Thursday 31 July 2014

The Green Ghost - Your Worst Nightmare!

Something was a foot. Rumours were everywhere. A new campaign was surely imminent and to an Ork this could only mean one thing - Waaaaaaagh!!!

The 'Green Ghost' was nowhere to be seen and everyone suspected that 'Morks Teeth' were being put to good use in some far flung system. Boss Snikrot had a well earned reputation as a savage hunter who lives for slaughter. Tales of victims left bleeding to death with their eyes torn out and their scalps ripped from their skulls are still whispered on Armageddon. 


At 60 points Snikrot is a steal and he does not take up a slot on the Force Organisation chart if played with Kommandos. Amazing. He has nice stats WS5, S5, A4. He is armed with the Mork's Teeth - S User (5), AP 5, Melee, Shred (re roll failed To Wound). On the charge he will have 6 attacks probably looking for 3+ To Hit and then looking for 3+ To Wound with re-rolls. He will be hitting in Initiative order and has I3. The pity is that at AP5 marines will be getting their saves. He would be awesome against Guard!

The big deal with Snikrot is that he comes with Ambush so that himself and his unit of Kommandos arrive from Reserve and walk onto the battle from which ever edge he chooses. No dice roll required! This is a major advantage. They also have Shrouded for their first turn which improves Cover by 2 points, important because they can't charge in the turn they arrive. Really cool. He also has the Moves Through Cover rule so roll an extra D6 for moving through Difficult Terrain so roll 3D6 and pick the highest two and is not slowed when charging.

The Red Skulls have also been missing for weeks. Festooned with bombs, guns and blades these sneaky gitz excel at lurking in the shadows until their boss gives the signal at which point they explode from cover, howling bloody murder and hacking their shocked victims to bits in the name of Gork and Mork. They would prepare the way for the Waaaagh, creating chaos behind enemy lines.



15 Kommandos is the maximum unit size and one may be upgraded to Boss Nob. That is the way to get the S8, Power Klaw into the unit. Two Kommandos can also replace their slugga, choppas with Burnas. Expensive at 15 pts a model. A couple of Template weapons  in a unit can be great if you are in enemy territory and when in melee it turns into a two handed AP3 weapon.

Another option would be to take a couple of Rokkits S8, AP3, Assault weapons. Good value at 5 points a piece and you would have the option to shoot in the first turn of arrival so probably at rear armour. Its the BS of 2 that causes concern as they need to roll 5+ to hit with no benefit in Melee. 

The interesting thing about this unit is that it gives you options. If they arrive early then you can cause some chaos at the rear of the enemy and if they come late they can be used to potentially re-take an objective. A great pity that they are limited to 15 models but good that you can have the Boss Nob and Snikrot!








Wednesday 30 July 2014

Ork Meganobz - are they worth it?

I have had some Mega Armoured Nobz for some time. I had only painted up one of them and this was to go into my unit of 'Ard Boyz. However he slowed them down and this option fell out of favour.

They have been a 'project' for some time in that I knew I should finish painting the other two. So many 'projects' so little time. Anyway I have invested the necessary time and they are coming along nicely.


The question will be - do they warrant a place in the army list?

Three Meganobz cost 120 pts. They come as 2 Nobz and a character boss nob. In my case that will be the guy with the iron gob. You can have upto 7 more in the squad at a cost of 40 pts each.

They are S4, T4, W2 with 3 attacks. Doubling the S gives you a S8 Power Klaw. They also have Furious Charge so an extra attack on the charge. Interestingly if they are with Ghazghkull they can run and charge when the Waaagh is called!!

There is the option to replace the weapon set with two Killsaws which have the Armourbane special rule such that you roll an extra dice for Armour Penetration. You would also get an extra attack for having the pair but then lose out on shooting. The result would be 5 attacks with a S8, AP2 weapon on the charge, per model - emmmm! You just know that there will be world of hurt on the receiving end of that combination.

Shooting is not that great with a BS of 2 so dropping the gun might be right decision. However there is the option to take a Kombi Scorcha. The Scorcha is a template weapon so very reliable and is S5, AP4, Assault 1. You could do a lot of damage with that too.

Maybe a mixture is the way to go?

And then how do you move them around - in a transport? Hardly a Trukk, so maybe a Battlewagon. The points are starting to add up though. Or do you just march them up the board surrounded by Boyz?



And now to an observation - I have seen the new Maga Nobz kits, which look magnificent by the way. It took me a while to work out that the guy in the picture is not actually a Mega Nob at all - he is in fact a Big Mek in Mega Armour with a Teleport Blasta! Instant Death! I just got to get me one of those!!! The upgrade costs 25 pts - R12", S8, AP2, Assault 1, Blast, Teleported (any To Wound roll of a 6 is instant death). Its a marine killer all right.

And isn't the Grot Oiler cool?

Come along Mr Postman, hurry along now!





Tuesday 29 July 2014

Ork Warboss - decisions decisions

The Warboss

Is he back? Will he find his way into the new Ork armies? Lets take a look at him.

First off he is 60 points and has some decent stats WS5, S5, T5, W3, A4 and Ld 9.

He comes with Waaagh! Once per game announce the Waaagh and the entire army can Run and Charge in the same turn. A must have in the Ork army and there are limited ways to get it.

Then comes the gear options and they are wide ranging! He can take items from Ranged Weapons, Melee Weapons, Runts & Squigs, Orky Know-wots and Gifts of Gork and Mork. He can also take Mega Armour for 40 points!

So the issue is - do you keep him cheap and cheerful to get Waaagh or do you invest some points in a potential monster?


I used to play this guy and had him as cheap as I could and armed with a choppa and slugga so he fought in Initiative order. I surrounded him with a Nob squad and together they could dish out some punishment.

Mega Armour

I have been reading the rules and where there are multiple Toughnesses in the unit rolls are resolved using the majority 'T' value however this is not the case when it comes to making saves. So the 2+ save will apply for the mega armour making him very hard to kill.

Obviously you get the Power Klaw so hitting last in challenges.

The down side with Mega Armour is that it is Slow and Purposeful so no running for the entire unit. I guess they could go in a transport but .... lets see.

Lets look at the Gifts of Gork and Mork: -

10 pts - Da Finkin' Kap - generate another Warlord Trait - risky

35 pts - Warboss Gazbag's Blitzbike - A cool bike that turbo boosts 18" and come with dakkablasters R24", S6, AP3, Assault 3

25 pts - Da Lucky Stikk - all models in the unit gains +1WS. If the Warboss is in a large unit then this really is value for money. The Warboss can also choose to re-roll failed To Hit or To Wound or Saves (but if he fails 3 in one turn he is removed from play) Imagine being in Mega Armour with this rule. Very hard to kill.

20 pts - Headwopps's Killchoppa - S+2, AP5, Melee, Decapitating Strike, Rending, Two-handed. Decapitaing Death means any To Wound roll of a 6 is Instant Death. A bit risky I feel and not worth the points.

15 pts - Da Fixer Upperz - 50/50 chance to repair a vehicle. Not really the Warboss's job.

5 pts - Da Dead Shiny Shoota - R18", S4, AP6, Assault 6, Stray Shot, Twin-linked. Yes sir - that is Twinlinked, Assault 6. Sounds great but remember that the Warboss is BS2 and the weapon is AP6 so  everyone will be getting their full saves. It is cheap though.

The stand out candidate for me is Da Lucky Stikk. The Warboss gets re-rolls and the unit gets +1WS.

Orky Know-wots

5 pts - Boss Pole (BP) - every Nobs friend as you get to re-roll on the Mob Rule table. A must have!

5 pts - Cybork Body - a Feel No Pain save on a 6+. Well its cheap .....

5 pts - Gitfinda - if you stand still you get a BS3 - a waste of time I am thinking

25 pts - Warbike - self explanatory

I am confused after that because there are other items on the Orky Know-wots lists but no points value for them on page 53. Emmm.

After this there are all kinds of choices for weapons. Do we want him hitting in Initiative order? If so the single handed and assault weapons can be favoured. I am liking the idea of a S10, Power Klaw myself perhaps with some kinda kombi weapon.


There are some decisions to be made and maybe even take two Warbosses to double the Waaaghs. There could be a full Mega Armour monster and then a cheap as chips guy. Two Waaaghs could be devastating in a battle.










Monday 28 July 2014

Weirdboy - you know you want one! (or maybe more)

One of the big changes in the 7th edition is the reintroduction of proper magic.

When I first started playing 40k around the time of the second edition Magic was a major part of the game and I think it really added to the overall character. Games were played with a lot less models so a bit of magic added to the fun. One of the Ork spells was the 'Foot of Mork'. You literally had a template the shape of a great big foot and you brought this down to squash the enemy. Great fun!



In the latest Codex the Weirdboy is back and now costs 45 points for a level 1 psyker (gets to learn one Power). He can be increased to a level 2 psyker for an additional 25 points (gets to learn another Power). He also has access to Waaagh Energy which means that if he is surrounded by 10 or more Ork models he generates a bonus Warp Charge point. So stick him in a large unit and that is sorted.

He has decent stats too with S4, T4 and 3 Attacks.

His staff is a two handed melee weapon at S+2, AP4, Force. The Weirdboy is S4 so the weapon hits at S6. The Weirdboy also has Furious Charge giving him +1 on the charge making it a S7 weapon. Force is Warp Charge 1 and targets the Pysker and his unit. When in play all the targets weapons gain Instant Death until the start of the next phase. Can you imagine unleashing this in the turn that you Waaagh!!!! I mean Instant Death - no saves OMG!

The Powers of the Waaagh are as follows: -

Primaris Power - (you get this free if you choose all your powers from the same table. Orks can choose from Demonology and the Powers of Waaagh. I am sticking to the Ork Powers for now)

Free - Frazzle - R24", S6, AP3, Assault 1, Blast

The other powers are random but rolled at the start of the game making him a whole lot more predictable: -

1. 'Eadbanger - R24", the target must pass a toughness test or suffer a wound - no armour or cover save allowed. A character killer.

2. Warpath - all models in his unit gain +1 attack, now you just know that could be cool.

3. Da Jump - You can remove the unit from the battle field and then deep strike them!! Oh my god!

4. Killbolt - R18", S10, AP2, Assault 1 - Yes folks thats S10, AP2!

5. Power Vomit (love it) - R template, S7, AP2, Assault 1 - at AP2 that makes him an up close and personal marine killer.

6. Da Krunch - R24", S2D6, AP4, Assault 1, Large Blast, Barrage - Wow! and if when rolling for S you roll an 11 or 12 you get another attack on the same squad.

Can you imagine the Weirdboy sitting in a 30 man unit of Boyz. Almost any combination of the six Powers would be awesome.

I do love some proper Orky nastiness and the Weirdboy is just oozing it from every pore!!

Sunday 27 July 2014

Pretty in pink

Pink - I hear you say, how could that colour possibly work its way into an Ork army? Well now - think about it!

Orks are all about getting stuck in. Any opportunity and they will plant a choppa where it hurtz!

Every Ork? Really? Think now ....

The truth is that not every Ork will get stuck in - lets take the Mek for example ..... He is not a Big Mek is he? His runs around with his mekz toolz and fixes things. When the going gets tough the Mek gets his toolz out!! Emmm. Now if I was an Ork what colour would I give this fine Mek. Perhaps pink might come to mind ;-)

So - I have noticed that every HQ choice (not a big Mek) gets a 15 point Mek. This Mek must go into Infantry or Artillery sections but it is another character or number of characters which can be important. Meks definitely have a place in an Ork army roster.

'To tool' or 'not to tool' will be the question?

Obviously I have not got any models built - so another trip to the Bitz Box! Amazing what you can find and I now have three to give me options. The pants are the give away.


Pretty in Pink! I do love the idea :-) And after a bit more work they are good to go.



This army is coming together nicely.


Saturday 26 July 2014

Ghazghkull Thraka

I have been looking at HQ choices for my orks. This was usually a dull affair and previously I kept the spend here to the bare minimum in favour of taking lots and lots of boyz.

I learned a big lesson at a tournament where I took a Warboss and some Nobs, put them all in a Battle Wagon and lost the lot due to a special rule that allowed skidding. Some zany dice rolls meant that I skidded off the board just as I was about to kick some Dark Eldar butt! I will never forget it!

With HQ in mind - I felt like having some fun today so I revisited my Ghazghkull model. In the past I have taken a Big Mek as my HQ choice and sometimes in Mega Armour. I had scaled down the Ghaz model to suit this purpose, putting him on a smaller base and removing his iron gob. I was trying to make him look smaller.

Today was 'reconstruction day' so that the real Ghazghkull could bestride the field of battle once more.


Needless to say I first looked to his base. He needed something trophy like. Well gosh and golly it seems he has found an Imperial Fists Rhino to jump up and down on - how could that have happened? Naughty Ghazghkull!

I found his Iron Gob and reattached it and then did some work on his paint job. He is starting to fit right in! I have kept the yellows different for emphasis. The ork yellow being quite dirty whereas the Iron Fists yellow is brought forward to an almost white highlight. I think it sets him off magnificently!!

At 225 points - do I dare contemplate bringing him to the battle??

Friday 25 July 2014

Warbands & Detachments

The new Codex has landed and I think that it is safe to say "My Head Hurtz!"

For starters I want to move in the direction that is being encouraged and therefore see what the Orks can play like. It seems to me that the major changes are the creation of the Ork Warband and the alternative Ork Detachment. Assembling an army in this way is referred to as creating a Battle-forged army. This grants the entire army certain Command Benefits which will not be available if the army is assembled outside this structure (Unbound armies)

Each is lead by a Warboss (and this is a particularly fine example that I found on the net)


The Ork Warband is aimed at creating a regular flood of Ork boyz. It contains: -

1 Warboss
1 Mek
1 unit of Nobz or Meganobz
6 units of Boyz
1 unit if Gretchin

For this you gain three Command Benefits: -

Boss of the Waaagh - re roll your Warboss Trait
Greenskin Hordes - Gain Hammer of Wrath for units of 10 or more (low S hits if roll 10" or more for charge) (S of the model, AP-)
Stampede - Grants Waaagh every turn except the first (run and charge)

I think that this suits playing a high points value game. I'm not sure that Greenskin Hordes is much good. The chances of it occurring is very low and though the 'Ere we go rule does allow one dice to be rerolled for the charge and this improves the odds but only slightly.

Stampede is the big deal here. It really increases mobility and should help to get the boyz into the fight and then to stay there. They can flood across the board in vehicles or just foot slog, running and charging and re-rolling charge dice.

However - the are no Elites, Fast Attack or Heavy Support slots. This seems a real waste and I'm not sure that Stampede makes up for that. Taking a second Warboss would give another Waaagh.

The Ork Detachment appears to be aimed at something even larger. It contains: -

3 HQ
9 Troops
3 Elites
3 Fast Attack
3 Heavy Support

but also has

1 Lord of War
1 Fortifications

The Lord of War could be a Stompa or Ghazghkull Thraka himself and the Fortifications would be ideal to help some shooty units at the back like Lootas or Flashgitz and may even provide some anti air support. (Quad gun or the like)

The Detachment has much greater flexibility of choice which is great but alas gain only two command benefits: - Boss of the Waaagh & Greenskin Hordes. No Stampede.

The compulsory element is 1 HQ and 3 troops - a very easy starting point for orks so I suppose it makes sense to use the Detachment set-up.

Summary

I am not convinced that there are enough benefits to encourage anyone to use the Battle-forged army assembling method. The Unbound Armies just have so much more flexibility to offer.

All thoughts welcome.

Da cunnin plan

The next date is in the diary - August the 10th - a visit from the new Iron Fists. I can't wait.

My new Ork Codex is in the post and is due today / tomorrow. In the mean time I have been reading up on some of the changes and there appears to be lots to get excited about.

Mekboyz and Painboys sound like they will find there way into new ork armies.


Tank Bustas have become much more predictable. Stormboyz rock! Buggies and Koptas are a lot cheaper. Rokkits sound like they are cheap or free. The Stompa is in the codex! New formations allow Waagh every turn!! Flash Gitz and Lootas are cheaper. New Gorkanaut / Morkanaut. Weirdoyz are better. Looted Wagons are much cheaper (white dwarf - I will need to see this). New artillery guns. And what about bikes? And sooooo much more. Oh it is all sooo exciting!! If I'm not careful I will soon start to leak and be sat here in puddle ;-)

Move 6", disembark 6", run D6", charge 2D6", plus 2" if vehicle has plank. That is 17-34" !

And so to the plan. We generally play 1500 points. Our last discussions were that this really needed to be 1750 - 2000pts to get a properly balanced set-up however I'm assuming we will start at 1500 points and build up from there. The first game with the new 7th edition rules will be slow anyway as we look things up for the first time.

And after days of planning my new cunnin plan .....

"Shoot the choppy and chop the shooty!" A winning combination :-)

Bring it on!!