WAAAGH! Da Orks! Pt. 2
Guest Post by Melissia
Here’s one of the hardest armies to build using the Ork codex– Snakebites. There’s no Feral Boyz, no Madboyz, no Squigs, and so on and so forth, so in order to challenge myself, I’m going for it. Get stuck in after the jump:
Thinking medieval style cannons and mortars, lots of Boyz (with ‘and kannonz as rokkit launchaz), grot shields with lots of runt’erders, with a weirdboy (after all, the Weirdboy special character is a Snakebites clan member) and warboss. This might take a bit of converting to actually build, but it would at least be somewhat fluffy for the army. Just like last week’s list, this is a 2000 point list.
Snakebites by Melissia (2000pts)
HQ:Warboss w/Power Klaw, Shoota, ‘Eavy Armor, Attack Squig, bosspole
Warp’Ead Weirdboy
Elites
Nob Squad w/Stikkbommz
— Nob w/Power Klaw, ‘Eavy Armor, Kombi-Rokkit
— Nob w/Power Klaw, ‘Eavy Armor, Kombi-Skorcha
— Nob w/Big Choppa, ‘Eavy Armor, Kombi-Rokkit
— Nob w/Big Choppa, ‘Eavy Armor, Kombi-Rokkit
— Nob w/Big Choppa, ‘Eavy Armor, Kombi-Skorcha
— Nob w/Big Choppa, ‘Eavy Armor, Kombi-Skorcha
Troops
Slugga Boyz Mob
— 29 Boyz w/3 Rokkit Launchaz
— Boyz Nob w/Slugga, Power Klaw, ‘Eavy Armor, Bosspole
Slugga Boyz Mob
— 29 Boyz w/3 Rokkit Launchaz
— Boyz Nob w/Slugga, Power Klaw, ‘Eavy Armor, Bosspole
Slugga Boyz Mob
— 29 Boyz w/3 Rokkit Launchaz
— Boyz Nob w/Slugga, Power Klaw, ‘Eavy Armor, Bosspole
Slugga Boyz Mob
— 29 Boyz w/3 Rokkit Launchaz
— Boyz Nob w/Slugga, Power Klaw, ‘Eavy Armor, Bosspole
Grot Mob
— 30 Grots
— 3 Runt’erders
Grot Mob
— 30 Grots
— 3 Runt’erders
Heavy Support:
Big Gunz Battery w/2x Ammo Runts
— 3x Kannonz
— 12 Grots
— Runt’erder
Big Gunz Battery w/2x Ammo Runts
— 3x Kannonz
— 12 Grots
— Runt’erder
Big Gunz Battery
— 3x Lobbaz
— 12 Grots
— Runt’erder
This list was harder, and I’m not happy with it– but with true Orky fashion, I forged ahead with it anyway. So it needs a little bit more of an explanation I think.
Like most Ork footslogger lists, it’s quite straightforward, but there are things you can do– for example, leaving an Boyz Mob behind to hold an objective and defend the Kannonz and Lobbaz, which will also make it easier to spread your boyz out to avoid templates and blasts as well. Grots provide meat shields for the Orks as all six mobs charge forward, and the grots also absorb any first turn charge as well. While the Rokkit Launchaz on the Boyz Mobs aren’t the most effective thing, they give the army a little bit more of a ranged punch, and I’ve seen them pop open transports before (leaving the squad inside ripe for assault!).
The Nobz are a bit powergamey in their setup– personally, I was actually debating going all skorchas, but a more balanced approach seemed better (just in case they needed to charge a walker, for example). Alternatively, one could forgo most of the kombiweapons and get a third power klaw instead. This could be beneficial depending on your local metagame, as it would certainly add more close combat punch against walkers. Power Klawz aren’t very fluffy for a Snakebites army, but you could get creative and say they’re not power klawz, they’re just REALLY big choppaz.
The Kannonz and Lobbaz are oft-underestimated parts of the Ork codex, cheap and effective (Grots have BS3, making them basically cheap missile launchers, and Lobbaz are actually much better than Guard Mortars), and when positioned right they can give quite a ranged punch compared to a normal Ork army for their price.
Weirdboyz are underappreciated, and given their random casting of powers it’s easy to see why. With Warp’ead, Weirdboyz at least minimize the chance that you’ll get ‘eadbanger, which is always a plus. A lot of people forget, though, that with the Weirdboy attached, you might end up teleporting one of your squads into assault with an enemy unit far earlier than expected– something which I’ve personally used to assault a battery of Basilisks on turn one, granting me the win for that game because I destroyed such a large portion of their firepower early on.
So there’s the second of these lists. Talk about it, how you think you can improve its competitiveness, or have it stick to the theme better– or both, if you’re able! Remember, this is not a purely competitive build, it’s a thematic build that is also somewhat competitive. It can always use improvements, and with how the Ork codex works it can easily be tailored to suit your taste.
