Going to consolidate everything from my posts in
WHFB General Discussion, others feel free to critique / add on.
SPECIAL CHARACTERS
Gorbad Ironclaw. This edition is a very good one for Gorbad Ironclaw to be taken. He is Leadership 10, the only Leadership 10 model (base) in the Orc & Goblin Army. He also has the special rule where his Battle Standard Bearer's combat re-roll and General Leadership Usage is extended to 18". Depending on how the
FAQ for O&G reads, he might allow all units within 18" to re-roll any leadership tests at Leadership 10 (at least, until wounded). His chief advantage is that he's, while a Lord, only 310pts: You can fit in a semi-decent Infantry Warboss at that point level (or, if using Goblins, possibly two), and you don't have to pay the 55 minimal points for a Battle Standard Bearer. Finally, in Combat, he is slightly less of a slouch: He can now go before the rest of the Ladz (always a boon since they'll be I3 at best), and if the enemy is I4 or lower then he gets to re-roll failed to hits as well.
Unfortunately, all is not fine and well. Gorbad still has only a 3+ save. Ouch! He also is still a 310 point Lord, which means that - while you can still take a non-slouch Warboss alongside him - you don't have any good counter for another army's killy generals. With more attacks able to be dedicated as well (additional ranks) towards Gorbad, he'll most probably only keep his special rule until his formation is engaged or has to run through a neck of woods (having no Ward Save means any run through woods has a one-in-six chance of dropping his Special Rule to only 6").
Azhag the Slaughterer. Mixed opinion on this guy. You use up practically all the 25% Lord limit in games 2250 or under. He also is stuck on a Wyvern, which - while no longer +1 to hit - can't do much damage on its own in combat (even with additional attacks). He is also still very fragile, only a 4+ / 5+ save on him and a 4+ save for his mount.
Reason why I might even suggest him? Simple: He's a level 2 wizard in the Lore of Death now. Orc & Goblin Magic Armies have
their Lord Choice. Better yet, being on a Wyvern, a Miscast will only ever hit himself and - if positioned right - the enemy units he charged into. He can, until he burns out, potentially provide many extra dice for Orc & Goblin Wizards (alongside all the LoD damage), and even when he burns out the S10 template dropped on him might very well make up much of his cost.
Of course, that's also a reason to be careful: Does he count as a single model for the purpose of instant death? If so, that's himself AND a mount for a total of 450 points that were eaten up in a single roll of double 6's. While Gorbad's weakened by a single bad roll, Azhag is
toasted. Personally, I'd suggest him for a magic-heavy list. He can still provide some killy to the list, as well as being a magical god-send.
Grimgor Ironhide. He, to my knowledge, gains very little and loses nothing in this new edition. He's Always Strikes First, but already I5 as well as Hating Everyone. He's 375 points, so he stradles the line between allowing no other Lords (only Goblins). His only gains I can think of, are that in later rounds he can still re-roll failed to hits as well as the fact that many people will take larger units (and thus give him more to kill). Doesn't really gain anything, but loses nothing either.
Grom the Paunch of Misty Mountain. To my understanding, is slightly worsened. He's now undeniably Strength 6, he never negated ranks, and now ignores instant-destruction from S7 or better. However, he
is impaired by the loss of the combo Ward-Regen. He also is much less helpful in his negation of Fear in Goblins against Elves (seeing as it won't break them now but only subtract one
WS from non-Heroes). Is also just a few shy of being useable in a 1K game. Seeing as how most people don't use him anyways, it's a moot point.
Skarsnik. Depends greatly on whether regular Killing Blow affects him now. If so, that's a major bane. If not, he's only slightly less useful (having the chance of destroying his Prodder). Oh, well, technically, he does have one gain: No saves better than 4+ against Gobbla now. The only major plus for him isn't related to his rules: Being 205 points, you can field him in games 820 points or less and spend another 295 points on Lords in a 2K point game (or, since 3,000 might be the typical tournament size, up to 545 more in Gobbo Lords for a themed list).
Overall (Special Characters): Gorbad and Azhag are the two most benefited in this edition. Of all the Special Characters, barring a themed list, I'd have to state Gorbad to be the best choice. He has minimal losses, while at the same time providing some pretty decent gains. In small games Skarsnik might shine, but otherwise you're best sticking with Da Boss.
Lord Choices
Orc Warbosses. Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages still. A typical Orc Warboss seems to be at no gain, barring that being 120 points vanilla you might conceivably fit three of them in a 2,000 point game with so-so gear and not have them be horrible. Savage Orc Warbosses have very little incentive to bother with armor now (barring Boar + Enchanted Shield) due to the fact that Parry gives them a save they already have, but in turn their Leadership 9 means that Frenzy is unlikely to bait someone bearing this guy. Only five points more than a typical Warboss too, so you can relatively spam them in a similar fashion. However, bear in mind that with Initiative 4 and pretty much no save on-foot that these guys might be dragged down quickly. Finally, the Black Orc Warboss. I may be missing something, but there is practically zero improvement / penalty to this guy in 8th Edition beyond that his extra 25 points over a typical boss means you'll have less of him.
Orc Great Shaman. I'm on the fence with these guys. Both are Toughness Five and Leadership Eight. Both, vanilla (or even just a level boost), can leave enough room for a proper combat Warboss in a 2,000 point game. At 180 points for the cheapest, they can be in your army at only 750pt game levels. If you upgrade to Level 4 and take the Staff of Baduum, you are almost as good as a Vampire Count in that 2/3 the Spells will go off on a
3+. Even naked, no Great Shaman spell will take more than a nine to cast on average. Depending on what the Orc
FAQ says, you might use
their Miscast Table instead, which - as always - is seemingly the less harsh of the new edition (Here's for the 8th Edition book where it's an Apocalypse Blast on the Shaman
).
The catch? They're still expensive, you're taking anywhere between half and two thirds your Big Waaagh! choices in a single model, and if thus if the Shaman goes boom most of your magical power is gone too. And, furthermore, you're using a 7th Edition Magic Lore in a system where the 8th Edition Lores are King. Provided there is no spell change in the
FAQ, your spells are only so-so: Only
D6 Magic Missiles and no
2D6 or
3D6 varieties?
Goblin Warbosses. No losses to my understanding, and several gains due to one thing: 25% Lords, no slot limit. I'll go into this in its own paragraph. As for other advantages? Well, none that I can think of. They're not too high a Leadership, which is a bane when it comes to Stubborn via Ranks when facing pretty much anyone who isn't Beastmen or Hero-restricted Warriors of Chaos. They aren't particularly fast, and they aren't too well armed or armored either. They're finally above the typical rank & file (having Weapon Skill 5), but if you're going for some individual killy model you're often taking Orc Warbosses (or even Big Bosses) anyways due to extra Toughness on all levels and Strength on Lord Levels.
Why then is the 25% thing so good? A vanilla Goblin Warboss ranges from 55 to 65 points. This is very helpful for three good reasons. First: You can fit a Goblin Warboss - with Night Goblins possibly two - in a 500 point game. You can almost always,
always squeeze in a Goblin Warboss within the 25% limit. Second: The Goblin Warboss is at least on par with most other army's heroes, points slightly higher if better and slightly lower if worse. This factors into #3 as well, but is an advantage in its own right as it gives you a counter for most other armies' regular Hero choices. Finally, third advantage: You aren't spending it on Heroes. Those 320 points you slapped down on four Night Goblin Warbosses? None of them bar you from taking hero level wizards, fielding Orc Big Bosses, and so on.
Finally, for fun: You can, quite feasibly, fit ten (!) Night Goblin characters on Great Cave Squigs in a 2000 point list, or ten Common Goblin characters on Gigantic Spiders. That's a lot of 'fun' for all parties.
Goblin Great Shamans. As with Orc Great Shamans, these are an on-the-fence thing for me. The Orc advantages (higher toughness, leadership, bonus' to casting, and so on) all exist, with once more the same disadvantages. You get them at a slightly reduced price tag, and use the Little Waaagh! lore instead. However, Orc Shamans seem to benefit more: Whereas they can conceivably get 66% of their spells on a 3+, Night Goblins at best are getting half on 3+ or lower, and two on 4+. They have a lower "max" cast (their best spell can conceivably go off on a 5+), but their magic is much more situational to boot.
Overall (Lords): I'd say I'm leaning more in favor of the Lord-version of Orc Shamans, and against Goblin Shamans. Similarly, I'd say that - if you do plan on taking a special character - Goblin Lords are the better for anything other than direct Lord confrontation.
Hero Choices
Orc Big Boss. Lose out a decent bit on the "initiative order", as now they'll rarely go first on the charge. However, most plighted by this is the Savage Orc variety: All others can get at least a 2+ save with a Ward, if you so desired, while only cracking into a single common magic item (I do believe that with the Common Magic Item list you could get two that way, possibly three). The only real advantage I can find is that, if for some reason you had three characters on Chariots already, you can still run them (albeit almost vanilla). A minor note as well: Bear in mind that, with a certain magic item, a Black Orc Big Boss can come close to rivaling many other armies' Lords (being only one attack and wound shy, and of course initiative) by becoming WS7, S5, T5, and still having the option for a 2+ / 5+ save. No major losses besides the initiative issue (all are only I3). Practically no gain, but practically no loss either.
Orc Shaman. Orc Shamans gain a minor bit from the rule (+1 or +2 to cast), but not much. However, as with the Lord, it is worth keeping in mind that you can make a decent number (in this case 50%) of their spells go off on a 3+. With the proper magic item, you can change it to +4 to cast (situationally). On the plus side, you can fit five of 'em at level 2 in a 2K point game. On the minus side, you're wasting all of them after the third. Not much loss to speak of, the severity of miscasts depending on whose table they use.
Goblin Big Boss. Lacking special rules and stats, the Big Bosses are in the same boat as their lord variety: Easily able to be spammed at low point costs. While half the cost, they're also only Weapon Skill 4 (meaning that almost any army's special choices will hit them on 3's), as well as taking up hero points none-the-less. Their main advantage is that you can - if not taking Gorbad - get a
BSB for dirt cheap (55pts vanilla!). Just bear in mind how easy it is to kill a T4 2-wound model with at beast a 5+ / 5+ save from their own gear (and 4+ / 4+ using common magic): Even with the change from slot to percent, it may be better to just stick with an Orc
BSB.
Goblin Shaman. These benefit from the rule changes slightly more than the Orcs. While the Orc is stuck in the hard place between a single-
D6 and
2D6 roll - being too high to reliably roll on 1D6 but too low to justify a common use of two - the Goblin gets boosted to the place wherein it can successfully cast many of its spells on
2D6 now - only one Goblin Shaman Spell can't be casted on a 7+ while at level 2, and with a magic item all six can. However, as with Orcs, recall that you have no incentive for more than three: You only have six spell levels to spend on Goblins, and six spell levels to spend on Orcs. Since the Heroes benefit more than the Lords (who are in the same boat as Orc Hero-Shamans), I'd say these are more preferable for spell-casting.
Overall (Heroes): Orc Big Bosses, while they gain little, are notably tougher and 'arder hitting than Goblin Big Bosses. The rule changes allow more Goblin heroes, but they will rarely make a dent on non-Undead / Saurus core. Whereas Orc Shamans benefited most at a Lord level, Goblin Shamans seem to benefit more here.
Magic Items
Common Items. For the most part, mixed. You have more Ward Saves now, but much of the combat options are less than helpful. Overall points are increased in the
BRB, so in the Army Book now you're better using the in-book variants. Staff of Sorcery still in the Army Book, so keep that in mind (as well as the fact that it'll probably go poof).
Overall (Common Items): Get ready for the price hike, use these while you can.
Magic Weapons. The Ironclaw Waaagh! Cleava is unchanged, as is the Skull Wand of Kaloth, Ulag's Akrit Axe, the Backstabber's Blade, Wollopa's One Hit Wunda, and Lucky Dirk.
The Battleaxe and Porko's are changed only slightly: It's harder to lose your ranks now, and Porkos is slightly better for flanking characters now (Ex: Goblin Big Boss on Wolf. Flank the enemy unit with five other wolves, hit the side. Still get the +3 attacks).
Basha's Bloodaxe is much, much less useful now. You're stuck outside units still, but now you only gain the
D6 attacks on the charge: Every other round you're only 3-5 attacks base (depending on equipment / character). It wasn't too great in the first place, but now seems to have minimal use if you can't break on the charge.
Shaga's Screamin' Sword is mixed. On one hand, against armies like Chaos you can now expect even less bonus'. However, against Skaven, Goblins, Empire, and possibly a few others, imagine how many more attacks you can get. Hell, imagine something like +5 strength and attacks in a 2K point game - S10 A9! Major pain! Since the focus is on picking lore before battle, it'll become much more hit or miss: Some armies you might never be able to get more than +2, but others you might be able to get ten or more attacks at S10. I mentioned it in other threads, but the "Front of Warlock Engineers" tactic would be
bad anywhere near an Orc / Goblin using this.
Martog's Best Basha is different in only one way: +1 Initiative. You can get an Initiative 6 Night Goblin Warboss, which often times will be fast enough to go before non-
ASF foes. Very good counter to some units. Also the item used to make a Black Orc Big Boss into a Lord-lite.
Sneaky Skewer. While the rules are the same, recall: The Goblin is S4. The blade is another -3. That's a total of -4. Furthermore, no saves better than 1+. No-one fighting you will ever have better than a 5+ save. Pretty good, if you have to deal with having a S4 character.
Overall (Magic Weapons): Porko's Pigstikka is much more useful on Gobbos (Gobbo Warboss w/ Pigstikka, Boots (see later) & Wolf = 150pt model with up to 8 S5 attacks on the flank charge at WS5) now that they can use their extra speed and flanking-nature to get bonus'. Shaga's is less useful as you can't expect the typical 3-4 characters at a 2K game, but more useful against some foes who might be bringing a half dozen or more at that point level. Martog's is good for bumping someone to a decent striking order. Skewer will ignore most saves now at only 10pts. Most other items unchanged.
Magic Armour. Armour of Gork is pretty much unchanged: Unless you plan on charging Gnoblars, it won't be changed for you. Same goes for Spiteful Shield, although with more models attacking you might get a slightly increased use rate.
Overall (Magic Armour): No real changes.
Talismans. Effigy of Mork has seemingly been out-sourced by a Common Magic Item. I can't recall the name of it, but it did the same thing for a lower point cost. Most people probably won't take it anyways, as it makes little difference when it comes to hitting most characters.
The Best Boss 'At isn't quite out-sourced, but it is met pretty handily by a common item - at least now you don't have to bicker over which character takes the 5+ Ward now. What I mean: There's at least two other Ward-Save Magic Items in the new Common Item list. Each is either a 5+ or 4+ Ward. With those, you now don't need to have the current O&G debate on which character you want to have a chance of surviving a challenge (currently, there's no regen or other definitive Ward Saves beyond a 6+). Not invalidated, but no gain either.
Amulet of Protectyness is slightly less helpfu nowl, as almost anyone can get a character durability parity via common magic items. Since no-one can get better than a 1+, it loses the advantage it had against things like Juggernaut Lords. The only real advantages I can think of are that it's only 25 points (though this is still only a steal against other durability characters) and that the frequency of warded characters will probably be on the rise (and thus more gain overall).
Collar of Zorga remains unchanged.
Overall (Talismans): Effigy is outsourced, Warboss 'Umms is now not a big debate on who to give it to, Amulet of Protectyness is less useful now due to easier armor parities, Collar of Zorga is unchanged.
Arcane Items. Idol of Mork... is mixed. On one hand, it's extra base power dice: Always good since it's random now. On the other, you lose dice more often than you gain (Must be Orc unit 20+ in combat to get a die, any O&G unit 20+ fleeing at this point is -1 die: Goblins included!). It could be useful, especially in larger games when you'll (be expected to) have lots of large units.
Staff of Sneaky Stealin' is a
wonderful item now. +1
DD and -1 enemy PD? Brings you two dice closer to a PD /
DD parity, and robs the enemy of some of their dice. It was good before, but now can be really helpful for stopping spells.
Staff of Baduum's bonus to casting is - while negligible at first (especially compared to a Lord) - decent in that most Orc & Goblin spells have a low casting value. Any hero level character with this staff will never take more than a 10+ to cast a spell, and a pimped-out Lord will never exceed a 7+ (Waaagh! being cast on two dice!). Price tag makes this kinda iffy, though.
Waaagh! Paint is a more situational Staff of Baduum. Orc only, double the bonus, 25% the cost... but doesn't work with two spells. Considering this can mean someone gets a Waaagh! off on a 6+, however, it might be worth trying. After all, +6 to Casting will make the dispel attempt a pain without a
DD parity (it will take an average of two dice now to make up the difference!).
Magic Mushrooms... are unchanged if the
FAQ says to use the Orc & Goblin table,
horrendously dangerous otherwise. Actually, they're still dangerous: If none of the prior dice rolled are 6's, you have no greater a miscast chance. If any of the prior dice were, your miscast odds after using the 'shroom are now 33%.
Overall (Arcane Items): Idol of Mork is situationally / list-dependent useful, Staff of Sneaky Stealin' & the two Casting Boosters are very helpful, and Magic Mushrooms range from only slightly more suicidal to dangerously suicidal. Hm, actually, that gives one potential use: Load up on a trio of Shrooms, wait in a unit, and run out to charge an enemy if the O&G use the Rulebook Table. Eat all three. Hope for at least one 1 or a pair of 6's. Enjoy your boomer.
Enchanted Items. Ironback Boar, Warboss Imbad's Iron Gnashas, Bigged's Kickin' Boots, Maad's Map*, Brimstone Bauble, and Madcap Mushrooms are unchanged.
The Horn of Urgok is now a Bound Item, meaning it must be rolled to cast. +1 to all Leadership values to a max of 10 and -1 to all enemy Leadership will become much bigger now: Stubborn might be more prevalent, so the penalty of even -1 to the general's leadership could be a Gorksend. Similarly, +1 to your Leadership means a non-Gorbad general can now be Leadership 10 for a
Ld 10 Stubborn instead of
Ld 9: A decent increase in success odds. Of course, it's still a risky investment at its points cost.
The Pipes of Doom are less useful now, as pretty much everything's leadership is even higher now / given more re-roll options. Only real advantage I can think of is using it to force a screening cavalry unit to flee through said unit and take some Dangerous Terrain hits.
Tricksy Trinket hasn't changed, but with the minor reduction in save effectiveness as well as its nullification power it might prove more useful as someone's forced to either take their inferior Regen instead of Ward Save (see: Druchii Lord) or stuck with only an armor save (see: Most characters).
Nibbla's 'Itty Ring is bound now too, but having only a 3+ to cast means you can get it off 66% of the time on a single dice - good enough since it means you need not risk it going poof from double-sixes.
Guzzla's Battle Brew is slightly more effective for 3-4 results as you don't get forced to pursue due to Hatred any more, and 5-6 results as you're harder to have your character baited out with Frenzy.
Overall (Enchanted Items): Mostly unchanged or made slightly inferior. Nothing to really complain about: The bad stuff was mostly bad already, and the good stuff wasn't really hit hard.
Magic Standards. Mork's Spirit-Totem has, arguably, been made more useful than it was last edition. Harder to negate (needing at least US10 in the flank to drop the ranks), still does the same thing (+1 Dispel Die to the pool for every rank), but now can prove as many dice on average as if you had 18 Wizards attempting to channel a
DD. Very nice. It doesn't do anything particular to buff a unit, but the protection it buys your army in an edition wherein Magic has been heavily improved cannot be denied.
Rowdy Grott's Big Red Raggedy Banner, meanwhile, is now a 50 point point-sink with no use. All Panic tests are re-rolled by default now, along with possibly more effects, so the use of a
BSB is limited.
BTW, this reminds me that
BSBs are less useful for Chaos Armies now. Why did I mention
BSBs, by the way? The Banner can only be bought by Goblins, and the only way to get a Magical Banner for Goblins is to slap it on a Battle Standard Bearer.
Bad Moon on a Stick is similarly redundant... sorta. On one hand, it makes little difference as you can get stubborn from more ranks (which, at 3-4 points a model, should be easy). On the other, it can help if the unit is below normal size: Stay within 12" of the General, you're Leadership 9 Stubborn even when down to just five models. Add in that it must be fielded on a
BSB, you get the standard pros (High-ish stubborn leadership with re-rolls) and cons (you have your
BSB in the Gobbo Unit). Would not be recommended... if you couldn't take the Spirit Totem on Big 'Uns / Black Orcs. Since you don't need a
BSB to get that Totem, the Bad Moon on a Stick can be useful
at times. Just, once more, bear in mind it's on a 6+ save T4 Gobbo at best: Your opponent can probably gib them the moment they realize they're there.
The Spider Banner is mixed for me. On one hand, you get more attacks / shots now in 8th Edition so you get more use out of it. Short Bows had a slight range increase to boot, so you might actually get to fire a few volleys (imagine an eight-by-four block of archers making 24 Poisoned Shots a Turn!). Similarly, in close combat you have an additional rank - possibly two - which might make Horde actually workable for a single Goblin unit (an average of 21-32 poisoned attacks depending on equipment and enemy) provided you keep them large enough to fully enjoy attacks-back (Remember you're only Initiative 2). The problem, once more, is you're putting it on a T4 2-wound model with a crum save. You can get a 5+ save now, but that isn't much better. Might be useful if you intend an "Oh my Mork" huge unit of Goblins, just for the fun of getting 5-6 auto-wounds a turn from Poison (Bear in mind: Even in best case scenarios, you're often as likely to wound with Poison as the rest of the attack: In most cases the Goblin is possibly getting a doubling, tripling, or more improvement to wound chances).
Gork's Waaagh! Banner is somewhat more useful, even though it does the same thing. That extra
D6 allows you to arguably make a 28" Charge (Yikes!) with your Orc Boyz, and more often than not makes your reliable charge distance (albeit once a game) somewhere between 13" (if on infantry without a Waaagh) and 16" (if Boar Boyz without a Waaagh!) and 16" (if on infantry without a Waaagh) and 19" (if on Boar Boyz without a Waaagh!). When you include the Waaagh, the charge distance has yet another 3-4" gain, meaning that one unit once a game can very arguably have a potential 20" charge without needing to roll exceptionally well: You use this banner and a Waaagh! to get stuck in early and fast. Since you'll want to rely on extra ranks so the enemy doesn't turn stubborn (as the loss of Choppa's special rule in later rounds is crippling), this can be very helpful for making a break in the enemy's lines early on. You'll most likely want this on a unit of Black Orcs, if only because then you can put regular Big Bosses inside the unit instead of the General so as to have an assured Waaagh! (You don't want to plow your general 12" ahead of the rest of the army, even if said general is Gorbad).
One possible tactic I can suggest for this now is using it for a Flank-Running Unit, better yet if you take advantage of the lingering conception that Woods are a Barrier. While it'll be expensive - at least a good 250+ points - for the block of B.Orcs, you can use it sans a character to quickly run a Gauntlet and slam into someone's Flank (since you're using it when you declared a Waaagh!, hopefully at the same time a main unit smacks the front). Suddenly you essentially earned +4 to your Combat Resolution, as well as the joy of putting a good 10-S6 to 15-S5 attacks on someone's side with no Parry.
Nogg's Banner of Butchery is unchanged. If it said all models fighting may make an additional attack instead of "all models in the unit have +1 Attack" it would have been better, as then you'd get to apply it to second (possibly even third) rank attacks. As it stands now, a Spear formation of Orc Boyz - even fighting three deep when using the banner - gets just as many attacks now as it would last edition fighting only two deep using the banner. Not necessarily bad (almost akin to going horde / having the HElf Spear rules), but doesn't exactly make up for the fact that it's still only S3 WS3 attacks back.
Overall (Magic Standards): Nogg's Banner of Butchery is not really improved or
de-buffed in this edition, Rowdy Grott's Big Red Raggedy Banner is useless, the Bad Moon and Spider Banners are dependent on situations, and Gork's Waaagh! / the Spirit-Totem are each good buys (neither requiring a
BSB to be taken) for what they can do for the army.
Overall (Magic Items): Most weapons are either unchanged or slightly more effective, most armor is unchanged, Talismans are unchanged or made less spectacular, Arcane Items are all pretty much better depending on circumstances (Getting 3+ casting spells instead of 5+ for example), enchanted are practically completely static barring one or two items, and only one banner is at a definite loss (with another two mostly neutral).
Mounts
Wyvern. Slightly slower now, having only a 10+
2D6 (technically) charge for an average of only 16-18" instead of 20". Of course, the Wyvern is technically slightly faster too with a potential 22" range. Crush makes it more effective now, especially if it keeps Poison for those attacks, but it still is inferior to other Flying Mounts (only 3 S6 attacks base).
Gigantic Spider. Since it isn't Fast Cavalry, can make some of the Forest Goblin Spider Rider units capable of negating ranks again. Having Initiative 4 as well, you can rely on it to go before at least a few enemies. No real changes otherwise, besides the (seeming) +1 to save now allowed for this mount.
Great Squig. Changed the same degree as Spawns when it comes to their random movement. That's about it.
Boar. No changes.
Giant Wolf. No direct changes, just like the Boar, but keep in mind the Porko's Pigstikka combination I mentioned earlier.
Overall (Mounts): Wyvern is slightly better, but still inferior to other flying mounts. Gigantic Spider is useful now in that it allows Spider Riders to flank. Pretty much everything else is minimal / no change.
*Maad's Map dependent on what Scout is like in 8th Edition.
AND NOW ONTO CORE!
Core Units
Orc Boyz. These guys are hit somewhat hard by the new rules for a variety of reasons. No more using the Choppa if you have a spear (unless
FAQ states otherwise due to each having Special Rules), which means any Orcs given Spears are stuck with defensive duty from here on. If you take an additional choppa to go with a shield, you have to stick with the additional attack in combat instead of the 5+/6+ save. Being Initiative 2, you have the problem that - without armor - you need a large unit so as to hit combat solid enough to retain you attacks. While normally not too bad - a 30-big unit of Additional Hand Weapon, Full Command Boyz being under 250 points - this is
brutal to Big 'Uns, who go up to just shy of 350 for the same unit (took away the Champion) without even touching their magic banner allotment. Only plus is that, if Choppas do get special mention in the
FAQ, Orcs might become the
only army to get to choose between "hand weapon" and shield or spear and shield. Not that it helps with the initiative / size issue.
Orc Arrer Boyz. A minor buff caused by the additional shots as well as the reform-and-fire schtick. Someone who has a bunch of these might see them in use a little more, adding a slight bit more firepower. That they can kill War Machines now is another buff. Just as poor as the above when it comes to combat, however, needing lots of spare models to keep attacks.
Savage Orc Boyz. Mostly decreased in effectiveness. Spear + Frenzy combination is weakened (they get less attacks now than they had last Edition, worse than Saurus in that regard), Choppa & Shield confers no Parry Bonus (as they already have a 6+ ward save), giving them Bows is still not worth it (Four points more than regular Arrer Boyz but with only a slight durability edge and unreliability for the cost), and so on. The only particular advantages I can spot for them by the new edition are:
1) Spear and Shield doesn't have any disadvantage over Choppa-Shield in later rounds of combat: You lose no armor, lose no ward, lose no strength. Key words being "later rounds".
2) You can control them better now, if only 50% of the time.
For their higher price tag, I'd say they're not worth it now. Perhaps as small screens (due to the fact that S4 and better ranged attacks seem to be passed like candy), but not for dedicated combat units: A unit of Orc Boy Big 'Uns the same size (let's go with 20) as a Savage Orc Big 'Un unit gets the same number of attacks for the same gear (albeit at the cost of a magic banner) for 35 points less (after already including the banner), and saves another 3 points / model afterwards (so a 30 big block would be 65 saved - a small Wolf Rider or Snotling unit!).
Goblins. Vanilla, they only have a one minor leg-up over regular Goblins: They are Stubborn 6 instead of Stubborn 5. With wargear, they can get a 5+ / 6+ save in hand-to-hand instead of a 6+ / 6+ (though their saves are still pretty much the same v S4 enemies due to Netters). The only real advantage I can think for them now is that - taken with the Spider Banner
BSB - they can get a lot of Poisoned Attacks for a single unit. Probably won't see more than one unit of these barring themed lists (and even then) or casual games. Considering that's how it is now, no real gain / loss. Keep in mind that any common gobbos armed with Short Bows are now +2" to range.
Goblin Wolf Riders. Well... they're Movement 9? That's all I can really think of as a plus for them in this new edition, as it means they still have a solid charge advantage over infantry (even if they roll a 3,3 for Charge, the M4 enemy unit still needs an 11 to match them / hit them at the same range). The need of ten models with shields to negate ranks is a bit of a con, however.
Forest Goblin Spider Riders. Wall Crawlers means they're one of the few Light Cavalry units that can safely run through Woods and other Terrain without risk. Not as powerful as it was last edition (you can't use them to bait units to be trapped into woods, and 'eavy Cavalry can mostly just ignore the woods' dangerous terrain), but still a leg-up over other fast cavalry. Not that they aren't worse for the wear. Only real advantage they gained is that they have a reason to take a Gigantic Spider Gobbo in the unit (so as to deny ranks again).
Night Goblins.[/i] Lose out on the HW&S + Netters trick, though not by much. Main gain here (as with Common Goblins) is improved Short Bow range, and the 2" isn't too great a buff. Only true advantages rely on either being within proximity of the General, or Fanatics providing Hard Cover screens to units.
[b]Snotlings. USEFUL AGAIN! Snotlings can be dug out of the case, as they have a USE again! Immune to Psychology, Stubborn,
not Swarms! If you keep them within range of the General, you have your tie-up unit. Only three toughness two wounds a base, but since you can field them up to twenty big (you'll never field them that size, though) you should more than be able to add static wounds. Since they're not Swarms / Unbreakable, they don't take Combat Resolution Casualties. They also, not being Swarms, provided Hard Cover to units behind them. Being Stubborn, they gain the General's Leadership allowing them to potentially be either Leadership 9 Stubborn Re-Roll for
BSB, or Leadership 10 Stubborn Re-Roll for
BSB! Being twenty points for three wounds is their only main drawback, but keep in mind: No Animosity. Since they're technically monster bases as well, they fight like Ogres in that they get full attacks from the second rank and need only be three wide for the bonus. These units work well as Screens and - funnily enough - Flankers: They can negate Ranks for only 120 points, 10 points cheaper than Wolf Riders! Not to say the models have particularly good rules now, but they actually have a use in an O&G list now.
Overall (Core Choices): Orc Boyz, Savage Orcs, and Night Goblins are at a minor debuff. Arrer Boyz and Common Goblins have a minor buff. Wolf & Spider Riders are slightly worse due to inability to negate ranks, but now have a reason to take a Boss in them (Well, besides the 6x4 blocks of cavalry which already weren't used but had a reason). Snotlings have a use again since they aren't stuck at Stubborn 4, but still drop like flies and thus work best as screens (Hard Cover for da Ladz!).
Special Units
Black Orcs. Still overpriced for what they do. Advantages in the new rules are:
+ Great Weapons are now essentially +1 attack as you get the second rank behind you. Potentially worth choosing over additional hand weapons now since you aren't choosing between 10-12 S5 attacks or 5-6 S6 (It now a much closer 10-12 vs 15-16). Since most enemies won't have anything better than a 4+ base save, it also means you're looking at only Parry-saves (if the enemy can Parry).
+ Armed to da Teef. Black Orcs, no matter what, are an exception to the typical "You have hand weapon, shield, and special weapon, you must use special weapon" rule. This is useful, as it means charging Spear-Rats & Lizardmen can be much more favorable to you: You can either set yourself up to brace their inevitable attacks, or tool up to rip through 'em.
+ Earlier mentioned "Waaagh!" banner tactic wherein you run 15-18 Black Orcs along a flank to smash someone's side in a combi-charge: Minimal charge range once per game of 8" with maximum range of 28", average of 16-20".
And now, the disadvantages:
- 13-14 points! Applies to new rules as you're almost never going to be wielding this unit as a Horde (nor would you want to), and it's unlikely you'll have enough points to make 'em stubborn through rank superiority either.
- Boss is expensive. While there's some extra advantages to unit champions now, it's not worth the extra twenty points on a B.Orc more often than not.
- Only a 5+ save base with I2. Unless you take shields and then run the B.Orcs in Parry Order, they're going to take a mauling against even typical Core troops before striking back - other armies' Special will rip through them like a hot knife through butter. Change here is that the charge is much less helpful to them than it once was.
Orc Boar Boyz. Still overpriced for what they can do. The main problem is that you're looking at only a 3+ save on Cavalry, and they're WS3 I2 as well (I3 for the boar): Very easy to inflict damage against in combat, shooting, and Magic (especially with the ever increasing lethality of magic). Being only movement seven, their average charge range is a meagre 3" over a typical infantry unit: Without rolling badly, they might only have 1" over a M4 unit when it comes to charge rolls. They can take magic banners, so the Waaagh! banner might be a tactic for them... if not for the pre-existing Animosity problem which means risking either
D6 S5 hits (from an attached Big Boss) or
D6 straight-up
casualties on a poor roll when a Waaagh!'s declared. They cannot be relied to run up flanks, and are too expensive to field in numbers for an efficient hard-hitting unit (A 9-big block with a vanilla Big Boss to counter Animosity a total of some 300+ points alone, with lack-luster stats on all but the Boss).
You can make these slightly more effective via the Upgrade to Big 'Uns, but then they become both even more expensive (Jump that unit given above to 400+) and still suffer from the low-durability low-initiative problem. Too expensive to reliably run along flanks, too poorly statline to run in a brutal front-charge and expect survival.
Savage Orc Boar Boyz. Still overpriced, but have a few benefits at least from the new edition rules. Less attacks from Boars, that's bad. Can only manage a 4+ save, still an issue. Only I2, I3 for Boars, meaning many units will strike before you. They're mostly increased only in two ways: Second rank of riders get to attack (meaning 3 WS4 attacks and one WS3 attack per front if Big 'Uns, as opposed to last edition's 2 WS4 and 2 WS3), and harder to bait into charges. While they're still Animosity bothered and only
Ld. 7 (meaning no-where near reliably), they're better than last edition where you were actually hoping for a 1 on Animosity because your opponent parked a five-big harpy unit in their
LoS and in front of some woods.
Orc Boar Chariot. With the crew I2 and Boars I3, as well as Step Up, you definitely need to use these with units now. You can't run a Big Boss in a Chariot to negate ranks any more, and a pair hitting a unit's front is no longer likely to cause a panic without needing exceptional rolls. One advantage I can think of is that they're relatively cheap (you can run six of them in a 2,000 point game and still have half your special allowance left), but since you're banking on their
D6's for charge distance and impact hits not wiffing they're mostly just an active resolution booster now.
Night Goblin Squig Hoppers. Stuck with the new Skirmisher Template, are only T3 I3 with no save, unit size maximum of 10, slower on average than infantry needing a 4,3,3 to at least match an average infantry unit's lowest charge range and 4,4,4 to match otherwise. Being only 15 points apiece and immune to Psychology, seem as though they may function best as cheaper-than-Snotling hard cover which is slightly harder to hit and wound (but just as easy to remove in the end). Need to hug the general to benefit from Stubborn in woods.
Night Goblin Squig Herds. Mixed. You gain less from stepping up as Squigs are two attacks base. You also are only initiative 3, so barring slow enemy units you're still going simo / last. In return, you can now run Night Goblins in the front and both let them kill all of them (and thus force an explosion)
and still get a few Squig attacks from back ranks. Furthermore, they're relatively cheap (roughly 6 point / model average) and thus cheap enough to Spam in a Horde / Stubborn formation whilst preserving some of your special points (180 points yields you a 10x3 or 6x5 formation). Very likely going to be situational, better against things such as Dwarves (who now have only a 6+ / 6+ save against them with most units) and Saurus (who are being hit on 3's and you're going before) than things such as Swordsmen, Spear-Elves, and so on.
Goblin Wolf Chariot. At once better and worse than a Boar Chariot. Their M9 means they can now reliably charge most infantry units (barring M6) before said unit can charge them. Their impact hits are just as lethal as a Boar Chariot to boot, meaning if you don't expect the Chariot to survive the inevitable counter-attacks you can do the same for less here. Finally, they're less: You can fit 6 Boar Chariots whilst preserving half your Special in a 2K point game, but are just barely crossing over that threshold fielding nine Wolf Chariots, which can shoot too!
As drawbacks, there's one less wound, one less armor, and one less toughness. They don't really gain from the "No more instant destruction", as most of those things can pulp one of these anyways (Orc Chariot = 50% survival rate, Goblin Chariot = 33%). They're still low initiative too for the crew, and lacking the Boar's S5 charge hits they are banking pretty much solely on the impact hits.
Goblin Rock Lobber. Better against light infantry now with no-partials, but worse against tough / armored infantry now that it lost both a point of strength and its "No armor saves" power. Remains the number one character-on-monster killer when it comes to individual shots.
Goblin Spear Chukkas. With the loss of -1 to hit large targets, these are less effective against Hellpit Abominations and the like (almost same hit ratio at long range as a Rock Lobber against such, but said War Machine has a strength and damage advantage to boot). In turn, well, that's their only real loss that I can recall from 8th Edition's rulebook. Combined statline wouldn't help much as you can already get four crew and thus force at least a solid 18 hits on average with S3 (or 15 with S4) before you fire every other turn.
Overall (Special Units): Most units are made slightly inferior, or slightly superior in niche fashions. Spear Chukka remained relatively untouched, and if "Two for one Special Slot" holds to mean "Two count as single choice in terms of duplication", then it's pretty much at no loss barring 5,000+ point games.
And, since it's a very small section, Rare.
Rare Units
Trolls: Vanilla. Pretty much all losses. The changes to regeneration that can make them vulnerable to typical units easier, being only initiative one, cannot Vomit from the second ranks. Only real advantages are that if you can avoid Flaming Attacks they're only minimally worsened, and like Snotlings they can be used as decent Flank Runners (M6).
Trolls: River. Same losses as above, but slightly stronger in combat due to their special rule.
Trolls: Stone. Worsened more than vanilla trolls. Barring being targeted by an Irresistible Fire Spell, they lose out both in terms of dispel function and use of special rule (against non-flaming magical attacks, they'll always use Regen instead of a 5+ Ward). Essentially do nothing against non-Fire spells now. Unless you expect to face all six levels of Fire Magic, probably best to keep these vanilla and save the 60+ points from the unit.
Goblin Doom Diver Catapult. Pin-point accurate now. Since you can drop it directly where you wish, as well as modify the scatter roll by D3 (provided you didn't misfire), a position in the center of a unit should pretty much promise a hit. Since it's S5 and no-save to boot, it's - while hitting less models than Stone Thrower - a better tough / heavy unit killer. Would gain from being under 100 points, but can only be picked twice in under-3K games anyways (the one real disadvantage).
Snotling Pump Wagon. Haha, hahaha. Why do you have one of these? Hell, even with duplication, why do you have four? They're literally slower than everything now - Dwarves have a solid 3" charge-reach advantage over them! The only possible use I can think for them now is to literally run behind your lines in the off chance someone tries to Ambush / Outflank behind you. Otherwise, ignore it completely.
Giant. Well... it's harder to hit now. Mostly at a disadvantage in that it can't break units / negate ranks like once possible, but if run alongside a Rank-and-File unit it doesn't really perform any less well than last edition.
Overall (Rare Units): Trolls are downgraded, Snotling Pump Wagon is nigh worthless (actually, not much change there), Giant slightly downgraded, Doom Divers are snipers now.
