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How to become a Git


Where to Start?

This post is probably a long time in coming, but I thought I'd better discuss how to approach the Gitz if you're a newer player.

For long-time readers (if there are any) it probably hasn't escaped your notice that I've not posted many decklists. That's been a conscious decision on my part: I'm the first to admit that while I'd regard myself as a competitive player, I'm raising two little Goblins of my own (the younger one is five today - happy birthday Emma!), so my opportunities to test the theory is somewhat limited.

So, while I can't provide a concrete endorsement of the Best Possible Gitz Deck (tm), I am more than comfortable providing a starting point for newer players

In addition I'll also put together a Buyer's Guide that will lead into a decklist. I'll also give some overall commentary on how best to get the Gitz to function as an entity. I've covered this previously, talking about individual fighters' roles, so I'll keep things holistic here.

How to Be a Git

I've been asked how to describe the Gitz' style, and just like the smell of a goblin, it somewhat defies description. Certainly in terms of the Aggro, Objective (I prefer to call them Supremacy, as let's face it, they're certain to play it) Flex and Control archetypes, they cross a few borders. Supremacy/Flex is probably the closest, but their interest in limiting combat and minimizing damage has a few Control elements too.

First up, your guys are gonna die. Get used to it. With two Dodge when inspired, they can stick around for a while, but don't get down in the dumps if your boyz start expiring. Gitz score glory as frequently and reliably as any warband, and chances are you'll always be in the game. Grin and bear the losses.

One of the best things about the warband is that dice are really not that important. You'll generally not need to make too many attacks, and you roll enough defence dice that you can save a few just through random crits. That said, your ability to mitigate casualties and get supports can be quite important, but don't sweat if you find this hard to begin with, it will come with experience.

As far as what a game looks like, you're mostly going to be durdling about attempting to score objectives and keep your guys alive. Many of your objectives will interact. Mad Scurry and Scrum (as I touched on last post) are a great pair -  Use Drizgit to activate himself and his squigs, then move them all so they're next to another goblin with Drizgit ending up on an Objective token. I call this 'Scrumming up', and is a great first move, as it will also progress Keep Them Guessing, and can easily be used to score Calculated Risk. 
Scrumming Up in practice. Here you've also scored Calculated Risk, and moved Snirk into a dangerous position

Leveraging Scurry is also an important consideration. When looking at boards, you'll be placing a premium on those that have one or more adjacent starting hexes - as these enable dynamic Scurry actions from the get-go. Ploys such as Centre of Attention, Side/Sneaky Step (play both) and Two Steps Forward are also great at getting action economy out of Scurry.  Obviously Scurry assists with Keep Them Guessing (Using Drizgit's ability or a charge action will tick off two actions for the price of one) and Mad Scurry, but it also makes scoring Swift Capture remarkably easy - send Dibbz charging off onto an objective in enemy territory, and a buddy (let's say Prog) skipping backwards to stand on an objective in your territory.

Snirk

With the advent of Ensnare, deployable Lethal Hexes, and the loss of Hidden Paths and Last Chance, Snirk Sourtongue has lost a bit of potency, but he's still an imposing figure (which is something, considering his arms are skinnier than his nose!). Getting to choose when he inspires is a great option, and makes Fired Up so easy to score, but it's worth attempting to Scurry him forward beforehand - I like to think of it as a NASA style gravity slingshot. When it comes to using Snirk to deal kill people, don't aim for someone 1-2 hexes away, as even if you hit them, you'll likely only do one damage; instead try to use push ploys in the previous power step to engineer a situation where Snirk starts next to his target (Centre of Attention and Side/Sneaky Step are great at setting up a kill). From there, he has roughly a 55% chance of dealing three damage to that fighter.  It's also worth picking your targets. While he can cleave through Stormsire's armour like butter, he's better off targeting 2 or three wound fighters - Snirk is a force of nature, and nature always goes for the wounded and the weak.

The (not exactly) Fearless Leader


Zarbag is notionally a wizard, but he's the Rincewind of Underworlds' wizards (shoutout to all my fellow Terry Pratchett fans!). While you can get some mileage out of Abasoth's Withering, Sphere of Aqshy and Vindictive Glare, it's worth following the same principle as Snirk - use them to finish off weakened fighters, don't attempt to burn down someone from full health.  Of late I've been experimenting with starting Zarbag close to no-man's territory, and leveraging his starting dodge of two, and three wounds to absorb a charge. Results have been on the promising side of mixed.  He also makes a great Katophrane Tome carrier if you want to try an Acolyte of the Kapotphranes deck.


Buyer's Guide

So that's what to do, but how do you get there?

You are Here
Friends don't let friends play Monopoly


To start with, you'll need a base game. At time of writing I would attempt to get a copy of Nightvault over Beastgrave. The boards are better, and the other warbands are better, in case you, you know... backslide, like a weak-willed coward. If you're SUPER new though, the Beastgrave rulebook is all but essential, as they clarify a lot of important stuff. Now, I need to point out that it would be hugely unethical and highly illegal to photocopy a friend's copy of the rules...Wink.



In the future, Nightvault is likely to get harder to find and more expensive. If you can't find it, don't stress, Beastgrave is just fine. 

Important Cards from the Core Set (s)
  • Supremacy
  • Confusion
  • Sidestep
  • Great Fortitude, Strength, Speed

Next is obvious.  Zarbag's Gitz expansion - filled to the nines with Gambits, Objectives, hopes, dreams and chewy yellow plastic.


Important Cards from Zarbag's Gitz 
  • Keep Them Guessing (what a shame I've already named my children)
  • Mad Scurry
  • Obliterated
  • Malicious Kill
  • Solid Gains
  • Make Some Noise
  • Sneaky Step
  • Faneway Crystal
  • Jealous Hex
  • Vindictive Glare
  • Mirror Move
  • Extreme Flank   (Gone but not forgotten)
As you can see there's a lot of solid options in the initial pack. Now where do we go from here? I've got one question....


Are you feeling lucky, Punk?


If you are, jump on eBay right now, and try to get yourself a copy of Echoes of Glory. This sadly discontinued pack was introduced in Season Two to stop players who'd bought Shadespire from having to buy the Steelhearts Champions and Garrek's Reaver's expansions. There's a LOT of cards that Gitz use in this pack. If you can find it, grab it, but if not, you can get the cards from the two aforementioned expansion packs, but it will cost significantly more. 

Important Cards from Echoes of Glory/Garrek's Reavers + Steelheart's Champions
  • Combination Strike
  • Martyred
  • Opening Gambit
  • Centre of Attention
  • Champion's Fortitude
  • Slumbering Key
  • Tome Of Glories
  • Singled Out
  • Lethal Ward
  • Potion of Constitution
This Ghoul's Got a Hold on Me



The next expansion to pick up is are the new kids on the block, who smell like they've been there for years. The Grymwatch expansion has a LOT of very useful cards, continuing the Season Three emphasis on revolutionizing objective play. Now, a word of warning, I fully expect a few of these cards to wind up on the Restricted List, and it might be worth scooting over to www.underwordsdb.com to check prior to purchase, as my recommendation might slide a little if more than one of: Scrum, Swift Capture, Survival Instincts and Restless Prize end up Restricted.

Important Cards from the Grymwatch Expansion
  • Scrum (soooo good)
  • Coveted Spoils
  • Path to Victory
  • Swift Capture
  • Restless Prize
  • Madness Dart
  • Frenzied Search
  • Larval Lance
  • Survival Instincts
  • Sitting Target

Power Overwhelming
Speaking of Restricted cards, Power Unbound is a great next step, as it gives a number of good cards for limited cost.  Don't use Leaping Loon or Really Pointy Stick unless your power deck is 660 cards in size, and you really want a couple more.


Important Cards from Power Unbound
  • Warning Shot
  • Petty Vindication
  • Two Steps Forward
  • Sphere of Aqshy
  • Seggut's Salvo
  • Spiritbond
  • Prized Vendetta
  • Overpower

Are You Board Yet?
Next, I'd recommend buying the Forbidden Chambers board pack. Both sides are really useful for Gitz. See this article to see how and why; this one too. Note: Both of these were written in Season Two when we still had access to cards like Hidden Paths, so don't follow the patterns slavishly. The main change I would make would being less conservative with Snirk,  as he can't zap into the backfield like before

After that you're well on your way. I'd recommend getting Beastgrave packs as they are released. As for the Nightvault ones, both Mollog's Mob and Thundrik's Profiteers have useful cards  (In particular Shadowed Step and Calculated Risk respectively) but they're not priorities. 


Putting it all together, we end up with a deck that looks a little like the You'll notice that a number of the Important Cards I identified earlier aren't in this list. That's deliberate, as the packs you'll have bought will allow considerable scope for variation. One particular change you might want to consider is Path To Victory instead of Combination Strike, if you find the latter isn't working for you.





The basic plan is to lever your natural strengths and seek action economy from Scurry. Between Tome of Glories and Slumbering Key, you can easily score 20+ glory with only one kill (for Obliterated), though with Great Strength and Larval Lance you can get your hands dirty if needed. With 5 Surge objectives, you've got some good churn in the objective deck, and can easily see all of them in a game.

Use Frenzied Search aggressively to hit those key push ploys, and use your defensive upgrades to ensure your key fighters (Snirk, Zarbag and whoever holds the Slumbering Key) stay alive for as long as possible.

There you have it, my long overdue Gitz Primer.  Whether you're new or an seasoned veteran, I urge you to give the Gitz a go, you'll find a lot to stimulate your imagination, and give you many enjoyable games. I'd flitted between warbands like a particularly promiscuous butterfly before I tried the Gitz, and I'm so glad I've decided to main them.

If you've found this article particularly useful or funny, please leave a comment or let me know via facebook.

Cheers

Rowan 


Comments

  1. I've tried a few browsers now, but your link to uwdb for that deck doesn't seem to work. Not sure if it is a them thing or your link.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey thanks for that! I'm not sure what's going on there. I've tried to update it, but to no avail.

      I've just deleted the paragraph now.

      Delete

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