Guest Post: Da Bestest Orkz

As part of Ork Week, we asked our good friend The Antipope from 122nd Cadian to write us an article. Now, not only is he one of House of Paincake's picks for New Member Monday today but he's also a very keen Ork player. So here's what he had to say about his favourite units in the Ork Codex:

Lootas

I've been running different set-ups with Orky Elite units for a while now - Kommandos with Snikrot, Burnas, Tankbustas, multiple Nob units. You name it, I've tried it. My favourite option by far is the Lootas. Let me explain why. This unit brings an invaluable element to the army - long range anti-tank firepower. In fact they are the only unit that can do something like that reliably.

Their Deffgus have an awesome range of 48" which means they can reach those pesky vehicles that usually hang out in the back ready to zoom in the last few turns to either claim or contest Objectives. Their rate of fire ranges from good to awesome depending on how you roll. Even with just 5 shots they've got enough chance to hit a couple of times which is enough for an AV10 or AV11 vehicle.

I like to keep the units slim so that opponents would think twice before committing a unit to shoot or assault them. Having a long enough range means that you can deploy them quite deep in your deployment zone away from the reach or rapid-firing Bolters. With careful positioning they can be out of range of Heavy Bolters and other 36" range weapons too. Worst case scenario you can always go to ground. Missing a round of shooting is always better than running off the table. Also, they will be relatively safe from assault since your opponent is unlikely to commit a close combat unit for just five guys hanging out in the back.

Boyz

The humble Boyz are the backbone of any Ork army. They are some of the best close combat units in the game with 6 points getting you 4 S4 WS4 attacks on the charge. Cheap as chips and very killy. The big question is how many? For me the ideal number is 20 so that you can fit them in a Battlewagon. Yes, I think that Boyz need a ride in order for them to function properly. Trukks are too weedy and 12 Boyz aren't really enough anyway. So give them a taxi and let them loose on the battlefield. Nob with a Power Klaw and Bosspole mandatory.

Grotz

These little guys can win games if played correctly. Get 10 with a Runtherd for just 40 points and you've got an extra scoring unit. Put them in Reserve regardless of the mission and pray to the Dice Gods that they arrive late enough to stay alive. In Objective missions make sure that you place an Objective near to your table edge so that your little dudes can reach it in one turn of movement. In Kill Point games just hide them behind some LoS blocking terrain so that no-one shoots them.



So they're the thoughts of The Antipope, what does everyone else think? I, for one know how dangerous Lootas can be - I've lost many a Land Speeder to a Deffgun volley. And don't dismiss Grotz, they're cheap and if you can find them some cover to hide in, going to ground gives them a 3++ save, that's better than a Space Marine.