Simple Miniature Games - Rackham - Confrontation - Factions

Orcs in CONFRONTATION are unusual, not just because the figures are so highly detailed, or that the style of the Orcs is different to the normal boring plain green finish that you normally see. The difference is that Orcs in CONFRONTATION are a superb army, not only are they extremely tough but they also do vast amounts of damage with their brutish weapons.

Whereas Wolfen are one of the most popular armies for CONFRONTATION Orcs are one of the rarer choices, this may be a bit of a mistake as Orcs can easily become one of the best choices for any player.

The problem is Orcs have been given a bad reputation in other wargames (mentioning no names) where Orcs are only any use in huge numbers, like a vast green tide, in CONFRONTATION single Orcs can hold their own against most opponents. Obviously this is very important for a skirmish game where single figures have to operate on their own and one warrior can often turn the tide of a battle.

Orcs are seen as the new humans, they are a relatively new race born from bloodshed and they are looking to make their place in the world. Since the creation of their race, the Orcs have had to fight; fight to escape the control of their creators: the Alchemists of Dirz, fight to survive in the arid and savage lands of Bran-Ô-Kor, fight again and again to preserve their freedom, which they had won at such a great price.

The Orc race has grown. It is now stronger, tougher and more determined than ever and above all, the children of the God Jackal are tired of fleeing the enemy and of hiding in their own lands.

They might not be very numerous, but every one of their warriors is as strong as two men and as determined as a hundred. They have learned the art of war and have trained wild animals to turn them into terrifying mounts. They are ready for the ultimate battle, which will either be a new beginning for their kind or the final destruction of their people.

Although the Orcs retain some of the standard fantasy characteristics such as their brutality and sluggishness, Rackham have wrought a little magic into them creating very human style barbarian nation. They are basically an escaped slave race fighting for their freedom

Hints and Tips:

The way the Orcs are presented in CONFRONTATION means that an Orc warband will often be quite small, in keeping with their low numbers, but will feature several basic warriors and several from the higher ranks. The Orcs have enough at their disposal to make a very flexible warband and can include cavalry, orc with crossbows, powerful sorcerers and an array of powerful warriors.

Orcs are strong and tough, but slow; these are the main things to look at when fighting with orcs. You need to maintain a solid battle-line advancing steadily and then brutally hacking apart your enemies as you go.

In a head to head fight the elite orcs (and often the basic troops as well) will hold their own against most opponents, if the Orcs win the initiative - they willl be deadly, but their low initiative value can be burden, however even if the enemy does land a blow the Orcs high toughness will make it difficult to do any damage at all. Orcs all have the "Brutal" ability which means they can deliver powerful blows that are difficult to parry, this makes them deadly close combat opponents, even the basic Orc warriors.

Due to their low numbers it's important not to get overwhelmed by cheaper troops, especially those with higher initiative values, if this happens even the natural toughness of the Orcs will not save them.

When fighting Orcs you need LOTS of troops, small cheap lightly armoured troops can decimate an orc army if you can overwhelm them before their friends turn up to bale them out.