The second mob of 35 Night Goblin spearmen is complete and joining the fray. As before, I have added netters and a Fanatic to the ranks for maximum mayhem.
A thicket of spears greets any attackers
I have more Fanatics to paint up that are not included in my starter army list. In battle, each mob will be lead by a Big Boss, turning it into a respectable fighting formation. A standard, full rank bonus, five extra spear attacks, a 5 in 6 chance of the attackers losing a point of strength – as long as they don’t have to take a leadership test, these guys are doing alright.
You don’t want to play catch with this ballThe battle line is drawn
It takes a lot of Night Goblins to make an army – 132 to be precise, according to my army list. There are three large blocks of infantry in the horde, two with spears and shields, the other with short bows. The whole army has base colours on already and the command groups are finished, but that still leaves a lot of rank and file to be completed.
I managed to get through the first mob, five figures at a time. The plan is to keep this up, while also working on other projects for variety. We’ll see how that goes.
A mob of Night Goblins marching to war
The fun (and most of the effectiveness) of a horde of Night Goblins lies in the whacky special weapons they can bring along. I’ve added netters to the regiment, which reduce the strength of attackers (if all goes well and they don’t entangle their own side).
The old snare and stab trick
In addition, there is a Fanatic hidden among their ranks, drugged up on mushroom brew and wielding a massive ball and chain, who will be shoved in the path of a charging enemy at the right moment.
Now he just needs to keep going the right way…
This is about a third of the army completed, leaving two more regiments and an assortment of squigs. I could also do with some more mountainous terrain, so I might give building foam hills a try.
After having bought Saga: Age of Magic and the Book of Battles at Salute, UndeadHighElf and I got two games in. With it being our first games of Saga, we skipped magic and war machines and played a standard Clash of Warlords, followed by Prized Possessions.
Pitching my Night Goblins against Dwarfs, I got trashed twice. The main setback in the first battle came early when my two trolls were beaten back by a handful of hand gunners defending a wall, neutralising my main strike force. In game two, I managed to destroy two of the three artillery pieces the stunties were trying to deliver to the local Elector Count, but the casualties suffered in doing so proved too high a prize to pay.
We really enjoyed the system and both left with plenty of plans for future Saga forces. With these Night Goblins being my first warband specifically built for Saga (I have a separate army for Warhammer Fantasy Battle), I have since expanded them using some spare models.
I painted up Gobbla and Gnasher and two Squig Herder teams which I can now use either as a unit of Hearthguard (potentially with heavy weapons) or Berserkers in a Horde force.
Squigs are high maintenance pets
Big teeth and a bigger temper
In order to have a standard bearer for both of my Warrior units, I painted up a classic Kev Adams sculpt. Finally, the archers were strengthened to a full Levy band of twelve, using plastic models I didn’t have a use for previously.
The Moonshine Mob is out raiding
Being slightly smarter than the rest, these gobbos engage the enemy from afar
I finished painting the remaining Night Goblins from the Knightmare Miniatures range so my warband is expanded and as complete as it currently can be. Thinking ahead for Saga, I can field three units of warriors, three trolls (I assume there will be some monster/monstrous creature slot), a shaman/wizard and the warlord.
While looking for any release info or beta rules that might be floating around (no luck there), I did come across a fan made project called A Fantastic Saga. Haven’t tried it, but clearly a lot of work has gone into the expanded rules and fantasy races that are available, so definitely worth checking out. Using the Kobaloi list, I could field my Night Goblins as a 6 points force.
Emboldened by their backup, the goblins charge ahead
Whether with flail or axe, goblins just like to bash things
If you can’t afford an axe, a wooden stick with nails does the trick
Knightmare Miniatures recently ran a Kickstarter to expand their mostly Kev Adams sculpted Greenskin Wars range. I used that opportunity to pick up the new Doom Goblins and a few more wolf riders and feral goblins.
Alongside the four goblin warriors that I am still working on, the Doom Goblins received a new leader in the shape of this big bruiser carrying a massive morning star. Might makes right in goblin society, so there wasn’t much discussion regarding his role amongst the expanding tribe.
You wanted to see my resume?
I think Kev Adams is doing some of his best work at the moment with this range so I really need to catch up with my painting. Also still looking forward to Saga Fantasy, although a generic goblin list would probably not do justice to their variety. Thinking about play testing the Doom Goblins as Saxons.
The Lost and the Damned 