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I bought the Dark Vengeance Box to get started with WH40k and have run through a few scenarios with my kids. I'm looking to get an Ork Army to play against them, and want to see if it would be somewhat close in terms of points. I'd like to work towards a mobile Ork Army with Boyz in Trukks (sadly the Start Collecting Box lacks Transports). Would this set make for a "fair fight" on either side, or should I just piece together a smaller army myself? We absolutely love 40k, but I want to avoid buying a new army and three Codexes (SM, Chaos and Ork) to determine the total point value. I plan on stopping by my local GW tomorrow, but wanted to run this by you all for more information. Thanks for any feedback you have on this matter.

It will be roughly the same points, but the important thing to note is that the "Start Collecting" boxes all include a Formation within them which lets you play the items within the Start Collecting boxes as a coherent force, whether or not it would fit within a Combined Arms Detachment.

The boxes also all have a pretty nice built in savings. Your Ork Start Collecting box would normally be $129.50 for the individual components, but it's $85 instead(saving you $44.50--almost the price of your Codex!).

Thank you for the great response. Sorry if it was a dumb question, but I had no idea how the point values carry over to SM/CSM being that you are locked into specific builds with the DV Box. I spoke with my local GW owner and he didn't give a specific point value for the armies either. I've read up on a few of the Start Collecting Boxes (Ork, Tau and IG), but I think it would be nice if GW listed their point value (or even a range if it varied based on weapons/items you could allocate). I just wanted to make sure our games would be on a somewhat even playing field.

Yeah, they are roughly the same (the Orks are a bit less). I think it would be a good purchase though, since the Orks from the start collecting are on par with the chaos and the Dark Angels forces in terms of competitiveness. Point being, it would be fun playing those three armies against each other.

vyse.04 wrote:
Thank you for the great response. Sorry if it was a dumb question, but I had no idea how the point values carry over to SM/CSM being that you are locked into specific builds with the DV Box. I spoke with my local GW owner and he didn't give a specific point value for the armies either. I've read up on a few of the Start Collecting Boxes (Ork, Tau and IG), but I think it would be nice if GW listed their point value (or even a range if it varied based on weapons/items you could allocate). I just wanted to make sure our games would be on a somewhat even playing field.

To be fair, the purpose of the "Start Collecting" sets is to give you a selection of units with different special rules to get acquainted with.

Points are a secondary concern there.

Just wanted to post a follow up here on my recent purchases. I picked up the Start Collecting Orks Box along with a Trukk from my LGS yesterday. Seven hours later I built the entire box minus the Nobz. Today I went out and picked up the Orks Codex and a box of Lootas from GW, as I needed some range for my army after building my Boyz as Sluggas and my Deff Dread with four CC weapons (may change that). I do not have a solid point number for the SM and CSM included with Dark Vengeance, but I feel like they are pretty close with my recent Ork purchases minus the Lootas maybe. It'd be nice if GW would include points in both the starter kits (with no build flexibility) as well as a rough estimate on the Start Collecting Boxes for beginners like myself, but I can figure out the Orks part with my shiny new Codex. Stats were not included for the Ork Boyz in my Start Collecting Kit, and I don't know if that was an issue with my box or the system as a whole. I like that information was given for the Deff Dread, Painboy, etc., but the Ork Boyz instructions are the same thing you find in a Loota Box. This is probably nothing new for the majority here, just wanted to mention for the new/future WH40k players.

Lastly I will say, this community is amazing. The people I have spoken to about the hobby have been great. Doesn't matter if they are a GW employee or a random person in the shop, all have actually struck up a conversation with me (randomly browsing). Thanks again.

So, just to clarify, for Orks you have:

A painboy
10 boyz and a Nob
A Dread
A trukk
5 Lootas
5 Nobs (unbuilt)

Against either of the DV forces, the orks are about 400 points short. I know it seems odd, but Orks are very cheap when it comes to points, so you need a lot of them to even things up. Typically, when it comes to infantry models, they outnumber opponents 3 (or 4 or 5) to 1. To even things up, get those Nobs built, buy another trukk for them, and maybe another box of Lootas (and/or a box of Warbikes). It still won't be a perfect matchup, but it will be a bit less lopsided.

Just a friendly warning, however: Orks are a fun but weak army. You will need lots of models, amd you'll remove casualties by the handful. It's fine if you're just playing with your kids, but if you play with other adults, it can be frustrating to spend all that money and time, only to get swept off the table by turn 3 or 4.

Thanks for the response. I'm new to the wargaming side of WH, but have read up on it a BUNCH in the last few months. I know that what I have read will not begin to scratch the surface (especially when some have been playing for 10+ years), so I appreciate all of the feedback.

I only mentioned the Dark Vengeance Kit as a comparison since I have not actively searched out local games. I will be away from the area for a few months, and wanted to lay the foundation for when I get back and can play at my LGS. My boys have enjoyed watching me build the models, and the older one had a good time playing a game against his brother... The younger one would have enjoyed it the same, but I was SUPER slow at reading the dice and determining hits/wounds initially. I don't plan on using them as any sort of milestone, but it would be nice to add one more thing that we share an interest in.

With that being said, I've also seen/read that Orks are currently in a bad place. I had looked over my army choices and they were the ones that clicked with me. A year ago I would have been all about Chaos (fluff), a month ago it would have been Tau (shooty)... But after picking up the DV Box and experiencing what all goes into fielding an army, I wanted something that would be fun to build and play as well. Orks were it for me, with Skitarii as the runner up.

I will run through the Codex again to check the points on my current units. I wasn't planning on having three equal armies, just wanted something that would be fun to play with the family. I also didn't realize the difference was so great between my army and the SM/CSM armies in the DV box, so I guess that is a plug for GW in giving two decently equipped armies for less that I paid for my Orks haha.