Editing Warhammer Army Project/Beastmen (section)

==Unit Analysis==
===Lords & Heroes===
====Named Characters====
'''Note:''' Under the current edition, named characters tend to be overpriced; you can pretty easily emulate most named characters from scratch and save yourself some points. That said, a few named characters do have abilities and wargear or wargear combos unique to them, so if you absolutely need to have them, go ahead. Just make sure you're really getting your points worth.

*'''[[Gorthor]], The Beastlord:''' This bastard's undergone a bit of a rework to become a smidge more worth his 300-point pricetag before considering a chariot. While he keeps the 18" IP and re-rollable impact hits, his spear now deals d3 wounds that auto-wounds on any doubles to-hit, which works out a good deal better than merely KB, and he casts a random Death spell each turn. His chariot (You can take a Razorgor or Tuskgor one) also re-rolls pursuit and fleeing rolls as well as nullifying any multiple wound attacks. Questionably, he gets a Ward save where the save is equal to the strength of the weapon used. While this makes him useless against monsters and the competent Chaos Lord, he can easily go to town on Empire Generals and Elves with abandon. Do beware that he's always the Warlord with this, so taking him requires grabbing an entourage of some sort to distract the heavy-hitters. 

*'''[[Khazrak]], the One Eye:''' 250pts. Here we go. If you want a named character Beastlord, this is the one. 50 points less than Gorthor, helps your Ambushing units to arrive better (never roll a 1 again) and can actually join units and help keep them from fluffing rounds of combat (and unlike Gorthor, he can actually survive the odd round of combat with another lord). Also, he has a surprisingly good combat ability. While his base stats are very little above a regular beastlord, he comes with a free 2+ armour save, and just to give him that little extra challenge boosting bonus, he completely nullifies enemy magic weapons; his whip is also something to strike fear into the hearts of hordes because it will tear them in 2.

*'''[[Morghur]], the Master of Skulls:''' 335pts. He has essentially become the walking wasteland. His ability to turn allies into gribblies has now become an aura that can affect ANYONE within 12", but that same aura also lets his team re-roll to Rally, penalize any enemies hiding in a forest, and protects him from shooting. Perhaps the most important thing he offers for your team is the ability to re-roll Unruly for your troops, which is well worth the risk. If you grab him, make sure you maximize on the dead zone he exudes and make sure you have plenty of warm bodies to mutate.

*'''[[Malagor]], the Dark Omen:''' 340pts. Not too bad as far as Beastmen Special Characters and lost 10 points in the rewrite. If he starts casting, he gets hard to stop. He helps your guys around you get Frenzy, and he helps hold up your enemy's general. Maybe a little on the pricey side, but worth it for his abilities, especially since he can fly around and troubleshoot. Not bad, not bad. Also, you need to be careful of magic missiles and even normal missiles because toughness 5 but no saves means that he can get shredded if he's on his own, and if he's in a unit <s>then it kinda wastes his wings,</s> (harpies bro), but he's fun. Also, do not forget that once he starts to build momentum, he starts becoming unopposed by any wizard because he suddenly realizes that he's proud of what he's done (or some shit like that) so he starts being better than Nagash somehow?

*'''[[Taurox]], the Brass Bull:''' 310pts. THIS RAPE TRAIN HAS NO MODEL! An awesome chance for you to practice your modeling by upgrading and NMM painting a Doombull model. So - Taurox is here for those players who want to run a megaton-grade Minobus (see tactics). Probably not seen in games less than 2500 points, Taurox comes to the fore when supported by egregious spending of points and magic and a horde of Minotaurs following him in. Some feel that he is quite worth it his high price tag: Tons of S6 attacks that are magical, flaming, and ignore armor saves. He hits like no other and is more than capable of destroying entire units by himself. Still, other players feel that a kitted out Doombull beats Taurox, as you can emulate him reasonably well with the Armour of Silvered Steel and the Ramhorn Helm (works out to 40 points less, you get more attacks but are slightly less durable since a doombull is T5 and Taurox is T6). His weak spot might look scary considering his points, but it doesn't happen that often (it'll only occur about 1 in 216 times against regular and Strength 4 Spearmen Hordes, and 5.55% of the time against typical S3 and S4 hordes). One of the better special characters in the Beastmen book, without a doubt. Remember that the amount of points invested into the Bus means that your Gors now will be less well-led, so you'll need some buffs for those Gor blocks. 

* '''[[Ghorros Warhoof]]:''' Spend 155 points to make your Centigors slightly less shit! He's so shit his main advantage to your list is the +1 to Primal Fury checks every else gets after he dies. While this strategy likely won't make your army all that competitive (unless you're playing the higher points games), it can be entertaining in casual games and is the only way in your basic army to take Primal Fury checks on LD 10.
** Version 1.3 finally gives him a (slightly) good reason to keep him alive, at last! It only took the death of Warhammer to do so! That reason is that he can grant the unit he's stuck to +1 to WS, which is...well, it's not bad, and he can use those idiots to act as a meatshield, but that's still gonna leave your other beastmen not that well-led.

*'''[[Molokh Slugtongue]]:''' 190pts. Slugtongue costs nearly 80 points more than a level 2 Bray Shaman, which courses enemies within 18" to wither away, which is awesome against heavy cavalry lists or MSU spam. Other pros are that he has Regeneration (making him marginally less squishy than a normal Bray-Shaman) and has poisoned attacks (for what that's worth). Sadly, he loses access to Lore of Beasts, which is one of the main reasons you take a shaman. On the other hand, the lore of Death isn't all that bad, and Lore of the Wild is respectable now. He is a situational Bray Shaman, but that doesn't mean he is useless.

*'''[[Moonclaw]], Son of Morrslieb:''' 200pts. As low LD is one of the major weaknesses of a Beastmen army, his Stupidity aura is finally free from hurting your boys, though the enemy's bound to be just as likely to resist it. His once-per-game ability to drop stone throwers could be fun. If he's inside a unit, you're gonna end up firing at the same unit 3 times (and if you're in combat, then your opponent is just going to laugh at you). Oh, and did we mention he's Level 1 for 125 points more than a Bray Shaman? <s>Skip him hard.</s> BUT WAIT, crack AND insanity, very useful and practically essential (you're playing beastmen, what did you think I would say, something useful?)

*'''[[Ungrol Four-Horn]]:'''A 70 point Ungor that occasionally turns into a Wargor or a shittier Bray Shaman and allows you re-roll Primal Fury tests against Empire, Bretonnia, and other Beastmen. Oh, and he traps the unit he's with at his basic LD, IE 7. Spending 70 points on a unit that will still break under any direct pressure is not a good call. Skip him hard; middle finger raised high.

====Generic Characters====
'''Note:''' While named characters are judged against their generic counterparts, generic characters are examined based on their role in your army.

*'''[[Beastlord]]:''' Leadership 9 is what this guy brings to the table, and holy shit, are you paying for that privilege. He has a respectable S and T of 5, but that's the most outstanding part of his statline. Properly kitted out, he can bring the hurt just like any other combat Lord but toe-to-toe, he ''will'' get put down like... well, like an animal. Paying for Gifts and Magic Items from the same pool limits your ability to outfit him ''a lot''. Almost mandatory for that Ld 9, though. Also, watch out because while he has a good attack, he has a worryingly low initiative which means anything moderately fast with a giant's blade will kill him before he even realizes he's getting attacked.

*'''Great Bray Shaman:''' The wizard lord of the Beastmen. Valuable as far as Wizards go, but a tiny bit on the pricey side. His LD8 could help in a pinch, but don't rely on it. Lore of Beasts is an incredible choice for him for reasons which should be obvious. Expensive for what he does, but still useful.

*'''[[Doombull]]:''' Doombulls bring the murderfest to the table for those players who want to center their army around the Special Units section ('''MINOTAURS''', '''BABY!'''). These powerhouses have a gnarly stat line, are mean as a starved dog, and give a LD buff to any unit of minotaurs that they lead. There are some downsides: they're expensive and hard to keep in line (Frenzy plus Bloodgreed means he and his unit are easy to strand and will be abused by experienced opponents). As well, being Lord level, you now have less access to that LD9 that your Gors need. LD8 makes him unreliable after a fluffed round of combat, BUT they can become a rape train under the right circumstances: kit him out to the max (Ramhorn Helm and a magic weapon are almost mandatory here) and engage trollface while you steamroll rank and file troops. They should almost ''never'' be run as solo characters - they're not the lone ranger and can be crushed or led astray too easily. He needs to be stuck in with Minotaurs, but remember that you need to think about screening units when you do this: odds are you're spending a lot on that unit. You don't want it to get isolated and shredded. However - with backup and screening, you are looking at a lawnmower that can bring pain to the enemy. Kit him out with some gear and consider some magic banner to boost that LD8/buff his unit, and you could be looking at the reason why the Beastmen have one of the most awesome Special Units in the game!

*'''[[Wargor]]:''' What with Beastmen LD being both critical and piss poor, and your Beastlord being unable to be everywhere at once, you're going to be buying a lot of these guys to do unit babysitting and troubleshooting. As with Beastlords, most people can kick their teeth in, so be careful with them. Also, get a BSB. Seriously, you need it. A lot.

*'''[[Bray Shaman]]:''' Cheap level 1/2 wizards are always useful for when things go tits up for your Level 4's, and Bray Shamans fill that role nicely. Worth taking. Don't be fooled, though; they can't fight in combat, so don't try it. Also, try putting him with a unit of gors and leave him a level 1 to spam wildform.

*'''[[Gorebull]]:''' He has all the issues of a Doombull with none of the advantages. At least a Doombull has a brutal statline and higher base LD than the Minotaurs' weak base LD of 7. Combined with limited access to magic equipment, it makes the Gorebull just a fucking awful choice. Frankly, the only reason you should ever see this is in a Minotaur-themed army, specifically a Minobus (see the tactics section at the end of this article), where you want a Minotaur Hero as a BSB. Otherwise, ignore with prejudice.

====Mounts====
*'''[[Tuskgor Chariot]]:''' Your cheapest and probably most reliable mount. Tuskgors are some nasty mofos, and you get a Gor to back you up.
*'''[[Razorgor Chariot]]:''' The stronger chariot. Take everything you get on a Tuskgor chariot, then slap on Fear and Thunderous Charge, making it even more of a scare on the charge. However, it's just as fragile as the other chariot.
*'''[[Ramhorn]]:''' Beastlord and Great Bray-Shaman only. This thing's a big fucker, even more, monstrous on the charge than any chariot. However, the thing has a laughable WS3, meaning most of the blows will have to fall on your boss and his Bestigor groupies, and the groupies all chose to use greatweapons.

===Core Units===
As you may notice, except for the chariot, the core is filled with lots of chaff with varying power levels of killing. Want to take in numbers, fill out the combat lines, or place blobs into ambush or vanguard to tie up a unit early in the game. 

*'''[[Gors]]:''' A tribes primary warriors. Still toughness 4 infantry. 1pt costlier for that mandatory shields or AHW. Just like 8e, take the AHW if used as disposable DPS. Although combined with Skirmishers, Light armor and new shields rules make Gors suprisingling resistant to missile fire in the front arc. Take them in hordes, buff them with Lore of Beasts (preferable), or debuff their enemies with Lore of Shadow or Nurgle. Throw in leaders in the form of heroes and lords to try and bolster that weak LD - you'll need it so you don't lose a huge block due to a flubbed round of combat.

*'''[[Ungors]]:''' a tribe’s primary cannon fodder. 1pt cheaper than 8e for 4ppm makes them an easier pill to swallow. Half the price of Gors and a third the price of Bestigors with an armour upgrade. Take in small units to redirect and march block. Cheapest bunker for a Shaman. Also, one of the more durable due to shields.

*'''[[Mutant#Warhammer Fantasy|Mutants]]:''' You now have a unit even less liked than the Ungors! These freaks act like Forsaken, except these mutations are permanent and never suck (+1 movement, +1S, +1T, 6+ Natural Armour, +1 Attack, Piercing 1) but also aren't as superpowered at their best. They are Expendable, so enjoy seeing them die and run in droves while your real stars finish the job. At 3ppm, you can use these as your screens while letting your Ungors become your ambushers.

*'''[[Ungor Raiders]]:''' For 60 points, you get a small unit that can pepper lone characters, ambush, and March 10" to protect your flanks. These are great for turning enemy elites in the wrong direction, sniping war machines, trying to appear in the rear with the gear as ambushers, and in general, making a giant pain in the ass out of themselves (fitting, as that is what they would be good at in the fluff). Take 4+ units of these in MSU form and get to work. Unruly will make them think they're berzerkers, so keep them out of potential charge range. If you can't play, keep away; taking javelins and Shields is better as you still get a javelin barrage that turns even if you successfully charged, but they're still more expensive Ungors in melee - that is, they're a bunch of dead Ungors.

*'''[[Warhounds]]:''' They make okay screening units. Also, they are good with flanking, as well as hunting down siege weapon crews and being distractions for lone Lords and Wizards to deal with. Or keep them with your Minotaurs as they suffer from bloodgreed and will stop dead in their tracks after breaking a unit, the Warhounds can chase down the retreating unit. Khazrak gives them Ld6, which amounts to maybe another round of fighting, and Ambushers, which offers another slightly beefier unit to use as distractions, but it's nothing to tip taking them anymore with him around.

*'''[[Tuskgor Chariot]]:''' 80pts. the Chariots are exactly as the lore would describe them: utterly brutal (if used properly, of course). Be advised. There will be that guy who thinks that you can never have enough of these filling out your core choices... DO be THAT guy, beastmen need some sort of heavy mobile unit, and it's certainly not their  Centigors. You're not Tomb Kings. You can't make an entire chariot army (at least to have it work efficiently). They are effective at flanking and skirmishing, but they will not replace the Gors, Ungor Raiders, and Bestigors any time soon.

===Special Units===
'''Now we are getting into the proper damage dealer troops of the Beastmen along with some harassment creatures'''.

*'''[[Bestigor]]s:''' One point cheaper than 8e, Devastating Charge (why do Bestigors have this but Beastlords and Wargors don't?). Have defaulted to Light armour to save points, and now pick shields, AHW, or halberds instead of Great Weapons. It's still best in big units, as they will be getting shot to pieces. With the option to take something other than Great Weapons, there is some validity for your Beast Banner BSB to join the unit to up that STR. 
**A Balanced option is to upgrade to Medium Armour, Mark of Tzeentch, equip the Razor Standard, and pack in a Beast Banner BSB. With this, you'll have S5 AP(1) unit with a 4+/5++ in close combat and a 3+/6++ from missile fire. All for 14ppm.

*'''[[Bullgor|Minotaur]]s:''' A whopping 19pts cheaper than 8e for 36ppm, with shields not being a Default. (all monstrous infantry lost stomps too). With the price reduction, it is no longer mandatory to build a fuck-huge bus of them and commit a couple of characters to it (although you still should). Especially since one unit can come out of your core allowance if you had a Minotaur general. All beast-men armies should include a unit of at least 6. Can take marks and a 50 pt magic banner. Nurgle with Greatweapons is a fearsome combo. For 48ppm, you get a T5 S7 and S6 impact hits. Always take the Banner of Shielding and stick a Gore/Doombull in it with the Ironcurse Icon (If you're against Dwarfs, stack a Mark of Tzeentch on this for a +4 save against warmachines for the whole unit -> [[awesome|Pheonix-Taurs]].)

*'''[[Chaos Troll]]s:''' A new addition to Beastmen, Being the cost-effective wall to your Mino-bus at 40points a piece naked. They can't kill as well as  Minotaurs but are still trolls, swinging just as hard, and possesses a native gain 6+ Natural Armour and 4++ Regenn. Make sure to keep the option to vomit in the back of your head. Still have the troll problem of stupidity, and a +1 in ld makes a difference for a wall unit, so play them with a Minotaurs or near the general.  

*'''[[Centigor]]s:''' your Calvary are the half-horse, half-man-goat. They have only one profile, so the strength of their impact hits is affected by spears, great weapons, and spells. It dropped to 18 points per model, and they are now fast calvery. They'll still crumble if they hit a unit head-on that's not made of cardboard. Their irritating drunk rule was reworked to be rolled every turn, giving more chances of freezing up by gaining stupidity, but the more likely Frenzy or Stubborn are still good to roll for the turn. If you are getting them, give the throwing axes (almost mandatory) for an S5 shooting attack, and make sure they cover your flanks! A plus for them is the option for light armour to have a passable save in combat.

*'''[[Razorgor]]s:''' Units of 1 should always be an auto-include. For 45 points, you get a unit that can kill lone characters in the front ranks of units, such as wizards. Good at clearing chaff, combo charges to help run-down units, and flank protectors. Only LD6, so keep 6" away from other units so they won't flee; for this exact reason, never take razorgors in units of 2 because if one dies, the other little piggy will run all the way home. 

*'''[[Chaos Spawn]]:''' 40pts. Worthless here, Cheap and occasionally strong, but Worthless. It would be ok at tar pitting enemies if not for their inherent movement unpredictability, which might work with another army. Still, since almost everyone in your army has Movement 5 minimum, you'll usually be zooming right past them by just by marching. Even if they somehow stay ahead of the rest of your army, they'll be destroyed by any competent combat unit (T5 and 3 wounds do NOT make them survivable since they have no saves, and d6+1 attacks do NOT make this acceptable). Can take marks that all give it an edge in combat, non that help it get in combat. Every time you take a Chaos Spawn, Tzeentch kills a kitten. Think of the kittens. Why are you not taking a Razorgors?!?!?

* '''[[Razorgor Chariot]]:''' 110pts. For 50 points more, you could get 2 Tuskgor Chariots. Like the Chaos warrior Gorebeast chariot, pulled by the high strength Razorgor, S6 with Fear. Overall, though, it is not a bad choice, as it provides a fairly nasty blunt-force hitter. 

*'''[[Harpie]]s:''' Identical to 8e but have expendable making them the chaff they need to be. Redirecting, march blocking, and flanking, all with no risk of chain routing your Gors. 

*'''[[Preyton]]:''' 70pts. Supposedly a Flying Distraction Carnifex. Truth be told, it's more a discount Mandicore for Warmachine hunting and nothing else. As a cheap Flying Monstrous Beast instead of a fully-fledged monster, it still deals ok damage with its impact hits, hatred,  and inflicting wounds to it won't contribute to the enemy's combat score. What fucks it over is its low durability and being forced to test Leadership (Ld 6 here) in order to pursue a unit (though that last rule will also force enemy units within 12" to test panic, and the less brave people are often near the cannons). Upgrading to Natual Armour (5+) will make it survivable against the things it fights (back liners rarely carry any melee weapon bigger than a [[sword|standard-issue combat knife]]). You think being an ambush faction would make this thing obsolete, but that's just advertising that your opponent should protect their backs. The best use is to have them b-line them at a cannon or stone thrower. You can also risk giving it Ambusher to start nearer to the target while not getting shot down the first turn.

*'''[[Cockatrice]]:''' 85pts. Here's your flying Sniper rifle. You don't want this thing fighting, and you just want it to pelt foes with its two magical 12" S4 HKB shots from its eyes of doom. The shot's even deadlier since it calculates its roll to wound based on Initiative and it negates all armour and Regenn saves, making it perfect against low-init armies (but less so against factions like Elves and Daemons), and with HKB you easy slay monsters.

===Rare Units===
Beastmens' Rare choices got a lot better in 9th edition with more options and a price reduction across the board. Additionally, with unit strength returning, they can help in taking away steadfast. They still have relatively high leadership and are what you're going to want on your flanks away from the BSB and General. 

*'''[[Dragon Ogre]]s:''' Hauled back from the WoC list. They are like Minotoarurs crossed with the speed of Centigors and a scaly wall. Also, hitting with S5 before using Great Weapons will pain any lesser unit you'll face. They're fast, too: at M7, you can slam them into your enemy's juicy units with ease. They're immune to lightning-based attacks as well. Use this to troll gun-heavy Skaven armies. Don't waste these guys on regular infantry; maul your enemy's biggest units, counter-charge knights, slay monsters, and kill anything worth a lot of points. Be careful, though. These guys are tough but not invincible.
**in the Beastmen book, they are very similar to the Minotoarurs. Unlike Dragon Ogre, Minotoarurs can get magic banners while getting more attacks every time they win a combat round. Dragon Ogre only wins out in the toughness department, has a high Ld8 for beastmen, and calvery speeds to nudge them into the faster side of swiftstride. 
**[[TLDNR]] Minotoarurs is more head-on in mino-buses. At the same time, Dragon Ogres operate as smaller units that are better as heavy-hitting monstrous calvery that come in on the flanks away from the center blob while also being more resilient for the points.

*'''Dragon Ogre Shaggoth:''' 225pts. The big brother of the Dragon Ogres. The Shaggoth will fuck shit up. 5 attacks at WS6 S6 murders everything it runs into. Combining with either another hand weapon or a great weapon, there's nothing a Shaggoth won't murder. The obvious downside is that the Shaggoth is relatively vulnerable (T6, 4+ save and no way to regain wounds). It is the magnetic pole for shooting. Get this guy in combat fast and keep him there. Otherwise, he'll be headbutting cannonballs from turn 1. He is rather pricey, so have a plan before you field this guy. Compared to a Ghorgon, it has the armour, weapons, and weapons skill to flank elite units and clashes with monsters.

*'''[[Ghorgon]]:''' 225pts. 50pts cheaper, and now gains an attack instead of forging all attacks to Swallow Whole (but only receives 1 W). With Ld10, m7, and stubborn this unit can operate independently and should be flanking rank and file at every opportunity. If it gets into combat with high S & I models like Swordmasters, they'll take you to have the board in one combat. With Frenzy and Bloodgreed, a cunning opponent will attack it in the flank with chaff and have it running around all game.

*'''[[Cygor]]:''' 180pts. Unchanged from 8e, except 100pts cheaper. This is a monster that decided instead of hitting anything in close combat, it will be a stone thrower and a miscast catalyst. The 100pt drop is viable and what you'll want to be used to kill enemy warmachines, wizards, and other high-value targets.

*'''[[Manticore]]:''' 150pts. more of a discount, Jabberslythe. At T5, 4 wounds, and no armour, this thing will die fast to shooting, melee, and magic. A shame because it can dish out the pain: 4 attacks at S5 with killing blow and stomp will put a hurt on things, but you can't expect it to survive against anything other than puny mortal infantry. With some upgrades, it can be tougher and deal more damage than a Jabberslythe.

*'''[[Jabberslythe]]:''' 175pts. Also 100pts cheaper, and tho still faster on the ground, it gained the new rule 'Hover,' which allows it to jump over obstacles when moving or charging. Additionally, they gained 4+ armour. Probably the rare one that got the most love and should be included in most lists. Although it still needs to watch out for warmachines. The Manticore is now trying to take the  Jabberslythe's position as the Beastmen's nuance monster. However, it's still the same ball of maddening unpleasantness, with all its poisoned attacks and a 12" damaging madness aura. This is still something your opponent doesn't want around most of their units.

*'''[[Chaos Giant]]:''' 175pts. You know him. You love him. In all seriousness, the Giant is a safe and colorful rare choice and combines with any of the other big choices for a perfect 500 points in Rare units. The Random table leans on being effective against infantry and picking out characters. In most cases, you will want the Giant! Especially your better protected with the Natural Armour(5+) upgrade.

*'''[[Hag Tree]]:''' 200pts. Monster trees are now on your side. These things have randomized attacks (but d6+2 is far from terrible), it lacks any flanks or rear, and it can heal for any models it kills in close combat. It also acts as a mobile debuff aura of -1 Ld. It's slow-moving but makes more of a tough unit to hold up an enemy, so your ambushing and flanking gors mobs can crush them in combat.

*'''[[Ramhorn]]:''' 250pts. Mega Razorgors are now huge enough to be ridden by a pack of Bestigors with Great Weapons. These can be mounts for your Beastlords and Shamans. These things are much beefier with d6+2 impact hits and frenzy while affording a 4+ natural armour save and stubborn. This unit wants to smash up those shiny knights on the charge to get an OVERRUN! So to smash the unit behind it. In addition, the Extra Crew allows it to have a unit strength big enough to disrupt an enemy if they had the misfortune of getting charged by this big guy. If the impact doesn't kill the entire unit, it will have to wait through the counter-attack before it finishes its mauling.