Wot waz da plan?

So, in my fourth game with Orks, I managed to register my first win. Despite that, I still made a few mistakes and I could have made the game a bit easier on myself. Having said that, I did some things very well this week. So, lets have a look at what went right and what nearly went wrong.

Deffkoptas

These guys did a lot better this week. I think that it helped that Steve passed me the first turn which meant that as long as he didn't steal the initiative they'd make it into combat on turn one. As it was they killed both Attack Bikes and a Missile Launcher armed Combat Squad. I was really worried about the Bikes as they could have killed my Nobs pretty easily. The Deffkoptas may have dies on Steve's first turn but by then, they had already done their job.

Aggression/Lack of Aggression

The Orks are definitely an army that rewards an aggressive playstyle. However, last week I was too aggressive. This week I was possibly not quite aggressive enough. Hiding the Nob Bikers behind the Battlewagon for the first turn worked really well and saved them from a turn of shooting. However, at the top of Turn 3, I should have pushed the Battlewagon forward and either Rammed the Dreadnought or the Razorback. I would have had a really good chance to take out the Razorback with D6 S10 hits and that would have removed the mobility of Steve's scoring units. Yes, I was a bit unlucky to lose it to a Krak Missile but the Deff Rolla would have done more damage on Turn 3 than trying to shoot to Combat Squad in the ruins. I was also pretty aggressive with the Warboss, detaching him from his squad. I think this was the right thing to do. However, he should have Turbo-Boosted the turn he left rather than messing around firing. He would have then been more survivable and it would have definitely put him in range for shooting and then charging the next turn. In the same turn that the Warboss left his squad, the rest of them should have headed for the centre of the board to support the Shoota Boyz. Then they would have been able to jump on the Tactical Marines after they had won that combat and they would still have been in range to grab an Objective. Hiding and saying alive? I guess that's how they became Nobz.

Green Dice

Yes, I think that the only reason that I won was because I used Andy's dice!

Looking across the board, I was a bit surprised that Steve passed me the first turn. After that, I was even more surprised that he left his Attack Bikes out in the open. We talked about that specifically after the game and we agreed that he should have hidden them behind his Rhino or Razorback. With their ability to Turbo-Boost they have still have a good range even if they're coming from a hidden position. I was very impressed with the way he used his Assault Squad. They backed off and backed off for a couple of turns and then they attacked my Boyz in such a way that not all of my Boyz could get into combat. While at times he was unlucky with some of his dice rolls (his Assualt Marines must have tripped up when they went into combat) but very lucky at other times (I think he only failed about two 3+ saves all game) The biggest surprise was in his last turn though. He could have charged his Tactical Marines in to help out his Assault Sergeant and he would probably have won that combat. He would have then claimed that Objective and it would have been a draw.

So, I just about nicked a really enjoyable game. From my point of view, I played about 2 and a half good turns and then just about hung on until the end. I'm definitely getting better with the Orks though. I'm not sure whether I'll take them this week as I'm itching to get out the Space Wolves again after a couple of weeks off but who knows, I may just stick with the Orks for one more week.