Games Workshop dropped its Q2 Balance Dataslate for 40k in mid-April, dramatically changing a number of key factions. Astra Militarum, Marines and Sisters were buffed, Harlequins, T’au, and Custodes were nerfed, and some key game rules were changed. Now with Tyranids looming on the horizon, we’re looking at several key factions and examining their place in this new emerging meta.
In this article, we’re looking at how Orks have fared through the most recent dataslate and how they stack up competitively.
Faction Overview
After getting absolutely crushed in the December and February balance dataslates and points updates, Orks got a reprieve in the April Dataslate, slipping (mostly) under the radar. We say “mostly” here however because two major changes – the Indirect Fire rules and Armour of Contempt – both affect the faction, just in different ways.
The new Indirect Fire rules, which stack an extra -1 to BS and +1 save against units shooting without line of sight, essentially put the nail in the coffin on Rukkatrukks, which will now often be hitting on 5+ with the Heavy Squig Launcha and 6+ with the rest of its weapons. That said, people were already mostly leaving Rukkatrukks at home after the December dataslate, so it’s not like anything was lost there. Likewise, the new Armour of Contempt rule doesn’t change that much for Orks but makes it much more important to prioritize either AP0 or AP-3 weapons and makes calling a SpeedWaaagh! a little less useful with guns that are AP0 against marine targets.
Despite the loss of powerful indirect fire, Orks are still sitting on a number of very powerful datasheets, with guns that would be insane in any other faction and are only marginally balanced by having low Ballistic Skill. Although not the game’s top faction by any stretch, there are a number of Ork lists that can perform well and compete at high levels currently, even against pre-nerf Tyranids. Goffs, Blood Axes, and Speed Mobs all have play in the current meta, with Goffs in particular being among the more powerful choices thanks to support from Ghazghkull. In any iteration of the list Orks can close the gaps between armies quickly and jam an enemy in their deployment zone, stunting their movement as the Orks emerge elsewhere.
The Matchups
So how does the field look for the Orks now? With Tyranids dominating, is there a place for the Orks to compete?
The Positive:
Orks have the speed and melee power to compete against many of the game’s armies – especially if their dice get hot. Before Armour of Contempt, Orks had solid matchups into space marine armies, where they could trade very efficiently – particularly in melee. After the latest balance dataslate, these matchups look more like toss-ups, especially given that bonuses like the extra AP from Speedwaagh! just may not have an impact any more. Still, the ability to handle some of the tougher marine armies in melee means that Orks on the whole match up well against most power-armored armies except for Sisters, who have done very well against Orks since the Armour of Contempt Update. Orks also have a reasonable matchup against Genestealer Cults, where they can do many of the same things well.
The Struggle:
In the right situation, Orks can get the drop on Tyranids (this happened in a particularly humorous way at the Seattle Open, when a Tyranids player was introduced to the Surprize! Stratagem), though not often – Tyranids trade very well with Orks and are still considerably more powerful on a point-by-point basis. On top of that, if there’s a silver bullet answer to Ghaz in this edition, it’s the Reaper of Obliterax, which allows a Winged Hive Tyrant to swoop in and potentially fell the Warboss in a single combat. The flip side is that having the dominant faction be one with a lot of big MONSTER units suddenly makes Squighog Boyz one of the game’s more formidable units. Still, it’s a very bad matchup for Orks and since the new Codex released Orks have only won around 25% of their matchups against Tyranids.
Craftworlds Eldar can also give Orks some real trouble with their ability to hit and run, give Orks -1 to hit, and generally drop in and blanket Orks in shuriken fire. Drukhari are also not a great matchup for Orks either, since they can do many of the same things only more efficiently, and being less durable on a per-model basis isn’t really an issue for them.
Building for the new Meta
While the first dataslate and point changes were not kind to Orks, there’s still enough power in their book to give you multiple options for viable competitive armies, particularly if you don’t need to win games against three consecutive Tyranids armies in order to win a 7+ round event.
Joe Rammuni’s Goffs
Joe took this list to a 5-1 start at Motor City Mayhem that saw him making the final 8 cut. It’s an incredibly fast list with tons of mobility and cheap melee threats that hit incredibly hard. If there’s an Achilles’ Heel to this list however, it is unfortunately the twin-Harpy Leviathan list run by Manik, which Joe lost to twice at the event – once in round 5 and again in the top 8, though it’s worth noting that almost everything that could have gone wrong for Joe dice-wise in the first turn of round 7 did.
++ Battalion Detachment -3CP (Orks) [87 PL, 6CP, 1,700pts] ++
Battle Size [12CP]: 3. Strike Force (101-200 Total PL / 1001-2000 Points)
Clan Kultur: Goffs
+ HQ +
Beastboss on Squigosaur [9 PL, -1CP, 175pts]: 4. Brutal but Kunnin, Headwoppa’s Killchoppa, Stratagem: Big Boss
Painboss [5 PL, -2CP, 80pts]: 2. Big Gob, Power Snappa, Stratagem: Big Boss, Stratagem: Extra Gubbinz, Super Cybork Body
Weirdboy [4 PL, 70pts]: 2. Warpath, 3. Da Jump
+ Troops +
Beast Snagga Boyz [5 PL, 110pts]
. 9x Beast Snagga Boy: 9x Choppa, 9x Slugga
. Beast Snagga Nob
Beast Snagga Boyz [5 PL, 110pts]
. 9x Beast Snagga Boy: 9x Choppa, 9x Slugga
. Beast Snagga Nob
Beast Snagga Boyz [5 PL, 110pts]
. 9x Beast Snagga Boy: 9x Choppa, 9x Slugga
. Beast Snagga Nob
+ Elites +
Kommandos [4 PL, 60pts]
. Boss Nob: Choppa
. 4x Kommando: 4x Choppa, 4x Slugga, 4x Stikkbombs
+ Fast Attack +
Squighog Boyz [8 PL, 160pts]: 2x Bomb Squig
. 6x Squighog Boy: 6x Saddlegit Weapons, 6x Squighog Jaws, 6x Stikka
Squighog Boyz [8 PL, 160pts]: 2x Bomb Squig
. 6x Squighog Boy: 6x Saddlegit Weapons, 6x Squighog Jaws, 6x Stikka
Squighog Boyz [8 PL, 160pts]: 2x Bomb Squig
. 6x Squighog Boy: 6x Saddlegit Weapons, 6x Squighog Jaws, 6x Stikka
+ Heavy Support +
Deff Dreads [6 PL, 85pts]: Deff Dread: Dread Klaw, Dread Klaw, Dread Klaw, Dread Klaw
+ Flyer +
Wazbom Blastajet [10 PL, 210pts]: 2x Tellyport Mega-Blastas, Blastajet Force Field, Boom Boyz}
Wazbom Blastajet [10 PL, 210pts]: 2x Tellyport Mega-Blastas, Blastajet Force Field
++ Supreme Command Detachment +3CP (Orks) [15 PL, 3CP, 300pts] ++
Clan Kultur: Goffs
+ Primarch | Daemon Primarch | Supreme Commander +
Ghazghkull Thraka [15 PL, 300pts]
++ Total: [102 PL, 9CP, 2,000pts] ++
Wazboms didn’t go away, you just can’t take four of them anymore! They’re still very strong from a pure output standpoint, and can act as solid screening for your Squighog boyz and other units – while your opponent can still walk across the bases, they can’t end up on top of them, so with careful placement of your models you can ensure that your boyz aren’t easily charged while the jets are still up.
Even beyond the jets, this is an incredibly fast list – the slowest parts are Ghaz and the Beast Snaggas, but the plan is to shoot them across the table early with Da Jump. The Squighog boyz are a big part of the army’s early strategy, with a Waaagh!-boosted threat range of 20” on average and with a re-roll or two in the mix something closer to 24”. That’s not so much a guaranteed first-turn charge going first on missions where you are 24” apart, so it may often behoove players with this list to play a bit more cagey on turn 1 if there’s no good target. Otherwise, they’re a great meta play for hunting down Tyranid MONSTERS, and even when going up against Hive Fleet Leviathan’s transhuman bonus you’ll often still be able to make use of the Monster Hunterz Stratagem against T7+ targets.
Most games you’ll be taking Stomp ‘Em Good to take advantage of your army’s melee prowess, and even if you don’t get off a nasty turn 1 charge you’ll usually be able to max it on the other four turns. After that, Stranglehold and Banners will be your best non-kill secondary options, since you’ve got the bodies to hold backfield objectives and your army is more than happy to fight over the middle of the table if that’s where an opponent wants to go. That said, Tyranids are still a problem for this army, particularly if it can’t make things happen turn 1 and pick up a big bug or two.
Marshall Peterson’s Blood Axes List
If Goffs aren’t what you’re looking for, then it may be worth looking at Blood Axes. Marshall’s list trades speed and raw power for a host of nasty tricks, and is designed around playing on the GW Open events terrain (which feature large area terrain bases).
++ Battalion Detachment 0CP (Orks) [106 PL, 2,000pts, 8CP] ++
Clan Kultur: Blood Axes
+ No Force Org Slot +
Nob on Smasha Squig [4 PL, 65pts, -1CP]: Headwoppa’s Killchoppa, Stratagem: Extra Gubbinz
+ HQ +
Boss Snikrot [5 PL, 95pts, -1CP]: Stratagem: Big Boss
Warboss in Mega Armour [6 PL, 115pts]: 2. Counta-Taktics (Aura) (Blood Axes), Da Krushin’ Armour, Warlord
Wurrboy [4 PL, 70pts, -2CP]: 1. Extra Kunnin’ (Blood Axes), 4. Spirit of Gork, 6. Squiggly Curse, Morgog’s Finkin’ Cap (Blood Axes), Stratagem: Big Boss, Stratagem: Extra Gubbinz
+ Troops +
Beast Snagga Boyz [5 PL, 110pts]
. 9x Beast Snagga Boy: 9x Choppa, 9x Slugga
. Beast Snagga Nob
Beast Snagga Boyz [5 PL, 110pts]
. 9x Beast Snagga Boy: 9x Choppa, 9x Slugga
. Beast Snagga Nob
Beast Snagga Boyz [5 PL, 110pts]
. 9x Beast Snagga Boy: 9x Choppa, 9x Slugga
. Beast Snagga Nob
+ Elites +
Kommandos [8 PL, 135pts]: Bomb Squig
. Boss Nob: Power Klaw
. 8x Kommando: 8x Choppa, 8x Slugga, 8x Stikkbombs
. Kommando w/ Breacha Ram: Breacha Ram
Kommandos [8 PL, 135pts]: Bomb Squig
. Boss Nob: Power Klaw
. 8x Kommando: 8x Choppa, 8x Slugga, 8x Stikkbombs
. Kommando w/ Breacha Ram: Breacha Ram
Kommandos [8 PL, 135pts]: Bomb Squig
. Boss Nob: Power Klaw
. 8x Kommando: 8x Choppa, 8x Slugga, 8x Stikkbombs
. Kommando w/ Breacha Ram: Breacha Ram
Tankbustas [4 PL, 95pts]: 2x Bomb Squig
. Boss Nob
. 3x Tankbusta: 3x Rokkit Launcha
. Tankbusta w/ Hammer
Tankbustas [4 PL, 95pts]: 2x Bomb Squig
. Boss Nob
. 3x Tankbusta: 3x Rokkit Launcha
. Tankbusta w/ Hammer
Tankbustas [4 PL, 95pts]: 2x Bomb Squig
. Boss Nob
. 3x Tankbusta: 3x Rokkit Launcha
. Tankbusta w/ Hammer
+ Fast Attack +
Squighog Boyz [8 PL, 160pts]: 2x Bomb Squig
. 6x Squighog Boy: 6x Saddlegit Weapons, 6x Squighog Jaws, 6x Stikka
Squighog Boyz [4 PL, 80pts]: Bomb Squig
. 3x Squighog Boy: 3x Saddlegit Weapons, 3x Squighog Jaws, 3x Stikka
Stormboyz [6 PL, 110pts]
. Boss Nob: Choppa
. 9x Stormboy: 9x Choppa, 9x Slugga, 9x Stikkbombs
+ Heavy Support +
Battlewagon [8 PL, 120pts]: Deff Rolla
Battlewagon [8 PL, 120pts]: Deff Rolla
Mek Gunz [2 PL, 45pts]: Mek Gun: Kustom Mega Kannon
++ Total: [106 PL, 8CP, 2,000pts] ++
What this list lacks in speed it makes up for in sneakiness and resilience when sitting in cover. In that sense, it’s perfectly suited to the large obscuring area terrain bases of the GW Open events, where the Kommandos can forward deploy into relative safe, hidden positions and then completely demolish an opponent charging into them using the Surprize! Stratagem – A unit of Kommandos sitting in cover is damn near impossible to dislodge. There’s a unit of Stormboyz here to benefit from the Youngbloodz and Glory Boyz Stratagems, and two units of Squighog boyz to be a bit more proactive in hunting down Tyranid monsters.
This list will struggle much more when it doesn’t have access to large area terrain bases to hide in, so be mindful of the terrain you’re going to be playing on before you go heavy on this concept.
An interesting quirk of this army is that it can accomplish the Get Da Good Bitz secondary with relative ease, something Marshall did in some of his games at Seattle.
Wrapping Things Up
That wraps up our look at Orks and takes us through the bulk of the factions, though we’ll be back to look at some of the stragglers over the next week or so – stay tuned!
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