Gobbos vs Beastmen, 2500 pts

This past weekend, as usual, I went down to the gaming club for a Warhammer battle. Since my tournament list is on the painting table right now, it was time for the Goblins to show what they were made of. I went with my usual list, but with only a single unit of fast cavalry, replaced by a unit of bowgobbos, a few less chariots but replaced with some Squig Hoppers and a Cave Squig.

My opponent this time were Beastmen, an army I've rarely faced before, led by a Beastlord and a Great Bray Shaman versed in the Lore of Death. It packed a strong magic phase, with 4 more Bray Shamans trained in the Beast and Shadow lores dancing around a Herdstone for additional power dice. The mainstay of the army was a Horde of 40 Gors with additional handweapons, led by a Wargor with the Beast Banner for the extra strength. 30 Bestigors and 40 Ungors with spears rounded off the infantry, who were also supported by a two unit of Harpies, some Ungor Skirmishers and a Razorgor Chariot. I definitely did not like my chances. With my Orc list I definitely would have done well against this army, but I wasn't sure the Goblins alone would be up to the task.

Things of note:

• Artillery - With very little action in the Beastmen shooting phase, the Goblins definitely were not about to engage in close combat early. The Doom Diver and Spear Chukka took out the Razorgor Chariot early, then combined with the dual Rock Lobbers to inflict pain on the Bestigors. Halfway into the match, the Bestigors had less than two ranks remaining, effectively taking them out of the fight and forcing the Beastlord to leave their herd and join up with the Gors. I was concerned that my poor goblin war machines would be easy pickings for the Harpies, but my Squig Hoppers prove invaluable in their role as artillery protectors. They were mainly just hopping around in the back, and whenever the Harpies or the Ungor Raiders came close, they were chewed up the Squigs, effectively keeping me shooting for all six rounds. I'd definitely consider bringing Squig Hoppers whenever I go shooting heavy.

• Common Goblins - After receiving a Gift of the Spider God from the BSB, the Gobbos used their bows to help pluck down the Bestigors, before being charged by the Ungors on the flank. What the Ungors hadn't considered though was the fact that a tiny mob of Night Gobbos had snuck into a nearby building, and hurled two fanatics out through the door that took out more than a dozen Ungors. Suddenly, there weren't enough Ungors around to stand up to the Gobbos, who handidly defeated them in combat and chased them down. Feeling cocky after that display of gobbo sneakyness, they ended up in combat with what remained of the Bestigors, who were cut down to only 2 beasts but kept passing their break tests until the very end.

• Gors - Although the Bray Shaman drained the soul of my Spider Shaman and his two apprentices, it was going to be up to the Gors to kill off some gobbos and turn the tide of the Beastmen, since neither the Bestigors or the Ungors were up to the task. Unfortunately for them, they ended up the victom of a combo charge from the Night Gobbos, the Squig Herd and the Wolf Chariot in the front, the Giant and the Arachnarok Spider in the flank and the Giant Squig in the rear. Although plenty of gobbos died from the Gors' attack, many more Gors died in return. Not even the efforts of the Wargor and the Beastlord was enough to win the combat, although it was even to kill off my own Battle Standard Bearer and even the Warboss leading the entire army. It was foolish off me to even charge in with such important characters, knowing that they would be no match for the Beasts. A Wildform spell made it difficult for my two monsters to kill off the entire Herd, and with the Beastlord equipped with the Crown of Command I was not going to break them. I was going to have to wipe them out to a man (beast), and going into the final round of the match that very thing seemed possible. However, with only 6 Gors remaining it was time for the Giant to attack (with two sets of Thunderstomps following that) and he decided that, much to my dismay, it was time to yell and brawl, effectively ending combat and saving those few remaining Gors from being thunderstomped.

So with two Bestigors and six Gors standing in the end, alongside their characters, and my own important characters killed off, the battle actually ended in a draw, with me ahead by less than a hundred points. Definitely disappointing, as I felt I definitely "had this" if only the Giant wouldn't have ruined it for me. Or had we gone for another round of combat. Still, a good job by my opponent to save the match despite being both outmaneuvered and outgunned. It would be interesting to see how my Wyvern Waaagh! would do against this army.