Cash Johnson with a second in a series of Warhammer Fantasy 8th Edition posts. Last time I remarked on what I liked about the new rules in relation to my own greenskin horde - having actually played a large game (3000 pt 'Ard Boyz list). Unfortunately, training against Drew is a blessing and a curse in most instances; while I'm guaranteed a good challenge, it's still a hell of a challenge, and the 'Ard Boyz isn't exactly a fair fight to begin with. So what went right? What went wrong?
Well for starters, I totally forgot about the Vanguard deployment move, which would have gotten two units within a Turn 2 charge range right off the bat. Seeing as how it was the only rule I forgot that made any difference, I'm going to have to put that down as the biggest downfall. Then again, seeing as how, without an Errata or FAQ to tell us otherwise, Drew was able to Stand and Shoot with 72 handbow shots we may have to wait for an update for the rematch. XD
The twin Night Goblin Shamans also didn't work well, but that was more deployment than anything. Rather than trust them in the giant bricks, I left them on foot - both times I got magic missiles, so I felt it was better to place them where enemies were closer rather than get stuck with Animosity. They weren't as effective as I'd hoped, the scroll caddy dying on turn one, and the other constantly unable to score hits against Drew. The Staff of Sneaky Stealin', however, was the MVP item - a low roll round left Drew with 2 Power Dice to my 3 Dispels, and I had to teach him the new order of spell casting, resulting in my Dispel on a 15. The change here will most likely be upgrading from two gobbos to an Orc Shaman (or Great Shaman depending how points go).
As far as the Night Goblins themselves, they will stay. The only serious losses they sustained were due more to bad rolling than terrible armour or low Leadership - rolled an 11, then re-rolled another 11 from the BSB aura, fell back, and was eaten alive by Dark Elf Corsairs (stupid slavers). Better deployment would be the only change I make, as the meat shield has its uses.
The Boar Boyz and Savage Warboss did their job incredibly well, though. A 19" charge tore through a Corsair unit, turned around, survived a Reaper Bolt Thrower, charged that the next turn, killed the crew, overran into a Warrior unit, killed them, and would have charged into another Bolt Thrower crew if the game wasn't over. Not bad for 6 models (though the Boyz were taken down to just a Standard Bearer and Warboss). XD
The Boyz themselves also receive no changes, as they didn't really do much of anything bad to deserve punishment. A hole was broken in my right flank, and the Dark Elves poured into it as best they could. Change up deployment. That's about it - they're the heavier core of the army.
Black Orcs will receive a new change - take one less unit, bulk up the one unit to at least 20. Two units just wasn't effective at all, and only managed to take 12 casualties, chase Shades off the board, and then die to Bolt Thrower fire the next turn.
Another good option to keep will still be the Rock Lobbas - the crew receive Toughness 7, and no more partials has a greater statistic advantage. From now on, however, park them behind hills wherever possible.
As for the General and BSB, I'm going to have to see about throwing different Magic Items around, probably a Magic Standard on the BSB. The General will need something better, however, and I will have to look into what. Also, I'm not sure about where they were placed in the amy anyway. Dual Black Orc characters didn't need to Quell Animosity in the Boyz, but that doesn't mean they won't need it another time. Will have to experiment with these until I find something better.
In all, my battle plan and deployment was my biggest enemy, as well as that one fatal Leadership failure (twin 11's). Drew did excellent as always, though I think being able to double tap and Stand and Shoot may need an errata. Way too broken to be legal. While the ability to always fight in two ranks is a greater advantage for me, as well as always getting to swing back, it also means more elite enemy units can tear into my own units more effectively. Points will have to be reworked, units reformed, and Mk.2 will come about soon enough - thankfully I still have plenty of units that didn't get thrown in this time around. Maybe monsters, maybe shooting, maybe a warboss on wyvern. Good thing the 'Ard Boyz isn't for another 2 months.
- Cash
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