The Cool New Orc Units from Waiquar's Path

Right, so Waiquar's Path is out, and the Orc's did fairly well on the whole. The Orcs got three new units with berserk, which I have never been too fond of as a special ability (you are paying for a unit that is sub-standard if it isn't berserk, and the berserk ability is conditional, so why not just pay for a unit that is always good?), but that is just me, so I'll be objective. This set continues in the vein of giving the Orcs some *very* good support units (Half Orc and Ur) and very solid, unique heroes (Kylus). All in all, a good showing.

Brutalizer: This guy is something of a powerhouse, being a 5/2/4 with 2 wounds, M4, berserk, and partial Swashbuckling. His cost of 10 is a tad high to get a lot of them, and I probably wouldn't add any to an army until after I exhausted the standard hero allotment, but all in all, not bad, especially if you can capitalize on his berserk. His defense of 2 is somewhat detrimental, but not a total breaker. Grade: B+

Frenzied Mesak: For 7 points, again, this guy isn't bad. His 8 total toughness is good for what you pay, although his T of 2 is definitely problematic, as he gets run over by Firbolg and Beastriders, as well as getting degraded by any stray missile shot or scutt troop. His 4 wounds and low cost make him an ideal wound sink for any sort of evil wound maneuvering engine (like something designed to keep Krotag alive...). With a good attack (but a poor defense) and a solid move, I can see him being occasionally useful. Grade: B

Goblin Warriors: Cheap berserkers who can, occasionally, become prematurely berserk, which is good, if you can pull it off. Their unberserk stats aren't really impressive, but again, they are fairly cheap and quick. Grade: B

Gobog Gnashers: These guys would be freaking great, if only they didn't gain rage when they were berserk. If they become berserk, they are 6/3/7 M5 with 2 wounds, which is incredibly dangerous, but again, they gain rage, and rage is *very* bad. Once they berserk, if they become pinned, they just start dying left and right. A single Fairy Swarm can kill off your entire brigade of Gnashers. On the upside, however, their rage is conditional, and consequently, they are probably the only enraged disk worth playing, ever. Grade: B

Half Orc: This guy is a great support unit. One of him can (and should) be in every well rounded Orc army--he is fairly cheap, relatively tough, and his special ability is incredible. You can always use him to get your old lady's car out of a bad area. I'd even consider getting a Heal spell or two just to keep him alive. Grade: A

Ja'Tak Hurler: A fairly funny unit who could be highly effective in the right circumstances. As the rules currently stand, if the Hurler is Sure Aimed, he can conceivably place a bolt counter on every single disk in a 26" circle. Drop him in the middle of a K'Ryth army, and clear the waters immediately. Without the Sure Aim, Hurler is mostly just funny, and potentially effective, if you are good at dropping missiles. Grade: B

Kylus, Master of the Tribes: For 11 points, this guy is incredible. 5/6/5 with 3 (yes, three) wounds and a moderately useful special ability, he is definite incentive to play a pure Orc army. While his ability to eat a Grug to heal himself isn't an incredible ability or anything, it certainly can be great in a pinch. This guy is just great. Grade: A+

Nakot: 5 points of first blow, and a move of 4 is nothing to sneeze at, and then you give him the ability to activate twice a turn. these guys are kind of like Urkan Hordes, but more likely to survive a fight. Use them as components in an all first blow army, revolving around Zhalla and the Hordes. Their 3 toughness is somewhat detrimental for a unit that costs 7, but all in all, nakot is pretty good. Grade: B+

Ulcan Deathseeker: I'm a little at a loss for these guys. They are simply lame, except for their goofy special ability, which exists, as far as we (Mojo and myself) can tell, is for no reason other than to allow you to cast Mirage on them, place them 12" ahead of your archers, and then use the Mirage to give your missiles an extra 6" of range. While I can see this trick being funny (and even useful) a couple times, I can't really see them being all that useful in the long run. Grade: C- for general utility/B+ for being key in a funny trick.

Ur the Horribly Mean: She is expensive, but her ability is going to be devastating in competitive environments. You scout out your opponent's strategies, and then use Ur to destroy them before they even begin ("Umm, I eat this Nakot and remove all the Teleports from the game..."). Even without scouting, you can build armies that would be completely devastated by, say, Fireball, and then insure that they won't be a problem. Remove Zip, Speed, Feet of Clay, whatever will be troublesome. If you have a regular opponent who has become predictable, take him out quite nicely with Ur. Not a unit for use in friendly play, but my prediction is that most devastating tournament level armies in the future will include Ur. Grade: B for general utility/A for being a powerful meta-game player.

Warlord Zarek: Considering how he is more expensive than Kylus, that he is pretty much just worse is kind of a let down. His 7 attack is valuable, but a 3 defense is kind of weak for an expensive champion unit, and having only 2 wounds is pretty lame, compared to Kylus. Not really bad or anything, but not real special, either. His ability is pretty good, and keeps him from getting prematurely shut down by Fairy Swarms, but of the two, I'd much rather have Kylus. Grade: B+

Zarek's Guard: Their special ability is pretty strong, but difficult to capitalize upon, as it generally requires your opponent's cooperation (or a Fate spell). However, they definitely will make for good front line troops for bolluxing up your opponent's plans. Grade: B