Tuesday 10 May 2016

Fun Tooth

Whole lot of fun, knock downs to be won
The plan at first was to go full Morts, even though every man and his dog raged for Mist over Bonesaw, and my first purchases inclined that way. It became apparent fairly quickly that the Dustmen need Union players to work to their most efficient. I tried running Ghast, Casket and Bonesaw, but quickly saw that it wasn't the way forward. So Bonesaw the 'crypt'ic monk hit the bench and in came Mist, and shortly after that out came Casket and in went Rage.

Within my group of new starters Rage was good, possibly great, but I always felt like their was more that could be offered from my 'Beater' slot. The top hatted psychopath felt so one dimensional. The more I played with Rage the more I realised that he was fine. Not bad, but not really that good. On a charge he half-way chops down even the hardest opponent, but against any player worth their Salt (the mineral, not the otter) he'll never get to charge twice.

Enter Fangtooth, or as I prefer to call him, Fun Tooth. I like to picture him with a full on Pat Sharp Fun House mullet, with the twins cheering him on from the side lines. Ol' Fangy was actually the result of an accidental purchase, after telling a friend to pick him up instead of Rage. Best mistake I could have made.

So why is Fang Tooth a better beater than Rage, and a stable part of my line at the moment? Let's take a look!

Control
The control puzzle is where the Morts are strongest, and FT slots into that jigsaw wonderfully. The first and most obvious reason is foul odour. Although I wouldn't call myself a fan of his stench, as it can cause movement issues in the first turn or two while the game is still finding its feet, it has proven to be a constant bug up my opponents noses as soon as I get him to the desired target, be it beating down a single model, or tying up a ruck. In a scrum Foul Odour restricts potential charges or moves against you or even away from you. Double this up with burning from Silence, and you can create a Bog of Eternal Stench that even Bowie would be proud off.

To really tie down players, or for those which have light footed or are generally quick enough to snort at Foul Odour, you have his magnificent playbook. Momentous KD on a single hit? Yes please. Two Mom damage and a KD on three hits? Even better. Between FT and Ghast you could have three, maybe even four players knocked down on their arses at one time which gives you either a full pitch to utilise or Momentum control, if they decide to clear conditions that way.

Damage Output
As noted before 2D+KD (Mom) is excellent, and when you do get the target knocked down and perhaps ganged up on FT pulls no punches, and can deal nearly as much damage as Rage, possibly more if Rage didn't have an opportunity to charge. I will admit, FT isn't nearly half as Influence efficient or good at generating Momentum as Rage, but in a Morticians team you will be hardly short of Influence or Momentum generating players. I will put two or three Inf on Fun Tooth a turn and consider it well spent!

There is of course one major play that I haven't mentioned yet, and that is of course the daddy that is The Unmasking. On four hits you'll trigger this Momentously, which on the charge (and against a sensible target) makes it very easy to pull off. Nothing breaks up a scrum like a charging Fangtooth! Well, apart from maybe a charging Ghast, who is better at the play due to his extra 2" threat range.

One last note, if the occasion ever arises you do have FT's heroic play at your disposal; Fangtooth Unleashed. Although this play will make you hit harder and further at the cost of a Momentum and five health, I've never personally used it. He tends to be my second activation in a turn (after Silence. Shut out, and then KD) and finding Momentum to spend is tricky, and probably not worth it.

Survivability
Tanks don't come in much larger packages than this. Although he's only a 2/1 model, Gluttonous Mass will make most opponents think twice before bothering to target him, and on the occasions that they do your adversary will find themselves with 29 hp to wittle down. Unless you're a Brewer or Butcher, good luck.

Synergy 
On top of all his individual perks, Fun Tooth works well with the rest of the team. As noted previously, he, is great at knocking over targets once Silence has done his Shut Out/Tucked shenanigans to give you a real level of control over the pitch. He also frees up Ghast to be able to patrol the periphery of the scrum, and choose his targets more carefully. As good as Ghast is, he will fall under sustained pressure, and the look on peoples faces when he charges into a flank is priceless. He even clicks to a certain extent with Obulus. With Shadow Like old man Ob's isn't too bothered by Foul Odour, and FT provides a reliable source of knocked down and ganged up on targets to wack into the dirt with that nasty walking stick of his.

Weaknesses
He's slow. Jesus wept is he slow. At 4"/6" you could stick him on his side and roll him up the pitch quicker I would bet. Luckily he normally wants to be mid-pitch and deep in the scrum, but I can let you know now that he's not going anywhere else for the rest of the game. There are ways to mitigate this with your captains, with both Puppet Master and Second Wind giving the lard arse an extra jog. There's also something strangely satisfying about a Second Winded FT reluctantly power walking up the pitch.

Although his speed is a pain, his 1" melee zone is the true weakness to Fang Tooth. Although Glut Mass does counter this a little, if Brewers get the jump on him (which isn't unlikely) you'll need to spending Momentum to get him up and engaged. Also never take him against Fisherman, and to a lesser extent Engineers. Fish with all their 2" reach and light feet will have a merry time dancing around FT like a diseased may pole. For Engineers, Colossus pretty much nullifies him; if you know you're not playing against him though, he's probably worth a stick in.

Also, never ever take him against Alchemists, either Smoke or Midas. Against the waist coat wearing wankpot that is Midas you are gifting him The Unmasking. This is bad. Very bad. Do not do this. Versus Smoke, your opponent is likely to have Mercury in the team, which means that Fang Tooth will spend most of the game on fire and with a move of 2"/4", which makes him completely impotent.

Lastly Foul Odour can be a little annoying during set up, and a mis-deployment can cause your whole teams movement to grind to a halt. How do you get around this? Deploy 3" away, duh. Sarcasm aside certain players don't care too much, two good examples being Dirge with his 8" flight and Obulus with his unaffected Shadow Like dodge to move you out of the aura.


In many aspects Ghast may be better, but he is an incredible anchor to have in a ruck. He will remain steadfast in the action, draw attention and become a nightmare for those being pounded into the ground by his torso sized fists. All Dustmen should have him in their starting eight, even if it's just to own the model. He's the purtiest ugly boy around

No comments:

Post a Comment