Warhammer Fantasy battles – First game with my Ogre Kingdoms

by Totengraber on Oct.26, 2009, under Fantasy, Miniatures, Warhammer Fantasy

I set up late last week to play a guy named Shawn who has been hanging out at Games To Die For lately for Sunday. We didn’t really decide on points level or even what time we’d both be there, so I think it was assumed we’d play as big an army as both of us can cover and meet near when the store opened. When I arrived at about 12:30, Shawn was already there waiting with his Tomb Kings army.

We decided to play 1,500 points as that was as big as I could get my Ogres to go.

My list:

Bruiser (Tenderizer, HA, Luck Gnoblar, Gnoblar Thiefstone x2)
Bruiser (BSB, Seigebreaker, HA)
Butcher (Bangstick, Dispel Scroll)
Ogre Bulls x3 (Bellower)
Ogre Bulls x3 (Bellower)
Ogre Ironguts x3 (Bellower)
Ogre Ironguts x3 (Bellower)
Gnoblar Trappers x10
Gnoblar Fighters x25 (Champion)
Leadbelchers x2 (Bellower)
Leadbelchers x2 (Bellower)

His list (my guesses):

Tomb Prince (chariot)
Tomb Prince (horse)
Liche Priest
Chariots x5
Skeleton Warriors w/Bows x24
Skeleton Warriors w/Bows x10
Ushabti x4
Tomb Scorpion
Bone Giant

I don’t remember all the details, but here are a few highlights.

He was able to wipe out my Gnoblar Trappers on his second turn with his unit of 10 archers. The ability to cast a “move” spell and then charge with units like the Ushabti or the Chariots was pretty awesome. My BSB was able to pretty much wipe out the unit of Chariots including his general thanks to the Seigebreaker. Bull Charge is pretty cool for a few extra hits. Having little/no armor is pretty rough to deal with. Each guy having 3 attacks and 3 wounds was nice. It kept units fighting for a while. The Leadbelcher Misfire is pretty harsh. I lost one guy from one unit and the last guy from another unit due to that roll. The idea that I have to stay still for a turn after firing kinda sucks, too. Ushabti are pretty killy. They swept through lots of my dudes. I lost my Butcher the turn after he fled from the Ushabti as he failed his Rally roll. Gut Magic seemed to work pretty well and I look forward to getting better at using it.

All in all, it was a blast. I really have always loved WHFB even over 40K. I think I’m digging the Ogres and after a few games with them, I hope to get a win or two in there. Shawn and a few other people at the store had a bunch of great suggestions for me, not the least of which is to skip using the Leadbelchers. It’s kinda hard to do that when in one turn they got off 12 shots into the Skeletal Archers. Personally, I think I just could have used them better. Next time I’ll also have a unit of Maneaters, once I get some conversions done. I would also like to get a Goger or two as well. A second or even third Butcher may make their way in, too.

There was also talk of starting a Warhammer Fantasy league with discounts on regiment boxes and bonuses for painting talked about. Shawn will be working with Jerry on that.

:fantasy, kingdoms, kings, ogre, tomb, warhammer

4 Comments for this entry

Jesters89
October 27th, 2009 on 9:25 am
Hey man,
Its Jeremy. I’ve been keeping an eye on your blog lately and thought I’d chime in about the ogres. Marth and I have an OK army as well and they can be tricky to use, but they are a blast nonetheless. I think your heart is in the right place with the leadbelchers. They are fantastic flank guard. I’d also consider picking up the scrap launcher as its amazing. Finally, if you have the models, I’d swap the bellowers for standards. Ogres hurt on combat res and rely on wounds to win battles, which is uncertain. At least with the standard you are guaranteed one point. Just make sure if you’re fighting a losing battle you kill off the battle standard BEFORE any other units to prevent it being snagged for victory points.

Gorgers are also great.

Glad to hear you’re enjoying the game. Maybe when time clears up here in bloomington we can get together for a game.
Totengraber
October 27th, 2009 on 9:31 am
Hey, Jeremy!!
People have recommended the Scraplauncher. I’ll look into that.
The Bellowers are there for bait & flee tactics. I don’t know about standards. I wouldn’t want to give away 100 VP per standard. I may try them after playing a few more games.
Gorgers are on my ‘to get’ list for sure.
I’d really like to get in a game with ya!
Jesters89
October 27th, 2009 on 3:16 pm
Bait and flee makes sense with the small units and will help with grabbing the charge, but man its risky with so few units and such a mediocre leadership… unless you play tightly around your general. As for the standards, just remove them as your first casualty. If you are getting beat up enough to lose an ogre, you’re probably going to flee. If the model dies before you flee from combat, the opponent does not capture the banner.

Man eater units can be pretty buff too.
Totengraber
November 2nd, 2009 on 2:32 pm
I managed to build some Maneaters over the weekend from Bull/Ironguts bits and some Empire stuff I had lying around. They look pretty cool and are ready to take the field!

I’m no Warhammer expert, I just read forums and such and try to glean from them things that will help me play the Ogres better. The way I have my units, they are all pretty small and between having the Tyrant/Bruiser as my General and a BSB, most of them should rally from fleeing fairly easily. Yes, the Leadership isn’t the best, but I kinda like the idea of big brutish Ogres being crafty in their ways of winning battles. I may build a couple of standards and see what happens, though.

Thanks for the advice!!