Last week we played Orcs & Goblins vs Wood Elves, using my Sword & Spear rules. I supplied both armies, and my opponent chose to use the elves, so I played the orcs. We used the standard Sword & Spear rules, with no extra fantasy rules. I had 15 units of orcs and goblins, with 4 units of orc heavy foot and two units of trolls being the main strike force. Lots of poor discipline goblins add bulk to the army. The elves were mainly medium foot, with longbowmen and spearmen supported by a unit of treemen and two units of elite heavy cavalry.
The elves had a useful hill in the centre, with most of their troops deployed to their right, hoping to outflank the orcs on this side. My plan was to delay on the left and smash the elves in the centre.
The positions at deployment.
The orcs and goblins, ready for battle.
In the first turn the orcs advance in the centre and the elves advance on their right. The left end of the orc battle line is anchored by the elite orc infantry. They are armoured but this will not help against the elvish longbows. However, I am hoping that their good discipline will allow them to withstand the elvish archery for long enough for me to break through in the centre.
In turn two both sides continue their advance. The elvish right swings round to target the elite orcs. They cause some shooting casualties but the orcs rally at the end of the turn. The elves have a unit of heavy cavalry and a unit of centaurs deployed wide on this flank, but they will be hampered by the rough terrain.
The elves suffer from poor action dice so don't get to do much in the centre. The elves don't seem to want to push their infantry forward onto the hill to benefit from the advantageous position it would provide.
In turn three the elite orcs on the left suffer further casualties from shooting. The next unit of orcs charges uphill against the elvish elite badger claw infantry. The orcs are heavy foot with impact capability which can be devastating on the charge, but the run uphill obviously tired them out and they lose the combat, taking casualties that bring them close to routing.
The elf infantry in the centre don't like the look of the orcish heavy foot advancing up the hill, so they retreat off the hill.
The orcish troops in the centre continue pushing forward. It's difficult getting the trolls doing anything other than advance straight forward. There are elvish cavalry in front of them, but I don't think they will be there for long. Horses don't like facing big, scary and smelly trolls!
In turn four the elite orcs on the far left take further shooting casualties and rout. The orcs in contact with the badger claws fight desperately on, even managing to inflict casualties on the elves. The orcs on the hill advance to within charge range of the elvish foot in front of them. A unit of elvish archers has moved into a position where they can charge the flank of the orcs, so it will be crucial who gets to move first next turn.
The elvish cavalry in the centre manoeuvre out of the charge path of the trolls, and the treemen move into position to charge the trolls in the flank. Orcish light archers move to block the treemen.
On the right the elvish infantry charge the orc archers but are then charged and routed by the other unit of trolls.
Turn five sees lots of action. The orcs get good action dice and charge off the hill in the centre. Their charge is devastating and they rout both of the units of elvish foot. The elvish badger claws finally defeat the orcs.
In the centre the trolls also manage to move forward before being flanked by treemen, and the other unit of trolls turn to get into position to charge the elvish cavalry in the flank. Orc archers shoot the treemen, inflicting casualties.
The orc light archers run away from the treemen, staying just out of reach.
At the end of turn five the elves have to take an army morale test due to their cumulative casualties. Most units pass but the archers on their right who have already suffered two hits fail their discipline test and break.
The elvish casualties are mounting. The dice by each shows the army value of the lost unit, so it is easy to see the cumulative total, and compare this to the army demoralisation level. One more unit lost and the elves will break.
The orcs have lost some units too, but they can afford to lose more units than the elves.
Turn six and once again the orcs get the best action dice, allowing the trolls to charge the elvish cavalry in the flank before they can move forward out of range. Not many troops can withstand a flank charge from impact troops, and the cavalry routs. This takes the elves over their army demoralisation level, so the elf army breaks and the orcs and goblins have the victory.
paints the prototypes for the Eureka Amazon Army.
