Orc & Goblins Magic Items for 6th edition
by Avian
This is my view of the magic items available to the greenskins in the 6th edition army book, including some suggestions on how to use them.
Contents
Magic Weapons
When it comes to weapons my priorities are as follows: first seek to maximise the damage done with each hit, then seek to increease the number of hits. Now, when it comes to doing damage few things beat a good old great weapon, so if my characters have two available hands then that is what they get. There are three instances when I go without a great axe; the first is Battle Standard Bearers, who can't have 'em, the second is any character carrying the Ironskin Shield and the third is a boar-mounted character carrying the Armour of Gork + Enchanted Shield.
When it comes to doing a lot of damage there are generally five weapons that count: The Cleaver of Cleavage, the Club of Crumpin', the Axe of Bashin', the Sword of Hackin' and the Club of Fumpin'. Which one of these will do most damage depends on the situation, but if killing things is what you are after take one of these five.
Battleaxe of the last Waaagh! (+D6 Attacks, stops working after a 6)
Too unreliable and too expensive for my liking, taking the Battleaxe leaves you
with a crappy save and might fail you badly. I suggest you leave it at home.
Kleeva's Cleaver of Cleavage (Auto wound)
The only times you'll want this weapon is when fighting Greater Daemons and
other things with high Toughness and no save to speak of. It has much of the
same problems as the Battleaxe in that it severely limits what other items you
can carry. Probably the best you can get is the Enchanted Shield + Talisman of
Protection + whatever non-magical armour you can get on a boar. This gives you
a 2+ armour save and a 6+ Ward save if you're a regular orc and against any of
the obvious targets the effective save is reduced to a 5+. For the points the
Club of Fumpin is about as effective point-for-point and it is also better
against heavily armoured foes. Personally I'd never buy this item either.
Krumpa's Club of Crumpin' (No armour save)
Back in 5th edition we had a weapon called the Elf-Biter, Axe of Grom which did
the same as this and doubled the wounds inflicted for the same cost as this
one. Though worse value now it is still very good against heavily armoured
foes. Against T3 2+ or better save guys and T4 1+ save guys this is the weapon
to take, against less armoured foes take the Club of Fumpin'.
Basha's Big Axe of Bashin' (+2 Attacks)
More reliable than the Battleaxe, this is the item to give to a Black Orc
Warboss when he goes out to slaughter T3 5+ save whimps.... The problem is that
using a Black Orc Warboss to slaughter T3 5+ save whimps is a bit of a waste of
points. If you have trouble slaughtering whimps there are better and/or cheaper
ways of doing this. Why this is more expensive than the Club of Fumpin' I don't
know, because Strength is generally more valuable than Attacks. Another thumbs
down from me.
Hacka's Sword of Hackin' (Hits on 2+)
Fun against things such as Slaanesh characters protected by the Armour of
Damnation (opponents must re-roll sucessfull hits) and in a unit with the
Raptorous Standard (enemy model halve their WS). Otherwise useful against
skilled but whimpy guys (elves) with a moderate save. Not really a
general-purpose weapon.
Fumpa's Club of Fumpin' (+2 Strength)
I love this weapon and have done so ever since it was called the Ogre Blade
back in the old days. Fitting perfectly with my philosopy of maximising damage
with each hit this is a rich orc's great axe. It is, however, almost seven
times as expensive, so if my character can get a great axe he takes that
instead. Otherwise a very good weapon against tough guys (those with a T equal
to your S or higher) and all but the best armour save.
Kurbog's Curmudgeonly Clobbera (Stuns when wounds)
Well, the special effect of this item is fun, but it has no effect on enemy
grunts and against tougher targets you'll find it hard to do damage without any
combat bonuses. I don't like it.
Porko's Pigstikka
The Weapon of choice for a Warboss mounted on a boar (along with the Armour of
Gork + Enchanted Shield) who intends to get stuck into a bunch of whimps....
but again this is a bit of a waste. Could also be taken by a Big Boss (without
the Armour of Gork, naturally) or a Warboss on a Wyvern. And of course it has
the huge downside of only working when you charge. I am a bit indifferent on
this weapon, but if you can keep on plowing through the enemy then this works
very well.
Ulag's Akk'rit Axe (re-roll failed to hit rolls)
A poor orc's Sword of Hackin'. Not really very good, the more expenisve weapons
generally do more damage and the cheaper ones are more points-effective. Unless
you have a really good reason why I suggest you rather take the Club of
Fumpin'.
Duffa's Club of Duffin (+3 Attacks once)
Good if you don't expect your character to spend a lot of time in combat....
but in those cases you're probably better off just buying a great axe and
saving some points.
Ozat's Club of Smakin' (Knocks victim out of unit)
This has the exact same problems as the Curmudgeonly Clobbera, it has no effect
against the majority of targets and against those it has any effect against
you'll struggle to inflict any damage. Skip it.
Wallopa's One Hit Wunda (+3 S to one hit)
The best thing about this item is that it is so wonderfully cheap. If you have
a character who won't get into combat much then this little wonder is good
value. Another thing it does is smash chariots.
Magic Armour
It is very rare for me not to give my fighter characters either a piece of magical armour and/or a Ward save of some sort and magic armour is far more common in my army than magical weapons. As I see it they are a big investment of points and I'd like to keep them alive as long as possible.
Armour of Protectyness (5+ armour save, disregards first wound)
Not a bad piece of equipment, but a bit too expensive for my liking. Works
quite well against things that inflict multiple wounds, such as artillery, so
if your opponent keeps aiming his cannons at your Warboss, hoping you'll fail a
"Look Out, Sir!" roll then this might be the item for you. Also a
good thing for a Warboss mounted on a wyvern.
Armour of Mork (5+ armour save, Magic Resistance 2)
Magic Resistance should never be unerrated and this armour is good when your
Warboss is leading an expensive unit of Big 'Uns or Black Orcs. My problem is
that in the heat of battle I tend to forget the MR bit...
Ironskin Shield (6+ armour save, 4+ Ward save)
One of my absolute favourites. A Black Orc Warboss witht he Ironskin Shield,
the Club of Fumpin and heavy armour is dead hard in combat. It would have been
nice if this item was a Talisman instead of a shield, so that you could have
boh it, the Dead 'Ard Armour and a great axe, but I guess this is intentional.
Heartily recommended.
Armour of Gork (5+ armour save, re-roll failed armour saves)
Great if you have a good save in total, so a favourite of mine for boar-mounted
characters. Combine it with the Enchanted Shield and you get a 1+ re-rollable
armour save. This is even a combo available to Big Bosses. Great stuff, but I
wouldn't use it on models on foot or Wyvern.
Ugbrag's Lucky Shield (6+ armour save, disregards first hit)
About as useful against artillery as the Armour of Protectyness, the Lucky
Sield has the disadvantage that it leaves you with a bad save. You might also
be unlucky and the first hit you suffer might be from something puny that
probably wouldn't have hurt you. A bit too costly for my liking.
Drog's Dead 'Ard Armour (1+ armour save)
I used to love this back in the old days when it was a 2+ save and included a
shield, but now it's even better! This is the item you'll see most often in my
army (apart from Dispel Scrolls). Most often seen on Battle Standard Bearers
(along witht he Sword of Might) and given to a great axe carrying Big Boss if
there are no Battle Standards around. Two thumbs up!
Nobbla's 'Elmet (6+ armour save, 6+ Ward save)
Not a bad item for gobbo Big Bosses (combine with light armour, Enchanted
Shield and Sword of Might, for example). Personally I don't use gobbo Big
Bosses very much so I rarely use it.
Talismans
Talismans are various protective items, either from magic or from attacks. I nearly always give my Warboss some sort of Ward save, so if he doesn't get the Ironskin Shield he tends to get something from this list.
Sizzla's Shiny Baubles (reflects spells on a 4+)
Hailed by many as a really great piece of gear I'm less impressed. The main
disadvantage of this item is that it severely limits what the character can
carry. A Big Boss is limited to the Enchanted Shield or one of the 10 point
weapons, a low level shaman can't carry anything else at all. Personally I'd
rather they dropped it's effect on Irresistible Force and dropped the price to
25.
Warboss Umm's Beast Big Boss's 'At (5+ Ward save)
Decent alternative to the Dead 'Ard Armour if you're facing high Strength
critters (or if someone else in the army already nicked the Dead 'Ard Armour).
Another combo is the Big Boss's 'At, Dead 'Ard Armour and either the Club of
Fumpin (for those Grimgor wannabes), Porko's Pigstikka or a great axe. A good
item.
Magical Warpaint (5+ Ward save)
Like the 'At, only cheaper! Combine with the Effigy of Mork and either the
Akk'rit Axe or a simple great axe for a characterful Savage Warboss.
Glowy Green Amulet (Alternative dispel)
I would personally not touch this item with a ten-foot squig poker. Against
really powerful spells the risk of blowing up is too great and against lesser
spells the risk does not outweigh the cost. In really large battles you
could give it to a gobbo Big Boss, but generally I advice you to stay
away.
The Collar of Zorga (monsters must pass Ld test to attack bearer)
Not really very useful for everyday use, but if you have the points to spare
and know your opponent likes big monsters there's no reason not to take it.
Arcane Items
Usually I fill up the magic-item quota of my shamans. Usually I start buy buying a Dispel Scroll for each (minimum of two scrolls per army) and then using the remainder of the points on various gear that lets them throw more spells enemywards.
Staff of Baduum (+1 to casting rolls)
Useful for Great Shamans, but with the rather high chance of blowing up when
rolling so many casting dice you'll probably want the Knobbly Staff instead.
Buzgob's Knobbly Staff (re-roll casting dice once per turn, may cancel
Miscasts)
Should be considered compulsory gear for a Great Shaman, since it makes the
chance of blowing up so much less (since it's the original dice roll that
counts you have to Miscast two separate spells in a single turn to be
affected). Perssonally I only use the Staff when I roll a Miscast or when I
really really need to get a spell off. Remember that a re-roll cannot cause
Irresistible Force.
Dangly Wotnotz (+1 to a single magic dice)
A cheaper way to avoid a Miscast and can possibly cause Irresistible Force as
well. Personally I have never got too much out of it, but maybe that's just me.
Ditto's Double Doin' Doo-dahs (may cast spells twice)
Considering that the basic Waaagh! spells is a quite useful one this item can
be quite useful when your rolls for spell selection turn out less than
satisfactory. Also useful because it lets you use up those extra power dice
that get generated by the boyz.
Staff of Sneaky Stealin' (may steal an dispel dice from the opponent once
per battle)
The main objection I have with this item is that it's too expensive for a
one-use item. Sure, it might be useful, but for 25 points there are many other
items I'd rather have.
Enchanted Items
The problems I have with Enchanted Items is that after adding some magic armour, a weapon and maybe a ward to a character there generally aren't any points left for this stuff. In many cases this stuff is more fun than actually useful anyway.
Warboss Imbad's Iron Gnashas (+1 Attack with Killing Blow)
Killing Blow or not, 50 points for one more attack is more than I'm really
willing to pay. You may want to note that the extra attack is not noted as
being at the character's basic Strength, so leaving out the magic weapon and
just going with the Gnashas and a great axe might be worth it.
Effigy of Mork (enemies are at -1 to hit bearer)
Since Savage Orcs can't get armour you might have the points to buy this.
Personally I find it a bit too expensive, I'd rather it was ten points cheaper
or so.
Bigged's 'Ed Kickin Boots (one extra auto hit in combat)
Again something I consider to be overpriced by (at least) ten points. Far too
expensive for their effectiveness if you ask me.
Guzzla's Backbone Brew (bearer has Ld 10 for one test)
Still another expensive item and the fact that you have to declare that you are
using the item before rolling is a disadvantage.
Mad Cap Mushrooms (fanatics do 2D6 hits in the first turn)
Fun, if you want to make a unit containing fanatics even more expensive than it
already is. I'm not overly fond of fanatics in any case and including a Big
Boss or Shaman with the 'Shrooms to a Night Goblin uni makes the unit so much
more expensive.
'Eadbuttin' 'At (one additional attack with Killing Blow first in
challenges)
Finally an item that isn't monstrously expensive. The 'Eadbuttin' 'At isn't
amazing value (you get what you pay for), but it's fun, particularly with Black
Orc characters. I take it now and then.
Nibbla's 'Itty Ring (Bound Power Level 3 'Eadbutt)
Another nice item that has become common gear in my army. I use it first in the
magic phase, forcing the opponent to spend a dispel dice or risk getting an
expensive knight or champion killed. Also useful for whacking wizards.
Magic Standards
The Orc army is blessed with many and useful standards, a whooping nine of them! I tend to take a magic banner for all units able to take one, though my Battle Standard Bearer rarealy gets one and instead get the Sword of Might and the Dead 'Ard Armour or the Big Boss's 'At.
Mork's Spirit-totem (Unit has Magic Resistance 1, spells aimed elsewhere
+1 to dispel, enemy wizards in contact with unit can't cast spells)
A very nice banner, but since my Battle Standard is rarely magical I have
rarely used it.
Rowdy Grott's Big Red Raggedy Banner (common goblins in the unit get +1
Leadership)
With the carrier of this banner having a Weapon Skill and Toughness of 4 and a
maximum armour save of 5+ he might just as well paint a big target on his
chest. A Goblin Battle Standard shoud never get into combat.
Bad Moon Banner (unit is Stubborn)
Even worse than the Raggedy Banner, the Bad Moon Banner leaves the bearer as a
huge target. If it was 50 points I might be tempted to use it in an all Night
Goblin army as a unit banner, but as it is now it's a very high risk for the
dubious merit of being Stubborn at leadership 7.
Night Banner (missiles fired at the unit is at -1 to hit)
Very useful against things such as Repeater Bolt Throwers and handgunners. It
does not, however, help you against cannons, stone throwers or magic missiles.
Good against the right opponents, less useful against others.
Gork's Waaagh! Banner (+1 Movement when moving towards the enemy)
Suddenly your Boar Boyz are not out-charged by enemy knights any more (except
Dragon Princes). I have also used it with great success against an Elf Lord on
a Dragon who thought he was safely out of range of my Savage Orc Big 'Uns. That
was a mistake he was unable to regret.Very good for surprising your opponent.
Guff's Flag (re-roll one failed Panic test)
On occasion this banner has saved my battle plan when it let a unit continue to
advance across the table against a missile-heavy enemy. Quite nice and useful.
Nogg's Banner of Butchery (+1 Attack to all models in the unit once)
When given to a unit of Big 'Uns with spears this gives you an amazing 4 WS4 S4
attacks per model in the front rank, and that's not even counting characters.
Alternatively give it to Boar Boy Big 'Uns and charge in with 3 S5 attacks per
model (4 if Savage!) or a unit of Black Orcs and get 2 S6 attakcs or 3 S4
attacks. My favourite banner of all!
The Bashin' Flag of Bork
Interestingly this used to be a Weapon back in last edition. Then as now it is
often carried in a unit of Boar Boyz, who really don't want to fail an
Animosity test at a vital point in the game. If a unit has no magic banner they
should get this one (unless they are Black Orcs)
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