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Umm - question above - just wondering whether they really fit into a 1.5k army and your thoughts on them as orks players or players that have faced ork armys

Grots are actually quite a useful unit to have around. For a mere 80 points you can reliably screen a unit against enemy fire, and you have an extra scoring unit (though not a reliable scoring unit) just floating around.

Grot mobs aren't around to kill stuff. They're to be used as ruthlessly (read: fluffily) as possible, having them die so that useful things won't. It's almost guaranteed that whatever fire your opponent tosses at them is a bonus, as something else in your army is being spared the pain, even if you lose ten grots, they're worth the 3 lootas that would have died to the same fire.

However, it's not a unit that will be impressive to you. It won't kill much of anything, and it certainly won't turn the game around. Well, maybe, but if they do the Orks take all the credit anyway.

Thanks Orkestra - but are you actually saying include them - or just giving them credit??

As stated, they're there to die. Throw 30 grots at a daemon prince and he'll be forced to fight them hand-to-hand for at least a turn or two. Every turn he's fighting them means it's a turn your warboss/lootas/big mek is free to get some krunkin' done without worrying about the big friggin hell-spawn.
With enough lucky rolls the grots can be a serious pain in the ass!

Besides, i like em. They make me laugh.

Phloop wrote:As stated, they're there to die. Throw 30 grots at a daemon prince and he'll be forced to fight them hand-to-hand for at least a turn or two. Every turn he's fighting them means it's a turn your warboss/lootas/big mek is free to get some krunkin' done without worrying about the big friggin hell-spawn.
With enough lucky rolls the grots can be a serious pain in the ass!

Besides, i like em. They make me laugh.

You're going to burn 120 points on a speed bump, that will not last the first round of combat? The fact is, orks are cheap enough, one ork per two grotz, and they do more than die. If you want a screen unit, use kanz. Grotz are a garbage unit on average. I watched a unit of 20 get beaten down in combat by 5 firewarriors. I honestly do not believe they have a place in a competitive list. I have found some limited use with a unit of 10 with a runtherd, as a cheap way to grab uncontested objectives at the end of the game. Mostly, however, they are a throw away kill point, a distraction at best, a waste of points at worst.

That being said, I will run them from time to time to mix up my army list. I like them for the sheer fun of when they do something increadible, like when 20 of them tied a large unit of harlequins up for 3 combat phases, and killed 7 of them, before getting routed.

I use Grots for a couple things:

1. Picket line. Great for denying entry on your back board edge when outflankers come on.

2. REMF objective holders. Why waste a 180 point Ork Boyz unit on sitting back and going to ground when a 40point Grot squad can hold the objective just as well?

3. Ablative wounds for Big Meks. Join the Grot mob and now my KFF had 10+ wounds.

Like anything else, you can't measure a units' worth in a vacuum.

I certainly don't think I'm qualified to say whether or not you definitely should use them or not, but take a look at your list and see if there's points available, and if you have any need for someone to fill the roles we've described for grots. I'm personally intending to take some, even if it's just to encircle my lootas and protect them from shooting/outflanks/fast units. I think that having a really cheap unit like that makes a list able to do more things.


And even though Boyz are also very cheap, there's psychological impact to Grots. Your opponent knows that they're just tiny, useless orks, so maybe he'll let them do something fantastic.

mixed response, the thing is not whether to play them but for me is to buy them or not

By all means buy them. The models are cute!

They have a good role in some armies, but not in others. If you find you want a meatshield for footsloggers, they are gold. If you want to told one scoring unit in reserve to grab an objective in home territory late, they are gold.

Mostly anything else they really suck.

I think it depends what kinda ork armies you run.

I hope that helps.

Very handy in combination with Burna Boyz, screening them from enemy assaults, and catching bullets. Also good doing the same thing for Flashgitz.

Playing a fast list, I like grots to help with screening / deny flanking units.

You just have to know they are going to die, and if you think you can still be competitive with 30-80pts as a freebie, then by all means.

I'm using night goblins for mine, because they're inexpensive and cute

19 of them with an SAG mek 20 ablative wounds for the SAG, and he can now basically score.

I say buy them..the models are awesome, and they play well for such a low cost. Even BS 2 can kill stuff on occasion, besides a screen of grots is hard to kill quickly enough to stop the rest of the army hitting on the charge.

I had a Grot squad kill my tooled up cannoness in one round of shooting....even with her invul save. Damn little greenies

i just want gretchin snipers =/ still bs2 but cause pinning, would be sweet.

besides ones of the omnibus IG books has em, so why not

The Green Git wrote:I use Grots for a couple things:

1. Picket line. Great for denying entry on your back board edge when outflankers come on.

My friends did this to me once in an Apoc game. The previous game I had used Flank March to devastating effect, so in the next game they lined their entire board edge (about 15') with grots. I didn't take Flank March that game so it didn't screw me over, and this was before scout and infiltrate could outflank, but it was a funny trick.

For a start, gretchin are BS3, not 2
making them the best shots in the ork list. (even if thier guns arent that good)



1: screening - they make great mobile screens for units, cheap, and can be thrown away when needed.

2: combat - they can be used as a tarpit to slow down units or models that would cause you problems (thirsters, bikernobz, assault termies)

3: objectives - they are still a troop choice, meaning as cheap and disposable as they are, they have a great use.
A small unit can dig in and hold an objective while the boyz do thier job.

4: swarm - against elite units that would usually cause the boyz problems you can throw gretchins in the way to take the impact, also using them to hold a unit in place for boyz to charge.

5: counter-movement - use them to block assaults, get in the way, stop units DS'ing too close to your lines, list goes on, but generally they can get in the way and be a pain in the ass.

6: wound allocation - throw a shokk mek with them and you have extra wounds to keep the mek alive, also, it helps the mek in combat.


They have alot of uses and i allways take them, they have helped in countless games, and even won a few for me by snagging objectives at the last minute.
They have also pulled off wonders in combat, and actually killed plenty of decent units / characters (or atleast finished them off)

I would rate them very high.

Ok simply put grots are the secrete big SC killers in the Ork horde. One mob has 30 grots! Thats basically 30 wounds. You need 3 runtherds in a 30 grot mob. BUT give those 3 the prods, and presto they wound on a 4+ PERIOD. Imagine how pissed off a necron player would get killing a nightbringer with grots.
They are totally badass....but really only in certain circumstances IMO

cracker, if you want to be cheap then take 29 gretchin and 2 runts



i also missed out a point here


minefields - gretchin can be used to clear them, i think that ones pretty straight forward lol.

Thanks peeps, i think i will be buying a couple of boxed sets now. I found the 'cute' remarks funny!!

Yea you CAN be cheap, but in a SC killer mob your really trying to get the 6 poison attacks on whatever your trying to take down.


ALSO to athba, with grots, you can make your own scratch built big gunz and have the crews for them. Just a tid bit I guess lol

KingCracker - good point re the big gunz - they are not exactly master crafted, maybe i'll look into WW2 stuff - they must have similar models

JD21290 wrote:For a start, gretchin are BS3, not 2
making them the best shots in the ork list. (even if thier guns arent that good)

lol Ill stand corrected

They're a real cheap way of making a shooty battlewagon scoring, if you like killkannons for example.

The nice thing about leaving them on an objective (particularly if they can hide out of sight, being such short models) is that while just about anything can take them out, the grots are 40 pts and anything that can reach them probably cost more, giving the rest of your army a better matchup.

They also generally improve your comp scores.

athba wrote:KingCracker - good point re the big gunz - they are not exactly master crafted, maybe i'll look into WW2 stuff - they must have similar models

Alternatly,if your using battle wagons you could also use the left over big gun (provided your arming all your BW the same) or you could just buy the seperate bitz,add some wheels and instant gun battery.
More OT,I enjoy using grots mostly for the "humourus"aspects,using grots for mine clearence & meat shields just seems "Orky".

They were always good as a meat shield or distraction while my boyz and Dread got into range. They even killed some SM a few times. For now they are retired. Didn't I read something about a Gretchin Revolutionary Committee.

I'm half tempted to now throw them in a Battle Wagon...

-J.

rzsanguine wrote:They were always good as a meat shield or distraction while my boyz and Dread got into range. They even killed some SM a few times. For now they are retired. Didn't I read something about a Gretchin Revolutionary Committee.

There's an army of Gretchin out there, but they are a "counts as" Imperial Guard army.


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Great army.

FITZZ wrote:
Alternatly,if your using battle wagons you could also use the left over big gun (provided your arming all your BW the same) or you could just buy the seperate bitz,add some wheels and instant gun battery.
More OT,I enjoy using grots mostly for the "humourus"aspects,using grots for mine clearence & meat shields just seems "Orky".

Winner winner chicken dinner.

For 40pts you can make your Battlewagon Scoring. Buy an ard top, and stick as many gunz and upgrades as you can, x3.

My friend uses them pretty effectively, he joins the Grot mob with a Zzap Gun (I forget if that is the real name, but it is the one with doubles leading to different effects). He stays on an objective and shoots targets of opportunity with the huge range effectively giving it a cover save and 30 something wounds. I'm still hoping for him to roll snake eyes one of these days.

Once I made the mistake of placing my Carnifex too close to the Grot mob it managed to keep it in combat for 3 turns (he had three of those guys with the attack reducing weapons, so the Carnifex got 1 attack). Every assault phase, the three leader guys would deal a wound and the Carnifex would save it, but the Carnifex would fail to deal one and tie combat.