Thoughts on Ogre Bull Weapon Choices (2005)
by ikim

It is stated clearly in the BRB (Big Red Book/Warhammer Rulebook) that you cannot change your choice of weapon when already engaged in a combat. Hence, when you decide to either use an Iron Fist as a shield or as an additional hand weapon in the first round of a combat, you must continue to use it this way until the combat is over (until one unit has broken or has been destroyed etc).

With the combination of a hand weapon and the Iron Fist being used as a shield, a typical Ogre Bull gets a 5+ armour save in close combat (though no save against ranged attacks). This armour save may be increased to a 4+ armour save (6+ against ranged attacks) with the additional option of light armour.

This is most likely nothing new to you, but in this article the first thing I will be looking at is this; when should you choose to equip your Bulls with Iron Fists as shields, and when should you use them as extra hand weapons?

To answer such a question we must first think about which unit is charging.

If it is the Ogres who are receiving the charge, you will want as many of your Bulls attacking back as possible to help ensure the combat resolution is in your favour. It may be a good idea to use the Iron Fists as shields in this case, so that there is a better chance that your Ogres will not perish from the charge thus reducing the enemy's combat bonuses as less wounds may be caused, and potentially increasing your own combat bonuses as you may have more attacks back at the enemy with the chance of more Ogres surviving.

However, if your opposing unit's strength value is great enough to strip your armour save, you would be better off using you Iron Fists as additional hand weapons.

For example, what if a Bretonnian Lance charges the unit of Bulls? Such a unit can deal a massive number of attacks, hitting on 4s and wounding on 2s with a hefty S6. In the face of this the Ogres are assured no armour save, not even with the 4+ armour save provided by the light armour, hand weapon and shield combo. You'd be silly not to use the Iron Fists as extra hand weapons in this case.

Or perhaps you shouldn't use Iron Fists at all in this situation? Would the basic Ogre club with it's additional armour piercing be better used against these heavily armoured Knights?

Let's look at the stats.

3 Ogres attacking with Iron Fist used as additional hand weapons:
Ogres = 12A, WS3, S4
Knight of the Realm = WS4, T3, 2+ armour save
WS3 vs WS4: 12 attacks to hit on 4s = average of 6 hits;
S4 vs T3: 6 hits to wound on 3s = average 4 wounds;
-1 armour save: 4 wounds to save on 3s = average 1 1/3 kills

3 Ogres attacking with Ogre clubs:
Ogres = 9A, WS3, S4
Knight of the Realm = WS4, T3, 2+ armour save
WS3 vs WS4: 9 attacks to hit on 4s = average of 4 1/2 hits;
S4 vs T3: 4 1/2 hits to wound on 3s = average 3 wounds;
-2 armour save: 3 wounds to save on 4s = average 1 1/2 kills

As you can see, there is a very small difference. Due to this small margin however, the Ogre club is technically the better weapon to use against Knights.

If the Ogre Bulls are the chargers, in my opinion using the Iron Fists as extra hand weapons is definitely the way to go. By doing this you're increasing the chance of causing wounds on your enemy, and are therefore potentially reducing the number of attacks your opponent can make back at your Ogres which could help swing the combat resolution your way by a great deal.

More often than not, your Ogres will be the ones dishing out the charges (their movement of 6" is greater than the majority of units' movement in the game). Therefore most of the time you'll find yourself using your Iron Fists as extra hand weapons, not as shields.

If you're trying to squeeze the most effectiveness out of your Ogre Kingdoms army, you obviously don't want to waste points on things you might only use now and again - it's highly inefficient.

For one point less per Bull you could equip them with additional hand weapons from the off, and the accumulated saved points can be then better spent.

Read Comments | Write Comment

Back

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?The Ogre Stronghold is the oldest and largest Ogre Kingdoms website on the net - join today!