Orks at the Hammer of Wrath GT Part 1

Hey everyone, Reecius here with a tournament report! I brought a super fun Ork list to the Hammer of Wrath GT, and here’s how it went down. Check out the Tactics Corner for more great tournament reports.

First of all, the event was held at the awesome game store, Game Empire, in Pasadena, CA. It’s a very cool spot, check it out if you are in the area! The crew running the event were fantastic, too. Travis and Co. did a great job. The event was well run, fun, friendly and in general a great experience. The community at the store is very strong, too. We all went for beers at lunch and after our games and talked nerd with new and old friends! Tough field, too, not an easy game to be had. Even the youngest competitor there, who looked to be in his early teens, went 3-1-1! Always good to see young bloods participating and having fun.

I have been having a blast playing my Orks lately, and while they certainly struggle in terms of overall power, they still have enough bite to compete. Plus, I love the challenge of playing an under-dog army. Here’s the list I brought:

It’s a straight forward list! It’s fast, shoots well and assaults fairly well. I really enjoy playing it. Previously, I was playing the Bully Boyz Formation but found it was just too limiting vs. other melee armies. Poor Orks, if only they could get ANY kind of invul save, they’d be so much better. If Cybork still gave a 5++ or the KFF worked in melee, they’d go up an entire tier in power, but that is not the case. Oh well! Back to the list: it’s mega fast and has a surprisingly big punch. Tank Bustas and War Bikerz are the gem of the codex. They really give you value for the points. Mega Nobz (MANZ) are still a beastly unit too, when you can put them up against the right opponent. Pair them with Mad Dok and they can truly devastate some armies due to his giving them Fearless (critical), FnP and Rampage if they are outnumbered.

Also, please note: Zahdsnark’s Warlord trait is a bit odd, it applies to the entire army, not just his detachment which is why you cannot take Mek Gunz (previously called Big Gunz) in any of the detachments and why War Bikerz can be taken as troops in any detachment of his army. This was confirmed by FW, but, best to talk to your local TO about it in advance if you think there may be some confusion.

Game 1

Opponent: Cult Mechanicus & Assassins

Cohort Cybernetica

• 6 x Robots: Phosphor, Twin Phosphor
• 5 x Datasmiths
• 1 x Dominus: ITWND

Assassin Formation

• Culexus
• Vindicaire
• Callidus
• Eversor

My first game was against a really funky, cool list. It was a huge Cohort Cybernetica formation, which I wrote a review about here, with the Assassin formation…and that’s it! Haha, awesome list. 12 models total and not those you see often. Interestingly, he went max Phosphor on the Robots. It actually worked well as it gave the unit 36 Str6 shots, 18 of which were twin linked, with the ability to shoot at 6 different targets! Not bad. It convinced me that a mix of Fists and Phosphor is a good call. At any rate, back to the game!

I got first turn, and bum rushed my opponent with most of my army. He had deployed his Assassins on the table and my Tank Busta Trukks were able to draw LoS to a few of them, unfortunately for my opponent. 10 Str8 shots, even at BS2, is murder on T4 targets. All it takes is 1 to get through and the Assassins melt, which is what hapenned. He shot me in his turn 1 to little effect (Zahdsnark gives his unit Skilled Rider, plus the +1 bonus to Jink Saves all Warbikes get if you Turbo Boost for a 2+ cover save). The big deal though, is my opponent had ice cold dice and was unable to stop even a single Trukk! That was the nail in the coffin as you will soon see.

My turn 2, I hit his Robot unit with the MANZ and big bike unit, and without the Str10 fists on the Robots, he was unable to deny my FnP (the shooting Robots are still Str6 Ap2 though, not bad!), and my massed Fists tore the unit up over two rounds of combat. We called the game here as all he had left was the Culexus Assassin.

Andrew knew he made some mistakes with deployment. He should have hidden the Assassins, and forced a flank with the Robot unit, shooting at me for at least another turn. To be fair too, this was a goofy list for laughs, not meant to go too crazy. He was a good general though, able to take that army to a 2-3 record in a tough field barely losing to Frankie’s Dark Eldar in the last round of the game, so well done! This game though, ended up a max points victory to the Orks.

Game 2

Opponent: Necrons

Decurion Detachment

• Overlord: Res Orb, Warscythe, 4++
• Warroirs x 10
• Ghost Ark
• Warriors x 10
• Ghost Ark
• Immortals x 5
• Night Scythe
• Tomb Blades x 5: 3+, Ignores Cover
• Tomb Blades x 5: 3+, Ignores Cover
• Tomb Blades x 5: 3+, Ignores Cover
• Flayed Ones x 5
• Flayed Ones x 5
• Flayed Ones x 5
• Flayed Ones x 5

Canoptek Harvest

• Spyder
• Wraiths x 6
• Scarabs x 3

An interesting Necron list! Also, one that just so happens is REALLY good vs. my list. Tomb Blades are very scary for me as a big part of my list strategy relies on my Ork Bikers being tough to kill with their solid 2+ or 3+ cover saves. However, Tomb Blades with twin linked, Str5, Ap4, ignores cover shooting are just what the doctor ordered for ignoring that benefit. They are also good for popping Trukks, too! This was going to be a very tough fight.

I got first turn and took it, and knew that I had to trust to the dice. I couldn’t play defense at all, my only hope was to get into melee with the Crons ASAP and try and run them down. I turbo boosted my big Bike unit right in front of his army and simply hoped he would roll poorly and that I would make a lot of FnP saves. I also sent in ALL of the Tank Bustas, hell bent for leather, right up the field. I didn’t have any other choice. Then, to my horror, my MANZ unit with Mad Dok–my best tool for killing Crons–rolled Snake Eyes going into terrain to immobilize themselves half way up the table…doh! That was very, very bad. I needed that unit to stay mobile.

His turn, he hits me with everything and takes a bite out of my big Warbiker unit with Tomb Blade shooting, and then assaults them with his Wraiths+Overlord. I do nothing to them due to hot saves on the Cron player’s part, and he kills quite a few of my Bikers who are now starting to run a little thin. The Fearless banner in that unit is critical! It makes the unit playable. However, I do manage to hold him in place which is good as it allows my Mega Nobz+Mad Dok to get in to the fight with the Wraiths on the next round which is what I need. The Tank Bustas all get out of their Trukks (which I normally don’t do unless I absolutely must) and I go all out, shooting and charging everything along his lines.

The game turns into a grinding melee but unfortunately, my opponent’s dice were a bit hotter than mine. While I took a big chunk out of him and managed to kill his Overlord in a challenge with Zhadsnark (WAAGH!!), too many of the assaults didn’t go my way. Critically though, two combats decided the game. His Wraiths and Overlord with hot Invul saves held up my heavy hitting units in the mid-field for a turn longer than average dice says they should (but hey, that’s why we roll them bones!); and a unit of 4 Immortals taking shooting and a charge form 6 Warbikers and making 11/11 saves, holding my Boyz in place long enough to allow Flayed Ones to come over and kill them, securing a game winning objective. Le Sigh.

Orcs end up losing by quite a bit on the score card, but, the game was actually very close. One more turn, I am in good shape to take it, but we ended on 5. Good game, very skilled opponent with a cool list. Any other Cron list and I feel fine about my odds, but those Tomb Blades were just such a good counter to my Bikers and Trukks.

Game 3

Opponent: Chaos Renegades & KDK

Unending Tide Detachment

• Command Squad x 5: Vox, Arch-Demagogue, Master of the Horde, Devotion of Khorne
• PCS x 15: Flamer x 3, Krak
• Platoon Squad x 15: Flamer 3, Krak
• Platoon Squad x 15: Flamer 3, Krak
• PCS x 15: Flamer x 3, Krak
• Platoon Squad x 15: Flamer 3, Krak
• Platoon Squad x 15: Flamer 3, Krak
• Veterans x 5
• Veterans x 5
• Blood Slaughterer: Impaler

Purge Detachment

• Command Squad x 5: Vox
• Disciples x 5
• Disciples x 5
• Earthshaker Battery x 2: Crew x 8
• Earthshaker Battery x 2: Crew x 8

Khorne Daemonkin CAD

• Herald of Khorne
• Herald of Khorne
• Bloodletters x 8: Banner, Champ
• Bloodletters x 8: Banner, Champ
• Heldrake
• Flesh Hounds x 7
• Flesh Hounds x 7

An interesting, cool Khorne themed Renegade army! Nice, this would surely be a fun, bloody game. Gork, Mork, and Khorne would all be pleased!

So, I made a fairly big strategic error in the first turn that dang near cost me the game. My opponent’s army has a big trick to it: the infantry units recycle after being killed on a 2+, gaining the ability to Outflank with Crusader! So, hordes of infantry will come back onto the table after being killed, often in better position than when they were destroyed. Despite the fact that I knew this, I just didn’t plan to counter it correctly. I was given first turn, and bum rushed his army, wanting to play it Orky and get stuck into all those wimpy Oomie infantry right away! Well, I succeeded in doing just that, plowing into the Renegade horde like a green sledge hammer…which is exactly what my opponent wanted! I killed about 70 infantry on turn 2, and they all came back at the bottom of the turn, Outflanking….doh! What a bone head mistake on my part, lol. Now, my Orks were surrounded by Renegades on all sides, with a ton of them now threatening backfield objectives that were weakly held by thin Ork units. Uh oh.

This mistake damn near cost me the game. I saw the table and realized I had stepped into the trap in my eagerness to kick butt. So, I had to figure out how to get his units off of my objectives without killing them as they’d just recycle on the bottom of the turn on a 2+. This was quite a predicament as my heavy hitting units were stuck in his backfield dealing with his HQs and Artillery units (and I must say, 4 Mega Nobz with Mad Dok consistently getting rampage among big units of squishy Heretics was glorious to watch! They killed sooooo many Oomies and took out all of the Artillery). Also, great trick: sticking a KDK character, such as the Heralds, into a shooting unit means tha tunit generates Blood Tithe! Plus, the Heralds also make them fearless and give them a solid melee tool to defend them…although in this case, Mad Dok the bad ass killed both in challenges!

60 of the Renegade Infantry that had recycled had all come in on one flank and were lined up for one, glorious Tank Shock! As my Trukks always have Rams–allowing them to Tank Shock and giving them a reroll for dangerous terrain–the solution to my precarious situation became clear. Enter one insane Ork Trukk, to the rescue! This nutso ran through the rabble and due to their uncertain leadership rule (random Ld every game, often very low) he broke all 60 of them, lol! It was hilarious. The entire flank collapsed and all of the puny Oomies started legging it! That was the critical moment of the game as it secured what was otherwise a lost flank. Hilariously, the Trukk continued to Tank Shock the Renegades sending them fleeing until he was finally blown up by the Heldrake, but when he subsequently exploded, killed 15 more Renegades! That was truly an Orky Trukk!

In what was an incredibly bloody game (something like 300 models died!) I ended up sweeping his backfield with my Bikes and Meganobz contesting his Emperor’s Will objective, while Flesh Hounds contested mine. I took all the bonus points and won the Maelstrom portion of the mission, giving me a fairly narrow victory over the Renegades despite my early mistakes. Playing the game again, I would have simply stayed back and shot him up, waiting to assault till later in the game. Oh well, it was a very fun, very fluffy game with a great opponent as our armies just beat the crap out of each other! Ork victory.

That finished up day 1 of the GT! The Orks felt fairly good with a 2-1 record going into day 2. I will wrap this Tournament Report up with my last two games, next week! Thanks for reading.

Author: Reece Robbins

Reece Robbins, is one of the most respected names in tabletop gaming. He founded Frontline Gaming and the largest Warhammer 40K tournament in the world, the Las Vegas Open. Reece has been playing competitively and covering Warhammer since the 1980s. He has won major events including Adepticon.