Warmachine: Primer - Orgoth - Return of an Ancient Evil

The invaders who ravaged Western Immorren before being repelled thanks to the creation of Warjacks, have returned, with their own demonically possessed Warjacks, and their legions of monsters and demonically imbued warriors.

Warlocks

Horrusk

A capable melee fighter and able to sustain plenty of hits, Horrusk is quite the combat monster with a MAT of 8, and his melee weapon boasts a POW of 17. He has a decent ARC of 7, allowing him to pump out spells and sustain several Warjacks, which is supplemented by his weapons' Blood Boon ability, where if he destroys an enemy, he casts a spell for free.

His Feat turn makes him and his army even more of a nightmare to shift, as they become immune to Knock Down, get +3 ARM, and warrior models make Tough rolls on a 4+. Given this, Horrusk is definitely a Warjack Warcaster, and this combines well with his spell of Abattoir, which allows each battlegroup model in Control Rage to make a melee attack for free. And from the Orgoth spell rack, Inviolable Resolve provides another +2 ARM to a unit, while Red Line is an excellent choice for a Warjack caster.

Kishtaar

The scout Warcaster, Kishtaar has a moderately better defense, but weak armour, with a lower ARC, and a good RAT of 7, making her a ranged combat Warcaster. But rather than being an Orgoth version of Caine, they are focused on making their cohort faster, as all of them get Swift Hunter. This is further enhanced by her Feat, which gives all models in her battlegroup Reposition 3, and all attack and damage rolls get an extra die while discarding the lowest.

Her two spells, Fire Group (+2 RNG to battlegroup ranged attacks), and Sure Foor (+2 DEF for a unit) makes Kishtaar more of an enhancement warcaster.

Ultimately, Kishtaar is about maintaining and buffing her battlegroup, which can be made easier if she controls a Monstroscity that will gain Focus as it gets damaged. As for herself, she wants to get into combat; she can guarantee a lot of damage on her feat turn.

Orsus the Betrayed

That's a name I've not heard in a long time. Orsus once was a Khador warcaster, and was banished by the Empress, and now is part of the Orgoth, having discovered that he is of their ancient bloodlines.

Orsus is a powerful close combat fighter, while also favouring armies that consist of troops, thanks to his feat that can bring dead fighters back into play. His feat also locks out damage regeneration and redirection for a round, and Tough, making Orsus the bane of Warbeasts, Undead, and Trollkin.

Orsus has a decent speed of 7, as he is mounted, and so counts as cavalry, which, combined with his Focus manipulation, allows him to hit like a sledgehammer on the charge, and with MAT 9, rarely will miss. In particular, Orsus wants to be in the thick of it against high armour infantry units, as he gets a bonus to ARM and melee damage for each model he kills. So he is a wind-up and go killing machine. That bonus damage can mount up as Orsus has a base POW of 16 on his axe, with Critical Decapitation.

Orsus comes with a few specific spells, of which one is a simple AOE arcane attack offering him some other options when no models are nearby to hit, while Hand of Destruction marks and enemy unit for being alpha striked by himself and his warjacks. Hunters Mark also marks enemies for alpha strikes and helps speed up the army.

Overall, Orsus is a powerful warcaster, favouring aggression and getting stuck into the thick of it.

Solos

Halexus

A typical profile for a tough combat solo, Halexus boasts an impressive MAT of 8. Like Orsus, Halexus wants to be in the thick of combat, as they gain souls from enemies they kill, and these boost their armour, which can be spent to transfer soul tokens to others, cancel spells, or boost attacks and damage.

Vulcar Forge Master

An arcane support fighter, they are not a fighter but fulfill the role of engineer to their warjacks. It can clear enemy spells on cohort models, or shake status effects, or repair them.

Siege Tarask

A massive solo, this monster is tough as nails, and unlike a warbeast, it doesn't have damage spirals. While it does not have focus or fury, it can gain fury tokens as it is damaged or it destroys an enemy. These can be spent to move in response to damage, to heal, or to reduce enemy damage rolls. Thanks to its harpoon, which can pull enemies closer, and its two melee attacks, which are a decent POW 16, as are its tusks.

Units

Strike Reavers

You would be forgiven for thinking that the Orgoth were all about close combat. But this unit has ranged attacks. They have a mediocre profile, and their ranged attack is only POW 12, but their Shield Wall makes them harder to kill, and as a unit of 5, that Shield Wall is hard to break up.

While the POW 12 on their ranged attack is not impressive, the unit can perform a combined ranged attack. Their ranged attack can also ignore the target in melee DEF bonus, which is helpful as the unit can make Assault attacks with their Bold Thrower - meaning those units that charge make a ranged attack against the charge target, and then their melee attack is further buffed by Brutal Charged for +2 damage. Overall, that means the unit can also engage in combat, even if some members don't make it into the actual combat.

They are the pretty adaptable unit.

Rhok Harriers

Fast, moderately armoured, these beasties count as cavalry to make up for their mediocre MAT of 6, and benefit from Gang. They also have Stealth and Reposition 3, making them a hard unit to pin down. But if they can, they are pretty soft and easy to kill. While their attacks are not that powerful, the benefit of Gang allows these beasts to surround the enemy and, with Critical Pitch, potentially throw enemies between each other, which synergizes well with Horruskh's feat.

Gnashers

These berserkers boast a profile more akin to Trollkin, with 8 health, 17 ARM, and Tough. They can Ambush or set up with Advanced Deployment, allowing them to get stuck in early and contest objectives. As a Trollkin-like unit, they can also regenerate, and are well-suited for clearing units of troops as they benefit from Berserk. Even armoured units are a good target, as these fighters get two attacks, at POW 13 with Weapon Master.

Warjacks

Molock

A heavy character warjack, Molok is built for melee thanks to its MAT of 8. It can rapidly get into combat thanks to Hyper Aggressive, and synergizes well with Halexus, as it can gain souls. In many respects, it is like then Hades in the Cryx army. While it has three different attacks, the primary damage dealer is the Abyssal Mace, which has POW 19, and if it destroys a living or undead model, it can spend a soul token and be placed 4 inches away. This allows it to easily sweep through the ranks of blocking units to threaten a leader or objective.

Ravener

Like the Cryx, the Orgoth have access to a Monstrosity. This one is not a character, and so two can be taken in a cohort. Much like other units in the Orgoth list, it has the Berserk trait that allows it to get more attacks, and as a Monstrosity, and thanks to Snacking, it can be healed. This makes the Ravener one of the hardest units to kill in the game, also thanks to how it can't be targeted by magic. Like the Cryx warjacks, it benefits from 3 different close combat weapons, of which one is an open fist to allow throws, and is a Weapon Master weapon. It has a further open fist for throws, but also a means to reduce the DEF of the target.

Jackal

The Jackal is the Orgoth light Warjack, and with decent speed and aggression, it is an efficient, fast warjack. This warjack can be further sped up thanks to the cheap head option that grants Bloodthirst. Out of the right arm weapon options, the Pole Arm offers a great dual usage - granting Set Defense and Brutal Charge. For the left arms, the Clawed First, while not a powerful weapon, it grants Gladiator, making the warjack particularly good at throw attacks. At the same time, the Shield Arm pairs well with the Pole Arm to create a particularly potent close combat fighter, while the Bolt Thrower would make the warjack more of a good all-arounder.

Summary

The Orgoth boast some good anti-magic, plus a host of ways to improve their combat abilities, making their fighters and warjacks all capable at hitting hard. Much like the Cygnar army, they have a variety of fighter types, making for a combined arms army that can lean more or less heavily to a particular aspect of play, but generally favours melee over shooting. Meanwhile, their spell rack can mitigate ranged attacks, thanks to ARM buffs and RNG debuffs.