A very Orky project - Da Grotz

The word was out. The latest Ork innovation had been a tremendous success. Oh yes, the Usain Bolt's of the Gretchin world had been let loose and they had given the Squig's a run for their money. A new breed of Kamikaze Grot was now a major part of the Loota's arsenal.

In our latest game I was found wanting as I only have two Squig models. I love them both but I needed six. As a temporary measure, I swapped in four gretchin models and I was good to go. The Dark Templar thought this was good fun and suggested - "That can be your next project, Kamokaze Grot's". A fabulous idea and as soon as the game was over I scurried off to the 'Bitz' box to see what I could unearth. I am seldom disappointed by the famous 'Bitz' box.

I identified suitable gretchin models and went in search of some big old bombs to strap on their backs. It wasn't long before I was gluing stuff together and giggling as the assembly took shape. I do love this hobby.

So after much work and merriment I can now present my first four Kamokaze Grot's! They are coming along nicely and bring a huge smile to the face.

Da Grotz

An they do look good on the board :-)

8th Edition Loota's

It is a well known fact that Orks are CRAP at shooting. BS of 5 so needing 5+ to hit after which you have to Wound and then the opposing unit gets a chance to make armour saves. The math tell you that this does not add up to much damage.

So how on earth do you get to lay down some serious ranged damage. May I have the pleasure of introducing the Ork Loota.

Loota's

The unit can include 15 Loota's They are armed with Deffguns with R48", Heavy D3, S7, AP-1 and D2.

Things to note: -
1) 48" range. You can stand outside the range of most opposing units and still be effective. This is an important advantage.

2) Heavy, D3. You roll one dice and apply the outcome to the entire unit. So you will have either 15 shots, 30 shots or 45 shots. Volume baby. Likely 33% hit so 5, 10 or 15 hits. Lady luck will have play her part. Heavy makes the unit static so consideration can be given to put the unit in a transport for added mobility and protection. Likely a Battle Wagon to optimise the number of troops in the unit.

3) S7 so when to hit you are likely to be doing damage. Probably wounding on 3+, 66%.

4) D2 so that is doubling the damage if the target has multiple wounds.

5)AP-1 reduces the armour save by one.

That is some tasty output.

Up to 3 Loota's can be replaced with Spanner's. Spanners come with the Mekaniak special rule that allows them to repair a vehicle would once per turn. So it might be worth swapping out one of the Lootas for a Spanner. Bearing in mind that we want these guys operating from distance consideration could be given to arming him with a Souped-up-weapon. Maybe a Kustom Mega Blasta with R24", Assault 1, S8, AP-3, D D3. I think I would likely stick with the Loota's myself.

I think it is safe to say that many an Ork general will be including some Lootas.

Anti air support - Ork style

One of the big changes since I last played my Orks is that the sky can be filled with all kinds of danger and this requires some thought. The designed solution for Orks is the Tractor Kannon because it comes with Skyfire, Tracktor.

Plan A

18 points buys you a Mek Gun with 2 Gretchin. The Mek Gun has T7,W2 and the Gretchin have a BS of 3. Yes folks - I said 3. They can shoot!!! Well I never. The Mek Gun can be upgraded to a Tractor Kannon for a further 12 points. And there is the option to take additional gretchin and Ammo Runts for re-rolls. The Tractor Kannon is S8, AP3, Heavy 1, Skyfire, Tractor. You may have 5 of these in a squad.

Skyfire allows you to shoot at flying vehicles using your normal BS in this case 3 so you need 4+ To Hit. Ammo runts allow re-rolls. That should average out 3 Hits at S8.

The down side is that you can only Snap Shot at non flying Units which, for an Ork who would normally need 5+ To Hit, means you would now need a 6+.

Tractor means that the flyer is automatically Immobilised when a Glancing or Penetrating Hit is scored. A further dice is rolled and on a 1 or 2 the flyer will immediately Crash & Burn!! The flyer is torn apart and it scatters 2D6. A Large Blast template is used to see if anyone underneath is injured. If covered by the template then you take a S6, AP- hit.

Plan B

Interestingly there is almost a natural solution in that the Ork Ballistic Skill (BS) is so bad that you tend to make up for it with volume. The Ork BS of 2 means that you need 5+ To Hit. Well if shooting at flying vehicles you need a 6+ To Hit.

Consider the Lootas.

They are armed with Deff Guns, S7, AP4, Heavy D3. A decent squad of these guys will be laying down a lot of fire power. A squad of 10 (and there could be a lot more) would be expecting to generate 15 shots a turn looking for 6+ To Hit. There should be a couple of Hits in there and more with a bit of luck. The bigger the squad the higher the number of shots.

This principle also applies to a lot of other units too - Buggies with Twinlinked Rokkits, The Flash Gits etc etc.