Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Old/Destruction/Ironjawz

Please note: GHB 2.0 will be released on the 26th of August, this is based only in what Warhammer-Community.com has leaked so far. Please feel free to add depth to the article once we get the full release.

Why Play Ironjawz?

Because green is da best color, you want to be a hulking green brute whose head is filled only with violence and still be competitive (looking at you orks).

Jokes aside, the Ironjaws are possibly amongst the strongest armies in the current meta, though they have their weaknesses.

PROS

• You fuck with people's minds with your blinding speed. Sure, your guys move only 4"... base. You see ironjawz are a destruction army and this means that your guys can move d6" in the hero phase (they cannot run, but CAN charge, so better) if they are within 6" of an hero (the hero too, as per the GHB's jurisprudency regarding the "units within" rulings). There's a command trait that boosts said rolls by two so your guys suddenly get from 4" to 7-9" on average. Then comes into play the Ironjaws batallion ironfist: basically, as long as the batallion's boss is alive, you get to "run" in the hero phase a d6" (and yes, this IS cumulative with rampaging destroyer's d6"). What does that mean? That all of a sudden that seemingly slow brute unit has gone from a meagre 4" to 6" (4+2 from the command trait, so you may not always have it) plus 2d6" of movement (so averaging 13" and maybe making 18"). Yeah guys, these assholes are as fast as warpspiders! The gore-fist batallion is even more hilarious as your gruntas go from 8" to 2+d6" (always keep em close to the bossmen!) plus 15" plus 8" of movement. Paint them red and shout how the red ones go faster!
• Brute bosses. A.K.A. the bane of leaders. Brute bosses deserve a great mention as they, with the right support, could deliver a potential 18 wounds on a single combat phase... it would take a miracle from the dice gods but it effectively means ANY model (barring good ol' archaon, and even then he'd be on his last legs) could die from them. Nevertheless, they are really cost effective and your best bet when dealing with hero-grade units (dracothian guard, heroes, wizards, monsters, etc)
• Loads of dice. Your guys pump loads of attacks (case in point: Ardboyz, for 18ppm, can deliver 3 to 5 attacks whereas liberators for 20ppm deliver 2!) and hit hard as trucks, with many of your weapons doing d3 or 2 and above damage.
• Tough as nails. Your frailest model rocks a 4+ save and has 2 wounds. Your guys are hard to kill and can take enough punishment to the frontlines.

CONS

• You're slow: your guys will move only 4", one of the lowest move profile in the meta. Now, this is actually one of your strengths, which we will discuss latter, but note that quite a few models may not make it to the combat phase.
• You lack reliable ways to deliver mortal wounds. The brute formation, shamans and mawkrushas are the only models that deliver mortal wounds. Compare it with other armies like the infamous gautfire skorch from the skavens or the drake/deepstrike spam of the sigmarines,
• NO missile weapons. If you like tau and the like, just stay out of this army: only mawkrushas have shooting attack. Shamans too, but they may choose to rather strengthen your army's resilience.
• Elite army with averagre bravery. Battleshock tests are your bane. Just losing a single model on elite squads (read: brutes) can mean you lose another one, effectively brining you to almost half numbers. Gruntas with their low model count and ardboyz with the WAAAGH!banner in close combat may be safer though.
• Strong reliance in leader units. Ironjaws do really depend in their bossmen (both heroes/leaders, unit unit bosses) to really shine, but this isn't entirely a bad thing, just try to keep them alive!

So in short: keep your bossmen alive and you're king, as you're reaching combat by turn 1.

Allegiance

Allegiance Traits:

• Mighty Destroyers: Roll a d6 for every hero in your army. Add 2 if the hero is a Megaboss. For each roll of 6 or more a unit within 6" of that hero may immediately move 6" if it is more than 12" away from an enemy unit, pile in if it was within 3" or declare a charge in any other circumstances.

• Smashing and Bashing: If an Ironjawz unit completely destroys an enemy unit in the combat phase the closest Ironjawz unit that has not fought can pile in and attack instead of waiting till later in the phase.

• Eager for Battle: Increase charge rolls for Ironjawz units by 1.

Command Traits:

1. Hulking Muscle-bound Brute: General re-rolls wound rolls of 1.
2. Live to Fight: Re-roll failed hit rolls in the turn the general charges.
3. Brutish Cunning: Roll a dice in the enemy charge phase. On a 5 or more a friendly Ironjaws unit within 6" may charge as if it was your charge phase. Happens before enemy charges.
4. Bestial Charisma: Inspiring Precense affects D3 units.
5. Prophet of the Waaagh!: Re-roll the dice for Waaaagh! or Mighty Waaagh! If you don't have the command ability you may use the Orruk Megaboss version.
6. Ironclad: Reduces the rend of incoming attacks targeting the general by 1 to a minimum of '-'.

Ironjawz Artefacts:

1. Armour of Gork: In the combat phase Saves of +6 cause the attacker to take a mortal wound.
2. Destroyer: One melee weapon increases the damage by 1.
3. Daubing of Mork: Ignore wound or mortal wound inflicted on a 6.
4. The Golden Toof: Slay a model to allow Ironjawz units within 6" to automatically pass battleshock tests.
5. Metalrippa's Klaw: Pick one melee weapon and increase it's rend by 1.
6. The Boss Skewer: Friendly Ironjaws within 12" increase bravery by one. Enemy models subtract their bravery by 1.

Warscrolls

The common keywords of these warscrolls are: DESTRUCTION, ORRUK and IRONJAWZ.

Leaders

• Gordrakk, the Fist of Gork: Gordrakk also counts as a Behemoth. He wields his two weapons Smasha and Kunnin': They have similar profiles (except that Smasha deals 2 damage with Rend -1 with each attack while Kunnin' deals a single damage) and different abilities: Smasha deals D3 mortal wounds against any HERO on a 6 to wound, while Kunnin' does the same against any WIZARD on a 4 to wound. Every time he kills a HERO, for the reminder of the game the weapon who dealt the final blow gets an extra attack and deals an extra damage. And that is cumulative if you kill multiple heroes, of course. He rides on his own Maw-krusha named Bigteef, who has the same abilities as a regular Maw-krusha (see below), except he has more attacks (5 fist attacks and 3 tail attacks, against a regular Maw-krusha's 4 fist attacks and D3 tail attacks). It's command ability allows a DESTRUCTION unit (yes, not necessarily Ironjawz or even Orruks) within 20" to do a 3D6" charge and deal 2 extra attacks with each of its weapons if the charge is successful. And there's more: if the unit was part of a battalion, every other unit in that battalion gets the ability too.

• • Unfortunately, Gordrakk suffers the same problem Thraka has in 40k: the generic version does more for less. You see, with the right command trait (which Gordrakk lacks access to) the Megaboss can reach 15 wounds. With the Battlebrew he can boost his wound and hit rolls by 1 (thus getting better stats in the Choppa, Mawkrusha stomps, and the tail) while also getting the WAAAGH ability which boosts his attacks profiles AND those of the closest units every single combat phase. He also costs 180pts less than Gordrakk, meaning the match-up should be Gordrakk vs the Megaboss AND another units (preferably brutes). Sadly he doesn't come on top.

• • He may not beat the regular Megaboss in staight up brawling, but Gordrakk has undoubtedly one of the best command abilities in the game. Use it on a Gorefist formation and you have Gore-Gruntas charging 3D6" after moving 24". Once they crash into the enemy lines, you're looking at ELEVEN attacks for EACH Gore-Grunta. And you thought Khorne could stack attacks?

• Megaboss on Maw-krusha: The Megaboss also counts as a Behemoth. Can choose between using a Gore-hacka and a Scrap-tooth (dealing more attacks) or a Choppa and a Rip-tooth Fist (slightly less attacks, but the Choppa deals 2 damage with Rend -1 and the only attack the Rip-tooth Fist gets deals D3 damage with Rend -2). As above, if he kills a HERO the murder weapon gets extra attacks and deals more damage. It's also time that we talk about the Maw-krusha's abilities: this big thing can deal up to 8 mortal wounds right after it charged, and if it happens to kill the entire unit he just charged towards, he can charge again. And again. And again. The command ability it's a Waaagh! like the one the Greenskinz Warboss haves, but this time targets only IRONJAWZ units and you have to roll a dice every turn to check if it worked. Also if there are 6+ units in the range and you rolled a 6 everyone gets 2 extra attacks rather than 1.

• Orruk Megaboss: It's like the one above, except without the Maw-krusha and forced to choose the Choppa and Rip-tooth Fist as his weapons. At least the number of attacks they deal is higher than the one on the Maw-Krusha. Also the command ability haves a slightly smaller range. And it comes with this other ability that allows Brutes units within 5" to reroll every 1 to hit.

• Orruk Warchanter: Guy with magic sticks. Gets an extra attack for every 6 to hit (but why are you putting him in combat?) and gives +1 to hit rolls to a single IRONJAWZ unit within 10".

• Orruk Weirdnob Shaman: Gets bonus to casting and unbinding depending on how many ORRUKS are within 10" (+1 if there are 10+ models, +2 if 20+), but also suffers D3 mortal wounds if he rolls a double when casting or unbinding. He also gets the honor of being the only WIZARD with two exclusive spells that is not a named character (unlike Lord Kroak and Nagash): Green Puke is a 2D6" line that deals D3 mortal wounds to every unit with at least a model under the line, while Foot of Gork... take a guess. Exactly, D6 mortal wounds on a unit within 18" that can be dealt over and over as long as you keep rolling a 4+ in between each stomp. While awesome, Foot's prohibitively high casting value of 10 means you probably won't be pulling it off very often.

• Grimgor Ironhide: Dude buffs up nearby Black Orc units (but not Ardboys, they're totally different) while swinging a modest 4 attack -2 rend/ 2 damage axe around. Gets a boost from any nearby ORRUK HERO units, and has a more reliable (if less killy) command trait than the Megaboss

• Black Orc Big Boss: A good support hero to act as a bodyguard for your other heroes, while still being ded killy in his own right. Can arrive with either a -1 rend Deff Choppa and Shield that lets him re-roll saves, a pair of Choppas that give extra attacks on rolls of 6, or a big ol' Slaughter Choppa for knocking over heavier targets. Like Grimgor, he gets a buff if he's nearby any other ORRUK HEROES as he desperately tries to get senpai to notice him. His command ability is situational but potentially valuable: nearby units that fail a battleshock test take one mortal wound, but are otherwise considered to have passed. That might salvage your smaller unit of Brutes if they start to take a beating (i.e. lose one guy), but unless the Big Boss is in the thick of it with several units around, Inspiring Presence is the better choice. Otherwise a surprisingly effective secondary hero - keep him near the same block of brutes as your Megaboss and Warchanter and wreck face

Troops

• Black Orcs: An Ardboy by any other name still smells as badly as an orruk does. Part of the Compendium Orcs and Goblins^TM Battletome, but given the IRONJAWZ keyword, these guys are kitted out exactly like Ardboys with Big Choppas (see below), with a few caveats. First, they haven't been given a points value, so you won't be taking these dudes along for matched play. In addition to taking the usual drummer and standards, these guys get an extra inch on their movement, and the boss functions slightly differently, getting an extra attack instead of 1 to his to-hit. Where they really shine is when they're brought alongside the Black Orc Big Boss and Grimgor Ironhide: both give these guys +1 to hit when nearby, and Grimgor gets to buff up one unit into Da Immortalz, which lets them re-roll 1s. Fluffy!

All troops below cost 180pt. and are considered Battleline if the army has IRONJAWZ allegiance.

• Orruk Ardboys: The Artists Once Known as the Black Orcs, AKA your basic unit, hangers on to the mighty armies of the Ironjaws. Can choose between shields (read: a 6+ save that happens after the regular save was rolled), a Big Choppa (read: Rend -1) or a second melee weapon (read: an extra attack). Waaagh! Drummer gives them +2 to charge and Standard Bearer can choose between the Orruk Banner (+2 Bravery in melee) or the Icon of Gork (can block escaping models on a 6).

• Orruk Brutes: Everybody knows orcs get bigger the more fights they win. What happens after an age spent fighting the toughest Chaos boys you can find? You get bigger and 'arder than anybody! These are the big guys of the army. The entire unit can reroll failed hits against models with 4+ wounds and get a shitload of different weapons:
  • Plain brutes can choose between a pair of Brute Choppas or a Gore-hacka. The difference between the Choppas and the Gore-hacka is that the former deal one attack more than the latter while having a shorter range. As a rule of thumb, the less Brutes you're gonna use the better is to equip the two Choppas.
  • A guy every five models can take the Gore-Choppa (D3 damages at 4+to hit)
  • The Boss gets either a Brute Smasha with Boss Klaw or a Boss Choppa. The Boss Choppa gets 3 attacks that hit on a 3+ while the Boss Klaw only gets a single attack hitting on 4+, but the Klaw has an extra effect: if its hit roll is successful, the Brute Smasha hits automatically. Boss Choppa can potentially put out 6 damage per turn while the Klaw and Smasha combo has the potential to put out 8 damage (2d3 for the two Smasha attacks and 2 for the Klaw). If you want consistent damage output go with the Boss Choppa. If you want the potential for more destruction but with more risk, go with the Klaw/Smasha combo.
    • Alternate opinion: the Klaw/Smasha combo is actually the best idea if you go monster/hero hunting (which you should since they are at their most point efficient) and/or have the right support. The klaw then goes from 50/50 to 75% when going against 4+ wound models and that means you assure the smasha lands automatically. Add in a warchanter and that goes up to an 89% Also, said combo get more mileage from the warboss, as you'll get 1 extra attack per weapon (and thus further increase the chance of the klaw hitting and auto-impact with the smasha). It's sickening the amount of hurt this guy can deliver. Going from my personal experience, the brute boss has in so far: 1) killed a doombull (with the warboss WAAAGH! he got +1 attacks, and he dealt 10 fucking wounds on. A.SINGLE.ROUND) 2) killed half a 5-man squad of silverhelms BY HIMSELF 3) killed a lord celestant IN A ROUND OF COMBAT. What I'm trying to say? ALWAYS bring the klaw+smasha.

• Orruk Gore-gruntas: Your elite fast generic unit. Again choosing between Pig-iron Choppa and Jagged Gore-hackas, strangely with a 4+ to hit instead of the 3+ of the same weapon-armed Brutes. If you are using less than 6 of them per unit, always choose the Choppa. The terrifying pig-things they ride deal D3 damage instead of 1 with their own attacks after they charged from at least 8".
  • It is important to note that if the closest unit is within 8" then the Gore-gruntas cannot use their special ability, making them one of the only cavalry that can be denied their charge bonus outside of being charged".

Battalions

Brutefist

Found in the Ironjawz Battletome. - min. 620pt., max. 3680pt.

3-5 units of Brutes. 180pts

An uncomplicated battalion for an uncomplicated faction, the Brutefist is useful for smaller games and offers some relatively minor benefits.

You must elect a Brute Boss from one of the Brute units to be the battalion's Big Boss. This model gets 5 Wounds instead of the usual 3.

Secondly, units from this battalion can charge in your Hero phase as well as in the Charge phase, as long as the unit is within 10" of the Big Boss. If they successfully charge under this rule, one enemy unit of your choice within 3" of the Brute unit that charged suffers d3 mortal wounds.

This benefit seems fairly good on paper but in reality will likely not mean much. You're not going to be any closer than you were in the previous turn, so all it serves to do is allow you to attempt some risky charges before moving normally. It might be tempting to risk not charging in the previous turn just so you can activate this rule and get the mortal wounds, but that relies upon you going first in the next turn. Unless you're sure you won't be charged in the next turn even if you go second, it's probably better to just charge and forgo the bonus.

Don't forget that your Destruction Battle trait gives you a free 1D6 move in your hero phase as well. Getting you closer to get this charge off.

It's relatively cheap, but doesn't do that much for you. Leave this for smaller games or use it as part of the larger Brawl Battalion.

Gorefist

Found in the Ironjawz Battletome. - min. 660pt., max. 3720pt.

3-5 units of Gore-gruntas. 220pts

Similar to the Brutefist, the Gorefist requires you to pick one of the Gore-grunta Bosses to be the battalion's Big Boss. This model gets 7 wounds instead of 5.

Secondly, you can tell your opponent that the units from this battalion are in some fancy-schmancy formation as long as you set up all of the units from this battalion within 10" of the Big Boss' unit. If you do, the whole battalion gets to make a move of up to 15" in your first Hero phase. They can't run after they do, but it doesn't stop them from moving normally later in the turn.

Depending on the mission you're playing and the deployment you use, this can allow you to get right into the enemy's craw really, really quickly. Generally, you need to set up your units at least 12" from the enemy's territory. Gore-gruntas can use this to move a total of 24" from the edge of your deployment area. This means you can be be balls-deep (12") in the enemy's territory on the first fucking turn.

Assuming the enemy has deployed pretty normally, this should allow you to get off some nice charges right away, locking down enemy units, preventing them from moving, or wiping out/severely damaging war machines and ranged units before they can contribute.

A few things to keep in mind - this battalion is at minimum 780pts and needs support, so it;s not a great choice for small (1000pts) games. Secondly, Gore-gruntas really like getting 8" charges, so decide whether you want the certainty of locking down a unit or want to risk it for the extra damage when you're moving the units, don't just move the full distance because you can. Remember, it's not enough to just roll 8 on the dice, the distance between units needs to be at least 8" for the ability to activate.

Finally, Gore-gruntas aren't fantastic, they won't just rip and tear everything to death. Use these as a vanguard, not as a trump card.

Ardfist

Found in the Ironjawz Battletome. - min. 620pt., max. 2820pt.

A Warchanter, 3-5 units of Ardboys. 140pts

An absolute steal at 40pts, this battalion revolves around the Warchanter. As long as he's still alive, you can replace any of the 'Ardboyz units from the battalion that have been wiped out. The replacement has to be placed with all models within 6" of the edge of the battlefield and at least 6" away from any enemy units. Plus, it needs to be deployed as close to the Warchanter as possible.

Before passing judgement, I'd like you to keep a couple of things in mind: 'Ardboyz units can have 30 models in the unit, and although the replacement units can't move after they rock up, they can still charge.

This leads to interesting tactics, such as purposefully running up an unsupported 'Ardboyz unit into the hardest units the opponent has, letting them be utterly destroyed. Then, yell "SURPRISE, COCKFAGS!" as the full unit arrives on whatever flank you want, or behind the enemy army, or whatever serves your purpose best.

To prevent inevitable snipage of your Warchanter, consider combining this battalion with other Ironjawz units and screening him using a larger model, like a gore-grunta or mega boss. You can then use the 'Ardboyz units as sacrificial, move the Warchanter safely to the middle of the board, then flank the opponent's army with reinforcements.

Also, this battalion only costs 40pts. If you're taking 3 units of 'Ardboyz and a Warchanter anyway, pay the points.

• • EDIT**

With the clarification of summoning/replenishment of units, this battalion arguably got a lot worse. As you're replacing the destroyed unit, not just reinforcing the existing one, you could only take advantage of the ability if you had the spare Xpts from your summoning pool to fit a replacement unit in.

This means that, for example, if you wanted to replace a unit of 20 'Ardboyz that was destroyed, you'd need to leave 360pts out of your original list to do so. This is probably why the battalion is so cheap.

For open or narrative play, this is great. For matched, probably give it a miss (take the Ironfist instead!)

Weirdfist

Found in the Ironjawz Battletome. - min. 660pt., max. 3820pt.

A Weirdnob shaman, 3-5 units of Ardboys/Brutes/Gore-gruntas. 200pts

This battalion is a lot more flexible than the previous ones, though at least one unit of 'Ardboyz is likely a good choice simply to get the best casting bonus for the Weirdnob.

For every unit from this battalion within 10" of the Weirdnob, roll a dice when you successfully cast either Arcane Bolt, Green Puke, or Foot of Gork. Every 1-3 result increases the range of the spell by 6", every 4-6 result increases the number of mortal wounds the spell does by 1.

Assuming you took 4 units in this battalion, in general you're getting +2 mortal wounds and an additional 12" range on any spell you cast.

Due to the wording of this ability, you seem to have to pick the target for the spell before you roll to see whether the range is extended, which makes sense for a spell like Green Puke, but it severely limits the utility of Arcane Bolt. I'd suggest discussing this with your opponent and see whether they'll allow you to pick a different target if, after you successfully cast, your range is extended.

That said, this makes something like Arcane Bolt pretty excellent for hero sniping, as with 5 units within 10" you've got a good chance of dealing 5-6 mortal wounds with any cast. That's going to either cripple or outright kill most characters on foot, and severely dent any that aren't. Once the enemy has closed in, switch to Green Puke, as both the range extension and the additional mortal wounds are beneficial.

For the price you pay, this is a decent battalion, just remember the Weirdnob is vulnerable to sniping himself and is the only beneficiary, so keep him safe!

Ironfist

Found in the Ironjawz Battletome. - min. 540pt., max. 3660pt.

3-5 units of Ardboys/Brutes/Gore-gruntas. 160pts

As per usual, you need to nominate either a Brute Boss or Gore-grunta Boss in this battalion to be the Big Boss, and add 2 to their total wounds.

This means although technically you can fill this battalion with nothing but 'Ardboyz, you'd miss out on the extra wounds bonus, since it specifies a Brute boss or a Gore-grunta boss. An 'Ardboy Boss is neither.

As long as the Big Boss is alive, each unit in the battalion can move d6" in the Hero phase. They can move normally after they do so, except they can't run. Essentially this battalion gives each unit a run move without the restrictions.

This battalion is pretty cheap, it helps to shore up a weakness in the army, and it's flexible. Plus, as the Big Boss remains part of his unit, he's not as vulnerable to sniping as separate heroes would be, so unless you're reckless you should receive the benefit for most of the game.

I'm not entirely sure exactly how this will synergize with the Destruction battle trait, but you might be able to get 2d6" of extra movement by combining the benefits.

• • EDIT**

Thanks to the General's Handbook FAQ, we now know you can have Destruction allegiance and still take Ironjawz units as Battleline, so this battalion is great!

As above - combine the benefit of this battalion with the Destruction allegiance trait and your Ironjawz will NYOOM up the board (11" move each turn on average), which considering that Ironjawz are characteristically slow otherwise is pretty fucking good.

Brawl

Found in the Ironjawz Battletome. - min. 3440pt., max. 19920pt. (aka a fuckton of models - aka Richie Rich level)

A Megaboss (on foot or on Thicc Wyvern), a Warchanter, a Weirdnob shaman, 5 of the following battalions in any combination Brutefist/Gorefist/Ardfist/Weirdfist/Ironfist

Holy crap, this battalion even at minimum is expensive. Consider this like an apocalypse formation - only for really big games.

Anyway, the Megaboss can use an ability called 'Big Waaagh!' as long as he's within 10" of both the Warchanter and the Weirdnob in the hero phase.

If the Megaboss does use Big Waaagh!, all units in this battalion within 15" of him at the start of the next combat phase make two extra attacks with each of their melee weapons. Any units that don't receive this bonus but are within 10" of a Big Boss make 1 extra attack instead.

Given how much this battalion costs to run, the 200pts for the extra benefit seems paltry in comparison. Plus, as a Command ability, the Megaboss can use it each and every hero phase, leading to ridiculous amounts of carnage.

Megafist

Found in the Realmgate Wars: All-Gates book. Min. 700pts, max. 2600pts.

Any 5 units of Megabosses or Megabosses on Maw-krushas.

Orruk upper management comes down to make sure their boyz are punching things hard enuff. Limited to the few brave souls who have multiple Megabosses, (or, more likely, when you team up with another Ironjawz player) this battalion basically makes every Ironjawz unit more killy: any unit within 10" of at least two models from this battalion can make 1 extra attack in the combat phase. Doesn't have a point cost, in the style of 40k formations (making it, along with other Realmgate Wars battalions, illegal in matched play..???), but with that many points sunk in on 5 models it's probably fair.

Ironjawz Big Mob

Found in the Orcs and Goblins compendium battletome.

1 Black Orc Big Boss, 3 units of Black Orcs, and a giant

All units in this formation get +1 when rolling to wound. Further, the Big Boss can choose to re-roll hits directed at any HERO or MONSTER if you're cool with shouting insults at your opponent. Coming in at a cool 40 points, this is potentially a bit of a steal. However, since the Black Orcs don't seem to have a points value, you're not going to see this in matched play . Worse, since the giant (as of right now) doesn't have the IRONJAWZ keyword, you can't take this formation without breaking your IRONJAWZ allegiance ability - and eliminating the options of Brutes as a tasty battleline. So, you're only going to see this if you're running a general DESTRUCTION force - at least until GW gets its shit together and changes the Giant's warscroll.

Army building

1000 pt.

At 1000 pt. you can deploy almost all the battalions at minimum size. Consider that not all of them have a leader so you have to left some room for your heroes.

Alternatively you have a minimum core tax of 440 pt. with 2 Battleline units and a Warchanter. Following this, you could easily build off the Start Collecting box by adding a Megaboss and a couple Brute squads. This gives you a solid army that rounds off at 1000 points exactly:

• Megaboss
• Warchanter
• 10 Ardboyz
• 3 Gore gruntas
• 5 Brutes
• 5 Brutes
• Ironfist formation

2000 pt.

2000 pt. is the sweet spot for using the battalions. You can use around 1400pt. to develop them to full potential and then add some customization (think about Megaboss on Maw-krusha or a couple of heroes on foot and a different unit if you are using one of the 3 monothematic battalions).

Alternatively you have a minimum core tax of 620 pt. with 3 Battleline units and a Warchanter.

2500 pt.

You have a minimum core tax of 800 pt. with 4 Battleline units and a Warchanter.

Tactics

ALWAYS BRING THE IRONFIST. This batallion is very flexible, since you can bring ANYTHING and it gives you a great way to pad your army's main "weakness".

When building lists remember that in matched play what makes you get the objectives is body count: so try to keep a ratio of 1:1 (or close to, at least) when bringing units: 1 unit of ardboys per unit of brutes/1 gore gruntas. The two early ones should be taken ALWAYS in the ironfist while the other can be taken in gore-fists (though it should be said that said formation's cost is rather high, so be wary!) or ironfists. Never take ardfists (too many points to use too late) and only take weirdfists (sure, you can make deadly spells, but those 100pts are there for a benefit only usable for the shaman and there are better uses of thos 220pts) or brutefists if you go for "fluffy" lists.