Welcome to the third of four articles about the races found in the Warhammer: Invasion Core set. Each of the races is designed to have a unique overall feel, as well as having multiple paths to victory.So far we have seen the tactics of the Empire and the might of Chaos . Now we look at the brutality that is the Orcs!

Mork’ll show dem! I go gets da boyz, an’ we be back to show dem who’s bigga! Once I get da Manflayer, an’ dat sneaky git wit’ da wyvern... Maybe not da Manflayer. He eat da las’ Orc dat ask him sumpin. But I get da boyz, an’ the gobbo wit da wyvern, an’ we go stomp da’ stunties! An after da stunties we can go stomp da squeakies dat was shootin’ arrers at us from da trees. An den go stomp da umies dat was buildin’ a house by the river. We could stomp everybody!

Orcs are savage. It’s impossible to describe it any other way. I generally describe the Orc method of solving a problem as akin to hammering a nail with a comet. If you’re the type of player that just likes to dive in and mix things up, or even if you just enjoy the rush that vicious combat brings, this article is for you.

The Power of Size
The Orcs are all about hugeness. The bigger, the better – and that applies to all facets of their lives (which is admittedly mostly about killing things and taking their stuff).

There are a few ways in which Orcs demonstrate their hugeness. One is by simply having big, horrifying guys. Grimgor Ironhide has lots of power, lots of hit points, and he also has a devastating effect when he enters play. They also have a fair number of polarized units; guys with really high life and lower power, or vice versa. If you play your cards right, Orcs can give you the best raw stats for your resources.

Another way to attain hugeness is via the Orc swarm. They have great supplemental cards that increase stats of all units in the same zone, which play very well with hordes of cheaper units. The strategy is single-minded and vulnerable to exploitation by crafty opponents, but it is brutally powerful and really fun to play.

The Way of the Berserker
Another way in which Orcs manifest their savageness is by getting stronger as they receive injury. Stompy cavalry units like the Boar Boyz gain power as long as they can smell blood on your side. This plays well with the basic Orc play pattern: attack, attack, attack, then attack again for good measure. If your opponent defends and doesn’t kill all the attackers they injure, your berserkers get even more vicious.

What’s even more awesome is that Orcs have a few clever ways to “self-berserk.” In their arsenal can be found cards that do indirect damage (this is damage that players allocate among their own units and capital any way they want). This is win-win for you, as you are pelting your opponent as well as making your own guys even bigger!

The Swath of Destruction
So you get the point, right? Bring out lots of little guys with augmentations, or huge guys and pound on your opponent’s capital until it burns. Fairly basic, tons of fun, and very tense for your opponent.

But is that all the Orcs have to offer?

Of course not. The greenskins have some awesome support cards that help you build up your kingdom or punish your opponent for developing too fast. They even have some clever kingdom management strategies if you know where to look. But if you’re building support cards, you’re losing the race to swarm the board with units. How to reconcile this?

Luckily, our broken-toothed boys have some endgame strategy as well. Need to reset the board and crush your opponent next turn? Dissolve all units in play, yours and your opponent’s, in a heap of Troll Vomit and laugh as your foe’s carefully laid attack plans fall to ruin. Oh, and if you’re losing some of your own units, feel free to launch them in a goblin-built Rock Lobber at your opponent’s capital instead. Are your opponents playing too many developments in their kingdom for you to overcome with straight up attacks? Lay waste to that rotten technology with Smash-go-boom!

Where Chaos is selective about its destruction, Orcs just like get in there and smash face. The only warning I can offer is that Warhammer: Invasion isn’t only about the battlefield. You will, at times, have to use the Orcs’ raw power to inhabit your kingdom and quest zones, or risk not having the resources or draw power you will need to bring out your fighting-mad mob.

If you can keep up though, nobody mixes it up in good old fashioned melee combat like the greenskins. Make sure to bellow your savage war cry (WAAAGH!!!!!) as your opponents crumble beneath your savage attacks.

Join me next time, for a look at the most stalwart of races, the Dwarfs.

Warhammer Invasion LCG is a card game, by Eric M. Lang, in which 2 players develop their kingdoms and lay waste to their foes. Each side is comprised of either the forces of Order -Dwarfs, High Elves, Empire- or the forces of Destruction -Orcs, Chaos, Dark Elves- as they seek to extend their empire to include the entire Old World.