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.
That said, my Orks were shelved for all of 4th edition. So were my Eldar for a longtime. Their old, old codices just couldn't keep up, so I played mostly Marines back then (and they were dark days indeed). But towards the end of 4th edition, my interest in both the Eldar and the Orks were renewed. And with the interest, eventually came new codices!
The Eldar books I have spoken about before, but I could go on for days about the subtlety of fielding them. But that's not why I'm here. I'm here to talk about Orks. And how they are the masters of not planning.
With the advent of the new Ork codex, suddenly the army went from being very limited (because most units were underpowered and overpriced) to truly being a top-tier army. Almost everything in the book was a useful unit. The new models rank amongst the best GW has ever made. And that's when I found the true jewel of the codex. The secret that keeps me coming back for more.
You see, with the Eldar, my lists, be they fluffy or competitive, are meticulous. If it's a fluffy list, I follow the background to the letter, making sure there isn't a single model that doesn't fit the theme. My competitive list (back when I made such things) had the same meticulous planning involved. I know, when I field my Eldar, what every unit is doing for the first three turns of the game before I deploy them. My back-up plans have back-up plans. Not so with my Orks.
My last three games with my Orks have been the direct opposite. I have a core of models that I have recently re-painted that serves as the base of the army, but then I am literally still figuring out my points as I set-up. I take whatever strikes my fancy that day. I have no plan going into the fight, other than 'ORK SMASH!"... and I love it.
Again, to contrast against my Eldar, it s an army that is planned to the finest detail. I planned the army for 4000 points. Every model I own fits in the list. I tweak and adjust slightly, as I learn more and more of the nuances of the army, but overall, I have only bought exactly what I'll be using.
The Orks though are as different as can be. I'm truly dictated by 'I want to paint that' or 'that model is amazing!' I have quite a few points (5000 BEFORE my 4 super-heavies) and it's all just random units. There is no cohesion. I did not pick a Klan (I started as Speed Freeks, then moved to Evil Sunz, now I'm on to Goffs, since I'm taking a much more mixed approach to the list). My Eldar list has 4 troops choices that show up in every game. My Orks have 12 and counting. The only FOC slots that go over the 3 for a standard game are my Heavies, and that's just for Apocalypse. My Orks have more than I can field in EVERY slot.
Now I'm not saying you can just go out, buy a bunch of models, throw anything on the table and expect to win all the time. That's just not going to happen with this army. It's too random, too unpredictable. If you want to be able to field anything and still have a greater than average chance of success, Guard or Marines are far better choices. However, if you play just for the Hell of it, and don't mind your army occasionally defeating itself, then Orks are the army for you!
I called this a Non-Tactica, because I feel I can't really discuss the tactics of Orks. That would involve me having a plan. What I can tell you is that the army is a blast to play, and throwing stuff out there just for the Hell of it is a great break from being structured. There is the obvious, Lootas are good at killing tough stuff like Daemon Princes, or the Deff Rollas are the best anti-tank the army has. But really, it's all circumstantial. The Eldar plan. It's in their background, and it's how they play. The Orks live in the moment, just spoiling for a good fight. And that's exactly how they play best.
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6 comments:
Orks.....making shitty converters feel good about themselves for years.
HEY! I resemble that comment :P lol
All these "ork conversions" are bullshit excuses to be lazy anyhow. Where in the ork fluff are they actually that comedic anyhow? Orks have been retconned to basically be barbaric warmongers. While their stuff is ramshackle, it's ramshackle in the sense that the Reavers from Serenity were. Put together by mechanically inclined orks (psychic potential not withstanding), they are supposed to actually work. I think GW's models best represent this. They still look like guns and tanks and trukks. Too many people take the FW stuff in too high a regard. It's TOO orky if that makes any sense. It's a ramshackle nonsense mess that shouldn't work no matter the psychic potential!
That's something I didn't mention in the article. The downside of playing Orks. There is a real snobbery from the lager Ork community. They all perpetuate this idea that every model you have MUST be 'kustom'. That if you are playing with stock models, you are not truly an Ork player. Which is a pile of crap.
In my opinion, the new Ork models that have come out in the last three years are some of the best, if not flat-out THE best, models GW has ever done. They are comical, dangerous, and characterful in a way that also looks like they would actually work. As opposed to the FW models which looks like the designer cast a bunch of small pieces in resin, threw them in a blender and poured them onto a 60mm base.
I, for one, am not a big fan of converting. I know that if I were a modeler, I'd want the piece I spent days, maybe even weeks, crafting was a model that could, and should, stand on it's own. The fact that these are some of GW best models, and yet the community says they are crap unless customized, in my opinion is a bit of a slap in the face to the designers.
Although i fancy myself a great converter Greeny i do agree with you.
We went to a tourney in a larger city last year and we were docked marks if our entire army wasn't converted.....i mean come one. The best part of an army is see'ing the ranks of troops lookin the same marching towards the lines.
Converstions are meant for 1 or 2 special models and the odd vehicle here or there. My skills are quite waisted as i am a very 'less is more' builder when it comes to troops and tanks.
aI couldn't agree more.
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