Tactics > The Orc and Goblin Army: A Tactical Study

by Mayne Thiele

"The only good stunty is a dead stunty, and the only thing better n' a dead stunty is a dyin' stunty who tells yer where ta find 'is mates." -Morglum Necksnapper

The Orc&Goblin army is, in my opinion, the best army to use in Warhammer. Not only is it the most fun to fight with, but the potential that is has (when used correctly) for complete and utter devastation of the enemy is massive. It can also be made into a very risky and unpredictable army very easily. But of course, that is usually the real fun in playing with them. The only problem with the greenskins is that you either win it big or loose really big. In this article I will endeavor to provide the reader with a complete listing and use of the troop types in the Orc&Goblin army and to also provide a few suggestions on their use and overall strategy of the army. By the way, most of my suggestions are for 2000 point, tournament sized armies.

Core Units:

As with any Warhammer army, the Greenskins have a few troop types or mobs that are especially suited to form the core of an army. These include the Boar Boyz, the Black Orcs, the Big 'Uns and Savage Orcs. Always make sure that you have one or two of these core units of around 20, beefed up to withstand the brunt of your enemy's army and to be able to inflict the most damage on the enemy's rank-and-file troops.

Boar Boyz:

These are possibly the best troop type in the army. Use a large block of eight to twelve in a 2000 point battle, more if in a larger battle. If you choose Savage Orc boar boyz, which really are the best, a shaman of at least champion level is highly reccomended. Not only will he increase your boyz' saving throws by one, and another one unmodified, but he will make the unit dead 'hard while benefiting from the mobile cover that the boyz will provide. Always give them the shields and the spears. If you put your general in this lot, you really don't need to worry about a leadership problem. Just make sure that he is a Black Orc or Savage. I would actually suggest putting a Black Orc big boss in this unit and saving your general for another. Not only is this less predictable, but you can outfit him with powerful magic items and use the unit as a fast assault unit that can target your enemy's unit with his general in it and take him out. For this purpose I reccommend items that will increase you strength dramatically.

Black Orcs:

It's troops like these that have made the Orc&Goblin army infamous. Not only do they have superior weapon skill, strength, and leadership than regular Orcs, but they are also immune to animosity! Use 'em. Their points cost can get fairly expensive (3 1/2 more points than the greener boyz), and this gets higher with the addition of equipment. Use a unit of no more than twenty, but include standard (of course) and give 'em two hand weapons if you want to murder rank-and-file troops, or double-handed weapons if you expect a heavily armorered foe. I prefer the former. This is the perfect unit to include your general equipped to kick ass in hand-to-hand. Just aim them toward the most formidable section of the enemy's line and let them do the dirty work. Give the general the Armour of Protection, a good sword that increases attacks (blade of leaping gold comes to mind), and your favorite magic item. Not only does all of this help to sell the use of the Black Orcs, but you can also buy them in plastics! Joy!

Big 'Uns:

These guys are really good for orcs. Use them in place of the regular Orc Boyz, but I wouldn't recommend them in a tournament army. They are really dirt cheap (-but don't tell the guys who write the rules). They're almost on-par with the black orcs except that they lack one in leadership, aren't always equiped with armor, and still suffer from animosity. Just make sure you give 'em a good big boss, a Black Orc if you got them in your army and are afraid of animosity. It sucks that they can't have two hand weapons, so I recommend the double-handers instead. These guys are good, but the crappiest core unit that is available to the Greenskin general. Also, it can get very expensive money-wise to buy even an average sized unit of these guys, seeing s how they are one of the only greenskin troops you can't buy in plastics.

Savage Orcs:

At first I wasn't a big fan of these guys, but I have come to realize their awesome potential. They are little better than the regular orc boyz except that they can skirmish (which you will learn is not very useful for these guys), have frenzy, and have the benefit of protective tattoos. They are of average points cost, 71/2, but if you include a standard, musician and shields (all of which they need), you can expect to start having to consolidate elsewheres in the army. Think about including a savage orc shaman in this group for the protective and magical reasons (4+save, 5+unmodified, and an extra magic card). Overall, I would take Black Orcs over these, but that's me. As a plus, the models of these guys and their tattoos are both superb.

Da Infantry Boyz:

The following troops are your standard orc&gobbo infantry types, most of them just being cannon-fodder. Even though most of them are dirt cheap, use them wisely. No matter how cheap troops are they still cost points, so try not to lose to many of them unless you are protecting a core unit or something more expensive.

Gobbo Wolfriders:

These guys are possibly the best infantry unit that you have in your army. In fact, they could even be considered a core unit, but I would hesitate to do that. Since they qualify as light calvary, they are incredibly fast and dirt cheap as far as points -($ is another matter). Arm 'em with spears and shields for the most effective results, and use them on the flanks of your army or to go after and tie up the your enemy's core unit. Even though they are only goblins, and can therefore inflict almost no damage to anything besides a puny 'uman, the wolves they ride can pack a surprising punch. A popular strategy for these boyz is to give them a gobbo big boss (dirt cheap at 33 points+boar), equip him with the Heart of Woe, and charge and challenge the most powerful-looking enemy character on the table. I find that this is pretty cheesy, but hey, you gotta do what ya gotta do to win. Another use of these guys is to bo after the enemy's war machines, which usually hide behind their lines and are hard to get to by only the fastest troops.

Spider Riders:

These guys are not that great at all. They basically are meant to perform the same tasks as the wolfriders except that they are slower, specialize in rougher terrains (and when are you ever realistically going to play on that), and are very hard to find. Of course, they are excellent in siege games, having the ability to scale walls without a penaltyl. The models are pretty crappy, they are very $ expensive, and the jobs of the troops can be better done elsewhere- leave 'em in the forest.

Dem Orc Boyz:

These are the standard orc Boyz. Very average. They are the equivalent of regular humans in say a Brettonian army. Use them to provide strong flank defense for one of your slower core units. They usually don't need anything more than a regular boss, just keep them close to your general. I would definitely reccommend giving them two hand weapons and possibly light armor. As for all of the others, include a standard and musician. One plus for these guys is the realease of the new plastics boxed set, which when assembled and put together looks very impressive, and is pretty darn cheap!

Da Arrer Boyz:

The bow wielding tyes of these guys are pitiful. They are expensive, have only a decent range, and have a bowskill no better than a gobbo. Forget em. Instead, go for the crossbow boyz if you can find them. The are not in porduction currently, so it might be hard. Check on the giant internet auction house everyone seems to be talking about.... For only a point more you can give them a strength of 4 when they hit and an armor modifier. These are really the only archers that you should even attempt to hit anything with. Try to give them a magic item that will increase their chances of finding their targets. Always put them on hills if you can (of course), and forget about the two ranks thing, it just doesn't allow enough to fire at a target.

Those Little Snot-Nosed Goblins:

Forest Goblins:

Okay, am I missing something here? What's the point in having another race of gobbos that don't look any cooler than the rest, and are completely identical!? This is just plain old dumb. Use Night Gobbos instead. (add.- of course you can have the spider banner if you have them,....duh!)

Goblins:

Yeah, your standard cannon-fodder. That's about all you can use them for too. Just bring lots of them, and organize them into units of at least 30 or so. I always use the arrer boyz - don't get me wrong, they can't hit a giant outside of three feet, but I always did enjoy having something to do during the shooting phase. Use 'em to attract attention away from your core units, provide flank guard, or to use as a dirt cheap interceptor of those fast-attack guys aiming for your core units. Like I said, they're cannon-fodder, so don't worry about giving them shields or spears, just bows. Give a big boss; either with a really good leadership or keep them near your general. I have actually tried putting a Black Orc Boss in one of these units before. Not only did he remove the risk of animosity, but he managed to attract alot more attention to the unit away from my core. Goblins are the most common plastic figures to find, get em from the older Warhammer game boxed set (around sixty of them I think) or from one of the new boxed regiments. (may I add that these new regiments really look kick-ass).

Night Gobbos:

These are the best of the little greenies. Use them over the others any time you can. The difference is that you can use FANATICS! That alone is reason enough to take them, but besides that you can access many cool magic items for them and there are tons of the models available. These are the support troops you should think of. Note: A simple but effective strategy for using goblins is to make the ranks very deep, and as narrow as possible. This can somtimes even be exaggerated as much as 4 by 8 or so. This allows for the maximum rank bonus (+4, but you have to have at least four in a rank.), while not letting your opponent kill more than about three gobbos per turn (remember that hits inflicted by regular rank-and-file troops do not carry over to the next ranks). This means that you will always have a combat bonus of +5 for the ranks and standard, and are pretty unlikely to lose a combat. This fulfills the gobbos' sole purpose of tying up the enemy's troops.

Sguig Hunters:

These guys are rarely ever used, for several reasons. First, they are very vulnerable to missle fire. The second is that they need to be near your general or else they will most certainly turn tail and run when anything develops. It's stupid to put a boss with them, he would just be wasted. Instead, use them on the flanks of your army, where their random movement will not hinder your troops. The squigs themselves are pretty good, having a strength of 5, WS of 4, and 2 attacks for only 20 points,

and can be a thorn in your opponent's side if they become out of control near his lines. However, they tie up too many points in so few, random, and unprotected models that overall I would not recommend using them.

Da Wackers and Sackers:

Netters and Clubbers. These guys have some real hidden potential. First of all, you need to make sure that you charge with them, because even with an initiative of 3 - (+1 because of their nets) - they will rarely ever attack first. They are dirt cheap for the potential they provide at only 3 1/2 points. The best strategy for these guys, although it may be just a bit cheesy,.... well, okay, very cheesy, is to take all nettas (at least 11 or so) and only one big boss, who will serve as the unit's clubba. Give the boss some powerful sword and something that will increase his strength dramatically (i.e. potion of strength and ogre blade), and since he is the only clubber in the unit, all hits will use his strength and other stats... hehehe. You can use theis strategy to take out some pretty powerful warriors. Also, enemies netted cannot fight that turn, so you have the potential with these guys to tie up a powerful unit. Use them for this and this alone.

Supporting Troops and Warmachines:

Squigg Hoppers:

Be wary of these guys. Even though everyone seems to thinks that they're the most entertaining part of the Greenskin army, they are frightningly unreliable. They usually end up not hitting much more than a crappy enemy unit, if not your own. The other downside is that, at 25 points a model, they can be prohibitavely expensive. You can sometimes get lucky with these guys and get several of them to bounce around on top of an enemy unit, but you shouldn't count on it happening that often. Always make sure that you target the largest enemy unit with them. I would recommend using the points elsewheres however.

Snotlings:

The puniest guys in the Warhmmer world, yet they seem to be able to serve their purpose admirably. They are the perfect example of a troop type that was made for tying up units of the enemy. Use 'em for this job. They're very inexpensive for only 15 points per base, as well as having three wounds; which can make a fairly large group of them hold up pretty well against anything but your opponent's most powerful unit. Place them wherever you think that your opponent will attack En Masse and hope that they will hold up to the charge. Also, keep them closest to a unit that is very unlikely to break, possibly even your core unit if you have a small army. An ideal unit to provide the "motivation" for the snots is a unit of Savage Orcs on foot. Not only will they be able to keep up with the Boyz, but whenever they become frenzied, the snots will too. Note: A good place to find models of snots without having to pay for the expensive metal ones are in the new Night Goblin Regiment, the spares from any pump wagons that you have purchased, and from the Warhammer Quest game. Keep 'em fighting and they may even become terrifying gobbos someday!!