Orc Civil War

My first game with the new Orcs and Goblins book for Warhammer was a couple of weeks ago now, but like I've said, there's something of a lag on my game reports.

Anyway, this was a game to introduce a new player to Warhammer, and as it happened we both turned up with Orc armies.

Our two armies showed the difference experience makes, his was heavy on Orcs but light on Goblin units and what there was he deployed on a flank.  With only one unit of Goblins it was obvious where his Fanatics, if any would be; so I was able to deploy my Goblin heavy, Fanatic laden army away from them.

My forces were able to control the initial moves, although the terrain was a marginal inconvenience to me.  My fanatics released nice and early and spent a lot of time, along with my Doom Diver, smashing his Black Orc unit and Orc Big Uns.

Meanwhile his Goblins were stuck out on a limb in a formation that didn't really help their cause.  He sent his Trolls in against my own Big Uns, but they were so slow to react that the boys simply hacked them down.

Still they came on, depleting their numbers as they did so stumbling into my Fanatics.  He had a little success against my bumbling Savage Orcs (a unit I always take, but never rely on), but failed to pursue, and then allowed himself to be distracted by the rallied remnants.  In the centre a handful of his Big Uns came off worse against my Goblin bowmen; setting up the chance for me to roll his flank.

His Black Orcs made contact around the same time, but found themselves on the end of a losing engagement with my Warboss, forty Big Uns and thirty plus spear armed goblins in their flank. 

Unsurprisingly I won the combat, and his last major unit fell to pursuit.

Definitely a triumph of experience, but my opponent won't learn by easy wins.  As for the new edition of the army list?  Well the units I have, aside from a few points changes haven't become much different.  There are new items in the book, sure, but I'm unlikely to buy any of them so their not an issue.  The new animosity rules and spell lists are better than the old edition, if a little less flavourful, and as seems to be the case with new army books there are a lot less magic items to play with. 

I have my doubts about the £25 price tag for a fairly thin hardback book, but it is full colour, and hey, it's Games Workshop.  Whaddya expect?