With the renamed Imperial Guard set for imminent release, it seems Orks are next on deck for a 6th (7th?) edition this summer. However, despite all of the rumor mongering and wish listing that has occurred, there is one new addition that is certain to happen, yet has not attracted much attention; the 6 overpriced relics that will be shoehorned into the book.
By looking at the previous 6th edition codexes we can make an educated guess on what
GW will come up with. I figure the breakdown will most likely be: 2 melee weapons, 1 ranged weapon, 1 type of armour, and 2 accessories, one of which offers a unique mechanic for an ungodly price. From this template the potential options become pretty clear and nearly write themselves.
The Melee Weapons:
1-
Relic Powerklaw: Near 100% chance that this will be one of them. Most likely change would be to give armourbane and AP1 for ~30-35 points. There would be a possibility to give it concussive and\or shred to increase its power and justify a ~40-45 point cost. Basically an Ork chainfist\thunderhammer combo.
2-
Relic Big Choppa: Prime candidate for a second relic melee weapon. With big choppas most likely to be AP4 in the new book (that is the boost they need to be "worth it" via mathhammer, plus such a weapon entry already exists in the new Eldar codex for 5 points) the most obvious buff to "relic worthiness" would be to improve it to AP3. This would basically create an AP3 power maul without concussive and denied an extra attack due to the "two-handed"
USR, and would likely cost at ~25-30 points. If the name implies that it's a big hammer of some type, it's going to have concussive.
The Ranged Weapon:
3-
Relic Burna\Scorcha: GW seems to like putting template weapons in the relic lists, and for Orks, anything that relies on their
BS 2 would have to have a ridiculous shooting profile to work (I'd say there is a 20% chance of such a weapon being included). Either a being a torrent heavy flamer (S5 AP4) or a non-torrent AP3 template seem to be the most fitting options and a cost of ~20-35 points depending on if it's a burna, and can be used in melee. A burna could also have the potential to be given additional melee special rules and take the place of the relic big choppa.
The Armour:
4-
Relic Mega Armour: Standard mega armour that also gives +1W (to 4) and either
EW or +1T (T6, same as a bikerboss) costing ~60-70 points. Note that an invulnerable save would have to be purchased separately, and the Megaboss would not be able to take a warbike.
The Accessories:
5-
Relic Bosspole: Either provides a buff to the
IC's unit, or every unit within 6". Provides some combination of
USR, with fearless, fleet, hatred, rage,
PE, and crusader being among the top possibilities. Priced anywhere from 15-40 points.
6-
Relic Teleporta: Fits the bill for being one of the "unique" items that show up in some army's relic lists. Either allows an
IC and his unit to deepstrike, or gives them a single large move in the movement phase which prevents them from charging that turn. Costing 30-50 points.
The Other Possibilities:
-
Relic Choppa: Replaces the relic big choppa and either has shred\rending or poison\instant death. If regular choppas do not have
AP 5, this thing probably will. ~25 points.
-
Relic Warbike: An alternate to the relic mega armour. Would trade the 2+ save for more mobility and possibly a built in force field of some sort to give an invulnerable save. The warbike upgrade itself is very likely to get a steep cost reduction so I'm not totally sure at what it would end up costing. 55-65 points.
-
Relic Cybork Body: A straight buff in some way to the
HQ. Something along the lines for a 3++, or giving
FNP on top of the regular 5+ cybork normally provides. There's a possibility of a
USR being attached as well, and this may be the Ork version of the shield eternal if it gives
EW. Cost heavily dependent on direction, 20-60 points.
The composition may also be 2 weapons (especially if one is a burna), 1 armour, and 3 accessories. Frankly as I was editing this I realized that a "relic cybork body" seems just the type of thing
GW would go with.
So what do you guys think, are these reasonable assumptions on what we're going to end up with or is there something missing? Of course, blatant wishlisting is welcome too. (fun and profit and all that
)
