Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Orcs & Goblins

Why Play Orcs & Goblins

The great Green Tide is the army for any player wishing to field a close-combat army with an inane number of models and perhaps the widest variety of options per force org slot in the game. The level of army customization for O&G, as a result, is almost unparalleled. Orcs are right killy and excel in their specialized role of cc, but tend to suffer from their terrible leadership and initiative stats. In addition, their latest edition introduced the Animosity special rule, which can effectively cripple any given O&G unit and spoil any plans you may have so carefully formed. All in all, this army is for those who wish to have lots of fun without being particularly competitive.

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.

• Gorbad Ironclaw: The named Boar-Boss for the army, Gorbad has some seriously awesome gear and rules. He carries a fuck-huge choppa that Always Strikes First, inflicts d3 multiple wounds, and ignores armor, and his stat-line insures that he won't be going away anytime soon. The real reason you'll be taking Ironclaw is for his strategic bonuses: he can help any unit within 18" with their animosity rolls should they fail and grants Hold Your Ground! and Inspiring Presence to all units in that range as well. He also counts as both your general AND battlestandard bearer, which is awesome. On top of all this, your normal limit on the big 'uns upgrade is now available to as many orc boy and boar boy units as you can field with it. His only disadvantage is his high point cost (coming in at almost 400 points!), and therefore this fellow is better reserved for larger games.
• Azhag the Slaughterer: At well over 500 points, this is the ultimate point sink for your army. This one model and his wyvern will consume your entire Lord slot in even very large games, and probably will never be a realistic unit to field. That said, he is possibly the biggest bad-ass in the army. He basically makes your units within his range immune to Animosity, has a pair of magic weapons that get re-rolls in cc, 5+/5++, and a crown that makes him a level 3 lore of death wizard (and unfortunately gives him stupidity, but the advantages seem to outweigh this little issue). Additionally, he of course rides his mighty wyvern, Skullmuncha, who shares a similarly insane statline with Azhag, has poisoned attacks, and gets a 4+ scaly skin save. Unfortunate you'll never actually use this sexy green beast.
• Wurrzag, Da Great Green Prophet: Another 350 point lord, Wurrzag is the ultimate choice for anyone centering their O&G army around Shamans. This mean, green, son of a bitch puts out an absolutely retarded amount of magical power since he has a magic item that allows him to store any unused power dice for a turn, a bound spell in his mask, a 5++, and a staff that gives him magic resistance 3 and re-rolls on miscasts. Additionally, he has a unique spell that can reduce enemy casters within 12" to squigs. Perhaps the only issue with Wurrzag is his mediocre statline and the fact that he is frenzied, which means he's probably going to go get himself killed.
• Grom the Paunch of Misty Mountain: The first Lord choice to be mentioned under 300 points (barely), Grom is the ultimate gobbo boss and the named character for Goblin war chariots. This mother fucker completely changes the way Goblins play, ignoring the normal Fear Elves rule, granting this onto EVERY other goblin unit in the army. He also has a 5+/5++ and has a magic weapon that gives him +2 to strength and killing blow, which goes up to a 5+ killing blow vs Elves. He has regeneration as well, and he has a little snotling buddy that carries the battle standard for your army. A very good choice if you plan on mulching a fuck-ton of sissy Elves or if you field a lot of Goblin units.
• Skarsnik, Warlord of the Eight Peaks: Slightly cheaper than Grom, Skarsnik is best in a night goblin theme army. He has an awesome magic staff that fires d3 s6 hits that ignore armor, and this multiplies when he's near other night goblins. His buddy is a fat-ass squig named Gobbla, who gives Skarsnik some real staying power in cc (not to mention SIX WOUNDS. On a GOBLIN for fucks sake). Skarsnik has some great special rules too, the main one being that he can force enemy units into reserves at the start of the game (perfect for ruining any 'just as planned' strategies), and he also gives night goblin units the ability to move and shoot in the same turn they recover from running from a combat, though this is a mixed bag since with Ld6 they probably won't be doing that anytime soon.
• Snagla Grobspit: A relatively cheap hero option, his low cost is quickly lost by the fact that you have to take a unit of spider riders with him. This isn't a big deal, however, especially if you love yourself some spider riders, as Grobspit makes them all Ambushers, have Devastating Charge, Hatred (Empire), and cause Fear on the charge. Also, SOOO many poisoned attacks.
• Gtilla da Hunter: Basically Snagla, but mounted on a Giant Wolf and meant for shooting instead of combat.
• Grimgor Ironhide: Very possibly Gazkhull Thraka reincarnated as a Fantasy character, and very certainly the most angry greenskin in existence. The cheapest of the Orc named characters, but quite possibly the best if you have a particular fondness for Black Orcs. Grimgor must take a unit of Black Orcs as his retinue and gives them all +1 WS and hatred (everyone!). As the army's ultimate close-combat monster, he has 1+/5++, a positively nightmarish stat-line, an essentially s7 weapon...and on top of it all Always Strikes First! Grimgor, quite frankly, will absolutely fuck shit up if you get him to cc and will take an insane amount of punishment from ranged attacks on the way there.

Generic Characters

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

• Orc Boss: Your quintessential Orky army leaders, they come in both Lord and Hero form and can be standard Orcs, savage, or black. They can be mounted on boars and wyverns, and chariots. Look at my hand. The warboss is now diamonds! Anything is possible with the versatility of your standard Orc Boss.
• Goblin Boss: Not much more to be said here. Come standard and in night form, have a wide variety of customization, and can mount chariots, giant wolves, and giant squigs (making them the only units who can roll with your squig-hoppers. Slap one in a squad of those guys and watch their danger level shoot waaay up).
• Orc Shaman: All the same customization options as Bosses, but they're wizards of the Big Waaagh! The Orcish lore of magic primarily focuses on damage spells, and boy do they do it well. Roll well and you'll be slapping foot-shaped templates all over the board. Just be sure to give them a ward-save for when they inevitably end up misshaping.
• Goblin Shaman: See above posts, minus the ability to ride a giant squig. The lore of Little Waaagh! focuses on hexes and irritating the ever loving shit out of your opponent. Field multiples of the hero form of these buggers with your night goblin units for extra lulz.

Core Units

• Orc Boyz: Your bread and butter unit. Orc boys are tough, have decent stats, and at only 6 points a model, can be fielded en masse (read: tarpits). Make sure to give them a musician and standard bearer of course, so they can win a few combats. Give them extra hand weapons as well. With orcs, its always a great option. You can also upgrade a single unit of boyz to big 'uns, giving them +1 strength, but this is a mixed bag as it makes them 8 points a model, and lets face it, you're playing a horde army. You need those points for greater numbers, not stronger tarpits.
• Orc Arrer Boyz: Orcs...with bows. It feels so wrong...again, they make up for their relatively poor stats in solid walls of flesh. Their access to volley fire is useful here, as it allows the whole block to fire their bows, albeit with extremely poor accuracy, but who really cares when you're putting out 30 shots from a single unit? Dakka dakka dakka!
• Savage Orc Boyz: Batshit insane orc boyz with 5++ ward saves and frenzy (and at 8 points a piece, compared to standard boyz 6). These are an insane cc core choice, should they ever make it to assault. You can give them big stabbaz, which give them d3 impact hits (and why wouldn't you?). Like most units in the army, feature a wide variety of upgrades for tailoring them into just the kind of unit you want it to be, though they are best off doing what they are meant to: flail wildly around in cc, inflicting as much damage as possible before they inevitably die.
• Goblins: Your army's quintessential tarpit. At 3 points per model base, Goblins can be fielded in inane numbers. Just like with other units, you can make them shooty or better in combat, can take shields, bosses, musicians, and standard bearers, and can take a special hidden squad upgrade called Nasty Skulkers. Kind of a mixed bag, these ones, as they share near identical stats with goblins, but they do gain killing blow on the turn you reveal them. This is a hilarious surprise to any player looking to smash through the squishy goblins with multi-wound models like Ogres, Minotaurs, etc. Always priceless to watch that smug grin turn into shock and horror as they lose an entire squad of Ogres in a single round of combat.
• Goblin Wolf Riders: Your army's fast cavalry. Give them spears and