klemanius:
(Indy GT rules, if you hadn’t guessed)
Ok story time…
I have a friend who works at the local GW and is prepping for the staff tournament in a month or so using 8th edition so they learn the rules before it comes out and he was wondering which of his armies would work best under 8th edition, but didn’t have a look at the book yet so we were skimming rumours on the net.
When I got to the section on 2 ranks, etc it got me thinking rabble with spears. they are cheap enough to run 10 wide, and with spears can get a total of 4 ranks under the 8th rumored rules.
combined with the possibility of high static resolution and a lot of attacks the unit could be more than first meets the eye.
“but it doesn’t matter how many attacks they get, rabble suck” I hear you say
But with the phial of mutation they have a 1/3 chance of both frenzy and hatred, and 80? re-rollable hits is nothing to scoff at.
even if only half the 10 wide frontage (5) gets into contact that’s still 40 re-rolling hits!
Combined with high static res (rank bonus rumoured to be infinite) you can potentially turn those rabble into a hidden sledgehammer!
Imagine a 100 model block, in 10x10 formation. that would be what? 9 rank bonus on top of your kills from the 80/40 attacks (depending on frontage) at 310pts it might be a steal.
Sure there are risks with the phial of mutation such as being stuck with stupidity, but if near the general or the unit is anchored with a high(ish) LD hobgoblin character there is a good chance that you won’t fail any animosity.
Also I’m aware that its all just rumours, but if things hold true it might be something to think about…
Grimstonefire:
If it is true that models from rear ranks can use special rules, then anything with frenzy and spears is going to be putting out a lot of attacks (not necessarily 80, it remains to be seen whether 10 wide ranks can all attack, not just those in base contact).
As I’m too lazy to download the indy list again, how many points is that?
phierlihy:
Since we’re talking rumors, I’ve heard that regular spears will fight in three ranks and only High Elves will fight in four ranks. I’ve heard nothing about unlimited rank bonuses and the number of attacks could be vastly different. Even still, it isn’t a terrible idea!:hashut
Grimstonefire:
Klemanius is talking about the horde rule, whereby units 10 wide can fight with an additional rank.
HE would fight with 5 ranks then…
I have heard many people talking about unlimited rank bonuses, but I don’t know if that is just the same rumour being passed on.
cornixt:
I’ve heard that a new rule will give the mount of an Orc the ability to fly.
Spikes:
Yeah, it’s called the Wyvern.
cornixt:
I meant the boars
This message was automatically appended because it was too short.
snowblizz:
I’m not particularly fond of these shaky-rumour-what-if threads.
Almost always the unit is considered in isolation, without terrain considerations, other units and tactics. Not to mention the “one-trick ponyness” of it. Surely the opponent having read the same rule you have will understand WHY the unit is 10 wide and see it’s depth?
As cornixt points out you can make anything good by inventing rumours for it. If Rabble is this much boosted by the new rules then clearly they will have to increase in cost, perhaps doubling the cost, at which point a similar number of points in other units should be able to beat it. That’s the whole point of Warhammer isn’t it? Not finding a loophole and trying to abuse that?
Baggronor:
Dark Elf Spearmen horde + Cauldron of Blood should also scare the bejeesus out of people…
I’m sure it’ll all make sense when the book is released. Or rather, we’ll know what it is that we have to deal with… 
phierlihy:
Dark Elf Spearmen horde + Cauldron of Blood should also scare the bejeesus out of people...
Baggronor
I'm expecting to scare people with my block of 40 naked Chaos Marauders bearing the Mark of Khorne and carrying Flails. Now that is a cheap block of choppy-ness!!
Thorne:
watches the flying orc boar squadren on its regular warhammer flypass
klemanius:
yes, I don’t imagine this to be some kind of ultimate unit as there are movement issues with a 10x10 square and using the phial of mutation incurs risks and a high degree of chance (could just get stupidity) and compared to many core troop choices 310pts is on the high end, but I think that this sort of unit may be a mainstay under such rules, as the maurauder spam and blood cauldron+ spearmen suggestions show as well.
I think this sort of thing will, much like war of the ring did with LoTR, push the points up of warhammer a lot, with perhaps 3000pts or more being the norm in future as larger blocks and the higher numbers of attacks in combat makes standard pt warhammer seem more like a skirmish.
Of course these are all rumours anyway so who cares, 8th may be very different than what we are hearing, but 2 months from release I doubt it.
Either way 8th should prove very interesting.
Time of Madness:
Large units are going to be effective if they have good mobility and can be backed up by buffs (cauldron, warshrine etc). Throw some hitty stuff on the flanks and you’ll have a decent chance at winning most games.
Time of Madness
Grimstonefire:
Seems this tactic will not work in 8th. One of the things I added to my rules sticky is that only the first rank benefit from any rules that increase their attacks.
Still, any sort of unit with spears in 8th will be great at flank protecting. So they are still perfectly viable.