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My local gaming group is starting up Battlefleet Gothic, a game everyone seems interested in, but few actually want to try. As I want to mainly use this to expand upon my existing army, in terms of campaign and narrative goodness, I chose to use an Ork Fleet. However after only playing one demo game, not with Orks, I do not fully know enough to guess what would be a good starting point for my 750 pt list/shopping list. Thus I come to you, the internet, in hopes of a solution. Here are the questions I have at the moment.

1) Which fleet list do I go after? The Ork Armageddon Rules, that are bundled with the D/Eldar or the Clan Rules? The Clan rules seem more fun, but also infinity more convoluted.

2) What models would be good to help me understand both the game itself and Orks for 750? The end goal is 2000 points, but I'm not sure where to start.

3) What are some general Ork tactics for playing the army?

4) What are some army specific tactics (tactics specifically against other armies, not to be confused with list tailoring)?

1. Learn with the basics- the Armageddon list is fantastic and very well balanced. The clans give you a little bit of gimmicky flavor- but I think the various battleship variants should set the tone for your fleet pretty well. Having access to the 'Ammer is essential if you want to run a conventional Ork fleet action.

2. Orks are a point blank army IN SPACE! This is an inherently bad idea. Accept this, and realize that you face many, many challenges.

The good points- you've got armor 6 in the front. On everything. So you are tough as nails. You have very, very little firepower over 30cm. So you have little reason not to brace if you are being targeted by long range weapons. Your fighta-bommas can't dmg much beyond cripples or escorts- use them defensively to deliver your kroozers into close range.
Pair up your kroozers. Blast markers will prevent you from shooting the same target very well- but a 2 kroozer skwadron fires as one.
Buy as many warbosses as possible. You need rerolls, and the huge boost they give you in boarding.
Mixed escorts works fairly well for Orks. Ravagers and Onslaughts pair up nicley. Ravagers always have a terrible time reloading, but they are cheaper than Onslaughts- so you can use them as meatshields once they fire their torpedo load.
Get a Karrier every 500 points or so.

4. Learn to think ahead. The Ork army, more than any other, needs to be at close range to do its damage, and can choose how to get there. Start thinking 2 or 3 turns ahead- Brute ramships really help with this, since they have to line up their ram before the opponent moves. To get the msot out of your fleet, you'll have to force your opponenet to close with you as well. Torpedoes and Brutes help channel your opponent to where you want them to go. Board and Ram at all times. Ram larger ships so you can actually hit- your leadership sucks, but ramming larger things gives you a 1d6 leadership test.

Once you feel like you are doing ok anticipating the enemy's movement,, build a Rok or two. They have great weapons for their points, and awful maneuverability. Point them to where the opponent will be, and run your fleet as normal.

Nice advice. I'm sure it will take me some time for some of this to kick in, probably after some play testing.

However I would like to reiterate/rephrase a question.

What do you think would be a good 750 list? Or rather what would be good to buy for a 750 list so I could learn the best with orks?

Heh. That's right, I did kind of miss the main point. Ok, here's a very basic shopping list intended to combine ease on the wallet with great scaling, and a chance to experiment with everything the Ork fleet offers.

First, your shopping list-
1 pack of Ravagers
1 Kroozer
1 Karrier
1 pack of Onslaughts
1 pack of Brutes

And the list-
Warboss w/ Extra Powerfields
Karrier Terror Ship w/ boarding torpedoes
Kroozer w/ heavy gunz (so you can see what Savages are like without buying them)
2 squads of 2 brutes- quick, maneuverable, and not worth shooting at.
one squad of a Ravager and 2 Onslaughts.
one squad of 2 Ravagers and an Onslaught.

Hits right at 750, and I think you'll find a use for every ship as you move up to 2,000 and find your style. Savages are too extreme to recommend for your first purchase- but if you really like the heavy gunz on the kroozer, you may want to pick them up. Eventually, you'll probably want to spread it out to 1 Ravager per escort squad. Happy hunting!

You don't even need the actual models just make them out of orky bitz.

That's a pretty good list.

Brutes are the real gems of the Ork fleet. They're devastating ramships but actually aren't bad even as conventional gunships if you can keep the prow pointed at the enemy, because that 6+ armour is a bugger to get through without lance fire and they're so cheap you can afford to lose them!

Also; one other use for them - once you master timing.
A destroyed escort leaves behind a blast marker when it dies.

That means a brute ramship which slams into a bigger target and dies in the process will leave a blast marker in base contact.....which means a shield down. Four or so ramships ramming a cruiser at once will do a fair amount of damage but will also drop its shields - if you can time it right so the kroozas come into accurate gun range at the same time....

At 2000 points and upwards, you'll want a Space Hulk and the best thing is they have to be scratchbuilt!

Brute Ramships are excellent and I'd go as far to suggest that you use them as conventional escorts and ram only if you are in a position to. They're one of the few Ork ships that have the manoeuvrability to protect your flanks and rear. But, as with all Orks regardless of the game system, get as close as you dare and let rip. Though, beware of Tyranid fleets who also like to get up close.

Ork tactics? Charge get those 15cm heavy gunz in range and ramships are fun.

locarno24 wrote:
Brutes are the real gems of the Ork fleet.

 zedmeister wrote:
Brute Ramships are excellent and I'd go as far to suggest that you use them as conventional escorts and ram only if you are in a position to.

Heh! I actually went a bit mad with Ramships when I was collecting my Ork fleet. I think I've got over 20 of the little buggers.