This is by MagicJuggler who didn't schedule posting again.
Hey there. It's been awhile since I've been able to get a post in (my blog suffers too *weep*). Mostly because of academic hell, career-hunting, and certification cramming. So I'm going to try to squeeze this in, partially because the Troops section for Kastorel-Novem writes itself. For the most part, the Dread Mob troop choices are effectively similar to their standard Ork equivalents barring a few minor changes.
Spanna Boyz: You *have* to take one of these units to begin with so let's start simple. Think normal Ork Boyz, with several minor differences. They cap at squad size 20. They can't take a Nob, meaning no Power Klaw but most importantly, no Bosspole. Meaning one should attach a character to them should you wish they hang around for an extended period of time. What they *do* get is the option to take a Mekboy as a squad upgrade, meaning for 70-points, a unit of Spannaz can sit inside a transport, repairing damage results while acting as a DAVU-like scoring upgrade. While only the Mekboy can take specials (though he does have the option for a Burna), this is a relatively minor nuisance. The Heavy Support section shall explain why you can get by with having one less Big Shoota in a 20-strong mob. For the most part, they are marginally weaker than their vanilla variant but work well for support, torrent of-fire, or objective-taking.
Grot Scavenger Mob: Forgeworld forgot that the cheapness of Grots is what made them so appealing in the first place. For an additional +1 point per model, Scavengers get Assault and Defensive Grenades. This is great except with their Initiative, Assault Grenades mean little. The Defensive Grenades would be handy except that whenever you use them, you lose d3 models from your unit...which almost counteract said Grenades. So a swing and a miss.
Deff Dread Mob: Homerun. The regular Deff Dread struggled to find a place in Ork lists aside from traditional Dread Bashes, partially because of cost, partially because it was relatively easy to stun or immobilize it, or other similar factors. So the Meks finally wized up and decided "well, wot bout we decide to stick the Deff Dreads next to each other like they were Kanz?" In short, you can buy units of 1-3 Dreads per squad now, though 2 should be the ideal amount in most cases. Why? Demoting stuns to shakens, allowing hit allocation (vehicle squads are tough), squadron armor facings and getting extra attacks in, are generally worth the increased risk of immobilization. To further sweeten the deal, there was a minor point-break on additional close-combat weapons for these Dreadnoughts. A Small team of Deff Dreads are able to tear through a majority of units (barring stuff like Assault Terminators).
Summary: Despite lacking melee Nobs, or Biker troops, Dread Mob Orks can bring troops for scoring purposes as before. Spanna Boyz, on account of being able to get a cheap Mekboy squad leader, are especially suited to camping in Ork vehicles and making them count as Scoring, or acting as general-purpose support for Dreads. On account of the ability to squad, and minor point-breaks, Dreads have gone from being comically inefficient to a passable threat ala the Fexstar. Grot Scavengers got a price hike, and not a whole lot out of it...
