Gremlin Swarm

99% of this website is about Mark 3 (mk3), which is the previous edition of the game (2016 to 2022). The reasons for this are explained here. 1% of the website is about Mark 4 (mk4), but only in regards to which mk3 models are useable in mk4 Prime and which are mk4 Unlimited. See Legacy Armies for more detail.

Gremlin Swarm Minion, & Grymkin, Solo

Mixed How usable this model is in Mk IV depends on the Faction: Grymkin: This model can be used in the Prime army. Minion: This model is not (yet) available to this Faction in Mk IV in any shape or form (as of 2022.11) You can view the Mk3 models that made it into a Legacy Army at this page. Note that the rest of this page is about the model's Mark III rules.

Mischievous and malicious in the extreme, gremlins delight in rooting around in mechanikal constructs with the intent of causing as much damage as possible for their own amusement. These mysterious grymkin are attracted to the hiss and clank of warjacks on the battlefield and have been known to bring mechanized weaponry grinding to a halt at the most inopportune times.

Basic Info

Gremlin Swarm
Missing Info
	COST {{{cacost}}} UNIT SIZE {{{casize}}} FA {{{cafa}}} Warcaster 0 BASE Medium SPD 6 STR {{{str}}} MAT {{{mat}}} RAT N/A M.A. N/A DEF 13 ARM 12 CMD N/A ESSENCE {{{essence}}} FOCUS N/A FURY N/A THRS N/A HP 5 F. Field N/A WJP {{{wjp}}} WBP {{{wbp}}} IHP {{{ihp}}} FA 2 UNIT SIZE N/A COST 3 N/A N/A N/A Warcaster 1 COST N/A N/A Understanding the Statblock

• Minion - Works for Circle, Legion, Skorne, and Trollbloods
• Grymkin - The Gremlin Swarm is also in the Grymkin faction. It is not a Partisan, it simply is a Grymkin.

Abilities

• Incorporeal
• Stealth
• Annoyance - Living enemy models within 1" of this model suffer -1 to attack rolls.
• Apparition - During your Control Phase, place this model anywhere completely within 2" of its current location.
• Man-Sized - This model is treated as a small-based model and occupies the space from the bottom of its base to a height of 1.75".
• Mischief - When an enemy warjack or battle engine begins its activation B2B with this model, roll a d3. On a roll of 1, the warjack or battle engine suffers –2 SPD that activation. On a 2, it suffers –2 to attack rolls that activation. On a 3, it suffers –2 to damage rolls that activation.
• Sabotage [d3+3] (★ Action) - Target enemy warjack or battle engine in B2B with this model suffers d3+3 damage points and cannot have damage removed from it for one round. When damaging a warjack, choose which column suffers the damage.

Weapons

• Unarmed - This model has no weapons.

Theme Forces

• Minion
  • Will Work for Food

• Grymkin
  • Bump in the Night. Although it is a Minion solo, it is not a "Minion solo that works for Grymkin" so it can't go in this theme.
  • Dark Menagerie Gremlin Swarms gain Serenity in this theme.

• Other Factions
  • Minion models can be hired by other Factions. Normally those Factions' themes will have a limit on how many models they can hire. Refer to #Other Theme Forces, below.

Thoughts on Gremlin Swarm

Gremlin Swarm in a nutshell

Working both as Minion and Grymkin solos, Gremlins have 3 defining traits

• Incorporeal
• Unarmed
• They mess up warjacks and battle engines.

Bereft of any offensive tools, they can still cause a lot of mischief through their abilities. Due to their special rules, they can be extremely annoying for your opponent - see Tips & Tricks for a detailed run-down.

Combos & Synergies

Minions:

• A very cute target for Quagmire from Carver - just make sure to stay incorporeal!

Grymkin

• There isn't a single warlock, who could (or rather, should) offer direct support to the Gremlins. However, in the Dark Menagerie theme you can bring four of them (even free, if you wish), and with the theme benefit of Serenity they can offer some decent fury management on their own.
• Grymkin, especially with loads of Cage Ragers in Dark Menagerie, tend to be very slow and thus bad at taking zones. The exception is the Gremlin Swarm.
• Gremlin Swarms are very good at preventing larger bases from being able to land charges, allowing a skilled player to 'funnel' their opponent's larger & harder hitting models onto one side of the board. This is a general property of Gremlin Swarms, but is particularly applicable to Grymkin and being able to protect your softer Death Knell, caster, and support solos.
• Competitive Note: As of August 2018, almost all top Dark Menagerie lists include the max four Gremlin Swarms. They are great zone denial solos and are perfect for triggering the Sacrifice arcana or The Dreamer's phantasms.

Legion

• Incorporeal and hands out corrosion thanks to the theme bonus. An aggravating combination.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• Unarmed, thus, no charges or free strikes.
• Can't do anything offensive against targets who are not warjacks or battle engines
• Fragile (seriously, what did you expect?)

Tricks & Tips

• For the first couple of turns, try to find somewhere safe (ie behind a building) that is 16" away from the enemy flag and/or 12" away from enemy zone(s). That way you've always got a model ready to contest those flags/zones at the drop of a hat.

Similarly, you can "threaten" the enemy flag by hiding somewhere 12" away from it. If the enemy forgets to to leave a model within 4" of their flag (or you kill them all) then your Gremlins can swoop in and steal it.

• You can use it to screen your caster from enemy melee attacks, but only by occupying the space that the enemy model wants to charge into.

• Overall, the Gremlins are more effective against Hordes (and Convergence), as they lack easy access to Magical damage. Some Warmachine theme forces (like Legion of Steel) are also seriously low on magic weapons. Even if they have such weaponry, they usually have to mobilize resources way over the 3(0) pts value of these solos, making them excellent attrition pieces.
• Expecting fratricidal attacks from your Berserk troops? Run up a Gremlin Swarm into a suitable position to be in their melee range, and let them went their steam on the poor little fellas. Just watch out to stay incorporeal and not to give magical weapons to them.
• For movement shenanigans, keep in mind that the enemy must have enough movement to be able to completely pass through you - they cannot stop "within" the Gremlins' base.
  • It is a great tool to keep your key models in place despite from smaller pushes, like the ones from Bulldoze, Thunderbolt, Beat Back, Repulsor Field, slams from smaller based models, etc.
  • If your enemy would need a linear charge lane to reach an important model of yours, park the Gremlins in front of them, just a bit shorter away than the base size of the charger. Unless they have Chain Strike, their melee range will be insufficient to reach you.
  • The same goes with Drag/Pull - if there is not enough place between the Gremlins and the attacker to fit your base, you will stop right at the Gremlins' base - hopefully out of melee range.
  • They are especially annoying, if ran up in front of a colossal - usually, it does not have enough movement to bypass them.
• Even though they have no melee weapons, enemies can still engage them and receive the "target in melee" defense bonus.
• Battle engines are also valid targets for Mischief and Sabotage - perhaps even better than warjacks. Since Mischief happens at the beginning of the activation, your enemy must divert resources to remove the swarm, before the BE activates, lest they will cause trouble. Battle Engines also lack fury/focus to boost attack/damage rolls (though many have some inherent abilities, which have similar effects), so cumulative modifiers on their rolls can be pretty effective.
  • Don't forget, several casters (Denny3, Reznik2, Lylyth3, Xerxis2, and Old Witch2-3) are battle engines too, making them vulnerable for both Sabotage and Mischief. Apart of Denny, all of them are living models too, along with the Siege Animantarax and the Throne of Everblight, so they are affected by Annoyance too.

Other

Trivia

Gremlin Spring Break Party. Minicrate Exclusive.

• Released in Hordes: Devastation (2015)
• If you take their own words from the Grymkin book, the gremlin Swarm is a monster of a unit!
• This model has a limited edition sculpt, released in 2020.02.

Other Theme Forces

    When taken as a normal Minion    

Circle Orboros (Edit)

• Secret Masters. This theme doesn't have a limit on how many Minion solos you can take. Also, you can spend Requistion Points on Minion solos.
• The Bones of Orboros
• The Devourer's Host
• The Wild Hunt

Legion of Everblight (Edit)

• Ravens of War
• Children of the Dragon
• Oracles of Annihilation. In this theme (1) There is no limit on the number of Minion solos you can take, (2) Minions become Blighted models, and (3) enemy models that end their activation within 2" of a Blighted model in this theme suffer continuous corrosion.
• Primal Terrors

Skorne (Edit)

• Disciples of Agony. There is no limit to the number of Minion solos you can take in this theme.
• The Exalted
• Masters of War
• Winds of Death

Trollbloods (Edit)

• Band of Heroes
• Kriel Company
• Power of Dhunia
• Storm of the North

    Via Weird Wendell    

When Weird Wendell is killed, he spawns a Gremlin solo.

Crucible Guard (Edit)

• Magnum Opus

Cygnar (Edit)

• Gravediggers
• Heavy Metal
• Sons of the Tempest
• Storm Division

Khador (Edit)

• Armored Korps
• Jaws of the Wolf
• Legion of Steel
• Winter Guard Kommand

Other Faction models

Grymkin Index       (Edit)
Battlegroup
Warlocks	The Child - The Dreamer - The Heretic - The King of Nothing - The Wanderer - Old Witch 3 Arcana Warlock Attachment: Baron Tonguelick
Warbeasts	Lesser: Crabbit	Light: Frightmare - Gorehound - Rattler
	Heavy: Cage Rager - Clockatrice - Skin & Moans	Gargantuan: Slaughterhouse
Units, Solos, & Battle Engines
Units	Dread Rots - Hollowmen - Mad Caps - Malady Man - Murder Crows - Neigh Slayers - Piggybacks - Twilight Sisters
Solos	Baron Tonguelick, Lord of Warts - Cask Imp - Defiled Archon - The Four Horseymans - Glimmer Imp - Grave Ghoul - Gremlin Swarm - Isiah, Dread Harvester - Lady Karianna Rose - Lord Longfellow - Trapperkin - Weird Wendell - Witchwood
Battle Engines	Death Knell
Theme Forces		Minions
Dark Menagerie - Bump in the Night		Refer to Category: Grymkin Minion
This index was last updated: 2021.08

Rules Clarifications

Rules Clarification : Grymkin model Grymkin status (Infernal Ruling) In addition to being a usual Minion model, Gremlin Swarms can also be taken in a non-theme force Grymkin army and the Dark Menagerie theme force. They will be considered friendly Faction models to Grymkin when taken in one of those 2 army builds They do not have the Partisan rule. Despite being a Minion model, they cannot be taken in a Bump in the Night theme force as your "Up to one Minion solo" choice. Because they are not "a Minion model that will work for Grymkin". (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Unarmed      (Edit) Since this model has no weapons it does not have a melee range. This means it can't engage other models, declare charges, or make free strikes Also it can't gain abilities that require a melee range (such as Ragman granting this model Dark Shroud). However, other models that do have melee weapons can engage this model. So this model can still gain the "target in melee" shooting bonus.

Rules Clarification:  : Incorporeal      (Edit) (Click Expand to read)

Damage & Debuffs All spells do magical damage. Refer to the latest errata. However, feats only do magical damage if they say they do. Feats like Asphyxious1's and Nemo1's are not magical damage feats. (Infernal Ruling) If a weapon or spell does multiple types of damage (such as Chain Lightning doing Electricity damage), then you'll still be hurt by the spell. "Incorporeal" is not the same as "has immunity to all damage types". (Infernal Ruling) "Mundane" weapons can still apply debuffs to Incorporeal models, even though they can't damage them. For instance, an Ironclad could hit an Incorporeal model with a Tremor Attack and knock the incorporeal model down; Small-based Incorporeal models can be Consumeed, etc. (Infernal Ruling) Incorporeal models moving If an incorporeal model declares a charge, then they stay incorporeal until they actually make an attack. So, for example: If they're Countercharged after finishing their own charge movement, they will be Incorporeal while resolving the Countercharge attack. If they fail the charge, they will stay Incorporeal. Entering hazards: "Enters or ends its activation" can only be triggered once each turn. If the Incorporeal model begins its activation outside the hazard, moves into the hazard and loses Incorporeal, it would not take any damage from ending its activation in the hazard. If the Incorporeal model begins its activation inside the hazard, stays inside the hazard, and loses Incorporeal, it would take damage from ending its activation in the hazard. (Infernal Ruling) Charging through models (Edit) You can't charge all the way through your charge target, with the intention to turn around and face them once you're on the other side. Because you aren't able to satisfy the "must keep the charge target in melee range" clause at the point after you are through the model but before you turn to directly face. At that point the target is behind you, not in your front arc, and thus not in your melee range. Your melee range only extends to your front arc. Refer to the latest errata. You can still "skim" through the edge of their base, if you're careful and smart with your positioning. Moving through an Incorporeal model A model that is pushed into an Incorporeal model will go all the way through, only if the push is large enough to get all the through. If the push is too short, the moving model will "bounce back" to where they first started overlapping the incorporeal model. (Infernal Ruling) The core rules that allows models to be pushed through the Incorporeal model will override any ability/spell that uses the phrase "is pushed until it contacts a model" (such as Grip, Drag, and Catch). (Infernal Ruling) Incorporeal vs Slammed/Thrown models ( Edit ) Incorporeal models cannot be moved by someone trying to slam them. Slammed models can move through Incorporeal models. If they have enough movement to get past them, no dramas. If they land on them, you move the Incorporeal model out of the way as per the Rule of Least Disturbance. If the Incorporeal model cannot be moved (i.e. it's a flag) then you move the slammed model out of the way, also by the rule of Least Disturbance. For the purposes of Collateral Damage, only the model(s) you contacted before you applied the rule of Least Disturbance count as contacted. The same logic applies to Throws. Other Incorporeal models can engage enemy models. They can't make free strikes or bodyblock enemies, but they do prevent enemy models making ranged attacks, and everyone gets the 'Target in Melee' bonus. If you push a model to a position where it regains Incorporeal (for instance you push it out of range of an Exorcist) then what happens is (Being Checked by Infernals)

Rules Clarification : Stealth      (Edit) Stealth models are not invisible and you can target them - you'll just auto-miss most of the time. You can target them with a charge. You can target them with an AOE, have it auto-miss and scatter, luckily land on top of them anyway, and that will hit them.

Rules Clarification : Annoyance - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Apparition      (Edit) Apparition is an "Other" Control Phase effect, so it happens at Step 7 of the Control Phase. It happens after paying for upkeeps, Power Up, etc If you have another "Other" Control Phase effect, you get to choose the order to resolve them. If a model is B2B with you when you use Apparition then they will be exactly 2" away afterwards. So you'll still be in the melee range of anything with RNG 2 or higher. Unit members must always be placed in formation. Refer to the "Placed" section of the core rulebook. If a trooper can't be placed in formation (because it's more than 2" out of formation to begin with) then it can't be placed at all. The unit commander is always "In Formation" by definition, so can be placed where it likes.

Rules Clarification : Man-Sized      (Edit) Despite being mounted on a large base, the model counts as a small-base for any and every rule. (Infernal Ruling) This includes Ranking Officers being able to join them. (Infernal Ruling) This includes being able to take them as a Requistion Option (if you have a Man-Sized solo in a theme that allows free solos). (Locked Thread) This includes abilities that only work vs small-based models (such as Consume, Trampling over them, etc). Those work just fine vs Man-Sized models. When drawing LOS it blocks LOS across the full width of its base (some players think you should swap it for a small proxy base when trying to draw LOS past the edge of its base ... don't do that). Since it only counts as a small-based model, it only blocks LOS to other small-based models. You can see medium and larger bases through it just fine.

Rules Clarification : Mischief      (Edit) Mischief cannot stack, even if you roll different results. (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Sabotage - None yet. (Edit)