strategy

The Way of the Waaaagghhh:

The greenskin army is full of wonderous variety and can be adapted to most any temperament. About the only caveat is that if you want to try winning the game in the shooting phase, this is not the army for you. While it is true that any Orcy strategy will neccesarily demand you get your troops into combat as soon as possible, there is much more to it than just chraging pell-mell across the field.

First off, there are a few general guidelines which apply to just about any army, and which even an Orc can understand:

Know your Boys: This means more than having a thorough knowledge of your army book. This means constructing an army in a style that you like, and which you think can take on a wide variety of opponents. It means practicing with this army until you know how your own particular signature force works. Know it's strengths and weaknesses, understand how the component parts of your army fit together, and begin developing a repetoire of strategies that you can call upon as you play.

Know your Enemy: Not neccesarily the minutia of his list, but enough to know where the real threats are and minimize unpleasant surprises. A no-brainer, even for an Orc.

Know the Plan: Between the time the terrain is set and the time you deploy your first unit, you will be lucky to have 10 minutes (if that) in which to formulate a plan for the battle. This may seem pretty harsh, but the time crunch will help you to keep things simple and streamlined. Try to make good use of the terrain that's offered, and have at least a general idea of what your deployment will look like before you set down your first unit. Once you DO have a plan, do your best to stick to it, even if you start to have doubts in turn 2. Your plan might turn out to be more risky than you first imagined, but vacillating around the battlefield without a clear idea of what you hope to accomplish will almost certainly lose you the game.

Alright, with that out of the way it's time to start looking at uniquely orcy tactics. There are a number of options availbale for the budding Orc Warboss, but to truly master the Orc list, you need to learn to capitalize on the basic strengths inherent in the list while doing your best to minimize the weaknesses. So, what are the main strengths of orcs?

1. - Orcs are Tough. So are Dwarfs and Beastmen and Chaos Warriors, but the Orcs are right up their with them with in that they can take something resembling a beating and come out grinning on the other side - AND they're cheaper. What does this mean for you as a player? Well, basically that you should never be afraid to take a charge if you have to. Now, that doesn't mean that you should go jumping in front of Heavy Cavalry or anything, but feel free to laugh at anything which hits at strength 3. Even strength 4 attacks can be faced with relative confidence. Given that your boys aren't exactly fast you will likely need to accept charges on a regular basis - even invite them. Dont' be scared to do this. They're big lads, they can take it.

2. - Orcs are Cheap. And Goblins are cheaper. It's a real dilemma for me of whether to list Toughness or Cheapness first, because the two traits re-inforce each other beautifully. Not only are orcs hard to kill, but you can field them in numbers that allow you to incur casualties which would cripple most other armies. A unit of 30 orcs needs to take at least 8 casualties at once in order to take a panic test from shooting. That doesn't sound like a lot until you try to calculate how many BS 3 STR 3 shots it takes to do that: somethng on the order of 50-60 shots at short range, over 80 at long range. On top of this, you get to throw goblins into the mix. Those little grots allow you to play the numbers game better than almost anyone else except maybe the skaven. No matter how rough and tough the enemy is, if you outnumber him 2 to 1 or more, he's going to have a hard time. Even if you decide not to go for a "horde" style army, You will still outnumber your opponent or at least have a parity of wounds with him almost all of the time.

3. - Orcs are Strong. The Stat line lists orcs as having Strength 3, but it's more like "Strength 3.5" due to the choppa rule. Elves and Humans make a nice squishy sound when you hit them at Strength 4, and even Dwarves and Chaos Warriors will feel a bit of a sting. On top of that you've got the Big Uns and Black Orcs who can charge for Strength 5 with this wonderful basic Orcy weapon.

4. - Orcs and Goblins are Unpredictable. This may not be completely true, but there is a certain element of randomness which pervades the Orc armylist, and it has a psychological impact. Your opponent only needs to be burned once by a "We'll Show 'Em!" animosity roll or a particularly hitty fanatic to be wary ever after. As they say - if even you don't quite know what your army is going to do, your opponent will have a more difficult time predicting your moves.

5. - Gorgeous Models. What!?! Personal anecdote time again: When I was first putting together my Orcs, a good friend (and brilliant player) brought his elves over so that I could try a few things out. When our armies were deployed, he looked at mine and said "Gee - your army is so much more intimidating than mine!" He still beat me, but just looking at my force was enough to give him pause. The older orc models were a bit cartoony and goofy looking, but this has been more than corrected in the last year. The new orcs are huge, monstrous gits with ugly and deadly looking weapons. A horde of decently painted Orc models exudes a savage, murderous ferocity which can play hell with your opponents confidence, especially if he's playing Elves.

So these are the Greenskins' strengths - what are the major weaknesses?

1. - Generally Poor Ballistics. Yes, Orcs have a wide variety of shooty things, but the majority of them are not nearly effective. Wolf Riders are the only troops that do very well with Bows, and while Orcy War Machines may get the job done, they don't exactly instill fear in the enemy.

2. - Ponderous to Manouver. Orcs and goblins do best in large units, but they aren't exactly nimble when you deploy them in large blocks. Couple this with the fact that the orcs have NO skirmishing troops whatsoever and the fact that most of our troops are slow and you can see that Orcs and goblins can have a hard time dealing with fast troops and skirmishers.

3. - Poor to average Leadership. Grots and Trolls NEVER want to test on their own leadership if they can help it, and certainly never want to lose a combat by even a single point! The undead and terror-causing beasties are going to give you headaches galore.

The results of this analysis are perhaps a little obvious - this is an army that generally wants to charge into combat, and once in combat wants to outnumber the enemy, preferably taking on any units 2-to-1. In an ideal world, anytime you are going into a combat, you want at least one hard hitting unit coming into play, preferably on a flank, and perhaps a more expendable unit hitting the front, or vice-versa. This is the classic "hammer -and-anvil" strategy. Let's look at some ways to do this:

In order for Orc and Goblins infantry to get a charge you need to find creative ways to get your enemy to stop somewhere within 8" of your chargers, which they will be understandably reluctant to do. For this you need either a lure or a tarpit.

Goblins are the troop of choice for using as charge-bait. Simply get them out there in front of your orcs. When the enemy charges, the goblins flee, and hopefully the enemy's failed charge brings them within reach of one or more units of your boys. If you aren't well-versed in this tactic, expect to practice it a lot until you get it right - estimating charge distances can be tricky from time to time. Orcs can also be used as a lure, but it's riskier. If goblins fail to rally, nobody cares (except the other goblins), but if orcs start failing to rally, then you're in for trouble.

Yet another way to leave your enemy stranded in charge range is by launcing fanatics at him as he comes in. This is especially useful if you have a unit that you DO NOT want to be charged. For instance, you usually would prefer that you Black Orcs charge rather than be charged. If you put a unit of Night Goblins next to them, that enemy unit of Witch Elves or what have you will be stopped cold when they try to make their move. Since you have no compunction about charging through your own fanatics, on your following turn you get to declare the charge. If you're really lucky, the fanatics might move out of the way before you actually move your chargers, and the Night Goblins may get into the enemy's flank.

Although snotlings make the best tarpit units, the enemy probably knows why they're there and will avoid them. Orcs can be used to tarpit units as well, setting the enemy up for flank charges by more orcs, chariots, or even a unit of Goblins if it will negate rank bonuses. A large unit of Big-Uns with Spears can absorb even determined cavalry charges with the help of a well-equipped character. Goblins can also take a hit from light infantry if they're well equipped with either spears, or common goblins as 'Ardgrots. In any case, if you intend to use a unit as a tarpit, it is imperative that you let the enemy charge you! I have occaisionally forgotten this, and moved to engage a unit prematurely in an effort to hold the enemy in place. This only sets you up for a world of hurt as the initiative passes to the enemy in the next turn. Far better to simply march your tarpit right up to within 1" of the enemy and give him no choice if you truly want to limit his options.

Greenskin cavalry obviously has an easier time getting the charge than the infantry, but as with most cavalry they do better when used for follow-up charges into the enemy's flanks once you get stuck in with your tarpit unit. To this end, you really want to use your cavalry (especially wolf-riders) to try to move up the flanks in an encircling manouver. One thing which Wolf-riders excel at is getting behind the enemy. The best way to insure the destruction of a particular enemy unit is to get it surrounded, and wolfboys make this possible for the Orcs and Goblins.

A Few Words on Greenskin Magic:

Magic for the Orcs and Goblins is wildly unpredictable but occaisionally devastatingly powerful. The spells of the "Little Waaaghh" are in general the more stable but less spectacular of the two lists. Since Orcs, in my opinon, do best when they're up close and busting heads rather than trying to channel Gork and Mork, I tend to use magic in a minimal, supporting role - a single level 2 shaman is usually enough for me. However, some people like to see magic take a more prominent place in their Waaaghh, and they like to invest in two or more shamen. Orcs don't do anything half-way, though. If you're really serious about making the most of Orcy Magic in a 2000 pts game, you need to spring for the Great Shaman.

There is nothing intrnsically wrong with having your army lead by a Great Shaman if you play it the right way. The big Waaagggh spells are REALLY fun and can be worth the tradeoff in leadership and combat power that a Warboss would give you. Just understand that if you want to get the most bang for your buck you need to keep a few basic guidelines in mind which are specific to the "Shamanistic Waaghh".

You bring the Great Shaman because you like the Big Waaagggh Spells, which can be absolutely devastating and wild - IF your luck, holds, and that's a big if. It's not like bringing an Empire wizard lord who is generally a pretty reliable fellow and who you can just keep in the back throwing comets around all day. So when playing a Shamanistic Orcy army, you try to maximise the potential for destruction while being conservative on points. With this in mind I would recommend taking a Lvl 3 great shaman as your general. You still get half of the spells from one of the best lists in the game, and the extra points can be spread about in more reliable areas. What about the extra dice for the pool? There's a better way to get those, and get them practically for free.

The best way to get more dice into your pool is to take more lads! Always remember that any unit of orcs or gobbos meeting the minimum unit size which gets into combat within 12" of a Shaman adds dice to the pool! Get those lads stuck in quick and your shaman will be practically ready to explode with Waaaggghh! (Okay, bad choice of words!) A good idea is to spread a couple of gobbo "apprentices" out so that they can catch the extra waaagggh from combat on the flanks, as well as feeding their own dice into the pool. This is a sure way to give at least a couple of rounds at a crucial point of the game when your waaaggghh will be almost unstoppable. Chariots and war machines are neat, but they don't generate Waaggghh, which is what it's all about in a Shaman army. Ditto for trolls and giants. Note that you want your units to be well over minimum waaghh size, as well. That way they can take some casualties and still have enough waaghh to continue to generate extra dice.

It's always great to have a Kick-ass BSB, and in a Shamanistic Waaghh you'll definitely need him! He is essential, since you are sacrificing a point of LD on your general. An extra Big Boss may be indicated in order to boost the leadership of a key unit on a flank, but don't feel bad if you pass that option over for a cheap gobbo shaman.

Orcs in a Siege game:

Check out Episode 4 of the Orcy Battle Reports for a glimpse of how Orcs behave in a seige game. For those of you who are interested, reprinted here are Warboss Gnarkbag's top 15 Do's and Don'ts of Seige Games (bearing in mind that Orcs can't count very well):

1) - NEVER bring cavalry to a seige. I don't care how much you think your opponent will sally out, don't do it!!!

3) - NEVER bring archers. BS of 3 needs a 7 or 8 to hit troops off the wall 90% of the time, if not a 9!

4) - Standards and Musicians DO NOT COUNT when storming a wall, so don't bother with the points. Just bring a BSB instead.

5) - If you're going to bring one rock lobber (and you should), then you might as well bring three (and you should).

6) - Don't bother with spears - they don't help when storming a wall. Give extra hand weapons to everyone who can carry them instead.

7) - Use fewer, bigger units where possible. When assaulting a wall, the defenders hit you normally, but you only hit them on a 6. You will burn a lot of casualties in an assault and also from missile fire just getting to the wall.

6) - Don't put any troops in the front lines who don't have ladders. In fact, don't field infantry without ladders at all if you can.

9) - If you don't have enough troops to carry all your ladders, you take a movement penalty or you have to drop a ladder. Make sure to bring enough troops so that taking casualties on the way to the wall won't cripple your advance or your assault.

10) - If you're going to bring one siege tower (and you should), then you might as well bring two (and you should!).

12) - Trolls + Battering Ram = a very good thing.

13) - Giants: One can clear a wall. Two can probably knock down a wall, but only if they work together. They also make great missile bait.

1) - Did I mention you should never bring Cavalry?

and for those of you defending:

15) - Never abandon a wall because you think the Orcs won't get there in time!

Da Last Werd:

Well, this has been a bit more rambling than I would have liked... We are talking about Greenskins here so how organized could it be?. Of course, no tactica could ever hope to cover 100% of the myriad of possibilities that the Orcs and Goblins present. You will need to experiment and play around to discover what tactics and strategies work best for you and what kind of Waaghh you prefer to field. Just keep the basics of the army in mind, have fun, and always kick a stunty when he's down.