pretty swell options for your favorite armies.
The Badlands Ogre Bulls are a conglomeration of the Ironguts and standard Ogre Bull datasheets found in the Ogre Kingdoms Legacy army list and may be taken in any army composition that allows for mercenary units. They come in at a base 31 points, can be taken in units of 3+ and may be upgraded with Heavy Armour as well as take either a Great Weapon, Ironfist or Additional Hand Weapon. As they have the Motley Crew special rule this can lead to some pretty cute formations running a mix of Heavy Armour/Iron Fists along with Great Weapon models in your front rank so that you can better absorb punishment before dishing it back out. It should be noted that they may also take a 50 point magic standard from whichever army they have attached themselves to which could lead to some interesting combos. Orcs and Goblins in particular have a treasure trove of magic banners to enhance a unit of bulls’ raw potential.
The Bonegrinder Giant is the second new old addition to the Dogs of War, though unlike the Ogres, they may only be bought and paid for by the forces found in the Ravening Hordes book. While they may have lost their old Strength 8 (now just 7) and Toughness 8 (a still admirable 6) profiles from previous editions they still have 8 wounds to chew through and a number of great special rules. Bonegrinders are Unbreakable, cause Terror, and have the Timber! special rules, as well as D6+1 Stomp Attacks. Most importantly they have three(!) Bonegrinder Giant Attack charts to choose from when in combat, each one tailor-made to rain destruction on a specific unit type. There are some real doozies here folks. People running the linehammer strategy got you down? Grind Its Bones forces every model in the fighting rank of an enemy unit to take an initiative test or be removed from play with no other saves allowed. Up against one of the plethora of nigh-unkillable dragons in the meta? Maybe you’ll roll ‘Eadbutt for an automatic D3+1 wounds with only a ward save to stop them, or Wallop which is a Strength 10 AP -3 attack that does 2d3 wounds.
In my test games I grew to adore the Bonegrinder. It brings a lot to the table, and with 8 wounds to chew through it’s a pretty hearty model for its 300 points.
Da Shiny Fings
Arcane Journal: Orc and Goblin Tribes adds 18 new magic items to the Orc and Goblin treasury and unlike the previous Arcane Journals, none of them are locked to a specific army of infamy. We’ve already gone over a few of the items throughout the article like the incredible Dead ‘Ard Armour and Da Thinkin’ Orcs ‘At, but there are some other really solid entries as well.
While none of the magic weapons really stick out as worthwhile to me, the rest of the item types have one or two entries that are worth your time. For example, The Necklace of Blessed Teef is a 50 point Enchanted Item that allows you to reroll any Armour, Regeneration, or Ward saving throws of a natural 1. Da Spider Banner is also back from editions past, giving its equipped unit the Poisoned Attacks special rule, or Poisoned Attacks on a 5 or 6 should the unit already have Poison. For Arcane items there is the hilarious Staff of Baduumm for 55 points that gives the bearer +D3(!) to its casting rolls but explodes in a 5 inch template should you roll either double 1s or double 6s at any time during your game, destroying the item and possibly taking a chunk of your army with it. If you’re feeling a little less daring the Idol of Gork may be one of the best magic items in the game for its points, granting +3″ to your casting rolls AND a once per turn casting reroll for a mere 40 points. In a magic game defined mostly by how capable you are of staying outside your opponent’s dispel range, this item is a Morksend.
Some Lists
Just Nomad Things
Army Composition: Nomadic Waaagh!
Points:1997
Drops: 10
Characters 820pts
Orc Warboss
General, Warboar
Trollhide Trousers, Dead ‘Ard Armour, Biting Blade
Black Orc Big Boss
Shield, Cavalry Spear, Battle Standard
Black Orc Boar Chariot
Crew Great Weapons, Crew Standard
Trollhide Trousers
War Banner
Orc Weirdnob
Lvl 4, War Boar
Da Thinkin’ Orcs ‘At, Idol of Gork, Talisman of Protection
Core 516pts
11 Orc Boar Boys
Cavalry Spears, Shields, Heavy Armour, Big ‘uns, Vanguard
Full Command
Da Angry Ladz Flag
5 Goblin Wolf Riders
Ambushers, Shortbows
8 Goblin Wolf Riders
Reserve Move, Shortbows
8 Goblin Wolf Riders
Reserve Move, Shortbows
Special 393
9 Boar Boys
Cavalry Spears, Shields, Heavy Armour
Full Command
Vanguard
Orc Boy Chariot
Extra Boy
Frenzy
Orc Boy Chariot
Extra Boy
Frenzy
Rare 268
Black Orc Boy Chariot
Crew Great Weapons
Black Orc Boy Chariot
Crew Great Weapons
A go fast list meant to rush your opponent early, just as the nomads would want it. We’re doing what we can to avoid impetuous in this list by either embracing our anger with the Frenzy special rule (provided by the handy new Magic standard on the larger block of Boar Boys, and inbuilt on the boar boy chariots) or trying to ignore it with our Shaman and the Black Orc Boy Chariots. The BSB is the one-chariot wrecking crew previously talked about, capable of tying up and blasting through larger units with it’s plethora of attacks and static combat result bonuses. The Weirdnob is a particularly adept caster with a +1 to cast from their Boar Boy unit, +3″ range and casting rerolls, any of their lore options work well on them. You could easily get even crunchier and cut away some chaff to put the General on a Wyvern if you really wanted to maximize your threats, but I really like the cut of this list as is,
The River Rises
Army Composition: The Troll Horde
Points: 2000
Drops: 5
Characters 765
Troll Hag
General Talisman of Protection, Lvl 2 Troll Magic
Troll Hag
Lvl 2 Battle Magic
Ogdruz Swampdigga
Core 735
5 River Trolls
5 River Trolls
5 River Trolls
Rare 200
Giant
Mercenaries 300
Bonegrinder Giant
Don’t try to be smart, just march forward, make leadership 8 stupidity tests and crush your enemies with impunity. You don’t need charge redirects, or thinky time, just march and smash!
If you’re looking for something with a little more interesting teeth, you could always swap out Ogdruz and the Giant for a level 4 Weirdnob with the Thinkin At in a unit of 9 or so Boar Boyz. This would bump those leadership tests up to a respectable 9 in most cases and make it easier to get off Big Smartz when you need it most.
Conclushin
As I stated in the beginning, Arcane Journal: Orc and Goblin Tribes feels like a triumph in terms of creating exciting new playstyles for an army that is still only months old. There seems to have been a good amount of thought put into balancing the power of the units in these lists and managing the negative special rules that could hold them back and I really appreciate that. In my limited game time I found both list types to be really interesting and (most importantly) a lot of fun to play, more fun than the potential frustration when your dice fail you and you charge headlong into disaster, that’s for sure. So go on, get out there, and start a new type of Waaagh.
