A Heuristic Analysis of Trend-Maximal Orcinian Militant Formations With Regards to Non-Interactive Communication Behavior

Or "Why Orks Are Bad, Despite What the Internet Thinks."

 WARNING! A HUGE BATTLESHIP
TEXT WALL
IS APPROACHING FAST!So following on the heels of my last article, let's transition to something much, much more specific: Orks. Specifically, are Orks a good army? Do they have strong builds, and can they be said to be competitive in 5th Edition? There are some rather strong opinions on both sides of this- the Ork Defense Force articles as well as Stelek's article on the subject are both fairly well-written, if rather adamant in their respective positions. So why is there such a huge divide on the subject?

To find the answer, I'll point back to my previous article on levels of play (and in doing so explain why I had to write that article first, you see.) Orks are an amazing army in low-level play- their raw numbers are fantastic, easily trumping most other armies. Their fast transports, powerful hammer units, and easy learning curve mean that even a relatively new player can expect to do pretty okay with an Ork army; in truth, few of the units in their codex are genuinely bad, although as we'll explain later they all suffer from their own problems. In the context of a low-level player/game, however, Orks are a very strong army.


As the game shifts into mid-level play, Orks don't look quite so overwhelming. The preponderance of vehicles in the 5E metagame means that they have issues to deal with, albeit ones that are certainly handleable. Blocking, multi-charges, etc are all mid-level tactics that Orks can take good advantage of and a properly-constructed Ork army can offer up some difficult target priority choices. At this tier, Orks seem like a fairly balanced (in the sense of "fair," not in the sense of "balanced army") force to bring to the table.

In high-level play, however, is where the problems crop up. Orks have very poor redundancy in several key areas, most notably tank-killing and heavy infantry killing. They do not have good strategic flexibility and cannot easily adapt to an opponent's plan in the same way that some other armies can; furthermore, they have no good counters to many of the strong top-tier plays and units and are stuck looking to less-efficient answers, putting them at an innate disadvantage.

Note that this does not mean that Orks, as an army, take less skill to play (they don't) or reward a general less for being skilled at low- or mid-level play. Rather, they punish lack of skill less, primarily through their ability to soak casualties to little effect and to have multirole units that can perform several needed tasks. They are reasonably robust at these levels of play and can have their builds and playstyles taken in several different directions without losing any of the fundamental strengths of the army; to contrast, a "finesse" army like Tau or Eldar is heavily reliant on key strategic and tactical decisions and very specific builds and setups- without these, they simply collapse into a worthless pile of fragile, expensive units.
Why Do I Think Orks Are So Bad?

Let's look at this in a bit more detail. First we should ask ourselves "What does 5th Edition favor/require?" and then look at how Orks deal with each of these problems, which I think will be enlightening as to why I think they are lacking. First and foremost is anti-tank capabilities. All 5E armies must have the ability to deal with enemy vehicles, and do so quickly, efficiently, and with good redundancy such that even if one unit fails in its task (misses, rolls poorly on the chart, is killed, etc) others can take its place. Secondly, armies need to be mobile in order to take objectives, benefit from cover (or deny it to the enemy), maneuver to bring their army to bear, etc. The latter is very key to Orks, as their large numbers tend to make them more unwieldy than their competitors. Thirdly, the ability to deal with an enemy's Big Plan, whatever it may be. Good armies have a counter to any plan or gimmick the enemy fields, ideally disrupting their overall strategy as part of defeating them. This might also be termed flexibility, but it's more than just that- it's having the availability of counters in your codex, not just your ability to respond to an enemy's plan. Lastly, we need to look at how the major changes of 5E's ruleset and metagame affect the codex in particular and what this means for Orks.
Part the First: Anti-Tank

5E has variously been called Tankhammer, the Transport Game, etc, etc, but the simple truth is that vehicles are good again and sheltering your fragile soldiers with steel has become a very good policy. All armies have had to adapt to this- some better than others- but Orks take their place alongside Tyranids and Daemonhunters for being unusually lacking in this department. On the other hand, many proponents of the Ork army scoff at this, pointing out that they have Rokkits and Klaws in abundance as well as Lootas and other shooting. Obviously, being that I am writing this article, you know which side I am on, but I would like to take a closer look at the failures of each of the methods in the Ork codex to deal with AVs.

Lootas are the first unit that generally gets brought up, and with good reason- they genuinely are some of the strongest light anti-armor available, even measuring up against such greats as Crisis suits and IG Autocannon spam. For a reasonable point cost each, they get a random (but often high) number of anti-transport shots with excellent range. What could be considered bad about that? They make a perfect unit to stick in the backfield and threaten Rhinos and Chimeras, it's true. The main problem with them is a very simple one: no single unit is perfect. Lootas are great at what they do, but what they do does not cover everything and they can't possibly fill an army's needs by themselves. They can't realistically hurt battle tanks (like Predators and Leman Russes), are completely static (meaning they are vulnerable to being disrupted by assaulters and can be outmaneuvered), and will sometimes simply take some damage and simply run off the table (inflicting ~5 wounds on them, a few more if it's a full squad, will generally send them scurrying away in short order- and T4 with 4+ cover it's not hard to wear down). Even ignoring the weaknesses of the unit (which, realistically, every unit has- Lootas are not at all poor in this respect), the real failing is that the limited amount of AT available in the codex means that Lootas become an obvious target for enemy firepower- once they are dead, the opponent can be reasonably sure that his tanks will be able to survive the remainder of the game. Redundancy is key in any list to avoid having a single weak link that can be shattered to cripple the army.

Rokkits are another option, and here the issue is different: Ork BS is low, so paying for a (comparatively) expensive shot that usually misses is a poor option. The platforms it is available on are also problematic. Rokkit Buggies and Coptas are both perfectly reasonable choices, but extremely fragile. Deffcoptas are low-Leadership units in small squads and often run off the table at the slightest provocation; additionally, they are vulnerable to simply being shot with Bolters or other such guns. Buggies are much better in this regard, but as AV10 open-topped vehicles, their survivability is often rather limited as well. (Twin-linked helps them out as well, but you are still paying ~80pts for roughly one S8 hit, taken up to three times; to compare, Hive Guard are ~30pts per such hit and you can get twice as many effective shots by filling your appropriate slot.) Rokkits in mobs of Boyz suffer a dilemma of their own: only one per ten in the mob means that smaller mobs (such as those fitting in a Trukk) have no realistic chance to hurt an enemy vehicle. Large mobs, on the other hand, are forced to go on foot at which point the 24" range becomes a real limitation due to the slow speed of foot units. (Yes, I know, the Run rule- mech still outmoves you easily.) Boyz riding in a Battlewagon seems ideal, and is in some ways, but you have a very limited availability of such units (generally 2-3), putting a real dampener on such plans. Killa Kans are the last option and have the bonus of BS3. However, they fight for space with the Battlewagons (and thus fail to solve the Orks' redundancy issues) and are not a terribly effective unit, all things considered (mediocre protection, suffers from squadron rules, 50pts/model for one shot). All in all, Rokkits simply lack any really outstanding choices for Orks and fight with many other options.

Power Klaws are the third big item of note. They are abundantly available in the codex, with practically every unit being able to take one at a quite reasonable (or, in some cases, wonderfully cheap) cost. We will also roll in the DCCWs and similar weapons, since their differences are negligible for the purposes of this discussion. The nature of 5E melee combat against vehicles is the big issue here- yes, you always hit rear armor, which is excellent, but an intelligent opponent will insure that his vehicles are moving 7"+ against you, so you are not hitting very often- and will only one Klaw in most squads, you are going to spend a lot of time whiffing. The issues here are more strategic- as any Tyranid player knows, relying on CC for your anti-tank needs is a gamble at best, as many mech armies will devastate you in the 1-2 turns before you can manage to get stuck in against them. Furthermore, even assuming you DO get there, you have conveniently clumped yourself up against his hull, ready to be flamed/blasted to death on his turn after he drives away.

Tankbustas are sometimes cited as an example of Ork AT. I have no idea why. They are BS2 and 24" range, and thus suffering most of the problems of other Rokkit platforms, but have to fight with Lootas for space, are 15 pts/model for an extremely fragile unit (remember, that's Space Marine prices on a 6+ save unit; Vespid, anyone?) and they have a special rule limiting their shooting. Oh, and they don't have a transport available to them, so you have to shove them into a Battlewagon if you want them to actually be able to get any shots off- at which point they are stealing TWO sources of other AT for you (the Elites slot for Lootas, the BW for holding some Boyz), which is not a good plan. The various other shoddy forms of AT in the codex (Big Gunz, SAG, Boomgun, etc) are all so bad that I don't think I even need to explain why they aren't worth considering.

Thus, what we are left with is the following: Ork AT comes in three forms. Lootas, which are good (but can't pull all the weight themselves, and suffer against high AVs). Klaws, which are fine against suppressed vehicles (but Orks have little suppression) and excaberate your vulnerability to blasts and templates as well as having poor strategic value. Rokkits, which have issues with all of their platforms either being sub-par or fighting with each other for space and netting comparatively few hits. In smaller games, and in games where there are fewer vehicles on the table, these problems are mitigateable. However, as one ascends to the top end of the game (or to high points values), more and more they become real issues that Orks simply have no way around. The fact that they also do not have any melta- meaning no AP1 and no double-pen, both of which are huge hindrances in reliably getting rid of particular vehicles when you absolutely have to (like when it's contesting your objective, etc)- is a major blow on top of non-ignorable issues already. Tyranids, at least, have the super-efficient Hive Guard, the survivable T-Fex, mobile Harpies, and ways to kill heavy tanks with MC attacks (rerolls to hit and 2d6 pen being very different from Klaws) and Warp Lance, on top of their miscellaneous suppression tools and Rending attacks. Orks do not have any of these things. They have other advantages, but in terms of killing tanks, Tyranids are clearly ahead of Orks- and they have superior CC and mobility as well.

Part the Second: Transports and Mobility

One of the reasons for the extensive use of vehicles in 5E, of course, is the mobility they provide, and this lack of mobility compared to other armies is a second major issue with the Ork codex. Ork armies come in two major styles: Green Tide and Speed Freaks. Green Tide hardly even needs to be discussed in terms of mobility: it doesn't have any. Its large number of models and space required for them make it incredibly unwieldy and, combined with the short range on most Ork guns, it becomes a simple matter to chop it apart piecemeal. Speed Freaks are the Ork lists using (generally) Trukks and Battlewagons; Warbuggies and Bikes are also common, but they aren't really relevant to this part of the discussion, as all-bike armies are not really feasible for Orks and Nob Bikerz are a discussion all their own. (Suffice to say that you are not likely to control multiple objectives with them.) So instead we will look to the two dedicated transports available to Orks and how they fit into the game.

The first thing to note is that they are both Open-Topped vehicles. This is necessary in some ways, as Orks really need to be assaulting out of their transports and their shooting comes in numbers, not quality, so Fire Points are all but worthless to them. There is a big downside to Open-Topped, however: it makes you much more fragile. Vehicle's greatest asset in 5E is the damage table, which forces one more roll beyond what most units get in order to do anything to them, and even a penetrating hit is only 1/3 likely to kill. This is part of why Melta is so good- you raise your kill percentage to 50% and can destroy even on a glance. Well, all weapons are Melta when they're shooting Orks, and Melta is 66% likely to kill them after penetrating (and is guaranteed to at least strip a gun or immobilize). Combine this with the comparatively low armor values of Ork vehicles and their transports start to look very, very fragile. Yes, they have the Kustom Force Field to help mitigate this, but other mech armies generally have access to cover saves of their own (be it from going Flat Out, Smoke Launchers, psychic powers, or the universal save from Disruption Pods), so this is not an advantage they have- it is merely keeping up with the Joneses.

The second problem is that Trukks are not reliable the same way other vehicles are. Even once wrecked, Chimeras and Rhinos often provide excellent terrain to hide behind, as it's not hard to form strategic walls with them. Trukks cannot hope to do this- their Ramshackle rule not only bounces them about the table randomly, it also (under most interpretations) does not leave a wreck behind afterwords, thus denying them the benefit against other shooting for the turn. As Trukks are the only dedicated transport available to units other than Nobz, this means that Orks cannot reliably create cover saves for their vehicles outside of the KFF, and anytime your army has a linchpin that can be broken, you are asking for trouble.

The third issue is also specific to Trukks: they carry twelve models. When you are talking about Space Marines, this is plenty; when it comes to Guardsmen, that is also a fine number, since eight of the squad members are just wound markers anyways. But for Orks, who rely on superior numbers to overhwelm opponents, this is a problem. Squads of Boyz in Trukks do not have the numbers to soak up casualties during an assault- losing 5-8 members will severely hurt a squad, possibly causing them to lose combat, at which point their poor Leadership (as Mob Rule no longer helps) and Initiative virtually guarantee that they will be wiped out. Now, for a squad of twenty or so Boyz, this is not an issue- they can afford to take some casualties from shooting, exploding transports, assaulting, etc, and shrug it all off. So long as those last ten or so Boyz (and Nob) get to swing, they will probably win the fight- Orks on the charge can do a ridiculous amount of damage if they have any significant numbers. This is where our issues with the Ork army start to coalesce, however: those same Battlewagons that you need to carry your large squads of Boyz into the fight are also needed to carry your anti-tank and to function as AT themselves (via Deff Rollas), not to mention carrying harder units like Nobz. So our poor, benighted Battlewagon- which the Ork army only has access to 3-4, in most cases- is stuck trying to do quadruple duty for the army, and that's a no-go.

Transports are also valuable to other armies because they allow not only speedy delivery of units to where they need to be, but also protection against incoming fire and assaults while they are getting there. Ork transports... do not offer this advantage. A Rhino makes the unit it carries immune to being shot by Bolters; a Trukk does not, because the Trukk itself can die to Bolters and other light weapons fire. Battlewagons are immune to this issue, but they are not available in great enough numbers to solve the Orks' problems here. This is why mechanized Orks are a failure compared to other, even older, codices; unlike, say, the Tau Devilfish, a Trukk does not function the same way that other transports do. Orks are too different- and their needs and rules too different- to have a shoddy, overpriced knockoff of other people's vehicles work for them. (Remember, Rhinos cost as much as a Trukk and have none of these issues; BA Rhinos are only 15pts more and are just as fast with an effectively larger carry capacity.)

Part the Third: The Art of War

While certain sites may overestimate its applicability to the game, Sun Tzu's classic book on warfare can actually be summed up into one very useful point: never let the enemy fight the way he wants to. If someone brings a static gunline to the table, your first priorities should be forcing assaults and movement on him, because he is poorly-equipped to handle these tasks.

This is where the inability to stop AV14 starts to come back to haunt Orks. One of the strongest "rock" armies in the game, using a Land Raider to deliver TH/SS Termies and backing it with strong shooting support or other assault elements, simply takes them to pieces. Both of the common Raider variants (Crusader, Redeemer) will cause extensive damage to the Ork forces on their own and the contents are all but untouchable- the Hammers in the squad will make short work of Nob Bikers and Lightning Claws combined with No Retreat will inflict pretty horrific casualties to large mobs of Boyz, already weakened from the Raider's shooting. Since they have no meaningful ways of threatening it with shooting- even Rokkits are a slim chance at best- Orks are forced to send in units to assault it (exactly what the Terminators want) or to try and block it (which they have few options for, since Trukks can't be expected to do so thanks to Ramshackle). Deff Rollas can wreck them with reasonable consistency, but they do so only by putting themselves right in the heart of the enemy formation, meaning either the unit they carried dies to the Terminators (bad) or they are running empty (also bad).

But that's only a single army. How do Orks fare against other major strategies? Another popular example might be the Alpha Strike army, which intends to shoot the enemy right off the table early on and never look back. Many armies deal with this by either using a refused flank (awkward for Orks because of the large footprint of their army) or by holding in reserve (also a poor choice because Orks have no reserve manipulation and aren't mobile enough to rush in from off-table- they're fast, but not that fast.) So we have another major strategic failure, as this sort of army is almost perfectly poised to annihilate Orks with its plethora of high-strength ordnance and other powerful shooting. Over and over again, looking at any given army's major stragegy, the Orks' only real counter to it is "get stuck in, kill them all." Now, this in and of itself is not a fatal flaw- indeed, it's the fundament of most hammer armies- but it is a major weakness that, combined with their other flaws, starts to push the army towards unplayability in high-level matches.

Part the Fourth: Specific Rules and Meta

Now we will look at some other, more specific ways that Orks suffer in the 5E metagame. There are many changes that were brought on by the new ruleset, and not all of them were good. In fact, some of them were downright crippling to Orks, while others are merely a hindrance.

Changes to weapon usabilities mean that both Melta and flamer weapons are much, much more common than they were before. Melta we have already covered in the vehicles discussion above, but flamers are also worth specifically picking out. They are- and always have been- a very good weapon against Orks, who are among their most stereotypical targets. However, with the advent of 5E, they became effective enough against other targets to warrant inclusion in most people's take-all-comers lists, rather than being a specialist weapon that was more rarely used. For Orks, this means they had to expect that most types of armies would bring much more effective firepower against them, and that crossing that final ~12" gap would be a real difficulty.

Another big strike were the changes to the No Retreat! rule and combat resolution in general. Although it sometimes helps them (forcing the enemy to make impossible Ld checks due to casualties), it is not uncommon for Orks to lose a combat against a competent enemy force- at which point the tide begins to turn very quickly indeed, as the end-of-combat wounds quickly stack up and chew away at the Orks only advantage, numbers. Other armies (like Tyranids) also have to deal with this, but generally have ways of mitigating it or working around it (Catalyst, leaving Synapse, etc.) Orks are stuck with it, and it is a tool easily used against them by smart opponents.

Several of the recent army releases have put Orks in a bad position as well- Imperial Guard can bring vehicles in large numbers and tend to wield pie plates and flamers with impunity, as noted earlier. Tyranids have greatly superior combat ability on nearly all fronts and can often muster superior shooting as well, as their guns can't be shut down with a damage roll. Blood Angels and Space Wolves are both CC-focused MEQ forces that have many of the advantages expected of Marines, but also have the melee strength to chew up mobs of Orks once they have been softened up a bit- or sometimes simply dive straight in for the kill. With all of these armies being popular "new" choices (used loosely, as some are half a year or more old at this point), they are a common sight at tournaments and ones that makes most Ork armies worry about their prospects.

Summary Part: Good Lord, Wasn't That Enough Text?

Please understand that, despite all of this, I do not think Orks are a terrible army for most people. They are pretty much strictly better than Necrons and any kind of pure Daemonhunters force. They scale better than Dark Eldar and they bring a reasonably unique playstyle to the table that some opponents may not be ready for. And, as discussed far back in the misty depths when this article began, they can do quite well at low- and mid-tier play. For casual players and beginners, for hobbyists and converters, for those who like goofy backstory and great visuals, Orks are a fantastic army. For the competitive player who wants to excel at the game and make the most out of a powerful and flexible army, however, they are a very poor choice, and they are not "broken," "overpowered," "cheesy/beardy," or any of the other adjectives the internet ascribes to their allegedly-strong lists. They are an army with major limitations and one that suffers greatly because of this. I do not doubt that many of you have played nail-bitingly close games against Orks: this does not change the fact that they are a poor army. A good general can make a sub-par force perform at surprising levels, so if you are winning with Orks, please do not take this article as an insult to your favored army or your opponents, but rather as a compliment.

Comments, criticism, and cross-linked counterpoints (as well as any other alliteration anyone aroundabouts adamantly advises) are quite welcome. If you believe you have created a good, take-all-comers Ork army that sidesteps the problems outlined above, I would be interested to see it. Please note that "I win with it" is an insufficient support of your thesis, as explained in the above paragraph.