# Orc army idea.



## Calamari (Feb 13, 2009)

I'm going to start an orc army soon and I wanted to run my ideas past you guys before I start buying stuff.

The plan is to have a 40 strong block of Boyz with spears and shields and two smaller blocks of 20 with extra choppas. This would be backed up with a couple of boar boyz and spear chukkas. Character wise I would have probably 2 Mages and a bucket load of of cheap big bosses.

Im looking at having a 2000 point army and I will be facing a good mix of armies, mainly Ogres, Lizardmen and Warriors of Chaos. I'm open to all suggestions the only rule I have is "no Goboos!", I don't like them very much and so I don't want them in my army, obviously warmachine crews are the exception lol.

So will this idea work?


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## The Son of Horus (Dec 30, 2006)

I don't see why not. I'm working on an Orc army myself right now, and it's almost entirely Orcs, with only war machine crews and some Fast Cavalry as Goblins. 

Keep in mind that cavalry took a serious hit in the new edition. If you're going to bring Boar Boyz, bring a unit of at least 10, to help make sure you actually break through your target in a turn or two. 

I ran the numbers, and spears are better on the smaller units (where you won't be taking advantage of the Horde rule), whereas extra choppas are better on Horde units. I'd bump the smaller units to 25, and give them spears (don't bother with the shields), and give the big unit double choppas. 

Think about it like this. You'll have the smaller units five-wide, as that's a better supporting formation for a horde unit. With that in mind, the spears allow you to hit with 15 Boyz, whereas you'd only hit with 10 if you had double choppas in that same unit. With the Horde unit, double choppas against a unit that's five wide means you'll be attacking with 7x3 attacks; that's 21. At S4 with 21 attacks, you do more wounds than if you attacked with 24 (7x4; assuming spears) at S3. 

I wouldn't completely write off Goblins. Goblin Shamen are also dirt cheap, and a couple of them wouldn't be out of place. You certainly don't need the ranked infantry units, but the fast cavalry is worth at least considering. If you're not willing to bring them, then look into Boar Chariots, though-- you do need SOMETHING fast. 

As for characters, be sure you've got a Warboss and a Battle Standard Bearer. Beyond that, it's all good. You need the Boss's leadership, and the BSB is essential for keeping the Boyz in the fight. Making them Black Orcs to cut down on the headaches of animosity might not be a horrible plan, either.


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## karlhunt (Mar 24, 2009)

Not quite, the hoard rule allows an extra rank to make supporting attacks. You only get one attack when supporting no matter how many attacks you should get so spears or chopaz makes no diference in hoard, the front rank's extra attacks make up for the missed attacks of not having spears in the fourth rank. I'm not sure how the banner of butchery works witht he new rules.


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## Calamari (Feb 13, 2009)

I do like the idea of more choppas to help cut through Saurus and Chaos Warriors. The horde unit was there to soak up the punishment (hence the shields), I could always try it both ways and see what works better, more input on that would help though 

I want to stay away from Goblins from a thematic point of view, I just like the idea of a tide of big green monsters. The other thing is that most of the OnG players that I know use _loads_ of gobbos. I know they have their uses but I want to avoid them unless I have to.

Boar Chariots sound like fun and fit in well with the other boar boyz so they will probably find their way into the list, I have a feeling that im going to be using a big chunk of my Special units allowance, still, thats 500 points to play with.

Thanks for the help so far guys


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## neilbatte (Jan 2, 2008)

I'd recommend some artillery even if it's only a couple of rocklobba's. Just to soften up some of the more dangerous units before your orcs get to hit them.
Chariots are definately a good option as they don't suffer animosity so you can make them hit where and when needed.


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## proximity5 (Jul 8, 2010)

What cpt said. 

Right now, there's a few options for all-cavalry. You can still include monstrous mounts (in fact, one list has all your characters on such) in such a list, as well as Chariots (you can have all the special choices filled with Boar Boyz, for instance, and the Hero / Lord filled with Chariot characters), but in every list you must have at least two units (plus another one for every 1000 points over 1000) of either Spider Riders, Wolf Riders, or a mix. 

Which, to be frank, isn't that bad. Your Goblin Cavalry is not there to cause combat resolution wounds. It's there to eat up shooting (which, mind, can't inflict panic on your Orc cavalry / chariots), get flanks on enemies (either due to Movement 9 or Movement 7 Ignore Most Terrain), and for the most part present a weakness in your enemy. 

Of course, in a themed list, you're still plum outta luck. Best I could suggest there is take a few small units of Wolf Riders to represent the forward scouts / edge of the Boar Boy horde, and then make the center of the army proper Orc cavalry (if possible, Savage Orc cavalry). For special / rare, there's a few options (Giant and Trolls each are M6, for instance, and Snotling Pump Wagons are good for holding up table quarters dirt cheap), but - again - if going all Orc you don't really have much choice. 
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## Calamari (Feb 13, 2009)

I'm not thinking of doing all cavalry, I would just like to include some boar boyz because I like the models.

In anycase I. Would be using this army during 8th, I thought flank charges aren't as useful anymore?

Another thing I'm worried about is the number of boys, do I have enough?


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