Goblins Tactics

Goblins
Setting:	Age of Fantasy
Games:	Age of Fantasy, Age of Fantasy: Skirmish, Age of Fantasy: Regiments
Species:	Goblin
Version:	v2.50

Note: as v2.50 is in constant development the following might not be accurate.

Why Play Goblins

The Humans are pretty much bodies in numbers. You'll usually have lots of bodies and heroes capable of bolstering them.

Pros:

• An insane lot of activations, with a good load of Furious to improve your attack pools
• Your troops tend to be cheaper

Cons:

• Your troops are very puny
• A lack of long-ranged shooting without artillery

Army Special Rules

• Boing: Given to anything on a cave-beast for a random version of Fast. Normal moves add +2d3" to their movement while rush and charge actions add +3d3" to their movement.
• Inspiring Presence: An upgrade to the Boss and Cave Boss, this provides any attached unit of of Goblins, Cave Goblins, Wolf Riders or Spider Riders with a 4+ quality, making them into competent bodyguards.

Wizard Spells

• Spider's Might (4+): Friendly unit within 12" gains Poison in melee. Absolutely useful since you'll chiefly be relying and critfishing on melee.
• Glare (4+): One enemy unit within 12" takes an AP(2) Deadly(3) hit. While it can't target heroes, it can deal damage to brutes and chariots.
• Nuisance (5+): A friendly unit within 12" gains regeneration when they next get hit. Quite handy considering how easily you can lose goblins.
• Death Shroud (5+): One enemy model within 12" takes a three AP(2) hits. Better suited for cavalry smaller groups considering its AP.
• Sneaky (6+): One friendly unit within 12" can immediately move 6". This gives you a desperate escape button or possibly an easier charge.
• Curse (6+): Enemy unit within 6" take a hit per model, making this hell for mobs of grunts.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

• Boss: Your go-to leader for the goblins. They're cheap as chips and offer a decent selection of loadouts with all the melee weapons available (including the mount-exclusive lance), as well as the option for a shortbow for shooting and Inspirational Presence in order to improve your retinue.
  • Mounts: Your cheapest mount is the wolf, a Fast mount with its own attack and Impact(1). Slightly above that is the spider, providing Poison to its attack and Strider to overcome obstacles. The cave-beast gives you an unconventional steed, providing some AP(1) attacks, Fearless and Boing for a slight speed boost. The giant spider is your first monstrous mount, providing +3 to the boss' Tough value on top of all the other properties of the normal spider and more Poison attacks. The giant cave-beast one ups that with a boost to defense, Fear, some devastating AP(3) attacks, and Boing. You can add a second giant cave-beast as well to add more wounds as well as more AP(3) attacks.

• Cave Boss: A boss with Furious. This makes them more inclined into picking up additional weapons and mounts, as they work best there. That said, they're just as flimsy, so they'll require that retinue just as much as the normal Boss.

• Shaman: Your basic squishy wizard. Under no circumstances should they be allowed in combat unless you're providing a buff that requires them there. That said, they shouldn't be out fighting for long as unlike the bosses the shaman's retinue will remain a pile of chaff. If you plan on going offensive, the wolf is a necessary investment in order to cover ground.
  • Upgrades: Aside from boosting Wizard levels, there is an array of buffs you can buy one of for the shaman. Fear Monger provides Fear, which might help tip the odds of a combat in your favor. Mesmerizing provides Fearless, which helps keep your unit together. Moonshine Potion provides the retinue with a +1 to hit, which can help them keep their own in a fight. Mushroom Cloud grants a very welcome Stealth for protection. Potion Brew makes the enemy take -1 to Defense in melee, which has uses in breaking armored infantry.

• Cave Shaman: The Furious shaman. With the various buffs you have on hand, you might be convinced to run them like the cave boss. This can work for an extent, though you will remain incapable of contributing much to the fight and might even be a bigger target considering your magic. For this, you should prioritize the durability of the retinue after evaluating their power.

Infantry

• Goblins: Your basic troops are quite flimsy, but filling out your list with them is easy. Provided the right weapons, they can be incredibly handy. Spears give you some cheap roadblocks for any charging hordes and with a Boss with Inspiring Presence they can even be a threat.

• Cave Goblins: Goblins with Furious. Though they remain just as puny, Furious gives them a bit of an edge on the offensive. If you're looking for actual attackers, the cave goblins provide a cheap and numerous option for that.

• Hobgoblins: A smaller pack of cave goblins with a 5+ save rather than the 6+ of the classic gobbo. Though they lack any options for melee weapons, they can grab scrap grenades to provide shooting with AP(1).

• Cave-Beast Herd: A pack of angry cave-beasts, each with some dangerous AP(1) bites and Fearless as well as Boing to provide a sort-of answer to Fast. If you want to cut some of the randomness of Boing, you can get Cave-Beast Herders to let you re-roll one of the die for each model's Boing roll.

• Shroom-Sniffers: A small pack of goblins with pets for AP(1) attacks. They're not much on their own, but they do provide Power Shrooms, which give a friendly unit within 6" an extra attack for each model. This can help bolster any use of Furious and can compensate for options that a shaman might not have made.

• Runt Swarms: The chaff among an army made of chaff. Their Tough(3) lets them throw off any Blast templates while Fearless lets them hold their ground. Unique to them is that they carry bombs with Blast(3) so they can irritate anyone into attacking.

• Fanatics: A small pack of crazy goblins with a surprisingly good 4+ defense as well as some devastating swings at AP(1). Their central feature is Destructive force, which lets them walk through enemy units and possibly deal three AP(1) hits on a roll of 5+. This alone can make them an extremely wild force that just annoys the enemy and draws fire while your more organized forces can make their moves.

• Nasty Assassins: A gang of goblins with Ambush improved with their special rule, Surprise! This allows your assassins to pop up within 3" of an enemy unit and then hit them with a Deadly(3) on a 2+. Considering that this is a one-shot move, you'd be wise to save this on an important enemy hero so that they can leave without wasting their moment of glory.

• Archers: A gang of goblins with shortbows. While they're essentially the same as base gobbos, you'll be better served by keeping them at range so they can pepper the enemy with arrows. Otherwise, just rely on the goblins.

• Cave Archers: Archers but with Furious. The issue here is that you're only getting five of the buggers, which is kinda ineffective for any major attacking. They're just as effective up close anyways, so just keep that in mind if the enemy is too close to shoot.

Cavalry

• Wolf Riders: This light cavalry is pretty basic with itself. Your goblins have Fast and ride wolves with their own attacks, Fast, and Impact(1). If you want more Impact, just grab lances.

• Spider Riders: Basic cavalry with some extra tricks. Poison on the mounts lets some lucky hits deal more pain while Strider lets them cover more ground in moving. Whatever rules applied to the wolf riders still apply here.

• Cave-Beast Riders: The closest we have to elites with a 4+ quality. Of course, these guys come with Boing for a speed boost, Fearless to keep them swinging, and AP(1) bite attacks to rip through other cavalry.

Monsters

• Forest Trolls: A pack of monstrous trolls with AP(1) attacks. They're pretty tanky by having both Tough(3) and Regeneration allowing them to survive more punishment than the average pack of goblins.

• River Trolls: Forest Trolls with Strider, making them a bit more mobile. They also can buy Toxic Vomit, which provides a short-ranged shooting attack meant to take pot shots up close before charging.

• Mountain Trolls: Tougher trolls with a 4+ defense, allowing them to tank AP(1) a bit more easily. They can buy their own ranged weapon, giving AP(2) to crush heavily armored enemies.

• Giant Cave-Beast: The closest to a real monster of the lot. Fear acts as a complement for its monstrous AP(3) stomps and potentially break an enemy while protected by its 2+ save. Like other cave-beasts, it has Boing and Fearless, giving it the mobility boost. These are likely the monsters to be sent first, shrugging off most fire before they close in with the closest menace they can find.
  • Pair of Giant Cave-Beasts: For a price cheaper than two solo cave-beasts, you add +3 to the giant cave-beast's attacks and Tough value. Aside from that, they remain just as menacing and able to take one shot from a bolt thrower or the like before keeling over.

Chariots

• Wolf Chariot: A direct and violent unit, given both Fast and plenty of impact both from being a chariot and from its crew. It's primarily based in melee, though you can also buy some shortbows so you can have a mobile assault platform.

• Pump Wagon: An absolute oddball of a unit. Instead of Fast, you have the Pump rule that adds +4d3" to movement if you roll a 2+, but otherwise it'll suffer an instant wound and immobilizes it. While it offers a barrage of attacks by default, it comes with a ton of random rules you can buy for it.
  • Upgrades: Wings provide Strider, which can be pretty handy considering the oddness of its movement. The Sail slightly mitigates the movement issues and lets it add +2d3" to movement even on a 1. The spiked ram homes in on its charging value with extra Impact. For ranged weapons you can go for either bombs for a small blast or giant bombs to have the same bombs but with AP(1).

Artillery

• Giant Blunderbuss: Your cheapest piece of artillery, but it's also not as long-ranged as your other option. Placing it mid-field will provide you with a decent amount of AP(1) fire that can thin crowds before your gobbos come rushing in.

• Goblin Thrower: Curiously enough, this is your only artillery piece with Sniper to pick out enemy heroes. Though it's only one AP(1) shot, it may prove to be enough to nail an already-wounded hero or sergeant.

• Bolt Thrower: Where the goblin thrower merely irritates, the bolt thrower absolutely fells. With AP(2) and Deadly(3), it can easily harm most monsters and tanks. With its exceptional range, it becomes a very potent threat.

• Stone Thrower: Your last artillery piece is made specifically for crowds of all sizes. Blast(6) allows you to cover a decent number of squads with a good hit and AP(2) lets you flatten them with ease.

List Building & Tactics

General Advice

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Tactics

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See Also

• Goblins
• Goblins Quickplay Armies
• Age of Fantasy

Goblins
Overview - Tactics - Skirmish Tactics - Miniatures - Quickplay Armies - Skirmish Quickplay Armies

Age of Fantasy tactics

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