So, the first two parts of this were simply intended as a run-down to mention the more common elements of the Troll ranged game. This will likely be changing soon - Trollblood Bandits (Highwaymen?) have already been spoiled in pictures, but stats are unknown. Additionally, there are models like the Battle Engine and the Fell Caller Hero I didn't discuss intensively, but definitely deserve mention.
For this part, though, I'm going to talk about building a ranged game into a Troll list. In general, most lists I've seen (and probably most many players have seen) from Trolls bring in a ranged element, but play for a combined arms approach. For example, an eMadrak list I have run in the past featured the core units of Burrowers, Warders, and Fennblades, but with ranged beast support in the Bomber and Impaler, and an interesting twist in the form of Viktor Pendrake, who particularly supported the Burrowers well. This stemmed from a difficulty in facing Saeryn particularly, and by putting Pendrake in, the Burrowers could still shoot somewhat reliably at Legion beasts, and on a feat turn could potentially remove 2 Angelii from the board with support.
Other combined arms lists have been built using Scattergunners in combination with units like the Fennblades. A jamming/screening unit backed up by Scattergunners can quickly turn a fight, as Scattergunners (with UA) can clear enemies that are jamming the front lines, freeing them to dig deeper. The Nyss are also common in combined arms lists, particularly given their utility in both ranged and melee combat. At range, they can easily remove enemy infantry quickly, but if necessary their pow 9 weaponmaster swords still remove most single wound infantry, particularly on the charge, or remove a chunk from a beast.
Recently, I've seen more ranged lists from Trolls that have been highly successful. Jason Flanzer was highly successful with a Grim Angus list with a large amount of ranged damage, using shooting warbeasts with high value shots and sprays in combination with Grim's ability to slow down the opposing army on the way in. I would highly recommend watching this game to see his list, and how he was able to use a combination of powerful denial abilities to augment his ranged shooting.
Clifton Cline ran an interesting list (here) at Adepticon that performed very well, going 2-2 in Masters and surprising a number of opponents. He describes in a later post that he was using a hard skew to attempt to destroy "one big thing and lots of little things" per turn. His list is really a fairly technical list - he's using it very precisely with a lot of tools that answer specific problems that Trolls may face, and the list does it very effectively.
There are a number of Troll players who have experimented with a Calandra list with Double Bombers and Impaler that has gotten some attention as well. It runs a Runebearer and Bone Grinders with Calandra, and while it can attrition, its primary goal is to get a Calandra angle on a caster and put a Force Blow on him, knock him on the ground, and then chuck 4 Bomber shots with Calandra's feat to reroll 1's and 2's at the knocked down caster. Frequently, 2 shots are enough to end the game.
One of the biggest questions I tried to think about when writing this blog is why do these lists work? Primarily, they work because there is some core mechanic of each caster that augments our ranged game. Grim1 offers protection to ranged units that can prevent them from being jammed, allowing them to get enough shots to be effective, as well as more accurate shooting. Grim2 enhances ranged productivity through increased range on shots and better accuracy, as well as potentially harder hitting power (Mortality), but at the cost of the denial aspect. Calandra particularly can enhance accuracy, while Star Crossed offers some protection, although not in the same way as Grim1's denial.
Grim1 is one of my favorite casters for this, and it's because of 2 separate pieces: his feat, and his ability to deal with Stealth/Incorporeal himself. Marked for Death can allow our shooting units to hit targets they typically couldn't, which negates two of Trolls biggest problems. Trolls at range frequently struggle against these two traits, as we have few magic guns and only the Grim's get around Stealth without a Krielstone at range. Scattergunners can help solve the Stealth problem, but Incorporeal can be more difficult.
In building a ranged game with Trolls, some of these difficulties are very important to note and remember. We don't have magic guns ala the Arcane Tempest, nor a light cav unit such as the Greylord spray guys (although this is magic). We're not working from an inherently horribly handicapped spots, since we do have the Stone and Runeshapers, but these are weaknesses to remember.
In general, Trolls are going to approach their ranged game in a combined arms faction; they're still going to put some axe into some face, in general. Using Fennblades or Warders to screen and then Scattergunners or Bushwhackers to clear is a fairly effective tactic since the Scattergunners are really a very good unit for letting our front line guys dig deeper into enemy lines. Additionally, pure gunlines often suffer difficulties in dealing with melee combat once they're stuck in. Holding a scenario point can get increasingly difficult with more engagement.
However, if a player is interested in building a true Troll gunline, those are some pieces to keep in mind. It could probably work - maybe using Scattergunners as a front line unit/screen, since they can clear their own guys off with sprays, with something like Bushwhackers in behind and ranged beasts supporting. The Scattergunners would take the brunt of the "melee" role in this case, but it has potential to work, particularly with CMA and Quick Work. Jarl might also be able to make something along these lines work with his clouds; a well timed feat could protect his army enough that, while some lines will be jammed, he might be able to work an extra round of firing in.
Personally, I'm building more and more combined arms into my list, rather than gunline, so I admit to favoring that position. I feel it's well-rounded and a little stronger. However, with all Troll ranged shooting, be aware that there are specific traits that you should be looking to gain from our units/beasts. Our ranged pieces tend to be a little more focused and specific, and if you're adding the ranged pieces in, be aware of what function you would like them to serve. That goes both in list building, and in the changing table as the game progresses.
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