Tactics: Ork Stormboyz

LOL Tau

Ahem, the Stromboyz are perhaps a life saver for Da Orks because of how fast they move to get to assault, especially when you are up against Tau.

Unfortunately for Da Stormboyz their Nob is the only thing that get to purchase upgrades. Here's an overview of them.

Special Rules:

• Mob Rule- Basic rule for Orks (Except grots.) lets you substitute the squad size as your Ld value and makes the unit fearless if your squad size is over 11.
• Furious Charge- Every Ork (Except grots.) has this. Grants +1 strength if this unit charged first in the assault phase.

In other words, a basic Ork setup for their special rules and is fairly common with other units in this codex.

The Wargear is the same setup as an Ork Boyz Mob:

• Choppa- The universal Ork tool. It's just a basic close combat weapon with no special rules or AP value.
• Shoota- An rundown ballistic firearm. Made from your local Mekboy. Think a bolter but with AP 6.

But there is one thing that this squad has aside from the Boyz:

• Rokkit Pack- You can't be a Stormboy without one of these. They do come at a cost because of how shabby they are built. whenever you move the unit for whatever reason, including falling back, roll a D6. On a 1 one of your models spirals out of control and lands head first onto the ground, then his Rokkit Pack explodes. Hilarity ensues. This does bring the diversity of this unit down because you have a 1 in 6 chance of losing a model for just moving 12" in the movement phase, running in the shooting phase (or shoot if you prefer), then move into a assault phase if you haven't ran in the shooting phase, and fleeing from said assault phase. Wow. There's no way you won't lose a single model unless you have reallllly lucky dice rolls.

Well aside from that little. . .item you basically don't have upgrades for anything but the Nob, like said above. Here's what he gets:

• It costs 10pts to include him in the squad.
• He can replace his Choppa for the following items:

1. Big Choppa at 5pts- Adds +2 to my strength and makes my strength 7 when I assault first? Lets me Instant Death any moron at toughness 3 who thinks it's funny to assault my squad? For only 5pts!? YES PLEASE.
2. Power Klaw at 25pts- Heed me on this: just take the Big Choppa and leave. Using this makes this guy look like an idiot. Why would you use something that is really not specified for this kind of unit? It makes your Initiative 1 this meaning that you WILL get shot up by overwatch before you reach the enemy. Also 25 frickin points? Seriously? This ain't worth it.

• May take any of the following:

1. 'Eavy Armour at 5pts- Makes your save 4+. Take it. Lets you live longer from being shot up by AP 5 weapons.
2. Bosspole at 5pts- Allows you to take moral test again if they failed by making the squad take a wound WITH save throws. Makes it easier to pass failed assault phases or something that requires morale tests. honestly I'm not sure if I would take. I don't see any negatives that potentially would kill half your unit, so your call if you want it.

He gets some very interesting items and can be very cheap, points wise, if you take him. but their is one thing that can make your unit Gods at killing squads within one assault phase:

Boss Zagstruck

This is who all Stormboy Nobz want to be: A badass who just pisses the hell out of your opponent. He costs 85 pts to field with your Stormboy squad  The difference profile wise is he has a higher WS, an attack stat of 4, a Ld of 9, and a 4+ Sv. 

Following is his wargear:

• Rokkit Pack: Sadly you suffer the same curse as other Stormboyz, but who says you can't use the others Stromboyz as fodder?
• Stikkbombs- Weep Warp Talons. Basic assault gernade with the same stats as one.
• Cybork Body- Grants 5+ invulnerable save, for those pesky instant death weapons.
• Choppa- Universal tool.
• Slugga- Basic worn down gun.
• Da Vulcha's Klaws- Special bionik legs fashioned from a dreadnought that ripped his legs off, then tore it from the inside out. Without legs. Same as Sly Marbo? Not entirely. Anyway, gives him a Power Klaw when he charges in an assault phase. His Initiative is still 4 when he uses it. Now this is what the Nobz want and sadly we can't deliver since Zagstruk has an overide to this rule.

All of his wargear is Perfect, except for the Rokkit Pack which has the effect same as regular Stormboyz Packs.
List of special rules:

• Mob Rule- Same as above.
• Furious Charge- Grants +1 strength when charging first in assault phase.
• WAAAGH!- Common warcry with all Orks. Has the ability to set off a WAAAGH!. This is used during your shooting phase, during this turn all Orks have the Fleet Special Rule. Except gretchins. Also to note is if you roll a one for movement, you suffer a wound, saves allowed, because your dumb Orks can't hold their act together before they reach the enemy.
• Swoop Attack- You must deep strike if you have Zagstruck in your Stormboy Squad. You cannot shoot when you land but instead may choose to assault when they come out. But if you do, you lose D3 models because faceplanting into the ground. That face your opponent will make when you use this is priceless, lets hope your opponent can deal with not having a certain Demolisher Squad for the rest of the game. But losing up to three models is totally worth it.
• Violent Temper- Think a better bosspole without the bosspole, but you must sacrifice a model in the process for being to pissed for failing a moral test. Dosen't work if he is the only one left in the unit.

One last thing is he gets five attacks after the first round of combat. How about that?

Besides Zagstruk, this unit has one primary roll which is Infantry hunting. basically the same as Warp Talons with less upgrades.
There are ways to use them efficiently, for one move across the field to take care of any unit that can take out more than half your army in a couple turns. You can use Zagstruk to take out that annoying vindicator that is destroying everything, if you don't kill the tank within one round leave and do it again until it blows up. But you will most likely still blow it up in one turn for having 5 strength 9 AP 2 attacks. ain't those Klaws wonderful? One last thing : have them when facing Tau, considerably at the maximum amount the unit can get, so you don't have to sit in tears as your army didn't move far enough to assault the Tau and got turned into swiss cheese.

And is it me or the Ork models don't seem to cost a lot of money? Maybe it's a good thing.

The Top 5

   

Yes a top 5 list. To show you the best and worst of Warhammer 40k has to offer. I will do these every so often. Without further ado, the top five worst units in all of Warhammer 40k

 

The 5 worst units in Warhammer 40k

5. Da Flash Gitz

Not totally useless, but they have some serious faults that come with them. The most outstanding being that they are using guns. No close combat weapons just their guns.A great shiny upgradeable weapon that randomly rolls for AP  For other races this is o.k., but they're Orks mind you. They are not meant for shooting this includes Flash Gitz's which makes their BS 2. Also noteworthy is that they are a Heavy Support choice which takes away a very important slot. If they increased their BS and moved their slot to Elite they may be worth it.

   

4. Pink Horrors of Tzeentch

Absolutely unacceptable. Why does this sorcerer unit get the blunt of failure in the Daemons codex? I don't know, but what is for sure is their BS is crap. 3. Really? Why do Bloodletters get a BS of 5, but instead they get, THIS. Only thing that makes up for it is using a spell spam in one turn with multiple units, but that depends on how many you put in the unit and also their rewards (depending on how you roll.) that are given upon them. Even so Ld 7 should be increased with the Iridescent Horror, but no still 7 and not fearless.

3. Pyrovores

Surprised that this early on the list? but you probably saw this coming and I'll explain why. The first reason is that it has a save throw and a common one at least. Second it has a weapon, at least the close combat weapon that has Ignore Armour Save. Third being more than one wound unlike other units. And lastly is Acid Blood but being no one will get near will makes it totally worthless, but that is what running is for. Besides this it really has some outstanding flaws. Clearly the first thing you see is its Initiative. 1. Wow, that is useless. Makes it really useless in close combat. Next is the clearly great thing that should be used near or in the middle of the enemy unit which is Volatile. Any instant death weapon that kills the Pyrovore roll a D6. On a 4+ it explodes and anyone within D6" takes a strength 3 AP- hit. Which this makes it useless because your opponent will always have Instant death weapons and they will always aim at it from afar and kill most of your models around it in the process. Still not totally worthless, but it has its uses.

2. Mandrakes 

It is REALLY bad. I mean I've seen it on the tabletop, and it just sucks because it has no Armour Saves and it gets a regular close combat weapon nothing special about it, but it does a get an invulnerable save. Of 5. Why? This thing is basically a shadow so why couldn't it be 3 or 4? Anyway it gets infiltrate but it will get shot up, Which makes that worthless. Also fleet. still not very good for you still will get shot up. move through cover and I might add this would be good if it had an actual weapon. night vision which is common for the Dark Eldar. Stealth that can be good if it had shrouded as well but no. And they do get a shooting attack but since of 18" on the weapon it won't help when being shot by bolters before you do anything. Although they have very nice models, they are not really worth getting.

1. Necron Flayed One Pack

Yeah I already talked about these in an earlier post. But I will say this again they suck. Don't get them. They aren't worth it and will crash and burn on the tabletop completely. They are indeed the most useless unit in all of Warhammer 40k.

Tactics: Tau Stealth Teams

Despite the small squad size this unit has a large variety of uses for your Tau army.
First the Wargear:

• Stealth Battlesuit- Comes with Multi-trackers and a Blacksun Filter. Grants the Stealth and Shrouded special rules. Gives a +3 Save as well. Basically it makes you the master at Night Fighting because outside night fighting you have a 4+ cover save in the open and increases any cover by 3, but while in Night Fighting being shot at from between 24" to 36" at your unit is at 3+ and in cover at 2+ which makes you extremely hard to hit. other than that, you can shoot normally in Night Fighting and fire an extra weapon in the shooting phase.
• Burst Cannon- Basic equipment for your Stealth Team. Strength and AP 5 with assault 4 let's you deal out a lot of fire in one turn.

They only get a few special rules:

• Infiltrate- the most important special for this unit. lets you place your units anywhere on the field that is 12" away from any enemy unit. 
• Supporting Fire- helps your other units that are being assaulted survive by shooting at the assaulter like an overwatch attack, but you must be within 6".

Besides this, they do have great options to choose from:

• May take up to 3 more shas'ui at 30pts per model.
• any Stealth Suit may take one additional support system:

1. Advanced targeting system- when rolling to hit on a 5 or 6 the shot is a precision shot.(you pick the model that will be affected by this shot.) Great for taking out specific units that are driving you insane.
2. Counterfire Support System- fire at a BS of 2 instead of 1 when firing Overwatch. Take it. It helps when being assaulted.
3. Early Warning Overide- grants Interceptor special rule. Not really great since you only get a 5 strength weapon and one that does not have enough reach to hit the flyer.
4. Gravity Wave Projector- At the beginning of your enemies assault phase choose one unit within 12" with this system then roll a D3. If that unit chooses to assault you reduce their movement by whatever you rolled. It's okay but sometimes slash up to 3" inches might not exactly work out in your favor.
5. Networked Markerlight- Let's you use one of your models to fire a markerlight shot which includes all the benefits of a regular markerlight shot from a markerlight drone. this is better to use than the drone due to you having a muti-tracker. But it's a heavy weapon meaning that the drone can be used to override it for that reason. Either way It's your choice.
6. Pulse Accelerator- increases the models pulse weapon range by 6". Gives you a bolter range which is okay for taking out enemies at a farther range, but there are still better options.
7. Positional Relay- The unit who has this system that is within 6" of a board edge (yours or your opponent.) can let any Outflaking unit go from that table edge. if you choose not to may roll like normal for Outflanking. Might be worth it if you need to move some outflanking units to the board edge you want without risking a roll to the edge that you didn't want.
8. Shield Generator- Grants a 4+ invulnerable save. Great for surviving from being shot up. this is great with your cover saves as well.
9. Stimulant Injector- Grants feel no pain to the model. It's okay, but shield generator might be a better choice because you can survive against weapons that cause instant death.
10. Target Lock- Let's the model shoot another unit instead off what the group is shooting at. good for taking out multiple squads at once.
11. Vectored Retro-Thrusters- Grants Fleet and Hit and Run special rules. Another system that let's you flee from assaults faster.
12. Velocity Tracker- You may choose a model with this system to have it's weapon(s) get the Skyfire special rule. Not very great because of lack of high strength ranged weapons for this unit.

•  For every 3 models one of them may replace their burst cannon with a Fusion Blaster for 5pts per model- Helps you take out high toughness models or high save models quicker. Also can take vehicles better as well.
• Can upgrade one model to be a Shas'vre for 10pts.
• He can take:

1. Homing beacon for 10pts- Any unit wishing to deep strike within 6" of this model does not scatter. Perfect for getting your important units behind the enemy.
2. Markerlight and Target Lock for 5pts- See Above.

• The Shas'Vre may take 2 drones from the Drone List- Suggestion: Shield Drone and Marker Drone because it frees the choice of shield generator and Networked Markerlight.
• The unit may take the bonding knife ritual at 1pt per model- Makes you fearless so just take it anyway.

Otherwise the Stealth Team is really good at getting behind enemy lines and help deep striking and outflaking units get across the field faster. still there is a weakness to all units. For them it's Template and Blast Weapons due to them negating cover save.

Also they are at a cheap $26.50 for 3 of them including a markerlight drone, so that's a good deal.

Tactics: Necron Monolith

You SHOULD take one of these if you're playing as necrons because of how useful they are.

The main thing to know about the Monolith is that it is the only tank aside from Space Marines and Chaos to get a AV of 14 on all sides. Aside from this, they don't get any upgrades at all. With that out of the way, here is the other things to know about it:

• The Monolith can only move up to 6" a turn.
• If put in reserve, the Monolith must deep strike.
• And it's a heavy cost at 200pts to field it.

Don't let that bother you. It has some great Wargear:

• Four gauss flux arcs- has one at each corner for an easier to shoot at all angles.
• Particle Whip- You will use this weapon more often. At a strength 8 and AP 3 with a large blast template and has ordnance 1, this is perfect for taking out squads with heavy weapons and massive assaulting units going towards your Necrons. Also useful for getting rid of vehicles in the way.
• Eternity Gate- This weapon can be used in two ways:

1. Dimensional Corridor- To be used at the start of the movement phase, choose one friendly unengaged non-vehicle Necron unit on the field or in reserve. that entire unit (including those that have to roll for repair protocols.) phases out and is placed in front of the monolith. those that can't be placed are removed. but are treated as if they disembarked from a vehicle that has moved from combat speed. This is a good thing to use if you have to move one unit from one side of the table to the other. Also good for moving miss placed deep striking units to where they can do something or get away from units that would destroy them.
2. Portal of Exile- Counts as a shooting attack. all enemy models (not units) within D6" must take a strength test or die regardless of saves of any kind (even invulnerable saves). roll for each model individually. Useful for taking out annoying units around your Monolith that can destroy it.

 All of these weapons are great for all kinds of roles for the Monolith. Even so it has a couple of spacial rules:

• Deep Strike- This is needed so that the Monolith can go anywhere, even behind the enemies lines.
• Living Metal- If the Monolith suffers the Crew Shaken result roll a D6. On a 2+ it ignores the effect. Likewise if the Monolith suffers a Crew Shaken Result Roll D6. On 4+ the effect is ignored. Basically this let's you Shoot straight.

There is some weaknesses to know:

1. Lances are the bane of you. It will take you out by explosion or by losing all your hull points. 
2. Monstrous Creatures will rip your Monolith in half faster than the expression that will appear on your right after it is destroyed.
3. Well placed Melta-Bombs will destroy your Monolith in one shot. kill those who have these equipped.

Try to take these problems out or you will lose that well placed Monolith in one turn.

Helpful ways to use the Monolith:

• The Dimensional Corridor can be used to move your entire army to the other side of the table where the enemy is to shoot them all.
• Deep Striking the Monolith to the other side of the map can constraint your enemy by moving your other Necrons models towards the Monolith while the Monolith itself moves towards your other models to crush the enemy or shoot if you prefer.
• Particle Whip everything. it will piss off your opponent fast due to losing that important heavy weapon team.

Either way it's still cheaper than a Land Raider currently.

Tactics: Warp Talons 

A less flexible unit for chaos, but it has one job and it does its job well: Infantry Hunting.

First the Wargear:

• Two Lightning Claws- This adds +1 to the Attack profile.
• Power Armour- Grants +3 Sv
• Jumped Pack- Makes Warp Talons jump infantry and grants 12" movement.  

They're great equipment but lack of gernades imposes a problem when charging and deep striking.

Second the Special Rules:

• Champion of Chaos- Only for the champion. Commonplace for all aspiring champions, lets you roll on the chaos boon table.
• Daemon- Gives the two most important things for assault, +5 invulnerable save and fear. Helps stop the enemy right there and saves the unit from AP values of 3 or lower and instant death. This makes up for lack of gernades.
• Warpflame Strike- Helpful when deep striking. any unit that is within 6" gets inflicted with blind (BS and WS are 1 for an entire turn.) which makes you live for the turn while not moving. but not very useful when you miss fire the unit away from the enemy. Note that this does inflict the entire unit, not just the models within range.

finally optional purchases:

• May take 5 extra units at a cost of 30pts each.
• May take two gifts of mutations at 10 pts each- Very important to use these because your Champion won't suffer from becoming a spawn but, unfortunately, you can't turn into a Daemon Prince. still it will add great benefits as well.
• Can take the four marks of chaos:

1. Mark of Khorne at 4pts a model- the best option for them. grants counter-attack and rage special rules. perhaps the two best rules for assaults.
2. Mark of Tzeentch at 6pts a model- grants +1 to their invulnerable save. great for surviving while trying to get to a assault without dying.
3. Mark of Nurgle at 4pts a model- increases toughness by a parentheses 1. Ex: 4(5). This is worst choice because they're a great fire magnet and your enemy will most likely have strength 8 weapons or higher.
4. Mark of Slaanesh at 3pts a model- Not as great as the other choices but still better than Mark of Nurgle. gives a +1 to your initiative. good for going first against most units in assault. 

• Veterans of the long war at 3pts a model- Take it.It's worth it if you are up against space marines and also to increase your leadership by +1 since, for some reason, you are not fearless.

Overall this unit is best for infantry hunting, but is really not meant for tank hunting since you can only glance at an AV of !0 which most tanks only have at their rear.

Also worth it since they are only at $33 for 5 of them anyway.

Tactics: Necrons

Flayed One Packs

I know this unit has been talked about, but I want to talk about them further in there flaws and, if any, strengths.

In regards to the Flayed Ones, They are perhaps the worst unit in this codex. Here's why:

• First: It's the same as Necron Warriors except there BS value which is one. the problem is, for an assaulter unit, it has a really low Initiative, yes it is a Necron but for low Initiative they could have changed the Save Value like a lot of other Elite units.
• Second: the deep strike rule. It really isn't needed for this unit since if you deep strike you will get shot up and just wasted a unit.and also the unit does not move after deep striking nor assault either.
• Third: No transports. Because of this, it makes it really hard to get this unit around without losing models in the processes.
• Fourth: No benefits to Resurrection Orb. this downgrades the unit even more because of this.

• Fifth: Where is the Weapons? I don't see it in the codex or the faq's, and is there one or two weapons? I guess we won't know until the 6th edition codex comes out. 

The only good thing that is with this unit is the Infiltrate special rule because you can move the unit closer to assault but that depends how close you infiltrate to the enemy.

Even so, I'll not pay $45 for 5 of these barely useful units.

Tactics: Formation

It's all how you have your unit formation, especially with the wound allocation rule.

Because of this, you must position your army just right. Here's a couple formation and their tips:

• Straight Line Form: this is when you want to form the army in a way to use cover or avoid template and blast markers. Example: a squad of Tactical Space Marines is behind a brick wall in this form. a squad of cultist comes up with a flamer and tries to kill them with fire. As the weapon ignores cover it's hard to hit all of them making it virtually useless.
• Greek Phalanx Form: Despite the name, one of my opponents uses this form a lot. but it is effective for assault and inclosing around units to tear them apart, one last thing that this is good for is protecting something vital on your side, such as a squad with heavy weapons. Note: you're weak to blast and template weapons. The form looks like this:

 

Hope these help out in future battles!