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The Tiger Roars
Guest Commentary: Legionis Tacticum
Tactical articles

Legionis Tacticum: Orks by Patrick Eibel
Let me discuss one of my favorite armies, the Orks.

Strengths: Large squad size, cheap troops, Mobbing Up, WS of 4
Weaknesses: Mobility, low Initiative, shooting
Key Wargear: Burnas, mega-armor, zzap guns, choppas

Tactics: Orks are certainly a “mob army.” Their motto should be “Everything counts in large amounts.” One Ork shooting a big shoota is not too scary; twenty, however, can become a problem. 

To this end, when selecting troops, you should try and get the largest squads possible (unless using a transport) and always take the maximum number of special weapon options (burnas, big shootas or rokkit launchas). You should also always take a Nob to lead the boyz and give him an Iron Gob or Big Horns (or Big Hat, or whatever you want to model as the wargear) to help out with Morale and Leadership tests (you do not want to have to rely on Mobbing Up alone). 

Orks excel at assault, but are not limited to it. For an assault-oriented army, include lots of the following: 

  • Skarboyz;
  • Stormboyz; 
  • Slugga Boyz; 
  • Burna Boyz; or
  • Trukk Boyz. 
You will probably want to take a Looted Rhinos for your Burna Boyz to ride around in. The object of the assault army is to weather the enemy fire until you’re in striking range, and then hit them with superior numbers. Power klaws are invaluable in assault armies as they can rip through any armor or tank with ease. Likewise, burnas and choppas are particularly useful against heavily armored opponents (i.e., Space Marines, Terminators, Aspect Warriors).

For those that prefer shooting, it is not impossible to accomplish with Orks, it just requires more models. For a shooting Ork army, take smaller squads (between 10 and 15) so that you can have a higher percentage of special weapons (particularly rokkit launchas and big shootas). Include the following units: 

  • Flash Gitz;
  • Shoota Boyz;
  • Tankbustas; 
  • Buggies;
  • Wartrakks; 
  • Bikes;
  • Lootas; or
  • Big Gunz Batteries. 
The object of this army is to throw so much firepower at the enemy that eventually something will go down. Nobz take big shootas or Kustom Shootas (More Dakka and/or Shootier are always good) instead of assault wargear. A Looted Basilisk is quite useful, especially with the indirect fire option, since you do not need to roll to hit. You will need to be careful with this list not to become too static should the mission call for taking quarters.

A combination of the two approaches, assault and shooty, can be quite effective. The shooty element provide covering fire while the assault element gets into position. Once the assault begins, just keep on moving bodies up to keep the pressure on. Note that the units not listed above (Kommandos, ‘Ard Boyz, etc.) should not be viewed as useless, but that they do not cater to a particular style.
 

Related Pages
Introduction to the series
Other articles in this series
 

© Copyright Patrick Eibel, April 2003. Used with permission.
 

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Fighting Tigers:
Codex <> Tactics <> Gallery <> Allies and Enemies <> Tales of the Tigers

Other Pages:
Main <> What's New <> Site Index <> The Tiger Roars <> Themed Army Ideas
Events and Battle Reports <> Campaigns <> Terrain <> FAQ <> Beyond the Jungle