Imperial Armour 8: Ork Dreadmob HQ Review.

Hey there. It's been awhile since I've gotten to post on account of academic hell, but here's an overview of the Dread Mob HQ choices.

Games Workshop has oscillated back and forth between HQ-types. In many older armies, the HQ was where one would find superpowerful one-man fighters or sorcerers geared towards fighting stuff dead, though there were exceptions. The Ork Dread Mob receives its share of HQs to choose, one familiar and the others completely new. Most of the options are 'eh', but there are two decent utility options in here. Most notably, they do not have a Warboss, or access to any Bikes so the army will play differently from regular Orks then and there. They're also one of the only sources of Bosspoles on account of regular troops not having access to Nobz. In which case,

Ork Big Mek:
We all know and love the Big Mek in the current codex. The Shokk Attack Gun is unreliable but provides cute anti-infantry, yet in an army that doesn't really need it; inversely, the Kustom-Force Field remains as invaluable as ever, moreso on account of the larger amount of vehicles a Dread Mob army can bring to the table. On top of his previous options, the Big Mek now receives the option to take a Mek Junka as a dedicated transport though. This will be reviewed in the Elites Section, but is an option seriously worth considering. On another note, due to the general lack of Bosspoles in the Dread Mob army, it's really worth taking one for him.


Big Mek Buzzgob:
Well, he's cheap and relatively fighty (nowhere near as good as a conventional Warboss though). On the charge, he'll throw out an average of 7 S8 attacks (though armor saves may still be made), and he *is* Leadership 9 with a Bosspole...yet he doesn't provide a Kustom Forcefield, Feel No Pain, options for additional vehicles...In general, it's good to skip him. However, should one have access to a vehicle with Boarding Planks, he does provide a nice output of anti-vehicle attacks. And he does come with a Stompa...meaning his use would probably be best reserved for Spearhead or Apocalypse...

Ork Mega-Mek Dread:
As a more expensive Ironclad the Mega-Mek Dread is a fun, though not entirely practical model, mostly on account of raw cost, and not getting a built-in Meltagun. It does have a built-in Bjorn-like Invulnerable Save, the option to repair vehicles (including itself) in Base to Base Contact.

Kustomization Options
The Meka-Dread has to select a mandatory 'kustom upgrade of which only one is useful:
Rokkit-Bomb Racks: It's a D3-shot Lobba that each turn has a 33% chance of running out of ammo. For the cost of a Lobba. Meh.
Kustom Forcefield: Normally, these are great, but at 75 points?! It's pretty extortionist to say the least, especially when one considers the Invulnerable Save the vehicle gets anyway, and its huge size allowing it to provide cover to the rest of the army.
Turbo-charga: This probably will be the default option. The ability to once-per game give the Dread 'Fleet' for a modest cost is worth it, even if there's a 1 in 6 chance of immobilizing him.

Additionally, it may replace a Rippa Klaw (a Seismic-Hammer equivalent) with one of the following options; of the options, only one is remotely feasible:
Shunta: It's pricey, but adds a fair anti-vehicle weapon for range. In general though, it's not worth sacrificing a Klaw for.
Big Zzappa: No. It's a Zzap Gun. We know those are unreliable. Now imagine it firing d3 shots. Double the unreliablity for double the cost?
Ratler Cannon: Nope. It's a random-shot Shoota, firing 2d6 shots. The low BS of the Meka-dread, plus sacrificing anti-vehicle capability for questionable anti-infantry value, is not worth it.

Ork Paindok:
Remember how Grotsnik grants Feel No Pain to a unit? Remember how Grotsnik also makes a unit functionally retarded? What if you had a regular Pain Dok that could move from unit to unit to grant Feel No Pain? Give him a Bosspole, and you've got a nice support character; a Paindok doesn't get the same Cybork-Body unlocking abilities Grotsnik does, only being able to upgrade one Spanna Boy unit in such a manner, but there is a point-discount in this regard. Taking them does compete with taking Kustom Forcefields, but depending on the army in question, this should not be an issue. The Warkopta Orkdar army has relatively little use for Kustom Forcefields, as do armies reliant on a mass of Grot Tanks and Mega Dreads.

Summary:
In general, the Big Mek remains the best HQ for most armybuilds, though the Paindok can find use in several armies. The Meka-dread, while relatively fighty, is overcosted for its role. And Buzzgob, while inexpensive, requires one to purchase a Stompa to field, and depending on your opponent, this probably is outside the scope of a normal game. The other HQs were not intended for general play/require opponent permission twice-over, thanks to the IA FAQ.

Next up will be Elites.