Goblin Army Tactics
Goblin Tactics by Yekoj Frums
"Intro-dukshun"
"Como Friholes," yelled the little night goblin. "That means 'how ya
been" here in Miriangelo don't it?" The customers at Tactics and Ale
looked up for a second before returning to their conversations. One
wonders if the enchantments guarding the fabled inn and its illustrious
clientele have fallen into a state of disrepair. How else could such a
weedy fellow like this goblin have joined famous generals from across the
Old World as they sipped beer and talked.
"Hey! I'm Yekoj. I'm da Warboss of the Frums Night Goblin tribe from Red
Eye Mountain and I've been leading gobbos inta battle since.. well since as
long as I ken remember. Anyway, that's quite an achievement fer such a
liddle fellow like me! I'm here ta tell all you tall folks about how we
goblins fight! I can do that in one word—poorly. But if you feel like yer
up ta da challenge ya might want to lead a Waaaaaagh! of us sometime. It
may not be very successful but it sure is a lot of fun!"
"Da Mobz"
When ya first want ta start a Goblin Waaaaaagh! ya got to go get a whole
bunch of goblins. Goblins with spears and bows are the most numerous and
easiest to recruit. I'd get about 60-100 spear goblins and 30-60 arrer
ladz. (They are plastic and came with 4th edition rulz so there are scads
of 'em to be had—go get some, paint 'em and start yer Waaaaagh!)
Now that ya got a bunch of ladz its time ta start sortin' em out. Always
put da ladz in units of which are multiples of 4 plus 1. This means
5,9,13,17,21… This is cuz it takes 25% causalities ta cause a panic test
so having 21 gob's means da enemy has to kill 6 not 5 (we goblins don't
like taking panic tests on our 5 leadership!) There are two types of
goblin mobz: "throw-away" and "hand-to-hand."
Throw-away units are just that. They are expected to die. These units
will usually have about 17 gobbos in 'em. They will NEVER carry a standard
(don't give up 1 free VP). If they are night goblins they may or may not
have fanatics in them (the enemy expects you to have small
"fanatic-dropper" units. Don't do what he expects.) If you have metal
figures with hand weapons use them instead of spears to save points. These
units are not meant to win combat, their job is something else entirely.
Throw-away units are a distraction. Night Goblin throw-away units tend to
be the most effective. Everyone assumes they contain fanatics so enemy
flyers and skirmishers will try to draw out the fanatics which may not even
be dere. Enemy knights will try to get out of the way. Enemy archers will
see a small "breakable" unit and focus their missile fire on the throw-away
unit rather than on important targets (which are so big they are often
treated as unbreakable by missile fire). Throw-away units are also useful
for charging enemy units in the flank. They have a combat resolution of +3
just from ranks alone and my unit of 17 "Khornehuska" Night goblin archers
have broken two units of Bloodcrushers on separate occasions in tournaments
by charging them in the flank. They have kept the (now vandalized) battle
standard of Khorne as their own flag! If you are using goblin archers they
are by definition throw-away. No archer unit will ever survive
hand-to-hand, EVER! Don't worry about this. Simply park you unit of 17
archers on a hill. Let them shoot anything within 16." If they get
charged simply Stand… Shoot… Die… Break… Flee. This is the life of a
goblin archer and you had best get used to it!
Hand to hand goblin units are big. Their job is to win hand-to-hand
combats. They have enough goblins in them to take missile fire for 2-3
rounds and still retain rank bonus. This usually means 33 or more goblins
including musician and standard. Rank bonus and standard are not enough to
win most combats. You need more. More means goblin big bosses with a
weapon and armor (increase your combat resolution and decrease the
enemies). More also means a magic banner such as Battle Banner, Banner of
Defiance, or War Banner (each type of goblin can carry one banner-forest,
night and regular). More may mean using a "cunnin' trick" to win combat.
Examples of these are Bad Moon Banner in a unit of Night Goblins with
Halberds or 2H weapons. Another "trick" is to use a mob of netters (big $$$
but neat troops). Give them a boss with a club and the potion of strength.
Have a frontage of about 7 (enough to get as many nets into combat as
possible). Give them a banner and full ranks. Drink the potion of
strength and then charge an enemy unit. Every netted enemy will be clubbed
by the S7 boss and if they live through that drubbing they still won't be
able to fight back. Coming up with ways for "weak" goblins to beat "hard"
enemies in hand-to-hand is one of the joys of goblin generalship—come up
with some tricks of yer own!
"Da Ridas"
Like goblin infantry, goblin cavalry can be classed in two
types—Throw-Away Units and Hand to Hand Units. Both wolf riders and spider
riders function in relatively the same fashion. Throw-away units usually
consist of 5-7 models. Dozens of tasks can be assigned to these units.
Kill war machine crews, lone mages outside of units, and small skirmishing
units. Stop the enemy from march moving… the list goes on. Wolf units
have better speed (MV 9 vs. MV 7) but spider riders can move through
forests and across obstacles with ease. Having a small unit of each is
probably the most flexible approach. Throw-away units can also be used to
transport a "booby-trapped" character such as one with the black gem of
Gnar, heart of woe (and potion of strength?), dark mace of death, etc.
Hand-to-Hand units are much larger. They should have enough models to get
maximum rank bonus without losing too much mobility. The balance between
extra models to insure rank bonus and less models to improve the ability to
move about the board is a hard one to master. The basic consideration is:
"How many models will I lose before I get into combat with my target."
With such high movement rates the number should be relatively low. Once
you get there you need to decide how your cavalry are going to win combat.
The "cunnin' tricks" used with infantry blocks still work. A front rank of
bosses with magic items is still very nice. The problem with cavalry
goblins is that in order to have a magic banner they must have the Battle
Standard Bearer. This is a double-edged sword. While he does provide +2
combat resolution, a re-roll on break tests, and the ability to carry a
magic standard he does have one major weakness. He is pitiful in
hand-to-hand (So when you charge make sure he ends up in hth with rank and
file!), if he carries a magic flag he can't have magic armor, and if he
dies you lose a lot of VP's as well as all of the bonuses he brings with
him. Think twice about including him in a unit as it is a risky
proposition. His unit must win their combat and not get crushed by a flank
attack in order for him to be worth taking. Some "cunnin' tricks" include
a big unit of spider riders with the battle standard bearer with spider
banner (x2 attacks all around! Yeah!) This unit is a one-shot deal and
should probably hide in a forest unit turn four when they charge out to
break a big enemy unit. It's worthless if all of those double attacks are
used against gutter runners or skirmishing skinks. Another nice trick is
the BSB with Mork's War Banner which will detonate enemy mages in contact
and will help prevent your big unit from taking magic casualties. Other
BSB carried standards to consider are—Battle Standard, Banner of Defiance,
Banner of Dread, War Banner, Gork's War Banner and the Valorous Banner (to
charge fear and terror causing stuff).
"Da Karts"
Everybody's seen dem wizzing wolf-karts go zoomin' across da battlefield.
Well go get some fer yerself. A basic chariot with scythes, an extra
wolf, and 4 goblin crew costs only 96 points! This means that you should
ALWAYS order a 3-wolf yoke (da bit which all da wolves is hooked to) from
mail order or convert one fer yerself. You should also always stick a
cupple of extra gobbos in da kart. Dese things are "one-hit wonders." Dis
means that they will smash 1 thing, 1 time really 'ard. Unfortunately, if
they don't completely destroy whatever they run into they may well be in
trouble. When you use your chariots try to think in terms of range and
charge arc. This means that when you look at the model on the table you
see a pie slice in front of it which extends 18 inches. Anything in this
pie slice can be charged. Your job is to place this charge arc so that
during the next turn you will be able to charge an enemy unit—preferably in
the flank. One chariot is allowed to have a magic banner. Some good
choices include Gork's War Banner or the War Banner for extra hitting
power, Mork's War Banner to kill mages and protect from enemy magic, the
Valorous standard so you can charge terror and fear causing stuff, or the
Banner of Sorcery if you have a mage riding in one of your chariots.
Putting characters in chariots is one of the most important benefits of
owning chariots. Being able to randomize hits is equivalent to an free
ward (like the Golden Crown of Atrazar). What I mean by dis is dat there
is a much lower chance of yer leader gettin' hit by da enemy if you got 2
wolves, 4 gobbos and a chariot to take da hits for him.
"Da Uvver Stuff"
We gobbos got lots of nasty stuff up our sleeves, and most of it smells
like rotten eggs (a common side-effect of keepin' stuff in our sleeves).
Dis stuff is our Doom Divers, Fanatics, Squig Hunter Teams, and Squig
Hoppers. Dem "regular" gobbos is da only ones who can have doom divers.
This is cuz if you launch 'em in a cave or under a tree they tend ta get
smushed! Da Divers is good fer smashin' big targets. If ya want ta kill a
bunch of troops go and get a rock lobber. But if you want ta kill a
greater daemon or Slaan or some uvver BIG fat ole nasty, its time ta get da
flying loonies. This is cuz a goblin is small and so is his template.
However, if you do manage ta hit some big monster you'll do a strength 10
hit which causes d6 wounds! All this means that 1) ya gotta be a good
shot—so go practice and 2) ya gotta fight big enemies. Its nice to know
that unlike some uvver warmachines, doom divers don't have really nasty
misfires. 1/3 of da time da machine breaks. 1/3 of da time you lose 1
extra turn. 1/3 of da time is shoots randomly. This is nice fer dose
fellas used ta Skaven explosions! Always remember that if you want to kill
something big you are going to need as many chances as possible to hit it.
One time I wuz leadin' some goblins and three of my Doom Divers managed ta
kill a Great Unclean One. Splat!
Fanatics is the most popular cunnin' trick we gobbos got. In fact it is
da main reason that us Night Gobbos show up in most every Orc and Goblin
army. Most people know how ta use fanatics. Simply send 'em at da enemy
(especially cavalry) and watch da body parts fly. However, dey also work
great for stalling da enemy. The ONLY time troops can move through a
fanatic is 1) if they are charging and are the fanatics has JUST been
released and 2) if they move through it due to compulsory movement. Read
dat line again. Most people think that if they are willing to take da
casualties then they can move through a fanatic. This is not true. This
means that a fanatic is basically a randomly moving wall. Enemies which
have their charge arc blocked by a fanatic CANNOT charge! I'll talk more
later about how important stalling is when you are leading a Goblin army.
The second taktic to know about fanatics is picking which unit ta put them
in. ONLY Night Goblin mobs can contain fanatics (not Squig Hunters,
Netters, etc.) This means that every unit of Night Goblins can potentially
contain fanatics. If you have one big unit of 50 Night Goblins (which is
designed to win hth) on the board the enemy only has to worry about one
possible source of fanatics. However, if you field three units of 17 night
goblins (throw-away units) he has to worry about three possible sources of
fanatics. For this reason, it is important to include as many units of
night goblins as possible. If your enemy is confronted with several small
night goblin units he will have to keep his cavalry away from all of them
and he will have multiple targets for his Kislev Horse Archers or flyers
(trying to draw them out). Rather than including 1 fanatic in each unit,
or even 3 in every unit I would suggest putting 3 fanatics in only one
unit. This means that you will get one big hit and the other small unit
(which cost on 51 points!!!) will do a lot to help confuse your enemy
without giving up many VP's or cost many points. Finally, I suggest that
you keep fanatics in units most people wouldn't suspect. Have a small unit
of spearmen charge the enemy cavalry while a small unit of archers slowly
advances up the flank. The enemy will react to stop the spearmen (who
don't have any fanatics) while they will ignore the archers. The archers
can be saved until turn 4 (when most people assume all the fanatics have
been released) and then deliver a devastating surprise to a core enemy
unit. I once killed a Daemon Prince of Khorne (who was the army general)
in the fourth turn with 3 fanatics hidden in a small unit of archers—my
infamous Khornehuska unit!
Squig Hunter Teams are nasty. They are relatively uncommon but fairly
effective. The most useful size seems to be six cave squigs and two hunter
teams (I've fielded as many as 11 squigs with 10 hunter teams). Hunter
teams can have musicians and standard bearers and I have made converted
models for both of these. It is always nice to have +1 to combat
resolution and occasionally the musician has come in handy. Squigs are
most useful when 'Ere We Go has been cast on them or they have been Hand of
Gorked into an enemy. Striking first with 12 attacks at Strength 5 is
nothing to laugh at. However, they have a low toughness so they need to be
protected from enemy missile fire. A nice aspect of hunter teams is their
ability to "hide" characters in the rear row. This means that a Goblin
Warlord or shamans (especially shamans with spells which don't require
line-of-sigh!) can stay safe in the rear ranks. This means that an enemy
can't pick them off with Line-of-sight spells and items (staff of
lightning…) and that in hth combat the enemy can't kill your shamans
without breaking the whole unit. If you equip the character with a spear
he can even attack over the top of the squigs! Another nice wrinkle of
squig hunter teams is their ability to go wild. If all of the squig hunter
goblins are killed the squigs run in random directions and fight whoever
they run into. It is rather unlikely that many squigs will be alive when
the rear rank of goblins is finally killed. So… you might have to help the
goblins along to the great cave in the sky. One tactic I have used is to
put my Warlord with Black Gem of Gnar and the Dark Mace of Death in the
rear rank. When the Squigs are about to be defeated in combat or when they
are in the middle of the enemy army I simply 1) fire off the Dark Mace
which kills both hunter teams who are in base-to-base contact with my
general and 2) fire off the Gem which transports my General out of the
battle (he dose not die so he gives up no VP's and doesn't cause any panic
tests.) The six squigs run in all directions and can tie up any units
which they collide with. This is also nice because the enemy has to chase
down and kill EVERY single squig if he wants to get and VP's for the unit.
A less dramatic means is simply casting Gaze of Mork across both bases of
goblin hunters. This has similar effects to the first taktic.
Squig Hoppers are probably the most under-rated troop in the game.
Personally, I like them better than fanatics. The first thing to learn
about them is how to control their movement. The important thing is to
keep them bouncing. As long as they continue to land on troops (yours or
theirs) they will continue to keep bouncing. Goblins are cheap. Don't
worry about killing 1 or 2 or 10 of them if it allows you to bounce your
hoppers where you want them to go. It is often wise to keep your hoppers
behind a block of troops so that enemy archers can kill them. Even a few
archers can be the death of a lone toughness three hopper. When you are
choosing to bounce at an enemy it is important to choose which direction to
bounce carefully. Imagine a number of lines extending 12 inches in all
directions from your hopper. The line with the largest area under it
covered by troops is the direction you want to bounce. For example, if you
have landed on the left rear corner of a unit you should bounce across the
unit towards the front right corner. This allows you the greatest
likelihood of hitting another enemy and continuing your bouncing. Hoppers
are especially useful for eating characters. Two strength five auto hits
and an additional hit by a goblin at strength 4 are enough to kill most
champions and mages and hurt most heroes and generals.
"Da Bosses"
Da most important boss is da Warboss. When a goblin becomes Warboss he
has one job. STAY ALIVE. If ya can't do that then you might as well not
even be Warboss. If you die every goblin unit will have to take a panic
test on a leadership 5 or 6! If they flee they will have to pass another
test on a 5 or 6 to rally. Do anything you can to keep your Warlord alive
or you will certainly lose the battle. The second job a Warboss is to keep
the troops from running away. The key to this is leadership.
Unfortunately, Goblin Warlord's only have a leadership of seven. The only
way to improve this leadership is through wearing the Crown of Command. I
cannot underscore the significance of this single magic item. While I
currently do not use the Crown of Command in my goblin armies (I see this
as a challenge) I suggest that every goblin general begin with one firmly
welded to his skull.
Goblin Battle Standard Bearers offer three minor benefits and one major
weakness. The benefits are 1) a re-roll on break tests—this is only really
useful in conjunction with the crown of command 2) a +1 to combat
resolution and most significantly 3) the ability for a unit normally unable
to carry a magic banner to have one—i.e. Squig Hunter Teams with the Bad
Moon Banner or Spider Riders with the Spider Banner. The single major
weakness of a goblin BSB is the ease with which he dies. Losing him costs
a huge number of VP's (~100 for the goblin and magic banner plus 100 for
the battle standard itself plus however much the unit he is with costs.)
I would very strongly caution goblins about taking a BSB. He is useful,
but losing him can often lose you the game in VP's.
Goblin Big Bosses are the means by which goblins can win combat. If you
take one (or two or three…) be sure to equip him with magic armor and
possibly a magic weapon (although a 2H weapon is a cheap alternative as he
often can strike back). By reducing the casualties goblin regiments take
(through bosses with armor) and increasing the number of wounds caused, a
goblin big boss is often the only way goblins can win combat. Goblin
Bosses are not used in the same capacity. They are only useful for
carrying magic items which benefit the whole unit (such as the Ruby
Chalice) or which are "booby traps" (such as the Black Gem of Gnar.)
"Da Shamans"
Frankly, Goblin and Forest Shamans are mere shadows of their superiors da
Night Goblin Shamans. Night Goblin Shamans can do everything the others
can do and so much more. I would contend that Night Goblin Shamans are the
most powerful magic users, point-for-point, in the game.
>From 'ere on I'll only talk about Night Goblin shamans although most stuff
will apply to other mages (including Forest and "regular" Shamans.)
I would suggest that every Goblin general take 2-3 level one goblin
shamans. These guy serve several purposes. 1) They retain 1 WoM card
each turn. 2) They can cast one spell which is likely to be successful
once due to reinforcing it with their mushroom. 3) Their mushroom also
helps "cycle" the deck (they let you look at more cards and therefore allow
you a better chance to acquire Escape, Total Power, etc.) 4) They can
detach from a unit and stand in front of enemies about to charge it. The
enemies charge—kill a lone 28 pt. Shaman and then get counter-charged by
the unit the shaman used to be with. (This is their most useful and oft
overlooked use.)
I would also suggest that Goblin generals take at least one level three
shaman. Usually, three rounds of mushroom-enhanced spell casting is all
that is possible. One turn may be spent out of range, without suitable
targets or simply fleeing or dead. Because of this a level four shaman is
not necessary.
Useful items for this shaman include the Rod of Power (only the shaman
eating the mushroom can use or retain the WoM cards generated. The Rod of
Power allows the shaman to retain multiple cards from round to round.) In
addition the Book of Ashur allows mushroom fueled Necromantic or High magic
which is a frightening prospect (also note that the number of mushrooms is
a function of level so a shaman receives an additional mushroom when they
increase a level.) Finally magic items such as Banner of Sorcery, Chalice
of Sorcery, and Potion of Knowledge all further improve your dominance of
the magic phase (Savage Orc shamans are also nice in this respect, as they
provide additional WoM cards on top of your mushroom generated ones.)
"Da Taktics"
Now dat you know all about us gobbos ya need ta know how we fight. There
are three main phases in which you can win the battle—hand-to-hand,
shooting, and magic. Goblins enter hand-to-hand disadvantaged. With such
weak troops it is difficult but not impossible to win hand-to-hand combats.
The main way this is done is through rank and standard bonus coupled with
Big Bosses armed and armored with magic items. Goblins are likewise weak
in the shooting phase. Ballistic skill 3 with shortbows is hardly enough
to inflict large numbers of casualties. The main offensive strength of
goblins is their magic. Multiple shamans equipped with the right magic
items can overwhelm the enemy by controlling the Winds of Magic deck.
The main tactic I have learned while playing goblins is stalling. By
"stalling" I mean avoiding combats which I know I will lose. Night Goblin
fanatics, squig hoppers, and level one mages can all block charges by units
which will smash your weak night goblin troops. By using the techniques
described above you can pick fights which you are likely to win and
increase the amount of time that is available to your shooting and magic
forces. While fanatics and squig hoppers are unique to goblin armies
low-level mages and the concept of "stalling" is not.
"Da Cun-Klushun"
I hope dat dis stuff is helpful. If you ain't gonna a lead a goblin mob
ya still need ta know da difference between "hand-to-hand mobz" and
"throw-away mobz." Ya still need ta know how ta stall yer enemies tuff
stuff. In short, and I'm nothin' if not short, I hope dat all you big
folks learned sumptin' useful from a liddle gobbo like me. Uh… can I have
an ale now?
