Warhammer 40K: Orks Capture The First Faction Focus of 11th Edition
Games Workshop offers a first look at the rules for Orks in the coming edition of 40k, and there’s plenty of dakka!
If you’re reading this, you’re no doubt already up to date on last week’s big Armageddon unboxing video. Maybe you’ve already chosen a side in that conflict, but Warhammer Community is here today to make a very strong case for the Orks. Excitingly, this article lays out the format for what will be an ongoing series examining what awaits every army in the upcoming edition.
A whopping 70 detachments are launching with 11th edition. It sounds like these will be a mix of all-new detachments and existing ones drawn from current codexes and recent expansions like Eye of Terror: Rein of Iron and Maelstrom: Lair of the Tyrant. This is great news, in my opinion. New rules excitement aside, I’m always a little reticent to purchase campaign books and such near the end of an edition, so it’s nice to know my copy of Maelstrom won’t be instantly deprecated in June!
It’s also worth pointing out that in the new edition you’ll be able to choose multiple detachments when building your army. Previously, you’d choose a single detachment to gain army-wide bonuses. However, in 11th edition you’ll have the option to choose several, which should make it much easier to build really thematic armies.
Rollin’ Deff
The fine folks at Warhammer Community kick things off with a twelve minute video digging into three Ork detachments. Two are revamps of existing detachments, but the first presented in their article is an all-new one; Rollin’ Def!
The heart of this detachment is its Thundering Wagons rule. If you’re planning to run a bunch of battle wagons, hunta rigs, and kill rigs, you’ll probably be hard-pressed not to take this one. All of your wagons get to re-roll charge rolls, but maybe even more critically, when your wagons advance, they can automatically change their roll to a 6. This is going to be huge when combined with a Waaagh! as you can advance AND charge, meaning your wagons could be more than halfway across the table before your opponent’s even taken their first turn.
The Faction Focus also gives us a first look at an Enhancement and Stratagem granted by the Rollin’Deff Wagons. Boarding Ramps is an upgrade that grants +1 to charge rolls from disembarking units for the rest of the turn, while the Brutal Broadside stratagem costs 1 command point and grants [Rapid Fire X] to all non-Firing Deck weapons on a wagon. This could be absolutely brutal for weapons with variable attack characteristics. A weapon with 1d6 attacks suddenly shoots 2d6 times instead letting you lay down a punishing amount of dakka!
Taktikal Brigade
A popular choice for Ork players in the current edition, Takital Brigade looks like it’s going to be a strong option in 11th. This is a detachment for Blood Axe clan or any Ork player who loves Kommandos, Storm Boyz, and the kunnin’ side of brutality.
The detachment rule, Lissen ‘Ere, looks like it’s going to be really strong. Not only does it make Stormboyz in the army Battleline units, but all Boyz/Kommandos/Stormboyz will be able to advance or fall back and still take an action.
Actions are going to be key to scoring VPs in 11th edition, and this means your core troops in a Taktical Brigade-focused army can move quickly up the table and still be able to score. To underline this, we’ve been given a look at the Plunder mission and can see how easily a unit of Storm Boyz might be able to score you a quick 5 VP!
We also get a look at a single enhancement and stratagem for this detachment.
Slippery Git will grant your infantry warboss Iniltrator and Stealth, permitting him to either accompany an infilrating unit far up the board to get stuck-in early or just sneak around the board on his own, claiming objectives and shoring up your army where needed.
Meanwhile, the Ded Sneaky stratagem will give you some fantastic hit-and-run scoring as your Kommandos and Storm Boyz can be taken off the board and placed back in your strategic reserves. Maybe they’ve scored the points off an objective, and you want them elsewhere on the board, or they’ve just finished off an enemy unit and need to make a hasty retreat before a counter attack. Either way, it’s a powerful option to control the board.
More Dakka!
Last but not least, we get a look at the distinctly Bad Moons-flavored More Dakka! detachment. The core of this detachment is Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! granting all Orks Infantry [ASSAULT] for all their ranged attacks. This is further bolstered on your Waaagh! turn additionally granting Orks Infantry [SUSTAINED HIT 1] during that shooting phase. This is particularly awesome in 11th edition with the revision to Ork Boyz who now all have both choppas AND shootas!
Your mid-range guns on elite units are going to enjoy a vastly increased range by being able to shoot after advancing, thanks to [ASSAULT]. But for my money (teef?) the real beneficiaries here are the basic boyz who will be able to put out a staggering amount of fire even while moving up the board.
The Dead Shiny Shootas enhancement is an upgrade for an Infantry unit granting all of its ranged attacks [RAPID FIRE 1] or, an additional +1 to any attacks that already have [RAPID FIRE]. This could be crazy strong. Rapid fire on rokkits or shokk attack guns? [RAPID FIRE 3] kustom shootas? That’s a lot of dakka, for sure.
Finally, the CALL DAT DAKK? stratagem offers Orks Infantry a chance to return fire during the enemy shooting phase. Sure, that return fire is all snap shooting, but when you’re rolling that many dice who cares if you only hit on 6s? Not Gork. Or Mork, probably. Who can say?
That’s a wrap on the first faction focus of 11th edition! We know tomorrow will see the next instalment, this time focusing on Space Marines (of course). After that, who can say which army they’ll examine, though personally, I’m hoping it will be my beloved Craftworld Aeldari.
Who are you hoping to see next?
