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The Grot Rebellion is my most successful converted army, I went for a balanced Imperial Guard army for them because back in 2006 the orks had very few plastics and the guard offered a lot more conversion possibilities. The army eventually went full mech with the new codex and I created a total of 18 new vehicle conversions, however the new 6th edition rules make it difficult for an all mech army to work, so it‘s back to the drawing board. But before we get to the big question here are some of the unit types that will be making it into the new army…


Working down; Commander/Commissar, Veteran Squad, Chimera, Hellhound, Manticore, Hydra & my pride and joy the Vendetta.
You can see more on my Deviantart Gallery Here


So with their Doom-Vee transports not fairing so well up close anymore the grots need something else to put between them and the enemy, like some expendable allies! But who to take?
As always the force's appearance is as important to me as it's effectiveness. So here are the ideas that I've had, please let me know which one you like to see the most?

ORK SLAVES
The first idea was to have ork squads enslaved with some mind-control helmet, electric collar and cuffs or maybe a Battle Royale style collar with nobs being ogryns or even the big squigs with a grot on the top with a remote control.

KAPTIN BLUDDFLAGG'S FREEBOOTAZ
I love this guy from Dawn Of War 2 so as an alternative to the ork slaves convert Kaptin Bluddflagg and some shooty ork pirates working for the grots.



I'm thinking of converting an objective marker with a grot officer reluctantly holding out his fancy hat which would be placed in front of Bluddflagg when the army was on display.
But would the grots hire the orks when they're supposed to be rebelling against them?

DIGGAZ
A nod to their Gorkamorka origins, FYI the Diggaz were descendants of an imperial explorer team that crashed on the planet. They were savage feral tribes of humans that worshipped the orks often painting their skin green. So what better ally to fight the orks with?



There are 2 ways I could field them...
Orks; A bizarre parody with my organised greenskin military and barbaric humies (Nobs being huge mutants)
Or Space Wolf Blood Claws; A suggestion that someone made was to go with some Blood Claws squads either 15 on foot or 10 in a drop pod, they're tough but not very well skilled I could even perhaps field some Digga Swiftclaw Bikers?

The idea is to model the Drop pod(s) as a large drill that has emerged from the ground. The warriors would be converted using chaos marauders like my previously ditched feral humans but with green warpaint and if I went with the Blood Claws option I'd use space marine legs and add a bit more weathered and worn armour to the top half.



As soon as my current project is finished I will resurrect this thread as the Grot (& Ally) project log, but for now I'm more eager to see which is the more favoured idea?

Diggaz as Space Wolves all the way.

I say use diggas as ork allies. SW might be ok if it was not for the power armour. Orks fits better with the diggas back story, the are just humans trying to be orks. With the ork list you can still do cool things like digga trukks, buggies, and bikes. You can also make them cheap by using chaos marauders and catachan parts, plus you can pick up ork guns and sholder pads kinds cheap.

I dunno... Diggas make almost no sense outside the closed-off gorkamorka world. The only way humans would possibly get so feral to be diggas is on a world with almost no imperial presence.

If you saw grots and Humans allied, it would be on an imperial world with an ork infestation where the grot uprising gives the humans a unique shot at fragile piece because basically without grots, ork civilization doesn't exist as orks don't feed themselves, make clothes, builds stuff or anything.

The ultimate grot uprising would be one where all spores grow only grots and orks are killed before they hatch. And organized grots can accomplish that where humans could not.

I can see an ally where the humans work with thier 'kommisar' grots to basically 'pay' t he grots to keep the ork infestation down in exchange for support and supplies.

You also can take the same angle with a Tau homeworld where Tau would gladly accept grots into a collective to help keeo orks at bay, but since your grots appear to be 'armed' and 'dressed' by the humans, makes more sense for a human-based ally.

So If humans on such a world were providing backup for grots... I am unsure you could do much with power armor. Humans can make compromises space marines can never make. If you were doing a 3+ armor save, it would need to be 'something' that is power armor equivilant but not a space marine. Maybe Space marine scouts as a 4+ armor could work.

As for 'humans being orks' I am not sure you get much out of those allies as none of the HQs of an Ork army does your imperial guard much good IMHO. Your allied grots can't use a battlewagon, and I am not sure ork troops are much use. There may be some value in taking an allied grot unit, a SAG mek and lootas to go with a Iguard army as fire support.

I also think you can go a long way with Kroot troops and grot looted broadsides.

Hmm... I like the blood claw idea, if only for fluff reasons. The diggaz had been observing the commotion that the Grot Rebellion was causing, from their underground base. Once the rebellion had reached sufficient prowess on the battle field the diggaz decide it is time to reveal themselves. They pile into the drop pod drills and explode through the surface (with any luck, through an enemy unit as well). Maybe the diggaz could be the original inhabitants of the planet too, taking this opportunity to retake their place on the surface... just a thought.

I'm really happy about the allies rules too, as now I can bring my Bigtoof Grots as IG, and count some squig hoppers as rough riders!

From the cradle to enslave I'd say. Enslave some goffs! Or some speed freaks! Have your grots test whether red ones really work faster

CALL IN DA DIGGAZ OR UNLEASH THE ORK-BOTZ!
Well everyone feedback has been very insightful. The Diggaz Blood Claw concept being the most popular but with questions regarding their armour and the fact they wouldn’t exist off Gorkamorka.
People have also agreed Kaptin Bluddflagg fighting with Grot Rebelz is an unlikely event even with the promise of a nice hat.

So I returned to the enslaved ork concept with a new idea after seeing the new Team Fortress 2 Mann Vs Machine trailer. I suspect an ork would still go for a grot slave master even with the threat of an explosive collar and would likely use an electric collar to shock the grot along with himself.



So why not go one better and have the grot doc and mek transform imprisoned green skins into ‘Ork-Bots!’. Mindless Cybernetic Orks that obey every command given to them either by remote control or voice command.

The conversion would be simple, attach an ork torso to an epic tank with wires joining the two and have two guns attached to the arms midway, the head will be enclosed in a robotic looking head with a single eye and metal jaw plus have a kind of power generator mounted on the back.
An expansion on this idea would be to create a squad of Nob-Botz but mount them on a single wheel and use them as nob bikers.

It fits in better with the grot rebellion both fluff wise and perhaps in appearance, let me know what you think to my Ork-Bot idea?

Oh I like that!

ps

Proiteus wrote:
It fits in better with the grot rebellion both fluff wise and perhaps in appearance, let me know what you think to my Ork-Bot idea?

agreed