The Book of Arrow Gruts

[dnutt99]

The Book of Arrow Gruts
Malliddon's Prophecy - Collection 1 - Grut Orcs

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Spoiler Alert!

Character Bio: Arrow Gruts, the archers of the Orc army, have always attended the Orc cavalry. Trained from a young age in the art of archery, Arrow Gruts are fiercely loyal to their cavalry leaders and show little concern for their own safety. While Arrow Gruts are not particularly good fighters or defenders, their sheer numbers and their ferocity are intimidating to the enemy, and are often very effective in protecting and preserving their cavalry commanders. (Hasbro)

Originally Posted by Special Powers

BEAST BONDING
Before taking a turn with Arrow Gruts, you may first take a turn with any Beast you control.

DISENGAGE
Arrow Gruts are never attacked when leaving an engagement.

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-Rulings and Clarifications-

- BEAST BONDING : How Many Beasts
How does Beast Bonding work? Can I take a turn with all the Beasts I control first?
No, you can take a free (move & attack) turn with any one Beast you control before taking a turn with the Arrow Gruts. (Hasbro FAQ)

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-Combinations and Synergies-

Synergy Benefits Received

• SWOG RIDER : Orc Archer Enhancement
  As Orc Archers, Arrow Gruts may benefit from Swog Rider’s ORC ARCHER ENHANCEMENT attack and defense bonus.
  
• NERAK THE GLACIAN SWOG RIDER : Orc Defensive Aura 1
  As Orcs, Arrow Gruts may benefit from Nerak the Glacian Swog Rider’s ORC DEFENSIVE AURA 1.

Synergy Benefits Offered

• BEAST BONDING : Beast Units
  • Krug
  • Mimring
  • Swog Rider
  • Ice Troll Berserker

C3V and SoV Custom Synergies

Spoiler Alert!

Synergy Benefits Offered

• BEAST BONDING : Beast Units
  • Grigor & Rogirg

Synergy Benefits Received

• Hrognak - Orc Movement Aura:
  Arrow Gruts can boost their move with Hrognak's aura.

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-Heroscapers Community Contributions-

Power Rankings

• @Jexik : Arrow Gruts- Bonding, potential for higher attacks, cheap cost. Once one of the most competitive squads around, they seem to be in decline. B+
• @OrcElfArmyOne : Arrow Gruts- The worst orc squad still has quite a bit going for them with a great threat range and solid bonding choices. Swogs make them offensively relevant and Krug is a tank. B+
• @dok (VC inclusive): B+
• @Cleon (VC inclusive): Tier 7 (77/319)

Master Index

• Spider_Poison's Guide to Effectively Use an Arrow Grut Army
• Strategy against Krug/Arrow Gruts/Swog Army
• Sculpt Polls! 5. Arrow Gruts - Winner: The Jouster
• Unit Debate # 69 Arrow Gruts vs Blade Gruts - Winner: Steady, Aim...

Unit Strategy Review

Unit Strategy Review: How to use Arrow Gruts

[Omnicron]

Probably my favorite unit, Swogs and Arrow Gruts make a deadly team.

[Hex_Enduction_Hour]

Pure fun playing these guys with some beasts.

I love stacking those Swogs and adding up the attack dice before rolling.
It's also a nice option to kamikaze an archer by running in and engaging a big hero who may be coming after one of the beasts.
I had shortest-straw archer head in and engage a sizeably wounded Charos just to keep the dragon king off my Swogs and my beefed-up Krug. The many beast options keeps these guys a potent army.

[DingoDarkly]

I would definitely have 1 swog rider for every squad of 3 arrow gruts.
Adding Nerak in the mix too would be a good idea to give them an extra defense bonus.
I find battling with all gruts is fun!

[RobWeaver]

Arrow Gruts are deceptive. Individually they're so weak you're tempted to pass them up, or, even worse, buy just one squad to make weight. You need lots of them. I once fielded 400 points of them and they were devastating. They move quickly, and are easily enhanced with height, glyphs, auras, etc. I often draft a squad of gruts and a swog rider together, and consider them the same unit. Cluster the gruts around the swog, and move them like a formation of archers. Worth the 25 extra points to see orcs maneuvre like a marching band! Don't be afraid to take casualties with them, though. To win, you're going to approach 50% casualties or more.

[Jexik]

These guys (with Krug and some Swogs) are just downright dominating in relatively low-point games when glyphs are present. If you get +move, attack, or defense, they're nasty. Their base range and speed are so solid, that once you get them on height and with some swog support, your opponent will need to take notice when those little 13 point peons start rolling 3 or 4 attack dice.

[Oyhedwig]

Not a fan of the arrow gruts. In fact, I think they are what make the orcs stink. You just need too much stuff to make them worthwhile. First of all, you need at least 3 squads to do any good. Secondly, you need a Swog Rider for each squad. Now it is true that all of that will only cost you 195 points. Cheap for all you get (12 figures). But I think the out-of-game cost of the arrow gruts and swogs makes them a pain in the neck. Seriously. I think the arrow gruts and swog rider should have been packaged together. Then, I might like them better because they would be easier to get in mass quantities.

[Hex_Enduction_Hour]

Originally Posted by Oyhedwig

Not a fan of the arrow gruts. In fact, I think they are what make the orcs stink. You just need too much stuff to make them worthwhile. First of all, you need at least 3 squads to do any good. Secondly, you need a Swog Rider for each squad. Now it is true that all of that will only cost you 295 points. Cheap for all you get (12 figures). But I think the out-of-game cost of the arrow gruts and swogs makes them a pain in the neck. Seriously. I think the arrow gruts and swog rider should have been packaged together. Then, I might like them better because they would be easier to get in mass quantities.

Yours is the first comment of dislike I've ever read of the Wave 1 & 2 packaging of the Swogs and Gruts.
When Wave 2 was released, I'd bought my standard of four commons for the KoW.
As well, I purchased two additional sets to make custom knight units. So I was fortunate enough to acquire six Swogs.
But if I recall correctly, the most Swogs I've drafted is five in a game and four, the average.

The Orcs pack is definitely a larger purchase quota than some of the other common boosters, but we do get two different common squads of the same point value.
And you only need one Mimring.
And you only need one Krug.
I don't think the payout for a decent Arrow Gruts army is all that bad.

I suppose it's about what a player wants to fork out to play the game, how passionate they are for Heroscape, and what size armies they generally field.

I like the way a general's army can be spread out among waves - though the Gorillinators holding out for the Nakitas' arrive was a long overdue synergy!

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Originally Posted by arp12

Packaging squads that don't work together is how Hasbro makes a lot of money. It works when people want the things though.

Although there is a picture of a prototype Orc booster that had the Swog contained with the Blades and Arrows.

[The Super Atheist]

everybody talks about how low the ashigarus' defense is, but they make no note of how low the arrow gruts' defense is.

1 attack, is ****. I could do better with a rubber band.

to boost that attack you have to depend upon height and a swog rider.

Swog riders have 3 defense and one life... no. It's going down. That is going to be my first target. Boom, one or two attacks later, no more swog rider.

the swog riders are common... I have to spend alot of money to get them. Real money.

Personally, I'd take ashigaru. they will have something to make up for the lack of bonding, Kato.

[Browncoat]

For the most part, the best chance the Ashigaru Yari have for boosting their defense is also using Hatamoto Taro in your army. Even then, no additional die is gained, just the Einar symbol counts as a shield. The boost with Arrow Gruts/Swog combo is better, since you get additional attack and defend dice.

This is part of the concept of the orcs. They're low stat/low cost units meant to be used by the masses.

[Aldin]

TSA,

The relative frailty of the AGs and Swogs needs to be covered by also using Mimring or Krug. You don't have time for a Swog hunt when Mimsy is mowing down your 4th Mass...

~Aldin, professional toothpick thrower

[marro_master]

Originally Posted by Oyhedwig

I understand that the way to win with orcs is to outnumber your opponet.

yeah that is true, but never use orcs when your opponent has multi hitters, like Q9 and Q10, or someone with counterstrike, or both (kameon awa), for their defence wil not save them from anything, it is just 1. now back to arrow gruts, i really only use these for bonding, if they have the swog rider, well he dies way to quikly. but they are good swarmers, with just a few points, you can have quite a few, but like i said before, just watch out for multi hitters.