Editing Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Ogre Kingdoms (section)

==Unit Analysis==
===Lords & Heroes===
====Named Characters====
'''Note:''' Under the current edition, named characters tend to be overpriced; you can pretty easily emulate most named characters from scratch and save yourself some points. That said, a few named characters do have abilities and wargear or wargear combos unique to them, so if you absolutely need to have them, go ahead. Just make sure you're really getting your points worth.
* '''Greasus Goldtooth:''' Ehhhh, 545 points (over twice of a vanilla Tyrant, or well over 200 points more than a fully kitted out Tyrant) for same stats with 1 extra toughness and wound. Oh and he only has 3 Attacks, I1 and M4, which makes him utterly useless against anything other than multi-wound models, he slows down whatever he joins, and is likely to get hurt or even killed before he can strike back (S10 or no S10). He has a couple nifty abilities, but they're not game-changing (even though armies like Vampire Counts and Daemons are now affected Everybody Has Their Price, which is lulzy from a fluff perspective) since they either don't do enough to warrant the point sink, or aren't suited for his role (for example the rest of your army will just outrun his combat res bubble). Bring a Tyrant, or replace him with a Stonehorn and Thundertusk.
::Do note that if you still intend to use him anyway, give him Toothcracker the second it looks like he's going to enter combat and he'll surprise you, so long as you don't pit him against models that auto-wound or have the multiple wounds rule (unless they wound him on 5's/6's already and/or lack a Ward save). With Toothcracker he can take on Archaon in a dual ''and'' come out on top (even if Archaon rides his horsey, which makes him cost a lot more than Goldtooth) and despite what happens in the fluff, he'll kill Grimgor the Incarnate of Beasts in only 3 rounds (or Tyrion's Incarnate version in 5). Even without Toothcracker his sheer Toughness and Wounds counts allow him to take on some heavy beatsticks, for example (on average) he '''can and will'' kill all non-End Times Vampire Lords, all generic Chaos Lords (and nearly all of the named ones), and even standard Grimgor (a shame the Lore of Beasts chose the more popular character). Of course he still costs a shitload more than all of those, but that's just the price you pay for seeing the look on your opponent's face when this fat bastard flattens some of the most infamous close combat monsters in the game, presumably after making them stupid.
::If you're lucky enough to get it, put Savage Beast of Horros on him along with Toothcracker. If you can manage this then he's easily one of the best close combat Lords in the game, able to take on and beat even Archaon Everchosen (the End Times version). It's not something you should be counting on but if you got it, why not use it.
* '''Skrag the Slaughterer:''' Not...terrible, but specific and limited. He costs 140 points more than a level 4 Slaughtermaster, has an extra hand weapon, frenzy and killing blow for those points, in addition to extra WS, S, and T. In order to really get mileage out of his abilities however, you need to take Gorgers (and why would you want to do that?) or immediately get him in combat. His statline is brutal, but so are his points and you're going to want him to kill a lot to make up the difference when you could've just gone with the cheaper Lvl 4 Slaughtermaster.
* '''Golgfag Maneater:''' Again, a tiny bit too expensive, but can be fun. Has slightly better stats than a Bruiser (BS, I and A) for a higher points cost. Easy Come, Easy Go can grab you some nice items but can also go really wrong. His 6+ armor without magic armor is rather pathetic, and Stubborn and Vanguard aren't the best choices for Maneaters if you want to grab some (Golgfag's maneaters are not mandatory, you can take normal maneaters with whatever rules you want). Take him for fun, but leave him out of competitive lists.
* '''Bragg the Gutsman:''' No, just no. Twice as much as a vanilla Bruiser for ONE higher Strength. Light Armor, T5 and I3 means he's pretty easy to kill before he gets to strike. Oh by the way, that Heroic Killing Blow ONLY works in a challenge, so forget using him to hunt monsters. Bring a bruiser, you'll get more mileage.

====Generic Characters====
'''Note:''' While named characters are judged against their generic counterparts, generic characters are examined based on their role in your army.

* '''Tyrant:''' Your combat lord. A little overpriced, but can be good if kitted out right. He can be a hard to crack combat lord when given the right equipment, and his 5 S5 attacks can be just the boost you need to win combat. Unfortunately he's competing for Lord Points with Slaughtermaster, which has MUCH more bang for your buck, especially since you no longer need to take a Tyrant to take Slaughtermaster. Can be useful in larger points games, but a fully kitted out lord costs over 300 points, so be careful not to waste him by throwing him into fights he can't win (no matter what the fluff tells you, a Tyrant cannot deal with a Bloodthirster alone).
* '''Slaughtermaster:''' Oh big daddy YES. Your lord level wizard, and he's quite capable of defending himself if the enemy reaches (he's not as tough as a tyrant, but he's got a better stat line than a number of dedicated fighting lords). The Lore of the Great Maw is a fantastic lore, especially for a tightly packed line and the Lore Attribute means that these guys can sit there and heal themselves over and over (while getting a 5+ total boost). A single one of these can be all you need to turn the game, especially in a 2K game. Also never put the Hellheart on this guy, its a defensive magic item so put it on a Hero caster.  Keep in mind it's technically allowed for you to take Magic Armour, due to the fact that they can take Ironfists. This is confirmed in the FAQ, but discouraged (do it anyway). Give him Grut's Sickle and the Armour of Destiny, or Fencer's Blades and the Glittering Scales (to make him only be hit on a 6+ by most troops). Kitted up right this guy can take the same beating that would destroy a small unit and walk away barely scathed, even before we consider he can cast Regeneration on himself, turning him into an absolute rape train with no brakes. Only thing to watch out for is anyone that strike first with a shitload of Strength 5+ attacks.
** '''NOTE:''' Even though it's not listed in the book, Slaughtermasters can also take a Great Weapon for 10 points. Don't bother, just pony up the points for a magic weapon instead.
* '''Bruiser:''' The workaday combat hero of the Ogre Kingdoms army. Has a statline more in line with most Lord Choices and only costs 105 points Vanilla. Useful as a beat stick in big units, and a BSB certainly helps in a pinch. Cheap and effective, what more can you ask for?
* '''Hunter:''' 25 points more than a Bruiser, for 1 higher BS and Ld (but he can't be the general) and has some nifty choices, but he can never join non-Sabertusk units. Can also take a Stonehorn as a mount which, along with a Harpoon Launcher, is probably the best choice for him as it lets you deal with enemies on the move. Not the greatest choice in general, but can be fun and useful under the right circumstances. Also remember that even though he can't use Hold Your Ground when he joins a unit of Sabretusks, he can use it when he's on his own or on a Stonehorn.
* '''Butcher:''' Not quite as useful as a Slaughtermaster, but costs less than half the points, so there you are. Can be useful to make sure you get all the Spells in the Lore of the Great Maw, or alternatively can be used as a pretty brutal damage based caster with Lore of Death, or a specialty augmenter with Lore of Beasts. He can also take Lore of Heavens for its awesome signature spell or you can try for the comet. Can take the Hellheart or Dispel Scroll, if you want to save your Slaughtermaster's Arcane Item for something else. You will always want to do this.
* '''Firebelly:''' An interesting hero to say the least. These guys are hero level wizards (their base statline are the same as a butcher's) that specialize in the Lore of Fire and killing stuff with fire in other ways. Pretty much a must have for any Ogre Kingdom armies! The ubiquity of Regeneration means that a lad with Flaming Attacks is always welcome, and the Lore of Fire is pretty decent. The fact that he has a S4 Breath Weapon (Breath Weapons, for context, can turn an entire combat on their own) means that he makes a good mainline unit supporter and he's invaluable if you find yourself facing Hordes or Ethereal units.

===Core Units===
* '''Ogres:''' The core of any Ogre Kingdoms army, and well worth the points spent on them. In smaller points games, take a unit of 5 and stick a hero/lord (usually a Butcher/Slaughtermaster) in them to make the most out of them (and to make sure you get an extra rank). In a bigger game, take a unit of 17 and throw a BSB/Slaughtermaster in there to take them in Horde Formation. A unit of 17 with Full Command and Ironfists costs 574 points and can run roughshod over the enemy's line all on its own. Watch your opponent quiver when you tell him that your horde gets a total of 52 attacks, not including Stomp, Impact hits (which could be up to 6xD3 S6 hits), and whatever your hero has. A great choice no matter what. if someone says "Bull" they're talking about these fuckers.
* '''Ironguts:''' 13 points more than an Ogre for 1 higher LD, 1 higher Armor (which the Ogres can achieve with Ironfists, and get a parry save in the deal too), Great Weapons and the option to take a Magic Standard. Unfortunately since Heavy Cavalry fell out of favor in 8th Edition, their primary job as Heavy Cavalry hunters is somewhat neutered. Still, units of 6 are great at charging small to mid-sized infantry units (especially if they're heavily armored) and make most large monsters piss themselves, it's not unheard of for units of 6 to 1-round Terrorgheists if they pass their fear tests. Not as good as Bulls, but still a solid choice and the Magic Standard can do amazing things (Try the Dragonhide Banner). 
* '''Gnoblars:''' The odd man out in an Ogre Kingdoms army, as you can take a full 10 man unit for less than the cost of a single Ogre. As it stands, they're a good enough mob/counter charge unit and if you can hit the enemy on the flank with them, they do a good job of disrupting. Also, for 25 points more (the cost of 10 Gnoblars) you can take Gnoblar Trappers as an Upgrade. This pretty much prevents ANY enemy unit from wanting to charge them, as it makes the enemy take a dangerous terrain test for each model in the unit and turns them into a brilliant anti-horde unit (chances are they are bound to fail at least ten in a unit of fifty). 
** Do note that most players will be taking steps to counter your ogre placement since you'll usually have few units compared to them. If you concede the +1 bonus to the roll for first turn you can take small units of Gnoblars to force your opponent to deploy their units first, from here you can put down your Ogres to make sure they aren't getting screwed before the game even started.
** Fun Fact - In 2400 points, you can fit 220 Gnoblars. This unit (with Full Command & Trappers) costs exactly 600pts.

===Special Units===
* '''Leadbelchers:''' Same stats as a Bull (except with +1BS), same cost as an Irongut for a range 24, D6 shots per model, S4, armor piercing ranged weapon, with no penalties for Moving and Shooting (take a mandatory Bellower for swift reforms to make the most out of this) or Multiple Shots. Ho. Ly. Shit. These guys are several different forms of brutal and a unit of 6 can easily hold down a flank all on it's own. Alternatively, throw them into the center of the lines and have them soften up a unit and/or monster you need dead. No Ogre Kingdoms army is complete without a unit of these lads.
* '''Maneaters:''' There are several different makeups for this unit, but on a whole they're a rock solid and fairly inexpensive unit (down to 50 points from 80 last edition without a single drop in stats). Several common ideas for special rules are presented below, but most combos can work on one level or another. Just don't forget to give them heavy armor and remember if you're stuck, Stubborn is always a good choice.
** ''Classic:'' Immune to Psychology and Stubborn. Stubborn is always a good choice, but the weakness of Terror and Fear under the current edition makes ItP pretty much worthless.
** ''Runners:'' Swiftstride and Strider. Can be fun, especially with great weapons, allowing them to intercept a unit you need dead. Drop them on the flank and have them go diving through terrain to hit the enemy where it hurts.
** ''Snipers:'' Sniper and Poisoned Attacks, with Brace of Handguns. This one is especially nasty against Vampire Counts/Tomb Kings where killing their general can really hurt. Don't spend too much on this unit though, as they're only really useful at killing heroes.
** ''Trolling:'' Scouts and either Strider, Swiftstride or Stubborn. Not a great choice, but really lulzy (SCOUTING OGRES), especially against Dwarfs and armies that thrive on units with lots of ranged weapons and war machines. 
** ''Bland:'' Stubborn and either Strider or Swiftstride. The best overall and therefore blandest choice but not a bad one. Swiftstride has some nice synergy with the Ogre Charge rule.
* '''Sabertusk Pack:''' These little kitties are absolutely fantastic. They have 2 wounds, 3 attacks and M8 at 21 points a pop. Their pathetic LD4 means that if they even have to take the tiniest LD test, they're running for the hills, and the only way to boost it is to send a Hunter with them (which you should never do). On the other hand they can be taken in units of 1, (which is how they should always be taken to prevent normal panic checks).  Three units of 1 can perform a myriad of tasks such as:  wizard/character assassination (as long as they are lower toughness and lightly armored) war machine hunting, charging fleeing units, redirecting/flee baiting, hatred/frenzied unit baiting (having to overrun can be a bitch), general annoyance(causing march tests) etc. etc. Use them ruthlessly. Just be aware that unlike gnoblars, these guys being destroyed '''will''' cause your other units to panic. So you want to avoid placing them between units ready to fling them out in front, because if your opponent gets the first turn and snipes the cats, you're setting yourself up for a bad time. 
* '''Yhetees:''' What a disappointment. They cost 1 point more than an Irongut or Leadbelcher and make up for it by being much worse. No impact hits, no save, T4 and flammable means that these guys go down faster than almost any other unit in the Ogre Kingdoms army. They have slightly higher Initiative than most units, but it doesn't mean a lot. They used to have enemy units be -1 to hit them, but now they're -1 WS, which on a WS3 unit is not the same thing at all. They're only really useful against Vampire Counts, when you know you're going to be facing a lot of Spirit Enemies, but other than that they're not particularly useful (and even a Firebelly could probably do that just as well while covering other bases as well). Do note that if an enemy unit fails their fear check the -1WS (which is not limited to the usual minimum of 1 rule) means they cannot attack the Yhetees and the Yhetees hit automatically. Be sure to remember that when playing against Vampire Counts, since zombies have WS 1 standard, though they should be used to threaten flanks and hunt low Ld units (if you don't pass on them, which in a competitive list you should). If you are taking them, at least try to give them Regeneration, at least then they'll be able to cause quite a bit of damage and maybe earn their points back.
* '''Mournfang Cavalry:''' These are what Chaos Knights have nightmares about. With 3 S4 and 4 S5 attacks each, plus d3 S5 impact hits and a S5 stomp PER MODEL, these guys can devastate entire units on their own. Give them Heavy Armor and Ironfists and watch everything your opponent has and more just bounce off them. Give them great weapons and see them DESTROY pretty much everything. Definitely worth an investment, just keep them away from Cannons and everything else that ignores armour (and make sure to guard your flanks!).
* '''Gorgers:''' Not even remotely worth it. 90 points for a single model that doesn't even show up until turn 2 (at the earliest) and can't charge until everyone's had a turn to react to it being there (and the surprise is kind of their point). If it came with the rest of the army then maybe it could hold up a unit for a couple turns (unbreakable is nice) but as is? No, anything else would be a better points investment.

===Rare Units===
* '''Scraplauncher:''' A solid choice when taken on it's own merits, but loses out a lot when compared to the Ironblaster, aside from cost as it is cheaper than any other rare choice in the Ogre Kingdom book. If you are going to use it you might as well fire it into infantry blocks while maneuvering it for a flank charge against something that can possibly hurt it but isn't likely to kill it (ie cavalry, small units of S3 or other such units). Can also do in a pinch to run over skirmishers that have gotten too close since D6 S5 Attacks followed by 3 S5 Attacks are likely to end them.
* '''Ironblaster:''' It's a MOVING CANNON. A. Moving. Cannon. It's not even that expensive for the book and it usually gets a fairly large bounce (due to rolling 2 artillery die for the bounce and choosing the largest) sure some of the misfires hurt, but not as much as say the Hellcannon and it does absurd damage to whatever it looks at. It can even get into combat if pressed, highly recommended.
* '''Giant:''' It's a Giant. What can we say? You know it and love it. LD10 Stubborn monsters are always nice. It's also worth pointing out that ALL of it's 'Pick Up And...' results end in death for the picked up model. Giants are THE monsterkiller, with relative ease they can fell a star dragon. That being said, they're sadly not worth it in general lists as with no armor and with an abundance of S5 around in 8th they can drop dead fast.  Feel free to take them however if you know what you're up against and are sure you can get them in combat with a similarly-priced monster/single model unit.
* '''Stonehorn:''' The first of the 2 big scary monsters. Effectively a guided missile, This one hurts a lot on the charge but it's I2 and only one rider kinda hurts it after that. It's still big and scary so send it into the right spot and it could definitely wreck someone's day. Very good as a mount for a Hunter, even if everyone really wishes they could sit a tyrant there. One other thing to note is its Stone Skeleton special rule, which renders multiple wound weapons, namely cannons, half as effective (don't think it makes you immune to them though).
* '''Thundertusk:''' The second big scary monster. This one doesn't get impact hits and only has 4 attacks, but it does get a second rider (for an extra 3 S4 attacks), and has a S3(6) stone thrower attached. Oh and all enemy MODELS within 6 inches have Always Strikes Last, did we forget to mention that? Yeah, suddenly initiative 2 doesn't matter so much. Hold back for the first round or so to soften up a unit you want dead and then send it in with the rest of your army and watch as it and everything around smash through the entire enemy line because they get their skulls stomped in before they're even allowed to attack. One of the best units in the current list.

===Forge World Models===

* '''Rhinox Riders''': You're already dead if these things charge you. Upgraded Mournfangs where the [[Awesome| Ogres now ride fucking woolly rhinos]], with an increased cost and a buff to all their stats. with an extra point to their WS, an extra attack from the Ogre, the riders are S5, impact hits are now D3+1, they get a +3 bonus to their armor save (meaning their armor can go down to +1 save, unlike mournfangs) and are now Ld8. Up to you whether or not you find these things be valuable killing machines or just excessively powerful overpriced models (ignoring that being from Forge World automatically makes them overpriced in real money). Anything these things charge (short of something with Ethereal) is going to die (plus the models are fucking amazing).
** '''Note:''' Since they can be taken in units of 1 you could use a Thunderlord on Rhinox as a kind of chariot equivalent. A Thunderlord with extra hand weapon and heavy armor has D3+1 S5 Impact hits, 10 S5 attacks (6 at WS4, 4 at WS3) and a 2+ armor save and costs 123 points. Not too shabby for a flank charge.