[Orks] Waaaagh! Nobrot!: Stormboyz

Afternoon all,

Today I thought I'd move away from the impending doom of me having to write up 8 hours worth of Battle Report, and talk about one of my favourite units from the Ork Codex - Stormboyz - and continue the Waaaagh! Nobrot! series.

This week I've decided to discuss Stormboyz for a few reasons. Firstly, I feel they're ridiculously under-used unit, and I do see people's logic for not taking them, I always try and fit a unit into a fun list somewhere. Admittedly, they are quite a hefty cost to pay for what's ultimately a very fast moving Slugga Mob. But you only have to look at the models and realise how they deserve to be on a Tabletop.

Da Stormboyz

First off. What do the Stormboyz bring to the table? They're an extremely fast moving force, admittedly less so than before the FAQ when they were allowed to Waaagh. Capable of moving up to 18" in the movement phase, then a 6" assault, provided you roll well enough, they can attack an opponent from a fair distance - usually catching the movement judgers off guard ("They move like Jump Infantry + D6 for the Rokkits?!")

The downsides to the Stormboyz are obvious though. They're pretty expensive (2.5 standard Boyz per Stormboy) and with no serious upgrade options. Their naff armour save is a real pain to get around, because from a good round of Bolter fire, you could see your isolated Stormboyz wiped out. I'd have really loved the option for 'Eavy Armour to make them a tough unit to shift.

To bypass this, Stormboyz need to make better use of cover than other Orks. Especially as one can normally rely on Footsloggers to get a Kustom Force Field cover save from a Big Mek. However, when the Big Mek is a fair bit back, it's problematic.

Stormboyz Nob with Power Klaw

The first customisation option one has is what weapons to give to the Stormboy Nob, along with whether to upgrade to Boss Zaggstrukk.

I've got both options made, ready to chop and change within my force, the first being a Bosspole, Power Klaw weilding Nob, to keep things cheap when I take less Stormboyz.

Normally if I run a 10 strong Mob, want to not deepstrike them, or am low on points, I will lead them with this fella. As with most Ork mobs, the Power Klaw adds some Anti-Walker and MC capabilities to the squad. Which is always handy. No one likes getting trapped in assault by a smelly Marine Walker or a Tyranid monstrous creature you can't seem to shift.

Boss Zaggstrukk

When I take a full mob of 15 Boyz, I like to take Zaggstrukk. A lot of people complain about "He's not worth it, Assaulting after landing never works" but I think he's really Orky and always try for the Assault when using them. Even if I do pose a massive risk to scattering off the table or onto enemies.

So far in the games he's landed, Zaggstrukk has managed to kill off plenty of Tanks, unaware back line lurkers and isolated characters.

Bear in mind his biggest asset is the fact when he charges in, his Power Klaws are at his initiative, and because he's charged, he gets the bonus strength and initiative boost. Meaning he's pretty awesome and can rip the face off a Tyranid beasty or guarantee denting some Marines.

Stormboyz Grot

And then lastly, this is the alternative option for not taking a Nob in the unit. I would call it a quick conversion, but it's not exactly a conversion. I just liked the idea of 2 Grots with Jetpacks counting as a Stormboy. Sometimes I'll use them as a Deepstrike marker while I get the unit out, othertimes they can be an objective in those missions.

So yeah, all in all, I really like Stormboyz. They're one of my favourite units in the Codex and while they can be extremely hard hitting, the random element of the Rokkit Packs, low survivability and expensive cost keep them out of most people's lists.

What do you guys think about Stormboyz? Ork players - for or against them? Non-Ork players - how do you react to these guys and what scares you about them?

SB.