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Mekboy Workshops are generally regarded as a waste of points - The only think I can think of them being worth taking with is killa kans with Grotzookas.

The issue stems from the "may not shoot or charge this turn" part of the rules. This is too large a price to pay for most ork units.

So, My proposals:

1: Write in rules which allow the unit to either shoot or assault (but not both) if there is a big mek or 2 meks within 3" of the workshop.
2: Add a stratagem to be played after deployment but before the first turn, to allow one unit to be upgraded by the workshop before the first turn. - 1CP?

I think this would make the workshop much more worth taking, but not OP.

They really aren't bad if you use them like they were intended.


First turn of the game they buff your vehicles and provide cover to them. Second turn you move up and send in deep strikers. Third turn your buffed stuff catch's up to deep strikers.

 Eihnlazer wrote:
They really aren't bad if you use them like they were intended.


First turn of the game they buff your vehicles and provide cover to them. Second turn you move up and send in deep strikers. Third turn your buffed stuff catch's up to deep strikers.

Sorry but the buffs they give are outweighed by doing 2 turns normally.

Max shots? Rather than 3d6 you get 18? Gee nice. I get less shots! That's a nice way of rewarding giving opponent free shot at taking down it with 1-2 turns before it shoots thus losing potentially 100% of your shooting. And even if he fails it(most likely you go 1st and have bigger threats) you STILL shoot less than you would have without mek workshop.

and you have to lose one of the 3 detachments and CP with it. Orks desperately need as much CP's as possible.

There's no saving grace of them. You only take it for short range MW dealer if you want to take. IF you use the kustom job opponent thanks you for doing what he wants you to do.

Same goes for the Knight variant. The only thing it's useful on is a Valiant's flamer, but even then you give up a whole 3D6 shots, and you lose a turn of vital movement to get in flamer range.

Not even there. 2 turns of flaming better than 3d6 maxed. And if you can\t reach T1 sitting back doesn't help.

Only scenario it's worth it is:

a) you know before hand your T1 you have no way whatsoever shooting anything(or at least anything useful)
b) you KNOW that your enemy will move within range for your T2. Preferably also unable to simply one shot vehicle being "upgraded"(which isn't easy even with stompa)
c) there's also no better strategical gain by moving forward

Now really when above criterias would be met?

To be worth it buff needs to be really, really, really, REALLY good. You are giving up:

a) whole turn of acting. No movement hurts. No shooting hurts. Maxing dices doesn't even equal two turns unless # of shots has negative modifier like 3d6-2 AND workshop ignores that negative modifer
b) points obviously
c) detachment. You have to take fortification network. Orks(and knights) are CP hungry. Not often you don't want to get CP filling det...

You would need to like give some bonuses to shooting as well as maxing. Plus to hit and wound, max random damage. That sort of stuff. Others as well. Or apply multiple bonuses. Or rather than this don't do anything and get bonuses do it the 8th ed style and have aura bonus. As it is mek workshop is only barely better than knight one that opponent would be happy to give one for free and as bonus detachment as long as you use it. On those terms opponent would even pay for points out of his own points for both of them. That's how junk it is.

Cool model though so at least good themed terrain.

OK, so the mekboy workshop is crap - as already ascertained.

New suggestion:

1:can be taken as a heavy support option, but counts as a fortification for all game purposes
2: upgrades are less powerful but last for the duration of the game.
3: Can dish out one extra upgrade per big mek within 3" of the workshop, on a 2+. (had considered 1MW on the mek on a roll of a 1, as a fight starts over the tools! might overcomplicate things though.)

suggested upgrades would be:

More Dakka! - Roll a D6: on a 1-5, for the rest of the game roll an additional dice and discard the lowest when rolling for number of shots with this weapon in this unit. on a 6, for the rest of the game roll an additional dice when determining the number of shots with this weapon in this unit.
Note - the additional dice is the same as the dice used normally for this weapon - a grotzooka rolls an additional D3, a killkannon an additional D6.

More Armour! - roll a D6. On a 1-5, the unit gets +1 to armour saves for the rest of the battle. On a 6, the unit also gets +1 toughness for the rest of the battle.

More Speed! - Roll a D6. On a 1-5, this unit rolls an additional D6 and discards the lowest when advancing for the remainder of the game. On a 6, this unit automatically counts as rolling a 6 for advancing for the remainder of the game. (specifically worded for shokkjump dragsters!)

My temptation was to give negative effects on 1's, but it would both increase the complexity and it's not as in-keeping with 8th editions rampant disregard for the random effects of ork technology (I miss the old SAG!). I suppose a mortal wound on a 1 could work.

In this suggestion, you still have the turn of non-action, and the workshop would almost never get used past turn 1, but giving a "kustom job" to a unit which affects it for the whole game would be much more useful than one which only briefly improves it, at a cost greater than the improvement!

I would also want a stratagem; after deployment, before the first turn, pick one unit within 3" of the workshop and apply a Kustom Job to it. (2CP).

any more things (like big meks allowing them do shoot or assault when having a kustom job, but not both) would overcomplicate it, I think.

Points would have to be re-evaluated, and it may be worth being a fortification with these changes so might not be a heavy support choice, but if it's cost can be balanced, this would, I think, make it a good option.

The mek boy workshop should work as a fortification by giving custom jobs in turn 1 to all the vehicles under its aura before the movement phase and letting the vehicles playing as normally, just with the buffs.

The ork player is already paying for a thing that should work for a turn, there's no need to let him pay even more by giving up his vehicles for a turn.

 Blackie wrote:
The mek boy workshop should work as a fortification by giving custom jobs in turn 1 to all the vehicles under its aura before the movement phase and letting the vehicles playing as normally, just with the buffs.

The ork player is already paying for a thing that should work for a turn, there's no need to let him pay even more by giving up his vehicles for a turn.

I agree, but I think that with the way this game works nowadays and what the mek workshop is supposed to be doing, it makes sense to have the 1 turn sacrifice for shooting and assaulting and the stratagem to circumvent it, provided that the effects last all game, not just for 1 turn.

it's the fact that the effects only last one turn which is silly, really. but maxing any random dice for the whole game would be OP, so a balance must be struck.

Can any math-hammerers give us some ideas of the effect of extra dice and discard the lowest on some of the ork guns that are likely to have this used on them? EG grotzookas, killkannons, skorchas etc? we can see if it would make them too OP or just a little better.