Orks Tactica : Balancing Choppy and Dakka

It is well known that we Orkz are fighter and tough in melee. Our usual setup of 19-29 units of boyz with a PK Nob is dead 'ard for its point cost and send shivers to all races, even to those fighty ones. With the sheer number of Ork boyz, we could force units to check for their morale...even though we strike last.

But not anymore with the 5th edition where number of wounds determines who the winner is. So in short, 5th edition favors tough units instead of numbers in melee. If your PK nob misses lots of his attacks and your regular boyz attacks are saved by their armor, it won't look good as you may get more wounds than your opponent's unit...thus making you lose the fight and checking for leadership. Plus beakie marinez are ever so sneaky with their ATSKNF and Combat Tactics rule.

 A nasty looking 'nid Swarmlord by aerzaal

Not to mention the current meta-game codexes are very tough and hard hitting (SW, BA, Melee based SM, Melee based Chaos, Tyranid Swarmlord or other tough monters/HQs), or even cheesy psychic powers/weapons that make our Ork Boyz look like weak runty Grotz before we can reach them with our choppas (Jaws of the WW, Night Spinner, etc.). Even though we have bonuses if we charge first, it doesn't mean we're invincible. Heck, it gets even worse if we get charged in assault. :(

We'z can't go all out choppa against these guys. WE'Z NEED MORE DAKKA. We can't just rush in and waste our boyz and force leadership test just like dat. Troops are the ONLY scoring unit in 5th edition as well, so your boyz might be more valuable than your toyz and it is important that at least a few squads of them stay alive. Yes, you may think Ork's BS 2 is not suitable to dakka up stuff but rememba...we have superior number of attacks on our gunz compared to most of other races. Which other races has access to cheap Assault 2 Shootas (on 6 pointer Boyz) and Assault 3 Big Shootas? (Just add another 5 points!) Its da number of dakka that other people are afraid of!

Adding some burny burna and skorcha weaponz to your squad won't hurt as well, for templates can hit multiple units at once, ignore cover and its auto hit! Good for the low BS of Orks. It's not easy to go all out melee now, as we may get bashed by those damn beakies (who are good at both shooty and melee) before we even close in.

The bosspole is ever so necesarry now due to our bad leadership. But, remember that the bosspole doesn't automatically pass your leadership tests...it just increases the chance of your Orks to stay in battle. Thats why most pro Ork players nowdays stick to Shootas instead of Sluggas for you can potentially thin out the enemy before you head for a melee fight. In 4th edition, shoota are bad cause they are rapid fire weapons, but now assault 2 is the one that makes it very versatile. You can shoot while charging or shoot while retreating (baiting taktiks?).

 

Most Ork players also field Lootas due to their extreme dakkaness and high strength to dakka off irritating skimmers which are not easy to hit in melee/tank shock. Plus, it can pop other light transports/vehicles like beakie Rhinos, heavy infantries (even terminators), and monstrous creatures might take some wounds before you can close in for the kill. If you make lootas as your main source of killin', then it maybe good if you attach them with a Big Mek w/bosspole to keep them longer on the table. 

Great looking custom Grotzooka Killa Kanz from Irondog Studios

If you don't like to field lootas or you have better ideas for your Elites slot, you can also try Killa Kanz with grotzookas. They are equally very dakka as well, as they are cheap and can plant 2 blast templates each from killa kan. Alternatively you can just put Big Shootas on your Killa Kanz if you are tight on points.

Speaking of Big Shootas, remember to put them as much as you can, especially on your vehicles. They are cheap, they can take potshots at targets, and maybe useful to prevent your vehicle to get immobilized from the lack of weapons (weapons destroyed counts as immobilized if there isn't any weapon left on the vehicle). 

You can try the burny way as I mentioned earlier as well. Large mobs of burnas are difficult to navigate on foot, and they'll probably get shot in the open or running away for their lives due to the fact that they naturally don't have a Nob. So to make them proppa and burnin' humies, you can either mount burnas on vehicles such as trukks, Looted wagons and Battlewagons for speed and shooting templates easier in an open topped vehicle (hurrah!), or march them behind a Dread/Kan Wall. You may even upgrade one of the burnas to Meks so they can repair your Wagons/Kanz/Dreads too. 

Another way to sneak in burnas as soon as possible to the enemy backlines is by using Kommandoes. Snikrot makes them reliably available from any table edge, so you can burn up some stuff and locking them nasty hitters in combat for at least a turn or so. You can keep them to a minimum amount to save points, since your kommandoes can only carry 2 burnas. 

If you are interested in the bigga burna a.k.a the Skorcha, you could try Deffdread w/ Skorchas or Skorcha Trakks. But be warned that their survivability isn't that good, and you may need to position them proppa and hit them at the right moment to make full use of it. A Big Mek w/ KFF is very useful to keep them alive if you plan to field any of the above burny stuff. For just a small cost, it maybe good to have a skorcha kombi weapon on your Warboss or Nobz.

Just remember not to dakka/burn too many targets till you can't assault 'em! Thats why it is crucial to keep your Waaagh! charge for these scenarios.

So if ya wanna win games competitively, I feel that we'z need a balance of dakka and choppy. But of course, don't forget your anti-tank weaponz as well, so Power Klaws are still a must for any type of Ork army. If you want to surprise the opponent, you can field an all dakka army just for the lulz. :P 

But if you're facing an army which doesn't have much heavy hitters, then you could max out your choppy stuff! We'z wont have much problems going melee with IG humies, Panzee Eldars, Dark Panzees, or Tau Fish'eads.

Orks have to live by this rule now (got this from the-waaagh forums):  

 CHOP THE SHOOTY STUFF, DAKKA THE CHOPPY STUFF!

Related Articles :