Massacre at the Gates of Barak Varr

And there came a time when the mighty fortress of Barak Varr was once more laid under siege.

The Tomb Kings had wrested it from the Dwarves, slaughtering all inside, and now they themselves were under assault as thousands of malignant spiders swept down from the hills goaded and led by the cackling Spider Goblins.

Never before had so much evil been amassed in one place: both attackers and defenders.

And behind the lines, bundles of web filled with acid-mawed spiders were hurled, up and over the battlements into the waiting skeletons within.

The fusillade of arrows from the skeletons manning the walls was insufficient to more than slow the waves of arachnids and the spiders reached the walls with minimal losses.

To the west a siege tower infested with crawling horror clumped against the walls, disgorging hundreds of gigantic scuttling killers.

Already the defenders were flagging and the battle had barely opened.

Atop the back of his gigantic eight legged beast, the Spider King had already wiped out all resistance on the section of wall he had climbed. He turned the beast and immediately attacked the eastern tower.

In matters it was his as well.

And now the Goblin King himself reached the gates, hurling up a grappling hook with a cry of triumph as his spider horde scuttled up the wall around his climbing form.

The Goblin King dispatched the defenders rapidly, barely slowing, such was his hatred and thirst for conquest.

But from the north came reinforcements, galloping undead steeds and chariots, hurtling to defend their fastness.

But it was far too little and far too late.

Barak Varr belonged to the Goblin King now and their time of military superiority was at an end!

The Dank Water Treaty

In the north western foothills of the Hills of Varenka lie a series of deep pits that fill perpetually with dark brackish water. Under the sheltering branches of reaching trees, the waters receive little light and remain for the most part stagnant and odious.

It is an area shunned by men but infested by insect kind. Huge clouds of midges and flies swarm while many-legged crawling things as big as a newborn baby wriggle and squirm, searching for food in the damp and stinking foliage. It is a place with little virtue to sane folk and even less strategic value. It lies not on any route from here to there and exists only as a pit from which foolish animals might become mired and quickly lost.

And yet it is not a place unknown to the goblins of the Razor Webs, as certain luminescent floating leeches can be captured and used in the broth their shamans imbibe before battle. Goblin legend tells that drinking this loathsome medicine can aid a shaman in tapping into the iridescent power of the Waaagh. Whether this is true seems unlikely. Only one study has even been taken by a travelling loremaster and hedge wizard from Nuln. His initial conclusions showed no magical element to the intestinal content of the floating leeches, but he was murdered before much time had past.

Whatever the case, only a goblin would come to this place willingly and even they would not tarry long.

Only a goblin... or perhaps those that sought to do them harm.

But as the mist fell back, from its fetid depths strode four tall figures, clothed in thick plate armour that whispered and creaked as they walked, steam coming from the narrow slits from which their eyes burned, coal-like.

From the other direction came a rustle of skittering legs and nigh four hundred gigantic spiders crawled out of the fog to surround them, outnumbering the Warriors of Dunkel Schloss many dozens of times over. Still they seemed unafraid. They neither moved, nor drew weapons.

And then the spider parted and the Spider King came to meet them, Fang Dig, the Great Spider Shaman following behind. As they came into view, the Chaos Warriors stepped aside and the sorcerers Ovidium and Virgillium passed their guards and met them at the centre, close to the edges of one of the wide brackish pools.

"Speak," said Ovidium.

The Spider King smiled, then he laid out the proposal he had hinted at in his message: an alliance - against the fell undead creatures to the south.

Close, the goblins had come to Barak Varr and soon would be the reckoning between their forces and those of the Tomb Kings. The Spider King did not wish to fight a war on two fronts at this, most critical time. He suggested a pact: in return for a cessation of hostilities, the Goblins, when Barak Varr was theirs, would not contest the land to the east currently governed by the undead.

In addition, the Warriors of Dunkel Schloss would be free to strike at their other foes without fear of their eastern front coming under attack from the Chittering Horde.

Further, went on the Spider King, their joint assault on the lands of the dead would apply pressure on the undead forces in the far east, weakening their strength against both the Skaven; allies of the Goblins; and the Chaos Dwarfs; allies of Dunkel Schloss.

There was a long pause.

Warriors on both sides grew tense, ready to spring to battle, but the leaders of each contingent remained stern-faced and passive.

Finally Ovidium looked Virgillium in the eye before turning to the stunted little monsters. Then he too smiled.

"I will allow the Chittering Horde free reign over the lands of Dunkel Schloss. In return I expect unwavering loyalty to the Gods of Chaos and daily sacrifices to be made in their honour." 

The Spider King sneered, narrowing his eyes. 

"But of course."  

Massacre on the Lonely Approaches

Tim (Spider Goblins) vs Gill (Tomb Kings) 

Only five miles now from Barak Varr, and the host of the Spider Goblins had swept all resistance from their path, winning every battle bar one and now within sight of the towers of the ancient Dwarfen stronghold, now in the hands of the Tomb Kings. 

Horde after horde of loathsome spiders crawled over the moorland, cresting the final peak of the Hills of Valenka where the aged Dwarfen  rune stones stood, the Tomb Kings were fighting a withdrawing battle, mustering their forces closer to home for a final last-ditch defence, but the dregs of the previous slaughters were still battle-worn and in no fit state to attack, even in desperate defence.

Only a single host of skeletal warriors stood ready to prevent the breakthrough of the Chittering Horde and it would be not nearly enough.

The Goblin King, with eternal hatred in his heart, roared a challenge and charged forward and battle was begun.

Conjuring a whirling maelstrom of eldritch power, the tiny Night Goblin Shaman pushed it into the midst of the Tomb King forces, blocking off their advance down an entire flank as the bony steeds stamped the ground, unsure whether to proceed.

And as that flank pontificated, the huge Arachnarok Spider slammed into the serried ranks of the Tomb Kings, even as the Spider King and his giant spiders scuttled alongside. They planned to take out the Tomb Queen atop her Undead Rhinoceros with a sharp strike of the mallet but the surge of undead warriors that came back at them, quickly overwhelmed even these mighty beasts.

 But it wasn't enough. From the east came the throngs of spiders, led by the Goblin King; and as the Skeletal warriors hacked on the corpse of the Arachnarok, they left their rear exposed. The Goblin King took full advantage of this, pushing his spidery hordes into the remaining forces on that flank.

They destroyed a Screaming Skull Catapult, the deathly Hierophant, a Casket of Souls and then finally pummelled the bones of the Skeleton Warriors. The Goblin King himself slew the Tomb Queen with his Dwarf-forged axe Killa Killa.

All the Lonely Approaches were covered in creeping and crawling spiders as nothing now stood between them and Barak Varr, ancient hold of the Dwarfs and capital now of the Tomb King armies.

Special Character: The Goblin King

 
In the deepest part of the forest known to those who have survived its depths as the Razor Webs, a goblin was born, more spiteful and strong than any living goblin before him. But more, this stubborn and vicious creature was filled with undying rage against all creatures, tempered only so far as those of his own kind and those he could use for his own needs.

His bullying, nasty persona and his strong limbs rapidly gave him a position of power in his tribe and soon he was leading his followers into battle against the other disparate goblin factions within the woods, quickly assassinating any and all rival contenders for total leadership. In only one year and four days, the goblin had defeated every greenskin within the woods who might have opposed him and gathered all others under his dark banner.

Looking out from the branches of the tallest treetop of the forest at the greater valley of the Border Princes, the newly crowned Goblin King glared in undisguised enmity and quivering rage at those races that dared to draw breath within his sight.

He loathed them. He wanted to destroy them.

And now he had the forces to do it.

Marshaling the goblin commanders and shamans in his sway, he called to the spider lords to gather their swarms. Death was coming to the Border Princes until all but the goblins lay dead!

	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
The Goblin King	4	6	3	5	5	3	4	4	9

Points: 240 

SPECIAL RULES 

Hatred

MAGIC ITEMS

Killa Killa  (Magic Weapon)

An ancient Dwarfen rune axe, Killa Killa grants the Goblin King +3 Attacks


The Rockstone Helm (Magic Armour)


The helm protects its wearer, granting a 5+ Armour Save and a 4+ Ward Save

Designer's Note: The rules for the Goblin King are fairly legal with one minor exception. This guy is tough and as such he uses the base stats and points value of an Orc Warboss (he's just on a smaller base). The magical equipment is stuff out of the Warhammer rulebook. 


If you're interested in the model, he's the Goblin King from Avatar.

The Dead Fall, The Dead Rise & Chaos Blossoms

Tim (Spider Goblins) vs Gill (Tomb Kings) 

And in the south west as Nagash's dread magics had brought down meteors from the baleful green moon, a storm of magic swept the plains before Barak Varr. There the Chittering Horde descended on the Tomb Kings, wiping them out once more as the final battle between these forces drew closer. Every fight had been won by the goblins and this was no different.

Even as unholy sites were imbued with the power of Arcane Fulcrums, the wizards of both forces took command of the eldritch might, throwing devastating spells in all directions. 

It mattered nought. The Chittering Horde won as they ever had, crushing bone and banishing magic. 

The dead could no more stand against them than they could breathe again.

Tim (Skaven) vs Tomb Kings (Mike) 


And in the midst of the Border Princes, as Tomb Kings closed their skeletal claw around Spike Hole, the Skaven fought hard and bitterly. Again the power of the Arcane Fulcrums cascaded from the ground but again, the defending force were pressed to maintain control of it. The Tomb Kings tried to hurl the ratmen back from the field of blood but their power was not great enough.

Biding their power and not allowing their greed to risk losing control, the Skaven slew each enemy wizard, gaining the fulcrums and hurling the Tomb Kings back in turn.

Mike (Tomb Kings) vs Tim (Spider Goblins) 

But again in the south, scant miles from the gates of Barak Varr, the Chittering Horde finally outstretched itself. Drawing might from a new tome of ancient knowledge (the new Tomb Kings army book), the undead legion suddenly recovered the might that they had once used to slay every last dwarf in the Dwarfen City of the sea.

The Spider King and his unnumbered  crawling lackeys were more powerful than any living foe but this close to their fortress, the legions of death could not be defeated. It did not matter how great their strategy and how powerful their magic, the skeleton warriors showed no mortal weakness and an immortal strength.

In time, they drove off the goblins and their spider mounts, signalling their first defeat in this lengthening war and blunting at last their seemingly unstoppable surge to capture Barak Varr.

Chaos Daemons (Tim) vs Wood Elves (Gill) - Massacre

And so evil battled evil, waxing and waning as the fates decried and in the north, the spiteful Elves of Linwe  skipped into battle with those most unholy of enemies, the Daemons of the Pernicious Gate.

But pure evil cannot be destroyed and undiluted malice lay at the heart of the daemons, where once, millennia before the Elves had known goodness. Bloodwood Drakes soared into the air to destroy the things before them but flames cast high brought the first one low before it had even the chance to roar.

 As the other Drake neared the Daemon lines, fire ripped the Wood Elf lord from its shoulders and the throng of unholiness brought the beast down, surrounded on all sides by the devilishly clever creatures of chaos.

The bloodletters hurled themselves into the onrushing ranks of Dryads and Treemen as Seekers of Slaanesh ran ranpant behid then Elven lines. And soon only daemonic flesh stood amidst the blood and corpses. Only daemonic voices screamed of victory.

Tactical Review: Spiders & Bones

TIM: 

This was one of those nicely tight games.

Playing against my wife is always a pleasure. We tend to takes things fairly slowly, playing a couple of turns a day over half a week. That laid back method is kind of cool. She doesn't feel under too much pressure to play and we both get the pleasure of the game spread over a longer period.

The likely winner went back and forth but at the beginning of the game I was smug enough not to charge her Hierophant because I didn't think it would be fair: she obviously hadn't understood how important he was when she moved him close enough for me to do it.

Later on though, I was really struggling and plunging into one of my patented in-game bouts of despair. The placement of a magical vortex cast by one of my Goblin Shamans really got in my troops' way and prevented me getting my flanking reserves into position until much later in the game.

I'm really not sure I like magical vortexes.

Now, the Arachnarok Spider... How hard is he!?!? I stand by my decision not to add the catapult or great Shaman and he did very well. Not as well as I'd hoped - the Undead Rhino posed a difficult challenge that drained my wounds, but I got him in the end.

My chariots did well, providing a versatile troubleshooting group who would stay together or operate apart.

Nice.

My big spider units weren't as good as I would have hoped but that was partly because of the following...

What would I have changed if I could...?

I think a Battle Standard Bearer is absolutely critical for all Warhammer armies, and none more so than low-Leadership Goblins. I had at least one too many Goblin Shamans (too many actually to have cards for them - I had to cheat a bit and use Orc spells until one got killed). I should have had the Battle Standard Bearer instead.

If only I had a model to represent him!

Maybe I'll get one of my Shaman's with a pole and work my conversion magic...

Spiders & Bones

Tim (Spider Goblins) vs Gill  (Tomb Kings)

The Chittering Horde of the Spider King had never been defeated.

From the dark bowers of Razor Web Forest, a carpet of creeping and crawling monstrosities came, for the first time arrayed in all their grisly splendour.Never before had so many spiders been seen, goaded and driven by their sinister Goblin masters.

But their enemy was every bit as terrifying. Every bit as implacable.

Their enemy were the Tomb Kings of the Undead Nation.

The Tomb King forces had been driven back, almost to their lair of Barak Varr, the former stronghold of the Dwarfs, but they were still far from defeat or surrender and the silent legions marched on the scurrying ranks of the Spider Goblins!

The huge form of an Arachnarok Spider led the advance but the Tomb Princess riding one of her Undead Rhinos charged forward to meet it, both of them incredibly powerful and apparently undefeatable.

 

The behemoths crashed into one another, shattering the boughs of trees and sending up clouds of dust as the goblins on the spider's howdah cackled and screeched, poking forward with their spears. The Arachnarok Spider was amazingly potent but the Undead Rhino was every bit as tough as Warsphinx whose powers it emulated. The spider brought it down but at a cost and as the Tomb King Gashorah charged it he brought it down with a single blow of his terrible sword. 

Skeleton Horsemen, forming a vanguard force on their far right flank, circled in to deliver a punishing side blow, but their blank eye sockets didn't see the approaching chariots until it was too late. 

Wham! 

Three goblin chariots smashed through them without slowing, the initial impact alone enough to destroy them utterly.

 But it wasn't going to be so easy.

The Spider King and his riders were set to rout and even with the army's Hierophant vanquished, the undead marched on, their Tomb King and Tomb Princess leaders spurring them forth as the goblins bickered, only advancing sporadically.

Both armies had taken huge losses but they still fought on, circling and closing, until the last vestiges of the battle charged in, spiders crawling up and over the bony shoulders of their enemies and dragging them down.

 

The tide was turning. The resilience of the Tomb Kings could only hold out for so long against such overwhelming numbers. 

The last of the skeletons fought on but the fight was over. 

The spiders ground their bones into the muddy earth and then crept away and onwards. 

Barak Varr was growing close now. So close. And only one army now lay before the spiders and their quarry. One army of undead warriors, determined to enact their vengeance! 

Before it was too late...

Arachnarok Spider: Which Version Is Best?

The Orcs and Goblins newest mega monster is the Arachnarok Spider and never has a model come closer to giving me a genuine wargasm.

But there are various options open to the Orcs & Goblins player regarding kitting out this beast and as the options tend to involve irrevocable super glue activity it's worth giving some thought up front to the possibilities.

Basically there are three options:

1. Straight up, with just Forest Goblins on the back
2. With a catapult
3. With a Goblin Great Shaman

Let's look at these one by one:

Straight Up

The Spider is an amazing close combat monster, great at kicking ass in any environment. It's focused on doing one thing and it does it well.

With a Catapult

Well... I like the idea of the catapult and it looks great. But suddenly your spider is trying to do two things and it can't do them both without marginalising one or the other.

You can't shoot and march so getting into combat becomes a problem. For the points, if you're not in combat you're wasting your time. Meanwhile, if you get into combat you can't shoot!

And the catapult really isn't that great!

Nice try, but bad idea. I don't see anything positive to this option really.

With a Goblin Great Shaman

I was almost tempted with this option. Then decided against it.

Being on a monster allows your general to have an 18" Leadership bonus but the Shaman's Leadership isn't great really. Upgrading to the Spider Shrine is cool and gives a nice but slightly expensive bonus and the high line of sight gives some bonus to the spell casting.

But really, we're in a similar problem to the catapult build. This version is too diverse as one aspect penalises the other. And the expensive Shaman is FAR from safe on the back of the spider. FAR FAR from safe.

He can be shot at easily (and is likely to die quickly from bowfire), but worse yet, when the spider gets into combat (as it should as quickly as possible), attacks can be allocated against the Shaman by anyone in base contact. As he's so easy to kill and worth so many points, it's a no-brainer for your opponent to do so.

He really won't last long.

Overall Recommendation

• I recommend building the basic spider and keeping it focused.
• Build a separate Catapult and use it as a Stone Thrower like I did.
• Build the Shaman as a separate model (he is really cool), but like I did, build him so that he can go on the Spider if you ever change your mind. But I wouldn't bother.