Kings of War 3rd Edition: Riftforged Orcs – These kickass hellspawn warriors are here to bring the METAL!

Intro

Evil generals rejoice for the Riftforged Orcs have arrived to savage opponents and shake up the Kings of War Metagame. Born from the souls of the tormented and the flesh forges of the Fourth Circle, battle proven in countless blood soaked campaigns across the Abyss, they now march on the lands of mortals to cause immeasurable havoc and woe. 

The basic lore around this new faction is they’re Orcs, trapped in the Abyss fighting endless battles (as time moves very differently there), honing their warrior skills and cunning strategies before bringing the pain on the world of Pannithor. Those that fall can be reborn again and again to fill the ranks of these gore-thirsty legions in a twisted take on the triumphant battles of Valhalla. It’s a backstory I enjoy, as since reading Anabasis as a kid I’m drawn to forces of warriors trapped behind enemy lines just saying “fuck it” and fighting their way out. It also keeps them squarely in the well-worn and familiar Orcish storytelling of hordes of killers descending on the civilized lands, but gives them more room for fantastical units, powers and some modicum of organization beyond the normal “tribal.” 

At surface level its a shame they have so much in common with the shiny storm boys from across the way at GW, as it makes for some easy (and lazy) shots to fire at this new and tactically interesting Mantic army. They’re both a classic fantasy race forged/cast into a more powerful version of themselves using storm and lightning iconography and taxonomy. Even the names are too close for comfort looking like they could have come out of the same brainstorming sessions. I don’t see any good reason Mantic would have copied Stormcast Eternals, but instead see it as similar paths of development/inspirations that resulted in a similar design direction, just applied to Orcs instead of humans. It is the same sort of thing that gets us two competing Volcano movies in the same year. Again, I just see it as a shame because there are a lot of easy jokes out there to make, and the internet will be making them.

On the tabletop Riftforged Orcs are an interesting army to play. Without much access to rally, or special access to Heal/Drain Life (outside of the Library of Arcane Knowledge everyone gets), and with most of their best units being on the premium end of the pricing spectrum, the army looks to be a big bruiser of a force that just packs various forms of hammer and then smacks you with them. It isn’t quite alpha strike (it has some of the speed elements but won’t generally be about that life), is too expensive for a trash list, and while it has some shooting, it caps out way before any type of really heavy shooting or gunline builds. It occupies the same sort of space Varangur armies do, where it has really tough units, but it doesn’t actually want to stick around and grind like Abyssals or Undead can, with those armies excellent damage removal. 

Overall, elements of the army will probably be unwieldy as your basic (and in my opinion best) core fighting units are on Heavy Infantry (25mm per figure) size which makes everything bigger, with Hordes coming in at a huge 250mm x 100mm footprint. So even an MMU style build will have bigger unit sizes than an average one (and harder time corkscrewing opponents). 

The most obvious way to play the list I think is going to be what I generally refer to as “Carrier Group” style, where you have 2-3 enormous, powerful and expensive Hordes that project a lot of threat, but are vulnerable to easily being ganged up on by smaller more mobile units of the enemy. If you look at a Bane Chanted Riftforged Legionaries they’re doing 11 damage on their own to Def 5 enemies, enough to crack most cavalry units, many large infantry and others in 1 turn, and almost guarantee a 2 turn kill on an opposing horde. To protect your enormous and expensive assets, and ensure they’re delivered to the right spot, much of the rest of the list is filled with protection/enablers that keep your big units from being ganged up on and taken apart or forced into bad charges. This can be done through a collection of units (Timber Wolves, Helstriker troops, Giants etc…) or you can just find the flavor of chaos agent you like the most and spam them (Tom Annis seems to love Riftwalkers). 

I do think their is also a Multiple Medium Units (125mm x 100mm footprint on a Regiment means you’re probably never doing actual MSU) build that could be viable leaning more heavily on Thunderseers and the reasonably strong Regiment options the list has. This also allows more points potentially for an aggressive second component to the list like a substantial airforce or shooting component. If I had to build something and take to an event today though, I’d probably be looking at starting with 2-3 Hordes of Riftforged Legionaries and going that route though. 

Regardless of how they perform on the table, they’re a stylish-looking bunch of fucking ass-kickers either way. Lighting-powered hell-born Orcs who ride freaking Manticores? Yes please to all of that! This army is now the Mantic faction for me most likely to be airbrushed on the side of a 1970s van conversion. Do I love everything about the aesthetic? Honestly, no. But I appreciate that Mantic is taking the swing, and going for something very clearly of their aesthetic and then pushing that far enough to at least be interesting. I actually very much like their original Orcs (Orcs Classic), and their brutal low fantasy stripped-down style. The new ones pile on a higher fantasy style, more ornate armor, brighter colors and a chunkier sort of video game style. This isn’t a bad direction to go, and fits very much into the Mantic V3 art style, it just isn’t my preferred direction (and I understand the irony coming from someone who painted up fancy dressed Landsknecht Orcs for Kings of War). These models are more Kiss when the old ones were Black Sabbath. Dragonforce vs. Motorhead.* World of Warcraft vs. grimy pig faced Orcs from the original Dungeons and Dragons. They’re doing great technical work on these, and they look a big step up in quality and variation compared, but it just isn’t quite to my taste. I appreciate Mantic is putting something different out there though, and I look forward to seeing the legions of Riftforged Orcs and their new models across the tabletop battlefield for sure. 

So enough blathering on about things, lets get to the rankings!      

Tier Rankings: 

Trying to rank units in Kings of War is not a perfect science. By pure design, many units are meant to work in combination with other choices in the army and can be hard to judge on their own. For this exercise, it’s assumed the unit is being used to its utmost potential within the army. This is not just a math problem to determine the most cost-effective unit but to also see how they compare in scope, role, and impact across not just a single army but all Kings of War armies. For the most part, units will be treated as one entry; however, if an option or size drastically improves a unit it will be separately mentioned.

S Tier: Reserved for units that are widely acknowledged as either being significantly undercosted or having a combination of rules that perform well above units in similar roles. These units are often called “auto includes” as any list stands to be made better with their inclusion. Expect these units to be addressed in future CoK book updates.

A Tier: These units are some of the best the army has to offer. They excel in their specific roles and commonly help form the core of most competitive lists. While not auto include, they are great in almost any army they are taken in and will be seen frequently.

B Tier: These units have a mix of strengths and weaknesses that make them very playable but balanced. These units work great with specific roles in mind; however, their weaknesses mean they do not help every list. In a perfect world, all units would fit into this category.

C Tier: C tier units may still shine in niche lists and roles; however, they will feel underpowered when compared to similar units in other armies. Decidedly suboptimal, you could make them work but frequently will see other things that are just better. You will rarely see many lists take these units.

D Tier: Units that need some considerable love and attention. You will struggle to find any role for this unit that another unit couldn’t do better. Very often you will see these units labeled as “unplayable”.

“A” Ranked Units

Riftforged Legionaries

Love this unit!  With Melee 3, Defense 5, 25 attacks and built in Crushing Strength it is an amazing profile for infantry at Horde size and 2-3 of these units properly supported could dominate a battlefield without some of the traditional trade offs other units in that category have had to make. The main drawback of the unit is its enormous size, which makes it much harder to maneuver and protect, but you can’t get everything you want all the time unless you’re Undead. Give them items to boost them into absolute killing machines (terrain mitigation, strength, elite are all great choices), or leave them as is and they’ll still grind against just about anything. With the Shrine you’re normally going to be swinging at CS 2 with the Bane Chant which should easily stick 10 damage on Def 5 allowing you a chance at breaking Cavalry and Large Infantry targets on first contact, and picking up even opposing infantry hordes after two rounds.  

While the Riftforged Legionaries profile is great at Horde size, I also sort of love it at Regiment size as well. They have just what you need for a solid infantry block to build a strong battle line on a budget. Good defense, built in Crushing for counterpunch and flank charges, Melee 3 for a reasonably reliable number of hits with only non-elite Nerve to contend with as a drawback on the unit. The formation ups their Nerve to a respectable 15/17 and you’ve got a great little unit there. Add in that Fury aura from the Shrine and anything that hangs up on them is taking consistent damage back. They’re not the optimal size for a Regiment being Heavy Infantry, but they still can make a really useful building block to an MMU army. 

After playing Orcs for a couple years, and constantly choosing between Ax, Longax, Greatax, Youngax etc… and their various tradeoffs, this is the profile I would have designed in a lab to fill all the gaps. It really feels like the Rules Committee have just given us “better” Orc infantry, and I can’t wait to try them out. 

Stormforged Shrine

First name on the team sheet, at the center of everything good in Riftforged Orcs, has something important to do in all phases of the game and is an absolute ass-kicker of a unit. It is an Inspiring, scoring, Defense 5 -/17 block that can pitch in with attacks where it’s needed. This unit provides an absolutely vital Fury aura that keeps your line punishing the opposition and is great waver insurance if you’re using the smaller Regiment blocks (or for Thunderseers). 

Spellcasting is really where its strengths are though, buffing up its spell dice off any friendly core Riftforged units means it should just about always be casting at max bonus. It is equipped with a great utility and damage spells so can spend the first couple turns shooting down Gargoyles before pivoting into its role as the ultimate support caster. Being able to Bane Chant your entire battle line from one unit feels great, and if you do get to land that 1 dice Bane Chant at the end of the chain just adds the chefs kiss. You can literally watch the joy for the hobby drain out of your opponents eyes as your entire battle line is hitting harder from just one unit. I suggest recording this moment and playing it back like Bart did for Lisa in the Simpsons, what could go wrong. The Shrine can also Host Shadow Beast and Bane Chant some of the annoying characters buzzing around turning them from pests to mounted Vampires in a couple good magic rolls. 

Honestly, the only thing keeping this out of S tier status is with its height and desire to multicast in a turn, the Shrine gets the CW Charmed Award for “most Hexable unit” in COK2022. Will this supposed “Hex” meta surface after rumored appearances in past years? We’ll see.    

Riftwalkers

This unit just looks fun as well. Nimble, Flying, Strider, Fearless with built in Crushing Strength! Oooooh child, I’m feeling so faint I must be dreaming. This unit is just pure enjoyment. Solid at both troop or regiment sizes, able to fill different roles but a very small points investment. This is one of those units that I think has a high skill cap, and good players, who get the most of them, will really unlock the potential of this unit. 

Height 2 means you have to be careful and keep them from being stuck behind the lines, but they have so many uses, and hit reasonably hard in a flank, I have trouble leaving them out of any list. A really clutch unit that can fit into multiple roles. 

Helstrikers

Just about everything you want in your flying large cavalry profile. Melee 3, Defense 5, good number of attacks and the healthy Crushing + Thunderous to give hammer status. Want a little bit of fluff mitigation? Have some Brutal. Tiny bit of damage removal. Have some lifeleech. Besides going back in time to Nimble Large Cavalry Hordes of 2nd edition, they have all you could ever need for a big punchy unit. Useable at Regiment sizes as a screening unit/chaos agent with Height 4 to see over opposition blockers, they’re an exceptionally useful addition to the army. The Mantic models are pretty sweet as well. 

Its important to understand what access to a unit like this has on the army as a whole, and what types of lists it allows. Standard Orcs, outside of some really odd theoryhammer lists, had a speed limit. They could punch really hard, but that punch generally came on the back of Speed 5 warriors. Sure there was the occasional Chariot Legion or Gor Riders, but the bulk of the army was big, slow and well…bulky. Access to elite-level hammer units like the Helstrikers gives the ability for Riftforged Orc generals to have a faster wing that still hits as hard as a bag full of bricks. They won’t always need to be used in that way, as again I see a very useful role for them as regiments gumming up the battlelines, but the fact they can be used that way gives a lot of list design space for the army as a whole. 

Thonaar [1]

Here we have an absolute peach of a unit with huge upside potential in any combat. A great combat profile, with 6 attacks hitting on 3’s with Crushing Strength 2, on a cavalry Hero chassis is super useful to begin with. But with built in Stormstrike, and Thonaar triggering it on 5’s and 6’s (instead of just 6’s) you’re looking at an average of 6 hits actually landing on an opponent. Add in a sneaky Host Shadow Beast from the Shrine and you can easily stick 9 hits at CS2 wherever you want them. Throw this dude in on a charge and you’re putting a heavy hand on the odds to break that unit. If Thonaar finds a situation where you have to charge in and stop something up on its own without killing it, any Stormstrike damage triggers a -1 to hit when they try and crack back and 14/16 inspired Nerve doesn’t Rout easily. 

Thonaar doesn’t come cheap, but like Sushi and quality bathroom tile work, its worth spending a little for the premium stuff.   

Stormbringer on Helstrike Manticore

I really do love this little unit and have run a similar (but slightly more expensive) light flyer in the King on Winged Beast since beginning of 3rd edition. It is an incredibly versatile piece that can be held in tight with the battle line using inspiring and looking for cheap flanks, multicharges or a chance to jump behind. It can also lead flanking forces using its speed 10 and relatively cheap cost to force commitments from rival wings. Or, since they’re so cheap, you can send one out on special missions, warmachine hunting (if neccessary) and other jobs that aren’t quite efficient for the full 300pt flyers, but perfect for this budget threat. 

A normal mounted Stormbringer costs 135, and this chunky lad right here comes in at a bargain 160. For those 25 points you get to score, do real damage from flanks and rears, fly, speed 10 and add in Brutal and Lifeleech. Pure value. The fact that Riftforged Orcs have both the big stompy Stormbringer on Winged Slasher and this more budget option gives tons of configurations you can use for a really strong flying hero threat.   

B Ranked Units

Reborn Legionaries

The “Elite” infantry of the Riftforged Orcs (or at least more elite) comes with plenty of strengths but also some drawbacks keeping it I believe well balanced. Inspiring on normal line infantry units is rare in the game, and extremely powerful, so really helps give this unit a place. Natural CS 2 is also amazing on any unit, but especially those hitting on 3’s, but 185 points for 12 attacks (Regiment) 15/17 Nerve is good, but not in my opinion A tier. Troops could be useful as well and we’ll see how they manage as the meta shakes out. At that cost, they’re only 30 points less than Mounted Sons of Korgaan so need to do more than just sit around and inspire those around them. I’m not saying they’re overcosted or bad, quite the opposite, I think they’re a great unit that is well costed for its strengths.   

Tundra Wolves

I really think these might be a C unit if it wasn’t for Helm of the Drunken Ram, a magic artifact basically purpose-built for these folks. I also love the potential for narrative though, as a bunch of domesticated wolves got into the ale and are now combat monsters. They’re bargain-basement knights, rocking only Thunderous 1 and 4 Defense, but with greater speed and Nimble. My fear is they become an easy target for all the light shooting I expect to see in the meta, and with Def 4, low nerve (for their points) they’re able to be pretty simply removed from the field by opposing generals. They’re super quick, but without natural terrain mitigation, they’re just lacking what I think they need to be a great unit.  

Storm Giant

It’s a giant! It does Giant things! They’re great anvils with their high nerve, defense and relatively small footprint. Enormous amounts of Crushing Strength means they’ll stick wounds on anything, but a combination of Melee 4 and variable attacks means they’re super swingy and the offensive output shouldn’t be counted on (even with added Slayer). They will at the most odd times just absolutely dunk on an opposing unit and land 13 CS4 hits on something but don’t put yourself in a situation where you need it. 

The Storm Giant costs around 15 extra points over a normal giant, and loses out on fury, but comes with some sweet added features. Cloak of Death is a great special rule for a big block of Defense 5 Nerve that wants to really be mixing it up in a middle of the table mosh type situation. I love it on Goreblights, who are basically baby giants, and I’m loving it on this big dude as well. Windblast can be situationally useful, especially at Speed 7 to mess about with opponents’ charge ranges, or pushing enemy units off objectives late in the game. All in all, a solid middle-of-the-road unit with normal Giant strengths and weaknesses, and a little extra spice.  

Fightwagons

Can combo with the formation to get Wild Charging Fight Wagons with easy access to Bane Chant, which can be a scary sight. Not game-breaking, and I think there are other speedy Orc builds that are better, but a solid direction if you want to take it.

Thunderseers

We’re going to cover the basic unit first, and get to its weird drug-induced cyclopean visions of doom and fortune in a moment. At first glance this is a solid unit with decent Large Infantry speed, built in Crushing Strength, Pathfinder and its Melee 4 made up for by a whooping big number of attacks. Spellward works as both an advantage (suck it Lightning Bolt wizards) and a disadvantage (also suck it Shrine trying to Bane Chant), but I think comes out as an overall useful defensive tool, especially for an over 200 point unit sitting with 15/17 and no way to Rally that up. Overall, a pretty decent unit crying out for Sharpness or Strength to really push it into full hammer territory since it already has built-in terrain mitigation. A great vehicle for any of the offensive magic items actually.

Visions from the Rift is a quirky little rule that could be a lot of fun for these boys. You can drop them on your baseline as dead drops, then place them for real after scouts etc… and have your pick of where they go. This sounds more powerful than it actually is in practice, as a skilled opponent will make plans and deploy in a way to cover their potential placements, but it is an information advantage and can be a pain in the ass for your enemy to deal with.   

Stormslayer

A really clutch little monster at a budget price point. Respectable 8 attacks on 3’s with CS 2 will reliably add around 4 damage to a multicharge or smack around some smaller units. From the flank those 8 attacks become pretty scary as well, effectively hitting as hard as an unhindered knight unit would to the front. They’re only Def 4 but that comes with the budget price, and Nimble Speed 7 with a square base means it’s going to be really difficult to keep it from charging what it wants. It is another wonderful option in a list packed with great options. Lack of synergy with other units (doesn’t Inspire, doesn’t pick up Shadow Beasts) might keep it off the battlefield as Riftforged Orcs are not lacking in combat utility pieces like the Stormslayer, but it really is a strong unit that feels well balanced for the job it wants to do.   

Ambarox

What in the freaking world Orcs get some shooting? And it’s not half bad either! Nimble, 24” range and Steady Aim is exactly the kind of shooting you want with this primarily beat stick army. Just enough to soften up a unit to up your odds of a successful charge or to help strip away chaff and flyers. Height 3 lets them see over infantry and snipe vulnerable targets and at a relatively cheap price can be thrown out as chaff if needed (not as good at this role as Lekelidons though). Defence 4 with lowish Nerve could be a problem if anyone directs shooting back at them though, so they sit solidly in the “good unit” category. They feel very much like a take 3 or none at all type of unit where a group of them focus firing with the Lightning Bolt the rest of the army can generate, gets you towards a respectable shooting phase (for an Orc). My gut says a lot of armies will start with these in, but then they’ll lose their spot as all the other expensive goodies get crammed in, and there just isn’t room. 

Stormbringer

Serving as the leaders of Riftforged Orc armies, Stormbringers start amongst the ranks of the Legionaries but rise to positions of authority through age, experience and success in battle. 

On the Kings of War table, they serve as an incredibly useful mid-cost character option (especially when mounted). With Melee 3 and 5 attacks at Crushing Strength (2) they’re in good shape to stick a couple wounds on just about anything and make good backline defenders or utility pieces. Inspiring helps keep the troops in line and being Mighty allows for some ability to chaff when needed. 

The true fun of the Stormbringer comes when you start looking at how stacking additional spells and buffs turns him from a useful mid-cost character into a supercharged agent of chaos ready to curb stomp unsuspecting opposing generals. Sure, 5 attacks is nothing to sneeze at, but with Host Shadow Beast comboing with the Stormstrike ability, a Bane Chant and 8+ hits at CS (3) is not far out of normal for this mini buzzsaw. Decent defensive stats means it will take actual effort to remove from the board, and as an individual, can be difficult to catch as it darts from target to target.      

Overall, a great little character that received an absolutely boss miniature from Mantic. 

Riftforger

A cheap and cheerful character option very much in the vein of the Kingdoms of Men “Hero” and the Orc “Krusher”. Also so far single-handedly causing the most questions on Fanatics about why the self-cast option on Host Shadowbeast, which I find funny, since I think taking HSB on this dude is kind of a waste. At 75 points (mounted) the character is an absolute bargain with 3 attacks, crushing strength 2 and Defense 5, it’s the kind of annoying little dart that will always have value in any matchup. Riftforgers can somewhat reliably ground heavy flyers, punch chaff, disorder mages or stick a wound on that horde you need to sit still for a turn. All for fewer points than most chaff options an army can use. I would avoid stacking on the fun toys as once you’ve added Host Shadowbeast and Stormstrike you’re over 100 points and only sometimes gaining that value back. Sure its funny as heck when your Forger rolls 4 extra attacks and a couple of Stormstrikes and you’ve just dunked double the wounds you would have on someone, but I think those 35 extra points could go to more useful other places in the list. 

Stormcaller

I’m going to admit this now, I’ll forever be confusing the Stormbringer, Stormcaller and Riftforger in all of my games of Kings of War probably throughout 3rd edition and beyond. This is the spellcastery one. I know this. But I’ll still screw it up.

At 85 Points base cost with Lightning Bolt 4, no inspiring it fits into the “expensive” spellcaster tier for me where once you add a little utility or options, it quickly climbs above 100 pts. It’s nowhere near the sort of Liche/Cursed Highpriest Top Shelf costs, but isn’t the affordable section. At Spellcaster Lvl2 it also gives you access to the good version of library spells and gives access to Veil of Shadows (3) which is so much more reliable of an anti-shooting spell than the two dice version. If the current meta makes Veil a requirement, this is probably your most effective tool to put it on, and is an additional lightning caster to the minimally respectable shooting phase these folks can put out. Basically, if you need a wizard, this is one, and it isn’t so painfully costed to make you throw up in your mouth using it.  

Stormbringer on Winged Slasher

Now we’re talking, it’s the big stompy chompy dragon version of a flyer that every proper evil army needs. Almost identical to the Elf Dragon (which I tend to use as a baseline for these heavy flyers) it loses Elite, adds Fury (for proper Orcish anger) and costs a tiny bit less for a well balanced bastard to deal with flying threat. When you look across the whole list, Riftforged Orcs can actually field a proper air force with Riftwalkers, Helstrikers and its flying heroes. There are very few lists that aren’t “helped” by a bigass dragon prowling around the board, but I think this particular flavor of orcs can really benefit from one. They aren’t needed, but the hit them hard and and make sure what you hit goes away gameplan for this army can really benefit from a speed 10 inspiring source that kicks ass with both feet, either leads a flanking force, or swooping in from a flank in later turns.

With the Shrine presumably anchoring your battleline, and some relatively cheap inspiring characters in other parts of the army, you can also afford to send your big expensive inspiring selection off on special missions and to get behind the enemy, which not every army can do. This army also lacks some of the tools to actually protect its own backline from heavy flyers (unless you invest heavily in the Royal Mounted Riftforged Air Force), and a great counter to an enemy dragon is one of your own, especially with Host Shadow Beasted mounted heroes buzzing around ready to sit the opposing dragon down.

Summed up it’s a powerful addition to the list with most of the same drawbacks and advantages of any standard large flyer. Add to taste.     

Vohdler [1]

Vohdler is a tricky one to think about, and my fear is people will only look at the unit as a way to unlock more Thunderseer deployment shenanigans. But ignoring that for a moment, just looking at the stat line on this tank is pretty good. For under 200 points you’re getting a nimble, 7 attack beat stick with Inspiring. Looking at the parts of the battlefield you want them operating in, that inspiring can come in clutch. Pathfinder and Crushing Strength 2 allow the hits to get through but where this chunky cyclops really shines is in its defensive stats. Solid Fearless Nerve added to Def 6 is huge (with a cheeky little bit of spell defense)! Suddenly hammers (by classic definition) have a really hard time breaking you in single charges reliably, and that smaller footprint is harder to multicharge. 

This extra beefy cyclops can operate as a smaller/cheaper giant, breaking up the lines, hanging up charges, flanking all over the place while giving crucial Inspiring, and is excellent value for the price point. All of that is without its redeploy tricks, which I view as just an added bonus to an already strong pick.    

C Ranked Units

Unforged Orcs

I hate to just start on the negative but here we are. They’re not very good, have very few if any synergies with the rest of the list and should probably be left at home for actual Riftforged Orcs. Me 4 & Def 4 on a giant footprint just don’t make for a very punchy or survivable unit. They’re not a total waste of points, but I don’t expect to see them except for very niche lists. 

Legacy Orc Units: Skulks, Morax, Gore Riders, Orclings

They do basically the job they did in the Orc list, but either they’ve been surpassed by better options in Riftforged Orcs (Gore Riders) or lack of War Drum lowers their usefulness. Overall, they’re better off being left in the core Orc list in my opinion. Orclings are fine I guess still for doing Orcling stuff. 

D Ranked Units

Flagger – D 

So many better inspiring options. RIP Flag Dude. 

Formation

The Iron Boots

At first this is a very straightforward formation with two regiments of your pretty standard Riftforged Legionaries and one of your more punchy Reborn Legionaries, a little nerve boost and some cheeky wild charge at a relatively small price point. But what this formation is disguising, is it fundamentally shapes the direction of your Riftforged Orc army building and represents a foundational choice in what type of list you want to field. 

From what we’ve seen so far, we know an obvious and powerful unit to build an army around will be the Riftforged Legionaries at Horde size. With Melee 3, Defense 5, 25 attacks and built in Crushing Strength it is an amazing profile for infantry at Horde size and 2-3 of these units properly supported could dominate a battlefield without some of the traditional trade offs other units in that category have had to make. The main drawback of the unit is its enormous size, which makes it much harder to maneuver and protect. You can easily imagine a Riftforged Orc army bringing these enormous face stomping units, along with support options, characters, chaff and chaos agents (units which main purpose is to disrupt and distract an opponents battleline) meant to ensure these aircraft carrier sized Hordes can effectively go about their business without being triple charged at first opportunity. Honestly, for that army, I’m not sure the formation is necessary. But fear not, as I also think this formation hints at another way. 

While the Riftforged Legionaries profile is great at Horde size, I also sort of love it at Regiment size as well. They have just what you need for a solid infantry block to build a strong battle line on a budget. Good defense, built in Crushing for counterpunch and flank charges, Melee 3 for a reasonably reliable number of hits with only non-elite Nerve to contend with as a drawback on the unit. The formation ups their Nerve to a respectable 15/17 and you’ve got a great little unit there. 

The Reborn Legionaries benefit from the Nerve boost as well, and gain a Wild Charge Aura, which sadly does not affect the other two units in the formation, but gives themselves some extra threat range which can help break stalemates. It also works on Fight Wagons, which are now regular in the Riftforged list, giving them a potential 17” charge and also allowing them to equal or outrange their Chariot cousins 2/3rds of the time, worth a look.         

Flooding the field with these medium-sized units (along with others with a similar footprint like the Thunderseers) could create a series of difficult to deal with board states for your opponent. The formation can also be used as a bare minimum core to your battleline, while you spend points on all sorts of fun and flashy other toys just hinted at for the Riftforged. Either way, it represents the basic building block in an alternative army style to the sort of “Carrier Battlegroup” style the Horde build above suggests. And this fundamentally does what I want Formations to do. They aren’t always auto-take, or overpowered, but they allow certain playstyles or list styles to be unlocked and be a little more efficient when you go that direction. You want the giant hordes of Orcs? You might want to leave the Iron Boots at home. Want a more MMU style list, they make a great option. In the end, formations like this allow alternatives, and with limited information, the Riftforged Orcs already look like they have some fertile ground for army design of all different types. 

So that wraps up our Dash28 Tier review of Riftforged Orcs. What do you think of the new army and how it will play?

*Stolen from Chris Kohler and his take on Age of Sigmar