WHFB: Ogre Kingdoms Review Part 2

-Magic-

Lore of the Great Maw

Inherent Ability: After a successful cast, roll a d6.  On a 2+ the caster heals a wound and gets +1 to his next cast or dispel attempt.  On a 1, he takes a Str 6 hit.

I dunno, I really like it.  It's characterful, and powerful.  The ability to get +1 to your next dispel attempt is pretty great.  From a basic perspective it encourages smart game play, cast your easy stuff first and save the nasty spell for the end.  Very cool, powerful Lore Attribute.

0 - Spinemarrow - 6+ to cast.  12" range buff spell that gives Stubborn to target unit.  Can be pushed to a 9+ for 24" range.

Wow.  Now THAT is a signature spell!  Stubborn is one of the most powerful abilities in the game, especially when combined with tough, hard to kill units.  Ogres are an army of tough, hard to kill units.  Happy marriage.

1 - Bonecrusher - 8+ to cast.  18" magic missile that inflicts 2d6 hits no armor saves allowed.  Can push to 11+ for 36" range.

This is very situational, but very strong.  Chaos Knights and Dark Elf Dreadlords and even Steamtanks fear it.  A lot of times you roll this you will trade it for your signature spell, but the times it is useful you'll be glad to have it.

2 - Bullgorger - 7+ to cast.  12" range buff that grants a unit +1 Strength.  On a 14+ it can affect all units within 12".

It's a powerful effect, yes.  But it strikes me as a "win more" spell.  You use it, and you end up winning combats with it that you were already going to win anyway.  I'm not 100% sold on it being as broken awesome as people seem to think.

3 - Toothcracker - 8+ to cast.  Same as above except for Toughness.  16+ for all units.

Now this is a game changer.  This is just absolutely crushing.  This defends you from small arms fire as you get close so that you don't take too many wounds cross the field.  Plus, in prolonged combats ::cough::Stubborn::cough:: you will win the attrition war by being very high toughness.

4 - Braingobbler - 9+ to cast.  Hex spell that forces a unit to take a panic test.  Can buff the range.

Weak sauce.  In the 8th Edition world of BSB and Inspiring Presence bubbles this is laughable.

5 - Trollguts - 12+ to cast.  Buff spell that grants 4+ regeneration to a friendly unit.  Can buff to 20+ to give it to ALL units within 12".

Kinda redundant with Toothcracker, but still absolutely insane.  A 12+ cast means you will only want a Lord level caster to have it, whereas a Hero can cast Toothcracker.  My advice is to never take both if you can avoid it.  If you roll both on your Lord, swap #3 for the Signature Spell and let the Hero get it.  Obviously regeneration makes a large bull unit nigh unkillable, so this is a must dispel for your opponent.

6 - The Maw - 15+ to cast.  18" range small template.  Scatters an artillery dice.  Misfire let's your opponent place the template anywhere he wants.  Everything under the template takes an initiative test.  Anything that passes takes Str 3 hit.  Models that fail take a Str 7 multiple wound D6 hit.  Can buff to large template for a 21+

Certainly potentially powerful.  Less powerful than Purple Sun or Dwellers Below.  But powerful none-the less.  However, it isn't accurate and carries some serious risk.  I can't imagine opting to use the small template version very often.  Then again, if I had a Lord level Ogre wizard, I would be throwing my dice at a buffed Trollguts rather than this.  The Maw = High Risk, Medium Reward.  Trollguts = Low Risk, High Reward.  

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Summary: Powerful Lore.  The buffs are really strong, and that's the meat of it.  It's not a strong offensive Lore, but Ogres already have offense aplenty.  They need the defensive ability this Lore brings.  I would recommend taking this on your Lord level wizard everytime in the Ogre army.