Post by knoffles on Jun 29, 2019 5:53:41 GMT
Although I started playing in 3rd, 4th edition was the one that I really cut my teeth in. The idea of having unique army books per race was just such a great idea as it allowed so much fluff and other great stuff to be added. One of the things I loved about them was certain books came with tactics guides and it was this, together with the wealth of options, which really cemented my first love; Orcs and Goblins. This tactics/army breakdown article may have been written back in 4th but a lot of it still holds true for the editions that followed and because it was also written by the King of Warhammer, I felt that it was worth typing up in a series of posts and putting onto this site. Where I felt relevant, I’ve added in comments if something is not pertinent to 8th, mainly for the casual browser, as most of you will pick out those bits straight away – Knoffles.
The Orc and Goblin army is a real gambler’s army, an army with many, many choices but ultimately an army that favours aggressive play. Your troops are no completely predictable – when they’re good they’re brilliant but when they’re bad, they’re the worst!
Even the best generals sometimes lose with this army just because that’s the way it is. On the other hand, if the dice roll in your favour you’ll thrash your opponent no matter how good he might be. That’s not to say it’s just a question of luck whether you win – nothing could be further from the truth. Like any good gambler you have to understand the odds work and how to stack things in your favour.
When you put your army together you’ll be confronted with a bewildering amount of choice because there are so many kinds of troops. At first the very quantity and variety of troops can be confusing. It is important to realise that you can’t hope to include every type of warrior and machine in your army… there are just too many! Instead build your army around a core of reliable troops such as Black orcs, Big’Uns of Boar Boyz. This core doesn’t have to be large, it could be a single mob but it is necessary to give some solidity to the army.
Once you have decided on your core force you can elaborate upon it by adding more troops, warmachines and monsters. When choosing your army bear in mind that some types of character model, war machine or special troops are only available if your army includes mobs of corresponding orc or goblin types. For example, you need at least one goblin mob to include doom divers. If you want to include specific special troops or machines you’ll have to tailor your army appropriately. (Note: this was a 4th not 8th edition restriction but for fluff purposes it is one I still often follow when army building – Knoffles)
If you play against a particular army a lot then you’ll naturally try to assemble your own force so it stands the best possible chance against that foe. Your own preferences will also make a difference to how aggressively you play and what tactics you use. Ultimately it’s up to you to decide for yourself what works best for you. These are the first principles of Orc leadership… the things that everyone learns pretty quickly. The following notes embody these principles and guide you through the pros and cons of the different troops.
Basic Principles
It is a good idea to make your units fairly big. A bigger unit can take more casualties before its combat effectiveness is eroded. Remember that a unit that takes 25% casualties from shooting must make a panic test and the bigger your unit, the more casualties it will be able to sustain before having to test. War machines can crumple small units easily. You must be able to take casualties so make sure your units are big enough to take a serious hit without depleting their effectiveness.
Arrange your units as deeply as possible. The more ranks a unit has the better its combat result bonus. If your units are four ranks deep you receive +3 bonus (the maximum). If your unit is five ranks deep you receive the maximum bonus and you can afford to take some casualties before you start to deplete the all-important fourth rank. Remember, if you have relative few models in your frontage compared to your depth the advantage of rank bonus is accentuated because neither you nor your enemy can inflict many casualties. It is therefore to the advantage of poor troops (Goblins) to have as much depth and as little frontage as possible. (In fourth edition, there was no horde formation, step up or steadfast rules but the above is still relevant if not quite all for the same reasons given – knoffles)
Give all your units bosses and standards wherever you can afford it. If you cannot afford it, consider dropping the unit altogether. Goblin units must be led by Big Bosses or else you need to find some other way to improve their leadership or combat resilience with magic items or standards. The reason for this is that Goblins, with their leadership of only 5, are very fragile, which means they are virtually certain to fail any break or psychology test they have to take. (Again, the rules were slightly different in fourth as the lowly goblin now has an LD of 6! Night gobbos still have 5 though). Remember that an Orc Big Boss can be placed with a Goblin unit to lead it. By including bosses you will be improving your chances of inflicting casualties and reducing the number of casualties sustained. By including a standard you will add +1 to your combat result score. All of these are important to any unit and vital to Goblins.
Attack! Your army contains troops that are very good in hand-to-hand combat – use them to spearhead your advance. Your army also contains troops which are good at pinning or delaying the enemy, for example large Goblin units, fanatics, pump wagons, Snotlings etc. If you can bog down one of your enemies’ top units with Snotlings, or keep him pinned down by landing fanatics in front of him, then you are free to win the game with your core units.
The Orc and Goblin army is a real gambler’s army, an army with many, many choices but ultimately an army that favours aggressive play. Your troops are no completely predictable – when they’re good they’re brilliant but when they’re bad, they’re the worst!
Even the best generals sometimes lose with this army just because that’s the way it is. On the other hand, if the dice roll in your favour you’ll thrash your opponent no matter how good he might be. That’s not to say it’s just a question of luck whether you win – nothing could be further from the truth. Like any good gambler you have to understand the odds work and how to stack things in your favour.
When you put your army together you’ll be confronted with a bewildering amount of choice because there are so many kinds of troops. At first the very quantity and variety of troops can be confusing. It is important to realise that you can’t hope to include every type of warrior and machine in your army… there are just too many! Instead build your army around a core of reliable troops such as Black orcs, Big’Uns of Boar Boyz. This core doesn’t have to be large, it could be a single mob but it is necessary to give some solidity to the army.
Once you have decided on your core force you can elaborate upon it by adding more troops, warmachines and monsters. When choosing your army bear in mind that some types of character model, war machine or special troops are only available if your army includes mobs of corresponding orc or goblin types. For example, you need at least one goblin mob to include doom divers. If you want to include specific special troops or machines you’ll have to tailor your army appropriately. (Note: this was a 4th not 8th edition restriction but for fluff purposes it is one I still often follow when army building – Knoffles)
If you play against a particular army a lot then you’ll naturally try to assemble your own force so it stands the best possible chance against that foe. Your own preferences will also make a difference to how aggressively you play and what tactics you use. Ultimately it’s up to you to decide for yourself what works best for you. These are the first principles of Orc leadership… the things that everyone learns pretty quickly. The following notes embody these principles and guide you through the pros and cons of the different troops.
Basic Principles
It is a good idea to make your units fairly big. A bigger unit can take more casualties before its combat effectiveness is eroded. Remember that a unit that takes 25% casualties from shooting must make a panic test and the bigger your unit, the more casualties it will be able to sustain before having to test. War machines can crumple small units easily. You must be able to take casualties so make sure your units are big enough to take a serious hit without depleting their effectiveness.
Arrange your units as deeply as possible. The more ranks a unit has the better its combat result bonus. If your units are four ranks deep you receive +3 bonus (the maximum). If your unit is five ranks deep you receive the maximum bonus and you can afford to take some casualties before you start to deplete the all-important fourth rank. Remember, if you have relative few models in your frontage compared to your depth the advantage of rank bonus is accentuated because neither you nor your enemy can inflict many casualties. It is therefore to the advantage of poor troops (Goblins) to have as much depth and as little frontage as possible. (In fourth edition, there was no horde formation, step up or steadfast rules but the above is still relevant if not quite all for the same reasons given – knoffles)
Give all your units bosses and standards wherever you can afford it. If you cannot afford it, consider dropping the unit altogether. Goblin units must be led by Big Bosses or else you need to find some other way to improve their leadership or combat resilience with magic items or standards. The reason for this is that Goblins, with their leadership of only 5, are very fragile, which means they are virtually certain to fail any break or psychology test they have to take. (Again, the rules were slightly different in fourth as the lowly goblin now has an LD of 6! Night gobbos still have 5 though). Remember that an Orc Big Boss can be placed with a Goblin unit to lead it. By including bosses you will be improving your chances of inflicting casualties and reducing the number of casualties sustained. By including a standard you will add +1 to your combat result score. All of these are important to any unit and vital to Goblins.
Attack! Your army contains troops that are very good in hand-to-hand combat – use them to spearhead your advance. Your army also contains troops which are good at pinning or delaying the enemy, for example large Goblin units, fanatics, pump wagons, Snotlings etc. If you can bog down one of your enemies’ top units with Snotlings, or keep him pinned down by landing fanatics in front of him, then you are free to win the game with your core units.
