Moria Army ideas

polywags · **Posted:** Tue Mar 25, 2014 6:10 am

Hey all,

I am wanting to start a Moria Goblin army. I really like the Gundabad blackshields and want to build something around them. I was thinking Giants bats to lower enemy fight values since the Gundabad's are so low. Are the bats any good or should I just toss them and get more goblins? Throw in Groblog and Durburz, thinking maybe Bolg/Gundabad general stand in as I am not a fan of the model of Durburz, a shaman, I like the drum too!

Thoughts?

Tezzy · **Joined:** Tue Dec 27, 2011 4:42 am **Posts:** 160

Admittedly I have only tried this style of army once, but I want to warn you of the path you are thinking of taking your army. You sound like you want to make an elite army of goblins, and in the end it just doesn't work out too well.

Don't get me wrong, all of the units you listed are great, and are great additions to a Moria army. However, when your entire army consists of these models, you will be paying a lot for what ends up being elite models who can't win a fight 2v2 (spear support), and you lack the numbers to swarm. You are trading the best skill of goblins for extra strength and defense, sure, but you will have a hard time winning fights.

So what I have found to be most useful is a core of tons of Moria goblin warriors, with then some Gundabad and/or Prowlers, which are great additions. As Moria lacks banners, if you are planning a 700 list you should definitely take drums (Blackshield drums are superior, btw), at 500 and less its up to you since it will be a major point sink you need to defend.

Bats are excellent, but need to be used carefully as they can be ganged up on. If you plan on taking Groblog, honestly you should be using at least 2 Shamans, but probably more. Since you can use Heroic Channeling on Fury now, I would only take Groblog if you plan on taking lots of Shamans instead of Moria captains. And remember, if you take Groblog, you probably should not be taking the Gundabad Shamans, who are pretty good but benefit none from the Adamantine Crown. Durburz is pretty good for his price, so yeah at 500+ you should take him.

So if you like Gundabads, plan for a 700pt list, you could get away with a full warband of them, use em as shock troops and use your other warriors to flank and encircle. Since you are slow, you will have to rely on heroic moves and mass numbers to take out spearmen and trap foes. Bats will be useful at taking out baddies with some help from your Gundabads and heroes.

Those are my thoughts! Good luck, post a list of what you are thinking on taking!

Hodush · **Posted:** Tue Mar 25, 2014 8:41 am

Bats are useful but you aren't going to take down anything of value (in a reliable manner) if they are teamed up with any goblin which is not a captain or king. They are really relegated to being used with characters, spiders, trolls and enraged beasts. If you were going to take the watcher, you could make a very reliable team at taking out heroes.

You are better off taking just one warband of elites at the most as you are losing way to much of your strength in numbers by taking them (or sacrificing other things like trolls). Trolls are very good. The drum is only good if you are maxing goblins really and is quite expensive, so is generally not used unless it is more than 500 pts, but is still worthwhile. People normally take 1 banner at 500, maybe 2, but the drum costs three which is too much.

You can't really afford to get Groblog and Durburz and other good characters imo - pick one and go with it. I dont see Grob as that useful due to channeled fury, but it would allow you to save the might points (not sure what you would be using them on though...)

Basically you have a few different strategies for the army. Fury is essential in practically all of them, just because it keeps you in the fight once broken.
1: Horde Basic troops, craptains & shamans
2: As above but add a troll and take out a few warriors - i find this is a good balance.
3. Hordes and beasts
When I build my forces I normally go with about 30 gobs and try and fight in some big hitters that go well together. (at 500 pts)

JamesR · **Posted:** Tue Mar 25, 2014 9:33 am

Have to agree with what everyone else has stated. Gundabad Goblins are shiny things that are best in small numbers. They just have to low a FV to consistently even get the chance to wound.

Bats are IMO a hero upgrade for Moria. If I take one I'll always pair it with Durburz or the Spider Queen as it just makes them even better. But on their own Bats are kind of wasted. You should never send them against anything greater than F3 (when they're by themselves) as their FV is too low.

As previously mentioned the Drums are nice at larger points battles. The Gundabad is more easily used but also much easier to kill, so you have to balance that. I seldom take one simply because it's hard to justify removing 25 goblins from my force for one.

Final note: If you dislike Durburz because of the pose, the arms are certainly changeable in terms of how they attach. I don't like the sword down pose so I altered mine to where he's pointing with the sword raised, it works out quite well for many situations on the battle - field aesthetically

whafrog · **Posted:** Tue Mar 25, 2014 6:30 pm

JamesR wrote:

Bats are IMO a hero upgrade for Moria. If I take one I'll always pair it with Durburz or the Spider Queen as it just makes them even better.

Or Druzhag... I find bats very useful when enraged, moreso than Wargs or even the Warg chief.

polywags · **Posted:** Tue Mar 25, 2014 9:30 pm

Ok ok, good to know before buying a ton of stuff not to use. What about gundabads as front liners with regular goblins behind? And Groblog yes or no seems like a point of contention I dont have the moria book yet so I guess I will wait on that. What about the inclusion of goblin town goblins? To add to the swarm with mix of elites?

Something like

Durburz

6 Gundabads w/Shields
6 Moria Goblins w/Spears

Shaman

6 Gundabads w/Shields
6 Goblins w/ spears

Goblin king
12 goblins

Goblin Scribe
12 goblins

Thats a little over 500

To bring it up to 600 or 700 add the drum and some bats maybe? Wargs would be cool but I've never found them super useful.

Tezzy · **Joined:** Tue Dec 27, 2011 4:42 am **Posts:** 160

I like it, just remember that the Goblintown guys can only support other goblins with Chittering Hordes. And then yeah, if you take Durburz, take some stuff he can enrage, like a pair of bats or something. Looks like a fun list.

JamesR · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2014 1:15 am

Tezzy wrote:

I like it, just remember that the Goblintown guys can only support other goblins with Chittering Hordes. And then yeah, if you take Durburz, take some stuff he can enrage, like a pair of bats or something. Looks like a fun list.

You're referring to Druzhag

polywags · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2014 7:25 am

Whats everyone's opinions on and taking Moria goblin archers?

Constantine · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2014 7:49 am

If I may join the discussion

. Groblog is a must since you don't only save 1 Might per shaman, but you also gain Groblog's Might points. If your 500 point army includes 3 shaman, this amounts to quite the extra Might points.

Furthermore a frontline of Gundabads supported by regular Warriors is an excellent idea; coupled with the 5+ save they become all the more durable.

Giant bats are tricky to use (without including Druzhag). I would suggest for the 500 points level use a Cave Troll or a Dweller in the Dark.

Durburz has a very good store of Might, and will hold your line in case something goes awry with the Shamans; he is good for 500 points games.

I would never include a drum in under 650-700 point armies.

With the new rules Goblin archers are - in my experience at least- horrendous.

Overall Moria is a diverse faction, and I'd suggest waiting for the rulebook before deciding on a list, since there are many different, yet equally viable ways of building a Moria force.

An example 500 force that I would happily take is:

Moria Goblin Shaman (123 points)
6 Gundabads with Shields
6 Moria Goblins with Spears

Moria Goblin Shaman (123 points)
6 Gundabads with Shields
6 Moria Goblins with Spears

Moria Goblin Shaman (123 points)
6 Gundabads with Shields
6 Moria Goblins with Spears

Groblog (130 points)
Dweller in the Dark

41 models
6 Might

polywags · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2014 9:38 am

Cool, cool! Thanks for the responses everyone. I definitely ordering the book and probably a couple sets of Gundabads. Thats kind what I would have figured about the archers. What about warg marauders? Again cool models lol. I converted a few! What do you guys think about the goblin town goblins though? Good inclusion or should I stick with straight moria goblins? I've already got goblin town so no worries either way. I do like the idea of the goblin king's blubbery mass aaaaand 5+ fury lol.

Thanks guys,
P

Constantine · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2014 9:50 am

Haha indeed, his blubbery mass save is a funny way to reflect his girth in game terms.

Warg Marauders are excellent units. They are Moria's only cavalry option, yet the riders can't be thrown off the mount, and the model has a bunch of Wounds, and Attacks; a truly lethal weapon!

Let us know how your army develops, and as a fellow avid Moria player I'd be more than happy to help you with any other questions you might have.

polywags · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2014 9:12 pm

Very cool. I appreciate it! I am about to order the gundabads, groblog and the sourcebook. Moria army is officially in the works!

Cheers,

P

Constantine · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2014 9:40 pm

Show the world who are the legitimate rulers of Moria, (and everything west -and also east) of the Misty Mountains!

Ow, If you search the Strategy subforum you can find many helpful discussions about Moria units (some are 2-3 pages back though).

Bronf · **Joined:** Fri Dec 07, 2012 12:40 pm **Posts:** 297

polywags wrote:

Whats everyone's opinions on and taking Moria goblin archers?

don't take goblin archers there not worth it. prowlers should be allright but that 18" does cost them a bit when u need to target other range people or that certain banner that is just out or reach. warg marauder are even better since they can fire in combat but i only personaly take 3 max.

polywags · **Posted:** Fri Mar 28, 2014 9:21 pm

Yeah! I want to squeeze some marauders in for sure. They're a little spendy though, points wise lol. If i were to include some marauders do you think a warg chief would be worth an inclusion? Maybe a little bigger points?

P

JamesR · **Posted:** Fri Mar 28, 2014 10:33 pm

polywags wrote:

Yeah! I want to squeeze some marauders in for sure. They're a little spendy though, points wise lol. If i were to include some marauders do you think a warg chief would be worth an inclusion? Maybe a little bigger points?

P

IMO not for the marauders as they're not Wargs they count as goblins so he couldn't benefit them much

Tezzy · **Joined:** Tue Dec 27, 2011 4:42 am **Posts:** 160

JamesR wrote:

Tezzy wrote:

I like it, just remember that the Goblintown guys can only support other goblins with Chittering Hordes. And then yeah, if you take Durburz, take some stuff he can enrage, like a pair of bats or something. Looks like a fun list.

You're referring to Druzhag

polywags wrote:

Whats everyone's opinions on and taking Moria goblin archers?

As bows are very cheap, I don't think they are a very bad choice in theory, however I would really only take the bow upgrade on spearmen. Since we lack a bow/spear combination model, you would have to convert them. If you plan on taking warg marauders, you probably won't need foot archery anyways. Also, using those goblin bowmen to convert marauders is always a good save of money!

LordoftheBrownRing · **Posted:** Sun Mar 30, 2014 3:38 am

Goblin archers are not bad if you only spam goblins and goblin captains.

In an army of that at 500 pts I think you could have 60 goblins 22 bow shots. Then 7-8 will hit a round. And they have a chance to hit. No matter what 22 bow shots is a lot......

But other than that style never bother to put some in some. If you don't put in all don't do it period.

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