Sons of Behemat - growing Stomper Tribe

The Tribe so far

So far I've got about 1,200 points of Sons of Behemat fully painted up for Age of Sigmar, with a load more in progress. I really like the concept of an army of giants led by even bigger giants - they look great on the tabletop and are fun to play. 

Magbragog's Stomper Tribe

Warstomper Mega Gargant - Magbragog Maneater

Mancrusher Gargant Mob - The Stompy Brothers (Fat Glurg, Dronk Stunty-Stomper and Grumbog Aleguzzler)

Mancrusher Gargant Mob - Wanderers of Albion (Bruinen the Wise and Bologs One-eye. Cachtorr still needs some painting!)

Magbragog is my Warstomper leader. I love this giant model - you can get it from Heresy Miniatures here. While you're there, Andy has a load of other really cool fantasy miniatures too. I have more of his stuff painted up, but also a load of demons and other monsters from a kickstarter he did years ago that are desperately in need of me getting them finished. I've even got one of his epic dragons, which really needs painting! Anyway, there are some 'lovely' ghouls (that he has now redone in plastic), which starred in Session 15 of my D&D campaign, as well as a version of Big Boris, his signature model I suppose, and some gribblies here. I didn't initially buy the giant during the kickstarter as I didn't quite get what he was doing with it, but once it was finished I loved it. And, timing wise, it was perfect as it was just as Games Workshop were talking about doing an army of giants!

The model has so much character, and I had the new TerrainCrate stuff from Mantic so decided to make a scenic base to show that the paladin being eaten might have been in the middle of his campfire dinner when Magbragog scooped him up as a snack. I love having details like this that tell a story with a model, and when it comes to giants it's really nice to have something that indicates their sheer size - he clearly isn't an upscaled man, he's a huge and terrifying colossus! As I was assembling him before the official Mega Gargant model came out, I ended up using a non-standard base for him, but the tent and eveything fit much better on this oval base anyway. I think with bases this large it isn't going to make much of a difference in a game, but I have mounted all my other Mega Gargants on the 'proper' bases. Rule of cool wins out over tournament pickiness anyway!  

Magbragog Maneater, Warstomper Mega Gargant

When I was a young 'un, I always wanted the Giants of Albion - I thought they were great, but my pocket money never quite stretched to it! I got them more recently off Ebay. Cachtorr is still being painted, but I completed Bologs. He had a broken let so I repositioned it on a rock so you can really see him leaning back, ready to throw his menhir - I like being able to see him a bit easier from above when playing. Dronk Stunty-Stomper is one of the old Orc and Goblin giants that I had in a bits box for a long time, finally finding his home in Magbragog's tribe!   

The Mancrushers Bologs One-eye and Dronk Stunty-Stomper

Talking about old models, Grumbog Aleguzzler is the classic old Marauder giant. Again, I coveted this model as an even younger young 'un! So full of character, I had to find one to include. As he has a barrel of Bugman's XXXXXXX on his hip, I decided he must have smashed his way into a brewery and used more Mantic TerrainCrate stuff to put some barrels on his base. Next to him is Bruinen the Wise. He's a giant from Atlantis Miniatures (now Blue Giant Studios), though doesn't seem to be available any more. I liked him as he seemed to have a sort of druidic vibe that I thought fit with Cachtorr and Bologs, so decided the three of them could be the Wanderers of Albion. He looks sort of more with it than most of the other giants, so I figured he could be called 'the Wise' - like, he can talk in full sentences or use long words. I don't imagine the threshold for being considered wise is particularly high in giant society! 

Again, Bruinen isn't on a properly legal base, but he was just too big and it looked daft, so I put him on a slightly bigger one. I think it looks much better, and helps him stand out as the leader of that mob. He's bigger than the rest of the Mancrushers but not big enough to be a Mega Gargant. I think some variation in size is good, and the fact he is a bit bigger makes it more likely he would be bullying the others around - just like his counterpart, Fat Glurg! This is a Hill Giant from Nolzur's range of D&D monsters. It's a great model, cheap as chips and a single piece (I know they have a new Frameworks version, this is the older flexible plastic one). The detail is OK on it and he is chunky enough that the flex isn't a problem. As he is a bit bigger, I put him on the same size base as Bruinen and decided he could be the bigger, fatter, brother of Dronk and Grumbog, bossing them both around - he's clearly taken the loot for himself and stuck it in his pack!  

Grumbog Aleguzzler, Bruinen the Wise and Fat Glurg

Might makes right in the Stomper Tribe, so there's no mistaking that Magbragog is clearly in charge, with Bruinen and Fat Glurg commanding the two mobs of Mancrushers.   

Magbragog's Stomper Tribe - so far...

What's Next?

I have another three Mega Gargants assembled and ready for painting: Warstomper, Hrothgar Icebreath; a Kraken-Eater, Odler the Colossus; and Tarbag Dragon-Smasher, the Gatebreaker. 

And then there are a couple more Mancrushers, a Bonegrinder and a couple more Mega Gargants to assemble... lots to do, I think in the end it will be pushing 5,000 points! I'll be hoping to arrange a massive game for the tribe to take on all-comers at my local club, Black Hole Wargamers... that could be a long one! 

So far, the Tribe have been pretty successful in the games I've played with them - I've written up their adventures stomping all over the Realms previously. I've found them good fun to play, but some of my opponents have been a bit dismayed when they've been unable to take them down. As I've said to them, you only need to take out one or two Mancrushers to start really taking a toll on the army, so I think focused fire is probably the way to go... I haven't played any games with the newest rules yet, but I've got one coming up next month so we'll see how Magbragog and his lads get on then. 

I haven't considered the new Beast Smasher variant yet, but I figure that Hrothgar would work well if I want to use him as one (he's covered in pelts and things, very beastly). Likewise haven't really thought about King Brodd, the new ruler of all the giants. I've heard he's pretty useful in the game, but I'm not really taken with the model - it's just a minor variation on GW's normal Mega Gargant and, although the model is awesome, I'm not convinced about the variations they've made for him. The big club is nice, but other than that... besides, I'm too taken with Magbragog, he's my giant boss! I think he'll have to proxy in for the king and use Brodd's rules if I ever want to do that. 

Magbragog's battles against the Pipsqueaks

Taking on the flying machines of the Kharadron Overlords

Brutal battle against the Beasts of Chaos

Taking on the Stormcast Eternals

Fighting a combined Order force

The land will tremble as the Stomper tribe marches forth in search of food, ale and a good scrap!