Warboss Chuck Chuck brings us some tales of Ork victories in tournaments! Check out the Tactics Corner for more great tactics articles.
Shortly after the Ork Codex came out it was quickly determined that it wasn’t a great book, not bad or good just middle of the road and it was written off from there. I love a challenge and I hadn’t played orks since 5th so I decided to give them a try. Choosing from the most point effective units I made a list that was prepared to win the ITC missions while also dealing a lot of damage to the most popular armies in the meta.
So far the army has performed really well for me with only 6 loses out of 25 games.
Here what my tournament history looks like with the army so far.
- 1st out of 20 player Local RTT
- 7th out of 30 player Assault on Kokoytos
- 1st out of 56 player Storm of Silence
- 14 out of 47 player Guardian Cup
On top of all of that I find the list very enjoyable and satisfying to play. I am interacting with my opponent in each phase of the game except the psychic phase every turn, and am often finishing games before the round ends.
So lets get to the list. Just before Guardian Cup I changed the list slightly to take advantage of the ITC detachment limit being raised from two to three. This allowed me to get objective secured on my bike units which helps me win the Maelstrom missions. You can take a look at the old list here.
Combined Arms Detachment – Primary Detachment
HQ
Zhadsnark ‘Da Rippa’150 (Warlord)
Warboss: Da Lucky Stikk; power klaw; warbike 135
Troops
15 Warbikerz: Boss Nob (power klaw) 305
3 Warbikerz54
3 Warbikerz54
Allied Detachment – Secondary Detachment
HQ
Painboy: grot orderly; warbike 80
Troops
10 Gretchin: + 1 Runtherd 35
Great Waaagh! – Secondary Detachment
HQ
Big Mek: Mega Force Field; killsaw; warbike 165
Warboss: Big Bosspole; power klaw; warbike 130
Troops
10 Gretchin: + 1 Runtherd 35
10 Gretchin: + 1 Runtherd 35
Elite
8 Tankbustas104
Trukk: Rokkit Launcha 30
8 Tankbustas104
Trukk: Rokkit Launcha 30
8 Tankbustas104
Trukk: Rokkit Launcha 30
8 Tankbustas104
Trukk: Rokkit Launcha 30
8 Tankbustas104
Trukk: Rokkit Launcha 30
Deployment
There are two different ways that this army generally deploys. Either all of it (sometimes just close to all of it) or just the large squad of bikes with all the characters in it.
If you rolled up night fighting, you want to go second. If there is no night fighting, you need to determine if your opponent can shoot you up enough that you need to choose to go first to increase your defense. Warbikes get a +1 to their cover saves for turbo boosting! Generally I try to go second if possible.
When you are going first you will need to carefully consider your opponent’s firepower and how quickly you will be able to close with them. If they are going to be able to get a good round of shooting off against your Trukks and Small bike units before you get the biker blob into combat, then it is better to reserve them.
If you are going second you are likely going to want to deploy the Bike Blob (the large bike squad and all of the characters) and nothing else. This limits the damage your opponent can do by forcing them to shoot at the Bike Blob.
Close Combat Pressure
Use your scout, regular move and Turbo Boost to get the Biker Blob as close to the enemy as possible, even placing your models right next to your opponent if possible. They can take a lot of punishment and still deal a heavy blow in the next turn. Just make sure your opponent can’t get away.
When you do get to charge, go after the units that will deal the most damage to the rest of your army and units with 2+ saves that will be holding objectives later in the game. The biker blob can die without hurting your ability to win the game as long as it uses up enough of your opponent’s turns and kills off enough of their units that they can’t effectively destroy your other units before the game ends.
Take the Table
Each of the ITC missions has one thing in common: the player that controls the objectives will win the game. This Ork list achieves this by pushing its opponents into as small of a place as possible with the biker blob and then spreading out the Tankbusta Boyz, Trukks and small bike squads, commonly double or triple covering an objective.
Depending on how the biker blob is doing it can also split up and send its characters out to hold objectives at the end of the game as well.
What to watch out for
Hordes
The biker blob doesn’t have hit and run so you will want to watch out for units you can’t kill or break such as Imperial Guard blobs, Necron Warriors with a fearless leader, Plague Zombies and the like. These units will tie up the biker blob and allow you opponent the time they need to destroy your other, much more fragile units. Try to get around these units or charge them as part of a multi charge, creating a wall between the rest of your opponent’s army and yours. Remember the biker blob’s goal is to make the rest of the table safe for your other units.
Flying Monstrous creature spam (Flyrants and Daemon Princes)
Orks only take a -1 to their BS when shooting at flying targets but that still means they hit half as often. In these matches I use one of two plans: either attack their ground units as quickly as possible and then follow the flyers around ready to charge them if they land (Mostly against Flyrants), or point all the guns up and hope they fall down (Daemon Princes with summoning).
Fast MSU with firepower (Craftworld Eldar)
If your opponent can access the entire table through deep strike, outflank or extreme speed you won’t be able to cage them in with the biker blob. Instead you will have to target areas of the table you want to keep clear or try to engage specific units.
What Next?
As I start preparing for the Bay Area Open, there is one match up on my mind. My list is already having trouble with Craftworld Eldar and the new codex seems very powerful. Two weaknesses stick out to me; the biker blob is too costly for that match-up and the Tankbusta Boyz are too fragile.
What changes would you make to the list if you were me, thinking about how to take on the new Eldar?
Warboss Chuck Chuck
Mugu Legion
Love this list, but I dont have he Bikers for it
I was thinking of using a Green Tide in conjunction with the second detachment with the 40 tankbustas. Donno if it will work though xD
My experience with the green tide made me want to pair fast moving units with. Stuff that could grab objectives and fight small battles that the green tide shouldn’t waste time with. So the tankbustas in trukks would be good but do still have the issues I talked about in the article.
Good day, fellow ork sir.
As a veteran ork player, i have been able to win some torunaments/always amongst the top5 in others. Mine strategy is very similar to yours ( and also have been utilizing Zhardsnark for several years) allthough because of the codexes being published recently, had to postpone the tactic of a big biker blob, as it is very, very weak against necron/eldar fck u all lists. Therefore, my strategy evolves arroung 2 big biker unigs ( 2*15) and one nob bikers ( someone has to drag those knights/eldars/tyrants) down. 2 bosses with klaws, 1 dok, (one of bosses is zhardsnark if the torunametn allows it, if not, then its a regular ork with grots as troops) and two units of 5 lobbas which basically met the requirements to bombard whatever u dont see and were able to pay for themselves in ALL games ( its really suprising how annying this 96 pts units is (2 aim grots extra for each) my strategy was to shoot the first turn as much and cause as much mayhem as possible , ussually one boss goes to each ,,regular,, bike unit and the nobs ( about 7 in total, with 8th being the dok, 3 fists) able to tak care for themselves. The point was that not much armies can shot down 3 units that if hit home, cause catastropic damage. my 2 cents 🙂
I agree on the Lobbas, I am already looking at what models I want to use. Pretty sold on a unit of 5, what do you think of a second unit? I am concerned they would get diminished returns.
I like Smasha guns too. Orks need more AP1 fired by Grots.
I might suggest subbing the Trukks the tankbustas ride in for gun wagons out of IA:8. They are roughly twice the cost of a trukk, but have front armor 13 and side armor 12. That means a min scat-pack won’t wreck it unless they are behind you.
They aren’t fast, which hurts a lot.
I still need to get IA:8 so I wasn’t aware of this unit. Sound like it would be a perfect upgrade.
Is it open topped?
Can I take it as a dedicated transport?
Hi chuck! Awesome report! Really glad you did so well. Been in lobe with Zhadsnark for a long time (since I saw it in drillteef’s), but didn’t have enough bikes for that list, so tried it with green tide instead. He rocks!
About the Gun Wagons, they are HS. They cost 50 each, and come in squadrons of 3. They have 10 man cap. And are open topped. The icing in the cake is that boarding planks (+2′ assault range) cost only 1/3 of what they now cost in the new codex, making your tankbustas faster!
Congrats again!
Orks won a 750 point local beginners tournament last month at FLGS.
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Helpful tips for an upcoming tournament;
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Build some movement trays for your units so you do not get time slogged
(especially if you switch to bigger unit sizes)
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I saw a guy run a full size 15 Burna Boyz unit in a Battle Wagon (with a Boss), rolled up to a Drago Death Star, covered 10 models, because units inside an open topped BW have a 360 degree FoF, even from the bumper/hull.
Maths; 15 X 10 = 150 dice to wound. (plus Boss weapon) (plus BW weapons)
Was hilarious watching the GK player sweat.
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Maybe give your enemy cheap targets for his D-weapons that threaten his army, like three looted wagons with ?killkannons? behind cover, etc.?
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Did you see this yet? http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/650118.page
One of the guys I play with loves running his burna mobs for that very reason. Don’t need AP 2 when you hit 150 times.
Haven’t seen the movie yet (I don’t want to get into why, I already know it hurts my ork player cred), but I already love that conversion.
so many vehicle conversions in fury road, no need to see the movie, when you have google…
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here are some more ideas from model builders, not gamers;
http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=52127&page=1
Do ITC rules still allow you to run an allied Detachment with the same Faction as your primary?
Yes, because not every faction has their extra formations yet.
I’ve been building towards a very similar list. I’ve got a few question.
1) Between 4+ armor on everyone, and 2+ or 3+ Jink saves, what does the MFF bring? Is it there for Deep striking D-Scythes?
2) If you drop the MFF mek, you could put all of the Tankbustas in Gunwagons. Gunwagons are significantly more survivable than trukks, and you could usually deploy them alongside your bikestar, but aren’t Fast. How important is the extra 6″ flat out?
3) How do you deal with invisibility? I’ve been playing with a green tide list, and every time an invisible deathstar shows up, I get tarpit for way, way too long. Have you dealt with an invisible centstar?
4) Why no Rams on the Trukks? I tank shock / ram with my Trukks all the time. 5 points well spent, and you don’t have to worry about getting immobilized.
The MFF is probably for all the Sicarians, Ignore cover tau, and Ignore cover Imperial guard(although less that). I don’t know about west coast but I’ve seen a Sicarian in many many space marine lists and they just obliterate bikes that don’t have a MFF.
I think that could be mitigated by keeping the blob in cover(As they have skilled rider) but the MFF does give him some more flexibility to deploy right on top of the opponent.
Literally there for D-flamers if I remember correctly
That makes sense as well.
1) The KFF protects from Psychic Shriek and Psychic Scream, but it is also really valuable against units that ignore cover like a cent star with the right powers. The biker blob is also very big and often times I can stretch the Big Mek out to where he can give the 4++ to the trukks which is gold against high strength shots.
2) I didn’t know about gun wagons… They sound like they are in my future though. The Flat out almost doesn’t matter cause you want to be shooting the tankbusta as much as possible.
3) The list doesn’t do much damage to an invisible centstar, but the invisible centstar doesn’t do much damage to the list either. So spread out and kill everything else he has and camp objectives while you wait for the game to end.
4) I go back and forth on the rams, generally in the games I lose the trukks are dead right away and so wouldn’t get to ram or tank shock, and in the games I win I don’t need anymore help so I have been leaving them out.
I love this list and I love you for doing well with it!
I have always eschewed speed freeks, but I get the appeal. Glad you’re doing well!
Feeling the love!
I have been a sucker for speed freeks since I first read their fluff. What tribe do you prefer?
Blood Axes! I prefer being Cunning and Brutal as opposed to Brutal and Cunning.
In 2nd Edition I was Snakebites, but they dropped Boarboyz and most of the artillery so I had to adjust…
You can just run boarboyz as bikes 🙂
Blood Axes still rule! Greenskin Gunline FTW 🙂
While I have seen Orks popping up on the top tables from time to time, I haven’t seen a ‘top-tier’ list without Zhadsnark. Is it possible to build a competitive list without him? What would it look like?
Green Tide and Stompa lists get it done.
Green Tide depends on Invisibility and 2+ reroll nerfs. Otherwise it tends to get tarpitted. Also Scat Bikes will shoot it to death with ease. We usually have 1 to 2 Green tide lists at our Rtts. They haven’t won yet, though my green tide made the finals last time I brought it.
Stompa lists are very mission and matchup dependent. The Stompa just doesn’t put out much damage compared to its points cost. We usually Have 2 Stompas at our Rtts. They don’t perform terribly well. There is a way to build a kick-ass Kustom Stompa, but that isn’t on the ITC approved list.
I think Zhardsnark lists are a better TAC option, IMO. Still have bad matchups (Tau), but they have the tools to face off against most things.
The stompa either runs the table, or doesn’t do much of anything. A lot of the problem with the ork codex is the massive variability of shooting (its fine cause it’s orky, but sometimes I feel its not point costed appropriate).
We have all these guns that shoot 2d6, or 3d6, which sounds great, but even if you shoot 12 or 18 times, only 4 and 6 of those might hit…then cut them down again for wounding.
As such the stompa’s main strength is really in the giant blast gun, and its D weapon…two knights would do better work and cost less points.
yeah, 10 invisible scouts + characters mulched through my entire green tide. It took all 7 turns but still.
I think it is possible, but I see no reason not to. At 150 points he is a steal.
Was awesome playing vs chuck and this list.. hits hard and has a lot of utility. Was a bloody as hell game!
I’ve had 4+ games against it… Hardest hitting list I’ve seen in 7th so far… Damn fun army to play against! And chuck Chuck is da boss!
Amazing what a squad of tankbustas will do to a heirodule in cc.
You got my curiosity. What can a squad of tankbustas do to a Heirodule in CC? Besides getting stomped 🙂
Melta Bombs. Hit on 4’s, wound on 4’s. 5+ FNP save. 8 of them do 1.5 wounds per turn. Because of Mob rule they can often tarpit it for a turn as well.
On a point for point basis Tankbusta’s are a great counter for a Barbed Heirodule. Less good points for point vs a Wraith Knight because it costs around 1/2 of what a Barbed Heirodule costs.
It was a great game, I learned a lot about Swarm Lord. Can’t wait for the rematch.
I think i EARN my way to say this. Shinny object 😉 is a great army but more so a greater player.
Thank you sir.
Are there more pics somewhere, love the modeling conversion work done here?
Full credit for the conversation to Wolfkin Painting, then did most of the building on the models for me. Now that I have finished the first stage of painting they are going to take some pictures and get them up on their site shortly.
In the mean time here is a post on Facebook with all the models pictured. Hopefully you can see them.
https://www.facebook.com/chuck.arnett.5/posts/10203982989560178?pnref=story
You the boss Chuck! I look forward to a rematch!
Will you be at BAO?
If I can get a MUGU Legion shirt!
NM all sold out, I’ll be at TSHFT. MUGU shirt or not.
Just have to win that challenge game.