Warhammer 40k Orks Faction Focus Proves Why Green is Da Best
| Tags: Warhammer
| Author Bence Loksa
Warhammer 40k Orks Faction Focus showcases some very interesting changes to the Green Tide in the upcoming edition of the tabletop game.
We have waited for weeks, but now, the Waaaagh! can truly begin! Games Workshop (or rather, Gork and Mork) have blessed us with some new rules for the Orks, everyone’s favourite mean, green murder machines. While most Orks are very simple already, their rules received a bit of streamlining in order to fit into 10th Edition better – but haven’t lost a bit of it’s Orkiness, so it’s time for a good krumpin!
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Faction Rules of the Warhammer 40k Orks Faction Focus
What else could be the general Army Rule for this faction than Waaagh! While the crusades the Orks are constantly on haven’t changed that much from the 9th Edition version, there are some key differences in the new rule:
- A Waaagh! can now be called at the start of the Battle round, meaning Ork players can get their buffs in their opponents turn as well – however, the Waaagh! now only lasts for one turn instead of two,
- It gives Advance + Charge to all Ork units in the army, gives them an extra Attack in melee and +1 Strength, meaning they will be even better up close and personal, and gives them a 5+ Invulnerable Save so they don’t drop like flies at least for one turn,
- In the 10th Edition of Warhammer 40k, EVERY Ork receives the benefits of a Waaagh! instead of just Core and Character Orks – prepare for some dangerous Grots!
While the Waaagh! will only last one turn in the next edition, Get Stuck In won’t be lost to time, as it will be the Detachment Rule for the Waaagh! tribe, giving the Sustained Hits 1 keyword to all Orks’ melee weapons, similar to the No Mukkin’ About Kultur of the Goffs clan of the current edition. This will make Orks propa killy in the next Edition in melee – and what more would they want than a bloody brawl?
Unit Spotlights of the Warhammer 40k Orks Faction Focus
Speaking of Goffs, we received the datasheet of the Prophet of the Waaagh! himself, Ghazghkull Thraka, the chosen of Gork and Mork – and his most loyal Grot, Makari, who will always accompany his Boss in the 10th Edition of Warhammer 40k. While Ghazghkull lost 2 Wounds, and a Toughness, he won’t bracket anymore, and his Leader ability will keep him safe even without his extra stats. He also kept his 4+ Invulnerable Save, and Makari has a 2+ Invu, which is insane, even if you can’t reroll it. It’s also worth mentioning that Ghaz will have the Infantry keyword instead of the Monster keyword, so he will be able to move through breachable terrain in the next Edition.
Mork’s Roar lost a pip of AP, but got the Rapid Fire 4 keyword, Gork’s Klaw is as deadly as ever, and Makari’s stabba can still deal Mortal Wounds with the help of the Devastating Wounds keyword it will have in the next Edition. Ghazghkull also received a new ability called Prophet of Da Great Waaagh!, which gives the unit he’s leading +1 to Hit and to Wound, meaning that any unit becomes a killing machine under his guiding klaws. Makari will also do his part by buffing the Waaagh!, as his Ghazghkull’s Waaagh! Banner gives Lethal Hits to all Orks’ melee weapons within 12” of Makari, letting them automatically wound on a Critical Hit.
Of course, the Green Tide is, well, a tide, so while the greatest bosses of Orks are important, the Boyz are the backbone of any Waaagh! Beast Snagga Boys are looking great in the new edition of 40k, as they kept their Toughness, got a 6+ Feel No Pain, and more importantly, their Choppas kept their -1 AP, which seems exceedingly rare in 10th Edition. They also kept their anti-monster/vehicle niche, as their Monster Hunters ability let’s them reroll the Hit roll against Monsters and Vehicles.
Weapon Spotlights of the Warhammer 40k Orks Faction Focus
Similar to the Chaos Knights Faction Focus, two out of the three weapon showcases of the Orks Faction Focus are for the same model – which is none other than the Stompa, the killiest walker of the 41st millennium. The Deffkannon of the Stompa received the 10th Edition treatment, as it lost one AP, but gained 4 Strength so it can deal up to 18 x 6 Damage a bit easier. It’s Mega-choppa also received some buffs, mainly to the Damage of it’s Strike profile, which has been increased to 10, so it can deal upwards of 60 damage in a single Fight phase – so it would be wise to stay out of the way of these hulking piles of metal and dakka.
Other than the weapons of the Stompa, we got a look at the Squig Launchas of the Rukkatrukk Squigbuggy, which kept both the Blast and the Indirect Fire keywords, but also received the Ignores Cover ability, which means that it gets less of a penalty for shooting at enemy units which are hiding against it. While it lost 1 AP (as per usual), it merges with the Heavy squig launcha, getting 36” range and D6+6 Attacks, which means that it can rain squig-hell upon all that are foolish enough to get in it’s range.
Stratagem Spotlights of the Warhammer 40k Orks Faction Focus
Orks is never beaten – goes the age-old saying of the Green Tide. The first Stratagem shown also shares this wisdom, as it let’s Orks Fight on Death if they haven’t fought this phase already, meaning that for 2CP, no Ork gets left out of the krumpin.
One of the biggest complaints about the new rules of Orks is that ‘Ere we go won’t be an Army Rule in the 10th Edition of Warhammer 40k. But have no fear, as ‘Ere we go will live on as a Stratagem, which is almost as good as an universal rule, right? The new ‘Ere we go will cost 1 CP, but gives +2 to the Advance and Charge rolls to an Ork Infantry unit – which can cover huge distances if the Ork player calls a Waaagh!, even if you won’t be able to freely reroll Charge rolls made for your units.
Overall, the Orks Faction Focus showed us that Orks won’t change that much (especially as other factions such as the Leagues of Votann) in the next Edition of Warhammer 40k: they will still be killy and extremely dangerous during a Waaagh!, but can be taken out easily from a distance. However, every army can play Ghaz now, which is a huge buff – and maybe some Stompas will actually see play in the next Edition? Stay tuned to ESTNN for the latest news of the 10th Edition of Warhammer 40k!