Ogre Battle Reports
1500 points
Games 1-3 I took the following list;
Slaughtermaster; Fencer’s Blade, Dispel Scroll
A bit expensive but provides good magical offense and defense as well as being tough in combat. Couldn’t afford to add in another level as I would have liked.
Bruiser; BSB, Heavy Armour, Ironfist, Dragonhelm, Luckstone
Mandatory, really, given the army’s terrible leadership. I did initially havehim kitted out with a ward save, but it had to be cut out for cheap armour - if someone really wants to kill him then they will manage it anyway, otherwise he is pretty safe against errant attacks.
11 Ogres; Ironfists, full command
Fills up the core. I prefer Bulls to Ironguts just for the sake of cheapness and statistically they perform roughly the same. Not much to say here, really, they are very good and tough to kill, outside of the typical Ogre-killing means.
3x1 Sabretusk
Why wouldn’t you take them?
3 Leadbelchers
I’m not sure about these - I had little choice for alternative models - there just seems to be so many variables to go through; number of shots, roll to hit, to wound and then armour saves. It just seems that they just don’t quite kill enough. I also would have preferred 4, because 2x2 offers me a small footprint, all can shoot and all can fight but I lacked the points. I have to think of them as a chaff, picky unit.
2 Mournfang; ironfists, heavy armour, musician
Brute force and very points efficient. Bigger units are more risky, especially in lower points matches. Plus two offers more versatility, in an already small army.
2 Mournfang; ironfists, heavy armour
I would have preferred a musician but the points just weren’t there.
Ironblaster
A versatile unit, pretty self-explanatory.
Game 1: Ogres vs High Elves
Don’t remember the exact list but it was something like
Mage Level 2 - High Magic
BSB, kitted cheaply on horseback
30 Spearmen
10 Archers
11 Silver helms
20 White Lions, full command
10 Phoenix Guard, banner of sorcery
RBT
Spells:
High Elf Magic: Curse of Arrow Attraction, Shield of Saphery, Drain Magic
Ogre Magic - Spinemarrow, Bonecrusher and Bullgorger
I was not hugely pleased with the spell selection. I prefer Regeneration and toughness boosting. However, 2D6 S2 no armour saves would be handy against the Silver Helms. I try not to rely on magic, but better spells would have been preferable.
Meeting engagement (random deployment) was the scenario
I won first turn and here is an image after my first movement phase.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7102/...636df16a_b.jpg
Ogre Turn 1: I just shifted up a bit, I wanted the right Mournfang cavalry unit to destroy the Phoenix Guard and the Banner of Sorcery. I’d use the forest to protect the bulls from a Silver Helm flanking effort. Unfortunately the random deployment and my own stupidity in placing the Leadbelchers left the undercoated Mournfang terribly placed.
Magic was pointless - Bonecrusher was dispelled and I got Bullgorger off on, well, the bulls.
Shooting saw 14 shots on the White lions, killing three, while the Ironblaster squished a Spearman.
High Elf Turn 1:
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5156/...0fb9901c_b.jpg
As you can see, he shifted upwards. I was confident on winning the centre, while the Mournfang were a worthy sacrifice for the RBT and Phoenix Guard.
Magic was 10v6. Shield was dispelled on the White Lions (who were my priority target), Curse got off on the Ironblaster while Drain Magic was irresistably cast, wounding the high elf wizard and being a pain in the ass.
The RBT fails to wound the Mournfang and the archers fail against the Ironblaster.
Ogre Turn 2:
The Sabretusk charges the RBT and the Mournfang go into the Phoenix Guard.
Everything else just shifts around.
Between Bonecrusher and the sooting, 3 White Lions and 1 spearman die.
Here is the aftermath of the turn:
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5071/...5e15b747_b.jpg
The Sabretusk combat was tame - 1 wound each. They hold.
The Mournfang kill two Phoenix Guard on impact, take two wounds in return, and then kill two more with stomps (lucky saves…). I win by 1 but fail to run them down, though the Banner was now gone. (We may have erroneously played it as still in play, though at the time we acknowledged its destruction).
High Elf Turn 2:
The Phoenix Guard rally, while the Silver Helms slam into the Mournfang’s rear. The Spearmen charge the Sabretusk in front, while the White Lions hit theirs, who flees. They redirect into the Mournfang.
Magic is a damp squib.
The Mournfang and Silver Helms cause two wounds apiece. The Mournfang lose and are run down. Bugger.
The Leadbelchers are salughtered and overrun into the Mournfang on the left.
Here is the end of the turn:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7233/...66b82a8b_b.jpg
Ogre Turn 3:
Made some mistakes last turn, though the Bulls should thrash the Spears and the Mournfang on the right should never have been there to be rear charged after their disastrously low chase roll on the Phoenix Guard.
The Ironblaster fails its charge on the Spearmen’s flank.
Magic is 8v7. Bonecrusher on the wounded mage is dispelled. The Mournfang are made stubborn and the Ogres get +1S.
In combat, the spears fail their fear test and kill a single Ogre only. The BSB and Ogres annihilate the Spearmen and flee, escaping me.
The White Lions cause 5 wounds on the Mournfang and kill 5 in return. I hold on stubborn with the reroll.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/...9c342929_b.jpg
High Elf Turn 3:
Magic is inconsequential. The Spearmen rally. His Phoenix Guard and Silver Helms reform and try to untangle themselves.
White Lions massacre the Mournfang, panicking the Bulls. So stupid.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7102/...97d88e54_b.jpg
Ogre Turn 4:
The Bulls rally while the Ironblaster and Slaughtermaster charge the Spearmen. Who die in combat, unsurprisingly.
High Elf Turn 4:
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5344/...3d946560_b.jpg
The White Lions charge the Ironblaster, woops. Magic is 12v6 and he gets Shield off on the White Lions, but it is inefficient; it is slain without hesitation. They overrun.
Ogre Turn 5:
Poor positioning of my general means the bulls can’t get the White Lions.
I bonecrush the mage.
The game is over here - the White Lions can’t be killed as they will flee or move away and the Pheonix Guard/Silver Helms are out of the picture.
We calculate the points and it is a draw - 630 for the Ogres and 652 for the High Elves, if my maths at the time were right.
Conclusions:
1 game is too early to make any conclusions, but the 310 points for the Slaughtermaster felt wasteful here. I’d prefer a Level 2 in some ways but I need that +1 leadership and taking another Bruiser for the general would be too expensive.
I made plenty of mistakes - the most obvious being the placement of the leadbelchers, which caused a pile up in the centre and left them in that frustrating position of walking behind a slow person. The other Mournfang were a bit unlucky in their overrun move on the Phoenix guard, who should have died (winning me the game!). The rear charge from the Silver Helms was factored into my decision so I wouldn’t classify it as a mistake. If I had run down the Phoenix Guard and still been killed by them then I would have been satisfied, just because it isolated the Silver helms and BSB.
Anyway, that is game 1, I hope you enjoy. Please do address me with any feedback, or criticism, or anything we played wrong. I'm always happy for constructive criticism.
There are six more games in the bag, awaiting write-ups by the way.
Reply With Quote
