Black Orcs - Best Time To Use Certain Weapons?

I was wondering what the best time for your Black Orc Unit to switch to certain weapons was. Or what is the best scenario depending on what you are facing?

For example, I would expect to start my Blorcs off with 1H and shield as they are moving up to get ready to get into combat, to help defend better against shooting attacks.

I would also expect to have them opt for Great Weapons when fighting against Monsters and the like.

What confuses me a bit is trying to decide whether to use Great Weapons or two hand weapons against other units ( Infantry for example).

On the one hand I would get more attacks in which is always nice ( I also run Orc Big'Uns with extra Hand weapon), but equipping the Great Weapons almost assures that I am wounding on 2+ rather then 3+ with the two one handers. Not only that but the damage I would be doing to the enemy unit's armor save due to the modifiers. Hell, on the first round of combat I'm looking at S7 ( +1S for Choppas special rule and +2S for the Great Weapon added to the Blorcs base S4).


So what do you guys think? 1H and Shield till getting into combat and then just keep them equipped with Great Weapons for everything else they deal with?

Bear in mind that you don't get Shields for free, and that Armed To Da Teef only applies when you're in close combat. You can always use your shield when shot at, provided you bought one.

In general, AHW's are only really worth it against T3 targets you're either confident you can break in one turn, or have a 6+ or less armor save. They also win if you're facing T9+ monstrosities where not even S7 will punch through. Needless to say, that last scenario is a bit rare.

This post has been edited by rothgar13 on Feb 6 2012, 11:45 PM

I find 2xHW is best against most GW wielding opponents, they tend to have worse armour (due to no shield) and fewer numbers (due to high cost). Chewing through as many of these as you can before they hit you with S5min is quite important. Examples I'll give are Ironguts, Hammerers, Greatswords etc. Kill off a couple before they can strike back and often you wont cop as many back in return. That said, you're best off not getting into combat with these troops with your Blorcs in the first place (theyre more Troll targets), but if you find yourself in the situation I'd switch to twin choppaz, S5 will get through heavy armour and S4 reduces it to a 6+ only, so you might as well.

Arfa da Grate

That 6+ along with the T4 that most of them have (and the only one that doesn't is Greatswords, who have 5+ armor against S4) actually swings the matchup into an unfavorable one for the AHW. They're protected enough such that the lower Strength is a bad decision. I agree that it's a bad idea to throw your Blorcs into them (that's a job for Savage Big 'Uns or Trolls), but the AHW is still the worse option.

This post has been edited by rothgar13 on Feb 7 2012, 12:17 AM

As a rule of thumb use the great weapon if ANY of the following applies

Enemy T5 or better
Enemy AS 3+ or better
Enemy T4 with AS 4+

Enemy T4 plus stubborn/steadfast
Enemy AS 4+ plus stubborn/steadfast

So taking Greatswords as an example they don't have much toughness but they are AS 4+ plus they have the stubborn rule, hence you take the Great Weapon.

This post has been edited by Craze_b0i on Feb 7 2012, 12:34 AM

Thnx, that seems about right.

If you have 'Ere We Go and think you can tease out his dispel dice for spells like Foot of Gork, then you might want to go with AHW for the re-rolls. Very situational, but everyone has already given out the good advice.

one thing not considered here is the board and sword.

4+/6++ saves on top of the toughness 4 can keep the unit alive/intact if youve been charged with something you didnt want to fight (massed units where the war of attirition doesn't favour you) while you wait for the flanking unit to arrive.

i've used this against the highelf spearhordes where im copping 40 odd s3 attacks
it works out as about 5.4 extra saves and can really preserve that 4th rank.

I think the choppa/shield option is good if you want a real anvil and do have a support unit to help out. It's a good option, but relies on the rest of your army to support.

I am really trying to think of a good tactic with my Blorcs. I got a lot of them and I am really trying to amp my game playing up with my O&G army. So more or less I am looking for a good tactic and see how other people use their Blorcs.
I was thinking about just running them in a small group so they get no type of fire coming their way and use them as flankers. When I run them as a big group they get shoot down.

Do anyone still use them?

Define "a lot of them". It helps to work with exact numbers, or at least close ranges.

Personally, I horde my Black Orcs up (40 of 'em once you count the characters that call the unit home) and send them at whatever I feel needs a good dose of two-handed choppa to the face. There's already another Horde in my army to take some attention off of it (Savage Orc Big 'Uns), and they're durable enough to take a little fire. Once they get into combat, limbs tend to fly.

I have 40 Blorcs

Well then, I suggest giving the Horde a spin. Just remember to put other stuff around it.

I use mine with BO BSB, BO bigboss and BO WAAAGH!Boss to hammer stuff down.
Usually they are fielded as a pack of 29 excluding my chars. They did pretty well so far and their "armed to da teef" rule is nothing IŽd like to miss. Plus they can equip what is needed vs specific enemies.

I use them in 40 B.orcs horde, put them on the flank with baner of swiftnes, ore use them with Grimgor in center, but do not forget manglers and chariots to take some atencion from your B.Orcs

This post has been edited by Marukas on Feb 15 2012, 08:05 AM