Ogre Kingdoms

Ogres are even more dramatic between the differences between their strong troops and their weak troops.  They all share one major weakness however and that is low leadership.  If you can win combat by any means they will often break and be run down.  With expensive units and low armor they can provide lots of points with easy units while stronger ones can be avoided.  Not to mention they do not get the stomp rule against most of our combat units.

Types of units.

Ogres are not surprisingly the bread and butter of the ogre army.  With T4 and 3 wounds a piece these guys sound tough to kill.  They're not.  Little armor and perhaps a parry save to protect them means that most wounds will go straight through.   Care must be taken to get the charge, otherwise you may suffer impact hits from the ogre special rule, gut charge.  Low WS means we score a lot of hits before they swing with their Low I. They do cause fear however and as such all knights should try to remain in range of the general and BSB.

 Their basic core unit is the Ogre bull.  Much like our KOTR they are required to take a unit of bulls and often are taken 6 strong.  This is the common formation of ogres where all of them get to swing.  That's at least 18 swings at S4.  Enough to kill on average two knights a turn.  However ogres also have equipment options for either more attacks, an ironfist shield (that can also be used as a handweapon), or the armor piercing club.  Of these I find the Ironfists to be the most common since they can be used defensively as well as offensively.  Make no mistake, if you engage a unit of these you will likely lose some knights.  This doesn't mean we shouldn't attack them however. A normal unit of KOTR will on the charge kill an ogre before they strike back with about 4 wounds on average.  This removes their rank, reduces the damage against us to about a single knight. The combat resolution on average will be us winning by 5.  This means they're testing on snake eyes, double ones.  Since each unit will probably run them around 250-300 points it is well worth the one knights sacrifice.  As a side note I have found horde M@A to be very effective at killing this unit with about 2 ogres a turn.

 The other ogre core unit is the mighty ironguts.  Unlike the bulls this unit can be quite devastating to our knights and is often fielded in the same 6 strong formation.  They pack great weapons raising their strength to 6.  This is just plain painful and will almost always kill a few knights.  I do recommend shooting at them with bowmen and Trebuchets.  With only a 5+ save they will suffer wounds and possibly casualties quite easily.  The math against them is the same as the bulls except they will kill on average 3 knights even after losing an ogre.  Our Knights of the realm will still win combat but only by one or two.  A double charge however will spell the end of the unit.  If you're unable to bring enough power to bear consider avoiding this unit and shooting it for a while longer.  This unit often costs 350-400 points so is well worth killing.  Once again horde M@A really shine against them bringing down and since M@A can take the inevitable kills with their numbers they will grind down the unit.

Next on the list is the ogre fire support in the lead belcher.  Unpredictable amounts of fire means that in actual shooting they can either devastate you, or do nothing.  To balance this out, they must roll to hit with their BS of 3.  They suffer the normal penalties like everyone except for long range, so a unit of pegasus knights charging are hit on 6's.  Normal knights are hit on 5's.  Suddenly they seem less terrible.  Throw in the fact that the average unit size is 4 and that in combat they are only as powerful as an average bull and we have a solution. Screening units like pegasus knights work well and even pack enough punch to be able to kill them in combat.  If fielded in a unit of 6 take it for granted that someone will have to take the hit for the rest of the army to have a charge.  Pegasus knights are tough enough and hard to hit which makes them a good screen.  Circling around is a very valid option since they have a slow to fire weapon so can't stand and shoot reaction but they are move and fire.  Again a small unit will cost 200-250 points, if larger double that.

Last of the normal ogre is the maneater.  Capable of being fielded in a single model unit this guy is as powerful as a non hero gets he even has a point of strength above the normal ogres.  They have the ability to choose two different skills before the game begins the big one is stubborn with scouting being a close second.  Keep in mind that they can show up on the flank of your army at the start of the game.  Also with they often will have stubborn, so breaking is difficult, higher WS so our average knights only hit on 4+ and they can take an equipment option to become WS 5 and I 4, which really hurts our knights in combat.  As with most ogres they are weak against shooting with only, at max a 5+ save to protect them.  A common use of them is fire support.  They are capable of taking handguns with a 24" range and also can take the sniper skill and are reasonably accurate with them as well.  They are a very dangerous force and should be considered high priority targets for trebuchets and bowmen.  Their one disadvantage is that they cost about 70 points each for a model with a poor save.  Shoot them and finish with knights if possible.

Mournfang.  Hey it is ogre cav!  They are S4 ogres on a S5 beastie.  While not terribly threatening to a knight unit they do have a good save of 2+ so against them a charge is almost required.  If you do get the charge with a unit of 9 knights or so, you can expect this unit to break and be a nice chunk of points.  Also at the end of the day this unit is not very effective against us.  Ogres must close the distance to us, or risk being totally outranged.  That means they are the ones who must cross the no mans land of 16 inches away, which means a likely charge from us.

Special ogres worth mentioning are the yhetees and the gorgers.  Yheetees are faster than the normal ogre, are harder to hit in combat, have a higher strength but have no armor.  They are also almost double the points.  For a unit that is in between bulls and ironguts in power they are pricey.  Treat them as either stronger bulls, or weaker ironguts and use similar tactics against them. 

The gorgers are something totally different.  Designed to enter and destroy back lines they also have no armor but are tougher to compensate.  A normal knight charge might not kill them right out either and since they are unbreakable the damage must be done next turn.  If you are expecting gorgers deploy a trebuchet and bowmen defender.  While one is not a terrible threat multiples can be taken and enough will certainly wreck your back lines.  Thankfully when they enter is randomly determined.  Just be prepared and be waiting for them and you should wipe them out without too much trouble.

Gnoblar.  Only worth mentioning for two things, cheapness and sharpstuff.  For less than half the cost of a M@A you get a model with a S2 thrown weapon, it's annoying.  As for combat themselves they will die horrible deaths to anything we send at them but we will never be able to kill them all.  After all a unit of 100 costs less than a unit of 9 knights.  The best way to defeat them is to win combat (not hard) and run them down.  Even steadfast they have a good chance of break with a pitiful ld 5, obviously make sure the general isn't nearby.  Don't let them flank you or tie you down when it is important and they should be little threat.  Also be warned of the gnoblar trappers.  They cause dangerous terrain checks for any model wishing to attack the unit.  The best way to handle this unit is to make it panic by killing something close by.  If that unit is the general or BSB so much the better.

Scraplauncher.  The artillery.  Pulled by a temperamental rhinox with a poor leadership it is one of the few things that uses the template in the ogre army.  It is rather harmless to our knights except for the killing blow rule, but our peasants will die in decent amounts.  The best way to handle it is to stay just inside its maximum charge range.  It is forced to take a LD test or try and charge at maximum range it will most likely fail and bring itself into our charge range.  When charged by any knight unit they will likely defeat it and it will often break or die.

Stonehorn.  The ogre monster that is designed to soak up the artillery fire.  It only takes half damage from the trebuchet.  This should be enough incentive to not fire at it.  If it is far from the general then it will suffer from the pain of frenzy.  At a low leadership it will likely end up chasing some fast cav around the board until you can charge it.  This is another one where charging will almost certainly up breaking the monster and it dying.  It is very tough and devastating on the charge so be prepared to need 5's or 6's to wound it.

Thundertusk.  Everyone strikes last near it.  It is really just annoying.  This is a monster designed to provide support in the shooting area.  Deal with it like most shooting units.  Any decent combat unit should be able to break it and run it down.

Ironblaster.  This sucker is tough with a cannon.  Pegasus knights are not the answer here.  Stick to a full unit to deal with them.  Again expect to break them and not to kill them right out.  Of course heroic killing blow will work against the last three big monsters.

Characters. Ogre characters are really more of the same.  While they do boost damage output considerably and some may have some sneaky tricks they are at the end of the day just an ogre.  Poor leadership is often the death of them though if they are stubborn expect a long drawn out fight.  Our only effective counter to an ogre hero is a hero of our own.  Thankfully they are very expensive and will only be taken in small numbers.  Often taken with pistols they can double as fire support for the average unit.  If they are on their own, trebuchet them and generally treat them as you would treat a full fledged monster, though one that can issue challenges, and they can be taken care of with ease.

Ogre wizards are nearly as tough as their combat counter parts, minus armor.  Their virtue comes from the gut magic lore.  Every spell is easy to cast to start and buffing ogres is quite dangerous to us.  If spells are cast on an ogre unit consider not charging them unless you plan to dispel it during your own magic phase.  Fire belly wizards also pack a powerful breath attack, so don't let them get too close to the M@A.  This doesn't mean to ignore the spell casters since they are pricey and relatively easy to squish.  Also be warned that toothcracker can cause some serious damage to our knights since it ignores the armor save.  While normal wizards are often high priority targets I find the butchers to be something that I can wait on killing, just be warned that they are powerful in combat as well.

Things to expect.

More units.  You will almost always have more units than the ogres.

Losing knights.  Knights will drop in combat, expect it and be prepared. 

Heroism heyday.  The virtue of Heroism can instant kill any ogre on a 6.  That hurts them a lot.

Hordes of blah.  Gnoblars can outnumber anything but without the general they run.

Small units.  Due to the price don't expect to see big units, though I have seen the 18 bull horde.

Less effective charges.  The high T means that our lances aren't very effective

M@A earn their keep.  The constant barrage of S 4 these guys put out before ogres can strike is decent.

High Elves

When fighting high elves it is important to realize that they will hit before you.  Not only this but simply assume that all attacks will hit.  So when mentally calculating if victory will be yours simply assume all attacks will hit before you begin.  While this is potent elves themselves can't take a hit.  This lead us to the high elves greatest weakness.  Numbers.  If you have greater numbers than they can kill, you will most likely win combat.  Target priority is key when fighting the elves as is good coherency.  The army is also very good at dispelling magic so don't expect your damsels to do much until their wizards have been killed.

Types of units.

All foot elves share the same T 3 and low armor save weakness and their greatest difference comes from their damage output.  Whenever possible engage them in the flanks or sides to reduce counter attacks.  Since there are only elves in essence I will discuss them in core, special and rare order.  Unless otherwise noted, expect only a bare minimum of core and rare.

Spearmen/Seaguard.  Both of these units play almost the same, one just has been given a bow for versatility.  This unit is the horde defense unit of the high elves, it puts out a lot of low Strength but accurate attacks.  Units like our M@A will be picked apart quickly by the sheer amount of spear attacks since they fight in an extra rank.  On the other hand our knights are surprisingly resilient to weak attacks and will lose few models, if any, to them.  To key to victory against these units is overkill.  Give them no chance to have steadfast.  After the charge you want them down to about 14 models against a unit 9 strong.  Without the ranks behind them and damaged to that point the combat is basically won, since they now lack the power to kill our knights.  In order to get them down to the magic number 14 consider shooting at them before hand.  A single trebuchet may very well drop the required number of models in a single shot.  A decent rule of thumb I use is that if we have equal or more ranks than the unit a charge is worthwhile.

Archers.  Only really taken for reasons similar to us taking peasant bowmen.  They can be used to fill out points and see deployments.  Shooting is fairly accurate but does little damage against knights.  Unlike most fire support units this unit is capable of fighting off our mounted yeoman.  This requires a combat unit to shift but it will do so easily.  If you can attack this unit without fear of retribution do so.  It will provide a decent sum of points for little effort.  In fact a small unit of 10 will give you enough points for a victory.  You can ignore them if there are more pressing threats.  It also gives our bowmen something to shoot at during the middle section of them game.  It is surprisingly a fair fight between the two units in shooting, since behind stakes our bowmen are hit just as well as they hit, but our bowmen are basically half the cost.

Silver helms/Dragon princes.  An enemy cavalry unit.  They are as fast as our knights in movement and strength.  While damage output is decent they are pricey and actually pale in comparison to our knights.  Treat them as any other heavy cav because at the end of the day they are not all that special, 2+ ward save against fire ignored.  If you get the charge the unit is done. and will grant you a decent chunk of points.  If you can't charge just take it on the nose with silver helms.

Lion/ Tiranoc chariot.  While both are chariots the lion chariot is basically a beefed up version with better crew and better steeds.  As with all chariots, if you can get the charge do so to avoid the impact hits.  Keep in mind that if he gets the full amount of impact hits from either chariot it will kill one to two knights on average.  Even with that excellent roll and damage it is not uncommon for us to win combat.  If there is a hero in our units than it is almost certain to deal damage to the chariot with its weak toughness and mediocre armor save furthering the combat resolution in our favor.   If it is not in an aggressive position consider shooting it with bowmen since the toughness and saves are not great, it may very well prevent us from getting charged.  Definitely keep these guys from the back lines where they can cause untold damage.  One important difference is that Pegasus knights are valid combat units against the tiranoc chariot but are not against the lion chariot.  They are actually easier to kill then most other chariots in the game and can be handled as an average chariot.

Ellyrion reavers.  Typical fast cav.  They are pricey but pose little threat to knights.  With poor armor and the low Toughness they make excellent early targets for our bowmen.  Basically treat them as average fast cav but remember that a unit of them will cost over a 100 points which is enough for victory.

Shadow warriors.  Treat them as expensive scouts.  Easy to kill in combat and worth decent points.

Swordmasters.  One of the big 3 units of high elves.  The big three tells you what style of elf army you are facing and at least one is taken in just about every elf army.  The swordmasters represent the aggressive elf army.  They have the highest damage output but the lowest amount of defense.  Easily putting out 15 wounds at Strength 5 a turn it can put some serious damage on anything.  As such consider avoiding this unit until it is damaged as much as possible.  Shooting is quite effective and they often are my primary targets for the bowmen and trebuchet.  If you can't reduce their numbers in time consider simply letting them go through your lines but threaten a flank charge.  If they charge, flee this will prevent the unit from reforming to face the knights.  If they reform to face the knights, shoot them. Of all the units in the elf army this is the one I sacrifice more fire support units to.  If they must be engaged do so from the flank.  Combined tactics are key to defeating this unit.  Threaten more ways than they can face and surround the unit.  A flank or rear charge will more than likely break it giving you the points.  If it is the bodyguard for a wizard then pegasus knights can charge in and expect to lose a whole pegasus.

White lions.  One of the big 3 units of high elves.  This one represents a balance of power and survivability.  A single S 6 swing is what they get in combat but they are stubborn.  It obviously lacks horde control and M@A will (eventually) make mincemeat of a similar pointed unit.  Shooting is less effective against this unit with only the trebuchet effectively dealing wounds.  Magic is actually more effective but we tend to lack damaging spells.  Of all the elf units this is the one that gives me the most trouble.  I usually avoid them until I am ready to focus at least 2 units of knights on them.  Again this is a unit that I avoid.  As a side note they have the strider rule and will often hang out in trees.  If this unit is the bodyguard for a wizard then pegasus knights are not a good choice and you may have to charge in with a full knight unit to kill the wizard.

Phoenix guard.  The last of the big three.  This one represent survivability at the cost of damage.  They ignore at least half of all attacks sent their way and cause fear.  Because of this I find that they are often used as bodyguards for wizards.  That way in case of the inevitable miscast less damage is done to the elves.  Fine by us, a unit of pegs will easily survive the counter attacks on the charge and get a decent shot at killing the wizard.  Shooting is not very effective against this unit for the most part but is often needed to wear them down to a manageable size, again trebuchets are your friend, though not as effective against this unit.  This unit I do not avoid often dedicating a similar amount of points to attack them.  As with all of the big 3 a unit of 15 costs about as much as 9 knights of the realm.  An important thing to consider is that they are basically as well armored as our knights against our normal attacks.  Toe to toe after the first round we will start to be ground down, except if there is a hero in the unit. Even on the charge we will deal little damage, only about 3 elves.  So why do I engage this unit and not the others?  The reason being is that as soon as the unit is pinned down in combat I will have the ability to hit it in the flank or rear with another unit.  This is because the damage they deal is not as great and it gives me time to get a valuable rear charge with the pegasus knights to gain enough resolution to make them break.  I also charge in order to get my heroes in combat.  A lone paladin with a 1+ re-rollable save will often be able to survive against the whole unit for an indefinite time period, on average they need 20 rounds of combat to inflict a single wound.  Since the grind is about equal unit to unit that leaves the lone hero to face a unit that hopefully will never win combat by more than one.  Keep the BSB and general close just in case.  Heroes can break this unit on their own and often must.

On to the rare.  The repeater bolt thrower is the high elf artillery support and often can be handled like every other war machine in the game.  It is not terribly effective against our knights but it should still be handled quickly.  Bowmen can get lucky and knock a wound off on a 6 to wound and since there are only 2 poorly armored crewman it is often worth it.  Each one is worth a grand 100 points which is enough for a victory.  If they can be charged safely go ahead and do so and take the points.

Great Eagles. Flying turkeys.   They are not a serious threat to anything but our trebuchets but that is most likely their target.  They are not really all that different from fast cav and should be dropped in the same manner.

Characters.  The high elf combat character will have a great weapon.  As such expect the attacks to come at S 6, and they come before you strike too.  In essence consider them a powerful sword master.  They also will all but be immune to fire, what keeps them in the ball park of realism is their price.  They are quite expensive meaning that you will often only see one or two combat characters in the army.  If you have anything to affect armor consider using it.  They often have a 2+ save to compensate for the lack of toughness.  Still, they break like everyone else and should be engaged after shooting his unit to pieces.  Our heroes are a fair match against them, especially with a re-roll on the armor save.  Expect to deal little to no damage and to receive about the same.  Odds are that a hero level inflicts a wound on a paladin every third turn while you inflict it every other turn at S 5.  As for magic banners on the BSB he will often be rather weak in close combat and easily killable so direct attacks against him as much as possible.

However the combat characters are not the most dangerous ones in the high elf army.  It is all about the archmages.  I classify these as my highest priority target as soon as I see the pointy elf magic hat.  They are easily in the top 3 of magic users for damage means.  As such they often are an unstoppable force in the magic phase.  However they are as squishy as the next elf.  Because of this I often send my pegasus knights against any archmage I find, as soon as possible, first turn if I can.  The sacrifice of the pegasus knights will certainly be worth it.  Direct all attacks possible and drop this model as quickly as you can.  They can easily cost over 300 points and can ruin your day if not taken care of quickly.  If you don't think the pegasus are up to it, hit the archmage on the second turn with a full knight unit and drop the wizard.  Any unit lost will have earned it's points back and made the table safer for the rest of your army.  Honestly if I see one of these I know where my hammer blow will strike.  If there are more than one running hunt them down.

Finally the dragon riders.  The dragon is considered the strongest of all monsters in Warhammer and for good reason.  Fortunately they are pricey and if they take the field the magic phase of the enemy is significantly hampered.  Treat them as very fast monsters capable of living through a trebuchet hit and issuing challenges and you won't be far off.  Expect this single model to cost over 500 points.  Fortunately for us, if we engage it head on with a full lance it won't be able to kill the unit and we benefit from steadfast in case it wins combat.  This lets us get our monster killers into the fray or perhaps break it by combat resolution.  Heroic killing blow anyone?  A special note is made for the pincushion known as the dragon mage.  He doesn't start the game as a pincushion but our peasant bowmen will quickly turn him into one.  After the rider is lost then the dragon is not terrible dangerous, only slightly more so than a griffin.  To sum up, use steadfast to bog down the dragon and get monster killers in where they belong. After the dragon is gone the guy on top quickly falls as he is often built for survivability. 

Army builds.

Magic heavy.  Archmage with support.  Get in close and end him quickly even if it costs you a unit.

Elite build.  Lots of the big 3 units.  Treat them all carefully and make sure your army works together.

Mobile.  Really... They try to play Bretonnia with their inferior cav.

Monster.  Guy on dragon with support.  Kill the dragon and laugh.

Things to expect.

Few units. Elves are pricey we often are at equal or greater numbers.

Long early game.  I dislike starting the midgame against elves until turn 4 or 5. More time to shoot them.

Small units of elite Infantry.  Due to price the big 3 often are not fielded greater than 20 strong.

Powerful magic and magic defense.  Kill that archmage ASAP. He usually gets +5 to dispel.

Mediocre shooting.  Elf shooting is not strong nor plentiful.

Horses causing damage.  Never forget our horse attacks, elves are weak to ANYTHING hitting them.

Enemies re-roll to hit.  Just take it for granted that you never go first and they re-roll to hit.

Weak back line.  Elves have few support units to provide ranged fire.  Either they advance to fight you or they hold back and try to magic you to death.

Almost dead knight units.  Due to the high combat power if you're down to 2-3 knights just avoid the elves and do point denial.