Arachnarok Spider: Which Version Is Best?

The Orcs and Goblins newest mega monster is the Arachnarok Spider and never has a model come closer to giving me a genuine wargasm.

But there are various options open to the Orcs & Goblins player regarding kitting out this beast and as the options tend to involve irrevocable super glue activity it's worth giving some thought up front to the possibilities.

Basically there are three options:

1. Straight up, with just Forest Goblins on the back
2. With a catapult
3. With a Goblin Great Shaman

Let's look at these one by one:

Straight Up

The Spider is an amazing close combat monster, great at kicking ass in any environment. It's focused on doing one thing and it does it well.

With a Catapult

Well... I like the idea of the catapult and it looks great. But suddenly your spider is trying to do two things and it can't do them both without marginalising one or the other.

You can't shoot and march so getting into combat becomes a problem. For the points, if you're not in combat you're wasting your time. Meanwhile, if you get into combat you can't shoot!

And the catapult really isn't that great!

Nice try, but bad idea. I don't see anything positive to this option really.

With a Goblin Great Shaman

I was almost tempted with this option. Then decided against it.

Being on a monster allows your general to have an 18" Leadership bonus but the Shaman's Leadership isn't great really. Upgrading to the Spider Shrine is cool and gives a nice but slightly expensive bonus and the high line of sight gives some bonus to the spell casting.

But really, we're in a similar problem to the catapult build. This version is too diverse as one aspect penalises the other. And the expensive Shaman is FAR from safe on the back of the spider. FAR FAR from safe.

He can be shot at easily (and is likely to die quickly from bowfire), but worse yet, when the spider gets into combat (as it should as quickly as possible), attacks can be allocated against the Shaman by anyone in base contact. As he's so easy to kill and worth so many points, it's a no-brainer for your opponent to do so.

He really won't last long.

Overall Recommendation

• I recommend building the basic spider and keeping it focused.
• Build a separate Catapult and use it as a Stone Thrower like I did.
• Build the Shaman as a separate model (he is really cool), but like I did, build him so that he can go on the Spider if you ever change your mind. But I wouldn't bother.