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I don't know how many old Dakkaites are still around to remember me but I haven't played any 40K games in way over a year. I got a couple FB armies but not a single 40K army at the moment, and I'm looking at the Orks because they seem to be the flavour of the month, and the last time I had an Ork army was about 15 years ago.

The thing is, I'm not really interested in painting 150+ models, so the 1.5K and 1.85K builds I'm looking for should have let's say 'moderate' or 'low' model counts. Is this possible with Orks? My first idea was to have a unit of Nob Bikers and possibly some footslogging Boyz and some shooty support for a let's say balanced force, but I couldn't fit enough of what I wanted into the list. Can Ork lists like that work? Then I started thinking that a couple of Trukks or Battlewagons with the bikers would be nice visually, but I'm not sure how many I would need to make it viable. I made one list but I'll get bored with this one pretty fast, and I'd like some Orky tournament vets to tell me how to combine some Nob bikers with vehicles, or alternatively some convincing reasons to take something completely different while keeping the requirement of moderate or low model count. Naturally, I'd like the army to be versatile enough so that it would have a good chance in all common matchups.

HQ:

-Warboss: 150p
Warbike, Power Klaw, Cybork Body, Attack Squig

-Warboss: 150p
Warbike, Power Klaw, Cybork Body, Attack Squig

Elites:

-14 Kommandos: 240p
1 Snikrot, Burna

Troops:

-7 Nobz: 480p
Warbikes, Cybork Bodies
1) Painboy
2) Power Klaw, Slugga
3) Power Klaw, Kombi-Skorcha
4) Big Choppa, Slugga, WAAGH! Banner
5) Big Choppa, Kombi-Skorcha
6) Big Choppa, Slugga, Bosspole
7) Big Choppa, Slugga

-7 Nobz: 480p
Warbikes, Cybork Bodies
1) Painboy
2) Power Klaw, Slugga
3) Power Klaw, Kombi-Skorcha
4) Big Choppa, Slugga, WAAGH! Banner
5) Big Choppa, Kombi-Skorcha
6) Big Choppa, Slugga, Bosspole
7) Big Choppa, Slugga

Total Points: 1500
Total Models: 31

It is indeed possible to have a low model count while having a viable force.

Nob Bikers like the list you have there for a very low count, and for a moderate count, Kult of Speed. Kult of Speed focuses on the transport vehicles in the Ork codex, like the Trukk. Take units like Slugga Boyz mounted in a Trukk, and that's your basic unit in KoS. Battlewagons can also be seen in KoS armies, usually as your 'Guaranteed to get there" transport for your hard hitters like Ghazghkull.

My friend runs a KoS army, and not many people can deal with it. He zooms across the board, and by Turn 2 he'll have everybody in Assault. Not a good thing for shooty armies.

I have absolutely no interest in Nob Bikers, so don't ask me about them

i agree with nofasse eadhunta low modle count and a viable force mix like oil and water they just dont work.

Sternguard_rock wrote:i agree with nofasse eadhunta low modle count and a viable force mix like oil and water they just dont work.

Err..that doesn't seem to be what he's saying at all.

er...he said that low model count CAN be a viable force. Nob bikerz are a power build. They have their weaknesses, but against most standard armies they will walk all over them.

Not enough scoring units, in my opinion. Drop the Kommandos for some troops. Seriously. That is ~250 points being eaten by a unit that is basically disposable. With some basic Boyz units, you can bring them in and hunker down on a home objective while they spend the entire game attempting to deal with two mobs of Nob Bikers ruining their day. That is just my opinion. You could try a few mobs of Grots, too, for holding objectives. Place your objectives in cover and go to ground with the Grots and you will be fine. Most folks spend the entire game trying to knock out the Bikers. Right now, I field 9-10 in a single Mob and that works all-right, but I think your list is much stronger because it offers flexibility.

I meant to say it CAN be viable. Just clarifying.

Hmm, Nob Bikers don't seem too good at taking objectives, just kicking the crap out of your opponent's army. They're amazing in KP, since you can only get 4 KPs out of them, but there's only 2 Troops choices who will most likely be in CC doing their thing.

This is why I'm not interested in Nob Bikers. KoS can fight while still being able to take objectives.

But maybe, if you can spare 40 points, you can get some Grots to hold your objective while the Bikers zoom toward your opponent like children who have just learned to stay upright on a 2-wheeler.

Kommandos with nob bikers are just sick. They insert from the rear (umm yea, but I didn't mean it like *that*) and push the enemy out so the bikers can eat them. The list could use another scoring unit, but the 2 will be adequate when there is not much of anything left on the board for the opponent to hold objectives.

I would add 'eavy armour to make them last in combat better. Other than that they are sound.

Also grots as mentioned would be good tp just hold objectives.

mercer wrote:I would add 'eavy armour to make them last in combat better. Other than that they are sound.

Also grots as mentioned would be good tp just hold objectives.

Bikes already give a +4 armor save.

Ummm, is a sound list, a lil bit more constricted than what I like, but it's nob bikers at 1.5k, not much you can do about it.

You should eat many unprepared armies out there. Sick.

A friend has a kos 1850 army that is straightforward and nasty. It is a relatively low model count (for 1850 orks anyway) and you won't get the hate a nob biker army brings.

HQ
Big Mek, kff cybork (battle wagon 1)
Warboss, pk bp attack squig cybork (battle wagon 1)

Elite
8 nobs 1 painboy with orderly, 1 nob, 1 kombi shoota skorcha, 1 bosspole, 1 waaagh banner, 1 pk, 1 pk bp, 1bc, 1 bc kombi shoota scorcha (battle wagon 1)

Troops
12 boyz, nob bp pk trukk 1
12 boyz, nob bp pk trukk 2
12 boyz, nob bp pk trukk 3
12 boyz, nob bp pk trukk 4
12 boyz, nob bp pk trukk 5
20 boyz, nob bp pk (battle wagon 2)
Trukks have red paint and reinforced ram, battlewagons have red paint, armor plates, reinforced ram, and 1 big shoota.
That is it. It is fast and mean. Pretty low count for the points as well, but still a lot of painting.

A pretty significant counter to the Nob biker army has surfased: Terminators w/ Thunderhammer/Stormshield and even a Librarian with Null Zone.

It would benefit you to see what is actually being played locally to see if this is viable. I forget if you have to play with comp; IIRC, you don't.

Also, good to see you back. Your insight has been missed.

Inigo Montoya wrote:A friend has a kos 1850 army that is straightforward and nasty.

So do you think a 1.85K Ork army like your friends would work if it had one unit of Nob Bikers and a biker Warboss supporting the Trukk Boyz instead of the Nobz in the Battlewagon? Wouldn't it be simply better? I would like to try out a list like that. Something like Warboss and Nob Bikerz, Big Mek and lots of Boyz in a Battlewagon, and as many Trukks with Boyz with the rest of the points?

A pretty significant counter to the Nob biker army has surfased: Terminators w/ Thunderhammer/Stormshield

The best Ork unit to throw at the Terminators is regular Boyz? Maybe a more balanced approach with some trukks supporting the Bikers would be nice then? Might be hard to squeeze in 1.5K but in 1.85K I can't see how I couldn't just throw the regular Orks at the Terminators while the ultrafast Bikers deal with softer targets. Thanks for the warm welcome btw.

Anyway, those Trukk/BW lists aside, it wasn't hard to fit in some Grots for an objective grabber.

HQ:

-Warboss: 135p
Warbike, Power Klaw, Cybork Body

-Warboss: 135p
Warbike, Power Klaw, Cybork Body

Elites:

-13 Kommandos: 215p
1 Snikrot

Troops:

-7 Nobz: 480p
Warbikes, Cybork Bodies
1) Painboy
2) Power Klaw, Slugga
3) Power Klaw, Kombi-Skorcha
4) Big Choppa, Slugga, WAAGH! Banner
5) Big Choppa, Kombi-Skorcha
6) Big Choppa, Slugga, Bosspole
7) Big Choppa, Slugga

-7 Nobz: 480p
Warbikes, Cybork Bodies
1) Painboy
2) Power Klaw, Slugga
3) Power Klaw, Kombi-Skorcha
4) Big Choppa, Slugga, WAAGH! Banner
5) Big Choppa, Kombi-Skorcha
6) Big Choppa, Slugga, Bosspole
7) Big Choppa, Slugga

-15 Gretchin: 55p
1 Runtherd

Total Points: 1500
Total Models: 46

If you are interested in making enemies go ahead and make a Nob Biker list. If this is for friendly games I would not suggest this type of list as you could pound most armies into the pavement with this type of list.

Hialmar wrote:If you are interested in making enemies go ahead and make a Nob Biker list.

Agreed. However i dont mind facing someone with a "impossible" to beat list, its a hard task but fun

Nothing to add except to say Welcome Back Therion. LTNS.

Yeah your list is strong. The original Nob Biker lists from Baltimore didn't use Kommandos but my playtesting experience has illustrated to me that Nob Bikers can have issues with gun line armies, especially those capable of dealing instant death, or worse, bypassing cover. Snikrot is excellent tech against armies like that and I don't think I would run the list at this point without him.

Grots are strongly recommended unless you want to find yourself not scoring your own objective.

Kevin Nash wrote:
Yeah your list is strong. The original Nob Biker lists from Baltimore didn't use Kommandos but my playtesting experience has illustrated to me that Nob Bikers can have issues with gun line armies, especially those capable of dealing instant death, or worse, bypassing cover. Snikrot is excellent tech against armies like that and I don't think I would run the list at this point without him.

Grots are strongly recommended unless you want to find yourself not scoring your own objective.

The updated list in one of my replies above has Grots now. However, about Snikrot, I was curious whether you think the Burnas are mandatory? I'm really stretched on points, but I'm worried whether the Kommandos and Snikrot can actually win combats against Space Marines since none of them ignore armour. What kind of targets do you think they should engage assuming the enemy is near their own deployment zone? Obliterators? Vehicles in the rear armour? Devastators? Lootas? Shooty bugs?

Snikrot and his Boyz can hold there own against most units you will find holding objectives on the back table edge. The Burnas go a long way towards helping accomplish this as they do cut through pesky armor or if needed cover saves.

Avoid heavy infantry unless you have the burnas or unless they are a small Devastator squad or the like.