03 Jan 2010
by Sterling
Large Block, or SLU (*S*ingle *L*arge *U*nit, as opposed to MSU)
Awright, listen up ya bunch o' bloody fools. I'm gonna make this real simple so even the slowest gnoblar listinen' can understand me. An Ogre Army works best with many small units. You want to eat? Break into as many small groups as ya can and fly around the board.
Well, now that that's said, yer still here so I'm guessin' you want to know about our back-up plan. An ogre's too expensive and too big to use multiple large units, so let me tell you a bit about running a *S*ingle, *L*arge *U*nit.
Tactics for a SLU army are going to vary a great deal based on what unit you are making your large block out of, however, there are a few similarities for all SLU armies.
You will be putting a lot of points into a single target for enemy shooting and magic. If magic defense in a normal MSU army is important, then in a SLU army it is even more important. There are a few spells in the game that will absolutely kill your large unit (pit of shades, for instance) or make your unit do things you don't want it to (Half the Lore of Slaanesh), and if you aren't prepared to defend your unit against magic, you may lose the game during before the first unit is deployed. Defense against normal shooting isn't as much of an issue... as long as the missile fire coming in causes only one wound per hit, then you should have enough wounds in the unit to keep it intact. The real danger is from cannons, bolt throwers and stone throwers that cause d3-d6 wounds per successful to-wound roll. In comparison, an accurate cannon shot vs MSU can do 3-9 wounds and may cost you a single unit, or about 120-150 points. An accurate cannon shot into the side of a Deathstar can destroy half the unit, panic it, and may make it flee, costing (usually) 500-1000 points, depending on the size of your Deathstar. This is, unfortunately, the primary reason a SLU army doesn't work as well as MSU army. The only ways to defend your unit against that are with a trapper screen, multiple gorgers & gut magic (trollguts). Don't rely on just one of those three, either... trappers may not be able to screen because the cannon is on a hill or there was nowhere to deploy them; gorgers may not show up until turn 4 or 5; Trollguts can always be dispelled. Even with all those precautions, your army can be destroyed very quickly when you put everything into one unit... There are some games where all you can do is cross your fingers and pray to the Maw for a misfire.
Let's take a breif look at our options for the Single Large Unit, and the basic tactics and differences between them.
Bulls "Character Delivery Unit"
Bulls are the cheapest way to get a large unit, and also has the benefit of filling the required 1+ bull unit rquirement. At 35 points per model (just under 12 points per wound/US), fitting a lot of wounds into a single unit is very possible. This will leave the most points available for your supporting units and characters, which is where the majority of your kills are going to come from. A "longstrider" tyrant or bruiser in the front rank will make the unit dangerous enough as well as increasing the tragically low leadership and offering the option to charge 14" out of the unit if you can't seem to get the right angle or wheel far enough. A butcher with 2x gnoblar theifstones and skullmantle will protect the unit from a lot of magic while improving the likelyhood that opponents will fail the fear test. The only thing you can count on the bulls to do is absorb wounds and hide characters... fortunately they are VERY good at that. Be very careful of your flanks, since an opponent passing his fear test and charging into your flank will be fighting 3 or 4 bulls, win combat and run down your expensive unit.
If your unit with the butcher and the tyrant gets run down, the tyrant is just as dead as all the other Ogres
2k Bull SLU Army - 865 point deathstar (43.3%), 1134 points supporting (56.7%), 1999 total)
The Character Escort
Tyrant, Tenderizer, Longstrider, Wyrdstone Necklace, luck gnoblar
Butcher, 2x theifstones, skullmantle
11 bulls
Support
8 Trappers
4 units of 3 Ironguts
2 Gorgers
Butcher, scroll, bangstick
Butcher, 2x scrolls
Ironguts "Ironstar"
An Irongut Deathstar is different from a Bull Deathstar in many respects, most importantly it requires less characters to keep it going. At leadership 8, they don't need a character's leadership to stay stable. They have the ability to carry their own magic defense (Runemaw Banner), so you don't need to have a character babysit them with theifstones. With a front rank putting out 3 strength 6 attacks per model, it will kill almost anything already so there isn't such a need for a bruiser/tryant in the unit to provide kills. This leaves your full compliment of characters to defend the flanks and deal with the threats they are best at. You can use the ironstar quite well on one flank, to push forward, turn & steamroll the enemy army. Just use the board edge to hold one flank and the rest of the army to hold the other and grind the enemy into a fine, nutritious paste.
2k Irongut SLU Army - 540 point deathstar (27%), 1460 points supporting (73%), 2000 total
The Ironstar
10 Ironguts, Standard Bearer, Runemaw, bellower
Support
Tyrant, tenderizer, wyrdstone necklace, luck gnoblar
Butcher, seigebreaker, skullmantle
Butcher, scroll, bangstick
Butcher, 2x scrolls
3 Bulls, bellower
2 units of 3 ironguts
2 Gorgers
8 Trappers
22 gnoblar fighters
Leadbelchers "BOOMstar"
A leadbelcher deathstar is unique in that it has a ranged attack every other turn and a low maximum size for the unit. What this means is that a single unit, while dangerous, isn't going to instill the appropriate fear in the enemy. It combines a low leadership with poor armor and a high point cost... so what good is a deathstar of 5 fragile, expensive and easily frightened ogres? not as much as 2, one unit covering the other as you move forward. When you put 10 leadbelchers (2 units of 5) on the table, your opponent notices. When you move them forward 5.5 inches and rotate them slightly left, your opponent wonders what is coming next. When 4 units of ironguts crush one flank and start murdering their way across his army, your opponent wonders why he spent so much time looking at and dealing with the leadbelchers.
Stagger the leadbechers slightly in the middle of the board with the tyrant close behind for leadership bonus. Charge one unit forward 12" and walk the other one up 6". Park the tyrant behind them and step your way into the enemy's face. Always keep one unit able to stand & shoot as you approach the opponent. As you step forward, drive one flank with the ironguts and use your bulls and gnoblar to stall the other flank. Most opponents will shoot the heck out of your leadbelchers, probably sending any large targets at them and generally worrying about them. What they aren't worrying about and dealing with is the 3 or 4 units of death on the flank.
2k Leadbelcher SLU Army - 570 point Deathstar (25.8%), 1277 points supporting (63.9%), 1997 total
BOOMstar
2x5 Leadbelchers, Musicians
Support
Tyrant, tenderizer, Mawseeker, Jade Lion
Butcher, 2x scrolls
3 Bulls, bellower
4 units of 3 ironguts, one with a banner
21 Gnoblar Fighters
9 Trappers
2 Gorgers
Maneaters true "Deathstar"
Well, we had to get to the maneaters eventually. Stubborn, Immune to Psychology, heavily armored, base strength 5, multiple weapon options and more attacks than the average ogre, Maneaters are individually superb, but cost a bundle at 90 points per fully equipped Ogre. They are still only 3 wounds, and at 30 points per wound, we aren't going to be able to get a lot of them and still have an army. However, if you can get a unit of maneaters in contact with something, there is a very, very high probablility they will destroy it. The real trouble comes in trying to get the maneaters in touch with enough of the enemy to win a game in just 6 turns. 6 maneaters and a butcher with seigebreaker and fistful of laurels is 715 points. It's not a very large looking deathstar for being so many points, but it is more than capable of ripping any enemy unit into small, easily digestable chunks of bloody meat.
The beauty of this deathstar is that you aren't worried about getting combo-flank-rear charged by high static res units and losing combat by 12 before the first blow is struck. This unit is stubborn, and has either a fistful of laurels or a battle standard nearby... even if you lose combat, you roll for an 8. It's very difficult to crack, and it will stay combat worthy in the face of almost anything.
2k Maneater SLU Army - 715 point Deathstar (35.8%), 1236 points supporting (61.8%), 1999 total
Deathstar
6 maneaters
Butcher, Seigebreaker, fistful of laurels
Support
Tyrant, tenderizer, Wyrdstone Necklace, Luck Gnoblar
Butcher, 2x scrolls
Butcher, scroll, bangstick
3 Bulls, bellower
3 units of 3 Ironguts
9 Trappers
24 Gnoblar Fighters
Large Block, or SLU (*S*ingle *L*arge *U*nit, as opposed to MSU)
Awright, listen up ya bunch o' bloody fools. I'm gonna make this real simple so even the slowest gnoblar listinen' can understand me. An Ogre Army works best with many small units. You want to eat? Break into as many small groups as ya can and fly around the board.
Well, now that that's said, yer still here so I'm guessin' you want to know about our back-up plan. An ogre's too expensive and too big to use multiple large units, so let me tell you a bit about running a *S*ingle, *L*arge *U*nit.
Tactics for a SLU army are going to vary a great deal based on what unit you are making your large block out of, however, there are a few similarities for all SLU armies.
You will be putting a lot of points into a single target for enemy shooting and magic. If magic defense in a normal MSU army is important, then in a SLU army it is even more important. There are a few spells in the game that will absolutely kill your large unit (pit of shades, for instance) or make your unit do things you don't want it to (Half the Lore of Slaanesh), and if you aren't prepared to defend your unit against magic, you may lose the game during before the first unit is deployed. Defense against normal shooting isn't as much of an issue... as long as the missile fire coming in causes only one wound per hit, then you should have enough wounds in the unit to keep it intact. The real danger is from cannons, bolt throwers and stone throwers that cause d3-d6 wounds per successful to-wound roll. In comparison, an accurate cannon shot vs MSU can do 3-9 wounds and may cost you a single unit, or about 120-150 points. An accurate cannon shot into the side of a Deathstar can destroy half the unit, panic it, and may make it flee, costing (usually) 500-1000 points, depending on the size of your Deathstar. This is, unfortunately, the primary reason a SLU army doesn't work as well as MSU army. The only ways to defend your unit against that are with a trapper screen, multiple gorgers & gut magic (trollguts). Don't rely on just one of those three, either... trappers may not be able to screen because the cannon is on a hill or there was nowhere to deploy them; gorgers may not show up until turn 4 or 5; Trollguts can always be dispelled. Even with all those precautions, your army can be destroyed very quickly when you put everything into one unit... There are some games where all you can do is cross your fingers and pray to the Maw for a misfire.
Let's take a breif look at our options for the Single Large Unit, and the basic tactics and differences between them.
Bulls "Character Delivery Unit"
Bulls are the cheapest way to get a large unit, and also has the benefit of filling the required 1+ bull unit rquirement. At 35 points per model (just under 12 points per wound/US), fitting a lot of wounds into a single unit is very possible. This will leave the most points available for your supporting units and characters, which is where the majority of your kills are going to come from. A "longstrider" tyrant or bruiser in the front rank will make the unit dangerous enough as well as increasing the tragically low leadership and offering the option to charge 14" out of the unit if you can't seem to get the right angle or wheel far enough. A butcher with 2x gnoblar theifstones and skullmantle will protect the unit from a lot of magic while improving the likelyhood that opponents will fail the fear test. The only thing you can count on the bulls to do is absorb wounds and hide characters... fortunately they are VERY good at that. Be very careful of your flanks, since an opponent passing his fear test and charging into your flank will be fighting 3 or 4 bulls, win combat and run down your expensive unit.
If your unit with the butcher and the tyrant gets run down, the tyrant is just as dead as all the other Ogres
2k Bull SLU Army - 865 point deathstar (43.3%), 1134 points supporting (56.7%), 1999 total)
The Character Escort
Tyrant, Tenderizer, Longstrider, Wyrdstone Necklace, luck gnoblar
Butcher, 2x theifstones, skullmantle
11 bulls
Support
8 Trappers
4 units of 3 Ironguts
2 Gorgers
Butcher, scroll, bangstick
Butcher, 2x scrolls
Ironguts "Ironstar"
An Irongut Deathstar is different from a Bull Deathstar in many respects, most importantly it requires less characters to keep it going. At leadership 8, they don't need a character's leadership to stay stable. They have the ability to carry their own magic defense (Runemaw Banner), so you don't need to have a character babysit them with theifstones. With a front rank putting out 3 strength 6 attacks per model, it will kill almost anything already so there isn't such a need for a bruiser/tryant in the unit to provide kills. This leaves your full compliment of characters to defend the flanks and deal with the threats they are best at. You can use the ironstar quite well on one flank, to push forward, turn & steamroll the enemy army. Just use the board edge to hold one flank and the rest of the army to hold the other and grind the enemy into a fine, nutritious paste.
2k Irongut SLU Army - 540 point deathstar (27%), 1460 points supporting (73%), 2000 total
The Ironstar
10 Ironguts, Standard Bearer, Runemaw, bellower
Support
Tyrant, tenderizer, wyrdstone necklace, luck gnoblar
Butcher, seigebreaker, skullmantle
Butcher, scroll, bangstick
Butcher, 2x scrolls
3 Bulls, bellower
2 units of 3 ironguts
2 Gorgers
8 Trappers
22 gnoblar fighters
Leadbelchers "BOOMstar"
A leadbelcher deathstar is unique in that it has a ranged attack every other turn and a low maximum size for the unit. What this means is that a single unit, while dangerous, isn't going to instill the appropriate fear in the enemy. It combines a low leadership with poor armor and a high point cost... so what good is a deathstar of 5 fragile, expensive and easily frightened ogres? not as much as 2, one unit covering the other as you move forward. When you put 10 leadbelchers (2 units of 5) on the table, your opponent notices. When you move them forward 5.5 inches and rotate them slightly left, your opponent wonders what is coming next. When 4 units of ironguts crush one flank and start murdering their way across his army, your opponent wonders why he spent so much time looking at and dealing with the leadbelchers.
Stagger the leadbechers slightly in the middle of the board with the tyrant close behind for leadership bonus. Charge one unit forward 12" and walk the other one up 6". Park the tyrant behind them and step your way into the enemy's face. Always keep one unit able to stand & shoot as you approach the opponent. As you step forward, drive one flank with the ironguts and use your bulls and gnoblar to stall the other flank. Most opponents will shoot the heck out of your leadbelchers, probably sending any large targets at them and generally worrying about them. What they aren't worrying about and dealing with is the 3 or 4 units of death on the flank.
2k Leadbelcher SLU Army - 570 point Deathstar (25.8%), 1277 points supporting (63.9%), 1997 total
BOOMstar
2x5 Leadbelchers, Musicians
Support
Tyrant, tenderizer, Mawseeker, Jade Lion
Butcher, 2x scrolls
3 Bulls, bellower
4 units of 3 ironguts, one with a banner
21 Gnoblar Fighters
9 Trappers
2 Gorgers
Maneaters true "Deathstar"
Well, we had to get to the maneaters eventually. Stubborn, Immune to Psychology, heavily armored, base strength 5, multiple weapon options and more attacks than the average ogre, Maneaters are individually superb, but cost a bundle at 90 points per fully equipped Ogre. They are still only 3 wounds, and at 30 points per wound, we aren't going to be able to get a lot of them and still have an army. However, if you can get a unit of maneaters in contact with something, there is a very, very high probablility they will destroy it. The real trouble comes in trying to get the maneaters in touch with enough of the enemy to win a game in just 6 turns. 6 maneaters and a butcher with seigebreaker and fistful of laurels is 715 points. It's not a very large looking deathstar for being so many points, but it is more than capable of ripping any enemy unit into small, easily digestable chunks of bloody meat.
The beauty of this deathstar is that you aren't worried about getting combo-flank-rear charged by high static res units and losing combat by 12 before the first blow is struck. This unit is stubborn, and has either a fistful of laurels or a battle standard nearby... even if you lose combat, you roll for an 8. It's very difficult to crack, and it will stay combat worthy in the face of almost anything.
2k Maneater SLU Army - 715 point Deathstar (35.8%), 1236 points supporting (61.8%), 1999 total
Deathstar
6 maneaters
Butcher, Seigebreaker, fistful of laurels
Support
Tyrant, tenderizer, Wyrdstone Necklace, Luck Gnoblar
Butcher, 2x scrolls
Butcher, scroll, bangstick
3 Bulls, bellower
3 units of 3 Ironguts
9 Trappers
24 Gnoblar Fighters