How to Beat Mollog

Have you been affected by Mollog the Mighty?

Mollog has been causing quite a stir for the Warhammer Underworlds community. People have been crying out that he’s broken or undefeatable but it’s not all doom and gloom. For today I’ll be going over useful tips and tricks that you can implement for your chosen playstyle and warband in order to overcome the terrifying Troggoth.

I myself have had a lot of success against Mollog (as you’ll see in upcoming tournament reports) so I’ll be using my experiences to help improve your game so the changes you need to make won’t be as drastic as you think. A lot of my wins come down to my experience with Spiteclaw’s Swarm as Mollog plays similarly to aggro Skritch. But with all that explanation, it’s time to get started.

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Board Choice

The first steps to beating Mollog is choosing the right board, just as it is essential with every game of Underworlds as covered in my board article. Thankfully I’ve narrowed it down to 2 boards that I’ve had great success with. To begin with, what board to pick when you lose the roll-off?

Soul Refractor

Soul Refractor is a great board and I regularly use it as my anti Farstrider and Spiteclaw’s Swarm board. The big thing about Mollog is his range of 2 for his Makeshift Club. By hugging the central blocked hexes you can abuse line of sight to effectively force Mollog into poor positions such as where he has to attack from range 1 and can’t attack at maximum distance from range 2.

While better for low number warbands, it can still be used by swarm warbands such as the Sepulchral Guard or Thorns of the Briar Queen who especially love this board. It also offers fairly balanced starting hexes meaning it’s actually quite hard for a Mollog player to punish you for choosing the Soul Refractor.

Shyishian Stardial

Shyishian Stardial is ideal when you win the roll-off for boards. The single 3 blocked hex provides huge interference for Mollog’s Makeshift club. 3 fighter warbands can even place this down 1st (although it’s not recommended). Combine with a diagonal configuration to make Mollog work for his glory and either use the blocked hexes as an early wall or a last-ditch barricade to run around.

These 2 boards won’t automatically win you the game but they’ll help make your life much easier. You’ll also need to maximise your movement and positioning to get full effect which is no easy task in itself.

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Cards

Everyone loves cards, some players even think they’ll solely win you games. No matter your feeling on them there are specific universal cards you can use to help with the matchup. First I’ll cover niche cards you can use to specifically tailor against Mollog but these will weaken yourself against other warbands. More for players who hate Troggoths.

Niche Cards

Frozen in Time can make or break certain players and paralysing Mollog for a whole action phase sounds very tempting. There are 2 main problems however. Firstly it only works on the roll of a block or crit. Secondly it can be misdirected. Will a Mollog player run Misdirection? Probably not but all options need to be remembered.

Cruel Taunt is an effective way to make Mollog stuck in his base form. Problem is it can be misdirected and only works on the roll of a smash or crit. At least it is still useful against other warbands.

Sprint! Mollog can double move but he can’t do anything about your running 8 or 10 hexes past him after he’s already moved and charged. It’s still not something I’d recommend however.

Invisible Walls will already be in the hands of control players. Reducing Mollog to movement 1 for an activation is great yet the problem comes when timing to use it correctly. The card also becomes less useful once Mollog is already in your face. Still it is useful as an early disruption tool.

Baffling Illusion falls under the same stance as Invisible Walls yet I view this as a worse card for the sole fact Mollog could still roll well and make his charge, especially with his range of 2.

Curious Inversion, we’re pulling at straws here people! Seriously though, making Mollog’s Makeshift Club 2 fury instead of 2 smash is great while he’s uninspired. Only really useable for Warbands who have a lot of fury and dodge characteristics.

Useful Universals

Rebound. Yeah I said it. I hate the card and now every Mollog player can revel in its pain too. I would actually only take this with low wound fighter warbands. Tougher fighters may struggle to use it effectively but Rebound is a very useful card. Has a huge effect on the game, especially in a best of 3.

Last Chance is a great card if your warband lives on dodges. Combine with Rebound for extra annoyance and survivability. I run it with all my warbands like Sepulchral Guard, Zarbag’s Gits and Spiteclaw’s Swarm now. Block warbands will find On Your Feet! suits them better but that’s not recommended seeing it’s only a 50/50.

Hidden Paths is something everyone should be running. Bait Mollog in and then poof away. Even use against smarter Mollog players who have the card themselves. Now feast upon those little beasties accompanying the Troggoth.

Faneway Crystal does the same as Hidden Paths. Excellent when combined together and especially for 3 fighter warbands. You’ll need to sacrifice a fighter but it’s a worthy trade.

Spectral Wings is just another useful card to have. Useful for long charges past an occupied Mollog to get to his squishy friends.

Distraction is just good overall. It has so many uses like pushing Mollog out of range, into a lethal hex or behind a blocked hex. Use his movement and range against him.

Abasoth’s Withering is only usable by warbands with wizards but it’s a strong way to counter Mollog without risk of inspiring him. Zarbag’s Gitz stack this with Jealous Hex to make Mollog far easier to kill. It’s also worth noting to cover here that Gambit Spells will not trigger My Turn (including inspired Snirk) so feel free to abuse those all.

Shadow Step is still rather niche but it’s a great card and a useful tool for running away from a baited Mollog. Especially amazing on fighters like Snirk.

Mirror Move is very versatile. Working of any pushes, use it to counter My Turn with your range 2 fighters or even against a Commanding Stride.

Transfixing Stare. It’s way too strong but Mollog hates it. Sacrifice a fighter to reliably shut him down or use a push card like Sidestep or Distraction to save the bait.

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Tactics

With all your tools you can now combine them to form an effective strategy. These can generally be summarised as:

• Deploy as far back as possible, make Mollog’s journey as long as possible. For warbands with multiple fighters, place key ones such as your leaders and combat killers at the back.
• Do-over your first hand(s) so that you at least have some of your tech cards to deal with Mollog. It’s important to also build a balanced objective deck so you can score glory while delaying or “doing nothing” (e.g. Ploymaster).
• Abuse the terrain as much as possible. Make Mollog have to work around being range 2.
• Mollog’s Makeshift Club being range 2 makes it difficult to deny My Turn. Mirror Move helps but range 3 warbands should always push him away after successfully attacking.
• You’ll have to sacrifice some fighters. For low number warbands use one as bait while the others escape via Hidden Paths or Faneway Crystal to cause havoc elsewhere. More numerous warbands can use Martyred to make your deaths work for you. Just remember it’s always a good trade to sacrifice 1 fighter (depending on the warband) to Mollog if it means you can win the game via doing it.
• Mollog is only 2 smash. He can use cards to get around this but so can you. Multiple defence warbands have a upperhand against this.
• Don’t bunch up if in charge range. His Whirling Club isn’t much of a threat at first but it becomes 3 fury when inspired.
• Kill the little guys! Disrupt them from scoring Extreme Flank. Use Hidden Paths and Faneway Crystal to get past Mollog and begin the harvest.
• He can only be in one place at a time. Split up targets to make target priority difficult.
• Mollog is also only 1 block. He has 7 wounds but when attacking focus only doing 2 damage first. When you’re going in for the kill, make sure you have the glory and damage to do so but make it quick as you’ll have only one shot.
• Play around My Turn. Gambit spells don’t trigger it, Snirk doesn’t trigger it and neither do lethal hexes.

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There you have it, my tactics for taking down the beast. I don’t normally share my personal strategies this in-depth but I feel the community needs it. These points won’t guarantee you a win but it certainly helps stacks the odds in your favour.

None of my decks are tailored to beat the Troggoth. I just use the common universal cards that help me with every matchup as well as my movement, positioning and board choice to give me the advantage. You don’t need to dedicate your warband to rip Mollog apart.

Fighting Mollog is a difficult task but if you focus and maximise your activations, you’ll be able to pull ahead. Luck helps too of course! But even without it you can use these tips to strengthen your game against Mollog and aggro warbands as well. Defensive crits help a lot too of course 😉