[Thoughts of a Herb] The Axes on the Orks go Chop, Chop, Chop - Characters

This Picture is Of No Relevance to the Ork tactica.

OK, so now I'm gonna move on the Ork named HQ's. Easy task, there are four of them.

I've chained the Big Meks up so they can't damage my keyboard like last time... however, what I will do is get a rating of each of my Meks, and maybe a comment (when they stop trying to gnaw the manacles off) for all the characters. So, let's go!

Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thrakka

A good WS, S, a high Initiative for an Ork and a lot of Power-Klawed Attacks make an absolute beast in close combat, and a high T with a 2+ save and 4 wounds means he's most likely to remain a beast for a good while.

He comes with Mega Armour. Yes, Slow and Purposeful is a bit of a pain, but he really should be in a Battlewagon anyway, with a few Mega-armoured mates. He has an Adamantium Skull, giving him an extra attack on the charge (he head-butts them!) which makes him that bit better in assault.

But his real value is in his rule, 'Prophet of the Waaagh!' This is an absolute gem of a rule, worth every one of his 225 points in the right circumstances. You can call on it at any time and it replaces the normal Waaagh! allowed, but I'd pick this one over it every time! It allows...

• All Orks gain the Fleet rule, and always count as running 6"

This is probably the best aspect of his rule. Imagine you've maxed out on boyz, 6 squads of 30. They're doing well, but are approaching the critical 'Rapid Fire' range. All of a sudden, Ghazghkull releases his Waaagh!, and all 180 boyz move, run and charge a full 18", avoiding that critical round of Rapid Fire shooting and showing the enemy what Furious Charge really means. You get some trophies objectives, killpoints etc., the enemy is caught off guard. Win win.

• All friendly, non-fleeing units become Fearless

This isn't really a big issue, besause Mob Rule makes all Ork Mobs 11 or more strong automatically Fearless, but note it does not specify it has to be your own units, or even Ork units. Very useful when allying with other low-leadership armies, such as Imperial Guard, or Tyranids.

• Ghazghkull's 2+ save becomes Invulnerable

This is great when combined with the Fleet effect above. Imagine you spearhead that 18" charge above, and crash into combat with an all power-weapon unit, such as Bloodletters or Howling Banshees. Thanks to that Waaagh! you called earlier, you're laughing. Then you punch them in the face.

• These effects last for two player turns.

This is only really useful for Ghazzy's armour save being invulnerable, especially if you get stuck in combat with the above Bloodletters/Howling Banshees, as they won't be happy with being punched in the face.

So, to round up. Good stats, some nice gear, but the special rule is the entire raison d'etre of Ghazghkull. The more boys in your list, the better he becomes, and the more worth his points.
Zagblitz Rating: 10/10 - 'Yeah, itz not dat eazy gettin' Da Prophet of Da Waaagh on yur side, but 'ee smashes stuff like no ovver Ork can! Plus he get'z da boyz ta smash up more stuff too.'

Dazzazag Rating: n/a - '#!!£$%* ' We apologize for the censor, Dakkazag was a bit cut up about having his gun taken away to stop shooting me. We think Zagblitz said it all, really.

Wazdakka Gutsmek

Good WS and decent Attacks do make him a potent melee brawler, but beffiting his status as Mek, it's his gear that set him apart.

He comes with a Power Klaw for extra melee punch, but he also has a Kustom Mega Blasta, and the Mek's Tools allow field repairs. Not that he should be doing any repairing. However, by far the best kit, and probably the coolest looking in the codex if not the game, is the Bike Of The Aporkalypse. This allows him to Turbo-boost and still fire his weapons. And it is also worth mentioning that one of his guns is a Str8 Assault 4 Dakkakannon. This thing is a Tank hunter. Or he also has the twin-linked Dakkaguns for infantry purposes.

But the rule most people will take him for, is the rule only mentioned in a small box in his army list entry. He allows Bikes to be taken as Troops.

Wazzdakka is a, no, the Bike Boss after all, and I think this is more fluff value than anything else. But, it does give speed, without the need for Trukks, thereby making all the anti-mech armies you see in 5th edition practically obsolete. Killing boyz with meltaguns and lascannons is pure win for the Orks.
Then again, it takes just about that to get rid of Wazzdakka. With very high toughness and a automatic 4+ cover and armour save , thanks to the bike, and 3 wounds, he's sticking around for a while.

However, is he worth 180 points? It all depends on your metagame. I prefer 12 boys in a trukk for 160-ish points to a full squad of 12 bikes for 330-ish as troops, so I'd say no. But some people prefer having Orks that Turbo-boost and have twin-linked short-range big shootas all. Whatever the game though, for true speed freeky petrol headedness, he is a definite winner of my "Best Fun Ork HQ" award.
Zagblitz Rating: 6/10 - 'Wazzy? Yeah, 'ee's a bit poncy and - wus da wurd? - drammatik. But, at least 'ee get's da job done'
Dakkazag Rating: 7/10 - ''Is bike-fings got a great big gun on it, and sum littler wuns, 'ees got a gun too... plus 'ee can shoot dem while goin' faster dan a zoggin' rokkit! Still, 'ees jus' plain poncey...'

Mad Dok Grotsnik

If he's not Frankenstein's monster, he's certainly a relative.

A stat line of a toned-down warboss (or a beefed-up Nob, depending on your outlook on life) and close combat wargear betray Grotsniks purpose. An 'Urty Syringe (4+ poison) and Power Klaw for big beasties, and 5 attacks on the charge for everything else. Dok's tools ensure he and his squad get Feel No Pain, and T5 with 4+ save ensures he sticks around.

On top of that, any squad he joins is Fearless, as is the good Dok himself. However, there is a catch. Thanks to the rule 'One Scalpel Short Of A Medpack', once he joins a unit, that unit has to move as fast as possible to the nearest enemy unit and assault if possible. Also, he cannot leave the unit unless the unit is killed.

The way I see it, is to stick him in the hardest unit you have, also known as Meganobs, and stick them in a vehicle. The OSSOAM rule doesn't apply to transport as he hasn't 'joined' that unit. So, drive him up, jump out in the middle of his army and wreak utter havoc!

Two important things though. One, he is the only way any unit other than Nobs or Flash Gitz can gain Feel No Pain. For Meganobs, that is HUGE It means it takes about 48 wounds to kill one instead of the statistical 24, without allowing for wound allocation. Two, he allows any unit in the army to buy a 5+ Invulnerable save for 5 points. This is also huge, but not just for Meganobs. A mob of boys in a Trukk would benefit too, although this would almost double the cost of the boyz. And imagine a swarm of Cyber-Grots!

So, he's a good HQ for the elite end of the Orky spectrum, he's durable, makes his squad more durable, can make the whole army more durable, and is completely insane. What's not to like? At 160 points, he's a reasonable price for his rules and statline. Fluffwise, Put him with Ghazghkull in a squad of Meganobs in a Battlewagon. Tactic wise... Just do the same.

Zagblitz Rating: 6/10 - 'Yeah, ol' Grotty can be a bit, y'know, freeky, what wiv muckin' around in ya head an' that. But, still, 'ees 'ard as nails, an' a pretty good fighter ta boot.'

Dakkazag Rating: 4/10 - 'Grotsnik? 'Ees un-natural, 'ee is. No Ork shuld muck wiv ovver Orks 'eads. Unless it's wiv a choppa. Or a slugga. Or a gun or somefin. Or 'is fists.'

Old Zogwart

The easiest way to look at Zogwart is to compare him with a standard Wierdboy. Old Zogwart is 145 points. A standard Warphead is 85 points. So, what are you paying for with the extra 60 points?

The stat line is pretty ambiguous on this. Yes, he gets higher Toughness and Leadership, and an extra wound, but then you lose Strength and Initiative.

His Wargear, however, is very nice. He carries the Nest of Vipers, giving him D6 attacks at I4, in addition to his normal ones. and ALL of his attacks are poisoned on a 2+. This dude strikes down Carnifex and C'Tan alike. Assuming he lives to hit them at all , which he may well do with his high Toughness.

However, his value is in his special psychic power, Zogwart's Curse! Essentially, pick an IC within 18" and roll-off. You win, that character is turned into a squig. Yes, a squig. With less chance of surviving the match than a Necron with Windows Vista. And no form of save is allowed against this power as technically no wound is taken. Plus he doesn't have to roll a random power, he can choose to do this instead of rolling on the Wierdboy psychic chart.

All in all, he could spell D.E.A.T.H to anything you may be facing. Granted, he's not all too likely to do that, but he's still a threat.

Zagblitz Rating: 4/10 - 'Yeah, Zoggy's a laff. Problem iz, whenever you need 'im to do dat green glowey lite'ning fing 'ee does, 'ee just sorta can't be bovvered an' does summat else.'

Dakkazag Rating: -20/10 - 'No gunz.'

OK, I think that's all to be said, so I think next post I'll move on to the Elites. So, I'll see you then.

*bang* OW!

Dakkazag, who gave you your gun back?!