Rask - Bog Trogg Bastard Extraordinaire

So the spoilers for Rask from NQ 45 have been released through the internets:

Pretty badass for a walking fish

Stats:

• Pretty average, slightly worse than pStryker's stats.
• Same WB Points and FURY as the other Gator locks.

Spells:

• Admonition
• Boundless Charge
• Fury
• Inhospitable Ground

Low POW melee weapon

ROF 1, RNG 10, POW 12 gun
Choose 1 ammo type per shot:

• Arcane Interference (eEyriss' ability to dispel + remove focus + disrupt)
• Energy Siphon (Kaelyssa's Fury/Focus steal)
• Paralysis (Krea - living model becomes DEF 7 and can't run or charge)

Call of Sacrifice [Bog Trogg] - like the Errant Seneschal. You know, the one that never ever dies. Note that his CMD is a measly 5 however. I guess people don't trust him.


Feat:
- Basically Kaelyssa's Feat, except there is no way around the stealth, and you can charge if you are within 5" of your target.

Thoughts

This guy seems to have blown people away with his potent spell list and Call to Sacrifice ability.


Damage:

He himself, being a Bog Trogg and not a Gatorman, is pretty wussy in melee.

Fury by itself is a HUGE deal for Gators since 19+ ARM targets have been a problem for Gator armies since day 1. Traditionally the answer to such targets has been to take them out of commission with power attacks, swamp pits or peace-trade tactics. However, none of these are really possible with Colossals. The only reasonable answer Gator players have had until now has been Parasite on Calaban, which is a super sweet spell on a so-so caster. The non-reasonable answer Gator players have had has been 'take Carver'. Now, you can take Rask!

Boundless Charge is just a solid spell all around for our melee heavies and certain solos. Combined with Elasticity and Bloodthirst, that's effectively a 14" charge against living models from Snapjaw, or 12" from a Wrastler. Not to mention that it offers a pathfinder option to said heavies, who just didn't have it before.

Survivability:

This is where I think people are overreacting a bit. Not to say that he doesn't look strong in this department, but I think people are overestimating the value of being able to use Bog Troggs as a life battery. 5" CMD is a large area to pick from but it's not really comparable with the Errant Seneschal's giant bubble of lifetrading, especially when you take push and place effects into consideration. There is the fact that Troggs are DEF 12/ARM 14 and die to a stiff breeze, that they are only really good when used as ambushers, and that we have no idea what Bog Trogg Shamblers are going to do yet. I think in practice the ability will be good, but not gamebreaking. It probably isn't as strong as eMadrak's version of the rule, and Rask has pretty wussy stats. To be determined.

Admonition is great spell on a heavy beast in the right situation, even better on a warcaster in almost all situations. This spell alone makes melee assassinations.

Inhospitable Ground also can make quite a big difference in the right matchup. 12" control can be a lot and protect him from charges very effectively.

His feat is also pretty strong. It might only be one turn, but that's one turn of not getting shot at or charged crossing the table, and that's usually all you need with Gatormans.


Utility

This is where I think this guy shines. His gun (combined with a solid RAT) brings a new dimension of control and Cryx-like douchiness to the table. Being able to shut down a warjack or warbeast  from 10" away so they don't mess you up next turn is a big deal in the attrition game. Being able to steal a fury or focus from an opposing lock/caster is a big deal in the assassination game. Not to mention that be brings a dispel option outside Calaban's Hex Blast or the Thrullg's suicidal tentacle slap.

And being able to have a 12" radius area of rough terrain in the middle of the board is a big deal in the scenario game. I remember playing eKreoss 'theme' lists during the Mk2 beta (before the Errant UA came out) and getting completed and utterly hosed by Irusk. Now I can douche it up too.

Conclusion

Just by virtue of his decent tricky survivability, his good utility, and Fury + Boundless Charge, I think this guy is an almost guaranteed second list pick with Barnabas or Maelok, despite being a fishman. There will be a bit of a learning curve at the start to learn how to effectively use Call to Sacrifice, but once that has passed, he will be very interesting to play. The Gators will remain your core, tanky, grindy list and Rask will be brought in to deal with certain matchups on account of Inhospitable Ground, his gun and Fury.