[morfangdakka]

Gorkanaut

The Gorkanaut is basically an AV13 walker with a crazy number of hull points. That said, it does bring two unique and/or useful rules to the table. The first of these is Rampage which will make it less likely for you to become bogged down against weak units. The second of these is the physical number of shots it can fire with two twin-linked Big Shootas, two rokkits, and 3D6 S.6 shots from the Deffstorm Mega-Shoota. The only real options the Gorkanaut has are grot riggers and extra armour.

The number of shots the Gorkanaut fires makes it a fair anti-flier vehicle, however this is not the best use for the Gorkanaut as it will keep you from being able to assault and thus take advantage of Rampage and its 4 base S.10 attacks. A better use of these shots is to try and pop a transport in the hope of being able to charge the unit that was inside. If you are unable to get the charge off and your opponent charges you, remember that you can fire all of your weapons because you are not a super heavy vehicle.

You should be wary of things like melta weapons at half range, lascannons, and beakie Dreadnoughts that get to strike in combat first. However, Gorkanauts can be used to engage monstrous creatures that don’t have access to iron arm or other S.10 attacks without using smash. Morkanauts are also fairly adept at dealing with Terminators: your S.10 attacks will strike first and the terminators will need 6’s to generate a penetration result and then an additional 6 to blow up your Gorkanaut. Given the general need to get this thing into Melee it is probably a good idea to keep the space in front of your Gorkanaut free of your own vehicles so that your forward movement is not impeded. Ignore this advice if your opponent is bringing lots of melta weapons in drop pods.

Suggested Builds:

Basic Gorkanaut. Grot Riggers to enable you to recover from an immobilized result.

Upgraded Gorkanaut. Grot Riggers to enable you to recover from an immobilized result and a unit of Burnas. Substitute 3 of the burnas for Meks to get 3 additional chances to repair hull points or immobilized results. This is probably most useful against an army that primarily relies on doing hull points instead of actually generating an explodes result.



Morkanaut

Many of the basic tactics for the Gorkanaut also apply to the Morkanaut. There are, however, some exceptions. First, the Morkanaut does not have Rampage. This means your opponent will have a much better chance of getting you bogged down with a weak unit such as Termagaunts. Second, the Morkanaut has a S.8 AP.2 blast. This can make it a little better at taking out units such as beakie Terminators or Centurions. Third, the Morkanaut can get a Kustom Force Field (KFF). This can generate a 5+ inv. save with quite a large footprint, but makes the Morkanaut a gigantic target.

All of the things that worry the Gorkanaut, basically worry the Morkanaut as well. However, assuming you are using the KFF, and you probably should be, you don’t need to worry about parking vehicles in front of the Morkanaut as you are not looking to get this thing into assault, but instead looking to maximise the size of the KFF bubble. If you aren’t wanting the KFF consider taking the Gorkanaut instead to get access to Rampage.

Suggested Builds:

Basic Morkanaut. KFF & Grot Riggers to enable you to recover from an immobilized result.

Upgraded Morkanaut. KFF & Grot Riggers to enable you to recover from an immobilized result and a unit of Burnas. Substitute 3 of the burnas for Meks to get 3 additional chances to repair hull points or immobilized results. This is probably the most useful against an army that primarily relies on doing hull points instead of actually generating an explodes result. The KFF will substantially increase the survivability of the Morkanaut if your opponent brings a lot of shooting that is not AP.1 or AP.2. This increased survivability will then further be improved by your ability to bring back 1 or more hull points every turn.

 

[morfangdakka]

Mek Gunz

The huge diversity of Mek Gunz makes talking about them challenging. As such, I am going to jump right into suggested builds and focus on tactics for each build. Do not forget that the ammo runts are attached to specific gunz, rather than the squad as a whole.

Suggested Builds:

3 Traktor Kannons. A basic anti-flyer unit that costs less than 100 points. This unit is particularly good at forcing flying monstrous creatures to jink. Watch out for the 36" range, but if you deploy this unit in the center the limited range should not be a problem.

5 Traktor Kannons. 5 ammo runts, 5-10 extra crew. This unit comes in just under 200 points, but has a much better chance of taking down a flyer or flying monstrous creatures. There is more additional crew here than in any other suggested build because a unit of max Traktor Kannons tends to attract a lot more shooting than any other setup.

2 Kustom Mega-Kannons, 1 Traktor Kannon. Ammo runt on the Traktor Kannon. This is a mixed unit, which is generally considered to be a sub-optimal setup, but it does offer some advantages over a unit of 3-5 Traktor Kannons. First, if your opponent has no flyers you haven't wasted the shooting from an entire unit. Second, your opponent may be less likely to jink, thus netting you better results against flying monstrous creatures in the form of a wound from the Kannon and then a wound from a failed grounding test. Both units have a limited 36" range, thus somewhat mitigating any ranged targeting problems.

3-5 Kustom Mega-Kannons. This unit absolutely devestates units of beakies or other models/units with good armor saves. The biggest problem you will have here is the short range on a unit that may often want to target things in your opponent's backfield.

5 Lobbas. 3 ammo runts, 3-5 extra crew. This unit is all kinds of cheap, coming in just over 100 points, but can put down 5 small blast barrage templates each turn. With the way barrage templates work, you fire the closest model first and then would have to use your ammo runt reroll. As a result, 3 ammo runts are usually sufficient and often all you can make use of. When you fire multiple barrages like this remember that on a hit you can place the template touching any part of any previous barrage, so you don't have to touch the first template.

5 Kannons. 5 ammo runts, 3-5 extra crew. This unit is just as cheap as the lobbas, but is instead designed to just take some hull points off of vehicles. It is also pretty good at killing basic beakies.

3 Smasha Gunz. 3 ammo runts, 3 extra crew. This is the only source of AP.1 shooting the Orks can get. The variable strength can make this unit a bit hit of miss, so limit the unit to 3 instead of the max 5 and save the re-rolls from the ammo runts for your S.9 or S.10 attacks.

 

[morfangdakka]

Deff Dread

I am sad to say that Deff Dreads are not all that greta this edition. However, even if they are not the best, you can still use them well and thus get some good results with them. Deff Dreads obviously have lousy Ballistic Skill, so don't waste your time on Rokkits or Kustom Mega-Blasts. Instead, equip your Dreads for Melee with Dreadnought Close Combat Weapons (DCCW) and Skorchas. The Skorchas are there to help you thin out large blobs of guys such as Guardsmen or Kroot.

Dreads also have 3 base attacks on their profile. This means that they get a 4th attack with the additional DCCW that comes with them standard, and then a 5th attack if they charge. That is a lot of S.10 attacks. Grot Riggers might be useful, but it is hard to say since they best thing about Deff Dreads is how cheap they are and Grot Riggers increases their cost. Similarly, Extra Armour is iffy. On the one hand you really need your Dreads to keep moving, on the other hand, there is only a 1 out of 6 chance that your opponent gets the Crew Stunned result.

Your best bet with a Dread is to run until you are in charge range and use the Skorchas(s) to prevent your opponent from assaulting you and/or to think out weaker infantry units that can tie you up. Once you get into combat even beakies will have trouble killing your Dreads. Krak grenades will hit on 4's and then require a 6 to glance, while most monstrous creatures will need to make a smash attack, which would mean making a single attack that hits on a 3+ and then rolling a 2+ to glance/pen. That lowers your opponent's chance of damaging your Dread to just over 50%. Not great, but not bad either. The biggest problem you will have in melee is against things that can hurt your dread and attack at initiative such as a beakie dreadnought or an Imperial Knight. If one of those are around, make them charge you, and make sure you are in cover so that difficult terrain drops the enemy initiative to 1. That way you will at least get to attack once.

Suggest Builds:

Cheap Deff Dread. 2x Skorchas. No fluff here. Keep the whole thing under 100 points. If you Dread kills something, good deal.

Slightly less cheap Deff Dread. Skorchas & additional DCCW. This is still under 100 points, but sacrifices some anti-infantry ability for an extra attack in melee.

Most expensive Deff Dread. 2x additional DCCW, Extra Armour, Grot Riggers. This build gives up any ability to clear out hordes and just murders things in melee with 7 attacks on the charge. Extra Armour keeps the Dread moving which is pretty necessary without any ranged attacks and Grot Riggers gives you some chance of moving again if your opponent gets an immobilized result.



Killa Kanz

Killa Kanz can and should act as fire magnets. They are easy to kill, and you can basically hope that if your opponent is shooting them, he isn't shooting at anything more useful/valuable. While using Kanz to distract your opponent can be effective, a second useful tactic is to have them to guard your backfield. A standard squad of beakies will have some trouble dealing with a unit of Kanz, thus forcing your opponent to ignore your backfield, or to dedicate more forces than he or she wants. If you have a free eavy slot, but I bet you don't, you can buy just a single Kan, or even multiple units of just 1 Kan. Shooting or assaulting a single Kan is quite infuriating for your opponent.

Killa Kanz have a BS 3, which makes them reasonable platforms for Rokkits, but they lack twin-linked so you may be better off looking for ROkkits elsewhere. That said, Rokkits are included in the base cost of a Kan, making it a good option. If you have the points you can also consider Grotzookas. The 18" range will limit your targets, but a squad of Killa Kanz with Grotzookas can put down a lot of firepower. be prepared for at least one to scatter back and hit your own guys if you are at all close to your target. If you do choose Grotzookas, remember that the Cowardly Grots rule can prevent you from firing as you are forced to snap fire and you can't snap fire a blast weapon.

Suggested Builds:

1 Kan. No upgrades. This unit is really annoying for your opponent and can be used to sit on an objective alongside a unit of grot, thus requiring more firepower than would have been required originally without spending all that much points wise.

3-6 Kanz with Rokkits. Base price, no upgrades.

3-6 Kanz with Grotzookas. A little more expensive than Rokkits, but the blast templates will help keep your backfield clear of deep strikers.

 

[morfangdakka]

Lootas

The biggest problem with Lootas is that they are in a very crowded heavy slot. Their reasonable price means that they are a cheap source of massed S.7 fire. Furthermore, their ability to throw out 45 dice from a single unit in a single round of shooting means that you can use them for a variety of purposes: shooting flyers/flying monstrous creatures, putting wounds on Terminators,wrecking vehicles, targeting units with invisibility, destroying Thunderwolf Cavalry, etc. In short, Lootas can put some serious hurt on anything that isn't AV 13 or 14.

Lootas do, however, lack a dedicated Nob type character. You can change one of the Lootas to a mek giving them a character for the mob rule result of 2-3, but this lessens the unit's firepower. You are probably better off spending 15 points for a basic HQ mek.

Suggested Builds:

5 out in the open. While full squads of Lootas can put out a tremendous amount of Dakka they also make themselves very large targets as a result. Sometimes a min squad of 5 is a good purchase as your opponent may not want to spend an entire unit or even multiple units shooting at a unit that only costs 70 points. Furthermore, the seemingly weak nature of just 5 Lootas will often result in them being overlooked.

15 in a Battlewagon with Mega-Armored character. The Battlewagon protects your Lootas from small arms fire. If the Battlewagon needs to move the Lootas can still fire at full Ballistic Skills thanks to Slow and Purposeful (granted by the Mega-Armored character). This also gives the unit access to a Power Klaw, some additional close combat potential, and solves the problem of the mob rule table if needed.

15 out in the open. This unit puts out the same Dakka as the unit above, but can't move and is more susceptible to small arms fire. As a means to protect this unit you can consider using a Painboy and/or a Skyshield Landing Pad. If you use the Skyshield be careful as the act of flipping the shields for the 4+ inv. save can often cut down on your LoS. However, a unit of Lootas on a Skyshield with a Painboy is incredibly difficult to destroy thanks to a 4+ inv. save and 5+ FnP. Consider putting an objective by this unit as well.


Flash Gitz

Flash Gitz absolutely need a transport to keep them safe. They are simply too expensive to be doing anything out in the open. The Random AP of their S.5 gun tends to throw a lot of people off as well. In this case it is useful to assume their gun will generate AP.4. There is a 66% chance that Flash Gitz will be AP4 or better. However, that is not the real reason for assuming they will be AP4. If you are shooting at models with a 4+ save, chances are you will put out enough wounds to kill then, even if they still get a 4+ save. Instead, assuming a 4+ save changes the way you use Flash Gitz from expecting/praying for that all important AP2, to simply using them to generate wounds and force armor saves. In this way, if you happen to generate the AP value that results in your opponent's demise you are pleasantly surprised and your opponent is devastated.

The middles strength value of their gun, and the variable AP makes Flash Gitz quite useful for shooting flying monstrous creatures. First, they generate a lot of dice automatically, basically rolling a 3 on a d3 if they were Lootas, but at the cost of 2 less strength. Second, their variable AP will often force a Flying Monstrous creature such as a Hive Tyrant for fear that you will generate an AP of 3 or less. Third, you can use a full unit of Flash Gitz to knock hull points off of low Armor Value transports such as Rhinos and Venoms.

In a pinch you can also charge with a unit of Flash Gitz. They don't have any dedicated melee equipment, but they are base S.4, A.3 with Furious Charge. that means a unit of only 5 still puts out 20 S.5 attacks on the charge.

Suggested Builds:

5 in a Trukk. This unit is minimum sized and still puts out 15 variable AP shots. The Trukk is not very durable, but the entire unit including the Trukk comes in under 150 points. Use this load out if you are simply trying to overload your opponent with targets.

5 in a Battlewagon. Same amount of firepower, but a lot more durable thanks to the Battlewagon. There probably are not enough Flash Gitz to really justify the cost of the Battlewagon, but sometimes you don't have enough points to fill the Battlewagon and the S.5 gun is still pretty good.

7-10 in a Battlewagon. This can double your firepower and really generate the wounds to take out an opponent's unit no matter the random AP you roll. Given the unit's cost a Battlewagon also makes a lot of sense. For a unit of this size consider giving them a character with a Power Klaw in case they end up in melee. Kaptin Badrukk could possibly work here as he fits the shooty theme a little more.

 

[R_Squared]

Again, great stuff. :good:
However, with regards to Grot riggers, they give the Mork/Gork-anaut It wil not die, rather than Mek Tools. AFAIK you yould only recover hull points, not repair damage. That's my understanding of the rule.

 

[Mmbob]

Mega armor shooty in BW

Something I've been wondering now that I've read this is the Slow and Purposeful rule, when throwing them in a unit with lootas/flash gitz in a battlewagon.

Are you allowed to shoot at full balisitic with these both when moving combat speed AND cruising speed, or do you still snapfire when moving cruising speed?
Getting somewhat confused about this. I love the idea but always saw it as, no matter what happens then combat speed = full ballistic from the inside; Cruising speed = snap fire.

Am I getting this all confused.
Sorry if I seem off. Don't have the rule book nex tto me at work

Edit: Again, an amazing article!

 

[mrknify]

Fantastic! Gives me a great mob idea... as many low cost vehicles as you can. With a big mek your elites can hold grot tanks, by the numbers...
Big mek
3x units of 6 grot tanks -900 (ish)
6 units of grots
3x units of 5 coptas or buggys (I prefer buggys)-375
3x units of 6 kans. -900

Yeah its krazy! I am going to min/max this list to get a total pts/model count. Right now its looking scary, and expensive.

 

[morfangdakka]

Fantastic! Gives me a great mob idea... as many low cost vehicles as you can. With a big mek your elites can hold grot tanks, by the numbers...
Big mek
3x units of 6 grot tanks -900 (ish)
6 units of grots
3x units of 5 coptas or buggys (I prefer buggys)-375
3x units of 6 kans. -900

Yeah its krazy! I am going to min/max this list to get a total pts/model count. Right now its looking scary, and expensive.

I love this idea. It would be a crazy fun list to play. I would probably drop the regular grots down to two and give the big mek a bike and either a KFF or a Shokk attack gun.

I prefer buggies too a mix of rokkits and kustom mega blastas just for extra scary to my opponent.

 

[morfangdakka]

Something I've been wondering now that I've read this is the Slow and Purposeful rule, when throwing them in a unit with lootas/flash gitz in a battlewagon.

Please, please don't do this to these poor units. It sounds good until you try it and then you realize it sucks for all the units involved. First I don't even think putting mega nobz with another unit is legal but just my opinion. I don't think it is legal to put two different squads into a battlewagon at the same time either. Second you are hurting both units really the mega nobz don't get to get up close and bash stuff and the lootas with slow and purposful really don't go very far since they have great range the battlewagon just sits and becomes a mobile bunker. Flash gitz aren't that great really I use to love them but I would rather take a unit of Ard boyz over flash gitz. Me personally I would either load the battle wagon with Mega nobz and race it forward in the bully boyz formation. Scoutting battlewagons yes please or even regular Nobs. Or put lootas in the battlewagon and us it as a mobile bunker. I wrote a 7 edition battlewagon article as well you should check out.

This might be one for the rules section than here but I believe it is combat speed= full balistic and cruising speed= snap fire but again not 100% sure since I don't have my rule book in front of me.

 

[Mmbob]

Not meganobz with them. But taking a big mek with mega armor with them to get slow and purposefull and if reading the rules correct your actually able to go 12" in the BW and shoot out with full balistic.

Reason why I was thinking this is;
1. 10 lootas standing in a building or such is easy to render useless just by making sure you're getting out of LoS.
2. 10 lootas being able to move 12" and shooting full balistic makes it easier to move so you have LoS on things and making sure there's alwasys something to shoot at that doesn't have to much cover and such.
Same as putting a Big Mek w. SAG on a bike. I have had countless battles where my lootas and SAG where made completely useless because there were a lot of cover to hide behind on the field. That's why I wanted to try it out in a BW with slow and purposeful with a big mek in mega armor.

Is that utterly nonsense and stupid?

 

[R_Squared]

Not at all. I used a Big Mek in MA to give SnP to my lootas recently. They were able to keep pace behind my tide, pick more targets and also shoot, then charge a unit to great effect.
I think it's a great idea myself, and it may take an opponent by surprise.

 

[morfangdakka]

Heck go for it. It could be that I just crap luck trying to put mega anything with lootas. Try it out and let us know how it works for you.