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Also specify what army you play.

By main fighting blocks I mean something that gets stuck in and does and/or takes damage. Anything from a Chosenstar, to a simple unit of 8 Ogres, to a Goblin tarpit counts (but obviously not skirmishers, shooty units, etc)

EDIT: Dunwich has a point.

@ ~2500 point level

Dark Elves.

Witch Elves, Dreadlord on Dragon, 2 Hydras and Cold one Knights in 3k.

My Darkelves is 0-1

My Beastmen was 2-3

My VC is 1-2

My Brets is 5+

My MSU(20-30 models a unit) Skaven run about 8-9, sometimes more.

I think you need to have a points value for the poll to be valid.

Lizardmen i run 2 units either all saurus or saurus and temple guard, the rest is skinks and whatever else i feel like running that day.

Lizards, usually two of Saurus and another Temple Guard. Very rarely do skinks even see the field in my games.

OnG:

Most times I go by with 5-6: Big'uns, trolls, squig herd or black orcs, one or two gobbo blocks, wolf riders.

Anything from 5 to 8 usually.

My 3,000 point Vampire Counts usually has 2 big blocks of skeletons, a block of zombies, a block of Grave Guard, a block of Black Knights and a small bunker along with various other things I wouldn't call main fighting blocks.

With OnG I run 5+ almost always. It is unlikely for 1 of my combat blocks to beat 1 enemy combat block but even gobbos can win a 2v1 with a flank attack.

Empire I usually run 4. Two knights and two buses of infantry.

I've been experimenting with detachments lately, but I'm not convinced they're worth it.

my DOC at 2400

30 LEtters, 30 Daemonettes, 20 horrors and a greater daemon. so 4.

I field two main units, but I guess the point value of the game could make a difference.

I am an ogre player, so its normally one group of bulls and one of Ironguts. I assume you don't mean tarpit/throw away units like gnoblars...

Empire greatswords flagellants stank halberds knights

For Beastmen I used 5, and for WoC I used 4

2 blocks of savages, 1 block black orcs, 1 block trolls, 2x cav to support. I wanted more than that, but couldn't keep everything near the general.

Vampires it's ghouls, 2x bunkers (zombie or skeletons), and then lots of smaller flak. Same problem with O&G, I wanted more, but could keep everything close enough to the general to be effective.

Ogres, I've been running nothing but core and having great success. 5 blocks of ogres and ironguts, 10 blocks of gnoblars. Yeah, that's 15 blocks.

-Matt

Redcomet219 wrote:I I assume you don't mean tarpit/throw away units like gnoblars...

zeekill wrote: to a Goblin tarpit counts

Does indeed mean those, too.

Platuan4th wrote:

Redcomet219 wrote:I I assume you don't mean tarpit/throw away units like gnoblars...

zeekill wrote: to a Goblin tarpit counts

Does indeed mean those, too.

Well that depends. A unit of <40 is nothing. 40-50 is grey A unit of absolute minimum 50 counts. Preferably more.
It depends what you use them for.

Same thing with cavalry. Cavalry is NOT a fighting block unless you run a HUGE unit or they are just tough as nails like Chaos Knights.

Also, say a unit of 20 NGs with 3 fanatics. Still NOT a fighting block.

For example, whoever said the Ogre army with 15 units. You probably only have 1 fighting block at most (just judging by point restrictions). Everything else will fall apart against a true fighting unit. I'm assuming you count units of 10-20 Gnoblars and 6 Bulls and such as "fighting blocks." They are not. Then again if you use 10 units of 50 Gnoblars then go for it as long as they are all in General range, otherwise they are worthless.

Hope this helped make an outline of what I mean.

zeekill wrote:
For example, whoever said the Ogre army with 15 units. You probably only have 1 fighting block at most (just judging by point restrictions). Everything else will fall apart against a true fighting unit. I'm assuming you count units of 10-20 Gnoblars and 6 Bulls and such as "fighting blocks." They are not. Then again if you use 10 units of 50 Gnoblars then go for it as long as they are all in General range, otherwise they are worthless.
Hope this helped make an outline of what I mean.

Gnoblars don't need the general. With the general around or not, they are going to lose combat and break.
Being gnoblars, nobody panics.
10 units of gnoblars has repeatedly tied up half the table for 4+ game turns. They are extremely difficult to kill all of, and utterly disrupt enemy lines.

The 2500 list is slaughtermaster, bruiser bsb, firebelly, 3x8 ogres, full command, iron fists, 2x8 Ironguts, standard and musician, and 10 units of 10 gnoblars.
8 ogres throwing out 24 S6 attacks, or 24 S4 attacks is a pretty capable combat unit.

If you're discounting an 8 strong combat block as a fighting block, you might as well be asking how many death stars do you field.
I agree that gnoblars aren't fighting blocks, but listed them for completeness after looking what other people were posting.

-Matt

High Elves, I generally roll with 4. 2 spear blocks, a swordmaster block, and a white lion block.

HawaiiMatt wrote:

zeekill wrote:
For example, whoever said the Ogre army with 15 units. You probably only have 1 fighting block at most (just judging by point restrictions). Everything else will fall apart against a true fighting unit. I'm assuming you count units of 10-20 Gnoblars and 6 Bulls and such as "fighting blocks." They are not. Then again if you use 10 units of 50 Gnoblars then go for it as long as they are all in General range, otherwise they are worthless.
Hope this helped make an outline of what I mean.

Gnoblars don't need the general. With the general around or not, they are going to lose combat and break.
Being gnoblars, nobody panics.
10 units of gnoblars has repeatedly tied up half the table for 4+ game turns. They are extremely difficult to kill all of, and utterly disrupt enemy lines.

The 2500 list is slaughtermaster, bruiser bsb, firebelly, 3x8 ogres, full command, iron fists, 2x8 Ironguts, standard and musician, and 10 units of 10 gnoblars.
8 ogres throwing out 24 S6 attacks, or 24 S4 attacks is a pretty capable combat unit.

If you're discounting an 8 strong combat block as a fighting block, you might as well be asking how many death stars do you field.
I agree that gnoblars aren't fighting blocks, but listed them for completeness after looking what other people were posting.

-Matt

8 Ironguts are very strong. I agree completely. Same with 8 bulls (though a tad weaker than the Guts). But I said that 6 Bulls was not a combat block (at least in my opinion). I just don't think it dishes out enough attacks nor can take much damage against a more powerful block.

As for the Gnoblars, the way you play them make them redirectors, not combat blocks. Those two types play very differently.

I put down 4, but that's really kind of a stretch. I rarely run any of what others would consider a main fighting block (a big unit of 30+). DE are too fragile for that. I run a block of 21 corsairs, 20 repeater crossbows (who midgame rank up and join in the combat), and two units of 10 Witches as tire strips (sorta like spedbumps, but they'll rip the target unit up a bit before they go). There is also a Spearman battery for the Sorceress, 2-3 units of harpies, 2 units of shades, and sometimes even some Dark Riders.

None of these units are really 'main fighting blocks.' One on one none of the, can really stand up to a main combat block... well, maybe the Corsairs with Mindrazor. But using maneveur, baiting, delaying, and simply ganging up on a target, I almost always deal far more damage than I take.

It helps that I keep ALL the units cheap and, therefore, expendable at need. It also gives 'points-conscious' player fits, because I don't have any really big targets for their killer units to go after to justify their massive point expendature.

Empire at 2500 would probably be Six... reiksguard for holding, a large clump of halberds with two smaller detachments of halberds, all of which are now stubborn rerollable cold blooded due to my crown of command BSB in the unit (this can count as three blocks, as 20 stubborn halberdiers is nothing to sneeze at), and 2 units of demigryphs to the tune of about 3 or 4 with muso and banner.

With daemons, I run a hoard and a flanking unit as my two main bricks. The rest is sucked up in special and rare, so there may be an additional brick of something dead 'ard like Bloodcrushers or fiends.

zeekill wrote:
8 Ironguts are very strong. I agree completely. Same with 8 bulls (though a tad weaker than the Guts). But I said that 6 Bulls was not a combat block (at least in my opinion). I just don't think it dishes out enough attacks nor can take much damage against a more powerful block.
As for the Gnoblars, the way you play them make them redirectors, not combat blocks. Those two types play very differently.

50 gnoblars are far worse than 5 units of 10.
A block of 50 might be steadfast, and is tossing out 10 WS2 S2 attacks. As soon as they lose steadfast, which doesn't take long, 30 or so gnoblars go running.

Take that same 50 gnoblars, and rank up 2 wide and 5 deep, and you'll hold out much, much longer. An opponent only has 40mm of frontage to touch, greatly limiting the damage each unit takes. Anything less than 8 wounds means a chance to rally. Pursuit means another block of 10 gnoblars gets hit. Restraint means you're pinning down another round.
It would be foolish to run gnoblars is big blocks when smaller units do the same job much more effectively.

Honestly, you should never call a WS2 S2 unit a fighting block, no matter how big it is.

-Matt

HawaiiMatt wrote:

zeekill wrote:
8 Ironguts are very strong. I agree completely. Same with 8 bulls (though a tad weaker than the Guts). But I said that 6 Bulls was not a combat block (at least in my opinion). I just don't think it dishes out enough attacks nor can take much damage against a more powerful block.
As for the Gnoblars, the way you play them make them redirectors, not combat blocks. Those two types play very differently.

50 gnoblars are far worse than 5 units of 10.
A block of 50 might be steadfast, and is tossing out 10 WS2 S2 attacks. As soon as they lose steadfast, which doesn't take long, 30 or so gnoblars go running.

Take that same 50 gnoblars, and rank up 2 wide and 5 deep, and you'll hold out much, much longer. An opponent only has 40mm of frontage to touch, greatly limiting the damage each unit takes. Anything less than 8 wounds means a chance to rally. Pursuit means another block of 10 gnoblars gets hit. Restraint means you're pinning down another round.
It would be foolish to run gnoblars is big blocks when smaller units do the same job much more effectively.

Honestly, you should never call a WS2 S2 unit a fighting block, no matter how big it is.

-Matt

Again, you are just arguing Tarpit vs Redirectors. Your way might be better in every way (and it is, I agree) but that's just not what I asked. Don't call it 10 fighting blocks. As every ~5 units really holds up one enemy unit, just call it 2 if you must, but in reality they are just redirectors.

Lizzie's, Saurus and sometimes a TG unit.

Spear block, White Lion horde, Phoenix guard block, 2 units of 5 princes or two units of 10 swords/one unit of each.

Well, I play Wood Elves without any eternal guard, so I think that says it all

OnG

Five characters (O. Warboss, Great Shaman, G. Warboss, O. BSB, G. Shaman), five infantry regiments (Big 'Uns, Night Goblins x2, Black Orcs, Squigs), 2 Cavalry Regiments (Spider Riders x2), 4 War Machines (Spear Chukka's x4).

Of those... I'd wager four (all of the Infantry Regiments but Squigs) serve as either Hammers or Anvils. Squigs are typically run along the flank as at 90pts you can do worse than a potential 14 S5 attacks w/ two ranks. They don't win against much of anything in direct confrontation, but they do rather well against MSU's / Gunners / Light Cavalry, and also tend to draw some firepower into a cheap not-capable-of-running unit.

Big 'Uns are ran 40-big, Black Orcs 30 big, Night Goblins 36 big each (along with two Fanatics and Netters / all but Boss). One Goblin brick serves as the bunker for the Shaman, the other has the Warboss come with it. Note that this brick - while typically an Anvil - sometimes serves as a Hammer as well: Warboss has Sword of Striking, Charmed Shield, and Potion of Strength. In a pinch he can ruin the day of either a Heavy Cavalry or sans-Ward / -regen Hero due to having 4 attacks that hit on 3's (2's on WS≤4) and are S7.

Big 'Uns tend to house my General & BSB, and can be fielded deep or wide depending on whether it's better to engage in a battle of attrition or just forego Steadfast and enjoy 42 S5 & 5 S6 attacks going against some poor bastard.

Great Shaman goes with the Black Orcs. Mostly because of convenience and the fact that being S.Orc w/ Fencers Blades he can hold his own if the unit gets stuck-in: Most of the time people will actually turn down challenging the Great Shaman as they're fighting WS10 T5 W3 6+ Ward versus WS4 T4 5+ Armor, and the counter-attacks from the Great Shaman are actually harder (slightly) than from a B.Orc Boss before looking into spell buffs.