I remember when the Ogre Kingdoms first came out for Warhammer Fantasy back in 6th edition. It was an amazing looking army at the time, and the first army that really let you focus on a lower model count. Most of units from that army have made the transition over into AoS as the Gutbusters, and now wreak havoc across the realms, devouring all in their path. Today I take a deeper look at the Gutbusters and all of its warscrolls.
There's just something undeniably primal about seeing a Gutbusters army on the table. All of the models are just so large and imposing, you just know it's going to take a lot to shift any of them out of the way. Their nomadic and primitive aesthetic really speaks to me as well, letting you go several different visual directions with the army if you want. So, how do the Ogor units fare on the tabletop? Let's take a look.
Ogors
The main battleline of the Gutbusters are the Ogors, or as older Fantasy players may know them as, the Bulls. At 4 wounds a piece and coming in multiples of threes, they have some staying power, like much of this army. With a 6" move they're going to be fairly quick too, which is a common theme across the army. When it comes down to it, these guys are the baseline that the more specialized ogors are based off of. That's not to say they're bad though. With 3 attacks a piece hitting on a 4+, wounding on a 3+, and doing 2 damage they can put out a considerable amount of damage. Though they don't have rend, they will be re-rolling wounds rolls of a 1 on the turn they charge. They come with the choice of giving them two clubs or blades, or a club or blade and an ironfist. The ironfist reflects a mortal wound back on the attacking unit if the ogor rolls a 6+ for their armor save. Considering they're only a 5+ save anyway, that means most of your saves will be reflecting mortal wounds back. The double weapons though give you re-rolls on hits of 1. It comes down to whether you want a more aggressive unit or a more defensive unit. There is a better aggressive unit in the form of the Ironguts, so personally I would equip mine with ironfists and use them to camp on objectives or act as a screen. A very, very hitty screen. Their leader has an extra attack, while their musician, a bellower makes the enemy -1 bravery, which is always a nice perk. They have two choices in banners, and I would probably take the tribal banner since it gives you a better chance of passing battleshock tests. At 4 wounds a pop, losing any models to battleshock will definitely hurt. This also has the added perk of having the option for a Lookout Grot, which gives the entire unit a special 6+ against any wounds or mortal wounds suffered from missile weapons. At 120 points they're pretty fairly priced, and the only unit of ogors with a massive regiment discount.
Just like with their stat line, the models of the Ogors are the basis for many of the other units, so this unit ends up looking the most basic. They're not bad models by any stretch of the imagination. and are pretty bulky and limited in parts, so are easy to assemble. All of the Ogor kits are cross compatible, meaning not only can you mix and match Gutbuster kits, but Beastclaw kits as well. You will have to be okay with painting a lot of flesh in this army though, but since it'll be a pretty low model count army anyway, it shouldn't be a huge hassle.
Leadbelchers
What's not to love about ogors carrying cannons as guns? The Leadbelchers have all of the same stats of their Ogor cousins with 4 wounds, a 5+ save, a 6" move and bravery 6. Where they differ is of course in their weapons. Armed with a Leadbelcher Gun they can each do D3 shots a turn, hitting on 4s, and wounding on 3s with -1 rend and 1 damage. With only a 12" range you're going to have to get in fairly close to do much with them, but considering their melee stats, you'll probably want to do that anyway. They have one less attack then the Ogors, with the same hit, wound, and damage stats, but with the key distinction of -1 rend. I imagine these guys being great at hunting down more elite units with higher saves. Their special rule, Thunderous Blasts of Hot Metal, allows them to each make D6 attacks in the shooting phase instead of D3, as long as they didn't move in the movement phase. This will of course come in handy if they're defending an objective or something. They're a bit more pricey at 140, but since they're your only shooting outside of grots throwing stuff and your artillery pieces I think most Ogor armies would include at least one unit. These guys are also battleline in a Gutbuster allegiance army.
When it comes to painting up the models, they fall in line with the Ogors, though their cannons do give a bit more variety. I particularly like the grot lighting the cannon off the one's shoulder.
Ironguts
These guys are the real meat and potatoes of the army, the main attraction, the all-star unit that will strike fear into the foes. Their stat line is similar to the previous two, but they have bravery 7 and a 4+ save instead, making them even more resilient. Where they really shine though is in combat. With 3 attacks each, -1 rend, and 3 damage, they can chew their way through most any thing. The weapons have a 2" reach as well, but considering everything bar the grots will be on a 40mm base in your army, it won't do them much good, though you could bubble wrap them in grots. Let's say you only get three of them into combat, that's 10 attacks (+1 attack for the Gutlord leading them), on average you'll be doing 3 or 4 wounds at -1 rend. That's a potential 12 wounds. Most likely you'll be running one unit of 6, and on 40mm bases you can probably get most of them into combat, meaning on average you could do 18 wounds with them. They also have a once per game ability called Down to the Ironguts that lets them re-roll hit, wound, and save rolls of 1 until your next hero phase as long as one model from your army has fled already. This will let the unit really excel at that key moment where you need them too. Oh, they're also battleline for Gutbusters, so you could make a really hard hitting, super elite army if you wanted. Their banner allows you to roll a dice each time an enemy model flees and on a 6 another enemy model must flee. With how many wounds they'll be kicking out I think this will come into play more than you'd think. It also offers them a bit of magical protection, which is great with all the new Endless Spells out there.
Out of all of "basic" ogor models I think the Ironguts are by far the coolest looking and the most rewarding to paint. You can go fairly simple on them with rusty armor, or go all out with a bunch of cool colors and freehand. They just look down right mean and cool.
Grots
The ogor grots, or Gnoblars as they used to be known, aren't much to look at, but they have their role. With only 1 wound, a 6+ save, and bravery 4, they are likely to die. However, you can get 60 of them for only 270 points, and if you use the Tyrant's command ability on them they'll become quite the tarpit. They'll also be kicking out 3 attacks a piece at that size, hitting and wounding on 5s mind you, but with that much volume you're bound to do something. They have a missile attack too, but it'll be more of a nuisance than anything else. I would probably take a large unit of these guys and use them as either a tarpit, a screen, or bubble wrap for a more high valued unit. Imagine sticking a unit of 60 grots in the path of your opponents' most killy unit, only for them to never flee. I think making them a giant headache for your opponent is their best use. At that size they wouldn't be half bad at sitting on an objective either, just don't expect them to kill whatever is attacking them.
Out of all of the grot models the ogor grots are some of my favorites. I really like the cartoonish look they have going on along with how weedy their bodies are. If I remember correctly they are only two pieces as well, their bodies and their heads, though they do have a fair bit of detail on them for models you'll be painting a lot of.
Gorgers
The Gorger is a bit of an odd one in the Gutbusters. He doesn't have much survivability with 5 wounds and only a 6+ save, but he's really meant to be used as more of a distraction piece in my opinion. His attacks are okay with 4 attacks doing 2 damage each with no rend, and one attack doing D3 damage at -1 rend, but it's nothing to really write home about. With his ambushing rule though you can use him to try and interfere with heroes or artillery in the back of your opponent's army, though having to deploy 12" away instead of the standard 9" really hurts. It make's your chances of getting a charge in on the turn you pop up pretty slim. He can run and charge though, so you can always run him up a flank and just try and tie some stuff up. At only 60 points though he's not horrible. If his ambush rule allowed him to pop up 9" away I would feel a lot better about the unit, but as is he has some uses, mostly as a deterrent, annoyance, or psychological weapon if you hold him back for an ambush. Personally, I would probably just spend those points elsewhere though, like on a command point or spell.
This model is also one of my least favorites. On the upside though it does give a bit of variety to the army.
Grot Scraplauncher
The Grot Scraplauncher is a true classic of the Ogor line, debuting back with the 6th Edition Fantasy Army Book with a very fiddly metal model. With 9 wounds and a 4+ save it has some decent survivability. More than likely though, you'll be hanging this guy around your back lines since he can shoot without having line of sight and has a whooping 33" range. It suffers the same problem that most artillery suffers however, having only one shot, though it does hit on a 3+. With no rend you'd be better off using this to harass less elite units with lower saves. It does D3 wounds unless the unit has over 10 models, then it does D6, and if it has over 20 models it does 2D6. This could be devastating against something like Plague Monks, which have no save and are often in large numbers, or even Bloodreavers, since their save is a 6+. It's not half bad in a fight either. At 120 points I could see you taking 2 or more of these and forcing your opponent to either come deal with them, or watch as their backline units are slowly chipped away.
This is such a cool model and it provides you with a ton of new colors and textures to work with. I've always loved the look of the Rhinox models, and the gnoblar sculpts are super characterful. I think these would give you a very welcome change of pace when painting this army.
Ironblaster
The Ironblaster is the alternate build for the Scraplauncher kit, and who doesn't love a giant cannon strapped to the back of a Rhinox? This has all of the same stats as the Scraplauncher, making it just as survivable, but since you're likely to be closer to the enemy with this, that survivability will come into play a bit more. The cannon has a shorter range of 22", which is still pretty good, but with -2 rend and D6 damage. It hits on a 4+ though, making it a bit less reliable unless the unit has 10+ models, in which case you can re-roll the hit roll if you miss. Where the Scraplauncher is ideal for low armored hordes, this cannon will fare better against smaller, elite units with a higher save. I probably wouldn't take multiples of this, but I can definitely see one supporting your main line of battle giving you a bit of bite at range.
Just like the Scraplauncher, this model will look great amongst the rest of your army and give you a nice break from the standard ogor. The cannon has a ton of cool bas relief sculpted on it to give it a really ornate look.
Butcher
One of the two heroes available to the army, and the only wizard, you're sure to see a Butcher in every Gutbusters army. At 7 wounds and a 5+ save he's not too soft, but you'll definitely want to keep him supported, both for the Look Out, Sir! rule and to have a unit to back him up in combat. You can give your Butcher a great cauldron, which allows him to reach inside once per hero phase and gobble down some of the body parts stewing in there. This can either hurt him, heal him and nearby units, give units +1 to hit in combat, or inflict D3 mortal wounds on all nearby enemy units on a 4+, all depending on what you roll. I don't see why you wouldn't take this option, since it's such a powerful bonus and the only downside is you're restricted to taking the Stump Blades melee weapon instead of the Cleaver or Tenderizer, which does less damage and rend, but can potentially give you more overall attacks. You won't really be throwing this guy into combat anyway unless you really need to, so it's not a huge deal. The Butcher's spell is Voracious Maw, which casts on a 7+. You pick a unit within 18" of him and visible and inflict D3 mortal wounds. After that you roll a dice and on a 4+ you inflict another D3 mortal wounds. You keep doing this until you don't roll a 4+ meaning you could very well wipe out a unit if you roll well enough. While not as good as Arkhan's Curse of Years, it's along the same vein. He also has access to Arcane Bolt, Mystic Shield, and any Endless Spells you pick.
You can really go to town on this model, loading up the gore effects if you want. I think there's a lot of room for cool conversions if you want to. Though there is only one version of the model with the cauldron and one without, you can always convert up a cauldron on the second one to get a bit more visual variety in your force if you're taking multiples.
Tyrant
This guy's the best of the best, the head honcho of your army, and his stats reflect it. At 8 wounds and a 4+ save he's definitely the toughest model in the army. He's no slouch in combat either, with a choice between two hand weapons, a Massive Ogor Club, or a Great Gutgouger. The two hand weapons has the largest number of attacks, but also the lowest rend and damage (only a measly 2), but allows you to re-roll missed hits. The Club and the Gouger are fairly similar, each with -2 rend and 3 damage, but the club has 4 attacks with a 2" reach, while the Gouger has 3 attacks with a 3" reach. A 3" reach means he'll be able to fight through a rank of Ogors. Keep him behind a screen of Ironguts and he'll be able to kick out the damage while most likely staying safe. The Gouger also does double damage on a wound roll of a 6+. He also comes equipped with a pair of pistols which gives him two 12" shooting attacks at -1 rend and D3 damage. Basically, he can stomp them good. Before the game begins you also need to roll to see what his Big Name will be. These give you an array of bonuses such as 9 wounds instead of 8, a 3+ save, +1 to wound when you charge, an extra inch of movement, or adding 1 to the damage of its weapons against monsters. On a 6 you can pick which one of those you want. This can make your guy even tougher. His command ability is key to this army as well. Bully of the First Degree allows you to pick a Gutbusters unit within 6" of him in the hero phase and inflict D3 mortal wounds on them, but for the rest of the game as long as your Tyrant is alive that unit is exempt from battleshock tests. Using this on a large unit of Ogors or Grots will really slow down your opponent's army. If you have multiple command points saved up you can do this across several units in your army then just try and keep the Tyrant safe.
The Tyrant is the model most open to the possibility of conversions and personalization. Though there is only one Tyrant model, several of the Maneaters would make good Tyrants too. The basic Tyrant kit gives you some weapon and head options as well, giving you a bit of variety within the same kit. Since he's your leader, and presumably your general, you'll probably want to spend the most time on him and really make him shine.
Endless Spells and Allies
Just like every other army out there, you'll have access to all of the spells from the Malign Sorcery box for your army. I think the Gnashing Jaws fit them the best thematically, as well as being rather low in points cost. The -1 bravery from it couples well with the bellowers in your Ogor units. The Chronomantic Cogs couple nicely with the army too, helping you get into combat as quickly as possible. As far as allies go, the Beastclaw Raiders give you a nice selection of units to choose from. Basically anything besides the Frostlords can fit into a 2,000 point army. If you want a hard hitting monster with some excellent mortal wound output a Huskard on a Thundertusk is a good choice, or you can go with some Sabre Tusks for a cheap chaff unit, or even the Yhetees for a fast moving flanking unit. You also have access to the Maneaters and Firebellys, the latter of which gives you a second wizard, a pretty good spell, and an awesome looking model!
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| Ogornids by Eric "Stonemonk Gamer" |
Background
The Gutbusters are still fairly similar to the Ogre Kingdoms of the Old World. Filled with an insatiable hunger, they wander the Mortal Realms in constant search of their next meal, which is everything and everyone. They even prefer to use weapons such as clubs to tenderize their victims and minimize blood loss. These nomadic tribes can be found across all of the realms, but are most numerous in Ghur and worship Gorkamorka as The Great Beast that Consumes the World. That is the biggest divergence from the old lore, since the Great Maw isn't mentioned anymore. It would be fairly easy to theme your army around any one of the Mortal Realms. I could see a Gutbusters tribe from Shyish being adorned with the enemy's bones and painted in crude tattoos and warpaint to symbolize death, or a tribe from Ghyran with weapons that reflect the natural state of that realm, perhaps using bits from Sylvaneth kits. You could even have it so that they stole their weapons from Sylvaneth. Eric "Stonemonk Gamer" has a really cool Ogor army themed around the idea of them having stumbled across a "Tyranid" like race and after consuming them, adorning themselves with the chitinous armor of the bugs. Now actually enslaved to those very bugs, they ride them into battle or herd some of the smaller ones towards the enemy. This just shows you how far you can go to customize this army to fit your aesthetic. With the large areas of flesh this army really lends itself towards freehand tattoos and designs as well.
What are your thoughts on the Gutbusters? They're one of the armies I see on the table the least, but are pretty cool, and have a sizable selection of units to pick from. With all of the realm artifacts, spells, and Endless Spells now available to them, they've really opened up as far as customization goes. A special thanks to the Bustin Guts: Ogors 4 Life WhatsApp chat for giving me a bit more insight into how this army works on the table and suggesting some Endless Spells and ally choices for them. What would you like to see from Gutbusters in the future? How have you fared with or against them? Let me know in the comments below.
Until next time,
Tyler M.
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