# O&G Tactics - Snotling (yup thats right)



## Ratvan (Jun 20, 2011)

I've been giving this unit a bit of thought recently, since I picked up a load on the cheap (6 Bases) the initial idea was "hey they look cool" and I can have some interesting unit fillers for the army, all I need is to strip them down split the models up a bit and expand them to 9-12 bases so my units of Night Goblins have some difference in height. 

So when I ever see them played I usuallly see the standard 2 bases plonked down as chaff/redircectors which in itself is fine, the same price a 5 wolfies with short bows and shields and slightly under the cost of 2 Trolls.

So I started thinking. Whatever else snotlings are they're a swarm, so they're unbreakable, this is something that many people don't ever consider. No Animosity, no studipity = 100% reliable, which for an O&G player is like finding golden hens teeth.

What can we do with a really poor unit in terms of stats that simply will not run, I call that an anvil (bear with me) Well our regular anvils have T3-4 and typically at least 30 wounds and sometimes more. Well 30 wounds worth of the snots are 180 points, you want more? 40? 240 points.

What do you get for this investment apart from possibly the worst statline in the game, a unit that WILL NOT BREAK from combat. Your enemy needs to kill every last snot to break the unit and claim back those points. On the subject of points, imagine the scenario, 

"Do you want a 6 point unbreakable model for your Orc and Goblin army?" to which I know I would reply along the lines of "Hell Yes!" Well thats what you're effectively paying for with these lovely little blighters.


Additional Points

- Deployment, you want these guys to survive as long as possible, and what is the best way of achieving this? Deploy 1 base wide before combat (they're skirmishers- next point) therefore limitting the attacks that you take to 8-12 max? You'll still lose by a load but hey ho., guess what? Unbreakable

Skirmishers - This doesn't seem much but 8th edition there seems to me a lot more Scenery about and the free reforms you can squeeze your conga line through narrow passes or even block overrun paths, change shape to allow Manglers and Fanatics to bounce through you and reliably go long distances. What else can Skirmishers do? Why they can March and Shoot of course, unleashing a torrent of exploding spores on a nearby enemy unit :grin:

Unbreakable - Finally a downside (apart from stats) you say, not neccessarily. Lets stop and think, how can I possibly use this for my advantage? Well now I can count on a small unit popping in one turn, and I can use Snots to set traps for NG Units behind them (Fanatics). Park a unit of Snots infront of an enemy unit, typically if you have placed them well the enemy will be unable to move around them so will most likely charge them. Unlike other redirectors snotlings are unbreakable, if they have 1 wound remaining they will stay put. I'd gladly sacrifice a 60 point unit if it enables me a turn to arrange counter-charges and fanatic trap.


With any luck the high pitched squeels of the Snots will echo from many more Waaaghs following this brief discussion. Might even see the resurgance of the Snots and Grots lists of old


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## Deathypoo (Jun 27, 2011)

erm... They are affected by animosity as soon as you field them with 5 or more bases. Unless I'm missing something?

Also, they are unstable. They're likely to never even out-wound the static combat bonus against them, much less begin to counter the wounds they take. Therefore, in CC, they're basically 12+ points per wound. And they're T2, so they'll be taking those wounds.

You could field 4 bases in a conga-line, and possibly survive one round of combat... but I just don't see all these benefits materializing.


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## Tim/Steve (Jan 25, 2009)

Including a unit of ~10+ bases as a tarpit isn't a bad idea as it'll hold up an enemy for a while and allow you to have a bit of freedom... but it'll be expensive to do and while they might make a tarpit they won't make an anvil: the combat res against them will be so high from almost anything that even if you flank the enemy with a very strong unit you are still likely to lose.

EDIT- snotlings don't have animosity, they lack the rule.


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## Turnip86 (Oct 7, 2011)

Surely with 30 wounds on the bases for instance, you'll only hold up a unit for one game turn on average so those 180 points could be better spent else where instead of a one turn tar pit.

A bog standard troop choice 5x4 could wipe them out with combat res thanks to unstable by the second round of combat (granted they might need a character or something in there but it's doable) leaving them free to move on their turn. Anything in horde formation is going to munch them and probably overrun on a first turn charge meaning they're more of a speedbump than tarpit.

I'm not saying they're useless, it's just they have limited uses because of unstable (and terrible stats) and to negate that you need to sink too many points in them that can be spent elsewhere - they are, however not bad at being normal skirmishers that can effectively hold up smaller enemy units for entire games without losing too many wounds from unstable, that and cheap missile weapons.

I just don't think an anvil is what they're suited for but if you have evidence of it working then I'm open to be corrected


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## khrone forever (Dec 13, 2010)

if you can get an allies battle and get a lev 4 wizard with loremaster of life to cast the ToV version of flesh to stone, suddenly you have T6 snotlings :biggrin:


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## Tim/Steve (Jan 25, 2009)

khrone forever said:


> if you can get an allies battle and get a lev 4 wizard with loremaster of life to cast the ToV version of flesh to stone, suddenly you have T6 snotlings :biggrin:


Sure, but a +4T unit of anything isn't going to lose anytime soon. At that point you might as well just send in a cheap ranked unit; 3 ranks, banner, warbanner and possible BSB. +6SCR on a unit that is T7+ makes it almost impossible for you to lose... but you can't rely on getting flesh to stone just when you need it.

... this thread is really making me think about OnG. First time I have ever really been drawn to get an army of them.


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## Turnip86 (Oct 7, 2011)

Regarding the spells, can O&G take lore of life? I actually have no idea what magic lores they can take so enlighten me please 

Also like T/S said, why waste it on snotlings (other than for a laugh or as a last ditch plan) when you could whack it on a unit that actually benefits from ranks and can sit there and take pretty much any punishment an opponant can throw at them.


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## p_folis (Dec 27, 2011)

back in the day i ran snotling swarm, nothing but snotlings bases and pump wagons, actually did pretty good once you hit the flanks with wagons and bases.


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## Ratvan (Jun 20, 2011)

No O&G have 2 lores of their own Little Waaagh (gobbos) and Big Waaagh (orcs) I ran 10 bases in a game today against VC they lasted 4 turns against 30 grave guard plus wight king and vamp. Eventually won me the game with a flank charge of squigs and very lucky fanatic scatter


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## Turnip86 (Oct 7, 2011)

How many wounds does 1 base have? 

4 turns against 30 GG with characters seems kinda lucky unless bases have more wounds than I thought? You're losing at least one base a turn just from the combat res of 3 ranks and a standard to unstable so coupled with any wounds you're recieving it seems like you should only last one or two turns before you get squished


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## Tim/Steve (Jan 25, 2009)

5W... which I think is standard for all swarms except nurglings (a 5++ means they pretty much have the equivalent of 5).

I think snotlings make a pretty poor tarpit for infantry in general... but then infantry are pretty much designed for killing swarms. However, they are much better against low attack, high damage models/units such as monsters and heavy cav. Some OnG armies may have difficulty against these, but personally instead of a unit of 8+ snotling bases to tarpit them (which may well not work) I would just throw in the 4 spear chukkas you can get for those points and just squewer them instead.

Personally I would take a couple of bases of snotlings and run them very close to my combat blocks (so long as non cannons/other are about that can easily pop them in a turn). Then you can use them either for redirecting charges or to combi charge with other units when they are heading into fights they should lose- only having 2-3 models being able to attack the snotlings should keep them alive, and then they can't break so the enemy cannotg possibly pursue your main unit if it flees.
If there is a cannon just shove them out on the flanks outside of 6" of important units and either play with flankers or set up flank charges in concert with frontal ork charges for the same reasons as above.


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## Deathypoo (Jun 27, 2011)

Ratvan said:


> I ran 10 bases in a game today against VC they lasted 4 turns against 30 grave guard plus wight king and vamp.


This seemed so bizarre to me that I just had to do the math... and it comes out as feasible (but still really lucky) if you mean 4 rounds of combat rather than 4 turns. That's pretty decent to hold up a powerhouse unit for even that long, but rarely will that be worth 300 points imo.

Math, if you care:
Assuming you used conga line, and if VC have no upgrades but full command, odds are the 2 heroes and 6 GG cause 7-8 wounds a turn (14 attacks at 3+ hit/2+ wound). Combat resolution causes another 11-12 a turn. By the third round of combat you should take a total of ~57 wounds, and you only have 50. Close enough odds to last for 4 *rounds* with luck, though.


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## Tim/Steve (Jan 25, 2009)

@Ratvan- did you remember that swarms crumble like VC/TK?


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## Ratvan (Jun 20, 2011)

yes sorry it was 4 rounds of combat (2 turns-sorry I interchange turns, phases and rounds). He was deployed 8 wide with the Vamp and Wight king not in the combat (I was threatening with a mangler and he was keeping his characters out of the way). All that I wanted the snots to do was keep the unit tied down and out the way until I could get my army past and out the way.

IF I was to run them again in a game I'll probably try running 2-3 bases as either a flanker for my main combat block (NG, Nets, Shield and Spear)


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