29 Mar 2014
Ogre Kingdoms vs. Daemons of Khorne
===================================
Overview
--------
Date played: Saturday, 29 March 2014
Ogre Kingdoms
-------------
(S1) Slaughtermaster
- Gold Sigil Sword, Earthing Rod, Armour of Destiny, Level 4, Lore of Beasts (Wyssan's Wildform, Savage Beasts, Pann's, Transformation of Kadon)
(B1) Bruiser
- BSB, Enchanted Shield, Talisman of Preservation
(B2) Butcher
- Forbidden Rod, Lore of the Great Maw (Spinemarrow)
(B3) Butcher
- Armour of Fortune, Ironcurse Icon, Dragonbane Gem, Lore of Beasts (Wyssan's Wildform, Curse)
(I) 6 Ironguts
- Standard, Musician, Standard of Discipline, Look-Out Gnoblar
(O1) 6 Ogres
- Standard, Musician, Ironfists, Look-Out Gnoblar
(O2) 6 Ogres
- Standard, Musician, Ironfists, Look-Out Gnoblar
(M) 6 Maneaters
- Standard, Muscian, Brace of Pistols, Banner of Eternal Flame, Stubborn, Poison Attacks
(MC1) 4 Mournfang Cavalry
- Standard, Musician, Ironfists, Heavy Armour, Gleaming Pendant
(S2) Sabretusk
(S3) Sabretusk
(S4) Sabretusk
Daemons of Khorne
-----------------
(B1) Bloodthirster
- Axe of Khorne
(HoK1) Herald of Khorne
- Juggernaut, Battle Standard Bearer, Breath Weapon
(HoK2) Herald of Khorne
- Locus of Fury, Impact Hits
(B2) 15 Bloodletters
- Full Command
(B3) 29 Bloodletters
- Full Command, Banner of Swiftness
(FH1) 5 Flesh Hounds
(FH2) 5 Flesh Hounds
(S1) Skullcannon
(S2) Skullcannon
(B4) 4 Bloodcrushers
- Full Command
Deployment
----------
Turn 1 - Daemons of Khorne
--------------------------
The red horde advances! The Skullcannons take aim and take out a single Mournfang Cavalry member and a Maneater. Panic test is passed.
Turn 1 - Ogre Kingdoms
----------------------
With no other option the Maneaters line up to take a charge from the Bloodletters hoping to anchor themselves allowing reinforcements to rain in with aid. The Mournfang Cavalry withdraw into a better position (Terrain is slightly off here, there was no LOS from the Flesh Hounds to MFC, secondly the Sabretusk sat on the MFC flank to ensure there was no room for the Bloodthirster to land/charge). Magic phase sees an attempt with Curse onto the Bloodletters however Khorne won't let this sit and the power dissapates. However this allows Wyssan's Wildform to take effect onto the Maneaters and the Ironguts (wasn't sure what the smaller unit of Bloodletters was going to do here so played it safe).
Turn 2 - Daemons of Khorne
--------------------------
The Bloodletters let out a furious unearthly cry and charge into the Maneaters intent on holding their ground. The magic phase comes up against the Daemons making their ward saves a little more fickle. The Skullcannons get to work again with a Mournfang taking two wounds whilst the second misjudges its distance and the cannonball buries itself into the ground before coming to harm any Ogres. The maneaters fall a Bloodletter with snap shots from the hip before grasping their handguns and using them to bludgeon the Daemonic entities into the nether. They take severe casualties and only the command elements remain of the unit however the Standard Bearer stabs the flowing banner into the earth intent on holding the ground.
Turn 2 - Ogre Kingdoms
----------------------
The Slaughtermaster belches loudly signalling the Ogres to close ranks, the Ironguts with support of the nearly Ogres charge into the Bloodletters whilst on the nearby flank the Mournfang Cavalry sink into their saddles and crash into the smaller unit of Khornate infantry intent on not allowing the reinforcements to support the larger unit. Magic blows strongly (11 vs 6), Wyssan's goes up onto the Mournfang however confusion comes in mega hard as a second attempt is made and failed and this allows Savage Beasts and Pann's to be both dispelled. Khorne would not allow his children's assailants to me augmented by magic. The dust clouds raise as the Ogres impact hits cut down several of the Bloodletters who retaliate dropping a Maneater and some wounds across the units however it's not enough to weather the Ogre storm and the brutish creatures smash aside the daemonic kindred in frustration as they begin to dematerialise from the realm providing no food. The Ogres reform to face against the Bloodthirster enticing it to charge whilst the Ironguts setup an inevitable counter attack. The Ogre Cavalry smash into the Bloodletters and their retaliation is pitiful and they join their kin.
Turn 3 - Daemons of Khorne
--------------------------
The Bloodthirster roars in defiant rage at the undoing of his minions and takes to flight against the Ogres, at the last minute they turn and rush through the Ironguts in a perfectly performed withdrawal whilst the Ironguts hold fast digging their heels into the ground to meet the Greater Daemon. The Flesh hounds take out the pesky Sabretusks whilst the Bloodcrushers reform to bring their much needed force into the battle. The Skullcannon prepares it's grapeshot and hits the trigger detonating it's Daemonic payload deep into the mechanical device sending splintering red hot fragments everywhere. The second Skullcannon however blasts the nearby garrisoned building however the structure proves it's strength and the occupants take little damage. The Irongut champion bellows a challenge to the Bloodthirster however he finds himself split in two rapidly before the trembles in his throat have finished. The Slaughtermaster steadies his unit with a simple stare.
Turn 3 - Ogre Kingdoms
----------------------
The Mournfang change position however the Necrotic Ooze claims victim to the unit. The last of the Sabretusk runs ahead to sniff out the Bloodcrushers whilst the Ogres leave the safety of the building. Ogres rally and remain near the Ironguts. The Winds of magic blow fairly normally however the Butcher unlocks the power of his Forbidden Rod boosting the magic phase of the Ogres. Curse on the Bloodthirster is quickly dispelled and this allows the Slaughtermaster to mutter ancient words from the gut and turns himself into a mighty Mountain Chimera! (6 dice no IF, 33 in total!) The Butcher remaining attempts Spinemarrow to heal a wound however fails. In combat the Bloodthirster gets to work on the new beast however he's only able to sink in a single wound before the greater beast in a fury of devastation rips to shreds the Daemon of Khorne (16 attacks seemed to be more than enough!) before the remaining Ironguts need to swing their great weapons. The unit reforms to face off against the Flesh Hounds in order to secure the left flank.
Turn 4 - Daemons of Khorne
--------------------------
The Flesh Hounds unable to contain their anger at their master's demise rush headlong into the Ironguts without concern. The Bloodcrushers charge the last Sabretusk whilst the Flesh Hounds reform. The winds blow poorly (3 vs 1) and the Daemons are unable to stop the Mountain Chimera's image as it single handidly proceeds to tear the Flesh Hounds to pieces (20 attacks = 14 wounds) even burning the last survivor to a crisp before reforming to face new threats.
Turn 4 - Ogre Kingdoms
----------------------
The Ironguts charge into the Flesh Hounds whilst the lone Maneater rushes into the Bloodcrushers intent on delaying them. Magic is the best possible outcome for the Ogres as the breeze blows weakly (2 vs 1) and Wildform takes to the Ironguts. The Mountain Chimera lays waste to the Flesh Hounds and the unit continues it's momentum into the Bloodcrushers. The last of the Maneaters drops but not before denting the unit. The Chimera rakes damage onto the enemy unit and when the dust settles only the Herald and two Bloodcrushers remain at the cost of a single Irongut and Maneater.
Turn 5 - Daemons of Khorne
--------------------------
The Skullcannons rushes into aid the remaining Daemonic forces. Magic blows strong and the essence surrounding the Mountain Chimera dissapates. A single Irongut drops and a few wounds are passed onto the Herald however the Ironguts hold.
Turn 5 - Ogre Kingdoms
----------------------
The Ogres and Mournfang charge into the combat however the Mournfang are unable to shake off their poisonous side effects adn fail to make the distance. The Magic winds gust strongly and Wyssan's wildform is stopped by the Blood god however he's unable to harness the power to prevent Savage Beast from effecting the Slaughtermaster, the Bruiser and nearby Butcher with all the characters feeling the savage feral effects flowing through their veins. In this new feral state they waste no time in tearing apart the Skullcannon before turning their attention to the Herald who promptly dissolves from the mortal realm.
Result - Ogre Kingdoms Victory
Conclusion:
Firstly on deployment. I can't help but feel I made an error with the Maneaters in this game. They are way too expensive to use as cheap holders, that's what the ogres are there for so shame on me for that. I think I wanted the Maneaters in range of something straight away but that turned out to be blood letters which was a waste I think. Perhaps I need to be more mindful next game and even deploy them in the 'second wave' as opposed to the front line. The ideal targets for them this game were certainly the bloodthirster and the skullcannons so they could put their poison attacks to use straight away. Didn't work out that way at all.
Normally I deploy the sabre tusks on the 12" line and rush them in. This time I took a different approach and used then in a second wave which did a number of things. Firstly being cheap and initial drops it gave me some idea of the enemy positions (he countered my tusks with the flesh hounds and smaller unit if blood letters) and I know he often keeps his 18" inspiring presence around these. Secondly and most importantly I feel is that it gave me time to react to his threats and use the sabre tusks rather effectively in terms of getting in the way and dictating the battle on my terms. Not once in the game at all did I enter into a combat that I didn't want. He was kind of forced to charge with the Bloodthirster as he felt a unit over 500+ points needs to be taking out units every turn but that was his undoing. Had he either regrouped him with the forces on the right flank and also used his noxious fumes breath weapon I would have been facing multiple threats which would have been much tricker to deal with.
I was and still am concerned about he the unit sizes, whilst blocks of 6 models looks very neat and tidy I think I could run into trouble against a dedicated shooting army. I think that's where I'll really be focusing on getting the double wildform off.
Speaking of which, let's touch on magic. I liked the forbidden rod inclusion and am surprised it's not a common go to like the hell heart. It's random however so is every other ogre arcane item. It only gave me 2 dice this game so nothing overly huge however it did allow me to get the potentially game winning spell off and keep it on long enough to maul 700+ points of the enemy army. The general strategy will be in the opening turns to cast wildform twice to protect the first wave from small arms fire, wasn't anything outside of cannons in this instance but also allows some more survivability in combats should the enemy charge. I could have taken amber spear but decided against it because of all of the magic resistance floating about but outside of the Maneaters I think it will become my go to ranged weapon of choice. The level 1 rolled the sixth spell which is hardly useful at the best of times so it was dropped for spine marrow which actually isn't a bad choice for this type of list I think and can see a lot of use for it in the future.
Once in combat I think it's a choice between savage beast if I need to decimate the opponent and stack wildform, or alternatively if I'm running all characters in a single unit a powered up panns can be tough to deal with and minimise damage. Transformation of Kadon as well to suit and I find I've got a fairly flexible magic phase. I do like the fact that the MFC effectively get wildform cast on them with a 9+ with the slaughter master due to the lore attribute, such a shame it doesn't effect monstrous infantry however!!
Quick run down on key points:
SM - I liked the load out, striking first generally is nice to put some damage out first however it generally equates to nothing if I have no augmentation spells up. S4 just doesn't sent much so that's something I need to be a bit aware of. Luckily enough I didn't have to use the earthing rod however I feel it's a wise investment seeing if he jumps in a hole I've handed the enemy over 400 points. Also having transformation up was pretty cool giving me the flexibility to fly/charge out of the unit but I made the right call in leaving him in the unit rather than stick him out on his own and get pin cushioned in some way.
Bruiser - needed but I think I can perhaps afford to use him a bit more aggressively and put him in the front rank. He's toughness 6 after a single augment and backed up with a ward he shouldn't be getting axed often.
Butchers - I liked having double wildform, added a lot of flexibility to the list and look forward to the next game. If the level 1 can get bullgorger/toothcracker then some very interesting things could happen. Potentially strength 6 and toughness 7 ogres/MFC will make people cry.
Core - as briefly mentioned above the unit sizes still gives me a chin scratching moment. Provided magic is flowig and wildform is good to me I think they should be large enough but dedicated fire will hurt. Ideally I'd like another rank in each unit but I need the flexibility of the third core drop and each plays an important role in terms of character placement.
MFC - with the gleaming pennant on these guys it allows me to play a bit more risked deployment with them. Granted it didn't really happen this game but I'm sure there will come a time when I can place them on the far flank and they'll have the opportunity to really roll up some carnage and do what they do best. Obviously this means they are out of spell range for the augments however a spell like curse with a lot of range can swing a combat for them or even the maw caster floating behind them in a unit of ogres can and will certainly increase their staying power if they get tied up. As usual flexibility is the key.
Maneaters - great for the army I just used them poorly this game and have identified that. Perhaps I should have double wildformed the Maneaters instead of splitting the spells. The iron guts would have survived an attack from the smaller unit of blood letters and the T6 Maneaters wouldn't have lost as many models meaning they could have played a bigger role in the later turns. Food for thought at least.
Sabretusks - I've already mentioned these so I won't go over what's already been said.
I was losing interest in the Ogres purely because everything begins to feel the same with the usual suspect choices however I think I've successfully drawn inspiration from several sources, come up with something semi unique (no ironblaster at least!, level 4 beasts) and it's rewarded me with a win and of course some inspiration for the army.
Well thanks very much for reading my conclusion of the battle, please comment on any points of mine, yours or totally random observations.
===================================
Overview
--------
Date played: Saturday, 29 March 2014
Ogre Kingdoms
-------------
(S1) Slaughtermaster
- Gold Sigil Sword, Earthing Rod, Armour of Destiny, Level 4, Lore of Beasts (Wyssan's Wildform, Savage Beasts, Pann's, Transformation of Kadon)
(B1) Bruiser
- BSB, Enchanted Shield, Talisman of Preservation
(B2) Butcher
- Forbidden Rod, Lore of the Great Maw (Spinemarrow)
(B3) Butcher
- Armour of Fortune, Ironcurse Icon, Dragonbane Gem, Lore of Beasts (Wyssan's Wildform, Curse)
(I) 6 Ironguts
- Standard, Musician, Standard of Discipline, Look-Out Gnoblar
(O1) 6 Ogres
- Standard, Musician, Ironfists, Look-Out Gnoblar
(O2) 6 Ogres
- Standard, Musician, Ironfists, Look-Out Gnoblar
(M) 6 Maneaters
- Standard, Muscian, Brace of Pistols, Banner of Eternal Flame, Stubborn, Poison Attacks
(MC1) 4 Mournfang Cavalry
- Standard, Musician, Ironfists, Heavy Armour, Gleaming Pendant
(S2) Sabretusk
(S3) Sabretusk
(S4) Sabretusk
Daemons of Khorne
-----------------
(B1) Bloodthirster
- Axe of Khorne
(HoK1) Herald of Khorne
- Juggernaut, Battle Standard Bearer, Breath Weapon
(HoK2) Herald of Khorne
- Locus of Fury, Impact Hits
(B2) 15 Bloodletters
- Full Command
(B3) 29 Bloodletters
- Full Command, Banner of Swiftness
(FH1) 5 Flesh Hounds
(FH2) 5 Flesh Hounds
(S1) Skullcannon
(S2) Skullcannon
(B4) 4 Bloodcrushers
- Full Command
Deployment
----------
Turn 1 - Daemons of Khorne
--------------------------
The red horde advances! The Skullcannons take aim and take out a single Mournfang Cavalry member and a Maneater. Panic test is passed.
Turn 1 - Ogre Kingdoms
----------------------
With no other option the Maneaters line up to take a charge from the Bloodletters hoping to anchor themselves allowing reinforcements to rain in with aid. The Mournfang Cavalry withdraw into a better position (Terrain is slightly off here, there was no LOS from the Flesh Hounds to MFC, secondly the Sabretusk sat on the MFC flank to ensure there was no room for the Bloodthirster to land/charge). Magic phase sees an attempt with Curse onto the Bloodletters however Khorne won't let this sit and the power dissapates. However this allows Wyssan's Wildform to take effect onto the Maneaters and the Ironguts (wasn't sure what the smaller unit of Bloodletters was going to do here so played it safe).
Turn 2 - Daemons of Khorne
--------------------------
The Bloodletters let out a furious unearthly cry and charge into the Maneaters intent on holding their ground. The magic phase comes up against the Daemons making their ward saves a little more fickle. The Skullcannons get to work again with a Mournfang taking two wounds whilst the second misjudges its distance and the cannonball buries itself into the ground before coming to harm any Ogres. The maneaters fall a Bloodletter with snap shots from the hip before grasping their handguns and using them to bludgeon the Daemonic entities into the nether. They take severe casualties and only the command elements remain of the unit however the Standard Bearer stabs the flowing banner into the earth intent on holding the ground.
Turn 2 - Ogre Kingdoms
----------------------
The Slaughtermaster belches loudly signalling the Ogres to close ranks, the Ironguts with support of the nearly Ogres charge into the Bloodletters whilst on the nearby flank the Mournfang Cavalry sink into their saddles and crash into the smaller unit of Khornate infantry intent on not allowing the reinforcements to support the larger unit. Magic blows strongly (11 vs 6), Wyssan's goes up onto the Mournfang however confusion comes in mega hard as a second attempt is made and failed and this allows Savage Beasts and Pann's to be both dispelled. Khorne would not allow his children's assailants to me augmented by magic. The dust clouds raise as the Ogres impact hits cut down several of the Bloodletters who retaliate dropping a Maneater and some wounds across the units however it's not enough to weather the Ogre storm and the brutish creatures smash aside the daemonic kindred in frustration as they begin to dematerialise from the realm providing no food. The Ogres reform to face against the Bloodthirster enticing it to charge whilst the Ironguts setup an inevitable counter attack. The Ogre Cavalry smash into the Bloodletters and their retaliation is pitiful and they join their kin.
Turn 3 - Daemons of Khorne
--------------------------
The Bloodthirster roars in defiant rage at the undoing of his minions and takes to flight against the Ogres, at the last minute they turn and rush through the Ironguts in a perfectly performed withdrawal whilst the Ironguts hold fast digging their heels into the ground to meet the Greater Daemon. The Flesh hounds take out the pesky Sabretusks whilst the Bloodcrushers reform to bring their much needed force into the battle. The Skullcannon prepares it's grapeshot and hits the trigger detonating it's Daemonic payload deep into the mechanical device sending splintering red hot fragments everywhere. The second Skullcannon however blasts the nearby garrisoned building however the structure proves it's strength and the occupants take little damage. The Irongut champion bellows a challenge to the Bloodthirster however he finds himself split in two rapidly before the trembles in his throat have finished. The Slaughtermaster steadies his unit with a simple stare.
Turn 3 - Ogre Kingdoms
----------------------
The Mournfang change position however the Necrotic Ooze claims victim to the unit. The last of the Sabretusk runs ahead to sniff out the Bloodcrushers whilst the Ogres leave the safety of the building. Ogres rally and remain near the Ironguts. The Winds of magic blow fairly normally however the Butcher unlocks the power of his Forbidden Rod boosting the magic phase of the Ogres. Curse on the Bloodthirster is quickly dispelled and this allows the Slaughtermaster to mutter ancient words from the gut and turns himself into a mighty Mountain Chimera! (6 dice no IF, 33 in total!) The Butcher remaining attempts Spinemarrow to heal a wound however fails. In combat the Bloodthirster gets to work on the new beast however he's only able to sink in a single wound before the greater beast in a fury of devastation rips to shreds the Daemon of Khorne (16 attacks seemed to be more than enough!) before the remaining Ironguts need to swing their great weapons. The unit reforms to face off against the Flesh Hounds in order to secure the left flank.
Turn 4 - Daemons of Khorne
--------------------------
The Flesh Hounds unable to contain their anger at their master's demise rush headlong into the Ironguts without concern. The Bloodcrushers charge the last Sabretusk whilst the Flesh Hounds reform. The winds blow poorly (3 vs 1) and the Daemons are unable to stop the Mountain Chimera's image as it single handidly proceeds to tear the Flesh Hounds to pieces (20 attacks = 14 wounds) even burning the last survivor to a crisp before reforming to face new threats.
Turn 4 - Ogre Kingdoms
----------------------
The Ironguts charge into the Flesh Hounds whilst the lone Maneater rushes into the Bloodcrushers intent on delaying them. Magic is the best possible outcome for the Ogres as the breeze blows weakly (2 vs 1) and Wildform takes to the Ironguts. The Mountain Chimera lays waste to the Flesh Hounds and the unit continues it's momentum into the Bloodcrushers. The last of the Maneaters drops but not before denting the unit. The Chimera rakes damage onto the enemy unit and when the dust settles only the Herald and two Bloodcrushers remain at the cost of a single Irongut and Maneater.
Turn 5 - Daemons of Khorne
--------------------------
The Skullcannons rushes into aid the remaining Daemonic forces. Magic blows strong and the essence surrounding the Mountain Chimera dissapates. A single Irongut drops and a few wounds are passed onto the Herald however the Ironguts hold.
Turn 5 - Ogre Kingdoms
----------------------
The Ogres and Mournfang charge into the combat however the Mournfang are unable to shake off their poisonous side effects adn fail to make the distance. The Magic winds gust strongly and Wyssan's wildform is stopped by the Blood god however he's unable to harness the power to prevent Savage Beast from effecting the Slaughtermaster, the Bruiser and nearby Butcher with all the characters feeling the savage feral effects flowing through their veins. In this new feral state they waste no time in tearing apart the Skullcannon before turning their attention to the Herald who promptly dissolves from the mortal realm.
Result - Ogre Kingdoms Victory
Conclusion:
Firstly on deployment. I can't help but feel I made an error with the Maneaters in this game. They are way too expensive to use as cheap holders, that's what the ogres are there for so shame on me for that. I think I wanted the Maneaters in range of something straight away but that turned out to be blood letters which was a waste I think. Perhaps I need to be more mindful next game and even deploy them in the 'second wave' as opposed to the front line. The ideal targets for them this game were certainly the bloodthirster and the skullcannons so they could put their poison attacks to use straight away. Didn't work out that way at all.
Normally I deploy the sabre tusks on the 12" line and rush them in. This time I took a different approach and used then in a second wave which did a number of things. Firstly being cheap and initial drops it gave me some idea of the enemy positions (he countered my tusks with the flesh hounds and smaller unit if blood letters) and I know he often keeps his 18" inspiring presence around these. Secondly and most importantly I feel is that it gave me time to react to his threats and use the sabre tusks rather effectively in terms of getting in the way and dictating the battle on my terms. Not once in the game at all did I enter into a combat that I didn't want. He was kind of forced to charge with the Bloodthirster as he felt a unit over 500+ points needs to be taking out units every turn but that was his undoing. Had he either regrouped him with the forces on the right flank and also used his noxious fumes breath weapon I would have been facing multiple threats which would have been much tricker to deal with.
I was and still am concerned about he the unit sizes, whilst blocks of 6 models looks very neat and tidy I think I could run into trouble against a dedicated shooting army. I think that's where I'll really be focusing on getting the double wildform off.
Speaking of which, let's touch on magic. I liked the forbidden rod inclusion and am surprised it's not a common go to like the hell heart. It's random however so is every other ogre arcane item. It only gave me 2 dice this game so nothing overly huge however it did allow me to get the potentially game winning spell off and keep it on long enough to maul 700+ points of the enemy army. The general strategy will be in the opening turns to cast wildform twice to protect the first wave from small arms fire, wasn't anything outside of cannons in this instance but also allows some more survivability in combats should the enemy charge. I could have taken amber spear but decided against it because of all of the magic resistance floating about but outside of the Maneaters I think it will become my go to ranged weapon of choice. The level 1 rolled the sixth spell which is hardly useful at the best of times so it was dropped for spine marrow which actually isn't a bad choice for this type of list I think and can see a lot of use for it in the future.
Once in combat I think it's a choice between savage beast if I need to decimate the opponent and stack wildform, or alternatively if I'm running all characters in a single unit a powered up panns can be tough to deal with and minimise damage. Transformation of Kadon as well to suit and I find I've got a fairly flexible magic phase. I do like the fact that the MFC effectively get wildform cast on them with a 9+ with the slaughter master due to the lore attribute, such a shame it doesn't effect monstrous infantry however!!
Quick run down on key points:
SM - I liked the load out, striking first generally is nice to put some damage out first however it generally equates to nothing if I have no augmentation spells up. S4 just doesn't sent much so that's something I need to be a bit aware of. Luckily enough I didn't have to use the earthing rod however I feel it's a wise investment seeing if he jumps in a hole I've handed the enemy over 400 points. Also having transformation up was pretty cool giving me the flexibility to fly/charge out of the unit but I made the right call in leaving him in the unit rather than stick him out on his own and get pin cushioned in some way.
Bruiser - needed but I think I can perhaps afford to use him a bit more aggressively and put him in the front rank. He's toughness 6 after a single augment and backed up with a ward he shouldn't be getting axed often.
Butchers - I liked having double wildform, added a lot of flexibility to the list and look forward to the next game. If the level 1 can get bullgorger/toothcracker then some very interesting things could happen. Potentially strength 6 and toughness 7 ogres/MFC will make people cry.
Core - as briefly mentioned above the unit sizes still gives me a chin scratching moment. Provided magic is flowig and wildform is good to me I think they should be large enough but dedicated fire will hurt. Ideally I'd like another rank in each unit but I need the flexibility of the third core drop and each plays an important role in terms of character placement.
MFC - with the gleaming pennant on these guys it allows me to play a bit more risked deployment with them. Granted it didn't really happen this game but I'm sure there will come a time when I can place them on the far flank and they'll have the opportunity to really roll up some carnage and do what they do best. Obviously this means they are out of spell range for the augments however a spell like curse with a lot of range can swing a combat for them or even the maw caster floating behind them in a unit of ogres can and will certainly increase their staying power if they get tied up. As usual flexibility is the key.
Maneaters - great for the army I just used them poorly this game and have identified that. Perhaps I should have double wildformed the Maneaters instead of splitting the spells. The iron guts would have survived an attack from the smaller unit of blood letters and the T6 Maneaters wouldn't have lost as many models meaning they could have played a bigger role in the later turns. Food for thought at least.
Sabretusks - I've already mentioned these so I won't go over what's already been said.
I was losing interest in the Ogres purely because everything begins to feel the same with the usual suspect choices however I think I've successfully drawn inspiration from several sources, come up with something semi unique (no ironblaster at least!, level 4 beasts) and it's rewarded me with a win and of course some inspiration for the army.
Well thanks very much for reading my conclusion of the battle, please comment on any points of mine, yours or totally random observations.
"Nec sorte nec fato"
Ogre Battles!
Tactica: Sabretusks
Tactica: Gnoblars
Ogre Battles!
Tactica: Sabretusks
Tactica: Gnoblars
