Orks just got brand new rules so we are going to tell you everything you need to know about Ork tactics and starting an army! We will talk a little bit about who the Orks are, their playstyle, and end with a solid 1,000 pt army list. So keep on reading, because its time to get your WAAAAGH! on.
What the Heck is an Ork?
Essentially, Orks are a warlike race of sentient fungus that gets bigger and stronger the more they fight. Also, they have a kind of gestalt psychic consciousness that makes it so that if enough orks believe something to be true, it actually is. For example, Orks believe that anything painted yellow creates a longer explosion, and anything painted red moves faster, and sure enough, they actually do. So, if there are two identical ork vehicles and one is painted red and the other one isn’t, the red one will actually go faster. This also extends to much of their equipment technology, as recovered ork weapons won’t work for anyone else. In fact, the only reason anything they build works, from the biggest Stompa to the smallest slugga, is because the Orks BELIEVE that it works. Lastly, Orks favor close combat and don’t really care to aim the weapons they fire.
Ork Playstyle
As a result, this carries over into their play style as almost the entire army has BS 5+, and WS 3+. So, while they a melee centric army they do have some ways to engage opponents at a distance. Namely by having a crazy amount of shots from their weapons (AKA Lots of DAKKA) to make up for their lackluster BS 5+.So, while most of the shots won’t hit their targets, it hardly matters when you have 60 shots from a Shoota Boys squad. However, they are still one of the best melee armies in the game, and while Tyranids will swarm and merely tie up units with Gaunts, Orks will swarm and kill a huge chunk of the opponent’s army.
In summary, they are a swarm army that features some of the best melee units in the game and can throw more dice around in a single phase than most other army’s will in the entire turn. Additionally, usual Ork Tactics involve getting into combat as fast as possible. So, if you like the idea of fielding swarms of ramshackle units and rolling several fistfuls of dice in a turn then this is the army of you.
The List
++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Orks) [37 PL, 715pts, 8CP] ++
+ Configuration +
Battle-forged CP [3CP]
Clan Kultur: Evil Sunz
Detachment CP [5CP]
+ HQ +
Ghazghkull Thraka [14pl, 285pts]
Weirdboy [3 PL, 62pts]
+ Troops +
Boyz [11 PL, 230pts]
. Boss Nob: Big Choppa, Slugga
.3X Ork Boy W/ ‘Eavy Weapon: Big Shoota
. 26x Ork Boy W/ Shoota: 26x Shoota, 26x Stikkbombs
Boyz [11 PL, 230pts]
. Boss Nob: Big Choppa, Slugga
.3X Ork Boy W/ ‘Eavy Weapon: Big Shoota
. 26x Ork Boy W/ Shoota: 26x Shoota, 26x Stikkbombs
Gretchin [2 PL, 33pts]
. 11x Gretchin: 11x Grot Blaster
+ Heavy Support +
Mek Gunz [10 PL, 165pts]
. 5x Gun: Smasha Gun
++ Total: [51 PL, 8CP, 1,000pts] ++
Ork Tactics and Army Breakdown
Firstly, we have gone ahead and included Ghaz into our army as our dedicated beatstick. As such we are going to want to have him move up the board with our boys so they can charge after advancing, and deal with tougher targets. Additionally, we have decided to make our klan trait evil suns and given all our boys shootas. This was they can advance and still hit on 5+ with their shootas.
One issue I’ve always seen with Choppa boys is they tend to do nothing until they’re in combat. Then, when they finally make it into melee they tend to overkill their target. Additionally, the weirdboy in the army gives allows us to use Da Jump on a unit of boys as needed. In essence, we can do all the stuff an ork army typically wants to do but still remain flexible enough to switch up our Ork tactics as needed.
Lastly, we have our long-range fire support for the army in our 5 Mek guns with smasha guns. These are some of the most efficient artillery units in the entire game, coming in at 33pts per gun. What you get for 33 points is a gun that has a range of 48”, D3 shots, AP-4, and does D6 damage. This weapon also uses a wounding mechanic that requires a 2d6 roll to equal or beat the targets toughness in order to wound it. Plus you have the added bonus of being able to enjoy BS 4+. So while already good, we can make them even better by using the unique grot Subkulture to give them a 6++ save and re-roll 1s to hit. As such, this is a flat upgrade that costs us nothing.
In conclusion
I’m very happy with this army, as it can deal with whatever your opponent brings. You have Mek guns that can take on vehicles, and plenty of boys to shred infantry. Plus, you have Ghazgull who can kill anything he touches. Seriously, who would have thought the next primarch model we would get would be Ork? So, if you like this article and want to see what’s new with the Space Wolves click here. Otherwise, why not watch a battle report by clicking this link?
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