A Rundown of the Ogre Kingdoms Character Choices (2004)
by Pepi Harlem

This article shows how I see the different character options, and how they function with my army composition. Others may have other ideas. As most tournaments are at around 2000 points, and I usually play 2k battles, my character choices and ideas are based on this army size. I'll also try to give some examples on good magic item combos on the different characters.

The Tyrant

This is a very nasty character type with high S, T and 5 wounds he can go toe-to-toe with a Chaos Lord or a Vampire Count... and win. He is also the character with the highest Ld in the OK army. As Ld IMHO is the most important character stat in Warhammer, I'd always choose a Tyrant as my general. He only costs 70pts more than a bruiser, but with Ld 8 you will fail around 28% of all panic tests, while you will only fail 17% of them with Ld 9. You'll regret that you chose the Bruiser when you roll 9 for that panic test on your large unit of Ironguts with 2 characters in it.

As for how to equip the Tyrant I'd always go with the Tenderiser, as it only costs 36pts more than a usual great weapon, and will boost the Tyrant's combat abilities as it also works in challenges, even against single wound champions (you can stack excess CR in challenges). I'd also give him a ward save and some anti-magic items - Gnoblar Thiefstones come to mind.

As for mundane equipment he can take a great weapon, Cathayan longsword, additional hand weapon or Ironfist. In addition to this he can also take a brace of handguns, one luck Gnoblar, up to two sword Gnoblars and he may upgrade his light armour to heavy armour (HA).

The only weapon upgrade you should give your Tyrant should be the great weapon. S7 is just too good to pass up on. Personally I prefer the magic great weapon as I've written above. The brace of handguns is really good to take out single characters with, to kill a single fast cavalry, knights, fanatics etc. The stand and shoot option is also very good. If you've purchased a Wyrdstone Necklace I'd get a luck Gnoblar as it increases your chance of making that crucial ward save from 1/3 to 5/9. Sword Gnoblars and HA should only be bought if you have points to spare.

The Bruiser

I'll be quick to say that I would only take a Bruiser in sub-2k games. For the reasons above I would always have a Tyrant as my general. The trouble with the Bruiser is that he is a point sink without being able to improve your army in any way, as regular Ironguts are almost as good as him in CC. He does have the option to be upgraded to a battle standard bearer, but this still doesn't make him worth it, as a 'naked' BSB costs 155 points, just 20pts short of a unit of 4 Bulls with standard, Bellower and lookout Gnoblar.

The BSB ability is nice of course, but after having played some games with and without the BSB, I've found that I rarely need him around as I usually win CC. I've had the same experience with my chaos army, where a BSB is rarely needed.

As only a single unit of Ironguts in the Ogre army may take a magic standard (of up to 50 points), taking a BSB could be a good way to squeeze in another of those nifty banners. I suggest that you take a look at Taladryel's magic item article for ideas as for what banner to pick. My personal favourites are: Warbanner, Runemaw and Ragbanner. Of course there's also the Dragonhide banner which only becomes a valid option if you do in fact have a BSB.

If I were forced to bring a Bruiser BSB I'd equip him with a Sword of Might (gives him S6, which is important), and the Bullgut making him good for flank charging. In sub2k games I'd equip him like I would equip the Tyrant.

The Hunter

Another character choice I couldn't dream of buying, although he seems a better option than the Bruiser.

The Hunter has the 'loner' special rule, which means that he can't join any units (other than his cats), and cannot be joined by any other characters, which effectively means that he'll never be able to do impact hits when he charges. He has a S5 BT, which is quite useless, as it is move-or-shoot and he only has BS 4, so will be hitting 2 out of 3 times on short range and 1 out of 2 times on long range. Definitely not worth it IMO.

As he is alone he can very easily be targeted by both shooting and magic, and as he only has 4 wounds he will probably die pretty often, unless you spend a lot of points on protecting him - points that should be used on units.

The only good thing about the Hunter is that he is able to buy up to two Sabretusks. These babies have 3 attacks with WS4 and S4 and a movement of 8. With the special 'sic 'em boys' rule the Hunter is able to unleash these lads so they can charge a war machine crew or a unit with a wizard. With the amount of attacks, their high WS and strength they'll do more than 2 wounds on a WS 3 wizard on average. If the Hunter is accompanied by the Sabretusks he will have enough US to cancel ranks, and if he breaks a unit he may let the sabre tusk pursue on their own, meaning that they pursue with 3d6" instead of the Hunter's 2d6".

Taking a Hunter also increases the number of Trapper units you are allowed to take. These babies are skirmishers and scouts, and a great unit for only 48 points. If you do in fact take a Hunter, be sure to purchase an extra unit of these lads.

If I were forced to take a Hunter I'd probably equip him with the Bullgut and a single Gnoblar Thiefstone. Another option would be the Mastodon Armour, and then use him like a missile magnet. I would always upgrade him, so that he had 2 Sabretusks.

The Slaughtermaster

I'd always take one in 3k games. See 'the Butcher'.

The Butcher

Just like the Tyrant these lads are a must have in every OK army, and I don't just mean fluff-wise. For a mere 130 points you get a 2nd level mage, who has 4 wounds, T5 and Ogre stats. I would at least take 2 of these in any army, 3 if I could, as Gut Magic simply is that good.

They can be upgraded with a single luck Gnoblar and up to two tooth Gnoblars. The luck Gnoblar is useless unless you buy a ward save for these lads. Personally I don't think that tooth Gnoblars are that good, but if you've got 5 points to spare I can't see why you shouldn't buy one. Just remember that per the Warhammer rulebook, a spell that is cast with a dice roll of 1 or 2 always fails, regardless of how many bonuses you may have.

As for magic item combos for these guys 2 Dispel Scrolls are always a given. The first Butcher should always have this combo. Your second Butcher should also carry a scroll and either a Bangstick or the Skullmantle. I personally prefer the Bangstick as it draws out enemy dice, letting you cast more spells. Also it works against all armies, while the Skullmantle is wasted against VC and Sylvanians. If you take a third Butcher (which is quite nasty in 2k games) I'd equip him with the Siegebreaker (giving him 3 S7 attacks) and the Skullmantle. The Halfling Cookbook is also a good choice, but I'd rather choose the items above.

Basic Modelling and Conversion Ideas

If you have seen the plastic sprues for the Bulls, Ironguts and Leadbelchers you'll notice that they contain a lot of diversity, extra heads, weapons, hatchets. All these bits and pieces can easily be used to create your own original (and cheap) Tyrant, Butcher or maybe battle standard! The Maneater models are also quite impressive and will look good as potential Tyrant or Bruiser substitutes. So don't hold back if you have some grand conversion idea! It might just turn out great.

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