Trolls And Giants, Worth It?

[WarbossKapraun]

In recent discussions with Warhammer past and current players I have been hearing a lot about how worthless Giants and Trolls are. None of these players field OnG armies and only a few have actually played against them. I have used both in the only game I have played as OnG and while my Giant was the man of the match (eating a paladin right of the back of his mount) my trolls were avoided like the plague. So I was just wondering what you guys think of the two different troop types, why you think it and what you would suggest.

[staks]

I love Giants and wouldn't leave home without one. They are a massive threat to your opponent and will be treated as a high priority. You need to play him as if he is made of glass (never leave him out in the open for missile fire) and he will always earn his points back. Don't be afraid of keeping him hidden until turns 5 or 6 if need be, you are better off not using him and saving his points than handing your opponent 200 odd points on a platter.

Trolls are tricky, regen is nice but almost all armies take some flaming these days (if they have it available to them) but the killer is stupidity. In an army where almost every unit tests for animosity you don't need the tress of testing for stupidity. They play well in a defensive list, but not so well in an aggressive list.

Staks

[BorkBork]

No matter what they really achieve, both units force your enemy to do something about them. So to me that makes them worth it.

[Arfa]

Giants work best when you're double-teaming with them, or have a Wyvern in the list also. Unfortunately they also die quite quickly to shooting, but they do draw a lot of fire from your other potentially vulnerable units such as squigs, chariots & boars.

As for trolls Ive been running my two rares as two single trolls. At 40pts each and with a decent movement they are perfect for redirecting charges, baiting and fleeing or even forcing enemy wizards to go into hiding as you can perform "hit and run" tactics on them with your 3 S5 attacks. At 80pts in total the only thing I can think of that earns its points back more are the bolt throwers, and as far as my Orcs are concerned they're definitely staying in the list.

edit- they also seem to draw a massive amount of fire away from my regular troops. With three wounds and regen it takes a fair bit to down them, and at 40pts you really dont care much when they die. They will never cause panic in your lines and half the time when they're stupid they're up close and personal with the enemy just being march-blockers/redirecters so it doesnt even matter!

Arfa da Grate

This post has been edited by Arfa on Nov 6 2009, 05:43 AM

[WarbossKapraun]

The stupidity of the trolls did cause me some trouble but as I said earlier they were avoided anyways. I have thought about throwing a mounted Orc or Goblin into the unit with them to add his leadership to their stupidity roll. But at the same time it might draw a hero choice away from the fight if they are continually being avoided.

[Grupas]

I use both in most games, They're so much fun I always use them now.
I'd feel guilty if i didn't.

they open up a lot more strategies, especially the stubborn ld10 gaint is extremely versatile (though it still isn't a hydra...) though he is weak (T5 no saves whatsoever and large target) he can make it up with reasonable speed and the pressure he puts on an opponent when he's right in their face.

trolls have speed, durability, and a packload of str5 attacks and cause fear. it's plaguebearers on steroids
seriously nothing is cooler then shuving this unit forward with movement spells
or letting your opponent charge them, not realising the unit behind is stuffed with fanatics


This post has been edited by Grupas on Nov 5 2009, 08:41 AM

[Reiks]

I think of Trolls as pseudo-cavalry. They're slightly slower and slightly less hitty, but in return they can do some stuff that boar boyz can't do. They won't implode when you call a Waaagh!, they won't die like flies if charged, and you can use them as a slingshot unit (regeneration ftw). With less than Ld9 on the board, the stupidity is too much of a problem for me though. But then you could always bring some Ironguts.