Battle Report- Orks vs Space Wolves

Hi everyone, Michael here with the first outing of my Orks in 8th edition, taking on a force of Space Wolves. For more reviews and analyses, check out the Tactics Corner.

This week’s battle report sees the first outing for my Orks in 8th edition 40k. I would be taking on Ben’s Space Wolves once more in an Eternal War mission.

I’ve been playing a lot of maelstrom missions recently, but decided to give one of the new Eternal War missions from Chapter Approved a shot for this game. We decided to do a toss up between Dominate and Destroy and Ascension. This was actually a mistake, as I mixed up the rules for the two missions.

For this mission, we would be using 6 objectives. Players gain a point for each objective they held at the end of their turn, as well as a kill point for each enemy unit destroyed. In addition, we used the Ascendancy rules, meaning that Characters control the objective if they are in range. In addition, they score bonus points for each consecutive turn they hold the objective. This was totally a conscious effort to spice up the mission and not down to me confusing the two scenarios………. honest.

My army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment 

• Warboss- Power Klaw, Kustom Shoota (W)
• Big Mek- Kustom Force Field, Slugga, Choppa (BM1)
• 30 Ork Boyz- Shootas, 3 Big Shootas, Nob with Power Klaw (BM1)
• 30 Ork Boyz- Sluggas, Choppas, Nob with Power Klaw (BM2)
• 12 Ork Boyz- Sluggas, Choppas, Nob with Power Klaw (BM3)
• Trukk- Big Shoota (T1)
• 12 Ork Boyz- Sluggas, Choppas, Nob with Power Klaw (DM3)
• Trukk- Big Shoota (T2)
• 15 Lootas- Deffguns (L)
• Deff Dread- 2 Scorchas, 2 Klaws (DD)
• 21 Stormboyz- Sluggas, Choppas, Nob with Power Klaw (S)

Battalion Detachment

• Warboss- Big Choppa, Kustom Shoota (W)
• Painboy- Urty Syringe, Power Klaw (P)
• 10 Grots (G1)
• 10 Grots (G2)
• Kustom Mega Kannon (MG1)
• Kustom Mega Kannon (MG2)
• Kustom Mega Kannon (MG3)
• Dakkajet-6 Supa Shootas (D)

I decided to take a mix of units as this was my first time out with the Orks. I thought the Painboy was a HQ unit by mistake, so thought I had 2 Battalions, but wouldn’t have been able to field them due to lacking a fourth HQ unit.

I took two big mobs of Boyz to move towards the enemy army. They were backed up by two Warbosses, allowing them to advance and charge and giving them some morale mitigation. In the backfield, I had two units of Grots, three Mek guns and Lootas. The faster elements of the army were the Stormboyz and two units of Trukk Boyz.

Ben’s army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment

• Arjac Rockfist (A)
• Bjorn the Fell-Handed- Heavy Flamer, Hellfrost Cannon (B)
• Iron Priest- Hellfrost Pistol, Servo-arm, Tempest Hammer (IP)
• Njal Stormcaller- Storm Caller, Tempest’s Wrath, Jaws of the World Wolf (N)
• 10 Blood Claws- Bolt Pistols, Chainswords (BC1)
• 5 Grey Hunters- Bolters, Plasma Gun (GH1)
• 5 Grey Hunters- Bolt Pistols, Chainswords (GH2)
• Lukas the Trickster (L)
• 5 Wolf Guard- Jump Packs, Storm Bolters, Chainswords (WG)
• 5 Wolf Guard Terminators- Assault Cannon (T)
• 5 Wulfen- 3 Pairs of Frost Claws, Great Frost Axe, Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield (W)
• 5 Long Fangs- Missile Launcher, Lascannon, 2 Heavy Bolters (LF)
• Stormwolf- Twin Hellfrost Cannon, Two Lascannons, two Twin Heavy Bolters (S)

A lot of tough characters on the Space Wolves roster, as well as some potent combat potential in the army. Some decent firepower in the army, but not as much as there could be, so my Orks were a bit happier.

 

We set up the objectives as shown below:

We then deployed our armies.

I set up the Lootas in the ruins to the left flank, a unit of Grots beneath them to hold the objective. The Stormboyz went on the left, ready to move up to deal with the Long Fangs and grab the objective off them.

The Mek Guns went in the centre of the field, spread out, with the two large mobs of Boyz in front of them. The Deff Dread went in the centre, the Big Mek shielding the Dread and both mobs with his Kustom Force Field. On the right flank, a unit of Grots held the other objective, while the two Trukks went on the flank, ready to move up on the Space Wolves lines. The Dakkajet was also on the right flank.

Ben deployed his Long Fangs in the ruins to his right, with the Stormwolf nearby. Bjorn, Njal, the Iron Priest and the Wulfen deployed in the centre of the field, while one unit of Grey Hunters went in the ruins to the left. The Terminators went in reserve, while the rest of the units were in the Stormwolf.

I won the roll off for first turn, and Ben failed to seize the initiative. The Orks took the first turn.

 

TURN 1- ORKS

The Ork mobs moved up the field, both large mobs advancing in the centre, while the Stormboyz advanced on the left flank. The Dakkajet sped over the battlefield to the side of the ruins, while the two Trukks moving up to support it. The Shoota Boyz only rolled a 1″ for their advance. I used a command point re-roll to get them into range of the Wulfen to fire.

In the shooting phase, the Shoota Boyz opened fire on the Wulfen,but failed to do any damage. The Dakkajet fired on the Wulfen, doing an amazing 11 wounds. Ben failed all his Storm Shield saves and FNP saves, losing three of the squad to the Supa Shoota fire.

The two Trukks fired their Big Shootas at the Wulfen, wounding another of the squad. Ben had rolled so many double 1’s for his saves this turn!

The three Mek Guns targeted the enemy Stormwolf, hitting twice and causing five wounds on the flyer. The Lootas then opened up with their Deffguns on the Long Fangs, wounding them 7 times and killing four after another round of terrible saves from Ben.

I decided not to try a charge with the Stormboyz. They would have needed a 10″ or 11″ charge and I would have likely lost a few as they charged.

In the morale phase, the Long Fangs passed their test. The Wulfen failed, rolling a 6, then a 5 for the re-roll and losing one more of the squad.

At the end of my turn, I scored 3 points for holding three of the objectives.

 

TURN 1- SPACE WOLVES

The centre Space Wolves line moved up, the Wulfen leading the charge as the lone survivor surged ahead. Bjorn and the Iron Priest were more reserved, slowly moving through the ruins. The Stormwolf sped over the Ork lines, landing next to the Grots manning the Mega Kannons.

The Space Wolves reserves arrived, Arjac teleporting in front of the Ork Boyz, while the Wolf Guard Terminators went after one of the ramshackle Ork vehicles. The Wolf Guard with Jump Packs arrived to support the Wulfen as they advanced on the Ork lines.

In the psychic phase, Njal cast Jaws of the World Wolf on the Deff Dread, rolling a double 6 on the test. He used a command point to avoid the perils and the power did one Mortal wound on the Dread. He then cast Smite, killing three of the Shoota Boyz.

The Stormwolf opened fire on the Deff Dread, the Hellfrost Cannon causing three wounds on the enemy walker. The Lascannons fired at the Deff Dread and were able to obliterate it, scoring First Blood. The Heavy Bolters targeted two of the Mek Guns, causing one wound on one and two on another.

The lone Long Fang fired his Lascannon at the Lootas, hitting but failing to wound on a 2+. In the centre of the battlefield, the Wolf Guard fired their Storm Bolters at the Slugga Boyz, wounding them 9 times and killing five.

The Grey Hunters fired at the Dakkajet, wounding it once. Bjorn added his firepower, wounding the Ork flyer three times.

The Terminators fired at the Trukk. The Storm Bolters wounded the vehicle 6 times, three of which got through its armour. The Assault Cannon wounded three times, but only one got past the armour.

In the charge phase, the Terminators assaulted the Trukk. Ben rolled a double 1 for the charge, but fortunately the Wulfen re-roll allowed them to make the charge. Arjac and the lone Wulfen assaulted the Shoota Boyz. The Shoota Boyz only managed two hits out of 46 overwatch shots, wounding once, but failing to get past Arjac’s armour.

The other unit of Wolf Guard tried to assault the Slugga Boyz, but failed to make the distance, even with a re-roll.

Arjac began the attack, killing four of the Orks with a mighty sweep of his Hammer. I used two command points to interrupt with the Boyz. The Wulfen would get to attack when he was killed, so it was either take one round of attacks from him or two, so I chose the one.

The Boyz struck at the Wulfen, wounding him 8 times. Ben failed all eight 4+ saves and the unit was slain. He got to strike back, killing two of the Orks as he fell. The rest of the Boyz struck at Arjac, wounding him four times, but only taking one thanks to his armour save. The Nob with the Power Klaw struck at Arjac, doing one wound (after using a command point re-roll). Arjac failed his invulnerable save (even with Ben using his own re-roll) and the Space Wolves character took three wounds.

The Terminators struck at the Ork Trukk, but only managed to do a single wound with their attacks. The Trukk then managed to do a wound on the Terminators, evening the score.

At the end of his turn, Ben scored one kill point, First Blood and three objective points. I also scored a kill point.

 

VICTORY POINTS:

Orks- 4

Space Wolves- 5

 

A terrible first turn for Ben. He was currently in the lead, but some abysmal rolling had seen him do very little damage to the Ork army. Meanwhile, I had three mobs of Boyz ready to launch themselves at the Space Wolves lines.

 

TURN 2- ORKS

On the right flank, both units of Ork Boyz disembarked from the Trukks, one unit moving up on the Grey Hunters, while the other encircled the Terminators. The Slugga Boyz and Warboss moved up on the Wolf Guard, while the other Warboss moved up on Arjac. The Big Mek and Painboy moved up on the objective.

On the left flank, the Stormboyz mob moved up on the lone Long Fang. The Stormboyz fired on the Long Fang, but failed to do any damage.

The Mek Guns fired on the Stormwolf once more. Using a command point re-roll, I was able to do 2 wounds and take 6 damage from it. The Lootas added their firepower to try and take down the enemy flyer. I used the Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! stratagem to try and get extra shots. Of their 30 shots, only two hit on a 6! I got another hit from the two extra shots and managed to wound all three times. One got through the armour of the flyer, leaving the Stormwolf on only a single wound.

The nearby Grots fired at the Stormwolf, but failed to do any damage. The Dakkajet fired at Bjorn, wounding the enemy warlord once.

The Slugga Boyz fired their pistols at the Wolf Guard, hitting and wounding four times. Ben failed three of his 2+ armour saves. He was forced to used a command point re-roll to pass one more and two perished.

In the charge phase, the Slugga Boyz and Warboss launched themselves at the Wolf Guard, losing two Boyz to overwatch, but both made the charge. On the left flank, the Stormboyz assaulted the Long Fang. On the right flank, the Boyz mobs assaulted the Wolf Guard Terminators and Grey Hunters. Njal performed a heroic intervention on the Slugga Boyz.

The Slugga Boyz in the centre attacked the Wolf Guard, easily slaughtering the rest of the squad. Ben used two command points to interrupt and attack with the Terminators. They attacked, killing three of the Orks and putting two wounds on the Trukk.

In the backfield, the Boyz attacked the Grey Hunters. The Ork Boyz killed two of the Space Wolves, while the Nob was able to kill another two with his Power Klaw.

The other unit of Trukk Boyz attacked the Terminators. The Boyz put 10 wounds on the unit, killing another one of the squad. The Nob attacked, killing only one of the squad after Ben used a command point to pass an invulnerable save.

In the centre, Arjac swung at the Boyz once more, killing five of the squad. At this point, I realised I had forgotten to charge Arjac with the Warboss! There were too many green bodies in the centre that I missed it! The Boyz struck back at Arjac, wounding him 7 times and killing him.

The long Grey Hunter attacked the Boyz, killing one, while Njal was able to slay another one of the squad in the centre.

At the end of my turn, I scored 5 objective points and three kill points.

 

TURN 2- SPACE WOLVES

The Space Wolves forces disembarked from the Stormwolf, moving up to surround the Mek Guns, while the damaged flyer moved to the ruins beside the Lootas.

Njal fell back from combat, while Bjorn and the Iron Priest moved up on the Slugga Boyz.

In the psychic phase, Njal cast Smite, killing three of the Orks. He then cast Tempest’s Wrath on the Dakkajet.

In the shooting phase, Bjorn fired at the Slugga Boyz, killing three with the Heavy Flamer and one with his Hellfrost Cannon. The Iron Priest fired his Hellfrost Pistol at the mob, hitting but failing to wound.

In the Ork deployment zone, the Blood Claws fired at the Mek Gun, wounding it twice. The Grey Hunters fired at another Big Gun, wounding it twice as well. The Stormwolf fired at the Lootas, killing five with its firepower.

In the charge phase, the Grey Hunters and Blood Claws assaulted the Mek Guns. Bjorn and the Iron Priest charged the Slugga Boyz and Warboss. One of the Blood Claws was slain from the overwatch fire of the Mega Kannons.

Bjorn struck at the Orks, slaying the warboss and killing two of the Boyz. I used two command points to interrupt and attack with the Boyz. They struck at the Iron Priest, wounding him 12 times, but Ben made all his saves! The rest of the mob attacked Bjorn, the Boyz wounding him once and the Nob causing 2 wounds with his Power Klaw. The Iron Priest struck back, killing two of the Boyz.

The Blood Claws attacked the Grots crewing the guns, killing four of them. The Grey Hunters attacked the other Grots crew, wiping them out.

The Terminators attacked the Mob, killing two of the Boyz. In the ruins, the Ork Boyz slew the final Grey Hunter. The other Mob attacked, wounding the Terminators 6 times but failing to get past their armour. The Nob swung at the Wolf Guard Terminators, but failed to hit.

In the morale phase, three of the Slugga Boyz in the centre perished.

At the end of the turn, Ben scored one objective, three Kill Points and Slay the warlord. I also scored one kill point.

 

VICTORY POINTS:

Orks- 13

Space Wolves- 10

Still a very close game after turn 2. I was ahead in points, but had lost much of my army, as had Ben. It would be interesting to see how long either of us could last.

 

TURN 3- ORKS

The Warboss led the Shoota Boyz towards the Grey Hunters, both units advancing to try and get into range to assault. The Dakkajet moved up to the Ork deployment zone, as the last surviving Mek Gun moved out of combat.

The Grots opened fire on the Stormwolf, but failed to bring it down (I was really hoping they would take it out!). The Dakkajet fired at the Blood Claws, killing two of the squad.

The Lootas then fired at the Blood Claws. Their awesome skills continued as they hit with only one out of their 20 shots! The one hit then failed to wound. The Slugga Boyz fired their pistols at the Iron Priest, wounding him once.

In the charge phase, the Warboss and Shoota Boyz charged the Grey Hunters. The mob struck at the Space Wolves, the Boyz killing two and the Nob killing one more.

Bjorn then attacked (thanks to his warlord trait), killing 5 of the Slugga Boyz. The Warboss then struck at the Grey Hunters, wiping out the squad.

The Trukk Boyz attacked the Terminators. The Boyz were unable to get past their armour, while the Nob missed with all his attacks. The Iron Priest was able to wipe out the rest of the mob, while the Terminators killed four Boyz and wounded the Trukk twice.

At the end of my turn, I scored 1 kill point and scored 6 points for the objective (getting 2 points for the objective the Big Mek was holding).

A pretty poor turn for me. The rolling for the Orks had turned around, with a terrible round of shooting and assault limiting the damage I could do.

 

TURN 3- SPACE WOLVES

Bjorn and the Iron Priest moved up on the Big Mek and Painboy, while Lucas led the Blood Claws up on the Lootas and Grots. The Stormwolf went into hover mode, moving around the sides of the ruins to target the Lootas.

The Iron Priest was able to heal three wounds on Bjorn, negating much of the damage that the Orks had managed to inflict.

Njal cast Smite on the Trukk, wounding it once. He then cast Jaws of the World Wolf on the Big Mek, wounding him twice.

Bjorn fired his Heavy Flamer at the Big Mek, getting 6 hits and wounding the Ork twice, killing him. He then fired his Hellfrost Cannon at the nearby Trukk, taking three wounds from it.

The Iron Priest fired his Hellfrost Pistol at the Painboy, wounding him once. In the Ork deployment zone, the Blood Claws and Lucas fired at the Mek Gun, but failed to do any damage between them.

The Stormwolf fired at the Lootas, killing three of them with its firepower.

In the charge phase, Bjorn and the Iron Priest charged the Painboy. The Blood Claws charged the Lootas and Grots, Ben using a command point re-roll to make the charge on one of the Lootas. Lucas the Trickster charged the Mek Gun.

The Blood Claws attacked, killing all the Grots, but failing to damage the Lootas. Bjorn then easily crushed the Painboy in the centre of the field. Lucas attacked, killing three of the Grot crew.

The Terminators then attacked, killing one Boy and finally destroying the Trukk, after using another command point re-roll.

The Boyz attacked back, the Nob killing one of the Wolf Guard Terminators. The Lootas attacked the Blood Claws, killing one of the squad.

In the morale phase, the rest of the Mek Gun crew fled the battlefield. Annoyingly, the Lootas passed their morale test. Had I lost one more of the squad, I could have pulled them out of combat with the Blood Claws, allowing them to shoot in my turn.

 

At the end of his turn, Ben scored 4 points for the objectives and 5 kill points.

 

VICTORY POINTS:

Orks- 20

Space Wolves- 19

The Orks were still holding on to victory, but just barely. Most of my characters were now gone, meaning that Ben would have the advantage the longer that the game went on.

 

TURN 4- ORKS

The Stormboyz moved back towards the Stormwolf. While I was giving up a point moving away from the objective, I figured they could take the final wound from the Stormwolf and still give me the option of going after the Blood Claws and Lucas in the following turns.

The Shoota Boyz moved up on the Terminators, as the last two members of the Trukk Boyz mob fell back from combat. The Warboss moved towards the objective, while the Dakkajet moved to join the shoota boyz.

The other mob of Trukk Boyz advanced to get to Njal, as their Trukk moved to secure the objective that they had held.

The Shoota Boyz fired on the Terminators, managing to wound them once. The Dakkajet fired on the Wolf Guard, wounding them 6 times, but failed to get past their armour even once.

In the charge phase, the Orks charged the Terminators, while the Stormboyz charged the Stormwolf. The Space Wolves flyer had some amazing overwatch rolls, killing four Stormboyz, while two more fell to their charging while advancing roll.

The Ork mob attacked the Terminators, managing to wound them twice and leave the Sergeant on one wound. The Nob then struck, hitting and wounding twice. Ben failed one save and the squad perished.

The Stormboyz struck at the Stormwolf, destroying it. Their enthusiasm was too much and the the flyer exploded, killing 1 Stormboy, 5 Lootas and 6 of the nearby Blood Claws! The carnage was too much for the last Blood Claw and he fled in the morale phase.

The Lootas passed their morale thanks to the nearby numbers of the Stormboyz.

At the end of my turn, I scored two kill points and two objective points.

 

TURN 4- SPACE WOLVES

Bjorn moved up on the Shoota Boyz, as the last of the Space Wolves held their position on the objectives.

Njal cast Smite, killing three of the Trukk Boyz advancing on his position. He then cast Jaws of the World Wolf on them, killing one more.

Njal fired at the two survivors of the Trukk Boyz squad, killing both of them. Lucas fired on the Stormboyz, killing one.

 

In the charge phase, Bjorn assaulted the Shoota Boyz, taking a single wound in overwatch. He then swung at the Orks, killing 5 of the squad. The Boyz attacked back, but could not harm the tough Space Wolves Veteran. The Nob managed to hit and wound twice with his Power Klaw, but Ben made both invulnerable saves.

At the end of his turn, Ben scored one kill point and 6 points for the objectives (one for Lucas, two for the Iron Priest and three for Njal).

 

VICTORY POINTS:

Orks- 24

Space Wolves- 25

At the end of the fourth turn, we were very close. I would need to deal with the Space Wolves characters. They would keep accruing more and more victory points the longer they could stay on the objectives.

 

TURN 5- ORKS

The Stormboyz moved up on Lucas the Trickster, while the last mob of Trukk Boyz moved up on Njal, supported by the Dakkajet.

The Stormboyz fired their Sluggas at Lucas, but failed to do any damage. The two Lootas fired 6 shots at the Iron Priest, but failed to roll a single hit. After their success in the first turn, it appeared the rest of the mob had decided to take a break for the rest of the game!

The Dakkajet fired at Njal Stormcaller, wounding him 6 times, but failing to get through his armour save (he kept a 2+ save thanks to being in cover).

In the charge phase, the Stormboyz assaulted Lucas, while the Ork Boyz charged Njal.

The Boyz attacked Njal, managing to wound him once. The Nob then attacked, but missed with all three of his Power Klaw attacks.

The Stormboyz then struck at Lucas, the mob wounding him twice and the Nob killing him with his Power Klaw after I used a command point re-roll to help him wound.

Bjorn attacked the Shoota Boyz, killing another four of the mob. The Boyz struck back, wounding Bjorn once more. The Nob hit with all three of his Power Klaw attacks, but failed to cause a wound.

At the end of my turn, I scored 1 kill point and four points for the objectives. I had failed to take out Njal or the Iron Priest, meaning they would score big if they could survive till the end of Ben’s turn.

 

TURN 5- SPACE WOLVES

The three remaining Space Wolves characters did not move, hoping to secure the objectives for as long as possible.

Njal cast Smite, killing one of the mob in combat with him. He then fired his pistol into the mob, killing one more.

We moved quickly to the fight phase. Njal attacked the Boyz, killing two of them. Bjorn then struck, killing 5 of the Boyz in combat with him.

The Boyz then struck back at Njal, the mob wounding him once. The Nob then struck with his Power Klaw, hitting and wounding twice. Njal then saved the damage on a double 6, leaving him alive to hold the objective!

In the other combat, the Nob struck at Bjorn, taking one more wound from him, but leaving him on four.

In the morale phase, both the Ork mobs in combat were wiped out as they fled before the unkillable Space Wolves characters.

At the end of his turn, Ben scored two kill points and 7 points for holding the objectives (3 for the Iron Priest and 4 for Njal).

 

VICTORY POINTS:

Orks- 29

Space Wolves- 34

We rolled to see if the game would end there and it did. A victory for the Space Wolves.

AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS

Damn that Njal! Had Ben failed a single one of his 5+ saves in the final turn, he wouldn’t have scored the objective and I would have pulled the draw 30 to 30!

Thanks to Ben for a fantastic game. It was an absolute blast to play and really enjoyable (even though I lost).

 

In the first couple of turns, my rolling was really hot. I was actually feeling bad for Ben as we both thought he was heading towards a tabling after my first turn.

Damn those Lootas as well! They did pretty well in turn 1, taking out most of the Long Fangs in a single volley. After that, they decided not to bother hitting anything, hitting with only four out of 59 shots over three turns! Even for Orks that is abysmal.

My Nobs did little better with their Power Klaws, either failing to hit with most of their attacks or failing to wound when they did.

 

The unintentional change to the scenario actually turned out pretty good in the end, giving a much closer game than it should have been. Without the characters scoring additional points, I would have been well in the lead and it wouldn’t have been such a tense game.

As it was, the 2+ armour saves of the Iron Priest and Njal, as well as the T8 of Bjorn helped to keep the three characters alive throughout the game and won it for Ben in the end. I should have been more concerned with keeping my own Characters alive for longer to rack up the victory points in the end.

 

I was planning on taking Boss Zagstruck in the army when I was originally writing the list. Had I done that, I could have parked him on the objective that the Stormboyz took and won the game on his own. However, that is not the Orky thing to do and I’m glad I had to fight it out till the end.

Overall, I had a lot of fun with the Orks in 8th edition. I hope to get them on the table a bit more in the future.

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