The Ogres are storming their way across the Old World, and only you and your valiant forces can stop them!

Yet, rumours have it that the denizens of the Ogre Kingdoms are brutal, merciless, and nearly impossible to kill. They are known to eat their foes in the middle of battle and can survive a cannonball shot to the chest. How can any army hope to survive a confrontation against these unstoppable killing (and eating) machines? This article is here to help you do just that.

Strengths

As is often the case, knowing your enemy is the first step. Let’s take a quick look at the strengths and weaknesses of a typical Ogre Kingdoms army.

Ogres and their monstrous allies are fast (Movement 6+), strong (Strength 4+), tough (Toughness 4+), and have many, many Wounds. As if all that wasn’t enough of an offensive advantage, a unit of three or more Ogres causes impact hits when it charges from a distance of 6” or more. Lastly, the Ogres and their large kin cause Fear. This ability is one of the most powerful – but often overlooked – advantages of most Ogre Kingdom units.

What does all this information mean? Well, due to their high movement, they will get the charge against almost every kind of unit. Even when someone gets the drop on them, their high number of Wounds means that most of the front rank will survive the assault to seek revenge. Their high movement also means that they can cross the battlefield in a flash. Don’t count on getting too many rounds of missile fire before your archers are being eaten alive…literally. Finally, respect the Fear. As outlined in the Warhammer article Face Your Fears, Fear can defeat an army if you don’t know the rules and don’t know how to contain it.

Weaknesses

Although Ogres seem unbeatable, they do have a few weaknesses. First and foremost: Ogres are very expensive. This cost means that Ogre Kingdoms armies are almost always going to be vastly outnumbered (let’s not think about Gnoblar-heavy armies as that belongs in an entirely different article). Sure, I’d rather have a single Ogre than three to four weak Man-things, but having many Man-things formed into large units creates certain advantages on the battlefield that few Ogre units are going to get. An Ogre unit still needs to field a unit of eight Ogres (280 points for eight Bulls with no upgrades) to get a single +1 rank bonus. Ogre units are usually going to be down to a +4 or +5 in their Combat Resolution rating before a single blow has been struck.

Fielding expensive troops (80+ points for a Maneater) also means that you only need to kill a few Ogres to make a huge difference. Blast one of those eight Bulls and the Ogre unit loses its only rank bonus. Get the units low enough, and you can start picking off REALLY expensive characters with your war machines.

A second weakness of an army composed entirely of Ogres and their monstrous friends is that they lack of depth when it comes to unit types, as described below.

• Cavalry. Ogres don’t have any. The only troop choice they have that moves faster than 6” is the Yhetee, which is a Special Unit. The big difference between Ogres that have a base movement of 6” and Cavalry is when it comes to the Fleeing and Pursuit. Even though Ogres are very fast, they still only get to move 2d6” when they Flee or Pursue. This limit is a weakness that can be exploited.
• Missile Troops. Sure, they have a couple of choices, but the choices are extreme. Gnoblars can throw scrap up to 8”. The junk they throw is resolved at only Strength 2, so Gnoblars are not elite missile troops. Obviously, for only 2 points each, they can’t be. The other choice is the deadly but expensive Leadbelchers. These cannon-wielding Ogres are Special Units that cost 55 points each. Their range is a meager 12” and they must spend an entire round reloading their cannons before they can fire them again. Having said that, they can do a lot of damage if they get in close. At 55 points each, these guys are worth shooting.
• War Machines/Chariots. The Ogres have only one war machine choice and it is a unit called the Gnoblar Scraplauncher. This unit is a combination of a Chariot and a Stone Thrower. A powerful Rhinox that moves 6” and has 3 powerful Attacks of its own pulls the chariot, and the Stone Thrower does Strength 3 hits. As the Scraplauncher is also a Special Unit, the Ogre general much choose between it, Yhetees, and Leadbelchers when it comes time to choose Special troop choices.
• Flying Units/Flying Monsters/Flying Mounts. The Ogres have none. If you’re like me and despise Flyers in all their forms, then go fight some Ogres. If you’ve got access to Flyers, you might be able to use this Ogre weakness to your advantage.

Another weakness of Ogres that can be exploited in coordination with their lack of numbers is their average Leadership value. Bulls, Leadbelchers, and Yhetees have a Leadership of 7 while some of the more elite units and characters only have slightly higher Leadership. Gnoblar Leadership is barely on the radar at a 5. While this Leadership is not terrible (except for the 2-point Gnoblars that are Insignificant), Ogres can definitely be susceptible to Psychological attacks. Those units of three to eight don’t need to lose very many models before a Panic test becomes a problem. If the Ogre General is not close by, you can really make the Ogres pay for this lacking.

Finally, Ogre Kingdoms armies can be a bit weak on the magic front. The weakness does not come from their lack of good spells or even their ability to cast them. The weakness comes from the army list limitations. Butchers can’t be Generals, so the Ogre Kingdoms player must field at least a Bruiser before they can have a Butcher. In low-point matches, a lot of players will have to make the choice between an Army Standard Bearer and a Butcher. Another huge limitation imposed by the army list is that Slaughtermasters can’t be taken in armies that don’t have a Tyrant. As both the Tyrant and the Slaughtermaster are Lords, you will never see a Slaughtermaster in games less than 3,000 points. The exception to this rule is the 400-point Special Character Skrag the Slaughterer who must be the army General. For more information on Butchers and Gut Magic, read the following article.

Next: What to Do, What to Do???

- Article by Ken Kennedy