Anti-Orc Tactics for the Empire

Revised for 7th Edition

Original Artwork by Grutch from one of the first articles on Warhammer Empire

Contents
Introduction
Orc Rules Overview
The Orc Magic Phase
Know the Threat
Overview of the Empire
Summary

Introduction

Now that both the new Orc book and the new Empire book have arrived on the scene, it is time for a revision of one of the first tacticas to appear on Warhammer Empire. The new Orcs, though similar to their predecessors are enough different to cause us to vary our tactics a bit. When you consider the impact of both 7th Edition Warhammer, and the latest Empire book, you now have three challenges; adapting to 7th Edition with its foibles, learning about the Orcs, and then learning and trying out new tactics with the revised Empire. Hopefully, this tactica will assist you so that you can vanquish the Orc hordes and keep the Empire safe for the immediate future.

Gashbad Beergut’s Warpath, Courtesy of Da Warpath
Orc Rules Overview: (You should own the book)

Many of you recall that the Orcs had a couple of pages of additional rules in the past edition. This was due to the wide variation of the types of units that could be deployed in an Orc army. Much like the Empire the Orcs are one of the few lists in the game where you can make almost any army type you desire. Just like the Empire, the Orcs are one of the most unreliable army lists, with multitudes of problems with special rules and psychology. Perhaps the biggest change to the Orc book is the plethora of special choices. Now an Orc general has to take great care in selecting their special choices.

Animosity

Animosity-The animosity rules have changed. As a long time Orc player myself, I’m not certain for the better, but they do add a lot of variety to the game. Now on a one or six something happens. The one is still pretty much the same as before and the unit doesn’t move. The six result means the unit moves 1D6” towards the closest enemy unit.

Diagram #1

How can the Empire take advantage of Animosity?

Much like the Empire, the Orcs need to maintain a good battle line. Units that squabble can hold an entire Orc advance back, especially if they squabble at a terrain “choke point”. This can thrown an entire advance into disarray and is a critical point in defeating the Orcs.

Diagram#2

For example, a unit that is covering the flank of another decides to sit still. This allows you to take advantage of this critical weakness. Additionally, the squabbling unit may cause the Orc battle line to “piecemeal” into you lines. This means that the units attack one at a time and unsupported. I’ve seen Orcs squabble at the most critical times leaving units in horrible situations.

How about when they advance? While I have seen this to be an advantage, I’ve also found it to be a major disadvantage. Because of this erratic advance, the Orcs are sometimes forced to charge other units before they are ready simply to preserve themselves. This is deadly against the Empire with their detachments, since it is desirable to nullify the detachment by charging it at the same time as you charge the main units. Also the Orcs are compelled to move towards the closest unit by the shortest path! This can cause units it wheel out of line to go after innocuous units that aren’t even a threat. In other words, for as many advantages this has, there are some serious disadvantages.

The Waaagh!

Basically once per game the Orcs can have a semi-controlled animosity failure. Since this rule favors blocks of Orcs over other troop types, it can be deadly. The use of the Waaagh is for the Orcs to rapidly close with your forces, sometimes charging from way outside of their normal ranges.

The downside to the Empire is that the Empire is one of the better missile fire armies in the game. If the Orcs can rapidly close using the Waaagh, you will lose vital rounds of shooting due to the faster than normal Orc advance. Also, units that thought themselves safe, may suddenly find themselves flank charged by an Orc unit using the bonus movement of the Waaagh.

How can the Empire take advantage of the Waaagh?

Many Empire players design their lists to be charged! The Battalion Concept lists (TVI list and its variants), encourage Empire players to allow the enemy to charge them. Why would this work for you? Well the idea is to hold the charge and then either countercharge with the detachment in your own turn, or allow an even better unit such as vanilla knights to countercharge. Units that “bounce” in the Orc turn then become fair game for pursuit and destruction during the Empire turn. If the unit holds, fast units of knights execute a flank charge, and then using their superior speed, run the enemy down using their 3D6” pursuit movement.

Diagram #3-Illustrates a typical Empire battleline. The Detachments are deployed more to the rear to prevent charges from the flanking units. If the Orc player orders the Waaagh, there is a good chance that the Goblins will be left behind, while the Orc units hit. Your army should be designed to take the charge. That means that if you have planned correctly, either your detachment has charged and broken the Orcs, or your cavalry should be able to charge in the following turn and have a better than average chance of running them down. Cavalry, a Mounted Character in a unit, or a character on a flying steed are all excellent for pursuit. One of the ideas for using mounted characters in infantry units is that the mounted character can charge out of the unit in the following turn and run it down.

Other Orc Rules:

The “Size Matters” rule is a key for the Orcs. Basically if you model is bigger than the other model in the Greenskin army, you ignore is negative effects. Orcs don’t care if Goblins panic for example. This is a major advantage for the Orc player as often (much like Skaven Slaves) the Orcs use the Goblins as sacrifice unit to use “bait and flee” tactics, divert key units, or nullify your detachments.

Diagram #4-Taking advantage of his numerical superiority, the wise Orc(?) uses his Goblins and Snotlings to isolate the Empire Mainstay units one-on-one so that his Orcs can destroy them. If the Empire units charge the Goblins in the flank, they will flee opening up a flank charge from the more capable Orc units.

Diagram #5-Here the wise Orc player is using Snotlings to help isolate an Empire Mainstay unit. The Snotlings divert the supporting Empire units away from the main action. If the Empire units charge them, firstly they must align to them. Normally the Snotlings will break and run. Utilizing the “size matters” rule to their advantage, the Orcs could care less and can now take advantage of the new positions of the Empire units, perhaps calling a “Waaagh” and charging them in the flank!

The new “Choppa” rule is a serious threat to the Empire. Basically the Orcs main hand weapon now strikes at +1 ST on the first round of combat. In the past this only worked if the Orcs charged, but that limitation has been removed. Also, they have given the Orcs the same bonus for hand weapons and shields. This means on top of their excellent toughness, now they have an excellent armor save. All this for only 6 pts per model! Like I said, a serious threat to the Empire, and a nice bonus for the Orcs.

Quell Animosity is another of the new rules. Basically it allows units with Black Orc characters to re-roll failed animosity rolls in exchange for taking casualties. This is a major change from the old rules because in the past a Black Orc character almost guaranteed that a unit wouldn’t fail animosity and in fact had a radius effect to assist with this problem.

How can the Empire take advantage of these other rules?

The one thing about “size matters” is leadership also matters. Units of goblins are easily panicked from shooting or magic. Many times an Orc player will run his goblin cavalry far ahead of his main lines. Causing these to panic might mean that several other, sometimes key, goblin units will panic with them as the fleet cavalry flees through their ranks.

Knowing how powerful the new rules are for Orc weapons is important. You should always endeavor to charge with a unit that can cause maximum carnage. That might mean that you try and combine charges with say infantry and knights so that the knights can kill off a few models in the front rank enhancing the infantry’s survivability. Units such as Black Orcs and Big Unz exacerbate his problem because they have a higher ST already and they are striking at ST 5! When combined with their enhanced survivability due to armor and higher WS, you would be advised to carefully consider before charging either of these two units. Diverting them away could be a better strategy than risking taking them head-to-head without either a character, a detachment counter, or a strong melee unit such as Inner Circle Knights.

Quell animosity doesn’t really give us an advantage unless the hits inflicted on the unit causes a good side effect like losing a rank bonus. Black Orc characters are formidable and sometimes you lose track of where they are in the Orc player’s army. Seeing them bash their own models is a good way of keeping notice of their location.

The Orc magic phase:

One of the major changes with the arrival of the Orc book is the change in the Orc magic phase. Though still lethal, it isn’t as bad as it used to be since the Orcs have lost key magic items. Orcs used to be one of the best magic armies in the game, now they are manageable. Orcs pick spells from the Big Waaagh list. The Orc spells are MUCH easier to cast than the Goblin spells.

Summary of Orc Spells

Gaze of Mork: Easily cast magic missile a D6 S4 hits.

Comments: This spell isn’t much of a threat to the main Empire units. I wouldn’t let them cast it however against my Pistoliers or Outriders.

Eadbutt: Basically an S5 hit on anyone the Orc Shaman can see.

Comments: This spell is a character killer! You may be able to let one of them go through, but I don’t think you would want a to take a chance on two of them. In combination with the Itty Ring, you could lose an Empire hero-level character in a single turn!

Bash Em Ladz: Allows the Orcs to strike first and re-roll missed attacks

Comments: Since spell only works in combat, it isn’t a threat until then. However, you don’t want to allow a unit of Big Unz, Boar Boyz, etc to be able to re-roll missed attacks!

Fists of Gork: Basically an S4 attack on the entire unit.

Comments: While fairly short ranged, this can be lethal to unit of spearmen, halberdiers and detachments. I don’t think I would want this cast on any large unit in my army.

Gorks Warpath: D6 S6 hits to any unit on the table with a chance of continuing

Comments: This is a VERY high threat spell. The fact that you don’t need LoS and the high ST of the attacks makes it a spell that you can’t afford to allow. There is a 1/3 chance that the spell can continue and stomp another of your units.

Waaagh!: A movement spell for an entire army!

Comments: This spell can potentially be a game winner. Whether you allow it to work is up to you, but a good Orc player will carefully position his units before trying to attempt this spell. Sometimes it can backfire because the Orc player has to move towards the closest unit he can see. This may allow you to setup some nice flank charges in the following turn.

The Goblin Magic Phase:

Goblins have been de-powered a from the prior edition book. No longer can they pick spells from the lethal Big Waaagh list. However, they have a lot of nice spells from their own list. The downside of Goblins is that the spells from this list are harder to cast.

Gaze of Mork: Short-ranged Magic Missile only S2 but no armor save.

Comments: This is an annoyance spell. I might dispel it if I had extra dice and it was targeting my knights.

Brain Bursta: Heavy magic missile 2D6 S4 hits

Comments: This spell isn’t that big of a threat to a big unit, but is lethal against a detachment or light cavalry unit.

Gork’ll Fix it: Another annoyance spell, turns all sixes into ones

Comments: While not a lethal spell it can be really irritating.

The Foot of Gork: S6 stompy spell

Comments: A lethal spell! This is one of the few Goblin solutions to small units of knights, war machines, and lone models. You can’t afford to let this spell be cast unless it is being cast against a pointless unit.

The Hand of Gork: Basically a mini-Waaagh that works for a single unit

Comments: All movement spells are lethal, especially when combined with the Waaagh ability of the Orc General.

Mork Wants Ya: D6 S10 Hits to a single model that fails initiative!

Comments: Not as bad as it seems at first glance, but it is a nasty spell against the Steamtank. The fact that your models get initiative rolls makes it not instantly lethal, but the Steamtank has NO initiative and is hit automatically.

Summary of Orc and Goblin Magic:

A strong magic defense is in order when fighting the Orcs. They have a couple of really good bound spells that can add to these excellent spells to make it difficult for the Empire to stop all the spells. However, a nasty miscast table means that most miscasts are normally fatal.

What should the Empire do against the Greenskin Magic phase?

You simply cannot confront the Orcs without a decent magic defense. My suggestion would be minimum of a couple of level 2 mages with 2-3 dispel scrolls. The always useful Rod of Power would be a nice addition to one of the mages to potentially bolster your dispel dice. If your army is lead by an Archlector, you could probably drop down to a single mage since he will add his two dispel dice to the pool. A good idea is the cheap “Sigil of Sigmar” on your important character so they have a defense against the Itty Ring and the ‘Eadbutt spell.

Know the Threat!

The Orc book was the first one released under the latest edition of Warhammer. Many of the units have changed because of special rules. It is important to understand the changes brought about by the latest edition.

Orc Unit Rundown:

Core Troops:

Orc Boyz-

Orcs Painted by Entertainme Courtesy of the Da Warpath (http://www.da-warpath.com/index.htm)
Advantages: Very cheap and very tough
Threat Factor:
·Medium in large units, high if lead by a combat character
·Watch out for choppas on the first round of combat,
·Additional hand weapons can beat up your lightly armored stuff
·Spear Orcs are good defenders versus Empire infantry

Big Unz Upgrade-

Advantages: Simply one of the best infantry units in the game
·High, especially in large units
·STR 5 choppas on the charge
·Two STR 5 attacks with additional hand weapons

Orc Arrer Boyz-

Orcs Painted by Entertainme Courtesy of the Da Warpath (http://www.da-warpath.com/index.htm)
Threat Factor
·Much less expensive in the new book, only 6 points per model so they will be more common.
·Small, but they can be effective versus detachments and Pistolier units
·Watch out for choppas on the charge, these Orcs still have them.

Savage Orc Boyz-

Savage Orcs Painted by Brog Ironfang Courtesy of the Da Warpath (http://www.da-warpath.com/index.htm)

Advantages: frenzy
·Intelligence Information: Your march blocking troops can effectively decoy these troops away from your main lines, because the Empire has so many march blocking troops, you won’t see these guys very often.
Threat Factor: Medium to High
·Yowie, 2 STR 4 attacks on the charge, they hit almost as good as Big Unz or Black Orcs
·With two-hand weapon, they get 3 attacks per turn!

Goblins-
Advantages: cheap, but not nearly as cheap as the previous edition.
Threat Factor: Low
·The main advantage of goblins is that they are cheap. Big units of 30+ take a bunch of missile hits before they take a morale check. The Greenskin player will often place a big unit of Goblins in front of his main line as a missile shield.
·Regular Goblins are much less common in the new book as they are so much more expensive. The new book stresses Orcs more so than Goblins.

Goblin Wolf Riders-
Advantage: fast cavalry, cheap
Threat Factor: Low to Medium
·Low leadership makes it hard for them to operate far from the Warboss
·Very fast cavalry
·Major threat to your artillery and for flank charges
·Can break a good sized unit if they are ranked up with full command, and charge with a chariot

Forest Goblin Spider Riders-
Advantage: fast cavalry, cheap
Threat Factor: Low to Medium
·Low leadership makes it hard for them to operate far from the Warboss
·fast cavalry
·Major threat to your artillery and for flank charges
·Can break a good sized unit if they are ranked up with full command, and charge with a chariot

Night Goblins-

Night Goblins painted by Warlord Ghazak Gazhkull Courtesy of the Da Warpath (http://www.da-warpath.com/index.htm)
·Advantage: fanatics, very cheap
Threat Factor: Low to Medium
·Night Goblins by themselves are awful troops, it is the stuff they hide and bring to the table that makes them effective
·High threat from NG fanatics
·Netters, make this unit very difficult to deal with. Losing a vital point of strength makes the netter a valuable upgrade for the Orc player.

Snotlings-
Advantage: cheap, no leadership to worry about since they are immune to psychology
Threat Factor: Low
·Snotlings are primarily diverters now. They don’t cause panic and are immune to animosity so this makes them reliable in that role.
·Sometimes Snotlings are used as shelter for characters. Since they are immune to psychology it is a safe place for the low leadership Goblin Shamans.

Special Choices: (Orcs have a LOT of great special choices; much like the Empire)

Black Orc Regiment-

Black Orcs painted by Brog Ironfang Courtesy of Da Warpath(http://www.da-warpath.com/index.htm)

Advantage: One of the best foot troop regiments in the game, and can go toe-to-toe with just about any others, Heavy armor, STR 4, higher leadership, immune to animosity and automatic Waaagh move without rolling.
Threat Factor: High!
·Black Orcs with great weapons, hit as hard as an Empire Inner Circle Knight’s cavalry charge! With the new “Armed to da Teef” rule, it is quite possible to encounter Blacks with a variety of weapons. The new Choppa rules make them awesome on the charge with two hand weapons versus normal infantry.
·High leadership and usual close proximity to the Orc General, makes this unit very hard to break with missile fire
·Just because they don’t break very easily does not mean that you shouldn’t shoot at them. Depleting strong units like Black Orcs with missile fire makes them easier to deal with in melee.

Orc Boar Boyz and Savage Orc Boar Boyz*:
·*Intelligence Information: Your march blocking troops can effectively decoy these troops away from your main lines.
·Advantage: Tough mobile Orcs!
Threat Factor: Medium to High, Boarboyz are one of the worst cavalry units in the game, while Savage Orc Big Unz with spears are some of the best!
·If they charge with spears they get a STR 4 attack from the spear and a STR 5 attack from the boar, if you charge them they are generally toast
·Since they can be upgraded to Big Unz, all the Big Unz warnings apply.
·Combined with other stuff these guys can hurt you, especially with a combined chariot charge. It is combinations of Orc stuff that is threatening very seldom one dominate unit by itself. Because they have so many cheap things, it is easy for them to develop good combinations and combination tactics.
·Savage Orc Boar Boyz are much more threatening due to the greater number of attacks, however if you are marchblocking it is so easy to divert them that they are almost useless. A savvy Orc player will run a line of wolf riders in front of them so that they don’t charge until the Orc player unleashes them.
·While more armored than normal Orcs, they are quite vulnerable to shooting especially, S4 armor-piercing shooting.

Orc Boar Chariots
Threat Factor: medium to high
·Chariots are immune to animosity so it makes them reliable
·The high toughness of the Orc Chariot and armor save keeps it relatively safe from normal (non-cannon) shooting.
·Chariots compete with other good choices for special slots. The faster, cheaper Goblin chariot is more common.

Goblin Wolf Chariots
Threat Factor: medium to high
·Chariots are immune to animosity so it makes them reliable
·Goblin Chariots are VERY fast and will often charge on turn two so they need to be addressed quickly.
·Goblin Chariots hit just as hard as an Orc Chariot, but is a lot easier to kill with normal shooting and spells.

Goblin Artillery: Spear Chukka and Rock Lobber
Threat: High, depending on army composition
·Spear Chukkas are really cheap stuff. Playing against an Orc army that has four of them isn’t much fun.
·The Rock Lobber is a significant threat to most Empire units and is cheap as well.
·All artillery has low leadership so they are easy to panic and break in melee even with light units.

Night Goblin Squig Hoppers:

Night Goblin Squig Hoppers painted by Warlord Ghazak Gazhkull Courtesy of the Da Warpath (http://www.da-warpath.com/index.htm)

Threat: Medium
·Only skirmishers available to Orcs
·Reliable since they are immune to psychology
·Hit as hard as Empire Knights on the charge (WS4 ST 5)
·Grave threat to units already engaged in melee

Night Goblin Squig Herders:
Threat: Medium
·Reliable since they are immune to psychology
·Hit as hard as Empire Knights on the charge (WS4 ST 5)
·Susceptible to animosity
·Wild Squigs are as much of a threat to your army as the enemy’s!

Rare Choices:

Trolls (of various types):
Threat: Low to Medium
·Stupidity in an army where leadership is at a premium.
·Expensive upgrades that while adding character, don’t overcome their main problem
·Decent speed with a 12” charge and good hitting power, still not much of a threat to a formed unit.
·Vomit makes them a tough foe for cavalry.
·Regeneration makes it hard to shoot them.

Goblin Doom Diver Catapult
Threat: High to cavalry, little or no threat to infantry
·The Doom Diver is one of the most accurate artillery pieces in the game and constitutes a high threat to your armored cavalry models.
·Low leadership is even more of a problem because the Doom Diver can’t have the Bully upgrade.

GIANT!
Threat: High
·A Giant is truly one of the most reliable things in an Orc army.
·Terror, speed, and stubborn make it hard for the Empire to deal with if it gets close.
·Make certain you read the Giant’s special rules.

Snotling Pump Wagon
Threat: Low to Medium
·Random movement rate makes it hard to predict where it will be
·Is immune to psychology, this means that you can charge it and it can’t flee.
·Two for one choice and fits the category of “cheap stuff”
·2d6 S4 impact hits is a cause for concern amongst the infantry troops and detachments

Summary:

These are just bullet points for you to know about Orc units. A much better source is Avian’s Orc Tactics page. It can be found here:

Avian’s Orc Tactics Page:

http://folk.ntnu.no/tarjeia/avian/subpage.php?s=index_greenskin_tactics

Da Warpath

http://www.da-warpath.com/index.htm

What to Fear in an Orc Army:

1)Large units-With the low cost of their main units and their support units it is easy for Orc units to have superiority and the vital +1 CR for outnumber.

2)Magic-Orcs and Goblins used to be one of the better magic races in the Warhammer world. They are still quite potent, but with the arrival of the new edition and the loss of some key magic items, they have greatly diminished in power. However, a few lucky spells and the Orcs can dominate a game with magic.

3)Cheap Stuff-Orcs abound in cheap stuff. There are a lot of effective inexpensive units in an Orc army. For only 6 pts the basic Orc trooper is a steal.

4)Goblin Fanatics-The bane of the Empire Cavalry. You simply cannot afford to charge through Goblin Fanatics. You have to have some cheap troops, archers, free company, and huntsmen, whatever to draw these guys out. A little trick is to back off a little and let them go crazy, cause once they are out; they are impeding their army as well. So, for a good tactic, do not shoot the fanatics, unless they are a direct threat to you. Shoot the enemies other units, because odds are he is not going to move through them either. The units trapped behind the fanatics are not a threat anymore, so ignore them and concentrate fire on something else.

5)Fast Movers-The Orc and Goblin army has some of the best cheap fast cavalry in the game-Goblin Wolf Riders and Spider Riders. Small units of these can probably be ignored, as long as, you are deployed correctly. However, you cannot allow them to threaten your flanks. It is worth a pot shot or two to reduce a small unit to less than 5 models. The Spider Riders have added a new dynamic with their maneuverability in terrain. Having your flank protected by a copse of woods might not be such a good idea.

Savage Orc Boarboyz can be a considerable threat. Their high number of attacks and toughness lets them hit as hard or harder than Chaos Knights. This is especially true of the Big Unz. For example and Savage Orc Boarboy Champion upgraded to Big Unz has five ST 5 attacks on the turn he charges! That is better than most characters, even expensive Chaos characters.

Chariots are a threat if employed correctly. Goblin chariots are lightning fast. A combined wolf rider and Goblin Chariot Charge are very difficult to withstand. Your advantage is that they are fragile and can be destroyed with handgun and crossbow fire. Boar chariots will more than likely take a cannon shot. They have a higher toughness, and more wounds, but are not as fast. Still a combined charge with a chariot and nearly anything else will break most units.

6)Giants-This is the one thing I hate most in an Orc army. He is big, he is fast and he causes terror. It is difficult to marchblock a giant because of terror. Because of his size, he is vulnerable to shooting, that is good! What is bad is he has a high toughness and is difficult to wound. The secret to giant killing is to do it from a distance. Giants are stubborn, so trying to fight them in melee is often futile; having six wounds does not make it any easier.

So, how many shots does it take to kill a giant? It usually takes at least two great cannon hits to take out a giant. About 24 handgun or crossbow shots and don’t even bother with trying to shoot a giant with a longbow or bow, unless he is down to one wound and you are trying to finish him off.

A Steamtank can be an effective giant killer. If you can just weaken him a little, the Steamtank’s charge can finish him off. However, you need to stay away from the Giant until he is down enough wounds, his high strength attacks can be devastating to a Steamtank.
Tactics: Versus Empire

When you fight an Orc army, you will probably see one of the following armies:
·Strong magic, average combat, average to poor missile fire
·Strong Combat, average magic, average to poor missile fire
·Lots of Goblins, with strong magic, lots of fanatics, and average missile fire
·Orc Cavalry army, with strong to average magic, and poor missile fire

Each of these is particularly challenging, so it is important to have a force designed with each of these foes in mind. Lets look at each one and look at its particular weaknesses and how you can exploit them.

*Strong magic, average combat, average to poor missile fire

This army will more often than not be lead by an Orc Great Shaman. He will usually have at least one other small shaman for support. There will perhaps be another hero leading a unit or acting as the BSB. This army is characterized by smaller than average numbers of units and usually poor missile troops.

Typically you will find the Great Shaman in a unit of either Savage Orcs to help him with psychology or Black Orcs to help with animosity. Either way expect the Shaman to surround himself with units that can protect him. A common ploy is to have his unit flanked by Night Goblins with Fanatics. This keeps the enemy from charging straight in and breaking his unit.

Diagram #6-Here the Orc Great Shaman has done his best to protect himself. He has sheltered himself in a unit of Savage Orcs so as not to take panic tests from the Empire-shooting phase. Nearby, two units of Night Goblins with lethal fanatics protect him from a fast cavalry strike. If either unit of Night Goblins is charged they can flee opening up a flank charge from other supporting Orc units.

Counter:
This type of army will fold once you have negated the magic phase. You must go all out to rid the Orc player of either his primary magic user or his secondary magic user. Once one of those has been remedied, the army is much easier to handle. Since most of the nastier Orc spells have a long range, you need to close the distance as quickly as possible with hard combat units.

You need a strong magic defense to counter this army. My suggestion is a Rod of Power and two scrolls. An alternative might be taking more scrolls, but often times a strong magic army can blow through three scrolls with ease. Having the magic dice left in the Rod of Power at the end of the game can be a key to victory.

Concentrate your shooting at the magic user’s unit. If it is Savage Orcs, try and get rid of the supporting units on either side of it. This allows you to isolate the unit and destroy it. Savage Orcs are great because they don’t panic, but they can’t flee from charges either. This allows you to fix their location to some extent.

*Strong Combat, average magic, average to poor missile fire

This is by far the hardest Orc army to defeat. Huge blocks of Orc Boyz are very resilient. By taking large blocks, the Orc player minimizes the casualties caused by missile fire. In addition if this juggernaut reaches your lines you’re in deep trouble. Armies such as this, generally have two hard combat units, usually Black Orcs and a unit of Big Uns. The rest of the army you can deal with but two units that make it very hard. In addition, these armies eschew anything but a level one or two spell caster, with a couple of scrolls. They are not going to beat you with magic, but by crashing into your lines with big blocks of infantry.

Counter:
The secret to defeating these armies is to concentrate missile fire and magic on the two hard units. The other secret to defeating these armies is to march block. In order to have any chance you will need to whittle down the two rock units in the Orc army. Fire every handgun, volleygun, mortar and cannon you have at these two units, concentrating on one at a time, until either they panic, or are reduced to two ranks or less. Also, when you shoot the cannon at these units, make certain you aim at any characters in the front rank. Your snipers with Hochland Long Rifles, must target and destroy any unit champions. A Black Orc champion on the charge is nastier than your Elector Count, so he needs to go!

It cannot be stressed enough, that marchblocking is one of the keys to defeating an Orc army. If you can just block even one side of his army, you will throw his plans out the window.

Army selection is key versus the larger block armies. Whatever unit you take, it must either be able to hold versus lots of troops, or break them in one turn. Heavy cavalry is the bane of the Orc army, but only if it is big and nasty enough to break them in one turn. In addition, you must deal with Goblin fanatics before you charge.

The optimum unit versus the big Orc blocks (sometimes 30+) is to be able to generate at least 6 CR to even have a chance of beating them. In the case of a cavalry-based army, this usually means Inner Circle Knights lead by a combat character. A unit of five Inner Circle Knights with a War Banner and full command lead by a combat character has a decent chance of punching through one of these tough units. A Grandmaster with Laurels is the optimum choice for characters, followed by perhaps a Warrior Priest to re-roll failed hit rolls.

If infantry is your thing, you need to have a couple of rock hard infantry units to withstand the onslaught. Due to the great numbers of most Orc armies it is hard to have enough infantry units to match theirs. Large units are necessary, along with something to help them hold. Units such as Greatswords, Flagellants, and a large Swordsmen unit are quite capable of holding an Orc unit long enough for the cavalry to come to the rescue by flanking. Empire detachments are excellent in the flanking role, but you have to figure that with so many anti-detachment units (wolf riders, spider riders, goblin infantry) that counting on a counter-charge is foolish.

Even with an infantry army, small units of cavalry have their uses. This can be Pistoliers, Outriders or just small unit of Knights. All are ideal to flank charge an enemy unit that are locked in melee with one of your infantry blocks. With how precious special slots have become, the most common cavalry unit tends to be Knights (sometimes called “nillas” or “vanilla” knights; meaning five Knightly Orders with a musician only). A unit of 5 or 6 is sufficient, to counter most enemy threats and to marchblock until they are ready to charge. These units cannot and should not be used to charge intact units in the front. They will even struggle with large blocks of goblins. Their goal is to flank units held in melee by the infantry. As an alternative, they can be used to attack enemy war machines or hold up fast moving flankers.
Lots of Goblins, with strong magic, lots of fanatics, and average missile fire

The one thing about this army is it is a lot stronger than it looks. The huge masses of Night Goblin units with fanatics make it very hard to come to grips with you foe. This is an army where “cheap stuff” is king. A canny goblin player will line up lots of units with fanatics, and back them with strong artillery (cheap stuff) and strong magic.

This is an army that you must try to attack only a small portion at a time. Try to draw out the fanatics of two units at once on one flank. What you are trying to do is create a hole that the rest of your army can attack through. He will be trying to do to you what you do to him, which is marchblock so that he can magic and artillery your units.

Panic is the death of this army. Once you start a panic chain reaction, the entire force could leave the field with some unlucky rolls. Unfortunately, the goblin units tend to be large 30+ so what is needed is to concentrate everything at one unit. If you do not have a mortar in your army, this is the optimum army to take one against. The mortar can do horrendous casualties to a goblin army. A direct hit will normally net about half of a unit of Goblins, causing valuable panic tests.

Though considered by some as too powerful, the Steamtank can draw out fanatics, cause terror, and destroy enemy war machines with its main gun. A Steamtank with cannon main gun, and steam shooter, can kill target multiple units per turn using its special rules and large target capabilities.
Orc Cavalry army, with strong to average magic, and poor missile fire

Orc cavalry armies are often one of the easier ones to beat. The reason is that it is much smaller and your artillery and missile fire is just as effective versus them as it is versus foot troopers. The disadvantage of course is that they get to grips a lot quicker. All the same, theories apply to beating them, concentrated missile and magic fire plus marchblocking. Animosity hurts these armies more than most, because it disjoints their lines, and with a smaller number of units, it has a greater effect.

The Orc army list much like the Empire is seriously challenged when it comes to special slot choices. To make an effective Orc Cavalry army, the army would have to have many units of Wolf and Spider riders. Units of Savage Orc cavalry can be expected since they hit a lot harder than the normal Orc Boarboyz. Savage Orcs also have the advantage in that they don’t take panic tests like normal Orc cavalry.

Overview of the Empire

Excellent Empire army painted by Sean Detrick (aka Racticas) You can see more of his work at: http://www.seandeitrick.com/reikland.htm. Sean is a professional painter and does commission work. (Army base by TVI; The Village Idiot)

Character Choices:

Lord-level Characters:

Empire General courtesy of.seandeitrick.com

·Empire General-The Empire General is always as solid choice. While he can’t go toe-to-toe with most Orc characters, his leadership ability and an ability to preserve combat resolution is quite handy. Most experience Empire players will outfit him for maximum protection. This usually means a 1+ armor save either from the being deployed mounted or from the Armor of Meteoric Iron. Additionally, having a ward save is valuable. The Shroud of Magnus, White Cloak and Holy Relic are the normal choices. Lastly, he will need a weapon capable of causing damage. The Sword of Might or Hammer of Judgment are a good choice due to their low cost. One of the other popular choices is the Rod of Command just in case of a having to take a charge from a hard unit.

·Templar Grandmaster-If knights are your “thing” there is no better choice than the Templar Grandmaster. His is the one Empire hero that can take the fight to the enemy and destroy them. The most common choices for outfitting him are the Laurels of Victory and the Sword of Power. This gives him four high strength attacks per turn, and two points of combat resolution per wounding hit. The role of the knights in this force is to simply get this powerful hero in melee with rank and file units he can easily break and destroy with his high pursuit moves. Every turn his is out of combat is a wasted turn. Don’t be afraid to allow his unit to be charged as the Grandmaster equipped in this fashion hits just as hard whether he is charging or not. You should however avoid the Orc uber heroes such as a Black Orc General or Orc General. His skills are wasted trying to wound one of these hard heroes and his very life could be in jeopardy.

Empire Fire Wizard courtesy of.seandeitrick.com

·Wizard Lord-These powerful spell casters are always a threat. If you desire to use a Wizard Lord consider making as much of the rest of your army leadership 8 by using combat heroes, knights, and Greatswords. The damage causing magic lores work best as an Orc army is susceptible to panic. The arcane item the “Luckstone” is an excellent choice to keep the spells going without interruption. Dispel magic scrolls and Powerstones are other good choices for this hero. Normally he would have a lower level assistant to bolster his casting. Additionally, other heroes with bound items such as the Ring of Volans, Orb of Thunder, or the Doomfire Ring make his abilities even better by draining valuable anti-magic resources.

Archlector of Sigmar courtesy of seandeitrick.com

·Arch Lector of Sigmar-This is by far the most common choice from the new Empire book. He combines the leadership of the Empire General with the magic defense and casting of the Wizard Lord. He is a weak fighter but he can be outfitted with several combinations to make him lethal. Most of the time, the Arch Lector can be found on a War Altar. While making him a bit more vulnerable to shooting, the sheer power and mobility of the War Altar plus its valuable ward save is handy.

Suggested combinations for the Arch Lector
o Van Hoorstmann’s Speculum and the Shield of the Gorgon-Allows the Arch Lector to attack with the enemy hero’s stats while only having to take one attack (at the Arch Lector’s weak stats) in return. Another interesting choice would be the Sword of Sigismund to make the Arch Lector’s attacks even more potent, while attacking first even if charged.
o Armor of Meteoric Iron and the Mace of Helsturm-This gives the Arch Lector (if on the War Altar) a 1+ armor save and a 4+ Ward Save. Though he only gets a single attack, the power of the Mace of Helsturm combined with both the hatred, and prayers of the Arch Lector will destroy most enemy models ins a single swing.
o Dawn Armor, VH Speculum, and the Sword of Might. This is the same as above, but costs a little less.

Warrior Priest Prayers and their use against Orcs
o Hammer of Sigmar-This is very useful when fighting the high toughness of the Orcs. It is also an excellent idea when you have the Mace of Helstrum in case you roll the dreaded “one”.
o Healing Hand-Nice on the Arch Lector in case he is wounded, but rarely used if he has the normal protections of this valuable character.
o Unbending Rightousness-Totally useless if deployed on a War Altar, unless it gets smashed and the Arch Lector can join another unit.
o Soulfire-It is always nice to reduce the odds against you. A D6 S4 hits is nice against the tough Orcs.

Summary of Lord Characters:

All of the Empire Lord-level characters have their uses. Because the Orcs are such a traditional army, you really can’t go wrong with any of them. They all have their own strengths and weaknesses. Whatever you do, build your army around the theme created by the character. This makes the character work better as the army plays to its strengths.

Hero-Level Characters

Empire BSB painted by Tim Walker (aka The Village Idiot)

Captain of the Empire-There are two common ways to deploy the Captain of the Empire: as a battle standard bearer and on a Pegasus. As a BSB, the Captain is usually deployed with one of the following: the Imperial Banner, Banner of Sigismund, or Griffon Banner. All of these banners have their uses against Orcs. A fighting BSB with a magic weapon in say a unit of Greatswords is another good idea. On foot, it is very hard to beat the Armor of Meteoric Iron, and the Sword of Might.

One of the more popular choices on the Pegasus Captain is Aldred’s Casket of Sorcery since he has the speed and mobility to make it work. Other popular combinations are the Icon of Magnus to attack fear-causing creatures, the Sword of Fate to take out tough targets, or with nothing special to keep him cheap.

Warrior Priest-The Warrior Priest has became much better with the advent of the new Empire Book. He is a little cheaper, his spells work better, and he has hatred against any foe of the Empire, instead of just a finite few. There are many ways to use the Warrior Priest. Some find him best leading a unit of Spearmen where his hatred ability combined with the extra attacks of the spearmen can be maximized. Others find him most useful in hard hitting cavalry units where the re-rolls from hatred and his spells project his power the best.

Celestial Wizard painted by Atchman

Battle Wizard-A Battle Wizard is another dual-purpose model. With a couple of scrolls he forms the center cog of a good magic defense. By having two wizards and a bound item or two, the Empire magic phase becomes potentially lethal. The ubiquitous Doomfire ring is almost so good that no Empire army should be without it; this is particularly true to the panic prone Orcs and Goblins.

Battle Wizards should try for easily cast lores that cause damage, some psychological effect or panic. The Lore of Fire is one of the better lores against Orcs due to its damage potential. Most spells can be cast on three dice making it especially useful. Taking another adjutant wizard is vital with the new 7th edition Warhammer rules. You need two wizards to be able to cast a decent amount of spells, otherwise the best you will do is two spells cast with two dice.

An Empire Engineer takes deadly aim (artist unknown)

Engineer-The character is so useless against everyone that it almost shouldn’t be mentioned. However against the Orcs an engineer with Pigeon Bombs might be useful because it is an additional template and shooting attack. Having the Engineer help man a vital war machine is a plus. (Taking an Engineer is a mistake, but every once in awhile it might work).

Core Army Choices:

The Empire has some of the best core army choices in the game. In fact you can make a completely viable list utilizing just core army choices. Which choices are the best against the Orcs?

Halberdiers-Halberdiers suck less bad against Orcs than most armies. However, with the new rules regarding Choppas, halberdiers are even less viable than they were in the previous edition. Halberdiers should be detachments only where their S4 attacks can be appreciated since they are almost always charging.

Empire Swordsmen courtesy of seandeitrick.com

Swordsmen-The best Empire infantry period! It doesn’t matter which army you are facing, Swordsmen work against them all. If you only have one type of states troop; take Swordsmen. Their high armor save, high weapon skill and better than normal initiative make them a solid choice.

Empire Spearmen courtesy of seandeitrick.com

Spearmen-Spearmen are the second best Empire infantry. The biggest obstacle of any Empire infantry is the Choppa rule on turn one. It doesn’t really matter when you are S3 if you charge or you are being charged, the odds of hurting a T4 Orc with a 4+ Armor Save aren’t very high. The fact that you have two ranks only makes a slight difference in the odds of actually causing casualties. So in that respect it is probably better to be charged and have a detachment ready to counter or a plan to hold and counter in your turn with something that can hit hard such as cavalry.

Deadly Reiksguard Knights courtesy of seandeitrick.com

Knightly Orders-What is not to like about core inexpensive 1+ AS Knights? Unless you have a serious combat character or are extremely lucky you will rarely break any blocks of Orcs and will likely struggle against a big unit of Goblins especially Night Goblins with nets. What they do have is the ability to engage with impunity. There aren’t many units in an Orc army that can even scratch an Empire Knight.

Knights of the White Wolf are capable flankers versus an Orc Army painted by Atchman

Their best use is as flankers once you have pinned the Orcs in melee. They can also take charges from chariots and other flanker units and have a decent chance of surviving.

One or two units of knights in an Empire army are simply a must. They are just too valuable to leave behind.

Free Company-Free Company make the best detachments. They really have no business being an infantry block in your army.

Archers-Archers are also excellent detachments. As units their lack of hitting power and the fact that they can cause panic when they flee makes them a non-desirable choice as a core unit. However, they come into their own as detachments serving many roles. They can screen against missile fire, draw out fanatics, marchblock, provoke charges, and even give a nice +1 CR with a timely flank charge.

Crossbowmen-With the changes in the new Empire book, Crossbowmen are even more valuable than before. Their slightly longer range gives them the ability to outshoot or stay with most other archers in the game. Crossbowmen are good against Orcs as they have few models with high armor saves.

Handgunners-Handgunners work best where the armor of the enemy is heaviest. They can deal death to units such as Black Orcs, chariots and Boar Cavalry. The additional armor save modifier is just enough to make them a valuable addition to the army. Lastly, Handgunners can take upgrades to their champions. By far the most common upgrade is the Hochland Long Rifle. Its use against Orcs is to take out unit champions and snipe the more easily killed Goblin mages.

Summary of Core Choices:

What are the best core choices? I would say a large block of Swordsmen with a detachment of Free Company or Halberdiers, supported by a unit of Knightly Orders and a unit of Crossbowmen. As a combat force this is a serious obstacle for an Orc player. Take two of these and you have as solid core for your army.

None of the core choices in the Empire are useless. They all have their roles whether that is as a mainstay infantry unit, as a detachment, or as a means to screen more valuable units. Take what makes you happy, but understand that some choices are better than others.

Special Choices:

One of the greatest changes in the new Empire book had to do with Special Choices. The Empire has GREAT special choices. Deciding which Special Choices to take can be difficult and has a lot to do with the theme of your army. For example it is hard to picture an Empire General without a unit of Greatswords, or a Templar Grandmaster without his bodyguard of Inner Circle Knights. Chose wisely!

Great Cannons courtesy of seandeitrick.com

Great Cannons-These have so many uses it is hard to imagine an Empire army without at least one, and it is rare to see a force without two of these valuable assets. Against the Orcs their primary role is as counter battery against Orc artillery, anti-chariot guns, snipers to attack lone characters, and in a pinch anti-Orc weapons (not the best use but a good cannon bounce will often kill four to five Orcs troops and may trigger a panic test).

Greatswords-Greatswords are an excellent choice to use against Orcs. Their high armor save, weapon skill, and strength make them one of the few units that can face down Orc infantry at any kind of even chance. The fact that they are stubborn even makes them an even better choice. They can hold an Orc charge and wait until more troops can arrive. There is really no reason to field a unit of Greatswords without a BSB. The best choice of magic banners in a unit of Greatswords is the Banner of Valor. Being able to ignore panic is just excellent. A BSB with the Imperial Banner is even more solid since you can re-roll any failed psychology test.

Mortars-Mortars used to be one of the better special choices. However in the crowded choices of the new book, mortars are often a forgotten choice. If you intend to use mortars it is best to take two of them. One of them simply isn’t a good choice. It is easy to love the mortar with its “pie plate” template. It is even more fun when you can place two on the same unit!

Inner Circle Knights Panthers lead by Boris Toddbringer painted by Atchman

Inner Circle Knights-This upgrade to the Knightly Orders makes them one of the hardest hitting units in an Empire army. A unit of five, full command, the War Banner and a combat character are one of the only units that can take a full sized block of Orcs on with a decent chance of success. Only upgrade them to Inner Circle if necessary. For example a Templar Grandmaster needs the knights to get him into combat; the knights are simply a vehicle to get his awesome combat power into play. Sure making them Inner Circle would give him a little extra but you are really counting on him to break the unit anyway.

Pistoliers have changed roles in an Empire army but they are still deadly courtesy of seandeitrick.com

Pistoliers-Pistoliers have changed a lot since the earlier edition and their role has changed. No longer can you expect to break enemy units with flank charges with powerful pistol attacks. Now their role is more of a traditional light cavalry unit. Pistoliers are quite handy against the fast troops in an Orc army. Their lethal pistol shots and high mobility make them excellent for taking out Goblin Wolf Riders, Spider Riders, and chariots. Also they can be used to bait frenzied units such as Savage Orcs away from the main line of battle.

Outriders-Outriders are an excellent choice against the Orcs. Their high rate of fire, decent strength, and armor piercing capability make them a unit that the Orc commander has to address. Once an Orc mainstay unit reaches the long range band of the Outriders he can expect to lose two to three models per turn and more when he reaches the critical 12” short range band. As an Empire commander it is vitally important to be able to fight depleted units instead of those a full strength. Outriders are an excellent means to that end. The wise “TVI” aka Tim Walker always says to take things in multiples of six. Six Outriders will virtually guarantee three casualties per turn at long range and between four and five at short range with no chances of armor saves versus normal Orcs. Casualties to Goblins would be even higher due to their lower toughness.

Summary of the Special Units:

Greatswords are an excellent choice for combating Orcs

The Empire has so many excellent special choices it is very difficult to choose the correct ones. Picking units that go with the theme created by your Lord choice is a good idea. An Empire General or Wizard Lord makes a unit of Greatswords a good choice. Their stubborn ability fits well with the General and their leadership of eight makes them less of a liability for an army lead by a Wizard Lord.

An army lead by a Templar Grandmaster needs to have at least one unit of Inner Circle knights. This will commonly allow you to field two hard-hitting units in case one gets stuck in combat.

There is no right or wrong choice when it comes to picking special choices versus the Orcs. It is hard to go wrong with two cannons and a decent sized unit of Greatswords (with detachments). The fourth choice might be Outriders or Pistoliers to add to the mobility and firepower of the army simultaneously.

Rare Choices:

The Empire has many rare choices now. Some of these are better than others but all are quite useful versus the Orcs. Dogs of War choices vary on whether your opinion is they are legal or not with the new Empire Book. Many tournaments have banned the Empire from taking Dogs of War units due to this ambiguity. Looking at the Dogs of War rules posted online, it seems clear that they are legal, but it is up to each person, group, and tourney to decide for themselves.

Not as potent as before, a Helblaster is nonetheless still useful against the high toughness Orcs courtesy of seandeitrick.com

Helblaster Volley Gun-This weapon changed greatly in effect from the previous edition. No longer is it the weapon of death it was in the past. However even with its rules change it can be effective versus Orcs. Its high strength attacks make it perfect for destroying chariots, Giants, and other hard targets such as Black Orcs. The problem is that it is unreliable and with the roll to hit you can’t count on it having a positive effect all of the time.

Helstorm Rocket Battery-Though highly inaccurate, this weapon is death against Orcs and Goblins. Even a slight hit is likely to kill several models and potentially cause valuable panic tests. Just the threat of this device might be cause for an Orc general to change his plans. Once Games Workshop releases the model, it will be a common sight in Empire battle forces.

Flagellants-Though slightly weakened in the new edition, they are also slightly cheaper and an Empire General may have up to three units (if he has a Warrior Priest or Arch Lector of Sigmar in his army). They still hit quite hard on the charge and with the fact that Orcs are the same speed for the most part, they have a decent chance of being able to attack first. Once the Orcs lose their Choppa bonus, they will have a difficult time doing enough casualties to totally destroy a unit of Flagellants.

Steamtank from the old Warhammer-Empire.com

Steamtank-For the most part folks are happy the new Steamtank. Gone are the pages of special rules, but also gone are some of its key abilities. Orcs have many ways to deal with a Steamtank. Cheap Bolt Throwers, and Rock Lobbers, high strength characters and units all can easily handle the Steamtank. However, the Orc army is also quite vulnerable to its abilities. Any type of fast moving terror causing model is a threat to an Orc force. Its cannon can help deal with those targets that are the greatest threat to it, while its excellent speed damage potential can wreck havoc among the slow Orc infantry.

Proper support is the key to using the Steamtank. Fast moving units that can pursue fleeing targets are essential to making it work. Small units of knights, Pistoliers, or perhaps a flying character are all good choices for support.

Taking a Steamtank against the Orcs will at a minimum cause them to alter their plans. Moving straight forward even with the bonus movement of the Orcs might not be as good of a plan when the Empire puts a Steamtank on the table.

Summary of Rare Choices:

There are no bad rare choices when confronting the Orcs. All of them have their uses. With so many powerful rare choices an Orc General will be hard pressed to address these threats. Three of the Empire’s rare choices are a significant shooting threat. The Orc General will have to have a way of dealing with these. It is vitally important that as an Empire General you build in the proper support structure to maximize your valuable special and rare choices. Just selecting them because they are powerful is a mistake. An Empire army depends on teamwork and making the proper choices makes these units even better.

What it takes to beat em:

·Use large units-Since your troops and Orcs are essentially equal in fighting ability, it is important to use every advantage you can gain. Normal Empire units such as spearmen, swordsmen, and halberdiers need to be at a unit size of greater than 25; preferably closer to 30. This offsets “five-wide suicide” to some extent and allows you to keep your rank bonus and potentially an outnumber bonus. Units such as Greatswords should be taken at greater than 20 so that they will hold rank bonuses a little longer. Take troops that can take a charge! That means maximum protection by using shields or combat characters to handle the initial round of melee.

·Shooting-The Empire is one of the few armies that can be have a significant shooting threat, while still having a combat punch in the form of units of Knights. As a rule of thumb when facing Orcs between 20 and 30 S4 shots per turn are needed to have a significant impact on Orc forces. A unit of Crossbowmen and a unit of 6 Outriders are just about ideal for countering the Orcs numbers and toughness. Two to three pieces of artillery are a good choice as well. Using two of the same one maximizes their capabilities. Though a weak choice, even two mortars can wreck havoc on an Orc army particularly in their Goblin allies.

·Take magic that causes damage-Damage is the only thing an Orc player understands. A Conflagration of Doom or a Comet is a great equalizer versus an Orc army. Many Orc armies are using the anti-magic banner and a single spell caster for magic protection. For the most part this will virtually stop a normal Empire magic phase of two level two mages. If you are serious about casting magic you need to include either some Power Stones, or one of the useful bound items in the Empire arsenal. A typical Orc magic defense will be 5 dispel dice and two scrolls. This is very hard to overcome but with the bound item, especially the Doomfire ring, the Orc player will be hard pressed to stop everything.

·Balance-The best army versus Orcs combines, cavalry, infantry, characters, and artillery, the preponderance of one and the lack of the others can cause tragic things to happen to your force. Pick out a couple of artillery pieces, two to three units of cavalry, a couple of magic users, 2-3 march blocking units (huntsmen, archers, Pistoliers, Battle Captain on the Pegasus), 20 or so handgunners or crossbowmen, and the rest core infantry. Learning to use teamwork and wise choices are the best defense against an Orc army. The sheer variety of the Empire makes defending against them difficult for an Orc army.

·Detachments-Only use detachments on the units that anchor your line. A savvy Orc player will punch through your detachments and open holes in your lines. An excellent flank-holding unit is a unit of Greatswords with a detachment of either halberdiers or a shooting detachment to take out fast cavalry.

Because of the usual numerical superiority of Orcs, it will be hard to use your detachments properly. It is imperative to not allow the Orc player to punch through the weak spots in your lines created by detachments. This can be accomplished by a good deployment or by moving them in creative ways. Use your shooting to try and take out any troops that can exploit your detachments. Every Orc player knows that charging an intact Empire unit with its detachment is suicide save for the really powerful units such as Big Unz, Savage Orcs, or Black Orcs.

Summary:

I truly love a game against Orcs. Since I was a teenager way back in the 70’s I’ve been squaring off against Orcs under various battle systems. To me, they are the classic army for the Empire to fight against. It is easy to close your eyes and imagine the stout troops of the Empire holding off row after row of rowdy Greenskins.

What must be said is that despite the sometime zany antics of an Orc army, it is a lethal and balanced force. Much like the Empire their balance is their weakness AND their strength! They participate well in all phases of the game.

Give these tactics a try and post your comments on Warhammer-Empire.com! Learning new tricks and tactics is always fun. Empire Generals are always looking for new “tricks” to try themselves; especially against the hated Greenskins!

Atchman

atchman2 (at) yahoo.com

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