Army Log: Commander Panda's Orcs

So in this blog I aim to document the beginnings and growth in my Orc army primarily for use in Kings of War. A relative new comer to both Mantic Games and Fantasy Wargaming in general this is new ground for me. I traditionally gravitate towards Sci-Fi, having both Space Marine and Tau armies in 'the other Company's system'. Orcs are 'different' to both of those factions in a lot of ways so it should be interesting. Lots of dirty metallic armour/chainmail, green skin and leathers, instead of high tech armour and pale blue/human skin tones. In this respect these are going to fit the 'classical' stereotype of fantasy Orcs. I don't want to be too adventurous, as a new game system, new genre, new style and an original skin colour would be too much I think.

I have a selection of Mantic Orc unit boxes and a couple of characters, namely a Flagger on foot and an Avatars of War Orc boss with which I am buiding my core army. In terms of thw rank and file there are 35 Axes, 10 Greataxes and 10 Gore Riders. I also will use some Hobgoblin wolf riders I have from back in the day. These guys will be temporary Gore mounted Krudger and Flagger. I have also an old Skaven Rat Orge which will stand in for a Troll till more suitable miniatures can be sourced.

I have a dream that one day GW will crack out the mouds for their Chaos Dwarf era Hobgoblins and do a limited edition run as I bloody love those minis. I would happily have a full army of them, they have so much character. A Kickstarter would be an excellent way to do it with minimal risk. Or Mantic could fill that gap as they did with Squats/Forge Fathers.

Any way back to the Horde, the Orc Boss is a stunning sculpt, I am so impressed. It's an absolute monster. It is now known in the army as 'THE BEAST'. Any Orc army for any system would benefit from one. The Flagger is a pretty awesome model too, and it vaguely matches 'THE BEAST', with its fur cloak.

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As you can see I have started on the Green Horde. 15 Axes are assembled, some undercoated, along with the Flagger and 'THE BEAST'. I also have started on the Greataxes too, but these are fiddly little sods, in comparison with the regular Axes.

I am holding back on the Gore Riders, as I often save the best till last. I can't wait to get some of these Boar riding maniacs out and charging around the tabletop so I want to get my skills a bit more practiced before I crack them out.

I have a basic army army list* worked out for the horde as is. This list has 3 infantry units as a core, one big cavalry unit to deal out damage while the Krudger and Troll act as support for the units. The Flagger will stay in range of Axes to maintain discipline and keep them steady.

*I think the link works, should link to Google Docs.

Plans and Praise

In a world of rising prices and falling wages, Cheap Minis and Free Rules? Oh be still my beating heart.

So recently I have been dipping my toe in the waters that is Mantic Games. I say dipping, I actually mean mostly look on the shop alot and planning armies. However as there are also free rules, trying to get it together to learn and play instead of just wishlisting.
I also joined the forum. There are some great threads for beginners like myself, such as the battlescribe rules and army list stickys. Some friendly people responded to my intro post and we met up to play Kings of War. 

The games were awesome! The very lovely forum members, Sardonic Wolf, Darklord and Maccwar bought loads of lovely miniatures, wound counters and Maccwar even some handy cards with stats on to help with the gaming.

I played two games both with Maccwar's lovely Elves, once against his Orcs and once against Darklord's Undead. I won in my first game against the Orcs (clearly beginners luck) and the lost to the shambing hordes of Darklord's Unread. All I can say is I don't like Darksurge!  A few deployment mistakes in the Undead game taught me some lessons I plan not to forget about spreading too thin.

The venue for the night of gaming was Stockport's Northwest Gaming Centre, which was a veritable cavern, filled with Wargamers battling away. There was a pleasing diversity in the games systems being played and lots of tables. I had great time and have decided to get a Kings of War army and divert myself from getting a Warpath force till the kickstarter at least. The question is which one?

I do like the Dwarfs as a race, being beardy, stoic and fond of a drink, somewhat like myself. Plus Badgers! The Elves I played as had some strong units but they could never be described as tough which is something I would like. Elite and Phalanx are great rules to have it seems. Dragon Riders are cool too, and the Bolt throwers can dish it out with good dice. The Orcs seem strong and straightforward, smashing all before them, and I do like the boar-riders too. Having played against them I feel that they would suit me. The Undead, while powerful, seem a bit too nuanced for the likes of me.

So a toss up between Orcs and Dwarfs? Hard drinking miners or savage beasts? Orcs have one tactic and that is SMASH and have no shooting unless you take allies with Goblins being an obvious and legit choice. Simple is good.

An amazing eBay deal has swayed me:

More minis to paint. My backlog has increased by 55 now.

I have to say I am loving the friendly and inclusive nature of the community, it's really welcoming. That there is a official Mantic run forum is something awesome in its self and part of that. The only thing I'd like to see changed about the forum is making it compatible with the Tapatalk to increase convenience.

It's all quite quite exciting really for me. I feel I can get an army, maybe two and a Dreadball team going, all with out taking up a second job or selling a kidney. I showed the one player Corporation army boxset on the online shop to the Sweet Lady. She said 'Ooohh, that's cheap!' in a totally serious way. As opposed to the 'Go and play with your little men' tone I sometimes hear.

I guess that must be a common sentiment to many. Times are hard and bills seem to be going up, so its nice for something in life, in this case wargaming, to drop in cost.
Let gaming continue.