Ironjawz Warcry Warband – Guide, Tactics and Overview

“”WAAAAAAAGH! Waagh never changes” – Wise words from Megaboss Ron Orcman, narrator of FallOrc 3

The Ironjawz are a warband tough enough to eat rusty nails for breakfast without any milk. Unfortunately for their opponents, rusty nails are a rare commodity compared to the flesh of their enemies.

The Ironjawz are what every orruk dreams to be.  If Sauron had an army of these melee powerhouses then maybe a couple of hobbits wouldn’t have ruined his plan to conquer Middle Earth.

Make no mistake these Orcs are brutal and direct. While other warbands will jump gracefully between terrain and plot careful ambushes the Ironjawz understand that the best method of winning is by “bashin’ eadz until dey are dead.”

If you’re mainly interested in the bashing and killing of your enemies then this could be the warband for you. It’s best thought of as a casual Warband because frankly you will struggle on objective games but you’ll have a lot fun playing them.

What changed in the new edition for Ironjawz Warband?

Outside of the usual point changes, the Ironjawz saw the Gore-gruntas getting 1 attack more each (with a steep point increase), and few leader wounds went down.

Pretty substantial changes for their abilities: Shield Bash has been removed, Duff Up Da Big Thing returns on Brutes after a brief hiatus (FAQ January 2023), that now get also You Messin’.

Briar and Bone added an optional battle trait.

Background and Lore of the Ironjawz Warband

Native to the Realm of Beasts, Ghur, Ironjawz are the greatest the Orruk race has to offer.

The largest and most imposing of the species possessing not only a bestial instinct but a comparatively advanced mind (by Orruk standards) capable of creating impregnable armour.

This armour is not quite carefully forged. In fact, it is actually mostly reclaimed metal battered directly (and sometimes hammered into) the Orruk’s flesh.

While nowhere near up to par with Duardin smithing, or even to the standards of the Free Guilds, it is surprisingly efficient and offers a vast range of movement and sharp edges perfect for cutting your prey.

Don’t mistake their equipment for the trappings of civilizations however, Ironjawz don’t even have a word for civilization.

The closest word they have for this is Prey. Ironjawz don’t make cities or even bother to fortify existing structures after all even the best structures and defence fail to protect their prey so what good are they?

Better to live as a wandering horde and dominate everything that crosses their path.

For Orruks this means being beaten down and forced to assimilate into the greater horde. For everyone else this means a brutal death. 

Even Archaon’s mightiest legions have felt the Ironjawz might, notably at the Manticore Gate to the Allpoints, where on separate occasions Ironjawz breached the fortifications and slaughtered the inhabitants for no other reason than to deface a statue of Archaon.

Ironjawz Krushamobz have targeted nothing else than the Varanspire itself as their latest challenge.

Overview and Points for the Fighters in the Ironjawz Warband

Note: if you haven’t read the basic rules for Warcry before reading this article, it might be helpful to know that the game’s abilities are activated by using 6 dice that you roll at the start of your turn.

If two of the dice show the same value, they can be used to activate a Double ability. If three show the same value, they can be used for a Triple ability, and so on.

So, when this article refers to an ability being a Double, a Triple or a Quad, it refers to this system. It might sound a bit confusing, but takes no time to get used to when you start playing

Orruk Megaboss: 225 points

The biggest, the greatest, the bestest… just add your -est superlative and you will get the Megaboss of an Ironjawz Krushamob.

He hits like a train, comparable to Ogors: 3 Attacks at Strength 6 for 4/8 damage.

Toughness 5 and 35 Wounds means also it will be hard to take down. On the other side Movement 3″ could mean it’s hard to reach where it counts.

To compensate this, the Megaboss has an upgraded Waaagh!. The original ability for a Triple allows to increase up to 3″ the Move characteristic of all nearby fighters (at the moment of the activation). The Mighty Waaagh! costs a Quad but the range of effect is 9″ instead of 6″ allowing much more radius and is straight up 3″ (you don’t need a high Quad).

Apart from that, your Megaboss is the most expensive fighter on-foot in the warband and veritably so as it can be further buffed by a Warchanter or could use a Quad to use the warband-wide ability Rampaging Destroyer that allows him +1 Attack and a bonus move if he can take down an enemy (easy-peasy).

Orruk Warchanter: 180 points

The Warchanter is a veritable totem for the Ironjawz.

His ability allows to add +1 Attack to all friendly fighters while they stay within 6″. And it costs only a Double (Warchanter’s Beat).

Imagine your Megaboss or Brutes now being 4 attacks per action…

He would be the perfect support Hero if it was not for the incredible cost of most Ironjawz that don’t allow for many fighters in each Krushamob, unless you point heavily on Ardboys.

In melee he hits as hard as a Brute with Choppas (4 attacks for 2/4 damage) and has similar survivability to a Megaboss (Toughness 5 on 32 Wounds).

Orruk Weirdnob Shaman: 170 points

Where the Warchanter is the buffer, the Weirdnob Shaman is the offensive wizard.

His special ability, Foot of Gork, for a Triple allows a complete random damage on a fighter within 12″ range. While on average with 6 dice you are bound to inflict some wounds, the potential is there for any number from 0 to 18 damage.

His best attack is also ranged, up to 7″ for Strength 3, 3/6 damage. And as such it cannot be buffed by the Warchanter’s Beat, but can still be buffed by the Rampaging Destroyer. He is also the only ranged option available in the entire warband.

In melee he performs as an Ardboy with Choppa and Shield (3 Attacks at Strength 4 for 1/4 damage) but at least he has 2″ range and keeps himself far from trouble.

Not that he will go down easily with Toughness 4 and 32 Wounds, but why taking a chance?

Gore-Gruntas

• Gore-grunta Boss with Jagged Gore-hacka: 275 points
• Gore-grunta Boss with Pig-iron Choppa: 300 points
• Orruk Gore-grunta with Jagged Gore-hacka: 245 points
• Orruk Gore-grunta with Pig-iron Choppa: 250 points

Gore-gruntas are the Orruk heavy cavalry, even stronger than the Bonesplitterz Boarboys.

They introduce the fastest unit of the Krushamobz with 8″ Movement. Careful though, they are Mounted so they are limited on where they can go (climbing, doors, archways, etc.).

Toughness 4 and high Wounds (40 for the Bosses and 35 for the fighters) make them strong opponents.

They have different weapon loadouts, each with their own Boss option:

• The Gore-hacka provides 2″ range and greater Strength (5) but less attacks (4).
• The Pig-iron Choppa has the same damage (2/4) but more attacks (5) for less Strength (4).
• The Boss with Gore-hacka reaches Strength 6 in the profile above.
• Same upgrade to Strength 5 for the Boss with Pig-iron Choppa.

All Gore-gruntas have also access to Gore-grunta Charge, that for a Triple allows up to do up to 6 damage to an enemy at the end of a Move action.

They can also be devastating when using Rampaging Destroyer as the 8″ Movement may easily allow them to engage a second opponent if they have an attack action left to use.

Orruk Brutes

• Brute Boss with Boss Klaw and Brute Smasha: 205 points
• Brute Boss with Boss Choppa: 200 points
• Orruk Brute with Gore-choppa: 175 points
• Orruk Brute with pair of Brute Choppas: 140 points
• Orruk Brute with Jagged Gore-hacka: 150 points

Brute Bosses have 30 wounds, Toughness 5 and high Strength, their only weakness being a lacklustre 3″ movement.

The movement isn’t too awful because with careful planning and a good use of abilities you can manage to get a good deal of movement in.

The Boss armed with Klaw and Smasha brings 4 attacks at Strength 5 for 2/5 damage on the table, while the one armed with Choppa has 3 Attacks at Strength 6 for 3/6 damage.

Comparing the 2 Bosses damage output they have statistically similar output with enemies with Toughness 4 or less or 7 (unheard of).

Against Toughness 5 and 6 the Choppa performs better but there’s not many fighters so resilient.

In exchange for a slight damage decrease, the Boss with Choppa gains access to Da Grab an’ Bash that for a Triple allows to prevent move or disengage actions for a target enemy (on a 3+) and on a 6 gives also a bonus attack.

The basic fighter versions have three different weapon load-outs with the Gore-choppa being the most expensive.

All of them have 25 wounds, Toughness 5 and Movement 3″.

The Gore-choppa is strong with 3 Attacks at Strength 5 for 3/6 damage, while the pair of Choppas and the Gore-hacka have same damage (2/4) and swap Strength with Attacks: 4 at Strength 4 for the Choppas against 3 at Strength 5.

Statistically the Gore-choppa is definitely the best weapon against all Toughness, while the Gore-hacka is almost always the worst. However, both the Gore-choppa and the Gore-hacka have 2″ range that can make the difference in certain situations.

All Brutes, including the leaders, have access to You Messin’, that is a situational ability but extremely powerful. It costs a Triple but prevents any enemy fighter with a wound characteristic of 14 or less from counting when determining who controls the objective. Basically a single Brute can hold off many horde warbands, Undead be advised…

They also have access to Duff Up Da Big Thing, that is a good buff (+1 Attack and Strength) but only against enemies with 15 Wounds or more bringing him to 4 attacks at Strength 5.

Ardboy Big Boss: 175 points

The Ardboy Big Boss is a new addition to the Ironjawz roster, with a profile of a middle-level leader, not as expensive and deadly as a Megaboss, not too far from the Brute Bosses’ damage output, but better than the Ardboy Bosses. Indeed, not only he has both their weapon profiles, but they are slightly improved: with Strength 5, the 1″ range attack is 4 attacks for 2/4 damage and the 2″ range is 3 attacks for 2/5 damage.

As of September 2024, his runemark layout seems to be wrong, and we assume that not having a shield instead of using Shield Smasha, he has access to the Brute’s abilities Duff Up Da Big Thing and You Messin’, in addition he should have the Icon Bearer runemark which improves the Ardboyz’ ability.

Orruk Ardboys

• Ardboy Boss with Choppa: 145 points
• Ardboy Boss with Stikka: 140 points
• Ardboy with Choppa: 100 points
• Ardboy with Stikka: 100 points

The Ardboy kit is completely new and comes with new profiles that replace the previous ones. They all share Toughness 5 and the 3″ movement which characterizes Ironjawz.

The main difference between the two profiles is that the Ardboy with Choppa has 3 attacks for 2/4 damage, the Ardboy with Stikka has 2 attacks but at 2″ range and for 2/5 damage.

Both the Ardboy Boss with Choppa and the Ardboy Boss with Stikka, aside from being leaders, add an extra attack and 5 more Wounds.

All Ardboys (we assume there is a template error in the September 2024 FAQ), have a Triple ability, Shield Smash, which pushes an engaged opponent 3″ directly away as if it was jumping, and if there us an Ardboy Boss within 6″ of the fighter initiating the ability, the target receives also as much damage as the ability’s value.

It can be thematically interesting to push an opponent from a platform, but in plain territory, and without an Ardboy Boss to add the damage, it seems an extremely expensive disengage option on the cheapest fighter of the warband. For the rest, these are exactly what they should be: a good profile, leaning on the defensive side, for the cheapest fighter in the warband.

Brute Rager: 145 points

The Brute Rager is the new Brute level fighter added to the warband, same kit as the Wrekka. It has a 2″ impressive Strength-6 attack, for 3/5 damage which can be quite devastating, especially for his relatively low cost. The best trait is however the 4″ movement, which allows him to get further than his comrades, although at the cost of lower resistance with Toughness 4.

The Brute Rager’s ability, You Ain’t That Big, costs a Double and can be used only with opponents either Hero or with more Wounds than himself (25+), but when that happens, he adds 2 to the attacks (going to 4) and scores critical hits on a 5+ which can really bring down faster a big guy. Definitely something to consider when creating a list for this warband.

Brute Wrekka: 175 points

The Brute Wrekka is the exact opposite of the Rager, where the latter goes with few but strong attacks, the Wrekka has 6 attacks at 3″ range for 2/2 damage. Statistically the Wrekka is almost always better than the Rager, and the 3″ range really help to slash around without fear of immediate retaliation, considering the same lower Toughness (4).

In addition, for a Double, the Wrekka can hit all enemies within 3″ for as much damage as half of the ability’s value, that is always an added bonus at a low cost.

Morgok’s Krushas (530 points)

• Morgok: 220 points
• Thugg: 145 points
• ‘Ardskull: 165 points

Morgok’s Krushas are an Ironjawz Bladeborn warband from Warhammer Underworlds Season 3.

• Beastbashas (Triple, all Krushas): a bonus attack, but only against Gargantuan fighters.

Morgok’s Krushas focus on fighting enemies bigger than them. As Orruk Brutes, they share the same ability (Duff Up Da Big Thing) to increase their Attack and Strength by 2 but only when fighting fighters with a Wound characteristic of 15 or higher.

They have an even more situational ability that gives them a bonus attack but only against Gargantuan fighters (available mostly on narrative campaigns).

Morgok‘s profile is half-way the two Brute Boss but with no special abilities: he has 4 attacks at Strength 5 with 3/5 damage. Toughness 5 and 35 wounds are hard to take down but the 3″ movement will hinder him (and the rest of the warband) a lot. To compensate they all have access to Charge! for a bonus move towards an enemy in range.

Thugg is a more expensive Orruk Brute with pair of Brute Choppas with increased critical damage (2/5) and 1 more wound.

‘Ardskull instead has a 2″ weapon that gives him more flexibility (high Toughness and wounds means he does not shy from melee fights), although limited to 2 attacks (Strength 6 and 3/6 damage). As often more attacks means more chances of hits (and critical hits) but in this case the 2″ range can help compensate the slow movement.

Ironskull’s Boyz (480 points)

• Gurzag Ironskull: 175 points
• Bonekutta: 100 points
• Basha: 105 points
• Hakka: 110 points

The Ironskull’s Boyz are an Ironjawz Bladeborn warband from Warhammer Underworlds Season 1.

• Dead ‘Ard (Double, all Boyz): reduce by 1 the incoming damage.

Gurzag and his boys represent a band of Orruk Ardboys and as such they don’t have special abilities from the Ironjawz’s list. Their own ability is to reduce the damage that they suffer by 1 (to a minimum of 1). It costs only a Double so can be useful in some contexts against heavy fighters. Toughness 4 and decent wounds (26 for Gurzag and 16 for the others) means they are not too bothered to get dirty in melee, but every little helps.

What hinders them is the 3″ movement that can be partially compensated with the free bonus move through the ability Charge!.

Gurzag has an identical profile to an Ardboy Boss for a slightly higher cost and 1 wound more. He is a heavy hitter, so definitely a good choice for a leader.

While Hakka and Basha have profiles similar respectively to Arboy with Choppa and Ardboy with Big Choppa (only notable difference is the higher critical damage for Hakka: 1/5), Bonekutta introduces an always useful 2″ range weapon with 3 attacks at Strength 5 and 2/4 damage.

All 3 are more expensive than their counterpart, partially justified by their Dead ‘Ard ability.

Abilities for the Ironjawz Warband

• Charge! (Double, Everyone): Perform a bonus move towards the closest enemy in range.
• Duff Up Da Big Thing (Double, all Orruk Brutes): Add 1 to Attack and Strength of melee attacks if the targeted enemy has a Wound characteristic of 15 or more.
• Warchanter’s Beat (Double, Orruk Warchanter): Add 1 to the melee attacks of nearby friendly fighters (6″).
• You Ain’t That Big (Double, Brute Rager): If the target has more than 25 Wounds or is a Hero, the next melee attack action will have +2 attacks and score critical hits on a 5+.
• Berserk Whirlwind (Double, Brute Wrekka): Up to 3 damage allocated to each enemy within 3″.
• Gore-grunta Charge (Triple, all Orruk Gore-Grunta): At the end of the next move action allocate up to 6 damage to an engaged enemy fighter.
• You Messin’ (Triple, all Orruk Brutes and Ardboy Big Boss): Enemy fighters with less than 14 wounds don’t count for holding an objective within 3″ of this fighter.
• Waaagh! (Triple, all Leaders): Add up to 3″ to the Move characteristic of nearby friendly fighters.
• Da Grab an’ Bash (Triple, Brute Boss with Klaw and Smasha): Target an engaged enemy, on a 3+ he cannot move or disengage and on a 6 perform a bonus attack against it.
• Foot of Gork (Triple, Weidnob Shaman): A chance to allocate up to 18 damage to an enemy within range.
• Shield Smash (Triple, all Ardboys): The target engaged fighter moves 3″ away if they were jumping and if the Ardboy is within 6″ of the Ardboy Big Boss, they receive up to 6 damage.
• Rampaging Destroyer (Quad, Everyone): Add 1 to the Attacks and every time you take down a fighter perform a bonus Move action.
• Mighty Waaagh! (Quad, Orruk Megaboss): Add 3″ to the Move characteristic of nearby friendly fighters (9″).

Please note that the current version of the FAQ from 26th of September 2024 has a template error linked to the Ardboy Boss with Stikka and Arboy Big Boss, so we imagine the former would have the same runemarks as a normal Ardboy, while the latter will have the Brute and Icon Bearer runemark instead of the Bulkwark (as it does not have a shield).

Reaction for the Ironjawz Warband

Introduced in the new season of Warcry, Reactions are things that can be done in certain circumstances, but always during the enemy turn. They cost one action, so they can be used only by fighters that have not activated yet or are waiting. There are 3 universal reactions and one specific to each warband:

Get Stuck In (Everyone)

• When: After an enemy finishes a move within 3″.
• What: A bonus move for another friendly fighter within 3″ that needs to end within 1″ of the enemy fighter.

Battle Trait for the Ironjawz Warband

Enough Messin’: Every time an enemy fighter makes a Wait action, a friendly fighter can make a 3″ bonus move.

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Strategy and Tactics for the Ironjawz Warband

The Ironjawz are high-Toughness, high-Strength monstrosities with very little movement. You can easily kill most enemies but you’ll struggle a lot more with objectives.

The salvation comes from the Gore-gruntas and their 8″ Movement, although they cost much more. Alternatively you could have some Gloomspite Gitz as an Ally for the sole purpose of ranged attacks or objective grabbing.

The new edition brought them another unexpected help from the Brute’s ability You Messin’ that allows a single Brute to exclude all fighters with less than 15 wounds when determining who controls an objective. It costs a Triple, but against horde warbands with many 6-10 wounds fighters, this means regaining control of the narrative.

Their reaction, Get Stuck In, works on the same trend of improving their otherwise low mobility. As long as you have a weaker fighter with an action available, you can bring forward another more powerful fighter to engage an enemy that moves within 3″ of the first fighter sparing a Move action to the stronger fighter. Charge! is another ability that allows a bonus move towards a nearby enemy.

Finally, you can keep your Warband Leader with a large group of Orruks, and have them function as the objective grabbers by making use of Waaaagh!. While this won’t make them particularly fast, it’ll make them just average enough speed to be able to have a chance to get to an objective.

If you can afford a Warchanter, it’s another good way to take advantage of a compact group of fighters by increasing their number of attacks with the Warchanter’s ability.

The latest expansion of the Ironjawz roster brought new Ardboyz, although a bit pricier, an Ardboy Big Boss which is the best cheap leader of the warband if you want to be slightly less elite, but more importantly some great alternatives to the standard Brutes: the Rager and the Wrekka, both at 4″ movement which may not seem much but is a 33% increase in this warband.

They have lower Toughness, but 4 is not that bad especially with 25 Wounds, and they have interesting abilities which can occasionally turn the table. We would recommend one each in any list.

Kill stuff and have fun!

Pros and Cons of the Ironjawz Warband

Pros:

+ High Toughness
+ High Strength
+ High Wounds (Lowest is 15)
+ Good Damage Spread
+ Very Killy (so incredibly fun if you just like to bash things)

Cons

– Slow movement
– Difficulty Climbing even the smallest of obstacles
– Very difficult to win objective based missions, as the slow movement makes it hard to get where you need to be.
– Clever opponents will use your slow movement and no ranged abilities against you

Some thematic Krushamobz

Just for fun here we present few thematic warbands, meant more for fun or narrative context than for competitive play. Note that in narrative play you need to complete a quest that allows you to recruit a Hero before being able to add him to your roster.

Big Waaagh!: Orruk Megaboss, Orruk Warchanter, 2 Orruk Brute with Gore-choppa, 1 Orruk Rager, and 1 Orruk Ardboy with Choppa to maximise the Warchanter special ability.

Flying pigs: Gore-grunta Boss with Choppa, 2 Gore-Grunta with Choppa and 1 Brute with Gore-Choppa. The Brute is there just to sit on an objective while the others do the dirty work really…

How to buy an Ironjawz Warband

Getting hold of an Ironjawz warband is quite easy. Although the old Start Collecting box for Ironjawz is now out of production, soon the Spearhead Irojawz Bigmob will provide a valid alternative with a Megaboss, 10 Ardboys (new model) and 6 Brute Ragerz/Wrekkas which can be assembled with either profile.

All heroes can be found in individual blisters: the Megaboss (£28), the Weirdnob Shaman (£24), the Ardboy Big Boss (£24) and the Warchanter (£21.5)

A box of brutes gives you 5 model. 1 can have the Boss Klaw and Smasha and one can have the 1 Gore-Choppa. The rest can have either the two-handed options or the two 1-handed option.

The new box of Ardboyz gives you 10 models for £40. There should be enough options to assemble them out exactly as you want.

The Brute Ragerz/Wrekkaz box contains 3 models £37 which can be assembled as either kit.

Finally the Gore-grunta box contains 3 models for £48 and allows you to set them up only with one weapon loadout if you want a valid AoS unit.

Tips on painting Ironjawz

Are you Ironjawz the coolest Greenskinz on the block?

I would very much like to display them right here on this page.

All you have to do is send my some files. You can read more about how to make that happen here.

The most important thing to remember when painting Ironjawz is they’re Orcs. Simple right?

Why would I even mention that? Well you see Orcs don’t have a dress code or uniform.

There’s literally no reason you should feel obligated to not let each Orc be entirely unique.

In my personal Warband I have two groups: The Black n Rustyz, Ardboyz with black rusted armor, and the Lobstah Boyz named for their commander Lobstah Johnson the Orruk Lobstah, an Orruk Brute Boss with Boss Klaw, appropriately painted.

I decided that it would be interesting to remove the breastplates and fill the ‘nipple holes’ with green stuff. I may have done the same with the backplates but it just seemed like too much effort, so what we’re left with is actually an incredibly interesting group of Brutes who had to nail the backplates into their backs.

Each Orruk should ooze personality. If these models weren’t painted with normal AoS in mind, I wouldn’t have even themed them into groups.

Think about how each Orruk expresses itself. 

Maybe one would be particularly bloody and wear blood as facepaint. Maybe some LOTR Skin colours: browns, and dark greys or even pale whites.

There are hundreds of incredibly interesting things to do with Ironjawz, the sky’s the limit don’t feel constricted to the usual options.