8th Edition Warhammer 40k Ork Codex Review: Part 4- HQ Units

The next part of my Ork Codex review will take a look at the HQ units in the codex. 

HQ Units

Warboss

The Warboss is one of the main HQ units in the codex, and the one that I imagine most players will select to lead their army. 

He is a bit of a combat monster, with WS2+, S6 and 4 attacks. He comes with a Power Klaw, allowing him to hit on a 3+, at S12, AP-3 and D3 damage per wound. He has T5 and 6 wounds, as well as a 4+ armour save. He is fairly durable in combat, but suffers from lack of a good armour save and little way to get an invulnerable save (barring the Bad Moons warlord trait). 

He hits hard in combat, but can fall quite easily to an enemy unit that has high strength, high damage attacks. 

He provides some very strong buffs to the army. He allows Infantry units within 6" to advance and charge. This is a very powerful ability for the Orks, who mostly want to be in combat. This can help you get into combat a turn or two early, which makes a big difference against the enemy firepower. 

He also provides some morale benefits, allowing you to pass a morale test for D3 mortal wounds for nearby units. May not be of much use to Orks, with their Mob Rule, but could come up useful every once in a while. 

For only 85 pts, the Warboss is a bargain, and a great HQ unit to lead your army. 

Ghazghkull Thraka

The Big Boss of the Orks is back to lead the great Waaagh! against the rest of the universe. 

He ups the durability of a regular warboss, going up to T6, 8 wounds, a 2+ armour save and 4+ invulnerable save. This makes him very strong to enemy attacks. He also remains at movement 5, unlike other Mega armour models that generally move at 4". 

He gets 6 attacks in combat, hitting on a 2+ with his power klaw, so a nice bonus for doing more damage in combat. 

He also gets the same abilities as the Warboss, allowing you to advance and charge, as well as giving morale boosts to nearby units. 

He is pretty expensive at 235 pts, so not sure if he is worth it. You can get a bunch of characters much cheaper to buff your army more. 

Big Mek with Shokk Attack Gun

The Big Mek is a solid character for the Orks. He has a decent statline (S5, T4, 4W and 3A) and the ability to heal nearby vehicles, helping to keep your vehicles running for longer. 

This version comes with the Shokk Attack Gun. This powerful weapon is 60", Heavy D6, Strength 2D6, AP-5 and D6 damage. If you roll an 11+ for the strength, you do D3 mortal wounds for each hit, rather than rolling for damage. 

The Shock Attack Gun is a very powerful weapon, only let down by the poor BS of the Orks. The Mek does get Dakka! Dakka! Dakka!, allowing you to always hit on a 6+ and get an extra shot. With the good rolls, you should be able to get a few hits, but there are other times when this gun will do nothing at all. 

The bonus is that pretty much anything you hit will not get an armour save, and an average roll for the strength should allow you to threaten most enemy units. 

Not too expensive at 80 pts for the model, but may have games where it does nothing at all. 

Big Mek in Mega Armour

This is now the only Big Mek that can take a Kustom Force Field (outside of the Index). This is annoying, as my Big Mek with KFF does not have Mega Armour. 

The Mega Armour really boosts the durability of the Big Mek, going up to a 2+ armour save, but with reduced mobility of 4". 

He does come with some powerful weapons, either the Kustom Mega-Blaster or Tellyporta Blasta. The Kustom Mega-Blaster is 24", Assault 1, S8, AP-3 and D6 damage, that gives the bearer a mortal wound on a roll of a 1 to hit. The Tellyporta Blasta is 12", Assault 3, S8, AP-2 and 1 damage. If a model suffers an unsaved wound, but is not killed, roll a D6. If the result is greater than the model's wounds characteristic, they are slain. 

These are both strong weapons for high strength, short ranged firepower. If you take the KFF, you are likely to be getting closer to the enemy army, so you might be able to make use of these weapons. 

I think the Kustom Force Field is a strong upgrade for the Big Mek. It provides a 5+ invulnerable save for all units wholly within 9" of the Big Mek. This helps with the durability of army considerably. It gets even better with a stratagem that boosts the range to 18", providing a huge durability bubble. 

I think the Big Mek with KFF is a great choice for the army. At 119 pts, he is quite expensive in the Mega Armour version, but still worth taking for me. 

Weirdboy

The Ork psychic powers are pretty solid, in my opinion, so the Weirdboy is a good HQ choice, for me. 

He has a fairy durable statline for a character, but suffers from the 6+ armour save of the Orks. What helps to make him powerful is that he gets +1 to casting for every 10 Ork models within 10" up to +3. However, on a 12 or more, he suffers a perils, making it easy for him to kill himself. With only 4 wounds, it won't take many perils for him to perish. 

The bonus is really good for a number of powers. For example, you only need to roll an 8 to get the "super-Smite" of D6 mortal wounds if you are within 10" of 30 Ork Boyz. It does mean that you will peril on a 9+ on your 2D6 roll, so it may come up every once in a while. 

At only 62 pts, he is a bargain HQ unit for me. You can also make good use of the Warphead stratagem, allowing you to manifest two powers per phase. 

Boss Snikrot

Another special character that returns to the Orks. These are now limited by the Klan they belong to, so cannot be included in every detachment. Snikrot is a Blood Axe HQ. 

Boss Snikrot has a statline comparable to a Warboss, but with more attacks (6) and a worse armour save. His combat weaponn is S6, AP-1 and 2 damage, so useful for lightly armoured foes with multiple wounds. 

He has a form of infiltrate, so 9" away from an enemy unit. He also gives a -1 Ld bubble to enemy units within 6", so can help cause damage from failed morale tests. He gets more bonuses from being in cover, getting +3 to his save against shooting attacks and getting +1 to wound against enemy units that are in cover. 

On top of that, he buffs nearby Blood Axe Kommandos units, giving them re-rolls of 1 to hit in the Fight phase, a rare buff for Orks. 

At only 70 pts, he is a solid character to take in a Blood Axe army. He offers strong buffs to Kommandos units, as well as getting some nice buffs when targeting enemy units in cover. I think he is a solid choice. 

Boss Zaggstruk

A Goff character that boosts Stormboyz units. 

Again, he has a decent statline for an Ork character, hitting on a 2+, with S6 and 6 attacks. He has T4 and 6 attacks. He has Da Vulcha's Klaws, which are S8, AP-3 and D3 damage, but you can only make 3 attacks with the klaws in combat, you need to use the Choppa for the rest. 

He also gets a 5+ feel no pain-type save, advances a full 6" (though takes a mortal wound on a roll of a 1) and can "deep strike". He also allows Goff Stormboyz units within 6" to automatically pass morale tests. 

For only 88 pts, he is again a pretty decent character for the Ork army. If you like taking Stormboyz, he is a great addition, giving you good immunity to morale. He has very good mobility for an Ork character, able to move quickly around the board and get in to the enemy army. 

Deffkilla Wartrike

The first of the new Ork units released with the codex, this is an HQ unit on a bike, gaining good mobility, decent firepower and a strong combat ability. 

He has a good statline, move 14", WS2+, BS5+, S5, 6, 8 wounds, 5 attacks and a 4+ armour save. 

He gives all Biker and Vehicle units within 6" the ability to advance and still charge. This makes your nearby vehicle and Biker units highly mobile, being able to advance and charge. This works very well for Evil Sunz, giving you some very strong mobility and firepower for your army. The Wartrike can also advance an automatic 6" once per game, giving you a reliable way of getting some very good mobility for a set turn. 

It also comes with a nice variety of weaponry. The Killa Jet can be fired in two modes, either a flamer-type weapon or Melta-type weapon. The Flamer is Assault D6, S5, AP-1 and automatically hits. The Melta version is essentially an 8", assault 2 Meltagun. 

It also has three Boomstikks, that are 12", assault 2, S5 and 1 damage. If at half range, you can add 1 to the hit rolls. Some nice, higher strength shots that are more accurate at close range. 

In combat, he has a Snagga Klaw that makes him S7, AP-2 and D3 damage in melee, and you can re-roll to wound rolls for attacks made with this weapon. This makes it pretty powerful for taking on most enemy units that are T7 or lower. 

At 120 pts, it is pretty expensive, but I think it adds enough buffs to a vehicle army to be worthwhile. I think this will work very well inn Evil Sunz armies, as the extra mobility and firepower buffs really boost the offensive capabilites of the Deffkilla Wartrike. 

Kaptin Badrukk

The best armed Boss this side of Terra, Kaptin Badrukk is back to lead all Freebooterz armies in the galaxy.

He has a statline comparable to other Ork characters, but at BS4+, is a positive sharp shooter of the Ork race. 

His gun, Da Rippa, is pretty much a Heavy 3, Plasma Gun that gets +1 damage. In a normal shot, it is S7, AP-3 and 2 damage, going up to S8 and 3 damage for a supercharged shot. A decent weapon, made better by his improved BS. The only issue is that it is Heavy, meaning he is hitting on a 5+ on the move. With only 24" range, he is going to need to get closer in most games. You also get one free to hit re-roll for shooting, thanks to the Ammo runt. 

He also gives a re-roll of 1's to hit in the shooting phase for Flash Gitz while within 6" of the Kaptin, giving you a nice bonus to their firepower. 

He is heavily armoured (for an Ork), giving him a 3+ armour save and 5+ invulnerable save, making him fairly durable. 

For 88 pts, he is a decent addition to an Ork army. He can have some decent firepower, but needing to move to get into range does reduce his effectivenss a bit. As a Freebooterz character, he can be included in a Detachment with another Clan without penalty, so could be good for a change every once in a while. 

Overall

The Orks have some solid characters that can lead the army. I think the Warboss is the big winner here, providing a beast in combat (when backed up by the right Relics and warlord traits), and some great buffs to the rest of the Ork army. Running one or two of these is a good choice in a list. 

The Big Mek and Weirdboy are also great support characters for the force, giving you some great protection buffs and some strong psychic support for the force. 

The new Deffkilla Wartrike is also a nice addition to the army. This gives you a highly mobile character that really boosts your Bikes and Vehicles, while also providing some strong short-ranged firepower and combat ability. 

I think the Special Characters are OK. None of them jump out at me as particularly amazing, but could be useful in the right lists.