Black Orc

Black Orcs are a sub-breed of Orc appearing in Games Workshop's "Warhammer Fantasy" setting.

Black Orcs are bigger, stronger, and more clever than normal orcs and as such are much more dangerous. This puts them at the top of the heap of Orc & Goblin society. Being more organized and generally smarter than regular Orcs, Black Orcs can settle all their differences the night before the battle through head-butting duels and goblin-tossing contests. As such in a battle Black Orcs are not subject to the same animosity as other goblinoids. In battle, Black Orc leaders of units continually watch out for in-fighting within their unit. Should their menacing presence fail to keep the lesser greenskins in line, the Black Orc character will start smashing some heads together and order is quickly restored at the minimal cost of a few greenskin lives.

Due to their size and status, Black Orcs get the best weaponry and armour and are effective hand-to-hand fighters.

In early depictions of Black Orcs, such as in "Warhammer Armies" for 3rd edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Black Orc skin colour was actually black and they were not that much taller than orcs. Since then they have been shown with very dark green skin and are taller than a man when stood straight with a penchant for metal plate armour and horned helmets.

Origin

The black orcs were created magically from the ordinary orc by Chaos Dwarf sorcerers in an attempt to engineer a superior slave: an even bigger, stronger and tougher Orc who was not subject to the petty fighting and bickering of a normal Orc. They succeeded, but the Black Orcs were too strong-willed, so they led a revolt and many of them escaped from the lands of the Chaos Dwarfs and can now be found among orc societies across the Old World.

In Game

Within the game they are of particular use to Orc& goblin players due to their immunity to orc animosity. In previous editions of the game Black Orcs could also be fielded in the Chaos Dwarf army.

Due to their status (and to their greater strength), Black Orcs often carry more weapons than any other Orcs. They are said to be literally "armed to da teef". This is reflected in game terms with Black Orcs able to use any combination of weapons during combat to suit the needs(such as Great Weapons against monsters and the like, while a stunning array of choppas for swarms). They also wear heavier armour than their normal brethren and are the elites of Orc Armies.

Previously there was a whole army that could be made up of Black Orcs. This list is no longer official, but players with their opponent's permission may still use them. The list represented Grimgor Ironhide's horde.

Notable characters

*The Warboss Grimgor Ironhide, led numerous campaigns against Skaven and Dwarfs, and more notably, the failed attack on Kislev. He was a key figure in the Storm of Chaos Online Campaign where he knocked the Chaos Champion Archaon to the ground.

*Morglum Necksnapper is a noted black Orc who beat a Bretonnian army at the Battle of Black Fire Pass