Orks: What sucks

In this article, I'm going to talk about a few things I personally think Orks are terrible at.  There are a lot of things in my opinion, but in order to make good army lists, the first step is to identify the terrible aspects of a Codex.  Lots of misconceptions are had about orks to be had, hopefully this will help debunk a few of them for the few people out there who actually read this blog, lol :)


Just a little background in case you didn't read my last blog post:  My team for Adepticon is thinking of taking Orks, and they've charged me with making the army lists.  I just recently borrowed the codex, since I'd sold it a while ago to someone it would actually be used by.  This is just the beginning of my quest to try to discover what a good Ork list looks like.


So, Bad thing #1: Trukk Boyz and Trukks in General:

I have to say, there are few things I like better than facing an Ork army based on like 6 trukks and no battle wagons.  Trukks die really really fast (which is obvious) but when they don't have a Battlewagon screen, there isn't much of a redeeming grace for them.  Yeah, they're quick, but when they die, they are seldom in a good position.  A KFF helps, but a Longfang-heavy army like mine laughs at their feeble cover saves.

Trukk boyz are even worse, especially if you're depending on them for a combat role.  12 boyz (with one PK nob) get to roll 44 dice on the charge, and 4 more Claw attacks.  That's alright, until you do the actual math:  for every boy killed before they get to strike, that's 4 less attacks.  Sure, they'll beat up on a Tactical squad alright, but against anything even approaching a combat unit, 12 boyz get in, kill 3 or 4 models, and get wiped out that turn.  Even 20 boyz isn't enough to take on 10 Grey Hunters.  And Grey Hunters are pretty common these days, and not even close to the combat monster other units are.

Don't get me wrong, Trukks aren't 100% terrible, they just don't belong as the backbone of an Ork army.

Bad Thing #2:  Rockkit Buggies

They look alright on the surface, I suppose.  TL Missiles at BS2 are going to hit 5/9 of the time (so, very roughly, on a 4+), but for a squad of 3, you're paying 105 points, and for those 105 points, you get 3 missile shots, 1.5 of which are going to hit.  1.5 missile hits for 105 points.  I mean, they can be used to get in the way as well I suppose, but in a squadron with open topped, bolters are glancing them, and killing them on a 5+.  Bolters are doing that.  Way too much of a point sink.

Bad Thing #3:  20-boy footslogging Ork Mobs

Armies based on these guys are also built on fail.  Lots of times against a good dedicated combat army, these boyz are going to be routed the first round of combat because they've lost 10 boyz, only killed a couple, and fail their two 'double ones' rolls they get to stay.  Sure, against anything that isn't good at combat, they're alright.  But, so is like, 5 orks.  20 isn't enough against half the lists you're going to face.  You either need 30 in a mob, or use them in battlewagons.  Please don't scoff at this:  my friend CJ did last night, and was very surprised to see that 20 boyz isn't nearly the CC threat they 'hypothetically' seem like.  Take my word as a veteran 'close combat' army player- 20 isn't enough.

Bad Thing #4:  Flash Gitz, Tank Bustas, Looted Wagons, Morters (whatever they're called):

I think these are self-explanitory.  Sure, Tank Bustas can do something sometimes, but every unit in the game can do something sometimes.  It's the points you're paying for them that makes them so terrible.  Don't tell me the squig rocket things are good, either, since hitting the rear armor of a trukk or wagon is likely to end it.

Bad Thing #5:  Dread Spam Lite

People make some pretty fierce lists involving 3 Deff Dreads and 9 Kanz, and they're tough to deal with, sometimes.  I'm not talking about that.  I'm talking about having like 2 Dreads and 6 Kanz.  It's the target overload that's so tough to deal with in the first list.  Having 2 dreads and 6 kanz is just a nuisance that can be dealt with much easier.

So, for the team tournament, they're out, since we have a limited number of slots to fill, and if we don't use them all for the dreads, we'll have a fail list.  They can be used as support units, or firesoaks, or whatever.  Nothing bad about that.  But, a smattering of dreads will likely fail, sadly.

Bad Thing #6:  Mixed lists

I don't think that a list with a few random foot-sloggers plus some mech is great at all.  You need to either go full green tide, or full mech.  It'll be too easy to deal with them otherwise, since we won't have the target saturation we would have going otherwise.

Bad Thing #7:  No awesome way to deal with Land Raiders

This has been the age-old argument:  Orks can't deal with AV14 dependably.  Namely, they can't kill Land Raiders, since every other AV14 has bad rear armor.  There are things that help:  Warbosses with S10 Klaws come to mind, and the best latest development- Deff Rollas.  Still, it's going to be tough to crack them.  S10 isn't the end-all be-all against Land Raiders to be sure.  And though we might not see them as much in a team tournament setting, no good general should plan an army without a way to deal with Land Raiders.

Bad Thing #8:  'Ard Boyz

Yuck.  Seriously, a 4+ armor save on a regular boy?  Jeeze, what a stupid waste of 4 points to upgrade the boy.  Stupid.  Fucking.  Upgrade.  ... :)

What do you think?  Did I overstate some of these?  Or am I spot-on?  Lots of things to dislike in the Ork codex, but also lots of things to like as well.  I'll cover those in my next post.  Give me your opinions!