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So I'm running a footslogging Ork list and I'm taking the Big Mek w/ KFF just to give them a better chance of getting there. I was looking at my options, and a Mek with eavy armor, cybork and a burna in a unit of Burna Boyz sounds like awesome fun to back up my regular slugga boyz. And they all get at-initiative power weapons in CC which is pretty nice.

So my list came up to have 8x burna boyz, but my question to you Dakka Dakka is: would it be better to take all 8 as flamertoting power weapon trouble shooters, or to swap 3 of them for Big Meks with Kustom Mega Blastas for more anti tank (my anti tank kind of sucks right now, as most low level Orky lists tend to be) and making terminators cry?

6 flamer templates/power weapons and up to 18 auto hits in overwatch is good, but 9 flamer templates and power weapons with up to 27 hits is better.

The question is, is the loss in "fire" power worth it to have a better chance of taking on heavy armor?

I would not take them if you are foot slogging it. In a vehicle they are awesome on the ground though they are a high priority target and will not make it very far without taking allot of casualties. Guess it depends what else you are fielding but at least in my area all my opponents shoot them first even in a transport that transport tends to be targeted with extreme prejudice. There is a reason for that though I have taken out whole squads of termies and deathcompany etc with one good shot from 10 flame templates it's fun when termies deepstrike and you say ok that's 40 wounds rolls your saves=P.

Ya I don't have any flamers yet but everyone I've talked to says to run them in a battlewagon or don't use them. Otherwise they just get shot of the board turn 1. For some reason everybody says not to use the meks in those units which I think is a bummer since the models look so cool.

Theres two issues with footslogging burnas.

1) The template rules themself. In the BRB this is the only "shooting" attack that the placement of your unit actually affects how it shoots. It cannot overlap with models in your own unit, unlike normal shooting.
In a BW (or a trukk....i guess) this is not a problem as they are firing out of an access point, which is the hull of the vehicle.

2) They are 6+ armor saves and have no option to get tougher without Grotsnik which is kinda pointless. They are a high priority target as even the AP3 of not shooting but still assaulting is a big threat if you let it catch something. This means that without the BW they will die a horrible death before even getting halfway cross the board.

I have been thinking of running a small group of them near my backfield lootas though since i usually have a spare elite slot. Keep them hidden and when something comes to threaten the lootas the burnas intervene either with templates or the AP3 on assault (or just distraction lol)

I love my burnas for fun games, but they're too vulnerable for the competitive scene, even in a battlewagon. I've one-shot both an entire unit of bikers and grey hunters at the same time by kicking them out in a gigantic semi-circle of death, so they can be horrifying. 15 templates shooting out of the same spot in a battlewagon is hysterical as well!

My friend and I both run orks with Burnas in a battlewagons.

I once watch him do 90 hits with 10 burnas to 8 Grey hunter and a wolf lord, they didn't survive the 49 wounds we inflicted.....

People do hate burna boyz, so on foot they generally get pasted right off the bat. One flamer isn't a big deal, but when you see 8+ in one unit, that is scary to any unit.

At least one megablaster or big shoota, the killing range for the unit is decided by the weapon with the most range,

Taking a mek or two in a BW is good as well to fix HP and weapons extend the range and also allows you to shoot at stuff when you are still out of range with the flame templates also the meks are characters so rolling a 6 lets you snipe.