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Well my wallet's going to be empty this march! I'll be getting the rulebook, arachnok, magic cards and probably a box or two of savage orcs

The hard-back army book is a good way to scrounge some more money out of us, though addmitedly it wasn't as expensive as i thought it would be. The spider is just awesomely cool, I'll be getting one no doubt about it, it'll be interesting to see the rules for that thing. I like this monster trend and i hope it continues. The savage orcs are a good kit to revamp, imo the new models look cool and i'm glad they're not as expensive as the HE pheonix guard and white lions were. It's nice the O&Gs are getting a special character wizard, after looking at his rules, i might end up buying him too. I've also read the description under the magic cards, and the spells sound suitably cool and devastating, looks like the new army book wil be improved in that regard

I've read some of the previous posts in this thread, especially about animosity. I still stand by my view that animosity is an important, fun and characteristic part of orcs, besides the chances that you'll get the bad result is now halved, which is good. Looks like another improvement

Anyway, it looks like I'll soon have to change the 'Armies at the Standstill Point' in my sig soon. So, bring on the WAAAAAGGGHHHHH!!!

۞ Jack ۞ wrote:

Spider looks real cool but unless there's some sort of new howda rule where you can only hit one crew with a template weapon it's going to be useless on the table when one cannon ball kills all 10 goblins riding in it with one shot.

Dont want to really go over old ground with this post, but it will be fine.
Spider has 8 wounds, so a single cannon wont do the job.
Crew cant be hit.
However, a great shaman using one as a mount gets hit on a 5-6 (spider on 1-4)

So yea, you will lose the shaman, but crew go down when the bug dies, and no sooner.




TBH, the thing that really gets to me is Wurrzag losing spleenripper :(
He needs mobility!
Granted he can now go 1 to 1 with teclis and best him, while killing off most monsters in a single spell, but thats not the point!
He is missing his boar, and wizzbang (his squig, the previous tribe elder that cast him out) has now no longer got a name :K
GW needs to add to things, not take them away.


Either way, at 290 points a spider ill be taking 2 as my rares.
Ill pass on a 3rd for a shaman though, since i rather take wurrzag.
Can now also afford to get more savages, since i have 40 metal now. (wanted around 100, but price and weight dont help thier cause)

Super huge base along with no ward or regen saves means things like cannons and stone throwers will have a harder time missing and when they do will not have their damage mitigated. Eight wounds sounds like a lot but when there is almost no way to block line of sight and you can't fly I doubt many spiders will make it across the table against Empire or Dwarves. Additionally unless that ranged hit rule specifically includes templates, cannons and stone throwers will still hit both spider and shaman meaning he will be dead first or second turn.

It's good that the goblin crew are apparently immune to damage but it still won't last. Maybe with two one will make it to combat but 600 points for that doesn't seem well spent.

Karon wrote:
8 dollars more, and I get a gakload more of durability, and full color? With minimally more weight? Sign me up!

Hardcover GW book =/= durability. Anyone with old GW books hardcover can tell you that.

On the Stupid Name Spider: I agree, and if it does make it in, is there any real promise that it will kill it's target? It's not got a breath weapon, so it can't pull the hydra trick of breathweaponing and then thunderstomoing for maximum pwnage.

On the magic items thing, that could be an intentional design choice of 8th, to limit the brokeness. Unfortunately, it has two gaping flaws. The first is that the release schedule is so glacially slow that old books will probably be happily using their massive magical libraries into 9th edition. The second is that I in absolutely no way trust GW to stick to a consistent book design philosophy for longer than 2 books, and expect that by the 3rd army book we'll be seeing an increase of magic item options for everyone else which will leave Orcs, again, at the bottom of the pile.
I guess that's the price we pay for getting an upgrade every edition, and having a bajillion nice plastic kits to choose from.

They posted a 'teaser' of the stats for it over on the GW site. Some of what Jack posted is in there, but there's alot he left out.

Games Workshop wrote:On the Tabletop
Arachnarok Spiders are utterly devastating on the battlefield. Not only do they fight with 8 Poisoned Attacks at Strength 5, but the eight Forest Goblins can also get stuck in from the howdah on its back... and then it can Thunderstomp! That alone is enough to break the back of most regiments, but when you consider that it also has 8 Wounds, Toughness 6 and a 4+ armour save, it has some serious staying power too. Being a (particularly large and gribbly) spider, it has a Movement of 7 and the Obstacle Strider, Forest Strider, Wall-crawler and Swiftstrider special rules, making it as fast as most heavy cavalry, but infinitely more deadly.

Use your Arachnarok Spiders to:
Outflank the Enemy: Their combination of speed and ability to easily traverse terrain makes an Arachnarok Spider far more than just a blunt weapon to hurl at the enemy. It's true that such a powerful monster can overwhelm most regiments on its own, but why fight fair when you can flank them and fight dirty instead? It's what a Goblin would do.

Hunt Enemy Monsters: With a multitude of Poisoned Attacks and the Immune to Psychology special rule, an Arachnarok Spider makes an exceptional monster hunter. And if that's not enough, the Venom Surge rule means that one of its attacks can cause D6 wounds - easily enough to down the hardiest of creatures. There are very few models in the game that can fight such a powerful creature and survive, so why let them? And just think of the bragging rights you'll earn if you manage to strike the finishing blow with one of your Goblin crew.

Carry your Goblin Great Shaman: An Arachnarok Spider can be taken as a mount for a Goblin Great Shaman. Not only does this unlock access to the Catchweb Spidershrine (and the Loremaster special rule for your Great Shaman), but provides great protection for your fragile spell caster by virtue of deterring your enemy from attacking him and consequently engaging his fearsome mount.

Watch out for:
Cannons: It may sound obvious, but a cannonball will cause your pride and joy no end of grief. If you face enemy cannons in battle, try to cling to the terrain as best as possible, taking advantage of your ability to easily traverse such awkward ground. If the worst comes to the worst and your enemy has a clear shot, just be grateful that your spider starts the game with so many Wounds.

Powerful Characters: On paper, an Arachnarok Spider can dish out a world of pain, but if you face an enemy character with a really good armour save, your model's Strength of 5 may not be enough to cause them much trouble. Some powerful characters can also hit really hard, or worse, cause Multiple Wounds. Such heroes will see off your spider in short order if you're too reckless with your choice of targets. Your spider is certainly tough, but remember that it's far from invincible.

So it's "as fast as most heavy cavalry" and has a buttload of Poisoned attacks. Interesting.

Interesting that the put in the obvious weaknesses.

It's fast alright. I reckon my Dwarves could gun one down before it hit my lines, but not two. But it's 300ish points, so that's not suprising.

They also made a point to mention that adding a Flinger doesn't replace any of the 8 crew, which is kinda...interesting I guess

Shame is that, by all rumor accounts, TK's will be next. TK's and OnG with pathetically small magic item lists, then other armies back toward / at full strength.

Hopefully, if such does occur, we'll see some online Magic Items added to the Orc n Goblin lists.

So I've gone from saying to myself

"Wowee, that Spider is huge!"

to

"Where's that box of forest goblin Spider Riders gone..."

I guess I'm going to be playing a savage orc and goblin army!

The book, spider and wild orcs are in the black box that arrived today in some stores. Expect a flood of information by many soon. I only had a short glimpse, can tell you more tomorrow.

The spider is huge and the base can double as a regiment base. The spider body is full of small spiders crawling out, adding to its character but making Tyranid conversions more difficult. And in addition to the Goblin batman among the slitters, we get a Goblin Spiderman with this kit! Put a Green Goblin on a Dark Eldar Hellion, and you have a good start for a Golden Demon diorama!

The book is thicker than I thought for its 112 pages. The design change reminds me of D&D 2nd b/w to 3rd editionfull colour changes. Looks pleasant. Can tell you more tomorrow as well.

So, if I'm getting right the character rumors:

BOrcs are going up in points, and the only gain they get is... default of wearing Heavy Armor. Savage Orcs are predominantly raising in points / staying consistent, but it's minor price changes where they do exist. Common Orcs are going down in points.

Goblin prices are going down predominantly, with about ten points lost for each Lord Shaman type and the Lord Warboss-types almost being halved in points (assuming 'Seer didn't mean Big Boss prices), with untold prices on Goblin Big Bosses.


I imagine a few Savage Orc-level heroes with either the Shrunken 'Ead or some Magic Resistance items from the BRB to booster Savage Orc mob Ward Saves (since the Spirit Totem's gone). With the MR2 Magic Item on one character, and the +1 Ward Save on another, you're looking at a 5+ Default Ward on the SOrcs, with a 3+ Ward versus magical direct-damage attacks. If you are using a 30-strong unit with these upgrade, it should be akin to about a 2.5 point / model upgrade for the unit to have this - not too bad, all things considered. If you increase it up to forty, for some odd reason (maybe it's a very large point game), it drops to only two points / model in addition.

I can readily see Savage Orcs trading out non-Big 'Un regular Orcs in short order, due to Frenzy and the Warpaint advantages versus magic with the loss of the Spirit Totem Dispel Dice.

Prevalence of Orc Arrers, this edition, is probably going to drop. With a point increase (seven points a model! That's just a point shy of an Empire Crossbowman!), but no stat increase (and, worse, a Champion that's only +1BS [from the rumors] instead of +1S, +1WS, and +1A), they aren't worth their points in most instances. If you do see Orc Arrers, it'll probably be as a house to some Shaman you intend to keep back from the main lines.

It's good that the goblin crew are apparently immune to damage but it still won't last. Maybe with two one will make it to combat but 600 points for that doesn't seem well spent.

Keep in mind that all large monsters attract fire.
Its just the most common thing to shoot at as you get rushed by a wave.

Chaos get giants and shaggoths shot at, skaven get HPA's shot at etc.
Only difference being, the spider has more wounds and higher movement than all other monsters (not including winged)

About the only large creature i can find that is better is a dragon, and at a 360+ points cost, that explains its self.


I would suggest keeping it out of LoS, but that would be a bit fething dumb since its roughly the height of the old fortress? lol


However, i am going to go out on a limb and get my oldblood back on his carnosaur ready for the new release
(lots of multiple wounsd should work well)
So, fun for me to play with and against.

Minsc wrote:So, if I'm getting right the character rumors:

BOrcs are going up in points, and the only gain they get is... default of wearing Heavy Armor. Savage Orcs are predominantly raising in points / staying consistent, but it's minor price changes where they do exist. Common Orcs are going down in points.

Goblin prices are going down predominantly, with about ten points lost for each Lord Shaman type and the Lord Warboss-types almost being halved in points (assuming 'Seer didn't mean Big Boss prices), with untold prices on Goblin Big Bosses.


I imagine a few Savage Orc-level heroes with either the Shrunken 'Ead or some Magic Resistance items from the BRB to booster Savage Orc mob Ward Saves (since the Spirit Totem's gone). With the MR2 Magic Item on one character, and the +1 Ward Save on another, you're looking at a 5+ Default Ward on the SOrcs, with a 3+ Ward versus magical direct-damage attacks. If you are using a 30-strong unit with these upgrade, it should be akin to about a 2.5 point / model upgrade for the unit to have this - not too bad, all things considered. If you increase it up to forty, for some odd reason (maybe it's a very large point game), it drops to only two points / model in addition.

I can readily see Savage Orcs trading out non-Big 'Un regular Orcs in short order, due to Frenzy and the Warpaint advantages versus magic with the loss of the Spirit Totem Dispel Dice.

Prevalence of Orc Arrers, this edition, is probably going to drop. With a point increase (seven points a model! That's just a point shy of an Empire Crossbowman!), but no stat increase (and, worse, a Champion that's only +1BS [from the rumors] instead of +1S, +1WS, and +1A), they aren't worth their points in most instances. If you do see Orc Arrers, it'll probably be as a house to some Shaman you intend to keep back from the main lines.

Had a good trawl through the book, and the rumours you post is constructed from aren't entirely accurate. Certainly, Savage Orcs have gone down in points.. Arrer Boyz seem like something of a Bargain to me, once you factor in Volley Fire, and Choppas. Nobody wants to face a unit which can vomit shots, and kick you in the pills.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh, and the new Goblin upgrade (Sneaky Stabbers, or whatever they are called) are filth. They have ASF, and when revealed in the first round of combat (compulsory) they have killing blow. Sure, they are not great shakes beyond that...but seriously....their points cost. I know I can't post it up here, but if I said two thirds of fifty percent of feth all, in terms of what you actually get.......

And Mangler Squigs make my moist in my special places......plus I can pimp Pump Wagons (ignore armour saves in the first round of combat? I should blimmin' well coco. KERRUNCH!)

Mr Mystery wrote:Had a good trawl through the book, and the rumours you post is constructed from aren't entirely accurate. Certainly, Savage Orcs have gone down in points.. Arrer Boyz seem like something of a Bargain to me, once you factor in Volley Fire, and Choppas. Nobody wants to face a unit which can vomit shots, and kick you in the pills.

Thing is, they're getting a point hike at no gain. Actually, they're getting a point hike with an overall loss of combat validity (unless they got long bows), because - if the Champion is BS raise and not the typical Boss increases - he's no longer viable for combat himself.

Orc Arrers are, right now, one point less than an Empire Crossbowman. Each has the same ballistic skill and armor. The Empire dude has a six inch range increase, that versus the Orc give him a better "To Wound" odd (50% with no save versus 50% w/ a 6+) and greater range (30" versus 24"). The Orc is also limited by Animosity, on average, until it reaches about 10" from the Crossbowman.

Shooting, they aren't particularly impressive (they're Orcs, they always fell broadly in the "average" range). However, their main advantages in prior editions were their cost (I'll admit, the one point change isn't that major a deal, just raises the price of the big mobs I tended to run already), and that they were still viable in close combat (something further reduced this edition, with the change to a Champion).

They aren't going to drop out of lists entirely, but they're not quite so much a steal / easy choice as they were last edition. I'll redact the "not worth their points in most instances", but they still will be used less by me.

Mr Mystery wrote:Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh, and the new Goblin upgrade (Sneaky Stabbers, or whatever they are called) are filth. They have ASF, and when revealed in the first round of combat (compulsory) they have killing blow. Sure, they are not great shakes beyond that...but seriously....their points cost. I know I can't post it up here, but if I said two thirds of fifty percent of feth all, in terms of what you actually get.......

I'm not quite sure why people are getting so amazed by the presence of 9 WS2 S3 AP attacks. Killing blow is nice on the round they're released, yeah, but predominantly when fighting heavy infantry or the enemy had the misfortune of placing a character in the front rank in a spot all three can be pointed at (Remember that you'll probably need 5's to hit any other army's character that isn't a Wizard). Against Rank & File, you're only getting about 1-3 extra wounds that round of combat, which - with Common Goblins - isn't probable to suddenly turn the unit into a dervish of death.

Don't get me wrong, they're good for someone who has the mistake of putting a Mage in their unit that charged the Gobbos (or a unit the Gobbo's charged), and might actually kill a Saurus or two before being dropped, but they're not going to be this "Oh my god Slittaz!" response after your second game playing with someone.

Mr Mystery wrote:And Mangler Squigs make my moist in my special places......plus I can pimp Pump Wagons (ignore armour saves in the first round of combat? I should blimmin' well coco. KERRUNCH!)

Pump Wagons, to me, are still a "Point Filler" unit. They're slightly better now, yes, since they can take a bunch of upgrades (but why do we need to pay for 3D6 movement? :( 2D6 is so slow, Stunties can out-charge them for goodness sake!), but they still aren't going to be something you take as a main "pick" in the army (Well, unless you know you're facing someone with Chaos Warriors of Tzeentch, then that "You no get 4+ / 5+ save, only 5+" buff is pretty worthwhile when you suddenly take out your points for the Chariot in a single round).

To sum up: Archers got a crummy upgrade to replace a decent one, and a point rise to boot. Slittaz are a classic example of excellent models, mediocre rules. Pump Wagons are still slow, but have more functions now if you wish to pay for 'em.

I got to play with alot of the stuff last week but have been too busy at work to relay any of it.

The spider is huge. Would make an absolutely excellent stand in for a trukk in 40K if you felt like running feral orks.
IIRC it is 290 points base.

The book is nice, my son was climbing over me at the time so I didn't get a good, in depth read.
$62 US here in sunny Australia... which is why anyone with a credit card will be buying it from a UK or US online retailer for $35US.
Solid construction.
7 pages of lords and heroes, 3 of rare and IIRC 5 of specials.
Weapon/armour upgrades for regular goblins are back to 1/2 points and regular goblins are 3 points and NGs are 3 points
BOs are 12 points and now ITP, 1 point extra for shields
Choppas are +1 st added on to whatever weapon ST upgrade you have for 1st turn, so a BO with GW will hit with St 7... OUCH!
Giants are 200 pints and you can give them warpaint
The rock lobba is a rare selection
Trolls are special and River and stone trolls are rare
IIRC snotling pump wagons ignore armour saves (at least on impact)

+++ Goblin chariots are 50 points each and are now put into units like TK chariots, I didn't have a chance to read the fine print as it was the army section, but my source said they were still d6+1 impact hits each!+++

The savage orc models are beautiful, and will be a breeze to paint with knarloc green, devlan mud, knarloc green scheme. HOORAY!

I'm seeing some good synergy with goblin units.

Little Waaagh Lore Ability: Steal a dispell die and make it a power die on 5+ after ever successful spell.

Night Goblin Mushrooms: +1 Powerdie when casting, the extra mushroom die can't cause irresistible force but there is a 8.3% chance the mushroom will cause the spell to fail and the shaman to take a wound.

Base spell: Naughty Stabbing: Targeted unit within 12 inches gains armour piercing attacks. In adition they may reroll hits and wounds when they attack an enemy in the flank or rear.

Little Waaagh lore ability+Night Goblin Mushrooms=spamming 1 power die into multiple night gobbo shaman along with the free mushroom die to get off naughty stabbing. If the gobbo player wants to get naughty stabbing off it's going to be very hard to stop with those extra mushroom dice, and if small spells are ignored it could result in dispel dice being stolen.

Night goblins with spears and bows cost as much as a night goblin costs now. Low cost units of spear/bow gobbos should work well on a flank where they can shoot and/or possibly flank charge a unit. 20-25 Gobbos with spears + Naughty stabbing in a flank charge can actually do a lot of damage to a WS4 T3 unit.

Sneaky Gits + Flank Charge+ Naughty Stabbing=3 KB attacks per sneaky git with rerolls to hit and wound, but who care about the to wound when you have KB. That combo will actually be better against WS5+ because with rerolls to hit it's better to miss on 4s and go for more killing blows on the rerolls than rolling to wound with S3.

Conclusion
Spell Combo:Lore ability+Base spell+Mushrooms=Naughty stabbing is going to be a reliable spell to get off.
Flank Combo:Flank charge + Naughty Stabbing=Gobbos can actually be dangerous to many units.
Spell Combo+Flank Combo=Any goblin unit in the flank or rear is far more dangerous than their pathetic statline suggests.

Oh, and 'Ere We Go is a dirty little spell from Big Waagh. Cast the spell, and pick a unit. Then roll either 3D6 or 5D6 depending on the level chosen. Take model from front of said unit, and position it anywhere within this range. Rest of the unit is formed up around the model in it's previous formation, with everyone where they were.

Yup. You got telly-porta Orcses!

Oh, and Savage Orc Boarboyz....they can fight with 2 Hand Weapons. However, if you take this option, you might want to keep them away from dangerous terrain....

Really cool book so far! Loads of stuff I forgot to look up (like you know....Wyverns and that).


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh, one last tidbit...the Choppa Rule, as mentioned, is any non-magical weapon held by a unit with the Choppa Rule. +1S in the first round of combat, whether charging or receiving.

Suddenly I'm seeing the appeal of a large block of Big'uns Stabbas....4 ranks of S5 filth anyone?

Mr Mystery wrote:Oh, and 'Ere We Go is a dirty little spell from Big Waagh. Cast the spell, and pick a unit. Then roll either 3D6 or 5D6 depending on the level chosen. Take model from front of said unit, and position it anywhere within this range. Rest of the unit is formed up around the model in it's previous formation, with everyone where they were.

Yup. You got telly-porta Orcses!

Oh, and Savage Orc Boarboyz....they can fight with 2 Hand Weapons. However, if you take this option, you might want to keep them away from dangerous terrain....

Really cool book so far! Loads of stuff I forgot to look up (like you know....Wyverns and that).


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh, one last tidbit...the Choppa Rule, as mentioned, is any non-magical weapon held by a unit with the Choppa Rule. +1S in the first round of combat, whether charging or receiving.

Suddenly I'm seeing the appeal of a large block of Big'uns Stabbas....4 ranks of S5 filth anyone?

I think the teleport spell will also work on night goblins, which means they can be sent to the flank of the other side's battle line. That would trigger the release of their fanatics smashing through multiple units because the night gobbos got teleported into the side of their battle lines....

As I pointed out earlier a 82-100 point or so unit of night goblins (without netters, fanatics, or that already released their fanatics) in a flank position can be dangerous. After they get teleported there the other side is going to have to deal with them instead of just ignoring them, but if they turn to face the goblins it will expose their flank to the main battle line of the orcs.

I also really like the new animosity rule. It gives over all more control over the army, but we still have animosity. There is also a lot orcs can do in choosing the order of making animosity rolls to mitigate the damage as there is only 1 really bad possibility that happens 2.7% of the time.

A question for anyone (lucky ) who has a chance to review the book:

I have loads of Spider Riders, and I love the new Arachnarok model (x3).

Are there options for filling the points between 2 Arachnaroks (in Rare), 1 Goblin Shaman on Arachnarok (as Lord) and loads of spider riders (as Core), with something else spider-related?

I'm not sure Goblin Big Bosses on Gigantic Spiders are still in the list (and I don't know if that would really be enough points), but it would be great if Goblin Heroes could ride regular Giant spiders (and sit safely in the Spider Rider units). Alternatively, is there any way to field Forest Goblins on foot? I know enough people just want the spider for conversion, so I can probably buy some plastic Forest Goblins, but is there still a Spider Banner or anything to make them something distinctive from regular Goblins on foot.

It's not going to be a awesome army in play, I think, but I already have a 2500 pt Orc army (no gobbos but crew), and a 2500 point Night Goblin army (only night goblins and squigs), so a 2500 point Forest Goblin army would be great, and would give me a good base of Forest Goblins if I wanted to mix up my Greenskins.

Hmmm, I think that the new savage models, specificallyy the orks, have made me want to start my first fantasy army...

Also, THAT SPIDER!

H.B.M.C. wrote:

ImperialTard wrote:When I read your first post my brain nearly shut down at seeing you post something not incredibly cynical. Glad you mulled it over and maintained the status quo.

No problem 'Tard.






Wow... that joke kinda wrote itself.

Da Butcha wrote:A question for anyone (lucky ) who has a chance to review the book:

I have loads of Spider Riders, and I love the new Arachnarok model (x3).

Are there options for filling the points between 2 Arachnaroks (in Rare), 1 Goblin Shaman on Arachnarok (as Lord) and loads of spider riders (as Core), with something else spider-related?

I'm not sure Goblin Big Bosses on Gigantic Spiders are still in the list (and I don't know if that would really be enough points), but it would be great if Goblin Heroes could ride regular Giant spiders (and sit safely in the Spider Rider units). Alternatively, is there any way to field Forest Goblins on foot? I know enough people just want the spider for conversion, so I can probably buy some plastic Forest Goblins, but is there still a Spider Banner or anything to make them something distinctive from regular Goblins on foot.

It's not going to be a awesome army in play, I think, but I already have a 2500 pt Orc army (no gobbos but crew), and a 2500 point Night Goblin army (only night goblins and squigs), so a 2500 point Forest Goblin army would be great, and would give me a good base of Forest Goblins if I wanted to mix up my Greenskins.

For 3 Arachnarok Spiders (2 Rare and 1 Lord Fully Kitted out) all decked out its roughly in the 1200-1300 pt area so there definitely room left for spiders riders. There is a Poison banner which is quite forest gobliny. Other than normal goblins on foot and spider riders there sadly not much else in terms of spider units. However if you want to make a themed army, it would be cool to run units of Goblin Wolf chariots converted with Spiders instead of Wolves.

Needless to say there are plentiful ways you can convert an army to maintain a forest goblin theme while still packing 3 Arachnarok Spiders along with Spider Riders (including the hero special character on spider)

After reading the book I'm now firmly a believer that like chaos O&G needs to be split into seperate armies.

They could have all the orcs, some of the heavier artillery (i.e. the rock lobba) and then trolls, giants, snotlings. Generic goblins for special as army hangers on.
The gobbos could have all the goblin forces, all the light and goblin specific artillery, trolls, giant, the giant spider and snotlings, no orcs allowed (too embarrased to turn up).


Snotlings are special.
LOL.

I think it is time to make a new goblin war giant with 2 spear chuckers on a platform and a goblin sitting on the giants head.

Buttlerthepug wrote: Other than normal goblins on foot and spider riders there sadly not much else in terms of spider units.

...

Needless to say there are plentiful ways you can convert an army to maintain a forest goblin theme while still packing 3 Arachnarok Spiders along with Spider Riders (including the hero special character on spider)

So there's no option for a Goblin Big Boss/Shaman on Spider (other than the special character)?


Or is there a special character AND an option for regular characters on spiders?

Da Butcha wrote:

Buttlerthepug wrote: Other than normal goblins on foot and spider riders there sadly not much else in terms of spider units.

...

Needless to say there are plentiful ways you can convert an army to maintain a forest goblin theme while still packing 3 Arachnarok Spiders along with Spider Riders (including the hero special character on spider)

So there's no option for a Goblin Big Boss/Shaman on Spider (other than the special character)?


Or is there a special character AND an option for regular characters on spiders?

I saw there was a giant spider option as a mount for non named characters. I think the only restriction was it had to be a base goblin and not a night goblin.

Yes, as far as I remember you can still have a goblin bigboss or warboss on a giant spider, as well as the hero choice special character.

The Hero-choice Special Character is somewhat worth it, IMO. Ambush and Devastating Charge, if combined with Sneaky Stabbin', works wonderfully. Unit eleven big plus the character is 20-ish S4 Armor Piercing attacks that re-roll failed hits and wounds, preceded by six ( Only six, though :( ) re-roll hit and wound Poison Attacks at I4. Won't break a unit on its own, but if you combine it either versus a "soft" target (Skirmishers, usually, and War Machines), or in a combination charge against a unit (If you hit the rear of a WS<4 T3 unit, you're on average getting around ten wounds from the Spider Riders plus the 3 CR for charge and rear, all in addition to the Gobbo ranks + standard to negate steadfast).

He knows what he wants to do (Get you in behind someone for close-combat, charge, hit lots o' times), and he does it somewhat decently for a GW Hero-level Special Character. The Wolf Rider one has the flaw of being only five points cheaper, but not knowing what he wants to do with himself (Having a bonus to pursuit rolls, but also to ballistic skill and giving Quick Fire, and if you make Quick Firing Wolf Riders you probably don't want to charge) and not being that great at what he does (Spider Riders w/ 2 S4 and 1 S3 Poison attack on the charge is somewhat appreciable, especially when you factor buffs: 1 S3 Short-Bow shot at BS4 and Quick-Fire isn't that amazing).


If trying to avoid special characters, mind, you don't need him. If running a huge Spider-themed army, you should have enough Fast Cavalry to be rolling up on someone's war machines / gunline by Turn 2 anyways (By the end of Turn 1 you should readily be within charge range with at least one unit). For common infantry, I'd suggest Night Goblins to represent Forest Goblins instead of Common (Common come with Light Armor, but Forest Goblins only use shields). They're one point less leadership, one point more initiative, but you could probably argue that the ones on Spiders are a bit more lax / laid back since they have a nice chitinous friend to watch their back, and as a result less twitchy too.

A Wolf-Rider chariot could probably be converted with spiders, provided you convert the spiders to look different from the regular Giant Spiders. Possibly use one of the less venomous / poisonous spiders as a base, go "These spiders rely on striking fast in the wood instead of their poison".

Snotlings could be converted to have a bunch of spiders on the base. State they're "young" Spiders that haven't had their venom develop fully yet. Shooting attacks are some particularly "vicious" jumping spiders leaping from the mob. Not very competitive, yeah, but it could work fluff-wise.

Squig Hoppers are now jumping spiders, relying on the fact that they can pounce hard and with nice sharp fangs / claws instead of poison again. Squigs I can't really argue anything for, since I can't see Spiders being "goaded" forward.

Trolls, maybe some from the forest that have come to a sort of understanding with the Spiders? Spiders live in their ears and noses and the like, Trolls get an occasional snack when one makes the mistake of crawling into their mouth.

Heroes and Lords, you have the choice of common and night gobbos. Common could be Forest Goblins that have taken to using some assorted pieces of Empire / whatever gear on their person as, while the Spider God protects, that shiny rock doesn't hurt either. Plus, it's the only real way to get someone on a Giant Spider. Night Goblin either goes on-foot with the Forest Goblin Night Goblins (Note: You could do Common Goblins to represent an "elite" bunch of Forest Goblins), or goes on a Gigantic Cave Forest Squig Spider that bounces along with the rest of the Squig Spider Hoppers. Gigantic Spider makes webs, Gigantic Hopping Spider ambushes.

Thanks for the info on the Forest Goblin options. As long as I have the option of some regular Goblin heroes on Spiders, I'll be good. I might try to get some additional Forest Goblins from "Spider-converters" to make some units of Forest Goblins with Bows. Those will be Night Goblins in the rules, which will allow me to use Netters with Spiderweb nets. Maybe I could convert up some Forest Goblin Fanatics hopped up on Spider Venom and whirling around a boulder with a spiderweb rope. Still, a 600 point lord and 600 points of Rare means I only need 1200 points of Heros and Core for a legal 2400 point army, and I already have 680 points of Spider Riders.

I'm not too bothered about Spider Chariots or anything. I know that an army of Arachnaroks, Heroes on Gigantic Spiders, and Spider Riders won't be all that effective. I have an entire Squig/Night Goblin army too (no warmachines, no trolls, nothing). It's more for a fun theme. If I want effective, I can tailor choices from my Orc army, my Black Orc army (no Storm of Chaos lists made me sad ), my Night Goblin army, and now, my Forest Goblin army.

Actualy, for that fanatic idea it might just be good to use one of the giant spider web balls from the flinger (warmachine on the Arachnarok Spider) rather than just spider web rope