Magic is a Derp at NoVa.

Hello there. I have not posted here forever and this is actually my first GT. A lot of it has honestly overwhelmed me (there's a bit of a culture shock in talking about tournaments and being at one). Anyway, I managed 3-1 which I find isn't *that* bad considering I brought semimech Orks and I survived a 6-Venom, 3 Raider, 3 Ravager army through judicious use of cover and LOS shenanigans...

Therw was a lot I didn't prepare for. I have made a lot of mistakes, but given this initiation, I am finding I am getting there. I just need to repair some rides first, and I shall be good...Finishing up minis is in a lot of ways like a college all-nighter and I need to learn to play faster.

IA8 Dread Mob Review: Fast Attack

Fast Attack:

Fast Attack consists of units that attack. And are fast. And a general benchmark of whether your army is good or not is whether you want to use models from this section of the FoC (exception for Necrons. Poor Necrons).

Deffkoptas: Deffkoptas are a mixed bag. On one hand, they've received a fair cost reduction in regards to Ork Buzzsaws, making them more viable for turn-one alphastrikes. On the other hand, the inability for them to be supported by Bikers anymore is an issue. If you wish to take them, make sure you have fast threats to follow up with.

Warkoptas: I personally like these guys, barring their models (they look so...ungainly). Packing a twin-linked Deffgun, and a secondary Big Shoota, it initially looks like a poor Ork version of the Landspeeder Typhoon (which is ok, for the Typhoon is a great support unit); barring a reduction in cost, the reduced accuracy, and strength, seem to relegate this vehicle to the scrap heap...so why take them? They're rather versatile for one thing; by swapping out the secondary Big Shoota for a Skorcha, the Kopta acquires duality of purpose beyond its previous role.

[IA 8 Review] Troops: Dread Mob

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.

[IA 8 Review] Elites: Dread Mob

*Yawns* Hey what's up? This one took a bit to write, mostly as it took a bit of unit analysis and testing. This said, the Elites review.

Elites:
Unlike the Troops, Elite units in a 40k army tend to be more specialized than Troops; be it dedicated tank-hunting units like Fire Dragons or Hive Guard, or specialist/disruption units like Marbo or Deathleaper, the Elites generally act as a focused support element to the rest of the army as a whole. There are exceptions of course, with the Tau having the multipurpose Crisis Suits acting as a shoot-it-all unit, or Space Wolves having the *highly* flexible and customizable Wolf Guard. The Dread Mob units are a blur between these however.

Burnaboyz:
There were several complaints leveled at the Burna Boyz in the previous Ork codex: That they were overspecialized anti-infantry, they competed with Lootas, and that they couldn't take dedicated transports. On the bright side, they now can take a Dedicated Transport, even though it's the not-quite-a-Wartrukk Scrap Trukk (which will be reviewed alongside the Troops section).

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.

[IA 8]Dread Mob Review: Overview

Alright you gitz, listen up! Name's MagicJuggler, and I'm your typical 40k lurker. Part-time VASSAL nerd, part-time unemployed armchair general. My primary army is Orks. I like Orks as they are (relatively) cheap to collect, and there's a lot of fun to be had konvertin' them; if your demented mind can think it up, chances are the Orks have built it, or have suffered humorous casualties trying to build it. However, their army has aged fairly poorly, the result of it being designed around a completely different playstyle of 40k, where static gunlines were king and vehicles were fragile and prone to being glanced to death. Between the improved nature of blast and template weapons making infantry weaker (though cover helps!), and modified damage tables making vehicles stronger, Orks have had to do a lot to keep up. This has made "hard" Ork armies look increasingly like each other, in a way that Kirby had already covered.

So what does Raid on Kastorel Novem do? It ups the power of Orks to a more modern level; some elements are of questionable use, or inefficient good for their cost, but for the most part most the additions are really cool. Be it adding new units, or increasing the options available to previously existing units, regular Orks can benefit from their share of options; however, the primary reason for this codex (and the subject of the following articles), will be the new variant Ork army published. The Ork Dread Mob is noted for the ability to throw lots of Tanks and Walkers onto the field, at the cost of Bikers, and Nob close combat. Aside from some (and not all) Fast Attack elements, the army is a lot slower than the traditional Ork army for the most part. However, it possesses more long-term durability, and duality of purpose throughout their vehicles. This review will be a multi-part series, for the Ork army as a whole.