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Are these guys any good? I'm thinking a massive amount of them, maybe 2 squads of 5 would negate any bs2 pitfalls. I'm not seeing much more in the HS slot other than Lootas. Plus mek guns look easy to scratch build!

Thoughts on loadouts?

All depends what you're facing.

I love Mek Guns, and each one has it's separate use.

Kannons are cheap, Str8 shots. Great for mass gun lines with good line of site and you can hammer vehicles with them. Ammo runts are great with them.

Lobbas are cheap, and barrage. So you don't have to see the target (though it helps). They are my usual takes, as it gives me a little pie plate to fire towards the other guy while my boyz advance up the road. Good against light vehicles, blobs of infantry, or even to give marines a couple wounds.

Bubble Chukka? Never used it. Since one roll determines it's strength and ap, that means I can be firing a Str 1 Ap 1 shot. Ap 1 is awesome, but what the hell am I killing at Str 1?

Kustom Mega Kannon - If I know I'll be facing an arse load of 2+ armour, I take these guys. A little more expensive than the kannons or lobbas, but good when you know you're up against a heavy list.

Zzap Gun - Oddly, only used it a couple times myself. Can't really say much.

Traktor Kannon - Amazing for AA. Make sure you take ammo runts, so if a flyer comes on the board and is looking pretty nasty; you can reroll your hits. I usually take one, just in case. If I know I'm up against fliers, F-it; I'll take three. My only complaint is the limited range for AA (36"), so if your opponent is smart he'll be able to avoid it for one, maybe two turns. Good news is, your artillery doesn't have to sit together on the table; so you can actually spread out your AA a bit if you take more than one.

The best part about Mek guns is that they're crewed by grots. So that means ballistic skill 3 for our artillery. Doesn't get much better than that.

Even better, if you don't like the new models (or like most , can't afford 55$ for one gun); you can make your own for very cheap and very fun. Using plasticard, some toy car wheels (my boy will never notice), and straws; I made a pretty decent Nebelwerfer looking cannon. I have three at the moment I built. Tempted to make more so I can have a full battery of 5.

I have issue with most of our Heavy Support seemingly having a flat chance to just be bad. Examples being bubbachukka rolling a one or two, the Zzap gun rolling poorly, the KMK getting hot. It's often a gloated about fact about Mek Gunz being an awesome BS3, but with these innate chances to fail I feel like I'm just putting more BS2 models out there.

With that said, I only really like the Lobba's, Tractor Kannonz and the KMK.

Lobba's have nice range, but due to barrage rules you have to rely on every shot after the first *EDIT +turn* not scattering poorly( in reference to the rules for ammo runt ). You minimize this risk by taking fewer batteries in a squad, perhaps making poor use of a valueable slot.

The KMK's Gets Hot! doesn't bother me so much because it just feels like a penalty in addition to rolling poorly. I still feel like it gets it's chance to hit at listed Str and AP. Unlike the Smasha or Bubblechukka, which roll to fail you before you even find out if they hit.

As another apples/oranges comparison it's the same reason why I hate Lootas. Pickup the dice and roll one shot each and know full well the shooting will be poor before I even roll my dismal 5+ to hit. Flash Gitz can be the same but what I think I'm getting in consistency at 3 Shots of Str 5 I dismiss immediately knowing I'll lose perhaps the most important turn of the game in shooting just so I can move.

All complaining aside fielding three cheap Kannon so you can toss in two Tractor Kannon is a great way to have some anti-air that might accidentally shoot a vehicle or MC that gets too close. If you are a real fan of orkiness you could go ahead and upgrade the Kannon to Smasha gunz and have something that abuses 2+ Armor saves even though most of us usually take it thinking we can get good AP1 versus a vehicle. Just don't mix KMK and tractor kannonz because you won't even get a chance to roll shot at a flier.

Really though, three to five KMK in one squad feels like semi dependable AP2 and Str 8, just feels a shame to put a template on our best source of BS3 in the game.

Also, remember that you can shove a slotless Mek in your large sized Mek Gunz units to make them Ld7. Seems like a good use for the mek when he isn't eating a challenge.

darkcloak wrote:
Plus mek guns look easy to scratch build!

Kannon and Lobbas are relatively easy to scratch build, not so much the other types. Still worth doing some scratch building though, given the price of the (otherwise very nice) mek gun kit.

Have a look at mine if you need some inspiration: http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/images-550-23673_Orks.html

Lobbas are amazing - very cheap, long range+barrage and you can really stack on the wounds with the barrage rule (at which point being only AP5 doesn't matter since you're going to be forcing so many saves that you will force plenty of unsaved wounds through).

I'd recommend converting the models though, since GW charge an absolute fortune for an 18pt model... Literally any field mortar type model will do - you're playing Orks after all. Get a box of Grots to act as the weapon crew.

darkcloak wrote:
Are these guys any good? I'm thinking a massive amount of them, maybe 2 squads of 5 would negate any bs2 pitfalls.

Gunz are operated by grots so bs3.

And they're so cheap, killy and durable that they're one of the best HS choices out there. I run a bunch of big gunz every game. As i'm running footsloggas and don't need other HS, i run 3 squads of gunz. Lobbas and KMK. Sometimes a single kannon in the 3-d slot for leftover points.

Search for discussions about mek/big gunz - there are still a few on the 1-2 page.

Sorry, where is it stated that you roll only one dice to determine S and AP of Bubblechakka? I allways thought that you roll for this stats separately.

I like zzap guns. The average strength is 7 and it's ap2. My unit of 3 always gets its points back. And most opponets ignore them.

78 points is a great price for what they have done for me. (3 ammo runts)

darkcloak wrote:
Are these guys any good? I'm thinking a massive amount of them, maybe 2 squads of 5 would negate any bs2 pitfalls. I'm not seeing much more in the HS slot other than Lootas. Plus mek guns look easy to scratch build!

Thoughts on loadouts?

Id take the Traktor Cannon in each unit at least once. Anti-air is jut so critical in tournaments.

 Dakkafang Dreggrim wrote:
I like zzap guns. The average strength is 7 and it's ap2. My unit of 3 always gets its points back. And most opponets ignore them.

78 points is a great price for what they have done for me. (3 ammo runts)

i used to like em, back when they would autohit... but nowdays ill stick with kannons/lobbaz

theay are just so damn cheap... 60 points for T7 sitting on a objective... i'll cry a out in enjoyment every time a gretchin dies due enemy fire, because the enemy just wasted his shots at a 60points unit while the boyz get to march on foward...

i've tried out KMK a few times... with mixed results.
the problem with the upgraded gunz is that you made such an investment, you are obligated to protect em a bit. taking a mek, extra gretchin etc...

maybe if i would know i'm facing certain MEQ armys, i would consider the upgrades... but in normal games?

ill stick with kannonz and lobbaz 9 out of 10 times.

5 lobbas just seem like so much fun though!

I think for me it's either the regular cannon or the lobba. The kannon is great for its variable shot, range and solid stats, the lobba really shines because it's a free upgrade. The chance to keep them out of Los, while still contributing is phenomenal. TFC has nothing on a lobba blob. And the ammo runts? In my experience it is very rare to miss entirely with multiple blasts, but when it does happen, a re roll is worth way more than the measly 5 points you pay for a ammo runt! Considering that when firing indirectly you scatter the full 2d6, a re roll could change the entire shooting phase.

darkcloak wrote:
5 lobbas just seem like so much fun though!

I think for me it's either the regular cannon or the lobba. The kannon is great for its variable shot, range and solid stats, the lobba really shines because it's a free upgrade. The chance to keep them out of Los, while still contributing is phenomenal. TFC has nothing on a lobba blob. And the ammo runts? In my experience it is very rare to miss entirely with multiple blasts, but when it does happen, a re roll is worth way more than the measly 5 points you pay for a ammo runt! Considering that when firing indirectly you scatter the full 2d6, a re roll could change the entire shooting phase.

ammo runts are 3 points

Another thing to consider is this.

The whole unit fires as one right? So a little bit of random scatter seems like a great way to spread the damage around. Since we fire all weapons of the same type at the same time would this mean you would resolve all your scatter and then resolve hits? Or would you be resolving each blast fully? This actually could make or break the whole idea of the lobba blob. If you resolve each blast fully (scatter, wounds and saves) then by the time you get to the 5th shot, there might not be anything left of the unit worth shooting...

Resolving each blast in stages however would mean that you could place all your blasts then tally up the hits, which would result in considerably more hits than the other way. How would this work?


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 koooaei wrote:

darkcloak wrote:
5 lobbas just seem like so much fun though!

I think for me it's either the regular cannon or the lobba. The kannon is great for its variable shot, range and solid stats, the lobba really shines because it's a free upgrade. The chance to keep them out of Los, while still contributing is phenomenal. TFC has nothing on a lobba blob. And the ammo runts? In my experience it is very rare to miss entirely with multiple blasts, but when it does happen, a re roll is worth way more than the measly 5 points you pay for a ammo runt! Considering that when firing indirectly you scatter the full 2d6, a re roll could change the entire shooting phase.

ammo runts are 3 points

2 points off. What other race can get a 3 point reroll on a barrage weapon? My point still stands.

RedNoak wrote:

 Dakkafang Dreggrim wrote:
I like zzap guns. The average strength is 7 and it's ap2. My unit of 3 always gets its points back. And most opponets ignore them.

78 points is a great price for what they have done for me. (3 ammo runts)

i used to like em, back when they would autohit... but nowdays ill stick with kannons/lobbaz

theay are just so damn cheap... 60 points for T7 sitting on a objective... i'll cry a out in enjoyment every time a gretchin dies due enemy fire, because the enemy just wasted his shots at a 60points unit while the boyz get to march on foward...

i've tried out KMK a few times... with mixed results.
the problem with the upgraded gunz is that you made such an investment, you are obligated to protect em a bit. taking a mek, extra gretchin etc...

maybe if i would know i'm facing certain MEQ armys, i would consider the upgrades... but in normal games?

ill stick with kannonz and lobbaz 9 out of 10 times.

For me the AP2 is worth the 5 more points on the zzap. I tried kannons but are worthless vs terms, riptides, cents and all the other 2+ saves I go against. Even managed to insta gib a lib once with a S10 shot.

Zzaps are sure fun. 1-3 gets hot is a killer for a battery of ld5 grots when it procs however, so got to be mindful with ammo runts.

I like to bring a pair of traktor kannons to my games, if I have the HS slot left. They'll get used in one of 2 ways:

1: They'll sit back and kill off the enemy fliers, or
2: There are no fliers and they'll wander around to get on an objective, not caring about the fact that they moved because they're snapfiring at ground targets regardless.

takes away the gamble of being 1 move away from an objective, but wanting to stay still to shoot the enemy. do both, it doesnt matter!

darkcloak wrote:
The whole unit fires as one right? So a little bit of random scatter seems like a great way to spread the damage around. Since we fire all weapons of the same type at the same time would this mean you would resolve all your scatter and then resolve hits? Or would you be resolving each blast fully? This actually could make or break the whole idea of the lobba blob. If you resolve each blast fully (scatter, wounds and saves) then by the time you get to the 5th shot, there might not be anything left of the unit worth shooting...

Resolving each blast in stages however would mean that you could place all your blasts then tally up the hits, which would result in considerably more hits than the other way. How would this work?

As a unit of Barrage weapons, they follow the rules for "Multiple Barrage".

Have a read, this will solve your confusion

 grendel083 wrote:

darkcloak wrote:
The whole unit fires as one right? So a little bit of random scatter seems like a great way to spread the damage around. Since we fire all weapons of the same type at the same time would this mean you would resolve all your scatter and then resolve hits? Or would you be resolving each blast fully? This actually could make or break the whole idea of the lobba blob. If you resolve each blast fully (scatter, wounds and saves) then by the time you get to the 5th shot, there might not be anything left of the unit worth shooting...

Resolving each blast in stages however would mean that you could place all your blasts then tally up the hits, which would result in considerably more hits than the other way. How would this work?

As a unit of Barrage weapons, they follow the rules for "Multiple Barrage".

Have a read, this will solve your confusion

Hey thanks! I totally went home and looked right at the BrB and was like... NAH!

The rules for multiple barrage do indeed say place all markers first, count all hits then resolve all at once. Damn, I hope GW doesn't lose a jumbo jet because of that little tidbit. I imagine all those Squat players looking for rules clarification will be ever so grateful.