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- 10.1 Dem Bosses: Green Skin Characters 104
- 10.2 Shamans 105
- 10.3 Dem Boyz: Green Skin Regiments 106
- 10.4 Dem Big Gunz: War Machines 114
- 10.5 Dem Beastiez: Monsters 116
- 10.6 Dem Big Boyz: Special Characters 116
- 10.6.1 Azhag the Slaughterer 116
- 10.6.2 Gorfang Rotgut 117
- 10.6.3 Grom the Paunch of the Misty Mountain 117
- 10.6.4 Gorbad Ironclaw 117
- 10.6.5 Morglum Necksnapper 117
- 10.6.6 Oglok the `Orrible 117
- 10.6.7 Skarsnik, Warlord of the Eight Peaks 118
- 10.7 Dem Magikal Thingies: Magic Items 118
- 10.8 Dem Otherz: Allies 118
- 10.9 Da Trouble: Problems with the Orc and Goblin Army 119
- 10.10 Dead Sneaky and Dead Shooty: Tactics 119
A lone Goblin came down the hill, running as fast as his green legs
would allow him to. The Orc camp was abnormally silent, for all ladz had
fallen asleep after a night of drinking Fungus Beer and eating Jellied
Squigs. Only Thurgash, the War Boss, was awake, staring silently to
fire. He was leaning on his longsword that he had taken from a fallen
Estalian Knight. It was this weapon that had given him his nickname
"Long Knife", or "Longsword" as Humans would have it. The little goblin
threw himself at War Bosses feet, and began to squeak in a high pitched
voice: "Boss! Boss! Dere are lotz an lotz an lotz of humies, pansies an
stunties uvver dese roks! Dey are getting ready to do da charge thingy!"
The great Orc turned away from the fire, annoyed by the intrusion. He
had just been about to discover how to count to four. "Ledz go." He
grumbled. The little goblin led the way, and upon reaching the hilltop,
he pointed at the massed armies with a trembling claw. "See Boss! We iz
doomed!" Thurgash looked at the allied armies, and began to laugh.
With Orcs, these are the best characters you can get. Black Orc Big
Bosses will give immunity to animosity for any unit they are leading,
not to mention their truly formidable fighting abilities. While I
think that the General of any army should always have leadership of
10, I usually don't buy a Black Orc War Boss, preferring some special
character or Crown of Command. On the other hand, I almost always buy
at least three Black Orc Big Bosses. Against Dwarfs and Elves or Humans
who like to rely on characters boosted with Magic Items, my answer is
a Black or War Boss with Sword of Destruction, mounted on War Boar or
Monster (risky!). With weapon skill of 7, strength and toughness of 5,
he can beat up almost anybody when deprived of their beloved magical
toys.
Because of their frenzy, Savage Orcs are very powerful in hand to hand
if you boost their mediocre strength somehow. Note that the Savage Orc
characters have only one goal in their life: Attack! So equip them
accordingly, and put them in an assault unit. Their Frenzy sometimes
makes them charge before their time, so watch out those sacrificial
units that might force you on offence too early. I always give my Savage
Orc Characters a weapon of some kind. There is no sense not to take
advantage of their multiple attacks. I very often buy a Savage Orc War
Boss. His potential in hand-to-hand is awesome, especially if armed with
a Deathsword.
Grunt! Orcs are very average race. Usually I don't bother with them,
buying only champions to my Boar Boyz and Big `Uns.
The greatest failing of the Goblins is their abysmal leadership. Even a
Goblin War Boss is only as good leader as your average human! You must
be pretty desperate to field a Goblin Lord. On the other hand, one of
my favorite characters is a Goblin Big Boss with the Heart of Woe. Very
economical since he costs only 33 points.
In fact I prefer Goblin Battle Standards because there are many special
banners that can be given only to some specific group of Goblins. One
of my favorite tricks is to take a Forest Goblin Battle Standard, mount
him on a Spider, give him the Spider Banner, and put him into a unit of
Sage Orc/Orc Boar Boyz that have a front rank loaded with characters and
presto! Double attacks all around! Imagine a Savage Orc War Boss with 16
attacks.
The other infamous trick is to Mork's War Banner. Mount the Bearer
on Giant Wolf/War Boar/ Flying Monster and use it to `Eadbang your
opponent`s wizards. This is of course Green Cheese!
Cheaper than the Savage Orc Shamans and more reliable than Goblins, Orc
shamans are good if you really can't afford Savage Orc Shamans.
Purchase your Shaman Lords here. These Boyz are the best mages you can
get, and just by giving them halberd or a double handed weapon makes
them lethal close combatants without taking up any of their magic item
slots. With double attack for their frenzy, they are fully capable of
slaying even opposing heroes. In addition to all this, their presence
increases the effectiveness of magical tattoos in a Savage Orc unit they
accompany. They also get a free additional Magic Card as a bonus when
attached to a unit of Savage Ladz. Don't forget that you can take many
Savage Orc Shamans! Everything counts in large amounts!
If you are one of those Generals who have always fail virtually any dice
roll they are called to make, then Forest Goblin Shamans are a good
choice since they won`t die because of a failed WAAAGH test.
I often take couple of low level Night Goblin Shamans, munch up
mushrooms and don't give a damn for the consequences. Their heads may
explode, but if you succeed, you may well be able to force your opponent
to use up all of his dispel scrolls. Reserve your power cards to your
high level Orc Shamans, their spells are more difficult to dispel.
In my eyes, these boyz are your best cavalry unit. Frenzy and magical
tattoos more than make up for their lack of weapon skill.
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WEAKNESSES:
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The opponent`s knights will sneer at their weapon skill of
3. Their leadership suffers -1 penalty because of their Boars.
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USES:
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I put the front rank full of characters with powerful magical
weapons, field a large regiment, and go charging against any comers.
Mounting a Savage Orc Shaman of any level and putting it with Savage
Orc Boar Boyz is a wise because their already formidable armor save
increases by one point. As a Magical Standard, I prefer Banner of Might,
Gork's War Banner or Standard of Shielding.
This is your other "heavy cavalry" unit alongside the Savage Orc Boar
Boyz. Weapon skill 4, spears and a War Boar equal a good shock elite.
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WEAKNESSES:
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They have a decent armor save and toughness, but they could
be better. War boars lower the overall leadership of the unit, so watch
out for those psychology tests!
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USES:
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They are your assault troops. Their effectiveness is greatest when
faced with opponents with basic weapon skill of 3, since this allows you
to hit your enemies on 3+.
Giant Wolves are fast and pretty good fighters. Goblins riding them are
just the opposite!
-
WEAKNESSES:
-
Basic leadership of 5 and low armor save.
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USES:
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Against Skaven and Humans or others with weapon skill of 3, Giant
Wolf Riders are a good buy because their weapon skill 4 allows them to
hit their enemies on 3+. One option is to treat them as a full blooded
melee unit and give them characters, magical items and so on and to
take a large unit of at least 20 Wolf Riders.
Sometimes I take two regiments of Wolf Riders in skirmish formation and
race them towards enemy War Machines as fast as possible. Of course, you
might take them just for a chance to field a Doom Diver or two, since
they are plain normal gobbo mob. With their charge range of 18", they
are excellent at chasing any broken enemies off the field, or completely
destroying them!
Spiders are strong, and able to move through terrain unhindered.
-
WEAKNESSES:
-
Initiative of 2 and 1, leadership of 5 and movement of
"only" 7.
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USES:
-
I quite often use them as one of my main cavalry regiments. You
must always remember that they are Fast Cavalry! Free number of turns
and one reform for each movement phase is a useful thing. They excel in
siege games because of their ability to scale walls. Remember to give
spears to riders!
Weapon skill 4, strength 4, Initiative 3! These boyz are real elites,
especially if you consider the fact that their ridiculously low cost is
6.5 points.
-
WEAKNESSES:
-
They have a rather limited choice of weapons. I'd like to
give them hallberds and additional hand weapons, but alas, this is not
to be. Basic leadership 7 and animosity sometimes cause trouble.
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USES:
-
They are good at skirmishing, so put them where the action is. I
give my Big `Uns spears and then fight it out with opposing foot troops.
Usually they can best anything else except Chaos Warriors.
Basic Orcs if there ever were any. They have great many options for
equipment. But backbone of the Waaagh? No way! I'll take Big `Uns any
day.
-
WEAKNESSES:
-
strength 3 is pretty low in the cruel world of the
Warhammer. Initiative 2 means you should watch out for spells that are
avoided testing against this statistic.
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USES:
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Remember that da boyz can carry a Magic Standard! I have often
fielded a unit just to get that Banner of Wrath.
Orcs with bows. There is the usual temptation to buy armor for them.
Don't fall for it.
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WEAKNESSES:
-
Missile troops are not intended for hand to hand. Don't try
it unless you are facing truly feeble enemies.
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USES:
-
Longsword always equips these boyz crossbows to give some badly
needed long range missile cover to other troops, and because crossbows
hit very hard. I generally take 20 boyz with crossbows, because this
size guarantees results.
A warning: don't rely on them too much! Animosity always strikes at
the worst moment, and you are playing an offensive army, not a missile
force! Remember also that many Special characters can only be fielded if
you have a mob of Orcs. Arrow Boyz fill the description.
Weapon skill 4, strength 4 and leadership 8 with excellent choice of
weapons makes these boyz dead hard! They are immune to animosity, and if
you take a unit of them, you'll be able to field those Black Orc Bosses
and put some discipline to your rowdy crew.
-
WEAKNESSES:
-
They are expensive for Greenskins. Initiative of 2 leaves
them vulnerable to many spells like the Pit of Tarnus. Their low armor
save is balanced by the toughness of 4, but spells that ignore toughness
and require armor save are troublesome.
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USES:
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As one of your main close combat units. I give them additional
hand weapons against toughness 3 opponents, and halberds against Dwarfs
and Knights.
Frenzy and Magic Tattoos make these wild boyz a reasonably good bargain.
-
WEAKNESSES:
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Those double attacks don't mean a thing if you have strength
of 3. Slow movement often hinders their ability to get frenzied.
Initiative 2 is pretty bad.
-
USES:
-
Somebody might be surprised to hear that I prefer to give Savage
Orcs double-handed weapons. While it is true that they will strike last,
it is also true that they will hit very hard! By giving them a Savage
Orc Shaman and the Standard of Shielding, they will have 4+ unmodified
save, and this tends to give them enough resilience so there will be
somebody in the first rank left to swing their clubs.
The lowest of the low: Goblins.
-
WEAKNESSES:
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Initiative 2, leadership 5, weapon skill 2. Enough said.
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USES:
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Obviously these little pointy headed chaps have pilfered their
magical standard from some more deserving unit. In any case, this makes
them pretty useful unit if you don't have room for that Banner of Wrath
in any other place. Remember that a unit of 5 Goblins costs just 12.5
points, and it enables you to field all the Doom Divers you want.
One more Goblin unit. Where do they get those Magic Standards?
-
WEAKNESSES:
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They are and remain just Goblins, colored feathers and war
paint aside.
-
USES:
-
As with other Goblins, you can use them in sacrificial role as
a missile screen, as a trap for opponent's best troops with Crown of
Command, or with enough ranks and standard, you could try to break your
opponent's missile troops. Taking them gives you an access to Forest
Goblin characters, and I almost always want that Spider Banner.
These Goblins are most useful ones in my eyes: They hate Dwarfs, can
have fanatics hidden in their midst and get few pretty good Magical
Standards.
-
WEAKNESSES:
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Goblins are Goblins, That's enough of a weakness.
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USES:
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They are used almost exclusively as mobile bases for Fanatics.
This is all well and good, though more often than not the Fanatics are
drawn out before their time. Against Dwarfs, these are the Goblins you
should take because they hate Dwarfs, making the otherwise fragile
gobbos almost "break proof". One of my favorite tricks is to take 4+
units of Night Goblins and put them as far apart as possible. Your
opponent will go crazy trying to guess in which unit the fanatics are!
It is of course your choice do all of them have fanatics, or only some,
or none at all.
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WEAKNESSES:
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These units are very fragile when it comes to absorbing
missile casualties. If you lose too many herders while you are near
your own troops, then the squigs will go wild and probably attack your
own troops. Leadership 5 and their tendency to operate outside of the
Warlords leadership are makes them suspectable to any psychology tests.
-
USES:
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Squigs have a good weapon skill and strength of 5, plus 2 Attacks.
Now this will hurt almost anybody, and because of that the opponents
usually try to evade the charge of the Squigs. If you manage to make
the squigs go wild in the middle of the opponent`s army (by placing the
Goblins on a fighting rank), they usually manage to seriously hinder
your opponent's advance. Just remember that the Squigs are not suitable
for a core unit. Bosses in the back ranks are not a good idea.
Goblins with either nets that stop enemy attacking or clubs that grant
+1 to user's Strength.
-
WEAKNESSES:
-
Goblins are infamous for their low Initiative value, so
their nets are useless against many opponents unless they are charging.
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USES:
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I have two tasks for the Netters:
- I give their boss a weapon like the Ogre Blade so the automatic hits
the Netters cause will have some real bite. In this case I take no
other Clubbers than da boss so my opponent can't argue that somebody
else could do the damage. A unit of 6-12 Netters with da Boss should
be suitable, with 6 wide front rank.
-
As a "bodyguard" unit for your core unit. This should be deployed
so that it can charge any foe that makes a frontal assault against
the main fighting unit. When your enemy`s Dragon Rider charges your
main unit, your Netters will charge him. Just make sure that at least
three Netters will have a chance to hit your opponent, and on the
average you should make at least 1 "hit". Presto! Your opponent won`t
be able to fight back at all during that turn! My fondest moment
in Warhammer Fantasy Battle is when my Netters charged a A Lord of
Change, netted it, and my Boss (who was armed with a "Deathclub",
Strength 10 proceeded to slay the offending thing. This took couple
of turns but I kept casting Ere We Go! On my Netters so they always
netted the Daemon before it got a chance to fight back.
These are perhaps the most famous members of the Orc and Goblin army.
They cause D6 Strength 5 hits on enemy if they make a contact and no
armor save is allowed against their hits.
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WEAKNESSES:
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Missile fire cuts them down like so much grass, but there is
nothing you can do about it.
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USES:
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Elf and Human Knights fear these green dervishes, and with a good
reason! Against cavalry heavy army they are at their best, since armor
offers almost no protection against them. When I take Fanatics, I take
full three of them. No sense to chicken out when you play Greenskins!
Even with Fanatics, try to consider the overall tactics. If you wish to
stop enemy's flanking move on your right side, put some Night Goblins
with Fanatics there. Nobody wishes to move thought them.
Boing! Boing! Many people like to field Squig Hoppers just that they
could paint these very entertaining figures.
-
WEAKNESSES:
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Truly random nature. Missile fire will stop them in their
tracks.
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USES:
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How can you use troops that rely so heavily on your luck with the
dice? For entertainment purposes only. It is true that my Squig Hoppers
have munched a unit or two in their time, but I really can`t rely on
this.
Big, dumb creatures. Read their special rules thoroughly! There is more
than meets the eye.
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WEAKNESSES:
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Artillery can be easily concentrated on Giants, and lone
heroes with right equipment will cut them down. They have a nasty
tendency to fall over just when you don't need it. If your opponent has
terror causing monsters, Giants are in trouble. I generally don't field
them against the Undead. Leadership 6 isn't much.
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USES:
-
I often go for the "pick up" option, and try to eat any wizards
within the reach. Of course, the "Jump up and Down" option is good
if you want to cause lots of casualties, and Chaos will hate Giant's
"Yell and Bawl" attack that allows you to win a combat by two points
regardless of casualties!
One of my most successful strategies was based around four Giants. While
one of them went down because of the enemy missile fire, the other three
reached the enemy and dealt with the opposition by combining their
efforts against one regiment at time. Two of them Jumped Up and Down on
unit, and one either Yelled and Bawled or Picked Up enemy characters.
They are an excellent choice against opponents who do not favor War
Machines.
These guys have some real muscle: Toughness 5, 3 wounds and 2 attacks.
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WEAKNESSES:
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High point cost value and low weapon skill. Mediocre
leadership and large size.
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USES:
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They are useful for giving some muscle and resilience against
opponents who tend to dish out lots of wounds when attacking. They also
form a good bodyguard for any character mounted on a Large Monster,
since the characters will benefit from the "Look out, Boss!" Rule.
With 3 Attacks, movement 6 and strength of 5, Trolls are powerful shock
troops. Their regeneration gives them great resilience. Unfortunately,
they are dumb as doornails.
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WEAKNESSES:
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Being simple is all well and good if you are a soldier,
but if you are plain stupid... Trolls don`t come cheap at 65 points
per model, and if you are fired upon with Dwarf Cannons that have
flaming ammunition or charged by Tyrion with his flaming sword, their
regeneration won't save you.
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USES:
-
As an additional close combat unit. River Trolls are especially
good at this role because they are -1 to hit. Trolls are actually a
very good at what they do if the stupidity does not get you.
Against magic heavy opponents like the Elves, I prefer the Stone Trolls,
and when fighting offensive enemies I always take River Trolls. When I
fight against wide frontage of Knights who have high armor save value
that even the strength of 5 doesn't help much (read: Chaos Knights), I
use their vomit attack since it hits automatically and allows no save.
If I'm using a land bound general, I try to keep my Trolls within 12"
of him so I can use my general's leadership for their stupidity tests.
Saves the points of that Orc Big Boss.
Crummy Snotling Slaves.
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WEAKNESSES:
-
What do you mean? Strength and toughness of 1!
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USES:
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Four or so bases are wonderful for tying up Dwarfs if they are
fielded alongside Night Goblins. Since Night Goblins usually refuse to
break when fighting Dwarfs, then neither will Snotlings! They will even
get a rerolls on their "to hit" rolls on first turn of hand to hand!
(A fat lot of good will that do to you.) You could also put them near
Savage Orcs so you can make the snotties frenzied.
I tend to put full quarter of my points on War Machines. If I am
attacking, I take Chariots and Pump Wagons, and if I am advancing more
slowly, I take lots of Rock Lobbers and Doom Divers.
There is the usual choice between Big `Uns and Little `Uns. Just for the
economical reasons, I prefer small ones against most armies. Then again,
some opponents rely heavily on such troops as mummies and Dragon Ogres,
and against these the Big Rock Lobbers are better. One Stone Thrower is
never enough. If you field any at all, try taking a battery of at least
three machines. This guarantees at least few "hits".
Since your crews have a ballistic skill of 3, you can't really expect
them to hit anything. When I do take them, I take a very large cluster.
At least five is needed, and I'd prefer more. They are good against
heavily armored targets since they allow no save.
Cheap in points and wonderfully destructive, if somewhat random,
Snotling Pump Wagons are very good value for their points. If you
have cash to spare, then a large group of them is very effective,
especially against armies without heavy missile support, like Chaos.
The low leadership value of the crew makes them fragile, however, and
if your opponent cast Traitor of Tarn on a large block of Pump Wagons
you can kiss your army for good-bye. One of the most terrible sights in
Warhammer Fantasy Battle is a large frontage of Snotling Pump Wagons.
One of the most successful Orc and Goblin armies I`ve fielded had a
"Skirmish Screen" of 12 Pump Wagons! Those Bretonnians didn't know what
hit them.
These green loonies are your most accurate artillery. I use them to pick
on Chariots, Cannons, Stone Throwers and so on. One of the best target
of a flying loonie is the War Altar of Sigmar and the Grand Theogonist.
Since Volkmar can't hide inside units and because he loses his powers
when his War Altar is destroyed, the Empire will soon learn to fear
Doom Divers! They are not as good against large enemy regiments because
their smaller template (you won`t cover many Cavalry bases with that)
and weaker hit. Warning though: Doom Divers are at their best only if
you are very adept at guessing ranges. Their ability to modify the
crash-site is useless if your original estimation is wide by a mile!
These are very resilient chariots because the Crew and the Boars both
have toughness of 4 and you can buy extra crew. Their weakness is that
you can have only two boars to pull each chariot. As with everything
else when playing Greenskins, the more, the better. Since you`ll
probably be advancing towards your foes at full speed, hiding Chariots
behind hills and buildings will do you no good. One or two Chariots are
easily destroyed by enemy missile fire. Five gives you a chance! When
they do hit their enemies, the results are usually very impressive, and
even the thickest armor is rather useless against D6+2 strength 7 hits.
I usually buy my Wolf Chariots in regiments because they need somebody`s
leadership to take those panic tests. They are far too useful to be
running away from the field. An Orc Boss, or even better, Skarsnik with
Gobbla should provide the Leadership you need. These Chariots are very
much to my liking: with Movement of 9 they rumble across the battlefield
at admirable speed, hit enemies very hard and are relatively cheap. And
remember to paint the chariots red `cos red ones go faster!
First piece of Advice I can give is to leave War Wyverns home! At 180
points, they are one of the worst deal imaginable: strength 5, 4 Wounds,
3 A and leadership of 5 make Wyvern a puny creature indeed! Believe me:
it has simply painted itself green to fool honest Orcs. Manticore, on
the other hand is an excellent creature, and worth considering even as a
individual monster because it has leadership of 8. Gigantic Spiders are
good when you are playing a Siege Game, and if your opponent has a unit
you don`t fancy fighting with, take a White Dragon, freeze the Scum and
laugh! I suggest that you don`t mount your Characters on Monsters. This
is of course a matter of taste, but I feel that Ladz need their Bosses
in the units.
One notable thing about Green skin Special Characters is
their ego: almost everybody wishes to lead the army alone!
Azhag is a good choice for the Generals who want to get rid of animosity
without Black Orcs or cheesy Hobgoblin allies. Just keep the bulk of
your fighting force within 12" of him, and make sure that he stays
alive. The fact that he always has to wear Crown of Sorcery limits his
usefulness in handto-hand.
Never forget that Azhag has leadership of 10 as opposed to the standard
Orc Lord`s 9, and this guarantees a good leadership to your army. Like
the stubborn Orc he is, Azhag insists on riding a Wyvern. Not only is
this creature one of the worst deals in whole Warhammer Fantasy Battle,
but it also makes Azhag very susceptible to enemy fire. My answer is to
attach Azhag to a large Regiment of Trolls or Ogres, so your enemy can`t
pick on him with missile fire. Because Trolls and Ogres both have a good
Movement score of 6, you`ll probably make it across the battlefield
before you accumulate too many missile casualties. Such a unit is also a
terrible Close Combat Crusher! If you decide to use this unit, put some
additional Characters with it (mounted on other monsters) to take up any
challenges, and if you want to follow this course, I recommend Trolls:
Since they regenerate, they will have an immensive missile causality
resilience, and the Stupidity is not such a problem since Azhag has
leadership of 10.
An Orc Big Boss with a massive strength of 5. I usually try to bring the
best out of Gorfang by mounting him on a War Boar and giving him a Star
Lance. 3 attacks are too few for my testes, however, so sometimes I give
him a Blade of Leaping Bronze. If you are considering an Orc Big Boss,
take Gorfang. Against Dwarfs, he is of course essential.
Grom gets his regeneration ability for 30 points, and this is a good
deal indeed. He comes in a Chariot along with his trusty Goblin Standard
Bearer. Grom always rides a Chariot, so he is not a good buy against
Elves or anybody else who relies on missile Troops or War Machines.
Against Chaos He is pretty good, however, though he rely needs that
Crown of Command then. The axe of Grom is a decent weapon.
Gorbad is a leadership 10 Orc General who has to take Morgor the
Mangler. If you need that leadership 10 and don`t want Black Orc
General, be my guest and use Gorbad. Of course that extra point of
leadership is for free (Gorbad rides a War Boar, +8 points and has
light armor, +2 points), so he is superior to a normal Orc General.
The trouble with Gorbad is that he has to be the Army`s General, so I
usually leave him to the Orc history where he belongs and rather field a
Savage Orc or Black Orc General.
Perhaps the most popular of the Special Characters, Morglum is a Black
Orc Lord that is immune to psychology. I tend to field him when playing
against Chaos or Undead. It is no use to be immune to psychology if you
don`t need to take the test in the first place!
Oglok is a good Big Boss with weapon skill 6, leadership 9 and four
attacks. Go get them! He is perfect for leading any supporting assault
regiments because he has a respectable leadership and good hand-to-hand
potential with the right equipment. All in all, he is not a game winner,
but definitely worth considering.
With leadership of 9, Skarsnik is an excellent leader. Gobbla gives him
a lot of additional hand-to-hand power. If you decide to take a large
unit of Goblin Chariots, Skarsnik is an excellent leader for them. It is
good to remember that Skarsnik is a Night Goblin, so he Hates Dwarfs.
This means you should always consider him when facing the stunties.
When you start building your army, simply purchase Crown of Command
first and wonder to whom you will give it afterwards. Morgor the Mangler
is expensive, but in the hands of a Black Orc War boss, it is also
wonderfully deadly. The Sword of Fortitude is a very good choice if
you field lotz and lotz of Goblins, because you definitely don`t want
to take those panic tests. To give your Savage Orc Big Boss/War Boss
some real bite in combat, I prefer Blade of Darting Steel combined
with Strength potion. 8 (or 16 with Spider Banner) automatic his with
strength 7 can mow down almost anything! When taking magic items, I
prefer things that affect units, since you`ll have lotz of them, and
they tend to be large: Ruby Chalice against Elves, Magic Standards of
any type, Sword of Bork and so on. If your army has great number of
Goblins, buy Horn of Urgok. Items that allow you to cast spells are
worth considering: since your own choice of spells is sadly limited,
That Ring of Volans might just have a suitable spell for you. Book of
Ashur is useful, allowing you to get access to some other spells than
WAAAGGHH!
An extremely dirty trick is to field some Hobgoblin allies to get rid
of animosity once and for all. This is cheesy to extreme, and your
opponent will despise you, people will point at you on streets and
children will spit at you. Wizards of any type are a good place to spend
your allied quota, since your own shamans are a "bit" unreliable. Dark
Elves (with crossbows) are good allies in general and (with Cold Ones)
against High Elves in particular. Chaos allies give you even more bite
in hand-to-hand.
While your troops tend to be between dull and downright stupid when
it comes to the brains, you, as a player must actually be VERY, VERY
cleaver if you wish to field a successful Green skin army.
Animosity is, and remains one of the biggest problems of the Orc and
Goblin Army. There are plenty of items like the Sword of Bork or The
Evil Sun Banner that are effective against it, Black Orc Big Bosses
cancel it and Hobgoblins stop it entirely, but any of these methods is
not 100 percent sure. I think it is better to have your Main Units as
well protected from the animosity as possible, with a Backup-system in
case your original plan fails. For example, Big `Uns with TWO Black Orc
Big Bosses.
Dwarfs are perhaps the most difficult army for you to beat: They are
very good in hand-to-hand, have a wide array of very dangerous War
Machines and worst of all, they Hate almost all your troop types. I
have several ways to deal with the Dwarfs: First of all, your army list
includes a lot of troops that are NOT Greenskins. Ogres, Trolls, Giants
and Squigs are all good options and a large number of Giants can throw
your opponent off-balance. Night Goblins are good with their Fanatics
and because they hate Dwarfs right back! Taking a full quota of Allies
is a good idea: Fast Chaos Troops like the Daemonettes mounted on Steeds
of Slaanesh are a good match to Dwarfs.
All Elves are troublesome against Goblins because the little `uns will
fear any Elf regiment they don`t outnumber at least 2:1. Keep your Mobs
large!
Most armies field only one or two units that are meant for real
hand-to-hand battles. Since your troops are cheap and generally
effective in melee, try always to have at least three real core units,
and more of them if you can manage.
Keep your Mobs large. First of all, it naturally gives them more
resilience, and secondly, you must have reasonablysized units near your
Shamans if you want to cast any spells. I`d say a minimum of 30 Goblins
and 20 Orcs for Foot Mobs, and 20 Goblins and 10 Orcs for Cavalry. Take
more if possible at all.
When you are picking your hand-to-hand units, spare no expenses: for
example, I might take a Unit of 20 Savage Orc Boar Boyz, armed with
Spears, Led by a Black Orc General with Crown of Command, Black Amulet
and Sword of Fortitude. The unit shall also be accompanied by (fully
armored) two Savage Orc Big Bosses, One with Strength Potion and Blade
of Darting Steel, other with Morgor the Mangler. A Forest Goblin Battle
Standard Bearer (on a Giant Spider) with a Spider Banner is also with
them, as well as a Savage Orc shaman of any level. The regiment will
carry either Banner of Might or Standard of Shielding. This unit should
fight against anybody reasonably well.
The above comments does not apply to support units: If you just want to
chase away some Kislev Horse Archers, then six Goblin Wolf Riders armed
with spears is a good bet and very cheap. Trolls and Squigs are good
for their fear value, and Arrer Boy units do not need to be that large,
either.
Last, but not least, GIVE ALL YOUR UNITS SOME MISSION!!! It is fun to
paint and field stupidly grinning figures, but if you take some units
just for the hell of it, don`t expect to win.
When faced with a defensive army like the High Elves, go for full
offensive: Take Boar Boyz, Spider Riders, Wolf Riders and some Pump
Wagons, and perhaps a LARGE foot regiment or two. Since you can`t hope
to out-shoot your opponent, don`t try to: Simple!
If your opponent relies heavily on War Machines, don`t charge headlong:
Take those Hellblasters and Organ Guns out first. Field Doom Divers,
Flying Monsters and arrerz to pick out these nuisances first, while
still advancing with your real units. Chariots are good at this
approach, since normally they tend to lag behind because they can`t make
march moves.
Some armies, namely Chaos, Dark Elves and Skaven are also very Close
Combat orientated: Here you must rely on your superior numbers to deal
with the opposition. I once again recommend Chariots: because these
armies are normally not as numerous (excluding Skaven) and do not
possess the sheer firepower of the Empire, your Chariots usually can get
through and hit your opponents hard. Since their troops are expensive,
they often can`t take this punishment. Rock Lobbers are also good to cut
down those 80 point Chaos Knights.
The battle was over. Thurgash stood upon the corpses of the leaders
of his opponent`s: Here was a Dwarf King, with his head missing from
his shoulders: there lay an Elf Lord, whose magical armor had availed
him not. Next to him lay a human General, his face a mask of pain and
horror. "Well." Grumbled Thurgash "What have you learned?" He enquired
from the little Goblin.
Goblin thought for a moment and then it`s features brightened. "Wee
should drink da beer more often?" It explained enthusiastically.
Thurgash grabbed his sword once again and started to run after the
fleeing Goblin.
Next part:
Skaven Tactics.