Gloomspite Gitz with Ben Johnson – Twitch summary

Today on Warhammer TV, Ben Johnson (Product Developer for the Warhammer Age of Sigmar Studio at Games Workshop) went into the development process of the Gloomspite Gitz and shared some tips and tidbits. I made some notes of the various points below and you can check out the full interview if you are a subscriber. For all the coverage on the Gloomspite Gitz in one place, check out my “all-in-one” page with all the coverage, previews and more from Warhammer Community, Facebook and the independent scene etc.

Watch WARHAMMER AGE OF SIGMAR // INTERVIEW // BATTLETOME GLOOMSPITE GITZ with Ben Johnson from Warhammer on www.twitch.tv

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Gloomspite Gitz Development

• Gloomspite Gitz started with the Skragrott the Loonking model.
• Andy Clark took the lead on the battletome.
• The product development team took the opportunity to fold a number of smaller factions into AoS rule love – with battalions and allegiance abilities etc.  The three factions included all fit similar lore, all around caves.
• Humourous but also spiteful and nasty.  Just like in the old world.

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Gloomspite Gitz Units

• All the kits have been shown but all the variants have not been yet.
• All the Moonclan, Spiderfang and Troggoth units are moving into the new book.
• Forgeworld aren’t in book but have had keywords updated for keywords – Hag, Colossal Squig, Squig Gobba and Bonegrinder Gargantuas.
• Scuttlings aren’t in the book (no longer available for sale)
• Loonboss with giant cave squig (the Skarsnik model) is in the book.
• Mollog’s warband and Zarbag’s Gitz are both in the battletome.
• Mollog is a type of Dankhold Troggoth and just lives in a smaller cave

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Gloomspite Gitz Allegiance Abilities

• Allegiance abilities like Beasts of Chaos and Legions of Nagash – Spiderfang units benefit from the Moonclan allegiance abilities etc – so you aren’t silo-ed into particular types.
• Can run a full squig army led by a squig-mounted Grot Warboss

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Gloomspite Gitz New Warscrolls

• Skragott – wizard and warrior – trading off his reputation of having predicted the Bad Moon once (or just got lucky).
• Rockgut Troggoths – the mix of comedy and spite, funny but horrible, can be seen between the feeding the bird and also the dead grot which was tied (alive) as a loin cloth around the waist of a Troggoth.
• The Dankhold Troggoths live in underground cave – the bigger the cave, the bigger they grow.  Sleep for several years, during which time everything grows on them.
• Loonboss – moon face and boss-fungus.  Believe that squigs won’t attack them if they are wearing the shape of the bad moon. Key hitty piece.
• Sneaky Snufflers – first into the battlefield to collect the fungus to feed to units nearby for beneficial effects. Spider cages on their backs.
• Boingrut Bounders – slower but hit harder and more armour than squig hoppers.  Really interchangeable.
• Squigs – one herder per five grots.
• Gobbapalooza – five class shamans with own role to play in. Spiker is the scuttling one. Shroomancer is the one on the mushroom. Scaremonger – How do you scare a Moonclan grot? You wear a sun mask.
• Fanatics – Loonsmasha (operate a similar way).  New fanatics effects to be revealed soon on Warhammer Community.
• Loonshrine – 12” tall.
• Endless Spells – the final two named Endless Spells are the Malevolent Moon and Mork’s Mighty Mushroom.

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The Light of the Bad Moon Allegiance Ability

• Started with the idea of the Bad Moon as it is at the centre of all the races
• Then thought about how the Bad Moon could be brought to the table in a thematic, skittish and erratic manner
• Team wanted the balance of randomness for Moonclan, but also being easy to use and not mind-bendingly crazy

• Path of the Bad Moon – moon starts on one of the corners of the board and will move towards the centre of the board.  If it is in the centre of a board quadrant it effects just that quadrant. If it hits the middle of the table, it affects the whole table.
• Each turn, roll a dice, it may move towards the opposite corner of the board.  Can move off the other side of the board.
• Unclear if/how the movement is affected when there are two Gloomspite armies on the board.
• The Bad Moon moves in one direction unless it is manipulated. Skragrott can manipulate the path of the Bad Moon –  move it or hold it place.
  
• Rules on warscrolls, artefacts, spells all influenced by the position of the Bad Moon.  
• Command traits and artefacts can also change the effects of the Bad Moon.
• Timing important for maximising the benefits for your army. Where do you want to attack and when?  Do you want it helping you late game or early? Are you playing defensive or looking for strong combat in turns 2 or 3?