Beastclaw Raiders

Grand Alliance Destruction Beastclaw Raiders

WINTER IS COMING MOTHERFUCKER!

Lore Tactics General Tactics

Ladies and Gentlemen, we present to you the Dovakin of the Mortal Realms, the Beastclaw Raiders. They are a faction of nomadic Ogors that are cursed with the Everwinter, a perpetual snowstorm that follows them wherever they go, leaving frozen wastelands in their wake.

The Everwinter

While this blizzard does reduce everything around it to a whiteout, it oddly enough doesn’t kill the BCR. Instead it just freezes them in place until they thaw out either through time, global warming, or any number of other heat sources. Like many of the first edition Battletomes, little information exists on what exactly the Everwinter is. Though several ideas exist among Ogors regarding its origins.

• The original Beastclaw Raiders somehow pissed off Gorkamorka who creates the Everwinter as a punishment, forcing the always hungry Ogors to constantly move hunting grounds or become frozen statues.
• Sigmar conjured the storm to curse the Beastclaw Raiders and spurn their food.
• The OG Beastclaw Raiders unwittingly freed some mischievous ice gods that Nagash imprisoned in Shyish.
• The first Frostlord was tricked by Mork into eating the frozen heart of a god beast and became the eye of the perpetual storm.

As time went on, the BCR began to revere and worship the Everwinter as an aspect of Gorkamorka, who has since become a God of Ice in the eyes of the Ogors. They regularly leave live prey and prisoners chained to the ground to be swallowed up by ice and snow, as well as the corpses of their dead brothers, saying they belong to the storm. The priests of the BCR, called Huskards, channel the Everwinter into powerful attacks and some even claim to be able to control its movements.

Organization

Likely the most interesting aspect of BCR is just how organized and disciplined they are, at least when compared to the other Destruction factions. Each tribe of BCR is called an Alfrostun, lead by a Frostlord. The Alfrostun is then divided into several warbands, each with a different purpose.

• The Jorlbad, also called the “First Hand” or the “Fighting Hand”, is the primary hunting party of the Alfrostun. They make up the bulk of the clan and are always leading the charge. They are led a Huskard called the Jorl, or “Favored of the Frostlord”.
• The Eurlbad, also called the “Second Hand” or the “Eating Hand”, follows behind the Jorlbad to cover their flank and clean up any leftovers. Their Huskard is called the Eurl, “Second Favored”.
• The Torrbad, or the “Clapping Hand”, are seen as the Heralds of the Everwinter. They attract large packs of Icefall Yhetees thanks to their attuned nature to the storm. Their leader, the Torr, is the “Voice of Winter” and is a very quiet figure, often lost in constant prayers to the Everwinter.
• The Skals are groups of Frost Sabres, each led by an Icebrow Hunter. They operate outside of the Huskard chain of command, reporting directly to the Frostlord. Acting as a vanguard force, they scout ahead to find new prey and ambush enemies.
• Making up each of these warbands are even smaller groups of beast riders. They are the Atta (Great Strength) packs, Svo (Power of the Blizzard) packs, Otri (Endless Hunt), Fvor (Campfire) packs, and Hirf (Vast Sky) packs

Noteworthy Alfrostuns

• Sovanheng: Led by Vorgurn Loshar, this clan has ravaged Ghyran ever since the War of Life, a conflict they regularly participated in. They were known to their enemies and allies as the “Fists of Winter” or “Splintterguts”. The numbers fought on both sides of the war, frequently swapping between the Sylvaneth and the Rotbringers based on who has the better food. Currently the Alfrostun is on the warpath to meet up with the Ironjawz Megaboss Gordrakk.
• Svard: Braggoth Vardruk and his warriors were frozen alive after making themselves the biggest pain in Khorne’s ass during the Age of Myth. Now they’ve been thawed out by Sigmar’s Tempest and now are searching for the fabled Golden Hunting Grounds of Ghur, smashing Daemon and Stormcast skulls along the way.
• Olwyr: This raiding party has been supercharged by the Sky Road. The storms that follow this Alfrostun are teeming with alchemical electricity.
• Olgost: Desert nomads stuck wandering the Cryptwrd wastes in Shyish.
• Ayroth: Empowered by the Fist of Gork, these BCR have become a part of Waaagh!Gordrakk. The Frostlord Hrothgur is said to be a touch insane, driven mad by the collective Waaagh! energies.
• Fraya: The masters of the Scarlands, these Ogors act more like ghosts. They are cloaked in constant fog and vanish just as quick as they appear.
• Jarkan: An enigmatic raid led by the equally mysterious Storm Speaker, who claims to hear the words of Gork on the winds of the Everwinter.
• Vintrbad: These ogors are in service of Archaon and have been blessed by the Chaos Gods, warping their Everwinter into a storm of dark emergies.