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So I know Ogryn are overpriced and just not quite good enough, but damnit I like them.

That being said, does anyone have any tips for using them. My current opponent has been playing Dark Eldar, and has a Blood Angels army in the works and I'm really tired of getting rolled over by the same squad of 10 Wyches. Even If I kill most of them before they reach the assault they still do tremendous damage. I have stormtroopers who are decent in assaults, but I want to play to their strengths and deepstrike them. I also use Straken as an HQ, but one badass in an army of sissies isn't enough.

Does anyone have any good advice on how to deploy them? I'm thinking of using them as a buffer from enemy assaults. I usually deploy a platoon with platoon HQ, 2 Infantry squads and an autocannon squad. I was thinking of using the ogryn to keep my platoon alive for a couple extra turns.

Thoughts?

The only tip i have about using them is don't!
i just see them as a waste. good luck though....

I've always wanted to run a small ogyrn squad with a grey knight brother captain. This will make then LD 9 and stubborn to boot, as well as allowing some more wound shenanigans.

I think the trick with deploying Ogryn is to get the charge in. Rather than screening your infantry with Ogryns daisy chain one infantry squad out and then use the ogryns as a counter-charge unit. When the DE hit your lines you are going to lose your screen squad. use then next turn to eat your opponents assault force.

Also against the DE a platoon command squad with 4 flamers or a special weapon squad with three works wonders on stopping wytches.

I had a squad of 6 Ogyn in a Chimera in my Steal legion army, I had so many chimeras on the field my oponents would forget my ogyn where lurking in one till they hoped out and assaulted or something, worked well for me because they didnt expect to have a squad of T5 guys jump out, or forced out from loss of vehicle, but thats just me. as for you I would sugest what BishopX said, its best for IG to send a sacrificial squad out to get eaten in front of your ogryn, then the ogryn run in and save the day

alarmingrick wrote:The only tip i have about using them is don't!
i just see them as a waste. good luck though....

Man I love it when people answer like that. Way to help the guy out. THREAD COUNT +1!


Im the same way with FlashGits man. I know they are pricey and other, cheaper units can get the job done just as well, but I just LOVE the Gits. Infact Im starting to get the hang of them. They either do nothing, or really cream units. So I think with your Ogryn problem you need to just get the motion of them. They are T5, so they will be a little harder to hurt (specially with DEldar, what are they S3?) And 2 wounds, so theoretically they can tie up a unit or take some beatings for a few turns.

I dont know the IG codex, but if you can give them some FNP or the like, then they could really be a problem for your opponent. Good luck with them, and have fun playing them, we both must be gluttons for pain using the most hated units in our dexes

So, compare ogryn more abstractly, and you can see their use.

250 points of ogryn:

18 T5 wounds (60 bolter shots to wipe out)
12 S5 shots + 25 S6 CC on charge (5 MEq or 10 GEq dead)

250 points of guardsmen:

50 T3 wounds (57 bolter shots to wipe out)
100 S3 attacks (5.5 MEq or 16 GEq dead)

As you can see, ogryn are basically identical to their points in regular guardsmen. While they do slightly less damage, and can't take special weapons or orders, they do gain the advantage of being much, much more resilient to template and blast weapons. A single whirlwind shot can easily wipe out 10 guardsmen (especially if they're sort of packed in, because you need to take 50 guardsmen for the same number of points), thus losing 20% of their effectiveness every time they get shot at. 6 ogryn, on the other hand, don't lose a single model to that attack, keeping up full effectiveness. Also, of course, they're more resilient in assaults as they tend not to lose combats with huge penalties like infantry do.

As such, think of ogryn as being the same as a cloud of guardsmen, except that they're relatively immune to heavy weapons fire, and aren't just whisked aside by assault. As such, the primary use of ogryn in my mind is to screen footslogging infantry, which is only useful if you have hordes of infantry footslogging across the board. If you do, then obviously they can be useful for their points.

Thanks for all the input folks, it helps to put things into perspective. Ogryn seem to be and discarded pretty rapidly and I never really understood why. I have no doubt they're hard to play perfectly but I've always found it hard to believe that they simply weren't good at all (either way I'll take the challenge).

As for KingCracker's comments: I'm a modeller first and a gamer second so my army is about cool tanks and weak guys with flashlights who get cut down. I like the Ogryn models enough to use a few and quite frankly they seem like they will fill an important hole in my army list when dealing with DE. Hopefully the'll also be tough enough to take down a few Blood Angels as well.

Dude, ignore what everyone says. Ogryns are a bargain at TWICE the price. This unit can take anything on in HTH and win....everytime.

My Ogryns never fail me...ever. Terminators, Tyranids, Orks...you name it, the Ogryns clean house everytime.

People who say Ogryns suck dont really know 40k really well at all. I'm amazed at all the Ogryn hate I see all over the place when the unit is so obviously one of the best point for point damage dealers in the codex.

Learn how to play guys.


























Yea...I'm joking, they're pretty bad.

I like 'em too though. Use them, the rest of the guard codex is really strong, and the models look SO good!

40 points is the accepted price for a terminator and heavy infantry. I think GW is still going off of that as the Meganob has 2 wounds but no 5++ save... you get a trade off with both. Meganobz get that extra wound but can be ID and will usually not get a save from it, while having one less wounds, Terminators will always get some sort of save.

I think the idea with Ogryns was to be resilient as a Terminator... The only thing they fear, like the rest of the infantry based models in the codex is mass fire. With T5 they are only insta-killed by S10... that means a squad of 5 will run a bill of 200 but that is 15 wounds that have to wounded...

oh, one of the things to note as well is that they're not all that points-effective, but they can still be effective if you slather points all over them.

For example, 8 ogryn with a priest saunters up to two full strength tac squads in cover. 60 surprise S5/6 attacks later, and one of the tac squads is utterly obliterated and the second is down a few guys while the ogryn are left with all their models still on the table. Sure you had to spend over 350 points for the privelage, but clobbering the boogers out of tac marines and then barely taking notice of return fire as they lumber on to an objective is priceless, at least as far as psychology and sheer awesomeness is concerned.

If your opponent focuses on them, then they're looking at the tough units while all of the high-damage, squishy units get a free pass. If they ignore the ogryn, all the sudden they tend to find themselves with metagame problems turn 4.

So yeah, not end-all-be-all, but it would be worth giving them a try for awhile, at least in proxy form.

I know that they are great delivery systems for my Primaris Psyker (meaning bodyguard). Plus they will wreck ork boys and are a unit that will not fold when the bolters start rapid firing. Link them with Yarrick for added LOLs.

Ailaros wrote:oh, one of the things to note as well is that they're not all that points-effective, but they can still be effective if you slather points all over them.

For example, 8 ogryn with a priest saunters up to two full strength tac squads in cover. 60 surprise S5/6 attacks later, and one of the tac squads is utterly obliterated and the second is down a few guys while the ogryn are left with all their models still on the table. Sure you had to spend over 350 points for the privelage, but clobbering the boogers out of tac marines and then barely taking notice of return fire as they lumber on to an objective is priceless, at least as far as psychology and sheer awesomeness is concerned.

If your opponent focuses on them, then they're looking at the tough units while all of the high-damage, squishy units get a free pass. If they ignore the ogryn, all the sudden they tend to find themselves with metagame problems turn 4.

So yeah, not end-all-be-all, but it would be worth giving them a try for awhile, at least in proxy form.

Ummm, Ogryns are unaffected by a Priest.


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I've faced Ogryn several times with my Marines, and I hate them. Why? Because they just won't die! I can mow down Guardmens with bolters, and force Morale tests in the Shooting phase. Not so with Ogryn. They're harder to wound, so bolter fire isn't the best against them. You might kill more by using heavy weapon fire, but it's still justone wound, since they're T5 and aren't instakilled by anything in my force short of a Battlecannon from a Vindicator, a conversion beamer at max range, or an Orbital Bombardment from a Chapter Master. A librarian could smoke several in one go with his force weapon, but I'd need to put Might of the Ancients on him (for reliable wounds), AND upgrade him to an Epistolary to be able to activate the force weapon in the same turn. Any that I don't instagib with the force weapon have the potential to pound the libby's face in with the blunt end of a Ripper Gun.

They're the best anti-MEQ assault unit the Guard have. Deliver them in a Chimera, by clever fire and maneuver, or by using them as a counter assault unit for when the Assault Marines try to roll into your squads.

TheRhino wrote:Ummm, Ogryns are unaffected by a Priest.

Oh, good catch. I'd missed that one.

TheRhino wrote:They're the best anti-MEQ assault unit the Guard have.

This isn't completely true. Ogryn are good because they do a fair amount of damage, and are tough as nails. There are assault options, though, that can blow away a full tac squad in a single turn of assault, like rough riders and priestly-commissar-power-weapon-blobs.

I've only really gotten the chance to use them in 1 game, even then I think they've got their uses despite being over-costed. Then again, Valkyries and Vendettas are a bit too cheap, so it evens out if I've got both in 2000 points. - That's what I tell myself anyway!

One thing not to discount is their Ripper guns, They can do plenty of damage and can even make a mess of transports if you hit them in the rear armour.

My big question with them is why would I use Ogryns rather than grey knight terminators? They cost about the same.

Ogryn are not a tournament unit, but they don't suck either. They should be 30 points, 40 is what you pay for a bloodcrusher or a termie, and they are notable superior.

What is interesting though, is that if a unit of Orgyns shoots and charges a unit of TH/SS or Regular Termies, on average they will kill the termies quite handily. LC's though are a different story.

I use them in for fun games and they have ALWAYS performed above my (admittedly low) expectations.

DE are an army that they will actually shine against. They will crush DE in combat, even Wyches (that is an educated estimate though, I have not done the math) as the agonizer shouldn't kill a single ogryn and the rest of the wyches wound on 6's. The ogryns hit back and beat the snot out of them. Orgyns also have enough attacks to reliably hit skimmers and with strength 6 will take them down, assuming they can get to them of course.

BA will be tougher though as FNP will really annoy you. Ogryns will have a tough go of it against an assault oriented or shooty BA list, IMO.

The way I run them is in a squad of 5 or 6 with either Yarrick or a Commisar Lord to increase their Ld. This squad will kick the crap out of a lot of stuff, surprisingly. Again, not a tournament choice, but effective enough to go in a pick up game army.

They are especially good against Orks and Daemons. If a squad of Ogryns gets to shoot and charge a unit of Ork Boyz, they will obliterate them. They are good against Daemons because they have lots of high strength attacks and they don't care much about weapons that ignore armor.

So in short, if you like them, use them. Take a squad and use them as a counter assault unit. They mulch transport vehicles well, too. You may be pleasantly surprised with their performance. The more you use them too, the better you will get with them.


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@BishopX
There is no reason to take them over GKT's unless you know you are playing an army where the Orgyns would be better such as against Orks. Against pretty much anyone else, take the GKT's.

I have always wanted to use them with yarrick seems to be the best use for yarrick. It feels like im wasteing him on penals. Reroll to hit, fearless, auras and stuff. Put it all in a chimera and away you go.

I don't know, I've heard that Ogryns will molest your guardsmen if you lock them together in the same cell of your battlefoam bag...