Ork Non-Tactica

First, let me explain. I have been a long-time Eldar player. Since 3rd edition. But the Eldar are and likely always will be a very unforgiving army. You feel every model lost. You play on the razor's edge of defeat, knowing if you don't play a near-perfect game your chances are slim. It gets to be a little tiring after a while. So, WAAAAAAY back in 3rd, I decided I wanted a more relaxed army. Something I didn't have to meticulously plan out (both in army list and in battlefield approach). So I chose, as my second main army, Orks, the kings of wacky, random, out-of-control mayhem.

Honour Guard Vs. Sanguinary Guard

Now this is a debate that has been thrown around our club once or twice. So I am going to break it down into three categories: Power, Utility, and Models.

Power

Sanguinary Guard have some kick-ass offensive wargear but not a lot of choice. They are restricted to only a few choices in terms of weapons, but I guess that fits their fluff. For ranged weapons they each come with an Angelus Bolter. With a 12 inch range it really only has the ability to shoot pre-assault. Though assault 2 and AP 4 means it puts out a lot of shots that nothing short of a Space Marine will get armour saves against. And you can choose to upgrade the bolter to a plasma, or infernus pistol for more specific enemies, ie MEQ or vehicles. For melee weapons the SG come with Glaive Encarmine! Master-crafted two-handed power weapon! Now this weapon to me seems kinda... lackluster in comparison. You essentially give up the possibility of +1 attack with an extra close combat weapon for one re-roll per model. Seems like six of one, half a dozen of the other to me. And there is the option to upgrade the Glaive Encarmine to a power fist. Cool.

Death Company!

Death Company. We all know these guys, and we all hopefully love them. How couldn't you love these crazed, angry, homicidal-suicidal maniacs! So why not do a review of the unit?

Where to begin? Special rules? Alright! So to begin these guys are Fearless, have FC, FNP, And Relentless. So in short they have all the benefits of a Sanguinary Priest without needing one, plus they are Fearless which just makes sense. Now when I first saw that they were relentless it kinda made no sense to me. Then I remembered that they can take a bolter instead of a bolt pistol. So rapid-fire to soften them up, then charge to finish them off! And you can still give them a power weapon or the like! Now me, I don't like losing that extra attack, but that's just me. I would only give a bolter to a dude with a power fist. He's not getting that extra attack anyway.

Priests of DOOOM

So I've been reading through the Blood Angels codex, and I've had the chance to play a few games, and one particular unit really sticks out to me. Sanguinary Priests! When I first went through the codex before release at my FLGS I was amazed by the concept of the Priests. A little like Wolf Guard in the way you get to break them down and disperse them through out your squads. They also gave me this whole Iron Snakes vibe, for anyone who has read the book. But little did I realize just how awesome they really where.

The WORST Eldar list ever!

Wallie says I have to post my list, so here it is.

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Farseer with Runes of Witnessing, Spirit Stones, Doom and Fortune

8 Striking Scorpions with Exarch, Scorpion's Claw, Stalker and Shadowstrike

8 Howling Banshees with Exarch, Executioner and Acrobatic

6 Fire Dragons with Exarch and Firepike

10 Dire Avengers with Exarch, 2 Avenger Shuriken Catapults and Bladestorm

10 Dire Avengers with Exarch, 2 Avenger Shuriken Catapults and Bladestorm

10 Dire Avengers with Exarch, Power Weapon and Shimmershield and Defend

10 Dire Avengers with Exarch, Power Weapon and Shimmershield and Defend

6 Warp Spiders with Exarch, 2 Death Spinners and Power Blades

6 SwoopingHawks with Exarch and Sunrifle

3 Shining Spears with Exarch and Star Lance

4 Dark Reapers with Exarch, Eldar Missile Launcher and Fast Shot

2000 points