40K: The Last WAAAAGH! Of The Indexes
Orks in the meta are still tapping into the Indexes to make them competitive – what gives? It’s all about the options.
In the month of July, we’ve seen two Ork lists rise to the top of their respective tournaments to claim victory. You can check out those two lists HERE and HERE. One thing they both had in common (besides being Orks) is that they both dipped into the Index for options. Now, I’m not here to get into the debate about the use of Indexes in 8th Edition. I’m here to point out the WHY – as in why do Ork Players still need to use the Index when they have a fairly recent codex that is, by most accounts, pretty solid? And it’s even better when you start using the Vigilus book to get that nasty Ork Relic Shokk-Attack Gun.
Missing Units, More Options
When all the dust is settled, the use of the Index for Orks really comes down to options and the lack of a few old-school-yet-popular options that were conveniently left out of the Codex. What are those options?
- Warboss in Mega Armour
- Warboss on Warbike
- Big Mek
- and random “Shoota” options for various characters/unit upgrades – like the Boss Nob in a squad of Boyz
And those are just the ones that have shown up in the two winning lists from the past month. That’s a pretty small slice of lists all things considered – which means it’s highly likely that there are even MORE Ork lists out there from players that are also dipping into the Indexes.
So what happened? Why aren’t these units in the Codex? Was it just an oversight from GW or is there something else going on here? Well, between all these options it all boils down to one common thread: They don’t have models that GW produces any more. Sort of…
Look, I’m not going to pretend to know the real reason these options got the boot from Index to Codex. All I can tell is that these units once had models at some point (or were made out of kit bashes from other kits) and now they no longer have “official” models. Does that mean these models don’t exists? No, of course not – you can still find old Big Meks (or at least Mek Boys that can function as Big Meks). You can still find Orks on Bikes that could be considered to be Ork Warbosses. You can even find Orks in Mega Armor that could represent Ork Warbosses in Mega Armor. But apparently that’s not good enough to make the jump from Index to Codex.
“What about MEEEEEE?”
Deep down, I’m not an Ork player but I still have a ton of respect for them. Some of my favorite games have been against Ork players – because it takes a special kind of 40k player to really be an Ork player. They are happy with the goofy side of things and all those Random things that can go horribly wrong or terribly right for them during a game. They like to kit-bash, convert, and scrap-out 40k kits and models. And they love a good Krumpin’!
Looted Vehicles not being in Matched Play = Missed Opportunity!
I feel bad that Ork Players still have to use the Indexes – not because I don’t like the Indexes (full disclosure: I don’t) – but because they aren’t getting to play with all their toys. They didn’t get all their options in their new Codex and that just stinks. On the flip side, I also understand that GW drew a line in the sand and said “these options aren’t in the Codex.” And if you’re a new player, you can no longer get access to those Indexes directly from GW, and those models don’t “exist” from GW either. So that puts new players at a disadvantage.
In my mind there is really only one good fix from GW – and it would solve a lot of the issues for both new and old players. You ready for this one-size-fits-all solution? Here it is:
Create New Ork Models For Those Old Options And Put Them In An Updated Codex.
Boom. It’s crazy and ground-breaking I know, but it’s just crazy enough to work. If Ork players are going to hang on to those options because they like them then why not give them what they want? And new players can join in the fun of those options, too. And GW gets to sell more models and an Ork 2.0 Codex at the same time. Seems like a win-win-win to me.
What do you think? Should GW create new models for those old units and update the codex? Or are you cool with players using rules not everyone has access to?
