All About the Gnolls

Our figures are divided into themed drawers because we simply had too many minis for the canon generals. Currently I’m all excited about the three newest drawers: Drow, Gnoll and Prima Don.

My gnoll force took to the field for the first time last night. I’ve got about 1000 points total, mostly furry squads but there’s a few heroes. I am coveting the gnoll general and gnoll spell caster from the Dungeons Deep booster but they’re crazy expensive. I just can’t spend $20 Canadian for a single figure. I suppose I could make one- that’s what I should do.

I try to make each drawer complete as an army. The gnolls have light archers and spearmen – small weak figures with good move to get places first, steal heights and make targeted killings. I have used mage knight figures for these.

Reaper Bones have some nice big well armed gnolls and these are my heavy and medium infantry. I have a selection of D and D and pathfinder gnoll figures that round out what I have at present. I still need some cavalry- really I don’t need them- I just like cavalry.

I have seen pictures of some dogs riding gnolls but the dogs all looked like Scooby Doo. I’ll have to think about that. To me gnolls are a feral force, not domesticated pooches wearing uniforms.

Should gnolls and dog fighters get bonuses against skeletons? Don’t they like bones?

I was excited to field my new gnoll army for the first time. As you know getting custom figures correctly balanced can be tricky- and here I was fielding 800 points of untried customs. I’d tried to create them as best I could. I’ve had a hand in designing a couple hundred figures in our drawers....

I was facing my middle son’s Nordique army- one of his favourites. Nordique all started with the Tarn, and although the drawer mostly has Raelins (customed into a non-healing nasty stab you in the face squad) and a variety of Frost Giants it is still a formidable drawer. Niffy helps out too.

My son’s first response on seeing my massed gnolls was that it was a horde. Nordique can be expensive. His 800 points had resulted in 16 figures, whereas I had 36. But he had Nifleheim, and the great frost giant Siggurd, both worth more than 150 points. Not really comparable I’d say- apples and windows.

We were playing our Military Objectives scenario. There are five objectives and each person randomly receives three. You can also win by conquest. The terrain was fairly flat with a small height on each side.

I sent the bulk of my army up the middle. I like doing that because forces can be easily diverted to either side. A had a few token gnolls on each flank, with a few extra on the part with the height. Niffy and Siggurd quickly came up that side, hoping to take the height from me and destroy the archers and crossbows I had up there. I managed to engage them and slow them down but not for long.

My heavy gnolls had continued up the center towards the enemy flag but the Hadrada – Viking bows- with height- quickly felled them. I pulled back the rest of the gnolls out of range of the enemy archers because I just couldn’t deal with them. Two squads of Tarn were lined up in front and there was no way I could get at the archers quickly.

The ending is obvious. Thrown on the defensive, there was little I could do but try to hold my ground. My son kept steadily driving me back. I killed Niffy, but Siggurd survived and killed many and I lost the height with all my ranged units dead or on the run. I had completed only the assassin objective- Niflheim had been the target. Soon it was just a mopping up operation for my son and the gnolls were no more.

In the after battle review my son suggested that the gnolls were all too light. Not enough attack or defence, even the heavies and the heroes. So I’m making the lights even lighter and increasing their move by one and adding 1 attack and defence to the mediums and heavies. I bulked up the heroes a little too. Ready to try again!