Army: Mechanized Orks
I've been playing Orks for a while now and my previous article examining the codex took a close look at the popular Kan Wall build. Kan Wall is effective, but it is decidedly "horde" instead of mechanized. The troops are slow. The walkers are slow. Mech Orks are different. They embrace speed. Because of this it's a much different list than Kan Wall. Here is version I've been using for small games at 1500 points:
Mek Orks (1500)
HQ
Big Mek (Kustom Force Field, Heavy Armor)
Warboss (Powerklaw, Cybork)
Troops
18 Shoota Boyz w Nob (Powerklaw, Bosspole)
18 Shoota Boyz w Nob (Powerklaw, Bosspole)
5 Nobz (Cybork) w Painboy (Power Klaw, Ammo Runt x2, Bosspole, Waaagh Banner)
with Battlewagon (Big Shoota, Deffrolla, Red Paint)
Elite
5 Lootas
5 Lootas
5 Lootas
Fast Attack
1 Warbuggy (TL Rockitt)
1 Warbuggy (TL Rockitt)
1 Warbuggy (TL Rockitt)
Heavy Support
Battlewagon (Big Shoota, Deffrolla, Red Paint, Boarding Plank)
Battlewagon (Big Shoota, Deffrolla, Red Paint, Boarding Plank)
Kannonz x 3 (Ammo Runt x3)
I make a point to maximize FO slots whenever possible to exploit as much shooting as possible. All ork lists need it against opponents with capable shooting of their own. Without fire support your vehicles can get shot to pieces before their payload ever arrives. This list combines some of the most powerful units in the codex into one list. We see the KFF Mek here again. This time just a singleton however. Stick him with one of the boyz in a wagon and he'll grant all your AV 14 Wagons a 4+ save. He's accompanied by the Warboss paying a nob tax and a unit of nobz that now can be scored as troops due to his inclusion. This list has 3 battlewagons all outfitted near identical. Deffrollas are one of the most powerful things in the codex and that's our primary reason for using the wagons. They also double as an AV 14 shooting platform, allowing our shoota boyz to rain down death from the safety of the vehicles if needed, or they can simply debark and charge forward after their wagon has delivered them where they need to go.
Accompanying the KFF shielded wagons are 3 buggies with rockitts, useful for picking apart enemy vehicles. This list can deal with armor without issue. That's 15 lootas, 3 TL Rockitts, 3 Deffrollas, and 3 effectively TL Kannonz along with a resilient troop base. This list is shooty, and this list is fast. It can get your orks where they need to go and they can do it with authority.
At 1750 we can make some additions. Notably upgrading the Warboss to his named counterpart: Ghazgkhull Thraka. Ghazghkull is a potent special character with a heavy point cost. No matter. He's worth it. A whopping 7 str 10 powerklaw attacks on the charge, a 2+ save, the ability to make your entire army fearless for a turn, a 6" waagh, and an invulnerable save. As I highlighted here, he's one of the best HQ's in the codex. If you have the points you use him. We do. We will.
Mek Orks (1750)
HQ
Big Mek (Kustom Force Field)
Ghazghkull Thraka
Troops
18 Shoota Boyz w Nob (Powerklaw, Bosspole)
18 Shoota Boyz w Nob (Powerklaw, Bosspole)
7 Nobz (Cybork, Stikkbombs) w Painboy (Power Klaw x2, Heavy Armor, Ammo Runt x2, Bosspole, Waaagh Banner)
with Battlewagon (Big Shoota, Deffrolla, Red Paint, Boarding Plank)
10 Gretchin w Runtherd
Elite
5 Lootas
5 Lootas
5 Lootas
Fast Attack
1 Warbuggy (TL Rockitt)
1 Warbuggy (TL Rockitt)
1 Warbuggy (TL Rockitt)
Heavy Support
Battlewagon (Big Shoota, Deffrolla, Red Paint, Boarding Plank)
Battlewagon (Big Shoota, Deffrolla, Red Paint, Boarding Plank)
Kannonz x 3 (Ammo Runt x3)
At 2000 points we finally drop the Kannonz unit and add a 4th wagon. I think at this point level the list might have a few scaling issues as we start running out of units to take, but 4 wagons is certainly better than 3 if you can swing it. We can still use them and provide a 4+ save with our KFF a majority of the time.
Mek Orks (2000)
HQ
Big Mek (Kustom Force Field)
Ghazghkull Thraka
Troops
18 Shoota Boyz w Nob (Powerklaw, Bosspole)
18 Shoota Boyz w Nob (Powerklaw, Bosspole)
18 Shoota Boyz w Nob (Powerklaw, Bosspole)
7 Nobz (Cybork, Stikkbombs) w Painboy (Power Klaw x2, Heavy Armor, Ammo Runt x2, Bosspole, Waaagh Banner)
with Battlewagon (Big Shoota, Deffrolla, Red Paint, Boarding Plank)
10 Gretchin w Runtherd
Elite
5 Lootas
5 Lootas
5 Lootas
Fast Attack
2 Warbuggy (TL Rockitt)
1 Warbuggy (TL Rockitt)
1 Warbuggy (TL Rockitt)
Heavy Support
Battlewagon (Big Shoota, Deffrolla, Red Paint, Boarding Plank)
Battlewagon (Big Shoota, Deffrolla, Red Paint, Boarding Plank)
Battlewagon (Big Shoota, Deffrolla, Red Paint, Boarding Plank)
Mech Orks obviously plays differently the Kan Wall Orks. Both lists can be effective at all point levels though. Either one can work in your meta-game.
Is the premium you pay for the Koptas buzzsaw basically redundant when you already have some ability to deliver CC attacks to bothersome units (i.e planks and PKs)?
How important is the movement-blocking aspect of the buggies for this, or other mech armies (i.e would doing 1 kopta /w rokkit x3 be more or less equivalent to doing 1 Rokkit buggy x3)?
I notice in an older list you mixed buggies/koptas, did you just find the koptas weren't adding much or were they cut for cost as I think the older list had a trukk instead of the 3rd BW?
I like the list and am planning on using something very similiar (MANz in place of the Nobz, 3 units of 2 buggies, no kannons).
The primary reason to take Deffkoptas are the Buzzsaw. Without them I consider them strictly worse than buggies aside from the occasional outflank. They are a bit more fragile and cost more points. Just doesn't seem worth it to me unless they have the ability to charge the rear armor of a Leman Russ.
I marry wagons to buggies. Shaving points elsewhere to get more of them is a valid strategy. The more fire support you can get behind your wagons the better. They won't make it across the table without it.
Warboss /w bike, pk, cybork
5x Nobz (painboy, cybork, PK, 2x Big choppa, banner, couple of kombi weapons)
Works out to about the same as taking the BW+Nobz+Warboss on foot.