Topic of the Week - Gor Herd

[King Ulrik Flamebeard]

This is the start of a new series, that will hopefully bring new ideas and tactics to the forums. Each week, a new topic will be posted up about a different unit in the army book. This gives you your chance to discuss the unit to its fullest. So, please leave your comment!

This week's topic is Gor Herd.

Is the single hand weapon worth it, or should you always go for two? Command? What is the best size for an ambushing unit? Is there any point to the command? Tactics?

Discuss.

Kuffy

[Naque]

Single Hand weapon isn't worth it. For one point you gain twice the killing power, and frankly without that the unit can't even begin to compete in CC. Using a shield is similarly out of the question because a 5+ armor save does not cut it versus pretty much anything these days.

For command I would purchase at the very least a musician. I don't think a banner or a champ are worth it as the low armor save of the gor and the ambush rule really leans toward much smaller units. A unit of 10 with a musician makes a great flank charge detachment style unit, and also with the 1:1 interpretation of the ambush rule provides the most opportunities to get gor units on the board through ambush. The only time I could see myself using a unit bigger than 10 is for a character bunker as the unit is a bit pricey if you get it above 10 for what it does.

On the idea of ambushing I would say the same thing. Units of 10 with 2xhw and a musician. Trying to get flank charges and to protect your flanks and if they show up very late game to get table corners at the very least.

A lot of people don't see the potential in gors to do well. 10 potentially rerollable ws4 s3 attacks isn't bad, especially so with the possibility to deny ranks and M5.

[MaleOpener]

I favor gor herds in blocks of 20, additional hand weapons, and a full command. Both as main blocks for my battleline, and for ambushes.

It's just so sweet watching a block of gor smash through a firing line

Very rarely do my gor go under 20, as this would be mostly due to points game wise.

[Naque]

Actually I suppose because we have so many other units that enemy guns will want to aim for (ie. any of our rares, minos, chariots, pumba.) our block infantry should be able to survive extremely well. Even if the enemy aims for our block infantry they are doing so at the expense of our super hard hitting units, so we should be in good shape either way. So I guess a block of 20 or so could do very well for itself.

[Nightbreak]

Is a unit of 20 significantly more effective than a unit of ten in ambush? And if we do take units of ten in ambush, should the parent units also be ten, or do they need to of a greater size when deployed traditionally? A unit of ten would be fairly easy to panic, but as naque pointed out, this army does present a multitude of shooting targets. In addition to our killy stuff, all the units of dogs/ungor raiders/harpies that could potentially be flying around should draw some fire. I guess I am wondering whether they have the ability to hold their own, or if they should be another support unit.

[8people]

I quite like them, I always take two hand weapons and generally take a full command as well (But I do this in all my units in all my armies - probably just a bit of OCD kicking in )

This may be my inner wood elf looking at the unit tactically but - pretty much none of the core units are designed for a fair fight. I won't use them in such a manner either. We have ambush - the ability to come from behind or the sides to surround an enemy and deny them their rank bonus and give us advantages to charging in the flank and rear - I've seen a lot of people looking through the book and going "Gor will suck against X" and in their reasoning are always going on the basis of charging head on, or being charged head on.

The Brown Orc analogy also irritates me greatly. Gors are faster, have a higher WS and iirc Orcs can't be given two hand weapons (they can have spears, but we have Ungor for that ) Leadership is seven, yes that's not exactly fantastic but it's still improvable by having a general nearby and lends a 50% of having hatred in EVERY round of combat, plus the possibility of frenzy and the ability to be deployed from another table edge if you roll nicely.

I'll probably end up taking a relatively large unit or two and using them to hold up 'annoyances' while faster units whittle away the really irritating units and position for a combination charge to obliterate a unit quickly, or as harriers on the flanks of something already occupied. For example: flank charge with a small 'sacrificial' unit, when the opponent wins and reforms to face the flank you can easily get a rear charge for an instant +2 to resolution for that turn as well as any casulties you cause. It's all in making opportunities for yourself and utilising them with the right units at the right time.

That's just something I personally enjoy playing with though

[MaleOpener]

Units of 10 gors aren't bad, as long as you're careful of their placement.

1. Ambush lines of archers/gunners.

2. Ambushing war machine batteries can be tricky, as more players are using heroes to babysit them.

3. They can be used as 'flanking' units, but smart opponents could just pick them off at range.

[SheBeast76]

My main core unit is a large herd of Gors with 2 hand weapons, full command, and led by a wargor (equipped depending on foe).

For small, ambushing herds, one full rank plus one deep with 2 hand weapons and a musician.

[Blackspine]

The "Gor Herd" is fantastic.
That is if you utilize it to it's utmost potential. Otherwise, they fall into the 'brown orc' category.

Move 5 ensures that they can race across the battlefield at a decent speed. Enough to possibly cut 1 round of shooting out of the gunlines.
T4 means that they can shrug off many forms of shooting. Watching a High elf RBT not kill one Gor in a volley is priceless. Granted, that is all they have for survivability.
AHW. Never ever anything else. Shields with 6++ will not save them from much. The AS is negated by almost everything, and even then is too weak to help. W/o AHW they lack the viciousness that the beastman army relies on. They are wolves without teeth.
Ambush: This has won most of my games for me. A good ambush can make the game. Even a bad ambush (1) can still be used with a fast movement to get to the battle and take a flank. Tearing into the gunlines from behind will decimate them. Even if the gunlines turn to fire, now your army is marching from the front, unmolested. Even the death of the ENTIRE ambushing unit is worth this. (20 gor price vs 25 bestigors....hrm....)

Their LDR is pretty dismal. However, if you keep them close enough to the BSB (which every army should have) or the General, they should have no problem making their Primal Fury. I love the psychological effect of making the opponent watch me re-roll so many dice. The sheer weight of numbers of this will hit almost anything.

I use either a large block of gors or Ungors for the center with the Banner of the true beast & wyssan's for a devestating cheap unit. With enough points to throw at this unit, they have ranks, a wargor, and sometimes the general.
For ambushers, I rarely go over a unit of 20, it's pricey but still nice to have one unit come from behind/ flanks. The 20 man on field in deployment is very nice for holding flanks or as a small 'shaman bunker'. As a flanking unit, it's hard to beat for the low low price.

The Gor Herd is one of the best Core units for their price range....if you use all their assets. They can't stand up toe to toe with WoC, but they shouldn't have to....you should be surrounding that unit from minimum two sides.

I love the look of the beast herd armies. No monsters, just chariots and Hooved infantry.


Fury, Gore and Ruin.

[Blackspine]

The "Gor Herd" is fantastic.
That is if you utilize it to it's utmost potential. Otherwise, they fall into the 'brown orc' category.

Move 5 ensures that they can race across the battlefield at a decent speed. Enough to possibly cut 1 round of shooting out of the gunlines.
T4 means that they can shrug off many forms of shooting. Watching a High elf RBT not kill one Gor in a volley is priceless. Granted, that is all they have for survivability.
AHW. Never ever anything else. Shields with 6++ will not save them from much. The AS is negated by almost everything, and even then is too weak to help. W/o AHW they lack the viciousness that the beastman army relies on. They are wolves without teeth.
Ambush: This has won most of my games for me. A good ambush can make the game. Even a bad ambush (1) can still be used with a fast movement to get to the battle and take a flank. Tearing into the gunlines from behind will decimate them. Even if the gunlines turn to fire, now your army is marching from the front, unmolested. Even the death of the ENTIRE ambushing unit is worth this. (20 gor price vs 25 bestigors....hrm....)

Their LDR is pretty dismal. However, if you keep them close enough to the BSB (which every army should have) or the General, they should have no problem making their Primal Fury. I love the psychological effect of making the opponent watch me re-roll so many dice. The sheer weight of numbers of this will hit almost anything.

I use either a large block of gors or Ungors for the center with the Banner of the true beast & wyssan's for a devestating cheap unit. With enough points to throw at this unit, they have ranks, a wargor, and sometimes the general.
For ambushers, I rarely go over a unit of 20, it's pricey but still nice to have one unit come from behind/ flanks. The 20 man on field in deployment is very nice for holding flanks or as a small 'shaman bunker'. As a flanking unit, it's hard to beat for the low low price.

The Gor Herd is one of the best Core units for their price range....if you use all their assets. They can't stand up toe to toe with WoC, but they shouldn't have to....you should be surrounding that unit from minimum two sides.

I love the look of the beast herd armies. No monsters, just chariots and Hooved infantry.


Fury, Gore and Ruin.