Ork Unit Analysis: Burna Boyz

Burna Boyz

Burna Boyz are the first Elite we will be analyzing today, Burna Boyz are the pyromaniacs of the Ork society and are pretty badass on the tabletop. Coming in at 16 points per model, or 80 for 5, the burna boyz have an identical statline to a regular ork boy, which can be described as average at best. However, the poor ballistic skill is negated by the template weapons the burna boyz use. The template weapon mentioned is a Burna, which is identical to a flamer, however, they can be used in close combat as an ap3, two handed weapon, this does mean, however, that the burna cannot be used in the preceding shooting phase.

As far as special rules go, the burna boyz are identical to regular ork boys, this means they have 'Ere We Go! Furious Charge and Mob Rule. Burna Boyz themselves cannot be upgraded, though up to 3 models in the unit may be upgraded to mek's which can take anything from the Mek Weapon's list. I would not generally use this upgrade as I believe Mek's are more of a hindrance than a help, that being said, if the unit is in a transport, a mek could come in handy in repairing that vehicle if it is damaged, though as a rule of thumb I would not take a mek with this unit.

This unit is not very exciting upgrade-wise, however they are extremely useful on the tabletop and could be incorporated into any type of Ork army due to their versatility. One of the beautiful things about this unit being able to take a Trukk as a dedicated transport is that a Trukk is open topped, meaning that the entire unit can fire their burnas out of any point of the model. This includes the front grill and  rear spikes, this allows for huge versatility in terms of what they can target.

I would almost always recommend putting this unit in a trukk because it will give them the speed to reach where they need to be without taking too much damage. Remember that if the trukk moves too far or is penetrated, the chances are the burnas inside will not be able to fire as they are template weapons. against any horde army this unit is devastating, imagine pulling the trukk up next to a horde of hormagaunts and being able to place as many templates as you please in the same location, automatically hitting and wounding on 3's, ignoring both cover and armor, that is a lot of dead hormagaunts, same goes for many other horde armies, even rival warbosses! Even against tougher opponents burnas can be good due to the massive amount of firepower they give out, and if all else fails, Burna Boyz aren't half bad in close combat. Having an ap3 weapon makes them far more useful that shoota boyz and other such low tier units.

My recommended build for this unit is a unit of 12 burna boyz all inside a trukk, having another identical unit would be preferred. Having these 2 units on the flank of your enemy will provide a lot of pressure and distraction so that the bulk of your army can move up the center, such a build would cost under 450 points and would be a great asset to any army, especially when going against a horde army.

All in all I would strongly recommend any aspiring warboss to get at least a couple of kits of these fantastic models. They are very strong in both the shooting phase and the assault phase and cannot be overlooked when building a list.

Cheers,
Christian







 

My Thoughts on Age of Sigmar!

By far the most controversial release this year is the release of the Warhammer Fantasy Battle overhaul, Age of Sigmar.

News of this massive change in Fantasy has left the community divided, many take this as a fresh, new look of fantasy that has been long overdue. Others aren't taking the news so well, many would have seen the video of the guy burning his massive Dark Elves army, but there is and always will be stupid people out there eh?

But that is not the point of this article, after reading some of the rules and playing a few test games of Age of Sigmar, I will give my own opinion regarding this complete overhaul of Warhammer Fantasy.

Firstly the fluff has changed majorly, the Old World has ended and all we know and love has died... sort of. Age of Sigmar takes place after the events of the End Times, our story starts with Sigmar shooting through space like a comet, holding onto the core of the Old World, which happened to be made of a special metal called Sigmarite. From this Sigmar crafted a whole new plane of existence, completely free of Chaos. (nearly) Sigmar created 9 realms, each realm resembling a different wind of magic. (Fire, Light, Heavens etc) The ninth realm, however, was turned into an ashen wasteland similar to that of the Chaos Wastes on the Old World.

Sigmar somehow oversaw this slight nuisance and let it fester, believe it or not, the Chaos of the 9th realm broke through into the others and ravaged every single other realm excluding the realm of the heavens, the realm of Azyr. Here, Sigmars palace lies and is where he decided to make his last stand against Chaos. To aid him in this last stand he made an army of "Stormcast Eternals", these Stormcast were mortals that Sigmar found hiding from Chaos and were plated in Sigmarite armor, turning them into demigods. It is with this army, combined with the surviving forces of order, that Sigmar makes his push out of Azyr against the Chaos!

The rules of Age of Sigmar are completely rewritten from Warhammer Fantasy, there is no similarity. This new rule-set is far simpler than any other Games Workshop game system, this is made to cater more to people who are new to the hobby, who find using the To Hit/ To Wound charts frustrating. For a start Points are gone altogether, no more points! As of yet there is no official way of balancing armies. The basic way selecting armies works is the players roll off for who deploys the first unit, they do so, then the enemy thinks about what would be good to counter that and deploys accordingly. This allows for far more versatility in armies, and the complete disappearance of list writing means games will be faster and easier to play.

Many have and will complain that the lack of points allows for broken armies, and while this is true, it is not final, it can be countered. In old games of Warhammer Fantasy, when you saw your enemies army out and ready to go, there is nothing you could do to counter it, your list was written and there was no last minute changes, that was list tailoring. With this new way of army deployment, you can adapt your army to whatever your enemy decides to bring, for example: "Oh, my enemy put down a bolt thrower, I will put down some fast cavalry to counter that!" This then leads to your enemy putting down a unit to counter that fast cavalry etc.

All units and models now have pre determined to hit/to wound rolls that are consistent to matter what you are attacking. It doesn't matter if you are attacking a brick wall or a Dark Elf assassin, you will always be hitting on the same roll, same thing goes for wounding. This is obviously designed to make games simpler and quicker to play, there is no more asking your opponent what the toughness/ weapon skill of their model is.

The only thing that has stayed consistent with Age of Sigmar compared to Warhammer Fantasy is that each unit has their own movement value depending on whether they are mounted, dwarves, elves etc. Each unit has their own "Warscroll", which are available free to download from Games Workshop's Website. The addition of free rules was largely unexpected considering Games Workshops business model, though is much appreciated. The reason for these free rules, as far as I can see, is to enable more and more people to get into the hobby, an army book/codex was always expensive and now that the rules are free, more and more people will be likely to have games and at least, learn the rules.

The main rules are currently only 4 pages long, and are also available for free on the above link. Games Workshop has announced that they will be adding to these rules overtime, thus why they are not releasing a huge rulebook like Warhammer 40k has, yet.

Age of Sigmar is obviously a more light hearted game than Warhammer Fantasy, and I think such a change was ultimately necessary. The bland feel of Warhammer Fantasy has been greatly reduced in Age of Sigmar, partly due to the joke rules, but more due to the fact that Age of Sigmar has a far less competitive feel to it, no doubt this will annoy some people who play more for the tournaments and competitive games, though from a friendly gamer point of view, the new rules are a huge relief from the old rules.

Example of a Warscroll

Games Workshop has been marketing this new release massively, far more than any other release I can remember. They are sending representatives to many wargaming conventions around the world to both spread the word of Age of Sigmar and answer questions about it. Games Workshop has a very conservative business model, so this communication with the fans was very unexpected. Last week, in the first White Dwarf concerning Age of Sigmar we even received a free Age of Sigmar model, something which hasn't happened in my wargaming lifetime. It is blatantly obvious that Games Workshop has invested a lot of money into this change and they are doing everything in their effort to make sure it pays off. They have even changed the iconic Space Marine and Aquila out the front of the Games Workshop headquarters in Nottingham!

But the purpose of this post is not to deliver facts, but for me to give my completely subjective and highly biased opinion, and that is exactly what I am going to do.

I think Age of Sigmar is the best decision Games Workshop has had in a very long time. Many people will disagree with me here, saying that the heart and soul of Warhammer Fantasy has been ripped out and jumped up and down upon by the new Age of Sigmar releases. But what I truly believe is that Warhammer Fantasy lost its heart and soul long ago, it had become very black and white, a game that followed such a strict set of rules that many people gave up on it after a while. At my local Games Workshop store, we would see a maximum of 1 Warhammer Fantasy game per month, compared to the multiple 40k games being played every day. It is not untrue that Games Workshop had neglected Warhammer Fantasy for a long time, but I think its neglect was justified as there is only so much you can do with one universe, Fantasy has been around for a very long time, and of late it had become same old same old, nothing new and exciting until the End Times came along.

Archaon (finally) Ends Warhammer Fantasy

After staying stagnant for many many years, the End Times and the eventual Age of Sigmar were very refreshing, making Fantasy interesting again for many people. At my local GW the other day, I saw many people actually excited this new release, something which rarely happens as this particular niche of hobby seems to be very pessimistic. Having this many people rearing and ready to jump straight into the completely fresh Age of Sigmar truly inspires enthusiasm within hobbyists such as myself, it seems Games Workshops marketing techniques are paying off!

One of the biggest complaints about Age of Sigmar is that there is no balancing system, and I agree with this, that there are most certainly going to people who go out of their ways to find ways to make their armies super powerful and nearly unbeatable. But let me tell you right now, no matter how well balanced any game of this type is, no matter if it is Age of Sigmar, Warhammer 40k or even Lord of the Rings, there are always going to be people who are going to find ways to break the systems. There is always the option to just decline a game against someone you know is in that particular gaming meta. While for some an undesirable option, simply denying a game means you will always get to play against other people who are playing for fun, not playing to win.

People say tournaments are going to be impossible with the lack of balancing, and for those of you who enjoy the whole tournament scene, never fear! As with 40k tournaments, tournament operators are going to find their own ways of balancing the rules to create a far fairer experience for everyone. One of the ways people are suggesting it might be balanced is using wounds, a completely reasonable idea. Others are already thinking of formula's which incorporate various aspects of a units statline to create a points system which can easily be used whilst in a tournament.

The issue of bases is easily resolved, Games Workshop has even released a statement saying that your models can be on whatever bases you damn well please, whether that be square, round or triangular, mount your models however you want, bases are irrelevant in Age of Sigmar so pick whichever base makes your models look best, I am about to start rebasing all my Empire halberdiers on 25mm round bases, I reckon they will look sick!

Ultimately, Age of Sigmar is a far more simple and quick way of using your models on the tabletop, with whatever flavor, color or size base you want. Your models are now far more free to do what they want and your army is more flexible and versatile. A whole new strategy has come from Age of Sigmar, one I cannot wait to start tackling head on, and I know many people share my enthusiasm.

There will be people that won't like Age of Sigmar, and that is fine, I can see that it is not a game for everybody, but it definitely caters for more people than old Warhammer Fantasy catered for and for that I think we are all grateful, having an influx of new hobbyists into your local GW or FLGS will bring about new opportunities and experiences for everybody.

Cheers,

Christian  

Ork Unit Analysis: Gretchin

Gretchin

The Gretchin are the second troop choice in the Ork codex, and are by far the weaker of the two. Rocking perhaps the worst statline in the game, the Gretchin are 9 times out of 10, useless. Gretchin are WS2, BS3, S2, T2, W1, I2, A1, Ld5, Sv- and cost 35 points for a unit of ten Gretchin and a Runtherd, who statwise is identical to an Ork Boy. Lets start with an analysis of the Runtherd!

The Runtherd is essentially the leader of the unit, an Ork Boy tasked with forcing swarms of Grots to run screaming into their enemies midst, killing any who disobey. A runtherd has identical rules to an Ork Boy, 'Ere We Go and Furious charge. 'Ere we go is largely wasted on the Runtherd as the rule only has an effect on units composed entirely of models with the rule, Gretchin do not have 'Ere We Go so the rule will never come into play. (Unless the Runtherd is the only model left in the unit) 

The Runtherd comes base with a Slugga, Stikkbombs and a Grabba Stikk, which is close combat weapon which reduces the enemies attacks by 1 if they are in a challenge, not super useful given that a Gretchin unit would be decimated by nearly anything in the event of a melee. For 5 points, the Runtherd may take a Grot Prod, which is a close combat weapon which allows the Runtherd to discard all of its attacks for a single Strength x2 attack. In the Runtherds case, this would make it a S7 Ap - melee attack due to the furious charge special rule. I would personally take the Grabba Stikk over the Grot Prod as S7 will not be instant killing the majority of the time, so it would often be a wasted 5 points. 

For an additional 5 points, the Runtherd may take a Squig Hound, which, if the unit fails a morale check, does D6 Strength 3 Ap- hits to the unit and forces it to reroll the morale check, this can only be done once, the hound cannot do this twice per phase. This is, I think, essential to the unit as this unit lacks the Mob Rule, and due to its low leadership, will flee a lot of the time. Bringing this relatively cheap upgrade doubles the chances the unit has of staying put, always nice for Orks! Not only thia, but the model comes with a squig hound, so for WYSIWYG sake, bring a squig hound!

The Gretchin themselves are very weak, however, they are very cheap! A gretchin costs 3 points per model and can have a max of 30 Gretchin per unit, this makes the unit only 95 points without further upgrades, pretty good for a 30 wound meatshield! The Gretchin themselves come with no special rules, and only a Grot Blasta  for wargear. A Grot Blasta is a 12" S3 Ap- Assault 1 gun, so it is nothing impressive, though in a unit of 30 at BS3, it has the potential to cause some harm to weaker enemies. For every 10 Gretchin you can take an additional Runtherd, so that is up to 3 per unit for 10 points per model, not necessarily worth it, though good if you like the extra wounds. Rules-wise there isn't much else to say as these guys are a pretty basic unit.

I would personally never put these guys in a transport, the only reason people would bring them is because they are cheap troops choices, so putting them in a transport is going to slowly build your points up and up until they are not so cheap anymore! While many Ork Warbosses will never see a unit of Gretchin on their table, those of us who just love Combined Arms Detachments might consider bringing this unit to stay battle forged because they are so cheap. 

Gretchin make good objective holders, their height means it is far easier to hide behind cover, and your enemy will typically not perceive a unit of Gretchin as a huge threat, meaning they can often go unharmed for entire battles. This means Gretchin can really win you games when come the time to calculate Victory Points, you remind your enemy that you have had a unit of gretchin sitting on an objective the entire game, bumping the game in your favor.   

I couldn't justify bringing Gretchin other than their tiny points cost and their objective secured, they are extremely weak in game and nearly everything is wounding them on a 2+, and without armor means they will die quickly if your enemy chooses to target them. This means always keep your Gretchin in cover if possible, and if you really want to keep them alive, remember they are tiny so they can hide behind units of Boyz, giving them a 5+ cover save.

Cheers,

Christian

Ork Unit Analysis: Boyz

Ork Boyz

Geez, where do I even start? This post will likely be the longest of all the tactics for Orks, so ready yourselves!

9 out of 10 Ork armies are going to contain some amount of Boyz, 8 out of 10 of these are going to majority (model wise) boyz, this is because Boyz are the better of the two troops choices and form the backbone of any Ork strategy, we see this through the formations and detachments available to the Orks, most of which require some amount of boyz.

Boyz make up the majority of any Ork Waagh as they are the most numerous of all of the Greenskin species. Boyz love nothing more than a good scrap, and take more joy in the melee than everything else combined. Some Boyz prefer to use a big gun, but they still love to club their enemies (and sometimes friendlies) over the heads with them, to great effect. For the amount of armor a Boy wears, they are especially tough, it requires a weapon of quite a high caliber to pierce the flesh of the standard Ork boy. Ork boyz aren't very intelligent, and most ventures eventually dissolve into a violent brawl, they rely on Nobz and Warbosses for leadership, because the majority of Boyz have an absence of initiative.

Now let's start having a look at the rules for these models on the tabletop. An Ork Boyz unit costs 60 points base, and comes with 10 Ork boyz, all with Sluggas and Choppas. The standard Ork boy has the following statline; WS4, BS2, S3, T3, W1, I2, A2, Ld7, Sv6+. At 6 points per model, these are amongst the best standard infantry in the game for their relative points. Let's compare these boyz to another troop of similar points, the imperial guardsmen. 1 point cheaper, these guardsmen have 1 less WS, 1 less toughness, and 1 less attack. While guardsmen do have a higher save, initiative and BS, the lasguns they wield are weak in comparison to the sluggas and shootas, which actually have an AP.

The unit type is infantry, so no dramas there, all of the Ork HQ can join Boyz squads with the exception of Boss Zagstruk and each can make these units so much more powerful.

Let's start with the special rules; They have 'Ere We Go!, which allows them to make use of the Waagh! special rule conferred by the Warboss, 'Ere We Go! allows for the player to reroll a single dice when determining charge ranges, which is super useful if you are like me and fail all of your charges. Once per game, when the Warboss calls a Waagh!, all Ork Boy units can run and charge in the same turn, so think about this for a second. You move 6" in a trukk, disembark 6", run 6" and Charge 12" with a reroll on one dice, that's a potential of 30" worth of movement per turn (if you are lucky)

Ork Boyz squads also have Furious charge, which is not a major deal as it only gives S4 on the charge, though this is definitely a step up from S3 and is uncommon for a troops choice, imperial guardsmen etc do not get the same luxuries. The Boss Nob that can go in this unit benefits greatly from this, especially if he has a power klaw. A boss nob is S4 base, so the power klaw becomes S8, which S9 for furious charge. That's right, a S9 powerfist, not even Space Marine captains get that!

The final special rule Ork Boyz get is the Mob Rule, which is super useful given the Boyz low leadership. Basically, when a squad fails a morale or pinning test, they roll on the following table:

• 1 - Born to Fight: If this unit is in combat, it is treated as having passed the morale check and play resumes as normal, if they are not in combat, they fail as normal.
• 2-3 - Breaking Heads: If the unit contains 1 or more characters, (including independent) the unit suffers D6 S4 Ap- hits, these are randomly allocated though cannot hurt any of the characters. IF the unit does not have any characters, they fail as normal.
• 4-6 - Squabble: If the unit has 10 or models, it suffers D6 S4 Ap- hits which are randomly allocated. If it has fewer than 10 models, they fail as normal.

This table is usually pretty good for the Ork player, most of the time you will meet these prerequisites (unless you run squads of 10) and you won't turn tail and run.

The basic wargear that comes with an Ork boy squad is a slugga, choppa and stikkbombs. A slugga is a 12" S4 Ap6 Pistol, which is fairly good for a 6 point model. A boy also comes with a choppa, which is just a close combat weapon. This is good as it grants the boy 3 attacks base, more than any other basic infantry in the game. Finally, boyz get stikkbombs, which are 8" S3 ap- small blast assault grenades, useful as they stop the annoying charging-through-terrain initiative nerf. For 6 points per model, this basic wargear is generous. However, it gets better with the upgrades!

For starters, you can include up to 20 additional boyz for 6 points a model. As the old saying goes, boyz before toyz! So make sure you have nice beefy squads, not only will this make the unit a greater threat to your enemies, but it also makes leadership checks harder for the enemy to force and gives you a better chance on the mob rule table. I say a better chance because there is a 50% chance you will roll Squabble, which requires 10+ models. However, be aware that a trukk, the boyz transport of choice, can only transport 12 models, so depending on your playstyle, a smaller squad of 10 or so would be better for you. For those of you that like to use boyz with warbosses/painboyz/meks for buffs and meat shields, consider taking them in an open topped battlewagon so you can have a bulkier squad.Of course, if you are running a greentide list, there is no excuse not to have squads of 30 boyz with painboyz, footslogging it across the field.

Next up is the option to take Shootas, these cost 1 point per model and as a general rule of thumb I always bring my boyz with these very nice additions. A shoota is essentially a slugga with an extra 6" range and an extra shot. I would put these on par with boltguns, I say this because even though a boltgun has an extra ap and 6" of range, you do not have the ability to charge after shooting, something that is priceless in games, especially for Orks. You do lose an attack by taking shootas, however 3 attacks on the charge per model is still formidable, especially for 7 point models. (6+1 for shoota) No matter the circumstance, a shoota is always a good option, if you have a small squad in a trukk, they can zip around to where you need the support and help out with ~20 shots or you could slowly steamroll your opponent with 30 footslogger boyz who are putting out ~60 shots a turn, nothing to be underestimated.

The next option is the worst of all options, and that is the option to give the entire squad 'eavy armor for 4 points per model. I say it is the worst because it is so expensive, it turns a boy into a 10 point model, with a shoota that's 11, nearly the same price as a marine. And while slightly more expensive, a marine is better in nearly all regards (excluding attacks) and so trying to make your boyz more survivable is going to end up costing you more points that could be allocated elsewhere, where they are truly needed. The only time I could foresee 'eavy armor of boyz being useful is if you really want a deathstar unit, though I think nobz should be used for deathstars, not boyz...

A Silly 'Eavy Armor Boy!

Next on the list is the option to, for every 10 boyz in the unit, take either a Big Shoota or Rokkit Launcha, these cost 5 points a piece. While this wargear is strictly situational, I always bring a big shoota in all of my Boyz units. The rokkit launcha on the other hand, I would never take. I say this because you have a 1 in 3 chance of hitting due to an Ork's abysmal ballistic skill. The big shoota is assault 3, strength 5 ap 5, having 3 shots, the big shoota will statistically always hit at least once, better than the rokkit launcha, which will always statistically miss. Earlier, I mentioned that bringing these weapons is situational, what this means is that if you are using your boyz for CC, I wouldn't recommend bring either, as it causes the unit to lose an attack. However, in any other unit configuration, I would suggest bringing a big shoota. If it turns out your list is over by a couple of points after adding it all up, drop the big shoota from one of your units, 9 times out of 10 they will do nothing all game.

Next up is the option to take a boss nob for 10 points. I don't care who you are, what your unit is made to do, but you MUST take one of these in every unit, they are worth every point. The ability to take any ranged/melee weapons cannot be overlooked or underestimated, not to mention the optional bosspole! The Boss Nob gives the unit an extra wound and an extra attack, but more importantly gives access to additional wargear, let's run through it; The ranged weapon list I would personally ignore, the ability to take a kombi skorcha may be considered though, as flamers are always awesome for Ork's as it negates their poor ballistic skill. The melee weapons list draws attention however, particularly the Power Klaw, which is essentially a power fist, costing 25 points. This is awesome for our Boss Nobz as the aforementioned furious charge makes these klaws S9 Ap2 on the charge, for a regular sergeant, this is incredible. I run all of my Nobz with slugga, power klaw and bosspole, leaving them relatively cheap but very powerful.

The bosspole is a no brainier, for 5 points I see no reason why you wouldn't take it. Especially in a green tide list, you want to make sure your boyz don't turn tail and run, there is no better way to ensure this than to have a reroll on the old Mob Rule table. This can save your unit more than once, and can in turn save you the game. There isn't much more say about the bosspole or the boss nob, other than make sure you are taking both, even if it just for the reroll on the mob rule table, I guarantee you won't regret it.

The final option for our greenskinned friends is to take a trukk as a dedicated transport, a trukk is 30 points base, though anyone with half a brain cell would at the very least upgrade it to have a reinforced ram, allowing it to reroll dangerous terrain checks. The small transport capacity of the Trukk means that a unit larger than 12 will not be able to fit, meaning a green tide army will have little to no use for Boyz in Trukks. Other than this, I would generally always put my boyz in a trukk. You may even consider chucking them in a battlewagon, this does use up a heavy support slot, though does mean a unit of 20 can move around quickly. And remember, Trukks and Battlewagons are assault vehicles!

All in all, Boyz are very multipurpose, though there are definitely some stronger builds than others. As stated at the start of this article, no matter what kind of commander you plan on being, the chances are you are going to have at least a couple of squads of Boyz, and you can have hundreds of these models further into your Ork career, especially those of you who love your green tide lists! I think I have about covered everything I can for this unit, hope it answers any questions you might've had!

-Christian

Ork Unit Analysis: Boss Zagstruk

Boss Zagstruk

Boss Zagtruk, commonly known as simply "Da Boss" is the leader of the stormboyz and is described as "One of the most shockingly violent Orks in the Galaxy". He is basically the commissar of the Orks, one of the very few leaders who is a disciplinarian. He does not tolerate stupidity and incompetence, and it is not uncommon to see him killing one of the grots under his command for the slightest step out of line (or just because he wanted to) and such is feared by many Orks, not to mention their enemies. 

Coming in at 65 points, Zagstruk looks good on paper, though he fails in practice. His staline is that of a nobz with strength 5, 4 attacks and Ld 8. He has no special rules of note but his warlord trait allows all Ork units within 12" of him reroll morale and pinning tests, incredibly useful for Orks. 

His wargear is pretty standard stuff; slugga, choppa, 'Eavy armour, cybork body and a rokkit pack. The cybork body is a nice addition, giving Zagstruk a 6+ FnP. The Rokkit Pack is more of a hindrance than a help as it turns him into a Jump Infantry unit type, meaning the only unit he can join is Stormboyz, I will explain later why this is such a bad thing. Before I get to that, an interesting piece of wargear Zagstruk gets is his legs, Da Vulcha's Klaws. He got this set of augments after being torn in half by a dreadnought. These give him a strength 8 ap 2 Hammer of Wrath which can be used to surgically remove certain models from units. 

The only way you can possibly use Zagstruk is with a unit of stormboyz, this sucks as stormboyz aren't all that impressive... Their upgradeable 6+ armor makes them super squishy especially as it is hard to get them in a transport. (unless you use open topped battlewagons) While Zagstruk and his boyz can make good use of cover, any weapons that ignore cover (cough, Tau, cough) will decimate these units and so unless Zagstruk is lucky, chances are he will be dead before reaching combat. 

Another potential tactic is to deep strike Zagstruk and his unit, though this is not really advisable as it means you cannot charge and you are in close proximity of their guns, the 2D6 run can alleviate this as you can spread out far easier than a D6 run. Especially in a mixed list, I would never deep strike a stormboyz unit, though this tactic can be considered if you run a stormboyz based list.   

Unfortunately Zagstruk is probably the least versatile of the entire Ork HQ because of his unit type. In a stormboyz based list, he would be a fine addition, and these lists are actually quite practicable as they can run 2D6 and if a Waagh! is called they can still charge.

For his unit type alone, I would not recommend anyone take Zagstruk, I have brought him on a few occasions to fill up points etc and he has let me down every single time.

- Christian (The bossiest boss that ever was boss)

Ork Unit Analysis: Kaptin Badrukk

Kaptin Badrukk

Next up is the Freeboota King, Kaptin Badrukk. Before we go any further, can I just give a massive kudos to Games Workshop for this absolutely fantastic model, I wouldn't be alone in saying this is the best infantry model in the Ork range, and that's saying something, Ork models are awesome!

Badrukk is the leader of the Freeboota clan, which are essentially space pirate orks, awesome eh? Badrukk is obsessed with being the richest Ork there ever was and will stop at nothing to achieve that goal. Badrukk is described as a tactical genius (by Ork standards) and thusly is highly sought after by Ork commanders as a mercenary, though he is by no means cheap!

Coming in at 110 points, Badrukk is quite frankly a letdown rules-wise, I would describe him as average at best. His statline is that of a Nob's with an extra attack and WS5. An interesting thing to take note of is his armor, he is the only model in the Ork codex to have a 3+ armor save, this comes from his armor which is a set of power armor with a built in shield generator, giving him a 5++ invulnerable save, something we all know Orks lack.

Badrukk has no notable special rules, though his warlord trait allows him to reroll a single failed saving throw each turn. For wargear he has a slugga and choppa, stikkbombs, a bosspole and a gitfinda. This is pretty ordinary stuff, but the gitfinda does give him BS3 if he stays stationary, which is always nice for a shooty character.

Other than his armor, Badrukk also wields a heavily modified Ogryn gun, which fires plasma canisters instead of the regular high caliber bullets. The gun is 24", S7, Ap2, Assault 3, Gets Hot. While having potential BS3, I still think this gun is less than average, if it were S8 it would be completely worth it, though the inability to instakill most things and its short range are real letdowns. Badrukk can also bring up to 3 ammo runts for 3 points each which allow him to re-roll a single failed to hit, though they are one use only.

If I were to take Badrukk (Which I wouldn't) I would most likely stick him in either a Trukk or Battlewagon with a unit of Flash Gitz, this gives him the ability to get to where he is needed, though is does render the gitfinda useless, as he will most likely always be on the move. A unit of flash gitz and Badrukk inside of a Battlewagon could be potentially very effective, lots of potential ap 1, 2 or 3 all at assault 3 and strength 5, with Badrukk at strength 7. A maxed out unit of flashgitz with badrukk are putting out 33 shots a turn, most of those at Strength 5 ap D6, which could potentially be very scary, or scarily disappointing. Such a unit would have the ability to gun down an entire squad of terminators, though there is the potential to roll poorly and not kill a single one with Ap3 or worse.

All in all I would not recommend bringing Badrukk in any Ork army unless for fluff purposes. He is relatively expensive for what he does, which could be potentially killing himself with his own weapon. For the 110 points you could take nearly 2 more squads of boyz, or a Deff dread or some Killa Kanz, all far more useful.

-Christian (The kingliest king that ever was king)

Ork Unit Analysis: Mad Dok Grotsnik

Mad Dok Grotsnik

Mad Dok Grotsnik will be the first unique character we analyze here and he is by far the best,I would dare say he is better than even Ghazghkull Thraka. Fluffwise, Grotsnik is a painboy who has gone insane with rage and bloodlust. Personal painboy to Thraka himself, Grotsnik is more of a warrior than a painboy, always at the head of the pack, desperate to sink his needles and blades into the enemies flesh. 

Grotsnik comes in at a grand total of 160 points, and is worth every last point. Rocking a Nob's statline with toughness 5, 4 attacks and 3 wounds, Grotsnik is one of the toughest Orks out there. For his wargear he hosts a slugga and powerclaw, a cybork body (6+ FnP) and the regular painboy tools. He has furious charge and One Scalpel Short of a Medpack special rules, the latter giving him and his unit fearless and rampage, but restricting him to being stuck with that unit for the rest of the game.

His warlord trait is 'Brutal But Kunnin', which gives him a reroll on a single failed to hit or to wound roll every turn.

While a very brutal character on his own, his major role is obviously within a unit, not only does he give it fearless and rampage, but he also gives out a 5+ FnP. Obviously you will put Grotsnik in a melee unit such as nobz, or even boys. To give you some insight, is you were to join Grotsnik to a unit of 10 nobz all with slugga/choppas, that unit would have base 5 attacks, maximum of 8 attacks per model on the charge, thats upwards of 80 attacks for one unit, not including Grotsnik, who can also have up to 8 attacks. Especially if you intend on having a death star unit, Grotsnik is a must. 

One might also consider putting Grotsnik with a unit of meganobz, I say this because meganobz lack the invuln save that their terminator cousins so cherish. Having a 5+ FnP makes a unit so much more survivable, giving the model a 1 in 3 chance of surviving after failing its 2+ armor save. 

The fearless is something the Orks so desperately need, he is the only character in the entire book to give out fearless, even Ghazghkull Thraka likes to run away! The only other model to give out fearless is the 6" bubble on the Stompa, which is impractical for smaller games. This rule alone makes Grotsnik perhaps the best character in the entire codex.

The only perceivable downfall with the mad dok is that he loses the independent character special rule when he joins a unit, the only way for him to leave is if the entire unit is destroyed. This hugely restricts the versatility otherwise offered by Grotsnik. It would be quite common for your enemy to target Grotsniks unit first, as it is such a major threat. This could leave you at a huge disadvantage if you get unlucky and Grotsnik is left with just one other model, which your opponent would then potentially ignore.

The positives definitely outweigh the negatives and I would recommend Grotsnik to anybody who wants a relatively large Ork army. 

-Christian (The maddest mad dok that ever went mad)

Abaddon the Despoiler

One thing I wanted to get out of my system, something that infuriates me in this hobby, is people that believe Abaddon is a total failure, a shadow of Horus and not worthy of the title Despoiler of Worlds.

But this is completely wrong, Horus was the one who messed up, it was Horus who led the Chaos Legions to decimation and it was Horus that failed in his task. Abaddon saw the tactical flaws in Horus' plan. Wait, what plan? The entire idea of the heresy was to spear tip straight into Terra as fast as the warp could take them. This obviously led to the failure on Terra and the splitting up of Chaos' somewhat coherent fighting force. Lets look at the Battle of Terra hypothetically. If Horus had won, he would have been emperor for approximately 22 seconds.

 The Ultramarines, the Dark Angels and the Space Wolves were all en route to Terra and would have arrived soon after Horus was crowned Emperor. The traitor legions that were on Terra would have been at half or less than half strength, and would have been facing the largest legion in the galaxy, the greenest army in the galaxy and the legion who were designed to hunt and kill other space marines, all 3 of these legions were at relatively good strength and would have doubtlessly smashed Horus and the remaining traitors.

"Horus was weak, Horus was a fool. He had the galaxy in the palm of his hand, and let it slip away."

-Abaddon the Despoiler, Archfiend of Chaos

In this hypothetical, where we assume The Emperor could be killed, and Horus succeeded, then it would have been highly likely that Horus would be very badly wounded after the fight, perhaps even unable to lead. This would leave; Deamon Angron, not a very good choice as a leader, Possessed/Deamon Fulgrim, too up himself to lead, Transfigured Lorgar, who nobody liked, and lastly Pertuarbo, who would likely have become Leader at that point as he was one of the last sane (relatively) ones on Terra. Put the tactical might of Pertuarbo up against that of Roboute Gulliman and see who the victor would be.

Abaddon saw the battle of Terra for what it was, a mistake. That is why he had the body of Horus destroyed when Fabius Bile tried reincarnating him, to save the forces of Chaos from another colossal screw up. Abaddon realized that this "Drop everything and attack Terra" idea would never have worked, thus why he is on his 13th black crusade. The first 12 crusades were in fact not failures, just steps of preparation leading up to the final crusade against Terra, if Abaddon wanted to, he could attack Terra whenever he pleases, though he realizes that in the long run, it would not achieve anything, he would be on Terra for Days at max before the rest of the Imperium arrived and banished him back to the Eye of Terror.

Now lets look at Abaddons characteristics, much unlike other Chaos leaders such as Kharn, Typhus, Lucius and Ahriman, Abaddon is the only one who has mental fortitude. I would not be surprised if he was offered deamonhood on deamon prince status on a daily basis, each God trying to get Abaddon under his command. Though Abaddon, unlike the others, resists this and stays true to himself, true to his purpose. It might be just me, but I don't see Abaddon as the one to pray to the God's at every chance he gets, rather, he still acknowledges his humanity and his freedom of choice, something stolen from many other followers of Chaos.

In conclusion I think people should stop and see Abaddon for who he really is, the first Chaos warlord with more than 2 brain cells.

Ork Unit Analysis: Painboy

The Painboy

The final generic HQ we will be analyzing is the Painboy, one of the blandest, yet most essential of the HQ choices. The painboy is the apothecary of your army, though he is cheaper, and is an independent character. This is important as it allows him to join any unit he wishes, giving the potential for some very nice builds.

To start off with, he has the stat line of a nob, with a un-upgradeable 6+ armor save. He costs 50 points base and comes with an 'Urty Syringe and a set of Dok's tools. An 'Urty syringe is a melee weapon which is Poisoned 4+, Ap -, making it the only poisoned weapon in the ork's arsenal. This is obviously useful at wounding things with high toughness, not that this matters though as your army should contain models which are S10 or S9. The Dok's tools confer FnP to the unit the painboy is with. The painboy is very limited with options, it can take from the Orky Know Wots list, though nothing here is of interest, and from the Runts and Squigs list. The only item of note here is the grot orderly, which, for 5 points allows the painboy to re-roll a single failed Feel No Pain roll, this is useful, though not to be relied upon. I would not recommend taking grot orderlies, however, keep your painboyz base so you can bring more of them.

Painboyz are useful in any list except for a Mek based list. The best list to take painboyz in is Green tide lists, they are a relatively cheap means to give your unit of boyz extra survivability. In an unbound list, I would recommend putting a painboy with every squad, this will make your Ork army far harder to kill, giving them extra survivability against small arms fire.

Painboyz are also very useful in units like meganobz, meganobz are slow and lack an invuln save like their terminator counterparts so a feel no pain save is the next best thing. Any unit, however, can benefit from a painboy unless they have s special unit type, such as jump infantry or infiltrators.

There is not much more to be said about the painboy, they lack options but are crucial to any good Ork army, Feel no Pain saves cannot be underestimated, they really can be game changers, especially for orks. Every Ork army should try and bring these, though I believe a Big Mek takes preference as they have far more versatility than a painboy could ever hope to have.

Cheers,

Christian (The Painiest Painboy that ever caused Pain)

Ork Unit Analysis: Mek's and Big Mek's

Mek's and Big Mek's

 

The next HQ we will take a look at is the Mechanics of the Ork society, the Mek's and Big Mek's. Let's start with the regular Mek's!

Mek's

Mek's are interesting little models and you would be a fool not to take at least one, before anything else, these Mek's work similar to techmarine's, you can bring one for every other HQ choice in your army, so they do not take up a force org slot. However, if you do this, they must start the game in a infantry or artillery unit and are not independent characters. 

 

Mek's rock the same stat line as a boy, and are base 15 points, making them, as far as I know, the cheapest HQ in the game. They come base with the same weapons as an ork boy but with Mek tools, these allow them to repair a vehicle on a 5+. They can be upgraded to have a S7 chainfist for 30 points. This upgrade, in my opinion, is not worth the points cost, might as well just bring more mek's! The mek may be accompanied by a grot oiler, which lets it re-roll a single failed repair test. For 5 points, there is no reason not to take one of these. And finally, the mek can take anything from the mek's weapons list, the only item of significance in here is the kustom mega blasta, which is a 5 point, 24", S8, Ap2, Get's hot slugga. 

 

A mek is a handy addition to any army, for 15 points, 20 max, he can get you out of some potential sticky situations, I can tell you from experience, there is NOTHING more annoying than your trukk getting immobilized and having to watch your boyz foot slog it across the board getting shredded by any form of ranged weapon. Mek's can repair immobilized results, making them worth their weight in gold to any user of Trukks or Battlewagons.  

Big Mek's

Big Mek's are just that, Mek's but bigger. A Big Mek is a nob where a mek is a boy, and he rocks the appropriate stat line. S4, T4, W2, A3, Ld8 (Better than nobz). A Big Mek also has far more options than a mek, and is an independent character, meaning he does not have to join units but can camp in a vehicle, repairing it as it goes. A big mek is 25 points base, and is equipped identically to the regular mek's though has lots of room for upgrades.

 

Firstly, a big mek has the options to increase its armor save to a 4+ or a 2+, if equipped with mega armor, the big mek can take a tellyporta blasta or a kustom force field. A tellyporta blasta is a teleporting gun which is 12" range, S8, Ap2, 6's causes ID or auto pen. Good, but the short range and low BS makes it impracticable, especially as it costs 25 points, I would rarely, if ever, bring it to a game. A far more expensive upgrade, but worth every point, is the Kustom Force Field, one of the most useful items in any ork army, it gives any model within 6" a 5+ invulnerable. This is one of the only invuln saves the Orks can get, and it is essential in any unit you want to survive, such as Meganobz with a Warboss or a unit of Nobz. However, keep in mind Mega Armor confers slow and purposeful to the unit, meaning it cannot run, so the KFF should go with meganobz or around vehicles, conferring the 5++ save.

A kustom force field can also be taken by a Big Mek wearing 'eavy armor, however, this replaces his slugga, meaning he has no shooting attacks. If the Big Mek does not bring this, he can bring a Shokk Attack Gun, which is a new weapon as of this codex and has a chart for if any doubles are rolled during rolling for the 2D6 strength. This result can go very well or very poorly for the Big Mek, ranging from his blast gaining the vortex special rule, to his gun overheating and him being removed as a casualty. This rule alone makes the Shokk Attack Gun unreliable to take, and could potentially be a waste of 85 points.

Big Mek with Shokk Attack Gun

Apart from this, the Big Mek can bring a S9 Chainfist, probably worth it if you plan on getting your Big Mek into close quarters, most likely a bad idea, but sometimes inevitable. The big Mek can take from any of the wargear lists, though the only items worth taking are "Da Fizer Uppers", which allow the big mek to make repairs on a 3+ or the cybork body, which gives him a 6+ FnP. If you are bringing a Kult of Speed army, consider putting a Big Mek on a bike with a Kustom Force Field, further buffing your warbiker mob. 

Bringing at least 1 kind of Mek is essential no matter what type of Ork army you play, they are useful around the board and only a foolish warboss leaves for battle without one! The versatility of the Big Mek's gives you an edge in battle, you can use them as close combat monsters, ranged warfare supremacists, cheap fillers that sit in your important vehicles repairing them or support characters that follow around important units, giving them a much needed invuln save.

Cheers,

Christian (The mekkiest mek that ever did mek)

Ork Unit Analysis: Weirdboy

The Weirdboy

Coming up next is the next HQ in the book, the Weirdboy. Weirdboyz are the only psychic units us Orks get, and the only models in the game that access to the "Power of the Waaagh!" discipline. To be honest, these models aren't worth the HQ slot they fill up and I would most likely never bring one to a game, no matter what the points limit was.

A 45 point model, this guy rocks WS4, BS4, T4, S4, W2, I3, A3, Ld7, 6+ , a pretty average statline for a pretty average model.

He comes with psychic mastery level 1, though, for a heft price of 25 points, can become level 2. Other than that, this model can take no other upgrades, meaning that your 6+ save is not getting any better. He has a special rule which gives him +1 warp charge if an ork unit counting more than 10 models is within 12" of him. If he does not pass a psychic test however, he takes a single S2 hit with no saves allowed, this is wounding on 6's, so it's nothing to worry about.

He comes with a weapon called a "Weirdboy Staff", which is S+2 Ap4 Force weapon, the ap4 means you wont be hurting many things with multiple wounds anyway, rending the force rule near pointless.

The only redeeming factor for this model is his ability to choose powers from the Powers of the Waagh discipline, as well as either demonology disciplines.The Ork powers are as follows!

• Primaris Power - Frazzle (Warp Charge 1): Witchfire, 24", S6, Ap3, Blast
• 1. - 'Eadbanger (Warp Charge 1): Focused witchfire, take a toughness test or lose a wound, no cover or armor saves
• 2. - Warpath (Warp Charge 1): Blessing, Psykers unit gains +1 Attack
• 3. - Da Jump(Warp Charge 1): Blessing , Psyker and unit arrive via deep strike anywhere on board, if doubles are rolled for scatter, unit fires snap shots.
• 4. - Killbolt (Warp Charge 2): Beam, 18", S10, Ap2, Assault 1
• 5. - Power Vomit (Warp Charge 2): Witchfire, Template, S7, Ap2, Assault 1
• 6. - Da Krunch (Warp Charge 2): Witchfire, 24", S2D6, Ap4, Assault 1, Large Blast, Barrage, If an 11 or 12 is rolled, resolve more attacks into a 10 or less is rolled.

 Some of these psychic powers are really outstanding, especially Warpath, +1 attack for Orks means so much.However, there is only a 1/3 chance you will get that power at Mastery Level 2 so it cannot be relied upon. The powers you get at the start of the game really determine whether or not this model was a waste of points.

The best unit to put this model with is one you will dedicate to Close Combat, I would suggest either Boyz or Nobz. On the off chance you get Warpath, this gives Nobz the potential to have 4 attacks base, 5 attacks on the charge and 6 if dual wielding, turning them into a totally brutal unit. However, putting the weirdboy in a trukk or battlewagon with a squad of boyz will allow him to make use of his highly destructive psychic powers, the trukk getting him into the optimal position to use his powers.

In conclusion the weirdboy is perhaps the least powerful HQ choice for any ork army, especially that he does not have access to powers such as divination, which would be a massive help to any Ork commander. In nearly all scenarios, a mek or a painboy would be of far greater use than a weirdboy ever could be.

Cheers,
Christian (The Weirdest Weirdboy to ever use power vomit)

Ork Unit Analysis: Warboss

The Warboss!

The warboss is the first  unit I will be analysing for the Ork codex, because it is the first in the book!

The way in which you use your warboss will differ based on your specific army, though there as some very clearly defined dos and donts for every bodies warboss.

Lets start off with some notable stats, 60 Points, WS5, S5, T5, W3, A4, Ld9

The most notable of these is the Toughness 5, this means insta killing is gonna be a hell of a lot harder than on say, a space marine captain. The biggest let down here is Ld9, for the leader of your entire army, you would expect Ld10, but we can't have everything, right?

A special rule that the warboss confers to the entire army is the "Waaagh!"special rule, this allowes your ENTIRE army to, once per game, run and charge in the same turn, so a bit of maths. 6" movement in transport, disembark 6", run ~4" and then charge ~7", giving you an average of 23" movement a turn, max of 30" a turn!

The warboss comes with a 6+ save base, this can be upgraded to either a 4+ or a 2+, however, you cannot take a 2+ whilst on a bike. The warboss will most regularly be taken in either a Green tide or Kult of Speed lists, so here is the options best suited to either.

Green Tide

A warboss taken in a green tide will most likely be built for both brutality and survivability. This means mega armor will be the best option, however, keep in mind the unit he is with cannot run whilst he is with them due to his slow and purposeful special rule. When looking at survivability, a cybork body should be considered, giving the warboss a 6+ FnP, which will not usually be cancelled out by double toughness as he is T5 base. But the most important thing for any warboss, built for survivability or not, is the relic Da Lukky Stikk, this is perhaps the best relic in the entire game! It gives +1 WS to the warbosses unit and allows the Warboss to re-roll anything! To hit, to wound, armor saves, cover saves, invuln saves, the lot! In essence, the Lukki Stikk gives you a 2+ rerollable armor save, making you fairly brutal! The best unit for a Green Tide warboss to go with is either Boyz or Nobz, (I run mine with boyz) I say this because Boyz are a very cheap meatshield for the warboss while still being able to back him up in combat. For extra brutality, stick him and his unit in a Battlewagon, making them probably the most powerful unit in your army. I would adivse against giving the warboss any weapon except for the power klaw which comes with his mega armor, this is because the power klaw strikes at S10 Ap2, and even though it is unwieldy, will still cause a lot of hurt to anything it comes near. The one major drawback of this build is the complete lack of an invuln save, something common across many an ork army. You could stick a big mek with kustom force field with them, though the points really start to stack up.

Kult of Speed
A warboss taken with a  Kult of Speed will nearly always be on a warbike, a good relic to take for this is 'Warboss Gazbag's Blitzbike', a bike which has a built in pair of dakka blasters which give out 3 Strength 6 Ap3 shots. All bikes (including this relic) give the rider a 4+ armour save and +1 cover save when they turbo boost, meaning a 3+ jink save. A mounted warboss can either be taken as a ranged or melee character, but, as always, I am an advocate for the melee version of the warboss. The two most obvious choices for a mounted warboss would be a power klaw, striking at S10 Ap2, or in this case, the relic "Headwoppa's Killchoppa", which is a S+2 Ap5 rending, 6's are ID melle weapon. Remember if you combine this with the Lukky Stikk you can re-roll if you do not roll any 6's, meaning the chances of ID are high! If, however, you wanted to take a shooty variant of this warboss, consider taking the relic 'Da Dead Shiny Shoota', which is an assault 6, twin linked shoota. This will give the warboss a huge amounts of shots each turn, and given his speed on a bike, can put those shots where they hurt the most. The best unit to take this warboss in is obviously a warbiker mob, these squads can be up to 15 in strength, making them perhaps the most threatening unit in the entire codex. A warbiker mob can have 4 attacks each on the charge, not including hammer of wrath, that means 60 attacks for the unit, 75 with HoW included.

As you can see, warbosses have the potential to be very brutal, though the lack of invuln saves can make them quite squishy. I would not recommend taking a warboss in a Mek list or Dakka based list as neither will benefit from the Waaagh special rule. Warbosses are primarily melee characters, meaning a Dakka based list will find little use for them.

Hope that was at least a bit helpful!

-Christian (Da greenest warboss dere eva was)

How to start your first Ork Army

So you have decided that your time has come to start playing the maddest, greenest army in 40k?
Here I will try and give you a run down on different types of Ork playstyles, so that you might formulate your own ideas as to how you play Orks.

There are 4 main play styles most Ork players make use of, these are:

• The Green Tide - A green tide army list is one that makes use of the incredibly cheap infantry which can be taken in huge blobs. A green tide will typically have the majority of the army boyz, with few heavy support to provide firepower.
• The Dakka Boyz - A common Ork term is 'dakka', this basically means firepower. A dakka based army will typically have few regular boyz, but more units such as Lootas, Tankbustas, Flash Gitz and Burna Boyz alongside vehicles such as the Jets, Mek Guns and Gorkanauts. While smaller than the green tide, this army will still probably outnumber your opponents, and while orks are not renowned for their ballistic skill, with this many shots, some are bound to hit
• Kult of Speed - The kult of speed is an ork army dedicated to getting as close to the enemy as fast as possible. A kult of speed army makes use of warbikes, warbuggies, deffkoptas, trukks and battlewagons more than any other army. Stormboyz and Kommandos are also quite common in the typical Kult of speed army. Orks are amongst the fastest armies in the game, and arguably the best at getting into combat quickest, this makes them a terrifying foe against shooting armies such as Tau and Guard, as turn 1 is the only turn they get to make use of the entirety of their shooting.
• Mek Army - A mek army, or a mechanized army, is an army made primarily of vehicles, with the only infantry models usually being meks or big meks. Mek armies make use of the huge range of Ork vehicles such as Killa Kans, Deff Dreads, Stompas, Morkanauts and Mek Gunz. A mek army is usually the smallest army model wise than any other variation of the ork codex and maybe the only army to be outnumbered by other foes. 

This section will describe the pros/cons of each play style, I hope this helps you in deciding what type of warboss you want to be!

 Green Tide
The obvious downfall of a green tide list is the amount of models you are going to have to buy/paint. A large Green Tide army can have upwards of 200 models in 2000 points, at RRP this equates to $960 AUD. This, however, is a small problem in comparison to what you will be faced with when it comes time for painting! Ork Boyz models don't vary greatly, so painting will get tedious after a relatively short time. A green tide army might be an army you paint over a long period of time, filling in time with more fun projects. The advantages of a green tide list are on the table top, the look on your opponents face when you have ~200 models on the table, some of them rocking a FnP save from Painboyz. Fluffwise, a Green Tide list makes sense as well, Orks are, alongside tyranids, supposed to be one of the most expansive races in the galaxy. Ork Boyz can be taken in squads up to 30, and because they rock 2 attacks base, they can get 120 attacks per unit on the charge, all for only 180 points! While a 6+ save is quite poor, a unit with a big mek with kustom force field, or a painboy, or both, will be a very scary unit to try and destroy.

Dakka Boyz
Armies with a lot of dakka are generally quite cheap. A 5 man squad of Lootas costs only $41 AUD RRP, meaning an army wont take long to buy. Another advantage to running a dakka filled list is the models are far more varied than in a green tide list. Loota models re just awesome, nearly as good as Flash Gitz themselves, all models you will be fielding in your Dakka Orks list! One might complain that Orks only have BS 2, but let me give you some quick statistics. A unit of 15 lootas which put out D3 shots a turn are going to have an average of 30 shots a turn, all of these shots are S7 AP4. This unit will hit an average of 10 times with a potential of more, no matter what foe you are up against, a unit or two of these will hurt. And they aren't even the best, Flashgitz have D6 AP, meaning the AP could range from 1 to 6, giving this small squad the potential to mow down terminators. The one weakness to a Dakka based list is weapons that ignore cover, so you will not have fun fighting Tau. Ork shooting units do not typically have the option to upgrade to 'eavy armor, meaning nearly all weapons are going to ignore your armor, leading to a lot of dead Orks.

Kult of Speed
The kult of speed is one of the most frequently played ork lists on the tabletops of Warhammer 40k. Orks are one of the fastest armies in the game, rivaling the Eldar for speed. If you love the color red and love being in combat turn 2, this is the army for you. Nearly all Ork vehicles have an upgrade "Red Paint Job" which adds +1 inches to your flat out or turbo boost moves, while not a game changer or anything, still very fluffy to take, because Orks believe red things go faster and what Orks believe, comes true. A kult of speed army is relatively cheap to buy, Warbikes, Battlewagons and trukks will all have a role in this army.The obvious advantage to this army is the speed of which you get into combat, it will be rare you will not be in combat by turn 2. The major disadvantage to this army is once more the poor armor saves, you will be jinking with everything you can for that sweet sweet cover, though this means you will be snap shooting, not that that matters when your axe is impaling itself through some guardsmen's face!

Mek Army
The mek army is the most atypical of all of these lists, and when you bring this list against someone in a game, they will be surprised when their Space Marines outnumber your Orks, all the flamers they brought with them because they knew they were fighting Orks are now pointless, they cant even dent the armor of your walking death buckets! (Unless they hit the rear armor of killa kanz....)  However, now that tanks have become such a bigger threat, people are bringing more anti tank weapons, this is grave news for the boyz in green as our walkers and tanks are made out of paper mache. The only thing we get rocking AV 14 is the front armor of our battle wagons, good, but not nearly enough. In my own 2k list I run a Gorkanaut, and in all the games I have ever played it has survived 1. You heard right, 1. This is because, unlike its morky brother, it does not have an invuln save, nor do any other vehicles from the Ork Fleet. And the huge size of many Ork walkers means you will get little to no cover saves in most instances. However, a mek army can be good fun to both paint and play and the looks you will get when the list tailored marines cant dent your walkers will be priceless.

From here I will move on into posting specific posts regarding individual units, doing breakdowns and run throughs of all of them.

Cheers,
Christian

The Rise of Rollo

A brief interlude to the Ork stuff, me and some mates have started a narrative campaign and I am writing the fluff for it, I will chuck a link up top to keep you all updated. Enjoy the prelude fluff!

Rollo strode across the bridge, his thunderous power armoured footsteps drowned out by the overwhelming chatter of the bridge servitors, machines whined and lights flashed as Rollo marched purposefully towards the command throne, "What is it, Captain Sigala, why have I been summoned?" Grunted Rollo in his gruff fenrisian accent. The throne swung around, "Battle Leader Rollo, we have received a transmission from Cadia." Announced Captain Sigala in her slightly posh, Terran accent. "Put it through then". In front of his eyes a huge projection of the High Wolf Logan Grimnars face appeared, Rollo and the surrounding Space Wolves stiffened, it was not everyday a Space Wolf received a personal transmission from their Chapter Master and greatest hero of the imperium. Grimnars voice bellowed, "Battle Leader Rollo, I have a mission of the upmost importance for you, a mission that will determine the fate of the chapter and of the imperium." The bridge doors flew upon and Arjac Rockfist strode in, even without armour on, he dwarfed the power armoured marines beside him, his face, as hard as the Fang itself, was curled into a snarl and focussed on the Wolf King in front of him. He strode to the other side of the bridge, each step five times that of a regular man until he reached the side of Rollo. The Wolf King continued, "A small imperial expeditionary force recently landed on the planet of Cirillo Prime and begun a small settlement, the imperial forces soon discovered an ancient manufactorum which seems to date back to the age of strife, inside they found what we believe to be machines capable of replicating the Space Wolf gene seed!" Everyone on the bridge froze, even the mindless servitors stopped for a moment to take in such monumental information. Grimnar continued, "It is needless to say that the Space Wolves must be the first to arrive there. You are the closest detachment to the planet and thus will be responsible for taking control of the manufactorum and the surrounding area. I have dispatched Ragnar Blackmane and his great company to assist you, though they will not arrive for a couple of months. In honour of your new mission I have decided to raise you to Wolf Lord, I regret we cannot have the appropriate rituals, but this mission is far more important. Be warned though, for Eldar forces from craftworld Ilaynden and an Ork Waagh are not far away and will reach the planet at approximately the same time as you. You cannot fail my brother, for this is perhaps the most important mission the chapter has ever been a part of. For Russ, for the Allfather and for the Wolftime!" The transmission went black, the bridge was filled with a deathly silence, nobody dared to even breath. Arjac broke the silence by placing his huge hand on Rollos shoulder and announcing to the gathered Space Wolves, "You have my hammer brother, let us go together and free the chapter from the bindings that have shackled us and bring Russes fury to our enemies" Rollo strolled forward and addressed the captain, "Captain, bring the ship about and prepare for immediate warp jump for Cirillo Prime". The captain smiled at him, turned around and began to bark orders at her bridge servitors.

What are Orks?!?!?!

What exactly are Orks? An age old question asked by many a scholar, but there is no simpler way of putting it that this: 'We'z Orkses is da meanest, kunnin'st, brutal'st an fast'st of dem all, all we wanna do is clobber our 'eads together, nuffin betta than a good scrap!"

Essentially, Orks are born for one sole purpose, to wage war on anything that is capable (or incapable for that matter...) and they do a bloody good job of it. Orks form together in 'crusade' groups known as "Waagh's", these Waaghs are led by various Warbosses. A warboss is essentially the biggest and toughest of all the Orks, rising to the top through bloodhsed and slaughter. Ever since humanity begun roaming the stars, the Orks, or the Green-Skins, have been a present threat. Their numbers appear to be endless, no matter how many you kill, more are ready to take their places.

The Orks worship two gods, Gork and Mork. Gork is "Brutal but Kunnin" while Mork is "Kunnin but Brutal", from this, we can assume Gork is the god of war while Mork is the god of tactics and planning. The orks are believed to have a presence in the warp, this is because whatever they truly believe, comes true. Most, if not all of the Ork contraptions should never be able to work, but the Orks believe it will work, so it does. This is, in fact, a theory as to why the Emperor has not perished, the Orks believe he is alive, so he cannot die.

Ork society is essentially based on size, the higher the rank of the Ork, the darker the skin. The following will give more information:

• Gretchin - Gretchin are sub-Ork and are the smallest of all the Green-Skins, the Gretchin are essentially slaves to the larger Orks, who use them for reasons ranging through from manual labor to ammunition for their weapons.
• Squig - A squig is an Ork's pet, squigs are made to do many things, from sitting idle on top of a warbosses hat to scuttling under tanks with explosives strapped to them. 
• Boyz - Boyz are the most common Orks in the galaxy and are trillions in number. Boyz are the backbone of any Ork Waagh and are usually outfitted with a small sword and a small firearm.
• Nobz- A Nob, meaning Nobility are the second in command of a Waagh and are often just the disciplinarians of  Ork Boy packs. Nobz are typically more heavily armed and armored than Boyz.
• Warboss- The leader of the Waagh, this Ork is the biggest and the baddest of them all, the only way to replace a Warboss is to kill him, a task many have failed.

Orks are split into various Klans, some of the most recognizable clans are the Goffs, The Evil Sunz, The Bad Moon, The Snakebites and The Blood Axes. All Orks use the same currency, teeth. Teeth are a good currency to use as anybody has access to them and they erode over time, eliminating the chance of hoarders and exploiters.

Greatest of all the Warbosses in Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thrakka, or as the Orks know him, the mighty prophet of the Waagh. Thrakka is mustering the largest Ork army the galaxy has ever seen under one banner and he is leading it in the name of Gork and Mork. Very few are able to stand in the way of Ghazghkull Thrakka, but when they do, they gain the respect of the mighty warboss. 


There is so much more to be said about the mighty Orks, and I will have many posts following this one that goes into more details of the various kinds of Boyz and Nobz as well as how to build a fluff accurate army verses a competitive list.

Cheers,
Christian

My Orks!!!

So the first proper post I will put up here is one about my Orks! While they are not my first or main army, they are the army I have the most fun with! They were the first army that I bought systematically. My first army, my space marines, I would buy whatever I could whenever I could, ending up with a very poor list indeed. So with my Orks I had a 2000 point list written and bought to that, no more, no less. My army list can be found here and I will be doing a very detailed run down of exactly what orks are, how to start an army and the pros and cons of each unit.

My Ork Army (Excuse the mess in the background, old photo)

Orks are an extremely fun army to both paint and play, the randomness of it all gives the battle a few fun twists and there is nothing better than watching the look of sheer terror on your opponents face when ~30 boyz jump out of their trukks to smash full pelt into their precious little 'umies. And then you scatter with your killkannon and kill an entire squad of your own boyz, all part of the fun eh?

I will follow this post up with a variety of fluff/gaming posts that will help you become 'da bestest warboss dere eva waz!'

- Christian