13 Jul 2014
3260 Pts: Skrag vs a Savage Orc themed army
4th of July part 2
So, my last battle report was for a battle against a themed Ghoul (Vampire Counts) army at a friends over the 4th of July weekend, and what follows is the second battle of the big double-header. I did not expect to play against two themed armies consecutively, but thats how it worked out. This is a different opponent, one who also runs an Ogre Army, so he knows what our weaknesses are.
And yes, this is how my family and friends apparently celebrate American Independence Day: grill out, drink beer, and smash each other using a British miniature fantasy table-top wargame. It was fantastic.
If you are wondering where the point number 3260 comes from, it was the point total to my opponents list when he added up everything he brought and threw in some magic items, then I matched the number. It was a great opportunity to try something new, something that I had recently finished painting and never used before because the points never worked out something I didnt actually have the models to use the way it is intended Skrag the Slaughterer. I really have been itching to try him in battle since I finished painting him, and I came away kind of unhappy, but I will cover that at the end.
Now, on to the game. The armies:
OGRES!
Skrag the Slaughterer (Spinemarrow, Bone Crusher, Braingobler, Trollguts)
Bruiser BSB Greedy Fist, Enchanted Shield, HA
Firebelly Lv 2 (Fireball, flame cage); Hellheart, AHW
10 Ogres: Full Cmd, IF (Firebelly here)
16 Ironguts: Full Cmd, Std of Discipline (Skragg, BSB)
4 Mournfang: HA, IF, Musician, Std (Dragonhide Banner)
8 Leadbelchers
Sabertusk
Sabertusk
Ironblaster
Giant
Stonehorn w/ Harpoon Launcher
Savage Orcs
Wurrzag da Great Green Prophet (ere we go, foot of Gork, brain burster, teleport spell)
Savage Orc Warboss: Ogre Blade, Talisman of Preservation
Snagla Grobspit
Savage Orc Shaman (lv 2): War Boar, lucky shrunken head (spells?)
Savage Orc Big Boss (BSB): Potion of Str, 5+ ward amulet, AHW
25 Savage Orc BigUns[SBg]: AHW, Big Stabba, Full Cmd (Warboss, Wurrzag, BSB here)
25 Savage Orcs[SO]: Big Stabba, AHW, Full Cmd
20 Savage Orcs (Archers) [SOA]: Bows, Full Cmd
19 Deff Creepers[DC]: Full Cmd, Shields, Spears
10 Savage Orc Boar Boyz[SOB 1]: Full Cmd, Razor Std, AHW
10 Savage Orc Boar Boyz[SOB2]: Full Cmd, Rangers Std, Spears, Shield (Shaman here)
Arachnarok Spider [AS]
6 River Trolls[RT]
Set-up/Deployment
We roll for deployment and for the second time in the night, its a simple line up and fight (1) BATTLE LINE. Now, I dont have a problem with this, as I feel it favors Ogres much more than other scenarios (we can never start in the watchtower without Gnoblars, low unit numbers without standards, ect).
My intent for the battle was to use his frenzy and animosity against him by baiting him with Sabretusks in the hopes of taking him apart in pieces. This allows me to try something I definitely prefer but havent done in the past: rather than using my Sabertusks as early drops and matching my drops to his in an attempt to get the best match-ups, I focus on setting up the LD bubble the way I wanted it, with my Core at the center, and working out from there. The only 2 drops I cared about matching up were the leadbelchers and Ironblaster in range/sight of the big Spider thingy (Arachnarok), so I saved those for last. I own the shooting threats in this game, so I can sit back a bit and take what comes. So, the scheme of maneuver is as follows: plaster the big spider with shooting as much as possible to make it killable and otherwise keep it out of the game if I cannot kill it. His Boar Boyz will be forced to go the furthest in mandatory overrun due to swiftstride, so they will be the target to try and draw out with the Sabretusks, and anything else is just a bonus. Then, charge with overwhelming force. Following I expect him to countercharge at this point, but he wont be able to overwhelm my units, who will hold for reinforcements, and then it is a simple matter of trying to double up against his stuff as much as possible.
My spell rolls for Skrag are the absolute worst I could have imagined for this match-up: 1, 4, 4, 6. Bonecrusher (ok), double Braingobbler (since nothing in his army is cares about Panic, its useless), and the Maw (could be useful, but the risk is not worth the reward in this case, or so I think). So, I end with Bonecrusher, Braingobbler, Trollguts (from the double) and Spinemarrow (I figured that reliable stubborn would be better than unreliable Maw).
Deployment works as expected, and I put the leadbelchers in the corner because it was the only place I could get a clear shot at the big spider. Plus the added bonus that if they run (which I figured they would) it would take the spider off the table, adding to the keep it out of the game plan. What was unexpected, and I suppose I have only myself to blame for never having realized, is that Skrags base is actually the chariot base, and so his footprint wont allow him into the Ironguts! Crap! Luckily, my opponent is a friend who just lets me adjust my units to fit him in pinned on to the side of the Ironguts.
Turn 1
Savage Orcs
He moves everything straight forward. The trolls, however, fail stupidity right off the bat and slow things up a bit, but the stupid creatures still manage 6, so I guess not that slow. He clearly thinks to try my right flank as the obvious weakness to the army, but also identifies that he cannot just leave the leadbelchers unattended, so the Big Spider is going right for the Cannon Boys. The winds of magic blow very strong. He starts magic off right with Irresistible Force on the BIG version of FOOT of GORK right on my Ironguts. Yay. It hits and stomps and hurts and then stomps AGAIN, and hurts some more (but a more favorable scatter) and then he rolls and stomps a THIRD TIME! But, with luck, this time he scatters big and goes off the unit in a miss. All told, I consider myself lucky that only 3 ironguts lay flattened into the ground at this point. That spell is mean and I think I got off easy.
Ogres (turn 1)
The sabertusks run out hoping to bait/redirect the Savage Orc Boar Boyz into an assault. I realize that I cannot quite get close enough to force the charge if frenzy/animosity dont work out for me on the left, and I think I did, but it was close. Otherwise, I slide back slightly with the Leadbelchers in the hopes that the big spider rolls low and I can get an extra round of shooting in; but they still stay in the forest so as to not suffer a cover penalty for intervening terrain. Magic is a total waste, low winds roll and my fireball is dispelled. Skrag attempts a boosted range Spinemarrow to make the Leadbelchers stubborn for the ensuing combat, and fails. First of the big fails for the big guy. Shooting is actually a great triumph for the Ogres, scoring 4 wounds from an Ironblaster shot and two more wounds from the leadbelchers (who had a massive number of shots and decent hits, but not a lot of result despite tons of dice). The Stonehorn rider takes a long range shot at the River Trolls with the harpoon launcher and misses.
Turn 2
Savage Orcs
My opponent rolls for animosity, and both the large savage orc unit and the left most unit of boar boyz fail their animosity tests and are forced to charge the sabretusks. (Yes!) I cannot remember if the second unit of boar boyz failed the frenzy Ld check or not, but upon inspection, he realized he could not wheel around the sabretusk, and thus they charge him as well. The Arachnarok spider, leaning on swiftstride and a great charge range, makes the charge into the leadbelchers. His massive unit of Deff Creepers Shows up on my right flank. He (wisely?) keeps his unit of biguns and archers back, anticipating my impending countercharges to the units drawn out and wishing to avoid my overrun into his units. The river trolls are stupid again, and move forward an inch. Then in the Magic phase, I save most of my dice to dispel the nasty stuff (no more foot of Gork, thats for sure) and I allow him to teleport his unit of stupid River Trolls right in front of my Ogres. Again, another move probably in anticipation/support of impending overruns. Nothing happens in the shooting phase, and he easily rips apart the Sabertusks in both combats, neither of which do anything. All the units overrun, and specifically, the Boar Boys on the right overrun bigtime and end up right on line with the trolls (I dont think he saw that coming). The Arachnarok Spider charges in and rips the leadbelchers apart, killing 2 and wounding another. The leadbelchers fail to have any effect as they failed the Fear (from terror) test and are reduced to WS 1. Time for the morale check: SNAKE EYES! Holy Crap, they hold on insane heroism! Ill take it and be happy with the results of the combat.
Ogres turn 2
Its time to take advantage of opportunity and charge. The Giant, Stonehorn, and Mournfang all charge the Boar Boys on the left, and the Ironguts charge the trolls. Additionally, the Ogres have to charge both the River trolls and right most Boar Boyz in order to close the door on the boar boyz, and just for fun (in what turns out to be a bad idea in retrospect) I charge the Ironblaster in as well. Skrag casts Trollguts(bubble) and miscasts,. He loses 2 spell levels as well as Trollguts and Bonecrusher (so, now he is just a really expensive pain in the butt). I also did something here that is actually against the rules, but at the time I was unaware: thinking I could make way with Skrag, I do so (illegal move - you lose this ability with the incompatible footprint; in hindsight, this was actually bad for me anyway, as he was not very good, having had more ironguts in combat would have been better).
Combat goes quite predictably. On the left the boar boyz are almost wiped out by impact hits (7 dead) , and then the Giant swings his club and swats the last 3 off the board. The stonehorn overrun is blocked by the Mournfang luckily, and I dont want to send the giant off to die, so only the Mournfang reform, expecting the charge. On the right, Skrag does very little but gets credit for killing a single model; and the Firebelly also whiffs and then is killed (with the hellheart). Oh, and the Ironblaster: I got one stinking impact hit, then proceeded to miss all around. The only good thing was that it didnt take any wounds. Luckily, the BSB and the other ogres and guts win the day between impact hits and regular combat, killing 3 trolls and a slew of boar boyz. Both the Boar Boyz and the Trolls fail the Morale check and they flee. The Ironguts (3 inches) fail to catch the Trolls, and the Ogres attempt to pursue into the flank of the savage orcs waiting behind, but they roll low as well. Luckily, the one good thing about bringing the ironblaster to the fight was its Swiftstride for being a chariot, which allows him to catch the fleeing Boar Boyz. In retrospect, this lost me the Ironblaster, as it landed directly in front of the waiting, unengaged savage orcs, unsupported. Oh well, I would do it again. Lastly, the spider finally kills a few more leadbelchers (who fail their fear test again) and this time, the Leadies run off the board.
Turn 3
Savage Orcs
Wurrzag, the general, and the big unit of Savage Orcs charge the Mournfang, the other Savage Orcs charge the Ironblaster, and the spiders move around my backfield to start trying to support. Amazingly, the trolls pass their Ld check to rally. I dont remember what spells he attempted to cast, but nothing resulted from it. The lingering trollguts spell totally saves my ass in combat on the left for the mournfang. Despite the massive amount of attacks from the savage ocs, I manage to only lose a single model, and then do enough wounds to win combat. Another nice thing was the Dragonhide Banner. Unleashing the breath weapon now was great: it says in the book that a unit hit by the icy blast has the ASL special rule until the end of its NEXT turn; so he would have ASL for the next 2 rounds of combats. Sweet! Over on the right, the Orcs dont manage to do anything to the Ironblaster (thanks high toughness and lingering regen), but the IB cannot do anything in return, and it loses combat because of the charge/flank; the IB flees, I roll (1, 1, 2) for a swiftstride fallback, and it is easily caught.
Ogres Turn 3
I got a lucky break against the Savage Orcs with the general, in that he did not wipe out my mournfang. So I charge in with the stonehorn and Giant again. Skrag decides he wants to crush the Archer unit and charges, and the Ogre Bull unit charges the rear of the right most Savage orc unit. At this point, I have given up on magic and have no shooting. Skrag and the Guts run over the Orc Archers to a single Orc remaining and run him down as a result of frenzy. On the right side, my ogre unit tears apart the savage orc block, and the remaining Savage orcs flee. Unfortunately, the pursuit does not take them into the Deff Creepers. On my left, I am set up big to destroy his Generals bunker unit: he lost frenzy last turn; he now as ASL; I hit him with a Stone Horn (killing 4 outright); there are 2 thunderstomps, and 3 regular stomps on top of everything else coming his way. The giants initiative 3 goes first and he .yells and bawls!!! Damn it! Set up so perfectly, and he ruins it. I win by 2, and of course, his general with BSB stays.
Turn 4
Savage Orcs
The Deff Creepers charge the Ogre unit, the river trolls are Stupid once again, and the spider moves over to attempt to support. Nothing happens in the magic phase. This time in combat, since the Savage Orcs still have ASL, the mournfang, Giant, and Stonehorn kill each remaining orc, including the characters, squashing their last wounds away with stomps and a thunderstomp. The MF reform to face the threat of the Arachnarok Spider. On right corner, the Deff Creepers kill a couple ogres in exchange for 4 wounds, and the ogres stay on a 3 for Ld check.
Ogres Turn 4
Thinking that the Arachnarok Spider with its one remaining wound would fall easily to the 3 charging Mournfang, they charge with the Dragonhide banner held high. Everything else reforms or moves to set up future engagements. The ogres and Creepers exchange blows, but stay in place. The Mournfang do almost NOTHING to the arachnarok. A single wound, and it lives. It does massive damage in return, and the Mournfang flee, only to be run down easily. Damn, it was some bad rolling. At this point, my opponent concedes the rest of the game, partially because it is 3 in the AM.
Ogre Victory! 2308 to 1123
Afterthoughts:
1. Skrag is not very good. The footprint colliding thing alone sucks. He is no better as a caster than a Lv four SM. No magic items. Not good enough in combat to justify everything else, or the point cost. It was nice having Ld 9. Maybe I need gorgers.
2. Flaming Impact hits: do they exist or is it like the stomp?
3. Foot of Gork is a ridiculously good spell.
4. That spider was a massive pain in the ass.
5. I fought 2 consecutive armies that totally ignored psychology, and put me on the receiving end of terror (downgraded to fear). I still won, but it definitely makes a difference.
6. My game plan worked surprisingly well, baiting him out with frenzy and redirecting the overruns. I often fail in using my sabretusks so well if there isnt a warmachine to hunt.
7. I liked the method of simply deploying my army formation how I wanted and not trying to create favorable match-ups, with the exception of the Leadbelchers at the end. It was easier and took far less time to contemplate. I think I will try this more often.
8. The Giant and Stonehorn again do quite well against an army that is not very shooty/lacks warmachines.
And, just because, here is a picture of the completed Skrag:
And my favorite Giant:
Check out my Gnoblog for pics of the rest of the Army
http://www.ogrestronghold.com/forum/index.php?topic=28818.0
4th of July part 2
So, my last battle report was for a battle against a themed Ghoul (Vampire Counts) army at a friends over the 4th of July weekend, and what follows is the second battle of the big double-header. I did not expect to play against two themed armies consecutively, but thats how it worked out. This is a different opponent, one who also runs an Ogre Army, so he knows what our weaknesses are.
And yes, this is how my family and friends apparently celebrate American Independence Day: grill out, drink beer, and smash each other using a British miniature fantasy table-top wargame. It was fantastic.
If you are wondering where the point number 3260 comes from, it was the point total to my opponents list when he added up everything he brought and threw in some magic items, then I matched the number. It was a great opportunity to try something new, something that I had recently finished painting and never used before because the points never worked out something I didnt actually have the models to use the way it is intended Skrag the Slaughterer. I really have been itching to try him in battle since I finished painting him, and I came away kind of unhappy, but I will cover that at the end.
Now, on to the game. The armies:
OGRES!
Skrag the Slaughterer (Spinemarrow, Bone Crusher, Braingobler, Trollguts)
Bruiser BSB Greedy Fist, Enchanted Shield, HA
Firebelly Lv 2 (Fireball, flame cage); Hellheart, AHW
10 Ogres: Full Cmd, IF (Firebelly here)
16 Ironguts: Full Cmd, Std of Discipline (Skragg, BSB)
4 Mournfang: HA, IF, Musician, Std (Dragonhide Banner)
8 Leadbelchers
Sabertusk
Sabertusk
Ironblaster
Giant
Stonehorn w/ Harpoon Launcher
Savage Orcs
Wurrzag da Great Green Prophet (ere we go, foot of Gork, brain burster, teleport spell)
Savage Orc Warboss: Ogre Blade, Talisman of Preservation
Snagla Grobspit
Savage Orc Shaman (lv 2): War Boar, lucky shrunken head (spells?)
Savage Orc Big Boss (BSB): Potion of Str, 5+ ward amulet, AHW
25 Savage Orc BigUns[SBg]: AHW, Big Stabba, Full Cmd (Warboss, Wurrzag, BSB here)
25 Savage Orcs[SO]: Big Stabba, AHW, Full Cmd
20 Savage Orcs (Archers) [SOA]: Bows, Full Cmd
19 Deff Creepers[DC]: Full Cmd, Shields, Spears
10 Savage Orc Boar Boyz[SOB 1]: Full Cmd, Razor Std, AHW
10 Savage Orc Boar Boyz[SOB2]: Full Cmd, Rangers Std, Spears, Shield (Shaman here)
Arachnarok Spider [AS]
6 River Trolls[RT]
Set-up/Deployment
We roll for deployment and for the second time in the night, its a simple line up and fight (1) BATTLE LINE. Now, I dont have a problem with this, as I feel it favors Ogres much more than other scenarios (we can never start in the watchtower without Gnoblars, low unit numbers without standards, ect).
My intent for the battle was to use his frenzy and animosity against him by baiting him with Sabretusks in the hopes of taking him apart in pieces. This allows me to try something I definitely prefer but havent done in the past: rather than using my Sabertusks as early drops and matching my drops to his in an attempt to get the best match-ups, I focus on setting up the LD bubble the way I wanted it, with my Core at the center, and working out from there. The only 2 drops I cared about matching up were the leadbelchers and Ironblaster in range/sight of the big Spider thingy (Arachnarok), so I saved those for last. I own the shooting threats in this game, so I can sit back a bit and take what comes. So, the scheme of maneuver is as follows: plaster the big spider with shooting as much as possible to make it killable and otherwise keep it out of the game if I cannot kill it. His Boar Boyz will be forced to go the furthest in mandatory overrun due to swiftstride, so they will be the target to try and draw out with the Sabretusks, and anything else is just a bonus. Then, charge with overwhelming force. Following I expect him to countercharge at this point, but he wont be able to overwhelm my units, who will hold for reinforcements, and then it is a simple matter of trying to double up against his stuff as much as possible.
My spell rolls for Skrag are the absolute worst I could have imagined for this match-up: 1, 4, 4, 6. Bonecrusher (ok), double Braingobbler (since nothing in his army is cares about Panic, its useless), and the Maw (could be useful, but the risk is not worth the reward in this case, or so I think). So, I end with Bonecrusher, Braingobbler, Trollguts (from the double) and Spinemarrow (I figured that reliable stubborn would be better than unreliable Maw).
Deployment works as expected, and I put the leadbelchers in the corner because it was the only place I could get a clear shot at the big spider. Plus the added bonus that if they run (which I figured they would) it would take the spider off the table, adding to the keep it out of the game plan. What was unexpected, and I suppose I have only myself to blame for never having realized, is that Skrags base is actually the chariot base, and so his footprint wont allow him into the Ironguts! Crap! Luckily, my opponent is a friend who just lets me adjust my units to fit him in pinned on to the side of the Ironguts.
Turn 1
Savage Orcs
He moves everything straight forward. The trolls, however, fail stupidity right off the bat and slow things up a bit, but the stupid creatures still manage 6, so I guess not that slow. He clearly thinks to try my right flank as the obvious weakness to the army, but also identifies that he cannot just leave the leadbelchers unattended, so the Big Spider is going right for the Cannon Boys. The winds of magic blow very strong. He starts magic off right with Irresistible Force on the BIG version of FOOT of GORK right on my Ironguts. Yay. It hits and stomps and hurts and then stomps AGAIN, and hurts some more (but a more favorable scatter) and then he rolls and stomps a THIRD TIME! But, with luck, this time he scatters big and goes off the unit in a miss. All told, I consider myself lucky that only 3 ironguts lay flattened into the ground at this point. That spell is mean and I think I got off easy.
Ogres (turn 1)
The sabertusks run out hoping to bait/redirect the Savage Orc Boar Boyz into an assault. I realize that I cannot quite get close enough to force the charge if frenzy/animosity dont work out for me on the left, and I think I did, but it was close. Otherwise, I slide back slightly with the Leadbelchers in the hopes that the big spider rolls low and I can get an extra round of shooting in; but they still stay in the forest so as to not suffer a cover penalty for intervening terrain. Magic is a total waste, low winds roll and my fireball is dispelled. Skrag attempts a boosted range Spinemarrow to make the Leadbelchers stubborn for the ensuing combat, and fails. First of the big fails for the big guy. Shooting is actually a great triumph for the Ogres, scoring 4 wounds from an Ironblaster shot and two more wounds from the leadbelchers (who had a massive number of shots and decent hits, but not a lot of result despite tons of dice). The Stonehorn rider takes a long range shot at the River Trolls with the harpoon launcher and misses.
Turn 2
Savage Orcs
My opponent rolls for animosity, and both the large savage orc unit and the left most unit of boar boyz fail their animosity tests and are forced to charge the sabretusks. (Yes!) I cannot remember if the second unit of boar boyz failed the frenzy Ld check or not, but upon inspection, he realized he could not wheel around the sabretusk, and thus they charge him as well. The Arachnarok spider, leaning on swiftstride and a great charge range, makes the charge into the leadbelchers. His massive unit of Deff Creepers Shows up on my right flank. He (wisely?) keeps his unit of biguns and archers back, anticipating my impending countercharges to the units drawn out and wishing to avoid my overrun into his units. The river trolls are stupid again, and move forward an inch. Then in the Magic phase, I save most of my dice to dispel the nasty stuff (no more foot of Gork, thats for sure) and I allow him to teleport his unit of stupid River Trolls right in front of my Ogres. Again, another move probably in anticipation/support of impending overruns. Nothing happens in the shooting phase, and he easily rips apart the Sabertusks in both combats, neither of which do anything. All the units overrun, and specifically, the Boar Boys on the right overrun bigtime and end up right on line with the trolls (I dont think he saw that coming). The Arachnarok Spider charges in and rips the leadbelchers apart, killing 2 and wounding another. The leadbelchers fail to have any effect as they failed the Fear (from terror) test and are reduced to WS 1. Time for the morale check: SNAKE EYES! Holy Crap, they hold on insane heroism! Ill take it and be happy with the results of the combat.
Ogres turn 2
Its time to take advantage of opportunity and charge. The Giant, Stonehorn, and Mournfang all charge the Boar Boys on the left, and the Ironguts charge the trolls. Additionally, the Ogres have to charge both the River trolls and right most Boar Boyz in order to close the door on the boar boyz, and just for fun (in what turns out to be a bad idea in retrospect) I charge the Ironblaster in as well. Skrag casts Trollguts(bubble) and miscasts,. He loses 2 spell levels as well as Trollguts and Bonecrusher (so, now he is just a really expensive pain in the butt). I also did something here that is actually against the rules, but at the time I was unaware: thinking I could make way with Skrag, I do so (illegal move - you lose this ability with the incompatible footprint; in hindsight, this was actually bad for me anyway, as he was not very good, having had more ironguts in combat would have been better).
Combat goes quite predictably. On the left the boar boyz are almost wiped out by impact hits (7 dead) , and then the Giant swings his club and swats the last 3 off the board. The stonehorn overrun is blocked by the Mournfang luckily, and I dont want to send the giant off to die, so only the Mournfang reform, expecting the charge. On the right, Skrag does very little but gets credit for killing a single model; and the Firebelly also whiffs and then is killed (with the hellheart). Oh, and the Ironblaster: I got one stinking impact hit, then proceeded to miss all around. The only good thing was that it didnt take any wounds. Luckily, the BSB and the other ogres and guts win the day between impact hits and regular combat, killing 3 trolls and a slew of boar boyz. Both the Boar Boyz and the Trolls fail the Morale check and they flee. The Ironguts (3 inches) fail to catch the Trolls, and the Ogres attempt to pursue into the flank of the savage orcs waiting behind, but they roll low as well. Luckily, the one good thing about bringing the ironblaster to the fight was its Swiftstride for being a chariot, which allows him to catch the fleeing Boar Boyz. In retrospect, this lost me the Ironblaster, as it landed directly in front of the waiting, unengaged savage orcs, unsupported. Oh well, I would do it again. Lastly, the spider finally kills a few more leadbelchers (who fail their fear test again) and this time, the Leadies run off the board.
Turn 3
Savage Orcs
Wurrzag, the general, and the big unit of Savage Orcs charge the Mournfang, the other Savage Orcs charge the Ironblaster, and the spiders move around my backfield to start trying to support. Amazingly, the trolls pass their Ld check to rally. I dont remember what spells he attempted to cast, but nothing resulted from it. The lingering trollguts spell totally saves my ass in combat on the left for the mournfang. Despite the massive amount of attacks from the savage ocs, I manage to only lose a single model, and then do enough wounds to win combat. Another nice thing was the Dragonhide Banner. Unleashing the breath weapon now was great: it says in the book that a unit hit by the icy blast has the ASL special rule until the end of its NEXT turn; so he would have ASL for the next 2 rounds of combats. Sweet! Over on the right, the Orcs dont manage to do anything to the Ironblaster (thanks high toughness and lingering regen), but the IB cannot do anything in return, and it loses combat because of the charge/flank; the IB flees, I roll (1, 1, 2) for a swiftstride fallback, and it is easily caught.
Ogres Turn 3
I got a lucky break against the Savage Orcs with the general, in that he did not wipe out my mournfang. So I charge in with the stonehorn and Giant again. Skrag decides he wants to crush the Archer unit and charges, and the Ogre Bull unit charges the rear of the right most Savage orc unit. At this point, I have given up on magic and have no shooting. Skrag and the Guts run over the Orc Archers to a single Orc remaining and run him down as a result of frenzy. On the right side, my ogre unit tears apart the savage orc block, and the remaining Savage orcs flee. Unfortunately, the pursuit does not take them into the Deff Creepers. On my left, I am set up big to destroy his Generals bunker unit: he lost frenzy last turn; he now as ASL; I hit him with a Stone Horn (killing 4 outright); there are 2 thunderstomps, and 3 regular stomps on top of everything else coming his way. The giants initiative 3 goes first and he .yells and bawls!!! Damn it! Set up so perfectly, and he ruins it. I win by 2, and of course, his general with BSB stays.
Turn 4
Savage Orcs
The Deff Creepers charge the Ogre unit, the river trolls are Stupid once again, and the spider moves over to attempt to support. Nothing happens in the magic phase. This time in combat, since the Savage Orcs still have ASL, the mournfang, Giant, and Stonehorn kill each remaining orc, including the characters, squashing their last wounds away with stomps and a thunderstomp. The MF reform to face the threat of the Arachnarok Spider. On right corner, the Deff Creepers kill a couple ogres in exchange for 4 wounds, and the ogres stay on a 3 for Ld check.
Ogres Turn 4
Thinking that the Arachnarok Spider with its one remaining wound would fall easily to the 3 charging Mournfang, they charge with the Dragonhide banner held high. Everything else reforms or moves to set up future engagements. The ogres and Creepers exchange blows, but stay in place. The Mournfang do almost NOTHING to the arachnarok. A single wound, and it lives. It does massive damage in return, and the Mournfang flee, only to be run down easily. Damn, it was some bad rolling. At this point, my opponent concedes the rest of the game, partially because it is 3 in the AM.
Ogre Victory! 2308 to 1123
Afterthoughts:
1. Skrag is not very good. The footprint colliding thing alone sucks. He is no better as a caster than a Lv four SM. No magic items. Not good enough in combat to justify everything else, or the point cost. It was nice having Ld 9. Maybe I need gorgers.
2. Flaming Impact hits: do they exist or is it like the stomp?
3. Foot of Gork is a ridiculously good spell.
4. That spider was a massive pain in the ass.
5. I fought 2 consecutive armies that totally ignored psychology, and put me on the receiving end of terror (downgraded to fear). I still won, but it definitely makes a difference.
6. My game plan worked surprisingly well, baiting him out with frenzy and redirecting the overruns. I often fail in using my sabretusks so well if there isnt a warmachine to hunt.
7. I liked the method of simply deploying my army formation how I wanted and not trying to create favorable match-ups, with the exception of the Leadbelchers at the end. It was easier and took far less time to contemplate. I think I will try this more often.
8. The Giant and Stonehorn again do quite well against an army that is not very shooty/lacks warmachines.
And, just because, here is a picture of the completed Skrag:
And my favorite Giant:
Check out my Gnoblog for pics of the rest of the Army
http://www.ogrestronghold.com/forum/index.php?topic=28818.0
