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"Pink isn't a color. It's a lifestyle." - Chumbalaya
"...generalship should be informing list building." - Sir Biscuit
"I buy models with my excess money" - Valkyrie whilst a waitress leans over him


Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Codex Orks Review. Part 1: Regular HQ's

:( The internet says I do :(

Well seeings as I am the local token Ork player, and very much enjoy hearing my own voice (or seeing my own writing, as the case may be), it's time for me to do some information posts on the one true Codex, Orks.

Now before we start, I have to do some prefacing.

1. Orks are crap in 5th edition.
In a true 5th edition, mech-spam type of metagame (metagame is a bad word, I know), Orks are crap. As a codex, they do not have the ability to really take out bulk amounts of armour.

2. Orks are awesome in 5th edition
In a non-mech metagame, or in groups still running 4th ed style lists, the changes to the 5th Ed rules makes Orks freaking awesome a majority of the time.

3. Orks have 1 thing 90% of other armies don't have.
Thats right, Orks have 1 thing 90% of the armies don't have, inbuilt humour. There are no other codices that I can think of where having your prized psyker blow its own head off is actually something you will chuckle about. Saying that, there is nothing funnier than seeing Eldrad pop his top... as long as its not your Eldrad.

4. Green is da best.
It is. Kirby will edit this to say Pink is da best, but he is wrong. Orks is da best!


5. Da Mob Rule
If your squad consists of > 10 Orks (Orks, not grots, squigs, etc) then you are fearless and Ld10. Otherwise you may choose to use the number of Orks in the squad as its leadership instead of its base leadership.
An Ork with a trukkload of his mates backing him up is a good sight more confident than one with just his half-wit mate Zog at his heels! P 31, Codex Orks

OK, now that we have that out of the way, it is time to look into the Regular HQ's available in the codex.

Warboss
Rating: Powerhouse
Fun Factor: Average
Fail Factor: Low
This guy (or his SC equivalents) is our one and only true CC Monster, and the only non-SC model in the codex with a normal-ish I4. Add to this true S5 and T5 and we have a pretty tough cookie. We also top out with L9, the equal highest in the book. Awesome.
This guy is our Captain of Doom. Base, with no upgrades, he has 4 Attacks (jealous Mr SM man?) and is worth 60 points, which is alot for Orks.
On top of this (yes there's more), with every purchase of a Warboss you get a set of Steak Knives Nobs as Troops. Awesome.
Whats not to like about this guy. I'll take 4~!
Kitout:
Traditionally, there are 2 real ways to run the Warboss.
1. The Demolisher Kannon
Give the Warboss a PowerKlaw (Powerfist), Cybork Body (5+ invunerable save). Attack Squig (+1A) and a Bosspole (reroll leadership tests, squad takes a wound).
So now, we have an I1, S10, 6 Attack on the charge monster. Excellent.
2. The Fast Demolisher Kannon
Give the Warboss all the above, and pop him on a Warbike.
So now, we have an I1. T5(6), S10, 6 Attack on the charge monster. Even more excellent, as we don't have to walk!

You also can give the Warboss Mega Armor, which is Terminator Armor minus the Inv Save, and adding Slow and Purposeful. The main reason this is a bad idea is .. "A Warboss may not have both mega armour and a warbike, as he would probably fall off a lot"  p97, Codex Orks. No, seriously, it says that.
Big Mek

Rating: You can't live without me!
Fun Factor: Low (KFF) to OMG!
Fail Factor: Low to OMG! (SAG)

Ah, here we are. The first 'no-brainer HQ'. Warboss's are expendable. Meks, aren't. Our statline, well, is irrelevant. This character is your support HQ. There are many ways to run them, but only 2 really matter. Our base cost is high, 35 points (*giggle*) and for that you get a Nob profile and not much more, so a 2 wound marine with an aim deficiancy, more attacks and less I.
The other thing we get is the chance to take a DeffDread as Troops. Not really all that handy, but nice to do some tricksy things as you will see later on.
Kitout:
So to this character, we add the following upgrades:
1. Da KFF
Kustom Force Field (+50pts). Now everything within 6" has a 5+ cover save. All vehicles get a 4+ (as long as you don't live in Poland. Its an Artic Circle thing *shrugs*).
You also want to buy him a Battlewagon to hide in. He takes a leaf from Vt2's Marine Book - never get out of your steel coffin. His job is to hide, not do anything, and protect your armour.
2. Da Shokk Attack Gunner
First of all... this is not the competitive option. Kirby, turn back now!
Give the Mek a Shokk Attack Gun, a nod back to 2nd ed. The SAG is AP2, Ordinance Large Blast, and its strength is determined by rolling 2D6. You basically are shoving Snotlings into the warp and trying to target where they come out of the warp again, and hopefully inside that Assault Termie's armour.
As you will come to learn, whenever there is a roll in the Ork Codex to determine a value, there is a chance for problems to occur. With the SAG, this is doubles or >10.  Lets cover these.
Double 1's. Mek and everything within D6 inches is removed from play.
Double 2's. Your opponent targets the SAG this turn, with S4 Ap2. Oh, they can shoot art your units too.
Double 3's. You miss. The shot hits the nearest target to the one you actually wanted to shoot at, irrelevant of whose side its on.
Double 4's. Your shot is S6 AP6 small blast.
Double 5's. "In a freak accident, the shokk attack gun fires the Mek and leaves the snotlings in place." P 35, Codex Orks. Congratulations, you just charged the unit you were shooting at. Eat that 12" Beast charge.. mine was just a 52" charge! Oh, and I have no CC upgrades because I am a shooty unit cowering with the Lootas up the back. Bugger.
5,6. Only the template hole actually hurts the target, at S10. Oh, and you can't shoot next turn.
Double 6's. Any model under the template is removed from play. Vehicles take a penetrating hit.

So basically, we have the serious option, and the fun option.
Kirby will tell you there is only one option, but hey, there's really 2. I like how many people these days seem to know what I think and enjoy *looks at Stelek.* Really, it's rather fun :P lol.
Weirdboy/Warphead
Rating: Just skip this page unless you need to make up your comp scores
Fun Factor: OMG!
Fail Factor: OMG!

This is our Librarian. Awesome, huh.
So statline of the Ork Librarian... Ld7, 6+ Save, 2 wounds.
Oh. God. Right, so its crap. That must mean it's fun. OK, lets run with that.
We need to give the Warphead a squad to get his Ld to stay above 10... let make it 20 shoota boys.
Kitout:
We only have 1 option, Warphead (which you will be taking), which lets you reroll your psychic... ability... Oh no, another table?
At the start of your shooting phase, you take a Psychic test. If you pass...
Roll a D6.
1. 'Eadbanger. Yes, your head, it explodes. S6 AP3 Small blast centred on the Weirdboy. Wound allocation means it wont actually hurt the Weirdboy though. Oh well, laugh at the boys. They are expendible.
2. Frazzle. 24" S6 AP3 small blast that doesnt scatter. Bye bye Mister Space Marines.
3. Zzap. 36" S10 AP2 Melta... that just hits. Bye Bye LandRaider
4. Warpath: all Orks in your unit get +1 A until the next Ork Turn.... :/
5. 'Ere We Go ('ere we go, 'ere we go). You, and your squad Deep Strike
6. Waaagh. A free Waaagh move (gives the Orks fleet for a turn).

If you are in CC and manage to roll a 1,2,3 (you roll every Shooting phase for your abilities) you get a power weapon for a turn. If you roll a 5, you deep strike out of combat. Crazy.

There is only 1 complaint I have with weirdboys, and I am sure we will see this in Codex Orks 5th Ed. These should be 1-3 per Elites Slot. This would make me a HAPPY fester.

Well, if you have have made it this far, it should be now pretty obvious that the Ork codex comes in 2 flavours:
Awesome and competitive(ish)
Fun and crappy.
Depending on the games you play, both are "viable" builds.There is nothing like watching a Warphead blow its own head off to make a game fun, especially when the rest of the army is charging around madly eating Space Marines.

39 pinkments:

Chumbalaya said...

Fun and crappy FTW

VT2 said...

Shockmeks are very dangerous, thanks to their unpredictability.

Too bad they have so many horrible misfires.

My captains want toughness 5 :(

Unknown said...

The SMs get everything, right? You just need to find the right codex, VT. Just wait, and the next chapter released will have a captain with T5 that rolls 2d6 every turn to see if he explodes.

GreyICE said...

The Warboss in Megarmor is really fun. He's basically about the same as the PK/CB Warboss, except with the 2+. The lack of the 5++ is bad? Well, he's T5. Good luck 1 shotting that, power weapons have to kill him the old fashioned way.

It really makes volume of attack bad against him, you need volume of power weapons attack, which is... terminators. And the only thing in the ork army that likes those in 5th is Ghazzy (thanks, fearless).

Matt Sutherland said...

This was the most enjoyable Orc article I've read in some time. My good friend (the painter of the Orc in this article's lead picture) has shown me the power of the Orcs if played by a good general. Unfortunately, in almost every game we've played, his Warboss dies far too easily or always manages to run off the table. On the other hand, his Big Mek, usually hidden in a mob of 30 Boyz, is worth his weight in gold...protecting his Kans and Wagons with that bloody 4+ save.

I look forward to reading the rest of this series.

Lyracian said...

This article (like the Ork Codex) is fun to read. I really hope the next edition does not make them serious.

fluger said...

I only disagree with preface point #1, but you all knew that already.

Big Mek with KFF is the only HQ option IMO. Warboss is meh.

VT2 said...

He's a bit 'meh' on his own, but unlocking reliable troops is golden.

fester said...

I tend to lose my warboss to a Vindicator or Railgun EVERY SINGLE TIME I run into one.. Every time. Sigh.

The Lack if INV is important on a Warboss as he usually is the core of your Rock Unit, and having him die to banshees before he gets to wipe the floor with his Powerklaw is somewhat disappointing (and happens too often when you are trying to be serious).

fluger: I actually disagree too, but the internets says that, so its worth prefacing it just to stop 110,000 "Orks sux" replies :)

SneakyDan said...

They are usually my rail guns killing his warboss.

What, i like ork steaks.

Good article fester-San.

fluger said...

"fluger: I actually disagree too, but the internets says that, so its worth prefacing it just to stop 110,000 "Orks sux" replies :)"

You are wise. :)

Chumbalaya said...

Orks sux

Unknown said...

Oh and for the future, change the colors of the rankings. When powerhouse, low and average are all grene, it's confusing :P.

GreyICE said...

@fester: Howling Banshees? Really? Like, against a warboss?

I need to reread my pdf of the fail to see if they somehow got poisoned power weapons or furious charge while I wasn't looking. 'Cause unless I dig that up, S3 vs. T5, yeah, that's a long, long day for the girls with the swords.

I field ghazzy enough to know it's not the 5++ that saves him, it's the hysteria of the fact that it takes like 4 models to successfully lay one wound on him.

fester said...

@Kirby: Green is good, Red is bad. Regardless of the text :)

@GreyICE: I only run a basic warboss, and it only takes 3 6's from the Banshees to kill him. It happens!

GreyICE said...

@Fester: If the banshees land 3 6s on him that quickly, the 5++ isn't helping, because the dice gods have decided to kick you in the crotch repeatedly, and 5++ never helps against that. Other than that, they're at 4s to hit, 6s to wound, so they land 1 shot in 12. That's 36 hits to send home the warboss. Yeah, that's fucking not happening before the little ladies are stone dead.

Meanwhile the 2+ is pretty goddamn solid against things like Space Wolves and Blood Angels which can deep six the ol' boy with a lot of bolter butts.

And if you really need your 5++ you can always just buy it, you're paying 40 points for a power klaw (25 normally), a 2+ save, and a TL Shoota. That's 15 points for the 2+ and bolt pistol upgrade. Though if you're doing that, you might as well just throw in the extra 90 or so points and get Ghaz.

GreyICE said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
GreyICE said...

Just math, in case anyone is wondering, Grey Hunters hit on 4s, wound on 5s, so they'd take 27 attacks to kill him with a 5++, and 108 (i.e. NO) with a 2+. This is true for any marine splat. The power weapon in the squad is only really having 1 attack in 6 land anyway, so you're at far more danger from the bolter butts. If Sarge has a power fist, it's still about even assuming volumes of attack, and recently, Sarge has not been getting a power fist (it's very possible to play keep away with your warboss when you do charge, the models have to be in base-to-base).

You ain't winning versus termies, but a 5++ is not turning around that sad, sorry matchup.

fester said...

Of course... once we move onto Elites, we will be adding FNP to that mathhammer :) Then the Mega-Armor gets powahful!

I admit I never run a MA Warboss, as mine always ends up running around on foot chasing squads after dismounting.

GreyICE, you have given me something to think about.

40K + T&A said...

Chumby, u must have tried orks and just got your ass beat while playing them. (Or you got prison-raped when fighting them). Orks don't suck by any means if you're a good general. I win with them a lot more than I lose. There isn't an army they can't have a great chance of wasting on any map that isn't a flat plane. Fester, great article. Tell em all how 30 ard boyz with Grotsnik and a WIDE-faced deployment is the ultimate Deathstar!

Unknown said...

Am I the only one who find the constant references to non-consentual sex in regard to losing in games a bit distasteful? Is it similar to how gay doesn't mean gay anymore, but stupid or somesuch? (Which I also find a bit rude, but I'm probably a prude).

Unknown said...

Wait. A wide face deployment with 30 guys as a deathstar?

el oh el.

Once again Warboss you show your vast intellect :).

GreyICE said...

Oh Kirby, it gets so very much better than that.

A wide faced deployment to screen your units that charges right out of my fire lanes if I scout a Vendetta at Flat Out. Have to go after the nearest unit, go bug that Vendetta! Then I can take out 400 points worth of models with a scout movement. It's basically Christmas.

@Fester: I usually run a kind-of MegaArmor Warboss. Okay, spoiler: It's Ghaz. But he's just a Megarmor warboss with all the bells and whistles - give one every upgrade and you'll see the similarity.

Ghaz has some important things on ultra-boss, an extra wound, Eternal Warrior (Railgun this!), 2 attacks on the charge, 2 rounds of 2++ in combat, the non-random WAAAUUUGGHHHH. Totally worth it. But if you want to go cheap, I recommend the 2+, it's the much more reliable of the two (I can count the number of times the 5++ has saved me on maybe one hand. The 2+, that's what makes him badass. The 2++? How else are you killing termies again, Fearless downgrade hurts the boyz mobs A LOT there).

VT2 said...

I wish the boyz would line up in 'deathstars' against my predators' fire.
Like world war 1 all over.

fester said...

Its certainly an interesting deathstar concept... but I would only really want to run it as part of a Green Tide, and well, we all know how that ends up :)

Mumblez said...

Warpheads as Elites + SAG Meks = OMGROFLMAO!!!
I wish that was possible. : (

I run a Battlewagon Rush/Meganobz army, with Ghazzie and another Mega Warboss. Not super-competetive (or competetive in any way) but they are really neat to scratchbuild and convert and they perform okay in the local stomping grounds.

Cool article by the way, keep 'em coming! :D

40K + T&A said...

Well Greyice, lets see, you're covering 60" of deployment with a full mob...your scout moving vendetta won't do crap to stop the unit from providing the cover the wide line makes for 2-3 rds...and your vendette won't last 1.

40K + T&A said...

@ Kirby: "deathstar unit- a unit in 40K that smashed though everything it comes up against and is very hard to stop." Nothing in there size limitation, or requiring mobility like Assault termies being stuck in a landraider, or affecting a tiny area of the game surface. So yeah, it IS a deathstar unit, in that it's very ahrd to stop and can kill just about anything.

Unknown said...

Ah da warboss, your comments just make me so glad you don't come here often. Where's that definition from? Try here for what a deathstar/super unit really is (http://kirbysblog-ic.blogspot.com/2010/08/comparison-super-units-vs-posers.html) but not sucking would be a good start. And 30 orks isn’t going to smash everything and is very easy to stop, especially in 5th edition. Grotsnik doesn’t make this easier. Having a huge deployment is great for defenses but not for a deathstar. Look I can combat drag you the whole entire length of the field and effectively ignore your PK nob and/or Grotsnik. It’s not a deathstar unit because it sucks and well it sucks. Last time I checked, something which died to a flamer on a 4+ wasn’t “hard to stop” and S4 + some S9 on combat has a hard time against mech or high T targets if you can get everyone into combat.

I also love how you believe Vendettas are never going to survive past T2 against Orks and that someone is going to scout melta vets into your face when you've blocked off your own movement. Last time I checked IG outshoot Orks.

40K + T&A said...

Ah Kirby, so charming, bring the personal slights...so you're the go-to for definitions of what a death star is? Even by your own system, 'ard boyz and grotsnik can outpunch all of the super units you've listed. And in a normal game, odds are, Lootas will crush your AV 12 Vendettas the first time they fire. If not the first round, then round 2. My orks will have moved all of 12" before your bait unit is dead, unless you want to use something really expensive, like Thunderwolves for SW players.

"Oh wait, I'm IG, I have pie plates to kill those 30 orks." You're not going to bag more than a handful, less than you expect, especially with KFF near, and they are always fearless.

"I can run you all over the field"...this is seldom the case,even with great players. A wide front allows you to still provide blocking for your boys, even if they do follow a vendette for a turn or two.


"It’s not a deathstar unit because it sucks and well it sucks. Last time I checked, something which died to a flamer on a 4+ wasn’t “hard to stop”"

AAHAHAH. It sucks because you don't LIKE it? So you aim a flamer and hit ten boyz (Probably less with disperal, none if I'm in melee with you...half of those are 4+ armor save'd, then half of those are FNP'd. 2.5 dead from 30 is pretty poor vs orks. The same # of TAC's get flamed, you still lose 3.3 who are more expensive.

Your defintion says a deathstar has to do well for an army despite the rest of the force's disposition (damaged or kicking ass). This unit fills that bill. Just get over your disdain for orks. You'll be happier for it.

Unknown said...

Wasn't aware I was unhappy. Thanks for the folk psychology.

My definition of a death star is not "has to do well for an army despite the rest of the force's disposition." Go look and read again (like about the whole survivable and being able to damage things bit). The unit doesn't have survivability. You're giving black and white examples again (Vt2 does this too the douche :P) and I never said I didn't like the unit. Reading comprehension fail again.

I like how 10 tacs get flamed and 3.3 die as well. Seems like your math is off as well.

Try posting something of use. Myabe this time it will get through to you.

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