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Good morning all! This is my first post and visit to the forum.

I'm an Age of Sigmar Kharadron Overlords player.

My brother and I have recently decided to start building 40K armies as well. He's going Tyranids and I've decided to go Orks, both because their models are fantastic and the wild charge nature is much different than the way I play my Pirate Dwarves.

I've bought a box of boyz, but still need to grab the Codex now that it's released. My question is how many boyz should I buy before I start grabbing other units? I've read the Start Collecting box may be outdated with the units included.

(Feel free to point me to a previous post)

Thanks in advance

-Tree Bark

I am not an orc player or expert, but in general the list I saw pre codex run around with anything between 80 and 160 boys. Plus I know that you need a ton of other stuff like 20 lootaz, nobs to be warbosses, mekks etc. A very pricy army to start.

There are loads of ways to build an ork army. If you like boyz you can bring either small squads for trukks or the more standard approach of some or many big squads of 30 boyz each.

There are also some creative ways you could build an ork army without using boyz, such as:
-a speed freek army with the new buggies and bikes
-an army of only walkers and meks (killa kanz, deff dreads, gork and morkanauts, stompa...)
-grot revoloution, an army using almost only gretchins
-an army of flash gitz....

The sky is the limit

It entirely depends on how you want to play orks, since there are several effective styles now, and the format of the game.

I can say that 30ish boyz should be ok in any type of list and in any game format.

Other units like lootas are also dependant on your style of playing, they're not auto takes.

IMHO the real auto-takes for an ork army are just 30ish boyz, 30 gretchins and a weirdboy. Then either a warboss or a deffkilla wartrike. Everything else is entirely dependant on how you want to create your army.

I would say that 30 Boyz would be a good starting point as it gives you three Troops for a Battalion detachment that you'll probably be building towards and when you've got more Boyz or some Gretchin it can form your first full unit of 30. The Start Collecting box is a decent place to begin, though the Painboy you get fills an Elite slot rather than an HQ slot so you'll probably want to get your hands on a Warboss as well. You'll also get a Deff Dread which is not a bad unit, particularly if you expand your collection in the future to have more vehicle units.

I’m building them with slugged and chopped as I like the extra melee attack. Any reason not to do this before I build 28 more units? Also should I take advantage of the tank busta, rocket launcha, and big shoota options? (I really need to buy the codex)

Big shoota in every ork boyz squad, even if you don’t use it they can be easily used as count as for the likes of lootas etc. The lootas boxset comes with 4 lootas and a mek, it also has parts to build 4 burnas if you have 4 spare boyz legs and torsos.

This edition running a triple battalion looks important. To work yourself up to that I would look at having about fifty boyz and sixty grotz. I would also have 2 weirdboyz, 2 warbosses, maybe a mega-armored big mek, which would give you a few meganobz to tellaport.

From there you need to decide what toyz you want in your army. I don't think anyone would slap my hand for telling you 25 Lootas, six mek gunz, and a deffkilla wartrike are a good way to go. I don't have any mek gunz yet and I admit I'm a little sad about it.

It's really up to how you want to play your orks. If you want a load of clanking walkers and ramshackle go-cart helicopters, mad "scientists" with plasma cannons they built out of scrap metal and duct tape, and small units of specialists, you can run that (and Deathskulls may be for you). If you want to run screaming at your opponent at speeds that would make an elf blush while giant war engines teleport into combat and your troops get flung into battle via psychic powers, you can run that (and Evil Sunz might be your thing). If you want to just sit back and pound your enemies with salvo after salvo of high caliber fire from stolen artillery, you can run that (and Bad Moons might be the clan for you).

Boyz, grots, weirdboyz, mek gunz, and tankbustas (which you can just make yourself by giving a boy a rokkit - it's how just about everyone does it) are going to feature in pretty much every list. I'd probably aim for 30-60 boyz, 60 grots, 2-3 weirdboyz, and as many mek gunz as you care to buy or build (18 max, due to the rule of three) for your "core" choices. After that you can go for whatever sort of extras you think are the most fun. Want some crazy new racing buggies built out of scrap? Snag a couple Megatrakk Scrapjets or Kustom Boosta-Blastas. Interested in those walkers from earlier? Grab a handful of Deff Dreads or a Gorkanaught. Want to go all in on one turn of insane firepower? Pick up 25ish Lootas, throw some grots in front of them, and unleash an unholy storm of Dakka with the Badmoon stratagem "Showin' Off" that lets one unit shoot twice.

There's a thread in the Tactics forum that has a handy introduction to how powerful each unit is: https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/767149.page. These aren't set in stone (Lootaz and Meks are 'meh' in general, for example, but super good in a Badmoons list that focuses on them or when run as Deathskulls with a KMB, respectively), but the Great-Good-Fine-Niche-Outright Bad color coding is useful for getting started.

As for the Start Collecting box, it's a pretty good deal if you want the Deff Dread, as you'll basically be getting a set of nobz and a painboy for free with the Boyz+Dread. The painboy isn't great, but hey, he's free, and the nobz can come in handy. You can use them to convert up other characters (like weirdboyz and meks) if you don't want the nobz specifically, too.

Thanks for the responses! I am leaning toward a "rush toward the enemy with reckless abandon" army as my Overlords are more of a sit back and shoot AOS army. Would like some variation.

I love the looks of the new vehicle models and plan on buying some of them just for fun.

So no issue in building my boys with sluggas/choppas in stead of shootas?

I personally think you want Evil Sunz shoota boyz if you are footslogging because they can advance and fire shootas at full ballistic skill. Unless it is a deep strike squad of boyz, then take choppa slugga.

Bad Moonz should be shoota boyz too

Otherwise you Slugga Choppa

Deff Skulls you bring the rokkit and klaw

Oletreebark wrote:
Thanks for the responses! I am leaning toward a "rush toward the enemy with reckless abandon" army as my Overlords are more of a sit back and shoot AOS army. Would like some variation.

I love the looks of the new vehicle models and plan on buying some of them just for fun.

So no issue in building my boys with sluggas/choppas in stead of shootas?

Well, everything but the mek gunz and Loota blob will likely be moving up, so that doesn't really limit your choices, much. You'll still probably want some mek gunz or tank bustas to help kill stuff that's either too hardy for Boyz (like Imperial Knights) or won't stand still for a proper punching (like flyers and Eldar), but everything else can get in there and mix it up.

A lot of the Ork vehicles are pretty good. Of the new buggies, the Kustom Boosta-Blasta is great for clearing out light infantry and the Megatrakk Scrapjet is good for taking on those hard targets with its missiles (and isn't too shabby on the charge, either, what with that giant drill at the front). The Shokk Jump Dragsta gets honorable mention, too, as its cannon can put the hurt on heavy vehicles and it can teleport around the table to get into unexpected firing lanes. The others aren't quite up to snuff, with the Ruckatrukk Squigbuggy being far and away the worst.

The Bonebreaker wagon is extremely popular right now, as it's a tough (for Orks, anyway) transport that deals a ton of damage on the charge with that giant, spiky deff rolla it's got up front. Nothing like running an enemy over and crushing them flat, cartoon-style. They're killy enough that people aren't even always bothering to fill them with stuff.

The Dakkajet and Wazbom Blastajet are good, Deff Dreads are much better than they have been in quite a while, and Gorka/Morkanaughts are perfectly usable, too. Trukks are good to transport and protect elite units, but small units of boyz struggle a bit (unless you're running Deathskulls, then they can get some work done).

Speaking of Boyz, there's a place for both choppas and shootas. The melee versions should generally look to getting downfield with either the help of a weirdboy casting Da Jump or being teleported onto the field via stratagem. Being Evil Sunz helps a lot, here, as the +1 to charge rolls makes getting that 9" charge much more likely. Shoota boyz also appreciate Da Jump (but don't always need it, as they can often footslog into range) will be looking to clear screens of light infantry away so that your heavy hitters can reach the meat of the enemy.

Really, though, almost anything can be made into a lightning assault unit by spending 2CP to teleport it onto the battlefield 9" away from the front line. Meganobz' 4" movement got you down, but you love the idea of these scrap clad slabs of muscle tearing into the enemy with giant buzzsaws? Just teleport them in and get right to krumpin'! Again, and you'll see a pattern here, Evil Sunz helps to make that charge much more reliable.

Generally, if you're looking to rush forward you'll want at least one battalion of Evil Sunz, as they're the best at getting in fast (both when on foot/mounted and by teleporting). They don't offer much to shooting units, though, so a second battalion (and you'll want two, anyway, for the CP) of another clan to handle that is a good idea. Badmoons is quite popular, as their shoot twice stratagem is amazingly good, but you can also run them as Deathskulls for a bunch of rerolls on small units or even Freebootaz for a +1 to hit once a Freeboota unit kills something (generally you start shooting with the mek gunz in hopes of triggering this, as grots cannot benefit from bonuses). Really it's just up to whether you like to field one big super-shooting unit, a bunch of little ones, or just love pirate hats.

Build ‘box’ Orks as shootas, get ‘Black Reach’ sluggas from eBay,. Mix both in units, declare as either type. As long as you make their role clear, it’s all good.

If you want to be charging the enemy with reckless abandon, I'd look to start a more mobile, vehicle-based army. It needs fewer boyz, allows you to easily mix in fun models like nobs and meganobs, and there's some great vehicles around these days too. I would echo other players with the "buy 30 boyz, 30 grotz and a weirdboy." All of those will be good starting tools for your army. Add a deffkilla wartrike to lead the blitz brigade, then invest in a couple battlewagons, trukks, or buggies and fill transports with nobz or meganobz. Should be a fun list, and very mobile.

Here’s where I stand.

I’ve assembled a box of boyz, all with sluggaz and choppaz and the nob with a power claw (because it’s a freaking power claw). In addition I’m receiving 20 used boyz from a friend of a friend (not sure of their load out or paint quality, we will see).
I bought and am waiting for a Defkilla on Wartrike (couldn’t resist)

Where from here?
Is the Grukk box with the Nobz good?

If it helps my brother is building a Tyranid army, thought I don’t want to build specifically for one match.

Oletreebark wrote:
Good morning all! This is my first post and visit to the forum.

I'm an Age of Sigmar Kharadron Overlords player.

My brother and I have recently decided to start building 40K armies as well. He's going Tyranids and I've decided to go Orks, both because their models are fantastic and the wild charge nature is much different than the way I play my Pirate Dwarves.

I've bought a box of boyz, but still need to grab the Codex now that it's released. My question is how many boyz should I buy before I start grabbing other units? I've read the Start Collecting box may be outdated with the units included.

(Feel free to point me to a previous post)

Thanks in advance

-Tree Bark

Shoot for 30 boyz to start.

One squad of 30 boyz can be a brutal alpha strike using "Da jump" power to teleport them at the enemy. That first 30 is the peak usefulness of your boyz.

Unless you want to go for a pure green tide horde, 30 (possibly 40, because you can combine 10 with 30 to make 1 big squad) is about where you want to be for boyz.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Oletreebark wrote:
Here’s where I stand.

I’ve assembled a box of boyz, all with sluggaz and choppaz and the nob with a power claw (because it’s a freaking power claw). In addition I’m receiving 20 used boyz from a friend of a friend (not sure of their load out or paint quality, we will see).
I bought and am waiting for a Defkilla on Wartrike (couldn’t resist)

Where from here?
Is the Grukk box with the Nobz good?

If it helps my brother is building a Tyranid army, thought I don’t want to build specifically for one match.

Boss with power claw is good, nobz are good - you'll want to get them a trukk but yeah, that's a solid unit.

Have you decided on a clan you like yet? That will inform your decisions. Some clans (Goffs, Blood Axes, Evil Sunz) primarily want to be melee, some (Bad Moonz, Deathskullz) want to be primarily shooty, and others (Freebooters, Snakebites) are more balanced between the two.

I don't want to be a shooty army (despite loving the Bad Moonz color scheme). Just doesn't seem to fit well with the Orks, and my KO Dwarves in AOS are very shooty. I have this vision of Orks and Vehicles flying across the battlefield like wild green fiends and crashing into the enemy, possibly destroying themselves in the process. I haven't picked up the Codex yet so I'm not sure which Culture will fit that?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Maybe Evil Sunz. I like all the extra movement.

Oletreebark wrote:
I don't want to be a shooty army (despite loving the Bad Moonz color scheme). Just doesn't seem to fit well with the Orks, and my KO Dwarves in AOS are very shooty. I have this vision of Orks and Vehicles flying across the battlefield like wild green fiends and crashing into the enemy, possibly destroying themselves in the process. I haven't picked up the Codex yet so I'm not sure which Culture will fit that?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Maybe Evil Sunz. I like all the extra movement.

Evil Sunz does indeed make everything faster, so might be the choice if you're looking to absolutely maximize speed. However, a lot of the already quick choices (planes, buggies, bikes, etc.) don't see quite as much benefit from being a couple of inches faster a turn (as they're already so fast that they can often get where they need to go), so it's not locked in. Those bonus 2"/3" of movement and ability to shoot assault weapons on the run is great on slower stuff like boyz or dreads, though.

Deathskulls does wonders for a MSU style list running lots of single koptas, buggies, boys w/rokkit in a trukk w/rokkit sharing space with a mek w/kmb, etc., for example. Freebootaz can benefit both melee and shooting with their +1 to hit, so can potentially work with anything and everything, but triggering the bonus isn't automatic. Goffs (while not the most competitive kulture) will make a mess once they get stuck in with their S5 boyz jumping out of wagons.

It's really just down to what you want to crash into the enemy, and you can always pick a couple of kultures for different aspects of your army. So some Deathskullz buggies and trukk boyz could zip around providing the dakka while Evil Sunz boyz hoof it down the table at record speeds, for example.

What does an MSU list mean? I’ve seen that written in multiple articles.

I’m between Evil Sunz and Deathskullz. I like the re roll options and the blue color scheme. Anybody with strong thoughts either way?

Currently have 30 boyz with sluggaz and choppas (debating switching them to shoota boys if evil sunz, if not then adding a rocket launcher or big shoota for re roll if going deathskullz. I’ve got a def Killa on Wartrike and a box of bikers to be assembled. My brother is giving me a Deff Dread he has lying aroma nd unpainted. I’m a mixed bad currently!

MSU is 'Multiple Small Units'. The idea is to have targets that are easily overkilled, so larger dakka heavy enemies waste valueable dakka pouring shots into a small unit. It's not as easy to pull off this edition because of split firing, but it still exsists.

For example, if you'd like to play Deffskullz, you could make small units of boyz rather effective by just adding a rokkit launcher to the boyz so you can reroll the miss and the wound. You might also consider a melee weapon for the nob, in case they get into CC they could reroll hits and wounds all the same. Deffskullz can play a bit of MSU because their klan kulture can give you efficiency to a single effective weapon in each unit. In my last game, my Deffskull Battalion had 3x10 boyz with one Rokkit Launcher and Nob with Klaw. Now those three squads almost all got shot off the board turn one but it looked dangerous enough that my opponent over estimated it, instead of shooting other valueable things.