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40K Ork Tactics
40K Ork Tactics
WAAAAAAaaaaAAAAAAAGGGHHHh!!!
Because you want to be a hulking green English football hooligan with a machine gun, and you like
beating people upside the head with said machine gun while yelling at the top of your lungs. Joking
aside, 'da' Orks are one of the easiest and armies to learn Warhammer 40k with, and everybody will
love you for playing them. Seriously, everyone loves Orks. But here is a fair warning. Don't let the
simple starter games vs a friend or a "friendly" store manager fool you this army is really hard to
master at a competitive level and it is really expensive. Most of your units are not point effective and
relative slow so you have to plan multiple turns ahead to do anyting vs armies that can
outmanoeuvre you or just shoot you down before you reach your goal. It has one of if not the the
weakest codexes in the 7th edition of 40k, and don't let any one who sells models convince you
otherwise, even if they show you the fancy new Gorkonaut or some other expensive kitt that "will you
win games".
This army is for you if you like to win by paying an army that does not have a powerful codex codex
like marines, Deamons, tau, eldar or guards or don't care that much about winning. Its like playing
beastmen in 8th edition fantasy. Your fun has to come from the challenge of playing hard almost
unfair battles, the army itself with all the rich background or the other hobby aspects. And your army
will most likely be big meaning that you will be spending a lot more time painting and spend a many
hundreds of euro's/dollars at your army then most other players ever have to do. Also don't forget
the factor of transporting your army, transporting a large army of orks can be a real challenge / pain
in the back. Just a hint, your average ork army will not fit in most normal sized army transporters.
On the table this high body count in squads means that they rarely touch the extremes of having
every shot hit or miss. At the same time a high toughness and ease of access to Feel No Pain
means they are pretty durable on the battlefield. In certain armies they say there is a quality among
quantity, Orks made it a special rule. Additionally Orks have many random weapons that could
pierce a Titan one second and barely scratch a grot the next. Much of an Ork player's mindset has to
prepare for every one of his boys to die. They are also a very flexible army, as there are many ways
to play Orks ranging from melee to Gunlines.
On the fluff side of things Orks are the dark humor of the grimdark future. Never will you see an Ork
burn his own kind as heretics- only for fun or to see what'll happen. There is no race in 40k that is
more accepting of other races than the Orks, mainly because they just want to fight and see all races
as a way of finding a good scrap. Even in the serious stories Orks are constantly outsmarting their
opponents just because no one takes them seriously. An entire Ork warband once traversed a
frozen tundra because the Imperial Guard detachment on the planet didn't bother securing the flank
of their base, thinking no man could survive crossing that dangerous terrain. In fact, pretty much all
of the fluff involving Orks is hilarious and awesome, such as a story where the Orks manage to
outsmart and out shoot the Tau, or the one where a Warboss, thanks to warp travel, was sent back
in time and killed him self to get two of his favorite gun. Or the one where a Warboss flew into the
Eye of Terror and slaughtered Daemons because he goddamn felt like it.
The 7th Edition codex has been questionable a nerf to the Orks overall, but it did give us a few buffs
as well. While the later 7th codexes like Necrons and Eldar got mostly buffs. The Traktor Kannon is
arguably the best anti-air in the game, and the Kustom Force Field is now a 5++(for models in range
instead of units and it doesn't work in transports :\). Cheaper and better Tankbustas with melta
bombz (THIS IS HUGE BUFF, but they are also finecast and expensive like whell tank busta's ;))
and those new Gorka/Morkanauts aren't too shabby either (beware they are not assault vehicles, or
gargantuans). The nerfs that we got are going to really change how we play our army. The biggest
blow to Orks is the change to Mob Rule, meaning that huge mobs now have as much of a chance to
fail morale and have really low ld, pinning, and fear tests as a normal squad of non-fearless infantry
(It used to be unit size = ld and 11+ is fearless). This makes taking mobs less useful, and in some
occasions even more deleterious, shame the new Force Organization Chart can force you to do this
quite hard. "Loss" of Ramshackle has gutted much of the power from foundations of various builds.
Orks have also lost access to an Invulnerable Save with Cybork Body, as it now only grants a 6+
Feel No Pain. This is really bad news since it was the only invulnerable save Orks got and can hurt
Speed Freeks, Green Tide, and Kan Wall styled armies. (at least from the competitive standpoint).
Just imagine an close combat army with low initiative, low leadership and no invulnerable save this
is your ork army now.
On the bright side Additionally, you are just about tied with Chaos as the army that gets the most
loving from Forgeworld and Apocalypse. Last but not least if you like scratchbuilding stuff then thus
is your army, there are tons of obscure Forgeworld units that can be lots of fun to scratch build, and
most of em aren't that bad either :D.
Sources[edit]
Why this is here
Orks are one of the armies that have a lot of sources to choose from. This is great since it offers
more flexibility and a great way for players to make their own unique army. But it also has its
downsides. The biggest one is that is is sometimes hard to find the most current rules for the models
the other is that it is easy to get lost or miss something miss out on some great rules or use the older
rules by mistake.This section is here to help you find the things that you need.
Here is a table of each of the sources, also used in the (____)'s for reference keeping. They are
sorted chronologicly (newest on top )
Sanctus Reach: Hour of the Wolf
Sanctus Reach: The Red Waaagh!
Sanctus Reach, Stormclaw(the box set)
White Dwarf 21 No longer in stores. Gw has resetted the counter for white dwarf numbers a few
times over the years so there are more white dwarfs 21. Just look for looted wagon combined
with white dwarf 21 if you are searching for it.
Whaagh! Ghazzkulll Released together with the 7th ork codex, and should really been seen as
Codex orks 7th edition part 2
Codex orks 7th edition Released together with Waaagh ghazzkull and should really been seen
as Codex orks 7th edition part 1
Ork Dread Mob Army List Update Still Downloadable at the Forge world site but the rules have
not been updated since.
Imperial armour Apocalypse 2013 Don't confuse them with each other or an older versions of
one of these books.
Apocalypse 2013 The ork units in this book are split between the normal entries and the
campaign part of the book(Warzone Armageddon). Its really easy to miss the second part, but it
contains some interesting units. Such as the Big Mek Stompa.
Imperial armour Aeronautica It has some flakk based ork anti ari units in them. This book is
not really worth reading, since lootas and traktor gunz are better and cheaper.
Skies of Death All rules in this book have been outdated except agrubly the fighter ace rules.
Imperial armour 8 This used to be the ork Imperial armour book, and our best units are still in
here. Just keep in mind that half of the rules in here are over ruled by the newer books.
Ork Appocalypse datasheets2007 These are the old ork datasheets. They are from the time
that GW encouraged scratch building and offered old White dwarf rules for free on its site. They
are no longer downloadable or for sale by GW but they still float around on the web.
General Rules[edit]
Codex[edit]
Ere We Go - Orks may re-roll one die when determining charge distance, this is a very good
rule.
Mob Rule - No longer does having more Boyz necessarily make them less likely to run away, if
you fail a morale or pinning check you get to roll another D6.
On a 1: the unit fails the check as normal, unless it is locked in combat in which case it
counts as passing instead. This is bad combined with our low ld, really bad waaagh
ghazzkull has a way to avoid rolling this.
2-3: If the unit contains a character (or independent character) it takes some extra S4 hits as
the boss knocks lumps out of his buddies, but then the unit counts as passing the check. If
there is no character, the squad fails the original morale check as normal.
4-6: If the unit contains 10 or more, the unit knocks lumps out of itself as if it contained a
character, otherwise if it contained less than 10 models they fail the check as normal.
Furious Charge - Weaker than its previous incarnation, +1 Strength will help on your first strike,
especially with Power Klaw attacks.
Waaagh! (Warbosses & Ghazghkull as standard): Yes! The old Waaagh rules are back. It
allows the army to declare assaults after running for a turn. Not terribly bad, since it will allow
your army to close the gap surprisingly quickly.
Waaagh! Ghazghkull[edit]
Formations and Detachments from Waaagh! Ghazhkull get the codex special rules but also get
these rules
Biggest an' Da Bestest: Warlord must issue and accept challenges. Additionally, if the warlord
successfully kills a character in a challenge he can reroll to-wound rolls for the rest of the game.
Good idea for a Warboss, but not for anyone else.
Da Boss iz Watchin': Units with this rule in mobs get +2 on Mob Rule rolls, but if they roll
Breaking Heads or Squabble, they take d3+3 S4 AP- hits. Yeah, you better pray that you pass
morale, because the price for failing got much higher.
'Alternative take' This is kinda a blessing for larger units since they no longer can roll a 1 so
they don't flee as fast.
Fighter Aces[edit]
In Skies of Death, you now have a bonus rule allowing you to pay 35 points for one of 3 special traits
for any Flyer or Flying Monstrous Creature.
1. Flyboss - +1 BS. Pretty nice grab, especially with an army like Orks.
2. Shiny Armour - +1 Front Armor. Snazzy stuff for ramshackle planes.
3. Idol of Gork - Fellow Orks within 12" of a Fighter Ace with the same codex gain 6+ FNP.
Pretty flimsy, but better then nothing...probably.
Tactical Objectives[edit]
Being the first Codex made for 7E, the Ork Codex gets several Tactical Objectives available only for
Orks in the Maelstrom of War missions. These can replace the normal Capture & Control Tactical
Objectives generated by the other armies.
11 - More Dakka
Win 1 VP for destroying a unit by shooting.
12 - Get 'Em Boss!
1 VP when the Warlord kills an enemy in a challenge. If he kills an enemy Warlord, he wins
d3 VP.
13 - Stomp 'Em Boyz!
1 VP if you kill an enemy unit during assault. If you kill at least 3, you get d3 VP. If you kill
more than 6 enemies, you get d3+3 VP.
14 - More Speed! Go Fasta!
1 VP if three Ork units Turbo-Boost, Flat-Out, or run 6".
15 - Grab Da Loot!
Roll a d6. If you control the objective marker equal to that result, you get 1 VP. (i.e. roll a 5
on the d6, control Objective #5, get 1 VP)
16 - 'Ere We Go! WAAAGH!
Win 1 VP if you charged an enemy over 10" before modifiers. If you do this 3 times, you get
d3 VP.
These are fun and fluffy, but not really good when you look at them.
Controlling an objective can be done by any unit in any turn , while some of
these are very situational.
The missions.
Waaaagh
A kunnin Plan
Kill points, but the gazzy player gets 1 extra for each vehicle destroyed.
Odly one side to include at least Ghazzkull on one side and a warbozz +
some boyz on the other Destroyed ork units of Ghazzys side go into
ongoing reserves. I'm sensing a theme here.
Red Paint Job: Was great is now nerfed and kinda useless. Will only
affect the Battlewagon going Flat Out. 5 points for an extra inch. Up to
you if it's worth the cost. Wouldn't take on a Gun Wagon. (the Wagon
still counts as moving at Combat Speed), while still allowing the
passengers to fire at full effect.</s>Red paint jobs now only affect flat
out.
Grot riggers Granting IWND, repairing hull points, while useless for
Trukks, can be more effective on Battlewagons as they have more
durability, especially combined with Meks/Big Meks and KFFs.
'Other stuff'Stikkbomb Chukkas are entirely useless as of 7th Edition,
as Orks come with Frag Grenades as standard, which now go boom.
The 'Ard Case is a hit-or-miss item; for ones carrying Grots/a KFF Mek as
a cheap scoring upgrade, it's handy to have; for ones carrying large assault
units, it's counterproductive.
Relics[edit]
Gifts of Gork & Mork (Codex)
They are unique and a model can take only one gift of gork and mork
(There seems to be some discussion about this. Don't delete it, read your
rulebook again and go to the talk page[1] to discuss why you think this has
to be something else if you want to change it )
Da Finkin Cap: Give your warlord an additional Warlord trait from the
Strategic table. With two WTs being unsuitable for Orks and a third only
being useful on certain maps, it's probably for the best to ignore this.
Alternative takeAre you nutz this thing is great strategic traitz are
da best. You have probally a reroll on it and it is dirt cheap
Gazbag's Blitzbike: Bigger bike with S6 AP3 Twin-Linked guns, can
turbo boost 18", granting the rider +1 cover save while turbo-boosting.
Now you can make your ownWazdakka Gutsmek!
Da Lucky Stikk: Like a bigger Waaagh banner but does not stack with
one. Granting +1 WS to his unit, and allows the bearer to re-roll any to-
hit, to-wound rolls or saving throws that he likes! Unfortunately if he fails
any three of these rolls (in any combination) in a single turn, the bearer
drops down dead and is removed as a casualty. Hilarious for beefing up
Slugga and Shoota boy WS, since the HQ carrying this can be attached
to literally any infantry unit.
Headwoppa's Killchoppa: Strength +2, AP5, Rending and to wound
rolls of 6 cause instant death (in addition to AP2 from rending). It's
pretty goddamn vicious in ways only Genestealers know.
Alternative takeSoundz real kunnin, now look at the power klaw
stats (s10 ap2 on a War Bozz ) and look at the T of a marine. Now
never look at this horrible le expensive choppa again.
Da Fixer Upperz: (Meks/Big Meks only) - Like Meks tools, but fixes
stuff on 3+, which comes into play especially when involving heavy stuff
like the Orkanauts and the Battle Wagon.
Da Dead Shiny Shoota: Assault 6 Twin-Linked Shoota. Issue with it is
that each time you miss a shot you've got to roll another D6, if the result
is a 1 your opponent gets to direct that shot towards an Ork unit of his
choice within 6" of your intended target. It's a decent upgrade that
embodies the power of being downright ORKY.
Unlike artifacts from the normal Ork book, you can (presumably) stack
artifacts together. Nope, and you can only choose items from one of these
sets in a detachments so chose whisly if you don't want to use multiple
detachments.
Warlord Traits[edit]
Codex
Waaagh ghazzkull
Unit Analysis[edit]
HQ[edit]
'Eadwoppa's Killchoppa finds it's home here, as getting to
use the full initiative of a warboss with the potentials for
rending and instant-death might make it a viable alternative
over the standard klaw. If you know your opponent has lots
of Monstrous Creatures, 'eadwoppas truly shine.
Shoota Upgrades - I wouldn't bother, as it's 5 points better spent
elsewhere. The only time your boss should ever be shooting is
when he's just about to charge. If you must, the kombi-skorcha has
some potential to soften up the squad before the charge. Don't take
the Ammo Runt if you're not going to upgrade your Shoota. On the
other hand, the basic shoota is free. Since you won't benefit from
an additional melee weapon if you take the Klaw or Big Choppa,
why not?
Warbike - As if the Warboss wasn't enough of a beast, this grants
a +1 to cover if turbo-boosting (and a 4+ cover save if he elects to
jink, 3+ if turbo-boosting), Twin-Linked Dakkaguns, a 4+ Armor
Save and +1 Toughness for being on a bike, allowing him move up
the board at excessive speed. Keep in mind that despite his
Toughness 6, he will only have a 3+ cover save at best and is still
fairly fragile. Keep him out of range for Look Out, Sir! from your
opponent's big guns, or stick him in a Nob Biker squad with a
Painboy.
Mega Armor - Grants a 2+ armor save to the boss and gives him a
Power Klaw, Twin-Linked Shoota, and Slow and Purposeful, all for
40 points. Definitely worth the cost. He does great with a unit of
either Nobz or Meganobz in a Battlewagon, leading a huge mob of
Shoota Boyz on foot in a Green Tide army, or letting a squad of 15
Lootas fire at full BS while moving with Slow and Purposeful while
tanking any hits. Combined with Da Lucky Stikk (and only using it
to re-roll armour saves) the bearer is effectively invincible to non
AP2 weaponry - chances of failing a 2+ save with a re-roll are 1 in
36.
Attack Squig - Now re-roll one to-hit roll in melee, but unlike the
Ammo Runt it remains in play and can be used each turn.
'Eavy Armor - A cheap 4+ armor save. Take this if your boss isn't
on a Warbike or in Mega Armor. Your boss is going to need all the
protection he can get if he's going to make it anywhere near close
combat.
Kaptin Badrukk(codex) - The Flash Git Kaptin that we've had a model
for for a VERY long time, but until now had no unit to stick him with.
He's basically a Nob with +1 WS and +1 attacks. He doesn't have any
other special rules unique to himself other than his wargear, which
comes with the standard Slugga/Choppa configuration, along with
scavenged Power Armour and force field bitz for the 3+/5++ saves. He
also has a Kustom Ogryn Ripper gun that is essentially an Assault 3
Plasma gun. He's not bad, being survivable allowing him to reroll his
saves from Gets Hot, and if Gitfinda isn't doing the trick, a few Ammo
Runts can help.
Mek Boss Buzgob (Dread mob update): Even a greater rules fuckup
then Ra Rippa. Hoo boy, its Buzzgob. The poster boy of the entire IA
volume, this dude is full of win. First off he is more expensive then a
warboss. His entire statline is better than a Big Mek. He comes with
'eavy Armor, a Big Choppa, and a Bosspole from the start. He also runs
around in an orky Full Tech Harness, the Mek Arms. They give him D3
attacks on the charge in addition to the +1 he gets normally.
Unfortunately this makes him a close combat monster against hordes
and unarmored units failure his big choppa is just plain bad and he
lacks of any kind of decent saves. The he lacks Cybork Body and
Eternal Warrior, which means he dies to railguns very quickly.He has to
be the warlord and has a horrible warlord trait that makes nearby
dreads scoring only does a thing in the dreadmob list where troop
dreads don't score. So who does really want to spend so much points
on a mek with buffed stats but no good weapons or good extra abilities
such as good repair rols or a foce field. The trick is to put him in his
transport with a mek(boy) retinue to ensure his success. Oh wait, did I
forget to mention he takes his DreadsDIRT CHEAP MEK STOMPA with
him? That's right, he must take a 1-3 Deff Dread squadron, as a troops
choice. Buzgob now smuggles a MEK STOMPA into "larger games" for
a bargain. The MEk stompa + buzzob is about half the point cost of the
IA entry of the Mek stompa. One could argue that this is the correct
point cost since this update is newer then the IA book containing the
entry of the mek stompa and the power lv a wraith knight has for about
the same points.
Old Zogwort(old codex) Bad ass Warphead that could turn any HQ
into an angy squig and had extra random 2+ poison snake attacks. but
was removed in our new codex.
Elites[edit]
Boyz[edit]
Grot Tanks (Forge World): An odd unit. You get another vehicle
squadron of 2HP Armor 10 all-around Metul Bawkses, seemingly the
Orky specialty. They get 5+ invo. saves from all shooting attacks
that aren't Ordinance, which is uncharacteristically neato. They also
count as Tanks, so you can Tank Shock things, too. However, what
makes them really fun is their Ballistic Skill. Having BS3 gives them an
advantage to using Orky weapons, all of which are listed below. The
Grot Tank's only real caveat is their unreliable 2D6" movement. Plus, if
you roll double-ones, one of them takes a Penetrating Hit. Getting a
Kommanda Tank is always a good idea, what with the 2 different
weapons and ability to fix your terrible movement roll when it inevitably
happens. Their Tank status, 5+ invo., small model size and high fire
power make them perfect for ramming big holes in enemy
formations. Modeling note: Dont bother with forgeworld. Easy to build
and make look better than forgeworld for MUCH cheaper.
Unit Synergy: Just like Warrbuggies, only better. They can Tank
Shock bothersome units off of their advance. Their 3-6 numbers
can give an even wider cover spread when advancing.
Can prove to be more useful than Kans due to higher numbers, a
full squad of 6 can pack 7 weapons as opposed to 3 and becomes
far more deadly. This will cost you a lot more points-wise, so take
that into consideration. Decide what you want them to do and use a
squad of Kanz or a Mega Tank with different weapons to balance
out. Keep some Meks close by though.
Grotzooka - 14 SMALL BLASTS! Fucking cheese, especially
against horde armies like 'Nids. Simply smack them into the centre
of the mass and drink your opponents tears.
Big Shoota - Owing to the BS3, this makes for a nice little way to
hurt enemy infantry and be more threatening to enemy vehicles
while saving on points.
Skorcha - You still need to get close, and given the variable
movement, this doesn't seem very useful when you could be
bringing the dakka at range, but if screening your boyz, might be
good to ruin up a critical unit before a charge. If they haven't been
destroyed first...
Mega-Blasta - Still comes with the risk of getting hot, and with the
risk of rolling double 1's on movement means that this makes your
tanks even more fragile, although the 5+ invuln at least gives you a
chance to save it. Not worth the risk and points.
Rokkit Launcha - Fantastic at ruining a vehicles day, especially
with working alongside Deffkoptas. Chuck out some rokkits to the
front while the Deffkoptas roll for anal circumference. However the
Str 8 AP3 also means they are superb at crippling Marines or any
other toughness 4 units too.
Mekboy Junka (Dread mob update): This thing cannot decide what it
is. On its face it looks like another more expensive Looted Wagon, until
you look at it a little harder. Grot Riggers and 3 Big Shootas base,
Turbo-Charga making it fast and Looted-Wagony, BUT WAIT. What's
that... Supa-skorcha? Big-Zzappa? Kustom Force Field?! TURRET-
MOUNTED SHOKK ATTACK GUN!?! Yep, this monster can pack some
pretty heavy ordinance, and it uses an Elites slot to do it. Junkas eat up
points, so they are best kept as ordinance platforms, dumping Shokk
Attack goodness onto enemy gits. With it's Deff-Rolla potential and
Force Field, a Junka could make a good transport for Slashas (which
tard out) or other heavy infantry. Just watch this thing, because it could
go Looted Wagon any syecond...
Don't forget that it also counts as a dedicated transport for a big
mek, so you can have one without it eating up your precious elite
slot, so long as you have a big mek. (And you do have a big mek,
right? What self respecting ork army doesn't have one?)
Troops[edit]
Boyz(Codex): Basic unit and right proppa. Boyz are the core of your
army, almost no matter what kind of list you run. With a crippling Ld of 7
be prepared to babysit them with a Warboss or a Big Mek, and unlike
previous editions, buying up whole mobs doesn't help with this. Without
FnP or 'Eavy Armor they will go down due to Leadership and a paltry
6+ t-shirt save. Still, 6 points per T4 boy isn't bad, 7 if you upgrade to
shoota boyz. It is still somewhat recommended you take Shoota Boyz
over Slugga Boyz, as this edition is still dakka edition. Shoota mobs are
far more versatile and can still beat the majority of whatever they face
in close combat, by sheer weight of numbers since the difference
between a slugga and a shoota boy is just one attack. A very
interesting phenomenon is that your opponent will have a tendency to
ignore Shoota Boyz in favour of attacking other apparently greater
threats, due to the (true) perception of Orks being a melee army and its
basic shooting not worth shit, especially now that everything scores it
becomes less imperative to take out the Troops units first. Shoota Boyz
only have 1 less attack than Slugga's but still all the other rules and can
still have a kitted out Nob(see below), so that 1 point upgrade can
actually save your unit more than it costs in psychological tricks.Also,
free stikkbombs now, for what little good they do. Here's a basic
rundown of your options:
Slugga Boyz: Boyz with a Slugga and a Choppa. They're not too
great in the Shooting phase, the Slugga's only there to give them
+1 Attack and to give them something to do as they charge toward
the enemy. They're awesome on the charge; 4 Attacks per model,
at Strength 4, will handily rip apart infantry of all flavors. Just
remember that everyone goes before you, except Unwieldy
Weapons . Also, the world's greatest tarpit. One point cheaper than
shootas. Do not footslog these guys (unless you take high numbers
of them - think 100+ - or use the Ork Warband formation, or both).
'Ere We Go, the new Waaagh! and boarding planks made getting
into combat easier than ever. Getting your boyz stuck in by turn two
is entirely possible. Sluggas have become a thing once more. It is
suggested to add high leadership HQs, Painboys, or 'eavy armor as
Trukks are still fragile and with explosions being S4 they will likely
have to take two leadership checks one for pinning and one for
losing 25%. NEVER buy any ranged weapon upgrades for slugga
boyz, they are a waste of points since they can't be used in close
combat.
Shoota Boyz: 1 point per model upgrade. Sure, every other git
shoots better than you; don't cry, all your weapons are Assault.
Who sez we're stupid; shoot 'em, charge 'em, let the Grots clean up
the mess. Also, Shootas are Assault 2, and have an 18" range,
meaning you can still bring the dakka even if those gitz with Rapid
Fire weapons can't. If you have a mob of 30 boyz with Shootas,
bring a bucket of dice. 60 shots means roughly 20 hits, usually 10+
wounds. Getting charged? No problem! Overwatch will help you out
a little. Bring some Big Shootas along for even more fun. Put 'em in
a Trukk with Reinforced Ram and Red Paint Job. Watch your
opponent cry as your effective range goes from 18" to 31" with 24
shots. Just remember that Snap Fire makes you worse shots than
usual.
Upgrades - Quit mucking' about. You gitz is always muckin' about.
Nobs - Always bring a Nob, even if it is just to have a character
in your mob to make the Mob Rule less punishing (rolling a 3 or
4 means you auto fail the check if there is no character in the
unit). Give him a Bosspole and a Power Klaw, though the
Bosspole is not as mandatory as it was before, as it only allows
you to reroll on the Mob Rule table rather than rerolling Ld
checks, but it's better than nothing. And the Power Klaw is still
our Swiss army knife. Never leave home without one. It will
handily krump gits of all sizes, including ones hiding in metal
boxes. The Nob has access to the ranged weapon options and
can take a shoota for free. As the Klaw is a specialist weapon
and the Big Choppa is 2 handed there is no CC advantage to
taking a slugga on your nob over the shoota. Well done gitz
you just got yourselves an extra shot!
Note - In 7th, if the challenger does not kill a Nob, (in the
case of things like distraction guard sarge) all that nob's
overkill hits the squad, so really no big deal. If you are
worried about losing a nob challenges, add a cheap, bare-
bones mekboy in the squad to accept challenges so your
nob can use his power klaw on the rest of those poor gitz.
Mob size - The recommended sizes for fielding Boyz is
12/20/30, depending on the point value you're playing and/or if
you're using the Orks organization chart. Generally speaking,
though, you're still playing Orks, so more orks is always better.
Conventional wisdom is that the only reason you ever take less
than the full 30 boyz is because 30 don't fit in a battlewagon or
a trukk.
'Ard Boyz: A 4+ armour save upgrade, making your boyz
much more durable. Can get expensive, however, especially in
high numbers. No limitation anymore. When you run out of HQ
slots for Painboyz to give your boyz some much needed
protection from the Mob Rule table, upgrading a mob with
'Eavy Armor has become a viable option since it increases your
chances of survival by 50%. Combine with a Painboy for a nigh
unkillable tarpit. This upgrade is usually better for the Slugga
boys, who are more likely to be shot at. A full mob of Sluggas
charging down at something, with 4+ armour save protecting
them, will bring down anyone not lucky enough to have power
weapons or en masse rending, or give sluggas that added bit
of survivability to win shoot outs with other basic infantry. With
luck, it is possible for them to take out a full squad of assault
terminators. This is almost required if you are running Trukk
Boyz, as the the 4+ armor will make it to when that trukk
explodes your boys can practically laugh it off. Beware of AP4,
if you go up against anything with AP4 you might as well forgo
the armour for t-shirts with silly phrases on them, they'll fair just
as well. 'Ard Shootas are better for use at holding objectives
since they have that extra +4 and can keep the enmy away/at
bay for a bit. Especially useful with objectives that have little to
no cover around them, and if you're running Orks your
opponent is gonna NOT want your ladz to have any cover
when holding.
Rokkits - Rokkits are dirt cheap now. If you have points lying
around, feel free to bring a few. Don't rely on them to kill
anything reliably, but the added AP3 firepower is nice against
MEQs in a mob full of sluggas.
Always use Big Shootas on Shootas - Big Shootas reach out
and touch the enemy while you're mucking about. Each Big
Shoota is better than the two Shootas you could've bought
combined, plus with double the range to be sure that they're
always in the game. Big Shootas give you options to return fire
at units like Dark Reapers/Devs/Warp Spiders or simply rake
troops on the opponent's line with your objective holders.
Rustgob's Grunts (Stormclaw) - Overcosted for no reason. it's
just a normal Grot mob with a Squig Hound and grabba stick.
Warkoptas (Dread mob update): 1-3 AV10 Skimmers that can carry 10
models (except MANz). The basic guns on these guys are a Big Shoota
and a Twin-linked Deffgun. It can swap its Big Shoota out with other
basic heavy weapons. That's okay for infantry popping, but you're
gonna want more. GIVE THIS SUCKER A TWIN-LINKED RATTLER
CANNON. It shoots 2D6 AP6 Bolter madness, but if you roll double 1's,
it's automatically destroyed (Which means a Mek can repair it). Give it
Red Paint Job to make it go FASTER! Give it Big Bomms to nuke crap
in its spare time!
Note: If you don't like the idea of using Av10 transports' check out
the Heavy Support section. The ork codex might give you the idea that
this and the battle wagon are our only transport options. But the truth is
that we have the most transport options avalable of any codex in the
strange thing is most of them are cramped into the heavy support
section.
Jump Infanty[edit]
Lootas(codex) One of the main issues Orks have with a lot of armies
is that most their weapons are very short-ranged. When dealing
with Panzee, Dark Panzee, Blue Gits, or Squishy Umie, this is
annoying, as the bad guyz tend to Dakka on your army. Lootas for da
win. You only get three squads at most (less, if you wish to take any
other Heavy choice), but they are also the most point-efficient source of
Strength 7 shooting in the game, even with the awesomeness that is
Ork accuracy taken into account. Their main role (which is critical in the
majority of Ork builds) is to cover your advance, shooting enemy
artillery, light speeders, and other targets which would harry your
footsloggers or Trukks. Lootas work quite well on pretty
much anything (without 3+ saves) nowadays, since three Glances will
bring down most vehicles soundly, and with their volume of shot they
are bound to throw out enough to cripple even heavy tanks, Armor 14 is
the only thing they can't touch. Overwatch means they can react to
charges well, but they will still die in one turn if they don't kill what
charges them first. They can also Snapfire on the move now, so they're
not totally stationary. Also, they do a reasonable job of Anti-air. Don't be
afraid to go to ground with these guys when they're at risk of getting
blown off the table. As said before, snap firing isn't that big a deal for a
BS2 army because of its ridiculous shot density, but the added
coversave is. Now cheaper and competing with other Heavy Supports...
The fuck? Can upgrade up to 3 lootas to mekboyz for free, if you so
desire. < (Could keep a Battle Waggon or Big Trakk going for you..)
Flash Gitz(codex): New dex took them from "could be good if they
were half the cost" to "better than they used to be, for half the cost"
They no longer have heavy armor and can no longer take any upgrades
to the snazzguns, but what they do have is being 3 points per model
cheaper, and the snazzguns are now s5 apd6 ASSAULT 3 (this means
that half the time they a squad of five is a -1S vulkan mega bolter or
better), meaning you might actually hit something with them now.
Speaking of hitting something, gitfindaz now grant BS3 if you don't
move. Could be tricky to pull off, but the joy of watching your opponent
shit bricks at the ammount of low ap, quasi-accurate dakka these guys
can throw out will be worth it. Keeping them in vehicles or near a
kustom force field (or preferably both) is highly recommended, as 6+
armor is not fantastic an a 22pt model.
Atillery[edit]
Mek Gunz(codex): A wonderful unit. Brutal in lower point games (1000
points) and still very effective in high end games. You USED to limited
to just 3, but now (thank Gork and Mork) we can take 5 in whichever
variety we wish. Just shut up and field a battery of these guys. "But
what if-". No, shut up, just do it. Get the full number of of cheap ass grot
bodies for absorbing wounds, and cheap Ammo Runts to help offset
average Ballistic Skill, all 3 points a pop. Then again, "average" is a
relative term; BS 3 means it might as well be a giant sniper rifle in an
army book of BS 2 blunderbusses. To make it even better the new
artillery rules state that crew now use guns' toughness. T7 grots? Yes,
please! Want to be a jerk with these guys? Put grots in front for that
nice cover save. The main problem with fielding Mek Gunz is that they
take up a Heavy Support slot, which may or may not pose a problem for
your list.
Kannon - For 18pts, you get a 36" Missile Launcher(Shells) unit
with BS3. It can switch to Frag rounds that are Str4 AP5 small
blast, very versatile good if you don't know what you'll be facing. Be
the bain of Space Marines and buy 5: 135pts for a fully manned
semi-twinlinked Str 8 artillery battery is peanuts.
Lobba - The Lobba provides perhaps the best anti-infantry Orks
have to offer. 48inch range and Barrage allows you to hide and fire
safely all day long. Str5 small TWINLINKED blasts are awesome to
drop around for a midrange army, park your lobbas behind a
building and start sniping sergeants. Less utility than kannons, but
greater range and much easier to keep alive, exact same price as
Kannons. Morksend. Take 5.
Kustom mega-kannon - S8, AP2, Plasmacannons, what's not to
like? You get a nice blast area and the grots manning the bloody
thing might actually survive the Gets Hot with that 3+ save for being
part of an artillery crew. Morksend 2. Take 5.
Traktor Kannon - Perhaps the most beautiful, unique creation
Games Workshop/Gork/Mork has created. This is, by some,
considered THE BEST ANTI-FLIER WEAPON IN THE
GAME (althrough Tau players will disagree). Orks used to have to
rely on Lootas aiming upwards, but now we have something OH
SO MUCH BETTER. 36 pts per kannon (that's with the extra crew
members included) gets you a semi-twinlinked krak missile with
skyfire, and the new Traktor rule.
The Traktor rule makes it so that for every glance or pen a flyer
suffers from a weapon with this rule, it also suffers an
immobilize result (which as of 7th, has a 1/3 chance of auto-
killing flyers) and against FMC's, when they take a grounding
test, they take it at a -3 (so a 6+ to succeed) It's the glorious
reverse-lifta droppa.
You can add one or more of these things to any of your
batteries, since you upgrade on a per gun basis. Meaning you
won't be stuck with a useless anti-air battery half the time, but
instead you can just slap one of these babies in your kannon
set up for some added anti air duty should the need arise. It's
cheap enough to not be missed if it can't fire at flying things for
a few turns.
The new skyfire rules also state you can shoot at Skimmers
without having to Snap Fire.
Zzap Gun - The 1st of the Random Guns. The Zzap Gun's variable
strength (averaging at 6.889), low AP, and potential to kill its own
crew makes it too unreliable for tank-hunting as you roll to hit and
then roll for strength. IF, you really like randomness in your army or
are going for some sort of theme, sure, take them. But compared to
the other options for 18 points a gun, this isn't worth it, regardless
of what anyone tells you. People will tell you that this might be
useful against Riptides and Wraithknights, but they're wrong. Why?
Because Gork and Mork said we could do better with the Smasha
Kannon.
Smasha Kannon - The 2nd Random Gun. The so-much-more-
effective version of the Zzap Gun. This is the new answer for orks
dealing with av14 WITHOUT running up and hitting it. S4 + d6, and
AP1 makes this gun like the zzap gun, but INFINITELY more
reliable. No chance to fry your own crew, margin of error is much
lower. Plus, every now and then the unit decides to become a 5
man unit of rail guns, and that's just awesome.
Bubblechukka - The 3rd Random Gun. Did you like how random
the Zzap Gun was? Well Games Workshop knew you did! And
gives you the absolutely fantasticBubblechukka! Note sarcasm. As
with the Zzap Gun, there's really no reason to take this outside of
the "Fun" or "absolutely-pissing-around" area. One d6 determines
both Strength and AP simultaneously. When you can slice through
that terminator armor like a hot knife through butter, you need 6's to
wound, but when your strength is high enough to wound on a 2,
with up to 5 large blasts you will throw out enough wounds to cause
quite a few deaths anyway, regardless of armor.
Walkers[edit]
Looted Wagon (White Dwarf 21):Av 11 front. Looks like the venerable
looted wagon is being moved into a white dwarf exclusive. Sill more of
the same, save for losing the boomgun for a killkannon option, but the
killkannon is much cheaper, and doesn't cause it to lose transport
capacity. Can take up to 3 smaller weapons (scorcha/rokkit/big shoota)
in any combo for 5 pts a pop. other than that, can take anything from
the vehicle equipment list pretty much. Good for a cheap, marine killing
template or for getting a more durable transport than a trukk, if it weren't
for the fact that heavy support is probably the biggest fight for space
with the new dex.
Alternative take Don't see the looted wagon as some old nostalgia
that does like to eat up heavy support slots, see it as a 2 point
upgrade for that turns rhino's it a open topped rhinos with nog gunz.
And who would not want that. Just try to imagine the face of a
space marine player when he realized that the only thing he had to
do to make it an assault vehicle was to cut off the top.
1 Gorkanaut Gork knows why but the unit composition of a looted
wagon is 1 Gorkanaut,
Flak Trakk (Imperial armour 8): AV12 front. Just immagine a Flakka-
Dakka gun on a Big trak and you are done.
Low Balistic skill Just keep in mind that we have mostyly Bs2 so that
most guns don't shoot that good a good way to get bs 3 is the gitfinda.
Dirty tricks tank busta's have tank hunter and give it to any IC that
joins even if they use weapons form fortifications.
Models that currently have no force org slot[edit]
You will have to to go unbound or play appocalypse to use these, or find an
other way to field them since these models are sadly not on the Orks lords
of war list made by FW. Some of them use very old rules so do some
research about the sources before fielding them.
Grot Bomm Launcha (Imperial armour 8): Forge world still produces
these. It is a great unit. But it is kinda questionable how to field them,
since IA8 doesn't mention them having a force org slot. And the older
books who do mention them with heavy attack forge org slot,or as an
upgrade of warbuggies but these are really old. These things alone
make you want to go unbound so that I can field them. They are lone
Buggys (or a buggy squadron squadron if you use the upgrade
interpretation) with grot bomms: 24-72" S8 AP3 barrage ordnance pie
plates, which count as twin-linked, but can only fire once per game.
Hilariously cheap for something that can evaporate entire squad of
marines in a heartbeat, or blow to hell near any vehicle. Once they
launch all bomms, you can flat-out buggies into the middle of
battleground, blocking enemy path and LoS like those pesky land
speeders.
Super Heavies That are not lords of war[edit]
Tanks[edit]
Skullhamma Battle Fortress (Apocalypse): If the Battle Wagon is the
Ork equivalent of a Land Raider, then the Battle Fortress is the Ork
version of the Baneblade. Can carry a metric shit-ton of orks and royally
wreck the shit of anything that gets in their way. Very customizable like
the Battle-wagon, and generally if it works for the Battle Wagon it works
for the fortress. Unlike the Wagon, the Fortress gets some really sweet
guns, and it can carry full sized mobs into the midst of the enemy.
Big Mek Stompa (Apocalypse): Not a lord of war, but you can still
field one as an upgrade of Buzgob. Your goofy and shooty Titan.
Comes with Lifta-droppa, for dealing with those pesky Land Raiders,
and an extra shield for soaking up those Volcano Cannon kame-hame-
has coming your way.
Apocalypse[edit]
If you like scratchbuilding, large games and, silly rules and playing unbound
this is the game type for you.
Dread Mob (40k Apocalypse) - 2+ Deff Dreads are put with 2+ squads
of 3 Killa Kanz. The survivability of these things is boosted first by
getting IWND. In addition, each model gets to roll d6 for new gubbinz: 1
gives them HoW (irrelevant now that all Walkers get it by default), 2-3
gets +1 S, 4-5 gets a 5+ Invul, while 6 gives you all of this. No matter
what you get, you'll find something to use from this force of walking tin
cans.
The Orks have access to many different detachments. Besides the Normal
Combined Arms and Unbound options in the BRB, there are formations and
the Ork Horde Detachment. Formations have a lot more requirements than
FOC, so you will need to meet them. Many of them are interesting choices
but the lack of freedom of options means they will likely be joined by
another detachment. Decide whether or not you want Objective Secure, in
the tournament scene stealing objectives is considered a top tier strategy.
In friendly or lower tiers of play this might not be a factor. The Ork Horde
Detachment is a good option if you want to field more HQs, though requires
the tax of more troops.
Learn that if you want to charge take the Warboss as warlord, the Waaagh
is a powerful ability for the orks and is only accessible if the Warboss is
warlord. However, if you are taking shooting lines as opposed to melee
don't worry about him. The warlord in the Ork army could be anything if that
is the case though it is good to take an HQ that has survivability such as Big
Meks and those that can access Gifts of Mork and Gork. Weird boys gain I
additional strength as warlords so it's suggested to keep them as HQs if
another option is available. Special characters are always a good choice,
but if they force you to have a warlord trait make sure that it's one you want.
Otherwise you can just take them as a secondary HQ.
There aren't many choices for Ork Troops now that FOC HQ's don't exist.
Play unbound if you want to skip this selection. But if you want to play with
a battle forged army feel free to fill this slot with minimum squads of grots. It
won't take up a lot of points and will leave you to build the rest of the army
as you see fit. Ork Boyz are always a solid choice for the Warboss on the
rampage. Need to take them on a trip, you can doggy bag them in a trukk. If
you want to play around with Objective secure Ork boys are your best bet
as they have the mob rule to keep them in line whereas Grots will just run
or get eaten by squig hounds.
Elites are pretty lackluster for Orks. Mostly they are units that you want to
get into melee. The only exception being Kommandos and Tankbustas. But
even then Kommandos only can take a limited number of heavy weapons.
Tankbustas are great anti-vehicle with Tankhunter, Burnas are anti-MEQ in
close combat along with solid anti-horde, Nobs are more elite versions of
Ork Boys with access to all the toys, and Kommandos are meant for
backfield distractions. Figure out what you want to do and then set it loose.
This is where most people will throw their Warbikes on the table from. The
stuff here is fast and is great for moving about the board. Bikes give the
turboboosting, Koptas the scouting, Stormboys the turn one assaults, and
the Bombers for more infantry killing.
This is the most crowded section in the codex, as well as the most
firepower. Support comes in many different flavors. You will usually want to
find a way to synergize this with other selections. Mainly though you are
looking at lootas and ways to make lootas not run off the table such as
adding Painboys with bosspoles. Other options such as the Morkanaut with
KFF give a nice boost to defenses. Battlewagons are usually good for
moving units around, but can be taken as dedicated transports by some.
Mek guns are your swiss army knife, set them up to take on various threats,
also best anti-air in the game as of release.
Don't be fooled by the 7th ork codex. You are noth stuck with only paper
thin Trukks or expensive Battle wagons. We have the most transport
options out of any codex. Whell marines have technically more, but they
just call every tank with a different gun a different transport and that doesn't
really count. I'm talking about real choice. From AV 10 open topped
skimmers all the way to Av 14 ard cased battle wagons and literally
everything in between. The only thing that is missing are flyer transports.
Check the Heavy support section for more info, and seriously consider
playing unbound if you want to avoid cluttering up the heavy support
section.
You want, you need the Stompa. With so many unfair choices out there for
other armies the Stompa is the most balanced Super-Heavy in game. Sadly
your only limitation is that Tournament Organizers will ban super-heavies,
and taking them in low points matches is a dick move. Ghazzy is a great
option and with his built in fearless Waaagh! means you are all set to use
him and leave the HQ slot for your important stuff.
Mob Rule and small units: Mob Rule poses an entirely different
problem for small units. At first glance it sounds nice, being able to pass
Ld checks by taking a few wounds, regardless of unit size, but the chart
is deceiving. I am not talking about taking D6 Str4 hits, I am talking
about not meeting the conditions on the Mob Rule table and outright
running off the board or getting pinned. Most small units will not run
more than 5 models, and if they run over 10, they are abysmally
expensive and will generally only be done by Lootas. Having less than
ten models in your unit means a 50% chance of your unit not
succeeding on the Mob Rule table and legging it. The problem is
increased if you roll a 1. Most of our small units do not want to be in
close combat, or only reluctantly so. Meganobz are the main exception
here. But think about Lootas, Burnas, or God forbid, Deffkoptas. Which
brings us to the last problem. Not having any characters in your unit
further increases your chances of fucking up on the table by 33%. This
means Deffkoptas will fail on the Mob Rule table 100% of the time,
unless you are in close combat, because max unit size is 5 and they
cannot have any characters unless you add an HQ on a bike. Lootas
suffer from the same problem, but this can be solved by buying an HQ
Mek and attaching it to the squad, at least guaranteeing the Character
requirement on the table. In short, when taking small units with Mob
Rule always take a character with you, always take a Bosspole when
possible because the reroll is worth its weight in gold, and always try to
get 10 models unless the unit is a throw-away, like a MANz missile in a
trukk.
More Reliable Shokk Attack Gun: If you take the Shokk Attack Gun
there are several pieces of wargear that will help you drastically. The
downside to this is that you have to put a lot of points into the Big Mek
which could be for naught if you roll double 1's. Note that none of this
allows you to reroll the strength. Wargear as follows:
Gitfinda - Gives the Big Mek BS3 if stationary that turn. Helps to
mitigate the scatter.
Mega Armor - Slow and purposeful makes it so that the unit can
move and fire heavy weapons. Note the unit needs one model with
Mega Armor as the Big Mek can't take it with the Shokk Attack
Gun.
Da Lucky Stick - This allows re-rolls of To Hit or Armor Save. This
means that they can re-roll scatter once per attack.
Ammo Runts - Cheap expendable counters that allow you to reroll
the scatter. Nothing new here.
Warbike - Gives you speed, survivability and... relentless.
BE AWARE: People argue if the Gitfinda stacks with relentless.
As the Gitfinda reads the models movement separately (for any
gun) then it won't give the +1 BS if he moves. Check with your
local group which way they'll let you take it.
Tank bustas actually give it tank hunter
The idea is pretty simple, a massive terrifying mob of bikers lead by several
power HQ's, all protected by a painboy's FNP. But the presence of
Zhadsnark provides some interesting bonuses. For starters he will make all
your Warbikers into troops, either letting this unit or other Warbiker mobs in
your army score easier, not only being very fluff-accurate for any Evil Sun
players want the focus to be on bike lists.
Orks only look out for number one. Blood Axes and Freebooterz will work
with both the Tau and Imperial Guard as guns for hire. Orks don't care who
gets them to the fight, in fact they are probably the least racist race in the
Grim Dark future. You want to show them a good fight? They will always
fight with anyone, its just everyone else who has to get over their own egos
to work with the Orks. That being said Orks always treat everyone the
same, show us a good fight and we will show you one as well.
When running allies, always consider filling in the parts your own army
lacks. For orks, this is high Strength, ranged AP2. We do not need choppy
things, we need a very particular kind of shooty, or otherwise useful anti
tank weaponry. There are generally three useful allies for Orks that give us
what we need: Tau, Necrons, and Imperial Guard. Some examples of what
you could run:
Keep in mind you can now team with Come the Apocalypse so expect a
sharp increase in looted Carnifexes on the board.
Generally we're not going to get any buffs from allied detachments. Instead,
consider Allied debuffs. The Fiends of Slaanesh and the dark eldar have
some nice options for reducing enemy initiative, Imperial Rad-weapons
reducing toughness, Mechanicus BS reducing attacks, and Chaos marines
and Eldar providing options to throw away your opponents overwatch.
To put it anudder way: Dem gitz wez work with can't make da boyz
any bedder, cuz deys already green and green is best! But... deze
'ere udder gitz can make our foes weak'r dan grotz! Har har, let's
get stompan, boyz!
Specific Ally tactics[edit]
Eagle Day: Clear sky on turn 1, then you blitz your opponent into the
ground on turn 2 with enough flyers to make Herman Goering blush. Run
this with dakkajet-spam lists.
HQ: Generic CCS. Keep him cheap, but you might want to replace him
with Creed for extra shits and giggles
EVERYTHING ELSE As many Valkyries/Vendettas as you can possibly
fit in using dedicated transports and fast attack.
HQ: Generic Battlesuit Commander. Keep him cheap. Deep Strike and
hunt armor.
Troops: Kroot Carnivore Squad(s), give them sniper rounds to pick off
SGTs and possibly pin units. Otherwise outflank to control space.
Invincible Boyz
HQ: Deff Dreads Painboss - as an Ork Ally IC, he's a Battle Brother and
can join any other Ork unit you can field. Stick him in a 30-strong group
of Boyz that's under protection of a KFF, or 'Ard Boyz (or both for point-
inefficient hilarity) and this basic mob becomes a threshing machine
due to cover/armor saves and Feel No Pain. Since the Painboss is only
there to provide FNP he can be stuck in the back of the mob with no
upgrades, or he can be used as a great Nob replacement with a PK/BP.
Also synergizes well if the Boyz blob is led with a Warboss in Mega
Armor to soak up excess fire.