Ratvan's OnG Thread - Wyvern Warboss versus Empire

[Ratvan]

Total Roster Cost : 2396

Orc Warboss – 218 pts
Basha’s Axe of Stunty Smashin’, Armour of Destiny, Shield

Orc Great Shaman – 300 pts
Level 4, Lore of da Big Waaagh, Fencers Blades, Crown of Command, Talisman of Endurance

Black Orc Big Boss – 165 pts
Battle Standard Bearer, Armour of Fortune, The Other Tricksters Shard

Goblin Big Boss – 69 pts
Light Armour, Warrior Bane, Enchanted Shield, Dragonbane Gem, Potion of Foolhardiness, Giant Wolf

Night Goblin Shaman - 75 pts
Level 1, Lore of da Little Waaagh, Dispel Scroll

Orc Big Boss – 105 pts
Great Weapon, War Boar, Dragonhelm, Potion of Toughness

5 Goblin Wolf Riders – 55 pts
Shield

5 Goblin Wolf Riders – 55 pts
Shield

39 Night Goblins – 182 pts
Netters, Musician, Standard Bearer

33 Orc Big ‘Uns – 332 pts
Shield, Musician, Standard Bearer, Standard of Discipline

2 Goblin Wolf Chariots – 100 pts

Goblin Wolf Chariot – 50 pts

Cave Squig Herd – 180 pts
18 Cave Squigs, 12 Night Goblin Handlers

6 Trolls – 210 pts

Goblin Rock Lobber – 85 pts

Goblin Rock Lobber – 85 pts

Mangler Squigs – 65 pts

Mangler Squigs – 65 pts

I decided that I would write a little about my army list and what tactics I used during the list building process, as for me this is probably the second most important part of any game after deployment and slightly ahead of managing the army.

I divide my army into 3 Rough components, Hammers, Anvils, and Support. I’ll go through each of these components and my decisions behind each one in my army list.

Anvil Units – (21.5% of Army)

In my army I have two of these units, the Night Goblins and the Orc Big ‘Uns, of the two units it is typically the Big ‘Uns who last the battle and do most of the Heavy lifting of the list. I class this unit as an Anvil over a Hammer as it is the Characters within the Unit that lend the killing power and not “Da Boyz” themselves.

The Big ‘Uns themselves are WS4 and S4 (S5 First round of combat) with 5+,6++ and deployed (with characters) 6x6 so that I can get +5 Static Combat Resolution for ranks, plus standard Bearer. With the Characters in the unit they are Leadership 10 Stubborn, the unit does not typically go anywhere unless I lose all 3 of the Characters.

The Night Goblins are for me my favourite unit in the game while not an anvil they are a slowly eroding tarpit, with Nets they are in effect (T4) as long as they don’t net themselves. I don’t use Fanatics during my games as I try and minimise the randomness of the army as much as possible for Tournament Games (pretty hard for a random army) however I do have a nice little unit filler made of Fanatics as you never know when I’ll feel like using the upgrade in a game.

Hammer Units – (44% of Army)

Orc Warboss, Black Orc BSB, Orc Level 4 (in Big ‘Uns) these are the guys that lend the killing power to the Big ‘Uns the Warboss Contributes 5 S6 (S7 First Round) Armour Piercing Attacks, the Level 4 Provides 2 S4 (S5 first round) attacks and the Magic Support to the Unit and the BSB Lends 3 S6 (S7 first round) attacks that force re roll of Ward Saves. The power of the unit is also added when I declare a “Waaagh!” when the Warboss’s unit charges lending +D3 CR for that round. All in all with simple Static Combat Resolution (no kills added) I am looking at +7-9 CR for the unit with kills then taken into consideration.

Trolls, typically I see people include these as Anvil units due to the regeneration of the Trolls themselves, however when the Vomit Attacks (S5)ignore armour saves I class this unit as a Hammer that I typically try and throw at high Armour save targets (knights spring to mind) it means that I lose the Stomp attacks but for the chance of taking down potentially 6 Knights a turn I’m willing to lose the Stomp attacks. However with Regeneration this unit does require some degree of protection which is covered in the Support Units section.

Cave Squigs, my second favourite unit in the game. Deployed 6 wide and 5 deep the unit lends Static Combat Resolution as well as a multitude of S5 attacks from the Squigs, going 6 wide allows me to gain more flank charges than the unit should realistically be able to, this is mainly due to target saturation of the army as there is a lot of units and dangers that are on the board, focussing on a single danger often allows my other two (or three) to engage at almost full strength)

Support Units – (34.5% of Army)

This for me seems to be a large majority of my army points in comparison to my Anvils and is one of the main reasons why I love the Orcs and Goblins I can have both Big Units and also Lots of units. The Army is probably a MMU/MSU Hybrid with a little Sprinkling of Deathstar or “All Comers”

I’ll start with the Characters

Goblin Big Boss on Wolf, this guy is tied for my favourite Character in the Army, fast cavalry with decent armour save, 2++ versus flaming attacks and forces the opponent to deal with him or face a torrent of blows (4 on charge) that can make life hell by inflicting Stupidity on the Character/Monster for each unsaved wound. I placed him on a Giant Wolf not only for the Fast Cavalry rules but also so that If he engages a Monster he cannot be stomped.

Orc Big Boss on Boar, this is the other Character tied for Favourite in the army and my dedicated Monster Hunter, potion of Toughness takes him to T8 for a round of combat and with Great Weapon he has 3 S6 (S7 first round) attacks and a 2++ versus fire and immunity to Stomp attacks to face off against Monsters. If no monsters are around then he lends himself to hunting Flaming Banner troops and make a royal nuisance of himself. (This guy has downed Bloodthirsters for me, that is hard not to love!)

Night Goblin Shaman Scroll Caddy, very hard not to include for tournament games plus the Lore of da Little Waaagh has for me one of the better signature spells in the game I can give Armour Piercing to a unit within 12” on a 6+ to cast, bonus if the unit is in an enemy’s flank or rear as they then get to re roll misses in addition to armour piercing. For a MMU/MSU army this is a massive benefit and is a spell that I constantly look to cast each turn something is either in combat (or is looking likely to be charged – Big ‘Uns)

Wolf Riders, Fast Cavalry with a 4+ Save. The Classic Redirector unit, my opponent’s typically do me a favour in the early phases of the game and shooting takes them under 5 models, if the unit survives and doesn’t flee (rare) then I have units of fast cavalry that are not affected by Animosity!

Wolf Chariots, not overly fast but fast by Chariot Standards (9”) impact hits are great for clearing chaff and for tipping a round of combat in my favour (and combined with Sneaky Stabbin’ makes for a hilarious charge, for me at least) I have a single chariot and unit of two to allow me more drops in deployment and the single chariot allows me to use as an additional redirector without much of a loss.

Rock Lobber’s, you will note that I don’t use Doom Divers, this is because realistically they don’t really add that much to my army. Yes Doom Divers are more accurate but I typically face a lot of Horde type armies and when a Rock lobber scatters they tend to hit something else anyway. Since I am also not running a Savage Orc Horde and my Big ‘Uns are built with Ranks in mind I need my warmachines to be able to clear numerous troops and not heavily armoured troops.

Mangler Squigs are a staple of any Orc and Goblin Waaagh no matter the size, the damage potential is great and they typically attract a lot of attention from enemy warmachines and missile troops which again is fine for me as I have other tools for tackling Heavily Armoured Targets. I now have to be very wary of High magic users thanks to losing a Mangler against Walk Between World’s on a unit of Silver Helms.

Managing Animosity

One of the difficulties in playing Orcs and Goblins in a Tournament environment is that they are not the most reliable of Armies to play. Every unit of 5 or more models must test for Animosity and fail such on a 1 (16% chance of a fail). I understand that on any occasion any of my units can fail this test but for me there is only 1 unit that I need to NOT fail this test the Big ‘Uns as this unit includes my Level 4 and as such cannot afford to miss a turn to attempt to cast spells.

For me if I fail an Animosity roll there is one result that I desire (6) and one result that I don’t desire (1) however the probability of this happening is 1/36 for both results (2.7% either result) and by clever deployment the undesirable result of 1 can further be reduced by mixing units that are unaffected by Animosity.

Back to the Big ‘Uns, by Including a Black Orc I can Quell Animosity, the Unit takes D6 S5 hits (distributed by shooting) and the unit classes as passed its animosity test, as long as the hits don’t wound my Warboss or Level 4 I am happy with the result.

Deployment

With Animosity taken into account I tend to deploy in a set way, only if presented with a really juicy target will I deviate from my plans. Since I have 10 Drops minus characters and warmachines I typically tend face armies with 7-9 drops I tend to out deploy my opponent. I also much prefer with this army to go second so that I can decipher his plans and force mine into action, going second also gives me the added benefit of being able in the last turn of the game to clean up as many loose victory points as I am able to with shooting, charging fleeing enemies off the board etc. etc.

Magic

For my Army I do have favourite spells which I will outline below.

Night Goblin Level 1

Lore Attribute – Sneaky Stealin’ (Steals DD on 5+)
Itchy Nuisance (8+ - The Goblin version of Miasma, Movement and Initiative by D6)
Gift of the Spider-God (8+ - gives unit within 12” Posioned Attacks)
Sneaky Stabbin’ (6+ - Gives unit Armour Piercing, can also re roll To Hit and To Wound if in opponents flank or rear)
Orc Shaman Level 4

Lore Attribute – Power of Da Waaagh (+1S on spells if more friendly units in combat than fleeing)

Fists of Gork (8+ - Shaman has +3A and +3S and 6++, remains in play)
The Hand of Gork (9+ - moves unit 3D6” or 14+ 5D6”)
‘Ere We Go! (11+- Units with 2D6” re roll to Hit)
Foot of Gork (15+- DD Spell Template, S6 (D3 Wounds) 18+ Chance to Scatter onto other units on 4+)

So the first series of games is this weekend, a 1 day 3 game tournament where I can expect a lot of nicely painted armies, good opponents and even been beer once the gaming is complete.

[Jimmy]

Looking forward to following this Ratvan, love the greenskins so best of luck to you.

A few questions, what formation are you running the Boyz in? I would have thought running a second choppa would have been the way to go seeing as they'll hardly ever break due to the stubborn hat in there?

[Ratvan]

The Boyz usually run in a 6x6 block firstly due to a compact deployment zone due to the animosity of units and stupidity of trolls, secondly as I mentioned they're the character delivery system used for ranks and not kill power (think minobus tactics and not far off). Sometimes they're reformed into a Horde when I think I can steamroll and overrun an enemy unit.

For me additional hand weapons make them a different type of unit and one that would take up a different role on the battlefield.

Nice to have comments and questions so keep them coming. Also first opponent in tourney this saturday will be WoC as the draws have been done ahead of time, after that empire or ogres and then no idea for the final game. I'd like 2/3 wins from the day

[Ratvan]

So the tourney has finished and I placed 5th with 1 loss (WoC) and 2 wins (Ogres & Empire ) I hope to tave all three games written up and posted within the next few days. I'm pretty pleased with the performance of the armies and how I played. I believe that the only reason I lost against WoC was my army composition (no flaming) but jad a great time and looking forward to the beer

[raccoonhat]

Congrats. Looking forward to the battle report against empire.

[Jimmy]

Great job Ratvan!

How many players turned up?

Looking forward to the battle reports.

[Ratvan]

We were meant to have 32 players, 29 turned up on the day.

[Stormie]

Nice one! But don't you find it a terrible annoyance to put a character with Other Trickster's Shard into a unit with its own ward save?

[Ratvan]

Nice one! But don't you find it a terrible annoyance to put a character with Other Trickster's Shard into a unit with its own ward save?

No because they're not Savages he not next to general or Shaman and it only affects 3 Boyz. If I ran SOBU then it would be a pain but its quite manageable.

[Ratvan]

Unfortunately I cannot seem to find the notes that I took during the games to write the battle reports, I had an issue with my laptop and have had to re install all of my programmes and files (damn technology). Anyways I have decided that for the next tournament (and the fact I just can't seem to bring myself to paint my High Elves) I would use a little more of my Greenskin Collection.

Either List A

Orc Warboss - 330 pts
Wyvern, Sword of Striking, Charmed Shield, Talisman of Endurance, Potion of Foolhardiness

Goblin Great Shaman - 220 pts
Level 4, Earthing Rod, Opal Amulet

Night Goblin Big Boss - 59 pts
Battle Standard Bearer, Light Armour, Shield

Goblin Big Boss - 67 pts
Light Armour, Giant Spider, Tormentor Sword, Enchanted Shield, Dragonbane Gem

Orc Big Boss - 105 pts
War Boar, Great Weapon, Dragonhelm, Potion of Toughness

5 Spider Riders - 70 pts
Spear & Short Bow

5 Spider Riders - 70 pts
Spear & Short Bow

23 Goblins - 130 pts
Short Bow, Shield, Musician, Standard Bearer, 3 Nasty Skulkers

35 Orc Big 'Uns - 335 pts
Shield, Musician, Standard Bearer

Squig Herd - 210 pts
21 Night Goblin Squigs, 14 Night Goblins

6 Trolls - 210 pts

Troll - 35 pts

Arachnarok Spider - 290 pts

Giant - 200 pts

Mangler Squig - 65 pts

Or List B

Goblin Warboss – 123 pts
Giant Spider, Light Armour, Shield, Talisman of Endurance

Goblin Great Shaman – 475 pts
Level 3, Lore of da Little Waaagh, Arachnarok Spider, Catchweb Spidershrine

Goblin Big Boss – 96 pts
Giant Spider, Light Armour, Shield, Short Bow, Battle Standard Bearer, Standard of Discipline

Goblin Big Boss – 87 pts
Giant Spider, Light Armour, Enchanted Shield, The Terrifying Mask of Eee!, Tormentor Sword

Goblin Big Boss – 89 pts
Giant Spider, Light Armour, Shield, Obsidian Amulet, Warrior Bane

Goblin Shaman – 112 pts
Giant Wolf, Level 1, Lore of da Little Waaagh, Obsidian Lodestone

Goblin Shaman – 92 pts
Giant Wolf, Level 1, Lore of da Little Waaagh, Dispel Scroll

12 Forest Goblin Spider Riders – 198 pts
Spears & Short Bows, Full Command

12 Forest Goblin Spider Riders – 198 pts
Spears & Short Bows, Full Command

5 Forest Goblin Spider Riders – 70 pts
Spears and Short Bows

5 Forest Goblin Spider Riders – 70 pts
Spears and Short Bows

2 Trolls – 70 pts

2 Trolls – 70 pts

Arachnarok Spider – 290 pts

Arachnarok Spider – 290 pts

[Ratvan]

So Yesterday I popped down to the LGC for a pick up and play game, we have a nice mix of players looking for a fun friendly game or those who are looking at tweaking and testing their tournament forces, I encountered an Empire General of the latter description.

Orc Warboss -Wyvern, Sword of Striking, Charmed Shield, Talisman of Endurance
Goblin Great Shaman - Level 4, Earthing Rod, Opal Amulet
Night Goblin Big Boss - Battle Standard Bearer, Light Armour, Shield
Goblin Big Boss - Light Armour, Giant Spider, Tormentor Sword, Enchanted Shield, Dragonbane Gem
Orc Big Boss - War Boar, Great Weapon, Dragonhelm, Potion of Toughness
5 Spider Riders - Spear & Short Bow
5 Spider Riders - Spear & Short Bow
25 Goblins - Short Bow, Shield, Musician, Standard Bearer, 3 Nasty Skulkers
35 Orc Big 'Uns - Shield, Musician, Standard Bearer
Squig Herd - 21 Night Goblin Squigs, 14 Night Goblins
6 Trolls
Troll
Arachnarok Spider
Giant
Mangler Squig

The Empire

Arch Lector - War Altar of Sigmar, Charmed Shield, Talisman of Preservation
Wizard Lord - Level 4, Book of Ashur, Talisman of Endurance
Captain of the Empire - Battle Standard Bearer, Full Plate Armour, Shield, Biting Blade, Helm of the Skavenslayer, Dawnstone
38 Spearmen - Full Command
15 [Det] Halberdiers
15 [Det] Halberdiers
15 Archers - Musician, Champion
5 [Det] Archers
5 [Det] Archers
30 Greatswords - Musician, Standard Bearer, Standard of Discipline
5 Pistoliers - Musician
5 Pistoliers - Musician
Great Cannon
Great Cannon
Helblaster Volley Gun
Celestial Hurricanum

Initially I wished that I hadn't taken my Wyvern Warboss but hey it'll be a learning curve.

Orc and Goblin Spells
Sneaky Stabbin, Gift of the Spider God, Itchy Nuisance, Night Shroud

Empire Spells
Iceshard Blizzard, Harmonic Convergence, Curse of the Midnight Wind, Urannon's Thunderbolt

Deployment (after Vanguard moves)



Much in line with Swordmaster's thread, I would like thoughts predictions and comments please? No takers? Well on with the game then

Orcs and Goblins Turn 1



The Battleline shuffles forwards, only the flanks move forward at speed. The left most Spider Riders charge the Pistoliers sheltering in the shadow of the Ruined fort and the Giant marches forwards. On the right the Mangler bounds forwards 8" and both mounted Hero's manoeuvre around the woods towards the second unit of Pistoliers. the Winds of magic blew weak and I had enough dice
to cast Itchy Nuisance on the unit of Archers containing the Level 4 reducing the movement to 1" and Initiative to 1, as an added bonus the Shaman also turned one of my opponents Dispel Dice into a Power Dice and I tried a cheeky Sneaky Stabbin on the Engaged Spider Riders but failed (Rolled a 1). Shooting was rather uneventful, two Pistoliers on the right fell to Goblin Barbs from the Spider Riders. In the combat on the left one of the Spider Riders was shot from his gribbly on the charge and another was claimed in combat, the Goblins in return (mostly spiders) dragged down 2 of the Pistoliers and the combat remained locked with the Giant bearing down on the Flank.

Empire Turn 1.



With the large Skirmishing unit of Archers limping forwards 2" a lot of my opponent's units either raced ahead or manoeuvred to keep everything within bubble range. Not much happens in the magic phase (1,1) and I channel the attempt at casting 5++ was dispelled. The Pistoliers on my right shoot the Mangler and leave it on a single wound. One cannon takes aim at the Arachnarok in the woods but shatters a nearby tree. The Second cannon takes two wounds off a troll. The Pistoliers on my left and the goblins both fail to hit each other and the combat is tied.

Orcs and Goblins Turn 2



All the units pass the Animosity tests, however the unit of Trolls fail stupidity and race forwards 9", The rest of my battle line moves forwards to keep some form of coherency. The Giant marches past the combat in an attempt to get around the fort in the corner.
The two mounted big bosses move to threaten the cannon furthest on my right flank. The Mangler bounces through the Pistoliers and splatters the unit. Magic phase I manage to force through a Sneaky Stabbin on my Spider Riders fighting the Pistoliers, Itchy Nuisance is again attempted on the large unit of skirmishing archers but is dispelled, I however kept a single dice back and squeezed in Gift of the Spider God on my Spider Riders on my right. The poisoned Spider Riders shoot at the Archers before them and
manage to kill 2. The Spider Riders finally overcome the Pistoliers for a loss of one, the single remaining Pistolier flee's and runs right into the Giant and promptly fails the dangerous terrain test.

Empire Turn 2



My opponent moves his Battle line forwards, charging with two units of archers against the Spider Riders holding in the woods and the trolls in the open. My opponent attempts to get flaming attacks on the archer unit attacking the Trolls but was dispelled, the Wizard Lord casts Ichshard Blizzard on the Squig Herd and attempts to cast Curse of the Midnight Wind on the trolls but again was dispelled. The units of archers fire on the Squig Herd killing 3 handlers and the larger unit fires on the Big 'Uns killing one. The Goblin Big Boss loses a wound to the Cannon's grapeshot as my opponent attempts to clear his artillery. The other Cannon shooting for my Warboss over shoots and splats 5 goblins in the blast. In the woods I lose two Spider Riders but kill 5 of the archers, despite the loss the empire troops stay where they are. The Trolls obliterate the Archers but not before losing one of their number to their attacks.

Orcs and Goblins Turn 3



This is where I decide that my time is right to declare charges, The Spider Riders charge the Greatswords in the flank, the Squig Herd and the Big 'Uns charge the archer screens, the Warboss on charges the spearmen (clipping corner) calling a Waaagh! the Trolls charge the Halberdiers My two Solo big Bosses charge the Cannon and Hellblaster Volley gun (hopefully allowing my spider to come out and play) the Goblins move up to keep everything in BSB range and the Mangler bounds happily across to the centre (it is now really random movement). In the Magic Phase I get off the Sneaky Stabbin Spell on the Spider Riders in the flank of the Greatswords and everything else is dispelled. The Squig Herd and the Big Uns blow through the Empire Archer screen and overrun into the Greatswords, Halberdiers and Spearmen. The Wizard Lord someone survives the onslaught and flee's. The combination of the Squigs and the Spider Riders downs an impressive 8 Greatswords for the loss of the Spider Riders and a Squig, the Halberdiers claim another Squig while the Big Uns kill 5 Halberdiers and 3 Spearmen, the Warboss and Wyvern Slaughter another 6. The Trolls kill a total of 7 Halberdiers and lose another of their number. The Orc Big Boss leaves the Hellblaster on a Single Wound, as does the
Goblin Big Boss.

Empire turn 3



The Celestial Hurricanum and the Arch Lector charge the Big 'Uns and Trolls respectively, flaming attacks is attempted on himself and dispelled and 5++ makes it through on the Spearmen.The Combats continue with high losses on each side but no one willing to give ground (thankfully my BSB was nearby as the Squig Herd was wavering outside my Inspiring Presence range by 2") Meanwhile the Archers and the Wizard Lord continue their flight.

Orcs and Goblins Turn 4



The Giant charges into the rear of the Greatswords,the Mangler destorys itself on a tree (the same one that the cannon hit by all accounts) The Spider Riders charge teh Arh Lector and eveything moves up to threaten the Arch Lector/ The combats this turn turn my way with the Greatswords being annihilated by teh Squigs and Giant (who falls over and loses two wounds), the Halberdiers are finished off thanks to the Squig Herds and Big 'Uns. The Big Uns lose 3 moels to the Hurricanuma nd the Spearmen, teh Warboss and Wyvern kill another 8 Spearmen but they stuboornly hold. The Arch Lector takes two wounds and the other Halberdiers are destroyed one of the Trolls are taken down.

Empire Turn 4



The Wizard Lord rallies. The Hurricanum takes another 3 wounds from the Big 'Uns who lose 3 themselves, 5 Spearmen are slaughtered and the Warboss remains on a single wound. The Arch lector remains on a single wound after a brief battle.

Orcs and Goblins Turn 5



The Giant charges the Wizard Lord, the Squigs charge the Celestial Hurricanum and the Troll charges the Arch Lector. The Big 'Uns and the Squigs take down the Hurricanum with help from Sneaky Stabbin and overrun into the Spearmen the combination of Trolls and Spider Riders is too much for the Arch Lector who dies and the War Alter is reduced to a single wound. The Giant reaches down.....picks up the Wizard Lord and.....stuffs him down his Trousers!!!! (Finally got that result, I need a badge)


Result Massacre for Da Boyz!

[Ratvan]

Bump Battle is up

[RE.Lee]

That was an odd battle - everything just kind of hit each other in the middle and kept grinding and grinding... Stil congrats on the win, though

[Ratvan]

That was an odd battle - everything just kind of hit each other in the middle and kept grinding and grinding... Stil congrats on the win, though

Yeah it was about as fun to play as to type up (sarcasm), still its my one report a week so it'll do. Ideally the big bosses should have cleaned out the artillery the first combat phase allowing me to swing my battle line around with my Arachnarok and catch him between the two hills and the fort. He thought he could out grind me which turned out to be false, also had a perfect cannon shot to my giant which he didnt take. Plus he let the wrong spells through since I'm the first OnG player who likes da Little Waaagh! He has played

[Stormie]

Good to see and Orcy monster mash do well for once! 99% of battle reports featuring a Giant see them removed turn 2 at the latest, so this made a nice change.

Some very novice moves from the Empire there, like charging Trolls with skirmishers (also note the Trolls should go D6" on a failed stupidity test- looked like it didn't matter in this game). Lining up all those units for multiple charges on the exact same line was really silly as well, why would he do that?

[Jimmy]

Hey Ratvan

Always a pleasure to read your battle reports and more so because they’re greenskin ones! I like your list purely because I don’t think people really use monsters anymore and for good reason.

Very surprised to see no steam tank and no Demi’s either in your opponents list.

Turn 1 – Things seem to be going well. Not much else to say. Shame the Spiders didn’t break the Pistoliers so they could get into a sensational position over the terrain Turn 2.

Turn 2 – How did the trolls move 9” after failing stupidity? I thought it was just D6” forward? Not the case? Right and Left flank secured. Great job. I think your opponent missed an opportunity here to use the cannon on a better target than the incoming threat, it was going to die anyway so why waste your time on that? The spider or wyvern were looking mighty tempting here. Also charging your Trolls I’m stumped on. Could have re-directed them away with the Archers to avoid them getting into combat next turn.

Turn 3 – Big charge time with some good results.

Turn 4 – Good to get the Giant in however did you think about charging the fleeing wizard lord? Sure he would have ran towards the east however this would mean next turn he would be killed by something of yours almost guaranteed? Shame about the Mangler Squigs!

Great report – congrats on the victory.

Do you have a ‘normal’ 2400 point list you’re keen on Ratvan?

[Ratvan]

Not sure where I got 9" from, they actually moved 5". Speaking of trolls I may have another submission for the monthly painting challenge.

My opponent had not played competatively since the war wagon and hot pot days! He was slightly out of practise.

My "normal" list is either the first posted or the multiple Aracknarok list.

[Ratvan]

Have agreed a rematch with my previous opponent however I will be playing his list and he mine, he is a sound guy but doesn't really seem to grasp some key concepts of the game. I'll also be switching up the magic lore for heavens to something more in line with his armies load out. Initially thinking Death or Shadow.

@Jimmy I didn't charge the Wizard Lord initially as my opponent was using that space to store his casualties. Bad practice I know but was a friendly game and I let it slide. He was also a bad roller (as in the dice did more damage to my troops then his army).

I may have found a student

[de kaasboer]

Thanks for the report, was a good read

i agree that the battle itself didn't seem very interesting, with just 2 armies running at each other and shooting a bit. clearly you won the flanks though which gave you an edge (along with being mean and green )

i have to say i like that your list doesnt consist of all the usual suspects, also would really like to see you try out the goblin monstrous cavalry list or something similar

2 rules issues:
-you mention the squigs were out of inspiring presence range from the wyvern in empire turn 4, but your wyvern seems to be quite close. you know a general on a large target has his IP range increased by 6" right?

-your spider riders on the left seem to have vanguarded, which means they couldnt charge turn 1 (because you started)

again, thanks for the report, and keep up posting about the green mean machines

cheers,

J

[Ratvan]

Cheers J

My collection is approximately 6k (and legal) and has not a single savage orc or black orc. It's a poor tribe from the Massiv Orcal in Bretonnia (too cold for savages). I've run the spider list before and its a different army for sure, depends on terrain however. Thinking on taking it to the next tournament in Feb. Da Frostbite Goblins skuttle to war!

The Squigs were out of BSB range not general's range mix up on my part, I think I have worked out how to show characters in units on Battle Chronicler now so should be clearer in future reports.

In regards to vanguard, it was a failed animosity roll which turned out to be "get em" and was forced to charge. Not sure on ruling for that in tournament games will have to check

[Ratvan]

Reverse Fixture

Empire (me) versus Orcs and Goblins

Battle for the Pass

Empire Magic
Knowing full well how good Lore of Death is against Orcs and Goblins, I choose Lore of Shadow as this is fairly close to the Lore of Da Little Waaagh. After swapping out duplicates (and Mindrazor) I got
Miasma, Enfeebling, Withering and Pit of Shades

Orcs and Goblins Magic
My Opponent Rolled up
Sneaky Stabbin, Gift of the Spider God, Itchy Nuisance, Gork'll Fix It (lucky bugger)

So after deployment I needed a five or more to go first and promptly rolled a six.

Empire Turn 1



My Pistoliers are thrown down the flanks aiming towards the infield to allow cannon shots down the flanks, the archer screen marches forwards and spreads out covering as much of the Empire Combat troops as possible. Said Combat troops and buff mobiles march up keeping a stead battleline hoping to make the pinch in the table before the Orcs and Goblins to use the terrain to my advantage. With not a whole lot in range I half attempt to throw enfeebling on one unit of spider riders which is dispelled with dice and withering on the other, again this is dispelled. In the shooting phase the cannon on the left opens up on the Giant dealing an impressive 4 wounds, leaving the beast with 2. The Mangler Squig was the other target and was taken out with consummate ease (6 wounds).

Orcs and Goblins Turn 1



Animosity is passed with no failures, everything moves forward at full speed. The magic phase passes with not a lot of impact, Itchy Nuisance is attempted on the unit of Archers containing the Wizard Lord (A1 by the woods)

Empire Turn 2



The Archer screen continues to march up the board at full speed, the combat troops behind move forward more slowly allowing a space to build between them and the archers. I manage to get off a boosted Enfeebling on the Enemy general in preparation for my shooting phase as I can draw a line to him with both Cannons, Shooting phase I decide to open fire on the Spider Riders in the Tower and Goblin Big Boss in the Open with both the Pistoliers, I manage to down the Big Boss and cause 2 Spider Riders to perish. My left cannon smashes the lone troll (well positioned) and takes it out of the game, the cannon on the right smashes into the Warboss which uses up the Magic Shield.

Orcs and Goblins Turn 2



Everything moves up again after passing all Animosity tests (this is getting suspicious) The Arachnarok (against my advice) moves into the Tower with the Spider Riders. The Squigs break off to move right around the woods. Magic Phase is poor and the Gift of the Spider God is cast on the Spider Riders in the tower. In teh shooting phase both spider rider unit open fire on the pistoliers and manage to take one down each.

Empire Turn 3



I declare a charge with the Pistoliers on the left and achieve a flank charge against the Orc Big Boss, the Pistoliers on the right moves to the front of the Squig Herd, the Archer screen with the exception of the unit containing the Wizard Lord marches forward further widening the gap between them and the following combat troops. The Combat troops themselves shuffle into a new line and manage to manoeuvre around the woods on my right flank. Enfeebling is cast on the Squig Herd, and Miasma is cast on the Trolls reducing their movement to 3" in the Shooting phase both cannons open fire on the Tower and do an impressive 5 wounds to the Arachnarok and destroy the unit of Spider Riders in the process. The Pistoliers do a wound to the Orc Big Boss who in return smash one of the Aristocrats from his saddle, neither side however wish to leave the first combat of the game.

Orcs and Goblins Turn 3



The Squig Herd and the Arachnarok declare charges against the Pistoliers and Archers respectively. The archers flee and escape while the Pistoliers gun down two Squigs and the charge fails. The Giant makes it through the gap between the Tower and the Wood before the Trolls move in and the Big 'Uns take place behind them, the Goblins move towards the wood in an effort to preserve points and keep the BSB out of harms way. The Orc Big Boss again takes a wound for the loss of another pistolier.

Empire Turn 4



The Archers rally, I move my units up completing my battle line in preparation of the end game charges and combat. Magic is poor again. In the shooting phase the Cannons finish off the Wyvern and the Arachnarok spider, the Archers pepper the Giant with arrows and finally feel the beast, however it crushes an archer in its fall.

Orcs and Goblins Turn 4



The Warboss joins the Big 'Uns, Spider Riders charge the Archers containing the Wizard Lord, the Pistoliers are charged by the Squig Herd and the Trolls charge the archers who flee and the Trolls impact on the Halberdiers. Itchy Nuisance is attempted on the Halberdiers but is dispelled with dice. The Goblins shoot and kill two Archers.In the Combat with the Trolls the Halberdiers manage to down one of the beasts before 5 of them are dispatched, they unit however manages to hold. The Spider Riders are unable to combat the Wizard Lord but manage to kill 3 Archers for the loss of two of their own. The Squig Herd takes another two wounds to the Pistoliers before leaving one remaining who flee's the table, the Squigs follow him from the table.

Empire Turn 5



The Archers continue to flee, on my left I move the archers up towards the tower, the second detachment of Halberdiers moves to the Trolls Flanks. The Pistoliers and the Greatswords charge the Big 'Uns and the small unit of archers charge the remaining Spider Riders in an attempt to free the Wizard Lord. The Arch Lector and Celestial Hurricanum move into position to buff all combats within range. The Arch Lector manages to get Flaming attacks onto the Halberdiers fighting the trolls and a ward save onto the Greatswords. In the shooting phase both cannons open fire on the Goblins in the woods killing a combination of 6 models. The Pistoliers down the Orc Warboss in a flurry of shots and hooves, I lose two Greatswords but cleave through 5 Big 'Uns in return, Thanks to the BSB the Orcs hold. The Halberdiers kill another Troll and three of them die to return attacks. The Spider Riders are finally dispatched with no loss to the Empire Troops.

Orcs and Goblins Turn 5



The Squig Herd re appears on my right flank, Goblins charge the Greatswords and also come into contact with the Archers. The Pistoliers down another two Big Uns the Greatswords another 5. I lose two Greatswords in the combat. The Archers are wiped out but not before the Shaman is taken down. The Trolls finish off the Halberdiers after losing one of their own again and faced with a flank charge of Halberdiers or Spearmen decide to not move and allow their flank to the Halberdiers.

Empire Turn 6

The Archers rally, The Wizard Lord leaves the Archers prior to their charge on the Goblins. The Spearmen and Halberdiers charge the Trolls. Wizard Lord Miasma's the Squig Herds movement to 2", Arch Lector grants flaming attacks on the Hlaberdiers and the unit leaves a single troll with 1 wound remaining. I lose my Pistoliers, two Greatswords and 3 Archers for 7 Big Uns and 6 Goblins.

Orcs and Goblins Turn 6

Squig Herds charge Archers but cannot quite make the distance to the Wizard Lord (thankfully) 5 Big Uns and 5 Goblins are killed for the loss of 3 Greatswords. Remaining troll is butchered.



Victory Points

Empire - 1757 Points

OnG - 385 Points