Been thinking about my Orks again after I've decided to cull the herd and sell some off.
Amplified's post about assault armies over on Hard Six* got me thinking, as did Kirby's about suppressive fire. I try too hard to make Orks into a balanced army;** that's why I struggle so much with making a list I like. Orks aren't a balanced army. They lack the necessary tools and flexibility to be one. Orks can be shooty, like my Kanwall I'm working on (9 Kanz, 45 Lootas, lols to be had), but they're just geared for combat. Waagh!, fast vehicles, WS4, furious charge, 4 attacks on the charge, and so on. Why go against nature?
Orks need to be mech to get into assault. Foot Orks are shit useless at getting into assault. They're too slow and it's almost impossible for them to get the charge off. Ork vehicles are fast, but fragile, so you're going to have to take lots. There's also the matter of enemy shooting and mech. We need to keep enemy shooters from scrapping our tanks, so that means a KFF and redundancy. Don't rely too heavily on 1 unit carrying you;*** you'll be sorry when they go boom cuz no matter how well you shield your vehicles, they're still open-topped and low AV. Battlewagons are a must for AV14, but Trukks can be useful as diversions and back up rides for Nobs who lose theirs.
You will also need to pop transports, so shooting is a must. Lootas, Buggies, Koptaz, and Kannonz can all threaten light mech for cheap, and Deff Rollas can be used as can openers on their own. None of them are as super awesome or reliable as autocannons, missile launchers or meltaguns, but they can be used to suppress armor and open stuff up so you can go to work. Even if you don't crack open every vehicle, one turn of it not firing is welcome. Boarding Planks are worth a look too. For only 5 points you get a chance to assault a vehicle without exposing your unit to getting shot up next turn. It's not a guarantee, but it's something. When charging vehicles, the PK will be doing all the work anyway, so any chance you take to not get blown away after fluffing your rolls to hit is well worth it.
Speed is an issue as well. Battlwagons are not fast, but they're awesome and Trukks are fast, but suck. It's an interesting dynamic. Losing your transport at midfield is tantamount to a death sentence with Orks considering their fragility. If only Orks on foot could get boosted movement for a turn so they can reach assault from midfield...Oh wait! They can with Waagh! Fleet for a turn is very important. Let's take a look at Ghazgkhull. He's really pricey, but gives you a guaranteed 6" Waagh! for everybody and boasts an impressive statline with Eternal Warrior. Potentially very handy.
So, let's see what I can put together.
HQ
Ghazgkhull
Big Mek w/ kustom force field, bosspole
Elites
4 Meganobs, 1 w/ kombi-skorcha, Battlewagon w/ deff rolla, big shoota, boardin' plank
2x 6 Lootas
Troops
6 Nobs, Painboy, cybork bodies, powerklaw, Waagh! banner, bosspole, kombi-skorcha, Battlewagon w/ deff rolla, big shoota, boardin' plank
2x 12 Boyz, Nob w/ powerklaw, bosspole, Trukk w/ reinforced ram
18 Boyz, Nob w/ powerklaw
11 Grots, runtherd
Fast Attack
2x 2 Buggies w/ twin-linked rokkit launchaz
Heavy Support
Battlewagon w/ deff rolla, big shoota, boardin' plank
2x 3 Kannonz
Total - 2000
So, that's 3 BW and 2 Trukks rushing up to say hi with KFF coverage and buggies to run interference. Lootas, Buggies and Kannonz provide fire support. I went for a more MSU approach with my shooting since 15 Lootas cost a ton and often end up doing overkill on my target. I don't need to destroy everything, just keep them from shooting long enough for my deff rollas and planks to go to work. Ghaz is the shiny toy, of course, and he can help big time if I really need to hit assault or get left without a ride. Each main assault unit is set up to hurt infantry and hard stuff equally. Ghaz+Sluggas, Nobs solo and Big Mek+Meganobs. Meganobs are a weird unit, but I have them in mostly because I like them.
Thoughts?
*
**Oh shit, a semi-colon!
***Two semi-colons!
5 comments:
Where the hell are my footnotes?!
I was promised footnotes, and biscuits, and I gots neither. Rawr!
I don't know what you're talking about...
*whistles innocently*
I assume the guns on the Battlewagons are just there to absorb Weapon Destroyed results and keep the beasts moving, so I'll ignore those and move on.
What are the Boyz on foot packing? I'd be tempted to suggest shootas and big shootas for them so they can park up on captured objectives and allow your Sluggas to keep moving while still representing some sort of threat themselves.
Would I be right in guessing that the Grots are there to hold home objectives by Going to Ground every turn or do you have something else in mind for them?
And finally - I'd be tempted to make the Meganobs a scoring unit rather than the ordinary ones.
This might just be a quirk of my personal experiences in late 4th/early 5th (i.e. before I stopped playing 40K altogether), but I found a unit of 2+ saves made quite good objective grabbers and their klaws were pretty good at ripping open Leman Russes that cruised up on turn 5 to contest objectives and force draws.
Meganobz and trukks are your problem matey.
Your other points about lack of anti tank and being assault but need to shoot is right though. TBH I find my Ork list works pretty well.
Von, no Boyz are on foot. I've got a big mob in a BW and 2 Trukk mobs. I'll swap around the Meganobs and normal Nobs and see what works. As is, without a bosspole I don't trust Meganobs that much and my Big Mek isn't so tough himself.
Mercer, I know Meganobs and Trukks aren't the best out there, but I like Meganobs too much and Trukks end up more of a distraction/hail mary kind of deal. I'm gonna give 'em a try and see what sticks. I can always throw in another BW if necessary.
Thanks guys.
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