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Hey everyone!
I scour these forums now and then, keep pretty quiet. Every few years I get more into the hobby and post an army list... and since I should be working on a paper for class I figured now was a good time!

Recently gotten more and more into Orks (always had a bit of green in me, I guess I must have been waiting for a bigger bitz box?), and decided on starting (slowly, go go poor college student) an ork army.
Already kitbashed a fantasy orc boyz box, a new 40k ork boyz, and the last generation of 40k boyz, so got about 35 models give or take... anyways. Planning on getting 2 of the Ork Battleforces to supplement, and figure I have a pretty solid base there.

Okay sorry, boring.

Anyways, the list so far is very troop heavy (I like a lot, my brushes won't but I will) BUT Um... lacks an HQ. I LOVE the Forgeworld Warboss on Bike model, like LOVE, but as the list is he's too fat points wise to fit. I've got 66 points left, and no HQ. Wondering where/if I should cut, and/or generally usefulness of the list:

HQ:


Fast Attack:
x6 Warbikes 185pts.
Nob w/PK

Troops:
x12 Boyz (Slugga+Choppa) 152pts
Nob w/ PK + Boss Pole
Trukk + Red Paint

x12 Boyz (Slugga+Choppa) 152pts
Nob w/ PK + Boss Pole
Trukk + Red Paint


x30 Boyz (Shootaz) 225pts
Nob w/Big Choppa + PK
1x Big Shoota
2x Rokkit Launcha

x30 Boyz (Shootaz) 220pts
Nob w/Big Choppa + PK
2x Big Shoota
1x Rokkit Launcha


934pts Total

If you are just starting out and need more boyz and an HQ then why not get an Assault on Black Reach box? It comes with a great warboss, 20 boyz, 5 nobz, and 3 deff kopta. You might even be able to find someone locally or on the dakka swap who will trade you the marines for more orks.

Well, first of all, I've got this stupid (but useful for making orks) urge not to use the same model as everyone else. I'm taking my time with the boyz I have to make each pretty unique, so using the same AoBR Warboss as so many others... rubs me the wrong way. That and Deff Koptas just... again, me no likey. They are a strange and cool concept, rickety gun-toting flying machines, but the model is.. well I just don't like it, its ugly, and really, again, EVERYONE takes them because of the set.

I appreciate the suggestion though Olympia! (Just, I'm mildly neurotic lol)

Alright then How about this...pick up a box of the new plastic Nobz and convert the hell out of all the cool 'Uge choppas and big ork bodies in it to make your boss.

Thank you! That's... I can't believe I didn't think of that lol

So a Boss on foot eh? Throw him into one of the trukk squads and pull out one of the regular boyz? Or slog it with the shootas?

My main concern is, I actually want him to be useful, but if he's in a Trukk, and the enemy knows which one, he's liable to get all kinds of blown up before he gets to break some heads in (other than his own boyz) (and same goes for sloggin in).

hmm guess at points (assuming 6 are cut from a trukk squad to fit him in):

Warboss 70 pnts
Big Choppa + 'Eavy Armour?

Total army: 998pts

As for the list itself, many people--myself included--would counsel you to go either all footslogging or all speed. Your hybrid list of two trukk mobz and two foot mobz negates the strengths of each approach. Either go with a bunch of trukks or none at all. This is because they are so easy to kill.

Thanks for the responses btw, but got a bit of a confusion about this bit.

I mean I understand that Trukks are easy to kill, and that specialization can be good, but..

Well in this case, having two heavy mobs of footsloggers, assault-shooting their way up, seem to be complimented by two smaller more mobile squads of melee'ers. Even if the trukk squads just rush areas of the enemy army while the others get into position, tactically it gives me a fair amount of flexibility. Add the Warbikers and I have 3 roving meat-grinders.
Part of this is the relatively low points involved, and partly its a lack of understanding on my part.

At best guess, a trukk/otherspeedyfings list is going to have the advantage of being massively mobile (at least for the first couple turns), while a footsloggers would be very very durable (to anything but a basilisk line). Admittedly splitting them means a lack of specialization, which having played a frothing-at-the-mouth-Khorne player repeatedly before, I do understand can be ridiculously powerful (even ignoring the obvious 'Chaos Codex' comments). But the trukks are more a supplementary to the foot guys (see, points costs)...

I dunno, only ever played Orks briefly in Gothic, and Orcs in Fantasy... and was mostly a 3rd Ed. player in 40k (been following the rules, but haven't actively played, so lacking in hands on), so open to input.

The thing about your list is that it
1) lacks effective turn 1 shooting.
2) Mixes and matches the special weapons in squads.
3) Does not have a unified approach to the game.

With 6 total weapons in your big squads, you have very little chance to create effects on opponent's big stuff. Mixing the BSs and RLs lacks a unified approach. I would first recommend either going all BS or all RL in each unit. With 18" range, the shootas aren't going to be in range turn 1 unless you go second and the other guy moves forward.

Your trukks provide your opponent something to shoot at with his heavy weapons. Figure they will be the first thing to go in round 1. You don't have enough target saturation to create problems for an opponent.

Recommendations:
Pick a style for the first 1k points. You can think about diversifying after that, perhaps. If you like the idea of mobility and having too many targets for someone to shoot, take the 450 points from the 60 shoota boys and fill those with 2-3 more trukk squads. 5 trukks ensures that something will live through round 1 shooting to make it to round 2.

If you like the horde style, consider dropping the trukks and bikes for some fire support to eliminate threats and get rid of the mobile element of your opponent.

A list for horde style might look something like:

Big Mek, SAG (not the optimized solution, but fun and wonky).
19 grots, herda for the big Mek to go in, providing protection, extra wounds, and a LD re-roll in the form of the squig hound.

Lootas to eliminate AV12 skimmers that will otherwise dance around.

2 30 boy mobs w/RLs and PK (again, gives you something to take down skimmers and chimeras)

That leaves 150ish points for big guns, bikes, etc...

If you decide on speedy, then consider going with 4 trukk mobs, Boss on Bike, and Biker mob (possibly nob bikers if you want to build on the unit for later point values.

All that said, if you just like the list and love your conversion ideas, take a warboss on a bike and drop models from the big mobs for the points. Also, put 3 big shootas in one squad, and 3 Rokkit Launchas in the other. Orks are karacterful and kolorful. There's no wrong answer, just less optimized answers.

I tend to play hybrid ork lists, and I have to agree with PapaNurgle, they are rough at 1000 pts. Rough in the fact that you cant really count on the point and click style of play that orks lent themselves to. Instead of being able to overwhelm your opponent with numbers that are insurmountable, the army requires more thinking, and of course a bit more luck, to get the job done. It is unquestionably a weaker list than a unified approach that sinks all of the points into boyz, or into mech, but this does not make them unplayable. A hybrid list gets better at larger point values, but it seems that unified lists are stronger there too.

I dont agree that first turn shooting is a key to victory, especially in low point games. I have won games with nothing that shoots farther than a rokkit in my list, and have never felt outclassed by an army that had alot of long range fire power because, with running and cover, infantry can travel long distances quickly.

Dont mix and match special weapons. I tend to run big shootas in shoota boy squads, because rokkits tend to make me want to shoot hard targets that my shootas cant hurt, and as a result waste all of those shots.

Lootas tend to be great or suck, Ive had games where they've killed everything they have shot at, games where they couldnt hit the broad side of a barn, and games where my enemy was ready for them and wiped them to a man before I got to shoot back. I dont feel like they lend the utility to be worth their points, but that may speak more twords my style of play that anything else. That and a 15 point model with a +6 armor save seems silly.

I feel like the HQ for you is the KFF mek. It is my favorite support HQ; It makes your boyz and vehicles way more survivable, and costs a paltry 85 points, bare bones. If you make 14 coversaves, that was his point cost. If you make 2 trukk coversaves, that covers his point cost as well.

I have never seen regular warbikers do their job well, so I would recommend against them. All I have seen them do well is serve to make cover for units trailing behind, and if you have a mek, you already have that covered. For me, they have never done anything well but die.

You know, I was moving away from my Necrons because I was tired of an army that had one playstyle that a)made any sense b)was at all effective....

The mixed weapons int he squads is a good point, it was one of my critical mistakes back in my DA days, where I would waste entire tactical squads turn after turn because the one rocket launcher would be trying to take something out. Not sure which makeup of heavy weapons I want, but the point is (painfully, admittedly) taken.

First turn shooting... seems like its for particular armies. This list wasn't intended to do that, but admittedly, another flaw I likely have is my tendency to try to play a longer-game in my head than goes on on the table, there just aren't that many turns in most games. So while first turn shooting isn't really my idea of an aspect to build an army around (not fun, to me) the principal is definetly one I'll acknowledge

I'm on the fence about this hyrbid vs. unified issue. I like tactical flexibility (SM are probably for me in a lot of ways, but, really, why play the most popular army when you can play something at least a lil more unique?), so having the ability to launch 60 models at 1000 points in footsloggers + fast support troops is appealing. Hell, having to think and work for a win, also appeals (besides not like I'm playing in a highly competitive tourney).
On the other hand, your likely right. A specialized list can excel at what it focuses on, which a horde of greenskin or red-fings-wit-wheels can do very well. It will be weak against some lists, but thats the challenge there.

I think.... I need to think lol