Warhammer 6th Edition Orc and Goblin Tactics by The Warhammer Shack
The new edition of Warhammer Fantasy and the new Army book has brought almost nothing but good news for the Orcs and Goblins. The only disappointment is really the names of the new magic items. Anyway, here are some tactics which will hopefully be of some use to you.
This first point is almost an essential, as this helps to protect you from the biggest weakness of the Orc and Goblin army – its low leadership. There is no more crown of command, and no more ways to be cheesy and eliminate this problem. So here is the most important thing to take in – have big squads, have huge squads, have enormous squads. Make your enemy have to kill 7 or 8 models at least before you have to make a leadership test, and not three (obviously this doesn’t apply to boarboyz, wolfriders, Black Orcs, and other such units because it would be completely uneconomical). Field your general somewhere in the middle of your army and somewhere near your goblins. You need his leadership. Buy a battle standard bearer. It is nice to be able to re-roll your break tests. Have musicians in each regiment. You need the +1 leadership when rallying….
You don’t want your Savage Orc Boarboyz breaking in the first turn because of a cannonball or two and losing their frenzy. One big mistake players sometimes make is that they think two squads of 20 night goblins will be more effective than one squad of 40. Unless your general is anywhere near them, they’re not more effective. They will be shot down and made to flee (due to people’s fears that fanatics will kill their knights) and you will have wasted some points because the night goblins will be off the board before the fanatics get a chance to come out. Have squads of forty and have 3 fanatics in each squad. The only time you should ever field regiments of 20 goblins is if you are playing a fairly large battle, and have 60pts to spare on a regiment which could act as cannon fodder and frighten your opponent a bit.
In terms of characters, field whichever general you want, but don’t fall for the temptation of fielding black orc characters in smaller battles because you need the extra hero slot that he will be taking up. Put him near the centre of your army, and use him as support and to make your opponent nervous. What I’m about to say might sound a bit drastic, a bit crazy, but believe me it’s not, and it works. Because you have such large regiments, it is not vital that you have heroes in your squads. So don’t. Field shamans. Field lots and lots of shamans. Always upgrade them to a level 2 or a level 4, give them a talisman or warpaint which gives them a ward save of some kind, put them on a boar if you can. Keep them between your regiments and make sure there are mobs more forward than them so that your enemy doesn’t get the opportunity to fire archers or handgunners at you. If he can, he will and your shaman will go on a little journey to Orc heaven. If you do this, you will almost definitely have a lot more power dice than the enemy has dispel dice, and a lot of dispel dice for yourself, so your opponents’ wizards will be relatively ineffective, and you will be able to successfully cast a lot of spells. Waaaugh! Magic is wonderful. Waaaugh! Magic is incredible. Waaaugh! Magic takes lives. Get as much of it as you can. If you have Shaman Lords, always choose spells from the Big Waaaugh! for them. Put your shamans between your regiments so that they can get the +1 power/dispel dice if they are in combat. There are so many powerful spells for you to use that you should end up with a fair bit of choice. If any of your squads are within charge range, cast the Hand of Gork or Waaaugh! and get them into combat. If you get the foot of Gork or Gork’s Warpath, cast it over and over again. I have cast Gork’s Warpath and it stomped over all the enemy’s regiments, before stomping on my boarboyz and wiping them out. It makes games a lot more fun. If you can, cast Gork’ll fix it or ‘Ere we go on a unit that is in combat. Most importantly, have a lot of fun with your magic. It is very flexible and most spells that you cast should have a fairly positive impact on the game.
Orc Boyz are one of, if not the most important core unit in any Orc and Goblin army. Field a couple of regiments of them, and have them in squads of at least 25, and have them in ranks of at least 6. They are not very expensive. Always give them a standard, champion, and musician. Either field them with two hand weapons so that they each get 2 attacks, or a choppa and shield so that they get a S4 attack on the charge and a 5+ save. Don’t bother with spears – leave that for the gobbos. Don’t Forget: Toughness 4 is good. Orcs have toughness 4, therefore Orcs are good. Most enemy units will need a 5+ to wound you in hand-to-hand. If you can spare the points, field a unit of big ‘Uns. They are almost as good as black orcs, but cheaper. Give them 2 hand weapons, and don’t even think about fielding them in small regiments. When your opponent sees your big orc regiments they will get very nervous indeed.
Orc Arrer boyz are not one of the most effective units in the Orc and Gobbo army, but if you like the models or have somehow ended up with them (like myself) you will probably want to field them. Most people will have 16 (2 ranks of 8), there’s not much point bothering with regiments any bigger. Don’t bother giving them light armour – they normally won’t get an armour save against most things. Give them a standard and a musician, but don’t bother with a boss. You don’t want to be spending a lot of points on them. If you can, put them on the edge of a hill so that both ranks can shoot. Your opponent is likely to underestimate their abilities in hand-to-hand. Use that to your advantage. They are just as good as any other orc regiment. If they charge, they will have S4 because they have choppas, and they still have toughness 4, so your opponent might have a bit of difficulty wounding them. It is unlikely that they will cause too many casualties from their shooting. Most people realize this, and don’t bother wasting their firepower on them, and so they are likely to stay intact. Use them in hand to hand if you can. It is quite possible (if not likely) that they can win the combat and run the enemy down.
Savage Orc Boyz are great, but the only downside is that it will cost you a lot to buy enough for a realistically big enough regiment (25). In terms of arming them, the same things apply that apply to orc – give them either choppas and shields, or 2 hand weapons, don’t bother with spears, buy a champion, standard, and musician for them. The differences are that you should also not get them bows, goblins or even orcs are a lot cheaper, and always give them warpaint – it is definitely worth it. There’s not really much point in getting savage orc big ‘Uns, unless you already have the models and you’d like to field them, or you are playing a very large battle.
Goblins and Night Goblins are the other core units that no Orc and Goblin Army should be without (perhaps with the exception of themed armies). Because goblins are so cheap, there is no point beefing them up with light armour, or fielding them in regiments of 20. You can afford to get bigger regiments, so do it. With normal goblins, my recommendation is to stick with a hand weapon and shield, and get them nothing else. They will then cost a whopping 2 points each and you will be able to afford to buy lots and lots of them. Have regiments of 40 (5 ranks of 8) with a champion, standard, and musician, and you have a very scary looking regiment, which your opponent will be very happy with themselves if they manage to remove it, for only 100pts. If you feel the need to be sly, give them light armour so that they are 3 points, and have a 4+ save in hand to hand. This will really cheese your opponent off. Goblins are good cannon fodder. You generally shouldn’t bother getting Night Goblin archers, but normal goblin archers instead, which have the extra leadership. Field them in regiments of forty (4 ranks of 10), and just get them a standard and musician, which is a must for a low leadership squad. They will do their points worth in damage. Field night goblins with spears and shields. Field them in regiments of 40 (5 ranks of 8). Give them 3 fanatics. This works brilliantly. They fight in 2 ranks, they have a full rank bonus in hand-to-hand, and they have fanatics. They will win a lot of the combats they fight in, and they will kill things with their fanatics. Field them at even distances from each other (for example, if you have 2 night goblin regiments, field one 1/3 of the way along your board edge, and the other 2/3 of the way). This can help ensure that they are evenly spread out, and that no matter where your opponent puts their knights (or other such units) they will be able to come out and kill them.
Goblin Wolf Riders are your core unit of cavalry. They are very fast, but very easily to kill (T3, 5+ armour save). They are also not all that effective in combat (they are only goblins after all). When you field them, field a regiment of 18 (3 ranks of 6) and charge them into your enemy’s war machines, and take them out in the 2nd turn, or charge them into basic humans. Do not go anywhere near knights and expect to kill them. Don’t bother giving them shortbows, but give them spears (they need the extra strength) and shields. They will cost you 12pts each, which is a bit pricey, but if used well (ie, to take out warmachines) they will definitely be worth it.
Snotlings are not the best of units. At 25pts a base, and with their very low statline, they will basically be only good as cannon fodder, which goblins are better at. However, if you’ve got some, and you are playing a larger battle, they can be quite a bit of fun (considering they are unbreakable and all…)
Black Orcs are pretty good in theory, but they don’t always perform all that well in battles. It really depends on whether you like the new models or not. If you do, you will probably be keen to field some, and if you don’t you’ll want to keep well clear of black orcs. You should always give them 2 hand weapons (2A at S4) and a champion, standard, and musician, and field them in regiments of at least 15 or 20. Your opponent will almost definitely tend to fire his cannonballs at your black orcs, because they will intimidate him a lot, so don’t expect your black orcs to do anything brilliant in the battle. However, if they make it into combat alive (possibly with the help of some magic) then expect to win. At 12 points each armed they are a bit expensive, so it really depends if you can or if you’d like to spare the points.
Boar Boyz or Savage Orc Boarboyz are a must for any army. They are the main and the best cavalry unit of the orcs and goblins. If you have orc boarboyz, give them shields, spears, and light armour, and field them in regiments of at least 8 or 10, with a champion, standard, and musician, and perhaps a magic banner (Gork’s war banner, Nogg’s banner of butchery). However, I’d tend to prefer fielding Savage Orc boar boyz. They have the +1 Attack which frenzy gives them, and a 6+ ward save, so they are not going to die immediately if a cannonball hits them. Give them a spear, shield, and warpaint, and again, have them in regiments of at least 8 or 10. However, you should always be careful where you position them, as your opponent might be able to use their frenzy against you. Unless you’re playing large battles, boar boy big ‘Uns will generally not be a part of the game. However, If you are playing a large battle, or if you have the points to spare, it’s not a bad idea to field a regiment of big ‘Uns as well as the normal boarboyz, which have the extra strength and weapon skill.
Night Goblin Squig Herds are pretty fun units and help add that extra bit of spice to your battles. If you’re going to field these, you might as well field a considerable amount of them. Have about 6 squigs, 2 squig hoppers, and 7 goblins. This will set you back around 124pts, and give you a unit to have a bit of fun with, as well as something that might actually do a bit of damage (especially the squig hoppers).
Orc Boar Chariots and Goblin Wolf Chariots are effective if they survive and are used well, but not always worth their value. I usually field a boar chariot for a bit of fun, but you will find that cannonballs are definitely a chariot’s worst nightmare. Chariots will sometimes lose combat because, with only about D6 + 5 attacks (D6+1 basic, 2 from the crew, 2 from the boars), because the enemy gets rank bonuses, outnumbers you, has a standard, etc.. but because they flee 3D6,they will normally survive, regroup, and charge another unit. This is when they can be effective and kill things. If you are rolling well, you could also win the combat and chase down the enemy. Wolf chariots are a bit cheaper, and you can have two as a special choice, which gives you a decision two make – a boar chariot with 4W, T5, and a 4+ save, or 2 wolf chariots with 3W, T4, and a 5+ save. Wolf chariots move 9" as opposed to 7", but the crew are only goblins, and the wolves don’t get the +2S when they charge. Anyway, the decision is generally about which models you have, and what you think (or have learnt from your experiences) is more effective).
Goblin Rock Lobbers and Goblin Spear Chukkas are your army’s basic warmachines. If you can spare the special slots, get a rock lobber or a few spear chukkas. However, generally they will be already full with boarboyz, black orcs, and chariots, etc.. It really depends on what kind of army you are playing against as to whether it would be worthwhile fielding these or not. You should always field either a rock lobber or a doom diver, to take out things like knights and big regiments, but spear chukkas don’t look too bad, and they can be quite effective. Against armies like empire, you should probably just go for lots of basic troops rather than warmachines, but against armies with more expensive units like chaos or bretonnians, warmachines are almost a must. It also depends on how accurate you are at guessing ranges. If you’re good at it, go for the rock lobber, but if you’re a bit scratchy, you’d be better off with a couple of spear chukkas. In the end though, it really depends on what models you have, and what you’d like to have a bit of fun with.
Trolls look great, and can be really effective in battle. The only downsides about them is that they use a rare slot, which could generally be better used for other things. And of course, they are stupid and have leadership 4 – very, very stupid. This gives you two options. Waste a big boss and put it in the unit with the trolls, or make sure your general is always near them. The second option is obviously the best, but if you have some tactics that require him to be somewhere else, then you need a big boss. A unit of 3 or 4 is generally sufficient. River trolls are by far the best kind of troll, and if you are going to field trolls, make it river trolls. They are at –1 to hit at hand to hand total, and cost 60pts each. In a unit of 4 river trolls, you get 12 T4 wounds, that regenerate on a 4+. Not bad. You also get 12A at S5 and a unit that causes fear.
Doom Divers are a very important unit for any Orc and Gobbo army. Although they were far better in the old rules, they are now only 80pts and still pretty good. Don’t be nervous about wasting a rare choice on them, it’s well worth it. The best place to put a doom diver is back behind the rest of your army on a hill. It is basically like a flying fanatic – any unit it hits suffer D6 S5 hits, but more controllable. So don’t waste it on things like spearmen or halberdiers. Go for the knights. Go for the Chaos Warriors. In an average battle, it should definitely pay for itself.
Pump Wagons are and always have been cool, but this has been restricted by the fact that you can now only have one per rare choice, and generally you can’t spare the extra rare choice. It will die very easily. With only 3W at T4 and a 6+ armour save, it is just as easy to kill as 3 orcs. However, if you are lucky and it makes it into combat, it’ll do a lot more than 40pts worth of damage. Risky but deadly.
Giants are very powerful and very difficult to kill, so if you can spare the points and the rare slot, get one. Charge them into expensive enemy units, or characters, so that it does its points worth of damage. It has 6W at T5, causes terror, is stubborn on Ld10, and has some very nasty attacks, so it is deadly. It also can move 6", so is a lot less likely to get run down if it somehow fails its leadership test. At 205pts, it is a bargain, and the fact that its got WS3 and that it randomizes its attacks are almost completely insignificant. Anyway, you could always get a giant instead of a character, and save the points if you need them.
Dogs of War can be hired by orcs and take up a rare choice. I would never field them personally, however, because they are very unorcy and deplete the character of your army a bit. However, if you need to get some, get pikemen. For 11pts each, you get a human with heavy armour that can fight in 4 ranks!