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This might sound like a REALLY stupid question, but since I have a few Rules Lawyers at my FLGS, I wanted to get people's take on this:

Would a Big Mek count as a 'Mek' for the purposes of fulfilling the definition of the Ork Warband to gain the benefit of Boss of da Waaagh!, ...Hordes, and Stampede? My argument would be yes because the Big Mek, by it's basic definition, is still a Mek but just with a whole lot more options.

Thoughts?

No is the short answer.


If you play it as a "mek" then yes, that would be ok (depending on your WYSIWYG meta). If you play it as a "Big Mek" absoultely positively NO.

My reading is that "Meks" are different than "Big Meks".

Similar questions might be:

Can I upgrade my grots to boyz? - No
Can I upgrade my boyz trukk to a battlewagon? No

etc.

They are different units entirely.

No.

"Mek" is a separate unit entry from "Big Mek". The detachment is pretty specific. However, it also doesn't specifically say that it needs to be the HQ Mek. I'd say the Mek upgrade character for the Lootas or Burnaboyz would qualify. I think that's about the only shortcut you'd be able to take.

Cheese Wiz... but okay. I take a lot of Lootas anyway so that's no problem to morph one into a mek and be done with it.

Thanks for the input guys!

big mek and mek are two separate entries, a big mek is not a mek entry.

it has to be a mek from the army list entry. if its bought outside of the Mek HQ entry its not a mek in the army list entry, its a burnas entry mek or some such. so it should come from the mek entry.

if you look at the diagram of the different parts of the army list entry, the army list entry is the name at the top of the entry, the name 'mek' in the burna entry for example is the unit profile, not the army list entry.

And to top it off, the warband lists a pg reference for the 'mek' page. So you need the 'mek' listed on that page.

Murrdox wrote:
No.

"Mek" is a separate unit entry from "Big Mek". The detachment is pretty specific. However, it also doesn't specifically say that it needs to be the HQ Mek. I'd say the Mek upgrade character for the Lootas or Burnaboyz would qualify. I think that's about the only shortcut you'd be able to take.

A formation states what units you have to take. A burna or loota unit is not a Mek unit. So you do have to buy the HQ Mek.

I should point out that there is only a 1-pt difference in the cost of the mek from the HQ section and the upgrade mek in a loota mob. Taking the HQ version really shouldn't be an issue.

Eh, what the hell. I'll try running the normal Mek then. This killsaw looks promising...

The only real difference is for some reason a burna mek gets a killsaw for 20 points and a mek hq gets it for 30 iirc

That reason would be, however unbelievable it seems, balance
Being able to drop killsaws in most units is a very powerful option, more powerful than dropping them in units of expensive specialists without nobz, so they cost more.

AFAIK the Ork Warband is a minimum not a full composition. So long as you have your Mek you can still take a Big Mek HQ choice. The Ork Warband as-is is a very two dimensional list, you can trukk it or you can run it. If you trukk it you wont have the numbers of boyz in the charge, if you run it you have no support because its bare.

Therefore you need to bolster it with extra units somewhere. A KFF would be useful, even post nerf.

 Orlanth wrote:
AFAIK the Ork Warband is a minimum not a full composition. So long as you have your Mek you can still take a Big Mek HQ choice. The Ork Warband as-is is a very two dimensional list, you can trukk it or you can run it. If you trukk it you wont have the numbers of boyz in the charge, if you run it you have no support because its bare.

Therefore you need to bolster it with extra units somewhere. A KFF would be useful, even post nerf.

No you can't take anything else in a formation, they do not have focs and list exactly what you take. Though you are not prevented from taking other detachments with it

 Orlanth wrote:
AFAIK the Ork Warband is a minimum not a full composition. So long as you have your Mek you can still take a Big Mek HQ choice. The Ork Warband as-is is a very two dimensional list, you can trukk it or you can run it. If you trukk it you wont have the numbers of boyz in the charge, if you run it you have no support because its bare.

Therefore you need to bolster it with extra units somewhere. A KFF would be useful, even post nerf.

You are thinking of either the Ork Horde Detachment or the Great Waagh! Detachment. Those list minimum choices and can be expanded, just like a Combined Arms Detachment.

Formations must be taken exactly as listed and nothing can be added or left out.