Tactics: Master Tormentor Morghoul

Master Tormentor Morghoul

Next up on the Tactics slab is pMorghoul!  Master of torment, torture, and all things pain, pMorghoul is the warlock that comes in the Skorne starter set, and remains one of my favorite warlocks for Skorne.

Let's take a look at Morghoul's statline.  Good SPD (fastest of a warlock/warcaster), great MAT, high DEF (highest of any caster), low ARM (as low as pKaya).  Pathfinder on Morghoul is great.  It let's him be really mobile, which is very important on a FURY 5 warlock.

Turning his card over, we are greeted with a wall of text.  Anatomical Precision compensates for low POW on his melee weapons (remember, Anatomical Precision will deal one damage if the damage roll fails to exceed ARM, so still roll for it, you might get lucky!).  Maltreatment gives him an extra fury (potentially) each turn, somewhat compensating for being FURY 5.  Overtake lends it's way for movement shenanigans, and can help you get to the enemy caster.  Perfect Balance makes him immune to free strikes, CRA, CMA, etc.  Sprint can save your butt, especially because Morghoul can't be targeted by free strikes.  Because he is FURY 5, he'll be up in the front lines anyway, so try and take advantage of his killing power.

His weapons have Magical Weapon, Double Strike (which means you get two attacks for each fury you spend to get additional attacks), and Inflict Pain (less commonly used, but has it's place).  With the combination of MAT 8, Anatomical Precision, Maltreatment, and Double Strike, Morghoul has the potential for dealing 14 points of damage at the very least (assuming all attacks hit), or even more with some good dice rolls.  This makes Morghoul a very potent assassin.

Spells
Abuse - Arguably the best spell to help the sheer throughput on warbeasts.  Because this spell is not an upkeep spell, you can cast it multiple times.  Abuse also stacks with the Gladiators animus, Rush.  Making Titans SPD 6, charging 11"?  Yes, please.  Also, the STR buff stacks with the Beast Handler's Enrage.  Take Aptimus Marketh, and you can cast Abuse on four targets per turn.
Admonition - An amazing defensive spell.  When the enemy starts closing in, stick this on Morghoul, and laugh as your opponents finisher charges in, just for you to walk away from it.  This is not the be all end all of the defensive spells, though.  If you're knocked down, there's no moving at all.  Slamming something into Morghoul is one of the easiest ways to knock him down, so watch out for that.  Sometimes you can pull off your Admonition as your opponent finishes his slam movement, but before the slam attack.
Torment - The obligatory magic missile.  It's essentially a spell that does damage and also does Grevious Wounds.  It has it's moments.

Warbeasts

Titan Gladiator - If you're going to take a heavy warbeast, most of the time this guy will be the first guy you turn to.  Especially with Morghoul already giving a SPD buff, the Gladiator's animus essentially makes the Titans SPD 8, charging 11".  Oh, and with the Beast Handlers stacking with Abuse, he'll be hitting at P+S 20.  You know what they say, "POW 20s kill casters".  Wait, that might have been POW 12s.

Titan Bronzeback - Feel like getting a second Titan?  The Bronzeback hits harder than the Gladiator, and has 5 fury to boot.  His animus can also enable some big elephants to attack their way up to a caster.

Titan Sentry - I don't think this guy gets enough love.  Sure, he's MAT 5 and only has one P+S 16 attack, but he has some things other Titans don't.  First is ARM 21 with shield.  Second is his Reach weapon.  His animus is to make sure no sneaky Ghostly Cryxy jack walks by.  I like this guy because he's 1.5" faster than the other Titans, because of his Reach.

Rhinodon (I choose you!) - Another unsung hero of Skorne.  While most of the Titans can deal with opponent heavies, this guy can clear infantry like none other.  His animus gives boosted attack rolls on special attacks, working greatly with his thresher and trampling.  With Abuse and Enrage, he can crack ARM 18 Champs, Skinwalkers, etc.

Other beasts are also viable choices, but these are my favorites for pMorghoul.  In terms of units, Morghoul doesn't do anything for them.  The only unit Morghoul would regularly take would be the Paingiver Beast Handlers.  Aptimus Marketh helps pMorghoul throw out an extra Abuse each turn.

Example pMorghoul list
pMorghoul
-Titan Gladiator
-Titan Sentry
-Titan Bronzeback
-Rhinodon
-Aptimus Marketh
Beast Handlers (max)
Beast Handlers (min)

The idea behind this list is to have very, very fast elephants, who can hit very, very hard.  The assassin could very well be any Titan, or Morghoul himself.  This list, while being a very low model count, has a lot of options and can deal with a lot of situations.

So, I think that's it for pMorghoul.  Submitted for your approval, the pMorghoul Tactic article.