The Bare Necessities, Part XXXVII: Goblin-town

Good morning gamers,

Well, this is an army I've fought quite a bit and I can't say I've enjoyed any of those games. At all. So when it came to doing this series last year, I passed on reviewing Goblin-town because, frankly, I didn't know how everything worked and what was a good way to tick all the boxes. To be even more frank, I'm not sure you NEED to check all the boxes. 30+ models will basically be a given, but do you need fast troops with this list? What about an actual banner? Ways to buff your models? We'll get into all of that today as we review an army that has its own special place in the hearts of MESBG players.

Two great and annoying models . . .

Goblin-town: The Art of Fast Play

Goblin-town plays a game that several armies do: spam out cheap, horrible models and rely on your outlandishly high numbers to take the day. Unlike armies like the Shire and Sharkey's Rogues, you can support other models - and while your Defense is low (like the Shire and Sharkey's Rogues), the fact that everyone has the equivalent of a spear for basically the same price means you can get LOTS of die into your fights. And I mean LOTS of dice. So why doesn't everyone play this list?

I think the biggest reason is that this army takes FOREVER to take a turn. Moving 30-40 models CAN take a while if you're being super careful, but moving 60+ models takes a long time even if you're trying to move quickly. Movement trays can help, but even with trays it takes a long time. So how can you fix this so you can play within a time constraint?

There are two ways, I think, that this can be done. The first is to embrace the Goblin-town mindset and don't care about where you place things. Veteran gamers may cringe when I say this - but I'm serious: place models so they're backed up by a friendly model, but just move them. No planning, no worries, no strategy - just take up space! If you're moving in the right direction, you might be a bit out of position for one turn, but there will be another turn and you'll be in a spot that's just fine.

The second way (and I think the more competitive way) is to ally with someone else - other armies will be more expensive and will give you other ways of dealing with problems (like big heroes and devastating spell-casters). By bringing in a big hero or two (backed by average-cost to expensive warriors), you drop your model count and can take your turns faster.

So what's the right balance between a high model count and allying in what we need to make a balanced list? Well, we're turning to the Armies of the Hobbit army book and allying with an army that, frankly, would want to keep their army bonus in most cases. But it turns out, you can supplement a lot of Goblin-town weaknesses by just bringing one warband of models from another list.

The List

• The Goblin King [ARMY LEADER]
• INDEPENDENT: Gollum
• 17 Goblin Warriors
• The Goblin Scribe
• 6 Goblin Warriors
• Goblin Mercenary Captain
• 6 Goblin Mercenaries
• CONVENIENT ALLY - Azog's Hunters: Bolg on Fell Warg with Orc bow
• 4 Hunter Orcs
• 3 Hunter Orcs with two-handed picks
• 4 Hunter Orcs with Orc bows
• 1 Hunter Orc with Orc bow, war horn, and banner
• 3 Fell Wargs

49 models, 6 Orc bows hitting on a 5+ AND 1 thrown Goblin hitting on a 5+ AND 1 Whip hitting on a 5+, 1 D6+ model, 1 cavalry + 3 fast infantry, 12 Might points

The purchases required to get these units are as follows:

• You need to get the Goblin King and his Retinue ($50) - you want all four models in this set in most of the armies you build;
  
• You will also want at least one warband of Goblin Mercenaries ($72) - they provide so much flexibility in game play and give you a late-game deployment advantage;
• You want one box of Goblin Warriors ($50) - you're using 23 Goblin Warriors, so you only have 13 Goblin Warriors to summon with the Scribe. You might want to consider picking up a second box, since you've got a war horn in this list (you're getting Goblins, man);
• You need Bolg ($45) - he's not a cheap Hero of Valor, but he gives you access to cavalry/banners and smashes stuff really well;
• You need a box of Hunter Orcs ($50) - which are good troops, regardless of what list you bring them from; and
• You need a box of Fell Wargs ($35) - you could run Warg Riders, which would drop your numbers by 3 but would give you actual cavalry.

This army is pretty expensive (upwards of $300), but you could start with either of the allied forces at smaller points levels before you build to this one. Let's look at each warband and what its job is in the army. There will be a cheaper army at the end of the post, but this one does a lot.

Warband #1: The Sneaky Leader

The Goblin King is a nasty piece of work - high Fight, Burly two-handed pick, and the ability to shrug off most wounds on a 5+. Oh, and you can walk through your own models, so chariots have to be a bit careful about charging towards you. Oh, and you can knock models over if you can manage to hit them with a hurled Goblin (which happens to be the strongest "throwing weapon" attack in the game). He's pretty crazy - and for only 130 points, he's very affordable.

Joining him is Gollum, who is often viewed as the second model to include when you run the Goblin King - having the possibility of the Ring with a F6 hero who can do horrific damage to his opponents is CRAZY. Gollum also has 1 Might and Heroic March, so if you NEED to get somewhere fast, you can. To shield the Goblin King and Gollum from fights they don't want to be in, you have 17 Goblin Warriors - which should provide a solid battle line (or archery pincushion) to keep your heroes from being engaged when they don't want to be tied down.

Warband #2: The Sneaky Recruiter

I don't like fighting the Scribe - he's a horrible model to fight. He's annoying. He makes objective-based games hard to win. When you're RUNNING the Scribe, though, he's amazing - just find a big piece of terrain to shield him from view and roll those Courage tests. We could have brought a Goblin Captain in this list instead of a war horn on one of the Hunter Orcs, but by taking the war horn, we not only help our Goblins/Orcs pass Courage tests better (Terror checks, for example), but we ALSO get more Goblins summoned (which is awesome).

Warband #3: The Sneaky Ambusher
If having a few extra Goblins arrive from the board edges is good, having a small warband of Goblins (and a hero) arrive on a board edge (or in a terrain feature) is REALLY good. This seven-man squad is basically 6 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears led by a Moria Goblin Captain without a shield. The Captain costs a bit more thanks to the ambush rule, but the cost is negligible (especially in this army).

Warband #4: The Grenade

Goblin-town gets critiqued for not having good models - this is solved pretty well with this warband. Bolg is a great hero (everyone agrees) and he's joined by 12 Hunter Orcs (the cheapest multi-attack models in the game) and 3 Fell Wargs. I've gone for maximum bows (5 Orc bows + Bolg) for honesty - you could trade these out for two-handed picks if you want to (but I think having something to bother your opponent can keep you out of a bad situation). 

The warriors in this warband give us three things that will help Goblin-town a lot: we've already mentioned the cavalry models, but it also gives us a banner. Goblin-town usually doesn't need banners because you're rolling more dice already than your opponent - but having a reroll will help too. The Hunter Orcs REALLY benefit from the banner (and since they can't be spear-supported by the Goblins, having a reroll is really good).  Finally, this warband gives us a war horn - which upgrades our warriors to C3 (better than C2, but not great) and more importantly makes the Goblin Scribe C4 (with 1 Will) - perfect for getting those Goblins more reliably (and more Goblins than you'd normally get each time). Are these things worth trading +6 models/warband? I think so . . .

Scenario Overview

This army has quite a few models - and some of them are multi-attack models! Let's see how they do in each scenario, shall we?

• Domination: Place an objective on a piece of terrain that you can ambush into - ideally near a board edge so you can support the arrival of the Mercenary warband. Bolg should be supporting the Goblin King (and Gollum) with that banner and war horn. Flood the middle with models (the objectives near the board edges can be harassed by newly-arrived Goblins from the Scribe). Speaking of the Scribe, make sure he stakes out a claim on a starting objective - support him with other Goblins if you need to.
• Capture and Control: Similar strategy - start the Goblin King and Bolg on the center line, keeping the Goblin Mercenaries in reserve to surprise the rear objective. The side objectives can be challenged by Bolg and the Goblin King if your opponent abandons the center, but you can also press them with newly-summoned Goblins from the Scribe. The Scribe, of course, is sitting on your back objective, supported by whatever models need to keep him alive. Unlike the previous scenario, you don't have control over where the objectives will be (which is less fortunate for your Mercenaries).
• Hold Ground: You have four warbands, but you're not worried about deployment in maelstrom. The Mercenary Captain should be in ambush, the Goblin Scribe should go down first (take whatever you get, deploy as close to a corner as you can), and then use the Goblin King and Bolg to deploy in support of the Scribe (spend Might if you have to). Once on the board, use Bolg/Gollum to March your army towards the center, getting your models to the center as quickly as possible (which ideally will be swarmed by Goblin Mercenaries).
• Seize the Prize: Unlike most of the lists we've looked at recently in this series, you don't have a heavy shooting presence in this army (just a few honesty bows), so you're rushing up the center with your army. Bolg and his wargs could ride head-long into the center, but the Goblins will be coming up slowly (unless Marched by Gollum or Bolg). Bolg is joined by fast infantry, though, so any Fell Wargs that arrive in the center can try to dig up the Prize (instead of having to dismount and try to dig it up). If you get the Prize, hide it away and race around the flanks. If you don't get it, have Bolg run down the person holding the Prize, with the Goblins racing in behind to support as quickly as possible.
• To The Death: Well, you don't want to be broken - so be careful with your newly-arrived Goblins (if you feed your opponent kills, you could be in trouble). Instead, deploy your new Goblins on the side of the board to help corral your opponent into an area - then arrive as one body to smash his army and break them. Losing 25 models is required to break you - and it could happen. If it does, just make sure you cut through enough of your opponent's army to break it.
• Lords of Battle: Well . . . crap. D3-D4 warriors (with new D3 warriors arriving basically every turn)? Not great in this scenario. If you can overwhelm your opponent (start on the center line, advance as quickly as possible), you could pull this off. But if your opponent shoots a bunch of you and then slams in quickly and deals a bunch of damage, you could be in for a LOT of trouble.
• Contest of Champions: You should place 1 Goblin in front of the Goblin King so he isn't charged by whatever your opponent wants (since first turn priority is important). If you're really afraid of things like chariots or throwing weapons, you can have two ranks of Goblins in front of the Goblin King, but you want to be able to throw the Goblin King into models he can crush quickly. Bolg and Gollum go head-hunting for the enemy army leader (Bolg can crush some warriors on the way in if he wants - though you don't want to break the enemy too quickly in this scenario or the game could end early). Kill the army leader, out-kill the army leader, win the game.
• Reconnoitre: Well, your newly-summoned Goblins can make a Thin Red Line to defend your board edge (since that's where they have to arrive), but your Mercenary Captain should look for a piece of terrain they can ambush into on your opponent's side of the board (so they can score for you). While your opponent is trying to deal with the Goblins, use your Fell Wargs and Bolg to race towards the enemy board edge (if you can't get any other models off).
• Storm the Camp: Um . . . your newly-summoned Goblins are going to come onto the board into your opponent's camp (or your camp if your opponent has given up on protecting his own). Depending on your board setup, you can either have the Mercenary Captain threaten the camps OR deploy in between to help run down models trying to invade your camp. Just make sure you have the Scribe and Bolg on the board at the start of the game - you want that war horn and the Scribe on the board first thing. Enjoy this scenario - it's designed for you!
• Heirlooms of Ages Past: Once again, we don't mind the Maelstrom deployment. Deploy the Scribe first, make sure the Goblin King and Bolg deploy near him, then advance onto the board. Make sure one objective is placed on a piece of terrain that you ambush into with your Mercenaries - you don't necessarily have to flip it right away, but you can at least puppy-guard it. The other objectives you place can be anywhere near the edges of the board (6" away, minimum distance) so you can call in Goblins onto the board as the game progresses to threaten them. Advance towards the objectives with your army - and turtle up if you get the Prize early. If your opponent does, tie him down with newly-summoned Goblins and run him down with your overwhelming numbers.
• Fog of War: Well, you should probably protect the Goblin Scribe - he's likely to be out of the way and protected. Alternatively, you could choose the Mercenary Captain and deploy him on your opponent's side of the board (to take control of your objective of choice). You can flood into the objective with Goblins summoned by the Scribe as well (if you need it). You should choose a hero that you think you can kill with Bolg (and Gollum and the Goblin King) - so basically, pick anything. :) Will you break? Maybe - depends on how long it takes you to get across the board and how many guys you lose on the way.
• Clash By Moonlight: You don't have a lot of shooting and you don't have high Defense - so get locked in as quickly as possible, use terrain to your advantage as much as possible, and then hope you can crush the enemy before he shoots you to death.

Modifications

I've chosen a convenient alliance for Goblin-town, but there are LOTS of ways you can run Goblin-town. We'll cover a few ideas here, but we've actually mentioned a few potential (and filthy) alliances in past posts - such as with Angmar or Sharkey's Rogues. Here are some detailed thoughts that build on the list we did today:

• Pure Goblin-town Spam - We're going to go full-cheese here and play with just Goblin-town. Banners? Don't need 'em. Mounted models? Not necessary. Shooting? Just chuckable Goblins. Worried much? Not really - we have 81 starting models, including the Goblin Scribe and two squads of Goblin Mercenaries (6-7 models in each warband). With a Captain to March our normal troops (plus Gollum if you really want to March with him), Grinnah for getting the Goblin King in good positioning, 15 Might points, and a LOT of disposable Goblins, we've got the makings for a fun army (if we can play fast enough to make it work).
• The Goblin King
• INDEPENDENT: Gollum
• 20 Goblin Warriors
• 3 Goblin Warriors with two-handed axes
• Grinnah
• 14 Goblin Warriors
• The Goblin Scribe
• 12 Goblin Warriors
• Goblin Captain
• 14 Goblin Warriors
• Goblin Mercenary Captain
• 6 Goblin Mercenaries
• Goblin Mercenary Captain
• 5 Goblin Mercenaries
• Ally with the Dark Denizens of Mirkwood - While this army won't give you any banners, you'll get a few fast troops that can help devastate enemy models. This army runs the "King and Queen" combo of the Goblin King and the Spider Queen - both of whom are escorted by models that can half your opponent's Fight Values (Gollum and a Bat Swarm). With 51 starting models, we have 30 models less than we had in the previous list, but we get more punch from the models we chose to take.
• The Goblin King [ARMY LEADER]
• INDEPENDENT: Gollum
• 17 Goblin Warriors
• Grinnah
• 12 Goblin Warriors
• The Goblin Scribe
• 6 Goblin Warriors
• Goblin Mercenary Captain
• 5 Goblin Mercenaries
• CONVENIENT ALLY - The Dark Denizens of Mirkwood: The Spider Queen
• 1 Bat Swarm
• 2 Mirkwood Spiders
• 2 Giant Spiders
• Ally with The Trolls - While we've been able to get one power hitter to support the Goblin King, at my house we've had a different ally to call in to assist: the Trolls. While all three Trolls can be fielded with Goblin-town, I think you get more value from allying in two of them. Taking Gollum and a Goblin Mercenary Captain costs points - so by leaving Bert at home, we can get both of them AND some Goblin Mercenaries. We end up with a pretty small list for Goblin-town (37 starting models), but you've got three big monsters supported by 25 Goblin Warriors, 5 Mercenaries, and extra Goblin Warriors as the game progresses.
• The Goblin King [ARMY LEADER]
• INDEPENDENT: Gollum
• 10 Goblin Warriors
• Grinnah
• 9 Goblin Warriors
• The Goblin Scribe
• 6 Goblin Warriors
• Goblin Mercenary Captain
• 5 Goblin Mercenaries
• CONVENIENT ALLY: Bill the Troll
• Tom the Troll

Well, those lists had quite a few models didn't they (most of them, at any rate)? Our next post in this series will explore an army that doesn't usually have a lot of models: the Misty Mountains. This army has TWO profiles in it and when I first saw the Armies of the Hobbit book, I thought this army was completely eclipsed by Radagast's Alliance. While the army composition (and army bonus) are expanded in Radagast's Alliance, their alliance chart is VERY different - and THAT is what makes it an interesting army to play. Get ready to spread your wings next time for a wild ride - until then, happy hobbying!