Painting   Tactics   Army Lists   Battle Reports   Reviews   Archives
Thursday, March 3, 2011

Review: Orc Boar Chariots

One of the largest changes to the new Orcs and Goblins army book is the special rule for Choppa. In the old book, the Choppa was a handweapon for Orcs on foot, but nowadays it's a special rule encompassing all Orcs (including characters) which grants them +1S in the first round of combat. What's more is that it is cumulative with other bonuses. S7 on Black Orc great weapons usually comes to mind, but the biggest unit buff in my mind is given to mounted orcs using spears, effectively giving them +2S on the charge. No longer will the orcs hit weaker than their boar mounts!


The Orc Boar Chariot has received a significant buff because of this, with the boars and the crew all hitting at S5 along with their D6+1 impact hits. Use these chariots between your big infantry blocks to add a massive punch to your big charges. Keep the chariots an inch or two back from the front of the infantry, to prevent enemies from charging the chariot instead of your footsloggers, since their swiftstriding rule should still have them charge as far as the orcs on foot.

An upgrade very well worth considering is the option for additional orc crew. It's very cheap, even less than an orc on foot, and adds an extra attack to the chariot. That makes 5 S5 attacks plus D6+1 S5 impact hits on the charge. Also consider that the chariot won't squabble, has T5 and 4 wounds, and you've got a game changer if you ever get the combo charge in.

The challenge for when you want to include a third crew is practical in nature, as there simple isn't enough space in the chariot for a third orc, in fact fitting two of them into the space is difficult enough. I'm convinced that's well worth it though, so you'll see my take on it tomorrow.