Viability of a shooty ogres list?

Hello guys

I'm still at the start-up phase of my mighty ogre army and I've been contemplating a certain setup idea or list for lower points games (1000pts) with a rather heavy focus on shooting.

I'm asking because it's a rather irregular setup and I haven't found anything anywhere on the internet discussing the viablity of gnoblar trappers as core for example.

Specifically, I'm thinking of something like this:


Hero:

Firebelly - lvl 2, Ruby Ring of Ruin, additional hand weapon (182pts)

Core:

12 Gnoblar Trappers (60pts)

12 Gnoblar Trappers (60pts)

12 Gnoblar Trappers (60pts)

12 Gnoblar Trappers (60pts)

Special:

4x Leadbelchers - Bellower (183pts)

4x Leadbelchers - Bellower (183pts)

Rare:

Ironblaster (170pts)


This should be a legal army at about 956 points according to my calculations, allthough I could be off by a little.

What are your thoughts on a list such as this one? I'd mainly be fighting High-Elves (featuring Island of Blood troops and perhaps some Sisters of Avelorn), but I don't mean to tailor my list specifically against Elves.

For me, the list doesn't have to be particularly competitive. It's pretty much a gimmick I guess, but I need to know in case it's a horrible idea.

Oh, and in case you're wondering about the weird number of *48* gnoblar trappers.. it's because a box of them contains 24 models

Thanks

First off, you have to pay 25 points to give each gnoblar unit trappers. They don't come with trappers by default. Since you are going to use gnoblars as your main troops the trapper upgrade is a must. It will cause any enemy unit that charges the front of your gnoblar unit to take dangerous terrain tests. They are mostly an anti-horde/tie-up unit so your ogres can focus on someone else or charge in and smash heads. However, they can also disrupt an enemy unit that your ogres are in combat with shifting the odds in your favor. Finally, another important role that gnoblars fill that ogres cannot is counter deployment/deployment control. Fielding many small units of gnoblars can cause your opponent to deploy in a way that is beneficial to you. Just as sabertusks are chaff units to hunt characters and warmachines, gnoblars are like sheepherders. Forcing the enemy deploy/move into a position that is favorable for your ogres to break them.

Secondly, I would buy 2 normal Ogre boxes and convert the models into leadblechers and the firebelly. This way you get 12 ogres plus a whole bunch of bits to build your future forces. You should also continue to buy and use the normal Ogre box or Ogre Kingdoms Battalion box to build your future Ogre units. More bang for your buck instead of getting less by purchasing either Leadbelchers or Ironguts.

So in review, 2 Gnoblar boxes, 2 normal Ogre boxes, and 1 Ironblaster box and your good to go.

Hope this helps and welcome to the Stronghold.

As Nazzaarth Icebreaker said, don't forget to purchase the trapper upgrade if you want it. It's not as important on larger blocks of gnoblars.

Besides that this looks like a fun list. 
If I had the patients to paint that many gnoblars I'd almost certainly try something like that!

Tip: Keep your leadbelchers behind the gnoblars to screen them from enemy fire.

Thanks for the replies

It's most unfortunate that I miscalculated the point costs of the gnoblar trappers. The fact that they cost so little means I'd have to paint more than two boxes for the army to be legal (25% core), which isn't really anything I look forward to.

I guess I'm really asking if the 250 pts worth of gnoblar trappers in my setup are better than just the same points' worth of ogre bulls? The bulls would be cheaper and a lot more fun to paint, but they don't really fit well with the gimmick I'm trying to go for.

I'm also not that skilled at converting miniatures. Warhammer has become oddly expenive indeed, but making leadbelcher cannons out of green stuff seems pretty tough to me :p

You can try to make the cannon out of plasticard or a cylinder shaped object. or you could buy the boxes you need and get some Instamorph. Instamorph are plastic pellets that when melted in boiling water stick together. After that they can be used to make molds for miniature peices or be shaped into a part you need for a conversion/building project. You can look on Amazon and read the reviews yourself. They will give you the jest on how to get the best results. Oh, and the Instamorph can be reheated to create something else. So if your done with a certain mold and want to cast a new one then just place in boiling water and then the plastic will become soft and moldable again.

After your Instamorph molds have dried u can use any type of putty to fill the inside of the mold. The best quality/bang for your buck is Apoxie Sculpt. It has a 2 hour window where it can be molded into something before it hardens. I have had a normal sized 16.oz (they come in two separate containers that you mix together) for around a year and I only have used around 1/4 of the product. Amazon has reviews on this product that are informal and give you good insight to how Apoxie Sculpt works.

If your hesitant about invest in the bulk amounts of Instamorph or Apoxie Sculpt you can get the normal sized 12.oz Instamorph and 16.oz Apoxie Sculpt to try out. These only cost around 19$ each on Amazon while the bulk sizes cost 36$ and are double the amount. While this is a small investment it will earn back the money you put into it and more. For every box of miniatures you buy just make a mold of each part on the plastic sprue and then place enough Apoxie Sculpt to fill the mold completely. If you build just 6 ogres from your Apoxie miniature parts you created this investment just saved you 40 extra dollars instead of spending it on another ogre box. If you don't mind having duplicates, you can create molds of a fully built box of Gnoblars which will help make list come true cheaper then constantly buying boxes for each unit.

So in review, Buy a container of Instamorph and Apoxie Sculpt. Then purchase one box of each unit you want/need in your army. Remove all the bits from the sprues of each set and then boil water to soften the Instamorph plastic pellets. After the Instamorph has melted enough to stick together use gloves or some tweezers to remove it from the boiling water. With your gloves on begin to cast thin molds around each part you want to use at the moment. If the unused Instamorph begins to harden before your done place it back into the boiling water to resoften it. Let the completed molds dry throughly and cut open the mold taking the original part out. Place enough Apoxie Sculpt in the mold to fill it and wait for the putty to dry. Open the mold again and retrieve the copied miniature piece. Repeat as needed for you modeling needs. More bits, more money to buy new boxes and building armies faster than before.

I will go over the 3 core choices in the army book to show you which unit is better at 250 points.

First we have the Ogres formally known as Bulls. 250 points will nab you 8 unupgraded Ogres with 10 points remaining. Each Ogre unit needs at least 3 Ogres at the cost of 90 points. In competitive play the highest number i have seen in a single unit of both Ironguts and Ogres is 9, so you shouldn't over 10 in a single unit. Ogres and Ironguts also have impact hits which benefits having more ogres in the unit and they also have fear. Ogres can be taken in slightly larger numbers than Ironguts which means you can have multiple units of Ogres to pressure/take down enemy regiments.

Second are the Ironguts. 250 points gives you 5 Ironguts at the cost of 215. Ironguts also need at least 3 Ogres to count as a unit with a cost of 129. While Ironguts are small and expensive units they can be turned into a deathstar compared to the normal Ogres. More durable and able to hit harder make up for there lack of numbers compared to other Ogre Kingdoms units.

Third are the Gnoblars. 250 points will net you 100 of these little guys and the entry cost for the unit is 25 points for 10 of them. While Ogres and Ironguts are able to bring the pain every loss in the unit is felt. You lose more impact hits besides normal attacks for each Ogre lost. This doesn't mean that a single Ogre can't get the job done but he will have a tough time getting it accomplished. Gnoblars are alienated to this slight problem. Sure they can run away in fear and not destroy enemy units but they don't have to. Ogres are made to crack skulls while Gnoblars are made to distract or tarpit your foes. Forcing your opponent to position themselves to your advantage in the deployment phase is nothing to sniff at either.

After looking over your list again, I'm thinking you could take out one Gnoblar unit and replace it with an Ogre unit to give your army some needed power. This also has the added bonus of allowing you to not have to buy an extra box of Gnoblars. With these changes your list would look like this:

Hero:
Firebelly - lvl 2, Ruby Ring of Ruin, additional hand weapon (182pts)

Core:
5 Ogres - Addtional Hand Weapons (155pts)

10 Gnoblar - Trappers (50pts)

10 Gnoblar - Trappers (50pts)

10 Gnoblars (25pts)

Special:
4x Leadbelchers - Bellower (183pts)

4x Leadbelchers - Bellower (183pts)

Rare:
Ironblaster (170pts)

Total: 998 points

Or if you want to keep the Gnoblar mass as you core choice try this list out:

Hero:
Firebelly - lvl 2, Ruby Ring of Ruin, additional hand weapon (182pts)

Core:
14 Gnoblar - Trappers (60pts)

12 Gnoblar - Trappers (55pts)

12 Gnoblar - Trappers (55pts)

12 Gnoblar - Trappers (55pts)

12 Gnoblar - Trappers (55pts)

Special:
4x Leadbelchers - Bellower (183pts)

4x Leadbelchers - Bellower (183pts)

Rare:
Ironblaster (170pts)

Total: 998 points

Two lists, same amount of points.