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Hi! Been looking to expand my collection and was wondering if I should add Flash Gitz.

They fill the same kind of role as Lootas, but very differently. They are a mobile shooty force who could actually rough up weaker level enemies in assault as they are still nobs. However they are a bit expensive and have t shirt saves so not really sold on their usefulness. Their random AP value makes them everything but consistent and their s6 is not all that amazing. They would also require a transport (I would think) to protect them so thats even more points required to invest in them to get anything good out of them. Their special character also does not seem all that amazing for his points.

Am I missing something here or are they just pretty lackluster?

They are fun but sorta impractical honestly. At worse they are Nobz shooting carbine big shootas and at best they are shooting high volume of fire Tau plasma guns (but Str 5 so oh well). In a battlewagon they are decently good if they aren't the highest priority target on the field but they tend to die to concentrated fire that ignores cover (they should be in cover if not in a transport). Painboy is a decent investment for the unit and if your taking a battlewagon then you can give it a Killkannon without messing up your transport capacity. Compare them to shoota boyz are they are relatively on par with them as they have less total shots but potentially better BS and higher strength and can RNG to ignore armor. In close combat being Nobz they pack quite the punch but have less total swings. In transport explosions they tend to do much better as each one is 2 wounds and at most 10 models so you take less total hits and lose less models than a shoota boy wagon explosion. As for what to shoot at I find its the best mix of reliable to practical when you primarily target 3+ armor units. It's a 50% chance to bypass armor and even if you don't make the roll the volume of fire should take some models out. Hoping for the AP1/2 is a bit more risky at 33% and when you fail the roll your throwing shots at 2+ armor so its much less likely to generate casualties. If you need to throw large amounts of dice at a target and hope to brute force through 2+ armor then gitz aren't all that bad at it (but they aren't really all that great at brute forcing down a unit like a Riptide or Dreadknight).

In my Blitz Brigade list I always run Flash Gitz because they are one of my favorite units and have good synergy with the formation. Scouting up for turn 1 BS3 and potential face melt dakka makes them fairly heavy infantry killers. Its fun seeing the opponents face trying to decide if they want to jink or not on bikers when they might get tapped by AP6 bullets or AP1 baby railguns slugs.

In total I would put them in the casual list category but they can be very functional units in any list. Its just that Orks usually playing from behind in terms of power that anything that isn't optimal is going to risk getting stomped.
Meh on foot.
Decently good in a Battlewagon.
Worth adding a painboy.

Badrukk is an incredibly beautiful model but an absolutely terrible unit. His AP2 gun is good in theory but for the same points cost you can just take 5 more Flash Gitz and drown the target in volume of fire or roll a good AP value to face melt like a boss. I would never take him in any list.

Also the Flash Gitz formation with 2 units of 10 Gitz and Badrukk is probably the most frustrating formation to use properly. 20 guys firing Master Crafted guns that have 3 shots is a nightmare to roll. You would have to roll each gun separately to be able to accurately use the master crafted rule. Cool formation in concept but insanely impractical to use and badrukk is one heck of a tax for a frustrating experience.

Those guns really should've just been Twin Linked. That would've solved literally anyone's issue with it.

Slayer-Fan123 wrote:
Those guns really should've just been Twin Linked. That would've solved literally anyone's issue with it.

The formation or the Gitz themselves? For the Gitz they should of gave them 4+ armor by default then they would be a fairly attractive (if still unreliable) unit. For the formation it really should be twin linked.

 Vankraken wrote:

Slayer-Fan123 wrote:
Those guns really should've just been Twin Linked. That would've solved literally anyone's issue with it.

The formation or the Gitz themselves? For the Gitz they should of gave them 4+ armor by default then they would be a fairly attractive (if still unreliable) unit. For the formation it really should be twin linked.

Yeah, it's utterly ridiculous that they didn't give them 'eavy armor. They can afford the biggest and baddest guns, but apparently forgot to leave room in their budget for some armor plates for their torso I have so much hate for that codex.

 the_Armyman wrote:

 Vankraken wrote:

Slayer-Fan123 wrote:
Those guns really should've just been Twin Linked. That would've solved literally anyone's issue with it.

The formation or the Gitz themselves? For the Gitz they should of gave them 4+ armor by default then they would be a fairly attractive (if still unreliable) unit. For the formation it really should be twin linked.

Yeah, it's utterly ridiculous that they didn't give them 'eavy armor. They can afford the biggest and baddest guns, but apparently forgot to leave room in their budget for some armor plates for their torso I have so much hate for that codex.

Extra salt in the wound with the old codex gave them 4+ armor by default and could upgrade one to a Painboy. The current Ork codex feels like it was designed by a bunch of people working on parts of it but never communicating with each other about the changes being made. Why every Flash Git now has a bosspole by default is beyond me.

Edit: Although it should be pointed out that the current Flash Gitz are WAY better than the old ones because they are now half the price with most of the old upgrades as default.

 Vankraken wrote:

 the_Armyman wrote:

 Vankraken wrote:

Slayer-Fan123 wrote:
Those guns really should've just been Twin Linked. That would've solved literally anyone's issue with it.

The formation or the Gitz themselves? For the Gitz they should of gave them 4+ armor by default then they would be a fairly attractive (if still unreliable) unit. For the formation it really should be twin linked.

Yeah, it's utterly ridiculous that they didn't give them 'eavy armor. They can afford the biggest and baddest guns, but apparently forgot to leave room in their budget for some armor plates for their torso I have so much hate for that codex.

Extra salt in the wound with the old codex gave them 4+ armor by default and could upgrade one to a Painboy. The current Ork codex feels like it was designed by a bunch of people working on parts of it but never communicating with each other about the changes being made. Why every Flash Git now has a bosspole by default is beyond me.

Edit: Although it should be pointed out that the current Flash Gitz are WAY better than the old ones because they are now half the price with most of the old upgrades as default.

"'Ere, I fort we agreed dat Kev woz gonna bring da bosspole and we'd all bring da armour?"
"Wait, I fort Kev woz bringin' da armour and we woz all bringin' da bosspoles?"
"Wot? Dat don't make no sense! 'Ow is Kev gonna get armour fer all o' us?"
"I dunno, figured 'e 'ad a loada teef from that last scrap."
"Yer thick as a humie if ya fink dat!"

Yeah, a lot of players take lootas instead, for the extra range and cheaper points, even though the two units don't fill the same role.

Flash git weapons have the same rather limited 24" range as tankbusta rokkits, so should be deployed similarly - behind cover, in a sturdy vehicle, or ready to go out in a short blaze of glory.

Totally agree that they should have 'eavy armour (at a small points increase) - that would give them a clearer unique role within the army. Given the models' sturdy shoulder pads, I think few players would complain if the new codex simply stated that they count-as having 4+ armour.

It'd be great if they had the option for the old upgrades like shootier and blasta but that were slightly updated (i.e. blasta makes their guns AP D3 rather than a -1 to their D6 roll in exchange for Gets Hot!, Shootier makes them S6 as usual but More Dakka! makes them have an extra 6" range).

A cheaper alternative but good halfway point between battlewagons and trukks as transports are gunwagons from IA13, it has the exact transport capacity of 10 for a full squad while being open-topped and AV13 on the front and AV12 on the side while being decently priced. It does take up another heavy slot though so you'd need to double down on CAD's.

Like every single Ork unit that isnt boyz, warbikers, MANz, or a vehicle theyre way way overpriced for how quickly they die.

Nevermind the fact that theyre a shooty unit without any rules to help them shoot, unless they stand perfectly still a turn - which is REALLY hard to do with their shortass guns and cover hopping playstyle.

I've fielded them in a homebrew dex where they got 4+ armor instead of bosspoles for no point increase. Badrukk also got a point decrease down to 70 pts and granted prefered enemy to his squad.

In all three games that i've fielded them, flashgits did more stuff in melee than with their shooting. I don't know - either i didn't get lucky with an ap roll when needed or they wiffed and the enemy deflected everything with cover or invul. But s5 melee attacks are nice.

In the end, they were somewhat fine with 4+ armor cause they didn't emidiately die in melee but didn't do anything at all with their random mediocre shooting.

Don't think that current gits are even remotedly worth their points. You might not loose the game if you take a squad of them but other options are generally better.

Seemingly all my games I need more klaws or more rokkits. Hell, I tried the loota star the other day and found myself wishing they had rokkits. Str5 even ap1 doesn't have a use. They are more resilient versus pie plates being two wound models.

I've not had huge amounts of experience with them but I find them way over priced and should certainly come with 'eavy armour. I think it was an oversight, even the model looks as if it has 'eavy armour. Also there is no way to give it to them, where with regular nobz and even boyz you can.

Anyhow, they more often than not are underwhelming but a few times they have turned a battle form me. Positioned well, sat in a ruin with an opponent who doesn't just hide in the corner they can provide a nice threat. They may not deliver on the threat but your opponent will take them into account with what they can potentially do. With a couple of lucky rolls I've had 5 of them kill 5 kitted out terminators and strip a wound from a demon prince in a 1 phase, in other games they've killed 2 cultists before dying in a hail of str 3 fire from said cultists.

I believe their uses are as follows: 1, provide fire support for an area of the board you wish to defend (i.e. first turn move them up to infiltrated kommandos or somesuch to reinforce that area) 2, force heavy armour to avoid an area of the board 3, use against enemies who are likely to come to you.

I play my games very aggressively with my orks, going straight for the opponents centre of mass. And my regular opponents (Eldar, CSM, Demons and Dark Eldar) tend to fight a defensive retreat before counter charging, i.e. they tend to be more mobile than me, but they run out of room to hide. In these type of games I've found them mostly impractical, their range is just too short unless you move them. They are certainly fun to play though and the feeling of rolling that AP2 after selecting to fire at something in heavy armour is just great.

TLDR: play for fun not to win.

I have big love for my gitz. Ten in a battlewagon with a killkannon will wipe things out. Definitely wouldn't use them on foot though.

 Vankraken wrote:
They are fun but sorta impractical honestly. At worse they are Nobz shooting carbine big shootas and at best they are shooting high volume of fire Tau plasma guns (but Str 5 so oh well). In a battlewagon they are decently good if they aren't the highest priority target on the field but they tend to die to concentrated fire that ignores cover (they should be in cover if not in a transport). Painboy is a decent investment for the unit and if your taking a battlewagon then you can give it a Killkannon without messing up your transport capacity. Compare them to shoota boyz are they are relatively on par with them as they have less total shots but potentially better BS and higher strength and can RNG to ignore armor. In close combat being Nobz they pack quite the punch but have less total swings. In transport explosions they tend to do much better as each one is 2 wounds and at most 10 models so you take less total hits and lose less models than a shoota boy wagon explosion. As for what to shoot at I find its the best mix of reliable to practical when you primarily target 3+ armor units. It's a 50% chance to bypass armor and even if you don't make the roll the volume of fire should take some models out. Hoping for the AP1/2 is a bit more risky at 33% and when you fail the roll your throwing shots at 2+ armor so its much less likely to generate casualties. If you need to throw large amounts of dice at a target and hope to brute force through 2+ armor then gitz aren't all that bad at it (but they aren't really all that great at brute forcing down a unit like a Riptide or Dreadknight).

In my Blitz Brigade list I always run Flash Gitz because they are one of my favorite units and have good synergy with the formation. Scouting up for turn 1 BS3 and potential face melt dakka makes them fairly heavy infantry killers. Its fun seeing the opponents face trying to decide if they want to jink or not on bikers when they might get tapped by AP6 bullets or AP1 baby railguns slugs.

In total I would put them in the casual list category but they can be very functional units in any list. Its just that Orks usually playing from behind in terms of power that anything that isn't optimal is going to risk getting stomped.
Meh on foot.
Decently good in a Battlewagon.
Worth adding a painboy.

Badrukk is an incredibly beautiful model but an absolutely terrible unit. His AP2 gun is good in theory but for the same points cost you can just take 5 more Flash Gitz and drown the target in volume of fire or roll a good AP value to face melt like a boss. I would never take him in any list.

Also the Flash Gitz formation with 2 units of 10 Gitz and Badrukk is probably the most frustrating formation to use properly. 20 guys firing Master Crafted guns that have 3 shots is a nightmare to roll. You would have to roll each gun separately to be able to accurately use the master crafted rule. Cool formation in concept but insanely impractical to use and badrukk is one heck of a tax for a frustrating experience.

Perhaps I should reconsider using the Badrukk flash gitz formation...

 Vineheart01 wrote:
Like every single Ork unit that isnt boyz, warbikers, MANz, or a vehicle theyre way way overpriced for how quickly they die.

Nevermind the fact that theyre a shooty unit without any rules to help them shoot, unless they stand perfectly still a turn - which is REALLY hard to do with their shortass guns and cover hopping playstyle.

IMHO, the thing with Orks is this:

Boyz are our most points-efficient unit by far. However, you need some heavy hitters to back them up or they will struggle against some of the bigger nastier things in the game. To me that's where flash gitz are really useful.

 Vankraken wrote:


Extra salt in the wound with the old codex gave them 4+ armor by default and could upgrade one to a Painboy. The current Ork codex feels like it was designed by a bunch of people working on parts of it but never communicating with each other about the changes being made. Why every Flash Git now has a bosspole by default is beyond me.

Edit: Although it should be pointed out that the current Flash Gitz are WAY better than the old ones because they are now half the price with most of the old upgrades as default.

I think it's worse. Check out this from White Dwarf issue 21, "The Flash Gitz were a brutal island of firepower, with Badrukk and the Painboy magnifying their ability and durability respectively. Keeping them in the crater was a masterstroke, since they got the benefit of a decent Cover save and the Feel No Pain bonus to. Flash Gitz used like that are a unit to be feared."

Clearly the 6+ and the Painboy moving to HQ was a deliberate choice. Look how they congratulated themselves on how genius they are for using a cover save with a 6+ armor save unit

Reading the White Dwarf where they remark on how the way to counter Orks is to use power weapons since they "don't have invulnerable saves in close combat" and they specifically note "Snipers - target ork characters to make it harder for them to pass their Mob Rule tests," makes it sound like it was deliberate counter-design, as if they were afraid of Orks being OP. Page 30 on the WD issue 21, June 21, 2014.

 Krusha wrote:

IMHO, the thing with Orks is this:

Boyz are our most points-efficient unit by far. However, you need some heavy hitters to back them up or they will struggle against some of the bigger nastier things in the game. To me that's where flash gitz are really useful.

They're really not just in and of themselves. Warbikers are surprisingly comparable to Shoota Boyz before you even add the transport. Better in shooting and more durable IIRC point-for-point but their close combat is inferior due to less model count. Gitz are also comparable to Shoota boyz.

Nobz are also surprisingly comparable to Boyz in CC with the points reduction and 'eavy armor.

 Krusha wrote:

 Vineheart01 wrote:
Like every single Ork unit that isnt boyz, warbikers, MANz, or a vehicle theyre way way overpriced for how quickly they die.

Nevermind the fact that theyre a shooty unit without any rules to help them shoot, unless they stand perfectly still a turn - which is REALLY hard to do with their shortass guns and cover hopping playstyle.

IMHO, the thing with Orks is this:

Boyz are our most points-efficient unit by far. However, you need some heavy hitters to back them up or they will struggle against some of the bigger nastier things in the game. To me that's where flash gitz are really useful.

Not sure how Flash Gitz kill the bigger nastier things out there. Their strenght isnt amazing, its just the AP that makes them viable since its the only non-hazardous AP1/2 gun we got.
S5 guns. Do they take out 12+ armor? No
Do they reliably hurt MCs? No
Do they help against WK? Nope
Do they take out Termies? Potentially yes
Do they take out Marine armor? Again, potentially yes.

Tankbustas do a far better job at everything except 2+ penning for cheaper. They cant reliably hurt the Termies but i wouldnt say Flash Gitz reliably hurt them either. If we could roll their AP before choosing a target, i'd be a bit more lenient towards them. But ~60% of the time you target termies, all you get is wounding on 3s and have to deal with 2+ saves. What do Flash Gitz deal with that contribute to the term "bigger nastier things"?

Everything Boyz, Warbikers, or MANz either cant or shouldnt be dealing with, Tankbustas can deal with while Flash Gitz either cannot or barely can. Or Lootas for that matter.

 Vineheart01 wrote:

 Krusha wrote:

 Vineheart01 wrote:
Like every single Ork unit that isnt boyz, warbikers, MANz, or a vehicle theyre way way overpriced for how quickly they die.

Nevermind the fact that theyre a shooty unit without any rules to help them shoot, unless they stand perfectly still a turn - which is REALLY hard to do with their shortass guns and cover hopping playstyle.

IMHO, the thing with Orks is this:

Boyz are our most points-efficient unit by far. However, you need some heavy hitters to back them up or they will struggle against some of the bigger nastier things in the game. To me that's where flash gitz are really useful.

Not sure how Flash Gitz kill the bigger nastier things out there. Their strenght isnt amazing, its just the AP that makes them viable since its the only non-hazardous AP1/2 gun we got.
S5 guns. Do they take out 12+ armor? No
Do they reliably hurt MCs? No
Do they help against WK? Nope
Do they take out Termies? Potentially yes
Do they take out Marine armor? Again, potentially yes.

Tankbustas do a far better job at everything except 2+ penning for cheaper. They cant reliably hurt the Termies but i wouldnt say Flash Gitz reliably hurt them either. If we could roll their AP before choosing a target, i'd be a bit more lenient towards them. But ~60% of the time you target termies, all you get is wounding on 3s and have to deal with 2+ saves. What do Flash Gitz deal with that contribute to the term "bigger nastier things"?

Everything Boyz, Warbikers, or MANz either cant or shouldnt be dealing with, Tankbustas can deal with while Flash Gitz either cannot or barely can. Or Lootas for that matter.

I disagree with the bolded part. My 10 Flash Gitz have taken out a two-man Carnifex Brood in at least one round of shooting before. They were armed with crushing claws, scything talons and bio-plasma.

Admittedly i forgot theyre Assault3 now, but it still remains that Boyz can deal with just about anything Flash Gitz can for cheaper. Or Tankbustas outside of assault.

Essentially everything i have a problem with in the ork codex is durability related, not killing potential. Flash Gitz still kill things dead, but since they die exactly as easily as anything else theyre not worse the intense price tag. Multiwound T4 models with no armor or invul save is a waste of points, since theres no way your opponent is going to shoot them with a non S8+ weapon unless they somehow dont have any.

 KaptinBadrukk wrote:


I disagree with the bolded part. My 10 Flash Gitz have taken out a two-man Carnifex Brood in at least one round of shooting before. They were armed with crushing claws, scything talons and bio-plasma.

They're BS2 or 3, so that means that 2/3 to 1/2 of your shots are missing. Then you have S5 against T6+, so only 1/3 of your hits are wounding.

Finally, you only have a 1/2 chance of getting an AP value at or below the armour save of a carnifex. If you were shooting at, say, a Riptide then the odds are even worse.

10 FG shoot at Carnifexes:
30 shots = 10 hits at BS2, 15 hits at BS3.
10 hits = 3.33 wounds, 15 hits = 5 wounds
If AP1-3, 3.33 wounds at BS2, 5 wounds at BS3
If AP4+, 1.11 wounds at BS2, 1.67 wounds at BS3

So I think it is fair to say that on average Flash Gitz are not a very reliable way to take out MCs.

 A Town Called Malus wrote:

 KaptinBadrukk wrote:


I disagree with the bolded part. My 10 Flash Gitz have taken out a two-man Carnifex Brood in at least one round of shooting before. They were armed with crushing claws, scything talons and bio-plasma.

They're BS2 or 3, so that means that 2/3 to 1/2 of your shots are missing. Then you have S5 against T6+, so only 1/3 of your hits are wounding.

Finally, you only have a 1/2 chance of getting an AP value at or below the armour save of a carnifex. If you were shooting at, say, a Riptide then the odds are even worse.

10 FG shoot at Carnifexes:
30 shots = 10 hits at BS2, 15 hits at BS3.
10 hits = 3.33 wounds, 15 hits = 5 wounds
If AP1-3, 3.33 wounds at BS2, 5 wounds at BS3
If AP4+, 1.11 wounds at BS2, 1.67 wounds at BS3

So I think it is fair to say that on average Flash Gitz are not a very reliable way to take out MCs.

I forgot to mention they were using gitfindas and rolling pretty good for AP. Gitfinda does BS 3

 Vineheart01 wrote:
Admittedly i forgot theyre Assault3 now, but it still remains that Boyz can deal with just about anything Flash Gitz can for cheaper. Or Tankbustas outside of assault.

They're actually really close to the killing power per point of Shoota boyz. The big differentiating factor is that Boyz take up a troop slot whereas Gitz take up a coveted HS slot.

Slayer-Fan123 wrote:
Those guns really should've just been Twin Linked. That would've solved literally anyone's issue with it.

Partly to solve this issue and partly as a good general tactic with Flash Gitz, is to give each model an ammo runt. It helps mitigate the situation of finally rolling low enough AP only to have all your shots miss, and helps you make good AP rolls count.

I'm talking about the formation with them. Master Crafted slows down everything SOOOO much.

Slayer-Fan123 wrote:
I'm talking about the formation with them. Master Crafted slows down everything SOOOO much.

I have a friend who runs the formation as part of all of his tourney lists. He doesn't win a ton, but once in a while he can table people sometimes.

The way he does it, is he keeps a cup with 5 sets of 3 dice with each set being a different color. So he can roll them 5 at a time.

It was a poorly designed formation for a poorly designed unit.

Overall Flash Gitz are not good enough to be competitive, and it all comes down to how limited they are. They aren't able to pop vehicles reliable because of S5 (if they were S6 that would fix it). They aren't reliable shooting at anything with a save, because you roll after you declare your target. They aren't survivable, because they don't get 'eavy Armor, and have 24" range so they have to ride in Ork Transports.

There are a million ways to fix them (Twin Linked, S6, Monster Hunter, Roll before you declare, 'eavy Armor), so it wouldn't blow my mind if GW stumbles upon a formations that makes them downright decent. But until then, tankbustas and Lootas are better at filling the roles that Flash Gitz fill.