8th Ed. Gor-Rok, The Great White Lizard Tactics & Discussion

Intro

Hello everyone! I created this thread in order to explore the uses for Gor-Rok. Here I'm going to list the tactics that I have tried myself in games.

Gor-Rok is essentially an tougher Scar Veteran with T6 and the ability to ignore multiple wounds and killing blow on a 2+. His 2 magic items are a mace that allows re-rolls to hit & Predatory Fighter that works on 5's and 6's and a shield that give +2 to armor and makes charging models in B2B take a Dangerous Terrain test. The character's uses on the table can be multifold from being a sturdy character killer in challenges to being used to support several units with his Stubborn special rule.

1. With Saurus Warriors
Using Gor-Rok with Saurus Warriors has a nice hammer/anvil combo feel where his presence in the unit makes them less likely to run in combat (stubborn) and still dish out lots of attacks with Predatory Fighter likely to give you a few free attacks along the way. Always take spears in the unit with Gor-Rok so that if charged, an extra rank of attacks are avaliable and his magic shield can give you an chance for an extra kill before combat begins! To really make the combo shine, use a Skink Priest to cast Wyssan's Wildform on the unit to make the unit even stronger for your offensive/defensive purposes.

2. With Temple Guard
Gor-Rok in a unit of Temple Guard works much like the Warriors but with the additional benefit of S5 Halberds and the option to take a Magic Banner. Banners like Razor Standard (AP) and Banner Of Eternal Flame (FA) are worth considering. Cast Wyssan's Wildfrom and the unit will break most core infantry units against 20+ S6 attacks. If If a Slann is with the unit, Gor-Rok's Stubborn rule is perfunctory to the Sacred Duty rules of the Temple Guard.

3. "Killer Rok" Character Hunter.
Gor-Rok can also go toe-to-toe with characters in challenges and win. To use him strictly for character hunting, the best way is to cast "The Savage Beast Of Horros" to make him S8 with 7 base attacks. Many hero level characters (and a few Lords) will be brought low (and arguably upstages the other challenge oriented character in the rulebook, Chakax).

There are only two major downside to this strategy.
1. 2+ armor is awesome but no ward save doesn't give the "resilient" Gor-Rok much defense against characters stronger or better equipped than himself.
2. Has 2 wounds with no access to magic items that can heals his wounds.

The best way to counter these downsides is through magic spells such as Apotheosis from High Magic (heals 1 to D3 wounds) and Earth Blood from Life Lore (Regen 5+ but ONLY if he's in the same unit as the casting wizard) but that's only if the casting is successful.

Summary
Gor-Rok is a special character that can be useful in multiple scenarios for clearing troops or hacking down those pesky enemy characters. With solid rules and a modest point cost, Gor-Rok is perhaps the best Named Hero Character in the rulebook who will rarely dissappoint and won't die without taking a few unfortunate souls with him!

Please feel free to comment or post additional suggestions and tactics you might have tried or want to experiment with.

 

You have no parry with magic weapon and a magic shield.

The big deal with Gor-Rok is his shield forcing DT test to the charging unit & stubborn.

A very nice special character. He would shine with Wandering Deliberations Slann.

 

Well he is already cheaper than a scarvet with sacred stegadon helm, light amorur & shield. Magic weapon with reroll (let's say the one that gives ASF) + crown of command.

As for DT. Well... The time you watch a Chariot crashing to pieces against Gor-Rok's shield your opinion may change.

This guy has rules & items above the 50 point allowance for magic items. And he is clearly underpriced
The best special character along Tetto'Eko.

 

I've found that he works really well in low points games (<1500) with lore of beasts skink priests as wildform and the other augments (and hexes) turn him into a complete battering ram. With savage beast and wildform on him, I've had Gor-Rok kill vampire lords in a challenge.

 

This guy is a predatory fighter expert. The combination of re-rolling misses AND scoring PF on a 5 or a 6 is huge. Plus any PF attacks generated are themselves more likely to hit.

I think Gor-Rok excels as a troop killer, while he is sub-optimal against powerful characters.

 

He would pretty much crush everything in his path!

 

Thank you for your comments and suggestions. This is the first time i've posted a tactical thread and didn't quite plan for all possibilities for the character's use and purpose. I do intend on updating the main post with more information from future games i'll play with Gor-Rok and other member's comments and ideas.

I totally forgot to mention the DT test with the shield! That will be updated soon as well as the lack of parry save.

 

I'm not a fan of Gor-Rok because, although he's cheaper than say a lord, against any solid character he'll get shut down badly. Last time I saw him on the battlefield was when an opponent fielded him and my Oldblood overkilled him in a challenge without taking a hit back. His T6 is a nice touch but it's not as good as one may think and at only 2 wounds he isn't very tough.

 

Actually, taking a cavalry charge can be very interesting depending on the size of the unit and how the models line up in B2B (DT for any model in base contact of Gor-Rok might mean the occasional dead horseman) and most cavalry charges are S5 for one round, so if he survives the first round, he will likely break the unit in the second.

 

It really does depend on how big the game is and how much you want to invest in melee. If you want to or can afford to go balls-to-the-walls all out on a melee fighter, I'd say go for somebody else, a tooled up Oldblood is plenty more powerful but is more expensive. If not, Gor-Rok is a perfectly viable alternative.

 

In a 2000+ point game, yes an Oldblood is the better custom option. I find that in certain sizes of games, after a Slann has been added, there's only enough points for 1 dedicated melee character and Gor-Rok works well with giving Stubborn to Saurus Warriors and Temple Guard are Stubborn from being with the Slann, thus mitigating the chance of my main regiments breaking in combat.

 

I haven't been able to bring myself to use Gor-Rok as his abilities just seem to be too unfocused and I wouldn't know what to point him at.

On the one hand he's designed to carve through low toughness troops but then his stubborn ability and extra toughness are wasted.
But as soon as you get to strength 5 attacks then he's not that survivable.

I guess that he's there to give the saurus the extra stubborn boost but with a cold blooded and Ld8 the saurus are generally destroyed before running away anyway.
I do have a Scar Vet that is designed to take on lot's of softer troops but is also much more survivable when facing tougher troops, could anyone sell me what roles Gor-Rok fills better than this?
Scar Vet, Cold one, Armour of Fortune, Sword of Striking (75ss)

 

I reckon he'd be more effective with more wounds.

 

3 wounds at least, like an Oldblood. Would have made his ignoring Killing Blow & Multiple Wounds seem more worthwhile. I still find with High Magic, Apohtheosis is great to heal Gor-Rok with an easy 5+ casting cost, especially if a Slann has the Focus Of Mystery Discipline.