8th Edition Orc & Goblin Armybook Tactics

[Trodger87]

I always take two chukkas (would buy more but lack of funds :S). Always manage to inflict wounds on big stuff (chariots, monsters, etc) and great against cav.
Also, they're so cheap that even if some war machine hunters do come along, its really no great loss

[Andy p]

I was thinking of coverting 2: 1) the usual chase, and 2) a savage orc warboess weilding 2 ball and chain squigs as weapons.

I was thinking of putting 5-6 squigs in a big pile on a round 40mm and then a couple of herders at the back, maybe get some cheap chain from somewhere.

[BBWags]

Ok, so chukkas are definitely worth it, but is four in 2k too much?

[The Lurkin Gherkin]

Hmm, i might just jump in and add to the questions, as I'm not much of an experienced OnG player myself to answer any (am yet to actually play a game with them yet...but have got them assembled and ready to paint).

Is running units of 20 Savage Orcs of any use? Are they useless in what could be considered a "small" unit?

They would be supporting a 40 strong orc horde, but should I even bother with 20 savage orcs?? Boost them up to 40 as well?

By the way: I'm not really keen on replacing the Sorcs as I ******* love them! But please give me some insight into how Sorcs should be used

[Bortus]

Ok, so chukkas are definitely worth it, but is four in 2k too much?

I have 2 but go as many as 4, depends but for my generic I'll fight anyone army I run 2 Chukkas, 1 Doom Diver and a Lobba in 2000pts.

[Bortus]

I was thinking of putting 5-6 squigs in a big pile on a round 40mm and then a couple of herders at the back, maybe get some cheap chain from somewhere.

Andy if your from the states I can tell you that you can get chain from Michaels art supply. Very inexpensive!

[Malorian]

Hmm, i might just jump in and add to the questions, as I'm not much of an experienced OnG player myself to answer any (am yet to actually play a game with them yet...but have got them assembled and ready to paint).

Is running units of 20 Savage Orcs of any use? Are they useless in what could be considered a "small" unit?

They would be supporting a 40 strong orc horde, but should I even bother with 20 savage orcs?? Boost them up to 40 as well?

By the way: I'm not really keen on replacing the Sorcs as I ******* love them! But please give me some insight into how Sorcs should be used

Bigger is better. If you can manage to bump them to 40 then do it. Then again it depends on the rest of the list as you would havwe to drop points somewhere.

Then again the nice thing about 20 savages is the watchtower mission

Ok, so chukkas are definitely worth it, but is four in 2k too much?

In 7th 4 were standard for me but in eigth I don't run any.

I find my lines are so vast that finding fire lanes is hard, combat happens too soon, and in the end it's just something for enemy fast cav to kill.

I would seriously try a game without them. 4 chukkas could almost get you 3 wolf chariots.

[AMWOOD co]

Ok, so chukkas are definitely worth it, but is four in 2k too much?

I know back in 7th I considered 6 at 2000 my ideal, especially if I also had a rock lobba and a doom diver. Mind you, back then they didn't misfire, but chukkas do have their place. Killing a unit of 6 Chaos Knights after they've moved only once is a wonderful feeling, especially with only about 200 pts of artillery.

The thing about artillery is the balance, however. You can't just take a tonne of spear chukkas and expect that to do it. An army of Ogres or infantry will quickly teach you that lesson. That's why I included those 3 tasks earlier and which pieces are best at each. Also, you have to consider 2 other issues: when will the enemy reach you and what will you do once they do?

To the first, you may think it all depends on the enemy. Not so. I use fanatics to deter the enemy from wanting to charge me. Nothing says "stay away" better than 6D6 S5 hits per Night goblin unit in your way. Multiple units multiplies this. Also for this tactic are cavalry and wyverns terrorizing your enemy's flanks, thus distracting his force. Anything that makes him not come straight at you works.

To the second, greenskins have no shortage of combat capable units. Even Night Goblins can be made combat ready at small point games with the addition of a few Big Bosses. Orcs of all sorts can also help, but don't rush to battle.

Oh, there is another advantage to artillery. The above 8 warmachines I mentioned cost a total of 375 pts (445 if I give them bullies, which I normally do). This is all one deployment, so it's the effect of having a massive unit in terms of deployment order. Going first also means one more round of shooting all those war machines. Fielding an artillery line is about you choosing where your units are and blasting enemy units on a priority basis. I tend to choose units that will bother my fanatics first (like eagles or small units), then large monsters, then combat units. This makes things last longer, and denying them combat is the goal (and odd one for greenskins, but that's how it is).

If you wish to use artillery in a support role for eliminating certain targets before combat is met, I would have said 4 was enough in 7th, but in 8th I'd say take 6. The reason is that the +1 to hit for Large Targets is gone, and that's what bolt throwers are great at killing in our army. That will average you 2 hits per turn, which can take down a manticore or similar beasty fairly well.

[Shimmergloom]

I keep thinking about switching from an orc warlord to a savage one, but I can't get past the negatives.

With my orc, I can keep him in the orc unit that I use and he can be a steadying influence on my whole center line. If I take a savage, I would basically have to put him in with my savages for the 'free' 5+ ward. But with my savages, I often let them take flanks and then my general would be getting out of range of a large part of my army.

The night gobbo horde for instance will be much more fragile without a general there in range to keep them in line.

[Malorian]

The savage orc warboss is 35 points more than a regular one, and for this you get a 6+ ward (worth 15 points) and another attack (worth 20 points). So in the end you are even but have the advantage of still having all of your allowance the ability to synergize another 15 points by turning the 6+ into a 5+ ward due to the shrunken head.

You might like having savages on the flank (they are a good flank unit) but other units do just as well. In the end I find most games won or lost based on what happens in the center. This is where the key characters are and typically this is where the best fighters are to protect them. By changing your center to the better savages, led by a warboss, and fighty shaman (fists of gork), then you can rush up and take the heart out of your opponent before he knows what hit him.

In a recent game I had my blackorcs on the flank get owned because they were double teamed on the flank, but it didn't matter because by then I had crushed his center and now the rest of my force could switch gears and mop him up.

WAAAGH!!!

[BBWags]

A few questions concerning night goblins.

1. Is it simply too much to field both netters and three fanatics in one unit?

2. Assuming both with netters, would you rather have hand weapon and shield or spears for your anvil unit?

3. Is it smarter to go horde style or depth?

4. If you decide to go BOTH, meaning 100 nigh goblins, how da ******** do you PAY for all of them...? *sigh*

[Morkash]

1.) Well, it depends. I like to have a small unit of 20 NGs with 3 Fanatics as flank protection, and a bigger unit with nets and 1-2 Fanatics for the centre. Too many Fanatics can seriously interrupt your kunnin' plan.

2.) HW/Shield for me, I just do not see the advantage of 10 more dice to prove their inability and give up the Parry save for that.

3.) Depends if your playgroup goes hordy or not. Tournaments and player around here despise units of bigger than 40-50, so I usually play 45 NGs with HW/Shield, Nets, 1 Fanatic and 3 Big Bosses with Great Weapons. 6 wide, 8 deep. They usually work quite well if they do not squabble.

4.) One word: BfSP. Look if you can get the NG content, usually it is not more than 25 Euro/20 pounds for 60 Gobbos. Use unit fillers if your playgroup allows them (Hopefully this does not lead to another outbreak of pro/con rage about unit fillers... )
Or try getting some 4th edition Night Goblins. They have Bows, but then again you cannot have too many Goblins.

[Malorian]

A few questions concerning night goblins.

1. Is it simply too much to field both netters and three fanatics in one unit?

2. Assuming both with netters, would you rather have hand weapon and shield or spears for your anvil unit?

3. Is it smarter to go horde style or depth?

4. If you decide to go BOTH, meaning 100 nigh goblins, how da ******** do you PAY for all of them...? *sigh*

1. I never take 3 fanatics in one unit. The risk of being baited is too high and for flank protection I find just 1 is all you need if anything. Personally I only ever take up to 1 fanatic in my army and that's in the bunker.

2. Anvil implies defensive which would mean hand weapon shield. I however like going offensive, especially once you go to horde.

3. Go for ranks. If you have 2 units in ranks then combine them to be horde. It just makes logical sense as you get better (horde attacks) and save points on command and nets.

4. Pay in money? Battle for skull pass. Pay as in points? Well like I said above if you already are taking more than 1 unit then you save points by combining them.

[BBWags]

Thanks guys for the quick responses. I received a 20 dollar gift card to my flgs this morning so I was gonna swing by after work and see what I might get. I was thinking of NG, obviously, and your comments helped alot.

What else would be a good addition for 20-40 bucks? I have one unit orcs, one blorcs, one NGs, one lobba', one boar chariot, and a bunch of characters... I could even ho as high as to pay for an arachnarock for the novelty of it... Any other must haves? Btw, due to campaign fluff reasons, no savage orcs of any kind fit in my army theme... At least not ATM.

[russellmoo]

The arachnarock does work well with a large ng unit-

trolls are a nice addition-

But really if you don't have 30+ black orcs- I would get more black orcs-

[Malorian]

How big are the black orcs? are they horded? if not then get enough to horde them.

How big are the regular orc big uns? (I'm assuming you've upgraded them) are they horded? if not then get enough to horde them.

Go for trolls before an arachnarok. You can get 8 trolls for the same points as an arachnarok and the trolls will preform much better.

A box of wolves wouldn't be too bad either. 5 naked wolf riders make great and cheap warmachine hunters.


Too bad you have to spend it at the flgs as you can generally get the old starter set online (only night goblin half) for about 30-40 bucks.

[BBWags]

Thanks again! I will keep all this in mind. Slot of it will depend on what they have in stock, which is why I was thinking big spider... I don't think they have any trolls except river trolls and inthink vanilla or stone is better... But feel free to correct me.

[Malorian]

Plain>river>stone

[Bortus]

Malorian how big do you usually run your savages in a 3500 pts. game? I was seriously thinking 50 now that I started buying the models. Ya, ya, I finally caved in and decided to go savages over normal big uns boyz! :/

[Malorian]

In 3500 I could see 50 being a good number.