Hello!

I'm a new Epic player and the army I'm learning with is Orks! I'm sticking with the "GHAZGKHULL MAG URUK THRAKA’S WARHORDE" list while I get my feet wet with all things Epic. I've heard they are a well rounded list and so hope that helps with learning all aspects of the game.

My experience so far has been 3 games of 3k points, 2 games of 2k points, 4 games in a tourney of 3k points, a mega battle where I brought 2 Mega Gargants and some Fighta Bombas, and 2 games in a tourney of 4k points. I think it's given me a well rounded start to a fun game!

I find myself struggling a bit with the big toys. Gargants and a Mekboy Stompamob including a Supa-stompa have had mixed results for me and it could very well be how I use them. In 3k I could just about see spending 650 points for a Gargant, but that feels like a stretch. The 500 point base Supa-Stompa group seems too weak for the points in 3k lists, and too expensive for 2k. I'm hesitant to add more toys to it in a 3k list, but it might work in higher points lists. However, when you start looking at more than 3k, the Gargant starts to look like a good investment. How do the rest of you look at these big toys? How do you deal with their slooooownessss???

Lately I've tried spamming 200 point units. My favourite is the Oddboy Blitzbrigade special: 2 Flakwagons, 2 Gunwagons and an Oddboy upgrade with the Supa-zzap gun. This is a great way to get heaps of 3+ TK D3 shots flying around the board (4+ when you double!) However, they seem to pretty much only last for 1 or 2 attacks before they're done. My opponents target them with their 75cm+ guns or air support (and so they should.) I was thinking I should take 1 or 2 Big Blitzbrigades with 2 Oddboys for 350 points each to help reduce this attrition. I'm wondering if others have experience with this as well and mix and match their Blitzbrigades?

Big with 2 Oddboys: 350 points
Big with 1 Oddboy: 300 points
Regular with 1 Oddboy: 200 points

I'm a bit torn over the 300 point option as I doubt I'd take it unless it made up some needed points. 900 points for two of the first option and one of the second seems like a good mix.

I also don't seem to use Warbikes very well. I tend to take them with one buggy for dropping Blast Markers, but they tend to not do much. I should probably try to keep them on the extreme flank perhaps? They really only seem to do well against softer support targets.

Skorchas ... are awesome. I should take more and bigger units.

What do the rest of you Ork players do when the opponent castles? I know people say charge forward and envelope them, but it feels like this just gets the tar kicked out of me. I wonder if this would be less of the case with bigger units taken compared to my previously tried numerous small ones?

Thanks for listening to the ramblings!

Joel

Well concerning castles I use soopa-gunz. MW barrage attacks are great for killing infantry in cover (or outside of it ). I usually play with a sups stompa and at least one other formation with two oddboyz (warband or big gunz) at 3k. The stompa mob might not get to do a lot the first turn, but if they double up the middle then they usually will have one or a few targets to shoot at from there.

I have found the key to get the soopa guns to work then is to try to sustain 3+ with a reroll is actually a roll that you will make most of the time. Even if you fail then you shoot and hit without the minus one penalty you would have had if you would have doubled.

I'm going to add one thing, just because you haven't explicitly mentioned it. If you're going to spam smaller formations don't forget you can prep targets before an assault, double up with some scorchas, fire, then assault with a second formation and get the supporting fire on top for a second round of shooting. It can be really effective.

You've given me a lot to think about here. I have to say I struggle to get the Supa-Stompas into the game effectively.



I've really started to try and do this. My big mistake in my last game was prepping Termis with Skorchas and then assaulting with Warbikes. Ouch!

Joel

in my experience a stompamob with a supa stompa makes quite a solid BTS, with decent amounts of shooting, and the threat of hot macro death they will make people wary, and if you give them all combat weapons, it's a brave (or foolish) marine commander who'll risk his terminators assaulting them.

Whenever I face them (with marines at least) I tend to ignore them as they are a hard target, inevitably that comes back to bite me as they keep shambling forward and end up sat on an objective, and they can be a real pig to shift late in the game

Perhaps against guard with deathstrikes and shadowswords you may struggle, but most war engines aren't ideal against a very shooty guard army anyway!

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It just seems like most armies take at least one and usually more units specifically designed to beat up Titans, or reinforced armour and such. As I'd be taking only the one unit that fits that description, they tend to draw that attention quite quickly. Perhaps it's just the local scene that causes this issue.

So if you're packing 3k points, how do you compare 500 points for a stompa mob vs 650 points for a Gargant with the Warlord inside? My biggest corncern with the Stompa Mob is that Titan killers can take out the 3 Stompas and break the Supa Stompa without having to even touch the Supa Stompa itself!

Thanks for the comments!

Joel

To be honest I don't have a Gargant .

I can see how the regular stompas might seem like a liability, but I find them to be a bonus instead they can soak up TK (DX) hits if put in front of the stompa (since the extra damage from a hit doesn't spill over and is then wasted). This is something that a gargant cannot do (although it does get more shields).

Edit: (Ignore the above, not true as the shooter can of course chose were to put the attacks.) /Edit

As for losing the stompas and breaking that haven't really been a problem for me, few armies have 3 or more TK attacks to shoot in a single turn (of course depends on the local meta), even if one or two dies then you usually have time to rally in between turns.

I always add a flakkwagon to my formation which increases the numbers and gets a bit of air cover.

Thanks for the info!

I've been thinking about the big guys some more! I think a lot of the choice comes down to the limitation of points. From 1/3rd of his points an Ork Warlord must choose between

Gargants 650
Great Gargants 850
Fighta Bombas 150 min for 3 plus 50 for each extra
Landas 200
...and those other two things that Orks don't take

Right away here I see an advantage for the Supa Stompa as it's points don't come from here!

in a 3k point list, if I take a Gargant, I'm now at 350 points left for Fighta Bombas and Landas. How can an Ork not take at least one Landa?? Now I'm at 150?! ONLY 3 FIGHT BOMBAS!!!???! ARE YOU SOME KINDA CRAZY 'OOMIE NUTSO!??!?

I know I'm only new to Orks but I can't help but feel Fighta Bombas are some of the best support for the cost that an Ork can get! The mob of boys in a Landa is in the top 5 as well. It's definitely the top unit for it's affect on how your opponent sets up and plays!

Now I need to figure out the best setup for a Mekboy "Supa" Stompamob! I like the idea of at least a flakwagon hanging out with it. a couple Killa Kans and/or Dreadnaughts would help too. I wouldn't want to spend more than 600-650 though. Especially with it only moving 15mm. We should get an extra 5mm if we paint it red!

Here's a quick thought on a list to match this:

Waagh! Runejack!, 2995 POINTS
Ghazgkhull Thraka's War Horde (NetEA Tournament Pack 2013)
==================================================

MEKBOY STOMPAMOB [620]
3 Stompa, Supa Stompa, 2 Flakwagon, 2 Killa Kan

BLITZ BRIGADE (BIG) [350]
4 Flakwagon, 4 Gunwagon, 2 Oddboy

BLITZ BRIGADE [200]
2 Flakwagon, 2 Gunwagon, Oddboy

KULT OF SPEED (BIG) [350]
3 Warbuggy, 13 Skorcha

KULT OF SPEED [200]
Warbuggy, 7 Skorcha

WARBAND [340]
2 Nobz, 6 Boyz, 2 Grotz, 4 Battlewagon

FIGHTA SKWADRON [300]
6 Fighta Bomba

LANDA [200]

WARBAND [250]
2 Nobz, 6 Boyz, 2 Grotz, 2 Boyz + Grotz

STORMBOYZ WARHORDE [185]
6 Stormboyz, Deth Kopta

What do you think?

Joel

In general, I'd say a 200 point formation isn't going to do a lot to a main line unit, so a basic koS will usually best be used on the flank.

In addition to the obvious CC use, with AP5/AT5, Warbikes can actually do some damage shooting. That makes them decent for double/shoot/support combos, even though their FF weak. That will give you a BM and maybe one hit from the shooting for assault prep, then another hit during the actual assault. It's not huge, but pretty good for a 200 point formation.

Also, if you have an initiative advantage and a target where direct assault is not to the Warbikes' advantage, an end-of-turn/beginning-of-turn combo is an option. Double/shoot at the end of one turn, then Sustain Fire at the beginning of the next. You'll average 5.3 hits on troops in the open, 3 on troops in cover. It's not often that it's useful, but it exists as an option.

Yeah, the two superguns with a sustain order is a great order for making big dents in big formations.
I thought though that if you did fail your order roll you get a -1 to hit. (same as a double move)

Yeah I thought so too for a long time but have been corected by fellow gamers.

from 1.9.5 of the rulebook

There's no mention of a -1 for a Hold order.

And also under 1.6.1 it says that



It does not specify any modifier wich it does do for double, marshal and sustain orders under the same paragraph in the rulebook.

cheers

Really good info there folks! Thank you!

There is no "-1" for a Hold order, but there *is* for a Marshall order.
Though similar, they are subtly different including the -1 for shooting

As a mixed War Engine/normal unit formation, attacks have to be allocated by the attacker to the War Engine unit(s) or the non-War Engine units so there's no way to soak TK or MW hits on the Stompas.

That said, I faced a Supa Stompa, three Stompas and six or so Kans in a formation on Saturday and it was vicious - 6BP from the Supa Stompa was auto-breaking my Plaguehound and Plague Reaper (both on one blast marker) even though no hits were rolled. Two turns in succession after the PH and PR rallied...

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