Faeit 212: I Got Orks On Ma Brain!!

Hey everyone, Reecius here from Frontline Gaming to talk some more about the Greenskins! Check the Tactics Corner for more great articles!

The Orks have been a wild ride so far and while I took a little shock and awe with my first run in with Mob Rule, much like Nids, Orks are delivered into the land of awesome via their Formations. Whereas before it was pretty challenging to write a list that had enough of what you needed without going Unbound (which no one in my area plays) you now have the option for fun, themed Formations that give you a ton of options and cool special rules.

Painted by Full Of Monkey

Bully Boyz

The one that jumped out at me right away as good fun was the Bully Boyz which is 3 units of 5 or more Meganobs that get Fear, Fearless and +1 WS which is incredibly good. That allows them to ignore Mob Rule, never get run down and not have to worry about getting pinned in a vehicle that explodes, plus it means they hit most things on 3's and occasionally will get Fear of, which is a nice little bonus. For my money, I would run them in Trukks with few upgrades, if any. Maybe some Kombi-skorchas to make them light infantry killers but honestly, they are great right out of the box. For the 3 units + Trukks with Rams, that runs you 705pts all in. Toss in some Skorchas too, if you like, but that is the baseline.

Really, that is not bad at all for the sheer power that packs in. You could stick them all in Battlewagons, too for a higher price point, but far more reliable delivery system. I love Trukks personally though, and for the cheapo price and breakneck speed, that is the way to go for me!

That covers your offensive assault punch and provides a durable force to get in your opponent's face. I would back that up with some Lootas and Mek Guns which are just so incredibly good and give you a combination of long range shooting with barrage, flexible Kannons, and Lootas for Dakka. The nice thing about Lootas is that they are also decent AA. On an aside, I assembled one of the new Mek Gun kits and those are some beefy models! I took a pic next to my scratch built Kannons that are actually bigger than the GW Kannons and Lobbas and you can see the difference. They are a beautiful kit, too, if a bit pricey. You get 5 really characterful Grots to go with them, as well. Interestingly, the new kit only makes the new guns, it doesn't make Kannons, Lobbas or Zap Guns so the old (tiny) models are still official.

I really enjoy dual Dakkajets and have had really good success with them. The nerf to WAAGH!! plane hurts though and the Burna-bommer has gotten so good (and cheap!) that I think the two make a good pair for both AA and AI duties. Plus, the Burna-Bommer's ability to reach out and burn a little scoring unit with an ignores cover, very accurate weapon pretty much anywhere on the board is a potentially game winning asset. Taking 2 flyers also really increases the odds that you get at least 1 of them on turn 2 if you find yourself facing lots of aerial threats that need to be dealt with.

Lastly, some big, durable units of Boyz for taking objectives and holding the midfield. I like to back these up with a Painboy and a Warboss to help mitigate Mob Rule and to really make them hard to kill plus increase their punch. Plus, it gives you a WAAGH!! for the flyers and the Boyz themselves. The Meganobs don't benefit though, as they can't run, but that's OK. You can either put both characters in one unit to make it very durable, or spread them out to make both units better. Normally, Boyz on foot in units of 20 may not work out with only 2 units, but, the Bully Boyz and other big threat targets are so intimidating that the Boyz will often get ignored.

That leaves you with just enough points for a little Grot Squad to run around picking up objective points and being sneaky gits!

That list has a lot of really good tools, is flexible, can take and hold objectives, has reliable, fast assault units, good shooting, decent AA and solid scoring units, too. My kind of list!

Ork CAD

Warboss with your choice of goodies, but I would definitely look at Da Finkin Kap as an extra Strategic Warlord trait is REALLY good for this list.

Painboy

Boyz x 20 with Nob, Klaw, Bosspole

Grots

Dakkajet with extra supa shoota

Burna-Bommer

Lootas x 15

Lobbas x 5 with ammo runts

Kannons x 5 with ammo runts

Bully Boyz Formation

Meganobz x 5: Trukk, Ram

The other Formation that immediately jumped out at me was the Blitz Brigade. This one is really flexible in that you can take the base of 5 Battlewagons and from there go in so many different directions with it. You can load them up for assault, and pack in Meganobz, Nobz, Boyz, Tankbustas, Burnas, etc. and go to town. Or, you can kit them out for shooting and as they will typically start out closer to the opponent due to their Scout special rule, you can go hog wild with adding on guns and packing them with shooting units! This version is more of a for fun list that might surprise some people, but maybe not a tournament winner. It does pack a mighty wallop in the shooting phase, though and can be quite durable.

Blitz Brigade Formation

Battlewagon: Killkannon, Kannon, Rokkits x 4, Grot Riggers

Ork CAD

Big Mek: KFF, Da Fixer Uppers

Big Mek: KFF

Mek

Shoota Boyz x 11: Big Shoota

Lootas x 11

Lootas x 12: 1 Mek upgrade

Flashgitz x 10: Ammor Runts

So, a funny list that shoots like crazy inside durable Battlewagons that can all repair themselves and have IWND from the Grot Riggers! Having only tanks on the table also means that small arms are totally worthless until the Battlewagons start popping. Plus, with only 5 models actually on the table, it plays fast! You have no real AA but the Lootas can get it done in a pinch and the Flashgitz can take down light flyers or FMCs. But who cares really, this list is largely for laughs!

Red Skull Kommandos

This Formation jumped out at me as just awesome based on cool factor alone! Snikkty Snikrot is my man, and Ork Kommandos are some of the most characterful models. Plus, the Formation is quite good as they call come on at the same time, they come on any table edge of their choice (including behind your opponent), get Shrouded that turn and if they opt not to shoot the turn they arrive from reserve, they get to reroll their failed cover saves! Wowzers, that is really good.

As this is an MSU play style, I thought it would be fun to write a list that went all in with the MSU concept. This list would be really good at objective missions, but obviously pretty crummy in Kill Points. However, it would be fun and would overwhelm many lists ability to deal with the volume of targets presented. And, the units that do get into enemy lines will wreak havoc as you can charge multiple units into an enemy target, simulating the effect of a single big unit but with more of the goodies like Klaws, etc. Mostly though, it's just funny as hell, and would be very amusing to play if it worked!

Ork CAD

Big Mek: KFF, Da Finkin Kap

Grots

Tankbustas x 5: Trukk, Ram

Buggies x 5: Rokkits

Mek Gunz x 5: Traktor Kannon, Ammo Runts

Void Shield Generator with 2 extra shields

Red Kommandos Formation

Snikrot

Kommandos x 5: Nob, Klaw, Burnas x 2

So, a crazy list! You go all out for the Strategic Trait which gives you +1 to seize and rerolls on reserves. You reserve as much as you think you can safely get away with, outflank the Buggies, and hide behind the VSG and KFF. The Mek joins the Traktor Kannons to buff their Ld and they help defend against Aerial threats. You patiently wait a turn, hoping to weather the storm, and then spring your trap! Muaha! You have buggies coming in on the sides, Kommandos in the rear and Tankbustas in the front! It's an airtight Orky pain train coming from every side at once! Plus, there's crazy Grots running amok all over the board taking objectives and doing what they do. A good list? Sometimes! But a fun list? Yes!

So there you go, just some ideas going around in my noggin at present. Orks present a ton of ideas and cool lists like those above, which are just the tip of the iceberg, really. You can go crazy with it and have a lot of fun and the variety available to you with Orks is seriously crazy.

What are some lists you all are thinking about with Orks?

Thursday, July 3, 2014

I Got Orks On Ma Brain!!