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Although I usually run a mechanised list, I am thinking of getting some footslogging gretchin to camp on backfield objectives and act as a meatshield for my traktor kannon,

What sort of unit size would you guys recommend for this role?

If it's backfield objectives, then minimal size if your opponent has no outflankering units or way to disrupt them. If you're afraid of something like an errant basilisk shot, I'd still say 10 with a Gortherd but get the squig for when you hve to reroll that failed 7. While not ideal, every turn someone is focused on your gretchin is a turn it is not focused on your boys. Having 35 points that can tie something much more expensive up is useful.

If do you fear outflankers I'd consider buying more since gretchin are very cheap and if in appropriate cover are still irritating to remove them all. How many really depends on what you're going against and if it's it's shooting or assaulting. You can weather 2-3 rounds of shooting in cover with a Runtherd, so you might want to bring more just to hold onto whatever it is you're on. But if dedicated assault units are coming you're going to be swept most likely (unless you're that one in a hundred Grot that manages to kill a terminator), so stay small in that case just to get points and act as a distraction in the time being.

Sounds good to me. From what I can tell, they are so weak and cowardly that they are not even THAT good in the meatshield role. Any more than the bare minimum to camp objectives and protect the traktor kannon for a turn or so is probably just wasted points that should be going into my boyz budget.

Cheers for the advice.

If you have a spare Troop slot, take a couple of small squads. For the minimal point investment, it's better to have an extra unit if the unexpected ocurrs.

I always run a squad of grots. There's so many deepstriking going on that they become insta-worth it. I also use them to protect a weaker flank or grant cover to my footsloggers - might be irrelevant to you, though. As pointholders they're not amazing, however, they're so tiny - it's easy to hide them out of los even behind small rocks.

don't miss on the opportunity to get a squig hound. Yep, it's gona kill half the squad by itself but when your opponent focuses on grots, he REALLY wants them gone or just has no other targets. So, when he REALLY wants them gone, it's usually some situation when he can't charge you with his deathstar cause there's a bunch of gobbos in the way or something like this. And when this situation arises, you DO want to pass ld7 even if the rest of grots would die.

Always a 10 dude squad with squig hound I always take at least one to camp objectives, sometimes 2 if I have a very mobile list that moves forward quickly

Also, if you fear outflankers, you can line up a row of grots 2" apart along your side table edge. While not preventing outflankers, it will force them to come in closer to their half of the board, protecting your backfield. And, if your opponent wastes vital turn 1 and turn 2 shooting to clear them out, as mentioned above, your 35 point unit served its purpose.

Otherwise, just take advantage of their small size, hide them behind terrain and have them hold an objective whilst cowering in fear.

That's a good idea Green is Best. Had't thought of that. If there is ever an open troop slot a minimum squad of grots comes on. Hide them wherever they can fit. If someone takes time to shoot them off the board, they succeed. If they tie something up for a turn, they succeed. Pretty much anything they do is successful lol.

I also have used grots as a meat shield for my green tide lists.

You either had to shoot and remove them (wasting valuable turn 1 shooting)

OR

shoot at my boyz who now had cover save. (I never used the KFF in my green tide lists). And, while I could charge through my grots, you could not. This kept my opponents from charging me to take away my furious charge. Once my boyz got close, any surviving grots would fade into the background and try and hold an objective.

 Green is Best! wrote:
I also have used grots as a meat shield for my green tide lists.

You either had to shoot and remove them (wasting valuable turn 1 shooting)

OR

shoot at my boyz who now had cover save. (I never used the KFF in my green tide lists). And, while I could charge through my grots, you could not. This kept my opponents from charging me to take away my furious charge. Once my boyz got close, any surviving grots would fade into the background and try and hold an objective.

this is a good idea, only problem is see is that one turn where your grots role a 1 and the tide rolls a 6 :/ youll also have to leave space for the grots, thus possibly preventing the tide getting in sooner, and your giving your opponent free first blood :/

Gretchin lost their usefulness to me in 7th because now everything scores.

For marginally more cost you can get something that can do something more than hold objectives (thinking mek gunz here).

However you did say you run mechanized lists so i imagine your Heavy is fully slotted already. In that case i would suggest a min squad or two and just have them hide 100% out of sight, even if its not holding the objective, till towards the end. They have a habit of popping out of terrain for me in 6th games to snag objectives because my opponent totally forgot about them lol

 Tiny_Titan wrote:


this is a good idea, only problem is see is that one turn where your grots role a 1 and the tide rolls a 6 :/ youll also have to leave space for the grots, thus possibly preventing the tide getting in sooner, and your giving your opponent free first blood :/

Then you run your grots so they have gaps for your other boys to run through. This is no different then if your front mob of boyz rolls a 1 while the trailing mob rolls box cars. (And that happened an awful lot IIRC).

And, if you're playing orks properly, you don't give a about first blood. You want to cross the board as quickly as possible and smash things.

 Green is Best! wrote:

 Tiny_Titan wrote:


this is a good idea, only problem is see is that one turn where your grots role a 1 and the tide rolls a 6 :/ youll also have to leave space for the grots, thus possibly preventing the tide getting in sooner, and your giving your opponent free first blood :/

Then you run your grots so they have gaps for your other boys to run through. This is no different then if your front mob of boyz rolls a 1 while the trailing mob rolls box cars. (And that happened an awful lot IIRC).

And, if you're playing orks properly, you don't give a about first blood. You want to cross the board as quickly as possible and smash things.

if you want to win games, you have to have a little blood axe fungi floating around your brain somewhere bro haha

getting first blood is huge and can win games! especially if you manage to kill a tank with tank bustas for it (which i have done numerous times and only won by 1 or 2 points)

 Green is Best! wrote:


Then you run your grots so they have gaps for your other boys to run through.

I'm not sure if it's a legal thing to do.

Your grots have to be in coherency with one another - but 2" apart still leaves space for a 25m base to pass through. Nothing in the rules prevents units getting intermingled.

If it's a 1" run move versus a 6" run move - especially on the turn you call a Waaaggh! - then you want space to pass through.

Anyone ever put a Killsaw mek in some Gretchen and.. bump it into stuff? Runtherd could a absorb the challenge.

It's not worth it. Grots don't have mob rule, thus the squad will just get swept after the first turn of combat. Unless they're running around a stompa or you're putting Grotsnik/BBP. in there.

Grots are not there for actual fighting, you know. They're overpriced for this role. Just compare 3 ppm grots with 3 ppm conscripts. And, remarkably, conscripts ain't for fighting too.