People tell me, “Gorkdrakk is great! You can’t have an Orruk list without him!” but should we rename him to “Gordrakk the Fist of Meh” ?
Yes, Gordrakk seems amazing. His model is the bee’s knees. His Mawcrusha is the Cadillac of the mortal realms. His stats are sizzlin’ but he’s got two major weakness, he’s a one trick pony and he’s not very durable.
Dependability
So, my biggest grip is that I can’t depend on him to buff up my army every turn like I can a regular Megaboss. The Voice of Gork (or is it mork?) is pretty amazing. When it’s coupled with a Warscroll Battalion, lets say a Gorefist, the numbers will make your head spin. The formation itself gives you 15” move in the hero phase in addition to the D6 move from the Destruction Allegiance. The pigs can scoot another 9” which means you’re going to be up close and personal on turn 1. But wait, there’s more!
Pigs do better when they can charge 8 inches or more because their maws and hooves do D3 damage instead of one. Gordrakk lets them charge 3D6 so the odds are in your favor you’ll hit that magic number 8. Buff ‘em up with a warchanter, or two, before they head off in the hero phase and there’s some serious potential. What kind of potential? Well, I’m glad you asked.
You’re probably not going to get your hooves into all his units so a lot of those wounds just aren’t going to materialize into anything meaningful.
Gordrakk grants two addition attacks per melee profile, so you’re getting 5 attacks at 3/3 (3 to hit and 3 to wound) and 6 attacks at 4/4 per pig. If we go hog wild, pun intended, and grab 6 units of piggy’s you get 90 at 3/3 and 108 at 4/4. Math says you’ll land 32 at -1 rending and 27 D3’s sans rending. So versus 3+ saves you’re looking at an average of 21+(13.5 * D3) wounds to throw out turn one.
Yes, that’s serious alpha strike but if your opponent screen’s right, and we have to assume he will, you’re probably not going your hooves into all his units. So a lot of those wounds just aren’t going to materialize into anything meaningful. Oh, and you’ve probably left Gordrak sucking wind way behind the army because your opponent is in the corner and you just moved roughly 36 inches (15+D6+9+3D6)
So, yes, it’s good. The formation will help you club baby seals but it’s not consistent. If you don’t deal enough damage to cripple your enemy, or get his big bad, turn one he’s going to make you pay because pigs just aren’t Brutes. Their damage is meh. You could do the same with brutes, but a D6(Allegiance) + D6 (Ironfist) + 4 inch base move coupled with a 3D6 charge is good, no, t’s great, but if you fail the charge you will probably find yourself the victim ofa knock out punch if they can take down Gordrakk while the brutes are spread out due to randomness and you’re not able to screen Gordrakk while trying to deliver a knock out punch.
If your opponent is smart he’ll direct his Mortal wounds at him and gut your army.
Durability
Which brings me to his second biggest drawback, his survivability. 15 wound sounds like a lot but he has no ability to save against Mortal Wounds, no healing, no halving of damage; no feel no pain, nothing. If your opponent is smart he’ll direct his Mortal wounds at him and gut your army. Retributors will smash him to bits in one go, beamed down on lightning of course. Of course, you can surround him with chaff, but should I really have to babysit the biggest baddest Orruk around?
I brought Gordrakk, against some Beastclaw Raiders, who promptly dished out 15 Mortal Wounds in one round of shooting. No, I wasn’t fully expecting it. Yes, I was banking on a double turn. Yes, I could have held him back out of range while I waited for the Brutes to take down some Mammoths but having to keep him 30 inches away from the battle is not only not anti-thematic but also means you’re down 720 points in the heart of the melee where he should be. So, you can ram Gordrakk in and hope for a double turn or leave him back and let him watch. Neither, in my opinion, are good options.
Chop-ability
Yes, Gordrakk can layout some wounds; if you can roll 6’s he’ll eat you faster than a regular Megaboss on a Mawcrusha can but I feel like when I need a 6 the most I never get one. I play for bad dice. He also doesn’t dish out very many Mortal Wounds, has no insta-kill like the similarly priced, but obviously uglier, Archeon. And when I say similarly, I mean, priced exactly the same! Ugh.
Hey, not all is lost, a regular Megaboss on a Mawcrusha can bring a sweet +4 save against mortal wounds, that’s kind of a big deal to me. He also gets to add an attack, sometimes two, to all the units around him with his Command Ability every turn. Oh, and because he’s cheaper he lets you bring another unit of Brutes; who, in my opinion, are really the stars of the Orruk force.
Am I looking at this wrong? Did I miss the memo? I’d love to hear your take on Gordrakk.
About the Author: Felix Fimbres
