Although I'm sure all of you know what Yhetees are, I'll quickly introduce you anyway just for the sake of the odd Ogre out there who is a little unsure of what I'm talking about.
Yhetees are creatures of the Mountains of Mourn, living on the frosty peaks of said mountains they are distant relatives of the Ogres. So connected to the mountains they expel an aura of cold, freezing the movements of anyone in contact with them. With clubs of ice which are counted as magical weapons in combat, they answer the Ogre call to war.
Yhetees are not your average rank and file Ogre Bulls, and should never be treated as such. Before battle commences, make sure you know what you want from them before the end of the battle.
In my experience, Yhetees work best in units of three - adding extra models to the unit would just be a waste of points. If you wish to take two units of three though, that's not a problem. They are an already expensive unit and adding extra models would firstly make them less manoeuvrable, and secondly make it less likely you'll want to put them in a dangerous position, which you may sometimes have to do. What is advisable though is upgrading one of them to a Greyback, I find the extra attack really helps this unit.
One way of thinking about Yhetees is that they fulfil the role of light cavalry in the Ogre Kingdoms army, and can effectively be used as such. They can quickly get into a position to harry the enemy flanks, block marches, or go war machine or mage hunting. The main difference between these guys and typical fast cavalry however, is that Yhetees are much more hard hitting.
Another very useful tactic is to use them as a support unit for one of your more hard hitting units e.g. a unit of Iron Guts containing a Tyrant. What I find especially useful in these circumstances is their ability to pursue 3d6 they can mop up the stragglers while your main units can press on to other more important matters.
Now, using them as a support unit is all well and good, however don't forget that all models in base contact are going to have a -1 to hit penalty, and that includes any friendly units so be careful about the placement of your Yhetees in combat. Don't have them in base contact with your mega hard hitting Tyrant who will be doing most of the damage for instance. That being said, the -1 to hit coupled with the fact that their weapons count as magical makes them ideal for dealing with any ethereal units/characters. So if you are facing any Spirit Hosts, you will want to send these boys in to do the damage.
Do not, I repeat, do not forget or underestimate the usefulness of the Yhetees' ability to ignore certain terrain types, even those normally classed as impassable. This will allow them to swiftly and secretively get into position for an attack. When placing my Yhetees on the table in deployment, I always try to place them near to scenery to shelter the Yhetees from any shooting as they move across the board. With no armour save they will need this protection in order to do the business later on. Do not be lead into taking them out of this cover unless it is advantageous for you to do so. Remember, don't play a reactionary game - make your opponent react to you and you will always be one step ahead.
When putting them in position, look for small gaps in the terrain, remember as long as one Yhetee can draw line of sight to an enemy unit they will all be able to charge with no penalty to movement caused by the terrain. Another thing that is useful once your opponent realises this ability, is to place them in the same manner simply to stop a large nasty unit from moving, as if they do, your opponent knows you will be able to flank charge them. Obviously this tactic would only work in very specific circumstances, but keep an eye out for it as I've used this successfully on a few occasions now, once stopping a unit of VC Black Knights including a Lord and Hero from moving for three turns which granted me enough time to take out most of my opponent's other units.
Be patient with your Yhetees, timing can be the key to success with this unit.
Remember, psychology does not only affect you opponent's army, but your opponent as well. Yhetees are a great way to play on that, making him play to your tune, making him too scared to make a certain move, forcing him to deal with a threat he had not expected. All of these create situations where he might make a mistake in his battle plans.
So all in all Yhetees can offer you a very real edge in battle, if played just right you will not regret fielding them. Your opponent however will learn to dread seeing their icy gaze across the battlefield.
Yhetees are creatures of the Mountains of Mourn, living on the frosty peaks of said mountains they are distant relatives of the Ogres. So connected to the mountains they expel an aura of cold, freezing the movements of anyone in contact with them. With clubs of ice which are counted as magical weapons in combat, they answer the Ogre call to war.
Yhetees are not your average rank and file Ogre Bulls, and should never be treated as such. Before battle commences, make sure you know what you want from them before the end of the battle.
In my experience, Yhetees work best in units of three - adding extra models to the unit would just be a waste of points. If you wish to take two units of three though, that's not a problem. They are an already expensive unit and adding extra models would firstly make them less manoeuvrable, and secondly make it less likely you'll want to put them in a dangerous position, which you may sometimes have to do. What is advisable though is upgrading one of them to a Greyback, I find the extra attack really helps this unit.
One way of thinking about Yhetees is that they fulfil the role of light cavalry in the Ogre Kingdoms army, and can effectively be used as such. They can quickly get into a position to harry the enemy flanks, block marches, or go war machine or mage hunting. The main difference between these guys and typical fast cavalry however, is that Yhetees are much more hard hitting.
Another very useful tactic is to use them as a support unit for one of your more hard hitting units e.g. a unit of Iron Guts containing a Tyrant. What I find especially useful in these circumstances is their ability to pursue 3d6 they can mop up the stragglers while your main units can press on to other more important matters.
Now, using them as a support unit is all well and good, however don't forget that all models in base contact are going to have a -1 to hit penalty, and that includes any friendly units so be careful about the placement of your Yhetees in combat. Don't have them in base contact with your mega hard hitting Tyrant who will be doing most of the damage for instance. That being said, the -1 to hit coupled with the fact that their weapons count as magical makes them ideal for dealing with any ethereal units/characters. So if you are facing any Spirit Hosts, you will want to send these boys in to do the damage.
Do not, I repeat, do not forget or underestimate the usefulness of the Yhetees' ability to ignore certain terrain types, even those normally classed as impassable. This will allow them to swiftly and secretively get into position for an attack. When placing my Yhetees on the table in deployment, I always try to place them near to scenery to shelter the Yhetees from any shooting as they move across the board. With no armour save they will need this protection in order to do the business later on. Do not be lead into taking them out of this cover unless it is advantageous for you to do so. Remember, don't play a reactionary game - make your opponent react to you and you will always be one step ahead.
When putting them in position, look for small gaps in the terrain, remember as long as one Yhetee can draw line of sight to an enemy unit they will all be able to charge with no penalty to movement caused by the terrain. Another thing that is useful once your opponent realises this ability, is to place them in the same manner simply to stop a large nasty unit from moving, as if they do, your opponent knows you will be able to flank charge them. Obviously this tactic would only work in very specific circumstances, but keep an eye out for it as I've used this successfully on a few occasions now, once stopping a unit of VC Black Knights including a Lord and Hero from moving for three turns which granted me enough time to take out most of my opponent's other units.
Be patient with your Yhetees, timing can be the key to success with this unit.
Remember, psychology does not only affect you opponent's army, but your opponent as well. Yhetees are a great way to play on that, making him play to your tune, making him too scared to make a certain move, forcing him to deal with a threat he had not expected. All of these create situations where he might make a mistake in his battle plans.
So all in all Yhetees can offer you a very real edge in battle, if played just right you will not regret fielding them. Your opponent however will learn to dread seeing their icy gaze across the battlefield.