Adam Slovák · @Pejzub
23rd Aug 2020 from TwitLonger
My thoughts on Squigs and Jaws of Mork
I will split these thoughts into three parts - first on my general thoughts about wholly squig army, second part about Jawz of Mork and third part about the list I played.
1) Random movement - this is your biggest downfall and your biggest strenght all at the same time. Not knowing how far you can move and only making some catastrophic calculations (literally 45" threat range) can put your opponent to a very awkward position, where he has to draw a line between staying safe from alpha and actually threaten you/objectives. At the same time rolling 4" move on 3d6 and rerolling that into 3" is very painful experience (take my word for it) and planning your next turn sometimes turns into a logistic nightmare.
Bravery - Having a measly 4 on Hoppers and 5 on Boingrotz results into very awkward moments where your opponent needs to do 2 wounds through 6+ save and you risk loosing 3 more models (6 wounds) to a battleshock. At the same time it can be used to escape combats after charges - or wiping out whole unit for that juicy Loonshrine comeback.
2) Jawz of Mork - Ability is what makes this basically an autopick for a squig army. Removing... or rather limiting the randomness is just immeasurable. Lifesaver in many games. The artefact here is pretty much a tax. I have activated it once in the whole tournament - having it on a Mangler squig would result into more usage but the -1 to hit Cowl brings to the table is just that better. Im indecisive on the on the trait. Don't get me wrong - it helps with one of the biggest weaknesses right? Can't be nothing wrong with that. But boy, oh boy, do I love and miss Fight another day (but for sure less than I would have expected, but more on that later). I got very limited usage of the Command ability. I mean putting 5 wounds onto Mangler squigs basically meant removing them from game - well that is not the case anymore. But I simply found that with my heavy aggressive playstyle the Manglers either went untouched or they perished in single combat due to how squishy they are.
Battalions - I LOVE STAMPEDE. This is single handedly the best addition to the army. This is what moves Hoppers from absolute trash to actually force to be reckoned with. This is what makes Boingrotz hit like absolute ton of bricks.I also like Squigalanch, reducing the drops to as far as one drop here is just great. The ability is also really great and gets good mileage - it is just the random number of units you can move makes it pretty hard to play around. But a great tool if you need to setup alpha or you protect yourself from one. I find both of them superior to the old battalions. Especially Stampede.
3) My list. This is where everything comes together. In the future I will definitely make Manglers general. Giant cave squig just can't keep up with the army and he is really squishy and the trait was pretty much wasted. And I think that is pretty much it. I was considering adding more bodies before the tournament but I think I will leave this as it is for now. Heres why: One option would be to remove some Hoppers and get one big Squig Herd but I think this just slows down the list way too much. Exchaning 3d6 move for a 5 will just not cut it for me. With 3 units you have a high probability of getting atleast one of them into combat, but removing one can screw you with the randomness of the move. I could obviously take another Wizard with teleport but thats just further point and drop tax. Also I will take 10 squigs in Stampede over 15 squigs without it any time of a day, and I also got a disgusting number of mortals with their ability over the tourney. Another option I was more inclined to was removing one Mangler squig and adding some more Boingrotz or Herd. I made my point about Herd here, but why not the Boingrotz you might ask? The need of a support really. The 2d6 move they have means they definitely need to get moved by Squigalanch ability in order to get in there T1. And really what pushes Boingrotz currently over the top are Snufflers. The secret MVPs here. With the extra attack they are really disgusting damage wise, and I would amost say impossible to screen againts. I really see them now as better Eels. Impacts can remove prio targets or make holes in screen to get more squigs in. Without the buffs they just do not feel that good.
I really fell in love with Hoppers - and not solely because of the 2 damage on charge. They perfectly fix what I hated about Mangler squigs, before playing them in JoM, and that is their squishiness. How does Hoppers help with Mangler squishiness, you might ask? Well it is the only unit that can keep up with them. In regular Gitz (or atleast in all of my takes on 3 mangler lists) Manglers more or less served as second wave cleanup or you had to send one after another so you get a punch in before they become irrelevant either due to having 5 wounds from basically anything or simply getting evaporated by anything that can hit back. Well none of that is true with Hoppers and Jaws. You charge Hoppers in and lock the whole unit into base to base contact and then you just pinch them with Manglers on either side. That way literally only one model can punch Manglers while the Hoppers take the beating for them. Or if it is a weak screen unit the Hoppers can now actually do some damage and kill the unit for Manglers which can then pile in and with reach 2" wreak havoc in the backline. This is why I was saying I didn't miss Fight another day as much as I thought I would and did not get much mileage from the Command ability. On my terms I was always able to charge with multiple Manglers and keep them save at the same time, so they could do their heavy lifting. And if enemy chose to charge them they usually could take them out in one go. Also, later in the game, when you start focusing on objectives, having a unit of Hoppers that can zoom around the battlefield while throwing mortals left and right definitely won them a spot in my heart.
Last honorable mention goes to Loonshrine. I was worried that having only units of 10s would not really make a good use this ability but it turned out to be still great. Returning even 5 Hoppers or Boingrotz and having them immediately buffed by Snufflers waiting by the shrine prooved enough in multiple games. Definitely great addition for Squigs.