From 15lb Squigling to Ork Warboss in Six Easy Lessons
(and 14 hard ones)

- Run by Geoff Cooper

"It isn't easy being green" KT Frog

As one of the more high profile Ork players, I am often asked by aspiring Warbosses for advice on tactics, army selection, and general tips on how to crush their enemies. Gork knows why though. Maybe because unlike so many other Warbosses I do win the occasional game.

What follows then is some tips on what to keep in mind as an ork player.

Lesson 1) Orks die. 

Lesson 2) No self-respecting Ork Warboss should care about rule 1.

In any Ork army lots of boys will "buy the farm". This is perfectly normal and nothing to be ashamed of. When your body armour consists of pots, pans, rags, and a bad attitude, high numbers of casualties are inevitable. It is therefore vital to remember the following:

• They can't get us all: Get heaps of boyz to soak up the inevitable casualties
• Best not be there: Make use of cover where ever possible. Use obstructing terrain to block LOS to your units
• Duck and Cover: Mekboy Kustom force fields are invaluable for providing additional survivability to your mobs. An invulnerable 5+ save is better then a 6+ (or no save) by a long shot.
• Acme instant barricades: If you are using Warbuggies and Trukks and those vehicles get destroyed it is often a good idea to leave them in place on the table top. Even in death they can provide a service to your army by providing cover for the ladz to advance under.

Lesson 3) Give'em sum boot'leva

Being an Ork is rather like being a giant green egg-timer. The longer the game goes the less sand (or boys) there are left. Play for long enough and you run out of time (or Orks). It is therefore vital to get stuck in ASAP. To this end: Hit'em soonest: You may want to use some Trukk boyz. They can get to the enemy by Turn 2 and can tie up vital squads that might be shooting at you for a turn or two while the Slugga Mobs advance. Get da Shooty Gits: The importance of tying up enemy fire power squads for the first couple of turns cannot be overstated. Kommandos or Storm Boyz can be useful for this (as well as the above mentioned Trukk boyz). Anything that can tie up enemy shooting units for a turn or two is all good. If you can tie up enemy shooting units like devastators you will greatly increase the number of boyz that will make it to the enemy.

Lesson 4) Get stuck in

Where Orks really work best is in close combat. The combination of choppas, numbers, and the power of the Waargh! can put a dent in even the fiercest enemies' day. With this in mind it is of paramount importance to get to close combat. But remember the following Boot - don't spatter: Hit the enemy in one solid mass. Failing to do so invites defeat in detail. Avoid the 'ard boyz: Try to hit the enemy's non-close combat configured troops for preference. Go for the easy kills. Green but not 'too' keen: Try to avoid being a victim of your own success. Smashing an enemy unit and sweeping can be as deadly as defeat in the first place. Try to avoid sweeping advance fire if you can. It hurts.

Lesson 5) Zoggin Bog Loads

Because Ork armour is made from tissue paper, having loads of figures is important. You
 need to be able to absorb the massive casualties you will invariably take. With this in mind remember the following: A fistful of Orks: If you have less then 80 models in your army then you have too few All things in moderation - but don't over do it: The best size for Boyz Mobz is around 20. 30 is too unwieldy and doesn't give you enough units to claim sectors while units less then 20 will actually have to start paying attention to the morale rules because they will be quickly reduced to a size where they won't be able to pass mob size checks automatically. Those little gits: Grot Mobs. They're a twin edged sword. I recommend either 2 mobs of 10 as army morale (as well as unattended sector grabbers) OR as many mobs of 30 as you can field; to act as bullet sponges which will draw enemy fire away from units you care about (but a minimum of 90 Grots in this case). Remember that in games with Breakpoint the large Grot mobs can be your army's Achilles heel. My own Grots tend to go for the first option and sneak around at the back of my army like the fraidy gits they are.

Lesson 6) Da Toys and Whatnots

There is a huge variety of equipment, units and vehicles available to the Ork Warboss. Here are some comments on what you might (or might not) want to field.

• Dreads N Kans Very useful vs Marine boyz. Especially useful if you can keep a Mekboy nearby with a force field and a repair kit.
• Looted Vehicles The best of which IMHO is the Leman Russ.
• Burna Boyz Very useful versus Bugs. The force field the Mekboy has is also dead handy.
• Tank Busta Boyz I always field the maximum that I can. They can smash up enemy armour if they're having a day when they can hit.
• Slugga Boyz Yes please. Can I have some more?
• Shoota Boyz Why would you bother? In every way Slugga boyz are a better buy.

The most important thing to remember with Orks is to have fun. People don't use Orks because they are the 'best' army they use them because they love the little Green maniacs. To paraphrase another source…. Orks got personality. Personality goes a long way.