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It is obvious to any observer that the Ork codex doesn't have any super OP spammable units that usually make codexes top tier. The Ork codex doesn't seem like a very competitive Codex off the bat, with few auto-include choices and a lot of units that are hard to use. This thread is for Ork players to look at their Codex, consider in game experience, and then rank the units with brief explanations. A link to the best Ork list you can think of is also appreciated, so people have some idea of where to start, and the listmaker can get feedback and improve. Feel free to contribute as much as you want. Together, we can probably create some guidelines for competitive Ork listmaking.

One Restriction:


I'll go first. Remember, these are my opinions and aren't set in stone by any means:
Green = Da Best
Blue = Very Good
Yellow = Average
Red = Below Average (don't take in a competitve list)

HQs:


Troops


Elites


Fast Attack


Heavy Support


LoW


Feel free to post your own ranking lists or army list links. Feedback is always appreciated as well. All thoughts are welcome here, but try to keep it cordial and informative. Happy posting!

Question: what does LD have to do with perils?

Weirdboy does have some uses but he takes up slots sooooo that sucks. Idk. Sometimes when I bring multiple detachments to get 6 HQs I bring a couple since they do actually bring a pretty crazy number of psychic dice.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also, you should definitely talk about the different flavors of boyz.

12 man squad in Trukk with ard boyz, 20 man squad in BW with Dok and 100 man BBP green tide with KFF big Mek and Dok are all very different beasts.

Personally I believe the green tide supported by a dirt cheap CAD just for bringing big Gunz Painboyz and tankbustas/Koptas/MANz bombs/buggies is the key to competitive orks.

Orks are fine http://www.torrentoffire.com/6866/adepticon-army-breakdown-stats-stats-stats

Sunhero wrote:
Orks are fine http://www.torrentoffire.com/6866/adepticon-army-breakdown-stats-stats-stats

That's just one tournament. Did you see the stat in that link that said Orks were usually around 33% win rate? And other than Adepticon, the only recent success by Orks in GTs has been Fxeni. Still nice to see Orks doing well though.

I often take a wierdboy and am happy with results. He's definitely not a 1-st or 2-d HQ but he's my 3-d after the mandatory warboss and painboss.

Grots are great for simply being there. Want some sort of protection against H&R? Bauble wrap your boyz squad with grots on the rear. Want some protection from deathstar charges? Grots on the front. Want to run around the field to get to a point? Even the smallest hill will completely block los to grots.

I find stormboyz better than bikers for footslogging lists simply cause they can charge further and have enormous threat range with ability to go over terrain.

 koooaei wrote:
I often take a wierdboy and am happy with results. He's definitely not a 1-st or 2-d HQ but he's my 3-d after the mandatory warboss and painboss.

Grots are great for simply being there. Want some sort of protection against H&R? Bauble wrap your boyz squad with grots on the rear. Want some protection from deathstar charges? Grots on the front. Want to run around the field to get to a point? Even the smallest hill will completely block los to grots.

I find stormboyz better than bikers for footslogging lists simply cause they can charge further and have enormous threat range with ability to go over terrain.

Weirdboyz: The reason a Weirdboy has trouble with perils, is because lots of the options on the perils chart require a leadership check, and a Weirdboy only has LD 7. When choosing an HQ, there is always the question of whether a Painboy would do better in that situation, and compared to a Weirdboy the answer is usually yes. Weirdboyz are also completely shut down by any army with better psychers, and are moved to a psychic defense role. They could have a place in a Green Tide formation, simply for better psychic defense and occasional buffs, but usually a Big Mek or Warboss carrying DLS outclasses them. Weirdboyz are simply too unreliable to be good for a competitive list.

Grots: For 20 more points over Grots, you can take a minimum squad of Boyz. Boyz are far better, and can actually get stuff done. If you have points to spare, upgrade to a Boyz. If you need them for a second detachment, Grots have their uses.

Stormboyz: That's a good point about Stormboyz being better in a footslogger list. They are definitely better at super long charges than bikes, so can hide near the back until they're needed. I just think Bikes are very dependable and good at shooting. Each bike averages 1.66 S5 hits per turn shooting, which is a great amount of damage. They are also very good at Overwatch, and are consistently speedy compared to Stormboyz who kill themselves when they move fast. I think there could be room for both in a list, as they have different roles.

Wierdboyz are often underestimated. They're cheap for what they add to the list.

At first i thouht a wierdboy would be a waste but than i actually tried one. And now i've got a converted wierdboy in every second list.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also, tankbustas clearly deserve green.

 koooaei wrote:
Wierdboyz are often underestimated. They're cheap for what they add to the list.

At first i thouht a wierdboy would be a waste but than i actually tried one. And now i've got a converted wierdboy in every second list.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also, tankbustas clearly deserve green.

Changed colors on Weirdboyz and Tankbustas

When warboss must always issue a challenge and we cant hide him even in green tide due to challenge rules, its not good in my eyes. Sadly i must admit that only spaming boyz is the most competitve way to play orks.

If you hide the Warboss at the back, out of combat range, then he can avoid challenges.

Mr.T wrote:
When warboss must always issue a challenge and we cant hide him even in green tide due to challenge rules.

What rules are you thinking of? If the Warboss isn't engaged, he can't challenge.
It's very easy to hide him in a Green Tide.

Now to issue challenge unit must be locked in combat. There is nothing about be engage to issue challenge, just lock in combat. To accept challenge model must be engage. See rb at page 101. Thats main change in challenges in 7th edition.

Mr.T wrote:
Now to issue challenge unit must be locked in combat. There is nothing about be engage to issue challenge, just lock in combat. To accept challenge model must be engage. See rb at page 101. Thats main change in challenges in 7th edition.

the model must be able to strike too. So, nothin has chaned here so far. You can avoid challenges being out of combat range.

The model must be able to strike to accept the challenge, it only has to be locked in combat to issue it.

"To issue a challenge, nominate a character in one of your units locked in the combat to be the challenger"

and

"Characters that cannot fight or strike blows (including those that are not engaged with an enemy model) cannot accept challenges"

There are different rules for issuing and accepting

Big Meks are average? Really?
They are of great flexibility - Biked KFF, MA in Mek Gunz, SAG ones (alright, the latter aren't competitive).
And I can't see the argument of "Burnaboyz lacking delivery system". Just like all the previous years sit 'em in a BW and fry anyone who gets close.


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 koooaei wrote:
Wierdboyz are often underestimated. They're cheap for what they add to the list.

At first i thouht a wierdboy would be a waste but than i actually tried one. And now i've got a converted wierdboy in every second list.

Just got interested, how do you run him? What lvl and what discipline?
I guess, he is in a blob of footslogging boys?

Ghazghkull Thraka - GW just seems to hate this fellow, as they made him obsolete compared to a DLS MA Warboss who does practically everything better.

Ghazghkull Thraka?

I think his backstory's cool.

What makes him so bad?

I think you've generalised Boyz too much , as 11 sluggas with big choppy and boss pole Nob does a lot of damage in a trukk.

Same for Stormboyz, while Deffkoptas are best in slot competitively, they make a good vanguard to tie up key units (had a good game where they stopped three centurions from doing anything for four turns!)

Also think planes are situationally good, but generally aren't too powerful (fun for fluffy stuff, though)

Cowboy_Jerry wrote:

 koooaei wrote:
Wierdboyz are often underestimated. They're cheap for what they add to the list.

At first i thouht a wierdboy would be a waste but than i actually tried one. And now i've got a converted wierdboy in every second list.

Just got interested, how do you run him? What lvl and what discipline?
I guess, he is in a blob of footslogging boys?

I often run him either with 30 choppaboyz, boss and painboss or in 30 shootaboyz + Grotsnik when i'm going for double cad. if the blobs are close, i often keep him near the second one so that he can join another squad when needed - depending on his powers.

I always take ML2 and have run him with orky powers so far. Basically, only 'eadbanger and vomit (cause it's only real value for a footslogging wierdboy is frightening off deepstrikers) are meh - other powers are good.

I wouldn't say that grots are bad. They can run in front of the boyz to give cover, they can eat overwatch, they can hide behind anything so only barrage weapons will be able to shoot at them.
I would rate Ghaz as average - he doesn't take an HQ slot so you can take an additional Painboy, he can't be oneshoted, he has a usefull warlord trait. Not too great, but far from bad.

TheManWithNoPlan wrote:
I think you've generalised Boyz too much , as 11 sluggas with big choppy and boss pole Nob does a lot of damage in a trukk.

I think you and I would probably disagree on the best loadout for boyz, but I definitely agree that boyz are better than the OP suggests. Point for point, they are great.

Sluggas do depend on getting the charge, but come on, every unit has a weakness. Shootas are less hurt by this as they have awesome overwatch.

Also think planes are situationally good, but generally aren't too powerful (fun for fluffy stuff, though)

I like using planes for hitting backfield units that my boyz can't reach during their turn 2 charge, such as tanks and artillery (via side armour) or (my personal favourite) synapse creatures. The Dakkajet is best for this role and it is probably the most reliable of the Ork planes; there is usually something on the board that it can take out.

I see a lot of damage potential for the burna bommer vs certain armies, but it hasn't realised that potential in the games I have played thus far. One was where he got intercepted by my guard opponent before he was allowed to shoot (he would have incinerated the huge guard blobs), and the other was where I just had horrendous luck with the accuracy of my shooting vs necrons.

The blitza bommer is situationally good, but unlike the other planes, it will usually be unable to do significant damage on the turn it arrives, after which it can easily get shot down unless your opponent is tied up with something else or just lacks skyfire.

 KaptinBadrukk wrote:

Ghazghkull Thraka - GW just seems to hate this fellow, as they made him obsolete compared to a DLS MA Warboss who does practically everything better.

Ghazghkull Thraka?

I think his backstory's cool.

What makes him so bad?

Mainly, the fact that a normal warboss with da lukky stikk is far superior for everything other than challenges vs other super characters, and for half the points to boot.

Cowboy_Jerry wrote:
Big Meks are average? Really?
They are of great flexibility - Biked KFF, MA in Mek Gunz, SAG ones (alright, the latter aren't competitive).

I usually run a squad of 19 sluggas led by a warboss with da lukky stikk and power klaw in a battlewagon. However, I am thinking of switching the warboss for a big mek with da lukky stikk, kustom force field and killsaw. I think this will give a great boost to survivability (including the wagon). In exchange I lose one less attack and one or two points of strength (depending on whether or not I am charging), but with armourbane on the killsaw this is not such a big deal, and wounds are rerollable at the end of the day. Squad still gets its WS5 bonus.

Alternatively, if you are running a Great Waaagh! detachment, you can give him a mega force field for the same amount of points as DLS +KFF.

Cowboy_Jerry wrote:
And I can't see the argument of "Burnaboyz lacking delivery system". Just like all the previous years sit 'em in a BW and fry anyone who gets close.

I haven't tried this loadout, but my understanding is that this tactic is nowhere near as effective as it once was due to the new rules on wound allocation from shooting. The way they are now, they seem quite easy to kill for such expensive troops.

 Krusha wrote:

TheManWithNoPlan wrote:
I think you've generalised Boyz too much , as 11 sluggas with big choppy and boss pole Nob does a lot of damage in a trukk.

I haven't tried this loadout, but my understanding is that this tactic is nowhere near as effective as it once was due to the new rules on wound allocation from shooting. The way they are now, they seem quite easy to kill for such expensive troops.

Well, they are only 1 point more expensive than in the previous edition (just like shootaboys - but these guys are taken now, aren't they?). I can't say for sure, but despite rules for wound allocation they will almost always cover the entire squad with templates. Just not laying a single one as before, but spread them.
I'm looking forward to buying a box of them to get a squad of 12.

Cowboy_Jerry wrote:

Well, they are only 1 point more expensive than in the previous edition (just like shootaboys - but these guys are taken now, aren't they?). I can't say for sure, but despite rules for wound allocation they will almost always cover the entire squad with templates. Just not laying a single one as before, but spread them.
I'm looking forward to buying a box of them to get a squad of 12.

I don't mean that they are too expensive compared to their previous incarnation. Their fragility for their cost was always a weakness. However, their damage output used to compensate for this due to the way the shooting rules worked, but now that the rules have changed it's not so worthwhile.

I thought, when firing burnas from open-topped vehicles, you HAD to put a single template down. If I am wrong about this then I will concede the point and happily invest in some burnas myself, but this seems to go against the conventional wisdom.

If you use them as power weapons, then you will be striking after any unit that they are actually worth using on - so again, boyz win.

Also, shoota boyz are not really more expensive when you factor in the free stikkbombz that used to be +1 per model.

My absolute favorite units are Meganobz. Ten of them trecking dangerously forward towards the enemy amongst a swirl of their lessers.

 Jancoran wrote:
My absolute favorite units are Meganobz. Ten of them trecking dangerously forward towards the enemy amongst a swirl of their lessers.

Use an escape hatch and they're not 'dangerously slogging' now. More like 'OMG THEY'RE SO CLOSE!!1'


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Burnas used to wipe squads before. But now they can't kill further than 8" away due to wound pool getting eemptied the moment everyone within range and los is dead

Ok, time for me to justify some of my rankings:

Boyz- I made this article about how to run them effectively: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/636159.page. The reason I rated them as average, is because without HQ support, and without the charge, they aren't very stellar. If they are charged by WS 4 T 4, they deal .5 wounds each before armor, compared to 1 wound each before armor if they are charging. Literally half as effective being charged. They also die very easily if not protected by a Painboy or Big Mek with KFF. If they have a Painboy in the squad, they go up to blue ranking, because it drastically increases their survivability. A KFF Big Mek comes in second for the increase in Survivability.

Big Mek- because the save he grants is usually inferior to a Painboy, he isn't as useful overall. The two uses I can think of, that would increase him to blue status, would be on a bike protecting a vehicle wall, or in MA giving SNP to Mek Gunz or Lootas (and probably toting a KFF so those shooty units had some protection).

Burnas- the problem is that if you want them to shoot, the vehicle they're in can only move 6". Your opponent will likely prioritize killing that vehicle first, and then you have 16 point Boyz that become very costly target practice.

Planes- they can't really do well in a competitive meta designed to kill 3 or 4 flying Nid Tyrants. They will get wrecked very quickly, and don't do enough damage to justify it. A Dakkajet on average (even without jink) kills about 2 MEQ a turn. The Burna-Bommer could be useful with its ignores cover, but still fills an Anti-Infantry role that Orks aren't really lacking. The Blitza-Bommer actually fills a unique AT/Anti-Heavy Infantry role that Orks need. On the turn it comes in, it can drop a bomb on anything close to your table edge and absolutely wreck it. However, it has the potential to kill itself with its random table, and it only has 2 bombs, so it still isn't anything better than yellow on the scale.

I hope these explanations make sense, but feel free to refute them if you wish.

Blitza bomber can bomb invisible units with s7 ap2 pieplates. It's much more reliable than hammers of wraith, wierdboy'z killbolt and much cheaper than stomps.

I avoid Escalation and Stronghold Stuff like the plague other than normal bastions and defense lines and platforms. I also dont play with Forge World.

Im a bit of a purist.

 Jancoran wrote:

Im a bit of a purist.

Sounds religious

 Waaagh 18 wrote:
Big Mek- because the save he grants is usually inferior to a Painboy, he isn't as useful overall. The two uses I can think of, that would increase him to blue status, would be on a bike protecting a vehicle wall, or in MA giving SNP to Mek Gunz or Lootas (and probably toting a KFF so those shooty units had some protection).

The part in bold is where I disagree. It sounds like you are judging him based solely on the save he provides, and even that is debatable.

The kustom force field protects the vehicle that the squad is embarked upon in addition to the squad itself, which is a significant advantage. It also grants protection against instant death weapons that would nullify feel no pain.

The other advantage of the big mek is that he brings other powers to the table beyond the save. He has higher leadership, and he can take da lukky stikk, a killsaw and even mega armour. Definitely a viable choice IMHO. Personally I would rather use him for boyz and the painboy for more expensive units that already have some kind of decent save.

I would say that I disagreed with you about regular nobz, as mine are probably my most powerful unit, but I appreciate that you are talking about a competitive context where S8 spam may be more common than it is at my FLGS.

 Krusha wrote:

 Waaagh 18 wrote:
Big Mek- because the save he grants is usually inferior to a Painboy, he isn't as useful overall. The two uses I can think of, that would increase him to blue status, would be on a bike protecting a vehicle wall, or in MA giving SNP to Mek Gunz or Lootas (and probably toting a KFF so those shooty units had some protection).

The part in bold is where I disagree. It sounds like you are judging him based solely on the save he provides, and even that is debatable.

The kustom force field protects the vehicle that the squad is embarked upon in addition to the squad itself, which is a significant advantage. It also grants protection against instant death weapons that would nullify feel no pain.

The other advantage of the big mek is that he brings other powers to the table beyond the save. He has higher leadership, and he can take da lukky stikk, a killsaw and even mega armour. Definitely a viable choice IMHO. Personally I would rather use him for boyz and the painboy for more expensive units that already have some kind of decent save.

I would say that I disagreed with you about regular nobz, as mine are probably my most powerful unit, but I appreciate that you are talking about a competitive context where S8 spam may be more common than it is at my FLGS.

I guess being able to take relics is another plus of taking a Big Mek. If you read the last part of the quote you used, I bring up the SNP usefulness, as well as protecting vehicles. The reason a Painboy is usually better than a Big Mek, is that you're less vulnerable to blasts, and you get your save in combat. Protecting your vehicle with a Big Mek is OK, but then they can just snipe the other vehicles in your list as they are unprotected, or just blow through the 5++ save on the vehicle. I also didn't consider his higher leadership value, which definitely helps with Orks. The three builds I would most likely run are:
Big Mek with bosspole, Mega-Armor, ammo runt, and KFF (optional). This guy is good for protecting Lootas, as he can tank some of the hits, and shield them in the open, as well as providing substantial LD boosts and Mob Rule boosts. He can also run with Mek Gunz with this build for most of the same benefits.
Big Mek with Gazbag's Blitzbike, bosspole, and KFF. This guy runs with Deffkoptas to be powerful anti-MEQ and Anti-Light Vehicle. He can zoom around quickly to protect the other vehicles in the list.
Big Mek with Killsaw, 'eavy armor, DLS and KFF. This build I would only use in a Green Tide formation to hold DLS, because as you said a Painboy cannot do this. He is also potent against Imperial Knights with this build.
I'll upgrade him to blue status on the ranking list based on this feedback, as he is definitely viable.