Here's my question.

Say you already have a BSB carrying Mork's Spirit Totem in a ranked up unit and you have your two base dispel dice for a starting pool of 5 dispel dice. Would I be better served taking a level one goblin shaman in a chariot with the staff of sneaky stealing - for two more dispel dice plus -1 casting dice from my opponent - or taking a goblin big boss in a chariot and kitting him out with a magic weapon/item combo?

I'm wondering which will help me out the most. The extra magic defense? Is 7 dispel dice too much? Or will some kind of character killing gobbo make a bigger difference?

Let me know what you thinhk and if you have had success with any of the gobbo characters in chariots, let me know how you equipped and used them.

Thanks.

Actually, I think the amount of magic protection needed depends a lot on the army your opponent is using. I mean, if a DE(WoC, VC, DoC or any other good mages) goes magic heavy, there´s no way your 5 DD will suffice, and I think in these cases, even the staff is useless and I´d rather trade it for two scrolls.

Against armies that are not too much magic dependent, I´d go with a suicide goblin. I might even consider suicide goblin against VCs, as their magic is dependent on characters and once you get rid of them, the casting stops as well...

Personally I haven´t used the chariot combo much, but I love suicide gobbos on foot, those are nasty surprises. I guess it could work even better with all the impact hits and stuff.
My favourite combo is OHW and either tricky trinket or brimstone bauble.

If I took the goblin big boss on a chariot I wouldn't think of him as a suicide goblin. I'd use him like I would any other chariot, but with the extra punch and tricks of the hero with magic items. I think the D6+1 S5 impact hits plus the wolves and crew mean that he'll likely survive if/when he charges.

I think the one hit wunda is a good weapon choice, though. It's invaluable when you really need it and fits well with a chariot - chariots are only great in the first round of combat anyway - same as the OHW.

I'm wondering what other magic item is the best to add, though.

Tricksy Trinket: Awesome against high ward save opponents but fairly useless against most units in most armies. I'm not sure if its worth it in a tourney list just so I have something that can deal with those threats.

Brimstone Bauble: On a wolf riding big boss its a suicide gobbo. On a chariot riding big boss I see it as an insurance policy. If the chariot happens to get charged, loses a protracted combat, or gets smashed by the tooled up lord you charged you'll take em with ya when you cash out. I like this idea. Plus it will work no matter who you face.

Guzzla's Brew: This idea intrigues me. 33% chance you're stupid. Bad, but manageable with Ld7 I suppose. 33% chance you're frenzied. +1 S10, +4 crew/wolf attacks isn't bad and immune to psychology is great. Not sure if it outweighs the disadvantages of frenzy, though. Overall, I think just rolling frenzy is a wash. 33% chance of frenzy AND hatred. 4 re-rollable S10 hits is just AWESOME! I haven't done the math, but its pretty close to averaging 3 wounds on ANYTHING!

I usually don't tailor my lists for specific opponents. Instead I like to build an army and run it against all comers. With that in mind, I'm not sure which would be the better combo.

First... Brimstone Bauble does not often work with a chariot. The reason it's a suicide on a wolf is because the return attacks have to be dealt to the goblin. If you are in combat with a chariot, a canny opponent will just direct all the attacks to the mount and cause you to lose combat, flee, and lose the benefits of the bauble.

Second, I like impact hits that don't allow ward saves. If I were to put a Goblin big boss on a chariot, I would think that tricksy trinkit is pretty much mandatory. I'd then think about OHW and maybe Martog's or Akrit depending on what you were trying to accomplish. These combos can give your army a chance to deal with things that other stuff in your army doesn't handle that well.

The main decision you really have to make is how much magic defense is needed. I'm a believer in the level 1 goblin shaman on chariot with 1 dispell scroll. It's cheap, so it can be expendable, and the combination of large number of dispell dice plus dispell scroll is really good. You get to see what they roll before deciding how to stop it. If they roll low, use dice. If they roll 13+ then use a scroll or let it through. The SSS and 2x dispell scrolls are both good options, but add a little more price to the setup and give a little more anti-magic.

5 dispell dice is only enough in a friendly game in my opinion. Even mediocre armies will get spells off against you. One thing to consider is that you don't lose that much by taking the goblin shaman vs. the big boss. You still have a fast chariot, with the same imapct hits, and still US5. Just now, he's built for hitting flanks of infantry once your Orcs are fighting, and not built for charging characters, knights, or monsters. In the end, I vote for the shaman, but it depends on your area, what you will go against, and what your army can already handle.

-Myst

What about a lvl 1 goblin shaman in chariot with 1 dispel scroll and the tricksy trinket? Worth it?

I would think the trinket would be better with a fighting character in it.

Put the trinket on a fighting character.

If you get a chariot into battle with a shaman in all your opponent will do is to attack the chariot.

Yeah, the trinket is better with a fighting character because you get more attacks at a higher strength, hence more wounds that don't allow ward saves.

I think your choice of what to take really depends on what you are trying to do. If you need to take on heavy hitters, then go with goblin big boss, trinket and OHW. If you are worried about magic, take a shaman and be more conservative with him. You can still use him to get into combat, but you need to be supported when you do. I like to use him to bust ranks and add a couple wounds to a unit that is already locked into combat with an Orc unit, or maybe in a combo charge with a giant.

It sounds from your posts that you really want to try and kill stuff. If that is the case, take the big boss and try it out. Let us know how it works. I bet it'll be great.

-Myst

I'd say a shaman, lvl 1 with 2 dispel scrolls, and just use it on the flank, and just help units out. When not in combat, use it to sap dispel dice off the opponents to make your big spells have more chance of casting.