Mollog's mob - initial thoughts

This article will focus on Mollog’s Mob which I am really keen to try out in a game as soon as possible. They look like great fun and are really different to any other warbands out there. There has already been a fair bit of discussion on the relative “power level” of the warband so I am going to try and avoid that and focus on what I think the fighters can and can’t be expected to achieve, leaving you to make up your own minds about how strong they are.

Mollog

The big man himself. Mollog has a whopping seven wounds and powerful attacks before inspiration which only get better when he takes three wounds and inspires. He also has the unique ability to charge with a move token or even with a charge token when inspired! This is one of the main reasons I think this warband needs to be played with to fully appreciate what they can do due to how many options this creates. Cards like faneway crystal, hidden paths and shadow step can be used in entirely new ways with Mollog. Just remember he will likely be hanging out there for an enemy activation before you get that second activation charge off. This is going to be the big danger with using Mollog aggressively as despite his high wounds it is entirely possible to kill him in a single activation with cards like my turn or ready for action. However, simply charging him with two fighters could also spell his doom with a damaging upgrade or ploy thrown in. Something that hasn’t been mentioned much is Mollog’s single block defence. This means that enemy attacks are pretty likely to go through and leaves him very susceptible to damage from cleave. Magore’s fiends and Stormsire’s cursebreakers are both looking very strong at the moment and although Mollog himself can do a number on their four wound fighters with minimal input they both have the damage capacity (with innate cleave in both warbands) to put him in the ground after his first glorious charge. If this happens early in the game it is going to be a majorly up hill struggle for the Mollog player as their objective and power decks are bound to revolve around Mollog’s input. I think getting the most from Mollog is going to involve utilising his two hex melee range and knockback abilities cleverly and knowing when to wait another activation before sending him in. Reading back over this it sounds pretty negative which wasn’t my intention at all! I think Mollog will absolutely shake things up and hopefully result in a bit of a change in tactics for some of the dominant aggro warbands. However, I think some people are looking on him as some kind of unkillable behemoth who will just stroll around the board killing everyone! Only time will tell.

Bat squig

As close to a second in command as Mollog gets. This guy is decently fast and dodgey with an alright melee attack. His lack of capacity for objective holding will relegate him to more positional scoring such as extreme flank but I think he will be useful to zoom in and kill off badly damaged enemies so Mollog can focus on the main threats. His restricted upgrade, inescapable jaws, which allows for both smash and fury to succeed when making melee attacks makes him very accurate but I am unsure if people will want to give an upgrade slot to a card that cannot be used on Mollog himself. With only two wounds the bat squig is also easy to kill once you get past his dodges. I think I will test it out in my first few games.

Spiteshroom

I think this little fellow’s attack has some potential in a pinch but movement two is just bad and he dies to any concerted effort from your opponent. Once inspired the two damage attack to all adjacent enemies is nice but with supports against his fury successes he is going to struggle to hit at all. Potential flank bro here.

Stalagsquig

This guy… I just don’t know what to make of him (it?) yet. I have heard a range of opinions and even some people saying that playing him right could be the key to the warband at higher skill levels. The inability to move or be pushed is just so debilitating. Much is made of his set up ability harassing opponents from the very start of the game but I can see him just being an easy target for so many score immediately objectives or even just an easy one glory kill. Having said that his defence is good and it is possible to return him to the game so he could turn out to be a thorn in your opponent’s side if you are great at rolling blocks!

Final thoughts

As I said I am super keen to try these guys out and think they will be a really fresh play experience and shake up some players thinking in order to take them on. Mollog can be an utter powerhouse once he gets some upgrades rolling and ploys in hand. The supporting cast he brings with him is… weird. That doesn’t necessarily mean bad but they are going to take some figuring out to get the most out of them without giving away easy kills and letting Mollog get out-manoeuvred. What are your thoughts? Anyone played them yet? Let me know J