Hobby Update: Ogre Heroes

I picked up a few boxes of WHFB Ogres back in the day. Currently I have three regiments of Berserker Braves serving as allies to my Varangur, some Nurgle models in storage, one spare guy, plus another spare from another range (probably from Reapermini, I think). I decided to do up the lingering spares as heroes.

I feel like I should have taken another picture given the length of this post... alas. 

Warlord

First up is the newly minted Warlord. Originally, he was meant to be a Khorne Ogre for some friendly games of Regiments of Renown... but we only played that... I want to say twice? When we played, we tended to play actual WHFB games. And lacking games, I never finished him up for RoR. I added some greenstuff to make the axe arm stick out more, and added a few additional bits to make him better look the part of a leading orge. I may still give him some additional scraps of armor, to better reflect his 5+ Defense, but he's good for now.

The ogres have a surprising amount of sub-factions in their army: Berserkers, Siege Breakers, Red Goblins... all with their own corresponding inspiring hero. (Boomers have a hero too... but the Boomer Sergeant is apparantly lazy, and doesn't inspire anyone.) Rising above internal squabbles, the ASB, Captain and Warlord all inspire everyone, with the Warlord at the top of the pile.

Even stock like this guys is, the Warlord is pretty great. He's got a good defense and good nerve; and offensively he is no slouch! Seven attacks, hitting on 3's with CS 2, plus Brutal. Ideally, I think the stock Warlord charges in alongside his fellows, utilizing his small frontage to pile in a disproportionate number of attacks, and using Brutal to help break the opposing unit. Though, given the good number of attacks and good nerve... he can probably solo a good variety of units for a turn or two in a pinch. All in all, not a bad choice, given my limited understanding of the Ogre army.


Nomargarok

The second hero I hobbied on as also a remnant of a RoR project, this time a large Ogre following Nurgle. (I really wanted RoR to be a regular thing, apparently.) With him, I barely got him out of the package. In the intervening years, I managed to lose his left hand and face though, which is ok. As I recall, neither we all that great.

As you can see from the picture, he ended up being quite a bit larger than the GW ogres (I think he was meant for a 50mm square). For a worshiper of Papa Nurgle, that would have been fine; here, it's a little more problematic. I figured he'd be a Warlock, given that the 'lock would synergize very well with all the current Berserkers, and it's generally helpful to have a caster in KoW. Given the size discrepancy though, I decided to turn him into the legendary ogre caster Nomargarok! The neck on the faceless model was a bid odd, a little too large to add a spare GW head. However, in reading his rules and seeing Bloodlust, I remembered Warcraft. I added a second head, and tried to be inspired by Cho'Gall, the game's legendary ogre magi. Some other models would have to fill in as Warlocks...

As with many of the legends from Kings of War, Nomargarok has a lot of special rules...

He's got a pretty mixed stat-line for an ogre. His defense is lackluster; 4+ and 12/14 Nerve isn't great. No better than a typical Warlock in fact. His offense is also a bit lacking; 5 attacks, Vicious and CS1 (all great for a caster!) but hitting on 5+ really dissuades me from sticking him in combat. He does not want to be on the front lines, though, he'll probably do a little better than your average caster if he gets into trouble.

Ideally, I think he wants to be just behind the main combat blocks. He's Nimble, and has Piercing 1 Vicious Firebolts which can be used to help pick off chaff or soften up the enemy lines... provided you aren't advancing too speedily. I view this as a bonus. As I understand it, a typical ogre list is likely to have Boomers or Shooters doing the heavy lifting for ranged attacks. Anything this guy can contribute is gravy.

He's a caster, but is limited to targeting friendly non-allied units in combat... so he really only comes into his own once the main lines meet. He's got Heal 3 and Bane Chant 2... though like Warlocks, he gets extra dice for nearly Berserker Brave units. Additionally, if either of the spells successfully land, the unit gains Vicious, via his Bloodlust rule. Given the number of attacks ogre units (hordes in particular!) can dish out, either spell landing should be a great boon. He could be very useful indeed!