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Hey Dakkites,

So it’s looking like I’m going to finally get to play my first ever game of 40k, with another friend who’s never played as well (we’ve played plenty of other tabletop games, so this shouldn’t be a total disaster!).

We’ve decided to go with 500 pts Ork vs. Chaos, and we’re avoiding psykers and vehicles for this first time around. I took a few hours to read the 6th ed rules, and the ork and chaos codex to build three armies for each faction. This would give us some pregame options, and allow my friend to feel like I haven’t shoehorned him in to some lousy choices, in case he loses!

If you have a moment, I’d love feedback. [edit: lots of great advice for the orks, but nothing yet for Chaos. Anyone familiar with the new codex care to comment?] I know 500pts is small, but:

Are there any really obvious missing unit choices?

Have I made any mistakes?

Are there any (any at all, we’re cool with proxies for the time being and well stocked with random minis suitable for testing out units) units that are really fun for the noob to play?

And importantly, are there any lame-o choices in the 6 lists below that wouldn’t be fun to play against? The LAST thing I want to do is turn one of us off to the game the first time around!!

We’re not competitive, the important thing is to have fun. (though suggestions to make the armies more competitive with a good explanation are welcome, if you don’t mind!) And remember, we're noobies, so I won't always understand jargon and suggestions without explanations may fall on deaf (well, confused anyway) ears. Pretend you're 'splaining to an actual ork (who is restrained and couldn't hurt you).

And thanks very much in advance, I appreciate how welcoming this community can be!

edit: updated with some advice from below (and fixed my math!), thanks

The ork armies:
1. Burn baby burn - with this army, I was trying to add some fun elites. I ain't married to the idear of fire... Burnas, commandos, lootas... Remember, no vehicles just yet. Any suggestions?
500 pts
90pts: Warboss w/ power klaww and Bosspole
144 pts: 24 x Boyz w/shootas.
138 pts: 23 x Boyz w/sluggas and choppas.
120 pts: 8 x burna boyz

2. Fast Flank: What is the consensus on Stormboyz? Are they any good?
498 pts
105 pts: Warboss w/warbike and bosspole
142 pts: 22 x Boyz w/shootas, 2 boyz have big shootas
126 pts: 21 x Boyz w/sluggas and choppas
125 pts: 5 x warbikes

3. The Green horde
500: pts
110 pts: Warboss w/power klaw, twin linked shoota, attack squig & bosspole (do I need a bosspole with such large units?)
195 pts: 30 x Boyz w/shootas, 3 boyz have big shootas
195 pts: 30 x Boyz w/sluggas and choppas, 3 boyz have big shootas



The Chaos armies
1. The grinder:
498 pts
105 pts: Chaos Lord in Terminator armor
108 pts: 8 x CSM, Aspiring Champion, 1 x Flamer
103 pts: 8 x CSM, Aspiring Champion
182 pts: 4 x Terminators

2. The psychotic human wave:
498 pts
65 pts: Chaos Lord
133 pts: 10 x CSM, Aspiring Champion, 1 x heavy bolter
113 pts: 9 x CSM, Aspiring Champion
271 pts: 30 x Cultists, Cultist Champion, 31 x Autoguns

3. Swift virulence
495 pts
80 pts: Chaos Lord w/Mark of Nurgle
103 pts: 8 x CSM, Aspiring Champion
216 pts: 6 x Plague marines, Plague Marine Champion
72 pts: 2 x Spawn, 2 x Mark of Nurgle

Burn Baby Burn

Foot Slogging Nobs and especially Burna Boys are generally a bad idea. Personally I think they're cool, and they'll work fine for an intro 'no vehicles and psykers' game but fall flat on their face once you get tanks and various heavy guns in the fray. Honestly, your setting yourself up for disappointment in future games

Fast Flank

What are the boys? If shoota boys, drop the Nob. If Slugga boys... perhaps drop the Nob as well. Not really worth it unless you've kitted him up for melee or running a small squad.

You also can only have one Big Shoota per ten models in the mob. You only have 28 models but 3 Big Shootas, so you'll have to drop one.

Foot Slogging MANz are awful, though I do see how your trying to use them. Like the foot sloggers in the first list, they'll be fine here but fail to perform in proper games.

Green Horde

The 'proper' way to run this is to ditch the Nob mob, and take more boys. But hell, thats only for competitive games, and even then a Nob mob might work here. For what your doing, this would probably work fine. Also its Power Klaw man, spell it the correct Orky way!

Generally speaking, to run Ork close combat you either want hordes of boys, or smaller groups riding in transports

3. The Green horde
500: pts
90 pts: Warboss w/power claw & bosspole
210 pts: 29 x Boyz w/1 x Nob, 3 boyz have big shootas & bosspole on the nob
200 pts: 10 x Nob


This is no horde! skip the nobz and one big shoota..
you can now afford another group of 29 boyz w/1 nob 2 boyz having big shootas. THAT'S A HORDE fer 500p!


as for your fast flank list dont see how meba nobz fitts in here.

as for burn baby burn list, skip the nobz (once again clean nobz just dont work :/ )

A 500p list i'd consider if you want burna boyz with.

troop 1x 17 boyz
1x 18 boyz

HQ: warrboss Bosspole big choppa, shoota with kombi skorcha.

Heavy suport Battlewagon with deffrollah

Ellite x7 burna

Burna and warboss goes into the battlewagon while the two shoota boyz group hide in cover (take objectives) or flank. Well rest is up to da ork tactics!

My Favorite Small Green Tide

Big Mek/Mega Armour/CyB

19 Shoota Nob/BC/BP (20 Total)
19 Shoota Nob/BC/BP (20 Total)
9 Lootas MegaMek Goes Here conveying S&P on this unit..

Thanks for all the advise, I'm makin' some edits above. Any love for Chaos?

@phatonic: thanks too, but no vehicles just yet!

morfydd wrote:

9 Lootas MegaMek Goes Here conveying S&P on this unit.

Jesus, every now and then some combination from the Ork 'dex comes out of the left field and leaves me gobsmacked. Thats fantastic.

Edit; Missed OP's edits

New Burn Baby Burn

A quick guide to Ork elites, ranked from worst (top) to best (bottom)
-Kommando: Can appear on any table edge with Snikrot, which can make them useful, but otherwise garbage
-Burna Boy: Real glass cannons. They can put the hurt on infantry and dudes in cover, but cannot take any damage in return. Thats why they need to be in a vehicle to be any good - both gets them close enough to use their burnas, and keeps them alive long enough to do so!
-Nob Mobs: Useful for the gear they can bring to the fight. Mega Armour, Bikes, Power Klaws, Kombi-Skorchas, and to a lesser extent the Big Choppa. If your running them without this gear, they're just really expensive and slightly better Slugga Boys.
-Lootas: Aside from MANz and Biker Nobs, who can be great in certain contexts, Lootas are by far the 'best' elites option. By that I mean the strongest, but the other options can be more enjoyable to use when you get sick to death of every Ork player ever using hordes of these guys. Long ranged S7 AP4 dakka can deal to *anything* but armour 14. Warning - in typical GW style, they *will* be nerfed in the next Ork Codex, coming out sometime this year or early next year.

New Fast Flank

Stormboys are generally considered to be bad, but that doesn't mean they necessarily are. Make sure you deploy them by deep strike - the one time I used my lovingly converted Stormboys a Manticore shot half of them off the map in turn one, and the rest ran. Haven't used them since...

Warbikes are going to run scared because of terrible leadership, the moment the Biker Boss leaves the unit (which is what alot of Biker Bosses do). Make sure you give that Warboss a Big Choppa or a Power Klaw or your wasting your time - the former is great for busting tanks (S7-8 against rear armour for 5pts? Yes please) and the latter is very expensive but generally better overall. If your just using him as a leader for the Bikers, maybe take a biker Mek instead.

New Green Tide

Yes you want the bosspole. For less than the cost of one Ork, you might stop seven or eight of them running away. Easily, easily worth the points.

Honestly, I'd kit out the boss with a Big Choppa and put a PK Bosspole Nob with the Sluggas. This way, you'll do some damage to the enermy at an earlier INT step, reducing the kills that stuff like IG will get on your boys before they strike, and the Warboss can accept challenges allowing your PK Nob to rend and tear. Otherwise, your klaw attacks are just going to be wasted on some jerkass Sergeant every single turn. Give the Boss cybork, ditch the TL Shoota, probably ditch the Attack Squig as well (keep it if you can get 60 boys with all the various changes I've made and still afford it)

Bump. Thanks everyone for the advice on Orks. I'd really like someone to double check the Chaos lists, to see if I've made an error, or (more importantly) made a list that won't be very fun, or won't work well.

This game seems like it could be lots of fun, but you almost need Obi Wan Kenobi or Yoda to walk you through your first game... LOTS to consider!

For Chaos there are some things to consider liek in your plauge list the reason yout ake them is because of the two special weapons at 5 men. MoN spawn are hard to kill pretty good for scaring folks becareful with them as they will out range your army since there are no vehicles....naked marines are meh but you want to get a squad up to ten at least so you can have two special weapons.

cultists are good for twot hings dying and hold the back field i personally run a squad of twenty with a dark apostle.

sometimes its better to have less dudes and more survivilbilty. so actually look at some of the wargear options you can make that lord in term armor a 2+ 3++ with a sigil of corruption and a mark of tzeentch. naked termies are good but they can take combi weapons so for five more points you get a special shot you can either make them nurgley or tzeentchy for either tough 5 or a 4+ invul save. your choice. or if you have lighting claws marks of khorne are great.. on your second list i would ditch the heavy bolter since youw ant your guys moving all the time unless youa re building a static gunline.

All these things are to be consider but are no means to put you off to what to buy/use.

have fun and enjoy the hobby thats the most important thing.

If you have any other questions feel free to shoot me a pm and i will talk to you more about the subject.

looking for your first bat rep

bama