by Scuzgob

7th Edition Codex: Orks Review

Part 1: Introduction, Ork Basics and the Mob Rule

Hi there, I’m Scuzgob. Kirby says none of the other writers play Orks so you’ve got me for this one. I’ve been playing them since 3rd Edition, so I am very experienced at quickly moving 100+ models across the table without any falling over. This is a review of the first proper 7th Edition codex, so no pressure then.

Firstly, the layout of the codex itself has changed quite a bit. There is no ‘bestiary’ section, instead, the fluff, rules, profile and options for every unit is contained on individual ‘dataslate’ pages, much like the datasheets that gathered some mixed reviews during late 6th Edition. Since half of each dataslate comprises of a big picture of the unit in question, and the other half is for the profile and options, there isn’t much space for individual unit rules, and those that exist are very abrupt. This is likely to be the layout for every codex now, and I have no idea how GW is going to handle characters like Abaddon or Imotekh, who each have a metric ton of unique rules and gear. Not a rules thing, but something I felt should be noted.

Lords of War are also a thing now, apparently, with the Stompa joining the party and Ghazghkull being shifted from HQ to this section. I expect this to happen with the other big hitters like Calgar and Abaddon, but it does allow you to take Ghazghkull and two other HQs in a regular detachment.

For Codex: Orks in general, unit and option prices have mostly dropped across the board, barring a few exceptions, and unique rules are pretty sparse, with the units dividing themselves into specific jobs with their equipment more than anything else. Phil Kelly wrote the last one, and he did this one too, so the “Aspect Orks” theme is still present.

Basic Ork Know-Wots

Aspect Orks is actually a good way to describe an efficient Ork unit. When built to do one specific thing (shoot some guys, punch some other guys, blow up a tank etc.) Ork units can be quite surprisingly capable, even if they do it through quantity rather than quality, like the Eldar. Mixing “jobs” in a single unit is a recipe for disaster, as Orks, while they have the numbers and toughness to take on most opponents, will suffer if you attempt to make them into flexible generalists like Space Marines.

Ork units are durable through numbers. With the exception of guys in mega armour, the Ork armour save is worth less than the time it took to read this sentence. This includes ‘eavy armour. When everyone is gunning for Space Marines, Riptides and Wraithknights, nobody gives a damn about your 4+ or worse saves. Just ask your local Fire Warrior!

One of the big changes is the huge lack of invulnerable saves throughout the codex. Apart from the kustom force field (KFF) there is no way to give your ladz an invun save, and even then the KFF doesn’t work in close combat. Ghazghkull can temporarily get a 2++ for a turn, and only Kaptin Badrukk has a permanent one that he can use normally.

This leaves the Orks in a weird glass kannon kind of area, where they must make up for their poor saves either by taking so many bodies it doesn’t matter, using overwhelming firepower to shut down enemy shooting, or by getting into the relative safety of close combat as fast as possible. Luckily, Orks can manage all of these things, as we’ll see through this series.

Or, more accurately, one of these things. The Ork Codex is pretty malleable in allowing you to design different themes of armies, even if the FOC swaps are long gone, but attempting two “themes” in the same force can lead to lacklustre effects. One or two trukk mobs, for example, isn’t going to accomplish much against somebody who knows what they’re doing, but having your entire force mounted in trukks can do so. In all aspects, Orks work by overwhelming the enemy; you can’t pass all these saves when I throw a bucket of shoota dice at your Terminators.

Another glaring issue of the Codex is how oddly flimsy the characters can be outside of some specific builds. Ork characters are great at laying on the hurt, but they suck at dealing with incoming damage. A Warboss will rampage through most units and vehicles with no trouble, but when facing a character built for cracking skulls, he’s going to crumble pretty quickly if they get into a one-on-one. This problem is compounded by most Ork characters handing out some pretty important bonuses (KFF, Feel No Pain, Bosspole re-rolls etc.) making them a model you don’t really want to lose once you hit combat. It’s an odd dichotomy that will be discussed on a character by character basis.

The last point to bring up is the Ork’s comically bad Ballistic Skill. You know it, you love it. This makes single shot weapons like the rokkit launcha and mega-blasta almost worthless unless taken in large amounts, like with Tankbustas, or as twin-linked, like on Deffkoptas. On the other hand, Orks get a lot of multiple shot Assault weapons that would probably cost a lot in an army with BS3 or 4, and they don’t suffer as badly as everyone else when forced to Snap Fire. It is this attribute that made Lootas accidentally good at shooting Flyers down, after all.

Da Mob Rule

Previously, Mob Rule made your unit Fearless if it had ten or more Ork models in it. This was pretty obnoxious for the longest time, since every other Codex with army-wide Fearless had some kind of downside to it. Look at Tyranids and their Instinctive Behaviour, Daemons and their Instability, and CSM and them costing half the moon in points per model. Orks had no trouble, if you had at least ten dudes, yup, you’re Fearless, and can proceed to bog down that unit of whatevers for the rest of the game.

That’s all changed with the new Mob Rule rule. Now, when an Ork unit fails a Morale or Pinning test (after any re-rolls) they roll on a cute little table. Wait, come back! I promise this is the only random table you’ll really have to deal with! The table has three results. The first is that the unit fails the test on a 1, or if they are in combat, passes the test. The second, which happens on a 2 or 3, makes them fail the test if they have no characters. If the unit has characters, it suffers a number of hits and passes the test. The final result, on a 4+, has the fail the test, or take some hits and pass the test if they have 10 or more Ork models in the unit. So, if a unit is in combat, has a character, and has 10 or more models, it’s going to beat itself up and stay there. If the unit has at least one Bosspole, it can re-roll the result.

The Mob Rule rule has some very important things to it. Firstly, you still have to fail the test to roll on the table. Ork Leadership isn’t that great overall, but it’s not like this table is straight-up replacing the Morale system. Secondly, it is the random handful of hits that are the problem. For any unit except Meganobz, D6 S4 hits can damage an Ork unit quite badly, even if they don’t have any AP. The hits are especially grating since the unit has already lost some bodies from whatever caused the test in the first place. Thankfully, Mr Painboy exists for real this time, and his Feel No Pain can be used to save against these hits, so there is that. Another issue with Mob Rule is that it doesn’t help units that cap at 10 models, like Flash Gitz or Nobz. These units really don’t want to roll the 4+ result, but Bosspoles can mitigate this. In fact, Bosspoles are good for every unit, and almost every character in the army can grab one for 5pts. This can add up, but in my opinion it is vital coverage for frontline units that you expect to be taking a lot of hits. For back fielders like Lootas and…um…they’re not so necessary.

Lastly, and this one appears to be overlooked, the Mob Rule rule says absolutely nothing about Fear. Yes, Orks are the first melee-orientated army that actually cares about someone having the Fear rule. It seems odd to think about Fear as a threat, seeing as it has been derided for so long, but for Orks it is a genuine issue that they have no real defence against apart from hoping they pass the test. This means you might actually have to think about picking your fights when fighting some army-wide Fear thing *cough* Daemons *cough* The upside, however, is that an Ork unit can now choose to go to ground regardless of its size. It’s not a very Orky thing to do, but the option is at least available now.

Well that seemed rather doom and gloom, but I assure you that Codex: Orks has the tools to excel as a proper army. I’m looking forward to writing this whole thing, but for now I’ll just say that this update has taken too damn long to get here, and that I am absolutely not biased, honest.