Bonesplitterz: Good & Bad 2021

 Written by Benjamin Lolmaugh

I love my Bonesplitterz. I really do, they embody what orruks are and what they should be, at least in my mind. But seeing all the SALT online right now about Bonesplitterz really grinds my gears. So here are 3 good things and 3 not-so-good things that I can give you straight. This comes from a competitive Bonesplitterz player but admittingly I haven't seen the tables recently since the birth of my second son. So lets get going. 

Note: The numbers are from AoS Statshammer found at https://aos-statshammer.herokuapp.com/. and https://www.calculatorsoup.com/calculators/algebra/percent-difference-calculator.php.

GOOD:

Icebone Warclan - The Icebone Warclan got a major buff in the new 2021 Orruk Warclans battletome. No longer will the melee weapon get -1 Rend on a wound roll of a 6, but instead deals 1 Mortal Wound and the attack sequence ends. This is fantastic! In my mind this is the actual replacement for Berserk Strength from the previous Monster Hunters chart. That's a 14% damage increase over the old Warclan trait. The mortal wounds match the damage of the weapons, so Big Stabbas, all of our Heroes and the Rogue Idol will definitely see some value against 3+ save (or better) targets.

BAD:

Big Stabbas - This is a sad day. In the Monster edition of the game, the monster hunting faction lost its punch on its monster hunting unit. That really makes no sense. What is GW thinking?! The move from D3 to 2 Damage is understandable. So is the removal of the run and charge ability. But 2 things really mess this unit up, the loss of the extra damage to Monsters, previously from D3 to D6. And the unit size limitation. Without extra reinforcement slots for horde armies such as Bonesplitterz we are going to be hard-pressed to spend those valuable resources on only 2 more Big Stabbas. Units of 4 would have worked well. Especially since at 8, they would have gotten Spirit of Gorkamorka to activate. 

GOOD:

The Spirit of Gorkamorka - This is one of the Bonesplitterz faction traits. This ability gives melee attacks from units with 5 or more models exploding hits on hit rolls of 6. This is a direct sizable increase in damage, up to 29% with a unit of Savage Orruks with stikkas. Bonesplitterz players had lots of ways to get exploding hits like this but now its here, without having to cast a spell or use the command ability of the Savage Big Boss. 

BAD:

Savage Boarboys - Kinda useful. Battleline in Icebone Warclan. Still 20% less effective than Maniaks but only 5 pts cheaper per 5. Use them if you want a Icebone cavalry theme, otherwise I'll take Maniaks. At least they can take the Grimdokk dance for a 4+/6++ save and the Glowing Green Tusks spell for -2 Rend on the tusk attacks.

GOOD:

Glowing Green Tusks - Casting value of 5. Super easy to cast, especially with bonuses from Mork's Boney Bitz or Glyphdokk dance or Arcane Tome. Cast on a friendly Bonesplitterz unit, mount attacks are at -2 Rend. Fantastic! These can really take the Boarboy Maniaks or Savage Orruk Boarboys to the next level against hardened units with high saves. Against 3+ Save models its an increase in wounds of 21%.

BAD:

Savage Orruk Arrowboyz - Gone are the days of 180 shots in 1 battle round. Good riddance. With the loss of Kunnin Rukk and the nerf of the number of shots, Savage Orruk Arrowboys are now relegated to an actual support role instead of the click-delete unit. If you really want to go heavy into Arrowboys, use Bonegrinz. They become Battleline and you get the +1 Attack on the Stinga Bows (now regardless of the size of the unit). They also got a huge points increase to 145. Thankfully they kept the -1 Rend on Monsters and gained an additional attack in melee. You could use them in other warclans to hold objectives in the back or midfield but don't expect them to perform or survive without backup. 

There are still tons of stuff to talk about, like the removal of Monster Hunters. The place of the Savage Big Boss. The Maniak Weirdnob might have a place in your army at last! What about loads and loads of Morboys! Or the Bonesplitterz Rukk battalion? Find out at a later date.