Armies in 5th: Orks Part 4: Heavy Support

Well I'm back here with some Ork articles. Now to build a solid all-round list we've pretty much used up all of our Elite/FA/HQ slots and Troops have been used to bolster the army's midfield presence whilst not grabbing attention too much. We've also discussed adding in some Battlewagons w/Deff Rollas for some extra anti-mech as nothing likes S10 but let's look at what else we can add into the HS slots. We've got 2 slots to use if we have 2 BWs (one being dedicated from Nobs).

Looted Wagons are out. With a boomgun they are a huge target which pretty much auto scatters, can sometimes not work right and has a low AV value + open-topped (though it can get a 'ard case). Not really what we want in our heavy support. Add in the fact the transport capacity gets removed when you add the Boomgun and it's a sub-par transport compared to the BW... How about Dreadnoughts? A decent combo if you've taken some Big Mek HQs as you can get 3-4 of these guys running about. With good AV and decently cheap it's not that bad of a choice but it's slow in comparison to the rest of the army and doesn't really have that great shooting (2 weapons @ BS2) though it should generally be running anyways. It's a pretty solid choice but what about their smaller brethern the Kans?

40pts cheaper for 1 less AV and less A in combat but the ability to take up to 3 per slot and a blast weapon with a decent BS but again we are probably going to want to run these up to support the rest of the army. So seeing as we can take two for every one of the Dreads, the kans are probably a better option. You get two vehicles, the same amount of guns (if they are used), the same base A (and more on the charge) but one less front and side AV. Pretty good deal. Also remember they have squadron rules so can always move but will die on an immob result.

So Kans seem to be apretty good option here. They are adding some good cc punch with some semi-decent anti-infantry firepower if they don't run but what about Gunz or Flash Gitz? Flash Gitz are expensive and inaccurate with only 1 shot unlike say Lootas who have 1-3 shots. The problem is you also don't know what type of shooting you are getting each turn. AP6 or AP1 can make a huge difference but is really unreliable if you are hoping for the low AP. The Dakka and Shootier upgrades are pretty nice for these guys as it gives them more duality and more shots to mitigte their low BS but this makes them 35pts a piece. For the base cost of a Kan? and when you've already got Lootas? Not worth it.

So the final option outside of Kans and BWs is Big Gunz. They have 3 options, Kannon, Lobba and Zzap Gun. The Zzap Gun is unreliable like the Flash Gitz and are obviously primarly aimed at anti-mech but with their variable strength...no go. Lobbas don't use BS as much being a blast weapon but only have 1 S more than the Kannon which can like a standard missile launcher has some decent duality. So the kannon has a blast option and straight shot exactly like the missile launcher at range 36". With one of the better BS's for Orks these seem viable. Personally I'm not a fan and prefer Kans or more BWs but the ability to throw out some more S8 on T1 and then drop blasts on infantry is pretty decent. Another problem is they are an artillery unit and thus quite fragile with any dedicated long range unit able to knock them out early or even a bolter drive-by being decently effective.

Overall your best bet is more Mech through BWs or Kans. If you have a Big Mek and have taken Dreads in Troops slots they can be picked over the Kans. This adds armor saturation to the Ork army and can provide more punch in CC which most of the best units inthe Ork codex don't really do 'that' well.

So next up I'll cover any other units I haven't really covered and why, summarise what I've been saying and how the codex fits into 5th edition and give a sample army list. If you'd like anything else covered let me know.