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After deciding to break out my old Orks after their long hibernation, I realised that they're not the most powerful or resilient bunch, mainly because they get blown off the board by turn 2. I was therefore hoping to bolster their ranks with fresh recruits, and was hoping you guys could advise me on the strengths and weaknesses of certain units, and on some solid Ork strategies atm. My current forces are listed below:

2 AOBR Warbosses

2 Big Meks (one with Mega-Armour)

5 Kommandos with PK nob

4 Burna Boyz with a Mek

7 AOBR Nobz with Waaagh! banner

15 Grotz and 2 herders

33 Boyz (mixed shoota and slugga) with 4 big shootas and a rokkit launcher (I know they have too many but a couple of the BS are converted and could be used as both a BS or shoota)

Old style Ork Trukk (can be used as Trukk or Warbuggy)

Killa Kan with Scorcha

I was thinking of getting 15 more Nobz, and fielding them as a big mob which could be used as troops under the Warboss. Then getting more Grotz and a box of Kanz. Are these good choices? Am I missing out on any units that might be helpful?

Boyz. You need more boyz. Really I am having the same problem. Right now the ork codex is trash. The only unit with taking right now are boyz. Grotz are ok as objective squatters. Nobz are one of the worst choices that you can take next to kanz.

rothrich wrote:
Boyz. You need more boyz. Really I am having the same problem. Right now the ork codex is trash. The only unit with taking right now are boyz. Grotz are ok as objective squatters. Nobz are one of the worst choices that you can take next to kanz.

Kanz aren't horrible if you take them in numbers, use a KFF Big Mek, and stuff him with some boys or Nobz In a battlewagon.

and yeah, just like gants, you ca never have enough boyz. BOYZ OVER TOYZ. always.

You've kinda got a mish mash of some of the worst stuff in one of the worst codexes at the moment, no wonder you get blown away turn two.

Strategy wise you'll want to take either Mech Orks or Foot Orks. Pick one of these two options and stick with it, don't mix them together.

Mech Orks is boyz in battlewagons and/or trukks. Foot Orks is enormous blobs of boyz. Theres also Bikers as an option, but they're really overpriced right now because they're priced for back when every biker didn't get cover (more pricy than Space Marine bikers... wtf)

Foot Sloggin Orks is probably the most powerful build we have, and lists that aren't tooled for dealing to hordes (ie, most of them) will struggle against it. The downside is that it needs 180 boyz on the field, and this is a nightmare to collect, paint, and most of all, play (180 moves per turn, AT LEAST, is not fun at all)

Mech Orks is a great compromise between power and playability, and the void shields from stronghold assault seriously help with their durability.

Forgeworld is also the equivalent of Ork steriods. Grot Bomms, Junkas and Supa Kannon Big Trakks are just absolutely fantastic, as is the Dread Mob codex which you can now find for free on forgeworld's website.

If your taking Orks and someone refuses to play against your forgeworld stuff, tell them Dakkamite said they're an ass. Especially if that player is Eldar, Tau, or Daemons

Lootas will assist you greatly. They put a sheer wall of S7 dakka on whatever needs killing.

I'd stay away from a buggy proxy. Kommandos struggle from not being able to charge when they outflank.

Nob bikers are really effective in this edition. As are battle wagons. I would say load up on boyz in battle wagons, stick the kff In those for mobile cover. Maybe put a group of nobs in the Trukk with a warboss to make the jobs scoring. If you take a job squad make sure to upgrade one to a painboy.

If you have the points try and fill out all 6 troops slots with boyz then move onto the other stuff. The only exception is if your running a squad of Troops Nobz. As mentioned pick either Mech or Foot. I like mech because it means I move less stuff. Your boyz squads should be built accordingly. If your running mech make sure there either in trukks or battle wagons all maxium that can fit into the transport of choice and all with a Nob with PK and BP. He might get challenged out and killed and often he might so make sure you assault 1x squad with two squads of boyz. If your running foot orks always take a max squad of 30.

Both lists work well with a KFF Big Mek so he wouldn't be a bad investment.

A good core I like to start with is this:-

T- Ork Boyz
1x Nob, PK, BP, 2x Big Shoota Boyz, 17x Boyz (Shootas or Sluggas)
170pts
-20 Boyz-
(Go in Battle Wagon)

T- Ork Boyz
1x Nob, PK, BP, 11x Boyz (Shootas or Sluggas)
1x Trukk, Ram
152pts
-12 boyz-

T- Ork Boyz
1x Nob, PK, BP, 11x Boyz (Shootas or Sluggas)
1x Trukk, Ram
152pts
-12 boyz-

T- Ork Boyz
1x Nob, PK, BP, 11x Boyz (Shootas or Sluggas)
1x Trukk, Ram
152pts
-12 boyz-

T- Ork Boyz
1x Nob, PK, BP, 11x Boyz (Shootas or Sluggas)
1x Trukk, Ram
152pts
-12 boyz-

T- Ork Boyz
1x Nob, PK, BP, 11x Boyz (Shootas or Sluggas)
1x Trukk, Ram
152pts
-12 boyz-

HS- Battle Wagon, Deffrolla, 1x Big Shootas
115pts

TOTAL 1045pts

From here you need to pick an HQ. As stated before the KFF Big Mek is a good buy. This also gives you 80 boyz which will take awhile to chew through. More upgrades can be throwen on once you have filled the rest of your army up. You still have a ton of points left so go nuts.

Like others have said - you need more boyz. I have about 60 boyz and find that even that isn't enough usually. Lootas are also a necessity for orks these days since they provide great firepower and act well as anti-air.

I would also consider picking up a battle wagon or two. The deffrolla is AP- for some unknown reason but can be very effective against infantry with high saves (i.e. 5+ armor) or enemy vehicles. With AV14 on the front and 4 hull points, it isn't easy to stop. Add in the fact that it's an opened top transport (read - assault vehicle) it can be very useful for a mob of boyz.

Outside of that, some people recommend Nob Bikers which are expensive but usually pretty effective. I'm experimenting with using a unit of 3 lobbas behind an ADL manning a comms relay but haven't had enough games to truly feel how effective such is (so far it's been decent but still early). A Dakkajet can be useful but for the points, usually there's other options (like another unit of Lootas) since it's primary anti-infantry which orks usually don't have issues with. Deffkoptas are great for outflanking into your opponent's backfield but are expensive.



As of late I have been winning a number of games at my FLGS using Orks with Necron Allies and taking a pair of Vengeance Weapon Battery fortifications with battle cannons. Here's the rough list:

Orks:
Warboss with Mega Armor and Attack Squig

20 boyz with PK BP Nob
17 boyz with PK BP Nob
11 boyz with Trukk

11 Lootas with 1 KMB Mek

2 Battle wagons with Deffrollas, Kannon

Necron Allies:
Overlord with CCB, WS, Phase Shifter, MSS
2x 5 Warriors in Night Scythes
Annihilation Barge

Fortifications:
2x Vengeance Weapon Batteries with Battle Cannons


I'm still experimenting with the list (which is excluding some of the wargear details) but last game I put the lootas in 1 wagon and the unit of 17 boyz plus warboss in the other. Foot slogged the larger boyz mob and kept the trukk in reserve for camping a back field objective. The AB provides support with Overlord going after armor or any large threat in an attempt to nullify it with the WS and MSS. Warriors are for late game objectives. VWBs are more for tactical advantage than actual damage. They work very well but their automated firing limitations cause them to be more of a tactical obstacle for my opponents than truly effective damage dealers (though they DO a decent amount of damage as well). This list is light on boyz but they are more there to draw fire and whittle away at my enemy's troops instead of truly taking objectives or not. It's a somewhat dirty tactic but has worked well since a 20 boyz mob isn't something any player can ignore for long. :-)

Things that still work are nob bikers with biker boss and battlewagon rush. Use allies. Orkses don't have battlebrothers that's why we won't see a divination-buffed 30-boy mob with a 4++ and rerolls that can chop through anything but you can use other armie's strong sides. U can ally with tau or ig. They are great ranged support.
From my experience ork hordes just don't work now. They're too vulnerable, slow and expensive for what they do. A single tfc can totally disable a 30-strong mob. Telepathy farseers and sorcerrors can do it also. Death of the closest models means not only slower advance and less reliable charge but also u're not so effective in close combat cause when you charge, closest guyz get killed and with a 3' pile in you have real chances of not striking back at all with that 6+ save.
Regular nobz are bad. I've tried them out and they never worked. They either are too expensive or not effective. Either go meganobz (not great but work from time to time - also if you got a truck they might be useful) or bikernobz (best option in general - they'll work in any list and possible to make if you have regular nobz)
However, in friendly games you can use anything. If you got footsloggers and kanz - take a kff mek - he adds some chances and is the best footslogging hero avaliable. Though sometimes a wierdboy is good for a 5+ deny the witch.
So in your case i'd make a nob biker squad with a bikerboss and a painboy. U'll need bikes and you got nobz allready. Also make all boyz shootas - slugga boyz are not worth it now. Just count them as all shoota till the new codex comes out - we don't know - maybe slugga+choppa are gona be viable again


Automatically Appended Next Post:
It might be better to go nob bikers cause they really work and they're possible to make with what you got + some bikes. Also use burnas as lootas =)

Dakkamite knows his orks, he gives good advice.

Stronghold gave the orks some new life with their fortifications and I cant stress how you always need more boys, in any of my lists i never take less than 60, and that only cause that list is my Dread Mob list and it needs some meat shield haha.

So as with everyone else i agree BW and Bikes are great for orks ( for what we have thats competitive) I once thought up a ork bikers with nurgle CSM bikers list that was actually pretty resilient, took on the ravenwing and won.

As for trucks.....sorry I cant help there, not a truck fan. i like my boys maxed! haha

Horde orks is not dead....well wasnt but now that nids are coming back im sure more anti horde armies will pop up so that kinda sucks, but every meta is different so who knows! Typically though, people tend to build to fight non horde armies so thats where you can catch em off guard.

Big Meks, either KFF or SAG, the mega armor is a waste.
Warbosses>still champs in CC
Killa Kans>Kan wall baby! they are still pretty nice if in the propa lists
Buggies>no.....
Burnas>BW or Truck for torching fun times
Kommandos>take them to have fun with, their are better units for the elite slot but if you want to run them for fun, do it!
Nobz> 10 is enough....seriously thats like max, after that its too expensive.....dont run them as your primary troops either, you have boys for that. My advice for them is to set them up for CC and throw them in with tha Boss....thats about the best way to run them i think.

Note on your boys, dont take them mixed, either all choppy or all shooty.

Well thanks for reading my chaotic post that was all over the place, hope it helps.

Moar Boyz!
Moar Nob Bikers!
Moar Battle Wagonz!
Moar Lootas!
Moar Burnas!

In that order

Then, if you so wish: a pinch of Meganobz, Trukks, Grots, Dakka Jet and Deffkoptas(my pref) vs Buggies.

Then plan for the future (April 2014?) with picking up cheap e-bay storm boyz, flash gitz, weirdboy, Ghazzy, Snikrot, Zagstruk. Their day will come (I think). I picked up all of that on the cheap and are in the "to-be-painted" box.

Their whispering dismembered bodies - partially stripped, partially primed - are waiting, planning, whispering in the darkness of the cardboard box. They will be ready... Join us!

more boyz, lootaz, battlewagon, couple more trukz and that should cover the bases, may wana wait until the new dex is out though, although boyz are always gonna be useful and I've seen plenty of armies go really cheap just before new dex's are out.

Boys. Millions of them, lol. A few battlewagons won't hurt either. The Orks aren't as bad as people seem to think, it's just a matter of thinking outside the box. Until the new codex drops stock up on shoota boyz.

yeah... relly the only thing orks have going for them is boyz....

max out your troops with slugga/shoota byz, maybe 3 BW's full on 20 each, and you will win games...

untill you hit a land raider, or a mobile army, or demon princes or other MC's...

orks just have too many HARD counters and nothing to deal with them.


my ork tide has won 7/8 games, but as soon as I faced a demon prince or two I was SOL

I play a guy regularly who fields orks:

30 man blobs are so silly hard to kill before melee <shudder>

Big mech with a field helps with blob survival.

Koptas with TL-ML are cheap, tough and deadly, multi-wound so if you play them right you can spread the damage around. Any "snap fire" requirements will seem like normal shooting.

Lootas why you no have many of these? They can flay pretty much anything down with a wall of lead. I send out Sternguard in a drop pod specifically to deal with them (with some difficulty).

I have a heck of a time beating these three specific choices in the Ork list so see if that helps.

+1 to more biker nobs and boys. In fact, that's all I think you need.

Hey I just got started with 40k and I agree, you cannot have enough boyz. I like to pile on the rokkits (rokkit boys, TL-rokkit deffkoptas, etc), and throw in the Big Gunz for support as they charge across the field. I'm working on another unit of 30 shoota boyz too because I have seen the light, and it is green.

As a general rule, I always take two squads of 25 boyz, each with one with big shoota, as well as a nob with big shoota/power klaw. That, plus a big mek with kff. No matter what points level we're playing at, that's my base. That's a pretty minimal amount of boyz, and you've got basically half that. You're really short on boyz, as everyone so far has mentioned. And I would also convert that second big mek to have a KFF on his back.


The rest of my army is mech, with a battlewagon full of meganobz (plus the big mek) granting cover to as much as possible for at least the first turn. As dakkamite said, big trakks with their kannon of doom upgrade are the best. they cost just about the same as looted wagons, but are actually useful. So if you build up a looted wagon, it's now a big trakk.

As far as your grots go, kannons with grot crews are excellent. I highly recommend picking up some toy cannons from a dollar store or something similar and converting them up asap. A squad of 12 T7 grots chucking 3 rockets for a whopping 97 points is a great buy, and will make your grots actually useful, and that's fully kitted out. A min squad is something like 69 points, I think, with the ammo runts. Always buy the ammo runts for effectively a twin linked first salvo......for nine points *snickers* You'll likely kill SOMETHING with it, it's really tough for your opponent to kill, especially when in cover, it's the most accurate thing in your army (aside from dakkajet) and it's so incredibly cheap that it doesn't even hurt if your opponent focuses on it, or if it doesn't do anything. Just watch out for assaults. Grots otherwise aren't good, when compared to boyz, point-for-point.

Kanz are pretty bad, but with the kff for protection on the first/second turn, and bigger targets (like a battlewagon full of MANZ) they can still get stuff done, just don't count on it.

kommandos, for now at least, are just expensive boyz for not much gained, I would just use them as boyz for now.

I strongly recommend converting some of those AoBR nobz into meganobz. You have a ton of them, and regular nobz totally blow. They don't give us much to work with, so PKs are really the only way to kill armor, and with a squad of 5 MANZ popping out of a battlewagon, multi-charge everything within 7 inches that doesn't have AP2. DO NOT confuse them for a death star though, they have no invul in CC (that's why I keep the KFF with them) They are opportunistic killers. Charge their troops and vehicles or things that are average in CC. they are VERY good at ruining your opponent's end-game plans. Use the mobs of boyz to swamp CC deathstars, Typically, everything in our codex dies to what it's closest counterpart is on your opponents side.

As previously mentioned, lootas and Nob bikers are pretty good at nearly everything. Lootas at popping light vehicles/AA, and bikers being slightly better (though more expensive) opportunistic killers than MANZ

Buggies are okay... kinda the same as kanz, they need something to make them better, like exhaust cloud or something.

Though I would usually use ~10ish over 5, you can put the burnas in a trukk or battlewagon for some serious burninating. if they're in the trukk, keep it hidden while it closes in, or at least near the kff.

Also, if you're worried about spending a ton of money on all the new units that everyone has recommended...Orks are by far the best and arguably the easiest race for conversions, so fully utilize their potential when it comes to new units. There's a ton of blogs on dakka alone for inspiration

My ork Army. It went 8-0 recently. I had NEVER played orks before but the list looked good so i borrowed the models from people and took it to a tourney even. =). Feel free to take some inspiration from it.

2013 FootSloggers Ball Orks

Total Roster Cost: 1752 (tourney limit, wierd right?)

Heavy Support: Big Gunz (10#, 109 pts)
3 Zzap Gun + Ammo Runt x3
1 Runtherd

Heavy Support: Big Gunz (10#, 109 pts)
3 Zzap Gun + Ammo Runt x3
1 Runtherd

Troops: Deff Dread (1#, 105 pts)
1 Deff Dread, CCW x2

Troops: Meganobz (10#, 400 pts)
10 Meganobz, 400 pts

Troops: Boyz (10#, 95 pts)
9 Boyz,
1 Boyz Nob+ Power Klaw

Troops: Gretchin (20#, 67 pts)
19 Gretchin,
1 Runtherd,

Troops: Gretchin (20#, 67 pts)
19 Gretchin,
1 Runtherd,

Troops: Gretchin (20#, 67 pts)
19 Gretchin,
1 Runtherd,

Elite: Kommandos (12#, 225 pts)
11 Kommandos,+ Burna x2
1 Boss Snikrot,

Elite: Lootas (8#, 120 pts)
8 Lootas,

HQ: Big Mek (1#, 110 pts)
1 Big Mek, + 'Eavy Armour+ Cybork Body+ Shokk Attack Gun)

HQ: Warboss (1#, 103 pts)
1 Warboss, + 'Eavy Armour + Ammo Runt + Cybork Body +Power Klaw

Fast Attack: Warbuggies (2#, 70 pts)
2 Warbuggy, + TL Rokkit Launcha)

Fast Attack: Warbuggies (3#, 105 pts)
3 Warbuggy, + TL Rokkit Launcha

 Unholyllama wrote:

Necron Allies:
Overlord with CCB, WS, Phase Shifter, MSS
2x 5 Warriors in Night Scythes
Annihilation Barge

so much of this. let da shiny skeletins soak up fire while da boyz get to choppin

If you want to play 500 points. You'll want another trukk. Then you might want another kan or two. The best thing to do would be acquiring 2 boxes of lootas instead of anymore kanz right now though. Also put something besides a skorcha on the kan they have BS3 so they can fire a gun at something.

If you want to play 750 you need 30 more boyz and then fill out a support choice much like the above example with kanz or better yet.. lootas.

I guess at 750 you could footslog 60 boyz and reserve a trukk with the nobz. Once again though most will tell you to get lootas.

Or a dakkajet those can be overwhelming support at low points.

Try to run the warboss in the 500 point list. If you footslog at 750 you might consider a KFF mek. Its almost not worth the points unless he shoots 30 boyz however.