Mordheim

I got forced into Orcs when I started up Mordheim again because I was the only one with the Mordheim warbands, and I couldn’t just have Skaven Warbands. But boy am I glad I did. I now understand the craze people feel for the greenskins. I’m in the middle of a campaign with a Orc and Goblin Warband, and I’m doing pretty well. I’ve developed/read about/seen a couple different tactics for starting an Orcs and Goblins warband in Mordheim, and I’ll try to share my thoughts on them here:

Orc and Goblin Necessities

No matter what direction I go with a Orc and Goblin Warband, I will always get all four heroes (200gc) as that directly affects my income after every game. Only getting four heroes to start is probably the biggest draw-back for the Orcs and Goblins.

Squigs and Goblins and Orcs, Oh My!

This is the warband I am currently playing with, and is probably the most fun of the Orc and Goblin warbands to start with. Squigs are so great at the beginning of a campaign with WS4 and S4, so I wanted to get all 5 of them (warband max). This means I would need to get 5 goblins, of which I would give one or two of them squig prodders and the rest of them get short bows. That’s 10 members in your warband for less than 200gc. These are your cannon fodder, and they are very easy to replace. The four Orc heroes brings the warband total to 14 and leaves 100 gold for equipment for them. I went ahead and got a Orc Boy (henchman) to work on getting another Hero, giving me 75 gold to equip my five Orcs. I would recommend getting more Orc Boyz as soon as you can to get more heroes.

Greenskins Bash’um Good

With 4 toughness, Orcs start out better than most units for Close Combat. Orc Boys armed with a club and dagger only cost 28gc, so you can get 8 of them for 224gc, leaving 76gc to equip your 4 heroes. Thats 12 Orcs in a starting warband! And since they all gain experience, they’ll all be getting better as you continue to play. (This is probably the warband a “power player” would create. It’s very powerful, but not as much fun as the above. =])

Big and Scary Troll

Trolls are a great investment for a Orc and Goblin warband. Yes, they have a 15gc upkeep and they’re stupid, but they will NEVER DIE! There is no chance that the troll will die after being put Out of Action; not to mention the unmodified 4+ armor save, three attacks, three wounds and causing fear. No matter which way you look at them, they are tough adversaries if you can get him into combat. If you get a troll and the four heroes, that only leaves 100gc for equipment and the rest of your warband. I’d try to get up to 9 models if at all possible, but it may have to wait a round or two.

Shooty Orcs

Although a shooty warband doesn’t take advantage of the Orc’s 4 toughness, there is no reason they couldn’t pull it off. I saw one guy arm as many Orcs as possible with Crossbows, which I would not do. Crossbows cost 15gc extra and only give you +1 str, and makes it so you can’t move and fire on the same turn. Bows cost more than 50% less, and is not much worse. If you’re going to go for a shooty Orc warband, I would get a pile of Orcs with bows, and a handful of Goblins with short bows (5 for 100gc). Then get close combat weapons for them as you get GC from games.

There’s my thoughts on starting an Orc and Goblin Warband.

Hope it helps,
-Ashton Sanders