Monday, June 4, 2012

Orcs & Goblins: power vacuum

Are Orcs & Goblns a good army? I don't think so.  There are very few units that actually have any killing ability, while most of the rank and file core units lack any real power.

I played yet another game against Ogres tonight.  I lost by nearly 1000 victory points...though I did do a lot better then I thought I would.  I was actually able to munch through a couple units, and shot the mournfang off the table.

Still, it was a constant uphill battle. At least my warmachines didn't blow themselves up until turn 6..

The one unit that you can upgrade to big'uns with additional hand weapons is the one unit that can actually do anything. Of course they still die in droves so getting more is always required.  I'm pretty happy with that unit, with the Manglers and with the doom divers.  They usually perform pretty well.  I have a nasty habit of rolling a 1 on my magic mushroom..on the first spell he casts. 

My biggest disappointment though is the Arachnarok. It sucks. It has no survivability and no hitting power.  It's a waste of 290pts. 

What does it come down too? Savage Orcs.  Savage Orc big'uns with extra hand weapon. I can't see any other infantry unit doing anything.  With their ward save, it won't stop much but it's better then stopping nothing.  Black Orcs provide a bit of flexibility in contrast.

I havn't tried bolt throwers, but for a measly 35pts each how can you go wrong?  If I do anything else with this army, getting 3 of these will be a priority.

So drop the arachnarok, drop the boys, drop the orc chariots.  Get a hero warboss on boar, 3 spearchukas, block of 6 trolls and the rest on savage orcs.  I am pretty happy with the characters I have, but upping the Orc shaman to level 3 or 4 as well might not be a bad idea.


Lords
1 Orc Warboss: Shield, Armor of Fortune, Gold Sigil Sword (168)
1 Night Goblin Great Shaman: Level 4, Talisman of Preservation, dispel scroll (245)
1 Orc Great Shaman (165)

Hero
1 Black Orc Big Boss: BSB, Gambler's Armor, Sword of Battle, Ironcurse Icon (160)
1 Orc Big Boss: Boar, spear, shield, Talisman of Endurance (105)

Core
39 Savage Orcs, Big'uns, 2 hand weapons, standard, musician (449)
50 Night goblins: spears, musician, standard, 2x Fanatic, netters (265)
26 night goblins: bows, musician, fanatic (113)

Special 30 Black Orcs, full command, shields (425)
Spear Chukka (35)
Spear Chukka (35)
Spear Chukka (35)
6 Trolls (210)

Rare
1 Mangler Squig (65)
1 Mangler Squig (65)
1 Doom Diver (80)
1 Doom Diver (80)
1 Goblin Rock Lobber (85)

Maybe dropping some Goblins for a magic banner on the black orcs might not be a bad idea. Not sure which one though.

Overall this gives me a lot more punch, a lot more survivability and even more shooting without the huge point sink liability of the Arachnarok.

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